dell compellent sc2020 sc2040 freeze

Alert:
The BMC IP address settings on the SC4020 should be
set as non-routable. If the IP addresses are routable, there is a possibility of the BMC getting into an unresponsive state. This could result in alerts for enclosure, sensors, and power supplies, up
to and including a n unplanned reset of the controller.
Workaround:
If the controller’s BMC is unresponsive, the controller will need to be reseated in the chassis to drain power from the BMC. After the controller is finished initializing.
Cchange the IP address of the BMC to be non-routable.
The address can be found in the controller properties within the Storage Center System Manager or Enterprise Manager. It is recommended that the BMC IPaddresses be configured to a different subnet than the management interfaces. An example is below:
Top Controller:

BMC IP address:169.254.0.1

Subnet Mask:255.255.255.0

BMC Gateway:0.0.0.0



Bottom Controller:

BMC IP address:169.254.0.2

Subnet Mask:255.255.255.0

BMC Gateway:0.0.0.0
Note that the above recommended
settings may not be ideal for your network. A full review of the environments IP/Subnet scheme should be reviewed prior to making these changes.

The baseboard management controller (BMC) does not have a separate physical port on the SCv2000/SCv2020/SCv2040. The BMC is accessed through the same Ethernet management port that is used for Storage Center configuration, administration, and management.

The watchdog timer  is the mechanism that keeps track of the health of the BMC, the timer needs to be reset in order for the array to continue functioning properly. If the timer is not reset, the controller will reboot as a first attempt to recover from the issue. Sometimes the controllers do not reboot properly and hang.

The BMC default IP is 192.168.x.x and netmask 255.255.255.0 set on it, even though it is not a routable IP, if there is something on that subnet generating network traffic that can cause the BMC to hang which in turn brings down the controllers with it.

CSTA – BMC IP address settings on SC4020

The quickest way would be to do it from the CLI of the array, but you can also configure it from the GUI when the array is configured.

For the GUI:

At the end of the configuration wizard you should have an option to configure the BMC, here is a fragment from the deployment guide that explains that:

If you want to do it yourself from the command line, after deploying the array,

  • connect a serial cable to the array (top controller first)
  • use putty as a client, set port speed to 115200 and the COM port specific to the machine to which the serial is attached
  • log in with the array Admin and password
  • the array should present you with a prompt that contains the SSN of the controller , for example <210524 (?)>
  • issue the following commands in order:

 

shellaccess developer

platform bmc set ip 169.254.0.1

platform bmc set netmask 255.255.255.0

 

To verify the outcome please use:

 

Platform bmc show

 

Perform the same steps on the bottom controller adding the next IP.

Please be careful when using command line as it is not providing feedback as a linux command line does.

If you have any trouble when doing that, give Dell support a call and they should modify it for you. 🙂

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