Recovering from an Unresponsive Controller or Storage Subsystem Condition

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Recovery Steps

A storage subsystem can have an Unresponsive Status for several reasons. Use the following steps to determine a possible cause and solution.

Important: It can take up to 5 minutes before the Enterprise Management software detects that a storage subsystem has become unresponsive or becomes responsive again. Before performing the suggested actions below, make sure you wait a sufficient amount of time before concluding that the storage subsystem is still unresponsive.

1

Check the Device Tree to see if all storage subsystems in the management domain are unresponsive. If so, check the storage management station network connection and to ensure that it can reach the network; otherwise, continue with step 2.

2

Make sure that the controllers are installed and that there is power to the storage subsystem. If there is a problem, correct it. Otherwise:

Storage Subsystem Management Method:

Go to:

(Directly Managed )

Step 3.

(Host-Agent Managed )

Step 4.

3

For a directly managed storage subsystem:

  • Check the Ethernet cables to make sure that there is no visible damage, and they are securely connected.
  • Make sure the appropriate network configuration tasks have been performed (for example, IP addresses assigned to each controller, etc.). Refer to the software installation guide for details.
  • Make sure the controller(s) are network-accessible. To do so, use the ping command to verify that the controller can be reached. Use the form ping <Host name or controller IP address>.

If there is a cable or network accessibility problem, fix the problem; otherwise go to step 5.

4

For a host-agent managed storage subsystem:

  • Make sure that the host is turned on and operational and that the host adapters have been installed.
  • Make sure the host is network-accessible. To do so, use the ping command to verify that the host can be reached. Use the form ping <Host name or Host IP address>.
  • Check all external cables and switches or hubs to make sure that there is no visible damage, and they are securely connected.
  • Make sure the host-agent software is installed and running. If you started the host system before you were connected to the controllers in the storage subsystem, the host-agent software will not be able to find the controllers. If this is the case, make sure the connections are secure and then restart the host-agent software. Refer to the software installation guide on how to restart the host-agent.
  • If you have recently replaced or added the controller, restart the host-agent software so that the new controller is recognized.

If there is a problem, make the appropriate host modifications, otherwise continue with step 5.

5

Check with other administrators to see if a firmware upgrade was performed on the controllers from another storage management station. If this happened, the Enterprise Management software on your management station may not be able to locate the new Subsystem Management Window software needed to manage the storage subsystem with the new version of firmware.

If this is the problem, contact your customer support representative, otherwise continue with step 6.

6

Determine if there is an excessive amount of network traffic to one or more controllers. This is a self-correcting problem, because the Enterprise Management software periodically retries (in the background) to establish communication with the controllers in the storage subsystem. If the storage subsystem was unresponsive and a subsequent attempt to connect to the storage subsystem succeeds, the storage subsystem becomes responsive.

For a directly managed storage subsystem, determine if management operations are taking place on the storage subsystem from other storage management stations. There is a controller-determined limit to the number of TCP/IP connections that can be made to it before it stops responding to subsequent connection attempts. The type of management operations being performed and the number of management sessions taking place together determine the number of TCP/IP connections made to a controller. This is a self-correcting problem, because after some TCP/IP connections terminate, the controller then becomes responsive to other connection attempts.

7

If the storage subsystem is still unresponsive, you probably have faulty controllers. Contact your customer support representative.

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Learn About Unresponsive Storage Subsystem Conditions