Silicon Graphics Total Performance 9300, User Manual

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Monitoring Status with Software
007-4644-001 33
Monitoring Status with Software
Use storage management software (TPSSM) to monitor enclosure status. You should run
the software constantly and check it frequently.
TPSSM provides the best method to diagnose and repair failures. This software helps you
do the following:
• Determine the nature of the failure.
• Locate the failed component.
• Provide recovery procedures to repair the failure.
Although the enclosure has fault indicators, these lights do not necessarily indicate
which component has failed or needs to be replaced, or which type of recovery procedure
you must perform. In some cases (such as loss of redundancy in various components),
the fault light does not even come on. Only TPSSM can detect the failure.
For example, the recovery procedure for an impending drive failure (a predictive failure
analysis, or PFA, flag on a drive) varies depending on the drive status (hot spare,
unassigned, RAID level, current volume status, and so on). Depending on the
circumstances, a PFA flag on a drive can indicate a high risk of data loss (if the drive is in
a RAID 0 volume) or a minimal risk (if the drive is unassigned). Only TPSSM can identify
the risk level and provide the necessary recovery procedures. Note also that in the case
of PFA flags, the global fault and drive fault indicators do
not come on, so just checking
the indicators will not notify you of the failure, even if the risk of data loss is high.
In addition, recovering from a failure may require you to perform procedures other than
replacing the component (such as backing up the volume or failing a drive before
removing it). TPSSM provides these procedures.
Caution: If the software recovery procedures are not followed, data loss can result.
Note: For more information on the storage management software (TPSSM), see the SGI
TP9400 and SGI TP9500 RAID Administration Guide (007-4306-00 x ), the SGI TP9400 and
SGI TP9500 Software Concepts Guide (007-4305-00 x ), and the SGI Storage Area Network
Installation Instructions (108-0252-00 x ).
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