User Guide. Nexio LLM. December

User Guide
Nexio® LLM
December 2014
175-100403-00
Delivering the Moment

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Nexio® LLM Contents
Contents
Overview................................................................................................................ 5
Nexio Server System Architectures .......................................................................................................... 5
HDI Internal Storage ............................................................................................................................. 5
Direct Connect Architecture ................................................................................................................. 5
Switched Fibre Channel Model ............................................................................................................ 6
Media Host Architecture ...................................................................................................................... 6
Intrinsic Mirror System ......................................................................................................................... 6
Nexio Config .......................................................................................................... 7
User Interface ........................................................................................................ 7

Accessing the LLM UI ................................................................................................................................ 7
Nodes Pane........................................................................................................................................... 8
Physical Disks Pane ............................................................................................................................... 9
Logical Disks Pane................................................................................................................................. 9
Logging In................................................................................................................................................ 12
Viewing Network Properties .................................................................................................................. 12
Viewing RAID Set Properties................................................................................................................... 13
Viewing RAID Set Error History............................................................................................................... 14
Viewing Codec Controls .......................................................................................................................... 15
Buffer Usage ....................................................................................................................................... 16
Special ................................................................................................................................................ 16
Drive Activity ...................................................................................................................................... 17
Connections ........................................................................................................................................ 17
RAID Set Technology ............................................................................................ 19

Types of RAID.......................................................................................................................................... 19
Software RAID .................................................................................................................................... 19
Hardware RAID ................................................................................................................................... 19
Creating RAID Sets ............................................................................................... 20

RAID Set Parameters .............................................................................................................................. 20
Examples ................................................................................................................................................. 21
Creating RAID Sets – HDI .................................................................................................................... 21
© 2014 Imagine Communications | All Rights Reserved Page 3 of 36

Nexio® LLM Contents
Creating RAID Sets - Farad.................................................................................................................. 23

Registry Settings ..................................................................................................................................... 24
Expanding an Existing RAID Set ............................................................................ 25

Expanding a Farad RAID Set.................................................................................................................... 25
Replacing a Physical Drive .................................................................................... 26

Replacing a Drive – HDI and SBOD ......................................................................................................... 26
Rebuilding a RAID Set........................................................................................... 27

Examples ................................................................................................................................................. 27
Rebuilding a RAID Set – HDI ............................................................................................................... 27
Rebuilding a RAID Set – Farad ............................................................................................................ 28
Restoring FAT Tables............................................................................................ 28

Saving the FAT Table to a Snapshot File ................................................................................................. 28
Restore the Snapshot File to the Device ................................................................................................ 29
Troubleshooting................................................................................................... 30
Observing Error Conditions .................................................................................................................... 30
Reading Sense Codes .......................................................................................................................... 31
Locating a Problem Drive........................................................................................................................ 31
Locating Physical Drives using LLM ........................................................................................................ 32
Locating a Disk ID ............................................................................................................................... 32
Locating Enclosure Slot Number ........................................................................................................ 33
Managing Hot Spares ............................................................................................................................. 34
Configuring a Hot Spare ..................................................................................................................... 34
Finding a Hot Spare ............................................................................................................................ 35
Fixing Problem Drives ............................................................................................................................. 35
Reseating a Drive ................................................................................................................................ 35

Nexio® LLM Overview
Overview
The main software engine inside all Nexio™ server systems is the Low Level Module (LLM) application.
Although its user interface is spare, the functions provided by the LLM are far reaching. It handles all of
the low level communications between various servers on a Nexio server network system, it directs the
storage and retrieval of media and metadata to the storage array, it manages the real-time compression
and decompression of the media, and it provides the main interface to other software applications that
control the inputs and the outputs from the server.
As an application, the LLM must remain running on each Nexio server that directly or indirectly accesses
media from the storage system. It is possible to minimize the application so that it runs in the
background in the Windows system tray. The main thing to understand is that you must not close the
LLM application if you are recording or playing media from the Nexio system.
This manual provides a reference to the main functions of the LLM user interface. It does not include all
of the possible functions and features of every Nexio platform and storage system. Please refer to the
individual manuals associated with each platform and system for more information on those specifics.
Nexio Server System Architectures

Nexio Server Systems feature several architectures. The differences depend on the complexity of the
storage system and the method through which the Nexio servers share the media on those storage
systems.
HDI Internal Storage

Nexio HDI servers are stand-alone server systems with the media storage built into the server platform.
HDI servers can only see the media on their own internal media drives and not on any other Nexio
systems on the network.
Examples: NXAMP3801HDI, NXVOLT1401HDI
Direct Connect Architecture

Direct Connect Nexio Servers make use of fibre channel cables to directly connect to external storage.
The storage is shared with other Nexio servers and other platforms such as Velocity editors or Media
Gateway servers. There is a physical limit to the number of servers or platforms that can directly attach
to the storage. Typically only four servers can connect to the shared storage in the direct connect model.
Examples: NXAMP3801HDX, NXVOLT1401HDX, NXS3100 Storage Series, NXS2200 and NXS 2300 Farad
Series

Nexio® LLM Overview
Switched Fibre Channel Model

By adding fibre channel switches to the storage architecture, the switched model expands the number
of servers that can connect to the shared storage and the amount of data bandwidth that the platforms
can access jointly. Up to 13 Nexio platforms can attach to the storage for the NXS3100 series. Up to 24
Nexio platforms can attach to the storage for NXS2200 and NXS2300 Farad series.
Examples: NXAMP3801HDX, NXVOLT1401HDX, NX1011MGX, NXS3100 Storage Series
Media Host Architecture

The Nexio Media Host platform, the NX1011MIOH, adds a further extension to the maximum amount of
storage, bandwidth and server platforms attached. In this architecture the MIOH platform is connected
to the storage, either directly or through a fibre channel switch. The Nexio platforms then become
clients to the Media Host platforms, which act as a bridge for providing servers access to the storage
over the Ethernet connection. Multiple servers can attach to a single MIOH. Up to 255 total nodes can
be supported in an MIOH architecture.
Examples: NXAMP3801HDX, NXVOLT1401HDX, NX1011MIOH, NXS3100 Storage Series, Farad Storage
Intrinsic Mirror System

The Intrinsic Mirror (IM) System adds a fully redundant storage system to the existing storage. IM is
available for Media Host, Switched Fibre, and Direct Connect architectures. IM is not available for HDI
internal storage.
For an Intrinsic Mirror system, the LLM ensures that all data written to one storage system is written
simultaneously to the second providing mirrored copies of the same media storage. Nexio servers have
access to both storage systems. This provides more storage, more data bandwidth, and more attached
server platforms all in a truly redundant storage system.

Nexio® LLM Nexio Config
Nexio Config
The Nexio Config software application provides an interface for setting configurations on your Nexio
devices. When Nexio Config opens, it displays network and system information that it reads from your
system on startup. Nexio Config reads your system and sets up the LLM so that it displays the correct
configuration options. Once the Nexio Config Initial Setup routine makes the settings, the LLM can be
started to initialize the storage.
Note. You must use Nexio Config to set up your server system before you can initialize using LLM.
User Interface
The LLM must be running in order for the Nexio server system to operate. Although you must not un-
install the LLM, you may need to exit and restart the LLM so new settings can take effect.
Accessing the LLM UI

The LLM starts automatically when you double-click the Nexio Startup icon on the desktop of the local
Nexio device. If the Nexio server is running as a client server connected to a Media Host platform, the
LLM on the Media Host must first be running before the client LLM is launched.
The LLM can take anywhere from 20 seconds to more than a minute to fully launch. No other
applications should be launched while it starts up and connects to the Nexio network and storage
system.

Nexio® LLM User Interface
The Windows X icon on the LLM UI is permanently grayed-out. It does not operate to close or exit the
LLM. To exit, click on the LLM logo and choose Exit LLM.
Nodes Pane
The LLM UI Nodes pane displays an icon for each Nexio device connected to the network. Labels identify
each node by number and tell whether the node is local or remote. Node icons are also color-coded for
easy identification. Each node must have a unique number. This number is set when the system is
commissioned. When the LLM begins to launch, the LLM checks all node numbers on the network. If the
LLM discovers that it is assigned number is already assigned to another node, the LLM will not launch.
 Cyan monitor with red display: indicates a node attached to the local device.
 Gray monitor with blue display: indicates a remote node.
The Nodes pane reacts a little differently in the Media Host architecture. On client Nexio platforms, you
will only see the local node number in the node pane. On the Media Host platforms, you will see the
local node, the other Media Hosts node, and the client nodes connecting through the local Media Host.

Physical Disks Pane

The Physical Disks pane displays an icon for each physical disk on the storage device that is not part of a
RAID set. Hot spare drives display in the Physical Disks pane. If the Physical Disk pane is empty, it usually
means all available disks have been configured as part of a logical disk.
Note: To view parameters for a physical disk, right-click on the disk icon and use the context menu.
Logical Disks Pane

The Logical Disks pane icons represent the logical disk (RAID) sets that have been configured on the
storage system via the LLM UI.
The Logical Disks pane displays one icon for each logical disk set.
Note: To view details about a logical disk, right-click on the icon and select Properties.
Ghost-disk Icon on Farad Systems
A ghost-disk icon (disk outline) displays when RAID-60 is set up properly on a Farad Gen-2.

Intrinsic Mirror Systems
In Intrinsic Mirror (IM) storage systems, there are mirrored copies of each primary logical disk. For an IM
system, one of the disk labels will include an asterisk to indicate that it is the mirrored copy of the disk
label without the asterisk.
Mirrored drive sets must be numbered as shown here. The drive letters must be the same, and one of
the disk labels must show an asterisk (*). If the asterisk is missing or if the icons show two different
letters (such as D and E) the system is running with two separate volumes each containing unique
material. In this case, one of the data sets will not be protected from a major system fault.
Logical Disks Context Menu

You can view properties and error history for your RAID sets from the logical disks context menu. You
can right-click on a logical disk icon to display the menu.
Note that the top part of the context menu is grayed out. These items are mostly used for administrative
functions. To enable these menu items you must log in to the LLM. See Logging .

Menu Command Definition

Initialize Displays the Initialize New Disk window.
Delete This command is designed to not work if there is existing media
content on the selected RAID set. If there is content on the RAID
set, or if NXOS software has been used on the Nexio server, you
cannot delete a RAID set using this LLM command.
Start Rebuild Under certain circumstances, you can use this control to Rebuild
a RAID set. Before doing so, you must make sure that the
Caution: Improper use of system, all servers, and all storage is in working order.
this control can cause
irrecoverable loss of data.
Stop Rebuild Use this command to truncate a Rebuild sequence in progress.
Fix Used to correct errors on a logical disk that displays a red logical
disk error. See Observing Error Conditions
Caution: Improper use of
Restore Used to import a recovery FAT table. When done properly, this
process can restore IDs that have been removed accidentally.
Restore will not restore data that has been overwritten. See
Restoring FAT Tables.
Resize Used to increase the number of IDs, sub-clips and projects that
can be stored on the RAID set. (Typically this setting is only used
on SBOD storage which was initialized using an older version of
the LLM.)
Expand Displays the Expand Disk window. You can use this window to
select disks to add to the selected RAID set. See
Caution: Improper use of
Expanding an Existing RAID Set.
Properties Security. This tab allows you to log in to the LLM as an
administrator. The default password is LEITCH.
General. This tab displays general status information for the
selected RAID set.
Information. This tab displays physical drive information for the
selected RAID set.
Error History Allows you to view error history for the selected RAID set (logical
disk). See Viewing RAID Set Error History
GPI Displays the Disk Error GPI pop-up.
I/O Do not use these controls as it may damage the contents of the
storage.

Logging In
You must log into the LLM any time you need to use the administration functions listed on the Logical
Disks Context Menu In general; these functions allow you to manage your RAID sets.
To log onto LLM, right-click on a disk icon in the Logical Disks pane to display the Properties window.
Click on the Security tab, enter your LLM password and click LogOn. The default password is LEITCH.
To log off the LLM UI, right-click on a disk icon to display the Properties window. Click on the Security
tab and click LogOff.
Viewing Network Properties

To view the network properties of your connected Nexio devices, go to the Nodes pane and right-click
on a node (device) icon. The Network Properties window displays.
TCP IP Address – The primary network address that carries the SAN coordination messaging. Each device
should have a unique network address on your system. Nexio systems typically ship with network
addresses in the 192.168.90.xxx subnet as this is a protected class. In the case of an HDI Internal Storage
server or a network client platform in a Media Host architecture, the network address may display
000.000.000.000. This is normal and expected of these special architectures. (There is a failover address
set up by NXconfig that does not display here.)
Link Inits – The number of times the LLM has established a new connection to other LLM nodes. Each
time an LLM on a node is stopped and restarted, the Link Inits value is reset to 1, and the Link Init counts
on the other nodes will increase by 1. If the Link Init value spuriously increases at other times, it may
indicate a network adapter problem or an issue with the network infrastructure.

Retries - The number of times connected nodes have tried and failed to reply to a SAN coordination
packet sent by the local node. The LLM makes up to four attempts to send a packet and receive a reply.
After four unsuccessful attempts, the LLM performs a new link initialization.
Best Practice. No Ethernet network is perfect. Therefore, it is normal and expected that retries will
occasionally increment as the LLM responds to short term network disruptions. You should benchmark
your system when it is new and record the number of retries that occur in a 24 hour period. If the
number of retries increases over time, the network should be analyzed for bad connections.
Viewing RAID Set Properties

To view logical (RAID) disk parameters, right-click on a Logical Disk icon and navigate to Properties >
General to display the General tab.
The General tab displays information about the logical disk including how much of the storage is in use
according to the estimated time of media stored on the RAID set and how much is still available. This
estimate is based on the current configuration of the Nexio platform’s first channel or, in the case of a
platform that is not a video server, the configuration of Codec O in the LLM’s registry. The information
regarding Used Segments and Free Segments is a similar report of available storage. In this case,
segments refer to the number of discreet files stored on the RAID set.
To view physical disk parameters for a RAID set, right-click on a Logical Disk icon and navigate to
Parameters > Information. The Information tab displays icons for the physical drives in the RAID set.
On the Information tab, drives with cyan blue icons are the primary data drives. Drives with yellow icons
are the parity drives which provide the RAID protection. If a drive has failed or is in some other way
inaccessible to the LLM, it will appear with a red slashed circle over the icon.

Right-click on a physical disk icon and select Identification to display information about the selected
physical disk.
Viewing RAID Set Error History

To view the error history of your RAID set, right-click on a Logical Disk icon and select Error History. The
Error Chart shows read and write errors for all drives in the logical disk. You can use the chart to
determine which drives show errors.
The numbers along the bottom of the graph (X-axis) represent drive numbers. The numbers along the
left side of the graph (Y-axis) represent the number of errors. Read errors are represented by a cyan
blue bar and Write errors are represented by a magenta pink bar.
This chart shows read and write errors on drive 7
Note. The top number on the Y-axis represents the highest number of errors that has occurred on any
drive. Notice that the top number starts at 1, meaning that just one error will display a full size bar. You
should always view the actual number displayed at the top of the Y-axis to determine the number of
errors shown on the chart.

This chart shows read and write errors on drive 5.
Disk numbers on the Error Chart are not always numbered sequentially. When systems are newly
commissioned, the disk numbers are sequential. However, once a system has a few disk replacements,
the numbers display on the Error Chart out of order.
To display error history for a specific drive, navigate to the Properties > Information tab, right-click on
the drive icon and select Errors. A pop-up displays Read/Write errors for the selected disk.
Viewing Codec Controls

The Codec Controls window provides record, play, pause, and stop functions on the codecs. These
functions are for hardware diagnostics purposes only and should not be used for on air transmissions.
The number of codecs shown on this window depends on the configuration of the selected node.
The Codec Control window displays video server status and diagnostic information. To open Codec
Control window, double-click the Local device icon on the Nodes pane.

Buffer Usage
Buffer Usage shows the system pre-fetch and record cache buffer usage. This is a peak hold indicator.
Use the Clear button to view the current reading. The numbers are displayed as X/Y.
 X is the sum of the number of buffers used to hold pre-fetched read data prior to decompression
plus the write data after compression but prior to storage commit.
 Y is the total number of buffers available. The quantity of available buffers (the Y value) depends on
machine settings and the quantity of installed memory.
Tip. If you find that the X value exceeds Y, the common cause is a settings error or data delivery issue. To
troubleshoot this condition you should first run the Nexio Config software to verify that the settings are
as expected then apply these settings. If the condition persists, the data delivery subsystem is at fault.
The condition can be caused by factors external to the node, such as failing Fibre Channel infrastructure
component or slow network.
Special
The Special area of the Codec Controls window allows you to write the Rate Log and save the video
content displayed on the lowest codec channel as a special file for review by the factory.

Drive Activity
The drive activity section of the Codec Controls window shows event messages for the RAID set.
Control Definition
Read Activity Shows data transfer activity for read
operations.
Write Activity Shows data transfer activity for write
operations.
Xor Read Activity Shows the speed of the parity calculation
process.
Xor Write Activity Shows the speed of the parity calculation
process
Errors Shows error messages returned by the LLM
since the last restart of the LLM.
Use the Next button to cycle through the errors. The message buffer keeps track of the first few
reported messages. For a complete log of all error messages, review the contents of the error log file
located on your Nexio server at C:\VR\Logs\LLM\errlog.txt.
Connections
The Connections area of the Codec Controls window shows the number of active control connections.

Control Definition
Serial Number of RS422 ports that are receiving control
streams from an external device.
Timeline The number of LLM connections to a timeline playback
service on TCP port 559. Normally 1 per playback
channel when the service is available.
Tcp The number of controllers that have opened up a
connection to the LLM hosted TCP port 557.
Udp The number of controllers that have sent messages to
LLM hosted UDP port 331 since the LLM was started.
Vmgr The number of management processes (internal or
external) attached to LLM hosted TCP port 555.

Nexio® LLM RAID Set Technology
RAID Set Technology

Types of RAID
Nexio storage devices support different types of RAID.
Nexio Storage RAID Type RAID Fault Tolerance

Direct Connect ECC Can sustain a single drive failure without
Non-Farad Media Host losing data.
HDI RAID-3 Can sustain two drive failures without
Direct Connect losing data.
Non-Farad Media Host
HDI RAID-6 Can sustain two drive failures without
losing data.
Farad Gen-2 RAID-60 Can sustain two drive failures without
losing data. Features RAIDSoft™ striping.
Farad Gen-1 RAID-601 Allows no single point of failure and no
Farad Gen-2 performance degradation due to
component failure.
See Nexio Server System Architectures for Nexio storage details.
Software RAID
HDI, Direct Connect, and Switched Fibre Channel devices employ “software RAID.” This means that the
distribution of data across multiple drives is managed by system software. For these Nexio devices, the
LLM handles the RAID technology including drive configuration, rebuilds, parity and reading and writing.
If you have one of these devices, you must set your drive configurations using the LLM.
Hardware RAID
Farad devices employ “hardware RAID.” This means that the distribution of data across multiple drives is
managed by the Farad controller. In this case, the LLM is aware of the Farad RAID drives but it does not
control them. You won’t set drive configurations using the LLM for a Farad device because the Farad
system handles it automatically.

Nexio® LLM Creating RAID Sets
Creating RAID Sets

Before your hard disk storage can be used you must do the following:
 Use the LLM to create logical disk (RAID) sets for your server array.
 Add the logical disk parameters to the registry of your local node Nexio device using either the Nexio
Config application or the Windows RegEdit tool.
RAID Set Parameters

These tables list drive requirements for different storage types. The tables indicate the number of drives
per logical disk.
Direct Connect Architecture and non-Farad Media Host Architecture Systems

RAID Type 8 drives 16 drives 24 drives 32 drives 48 drives
RAID ECC NA 4 parity drives 5 parity drives 5 parity drives 6 parity drives
9 data drives 19 data drives 26 data drives 42 data drives
1 hot spare 1 hot spare
RAID-3 1 parity drive 1 parity drive NA NA NA
7 data drives 15 data drives
RAID ECC sets can sustain 2 drive failures without losing data.
RAID-3 sets can sustain a single drive failure without losing data.
HDI Internal Storage Systems

RAID Type 4 drives 5 drives 6 drives 8 drives 16 drives
RAID-3 NA 1 parity drive 1 parity drive 1 parity drive 1 parity drive
4 data drives 5 data drives 7 data drives 15 data drives
RAID-6 NA NA NA 2 parity drives 2 parity drives
6 data drives 14 data drives
RAID-3 sets can sustain a single drive failure without losing data.
No hot spares are required on HDI Internal Storage systems.

Examples
Creating RAID Sets – HDI
This example shows how to create a RAID-6 RAID set on a Nexio 3801HDI device.
The LLM shows 8 physical disks and no logical disk
The chart says I can set up the HDI device with 6 data drives and 2 parity drives.
Select all of the physical disks and click on Initialize to display the Initialize New Disk window.
Initialize New Disk
Icons for all 8 drives display in the Selected Physical Drives pane.

Select one of the drives, right-click and choose Parity. Repeat this step for another drive. The pane now
displays six data drives (cyan) and two parity drives (yellow).
In most cases, the correct initialization settings display. If your system requires changes, make them now
and then click OK.
After the software initializes, the LLM UI shows an icon in the Logical Disks pane and no icons in the
Physical Disks pane. This indicates a single RAID set (logical disk). To verify your RAID set, right-click the
icon and select Properties > Information. The Information tab shows six data drives and two parity
drives.

Creating RAID Sets - Farad

To create a RAID set on a Farad unit using LLM:
1. Select the physical disk icons for the RAID set you want to create and select Initialize.
The Error! Reference source not found. window displays.

2. In the Extended Error Info field, indicate whether the disks will be members of the Data set or the
Parity set.
3. Check the X-Allocation box, indicate the Max Disks value and click OK.
4. Click on the LLM icon and Exit the LLM.
5. Double-click the LLM desktop icon and re-launch the LLM.
When the LLM comes back up after re-launch, it displays a Logical Disk icon representing the RAID set
you just created. It also displays the outline of a Logical Disk icon. This “ghost” disk indicates that your
Farad 60 image is okay, and that you can add more drives.

Registry Settings
You must set the Mindisks and MaxParity values in the registry of your local node Nexio device in order
to initialize your RAID sets.
Use RegEdit to set Mindisks and MaxParity values at the following locations:
 HKCU\Software\ASC AUDIO Video\LLM\Parameters\Mindisks
 HKCU\Software\ASC AUDIO Video\LLM\Parameters\MaxParity
Mindisks are the total number of drives configured into your logical disk RAID set. To come up with this
value you must add the number of data disks to the number of parity disk configured in the logical disk
RAID set. Do not count disks that are designated as hot spares.
MaxParity is the number of parity drives configured into your logical disk RAID set.
Note. These values must match the drive numbers configured into your LLM logical disk array.

Nexio® LLM Expanding an Existing RAID Set
Expanding an Existing RAID Set

Note. You can expand an existing RAID set on a Farad device in certain situations. You cannot expand an
existing RAID set on a non-Farad device.
Expanding a Farad RAID Set

Note. The numbers in the LLM Select disks to add pane will vary depending on the topology of your
system and the number of new RAID sets you are adding.
This example shows how to add two RAID sets (023 and 024) to logical disk D0 and another two RAID
sets (031 and 032) to logical disk D1.
1. Right-click on logical disk icon D0 and select Expand.
2. The Expand Disk window displays showing a list of disks in the Selected disks to add pane. This list
shows the disks that are available for expanding the selected logical drive.
3. Select the disks you want to add to logical disk D0 and click the top <= arrow button next to the D0
display. The selected disks will move to the list under D0.
4. Select the disks you want to add to logical disk 01and click the top <= arrow button next to the D1
display. The selected disks will move to the list under D1.
5. Click OK.
The LLM automatically expands the new disks into the D0 and D1 logical disks. You can monitor the
expansion process by observing the progress bar on the LLM UI. The progress bar on the LLM UI node

Nexio® LLM Replacing a Physical Drive
that you just used will accurately display the progress of your update. The progress bar on other nodes
will show 99% until the update is complete.
This update process takes 15 minutes or less. Do not interrupt the process once it begins.
Replacing a Physical Drive

It is not necessary to stop data activity, editing, or air operations while you replace a drive. However, if
you are in the middle of a rebuilding process for a drive set, do not replace a drive until the rebuild
process is complete.
Note. Refer to Service Alert 272 for complete SBOD rebuild procedures.
Replacing a Drive – HDI and SBOD

CAUTION: If you move a hot spare drive
between slots you must then power
cycle all nodes.
Be sure the drive really needs to be replaced (see error messages), and make sure you have correctly
identified the drive that needs to be replaced.
1. Right-click on the RAID set (logical disk) icon that contains the problem drive and select Properties >
Information.
2. Right-click on the icon for the problem drive and select Prepare Drive for removal.
When the drive is ready for removal, the LLM UI displays the Logical Disk icon showing an error status.
3. Remove the failed drive from the array. The icon representing the failed drive should disappear from
the Physical Disks pane.
4. Insert a new drive into the drive slot of the array and allow it to spin up.

Nexio® LLM Rebuilding a RAID Set
5. In the LLM UI, right-click on the Logical Disk icon and select Properties > Information. Right-click the
drive icon showing the circle-slash and select Replace with new drive.
The Select New Drive window displays.
6. Select the drive icon, and click OK.
The LLM UI displays the Logical Disk icon still showing an error status. Even though the disk has been
replaced, you must restore the missing data before the Logical Disk icon indicates a normal state. To
restore the new drive, you must use the Rebuild command. See Rebuilding a RAID Set.
Rebuilding a RAID Set

RAID sets must be rebuilt in the following cases:
 A physical drive unit has been replaced.
 The IM Monitor software shows non-zero Volume or Member recoverable errors.
 The Logical Disk icon in the LLM UI shows an error condition.
Note. Before you can start the rebuild process, you must log into the LLM so you can access the Logical
Disks Context Menu. Also, you cannot perform the rebuild process from a client device.
Examples
Rebuilding a RAID Set – HDI
To start a rebuild, right-click on the Logical Disk icon showing the error status and select Start Rebuild.

Nexio® LLM Restoring FAT Tables
You can monitor the rebuild process by watching the progress bar at the bottom of the LLM UI.
When the Rebuild process is complete, the Logical Disk icon shows a normal state.
Rebuilding a RAID Set – Farad

Note. You must refer to your Farad documentation for complete information about building and
rebuilding RAID sets on Nexio Farad devices.
Rebuilds must be performed on Farad devices in the following cases:

 In the case of non-zero Volume Recoverable errors, a rebuild is required under certain
circumstances.
 Where the entire logical disk unit goes down in a Farad 601 configuration (3 failed drives in a 6 drive
array), a rebuild is required.
 When changing from Farad 60 to Farad 601, a rebuild is required.
The rebuild process does not apply to Farad units for physical drive replacements.
Restoring FAT Tables

Note. This process applies to all Nexio server system architectures.
You can restore an entire RAID set to an earlier point in time. This process requires you to do the
following:
 Save a copy of the LLM’s logical disk sets Frame Allocation Table (FAT) to the local system drive in a
snapshot file.
 Apply the snapshot file to the device by executing the Restore command from the LLM.
Saving the FAT Table to a Snapshot File

1. Open the Windows RegEdit utility. (Type regedit into the Windows Run dialog.)

Nexio® LLM Restoring FAT Tables
2. Navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ASC Audio Video\LLM\Control folder.
3. Double-click Debug Options to display the Edit String dialog box.
4. Enter savedisk=3600, 10 into the Value data field and click OK.
This specifies that 10 snapshot files will be saved every 3600 seconds (every hour). These files will be
written into the C:\VR folder on the Farad device and will have a .dat file extension.
Restore the Snapshot File to the Device

FAT tables can only be restored in cases where a single LLM is running. If you have multiple servers on
the same system, all instances of the LLM must be closed except for the LLM running the restore
operation. The following conditions apply to clip IDs on the restored server.
 Any clip IDs created after the last snapshot will be lost.
 Any clip IDs deleted since the last snapshot will be restored, but they should be tested before they
are used on air. The content may have been over-written after the last snapshot was taken.
 All data written after the last snapshot will no longer be accessible because the FAT entry pointing to
the content is lost when the snapshot is restored.
1. Right-click on the logical disk icon and select Restore. A pop-up displays asking if you want to restore
the logical disk.
2. Click OK to continue. The Snapshot file list window displays showing a list of snapshot files.

Nexio® LLM Troubleshooting
3. Double-click on the snapshot file that you want to restore. A Restore Completed pop-up will display
when the snapshot file has been restored.
4. Click OK to complete the process.
Troubleshooting
Observing Error Conditions
Logical disk icons indicate logical disk array problems under certain conditions.
 The yellow disk icon indicates that the logical disk array has problems, however media stored on the
array may still be available. The yellow disk icon displays in these situations:
 When you start the LLM with a missing drive.
 When you use the LLM Prepare drive for removal function.
 The red disk icon indicates that the logical disk is offline and the media stored on the array is not
available. The red disk icon appears when you start the LLM.
 The yellow disk icon appears in the system tray automatically when the number of drive errors is too
high over a period of time.
Logical Disk problem – data may still

be available.
Logical Disk problem – disk is offline
and data is not available.
Disk icon displays in the toolbar

A logical disk array can show a failure condition because the RAID configuration is invalid or
because there is a problem with one of the physical disks in the logical array.
Reading Sense Codes

Reading Sense codes help you determine whether the drive failure is a physical problem with the disk
drive or a communication error. To display sense codes for a specific drive, navigate to the Properties >
Information tab, right-click on the drive icon and select Errors. A pop-up displays Read/Write errors and
Sense codes for the selected disk.
The total number of Read/Write errors that have occurred for the selected drive appear in parentheses.
These errors relate to the local server operation from the time the LLM was started. The last error
experienced by the disk displays as a Sense code in the following format.
 X [yy] [zz]
x Sense key.
yy Additional sense code (ASC)
zz Additional sense code qualifier (ASCQ)
 If the Sense Code is 0 [00] [00], the drive is experiencing a communication problem.
 If the Sense code shows any other value other than 0 [00] [00], the drive is experiencing a physical
problem.
Locating a Problem Drive

The LLM UI indicates problem drives with a circle-slash over the disk icon and a question mark in place
of the drive number.
Drives can show the circle-slash sign for any of these reasons.
 The drive has a mechanical failure.
 The drive has been removed from the RAID set using the Prepare drive for removal command.
 The drive was missing when the LLM was launched.

Here are two methods you can use to locate a drive that shows a circle-slash.
 Observe the drive chassis while there is activity on the system. See which drives show blinking green
LEDs in the upper right corner. The circle-slash drive will not blink. (However, drives can show non-
blinking LEDs for other reasons.)
 Right-click the circle-slash icon and select Identification. In some cases, the Identification function
will show a pop-up with the frame and slot number. In other cases, the Identification function is not
available.
Use the process of elimination. If you can determine the ID for all other drives in the RAID set plus the
hot spare, the remaining ID will be the circle-slash drive.
Locating Physical Drives using LLM

Note. This example applies to NXOS 3100 devices.
You may need to identify a physical disk drive that corresponds to a logical disk as it appears in the LLM.
Locating a Disk ID
To locate a disk drive’s ID, right-click on the Logical Disk icon in the LLM UI and select to Properties.
On the Information tab, the Physical Drive List pane shows icons for the physical drives within the
logical disk. The Disk ID displays under each icon.

Locating Enclosure Slot Number

To locate the enclosure and slot number of a physical drive, right-click on the Logical Disk icon and select
Properties.
Right-click on a physical disk icon and select Identification from the context menu.
The Physical Disk Identification pop-up displays. At the same time, the LED for the selected drive lights
up on the server array.

 Frame and Slot indicates the enclosure and the slot number.
 Serial Number matches the serial number on the physical disk drive. (Only the last 5 digits display on
the physical drive.
Managing Hot Spares

A hot spare is a drive that the system uses for backup when an active drive fails. The hot spare drive is
located in the enclosure with the other working drives although the LLM does not access it for read and
write functions. The hot spare is always powered up and ready to be configured into the system. If one
of the active drives fails, you can use the LLM to rebuild the failed drive onto the hot spare.
Configuring a Hot Spare

Any physical disk that is not configured as part of a logical disk set is a hot spare. If you want a hot spare
on your system, you must leave a disk out of your logical disk RAID sets.
Each RAID set can contain only one hot spare. So the maximum number of hot spare drives is equal to
the number of RAID sets in the system.
This example shows a 16 disk device. If you select and configure 15 drives into a RAID set, the remaining
disk becomes a hot spare.

Finding a Hot Spare

Hot spare drives are typically located in the bottom right slot of the highest numbered storage array
when the system is commissioned. However, the position of the hot spare will change over the life of
the system when drives are replaced.
CAUTION: Do not move hot spare

drives between slots. This causes
unnecessary topology changes and
can cause storage loop disruptions.
Here are two ways to find a hot spare drive.
 Use the LLM UI. Once an LLM RAID set is initialized, the Physical Disk pane on the LLM UI shows a
disk icon and disk ID for its hot spare. You can use the disk ID to locate the hot spare drive.
 Observe the Chassis. Look at the drive chassis while the system is active. The green LED will blink in
the upper right corner of all active drives. Typically, the hot spare is the only drive in the chassis that
is not blinking. There are two exceptions to this rule:
 A drive will not blink if it has been removed from the RAID set using the Prepare drive for
removal command.
 A drive will not blink if it has a mechanical failure.
Fixing Problem Drives

Once you determine that a drive on your Nexio device has a physical problem you can use the following
techniques.
 Try to reseat the drive.
 If reseating does not work, you can install a new drive.
 Verify that communication to the drive has been restored.
 Rebuild the drive using the LLM UI.
Reseating a Drive
Follow these steps to reseat a drive.
1. Display the Physical Disk pop-up for the disk you want to reseat.
 Right-click on the Logical Disk icon and select Properties > Information.
 Right-click on the icon for the drive you are reseating and select Identification.
The LED indicator for the problem drive should be on the entire time the Physical Disk pop-up is open.
2. Pull the problem drive out from the chassis about 2 inches.

3. Wait about 30 seconds. Then push the drive back into the chassis and close the Physical Disk pop-
up.
Confirm that the drive has resumed normal operations by watching the front of the array. The LED of
the drive should flash for 10-15 seconds and then become solid green. If any operations are in progress
while the drive is being reseated, the reseated drive’s activity light will be flashing in tandem with the
other drives.
Verify that Reseating Fixed the Problem

1. Play a clip that was recorded before the problem occurred.
2. Make sure all drives in the LLM UI Physical Drive List appear normal.
3. Right-click the icon for the reseated drive and select Errors.
4. Note the Read/Write numbers in the Errors pop-up.
5. Close the pop-up and wait 30 seconds.

6. Re-open the Errors pop-up and compare the numbers.
 If the numbers in the Errors pop-up have not increased, the communication problem has been
resolved. You should now rebuild the logical disk using the LLM. See Rebuilding a RAID Set.
 If the numbers in the Errors pop-up are still increasing, the problem has not been resolved. In
this case you should replace the drive. See Replacing a Physical Drive.

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User Guide

Delivering the Moment

Support Contact Information

2014 Imagine Communications | All Rights Reserved Page 2 of 36

Nexio Config .......................................................................................................... 7

User Interface ........................................................................................................ 7

RAID Set Technology ............................................................................................ 19

Creating RAID Sets ............................................................................................... 20

© 2014 Imagine Communications | All Rights Reserved Page 3 of 36

Creating RAID Sets - Farad.................................................................................................................. 23

Expanding an Existing RAID Set ............................................................................ 25

Replacing a Physical Drive .................................................................................... 26

Rebuilding a RAID Set........................................................................................... 27

Restoring FAT Tables............................................................................................ 28

© 2014 Imagine Communications | All Rights Reserved Page 4 of 36

Nexio Server System Architectures

HDI Internal Storage

Examples: NXAMP3801HDI, NXVOLT1401HDI

Direct Connect Architecture

© 2014 Imagine Communications | All Rights Reserved Page 5 of 36

Switched Fibre Channel Model

Examples: NXAMP3801HDX, NXVOLT1401HDX, NX1011MGX, NXS3100 Storage Series

Media Host Architecture

Examples: NXAMP3801HDX, NXVOLT1401HDX, NX1011MIOH, NXS3100 Storage Series, Farad Storage

Intrinsic Mirror System

© 2014 Imagine Communications | All Rights Reserved Page 6 of 36

Accessing the LLM UI

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Physical Disks Pane

Logical Disks Pane

Ghost-disk Icon on Farad Systems

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Logical Disks Context Menu

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Menu Command Definition

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Viewing Network Properties

© 2014 Imagine Communications | All Rights Reserved Page 12 of 36

Viewing RAID Set Properties

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Viewing RAID Set Error History

This chart shows read and write errors on drive 7

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This chart shows read and write errors on drive 5.

Viewing Codec Controls

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RAID Set Technology

Nexio Storage RAID Type RAID Fault Tolerance

© 2014 Imagine Communications | All Rights Reserved Page 19 of 36

Creating RAID Sets

RAID Set Parameters

Direct Connect Architecture and non-Farad Media Host Architecture Systems

HDI Internal Storage Systems

© 2014 Imagine Communications | All Rights Reserved Page 20 of 36

The LLM shows 8 physical disks and no logical disk

Initialize New Disk

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© 2014 Imagine Communications | All Rights Reserved Page 22 of 36

Creating RAID Sets - Farad

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