MD3420 SAS Connection to two R720 Servers (2008 R2)

Question

Hello,

I was looking for some suggestions trying to my two servers to both see a MD3420 Array as shared storage. The overview idea is here: http://i.imgur.com/UeWyLvg.jpg

Initial setup was very easy. I installed the Dell MD Storage software. MPIO is installed, as is Storage Manager for SANs. I was able to put a management IP address on the array, connect to it and create a disk group. After that I was able to see both host's port identifier numbers and did the host mapping which seemed correct. Once I did this I was expecting to the unformatted partition in Disk Management in Windows. I'm not sure where to go from here. I've upgraded firmware on the array, which went fine. I've looked in the Storage Manager for SANs and it sees the LUN (though it says uknown number.) Any help is appreciated.

Additional Info:

OS: Windows 2008 R2 Standard

Bus Adapter: www.lsi.com/products/host-bus-adapters/pages/lsi-sas-9300-8e.aspx

PowerVault: MD3420 with one SAS module card

Thank you!

ScratchLS · Accepted Answer

I just talked with Tech Support. It looks like the problem is there is no clustering installed between the servers. Unfortunately 2008R2 Standard doesn't support this so it looks like we're going to have to upgrade to Enterprise.

Thanks for your time.

DELL-Sam L · Answer

Hello ScratchLS,

With the MD3420 system it doesn’t have an fibre channel connections on the raid controller as it is a SAS based system. Second is that you stated that you have 2xR720 servers running 2008R2 & from your setup that you posted with the cabling looks like you are going to cluster the 2 servers together is that what you are trying to do?

If you are trying to have the 2 servers on a cluster then you will need to present the virtual disk to the shared storage instead of directly to the host for it to be seen. Also it sounds like you setup your configuration for your SAS connections as fibre connections instead of sas connections as well which could also be why you are not seeing the virtual disk being present to the host. Here is a link to our deployment guide just in case you need it. ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_ser_stor_net/esuprt_powervault/powervault-md3420_Deployment%20Guide_en-us.pdf

Now here is also the Administrator guide as well & if you look at page 102 it shows you how to make sure that you have done your host mappings correctly. ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/Common/powervault-md3400_Reference%20Guide8_en-us.pdf

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

ScratchLS · Answer

Hi Sam, thank you for your quick reply.

I think I'm mixing up terminology and probably confusing both of us. Sorry about that.

I only have one cable going from each server to the array, so does that mean I do not need the multipath I/O? If I understand that correctly that's only if you have two or more cables going to the array from each server. If so, should I remove that Windows feature?

DELL-Sam L · Answer

Hello ScratchLS,

Ok that clears up a few things. With only have a single controller in your MD3420 & connecting to 2 servers you could if you want to but it is not necessary. Also you stated that you want to use the virtual disk as shared storage so need to make sure that your host group as shared & you can do that as on page 72-73. ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/Common/powervault-md3400_Reference%20Guide8_en-us.pdf

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

ScratchLS · Answer

When I create the mapping, I get no error or warnings, so I've assumed it worked ok, however when I look in the event viewer in Storage Manager I get this:

Date/Time: 10/16/14 11:20:24 AM

Sequence number: 907

Event type: 5226

Event priority: Informational

Description: Host topology - Host port registration failed

Event specific codes: 0/0/0

Event category: Error

Component type: RAID Controller Module Firmware

Component location: None

Logged by: RAID Controller Module in slot 0

Also, if I use the Windows "Storage Manager for SANs" to try to create the LUN and map it, it creates the LUN allright (which I can also see in the Dell Storage Manager, but when it tries to map I get this error:

VDS_CREATED_154333: The LUN could not be assigned to the server SERVERNAME. The Virtual Disk Service (VDS) or the VDS hardware provider is no longer available.

VDS looks like it's running though. I'm not sure where else to look.

ScratchLS · Answer

I've made some progress.  Removing the 'Storage Manager for SANs' Windows feature (along with MPIO since I don't need it) helped as now the disks show up and I can format them.   Now I'm struggling with the disk on each machine isn't actively in sync with one another.  If I create a folder/file on one, it doesn't show up on the other server unless I reboot it.  They seem like they are independent from one another while the servers are online.  I did make sure I selected the hosts would share storage (pg73. ftp.dell.com/.../powervault-md3400_Reference%20Guide8_en-us.pdf) when creating them.

ScratchLS · Answer

I upgraded the Dell MD Storage to the latest available version. It automatically adds the MPIO feature in Windows. After the reboot I lost my drive again

You can see the difference here: http://imgur.com/a/yb1ET

First image is with MPIO feature and the second one is after I remove it again and reboot. Very weird.

I'm still having the same issue where I can add files/folders on one server to the SAS drive but it won't update on the other one until I reboot it. The event log error is still showing up (Event type: 5226).

Is there any recommendations as far as making the disk dynamic and/or disabling write caching? I'm not sure where to go from here.

PowerVault

MD3420 SAS Connection to two R720 Servers (2008 R2)

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