OPERATIONAL DEFECT DATABASE
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Internal node boot drives for the Alletra 9K array may become worn at an accelerated rate due to a log rotation process issue. HPE is committed to working with affected customers to take appropriate proactive measures to mitigate any potential impact to their systems.Because the log rotation process on the disk cages is not functioning effectively, the logs that are synced between the disk and node cages grow at an accelerated rate, causing excessive writes to the node boot drives. As a result, the drives wear out faster than expected.This can manifest in higher drive failure rates, which could potentially result in a node failure if both drives fail before the partner node drive can be replaced.HPE is working on a code improvement to be released but would like to manually truncate the logs to reduce the writes to the drive as soon as possible.This issue may occur on multiple nodes simultaneously, leading to multi-system failures if action is not taken promptly.
HPE Alletra Storage 9000 arrays with at least 1 DCF1 cage are potentially impacted by this issue.NOTE: This issue is independent of the OS version on the array.NOTE: This issue impacts the Array internal Node drives and not the drives that hold customer data.
A permanent fix is planned to be put into OS version 9.6.20.There is a workaround to truncate the cage logs which will significantly reduce the ongoing wear caused by the large log files. Please be aware that this workaround is removing cage logs on the drive cages in order to protect against a possible multi-node failure. These specific cage logs are not needed for day to day function and unlikely to be needed in any cage-related investigation. If there is concern about keeping these cage logs, an insplore can be generated, which will save the logs off and remain separate on the array.Installing the Upgrade Toolkit 74 (Ukit74) or higher will truncate the problem logs at the time of install. It will also call home the nodes internal drive statistics regularly to allow HPE to monitor them more frequently. Systems that have call home enabled can get the Ukit installed automatically with the correct settings.To make sure this is installed, check the on array UI in the System > Software > View version details and look for the Upgrade Tool value or check in the cli with the command "showversion."If it has not updated to Ukit74 or higher, go to Settings> System > Software > Configure Software and make sure "Automatically check for recommendations from HPE Infosight" and "Automatically download and stage updates from HPE InfoSight" are enabled. This will allow the ukit to automatically stage and install and it will allow recommended OS upgrades to stage but it will not automatically install the full OS upgrades.For systems that have call home enabled and have at least Ukit74installed, HPE Support has reached out to impacted customers to help truncate logs and plan proactive replacements.For systems that do not have Call Home configured, download the upgrade toolkit from the HPE Enterprise Software library , in the software menu, searching for the package "HPE Alletra 9000 Upgrade Tool,"and install it manually. Ukit74 will truncate the cage logs on install and Ukit75 when released will truncate the cage logs and keep them truncated until the OS fix is released and installed. This installation is done in System > Software > Load and update package by dragging and dropping the ukit iso into the box and click Done. This will stage and install the ukit and should take less than 5 minutes with no impact. This ukit is not making a change to any OS files.On systems that do not have call home configured, collect an insplore and log a call with HPE to manually assess the state of the array drive statistics and plan any remediation actions that are needed.
Operating Systems Affected:Not Applicable
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