Failed Battery Pack or Battery System

What Caused the Problem?

A battery pack in the Interconnect-battery canister has failed. In rare cases, this problem could also result from a failure in the battery system, which includes charging units and voltage regulators. The Recovery Guru Details area provides specific information you will need as you follow the Recovery Steps.

 Caution: Possible loss of data accessibility. Do not remove a component when either (1) the Service action (removal) allowed (SAA) field in the Details area of this recovery procedure is NO (), or (2) the SAA LED on the affected component is OFF (note that some products do not have SAA LEDs). Removing a component while its SAA LED is OFF may result in temporary loss of access to your data. Refer to the following Important Notes and the Recovery Steps for more detail.

 Caution: Electrostatic charges can damage sensitive components. Always use proper antistatic protection when handling components. Touching components without using a proper ground may damage the equipment.

Important Notes

Recovery Steps

1

Locate the failed battery pack using the information provided in the Recovery Guru Details area.

Consult the appropriate hardware manual if you need details on locating and replacing the battery pack.

2 Check the Service Action Allowed status for the battery pack in the Details area.
If... Then...
Service Action Allowed = YES () Check the Service action LED on Component field in the Details area and then answer the following question:

Does the field indicate that this battery pack has a physical SAA LED?

  • Yes - Check the physical battery pack to ensure the LED is ON.
    • If the LED is ON, then go to step 3.
    • If the LED is OFF, then click the Recheck button to see if another problem appears in the Summary area.
      • If there is another problem, fix it first and then return to this procedure.
      • If there is no other problem, then stop this procedure and contact your technical support representative.
  • No - Go to step 3.
Service Action Allowed = NO () Answer the following question:

Are there other problems being reported in the Summary area?

  • Yes - Fix these problems first and then return to this procedure after clicking the Recheck button.
  • No - stop this procedure and contact your technical support representative
3 Remove the battery pack, but do NOT discard it.

You may be able to reuse this battery pack if the failure is in another component.

4

Insert a new battery pack securely into place.

5

Click the Recheck button to rerun the Recovery Guru.

If...

Then...

The failure is NOT reported

You have fixed the problem. Do not continue with the Recovery Steps.

Note: Depending on your model of battery pack and its current state, it will normally take a minimum of 15 to 30 minutes and a maximum of 24 to 48 hours to become fully charged. During this time, the battery pack will report a Charging status.

The failure is still reported

The failure may be in the battery system, which includes the charging unit and the voltage regulator.

Go to step 6.

6 The charging unit for the battery pack is located in the Power-fan canister. Locate the associated Power-fan canister using the information provided in the Recovery Guru Details area.

The Service Action Allowed (SAA) field in the details area will be "No" by default, and the corresponding SAA LED will be OFF. You must ensure that it is OK to remove the Power-fan canister before removing it.

From the Script Editor in the EMW, or by the Command Line Interface, execute one of the following commands:

  • If the Details area indicates that the LEFT Power-fan canister is the associated component:
    set enclosure powerFan=left serviceAllowedIndicator=on;
  • If the Details area indicates that the RIGHT Power-fan canister is the associated component:
    set enclosure powerFan=right serviceAllowedIndicator=on;

Note: The commands above are case-sensitive, and must be entered exactly as shown.  For assistance with using the Command Line Interface or the script editor, refer to the Enterprise Management Window Online help.

Click the Recheck button in the Recovery Guru dialog to update the Service Action Allowed field.

If... Then...
No errors were reported from preparing the canister for removal

AND

Service Action Allowed = YES ()

Check the Service action LED on Component field in the Details area and then answer the following question:

Does the field indicate that this controller has a physical SAA LED?

  • Yes - Check the physical Power-fan canister to ensure the LED is ON.
    • If the LED is ON, then go to step 7.
    • If the LED is OFF, then click the Recheck button to see if another problem appears in the Summary area.
      • If there is another problem, fix it first and then return to this procedure.
      • If there is no other problem, then stop this procedure and contact your technical support representative.
  • No - Go to step 7.
An error occurred

OR

Service Action Allowed = NO ()

Based on the information given from the error dialog, fix the error, then restart these Recovery Steps. If the error continues, stop this procedure and contact your technical support representative
7 Remove the Power-fan canister, but do NOT discard it.

You may be able to reuse this canister if the failure is in another component.

8

Insert a new Power-fan canister securely into place.

9

Click the Recheck button to rerun the Recovery Guru.

If...

Then...

The failure is NOT reported

You have fixed the problem. Do not continue with the Recovery Steps.

Note: Since the problem was resolved by replacing the Power-fan canister, the battery pack you removed in step 2 is still a functional battery pack. Take the appropriate steps to return or discard the faulty Power-fan canister.

The failure is still reported

The failure may be in the voltage regulator.

Go to step 10.

10 The voltage regulator for the battery pack is located in the controller. Locate the associated controller using the information provided in the Recovery Guru Details area.
11 Place the controller offline.
a

Select the controller in the physical view of the Subsystem Management Window.

b

Select Advanced >> Recovery >> Place Controller >> Offline.

c

Complete the instructions in the dialog, then select Yes.

d
Check the Service Action Allowed status for the controller in the Details area.
If... Then...
Service Action Allowed = YES () Check the Service action LED on Component field in the Details area and then answer the following question:

Does the field indicate that this controller has a physical SAA LED?

  • Yes - Check the physical controller to ensure the LED is ON.
    • If the LED is ON, then go to step 12.
    • If the LED is OFF, then click the Recheck button to see if another problem appears in the Summary area.
      • If there is another problem, fix it first and then return to this procedure.
      • If there is no other problem, then stop this procedure and contact your technical support representative.
  • No - Go to step 12.
Service Action Allowed = NO () Answer the following question:

Are there other problems being reported in the Summary area?

  • Yes - Fix these problems first and then return to this procedure after clicking the Recheck button.
  • No - stop this procedure and contact your technical support representative
12 Remove the controller, but do NOT discard it.

You may be able to reuse this controller if the failure is in another component.

13

If...

Then...

You are using In-Band management of the storage subsystem

(refer to the Network Management Type column in the Enterprise Management Window)

Go to step 14.

You are using Out-of-Band management of the storage subsystem

(refer to the Network Management Type column in the Enterprise Management Window)

Before you insert a new controller canister into the storage subsystem, you must update the DHCP/BOOTP server so that it will associate the new controller's hardware Ethernet (MAC) address with the DNS/network name and IP address previously assigned to the removed controller.

To update the DHCP/BOOTP server, find the entry associated with the removed controller and replace its Ethernet (MAC) address with the new controller's Ethernet (MAC) address. The controller's Ethernet (MAC) address is located on an Ethernet ID label on the controller canister in the form xx.xx.xx.xx.xx.xx. If you need more details, consult the Storage System Planning Guide.

When you are finished, go to step 14.

14

Check the replacement part number of the remaining controller and ensure that the new controller has the same replacement part number. Select the remaining controller in the physical view and then select the Controller >> Properties menu option to view the replacement part number.

If you do not have a controller with the appropriate replacement part number, contact your technical support representative.

15 Make sure at least 1 minute has elapsed. Then, insert the new (compatible) controller canister firmly into place.
16 Place the controller online.

a

Select the controller in the physical view of the Subsystem Management Window.

b

Select Advanced >> Recovery >> Place Controller >> Online.

c

Complete the instructions in the dialog, then select Yes.

17 Check the status of the controller in the Subsystem Management Window. The controller should have an Optimal status.
18

If you have logical drives mapped to hosts that have Automatic Logical Drive Transfer (ADT) disabled, it may be necessary to redistribute the logical drives to their preferred controller. Use the following steps to determine the ADT status of the hosts connected to your storage subsystem:

a

Open the Storage Subsystem Profile by selecting the Storage Subsystem >> View >> Profile menu option from the Subsystem Management Window. Then, select the Mappings tab.

b

Scroll to the NVSRAM Host Type Internal Definitions section.

c

If...

Then...

There are hosts mapped to logical drives on this storage subsystem that have an ADT status of disabled

OR

There are hosts mapped to logical drives on this storage subsystem that are not running a host-based, multi-path failover driver

It may be necessary to redistribute the logical drives to their preferred controller. If the Subsystem Management Window's Advanced >> Recovery >> Redistribute Logical Drives menu option is available, select the option.

Note: If you have a mix of hosts with ADT enabled and ADT disabled, all logical drives will be immediately assigned back to their preferred path. However, until the host-based, multi-path failover driver detects the valid preferred path (may take several minutes), the logical drives mapped to the ADT-enabled hosts may get temporarily returned back to the non-preferred path.

If the menu option is not available (grayed out), the logical drives are already associated with their preferred controllers and no action is needed.

Go to step 19.

There are NO hosts mapped to logical drives on this storage subsystem with an ADT status of disabled

AND

All hosts mapped to logical drives on this storage subsystem are running a host-based, multi-path failover driver

No action is required.

If logical drives need to be redistributed to their preferred controller, the host-based, multi-path failover driver will automatically initiate the transfer.

Note that detection of a restored preferred path by the multi-path failover driver can take several minutes.

Go to step 19.

19 Click the Recheck button to rerun the Recovery Guru. The failure should no longer appear in the Summary area.

If...

Then...

The failure is NOT reported

You have fixed the problem.

Note: Since the problem was resolved by replacing the controller, the battery pack and Power-fan canister you removed in previous steps are still functional components. Take the appropriate steps to return or discard the faulty controller.

The failure is still reported

The cause of the failure is not due to the battery pack, charging unit, or voltage regulator. Please contact your technical support representative to assist you with correcting this problem.

Do not discard any components that were replaced during this procedure.