Preparing the 8286-41A or 8286-42A system to install a disk drive or solid-state drive with the power turned on in IBM i

Learn about the steps you must complete before you install a disk drive or solid-state drive (SSD) in a system with the IBM® i operating system or IBM i logical partition that controls the drive location powered on.

If you are installing SSDs, review the configuration rules and then return here. For more information, see Solid-state drive configuration rules.

To prepare the system to install a disk drive or solid-state drive, complete the following steps:

  1. Ensure that the software that is required to support the feature is installed on your system. For information about software prerequisites, see the IBM Prerequisite website. If the required system firmware, software, or fix packs are not installed on your system, go to the Fix Central website to download and install them before you continue.
  2. Determine the slot in which you want to install a disk drive or an SSD. The disk drive and SSD slots are in the front of a system. More SSD slots are also available in an expanded function system.

    Figure 1 and Figure 2 show the disk drive or solid-state drive, and the service indicator locations for a rack-mounted system.

    Figure 3 and Figure 4 show the disk drive or solid-state drive, and the service indicator locations for a stand-alone 8286-41A system.
    Figure 1. Disk drive or solid-state drive, and service indicator locations in a rack-mounted, base function 8247-42L, 8286-41A, or 8286-42A system
    Disk drive or solid-state drive, and service indicator locations in a rack-mounted, base function 8247-42L, 8286-41A, or 8286-42A system.
    Figure 2. Disk drive, solid-state drive, and service indicator locations in a rack-mounted, expanded function 8286-41A or 8286-42A system
    Disk drive, solid-state drive, and service indicator locations in a rack-mounted, expanded function 8286-41A or 8286-42A system.
    Figure 3. Disk drive or solid-state drive, and service indicator locations in a stand-alone, base function 8286-41A system
    Disk drive or solid-state drive, and service indicator locations in a stand-alone, base function 8286-41A system
    Figure 4. Disk drive, solid-state drive, and service indicator locations in a stand-alone, expanded function 8286-41A system
    Disk drive, solid-state drive, and service indicator locations in a stand-alone, expanded function 8286-41A system
    If you are installing a drive in the 5887 disk drive enclosure, see Disk drive locations and service indicators for the 5887 disk drive enclosure.
    Note: When you have drive slots available in a system, enclosure, or expansion unit, fill the slot positions in the system first. However, you can choose a different disk drive or solid-state drive placement that depends on your data protection strategy.
  3. Record the physical location where the new disk drive or solid-state drive can be installed.
    1. The physical location has the following form: U787A.001.AAAXXXX-P2-D3 where P2-D3 is the position of the disk drive or solid-state drive in the system, drive enclosure, or an expansion unit. Find the U787A.001.AAAXXXX location information from the control panel display on the system, drive enclosure, or an expansion unit.
    2. In this example, U787A.001.AAAXXXX-P2-D3, U787A.001 comes from the feature code (FC) on the label, AAAXXXX comes from the last 7 digits of the sequence number (SN or SEQ) on the label, and P2-D3 is the slot where you are installing the disk drive or solid-state drive.
    3. If you cannot find the location information from the control panel, find the feature code (FC) and sequence number (SN or SEQ) on the label that is shown on the front of the system, drive enclosure, or an expansion unit, as shown in Figure 5. In the example, U5074.001.AAAXXXX-DB3-D32, you would install a disk drive or solid-state drive in the expansion unit with type 5074, model 001, sequence number AAAXXXX, and disk drive or solid-state drive position DB3–D32.
      Figure 5. Example of a system or an expansion unit label
      Example of a system or an expansion unit label.
  4. To identify the available slot by using the Hardware Service Manager (HSM), complete the following steps:
    1. Sign on to service level authority.
    2. Type strsst in the command line of the IBM i session and then press Enter.
    3. Type your service tools user ID and service tools password in the Start Service Tools Sign On display, and then press Enter.
      Note: The service tools password is case-sensitive.
    4. Select Start a service tool from the System Service Tools (SST) display, and then press Enter.
    5. Select Hardware service manager from the Start a Service Tool display, and then press Enter.
    6. If the slot you want to use contains a disk drive filler, remove the disk drive filler.
    7. Select Device Concurrent Maintenance from the Hardware Service Manager display, and then press Enter.
      The Device Concurrent Maintenance is displayed, as shown in the following figure.
      Figure 6. Example Device Concurrent Maintenance display
                            Device Concurrent Maintenance
 
Type the choices, then press Enter.

Specify either physical location or resource name.
     Physical location:
U787A.001.1234567-P3-D4
            or
     Device resource name:

Specify action as 1=Remove device  2=Install device
     Action to be performed . . . . . . . .: 2

Enter a time value between 00 and 19.
     Time delay needed in minutes . . . . .: 01

F3=Exit    F5=Refresh    F12=Cancel
    8. In the Specify either physical location or resource name field, type the physical location that you previously recorded in this procedure.
    9. Select 2 (Install device) for the Action to be completed.
    10. Set the time delay in minutes. For example, for one minute enter: 01.
      Note: You can set an appropriate time delay of 01 - 19 minutes to allow adequate time to access the disk drive or solid-state drive.
    11. Do not press Enter yet, first complete installing the disk drive or solid-state drive in the system, drive enclosure, or an expansion unit.
  5. Find the package that contains the new drive.
    Attention: Drives are fragile. Handle with care.
  6. Attach the electrostatic discharge (ESD) wrist strap. The ESD wrist strap must be connected to an unpainted metal surface until the service procedure is completed, and if applicable, until the service access cover is replaced.
    Attention:
    • Attach an electrostatic discharge (ESD) wrist strap to the front ESD jack, to the rear ESD jack, or to an unpainted metal surface of your hardware to prevent the electrostatic discharge from damaging your hardware.
    • When you use an ESD wrist strap, follow all electrical safety procedures. An ESD wrist strap is used for static control. It does not increase or decrease your risk of receiving electric shock when using or working on electrical equipment.
    • If you do not have an ESD wrist strap, just prior to removing the product from ESD packaging and installing or replacing hardware, touch an unpainted metal surface of the system for a minimum of 5 seconds. If at any point in this service process you move away from the system, it is important to once again discharge yourself by touching an unpainted metal surface for at least 5 seconds before you continue with the service process.
  7. Remove the drive from the static-protective package.
Parent topic: Installing a disk drive or solid-state drive in the 8286-41A or 8286-42A system with the power turned on in IBM i
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Last updated: Fri, July 26, 2019