Server Memory

This section discusses how to install additional server memory without disrupting the network and how to respond to the message Secondary server is missing RAM.


Adding Memory Without Bringing the MSEngine Down

A NetWare 4.11 SFT III system allows you to upgrade server hardware without loss of service to clients.

Use the procedure below to add memory to your servers without bringing down the MSEngine.


Procedure

  1. Halt the secondary server and turn it off.

    The primary server is still running.

  2. Add memory to the secondary server and turn it on.

  3. Reconfigure the hardware, using the hardware-specific configuration procedure specified by the manufacturer.

  4. From the boot prompt on the secondary server, type

    MSERVER <Enter>

  5. Wait for resynchronization to complete.

    During resynchronization, the primary server does not recognize the additional memory in the secondary server.

  6. After the disks are remirrored, halt the primary server and turn it off.

    The secondary server becomes the new primary server.

  7. Add memory to the new secondary server and turn it on.

  8. Reconfigure the hardware, using the hardware-specific configuration procedure specified by the manufacturer.

    NOTE:  To ensure synchronization, install the same amount of memory in both SFT III servers.

  9. From the boot prompt on the secondary server, type

    MSERVER <Enter>

  10. Wait for resynchronization to complete.

    During synchronization, the primary server now recognizes the additional memory in the secondary server.


Responding to Secondary Server Is Missing RAM Messages

This message means that the primary server cannot synchronize memory with the secondary server for one of the following reasons:

In this situation, do one of the following:


Procedure

  1. Change to the IOEngine prompt on the secondary server.

  2. Check the memory addresses by typing

    MEMORY MAP <Enter>

    A display similar to the following appears.

    System memory map:

    0-12288(DOS)

    12288-159744(DOS)

    159744-654336(IOEngine)

    1048576-5767168(IOEngine)

    5767168-17170432(Unclaimed)

  3. From the Unclaimed range on the last line of the display, write down the start and end memory addresses.

    NOTE:  Unclaimed memory is used by the MSEngine, so it must be identical on both servers.

  4. From the IOEngine console on the primary server, type

    HALT <Enter>

  5. Add the following commands to the primary server's IOSTART.NCF file:

    SET New Start Address for Unclaimed Memory Block=x

    SET New End Address for Unclaimed Memory Block=x

    The values following the = (equals) sign are the start and end of the unclaimed memory range on the secondary server (the numbers you wrote down in Step 3).

  6. Restart the primary server.

Now that the unclaimed memory is aligned on both servers, they can synchronize. SFT III allocates any extra memory to the IOEngine on that server.