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SMCC NFS Server Performance and Tuning Guide
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CHAPTER 2

Hardware Overview

This chapter describes an overview of these NFS servers and expansion units:
  • Ultra Enterprise 1 system
  • Ultra Enterprise 2 system
  • SPARCserver 20 system
  • Ultra Enterprise 150 system
  • Ultra Enterprise 450 system
  • Ultra Enterprise 3000, 4000, 5000, and 6000 systems
  • SPARCserver 1000 or SPARCserver 1000E system
  • SPARCcenter 2000 or SPARCserver 2000E system
  • Netra NFS Server system
  • SPARCstorage Array subsystem
  • Sun RSM Array 2000 subsystem
  • Sun Enterprise Network Array
  • SPARCstorage MultiPack enclosure
  • SPARCstorage UniPack enclosure

NFS File Servers

This section provides a hardware overview of Sun NFS servers. TABLE 2-1 illustrates the conditions under which a particular NFS file server will meet your needs. This table is arranged by first presenting the Netra NFS Server, a dedicated NFS server. Next, the table presents high capacity enterprise servers followed by workgroup
servers. Workgroup servers are dedicated to a group, department, or small organization that shares common resources or tasks. Workgroup servers usually provide a specific function such as an NFS file server.
TABLE 2-1
ServerMaximum SpecificationsPositioningKey Advantages
Netra NFS Server--100 NFS clients --24 Gbytes of internal disk storage (48 Gbytes with 4 Gbyte disk drives) --2 subnets with Fast Ethernet (100 BaseT), Token Ring, FDDI --9 subnets with 10BaseT EthernetDedicated NFS server supporting both workgroup and department needsIndustry leading NFS price/ performance with RAID 5; Fast response times; easy to administer with HTML user interface; highly reliable with internal UPS and RAID 5; includes PC-NFS server software; exclusively supports NFS applications. RAID 5 and single file system is preconfigured
Ultra Enterprise 6000--At least 600 NFS clients,
--189 Gbytes of disk
storage (system enclosure
only)
--More than 20 subnets
per system
--Ethernet, optional
FDDI, SunATM, and
Token Ring		Most scalable and
expandable Sun server		Handles a minimum of
14,000 ops/second, which is
equivalent to 140,000 PC
clients; handles arbitrary
NFS client loads
Ultra Enterprise 5000--At least 400 NFS clients, --233 Gbytes of disk storage (system enclosure only)

--More than 20 subnets per system --Ethernet, optional FDDI, SunATM, and Token Ring

Data center server systemDelivers high performance and high availability for enterprise wide applications supporting thousands of users; able to handle arbitrary NFS client loads
Ultra Enterprise 4000--At least 400 NFS clients, 168 Gbytes of disk storage (system enclosure only); --More than 20 subnets per system --Ethernet, optional FDDI, SunATM, and Token RingCompact yet highly expandable systemDelivers high performance scalability for department applications in a distributed network computing environment; handles arbitrary NFS client loads
TABLE 2-1 (Continued)
ServerMaximum SpecificationsPositioningKey Advantages
Ultra Enterprise 3000--At least 300 NFS clients, 42 Gbytes of disk storage (system enclosure only); more than 20 subnets per system

-- Ethernet, optional FDDI, SunATM, and Token Ring

Affordable departmental serverApplications support up to hundreds of users in an office environments; handles arbitrary NFS client loads
SPARCcenter 2000 or
2000E		--500 NFS clients
--36 subnets
--731 Gbytes of storage
--Ethernet, FDDI,
SunATM, and Token Ring		Highest capacity
multipurpose enterprise
server (the total solution
for an entire company)		Centralized administration
maximum headroom for
growth; multiprocessor,
I/O, and network
performance scalability
SPARCserver 1000 or
1000E		--300 NFS clients
--12 subnets
--395 Gbytes of storage
--Ethernet, FDDI,
SunATM, and Token Ring		High capacity
multipurpose
workgroup server		Excellent capacity
performance; multipurpose
server (NFS, compute,
database), affordable,
scalable, integrated
packaging
Ultra Enterprise 450--Used in environments that require large amounts of disk storage with fast or multiple I/O channels to clients or to the networkMid-range serverSupports RAID 1 (disk mirroring, 3 (striping data and parity across drive group), and 5 (hot spares for FC-AL disks)
Ultra Enterprise 150 Server--Internal disk array with up to twelve hot-plugable disks providing over 25 Gbytes of disk capacityHigh end workgroup serverSupports RAID 0 (disk striping) RAID 1 (disk mirroring) and RAID 5 (hot spares); high level of I/O throughput and capacity; significant expansion capabilities; advanced I/O and networking
TABLE 2-1 (Continued)
ServerMaximum SpecificationsPositioningKey Advantages
Ultra Enterprise 2--At least 350-400 NFS clients

--67 Gbytes of disk storage (4 Gbytes in the system and 63 Gbytes in the SPARCstorage Array) --4 subnets --Ethernet, optional FDDI and SunATM

High performance multiprocessing server for mid to large size workgroupsHigh throughput for multiprocessing; high application performance; efficient design and process handling
Ultra Enterprise 1--200-220 NFS clients --147 Gbytes of storage -- 4 subnets --Ethernet, optional FDDI and SunATMHigh capacity; medium to large workgroup server (50 to 100 users)Excellent performing uniprocessor workgroup server that simplifies administration and lowers costs
SPARCserver 20--125 NFS clients --138 Gbytes of storage --4 subnets --Ethernet, FDDI, SunATM, and Token RingLow cost; multipurpose workgroup server PC LAN serverLow cost, powerful, flexible, and easily redeployed

Dedicated NFS Servers

This section presents an overview of the Netra NFS Server system.

Netra NFS Server System

The Netra NFS Server system provides an easily managed, highly reliable, highly tuned dedicated NFS server. It is built exclusively to support NFS applications; Solaris software environment applications are not supported. This Netra NFS server provides superior NFS operations performance over general purpose servers.
The key benefits of this Netra NFS server include:
  • Easy installation (pre-configured system)
  • Easy HTML management interface with the LCD system status and input panel
  • Factory pre-configured RAID-5 disks
  • Dedicated, simplified operation set
  • Tuned for NFS performance
  • System reliability (UPS for graceful shutdown on power failure)
  • Uninterruptable power supply
This server meets the demands of high speed network environments. Because this server delivers high performance for NFS operations, it is most often installed in departments and workgroups where data access requirements are high and other servers are available for running applications and system management software (see FIGURE 2-1).

Graphic

FIGURE 2-1

As FIGURE 2-1 shows, the Netra NFS Server system supports both workgroup and department needs.

Netra NFSServer Software Support

The easy to use customized Netra NFS SmartServe(TM) software, which is focused exclusively on NFS applications, is tuned for NFS performance and is easy to administer. The software has the following features:
  • Modified Solaris operating environment (dedicated and optimized for NFS)
  • SNMP agent
  • Single file system and RAID 5 preconfigured
  • Backup software for online backups
  • Support for NFS Version 2 and NFS Version 3
  • Disk management support (RAID level 5 for storage management)
  • Failure management and recovery
  • System performance tuning (stable memory and NFS Smart Cache)
  • PCNFSD (to use with NFS on PCs)

Netra NFS Server Hardware Overview

This server is based on the Ultra 1 processor board, which is designed to deliver balanced system performance. With twelve slots of data disks, the data disk capacity of this server is 24 Gbytes (48 Gbytes with 4 Gbyte disk drives). The disk drives are hot plugable. A 10BaseT Ethernet controller is built onboard.
One of the three SBus slots are used for ISP controllers. The second SBus slot contains a 100BaseT network card. The third SBus slot is available for additional network interfaces.
This system comes in two options: tower and rack-ready. Four rack-ready systems can be installed in standard Sun racks. The system also has a standard 3.5-inch diskette drive and a 644 Mbyte capacity CD-ROM drive. The eight SIMM slots can store up to 512 Mbytes of RAM.

Enterprise Servers

Sun has a range of enterprise servers. This section discusses the following enterprise servers:
  • Ultra Enterprise 4000, 5000, and 6000 servers
  • SPARCcenter 2000/2000E servers
  • SPARCserver 1000/1000E servers

Ultra Enterprise 4000, 5000, and 6000 Systems

The Ultra Enterprise 6000 server system, the Ultra Enterprise 5000 server system and the Ultra Enterprise 4000 server system are available in two enclosures (see FIGURE 2-2):
  • Enterprise 6000 or 5000 is a 56-inch cabinet containing either a 16-slot or 8-slot card cage.
  • Enterprise 4000 is a stand-alone enclosure containing an 8-slot card cage.

Ultra Enterprise 6000/5000 are

Ultra Enterprise 4000 is an

16-slot or 8-slot cabinet servers

8-slot stand-alone server

FIGURE 2-2 Ultra Enterprise 6000 and 5000 Server Cabinet System and Ultra Enterprise
4000 Standalone System
The same CPU/memory board, I/O boards, disk board, processor modules, memory SIMMs, power modules, and cooling modules are used in all enclosures.
The minimum configuration for the Ultra Enterprise 4000, 5000, and 6000 is:
  • 16-slot or 8-slot card cage
  • Modular power supply
  • Fan tray (cabinet servers) or fan box (standalone server)
  • Clock board
  • CPU/memory board
  • I/O board
  • Peripheral power supply
  • AC distribution unit
  • SCSI receptacle for removable media, including CD-ROM
Ultra Enterprise systems have extensive error detection mechanisms, and an Automatic System Reconfiguration (ASR) feature that enables the system to be rebooted with failed components (such as CPUs, memory, or I/O) disabled. When an error is detected, the system is reconfigured so that the board containing the failed components is placed in low power mode and is no longer accessible.
The hot-plugable feature inserts a new board into a powered up system, despite being "live," or being supplied with electrical power. Once a working board is added to a powered on system with the hot-plugable feature, the Solaris 2.5.1 or 2.6 software environments will not use the new board until the system is rebooted. The systems also support hot-plugable disk drives and redundant, hot-plugable power and cooling units.
High speed networking is supported by integrated 10 or 100 Mb Ethernet and optional ATM interface.
The systems support remote control administration, which enables remote rebooting and power cycling.
The system monitor for these servers is Solstice(TM) SyMON(TM), a system performance tool that you can use to:
  • Monitor the performance of a large server with multiple processors, I/O, and disks.
  • Optimize the configuration and throughput of the server.
  • Identify hardware and software failures quickly. Failures range from major failures (CPU crash), to minor failures (slow cooling fan). Solstice SyMON identifies the component or software and its location.
  • Monitor hardware performance to detect incipient hardware failure (soft read errors on a disk).

SPARCcenter 2000 or SPARCcenter 2000E Systems

The SPARCcenter 2000 or the SPARCcenter 2000E systems, which were introduced in 1992, provide the computing solution for a company. As such, the SPARCcenter 2000 system and the SPARCcenter 2000E system are multifunctional network NFS file servers. They support less than 500 NFS clients and have the flexibility required for dedicated or multifunctional application environments.
The SPARCcenter 2000 system and the SPARCcenter 2000E system provide scalability and extensive expansion in these areas:
  • CPU processor power
  • Memory capability
  • I/O connectivity
They meet the following requirements:
  • High capacity I/O requirements of corporate data centers
  • Computationally intensive demands of other organizations
The heart of the SPARCcenter 2000 system or the SPARCcenter 2000E system is a high-speed packet-switched bus complex that provides very high data transfer bandwidth. The backplane supports two distinct XDBuses operating in parallel.
The SPARCcenter 2000 system or the SPARCcenter 2000E system use up to twenty SuperSPARCTM modules in a shared-memory symmetric multiprocessing configuration, meeting most performance needs. You can expand or upgrade the processing capability by adding SuperSPARC modules.
Main memory is configured in multiple logical units that are installed in the bus complex.
The I/O is expandable. For example, you can configure up to 40 SBus slots on 10 independent busses. The large I/O capacity and configurability makes the SPARCcenter 2000 system or the SPARCcenter 2000E system suitable for very large applications.
The system monitor for this server is Solstice SyMON.

SPARCcenter 2000 and the SPARCcenter 2000E System Features

The SPARCcenter 2000 system and the SPARCcenter 2000E system features are:
  • 20, 40, 50, 60, or 85 MHz SuperSPARC modules (each with up to 2 Mbytes of built in cache)
  • Dual XDbus system bus
  • Greater than 5 Gbyte main memory capacity (8 Mbyte or 32 Mbyte SIMMs)
  • Up to 10 SBus channels (for a total of 40 SBus slots)
  • Two RS-232 serial ports on each system board (up to 20 total)
  • Twisted pair Ethernet connections via SBus cards
  • 10 Mbytes/second SCSI-2 channels via SBus cards
  • Up to 52.2 Gbytes of internal SCSI disk storage
  • 50 MHz system clock speed in the SPARCserver 2000E system (40 MHz in the SPARCserver 2000 system)
  • 25 MHz SBus speed in the SPARCserver 2000E system (20 MHz in the SPARCserver 2000 system)
  • The total disk capacity for the expansion subsystems is 630 Gbytes when connected to 20 SPARCstorage Array subsystems, Model 101
  • NVRAM-NVSIMM Prestoserve NFS accelerator (optional)
FIGURE 2-3 shows the front view of the SPARCcenter 2000 or the SPARCserver 2000E system.

Graphic

FIGURE 2-3

SPARCserver 1000 and SPARCserver 1000E Systems

The SPARCserver 1000 and SPARCserver 1000E multiprocessor systems, introduced in 1993, are designed to be departmental NFS file servers with flexibility for dedicated or multifunctional application environments. They support more than 200 NFS clients and provide file, database, timeshare, or computing services to a network and attached devices.
The modular design makes expansion of system boards, memory, and peripherals easy to perform. You can upgrade or expand processors by adding or replacing SuperSPARC modules. FIGURE 2-4 shows the front view of the SPARCserver 1000 or the SPARCserver 1000E system.

Graphic

FIGURE 2-4

The SPARCserver 1000 and the SPARCserver 1000E systems are built around the XDBus, the system bus that provides very high data transfer bandwidth.
The CPU building blocks consist of:
  • 60 or 85 MHz SuperSPARC modules (50 MHz SuperSPARC on the SPARCserver 1000 system)
  • SuperCache controller
  • 1 Mbyte of cache
The system has three SBus slots per system board, which are accessed by the XDBus. The multiple memory banks process information from multiple CPUs and I/O devices in parallel.
The system monitor for this server is Solstice SyMON.

SPARCserver 1000 and the SPARCserver 1000E System Features

The SPARCserver 1000 and the SPARCserver 1000E systems have the following features:
  • Up to four system boards can be installed
  • Up to eight SuperSPARC processors (two per system board) can be installed
  • Up to 2 Gbytes of main memory (using 32 Mbyte SIMMs) can be installed
  • Up to 16.8 Gbytes of internal storage
  • 50 MHz system clock speed in the SPARCserver 1000E system (40 MHz in the SPARCserver 1000 system)
  • 25 MHz SBus speed in the SPARCserver 1000E system (20 MHz in the SPARCserver 1000 system)
  • When connected to 12 SPARCstorage Array subsystems, the SPARCserver 1000 or 1000E systems provide up to 756 Gbytes of external storage
  • Up to 12 SBus slots
  • Onboard SCSI-2 port and twisted pair Ethernet on each system board
  • Internal 5 Gbyte 4mm tape drive (or 10 Gbyte 8mm tape drive)
  • Internal CD-ROM drive
  • NVRAM-NVSIMM Prestoserve NFS accelerator (optional)

Workgroup Servers

This section presents an overview of the following workgroup servers:
  • Ultra Enterprise 150 Server system
  • Ultra Enterprise 450 system
  • Ultra Enterprise 2 Server system
  • Ultra Enterprise 1 Server system
  • SPARCserver 20 system
The highest capacity workgroup servers are presented first.

Ultra Enterprise 150 Server System

The Ultra Enterprise 150 server system is a tower server based on the 167 MHz UltraSPARCTM microprocessor. It has the following features:
  • Autosensing 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet
  • 20 Mbyte/second Fast/Wide SCSI-2 peripheral interface
  • ECC-protected memory
  • Internal disk array with up to twelve hot-plugable disks supporting RAID 0 (disk striping), RAID 1 (disk mirroring), and RAID 5 (hot spares) providing over 25 Gbytes of disk capacity
  • UltraSPARC-(TM) based motherboard
The Ultra Enterprise 150 server system is ideal for an NFS server because it is a high-end workgroup server with high I/O performance and fast system throughput. FIGURE 2-5 shows a front view of the server.

Graphic

FIGURE 2-5

Ultra Enterprise 450 System

The Ultra Enterprise 450 system server is designed for mid-range server markets that require large amounts of local disk storage with fast or multiple I/O channels to clients or to the network.
Software features are:
  • Support for RAID 1 (disk mirroring), RAID 3 (striping data and parity across drive groups) and RAID 5 (hot spares for FC-AL disk drives)
  • System performance and configuration monitors
  • Automated hardware failure notification
  • Error and panic logging
  • Temperature sensing and fan control
  • Backup power supply failure detection
  • Hot sparing support
  • Automatic fault detection, response, and recovery
  • Logging file systems
Hardware features are:
  • 10 PCI slots supporting up to 10 full size PCI cards (seven regular PCI slots and three enhanced PCI slots)
  • Up to sixteen SIMM slots, which support 16, 32, 64, or 128 Mbyte SIMMs totalling up to 2 Gbytes of memory capacity
  • 10/100 Mbit Ethernet
  • 20 Mbyte/second Fast Wide SCSI
  • Up to four CPU modules (UltraSPARC-II)
  • Up to twenty FC-AL disks and up to two 1.6-inch high SCSI disks
  • 1.44 Mbyte diskette drive
  • 644 Mbyte CD-ROM drive
  • Two 5 1/4-inch bays for optional tape backup
  • Two high speed synchronous/asynchronous serial ports
  • Up to three redundant hot swapable power supplies, which can be added one at a time to improve reliability and provide growth as needed
  • Supports rack mounting allowing the system to integrate easily into a computer room environment

Sun Ultra Enterprise 1 and 2 Systems

The Ultra Enterprise 1 system is the first member of a new class of workstations based on the UltraSPARC-I processor and is designed to deliver balanced system performance.
The Ultra Enterprise 1 system can be used as a high capacity NFS server for medium to large workgroups (50 to 100 users). It is designed for reliability, availability, and serviceability. It enables easy access to replace disk drives, SIMMs, and graphics cards.
The Ultra Enterprise 2 system is a multiprocessor system based on the UltraSPARC-I processor. It is standard with Fast/Wide SCSI and Fast Ethernet, which enables the data throughput capability of this system to include the disk I/O and the network traffic. The system also has a 64-bit SBus running at 25 MHz giving maximum SBus throughput.
The Ultra Enterprise 2 system can be used as an NFS server for mid- to large-sized workgroups.
The Ultra SPARC CPU is matched by a very high performance crossbar-switched interconnect that can move data at peak rates of 1.3 Gbytes/second. This interconnect, the Ultra Port Architecture (UPA), is the key to providing the greatly enhanced memory bandwidth. Both the Ultra Enterprise 1 and 2 systems have a 64-bit SBus running at 25 MHz giving maximum SBus throughput.
The Ultra architecture was designed to be fully compatible with previous generations of workstations so that all Solaris operating environment applications can run unchanged.
FIGURE 2-6 shows a front view of the Ultra Enterprise 1 system.

Graphic

FIGURE 2-6

SPARCserver 20 System

The SPARCserver 20 system, introduced in 1994, is designed to be a workgroup NFS file server or a database server in an office environment. It is based on the same MBus and SBus technologies as the SPARCserver 10 system. Performance is increased over the SPARCserver 10 by using faster MBus and SBus technology, and faster SPARC modules. The SPARCserver 20 system has increased computing and network performance.
The SPARCserver 20 system is available in three uniprocessor configurations and three multiprocessor configurations.
The uniprocessor configurations are:
  • Model 50--50 MHz SuperSPARC processor
  • (TM) · Model 51--50 MHz SuperSPARC processor and 1 Mbyte SuperCache
  • Model 61--60 MHz SuperSPARC processor and 1 Mbyte SuperCache
  • Model 71--75 MHz SuperSPARC processor and 1 Mbyte SuperCache
  • Model 151--one 150 MHz HyperSPARC processor and 0.5 Mbyte external cache
The multiprocessor configurations are:
  • Model 502MP--two 50 MHz SuperSPARC processors
  • Model 514MP--four 50 MHz SuperSPARC processors and 1 Mbyte SuperCache
  • Model 612MP--two 60 MHz SuperSPARC processors and 1 Mbyte SuperCache
  • Model 712--two 75 MHz SuperSPARC processors and 1 Mbyte SuperCache
  • Model 152MP--two 150 MHz HyperSPARC processors and 0.5 Mbyte of external cache
FIGURE 2-7 shows the front view of the SPARCserver 20 system.

Graphic

FIGURE 2-7

SPARCserver 20 System Features

The SPARCserver 20 system features include:
  • More than 2 Gbytes of internal hard disk storage (two 1.05 Gbyte disk drives)
  • Up to 126 Gbytes of disk storage in the SPARCstorage Array (Model 101) subsystems when directly connected to four SPARCstorage Array subsystems
  • 1.44 Mbyte diskette drive (optional)
  • 644 Mbyte CD-ROM drive (optional)
  • Two serial ports, one parallel port
  • Twisted-pair Ethernet
  • Up to 512 Mbytes of memory (60 ns SIMMs)
  • AUI Ethernet (optional) (can have up to 9 Ethernet networks)
  • SBus or NVRAM-NVSIMM Prestoserve NFS accelerator (optional)

Disk Expansion Units

This section describes an overview of the following disk expansion units:
  • TM · SPARCstorage Array subsystem
  • TM TM · Sun RSM Array 2000
  • Sun Enterprise Network Array subsystem
  • TM · SPARCstorage MultiPack
  • TM · SPARCstorage UniPack

SPARCstorage Array Subsystem

To expand your disk storage, consider the SPARCstorage Array subsystem. This disk array is a high-performance and high-capacity companion unit for the Ultra Enterprise 4000, 5000, or 6000 systems, SPARCcenter 2000 or 2000E, SPARCserver 1000 or 1000E, Ultra Enterprise 150 system, Ultra Enterprise 2 system, and the SPARCserver 20 system.
The Model 101 uses 1.05 Gbyte single connector 3.5-inch disk drives. Each disk array contains three drive trays. Each drive tray supports up to ten 3.5-inch single-connector SCSI disk drives. All disk drive SCSI addresses are hardwired. The position of the disk drive in the drive tray automatically sets the SCSI addresses. Each disk array uses six internal fast, wide SCSI buses. Each drive tray contains two SCSI buses that support five disk drives for each SCSI bus.
FIGURE 2-8 shows a front view of the SPARCstorage Array subsystem.

Graphic

FIGURE 2-9 shows how you can connect the SPARCstorage Array subsystem to your NFS server.

Tabletop............Tower
Stack.......Sun Rack
SPARCserver 20
Maximum of (4)
Maximum of (5)
shown on top
arrays or SPARCserver SPARCstorage Array 1000 systems
subsystems
FIGURE 2-9 SPARCstorage Array Subsystem Installation Options
The SPARCstorage Array subsystem uses RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) technology. RAID 0 stripes data without parity, RAID 1 does disk mirroring, RAID 0+1 does mirroring optimized stripes, and RAID 5 does striping data with parity.
Within the disk array, independent disks plus RAID levels 5, 1, 0, 0+1 are available at the same time so you can easily match data layouts to meet the specific requirements for capacity, performance, high availability, and cost.
If any disk in a RAID-5, 1, or 0+1 group fails, an optional hot spare (if configured) is automatically swapped to replace the failed disk. Continuous, redundant data protection is provided, even if a disk fails.
Warm plug service lets you replace one or more disks without powering down the system and the disk array, or rebooting the system. You can obtain warm plug service if multiple disk arrays are configured.
Using the SPARCstorage Array subsystem can improve NFS performance because its processor manages and schedules disk I/O.
The SPARCstorage Manager software is provided with the disk array and provides similar functionality to Online: Disk Suite software. Since there are often many more disks to manage in the SPARCstorage Array subsystem, the SPARCstorage Manager software has an intuitive GUI interface.

Sun RSM Array 2000

The Sun RSM(TM) (RAID Storage Module) Array 2000 product is a redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) product. It is offered as a companion unit for the SPARCserver 1000, SPARCcenter 2000, Ultra Enterprise 3000, 4000, 5000, and 6000 systems, an the Ultra Enterprise 450 systems.
It is a high performance rack-mounted disk array controller that features redundant power and cooling by incorporating hot-plug technology to support the unexpected loss of one controller, one fan, or one power supply. Failed disk driver can be hot-plugged without stopping I/O activity to the subsystem.
The Sun RSM Array 2000 controller module, which is installed in the Sun RSM Array 2000 system, supports dual SCSI hosts on a 16-bit SCSI-2 bus. In addition, the unit provides the same SCSI-2 bus interface for up to five differential drive trays in the expansion cabinet.
There are two SCSI controllers inside the controller module that use five independent drive channels to manage data distribution and storage for up to thirty- five disk drives. The controllers perform system status and fault detection functions as well.
The controller module combines disk array technology with redundant modular components to provide fast data transfer rates, plus reliable, high-volume data retrieval and storage functions across multiple drives. It works with the RAID Manager software, a disk array management program for configuring, monitoring, and troubleshooting the disk array and provides high-performance disk array management services.
As part of this overall disk management system, the controller module supports the following disk array elements and configurations:
  • RAID levels 0 (disk striping), 1 (disk mirroring), 0+1 (disk striping plug disk mirroring), 3 (data and parity are striped across a drive group), and 5 (hot spares)
  • Redundant, dual-active controller configurations
  • Hot swapable components (controllers, fans, and so on)
  • Fast write cache
With RAID 3, data and parity are striped across a drive group. One drive is used for redundancy. All other drives are available for storing user data. FIGURE 2-10 shows a front view of the Sun Enterprise Network Array.

Graphic

FIGURE 2-10

Sun Enterprise Network Array

This high-performance and high-availability storage system is designed for the Ultra Enterprise 3000, 4000, 5000, and 6000 family of servers. It replaces the SPARCstorage Array. This array uses 100 Mbit/second Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL) to create disk arrays that offer two to four times the performance of SCSI-based disk arrays.
The hardware features of this product are:
  • 100 Mbit/second PCI and FC-AL host adapters
  • Fully redundant hardware drive chassis for rack and tabletop configurations supporting 1.6-inch and 1-inch disk drives
  • Optional FC-AL hub
The software features of this product are:
  • Volume manager with RAID support
  • I/O driver for the FC-AL host adapter
  • Solstice SyMON and SNMP support
  • Management GUI
This array can store up to 112 Gbytes of information (using 1.6-inch disk drives) or 88 Gbytes of information (using 1-inch disk drives). You can attach up to four disk enclosures using one host adapter. The components in the enclosure are redundant and can be replaced while the subsystem is operating.
FIGURE 2-11 shows a front view of the array.

Graphic

FIGURE 2-11

SPARCstorage MultiPack

The SPARCstorage MultiPack(TM) enclosure, which is fast wide SCSI, can adapt to 50-pin or narrow hosts. The SPARCstorage MultiPack is self-terminating but it can be chained with units that require external termination.
The SPARCstorage MultiPack uses single connector disks and it is hot plugable. The enclosure can either contain from two to six 1.5-inch disk drives or from two to twelve 1-inch disk drives. To accommodate from two to twelve 1-inch disk drives you must use an SBus SCSI host adapter. FIGURE 2-12 shows a front view of the SPARCstorage MultiPack.

Graphic

SPARCstorage UniPack

The disk model of the SPARCstorage UniPack(TM) enclosure (FIGURE 2-13) contains a self terminating hard disk drive. Models containing a tape drive or a CD-ROM drive are also available. The unit is fast wide SCSI and can be adapted to a narrow 50-pin host.
This expansion unit can be used with the following desktop server systems:
  • SPARCstation 5 system
  • SPARCstation 10 system
  • SPARCstation 20 system
  • Sun Ultra Enterprise 1 system
  • Sun Ultra Enterprise 2 system

Graphic

FIGURE 2-13