In this e-Learning module, we will discuss how to monitor hardware to help diagnose and troubleshoot problems for the Lenovo(R) Storage family of products. You will also learn how to use management GUIs to monitor system performance.Note that in this e-Learning module, example screen shots are of the Lenovo Storage V5000 management GUI, and therefore might vary slightly from other Storage family products.
The front of your hardware will vary depending on the Storage family system that is installed. The various LED indicators that are available on Storage products indicate power, hard-disk drive activity, hardware errors, and more. These can be used for determining the location and cause of any problems. A release latch might also be available that provides access to a light-path diagnostics panel.
The power LED indicates if power is available to the enclosure. The fault LED indicates a hardware fault with one of the enclosure components. The identify LED is used to identify the enclosure. Additionally, a small display might be available that shows the enclosure ID number.
The power supplies and canisters can be viewed from either the front or back of the hardware. In the examples shown here, the LEDs from the top to the bottom of the power supply unit are AC input indication, DC output indication, and fault indication. Control enclosure power supplies include LEDs that indicate the battery state. From left to right, these include the battery status, battery fault, and battery charging LEDs. Each node canister also includes LEDs. From left to right, these include the power state, node status, and fault indication.
To begin monitoring hardware using the management GUI, click the Monitoring icon . Click Performance to go to the Performance panel. Various graphs display CPU utilization, interfaces, volumes, and MDisks performance. You can select or unselect a variety of data that you would like to display. If available, you can show system statistics for a specified node. You can also show data in megabytes per second, or input/output operations per second.
The System panel can be used to monitor physical and allocated capacity. The circular disk directly below the enclosure displays allocated and physical capacity. Hover over the physical capacity display to see the thin provisioning capacity and savings.
You can use the System panel to access an extended level of parameters and technical details related to the system, including the integration of each element with an overall system configuration. Right click on the desired enclosure and choose Properties from the dropdown options to obtain detailed information including the number of enclosures, I/O groups, topology, internal capacity, and power usage. To view Fibre Channel or SAS Ports, hover over the Control Enclosure and right click. Choose View from the dropdown options and click either Fibre Channel or SAS Ports.
Go to the Events panel to view events that have alerts. The events are listed in the order that they should be fixed. The error that is the highest priority is displayed in the Next Recommended Action box at the top of the panel. To run the recommended fix procedure for this event, click Run This Fix Procedure. To run the fix procedure for a different event, select the event from the list, then click Actions > Run Fix Procedure. This takes you through the necessary fix procedure steps for the selected event.
You can use the management GUI to view general information about the storage area network (or SAN) and host systems. To view specific information about these components, consider using the utilities provided by the component manufacturers.
In this e-Learning module, you learned about different ways to monitor hardware components, including using LED indicators for detection and troubleshooting and how to use the management GUI to monitor system performance.
To learn more about monitoring, maintaining, and troubleshooting your system, see topics in this information center. The troubleshooting, recovery, and maintenance documentation provides additional information. You can also find additional learning resources on IBM Knowledge Center.