Pillar Axiom 600 Storage System
 

PLA-Support>Sun Systems>DISK>Axiom>SN-DK: Ax600
 

Applies to:

Goal

 This document explains brick addition to users who may want to add brick themselves to a running Axiom with AxiomOne Code release 5.x.

 Please contact Oracle Customer Support Services if Axiom is running with AxiomOne Code release 4.x.

The Add Brick procedure for both R4 and R5 can be found at the EIS Installation Checklist for the Axiom Brick Addition. Please go to:  http://eis.us.oracle.com/checklists/pdf/AXIOM-Brick-Addition.pdf for detailed information on the Brick Addition.

Solution

About Brick addition:

Brick addition is a time and material service provided by Oracle ACS (Advanced Customer Services). Oracle Support Services do not have any option to give time and material service to customers even they have support contract. If you want to add new Brick(s) to Axiom without having any service from Oracle ACS please be prepared to get denial of the service other than technical problems faced during addition.

Each Brick has firmware installed on  RCs (Raid Controllers). This firmware version may be lower or higher than the version currently installed on your Axiom. If it is lower then the Axiom will try to upgrade it to its version. This will take some time and you will see Brick RC reboots until upgrade completes. If Brick firmware is newer than the Axiom may fail to downgrade in some cases and the Brick will be Excluded. To avoid this issue it is highly recommended to upgrade it to latest GA release prior the Brick addition.  See <Document 1558848.1> to find the latest GA releases.

During Brick addition Axiom will be re-cabled. Extreme caution must be taken in order to avoid an outage if there is any error made during re-cabling of the Axiom.

If you encounter any problems during the addition of the new Bricks, please contact Oracle Customer Support Services for assistance.

Preparations:

Brick addition will result in a reconfiguration on existing back-end connections of the Axiom. Please prepare clear topology/cabling map for existing configuration. See the Axiom SSF Cabling Reference document for more details:

HTML Version
PDF Version

You can use Topology tool developed by Oracle Support Services: Pillar Axiom: How to generate Axiom topology <Document 1609365.1>

The tool cannot guarantee the brick order if you have SATA legacy brick(s) on the same string as other brick type(s) due to a different signal routing model. Thus it is necessary to create a wiring diagram via physically checking the connections onsite if the tool reports the following warning: mix of SATA legacy bricks and other brick types on that string.

You should prepare worksheets and a wiring diagram for final status with the brick order in the rack.

It is highly recommended NOT to mix brick types on same loop. If you are adding FC brick use current available FC brick loop on the system. Same for SSD and SATA. Please check above Axiom SSF Cabling Reference document for rules and restrictions.

The new Bricks should be cabled to the existing configuration and powered on one Brick at a time, allowing each Brick to be fully accepted into the system and allowing the Topology Configuration to fully stabilize. This helps with fault isolation in the event of any problems with the addition.

To prevent false alarms and spurious Service Request creation, temporarily disable Call Home and Email Alert. See KM Doc Pillar Axiom: How to Disable Call Home to Prevent Automatic Service Request ASR Generation <Document 1535352.1>

• The System status must be Green and Normal for all components.
• There must be no Administrator Actions
• There must be no Background Tasks running. In particular, there must not be a Topology task of any type running.
• Do not continue if there is an Admin Action for a Topology Task of any type. When adding multiple Bricks, be sure to wait at least 10 minutes after each Brick to make sure that no Topology configuration tasks start before continuing to add additional Bricks. View the Event Logs to make sure that there are no recent history of periodic Topology Error.
• All LUNs and File Systems must be Online and Normal.- Do not continue if there are any Amber LEDs on any Slammer FC or FS port or any Brick FC.

Brick Addition:

1. Check the ES (Enclosure Services) Module in the read/center of each Brick. The small thumb wheel switch on this module must be set to:
   
   "0" for all SATA Bricks, FC and SSD RAID Bricks
   "1" for FC Expansion Bricks
   
   
2. Attach the Brick RAID Controller cross cables from each FC0 to FC3 on both side. Do not rest any other cables on the FC0 to FC3 crossover cables. You will use two cables for each brick
   
   RC0:FC0 -> RC1:FC3
   RC0:FC3 -> RC1:FC0
   
   
3. Attach the FC2 cables from the new Brick to the proper Slammer port or the FC1 port of the upstream Brick.
   
   
4. Power ON the new Brick and watch the FC LEDs on the rear of the Brick as it boots.
   
   The FC port LEDs on both RAID Controllers should progress at the same rate as the Brick powers on.
   The FC port LEDs with cables inserted should go solid green. These may flicker with data traffic, but should not be blinking at a 1 second rate.
   The FS port on the Slammer should be green. Watch very carefully for any port going amber
   
   
5. Check the GUI to make sure the new Brick goes online and Green.
   
   
6. Check for any Administrator Actions.
   
   If there is an Admin Action to accept the Brick, be sure to accept the Brick.
   
   If there is a Topology Validation error, check the details and then carefully check those physical connections and ports. Record the exact text of the Topology Administrator Action. Do not proceed with adding any more Bricks until this is resolved.
   
   
7. Check the Brick Firmware versions in the Support > Software Modules screen.
   
   There must be only one Brick firmware version displayed for SATA and / or FC Brick firmware. If there are more than one "Brick Firmware" or "Brick FC Firmware" versions, do not continue without assistance.
   
   Multiple Brick Disk Drive Firmware levels are acceptable.
   
   
8. Check the total system capacity to make sure it has been increased by the amount of storage on the added Brick. Do not continue without assistance if the capacity does not change.
   
   
9. Wait to make sure there are no Topology configuration tasks, Administrator Actions, or Amber FS ports on the Slammer.
   
   Wait at least 15 minutes after any Brick addition to make sure there are no Topology configuration tasks, Administrator Actions, or Amber FS ports on the Slammer.
   
   
10. Repeat these steps for EACH New Brick. Do not continue with any additional bricks without assistance if any of the checks fail.

Post Diagnosis:

Please execute PITMAN test after completing the addition of the new bricks.
Refer to Pillar Axiom: How to Run Pitman on AxiomOne R5.X Systems <Document 1473515.1>

When you complete PITMAN test execution for 30 minutes immediately start a manual log collection from all components in the Axiom. Please collect both test results and logs and provide Technical Solution Center within an SR to check back-end connectivity status of the Axiom.

References

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