詠鉌のIT

Network connectivity failure and system crash while performing control operations on physical NICs
In some cases, when multiple X-Frame II s2io NICs are sharing the same pci-x bus, performing control operations, such as changing the MTU, on the physical NIC causes a loss of network connectivity and a system crash.

Workaround: Avoid having multiple X-Frame II s2io NICs in slots that share the same pci-x bus. In situations where such a configuration is necessary, avoid performing control operations on the physical NICs while virtual machines are doing network I/O.

Image 1: OM_6.5.0_SMTD_A01.iso.001 Image 2: OM_6.5.0_SMTD_A01.iso.002 

copy /b OM_6.4.0_SMTD_A00.iso.001+OM_6.4.0_SMTD_A00.iso.002 OM_640_SMTD_A00.iso

cat OM_6.4.0_SMTD_A00.iso.001 OM_6.4.0_SMTD_A00.iso.002 > OM_640_SMTD_A00.iso

For me, Vista is one of the failure from Longhorn series. Although the interface is quite impressive, but it require or I should said it utilize at least 30-40% resources from your PC or Laptop. In other words, it will slow down or cause hang/freeze when you run 3 or more 'resources-drained' application, such as Adobe Photoshop, PPS Player, Movie Editing software and etc. That is why I quickly change to Windows 7 when I heard most of the people said it is the 'improved-version' of Vista. I'm using it for more than a year, still I will giving 7 out 10 for it.


Microsoft had declare the end of sales and end of support as below. 


End of Sales Date: 

Desktop operating systems	Date of general availability	Retail software end of sales *	End of sales for PCs withWindows preinstalled
Windows XP	December 31, 2001	June 30, 2008	October 22, 2010
Windows Vista	January 30, 2007	October 22, 2010	October 22, 2011
Windows 7	October 22, 2009	To be determined	To be determined

End of Support Date:

Desktop operating systems	Latest service pack	End of mainstream support	End of extended support
Windows XP	Service Pack 3	April 14, 2009	April 8, 2014
Windows Vista	Service Pack 2	April 10, 2012	April 11, 2017
Windows 7	Service Pack 1	To be determined	Not applicable

Reference:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/products/lifecycle

Many customers, especially those Server Admin with technical knowledge wouldn't ask this question but take action to the server which they think is right. However, it just messed up everything, and worst will cause data lost. Then, we have a lot of job to do afterward.

Sometimes, I feel funny that customer call to the toll-free number only if they ruined everything. When I tried my very best to 'reverse' the situation, but failed, they will shout at me with the sentence as below:

"..I pay so much for the warranty, but you said you can't help me?.."

Therefore, I beg you guys (Server admin) give call to Technical Support to confirm before you take any action that you think is right.

Hard disk failure may have 2 different situation:
i) Single hard disk failure

• Check the hard disk status from OpenManage Server Administrator or DSET
• After confirm the status is FAIL, you may re-seat the hard disk while the server is ON/Power-up, to see the hard disk can proceed to rebuilding or not.
• If the hard disk is able to rebuild, monitor the rebuilding progress. If the rebuilding progress can reach 100%, monitor the hard disk status for 1 day.
• If it fail to kick-start the rebuild, or fail during the rebuilding progress, you may call up Technical Support to claim the hard disk replacement.

ii) More than two hard disks failure

• Check the hard disk status from OpenManage Server Administrator or DSET 
•  After confirm the status is FAIL, check Controller Log so that we know which hard disk failed the first.  (E.g. PERC Log)
• We always Force Online the hard disk failed the first, due to the hard disk that failed the last will contained latest data.
• If this isn't work, kindly call Technical Support for assistance.

*re-seat: Pull out and push in the hard disk (applicable for hot-swap hard disk)

A very common issue for server to encounter the P.O.S.T (Power-on Self Test) error as below:

Strike the F1 key to continue, F2 to run the system setup program

Cause:
It may due to the reason below:
- System BIOS updates
- Power-trip cause server shutdown unexpectedly
- CMOS battery (or slot) issue

Workaround:
You may go to System BIOS by pressing F2 during P.O.S.T, and perform as below:

1. Integrated devices
    - Ensure "Embedded Gb NIC 1" and "Embedded Gb NIC 2" are set to "Enabled" (or Enabled without PXE)

2. SATA port
    - Turn all SATA port to OFF, except CD/DVD-ROM.

Then "Save Changes & Exit", and server will proceed for reboot.

After the previous post: How to install Microsoft Hyper-V in Dell 11th Generation server? , I received few enquiry on where to download Dell System Management Tools and Documentation (SMTD).


Please follow the steps below to prepare the SMTD v6.4:

1. Download both ISO from below:

Image 1: OM_6.4.0_SMTD_A00.iso.001 Image 2: OM_6.4.0_SMTD_A00.iso.002 

copy /b OM_6.4.0_SMTD_A00.iso.001+OM_6.4.0_SMTD_A00.iso.002 OM_640_SMTD_A00.iso

cat OM_6.4.0_SMTD_A00.iso.001 OM_6.4.0_SMTD_A00.iso.002 > OM_640_SMTD_A00.iso

Yesterday, a visitor named Syedz inquiry how to install Hyper-V in R710. I thought I can reply him through email, but I didn't receive any email afterwards. In case you re-visit my site, here is the steps you required.

Steps

1. Install your Windows Server 2008 with Dell System Management Tools & Documentation
2. After that, boot with the Windows Server 2008 media.
3. In the Setup Wizard, click the language you want to use during the installation.
4. Next, select the language to be installed, along with the time and currency formats and the keyboard layour, and then click Next.
5. Click Install Now, and then accept the license terms
6. In the next screen, specify the location where you wan Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 to be installed, and then click Next.
7. During the installation, server will restart several times. When the installation is complete, you will prompt for Administrator account setup. Click Ok.
8. Give a strong password for the Administrator account, confirm, then press ENTER.
9. When you see the message "Your password has been changed", click Ok.

That's all for the installation part. For Hyper-V configuration, allow me to took another 1 or 2 days to complete the post. :-)

Stay tuned for more updates.

Reference: www.microsoft.com

Recently I've done some review to few hard disk which configured with hardware RAID related cases, found that most of the hard disk replacement that lead to OS 'crash' is due to the server did gone through ChkDsk, either trigger by user or start automatically.
I do not know why until I found this article with the below statements:

"....Chkdsk is not RAID-aware. Its algorithms only work in the simplest cases. In general, it must be avoided. If chkdsk attempts to repair one or more member disks, the RAID data patterns will be destroyed, usually beyond recovery."

Frankly, I have no idea how true is the abovementioned statements, as I can't find any relevant info from Microsoft site. However, the experiences that I gone through with customer are real. In this moment, I think we should try to avoid running the Chkdsk when there is any hard disk failure (with hardware RAID configuration).

For more info, you may go to the link below:
http://www.quetek.com/RAID_mistakes.htm

Dell PowerEdge R805, is one of the AMD-based server from Dell. However, not much customer own one, and this may due to its supported platform quite different if compared with Intel-based server. Few days ago, one India customer called, and throw a lots of question to me before I can response to him:

"..I checked your documentation, found that this server should support Memory Sparing, but I just can't find the option from BIOS.."

Customer even share with me on how he tried to configure/modify the BIOS option, but end with FAIL.I checked his server specification, and I got the answer:

Server doesn't fully populated with Memory.

In summary, if you wish to configure Memory Sparing in this model, you should ensure:

• System is populated with full Memory module
• F2 System BIOS -> Memory Information -> Node Interleaving -> Disabled
• DIMMs must be paired as spares also

Please refers to the table below for more info:

Processor 1				Processor 2				Available Memory	Spared Memory
DIMMA1	DIMMA2	DIMMA3	DIMMA4	DIMMB1	DIMM B2	DIMMB3	DIMMB4	1 CPU / 2 CPUs	1 CPU / 2 CPUs
512 MB	512 MB	512 MB	512 MB	512 MB	512 MB	512 MB	512 MB	1 GB / 2 GB	1 GB / 2 GB
1 GB	1 GB	1 GB	1 GB	1 GB	1 GB	1 GB	1 GB	2 GB / 4 GB	2 GB / 4 GB
2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	1 GB	1 GB	1 GB	1 GB	4 GB / 8 GB	2 GB / 4 GB
2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	4 GB / 8 GB	2 GB / 4 GB
4 GB	4 GB	4 GB	4 GB	4 GB	4 GB	4 GB	4 GB	8 GB / 16 GB	4 GB / 8 GB
	Indicates a spared single-rank DIMM (512-MB, 1-GB, or 2-GB). The entire capacity of this DIMM is reserved for sparing.
	Indicates a spared dual-rank DIMM (2-GB and higher). One-half of this DIMM's capacity is reserved for sparing.

Reference:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/pet605/en/hom/install.htm

Yesterday, I were surprised by a Singapore customer with the inquiry as below:

"...I suspect is your RAID card limitation to detect the full size of my 3TB SATA Hard Disk..."

Wow, I feel shame as my hardware knowledge not really up-to-date. I use around 12mins of researching, confirm that H200 does not able to detect hard disk with more than 2TB at this moment. According to Dell, this support features may come out this year (2011), but it doesn't really mentioned the exact release date.
If you really have budget to upgrade all Hard Disks to the size of 3TB SATA, you may consider to upgrade the RAID card as well. Currently, Dell PERC H700 & H800 are support hard disk with more than 2TB (need to fulfill the minimum requirement of firmware).

Dell PERC H700 and H800 – The following firmware revision (or later) must be applied on the Storage Controller Cards to obtain support for >2 TB drives. The firmware release numbers and revisions are below:  

For SAS drives >2TB: 7.1 FW A02/12.3.0-0032 

R269683 – H800; A02 ( listed as DELL_PERC-H800-ADAPTER_XX_XXXXXXX.exe at the below download link) 

R269684 – H700I: A02 ( listed as DELL_PERC-H700-INTEGRATED_XX_XXXXXXX.exe at the below download link) 

R269685 – H700A; A02 ( listed as DELL_PERC-H700-ADAPTER_XX_XXXXXXX.exe at the below download link) 

R269686 – H700M; A02 ( listed as DELL_PERC-H700-MODULAR_XX_XXXXXXX.exe at the below download link)

SATA Support – SATA drives will be supported in Q1, 2011.


The above mentioned releases of firmware can be downloaded from http://ftp.us.dell.com/sas-raid/.

Dell H200 – Support is planned for the H200 in 2011

Therefore, Dell PERC H200 is yet to have latest firmware to support hard disk with size larger than 2TB. Hopefully the newer firmware is out soon to eliminate this limitation.

For more info, you may visit Dell official website: Click Here!
**The abovementioned info are obtained from Dell TechCentre for sharing purpose

#2 In "BIOS", you can easily know what is the current BIOS version and the release date.

#3 "Fans" - shows the total amount of fans, and the RPM.

#4 "Firmware" - refers Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) version.

#5 "Intrusions" - If user did open the chassis for certain purpose such as re-seat the PCI components, intrusion alert will triggered. If the chassis cover was not close properly afterwards, the status will become a red 'X'.

#6 "Memory" - is very straight forward, showing the total amount of memory that a server currently have.

#7 "Network" - all about the Network Interface Card (NIC) includes integrated or PCI NIC.

#8 "Ports" - all about USB or parallel port

#9 "Power Supplies" - You can easy access the Power Supply's status from here

#10 "Processors" - if you need to get the Processor spec, you can have it here

#11 "Remote Access" - Due to most of the Dell 11th Gen server is come with iDRAC, so this function is a 'must-have' option from OMSA.

#12 "Slots" - showing info of which type of PCI card occupied the slot 

#13 "Temperature" - Chassis temperature. This will determine the RPM of the System Fan.

#14 "Voltage"

Generally, the new interface is more user-friendly than the previous version. It is highly recommend to have it for your Dell Server for monitoring and troubleshooting if needed.

Similar post:
Dell OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) Part I : How to log in to OMSA?

Reference:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/svradmin/6.4/en/ug/html/using.htm#wp1076956

Due to there are too many parts for Dell OpenManage Server Administrator, so I divide it into several parts to cover the full OMSA introduction.


What is Dell OpenManage Server Administrator?
Server Administrator provides a comprehensive, one-to-one systems management solution in two ways: from an integrated, Web browser-based graphical user interface (GUI) and from a command line interface (CLI) through the operating system. Server Administrator is designed for system administrators to manage systems locally and remotely on a network. Server Administrator allows system administrators to focus on managing their entire network by providing comprehensive one-to-one systems management.


**Reference from: http://supportapj.dell.com/support/edocs/SOFTWARE/svradmin/5.3/en/ug/html/intro.htm#wp1039152

Interface for version 6.4 is a little bit different from the legacy one, but the steps to log in are similar.

Download URL from Dell.com
Windows x64 OMSA 6.4 Download here
Windows x86 OMSA 6.4 Download here


#1
Double-click the icon named: "Server Administrator", and you'll see the browser open as below:

#2
Click "Continue to this website (not recommended)", and a log-in pop up screen will appear. Type in your username and password with administrative rights.


#3
After the Windows log-in, another web GUI appear and ask for same info as step #2.


#4
Then, you will see the first page of OMSA as below.

I do not know how true is that, customer always complaint to me that Dell Server is very sensitive to memory Single-bit Error (SBE) compared to HP and IBM server. Some Dell server with the role of File or Database Server with heavy I/O, which are the most easy to encounter this error/warning at the system status LCD Panel as below:

"E2111 SBE log disabled on DIMM ##. Reseat DIMM."

LCD Panel

We do ask engineering team before and the explanation that we get are as below:

"..the memory error logging is as per design, and it wouldn't clear off automatically even if the SBE has been handled by the ECC Memory, unless we clear the hardware error log (can clear through OpenManage Server Administrator(OMSA) or Dell System E-Support Tool (DSET))  or till the system reset. This is because many customer/user would like to use those error for future reference..."  

However, most of the customers/users do not appreciate the purpose of the design, and always claim that Dell Server's quality cannot compete with other brand, just because of the motherboard sensor is capable to log or display the error which happened before. Sounds funny isn't it?


Troubleshooting steps:
1. For Microsoft Windows-based & RedHat Linux OS, you may clear the hardware log from OMSA as below:

    i)   Log in to OMSA (with Administrative rights)
    ii)  System -> Log (tab) -> Clear ESM Log
  

2. You may use the Dell System E-Support Tool (DSET) to clear the ESM Log as well. As simple as execute the file, and select "Create & Clear ESM Log"
Please refers previous post for more info: 
http://alanitsolutions.blogspot.com/2011/02/introduction-to-dell-system-e-support.html


3. If you are using non-OS such as VMWare ESX, you may chose to clear log with a bootable Dell utility named Dell OpenManage LiveCD.
Please refers previous post for more info:
http://alaninpenang.blogspot.com/2010/04/dell-server-how-to-capture-hardware-log.html

After the hardware log cleared with one of the abovementioned steps, what you need to do next is just need need to monitor for 1-2 hours. If the SBE is actual, definitely it will return within this period. If it is not, which mean error already handled by the ECC system memory.

Dell System E-Support Tool (DSET) is very useful for troubleshooting especially when we deal with non-technical IT Personnel, or 'lazy' customer who totally not cooperative to provide further information. The key features is provides the ability to collect hardware, storage and operating system information of a Dell PowerEdge or PowerVault server.


Compatibility list:
i) PowerEdge Server:

800, 830, 840, 850, 860, 1800, 1850, 1855, 2800, 2850, 6800, 6850, 1900, 1950, 1955, 2900, 2950, 2970, 6950, NX1950, SC1420, SC1425, SC1430, SC1435, SC420, SC430, SC440, R805, R905, R900, T100, T105, T300, T605, R200, R300, M600, M605, M805, M905, R610, T610, R710, M610, M710, R410, T410, T310, R310, R210, T110, R510, R910, R810,R715,R815, R415, R515, M610x, M710HD and M910

ii) PowerVault Storage:

100T, 110T, 122T, 124T, 132T,136T, ML6000, 200/210, 220S/221S, MD1000, RD1000 Internal SATA Drive, TL2000,TL4000, MD1120, NF110, DL2100 and DL2200

iii) Microsoft Operating System:

* Microsoft Windows 2003 Server x86 and x64
* Microsoft Windows 2003 Server x86 and x64 R2
* Microsoft Windows 2008 Server 32-bit and 64-bit 
* Microsoft Windows 2008 Server 32-bit and 64-bit SP2
* Microsoft Windows 2008 Server R2

How to use DSET to generate log and clear hardware log?
1. Download the DSET Utility:
    Download here. (latest version 2.1)


2. Execute the file, and you have the interface as below, then click "Next >":


3. Select "I Accept the license agreement", and click "Next >"


4. After read the [readme] info, click "Next >"


5. From here, if you wish to generate logs, select "Create DSET Report only". If you would like to clear hardware log for troubleshooting purpose (especially for system SBE error), select "Gather then Clear Dell Hardware Log only"


6. Then, progress bar appear, and it will run for approximately 5 minutes.


According to the Readme, after the process done a single compressed configuration report file called "DSET Report of <computer name> Tag-<service tag> -<model name>" would be copied to the Desktop by default.


Do not unzip, but send the ZIP file to the Technical Support Specialist for analysis.