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3Ware 9550SX-4LP User Guide - Page 153

Enabling and Disabling the Unit Write Cache, For more information, see Disabling Write Cache

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Setting Unit Policies Enabling and Disabling the Unit Write Cache Write cache is used to store data locally in memory on the drive before it is written to the disk drive media, allowing the computer to continue with its next task. Enabling write cache results in the most efficient access times for your computer system. However, there may be instances when you always want the computer to wait for the drive to write all the data to disk before going on to its next task. In this case, you must disable the write cache. Write cache can be turned on or off for individual units in both 3DM and 3BM without changing the configuration or losing data from the drives. For 9550SX and 9590SE controllers, when write cache is enabled, a StorSave profile specifies the level of data protection that you want for this unit. For more information, see "Setting the StorSave Profile for a Unit" on page 149. If you have a BBU (Battery Backup Unit) installed on the controller, the battery preserves the contents of the controller cache memory for a limited period of time (up to 72 hours) in the event of a system power loss. When a BBU is installed, if the battery is not "Ready," write cache is disabled and cannot be enabled. Notes: For 9500S controllers, a setting at the BIOS level in 3BM can specify that the cache should be disabled in the event the unit degrades. When that option is selected, unit write cache cannot be enabled until the unit is rebuilt and again in optimal mode. In 3DM, you can see whether Disable write cache on unit degrade is set in the Other Controller Settings section of the Controller Settings page. For more information, see "Disabling Write Cache on Unit Degrade" on page 126. For 9550SX and 9590SE controllers, the Disable write cache on unit degrade setting is part of the StorSave Profile. Write cache settings are not applicable for an unconfigured disk (JBOD). If the StorSave Profile is "protect" and a unit has degraded, write cache cannot be enabled. Do not use Windows Control Panel to enable or disable cache on 3ware RAID units. www.3ware.com 143

Section	Page
Title Page	1
Copyright, Trademarks, Disclaimer	2
Table of Contents	3
About This Guide	7
How this Guide is Organized	7
Conventions	9
Introducing the 3ware® 9000 Series Controller	11
Product Models and Features	11
What’s New with 9550SX and 9590SE Models	12
System Requirements	13
Understanding RAID Concepts and Levels	15
Available RAID Configurations	16
RAID 0	16
RAID 1	17
RAID 5	17
RAID 10	18
RAID 50	18
Single Disk	19
JBOD	19
Hot Spare	19
Determining What RAID Level to Use	19
Drive Capacity Considerations	20
Support for Over 2 Terabytes	21
3ware Tools for Configuration and Management	22
3BM (3ware BIOS Manager)	22
3DM 2 (3ware Disk Manager)	22
3ware CLI (Command Line Interface)	23
Monitoring, Maintenance, and Troubleshooting Features	23
Getting Started with Your 3ware RAID Controller	25
Physically Install the Controller and Drives	25
Configure the RAID Unit and Drives	25
Install the Driver and Make the Operating System Aware of the New Drives	26
Set Up Management and Maintenance Features	26
First-Time RAID Configuration Using 3BM	29
Basic Steps for Creating a Unit	29
Specifying a Hot Spare	37
Leaving Individual Drives as JBODs	37
Checking the Motherboard Boot Sequence	38
What Next?	38
Driver Installation	39
Driver Installation Under Windows	40
Materials Required	40
Creating a 3ware Driver Diskette	41
Installing the 3ware Driver and Windows on a New Unit	41
Installing the Driver on a System that Boots from a Different Device	42
Making Units Managed by a 3ware Controller Available to Windows	47
Driver Installation Under Linux	48
Obtaining 3ware Linux Drivers	49
Be Sure to Use the Correct Drivers	49
Determining the Current Version of your 3ware Driver	50
Driver Installation Under Red Hat Linux or Fedora Core 4	50
Materials required	50
Creating a Red Hat Linux Driver Diskette	50
Installing the 3ware Kernel Driver Module while Installing Red Hat Linux on a New Unit	51
Installing the 3ware Kernel Driver Module on a Red Hat Linux System that Boots From a Different Device	52
About Variables In the Kernel Driver Module Installation Instructions	53
Driver Installation Under SuSE Linux	55
Materials required	55
Creating a SuSE Linux Driver Diskette	55
Installing the 3ware Kernel Driver Module while Installing SuSE Linux with YaST2 on a New Unit	56
Installing the 3ware Kernel Driver Module on a SuSE Linux System that Boots from a Different Device	57
Compiling a 3ware Driver for Linux	58
Driver Installation Under FreeBSD	59
Obtaining 3ware FreeBSD Drivers	59
Materials Required	59
Installing the Driver under FreeBSD	60
Installing the Kernel Driver Module while Installing FreeBSD v5.4 on a Unit on the 3ware RAID Controller	60
Installing the 3ware Kernel Driver Module on a FreeBSD System that Boots from a Device on the Motherboard	63
Compiling and Loading the driver as a Module	64
Upgrading the Driver for 9500S Controllers	64
3ware BIOS Manager 2 (3BM 2)	65
Starting 3BM 2	65
Exiting the 3BM Configuration Utility	67
Working in the 3BM Screens	68
Adjusting BIOS Loading Settings	71
Power-On Self Test (POST) Display Options	71
BIOS Loading Options	71
Displaying Controller Information	73
Getting Help While Using 3BM	73
3ware Disk Manager (3DM 2)	75
Browser Requirements for 3DM	76
Setting up Mozilla	76
Installing 3DM	77
Installing 3DM on a Microsoft Windows system	77
Uninstalling 3DM under Microsoft Windows	80
Installing 3DM for Linux or FreeBSD	80
Uninstalling 3DM under Linux or FreeBSD	82
Starting 3DM and Logging In	83
Starting 3DM under Linux	83
Starting 3DM under Microsoft Windows	83
Viewing 3DM Remotely via a Standard Web Browser	84
Logging In	85
Working with the 3DM Screens	86
3DM Menus	87
Viewing Information About Different Controllers in 3DM	88
Refreshing the Screen	88
3DM Screens and What They're Used For	88
Setting Up 3DM Preferences	90
Setting and Changing 3DM Passwords	90
Managing E-mail Event Notification	91
Enabling and Disabling Remote Access	92
Setting the Incoming Port #	93
Setting the Frequency of Page Refreshes	93
3DM 2 Reference	94
Controller Summary Page	94
Controller Details Page	96
Unit Information Page	97
Unit Details Page	99
Drive Information Page	100
Drive Details Window	102
Extra Drive Information	102
SMART Data	103
Controller Settings Page	103
Background Task Rate	104
Unit Policies	104
Unit Names	106
Other Controller Settings	106
Scheduling Page	108
About Task Schedules	109
About Self-tests	109
Maintenance Page	110
Rescan Controller	111
Unit Maintenance	112
Available Drives (to Create Units)	116
Alarms Page	119
Battery Backup Page	120
3DM 2 Settings Page	122
E-mail Notification	123
Password	123
Page Refresh	124
Remote Access	124
HTTP Settings	124
Configuring Your Controller	125
Viewing Information About Individual Controllers	125
Viewing and Seting Controller Policies	127
Viewing Controller Policies	128
Setting the Auto-Rebuild Policy	130
Using Auto-Carving for Multi LUN Support	131
Setting the Size of Volumes Created with Auto- Carving	133
Enabling and Setting Up Staggered Spin-up	134
Exporting JBOD Disks	135
Disabling Write Cache on Unit Degrade	136
Configuring Units	137
Configuring a New Unit	138
Configuration Options When Creating a Unit	138
Drives to be included in the unit	138
Type of configuration	139
Name of the unit (optional)	139
Stripe size, if appropriate for the RAID level	139
Unit policies	139
Boot volume size	140
Creating a Unit through 3DM	140
Creating a Unit through 3BM	143
Ordering Units in 3BM	147
Partitioning and Formatting Units	147
Creating a Hot Spare	149
Specifying a Hot Spare through 3DM	150
Specifying a Hot Spare through 3BM	150
Naming a Unit	151
Setting Unit Policies	152
Enabling and Disabling the Unit Write Cache	153
Setting Auto-Verify for a Unit	155
Setting Continue on Source Error During Rebuild	156
Enabling and Disabling Queuing for a Unit	157
Setting the StorSave Profile for a Unit	159
About StorSave Profile Levels	159
Setting the StorSave Profile through 3DM	160
Setting the StorSave Profile through 3BM	161
Changing An Existing Configuration	161
RAID Level Migration (RLM) Overview	162
Changing RAID Level	163
Expanding Unit Capacity	164
Informing the Operating System of Changed Configuration	165
Deleting a Unit	167
Deleting a Unit through 3DM	167
Deleting a Unit through 3BM	169
Removing a Unit	171
Removing a Unit Through 3DM	171
Removing a Unit Through 3BM	172
Moving a Unit from One Controller to Another	173
Unlocking Drives Configured on a 9500S Controller	174
Moving Units from an 8000 Controller to a 9000 Controller	174
Moving Legacy JBOD Units to a 9000 Controller	176
Moving Units from a 9500S to a 9550SX or 9590SE Controller	176
Adding a Drive through 3DM	178
Removing a Drive	179
Rescanning the Controller	181
Maintaining Units	183
Checking Unit and Drive Status through 3DM	183
Reviewing Alarms and Errors	185
Viewing Alarms	185
Downloading an Error Log	186
Viewing SMART Data About a Drive	186
About Background Tasks	187
About Initialization	187
Foreground Versus Background Initialization	187
Initialization of Different RAID Types	188
Initialization of RAID 0 Units	188
Initialization of RAID 5 and RAID 50 Units	188
Initialization of RAID 1 and RAID 10 Units	189
Auto Initialization After Power Failure	189
About Rebuilds	190
About Verification	191
About Verifies of Non-Redundant Units	191
About Verifies of Redundant Units	191
How Errors Are Handled	192
About Migration	192
Moving a Unit to Another Controller During Migration	193
About Self-tests	193
Setting Background Task Rate	193
Scheduling Background Tasks	194
Prioritization of Background Tasks	195
Scheduled Task Duration	195
Viewing Current Task Schedules	195
Turning On or Off Use of a Task Schedule	196
Removing a Task Schedule	197
Adding a New Task Schedule Slot	198
Selecting Self-tests to be Performed	198
Rebuilding Units	199
Rebuilding a Unit Through 3DM	200
Rebuilding Units through 3BM	201
Cancelling a Rebuild and Restarting It with a Different Drive	204
Verifying Units	204
Locating a Drive by Blinking Its LED	206
Maintaining Your Controller	209
Determining the Current Version of Your 3ware Driver	209
Updating the Driver and Firmware	210
Updating the 3ware Driver and Firmware Under Windows	211
Using the Update Utility With Multiple Controllers	216
Updating the 3ware Driver Under Windows XP	217
Updating the 3ware Driver Under Red Hat	223
Updating the 3ware Driver Under SuSE	224
Updating the 3ware Driver Under FreeBSD	226
Updating the Firmware Under Linux and FreeBSD	226
Viewing Battery Information	228
Testing Battery Capacity	229
Troubleshooting	231
Before Contacting Customer Support	231
Problems and Solutions	232
Software Installation	232
Problems in 3DM	233
AEN Messages	234
AEN Error Message Summary	234
AEN Error Message Details	237
001h Controller reset occurred	237
002h Degraded unit	237
003h Controller error occurred	237
004h Rebuild failed	237
005h Rebuild completed	238
006h Incomplete unit detected	238
007h Initialize completed	238
008h Unclean shutdown detected	238
009h Drive timeout detected	239
00Ah Drive error detected	239
00Bh Rebuild started	239
00Ch Initialize started	239
00Dh Unit deleted	239
00Eh Initialize failed	240
00Fh SMART threshold exceeded	240
019h Drive removed	240
01Ah Drive inserted	240
01Eh Unit inoperable	240
01Fh Unit Operational	240
020h Prepare for shutdown (power-off)	241
021h Downgrade UDMA mode	241
022h Upgrade UDMA mode	241
023h Sector repair completed	241
024h Sbuf memory test failed	242
025h Cache flush failed; some data lost	242
026h Drive ECC error reported	242
027h DCB checksum error detected	242
028h DCB version unsupported	242
029h Verify started	243
02Ah Verify failed	243
02Bh Verify completed	243
02Ch Source drive ECC error overwritten	244
02Dh Source drive error occurred	244
02Eh Replacement drive capacity too small	244
02Fh Verify not started; unit never initialized	244
030h Drive not supported	244
032h Spare capacity too small for some units	244
033h Migration started	244
034h Migration failed	245
035h Migration completed	245
036h Verify fixed data/parity mismatch	245
037h SO-DIMM not compatible	245
038h SO-DIMM not detected	245
039h Buffer ECC error corrected	245
03Ah Drive power on reset detected	245
03Bh Rebuild paused	245
03Ch Initialize paused	246
03Dh Verify paused	246
03Eh Migration paused	246
03Fh Flash file system error detected	246
040h Flash file system repaired	246
041h Unit number assignments lost	246
042h Primary DCB read error occurred	246
043h Backup DCB read error detected	247
044h Battery voltage is normal	247
045h Battery voltage is low	247
046h Battery voltage is high	247
047h Battery voltage is too low	247
048h Battery voltage is too high	248
049h Battery temperature is normal	248
04Ah Battery temperature is low	248
04Bh Battery temperature is high	248
04Ch Battery temperature is too low	248
04Dh Battery temperature is too high	248
04Eh Battery capacity test started	249
04Fh Cache synchronization skipped	249
050h Battery capacity test completed	249
051h Battery health check started	249
052h Battery health check completed	249
053h Battery capacity test is overdue	250
055h Battery charging started	250
056h Battery charging completed	250
057h Battery charging fault	250
058h Battery capacity is below warning level	250
059h Battery capacity is below error level	250
05Ah Battery is present	250
05Bh Battery is not present	250
05Ch Battery is weak	251
05Dh Battery health check failed	251
05Eh Cache synchronization completed	251
05Fh Cache synchronization failed; some data lost	251
Glossary	253
Compliance and Conformity Statements	259
Federal Communications Commission Radio Frequency Interference Statement	259
Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Lab (WHQL)	260
European Community Conformity Statement	260
Warranty, Technical Support, and Service	261
Limited Warranty	261
Exclusions	262
State Law Provisions	262
Warranty Service and RMA Process	262
AMCC Technical Support and Services	263
Sales and ordering information	263
Feedback on this manual	263

Match case Limit results 1 per page

Setting Unit Policies

www.3ware.com

143

Enabling and Disabling the Unit Write Cache

Write cache is used to store data locally in memory on the drive before it is

written to the disk drive media, allowing the computer to continue with its

next task. Enabling write cache results in the most efficient access times for

your computer system. However, there may be instances when you always

want the computer to wait for the drive to write all the data to disk before

going on to its next task. In this case, you must disable the write cache.

Write cache can be turned on or off for individual units in both 3DM and 3BM

without changing the configuration or losing data from the drives.

For 9550SX and 9590SE controllers, when write cache is enabled, a StorSave

profile specifies the level of data protection that you want for this unit. For

more information, see “Setting the StorSave Profile for a Unit” on page 149.

If you have a BBU (Battery Backup Unit) installed on the controller, the

battery preserves the contents of the controller cache memory for a limited

period of time (up to 72 hours) in the event of a system power loss. When a

BBU is installed, if the battery is not “Ready,” write cache is disabled and

cannot be enabled.

Notes:

For 9500S controllers, a setting at the BIOS level in 3BM can

specify that the cache should be disabled in the event the unit

degrades. When that option is selected, unit write cache cannot be

enabled until the unit is rebuilt and again in optimal mode. In 3DM,

you can see whether

Disable write cache on unit degrade

is set

in the

Other Controller Settings

section of the

Controller

Settings page

. For more information, see “Disabling Write Cache

on Unit Degrade” on page 126.

For 9550SX and 9590SE controllers, the

Disable write cache on

unit degrade

setting is part of the StorSave Profile.

Write cache settings are not applicable for an unconfigured disk

(JBOD).

If the StorSave Profile is “protect” and a unit has degraded, write

cache cannot be enabled.

Do not use Windows Control Panel to enable or disable cache on

3ware RAID units.