[clug-talk] Poweredge Disk Problem

[gustin at echostar.ca]

On Sun, 30 May 2010, Craig McLean wrote:

> Date: Sun, 30 May 2010 19:21:34 -0600
> From: Craig McLean <craigmclean at shaw.ca>
> Reply-To: CLUG General <clug-talk at clug.ca>
> To: 'CLUG General' <clug-talk at clug.ca>
> Subject: [clug-talk] Poweredge Disk Problem
> 
> Hello.
>
>
>
> I'm trying to setup OpenNAS on a Dell Poweredge 1800 server with 3 300GB
> SCSI Hot Swappable disks.  I'm experiencing some unusual behaviour.  When I
> turn the server on the disks periodically decide not to spin up.  On this
> server it is normal for the disks to start up a few moments after power is
> applied, however for some reason that doesn't happen.  When this happens the
> POST process gets stuck at initializing the Dell PERC 4 RAID card.
>

>
> Obviously this isn't an OpenNAS problem, however I am hoping somebody 
> who knows more about Dell server hardware will have some hints on what 
> is going on here.
>
My first two instincts would be to check the RAID card and the power 
supply.  Most decent RAID cards have the ability to stagger the start up 
of the drives so that they all do not spin up at the same time placing 
undue stress on the PS.  Check in the BIOS of the RAID card for such a 
setting, if it is not set, try staggering the start-up of the various 
drives.

Can you test this system with a different (it could be same make/model or 
different) RAID card just to see if the disks power up reliably?  You may 
also wish to try moving the RAID card to another PCI/PCI-X/PCIe slot if 
possible.

Having said that, 3 drives is not something that usually stresses a power 
supply unless the power supply itself is failing. Try replacing the power 
supply if possible.

Your priorities will dictate the order in which you proceed.  If data 
integrity is most important, then start with the power supply.  If time 
and convenience are more important than I would look at the RAID card 
first.

Hth,
__
Gustin