IBM 88861TU, Planning Manual

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Important: If you are implementing two SAS connectivity modules, make sure that
you specify the same configuration (either user-defined or predefined) for both
SAS connectivity modules.
User-defined configurations
You can specify up to four unique, user-defined configurations for the integrated
shared storage installed in the BladeCenter S system.
There are two ways to specify your own integrated storage configuration:
v
Through the SAS connectivity module, using either the Web-based user interface
or the command-line interface.
v
Using Storage Configuration Manager.
After specifying a configuration, you can save it and export it for use in another
BladeCenter S system.
To plan for a user-defined storage configuration:
v
Determine which hard disk drives in storage module 1 will be mapped to each
of the blade servers in the BladeCenter S system.
v
Determine which hard disk drives in storage module 2 will be mapped to each
of the blade servers in the BladeCenter S system.
v Determine which external ports on the SAS connectivity module in I/O module
bay 3 will be accessible by each of the blade servers.
v
Determine which external ports on the SAS connectivity module in I/O module
bay 4 (if installed) will be accessible by each of the blade servers.
Planning considerations
Consider the following when planning for integrated storage:
v
Map a blade server to one or more disks in each of the storage modules. Then
you can configure the disks as a RAID array to reduce the potential for a hard
disk failure causing a blade server to lose access to the storage.
To set up and manage RAID arrays, you can choose from these options:
– LSI Configuration Utility, which is provided on the blade server itself.
– MegaRAID Storage Manager, which is provided on CD-ROM with the SAS
expansion option. MegaRAID Storage Manager is available for Windows and
Linux, and it enables you to create and manage RAID arrays.
– ServerGuide, which you can use to install the Microsoft Windows operating
system on a blade servfer.
v
Map the blade server to the same hard disks in both storage modules to reduce
management complexity. For example, if you choose to map the blade server in
blade server bay 1 to the hard disk drive in hard disk drive bay 1 of one storage
module, map the same blade server to the hard disk drive in hard disk drive
bay 1 of the second storage module.
Chapter 4. Planning for configuration
55