Express5800/A2040c, A2020c, A2010c, A1040c
Mission Critical I/O Failover User’s Guide
(Release 1.0)
May 2015
NEC Corporation
© 2015 NEC Corporation
855-901079-001-A
Notes on Using This Manual
 No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of
NEC Corporation.
 The contents of this manual may be revised without prior notice.
 The contents of this manual shall not be copied or altered without the prior written permission
of NEC Corporation.
Trademarks
 Microsoft, Windows, and Windows Server are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
 Intel and Intel Xeon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United
States and other countries.
 All other product, brand, or trade names used in this publication are the trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.
Related Documents
 Express5800/A1040c, A2040c, A2020c, A2010c User’s Guide
 Express5800/A1040c, A2040c, A2020c, A2010c Installation Guide ( Windows)
Contents
1.
Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
2.
Installing necpciras ................................................................................................................. 3
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
3.
What is Mission Critical I/O Failover? ............................................................................. 1
Operating Environment .................................................................................................. 1
Supported Cards ........................................................................................................... 1
Terminology ................................................................................................................... 1
Access Limitation ........................................................................................................... 2
Installing necpciras ........................................................................................................ 3
Uninstalling necpciras .................................................................................................... 3
Upgrading necpciras ...................................................................................................... 3
Configuration by necpciras ............................................................................................ 4
Backup Configuration Information .................................................................................. 4
Necpciras Command Reference ............................................................................................ 6
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
necpciras command line format ..................................................................................... 6
--show option ................................................................................................................. 6
--set-ler option ............................................................................................................... 7
--set-noler option ........................................................................................................... 9
--reset option ................................................................................................................. 9
--version option ............................................................................................................ 10
Usage.......................................................................................................................... 10
1.
Introduction
1.1
What is Mission Critical I/O Failover?
Mission Critical I/O Failover is a feature to improve the I/O availability. In the event of a
critical/uncorrectable failure occurs to an adapter teamed by LBFO, the feature will bring down the PCIe
link associated with the failed root port within one cycle and the adapter will be failover to a redundant
one within the same teaming to maintain connectivity. Without this feature, if a critical I/O failure occurs
to the adapter in the environment configured by NIC teaming only, the system will be down. This feature
can be enabled by necpciras command.
1.2
Operating Environment
Mission Critical I/O Failover operating environment as shown below:
Table 1-1 Operating Environment
Express5800/A2040c
Express5800/A2020c
Express5800/A2010c
Express5800/A1040c
Windows Server 2012 R2
Hardware (Server)
OS
1.3
Supported Cards
Mission Critical I/O Failover supported cards as shown below:
Table 1-2 Supported Cards
1000BASE-T (2ch)
-NE3304-151M
1000BASE-T (4ch)
-NE3304-152M
Network Cards
1.4
Terminology
Terms used in Mission Critical I/O Failover as shown below:
Table 1-3 Terminology
Term
LBFO
Failover
LER mode
NoLER mode
LER / NoLER slot
Web console
necpciras
Description
Load Balancing and failover (LBFO) is standard NIC teaming in Windows Server.
Traffic failover to prevent connectivity loss in the event of a network component
failure.
LER mode is Live Error Recovery mode. Setting LER mode enables Mission Critical
I/O Failover. When uncorrected error is occurred in the PCIe slot set as LER, the
feature will bring down the PCIe link, remove the card and request failover.
Setting NoLER mode disabled Mission Critical I/O Failover. When uncorrected error
is occurred in the PCIe slot set as NoLER, the system will be rebooted.
LER slot is the PCIe slot set as LER.
NoLER slot is the PCIe slot set as NoLER.
A tool used to view or configure the server via web browser provided by
EXPRESSSCOPE Engine SP3.
Command used for configuring LER mode.
1
1.5
Access Limitation
Operation related to Mission Critical I/O Failover feature is allowed for the user having administrative
right (Administrator account).
2
2.
Installing necpciras
This section describes how to install or uninstall necpciras command.
2.1
Installing necpciras
Login the machine to install necpciras with the user having administrative privilege (Administrator).
Execute necpciras_vX.X.msi file. (X.X indicates version number.) The installer of necpciras starts.
Follow instructions from Installer to proceed.
By default, necpciras is installed in C:\Program Files\NEC\necpciras.
2.2
Uninstalling necpciras
Login the machine to uninstall necpciras with the user having administrative privilege (Administrator)
and perform the following.
Important
Configuration by necpciras command is preserved after uninstallation.
 Windows is configured by other than [Server Core Install]:
Click [Uninstall program] on Control Panel, and select [NEC necpciras] from the menu.
 Windows is configured by [Server Core Install]:
Run the following command at command prompt:
Wmic product where name="NEC necpciras" call uninstall
2.3
Upgrading necpciras
Upgrade necpciras as follows:
Uninstall the old necpciras package according to "2.2 Uninstalling necpciras", then install the new
necpciras according to "2.1 Installing necpciras".
3
2.4
Configuration by necpciras
necpcirs command is used to display information related to Mission Critical I/O Failover feature and to
set LER mode settings.
See "3. Necpciras Command Reference" for details of command line of necpciras command.
Important
Some settings require to system (OS) reboot to apply the settings.
Important
Factory default setting is NoLER mode.
Table 2-1 necpciras command options
Option
--set-ler
--set-noler
--reset
Important
2.5
Use case
Reboot
Use this option to set PCIe slots as LER
mode.
Use this option to set PCIe slots as NoLER
mode.
Required
Use this option to restore factory default
settings.
Required
Required
LER slot must be teamed NIC by LBFO and supported cards for Mission
Critical I/O Failover. Do not set LER mode to no-teamed cards or other
PCIe cards.
Backup Configuration Information
Information configured by necpciras is stored in hardware of the server, not in the file system of OS. If
you change configuration information, be sure to backup the configuration information using web
console.
Important
Reboot or shutdown the system before starting backup process.
Described below is procedure to backup configuration information using web console.
Refer to "Express5800/A1040c, A2040c, A2020c, A2010c User’s Guide" for detailed information and
operation screen images.
Backup procedure
1.
Reboot or shutdown the system.
2.
Select the [Configuration] on web console.
3.
Select [Save/Restore in Bulk] on web console.
4.
Press the [Backup] button to download the file containing configuration information.
4
Refer to "Express5800/A1040c, A2040c, A2020c, A2010c User’s Guide" for how to restore the
configuration information using the backup file obtained from web console.
5
3.
Necpciras Command Reference
This section describes details of necpciras command used to view or configure information related to
Mission Critical I/O Failover. For how to install necpciras, see “3 Installing necpciras”.
3.1
necpciras command line format
necpciras subcommand [<options>]
subcommand:
--show
… See [3.2].
--set-ler=<PCI_SLOT_NUMBERS>
… See [3.3].
--set-noler=<PCI_SLOT_NUMBERS>
… See [3.4].
--reset
… See [3.5].
--version
… See [3.6].
PCI_SLOT_NUMBERS: List the number of PCIe slots delimiting with slash.
3.2
--show option
Shows the current settings of Mission Critical I/O Failover feature.
Suboption
None
Execution resultEx
C:\Program Files\NEC\necpciras>necpciras.exe --show
LER Settings:
-----------------------------------------------LER
LER
Slot
Status Current
Next
-----------------------------------------------PCI1
Enable No
No
PCI2
N/A
No
No
PCI3
Enable No
No
PCI4
N/A
No
No
PCI5
N/A
No
No
PCI6
N/A
No
No
PCI7
N/A
No
No
PCI8
N/A
No
No
PCI9
Enable No
No
PCI10 Enable No
No
PCI11 N/A
No
No
PCI12 N/A
No
No
PCI13 N/A
No
No
PCI14 N/A
No
No
PCI15 N/A
No
No
PCI16 N/A
No
No
6
Description
Table 3-1 necpciras –show option
Item
Slot Status
LER Current
Displayed character
string
Enable
The PCIe slot is available.
N/A
Yes
The PCIe slot is not available.
The PCIe slot is set as LER mode.
The PCIe slot is set as NoLER mode. Empty PCIe slot is
displayed as NoLER mode.
No
Yes
The PCIe slot will be set as LER mode on next boot or PCIe
hot-add.
No
The PCIe slot will be set as NoLER mode on next boot.
LER Next
3.3
Meaning
--set-ler option
Specify LER mode of each PCIe slot.
Important
Set LER mode to NIC teamed by LBFO. Do not set LER mode to
non-teamed NIC and unsupported cards.
Important
When using Mission Critical I/O Failover feature, you need to configure
a team using more than one NIC and to set LER mode to all of team
member NIC.
Important
Do not set LER mode if you configure a team with only one NIC.
Important
Reboot the system to apply the settings.
You can get PCIe slot numbers of teamed NIC by using the Get-NetLbfoTeam and
Get-NetLbfoTeamMember cmdlets of PowerShell. Shown below is an example when the PCIe slot
numbers are 9 and 10.
7
PS C:\Users\Administrator> Get-NetLbfoTeam
PCIe slot numbers
Name
: test-team
Members
: {PCI9 4, PCI10 2}
TeamNics
: test-team
TeamingMode
: SwitchIndependent
LoadBalancingAlgorithm : TransportPorts
Status
: Up
PS C:\Users\Administrator> Get-NetLbfoTeamMember
Name
: PCI10 2
InterfaceDescription
: Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet #39
Team
: test-team
AdministrativeMode
: Standby
OperationalStatus
: Standby
TransmitLinkSpeed(Gbps) : 1
ReceiveLinkSpeed(Gbps) : 1
FailureReason
: NoFailure
Name
: PCI9 4
InterfaceDescription
: Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet #40
Team
: test-team
AdministrativeMode
: Active
OperationalStatus
: Active
TransmitLinkSpeed(Gbps) : 1
ReceiveLinkSpeed(Gbps) : 1
FailureReason
: NoFailure
Suboption
 --set-ler=<PCI_SLOT_NUMBERS> (Ex. –set-ler=9/10)
Specify the pci slot numbers of LER slot, by delimiting with the slash.
Execution resultEx
When command is executed successfully, the same contents as --show option is displayed.
If command fails due to an illegal argument or others, an error message or usage of necpciras is
displayed.
C:\Program Files\NEC\necpciras>necpciras.exe –-set-ler=9/10
LER Settings:
-----------------------------------------------LER
LER
Slot
Status Current
Next
-----------------------------------------------PCI1
Enable No
No
PCI2
N/A
No
No
PCI3
Enable No
No
PCI4
N/A
No
No
PCI5
N/A
No
No
PCI6
N/A
No
No
PCI7
N/A
No
No
PCI8
N/A
No
No
PCI9
Enable No
Yes
PCI10 Enable No
Yes
PCI11 N/A
No
No
PCI12 N/A
No
No
PCI13 N/A
No
No
PCI14 N/A
No
No
PCI15 N/A
No
No
PCI16 N/A
No
No
** NOTICE **
The configuration changes have not been applied yet.
You must reboot the system to apply them.
8
Tips
3.4
Empty PCIe slot is allowed to be set as LER mode. When PCIe
Hot-Add, the slot will be set as LER mode.
--set-noler option
Specify NoLER mode of each PCIe slot.
Important
Reboot the system to apply the settings.
Suboption
 --set-noler=<PCI_SLOT_NUMBERS> (Ex. –set-ler=9/10)
Specify the pci slot numbers of NoLER slot, by delimiting with the slash.
Execution resultEx
When command is executed successfully, the same contents as --show option is displayed.
If command fails due to an illegal argument or others, an error message or usage of necpciras is
displayed.
C:\Program Files\NEC\necpciras>necpciras.exe –-set-ler=9/10
LER Settings:
---------------------------------------------------LER
LER
Slot
Status Current
Next
---------------------------------------------------PCI1
Enable No
No
PCI2
N/A
No
No
PCI3
Enable No
No
PCI4
N/A
No
No
PCI5
N/A
No
No
PCI6
N/A
No
No
PCI7
N/A
No
No
PCI8
N/A
No
No
PCI9
Enable No
Yes
PCI10 Enable No
Yes
PCI11 N/A
No
No
PCI12 N/A
No
No
PCI13 N/A
No
No
PCI14 N/A
No
No
PCI15 N/A
No
No
PCI16 N/A
No
No
** NOTICE **
The configuration changes have not been applied yet.
You must reboot the system to apply them.
3.5
--reset option
Reset ler settings.
Important
Reboot the system to apply the settings.
9
Suboption
None
Execution resultEx
LER settings are reset. And the same contents as --show option is displayed.
If command fails due to an illegal argument or others, an error message or usage of necpciras is
displayed.
C:\Program Files\NEC\necpciras>necpciras.exe –-reset
LER Settings:
---------------------------------------------------LER
LER
Slot
Status Current
Next
---------------------------------------------------PCI1
Enable No
No
PCI2
N/A
No
No
PCI3
Enable No
No
PCI4
N/A
No
No
PCI5
N/A
No
No
PCI6
N/A
No
No
PCI7
N/A
No
No
PCI8
N/A
No
No
PCI9
Enable Yes
No
PCI10 Enable Yes
No
PCI11 N/A
No
No
PCI12 N/A
No
No
PCI13 N/A
No
No
PCI14 N/A
No
No
PCI15 N/A
No
No
PCI16 N/A
No
No
** NOTICE **
The configuration changes have not been applied yet.
You must reboot the system to apply them.
3.6
--version option
Shows version information of necpciras.
Suboption
None
Execution result
The version information is displayed by the following format:
C:\Program Files\NEC\necpciras>necpciras.exe --version
necpciras Version 1.0
3.7
Usage
If command fails due to an illegal argument or others, usage of necpciras is displayed.
Suboption
None
Execution result
10
C:\Program Files\NEC\necpciras>necpciras.exe
Usage:./necpciras --show
Usage:./necpciras --reset
Usage:./necpciras --set-ler=<PCI_SLOT_NUMBERS>
Usage:./necpciras --set-noler=<PCI_SLOT_NUMBERS>
Default value of LER Setting is "No".
<PCI_SLOT_NUMBERS> is pci slot numbers separated by a slash.
ex) --set-ler=1/6 : slot1 and slot6 are set to LER.
11
Express5800/A2040c, A2020c, A2010c, A1040c
Mission Critical I/O Failover
User’s Guide
(Release 1.0)
NEC Corporation
7-1 Shiba 5-Chome, Minato-Ku
Tokyo 108-8001, Japan
TEL (03) 3454-1111 (Main phone number)
© NEC Corporation 2015
No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of NEC Corporation.
12