HPE 3PAR Disk Replacement: showpd and servicemag Workflow

Replacing a failed disk in an HPE 3PAR StoreServ array looks simple - pull the drive, push a new one - but doing it without the right CLI sequence can leave the array degraded or, worse, block the replacement because chunklets on the failed disk are still owned by a CPG. The safe workflow is: identify the failed physical disk (PD), let the system relocate its chunklets, bring the magazine offline with servicemag, swap the drive, resume the magazine, and verify with checkhealth. This guide walks through each step with the exact commands.

Step 1: Identify the Failed Disk

Find the failed or degraded PDs and record their cage/magazine position, model and serial number:

cli% showpd -s -failed -degraded
Id  CagePos  Type  -State-  Detailed_State
13  1:1:0    NL    failed   vacated,invalid_media,media_failed
22  1:13:0   NL    failed   vacated,invalid_media,smart_threshold_exceeded

cli% showpd -i -failed -degraded
Id  CagePos  State  --Node_WWN--  -MFR-  --Model---  -Serial-  Protocol  MediaType

Note the Id and CagePos (cage:magazine:bay) values - you will need them for the replacement steps.

Step 2: Check Chunklet Ownership First

Before you can remove a disk, it must be free of chunklets. If chunklets are still mapped to a CPG or VV metadata, dismisspd will fail. Check the current placement:

cli% showpd -v 13
cli% showcpg
cli% showvv -pd 13
cli% showpd -showcols id,model,status,owned_by,ownertype,chunklets,failed

If the CPG has free capacity elsewhere, the 3PAR background rebalancer relocates chunklets automatically - monitor until the PD shows zero chunklets referenced. If the disk is truly dead and chunklets cannot be evacuated, contact HPE support to clear the stale metadata safely.

Step 3: Bring the Magazine Offline

With the failed PD identified and freed, take the magazine offline so the drive can be pulled safely:

cli% servicemag start 1 1
cli% servicemag status -d 1 1

Wait until servicemag status shows the magazine is offline/succeeded before touching the hardware. To blink the LEDs on the magazine for easy identification in the data center:

cli% locatecage -t 255 <cage_name>

Step 4: Replace the Drive and Resume

Physically replace the disk in the magazine, then tell the array to resume and claim the new drive:

cli% servicemag resume 1 1

The system will start checking the new disk. For brand-new cages or when adding hardware, use admithw instead - servicemag is for replacements.

Step 5: Verify Health

Once the new PD is online, confirm it was claimed and run the health checks:

cli% showpd
cli% showpd -s -failed -degraded
cli% checkhealth pd
cli% checkhealth -svc -detail

checkhealth performs comprehensive checks of every component (alert, cage, node, pd, ld, port, vlun, vv and more); the -svc -detail form gives the full service summary with each alert classified.

If the Replacement Fails

• servicemag status shows the magazine did not come offline: re-check that no I/O is pinned to the magazine and that no other drive in it is in a transitional state.
• New disk shows as failed or not normal: give the array time to run its checks, then review showpd detailed state; a SMART threshold failure on the replacement means the drive itself is bad.
• dismisspd fails: the PD still owns chunklets - revisit Step 2 and evacuate before removing.

Related reading: HPE 3PAR CLI command cheat sheet and HPE 3PAR error codes and checkhealth troubleshooting.

Original article: HPE Community: Adding/replacing disks on 3PAR StoreServ