Nx4 Hardware Overview and Installation

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NX4 Hardware Overview and Installation – 1

Welcome to Celerra Unified QuickStart: NX4 Hardware Overview and Installation.

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This course is one in a series of courses designed to provide training that covers a range of topics:

product overview, model-specific hardware information, installation, implementation, shared storage

for Fibre Channel-connected hosts, and management and maintenance of the Celerra Unified Storage

platforms.

This course, NX4 Hardware Overview and Installation, provides an overview of the NX4 hardware.



The objectives for this course are shown here. Please take a moment to read them.



The objectives for this module are shown here. Please take a moment to read them.



The NX4 utilizes the CLARiiON AX4-5 architecture. It consists of a single or dual-blade front end,

and an integrated disk array. The NX4 provides NAS and iSCSI connectivity through the Data Mover

blades, with an available Fibre Channel option in the NX4FC for SAN host connectivity.

There are always two storage processors (SPs) for the array. The NX4 offers significant ease-of-use

enhancements, including a new installation wizard called Celerra Startup Assistant (CSA) which

provides a fast and streamlined process to get a system up and running.

Documentation is consolidated, simple, and made readily available to support the installation,

maintenance, and troubleshooting tasks associated with an NX4 implementation. The software is

factory installed, and the cables are clearly labeled and color-coded to make the storage available more

quickly to the users.



The NX4 can have one or two blades and a single Control Station.

It supports one Disk Processor Enclosure (DPE) and up to four Disk Array Enclosures (DAEs) with

four to 60 disks for a maximum of 45 TB of usable storage. The system uses SAS or SATA II drives;

either type can be used for the Celerra Control Volumes. The drive types can be mixed within an

enclosure but cannot be mixed within RAID Groups.

Depending on the model, the NX4 supports NAS, iSCSI, or FC. The Celerra NX4FC (with Fibre

Channel option) allows external hosts to use available storage in a SAN configuration by directly

connecting to the FC ports or connecting to the FC ports through a SAN.



We will now identify the hardware components of a Celerra NX4. The illustration on the slide provides

a basic view of the major components as they appear in the Celerra system. The DAE contains

additional disk drives beyond the drives in the DPE. The NX4 supports one to four DAEs. The DPE

contains the two storage processors and also holds the first twelve disk drives. The Control Station is

positioned below the DPE. The Standby Power Supply, as the name suggests, provides sufficient power

to protect cached data in the event of an unexpected power failure. The NX4 comes with one SPS with

a second SPS available as an option to the system.

The blade enclosure holds the blade servers (also known as Data Movers). The NX4 can be ordered

with one or two blades.



The NX4 and NX4FC models use the same NX4-AUXF storage array. The storage processors’ Fibre

Channel ports are illustrated on this slide. The auxiliary ports are used to connect the Celerra NX4

blades to the storage array. The Fibre Channel ports are used to connect Fibre Channel hosts to the

storage array on NX4FC models. The Fibre Channel ports are present but not activated on the NX4

(non-FC enabled) model. The storage processors have a single back-end loop connection for

connecting to additional DAEs.



The NX4 blade enclosure has dual power connections and holds two blades side-by-side. Each blade

has two power supply/fan hot-pluggable modules. It also has internal management switches built into

each blade to facilitate the private internal IP management network.

A special enclosure mid-plane connects all the components together and provides hot swappable

capabilities.



The NX4 blade enclosure, 1U in height, is shown on the slide. Note that it has four power supply/fan

hot-pluggable modules, two blades, and two internal management switches.



This slide illustrates two views of an NX4 power and cooling module.

Each blade has two power and cooling modules. If there are two blades in the enclosure, there will be

four power and cooling modules.



This slide illustrates the NX4 blade. The Data Mover blade has dual Intel 2.8 gigahertz LV-Nocona

processors (P4), 4 GB of memory, and an 800 megahertz front-side bus. The Agilent QX4 Fibre

Channel ports connect to the storage processor ports. The RJ45 Ethernet ports that connect to the

internal management switch are also shown.

The blades have 1 GB of onboard USB Flash memory each, an integrated management switch, and two

serial ports, COM1 and COM2, for DART console connection and debugging.



The control panel with the power button and LEDs (for status display) are visible from the front view

of the Control Station. When you hold the power button down for a few seconds, the Control Station

shuts down immediately.

Note that there is no floppy drive on this Control Station.



The Control Station on the NX4 has a serial modem connection used for ConnectHome, ports for the

external network (eth3), the internal network to management switch A (eth0), and the internal network

to management switch B (eth2). Port eth1 is not used on the NX4.



These are the key points covered in this module. Please take a moment to review them.






The NX4 system is available in two models—the NX4 and the NX4FC. Both models are pre-installed

with the DART operating system at the factory and can come either in an EMC rack or be field-

installable. Minimum DART code on the Celerra is 5.6.39.x and minimum FLARE on the array is

R23.x. Both models use AccessLogix and Storage Groups, making it easier to upgrade and support

both SAS and SATA II drives throughout the array. The SAS and SATA II drives can be in the same

DAE or DPE, but not the same RAID Group or storage pool.

The NX4 model uses the NX4-AUXF captive array with two FC ports per SP enabled for the Data

Movers. Celerra Startup Assistant (CSA) is used to configure and manage all storage on the back end.

The FC model uses the NX4-AUXF array which has two additional FC ports per SP enabled. These

ports can be connected to a customer’s SAN and be used to connect external hosts to any storage not

used by the Celerra. Navisphere Express connects to the array through the IP addresses configured with

the CSA, and is used to configure the storage and the host access.



The NX4 minimum configuration consumes 5U of rack space. At minimum, four drives are required in

the DPE. One 3+1 RAID5 group houses the array vault, the Celerra Control Volumes and 0.5 TB of

user storage space. The DPE houses two AX4-5 storage processors, each with 2 GB of memory. This

configuration represents one Data Mover (blade) within the Data Mover enclosure.

The largest configuration footprint, 13U in size, includes four additional DAEs for a total of 60 disks

((1 DPE + 4 DAEs) x 15 disks each). This configuration represents the maximum user capacity

available, or about 45 TB of SATA II storage.

A highly-available configuration is represented here in which dual NX4 blades are included. The dual

blades can be implemented as a high availability, Active/Passive configuration, or as an Active/Active

configuration with no standby Data Mover. An optional second Standby Power Supply is also installed

in this configuration.

One Standby Power Supply and one Control Station are included in a minimum configuration.



With the introduction of Celerras using AX4 arrays, new Celerra disk types and AVM storage pools

have been implemented. The first table on the slide lists two new disk types for CLARiiON standard

disks and CLARiiON disks using MirrorView. The second table lists the AVM system-defined pool

names and the RAID type associated with each one.



The NX4 can be ordered with a minimum configuration of only four drives. In this setup, the four

drives are configured in a 3+1 RAID5 storage pool with no hot spare. If a fifth drive is installed later, it

is configured as the hot spare.

When six or more drives are ordered, the first six drives are configured as a 4+1 RAID5 storage pool

with a hot spare. The storage pool will contain the six Celerra system LUNs; the remaining space is

configured for Celerra user LUNs.



The NX4 uses a “best fit” LUN strategy when binding LUNs. Because of the likelihood of a small

number of storage pools and different sizes due to varying drive types, this strategy tries to achieve the

best performance by binding LUNs of the same size regardless of the spindle or storage pool size.



When a new LUN is to be created by the NX4, the system first identifies the largest LUN of the same

disk type and storage pool configuration. If none is found, the system binds two equal-sized LUNs (or

Virtual disks) from the storage pool. If a LUN is found on the system, the NX4 tries to create as many

LUNs as it can of the same size and load balance across the SPs.

If no matching LUNs can be made due to the small size of the storage pool, the system uses the default

rules and creates two LUNs of equal size. If the NX4 can create any matching LUNs, it will do so.

Then, it will use the remaining space to create a single LUN which it assigns to the SP with the least

number of LUNs.



Shown on the slide is an example of how the NX4 Best Fit strategy works with a DPE fully loaded

with 12 1000 GB SATA drives using the template NX4_4+1R5_HS_5+1R5. Prior to the NX4, the 4+1

RAID Group would have had approximately 60 of its 4000 GB used by the CLARiiON and Celerra’s

system, leaving 3930 GB of free space. This would be bound into two 1965 GB LUNs. The 5+1 RAID

Group would have all of its 5000 GB free to be bound into two 2500 GB LUNs which cannot be

striped with the smaller LUNs from the other RAID Group.

With Best Fit, the system can see that the first two LUNs are 1965 GB in size and therefore, will bind

two more LUNs of the same size and distribute them between SPA and SPB. This leaves 1070 GB free

which is bound into another LUN of that size and assigned to SPB as SPB owns fewer LUNs.



The table on the slide displays the complete list of RAID types that can be used in the NX4 as well as

the default number of LUNs that will be bound if Best Fit is not used and the name of the AVM pool

they will be used in.



The NS models based on the CX3 generation of hardware are the NS20, NS40, NS80, and NSX

systems. In this generation of hardware, Data Movers are also called blades.

For ease of installation and setup, the NS20, NS40, and NS80 are available as Unified Storage models

that come with CLARiiON-based back-end storage. A Fibre Channel option is available for the Unified

Storage systems to allow the back-end storage to be shared with other SAN-connected hosts. Note that

the NS80 FC model comes with only two blades.

Please take a moment to review the table on the slide.



The NX4, NS-120, and NS-480 models are based on the CX4 generation of hardware. In CX3 and

CX4 hardware generations, Data Movers are also called blades.

For ease of installation and setup, the NX4, NS20, NS40, NS-120, NS-480,and NS-960 are available as

Unified Storage models that come with CLARiiON-based back-end storage. A Fibre Channel option is

available for the Unified Storage systems to allow the back-end storage to be shared with other SAN-

connected hosts.

Please take a moment to review the table on the slide.



You can add one or more DAEs, or add one blade without switching off the back-end array. Adding a

second blade to a single-blade system requires modifying the Control Station network configuration.

There is an upgrade for adding a second SPS.

An NX4 can be upgraded to an NX4FC model, but there is no path for an NX4 or NX4FC to be

upgraded to any other model. For example, it is not possible to upgrade an NX4 to an NS-120.









When the Celerra unit arrives onsite, it is installed in an EMC rack. If it is a field-installable unit, it

comes in a disposable rack. Carefully inspect the box for damage before opening it.



Once the shipping boxes have been opened, locate the Document and Media Kit inventory lists. These

documents guide you through the installation process. Note that all of the necessary system software

has already been installed at the factory.



Carefully remove the components from the shipping container using the appropriate tool. Follow the

instructions from the installation guide. Please note that for safety reasons, two people are required to

install this equipment.



The diagram on the slide shows the removal of the rails from the disposable mini-rack.



The diagram on the slide shows the sequence to be followed for removing the rails and installing them

into the site rack.



This diagram provides detailed images and the steps to be followed for installing the components,

latches, and bezels.



Ports and cables are clearly labeled and color-coded to simplify the cabling process.

Cabling diagrams are available on Powerlink for cabling and setup instructions for customers who will

install the Celerra in a customer-provided rack. The cabling diagrams are clear and specific, making

the process quick and easy.



Celerra NX4 systems ship from the factory with a comprehensive cabling guide. The guide clearly

illustrates the cabling for all internal systems. The next few slides diagrammatically show the break

down each of these internal systems.

If the Celerra is field-installed, you will need to perform the cabling, and then verify to make sure that

it is correct. If the Celerra is factory-installed, you only need to verify that the cabling is correct.



This illustration is taken from the NX4 Cabling Guide. This diagram shows the Fibre Channel cabling

for a dual blade NX4.



The single blade NX4 has very similar Fibre Channel cabling to that of the dual blade. The only

difference is the absence of connections for the second blade.



This illustration focuses on the Celerra NX4 cabling for the serial connections between the Celerra

Control Station and its modem, and the serial connection between the array’s storage processors and

the Standby Power Supplies.



Shown here is part of the NX4 Cabling Guide for the Celerra’s internal IP network. For clarity, only the

Celerra Internal Network is illustrated. Be sure to follow each connection and compare it with the

Cabling Guide.

Notice that the Control Station has two internal network connections for the Celerra’s internal

networks. In a dual blade system, the Control Station has a single network connection to each blade.

The internal networks also connect to the array’s storage processors (SPs) through a connection from

each blade to each of the array’s SPs.



The cabling for the Celerra internal private network on a single blade NX4 system is slightly different

from the dual blade system. Since there is no second blade, the network cable for Storage Processor B

connects directly to the Control Station. The other connections remain the same as a system with two

Data Movers.



This illustration focuses on the Celerra NX4 cabling to the public network. The Ethernet connection

from the Control Station ships with the system. The Ethernet connections for each blade must be

supplied by the customer.



This slide illustrates the cabling for connecting DAEs to the storage processors. Each SP has a

connection to the DAE. Additional DAEs connect in a daisy-chain fashion from the existing DAEs.



The power cabling for the NX4 system is illustrated here. The component power cables connect to the

rack power distribution panels (PDPs).

Note that when installing an NX4 system into an existing site rack, other equipment may be present

and already powered on. Do not turn off the rack circuit breakers.

When the power cabling is complete, turn the switch on for SPS A and SPS B, if it is present.



The NX4 system status LEDs are illustrated on this slide. When powered on, the LEDs illuminate to

indicate the status of the system components.






These are the key points covered in this course. Please take a moment to review them.

This concludes the training. Please proceed to the Celerra Unified QuickStart: NS-120 Hardware

Overview and Installation course.

Nx4 Hardware Overview and Installation

Documents

key points

standby power

fibre channel

celerra unified

nx4 hardware

sata ii drives

fibre channel

power supplyfan