Replacing Physical Machines, Motherboards, NICs, or RAID Controllers

You replace motherboards, NICs, RAID controllers, and a physical machine (PM) in an everRun system while the system is running. You can remove PMs to upgrade a PM or to replace a failed PM. You can replace motherboards, NICs, or RAID controllers. Several types of hardware faults can hang or crash a PM in an everRun system, including a failure of the motherboard, CPU, mid-plane, or storage controller. (If you want to recover a failed PM instead of replacing it, see Recovering a Failed Physical Machine.)

You remove a PM using the everRun PM Remove function, which deletes a PM from the everRun system’s database. The everRun system then waits while an additional PM completes the process of joining the system.

If you replace a PM or a component, use vendor instructions, but first read Physical Machine Hardware Maintenance Restrictions.

To remove and replace a failed PM, motherboard, NIC, or RAID controller

1. In the everRun Availability Console, click Physical Machines in the left-hand navigation panel.
2. Select the appropriate PM (node0 or node1) and then click Work On, which changes the PM’s Overall State to Maintenance Mode and the Activity state to running (in Maintenance).

3. After the PM displays running (in Maintenance), click Shutdown and then OK.

4. After the PM has shut down, click Remove () and respond appropriately to the confirmation message. An alert message appears if removal conditions are not met.

   If you confirm that you want to remove the PM, the everRun software deletes the PM from the everRun system, and displays a message that the system has successfully deleted the PM.

   To replace the PM, continue with the steps below.

5. Manually power off the old PM.
6. Install the new PM or component. If you are replacing a motherboard, NIC, or RAID controller, do so now. If you are replacing the PM, disconnect and remove it now, and then install the new PM. Check that a monitor and keyboard are connected to it.
7. Reconnect any network cables to their original positions. Check that Ethernet cables are connected from the new PM (or new NIC) to the network or directly to the running (primary) PM, if the two everRun system PMs are in close proximity. One Ethernet cable should connect from the first embedded port on the new PM or from a NIC port if the new PM does not have an embedded port.

8. Manually power on the PM. As the PM powers on, enter the firmware (BIOS) setup utility, and set the Optical Drive as the first boot device.

9. Either mount the ISO image or insert the DVD into the PM.

10. At the Welcome screen, select Replace PM, Join system: Initialize data and press Enter.

    Note: If necessary, see Installing Software on the Second PM for reference. Although that topic refers to the "second PM," in this instance, it applies to the replacement PM.
11. When prompted, respond to the Select interface for private Physical Machine connection, and then respond to the prompt Select interface for managing the system (ibiz0).
12. When prompted to configure ibiz0, select Automatic configuration via DHCP or Manual Configuration (Static Address). (The installation software configures priv0 automatically.)
13. When installation is complete, the PM ejects the install DVD (if used) and reboots.

14. As the PM boots up, the everRun Availability Console displays its activity on the Physical Machines page. The Activity column displays the new PM as recovery (in Maintenance) and then running (in Maintenance).

15. When you are ready to bring the replacement PM online, click Finalize to exit maintenance mode. Verify that both PMs return to the running state and that the PMs finish synchronizing. The initial synchronization may take minutes or hours depending on your configuration, including the amount of storage and the number of VMs.
16. Manually reinstall applications and any other host-level software and reconfigure the PM to match your original settings.

Related Topics

Maintenance Mode

Maintaining Physical Machines

The everRun Availability Console

Physical Machines and Virtual Machines

The Physical Machines Page