XIO BBUs Test

Each X-Brick of the EMC XtremIO contains atleast one Battery Backup Unit (BBU). From the hardware perspective, no component is a single point of failure. Each Storage Controller, DAE and InfiniBand Switch in the cluster is equipped with dual power supplies. The cluster also has dual Battery Backup Units and dual network and data ports (in each of the Storage Controllers). Two InfiniBand Switches are cross connected and create a dual data fabric. Both the power input and the different data paths are constantly monitored, and any failure triggers a recovery attempt or failover.

The software architecture is built in a similar way. Every piece of information that is not committed to the SSD is kept in multiple locations, called Journals. Each software module has its own Journal, which is not kept on the same Storage Controller, and can be used to restore data in case of unexpected failure. Journals are regarded as highly important and always kept on Storage Controllers with battery backed up power supplies. In case of a problem with the Battery Backup Unit, the Journal fails over to another Storage Controller.

In case of global power failure, the Battery Backup Units ensure that all Journals are written to vault drives in the Storage Controllers and the cluster is turned off.

Administrators of large environments may not entertain frequent failure of the Battery Backup Units and may wish to be alerted proactively about the overall status of the Battery backup Unit and its functioning in detail. The XIO BBUs test helps administrators in this regard!

This test auto-discovers the Battery Backup Units of the target EMC XtremIO and for each BBU, reports the health, status and overload condition. This test also reports the input and output power supply to the BBUs, the battery charge etc. This way, this test helps the administrators proactively detect defective batteries and help them in removing and replacing such batteries, so as to ensure service continuity.

Target of the test : An EMC XtremIO Storage array

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each Battery Backup Unit of the target EMC XtremIO being monitored

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter Description

Test Period

How often should the test be executed.

Host

The IP address of the storage device for which this test is to be configured.

Port

The port number at which the storage array listens. The default is NULL.

XtremIO User and XtremIO Password

Provide the credentials of a user who has read only privileges to access the XtremIO storage array in the XtremIO User and XtremIO Password text boxes.

Confirm Password

Confirm the password by retyping it here.

SSL

The eG agent collects performance metrics by invoking Restful APIs on the target Storage array. Typically, the Restful APIs can be invoked through the HTTP or the HTTPS mode. By default, the eG agent invokes the Restful APIs using the HTTPS mode. This is why, the SSL flag is set to Yes by default. If the target storage array is not SSL-enabled, then the Restful APIs can be accessed through the HTTP mode only. In this case, set the SSL flag to No.

XMS IP

This parameter is applicable only for EMC XtremIO 4.x. By default, None will be chosen from this list. If the target EMC XtremIO storage array is within a XMS Management Server that is auto-discovered, then the IP or host name of that XMS Management Server will be displayed in this list. Select that particular XMS IP to configure this test. If you wish to monitor an EMC XtremIO Storage Array that is either not an integral part of the auto-discovered XMS Management Server or a brand new EMC XtremIO Storage Array, choose the Other option. This will enable you to add a new XMS Managament Server. To know how to add a new XMS Management Server, refer to Adding a new XMS.

DD Frequency

Refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 2:1. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated every fourth time this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying none against DD frequency.

Detailed Diagnosis

To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option.

The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

  • The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability
  • Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.
Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Is enabled ?

Indicates whether/not this BBU is enabled.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure value Numeric Value
Yes 0
No 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate whether/not this BBU is enabled. The graph of this measure however is represented using the numeric equivalents only - 0 or 1.

Health status

Indicates the current health of this BBU.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure value Numeric Value
Healthy 0
Initializing 1
Uninitialized 2
Failed 3
Disconnected 4

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate the current health of this BBU. The graph of this measure however is represented using the numeric equivalents only - 0 to 4.

InfiniBand switch bypass active

Indicates whether/not the infiniband switch bypass is active on this BBU.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure value Numeric Value
Yes 0
No 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate whether/not the infiniband switch bypass is active. The graph of this measure however is represented using the numeric equivalents only - 0 or 1.

Running under low battery?

Indicates whether/not low battery runtime has been detected on this BBU.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure value Numeric Value
Yes 0
No 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate whether/not low battery runtime has been detected on this BBU. The graph of this measure however is represented using the numeric equivalents only - 0 or 1.

Is BBU overloaded?

Indicates whether/not this BBU is overloaded.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure value Numeric Value
Yes 0
No 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate whether/not this BBU is overloaded. The graph of this measure however is represented using the numeric equivalents only - 0 or 1.

Power output in outlet1

Indicates the current state of power output from outlet 1 of this BBU.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure value Numeric Value
On 0
Off 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate the current state of power output from outlet 1. The graph of this measure however is represented using the numeric equivalents only - 0 or 1.

Power output in outlet2

Indicates the current state of power output from outlet 2 of this BBU.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure value Numeric Value
On 0
Off 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate the current state of power output from outlet 2. The graph of this measure however is represented using the numeric equivalents only - 0 or 1.

Output current

Indicates the output current of this BBU.

Amps

 

Output frequency

Indicates the output frequency of this BBU.

Hz

 

Output voltage

Indicates the output voltage of this BBU.

Volts

 

Power utilized

Indicates the amount of power utilized by this BBU.

Watts

 

BBU battery charge

Indicates the remaining battery charge of this BBU.

Percentage

 

Connection between storage controller and BBU

Indicates the current status of the control connection between the Storage Controller and this BBU.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure value Numeric Value
Connected 0
Disconnected 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate the current status of the control connection between the storage controller and the BBU. The graph of this measure however is represented using the numeric equivalents only - 0 or 1.

BBU input

Indicates the current state of the external power feed of this BBU.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure value Numeric Value
On 0
Off 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate the current state of the external power feed of this BBU. The graph of this measure however is represented using the numeric equivalents only - 0 or 1.

Current BBU load

Indicates the current load on this BBU.

Percentage

 

BBU load

Indicates the current change in the load level of this BBU.

 

The value reported by this measure and its numeric equivalent is mentioned in the table below:

Measure value Numeric Value
OK 0

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate the current change in the load level of this BBU. The graph of this measure however is represented using the numeric equivalents only i.e., 0.

BBU needs battery replacement?

Indicates whether/not the battery of this BBU needs replacement.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure value Numeric Value
Yes 0
No 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate whether/not the battery of this BBU needis replacement. The graph of this measure however is represented using the numeric equivalents only - 0 or 1.