Rebuilding a VDISK

When a defective drive has been replaced in a Dothill system, the user must check that the RAID array has been rebuilt. To do this, the user should login to the web management interface and confirm that the rebuild is in progress, or has completed. When the rebuild is complete, the VDISK should no longer be listed as "Degraded".

If the VDISK is listed as degraded and there is no rebuild job in progress, a manual rebuild may be required.

Steps

As in most RAID systems, the easiest way to rebuild a VDISK, or virtual drive, is to nominate the newly fitted replacement disk as a spare drive.

• Right hand click on the Degraded VD on the left hand menu tree.

• Then go into Configuration, and then Manage Dedicated Spares

• You will be presented with a graphical view of the unit, and will be able to select unused drives. Tick the drive, and then select "Modify Spare Configuration" to apply the change.

• Ensure the Unit is rebuilding by refreshing the view and looking at the VDISK status.

• You should also be able to see events in the Dothill event log which show that the spare is being used and that VDISK reconstruction has started.

Applies to:

• Dothill Storage systems supplied by Stone Computers (exact instructions apply to the 2012 or newer models)

Dothill Manuals for the 2002 Series

Attached are the key Dothill manuals for many popular Dothill systems sold between 2009 and 2013.

• Getting Started Guide
• Setup Guide
• Software Guide (RAIDar Guide)

The guide covers the 2002 series which includes the 2322 and 2332 (both iSCSI), 2522 and 2532 (SAS), and finally the 2722 and 2732 models (Fibre Channel).

For more document downloads direct from Dothill follow this link.

Applies to:

• Dothill Assured SAN Products 2322, 2332, 2522, 2532, 2722 and 2732 models.

Problems Connecting to the Dothill Web Interface

This article deals with two common problems when accessing older Dothill storage systems.

• Problem 1: I have not connected to the controller before and the web interface doesn't load properly at all.Use this article if you don't know if your web browser works with the Dothill web interface properly.
• Problem 2: I've connect to the Dothill web interface before and I know my browser works, but still the web interface doesn't work properly or I can't download log files

Problem 1 - Troubleshooting Browser Compatibility Issues

1. Ensure your browser proxy settings are is turned off - you are almost certainly trying to connect to an IP address on your LAN and should not use the proxy. See here for more connectivity troubleshooting.
2. Try Chrome instead of Internet Explorer. Some modern versions of Internet Explorer are less forgiving to older appliances web servers.
3. With Chrome or Internet Explorer, try using an HTTP connection instead of HTTPS. For example, try using http://10.0.0.2 or http://10.0.0.3 (these are the default addresses).
4. Ensure that pop-up blockers are disabled
5. With Internet Explorer, try adding the management IP Addresses into the Trusted Sites list
6. With Internet Explorer, try setting the browser security to low or medium low
7. Again, with Internet Explorer, try adding the sites to the Compatibility view
8. Lastly, ensure that SSL 3.0 / TLS 1.1 and 1.2 is enabled. The Dothill web interface might not work if the browser tries to use TLS 2.0

Problem 2 - Restoring connectivity to the controllers Management Interface

If you are 100% sure that you do not have a browser problem, and that you are connecting to the correct IP addresses etc., you may need to restart the Management controllers inside the Dothill. Make sure you have tried to connect to both Management controllers first.

1. You will need a Telnet Client (not SSH) - this can be added as a Windows Feature.

2. Now, open Telnet from an Administrative Command prompt:

• Either run Telnet <ip address>, for example Telnet 10.0.0.2
• Or, just run Telnet, and then use the command Open <ip address>, for example Open 10.0.0.2

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3. You should then be prompted for username and password.
4. Issue the command restart MC A to restart the first management controller.
5. Wait for the controller to restart and come back online. Test that web connectivity to it is now possible.
6. Issue the command restart MC B to restart the second management controller.

Applies to:

• Dothill Storage systems supplied by Stone Computers

Connecting to the Management Interface

You will need the following to connect to the management interface of a Dothill Storage system:

• A web browser; if using Internet Explorer its recommended to use version 8 or above.
  • Disable the use of a Proxy, or ensure that your browser is set to bypass the proxy for local addresses.
• The controller's management ports should be connected in to your management network.
  • If you haven't configured the management network settings from the default, ensure that the default IP addresses of 10.0.0.2 and 10.0.0.3 don't conflict with other devices on your network. If they do, you will need to change the default IP addresses first.
• You will need the controllers LAN IP addresses, if changed from the default.
• You will need the controller's username and password, if changed from the default.

If your PC is not on the same IP address subnet as the controller, you will need to configure your system to have an IP address on the same IP network - for example, if the controllers are on their default IP addresses, you would have to configure your PC to be on 10.0.0.5, assuming that that IP address is available.

When you have everything ready: Open up the web interface and use the browser to go to either management interface IP address and use the username and password to administer the system. If you can't reach the web interface, try pinging a controller's IP address to verify connectivity.

Best Practices

Applies to:

• Dothill Storage systems supplied by Stone Computers