transitioning from 48xx cards to 5152 cards
by Alex Zoghlin
on
Jun 20, 2008 at 5:42:30 pm
I was an original owner of the old raidcore cards (before broadcom bought them)... lived through the bad chip, and eventually upgraded them.
I now have a 3 card 4852-8 array (24 ports), but three ports are no longer working. I've decided to upgrade the server to 3 new 5152-8 cards to get my 3 ports back, and enable SATA-2. Can I just swap out the old 4852 cards with the new 5152 cards and assume my existing 13 TB raid 50 array will survive?
Is this even possible? I know I'll need 6 SAS to 4 7 pin SATA cables, but I'm really worried about the array.
Re: transitioning from 48xx cards to 5152 cards by Brian Higgins on Jun 23, 2008 at 9:41:18 pm
You can upgrade your system from the BC4852-08 cards to the next generation RC5152-08 cards. Listed below are items that need to be verified before any migration can take place.
The BC4852 cards must be upgraded to the version of code that supports both RC4852 and RC5152, this version is V3.3. This must be done prior to any swaps.
If your system is currently running with V2.1 code, you can upgrade to V3.3. If it is at something older than V2.1, you must first upgrade to V2.1 prior to moving to V3.3.
If your system is running with the latest V3.3 code, you are at the point where the cards can be swap out with the RC5152-08 cards.
Below are links to articles that discuss the upgrading of BC4000 series cards to the latest V3.3 code (for complete details reference the V3.3 user guide). One link is for linux, the other is for Windows. Once you have the system running with BC4852 at the V3.3 code, the RC5152 cards can then be installed.
It is very important to get the current configuration (BC4852 cards) operational on the V3.3 version prior to moving to RC5152-08 cards. If the upgrade is done as explained, the data on the arrays will be kept intact and will be functional on the new RC5152-08 cards.
NOTE: As with any upgrade, it is recommended that all critical data be backed up prior to any changes. Failure to follow this accepted system management practice could result in loss of data.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly.
Brian Higgins
Ciprico Technical Support
bhiggins@ciprico.com
