Offline RAID Controller Module

What Caused the Problem?

The RAID controller module was placed Offline. This could be caused by the following:

• The RAID controller module failed a diagnostic test and was automatically placed Offline. The diagnostics are initiated internally by the RAID controller module or by the Advanced >> Troubleshooting >> Run Diagnostics >> RAID Controller Module menu option.
• The RAID controller module was manually placed Offline using the Advanced >> Recovery >> Place RAID Controller Module >> Offline menu option.

The Recovery Guru Details area provides specific information you will need as you follow the recovery steps.

 Caution: Possible loss of data accessibility. If the Summary area is reporting any type of "miswire" problem, then it is very important that you resolve any miswire problem first.  Once all miswire problems have been resolved, you can continue with this procedure. Resolving non-miswire problems with miswire problems still present can lead to a loss of data accessibility.

 Caution: Possible loss of data accessibility. Do not remove a component when either (1) the Service action (removal) allowed (SAA) field in the Details area of this recovery procedure is NO (), or (2) the SAA LED on the affected component is OFF (note that some products do not have SAA LEDs). Removing a component while its SAA LED is OFF may result in temporary loss of access to your data. Refer to the following Important Notes and the Recovery Steps for more detail.

 Caution: Possible loss of data accessibility. Do not remove a component when either (1) the Service action (removal) allowed (SAA) field in the Details area of this recovery procedure is NO (), or (2) the SAA LED on the affected component is OFF (note that some products do not have SAA LEDs). Removing a component while its SAA LED is OFF may result in temporary loss of access to your data. Refer to the following Important Notes and the Recovery Steps for more detail.

 Caution: Electrostatic discharge can damage sensitive components. Always use proper antistatic protection when handling components. Touching components without using a proper ground may damage the equipment.

Important Notes

• Service Action Allowed Important Information:
  • The Service action (removal) allowed field in the Details area indicates whether or not you can safely remove the component. If the SAA field is NO (), then the affected component must remain in place until you service another component first.
  • The Service action LED on Component field in the Details area indicates whether or not a physical SAA LED is present on the hardware component. This field does NOT indicate whether the LED is ON or OFF (that indication is provided by the Service action (removal) allowed field).
  • If a component does not have an SAA LED, then it is OK to remove the component when its fault LED is lit and the Service action (removal) allowed field = YES () in the Details area.
  • The Service action (removal) allowed field shown in the Details area and the physical SAA LED on the hardware component (if supported) MUST match before you remove the affected component. In rare cases (such as multiple problems), the status of the LED and the SAA field may not match. If there is a mismatch, then you should NOT remove the component until these indications match. The Recovery Steps will help you to make this determination.
• Not all models of storage arrays contain batteries. If your storage array does not contain batteries, you can ignore any references to them in the following steps. To determine if your storage array contains batteries, use the Storage Array >> View >> Profile option and select the Enclosures tab. Storage arrays without batteries will not have those components listed.
• If write caching on any virtual disk is enabled, it might be automatically suspended until this issue is corrected and all batteries are fully charged (if batteries are present). To see if caching is disabled, use the Virtual Disk >> Change >> Cache Settings menu option. Any option with the red dot icon is currently suspended.
• Virtual Disks assigned to the Offline RAID controller module have been moved to the storage array's Online RAID controller module.
• If the RAID controller modules for this storage array are located in an enclosure containing both RAID controller modules and physical disks, you may have to insert the battery from the old RAID controller module module into the new replacement RAID controller module module. Consult the following steps and your hardware documentation for details.
  

Recovery Steps

1	If... Then... You were instructed to manually place the RAID controller module Offline in another procedure Go to step 2. The RAID controller module was automatically placed Offline Go to step 2. You know the RAID controller module was manually placed Offline but there is nothing wrong with the RAID controller module Place the RAID controller module back Online by highlighting the RAID controller module in the Physical View of the Array Management Window and selecting Advanced >> Recovery >> Place RAID Controller Module >> Online. Go to step 4.
2	Check the Service Action Allowed status in the Details area. If... Then... Service action (removal) allowed = YES () Check the Service action LED on Component field in the Details area and then answer the following question: Does the field indicate that this component has a physical SAA LED? Yes - Check the physical component to ensure the LED is ON. If the LED is ON, then go to step 3. If the LED is OFF, then click the Recheck button to see if another problem appears in the Summary area. If there is another problem, fix it first and then return to this procedure. If there is no other problem, then stop this procedure and contact your technical support representative. No - Go to step 3. Service action (removal) allowed = NO () Answer the following question: Are there other problems being reported in the Summary area? Yes - Fix these problems first and then return to this procedure after clicking the Recheck button. No - Stop this procedure and contact your technical support representative.
3	a Remove the defective RAID controller module. The defective RAID controller module (A or B) is listed in the Recovery Guru Details area. Note: Before you insert a new RAID controller module module into an Out-of-Band Managed Storage Array (refer to the Network Management Type column in the Enterprise Management Window), you must update the DHCP/BOOTP server so that it will associate the new RAID controller module's hardware Ethernet address with the DNS/network name and IP address previously assigned to the removed RAID controller module. To update the DHCP/BOOTP server, find the entry associated with the removed RAID controller module and replace its Ethernet address with the new RAID controller module's Ethernet address. The RAID controller module's Ethernet address is located on an Ethernet ID label on the RAID controller module module in the form xx.xx.xx.xx.xx.xx. b If... Then... The RAID controller modules for this storage array are located in an enclosure containing both RAID controller modules and physical disks Check to see if the new RAID controller module module contains a battery. If your model of storage array does not contain batteries, go to step c. If your model of storage array is supposed to contain batteries and... There is not a battery installed in the new RAID controller module module, then install the battery from the old module and go to step c. There is a battery installed in the new RAID controller module module, then go to step c. The RAID controller modules for this storage array are located in an enclosure containing only RAID controller modules Go to step c. c Make sure at least 1 minute has elapsed. Then, insert the new RAID controller module module firmly into place. Note the RAID controller module slot (A or B) of the affected RAID controller module listed in the Recovery Guru Details area. Highlight this RAID controller module slot in the Physical View of the Array Management Window. If... Then... The RAID controller module indicates that it is Online Go to step d. The RAID controller module indicates that it is Offline Select Advanced >> Recovery >> Place RAID Controller Module >> Online and then go to step d. d If... Then... The RAID controller modules for this storage array are located in an enclosure containing both RAID controller modules and physical disks Determine whether you need to reset the battery age. If your model of storage array does not contain batteries, go to step 4. If your model of storage array is supposed to contain batteries and... You installed the battery from the old RAID controller module module, then you don't need to reset the battery age. Go to step 4. There was already a battery in the new replacement RAID controller module module, then you must reset the battery age using the following procedure: Select the Components button   on the enclosure containing the RAID controller modules in the Physical View of the Array Management Window. Highlight the Batteries option and select the Reset button associated with the new RAID controller module module (A or B). Then, go to step 4. The RAID controller modules for this storage array are located in an enclosure containing only RAID controller modules Go to step 4.
4	If you have virtual disks mapped to hosts that have Automatic Virtual Disk Transfer (AVT) disabled, it may be necessary to redistribute the virtual disks to their preferred RAID controller module. Use the following steps to determine the AVT status of the hosts connected to your storage array: a Open the Storage Array Profile by selecting the Storage Array >> View >> Profile menu option from the Array Management Window. Then, select the profile's Mappings tab. b Scroll to the NVSRAM Host Type Internal Definitions section. c If... Then... There are hosts mapped to virtual disks on this storage array that have an AVT status of disabled OR There are hosts mapped to virtual disks on this storage array that are not running a host-based, multi-path failover driver It may be necessary to redistribute the virtual disks to their preferred RAID controller module. If the Array Management Window's Advanced >> Recovery >> Redistribute Virtual Disks menu option is available, select the option. Note: If you have a mix of hosts with AVT enabled and AVT disabled, all virtual disks will be immediately assigned back to their preferred path. However, until the host-based, multi-path failover driver detects the valid preferred path (may take several minutes), the virtual disks mapped to the AVT-enabled hosts may get temporarily returned back to the non-preferred path. If the menu option is not available (grayed out), the virtual disks are already associated with their preferred RAID controller modules and no action is needed. Go to step 5. ALL hosts mapped to virtual disks on this storage array have an AVT status of enabled AND All hosts mapped to virtual disks on this storage array are running a host-based, multi-path failover driver No action is required. If virtual disks need to be redistributed to their preferred RAID controller module, the host-based, multi-path failover driver will automatically initiate the transfer. Note that detection of a restored preferred path by the multi-path failover driver can take several minutes. Go to step 5.
5	Click the Recheck button to rerun the Recovery Guru. The failure should no longer appear in the Summary area. If the failure appears again, contact your technical support representative.