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DW Blackjack E-Rack or P-Rack Beeping

Updated

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DW Blackjack® E-Rack or P-Rack Beeping

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Affected Roles:  Administrator, Owner

Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps:  DW Spectrum® IPVMS

Complexity:  Medium to High

Last Edit:  June 26, 2024

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System Alarm Alerts

In the event that your DW Blackjack® E-Rack Server or P-Rack Server begins to emit a beeping alarm (chirp), you may need to check the system for issues. When an E-Rack or P-Rack sounds an alarm, it is usually due to one of two reasons – either there is an issue related to the server’s power supply or there is an issue with a storage drive.

This article will outline what the alarm may indicate for the system and how to proceed after the alarm begins.

 

Supported/Affected Devices:

  • DW Blackjack® E-Rack Series
  • DW Blackjack® P-Rack Series

 

Continuous Beeping – Power Supply

If the server is emitting continuous beeping, it may be an indication that there is an issue with the unit’s power supply.  At the back of the DW Blackjack® P-Rack or E-Rack units, there are two (2) power supplies, each acting as a redundant power source to the other. 

Normally, both of the LEDs on the power supplies are illuminated with a solid Green light, indicating a ‘Normal’ status.  However, if the LED of either power supply is illuminated with a different color (orange/red), there may be something wrong with that power supply.

 

**NOTE:  If your P-Rack only has one power supply, you may be using a server with an older housing.

 

 

Troubleshooting a Possible Power Supply Issue

  1. Shutdown the server so that you may disconnect power from the unit in a safe manner.

Locate the dual redundant power supplies at the back of the server.

Normally, both of the LEDs on the power supplies are illuminated with a solid Green LED, indicating a ‘Normal’ status.  However, if the LED of one of the power supplies is illuminated with a different color (orange/red), there may be something wrong with that power supply.

 

**NOTE:  It is possible to simply reseat the power supply experiencing the issue to “reset” it.  However, while you can leave the server powered on during this process, if you remove one of the dual redundant power supplies while the server is running, you also chance shutting down the unit unexpectedly, possibly causing damage.

 

  1. On each power supply there is a small lever that secures the power supply to the server.  Use the lever to disconnect and slide out both power supplies from the housing.

 

  1. Reseat one (1) of the dual power supplies and attempt to Power-On the machine.

If the system turns on, boots successfully, and the connected power supply has a Green LED, then the connected power supply is okay.  If so, power the machine down again and repeat this process with the other power supply connected.

 

  1. If the system does not power on while individually testing each power supply, you can try swapping the power supplies with each other to see if the issue persists and if the issue follows the power supply.

Additionally, you can try connecting the server to a different power source (different UPS battery, different wall outlet, etc.).

 

If power issues continue to persist, you may contact Digital Watchdog Technical Support to report a faulty power supply.

 

Short, Repeated Beeping – Storage Drive

If the server is emitting short, repeated beeping and there is a Red LED blinking (E-Rack model only) in the front or rear drive enclosures, this may be an indication that there is an issue with one of the storage drives.

 

**NOTE:  It is recommended that this troubleshooting is performed by installers or IT personnel familiar with managing RAID configurations.

 

(Software Method) Deactivating the Alarm and Checking Drive Status

  1. Launch the LSI MegaRAID Storage Manager application.

On DW Blackjack® units, there will be an icon on the desktop.

If the icon is not present on a DW Blackjack® Ubuntu/Linux OS unit, to launch the MegaRAID Storage Manager:

  1. Open the Terminal application (Ctrl + Alt + T).
  2. In the Terminal application, enter “sudo su”, then press the Enter key.  The default password is “admin”.
  3. Enter “cd /user/local/megaRAID Storage Manager”, then press the Enter key.
  4. Next, enter “sudo /startupui.sh”, then press the Enter key to launch the MegaRAID Storage Manager application.

(NOTE:  Rebooting the server will also have the software auto-run on startup for Linux servers)

 

  1. Log in to MegaRAID Storage Manager to proceed.

Click on the IP Address of your server.

 

  1. A login window will display.  Enter the User Name and Password for MegaRAID Storage Manager.
    1. Default User Name:
      Windows: Administrator or
      Ubuntu: root
    2. Default Password:  admin

**NOTE:  On Windows, the System Name (such as “bjer3u48t”) varies depending on the OS account information of the DW Blackjack® Server.  If the OS account information has been changed, you may need to use the adjusted credentials. 

 

 

  1. To stop the alarm from beeping, select the Dashboard tab.

Under the Actions section, click on Silence Alarm.

 

  1. To check the drive status, click on the Logical tab, then go to Drives.

Damaged or corrupt drives may appear under the Unconfigured Drives section and display an orange/red circle.  If so, select the drive and save a screenshot of the drive information (HDD model and serial number) before proceeding.  This image will be necessary if DW Technical Support assistance is required.

 

  1. If you are using a DW Blackjack® E-Rack model, you can try to reseat the faulty drive to prompt the system to automatically rebuild the drive.

Alternatively, if you are using a P-Rack model or the drive does not begin to rebuild, prompt the drive to rebuild through MegaRAID Storage Manager.

    1. Right-click on the drive enclosure of the corresponding slot (Ex: Enclosure:SAS2X36 (16), slot: 3)
    2. Click Unconfigure Good
    3. The alarm may begin to sound again at this point.  Go back to the Dashboard tab and click Silence Alarm.
    4. Change back to the Logical tab and right-click on the drive again.  Select Replace Missing Drive.

Ensure that the correct Drive Group and row is selected, then press the OK button.

    1. Go back to the Dashboard tab and silence the alarm again, then change back to the Logical tab.

Right-click on the drive once more and select Rebuild to begin the drive rebuilding process.

 

**NOTE:  The rebuilding process may take some time, depending on the overall storage capacity of the DW Blackjack® Server. 

 

  1. Once the rebuild process has been completed, the drive should appear within the Drive Group.  If the drive shows within the Drive Group as “Offline”, you can right-click on the drive and select Make Drive Online.

Once complete, the Status in the Dashboard menu should show as “Optimal”.

 

 

(RAID WebBIOS Method) Deactivating the Alarm and Checking Drive Status

1. Reboot or turn on the server

As the server boots up, press CTRL+H when prompted during POST to access the RAID Controller.

2. You will now see an "Adapter Selection" Window.  Select the "Start" button.

 

3. The MegaRAID BIOS Configuration Utility window will display.

Select the Speaker Icon in the top-left of the home menu to silence the alarm.

 

If the issue continues to persist, you may contact Digital Watchdog Technical Support for further assistance.  You may be asked to provide a screenshot of the drive information.

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