Hard disk drives not available to blade servers

Use this information to resolve problems when the blade server is not able to see the hard disk drives in the disk storage module.

Problem

The disk storage module is powered on, but the blade servers cannot see the drives.

Investigation

Perform these steps to resolve the problem:
  1. If the problem affects the hard disk drives in disk storage module 1, make sure that there is at least one power supply in power module bay 1 or 2. If the problem affects the hard disk drives in disk storage module 2, make sure that there is at least one power supply in power module bay 3 or 4.
  2. Make sure that there is at least one SAS connectivity module installed and functioning. If you are using one SAS connectivity module, it should be installed in I/O bay 3. If you are using two SAS connectivity modules, they should be installed in I/O bays 3 and 4.
  3. View the amber fault LED on the front of the disk storage module. If it is lit:
    1. Make sure the advanced management module is present and functioning.
    2. Log in to the advanced management module and view the event log for power or cooling problems.
    3. Make sure that there is enough power allocated to allow the disk storage module to power on. You can view the power budget through the advanced management module Web interface by clicking Power Management.
    4. Reseat the disk storage module and allow the advanced management module to power it on.
    5. Replace the disk storage module.
  4. Verify that each of the blade servers accessing the hard disk drives in the disk storage modules has a SAS expansion card installed. You may need to update the firmware for the SAS expansion card.
  5. Verify that the blade server is zoned to see the hard disk drives in the disk storage module. You can see the zone configuration implemented for the BladeCenter S system from the advanced management module Web interface by clicking Storage Tasks.
  6. Power on the blade server and when prompted, press Ctrl-c to start the SAS LSI Configuration Utility.
    Note: Some blade servers, such as the LS20 have an onboard SCSI controller. If you are using one of these blade servers, you will notice that the LSI Configuration prompt will appear twice. Make sure that you choose the SAS LSI Configuration Utility.
    1. Select the SAS expansion card.
    2. Select SAS Topology.
    3. Verify that you can see the SAS connectivity modules and that the hard disk drives are shown for each disk storage module.
  7. Update the firmware for the disk storage module.
  8. Replace the disk storage module.
Parent topic: Troubleshooting disk storage module problems