Isilon Systems
S/X200, S/X210, X/NL400, X/NL410 - Series
Product
Letter of Volatility
Document #994-0046-02

Document Summary
This document contains a description of the volatile and non-volatile memories
contained in the Isilon S200, X200, X400 & NL400 series products.

 
 
Copyright © 2015 Isilon Systems LLC
 S/X200, X/NL400 Series Product Letter of Volatility Isilon Confidential

Revision History
Revision Name Date Section Changes
01 Dan T & Scott A 7/12/12 All Initial Draft
02 Mike Sutton 10/16/15 All Updated to add S/X210, X/NL410

Table of Contents
1   OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................ 3  
2   MEMORY SYSTEMS ................................................................................................ 3  
2.1   Motherboard Main Memory (DIMMs) ............................................................................ 3  
2.2   Motherboard CPU Cache Memory .................................................................................. 4  
2.3   Motherboard Boot Disk Memory (SSDs) ........................................................................ 4  
2.4   Motherboard BIOS Memory (EEPROM) ........................................................................ 4  
2.5   Motherboard CMOS Battery Backed Memory ................................................................ 4  
2.6   SAS Controller RAM And Flash ..................................................................................... 4  
2.7   SAS Expander RAM And Flash ...................................................................................... 5  
2.8   SEFC Configuration Memory (SEEPROM) .................................................................... 5  
2.9   Front Panel Freescale Internal Memory (Flash, RAM, USB RAM) ............................... 5  
2.10   Solid State and Hard Disk Drive (Disk & Cache) ........................................................... 5  
2.11   IB-NVRAM IO Card DRAM And Flash ......................................................................... 5  
2.12   10GE Ethernet Interface Card RAM And Flash .............................................................. 6  
3   CONTACT INFORMATION ..................................................................................... 7  

Isilon #994-0046-01 Revision 01 07/12/12 Page 2 of 7

S/X200, X/NL400 Series Product Letter of Volatility Isilon Confidential

1 OVERVIEW
This document describes the various memory systems in the 200 & 400-series nodes, and the volatility of
each of those memories.
This document applies all revisions of the various configurations of these systems:
• S200, S210
• X200, X210
• X400, X410
• NL400, NL410

2 MEMORY SYSTEMS
The nodes contain several memory systems. These are:
• Motherboard Main Memory (DIMMs)
• Motherboard CPU Cache Memory
• Motherboard Boot Disk Memory (SSDs)
• Motherboard BIOS Memory (EEPROM)
• Motherboard CMOS Battery Backed Memory (RAM)
• SEFC SAS Expander Internal Memory (RAM)
• SEFC SAS Expander External Memory (Flash)
• SEFC Configuration Memory (SEEPROM)
• Front Panel Freescale Internal Memory (Flash, RAM, USB RAM)
• Solid State Drive (SSD & Cache)
• Hard Disk Drive (HDD & Cache)
• I/O Card Belknap IB-NVRAM (RAM & Flash)
• 10GE NIC (RAM & Flash)

2.1 Motherboard Main Memory (DIMMs)

The motherboard holds up to 16 individual 2, 4, 8 or 16 Gbyte DDR3 memory modules. These memory
DIMMs are volatile memory, and the contents of the memories will be lost when power is removed from
the motherboard. This main memory is directly accessible from system and user applications. It will hold
data for user applications.
Each DIMM module contains a 256 byte serial EEPROM. This serial EEPROM is non-volatile, and
retains its contents after power is removed. This serial EEPROM is not accessible by user applications,
and are not write-protected by hardware design on the modules, so their contents can be altered from
factory defaults. The first 128 bytes comply with JEDEC standard JC-45, "Appendix X: Serial Presence
Detect (SPD) for DDR3 SDRAM Modules." These bytes identify module-specific timing parameters,
configuration information, and physical attributes. The serial EEPROMs are not accessible from user
applications and are not in any user data path. There are no system or user applications available to write
to the serial EEPROMs.

Isilon #994-0046-01 Revision 01 07/12/12 Page 3 of 7

S/X200, X/NL400 Series Product Letter of Volatility Isilon Confidential

2.2 Motherboard CPU Cache Memory

Each Intel CPU IC contains up to 20 Mbytes of cache memory to be shared between the processor cores.
This memory is volatile, and the contents will be lost when power is removed from the CPU. The cache is
used transparently to system and user applications and is not directly available to any process.

2.3 Motherboard Boot Disk Memory (SSDs)

The nodes contain either two 8GB SATA SSD devices or two 32GB SATA SSD drives. One of these
solid state drives is used as a boot device and as storage for chassis descriptor files. The other SSD is a
mirrored image for a backup copy. The master boot record and system boot image is used only for
booting the machine from BIOS to load the operating system kernel. The chassis descriptor files are used
to describe the system, including chassis part number and serial number. As an EPROM device the disk is
non-volatile and will retain its contents without power.
This disk device is not in any user data path. File systems are not mounted, but the disk is accessible from
applications as a raw device. System applications will write this device at the time of manufacture.
This disk will be used as a storage device for system crash dumps in the event of an software crash.
The contents of the boot drives may be wiped out before power down by scrubbing the disk with the
command:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/ad4 bs=1024k
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/ad7 bs=1024k

2.4 Motherboard BIOS Memory (EEPROM)

The motherboard contains 128 bytes of serial EEPROM and 4 or 8 Mbytes of parallel EEPROM. The
serial EPROM is used to hold parameters for system and network configuration. The parallel EEPROM is
used to hold the system BIOS code image. Both EEPROMs are non-volatile, and the memory contents
will be retained when power is removed from the motherboard. Neither the serial EEPROM nor the
parallel EEPROM are accessible from user applications. These EEPROMs are not in any user data path.
The EEPROMs are only writeable using special factory applications.

2.5 Motherboard CMOS Battery Backed Memory

The motherboard contains 512 bytes of battery backed up static RAM memory. This memory is used to
hold system and bios initialization parameters. The memory is non-volatile, and the contents are retained
when power is removed from the motherboard. The memory is not accessible from user applications and
is not in any user data path. There are no system or user applications available to write to this memory.

2.6 SAS Controller RAM, SAS Controller HBA and Flash

The SAS controller chip has 2 MB of internal eDRAM. This is the main on-chip memory for the internal
processor for both instructions and data. This memory is volatile, and the contents will be lost when
power is removed. The eDRAM is used transparently to system and user applications and is not directly
available to any process.
The SAS controller also has 4 MB of external Flash ROM for program storage. This memory is used to
store the disk controller program image. The Flash ROM is non-volatile and its contents will be retained
when power is removed from the motherboard. The disk controller Flash ROM is not accessible from any
user application, but is accessible from special system maintenance applications. It is programmed at the
factory and is not in any user data path.

Isilon #994-0046-01 Revision 01 07/12/12 Page 4 of 7

S/X200, X/NL400 Series Product Letter of Volatility Isilon Confidential

The SAS controller HBA used in the X/S210 and X/NL410 platforms has non-volatile memory for the
FW flash, NVSRAM and serial EEPROM. The flash components on this HBA module do not store user
data from the operating system. No operating system level data is retained in in any of the NV
components after AC power is removed.

2.7 SAS Expander RAM And Flash

The SAS expander chip contains 512K of internal eDRAM. This is the main on-chip memory for the
internal processor for both instructions and data. This memory is volatile, and the contents will be lost
when power is removed. The Ram is used transparently to system and user applications and is not
directly available to any process.

The SAS expander connects to a 4 MB external Flash ROM through the External Memory (XMEM)
Interface. This memory is non-volatile, and the contents will not be lost when power is removed. This
memory is used to hold the SAS Expander's firmware. The Flash ROM is not accessible from any user
application, but is accessible from special system maintenance applications. It is programmed at the
factory and is not in any user data path.

2.8 SEFC Configuration Memory (SEEPROM)

The 64KB serial EEPROM is non-volatile, and retains its contents after power is removed. The Serial
EEPROM is used to hold chassis identification data such as the product configuration number and serial
number of the unit. The data is written at the time of product manufacture. The serial EEPROM is not in
any user data path, and is only writeable using special factory applications.

2.9 Front Panel Freescale Internal Memory (Flash, RAM, USB RAM)
The Front panel MCU chip has 60KB of internal Flash memory that is non-volatile, and the contents will
not be lost when power is removed. This memory is used to hold the operating program code.
The Front panel MCU chip has 4KB of internal Ram memory that is volatile, and the contents will be lost
when power is removed. This memory is used to load the operating program from Flash and then the
processor runs out of Ram.
The Front panel MCU chip has 256 bytes of USB Ram memory that is volatile, and the contents will be
lost when power is removed. The USB module includes 256 bytes of high speed RAM, accessible
by the USB serial interface engine (SIE) and the CPU. The USB RAM is used for storage of the
buffer descriptor table (BDT) and endpoint buffers. This memory is not accessible from user
applications and is not in any user data path.

2.10 Solid State and Hard Disk Drive (Disk & Cache)
Each disk drive itself contains up to 16 Mbytes of cache memory. This memory is volatile, and the
contents of that cache will be lost when power is removed from the drive. Generally the contents of a disk
write cache will have been written to the disk media before power is removed. The contents of the disk
are only available to the system and user applications through the file systems.

2.11 NVRAM
The nodes contain either a PCI-Express IB and Battery Backed SDRAM NVRAM Card or a PCI-Express
Battery Backed SDRAM and FLASH NVRAM card.

Isilon #994-0046-01 Revision 01 07/12/12 Page 5 of 7

S/X200, X/NL400 Series Product Letter of Volatility Isilon Confidential

2.11.1 IB and Battery Backed SDRAM NVRAM Card

The X/S200 and X/NL400 contain an IB and Battery Backed DRAM NVRAM Card. This card contains
512Mbytes of battery backed SDRAM. When power is removed from the system, batteries located on a
separate card in the system preserve the contents of the SDRAM for a period up to 7-9 days. The contents
of the SDRAM will be lost when the batteries are exhausted. The SDRAM contents will also be lost if
AC power is removed from the node and the chassis batteries are removed.
The SDRAM memory is used by the file system to hold user data being written to disks across the cluster
in a journaled file system. The NVRAM contents are accessible from system applications but are
generally blocked from access by user applications. The NVRAM is directly in the user data path for all
file system writes to the clustered disk partitions (/ifs partitions).
The contents of the SDRAM may also be destroyed by disabling the battery backup before powering the
node down. This is known as ‘ship-mode’ and can be invoked by the super-user via the command:
isi_hw_status nvrbatteryoff
When power is removed from the system the contents of the SDRAM will be lost. Additionally, the
contents of the SDRAM may be wiped out before power down by scrubbing the memory with the
command:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/mnv0 bs=1024k
The IB and Battery Backed SDRAM NVRAM Card also contains an on-board 4Mbyte EPROM of that
contains the IB and Battery Backed SDRAM NVRAM Card firmware program image. This EPROM is
non-volatile and its contents will be retained when power is removed from the motherboard. The IB-
NVRAM card's EPROM is not accessible from any user application, but is accessible from special system
maintenance applications. This EPROM is programmed at the factory and is not in any user data path.

2.11.2 Battery Backed SDRAM and FLASH NVRAM Card

The X/S210, NL/X410, and HD400 have a Battery Backed SDRAM and FLASH NVRAM Card. This
card contains 2Gbytes of battery backed SDRAM and 2Gbytes of NAND FLASH. Using battery power,
the data stored in the SDRAM is written to NAND FLASH when AC power is lost. The battery allows for
10 writes of this content if needed before the batteries are exhausted. The SDRAM and NAND FLASH
are used by the file system to hold data being written to disks across the cluster in a journaled file system.
The SDRAM and NAND FLASH contents are accessible from system applications but are generally
blocked from access by user applications. The SDRAM and FLASH are directly in the user data path for
all file system writes to the clustered disk partitions (/ifs partitions).
The contents of the NAND FLASH are erased whenever the SDRAM is being used to store user data. If
the battery is disabled before powering down the node, the contents of the SDRAM will be destroyed and
the contents of the NAND FLASH will remain erased. To disable the batteries, the super-user must
invoke the command:
isi_hw_status nvrbatteryoff
The Battery Backed SDRAM and FLASH NVRAM card has a 64-KB EEPROM for boot-loading. It also
dedicates a portion of the NAND FLASH for storage of non-volatile firmware. Both of these memories
are non-volatile and their contents will be retained when power is removed from the motherboard. They
are not accessible from any user application, but they are accessible from special system maintenance
applications. These memories are programmed at the factory and are not in any user data path.

Isilon #994-0046-01 Revision 01 07/12/12 Page 6 of 7

S/X200, X/NL400 Series Product Letter of Volatility Isilon Confidential

2.12 10GE Ethernet Interface Card RAM And Flash

The nodes may contain a 10Gbit Ethernet Interface card. The 10GE controller chip has of internal and
external DRAM for holding its local instructions and data as well as user data buffers. This memory is in
the user data path. This memory is volatile, and the contents will be lost when power is removed. The
DRAM is used transparently to system and user applications and is not directly available to any process.
The 10GE controller also has 4 MB of external Flash ROM for program storage. This memory is used to
store the controller program image. The Flash ROM is non-volatile and its contents will be retained when
power is removed from the motherboard. The disk controller Flash ROM is not accessible from any user
application, but is accessible from special system maintenance applications. It is programmed at the
factory and is not in any user data path.

3 CONTACT INFORMATION
Further information may be obtained by contacting EMC Isilon Storage Division at:
mailto:mike.sutton@emc.com
Voice: +1-763-463-7028

Isilon #994-0046-01 Revision 01 07/12/12 Page 7 of 7