Subject: Re: What kind of storage tray is a sun 540-3234 or 540-3005
To: None <Robertdkeys@aol.com>
From: Johan A. van Zanten <johan@brahma.giantfoo.org>
List: port-sparc
Date: 08/05/2003 14:39:33
---In message <26.3d1f22cb.2c6141c0@aol.com>
>I picked up a nice rack mass storage array with a bunch of 9g
>drives in it.  The rack is powered by a differential controller that
>runs to three boxes of drives that are 68 pin scsi (non-differential).
>I would like very much to run one of the drive trays externally on
>my Ultra 1.  I can't seem to find any model ID info on the mass
>storage cabinet or the individual drive trays, so I can dig up some
>docs on the critters.  The only numbers I can find are:
>
>  540-3005
>
>and
>
>  540-3234
>
>each holding 7 drive boxes,  540-2942.  It appears they are wired
>for 240v, and I need to find out if they can be switched to 110v.
>The label on the back has a possible model number OSM-3000-02
>with a part number 501-8745.
>
>None of these numbers seems to key out on a search.
>
>Any insight as to what they are, and where some docs might be,
>is appreciated.


I think that might be an RSM Array 2000, which was later renamed to
"A3000" and "A3500".

http://docs.sun.com/db/doc/805-2782-10
http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/Systems/RSM2000/RSM2000_Rack.html
http://sunsolve.sun.com/handbook_pub/Devices/SCSI/SCSI_RSM_2000_Ctlr.html


 It's a (hardware) RAID array.  Intel processors on the controllers,
actually.  Very resilient; nearly everything is hot-swap and redundant.
Can have two redundant, load-balancing, controllers.

 The disks are pretty straight forward SCSI. Those trays were used in a
number of different arrays.

 The controllers came with write cache that was battery-backed, and if
memory serves, the controllers will log errors and disable the cache if
the battery is dead, or past a certain age.

There's a software package for managing the controllers over the SCSI
connection. The executable was called "rm6".

 It was a pretty complex driver; to take advantage of dual-SCSI pathing to
the controllers, one talked to the devices via a tree of links in /dev/osa
(i think.. it's been awhile) that enable the driver to automatically
fail-over to the second SCSI channel to the controllers if there was a
problem with the primary channel.


 I liked those arrays; they were good.

 I would think you would be able to connect a drive tray to an ultra
 no-problem, and treat them as the JBOD they are.

The trays are often referred to as "RSM trays".  They were also sold with
the SPARCStorage Array 2xx series. (But that had a totally different,
SPARC-based controller that was fibre connect to the host. (Though still
SCSI between the array controller and trays))

  --johan