redundant controller connection reference for x28 … and x2… · redundant controller connection...

Redundant Controller Connection ReferenceFor X28-F16F and Falcon – Dual controller

This document is designed to help Raid Inc customers understand the differences betweenthe Raid Inc X28-F16F and Falcon – Dual controller models and also how to use them to makeconfigurations with consideration for no “single-point-of-failure”.

For other Raid Inc models with redundant controller functions, the configurations andconnections may be different. Please always refer to the manuals, or contact Raid Inc TechnicalSupport for further assistance.

The examples made in this document are correct when it was released. This document maychange without prior notice.

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Redundant Controller Connection ReferenceFor X28-F16F and FALCON - DUAL

Table of ContentsChapter 1 Understanding the differences Page 3

1.1 The internal connection diagram of X28-F16F Page 3

1.2 The internal connection diagram of Falcon-Dual Page 4

Chapter 2 Host-side connections Page 5

2.1 Without using a Fibre switch (link enabled) Page 5

Physical connection view Page 5

Example controller configuration Page 6

Normal route Page 7

Cable failure situation Page 8

Controller failure situation – before disconnecting Page 9

Controller failure situation – after disconnecting Page102

Host failure situation – with cluster server Page 11

2.2 Using fibre channel switch (link disabled) Page 12

Physical connection view Page12

Example controller configuration Page 13

Normal route Page 14

Cable failure situation – between host computers and fibre switch Page 15

Cable failure situation – between fibre switch and RAID controller Page 16

Fibre switch failure situation – using two fibre switch units Page 17

Controller failure situation Page 18

Host failure situation – with cluster server Page 19

2.3 Wrong configurations 0

Chapter 3 Drive-side expansions Page 21

Drive-side expansion – connection view Page 22

Drive-side redundant path – normal situation (load balancing) Page 23

Drive-side redundant path – fail-over path Page 24

Drive-side redundant path – fail-over controller Page 25

Page 2 of 25


Chapter 1 Understanding the differences

The Falcon-Dual System has two additional features from X28-F16F:

1. Two SFP ports per host channel on each controller (instead of one SFP port) with the built-in hubfunctions on the host channels.

2. The links between the two controllers for the host channels. (Can be enabled/disabled by user)

When connecting to a Fibre Switch, the links between two controllers must be disabled – eitherX28-F16F or Falcon-Dual can be used. When connecting directly to the host computers without a FibreSwitch, the built-in hub function on the Falcon-Dual provides additional connectivity.

1.1 The internal connection diagram for X28-F16F System

X28-F16F

CH0 CH1 EXPController-A

CH0 CH1 EXPController-B

(Rear View of X28-F16F)

CH0

FC

RCCOM

FC

CH1

EXP

Controller-A

CH0

FC

RCCOM

FC

CH1

EXP

Controller-B

( FC = Dual Channel Fibre Chip)

Disk Drives Mid-plane

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1.2 The internal connection diagram for Falcon-Dual System

Falcon-Dual

Encl. ID Misc. Setting Note:1. DIP Switch bit-4 is used to

enable or disable the linksCH0

CH0

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1 EXP

CH1

CH1 EXP

Controller-A

Controller-B

01

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

UpDwn

between the two controllers,on the Host channel 0 andchannel 1. (See diagramsbelow)

2. To enable the links, set the bit-4 of the DIP switch to “DOWN”position.

3. To disable the links, set thebit-4 of the DIP switch to “UP”position.

(Rear View of Falcon - Dual)

DIP Switch bit-4 UP (Link Disabled) DIP Switch bit-4 DOWN (Link Enabled)

RCCOM

Controller-A

FC

HUB0

HUB1

FC

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1

EXP

CH0

CH1

RCCOM

Controller-A

FC

HUB0

HUB1

FC

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1

EXP

RCCOM

Controller-B

FC

HUB0

HUB1

FC

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1

EXP

CH0

CH1

RCCOM

Controller-B

FC

HUB0

HUB1

FC

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1

EXP

( FC = Dual Channel Fibre Chip)( FC = Dual Channel Fibre Chip)

Disk Drives Mid-plane Disk Drives Mid-plane

When DIP-switch bit-4 on a Falcon-Dual system is disabled (UP position), it is similar toan X28-F16F except having additional ports on each controller.

When DIP-switch bit-4 on a Falcon-Dual system is enabled (DOWN position), theChannel 0 on the Controller-A is linked to Channel 0 on the Controller-B. Also theChannel 1 on the Controller-A is linked to Channel 1 on the Controller-B.

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Chapter 2 Host-side connections2.1 Without Using a Fibre Switch (Link Enabled)

Physical Connection View – Without Using a Fibre Switch (Links Enabled)

Host 1 Host 2

RedundantPath (HBA)

RedundantPath (HBA)

Falcon-Dual

DIP Switchbit-4 DOWN(Enabled)

C1 C2 C3 C4

CH0 CH1

CH0 CH1 EXP Controller-A

CH0 CH1

C5 C6

CH0 CH1 EXPController-B C7

C8

(Physical Connection View)

RedundantPath (HBA)

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 3 Host 4

This physical connection view indicates the actual cable connections should be done.With the links enabled (DIP-switch bit-4 in DOWN position) and without using a Fibreswitch, up to 4 host computers can be connecting to a Falcon-Dual system.

Although the example diagram above shows 4 host computers, it is possible to useonly 1, 2 or 3 host computers in the above configuration – simply consider them as the Host1, 2 and 3 computers in the diagram.

The above example diagram shows an example of full redundancy. There are twoHBA (Host Bus Adapters) in each host computer, with a 3rd party “redundant path” softwarein the host computer. In case of one HBA fails or one cable fails, the “redundant path”software will “fail-over” the read/write requests to the other HBA/cable. As soon as the faultyHBA or cable has resumed, it will “fail-back” the read/write requests to the originalHBA/cable.

Please note the “Redundant Path” and “Cluster Server” software are not included inRaid Inc products, for the actual functions and features of those software, please refer to theinformation of that software vendor.

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Example Controller Configuration:1. Create host channel IDs for both Primary Controller and Secondary Controller, in

“View and Edit Channels”:

Channel Mode PID SID

0 Host 112 113

1 Host 114 115

2. Create Logical Drives for both Primary Controller and Secondary Controller, in“View and Edit Logical Drives”:Logical Drive 1 assigned to Primary Controller, for access by Host 1 [LD1]Logical Drive 2 assigned to Secondary Controller, for access by Host 2 [LD2]Logical Drive 3 assigned to Secondary Controller, for access by Host 3 [LD3]Logical Drive 4 assigned to Primary Controller, for access by Host 4 [LD4]

3. Create Host LUN Mappings, to let the host computers to see the correspondingLogical Drives, in “View and Edit Host LUNs”:Logical Drive 1 maps to Host Channel 0, ID 112, LUN0 (for access by Host 1) [V1]Logical Drive 2 maps to Host Channel 1, ID 115, LUN0 (for access by Host 2) [V2]Logical Drive 3 maps to Host Channel 0, ID 113, LUN0 (for access by Host 3) [V3]Logical Drive 4 maps to Host Channel 1, ID 114, LUN0 (for access by Host 4) [V4]* Use “LUN Filtering” function to avoid the host computers seeing/accessing theLogical Drives belong to other host computers.

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Normal Route

Falcon-Dual

V1

DIP Switch bit-4 DOWN (Link Enabled)

LD1 (Primary)for Host 1

Host 1

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 2

RedundantPath (HBA)

R0

V4

CH0

CH1

HUB0

HUB1


CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1

C1 C2 C3 C4

(Logical View)Controller-A P

R1

CH0

CH1

HUB0

HUB1

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1

Controller-B S C1…C8 Physical Cable links

C5 C6 C7 C8

V3

V2

LD3 (Secondary)for Host 3


V1…V4 Virtual Link whichindicates Host LUN mappings

R0…R1 Links between twocontrollers

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 3

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 4

Normal Route:Refer to the above diagram, in the normal situation (when no RAID controller or cable

failures…etc), the Controller-A is the Primary Controller and the Controller-B is theSecondary Controller:

1. The Host 1 accesses the data on Logical Drive 1.The Host 2 accesses the data on Logical Drive 2.The Host 3 accesses the data on Logical Drive 3.The Host 4 accesses the data on Logical Drive 4.

2. Main access route:Host 1 Ö HBA1 Ö C1 Ö CH0 of Controller-A Ö HUB0 in Controller-A Ö V1 Ö LD 1.

Host 2 Ö HBA3 Ö C3 Ö CH1 of Controller-A Ö HUB1 in Controller-A Ö R1 Ö HUB1 inController-B Ö V2 Ö LD 2.

Host 3 Ö HBA5 Ö C5 Ö CH0 of Controller-A Ö HUB0 in Controller-A Ö R0 Ö HUB0 inController-B Ö V3 Ö LD 3.

Host 4 Ö HBA7 Ö C7 Ö CH1 of Controller-A Ö HUB1 in Controller-A Ö V4 Ö LD 4.

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Cable Failure Situation

Falcon-Dual

V1

DIP Switch bit-4 DOWN (Link Enabled)


Host 1

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 2

RedundantPath (HBA)

R0

V4

CH0

CH1

HUB0

HUB1


CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1

C1 ! ! C4

(Logical View)Controller-A P

R1

CH0

CH1

HUB0

HUB1

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1

Controller-B S C1…C8 Physical Cable links

C6 C7

! !

V3

V2




R0…R1 Links between twocontrollers

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 3

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 4

Cable Failure Situation:As in each host computer has 3rd party “Redundant Path” software to fail-over / fail-

back between the two HBAs, each host computer is able to survive in the situation of one ofthe HBA failed, or one cable to the HBA failed. Some 3rd party “Redundant Path” softwarealso provide the “load balancing function, to utilize both HBAs and routes when accessingthe data.

In the above example diagram, it shows each host computer has either one HBAfailed (HBA2, HBA3, HBA5 and HBA8) or one cable failed (C2, C3, C5 and C8).

Access route:Host 1 Ö HBA1 Ö C1 Ö CH0 of Controller-A Ö HUB0 in Controller-A Ö V1 Ö LD 1.

Host 2 Ö HBA4 Ö C4 Ö CH1 of Controller-B Ö HUB1 in Controller-B Ö V2 Ö LD 2.


Host 4 Ö HBA7 Ö C7 Ö CH1 of Controller-A Ö HUB1 in Controller-A Ö V4 Ö LD 4.

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Controller Failure Situation – Before Disconnecting Cables and Failed Controller

Falcon-Dual DIP Switch bit-4 DOWN (Link Enabled) Host 1

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 2

RedundantPath (HBA)

R0

CH0

CH1

!

HUB0

HUB1

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1

C1 C2 C3 C4

(Logical View)Controller-A

R1

V3

CH0

CH1

HUB0

HUB1

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1

Controller-B P V1

LD1 (Primary)

C5 C6 C7 C8

V2



V4

for Host 1


RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 3

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 4

Controller Failure Situation: (Before Disconnecting Cables and Failed Controller)In the unlikely event of a controller failure, the other controller will “take-over” and

become “Primary Controller” and start to serve all the host requests. All the Logical Driveswill be now served by the surviving controller, until the failed controller has been replaced.

After controller failed-over, before the failed controller being removed, the failedcontroller is still in the configuration. The built-in hub in channel 0 and channel 1, also theR0, R1 links between the two controllers will help to route the data request, without any userintervention. The built-in hub in the controller does not require RAID controller’s commandto work. Even when the RAID controller failed, the built-in hubs should not be affected.

If the controller failure is related to the built-in hubs and have caused the built-in hubto stop functioning, it will be in the similar situation as the RAID controller being removed.Please see next section for details.

Access route:Host 1 Ö HBA1 Ö C1 Ö CH0 of Controller-A Ö HUB0 in Controller-A Ö R0 Ö HUB0 of Controller-BÖ V1 Ö LD 1.

Host 2 Ö HBA3 Ö C3 Ö CH1 of Controller-A Ö HUB1 in Controller-A Ö R1 Ö HUB1 in Controller-BÖ V2 Ö LD 2.



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Controller Failure Situation – After Disconnecting Cables and Failed Controller


RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 2

RedundantPath (HBA)

R0 ! Contro ller-A

! !C2 C4

R1

V3

CH0

CH1

HUB0

HUB1

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1

Controller-B P V1

LD1 (Primary)

C6 C8

! !

V2



V4

for Host 1


RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 3

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 4

Controller Failure Situation: (After Disconnecting Cables and Failed Controller)Continue from the previous section, if the failed controller has been removed, or the

built-in hubs also ceased together with the failed controller – it will rely on the “RedundantPath” software in the host computer to fail-over to the other HBA, in order to access the data.

Access route:Host 1 Ö HBA2 Ö C2 Ö CH0 of Controller-B Ö HUB0 in Controller-B Ö V1 Ö LD 1.




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Host Failure Situation – With Cluster Servers Cluster ServerGroup 1

Cluster ServerGroup 2


!

Host 2

RedundantPath (HBA)

R0 ! Contro ller-A

!C4

R1

V3

CH0

CH1

HUB0

HUB1

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1

Controller-B P V1

LD1 (Primary)

!C6

V2



V4

for Host 1


RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 3

!Host 4

Host Failure Situation: (With Cluster Servers)In order to fail-over between two host computers, a 3rd party Cluster Server software

is required.

In the example diagram above, the Host 1, Host 3 are in a Cluster Server group, andthe Host 2, Host 4 are in another Cluster Server group. When the Host 1 fails, the serviceprovided by Host 1 will be taking over by Host 3, which means that Host 3 will have toaccess the data of both Host 1 and Host 3.

Access route:Cluster Server Group 1 Ö Host 3 Ö HBA6 Ö C6 Ö CH0 of Controller-B Ö HUB0 in Controller-B Ö V3Ö LD 3 and V1 Ö LD 1.

Cluster Server Group 2 Ö Host 2 Ö HBA4 Ö C4 Ö CH1 of Controller-B Ö HUB1 in Controller-B Ö V2Ö LD 2 and V4 Ö LD 4.

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2.2 Using a Fibre Switch (Link Disabled)

Physical Connection View – Using Fibre Switch

DIP Switch bit-4 UP (Link Disabled)Host 1

Redundant

Host 2

RedundantX28-F16F or Falcon-Dual

Fibre Switch (SW1)

Path (HBA) Path (HBA)

C1 C2 C3 C4

CH0 CH1

CH0 CH1 EXP Contro ller-A

CH0 CH1

CH0 CH1 EXPContro ller-B

Fibre Switch (SW2)C5 C6 C7 C8

(Physical Connection View)

RedundantPath (HBA)

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 3 Host 4

On Falcon-Dual systems, when it is required to use with a Fibre switch, the linksbetween two controllers must be disabled (DIP-switch bit-4 set to UP position). The X28-F16F does not have host channel links between two controllers, which functions identicallyto a Falcon-Dual system with links disabled, in the above diagram.

In a fully redundancy configuration, all components should not have single-point-of-failure, including the Fibre switch (two Fibre Switch units should be used). However, thereare situations that have to compromise with the initial cost of the configuration, so in theabove diagram, one Fibre switch configured into two separate zones can also be used.

Although the example diagram above shows using 4 host computers, it is possible tohave more host computers, or less host computers, depending on the available ports on theFibre Switch.

The above example diagram shows an example of full redundancy. There are twoHBA (Host Bus Adapters) in each host computer, with a 3rd party “redundant path” softwarein the host computer. In case of one HBA fails or one cable fails, the “redundant path”software will “fail-over” the read/write requests to the other HBA/cable. As soon as the faultyHBA or cable has resumed, it will “fail-back” the read/write requests to the originalHBA/cable.

Please note the “Redundant Path” and “Cluster Server” software are not included inRaid Inc products, for the actual functions and features of those software, please refer to theinformation of that software vendor.

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Example Controller Configuration:1. Create host channel IDs for both Primary Controller and Secondary Controller, in

“View and Edit Channels”:

Channel Mode PID SID

0 Host 112, 113 114, 115

1 Host 112,113 114, 115

2. Create Logical Drives for both Primary Controller and Secondary Controller, in“View and Edit Logical Drives”:Logical Drive 1 assigned to Primary Controller, for access by Host 1 [LD1]Logical Drive 2 assigned to Secondary Controller, for access by Host 2 [LD2]Logical Drive 3 assigned to Secondary Controller, for access by Host 3 [LD3]Logical Drive 4 assigned to Primary Controller, for access by Host 4 [LD4]

3. Create Host LUN Mappings, to let the host computers to see the correspondingLogical Drives, in “View and Edit Host LUNs”:Logical Drive 1 maps to Host Channel 0, ID 112, LUN0 (for access by Host 1) [V2]Logical Drive 1 maps to Host Channel 1, ID 112, LUN0 (for redundant route by Host 1) [V1]

Logical Drive 2 maps to Host Channel 1, ID 114, LUN0 (for access by Host 2) [V8]Logical Drive 2 maps to Host Channel 0, ID 114, LUN0 (for redundant route by Host 2) [V7]



* Use “LUN Filtering” function to avoid the host computers seeing/accessing theLogical Drives belong to other host computers.

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Normal Route


Redundant

Host 2

RedundantX28-F16FV1

or Falcon-Dual

LD1 (Primary)Path (HBA) Path (HBA)

V3

V2

V4

LD1

LD4

for Host 1


CH0

Two Fibre SwitchesOr

One Fibre Switch inTwo Separate Zones

C9

C1 C2 C3 C4

(Logical View)

V5

CH1

Controller-A

CH0

CH1

Controller-B

P

S

C10

C11

C12

SW 1

SW 2

C5 C6 C7 C8

V6

V8

V7

LD3

LD2



C1…C8 Physical Cable links


RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 3

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 4

Normal Route:Refer to the above diagram, in the normal situation (when no RAID controller or cable

failures…etc), the Controller-A is the Primary Controller and the Controller-B is theSecondary Controller:

1. The Host 1 accesses the data on Logical Drive 1.The Host 2 accesses the data on Logical Drive 2.The Host 3 accesses the data on Logical Drive 3.The Host 4 accesses the data on Logical Drive 4.

2. Main access route:Host 1 Ö HBA1 Ö C1 Ö SW1 Ö C9 Ö CH0 of Controller-A Ö V2 Ö LD 1.

Host 2 Ö HBA4 Ö C4 Ö SW2 Ö C12 Ö CH1 of Controller-B Ö V7 Ö LD 2.


Host 4 Ö HBA8 Ö C8 Ö SW2 Ö C11 Ö CH1 of Controller-A Ö V3 Ö LD 4.

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Cable Failure Situation – Between Host Computers and Fibre Switch


Redundant

Host 2

RedundantX28-F16FV1

or Falcon-Dual


V3

V2

V4

LD1

LD4

for Host 1


CH0



C9

! C2 C3 !

(Logical View)

V5

CH1

Controller-A

CH0

CH1

Controller-B

P

S

C10

C11

C12

SW 1

SW 2

!C6 C7

!

V6

V8

V7

LD3

LD2



RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 3

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 4

Cable Failure Situation: (Between the Host Computers and Fibre Switch)As in each host computer has 3rd party “Redundant Path” software to fail-over / fail-


In the above example diagram, it shows each host computer has either one HBAfailed (HBA1, HBA4, HBA5 and HBA8) or one cable failed (C1, C4, C5 and C8).Access route:Host 1 Ö HBA2 Ö C2 Ö SW2 Ö C11 Ö CH1 of Controller-A Ö V1 Ö LD 1.




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Cable Failure Situation – Between Fibre Switch to RAID Controller


Redundant

Host 2

RedundantX28-F16FV1

or Falcon-Dual


V3

V2

V4

LD1

LD4

for Host 1


CH0

CH1

!



C9

SW 1C10

C1 C2 C3 C4

!

(Logical View)

V5

Controller-A

CH0

CH1

Controller-B

P

S

! C11

C12SW 2

!!

!C5 C6 C7 C8

V6

V8

V7

LD3

LD2



RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 3

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 4

Cable Failure Situation: (Between the Fibre Switch and RAID Controller)As in each host computer has 3rd party “Redundant Path” software to fail-over / fail-


In the above example diagram, it shows the cable C10 and C11 have failed. Becauseof C10 and C11, the C2, C3, C5 and C7 can no longer access the data. The redundant pathsoftware will fail-over if necessary, to access the data.

Access route:Host 1 Ö HBA1 Ö C1 Ö SW1 Ö C9 Ö CH0 of Controller-A Ö V2 Ö LD 1.




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Fibre Switch Failure Situation – Using Two Fibre Switch Units


Redundant

Host 2

RedundantX28-F16FV1

or Falcon-Dual


V3

V2

V4

LD1

LD4

for Host 1


CH0

CH1

! C9

C10 !SW 1

!

!!

C1 C2 C3 C4

(Logical View)Controller-A

CH0

CH1

P

! C11

C12SW 2

!

C5 C6 C7 C8

V5

Controller-B STwo Fibre Switch Units

V6

V8

V7

LD3

LD2



RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 3

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 4

Fibre Switch Failure Situation:It is a must to have more than 1 Fibre Switch in order to prevent the single-point-of-

failure on Fibre Switch. In the above example, there are two Fibre Switch units in theconfiguration.

In the above example diagram, it shows Fibre Switch SW1 has failed. Because ofSW1 failed, the C1, C3, C5, C7, C9 and C11 are no longer accessible. The redundant pathsoftware in the host computer will fail-over to redundant path when necessary.

Access route:Host 1 Ö HBA2 Ö C2 Ö SW2 Ö C11 Ö CH1 of Controller-A Ö V1 Ö LD 1.




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Controller Failure Situation


Redundant

Host 2

RedundantX28-F16F or Falcon-DualPath (HBA) Path (HBA)



C1 C2 C3 C4

!

(Logical View)

V5

Controller-A

CH0

CH1

Controller-B P

C9

C10

C11

C12

V1

SW 1

SW 2

LD1 (Primary)

C5 C6 C7 C8

V6

V8

V7

LD3

LD2



V2

V3

V4

LD1

LD4

for Host 1


RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 3

RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 4

Controller Failure Situation:In the less likely event of a controller failure, the surviving controller takes over

immediately and starts to serve all the host requests. The surviving controller can access allLogical Drives.

In the above example diagram, it shows the Controller-A has failed. Because ofController-A fails, the C9 and C10 are no longer accessible. The surviving controller willimmediately starts to respond the host requests, and the redundant path software in the hostcomputer will fail-over to redundant path when necessary.

Access route:Host 1 Ö HBA1 Ö C1 Ö SW1 Ö C10 Ö CH0 of Controller-B Ö V2 Ö LD 1.




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Host Failure Situation – With Cluster ServerCluster Server

Group 1

Host 1

Cluster ServerGroup 2

Host 2X28-F16F

V1

or Falcon-Dual

LD1 (Primary)

DIP Switch bit-4 UP (Link Disabled)

!RedundantPath (HBA)

V3

V2

V4

LD1

LD4

for Host 1


CH0



C9

C1 C2 ! C4

(Logical View)

V5

CH1

Controller-A

CH0

CH1

Controller-B

P

S

C10

C11

C12

SW 1

SW 2

!C6 C7 C8

V6

V8

V7

LD3

LD2



RedundantPath (HBA)

Host 3

!Host 4

Host Failure Situation: (With Cluster Servers)In order to fail-over between two host computers, a 3rd party Cluster Server software

is required.

In the example diagram above, the Host 1, Host 3 are in a Cluster Server group, andthe Host 2, Host 4 are in another Cluster Server group. When the Host 1 fails, the serviceprovided by Host 1 will be taking over by Host 3, which means that Host 3 will have toaccess the data of both Host 1 and Host 3.

Access route:Cluster Server Group 1 Ö Host 3 Ö HBA6 Ö C6 Ö SW2 Ö C12 Ö CH1 of Controller-B Ö V5 Ö LD 3.Cluster Server Group 1 Ö Host 3 Ö HBA6 Ö C6 Ö SW2 Ö C11 Ö CH1 of Controller-A Ö V1 Ö LD 1.

Cluster Server Group 2 Ö Host 2 Ö HBA4 Ö C4 Ö SW2 Ö C12 Ö CH1 of Controller-B Ö V8 Ö LD 2.Cluster Server Group 2 Ö Host 2 Ö HBA4 Ö C4 Ö SW2 Ö C11 Ö CH1 of Controller-A Ö V3 Ö LD 4.

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2.3 Wrong Configurations

WRONG CONFIGURATIONS !!

Falcon-Dual DIP Switch bit-4 DOWN (Link Enabled)

R0

CH0

CH1

HUB0

HUB1

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1 !SW 1

(Logical View) Controller-A

R1

CH0

CH1

HUB0

HUB1

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1WRONG CONFIGURATION !!

Controller-B

Falcon-Dual DIP Switch bit-4 DOWN (Link Enabled)

R0

CH0

CH1

HUB0

HUB1

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1

SW 1


CH0

!

R1

CH0

CH1

HUB0

HUB1

CH0

CH1

CH1

WRONG CONFIGURATION !!

Controller-B

Falcon-Dual DIP Switch bit-4 UP (Link Disabled)

HUB0

HUB1

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1

SW 1


CH0!

HUB0

HUB1

CH0

CH1

CH1

WRONG CONFIGURATION !!

Controller-B

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Chapter 3 Drive-side expansions

The X28-F16F and Falcon-Dual are identical on the drive side. There are 16 SATA drive slots in theX28-F16F / Falcon-Dual RAID subsystems, which are able to connect up to 16 SATA drives in the RAIDsubsystem itself. Additionally, there is one Fibre channel on each RAID controller is designed for drive sideexpansion. The drive expansion ports enable the connection to additional drives from additional Fibre-SATAJBODs or Fibre JBODs. The drive expansion channel is designed to avoid single-point-of-failure, with theredundant path function.

There is no restriction for mixing SATA and Fibre drives. User can create a Logical Drive (any RAIDlevel) with SATA and fibre drives mixed. However, due to Fibre and SATA drives are usually having differentcapacity, and different level of availability, it is not recommended to do so.

If it is not required to add additional storage, please take this chapter as a reference in the future. TheX28-F16F and Falcon-Dual subsystem itself has 16 SATA drive trays, which are all accessible by eitherController-A or Controller-B depending on the Logical Drive assignment. When there is a controller failure, thesurviving controller will take over and become Primary Controller, and handle all host IO requests and access alldrives.

The following example connection diagrams are using Falcon-Dual systems. As X28-F16F isidentical to. Falcon-Dual system on the drive side expansion ports, please use the same examplewhen using X28-F16F.

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Drive-side Expansion – Connection View

Falcon-Dual

CH0 CH1

CH0 CH1 EXPController-A

CH0 CH1

CH0 CH1 EXPController-B

Up to 7 units of Fibre-SATA JBOD (orFibre JBOD) subsystems can beconnected.

Example of usingFalcon Fibre-SATA JBODSubsystems

There is a DIP-switch on Falcon JBOD subsystem for configuring “Enclosure ID”.Each unit should be configured a different enclosure ID to avoid any conflict.

The Falcon JBOD supports host-side “S.E.S.”, which allows the connecting RAIDcontrollers to detect the environmental parameters in the Falcon JBOD. (e.g. Power Supplystatus, Fan status…etc)

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Drive-Side Redundant Path – Normal Situation (Load Balancing)

Falcon-Dual The drive-side IOs are split into twoseparate paths. The maximum

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1 EXPController-A

bandwidth are the total of two 2G FCchannels.

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1 EXPController-B

Route to access LogicalDrives served byController-A

Route to access LogicalDrives served byController-B

Logical DrivesServed by Controller-B

Logical DrivesServed by Controller-A

Example of using FalconFibre-SATA JBOD Subsystems

The Logical Drives (and Logical Volumes) can be assigned to be served by PrimaryController, or Secondary Controller (they can be either Controller-A or Controller-B). If theLogical Drives are assigned to be served by Controller-A, the Controller-A accesses thesedrives via its Expansion port. If the Logical Drives are assigned to be served by Controller-B,the Controller-B accesses these disks via its Expansion port.

As the Expansion port from Controller-A and Controller-B are not linked internally,the maximum bandwidth for the drive-side is the maximum bandwidth of two 2G FCchannels, rather than one 2G FC channels.

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Drive-Side Redundant Path – Fail-over Path

Falcon-Dual In the example: situation ofcable from Controller-B tothe JBOD has failed:

CH0

CH0

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1 EXP

CH1

CH1 EXP

Controller-A

Controller-B !

The route to access LogicalDrives served by Controller-Ais used as usual.The route to access Logical Drivesserved by Controller-B, is re-routed internally to Controller-A.Controller-B is still able to accessthe Logical Drives served byController-B.

Logical DrivesServed by Controller-B



When there is a cable failure (either from the Controller-A or Controller-B), the RAIDcontroller will re-route the data from the other controller. All drives are still accessible toboth RAID controllers.

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Drive-Side Redundant Path – Fail-over Controller

Falcon-DualIn the example situation ofController-B has failed:

CH0

CH0

CH0

CH0

CH1

CH1 EXP

CH1

!

Controller-A

Controller-B

The route to access LogicalDrives served by Controller-Ais used as usual.

As soon as Controller-B fails,the Controller-A will take overand starts to serve all IOs.

Logical DrivesServed by Controller-BNow by Controller-A



If there is a controller failure, the surviving controller will take over and becomePrimary Controller. The surviving controller will server all host IO requests, and access allthe drives. As soon as the failed controller has been replaced, it will fail-back to the newreplacement controller, and back to the “normal” access situation.

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redundant controller connection reference for x28 … and x2… · redundant controller connection...

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