Configuring a disk drive on a load source adapter for hot spare using the IBM i operating system

To start hot spare protection on your load source adapter you will need to determine the status of the disk drive in the load source slot and configure or exchange that disk drive, which might require you to power down the system.

1. If necessary, start System Service Tools (SST) by typing strsst on the command line of the IBM® i session and pressing Enter.
2. Type your service tools user ID and service tools password on the Start Service Tools (STRSST) Sign On display. Press Enter.
   Note: The service tools password is case sensitive.
3. Determine the protection status of all disks controlled by the load source adapter. Do all disk drives that are a member of a parity sets or mirror sets have a status of active?
   • No: Replace the disk using the following procedure in, Replacing a disk drive with the IBM i system or logical partition powered on.
   • Yes: Continue to the next step.
   Restriction: There must be a disk drive of the same or larger capacity located in a load source capable slot to act as a hot spare for the active load source disk drive. The next steps will have you change the disk drive in the desired slot if needed.
   Attention: If the disk drive acting as hot spare for the load source is of smaller capacity you can suffer data loss.
4. Determine whether a non-configured disk drive of the same or larger capacity is located in a load source capable slot but is not the active load source. Only parallel SCSI places a restriction on the location of the load source. Any SAS, Fibre Channel, or virtual disk drive does not have this restriction.
   • No non-configured drive is located in a load source capable slot. Continue with the next step
   • Yes a non-configured drive is located in a load source capable slot. Return to the procedure that sent you here, and continue to the next step of that procedure.
5. Choose the disk drive to be installed or exchanged with the drive in the load source slot by doing the following:
   1. Select a disk drive in a parity set located in a load source capable slot, but is not the active load source drive, and record the location of this disk drive.
   2. Select a non-configured disk drive of the same or larger capacity from either a non-load source slot or a failed drive you are replacing with a non-configured disk drive.
6. Stop the system. For instructions, see Stopping the system or logical partition.
7. Exchange the disk drives from the two locations you recorded in step 5 by removing both disk drives and placing them into the other disk drives slot.
8. Start the system. For instructions, see Starting the system or logical partition.
9. Return to the procedure that sent you here and continue with the next step in that procedure.