SMART Battery Functionality in Sun StorageTek[TM] 2500 and Sun Storage[TM] 6000 Arrays

Asset ID:	1-71-1207186.1
Update Date:	2011-05-19
Keywords:

Solution Type Technical Instruction Sure

Solution 1207186.1 : SMART Battery Functionality in Sun StorageTek[TM] 2500 and Sun Storage[TM] 6000 Arrays

Applies to:

Sun Storage 6780 Array - Version: Not Applicable to Not Applicable - Release: N/A to N/A
Sun Storage 6180 Array - Version: Not Applicable to Not Applicable   [Release: N/A to N/A]
Sun Storage 6580 Array - Version: Not Applicable to Not Applicable   [Release: N/A to N/A]
Sun Storage 2510 Array - Version: Not Applicable and later    [Release: N/A and later]
Sun Storage 2530 Array - Version: Not Applicable and later    [Release: N/A and later]
Information in this document applies to any platform.

Goal

To discuss this information further with Oracle experts and industry peers, we encourage you to review, join or start a discussion in the My Oracle Support Community - 6000 and 2500 Series RAID Arrays

This document is intended to explain how SMART Batteries function in the Oracle Storage Arrays that have them.

Solution

This is limited to the models 2510, 2530, 2540, 6180, 6580, and 6780 arrays. All other models do not have SMART technology built into them, and require the use of an expiration timer to identify when the battery may need replacement. Batteries that have SMART technology in systems that still have the expiration timer active on them will NOT be replaced if the timer fails or expires the battery.

SMART or Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology was developed originally for disk drives to alert the owner to a predictive failure of a component. It has been applied to the battery backup units.

A SMART battery backup unit (BBU) contains battery cells, thermal cells, a charger, a battery gas gauge, a discharge load and control logic. With SMART battery, the controller must periodically perform learn cycles to determine how much capacity is left in the battery. This information allows the controller firmware to determine exactly how long the BBU can hold the cache "up" and take action as needed.

The battery has two SMART flags that indicate that the battery requires replacement:

Over Temperature - Indicates whether the battery temperature has reached a threshold
Below Charge Capacity - Indicates that the battery cannot maintain a minimum level of charge

Periodically, the battery must calibrate the sensors on the battery during a Learn Cycle.

This learn cycle will disable write caching on 2500 arrays, however the learn cycle will not affect the 6180, 6580, or 6780 array.

For more information on the behavior of the cache and the learning cycle, reference

<> Write back cache disabled during SMART battery learn cycles

This system of using the SMART technology to monitor the batteries, replaces the expiration timer that was seen in previous products of this line. The 2500 and 6000 products that have smart batteries will only be replaced if they are faulted due to the above two flags being set, or if the firmware detects a fault that isn't the result of the expiration timer.

For more information on troubleshooting battery faults, reference:

<> Troubleshooting Storage 2500 and 6000 Battery Faults

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