Learning how to run commands to interrogate your HP storage array from vsphere can be a difficult journey. Thankfully, I already went through the painful process and have compiled the fruits of my labor here!
First you need to have SSH enabled, this is done via the security settings and services. In a production environment it is not recommended to have this enabled all the time for maximum security.
For a complete reference, you can find the docs here: HP VMware Utilities User Guide VMware vSphere 5.5 for September 2013 (local mirror)
First, SSH into your vsphere host
This command will show you the full config status of the first controller
esxcli hpssacli cmd -q "controller slot=0 show config detail"
Smart Array P410i in Slot 0 (Embedded)
Bus Interface: PCI
Slot: 0
Serial Number: 5001438017000000
Cache Serial Number: PBCDH0XXXXXXXX
RAID 6 (ADG) Status: Disabled
Controller Status: OK
Hardware Revision: C
Firmware Version: 6.60
Rebuild Priority: Medium
Expand Priority: Medium
Surface Scan Delay: 15 secs
Surface Scan Mode: Idle
Queue Depth: Automatic
Monitor and Performance Delay: 60 min
Elevator Sort: Enabled
Degraded Performance Optimization: Disabled
Inconsistency Repair Policy: Disabled
Wait for Cache Room: Disabled
Surface Analysis Inconsistency Notification: Disabled
Post Prompt Timeout: 0 secs
Cache Board Present: True
Cache Status: OK
Cache Ratio: 25% Read / 75% Write
Drive Write Cache: Disabled
Total Cache Size: 512 MB
Total Cache Memory Available: 400 MB
No-Battery Write Cache: Disabled
Cache Backup Power Source: Capacitors
Battery/Capacitor Count: 1
Battery/Capacitor Status: OK
SATA NCQ Supported: True
Number of Ports: 2 Internal only
Encryption Supported: False
Driver Name: HP HPSA
Driver Version: 5.5.0
Driver Supports HP SSD Smart Path: False
Internal Drive Cage at Port 1I, Box 1, OK
Power Supply Status: Not Redundant
Serial Number:
Drive Bays: 4
Port: 1I
Box: 1
Location: Internal
Physical Drives
physicaldrive 1I:1:1 (port 1I:box 1:bay 1, SAS, 300 GB, OK)
physicaldrive 1I:1:2 (port 1I:box 1:bay 2, SAS, 300 GB, OK)
physicaldrive 1I:1:3 (port 1I:box 1:bay 3, SAS, 300 GB, OK)
physicaldrive 1I:1:4 (port 1I:box 1:bay 4, SAS, 300 GB, OK)
Internal Drive Cage at Port 2I, Box 1, OK
Power Supply Status: Not Redundant
Serial Number:
Drive Bays: 4
Port: 2I
Box: 1
Location: Internal
Physical Drives
physicaldrive 2I:1:5 (port 2I:box 1:bay 5, SAS, 300 GB, OK)
physicaldrive 2I:1:6 (port 2I:box 1:bay 6, SAS, 300 GB, OK)
physicaldrive 2I:1:7 (port 2I:box 1:bay 7, SAS, 300 GB, OK)
physicaldrive 2I:1:8 (port 2I:box 1:bay 8, SAS, 300 GB, OK, spare)
Array: A
Interface Type: SAS
Unused Space: 0 MB
Status: OK
Array Type: Data
Logical Drive: 1
Size: 279.4 GB
Fault Tolerance: 1
Heads: 255
Sectors Per Track: 32
Cylinders: 65535
Strip Size: 256 KB
Full Stripe Size: 256 KB
Status: OK
Caching: Enabled
Unique Identifier: 600508B1001C1A8AB1F5393568BEC680
Logical Drive Label: A3272DDE5001438017F242F06D01
Mirror Group 0:
physicaldrive 1I:1:1 (port 1I:box 1:bay 1, SAS, 300 GB, OK)
Mirror Group 1:
physicaldrive 1I:1:2 (port 1I:box 1:bay 2, SAS, 300 GB, OK)
Drive Type: Data
LD Acceleration Method: Controller Cache
physicaldrive 1I:1:1
Port: 1I
Box: 1
Bay: 1
Status: OK
Drive Type: Data Drive
Interface Type: SAS
Size: 300 GB
Native Block Size: 512
Rotational Speed: 10000
Firmware Revision: HPD4
Serial Number: EB01PC0000TH0000
Model: HP EG0300FBDSP
Current Temperature (C): 26
Maximum Temperature (C): 48
PHY Count: 2
PHY Transfer Rate: 6.0Gbps, Unknown
physicaldrive 1I:1:2
Port: 1I
Box: 1
Bay: 2
Status: OK
Drive Type: Data Drive
Interface Type: SAS
Size: 300 GB
Native Block Size: 512
Rotational Speed: 10000
Firmware Revision: HPD4
Serial Number: EB01PC0000TH0000
Model: HP EG0300FBDSP
Current Temperature (C): 26
Maximum Temperature (C): 50
PHY Count: 2
PHY Transfer Rate: 6.0Gbps, Unknown
Array: B
Interface Type: SAS
Unused Space: 0 MB
Status: OK
Array Type: Data
Spare Type: dedicated
Logical Drive: 2
Size: 1.1 TB
Fault Tolerance: 5
Heads: 255
Sectors Per Track: 32
Cylinders: 65535
Strip Size: 256 KB
Full Stripe Size: 1024 KB
Status: OK
Caching: Enabled
Parity Initialization Status: Initialization Completed
Unique Identifier: 600508B1001C1BA063E8D3765175923B
Logical Drive Label: A3273EA25001438017F242F041CF
Drive Type: Data
LD Acceleration Method: Controller Cache
physicaldrive 1I:1:3
Port: 1I
Box: 1
Bay: 3
Status: OK
Drive Type: Data Drive
Interface Type: SAS
Size: 300 GB
Native Block Size: 512
Rotational Speed: 10000
Firmware Revision: HPD4
Serial Number: EB01PC0000TH0000
Model: HP EG0300FBDSP
Current Temperature (C): 25
Maximum Temperature (C): 50
PHY Count: 2
PHY Transfer Rate: 6.0Gbps, Unknown
physicaldrive 1I:1:4
Port: 1I
Box: 1
Bay: 4
Status: OK
Drive Type: Data Drive
Interface Type: SAS
Size: 300 GB
Native Block Size: 512
Rotational Speed: 10000
Firmware Revision: HPD4
Serial Number: EB01PC0000TH0000
Model: HP EG0300FBDSP
Current Temperature (C): 26
Maximum Temperature (C): 51
PHY Count: 2
PHY Transfer Rate: 6.0Gbps, Unknown
physicaldrive 2I:1:5
Port: 2I
Box: 1
Bay: 5
Status: OK
Drive Type: Data Drive
Interface Type: SAS
Size: 300 GB
Native Block Size: 512
Rotational Speed: 10000
Firmware Revision: HPD4
Serial Number: EB01PC0000TH0000
Model: HP EG0300FBDSP
Current Temperature (C): 26
Maximum Temperature (C): 49
PHY Count: 2
PHY Transfer Rate: 6.0Gbps, Unknown
physicaldrive 2I:1:6
Port: 2I
Box: 1
Bay: 6
Status: OK
Drive Type: Data Drive
Interface Type: SAS
Size: 300 GB
Native Block Size: 512
Rotational Speed: 10000
Firmware Revision: HPD4
Serial Number: EB01PC0000TH0000
Model: HP EG0300FBDSP
Current Temperature (C): 26
Maximum Temperature (C): 51
PHY Count: 2
PHY Transfer Rate: 6.0Gbps, Unknown
physicaldrive 2I:1:7
Port: 2I
Box: 1
Bay: 7
Status: OK
Drive Type: Data Drive
Interface Type: SAS
Size: 300 GB
Native Block Size: 512
Rotational Speed: 10000
Firmware Revision: HPD4
Serial Number: EB01PC0000TH0000
Model: HP EG0300FBDSP
Current Temperature (C): 25
Maximum Temperature (C): 50
PHY Count: 2
PHY Transfer Rate: 6.0Gbps, Unknown
physicaldrive 2I:1:8
Port: 2I
Box: 1
Bay: 8
Status: OK
Drive Type: Spare Drive
Interface Type: SAS
Size: 300 GB
Native Block Size: 512
Rotational Speed: 10000
Firmware Revision: HPD4
Serial Number: EB01PC0000TH0000
Model: HP EG0300FBDSP
Current Temperature (C): 25
Maximum Temperature (C): 46
PHY Count: 2
PHY Transfer Rate: 6.0Gbps, Unknown
SEP (Vendor ID PMCSIERA, Model SRC 8x6G) 250
Device Number: 250
Firmware Version: RevC
WWID: 50014380XXXXXXXX
Vendor ID: PMCSIERA
Model: SRC 8x6G
Sometimes you may want to dial in and see a little bit less information. This command will show you the array status of the first logical drive on your first controller
esxcli hpssacli cmd -q "controller slot=0 logicaldrive 1 show"
Smart Array P410i in Slot 0 (Embedded)
array A
Logical Drive: 1
Size: 279.4 GB
Fault Tolerance: 1
Heads: 255
Sectors Per Track: 32
Cylinders: 65535
Strip Size: 256 KB
Full Stripe Size: 256 KB
Status: OK
Caching: Enabled
Unique Identifier: 600508B1001C1A8AB1F5393568BEC680
Logical Drive Label: A3272DDE5001438017F242F06D01
Mirror Group 0:
physicaldrive 1I:1:1 (port 1I:box 1:bay 1, SAS, 300 GB, OK)
Mirror Group 1:
physicaldrive 1I:1:2 (port 1I:box 1:bay 2, SAS, 300 GB, OK)
Drive Type: Data
LD Acceleration Method: Controller Cache
You can see "Caching: Enabled" means the battery backup is correctly installed and enabling caching.