Data Domain: DD3300 Disk Beacon

Summary: This article introduces the 'disk beacon' function for DD3300 systems, brought in with Data domain Operating system (DDOS) 6.2.x. The KB article serves as a guide on how to beacon a disk on the DD3300. ...

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Instructions

Summary:

  • This article introduces the 'disk beacon' function for DD3300 systems; introduced in DDOS 6.2.x.
  • The command 'disk beacon 1.n' is issued (using SSH/CLI) and results in a disk identification LED flashing on the corresponding disk.
  • Physical Slot numbering (0-based; 1.0) on the DD3300 does not match to DDOS Slot numbering which starts at 1.1
  • This feature helps with the troubleshooting and replacement of faulty disks on the DD3300. 


Applies To:

  • DD3300 (>= DDOS 6.2.x)

Solution:

  • 12x Front disks (1.1 -> 1.12) or 1x Rear disk (1.13) can be beaconed.
    • 4x internal disks (1.15 -> 1.18) do not support beaconing.
  • DD-CLI Command Syntax: 
    • disk beacon 1.<slot number> OR <serial number>
  • To stop the Beacon press: 
    • Ctrl + C

Example: 

To beacon disk slot 1.7: 

# disk beacon 1.7
Start disk LED beaconing for 1.7 ...
^C
LED beaconing completed.
#


To beacon a disk by serial number:

> Gather the Physical hardware Serial Number using the command 'disk show hardware detailed'.

# disk show hardware detailed

Physical Hardware
Disk   Slot        Manufacturer/Model   Firmware   Serial No.         Capacity   Type       State
       (pci/idx)
----   ---------   ------------------   --------   --------------   ----------   --------   --------
1.1    0           ST4000NM0295         DT31       ZC11Z1GB           3.64 TiB   SAS        In Use
1.2    1           ST4000NM0295         DT31       ZC1207Y1           3.64 TiB   SAS        In Use
1.3    2           ST4000NM0295         DT31       ZC12156M           3.64 TiB   SAS        In Use
1.4    3           ST4000NM0295         DT31       ZC11Z2G6           3.64 TiB   SAS        In Use
1.5    4           ST4000NM0295         DT31       ZC12108B           3.64 TiB   SAS        In Use
1.6    5           ST4000NM0295         DT31       ZC120E4S           3.64 TiB   SAS        In Use
1.7    6           ST4000NM0295         DT31       ZC11Z17L           3.64 TiB   SAS        In Use
1.8    7           ST4000NM0295         DT31       ZC1207YX           3.64 TiB   SAS        In Use
1.9    8           ST4000NM0295         DT31       ZC11Z39H           3.64 TiB   SAS        In Use
1.10   9           ST4000NM0295         DT31       ZC11Z3NW           3.64 TiB   SAS        In Use
1.11   10          (absent)             (absent)   (absent)           (absent)   (absent)   Absent
1.12   11          (absent)             (absent)   (absent)           (absent)   (absent)   Absent
1.13   12          MZ7KM480HMHQ0D3      GD53       S3BUNX0J600149   447.13 GiB   SATA-SSD   Non-RAID
----   ---------   ------------------   --------   --------------   ----------   --------   --------

> Beacon the disk using the appropriate serial number

# disk beacon ZC11Z17L
Start disk LED beaconing for 1.7 ...
^C
LED beaconing completed.
#

Additional Information

If a disk beacon is already active on another disk (from another SSH session), then the system prompts to stop the active beacon, as seen here:

# disk beacon 1.13
A beacon command is already running on disk 1.7.
        Do you want to terminate it? (yes|no) [yes]: yes
Beacon on disk 1.7 terminated.

Start disk LED beaconing for 1.13 ...
^C
LED beaconing completed.
#

The original SSH session displays the following output:

**** Disk beaconing terminated by another disk beacon operation.

 
Reference:
DD3300 Mapping disk alerts to the correct physical disk slot
DD3300 Disk Beacon Command Failing
Understanding DD3300 disk LED behavior
DD3300 Hardware Overview & Installation Guide

Affected Products

Data Domain

Products

Data Domain, DD3300 Appliance
Article Properties
Article Number: 000013951
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 29 Sept 2025
Version:  6
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