imageI wanted to know if a certain server had a Battery Backed Write Cache module (BBWC) on it’s array controller.

I suspected it did not, but I had to be sure. Since this server was running production I couldn’t open (Visual Inspection) or reboot it.

The server didn’t have Insight Agents installed so I couldn’t query it via iLO or the Insight Agents webpage either.

imageI knew that when you do a full install of the array controller bundled software it comes with a commandline tool, hpacucli.exe.

I decided to see if I could find out with this tool, so I went to this HP Smart Array P410i Controller download page.

From the “Software – System Management” section I downloaded the “HP Proliant Array Configuration Utility for Windows“:

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Then I extracted the files to a temporary location:

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Inside was an MSI file, HPACUCLI875120.msi. I extracted the files from this MSI:

This extracts the tool and some dll’s to MyFolder\Program Files\Compaq\Hpacucli\Bin.

I copied these files to the server and ran hpacucli.exe. The ctrl all show config command can be used to show all controllers (in my case just one):

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Controller details can be queried using “ctrl slot=X show“:

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The Battery Count is 0 so we have no BBWC. If you do have a BBWC the following lines are shown (the read/write ration may differ of course):