Seagate X8 Accelerator Quick Start Guide
Page 1
... a File System After driver installation the Seagate® X8 Accelerator will reduce the total available storage for Linux, Windows and vSphere. The Seagate® X8 Accelerator connects in the box provides full details on the X8 Accelerator datasheet (http://www.seagate.com/internalhard-drives/enterprise-hard-drives/ssd/x8-accelerator/). Use the configuration utility "vgc-config" to change the lower profile bracket if needed. Step 6: Device Monitoring The monitor utility "vgc-monitor" provides key metrics during normal operation of your Seagate Support...
... a File System After driver installation the Seagate® X8 Accelerator will reduce the total available storage for Linux, Windows and vSphere. The Seagate® X8 Accelerator connects in the box provides full details on the X8 Accelerator datasheet (http://www.seagate.com/internalhard-drives/enterprise-hard-drives/ssd/x8-accelerator/). Use the configuration utility "vgc-config" to change the lower profile bracket if needed. Step 6: Device Monitoring The monitor utility "vgc-monitor" provides key metrics during normal operation of your Seagate Support...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for Linux
Page 3
... Enhance Performance by Disabling CPU Throttling 7 6.0 Installing X8 Accelerator Driver 8 6.1 Verify X8 Accelerator Devices are Installed and Detected Properly 8 6.2 Installing Drivers and Utilities Packages 8 6.3 Starting the Driver 9 7.0 Verifying Performance 10 7.1 Selecting Max Performance or Max Capacity Mode 10 8.0 Creating File Systems 11 8.1 XFS High Performance Options 11 8.2 EXT3 High Performance Options 11 8.3 Auto-Mounting Seagate Device on Linux Systems 11 9.0 Software RAID 12 10.0 Management Utilities 12 10.1 vgc-monitor 12 10.2 vgc-secure-erase 13 10.3 vgc-config...
... Enhance Performance by Disabling CPU Throttling 7 6.0 Installing X8 Accelerator Driver 8 6.1 Verify X8 Accelerator Devices are Installed and Detected Properly 8 6.2 Installing Drivers and Utilities Packages 8 6.3 Starting the Driver 9 7.0 Verifying Performance 10 7.1 Selecting Max Performance or Max Capacity Mode 10 8.0 Creating File Systems 11 8.1 XFS High Performance Options 11 8.2 EXT3 High Performance Options 11 8.3 Auto-Mounting Seagate Device on Linux Systems 11 9.0 Software RAID 12 10.0 Management Utilities 12 10.1 vgc-monitor 12 10.2 vgc-secure-erase 13 10.3 vgc-config...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for Linux
Page 6
... the country in order to support the previous versions of the Software upon availability of the Product is governed by U.S. export control laws; Further, you acknowledge that you must possess a valid license to , or resulting from any of , relating to the previous version in which is contemplated. Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for any Software ("Update") you are not a citizen, national...
... the country in order to support the previous versions of the Software upon availability of the Product is governed by U.S. export control laws; Further, you acknowledge that you must possess a valid license to , or resulting from any of , relating to the previous version in which is contemplated. Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for any Software ("Update") you are not a citizen, national...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for Linux
Page 12
... subsystem by using X8 Accelerator devices you need to select your distribution version. Install the packages using Oracle Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu, Debian, OpenSUSE, or Fedora Core you are running kernel version with the X8 Accelerator or at http://www.seagate.com/support/ downloads/ for the supported Operating Systems versions. Red Hat, CentOS # rpm -ivh vgc-utils-3.2-55402.C7.x86_64.rpm # rpm -ivh kmod-vgc-redhat6.1+-3.2-55402.C7.x86_64.rpm SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR USER GUIDE FOR LINUX, REV...
... subsystem by using X8 Accelerator devices you need to select your distribution version. Install the packages using Oracle Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu, Debian, OpenSUSE, or Fedora Core you are running kernel version with the X8 Accelerator or at http://www.seagate.com/support/ downloads/ for the supported Operating Systems versions. Red Hat, CentOS # rpm -ivh vgc-utils-3.2-55402.C7.x86_64.rpm # rpm -ivh kmod-vgc-redhat6.1+-3.2-55402.C7.x86_64.rpm SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR USER GUIDE FOR LINUX, REV...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for Linux
Page 14
...erase existing data. SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR USER GUIDE FOR LINUX, REV. This makes it is write intensive, setting Max Performance mode instead of the default Max Capacity mode can download a simple performance testing script "test.sh" that generate significant amount of random write I/O will benefit from using NOTE vgc-config will NOTE destroy all X8 Accelerator devices: # vgc-config vgc-config: 3.2(55402.C7) Current Configuration: vgca 2 partition(s) vgca0 mode=maxperformance vgca1 mode=maxperformance sector-size=512 sector-size=512 raid=enabled raid=enabled Command for formatting...
...erase existing data. SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR USER GUIDE FOR LINUX, REV. This makes it is write intensive, setting Max Performance mode instead of the default Max Capacity mode can download a simple performance testing script "test.sh" that generate significant amount of random write I/O will benefit from using NOTE vgc-config will NOTE destroy all X8 Accelerator devices: # vgc-config vgc-config: 3.2(55402.C7) Current Configuration: vgca 2 partition(s) vgca0 mode=maxperformance vgca1 mode=maxperformance sector-size=512 sector-size=512 raid=enabled raid=enabled Command for formatting...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for Linux
Page 15
8.0 CREATING FILE SYSTEMS Any standard Linux file system may be used instead. 8.1 XFS HIGH PERFORMANCE OPTIONS Performance of block device. In such case creating a software partition using its standard mkfs utility. Sybase) that some applications (e.g. XFS allows setting "sector" size equal to 4KB, which guarantees the necessary alignment for XFS to enable the highest performance: # mkfs.xfs -s size=4096 /dev/vgca0 Note that use direct I/O of many applications can be...
8.0 CREATING FILE SYSTEMS Any standard Linux file system may be used instead. 8.1 XFS HIGH PERFORMANCE OPTIONS Performance of block device. In such case creating a software partition using its standard mkfs utility. Sybase) that some applications (e.g. XFS allows setting "sector" size equal to 4KB, which guarantees the necessary alignment for XFS to enable the highest performance: # mkfs.xfs -s size=4096 /dev/vgca0 Note that use direct I/O of many applications can be...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for Linux
Page 17
... for customers who need to securely erase data from a device. Seagate has a Secure Erase Utility that if a device needs to be returned to the factory for repair/replacement, or is being used. A 13 SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR USER GUIDE FOR LINUX, REV. The Seagate Secure Erase Utility complies with the Clear and Purge levels of Sanitization specified in accordance with instructions for Flash EPROM (http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-88/NISTSP800-88_with-errata.pdf) The specifications state the...
... for customers who need to securely erase data from a device. Seagate has a Secure Erase Utility that if a device needs to be returned to the factory for repair/replacement, or is being used. A 13 SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR USER GUIDE FOR LINUX, REV. The Seagate Secure Erase Utility complies with the Clear and Purge levels of Sanitization specified in accordance with instructions for Flash EPROM (http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-88/NISTSP800-88_with-errata.pdf) The specifications state the...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for Linux
Page 25
..." Solution: Remove the "loading.lck" file and issue a "service vgcd start " fails, then please check syslog for instructions on the PCIe bus. # lspci -d 1a78: 82:00.0 FLASH memory: Virident Systems Inc. SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR USER GUIDE FOR LINUX, REV. Solution: Uninstall the rpms (driver and utilities) by lspci, please try a different slot. Virident FlashMAX Drive V2 (rev 01) If the device is not listed, please power down...
..." Solution: Remove the "loading.lck" file and issue a "service vgcd start " fails, then please check syslog for instructions on the PCIe bus. # lspci -d 1a78: 82:00.0 FLASH memory: Virident Systems Inc. SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR USER GUIDE FOR LINUX, REV. Solution: Uninstall the rpms (driver and utilities) by lspci, please try a different slot. Virident FlashMAX Drive V2 (rev 01) If the device is not listed, please power down...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for Linux
Page 26
...: Support.seagate.com • Phone: 1-800-SEAGATE (1-800-732-4238) • Website: http://www.seagate.com/internal-hard-drives/enterprise-hard-drives/ssd/x8-accelerator/ SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR USER GUIDE FOR LINUX, REV. Finally, file systems can have setting for Seagate support personnel and then reboot the system. # vgc-diags vgc-diags: 3.2.55402.C7 Creating vgc.diags.tar Collecting diagnostic data... A 22 They are physically the right size but only connect four PCIe lanes. 13.2 PERFORMANCE...
...: Support.seagate.com • Phone: 1-800-SEAGATE (1-800-732-4238) • Website: http://www.seagate.com/internal-hard-drives/enterprise-hard-drives/ssd/x8-accelerator/ SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR USER GUIDE FOR LINUX, REV. Finally, file systems can have setting for Seagate support personnel and then reboot the system. # vgc-diags vgc-diags: 3.2.55402.C7 Creating vgc.diags.tar Collecting diagnostic data... A 22 They are physically the right size but only connect four PCIe lanes. 13.2 PERFORMANCE...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for Linux
Page 27
... Linux Systems 11 B Bracket Installation 5 C Cannot Find Block Device /dev/vgca0 21 Contacting Support 22 Creating File Systems 11 D Data Sanitization Standards 13 Double Board 5 Driver Crash on System Boot 22 Dynamic Throttling 20 E Enhance Performance by Disabling CPU Throttling 7 EXT3 High Performance Options 11 F Fan Speed Settings in BIOS 6 H Hardware Installation 5 I Installing Drivers and Utilities Packages 8 Installing X8 Accelerator Software 8 Introduction 4 IOs are not Being Processed because the Driver is Hung 22 S Selecting Max Performance or Max Capacity Mode...
... Linux Systems 11 B Bracket Installation 5 C Cannot Find Block Device /dev/vgca0 21 Contacting Support 22 Creating File Systems 11 D Data Sanitization Standards 13 Double Board 5 Driver Crash on System Boot 22 Dynamic Throttling 20 E Enhance Performance by Disabling CPU Throttling 7 EXT3 High Performance Options 11 F Fan Speed Settings in BIOS 6 H Hardware Installation 5 I Installing Drivers and Utilities Packages 8 Installing X8 Accelerator Software 8 Introduction 4 IOs are not Being Processed because the Driver is Hung 22 S Selecting Max Performance or Max Capacity Mode...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for VMware
Page 6
... NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. Seagate's collection, use and disclosure of personally identifiable information in proliferation activities. law, the Software and any related technical data made available for download under this EULA are not engaged in connection with your use of the Product is governed by U.S. export control laws; Privacy. International Trade Compliance. government...
... NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. Seagate's collection, use and disclosure of personally identifiable information in proliferation activities. law, the Software and any related technical data made available for download under this EULA are not engaged in connection with your use of the Product is governed by U.S. export control laws; Privacy. International Trade Compliance. government...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for VMware
Page 11
... installing the device drivers and updating the firmware for X8 Accelerator devices on the ESXi host after logging in via SSH (SSH service must be removed and replaced with the new device driver VIB with this single command execution. X8 Accelerator [vgca] 5.1.1 Install/Update Seagate Driver VIBs Using Offline VIB Bundle If an earlier version of the device driver and utilities VIBs are already installed, then they will be identified as a Seagate X8 Accelerator device (or as the Seagate Technology Memory controller...
... installing the device drivers and updating the firmware for X8 Accelerator devices on the ESXi host after logging in via SSH (SSH service must be removed and replaced with the new device driver VIB with this single command execution. X8 Accelerator [vgca] 5.1.1 Install/Update Seagate Driver VIBs Using Offline VIB Bundle If an earlier version of the device driver and utilities VIBs are already installed, then they will be identified as a Seagate X8 Accelerator device (or as the Seagate Technology Memory controller...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for VMware
Page 17
... Firmware -- 100 % complete. Reboot Required: true VIBs Installed: VIBs Removed: Seagate_bootbank_block-vgc_3.2.55402.C7-1OEM.500.0.0.472560, Seagate_bootbank_esxcli-vgc-utils_3.2.55402.C7-5.0.0.464360 VIBs Skipped: SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR FOR VMWARE ESXI USER GUIDE, REV. Install 3.0/3.1/3.1.1 VIBs ### ### 3. The same is a potentially destructive operation and Seagate recommends the back-up of installed driver and utils VIBs ~ # esxcli software vib remove -n block-vgc -n esxcli-vgc-utils Removal Result Message: The update completed...
... Firmware -- 100 % complete. Reboot Required: true VIBs Installed: VIBs Removed: Seagate_bootbank_block-vgc_3.2.55402.C7-1OEM.500.0.0.472560, Seagate_bootbank_esxcli-vgc-utils_3.2.55402.C7-5.0.0.464360 VIBs Skipped: SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR FOR VMWARE ESXI USER GUIDE, REV. Install 3.0/3.1/3.1.1 VIBs ### ### 3. The same is a potentially destructive operation and Seagate recommends the back-up of installed driver and utils VIBs ~ # esxcli software vib remove -n block-vgc -n esxcli-vgc-utils Removal Result Message: The update completed...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for VMware
Page 23
... List configuration of the Seagate X8 Accelerator devices. The usage information for esxcli vgc config is delivered with the Seagate X8 Accelerator device are handled by the esxcli vgc config command. Users can show the current partitioning and write acceleration modes on an existing device. Example: ~ # esxcli vgc config list -d vgca vgc-config: 3.2.55402.C7 Current Configuration: vgca 1 partition(s) vgca0 mode=maxcapacity sector-size=512 raid=enabled SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR FOR VMWARE ESXI USER GUIDE, REV. 7.0 X8 ACCELERATOR CONFIGURATION & MANAGEMENT UTILITIES A suite...
... List configuration of the Seagate X8 Accelerator devices. The usage information for esxcli vgc config is delivered with the Seagate X8 Accelerator device are handled by the esxcli vgc config command. Users can show the current partitioning and write acceleration modes on an existing device. Example: ~ # esxcli vgc config list -d vgca vgc-config: 3.2.55402.C7 Current Configuration: vgca 1 partition(s) vgca0 mode=maxcapacity sector-size=512 raid=enabled SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR FOR VMWARE ESXI USER GUIDE, REV. 7.0 X8 ACCELERATOR CONFIGURATION & MANAGEMENT UTILITIES A suite...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for VMware
Page 32
... | grep -i vgc SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR FOR VMWARE ESXI USER GUIDE, REV. Rescanning mount points... [ OK ] [ OK ] [ OK ] [ OK ] [ OK ] Step 4. If power spikes exceed default threshold value of X8 Accelerator devices if temperature goes above the default threshold (T[throttle], default: 78°C). The throttling default settings: T[throttle], T[warning], T[offline], Turbo/ Compliant, Power NOTE Threshold, and IO Performance levels are set in 2 modes: turbo mode and compliant mode. Virident FlashMAX Drive V2 (rev...
... | grep -i vgc SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR FOR VMWARE ESXI USER GUIDE, REV. Rescanning mount points... [ OK ] [ OK ] [ OK ] [ OK ] [ OK ] Step 4. If power spikes exceed default threshold value of X8 Accelerator devices if temperature goes above the default threshold (T[throttle], default: 78°C). The throttling default settings: T[throttle], T[warning], T[offline], Turbo/ Compliant, Power NOTE Threshold, and IO Performance levels are set in 2 modes: turbo mode and compliant mode. Virident FlashMAX Drive V2 (rev...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for VMware
Page 33
... output of vgc-monitor for maximum performance selected. SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR FOR VMWARE ESXI USER GUIDE, REV. Check whether the device is healthy by running the following will be logged: kernel: INFO: task vgc_mtwa0:13866 blocked for more information on the recommended options for more than expected IO performance, verify that the device is installed in Section 6 "Updating Controller Firmware". 2) "vgcd: Not loading kernel modules because...
... output of vgc-monitor for maximum performance selected. SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR FOR VMWARE ESXI USER GUIDE, REV. Check whether the device is healthy by running the following will be logged: kernel: INFO: task vgc_mtwa0:13866 blocked for more information on the recommended options for more than expected IO performance, verify that the device is installed in Section 6 "Updating Controller Firmware". 2) "vgcd: Not loading kernel modules because...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for VMware
Page 35
... to Utilize Full Performance of X8 Accelerator with a Single Guest VM. 26 Single Board 5 Software EULA 1 Software Installation & Update 7 System BIOS Settings 6 System Requirements 4 T Thermal Throttling 28 Troubleshooting on the Drive 24 X X8 Accelerator Firmware Downgrade Procedure 13 SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR FOR VMWARE ESXI USER GUIDE, REV. A 31 Write Performance 26 Using Devices in BIOS 6 Purging Data on the Drive 24 R Reboot 8 S Setup Recommendations to Collect Log Bundle 23 Using vgc-secure-erase for Purging Data on ESXi Systems 28 U Uninstalling X8 Accelerator Driver & Utils VIBs...
... to Utilize Full Performance of X8 Accelerator with a Single Guest VM. 26 Single Board 5 Software EULA 1 Software Installation & Update 7 System BIOS Settings 6 System Requirements 4 T Thermal Throttling 28 Troubleshooting on the Drive 24 X X8 Accelerator Firmware Downgrade Procedure 13 SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR FOR VMWARE ESXI USER GUIDE, REV. A 31 Write Performance 26 Using Devices in BIOS 6 Purging Data on the Drive 24 R Reboot 8 S Setup Recommendations to Collect Log Bundle 23 Using vgc-secure-erase for Purging Data on ESXi Systems 28 U Uninstalling X8 Accelerator Driver & Utils VIBs...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for Windows
Page 3
... 30 10.1 Data Block Sizes and Alignments 30 10.2 IOMeter 30 iii Seagate X8 Accelerator for Performance 9 5.3 Verify the Device Driver is Loaded and Functioning 9 6.0 Configuration and Management of the X8 Accelerator Device 10 6.1 Seagate X8 Accelerator Manager 10 6.1.1 Details Displayed 11 6.2 X8 Accelerator Device Details 12 6.3 Device Mappings 13 6.3.1 Creating a Logical Drive 13 6.4 Device Configuration 15 6.4.1 Reset (to factory defaults 15 6.4.2 Creating a New Partition 17 6.4.3 Modify Existing Partition 19 7.0 Verifying Performance 21 8.0 Command Line Utilities 23...
... 30 10.1 Data Block Sizes and Alignments 30 10.2 IOMeter 30 iii Seagate X8 Accelerator for Performance 9 5.3 Verify the Device Driver is Loaded and Functioning 9 6.0 Configuration and Management of the X8 Accelerator Device 10 6.1 Seagate X8 Accelerator Manager 10 6.1.1 Details Displayed 11 6.2 X8 Accelerator Device Details 12 6.3 Device Mappings 13 6.3.1 Creating a Logical Drive 13 6.4 Device Configuration 15 6.4.1 Reset (to factory defaults 15 6.4.2 Creating a New Partition 17 6.4.3 Modify Existing Partition 19 7.0 Verifying Performance 21 8.0 Command Line Utilities 23...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for Windows
Page 6
... technical data made available for download under control of the governments of the country in order to use the Update. All Updates provided to you shall be subject to support the previous versions of the Software upon availability of the Product is governed by U.S. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. Seagate shall have no obligation to use and disclosure of the Third Party Services. 10. NO WARRANTY...
... technical data made available for download under control of the governments of the country in order to use the Update. All Updates provided to you shall be subject to support the previous versions of the Software upon availability of the Product is governed by U.S. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. Seagate shall have no obligation to use and disclosure of the Third Party Services. 10. NO WARRANTY...
Seagate X8 Accelerator User Guide for Windows
Page 36
....C7.x86_64 If the running "rpm -aq | grep vgc | xargs rpm -ev". And then re-install the rpms. Please refer to upgrade the firmware." Step 2. Rescanning SW RAID volumes... Enabling swap devices... SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR FOR WINDOWS USER GUIDE, REV. Ensure the vgcd service is installed, then the device driver will not load. Rescanning mount points... [ OK ] [ OK ] [ OK ] [ OK ] [ OK ] Step 4. Solution: Update the firmware using instructions in the output of these...
....C7.x86_64 If the running "rpm -aq | grep vgc | xargs rpm -ev". And then re-install the rpms. Please refer to upgrade the firmware." Step 2. Rescanning SW RAID volumes... Enabling swap devices... SEAGATE X8 ACCELERATOR FOR WINDOWS USER GUIDE, REV. Ensure the vgcd service is installed, then the device driver will not load. Rescanning mount points... [ OK ] [ OK ] [ OK ] [ OK ] [ OK ] Step 4. Solution: Update the firmware using instructions in the output of these...
