MD3200i of RAID Controller Module wide port has gone to failed state

Hello nickohara,

I think we should get a look at the Support bundle.

How to collect the Support bundle:

Support bundle MD3xxx https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000127694/how-to-gather-the-support-logs-of-powervault-md32xx-md34xx-md36xx-and-md38xx

Once you have it then upload to:  https://upload.dell.com/

Under the service tag of the MD3200i

Then Private Message me the service tag so I can retrieve the log.

Hello Nick,

The series of events you listed are pretty standard for a controller going offline.

For the controller going offline I would first recommend to update to the current firmware for various fixes for things that would cause controller reboots.

Dell PowerVault MD 32/36 Series Storage Controller Firmware and NVSRAM firmware version 08.20.24.60

https://dell.to/3Lacxyy

Here is the support matrix for the latest firmware. Page 35 tells what OS are compatible. https://dell.to/43IbmxG

If it continues going offline you may need to replace the Controller 1.

Hi Charles,

Thank you for the responses.

I plan to update the firmware but have a concern. If during the firmware update controller 1 was to stop working and become unrecoverable, would I be able to continue using controller 0 on it's own until controller 1 was replaced?

Thank you, Nick

Hello Nick,

You are correct. Just as you have still been able to use Controller 0 to access data when Controller 1 has been offline, you will be able to use Controller 0 until you get a replacement.

Good morning,

 The firmware upgrade was completed successfully for the controllers and the hard drives so they are all on the latest versions but a problem of "Virtual Disk Not On Preferred Path" is now persistent. Also if controller 1 now goes offline then all traffic from the SAN stops, essentially meaning there is no failover.

I'm thinking my next step is to replace controller 1, or do you have any other advice?

Thank you, Nick

Hi Nick, I'm pretty sure you already checked and verify your RAID configuration. Even if you successfully updated FW you still have the issue, then replacing controller 1 would be reasonable. Might be double check cabling before replacing it. Because a loose or faulty cable can cause intermittent issues. Another possible solution is to verify your network settings and confirm that each vSwitch and subnet has a different NIC on your host, and that the iSCSI ports from the MD3200i are also on different subnets. This way, your data store can communicate with both controllers and switch paths without any issues. I saw it from here https://dell.to/42285r6

Hi Erman,

Thank you for the response.

The current controllers are on firmware version 08.20.24.60, if I bought a replacement controller and it was on an older firmware say 08.20.12.60, would I have any issues?
I'm presuming I would plug it in and then have to perform an upgrade on it?

Thanks, Nick

Hi, yes the controller FW recommend to update it same version. I saw an importance note please take a look at it. https://dell.to/3MVkzfy "*** ATTENTION ***
If your PowerVault MD32xx/MD36xx series storage array is currently running a firmware version lower than 07.75.28.60, you cannot directly install the RAID controller firmware version 08.20.24.60 included in this release.
Instead, you must first install the bridge firmware version 07.75.28.60. After the bridge firmware is successfully installed, you can then install RAID controller firmware 08.20.24.60" Remember to always have a backup of your data before performing any hardware replacements or firmware updates.

To avoid any possible issues or mistakes, you should erase the configuration from the replacement controller before putting it in your MD3200i. You can do this by taking out the battery from the controller for around 10-20 minutes. This will make sure that there are no clashes or errors.