Installing optional features

Optional hardware features can be installed in an enclosure. For example, drives, network adapters, and more memory modules.

The optional features that an enclosure supports are shown in the sales manual within the IBM Documentation. To find the relevant IBM Sales Manual, search “in all of IBM Sales manuals” for the machine type or the product name of the enclosure.

If an optional feature was ordered with the enclosure order, it is fitted at IBM manufacturing.

Drives can be added to a control enclosure or an expansion enclosure without powering off the enclosure. The IBM® Storage Virtualize software discovers the drives. Use the management GUI to add the drives to an existing array or use them to make a new array.

Pluggable network port modules (for example SFP) can be added or changed without powering off the node canister.

A node canister must be logically removed from the system (by using the rmnode command) and power off before adding memory modules to it. When putting the node canister back in to the enclosure, it is automatically added back into the system if there are no unrecoverable node errors. Ensure that hosts can access volumes via this node canister before logically removing the other node canister from the system (by using the rmnode command) and power it off to add memory modules to it.

A node canister must be logically removed from the system (by using the rmnode command) and powered off before adding or changing any network adapter to it.

When a node canister comes online with new adapters in it, the addresses of the ports might move. Some reconfiguration might be needed to restore all communication links before proceeding to update the next node canister. If portmasks or portsets are being used, they might need to be changed.

Always check that hosts, other Storage Virtualize nodes, and any back-end storage controllers can access the partner node canister before powering off a node canister.

Use the management GUI to check that access to volumes is not lost if a node is offline. Host administrators can check that there are still paths to volumes if a node is offline.

If there are partnerships with other IBM Storage Virtualize systems, use the management GUI to check that communication with the partner system is not lost when a node is offline.

Use the management GUI to power off or remove a node canister from the system. However, if the node is logically removed from the system, use the service assistant tool or CLI to power it off.

Use the management GUI to make any port configuration changes that might be needed to a node with new or different network adapters.

See the Removing and replacing a drive page appropriate to the product for the specific information about how and where to fit drives in the node canister type.

See the Removing and replacing a network adapter page appropriate to the product for the specific information about how and where to fit adapters in the node canister type.