hp StorageWorks auto path

users guide

hp-ux

notice
2002, Hewlett-Packard Company. E0702 B9510-96003 Hewlett-Packard Company makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Hewlett-Packard shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material. This document contains proprietary information, which is protected by copyright. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated into another language without the prior written consent of Hewlett-Packard. The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice.

safety notices
Any servicing, adjustment, maintenance, or repair must be performed only by authorized service-trained personnel. Caution Denotes a hazard that can cause hardware or software damage. Denotes a hazard that can cause personal injury or death.

WARNING

format conventions
literal Specifies text to be typed exactly as shown, such as commands, path names, file names, and directory names. Indicates that you must supply a value. Denotes text displayed on the screen. Indicates that you must choose one of the listed options. Separates a choice of options.

variable output {} |

warranty
If you have any questions about the warranty for this product, contact your dealer or local HP sales representative. See Warranty statement (page 8).

HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

contents

About this guide 5 Revision history 6 Technical support 7 Warranty statement 8 1 Auto Path features 11 ULM services 13 Dynamic load balancing 14 Automatic failover 15 Automatic path recovery 16 System requirements 17 Installation 19 Installing Auto Path software: HP-UX host Uninstalling Auto Path: HP-UX host 21 20

Contents

Command-line interface 23 autopath display 24 autopath help 26 autopath recover 27 autopath retrieve 28 autopath set_lbpolicy 29 autopath set_prefpath 30 Troubleshooting 31 Recovering after a failure 32 Auto Path messages 33 Contacting HP customer service Index 35

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HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

About this guide

The instructions given in this guide are intended for system administrators who already have the following skills and knowledge: a background in data processing and understanding of direct-access storage device subsystems and their basic functions familiarity with disk arrays and RAID technology expertise with the operating system, including commands and utilities Unless otherwise noted, the term disk array refers to any of these disk arrays: HP Surestore Disk Array XP48 HP StorageWorks Disk Array XP128 HP Surestore Disk Array XP256 HP Surestore Disk Array XP512 HP StorageWorks Disk Array XP1024 HP StorageWorks Virtual Array 7100 HP StorageWorks Virtual Array 7400 For information about the disk arrays, please refer to the owners manuals.

About this guide

Revision history
July 2001 October 2001 Preliminary release for HP-UX. First release for HP-UX 11.00 and 11.11. Revised installation instructions. Enhanced the CLI commands. Revised for release 2.00 for HP-UX with ULM services.

July 2002

HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

Technical support
Technical support is provided for this product through an HP Support Contract, purchased at the time you purchased this product. See the HP Support Contract for information about technical support. For the most current information about this product, visit the support web site: Auto Path XP Auto Path VA High-end arrays www.hp.com/support/apxp www.hp.com/support/apva www.hp.com/support/stressfree For information about product availability, configuration, and connectivity, consult your HP account representative.

Technical support

Warranty statement
HP warrants that for a period of ninety calendar days from the date of purchase, as evidenced by a copy of the invoice, the media on which the Software is furnished (if any) will be free of defects in materials and workmanship under normal use. DISCLAIMER. EXCEPT FOR THE FOREGOING AND TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY LOCAL LAW, THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED TO YOU AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. HP SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, TITLE, ACCURACY OF INFORMATIONAL CONTENT, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Some jurisdictions do not allow exclusions of implied warranties or conditions, so the above exclusion may not apply to you to the extent prohibited by such local laws. You may have other rights that vary from country to country, state to state, or province to province. WARNING! YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT USE OF THE SOFTWARE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. HP DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN THE SOFTWARE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT THE OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, VIRUS-FREE OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS ASSUMED BY YOU. HP DOES NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE SOFTWARE OR RELATED DOCUMENTATION IN TERMS OF THEIR CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CURRENTNESS, OR OTHERWISE. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY HP OR HPS AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY.

HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LOCAL LAW, IN NO EVENT INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE WILL HP OR ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR OTHER DAMAGES (INCLUDING LOST PROFIT, LOST DATA, OR DOWNTIME COSTS), ARISING OUT OF THE USE, INABILITY TO USE, OR THE RESULTS OF USE OF THE SOFTWARE, WHETHER BASED IN WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. Your use of the Software is entirely at your own risk. Should the Software prove defective, you assume the entire cost of all service, repair or correction. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation may not apply to you to the extent prohibited by such local laws. NOTE. EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY LOCAL LAW, THESE WARRANTY TERMS DO NOT EXCLUDE, RESTRICT OR MODIFY, AND ARE IN ADDITION TO, THE MANDATORY STATUTORY RIGHTS APPLICABLE TO THE LICENSE OF THE SOFTWARE TO YOU; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE CONVENTION ON CONTRACTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SALE OF GOODS IS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMED AND SHALL NOT GOVERN OR APPLY TO THE SOFTWARE PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THIS WARRANTY STATEMENT.

Warranty statement

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HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

1
Auto Path features

HP Auto Path provides automatic input/output (I/O) path failover, failback, recovery, and load balancing for host systems configured with multiple host adapters and connections to a disk array. Auto Path provides enhanced data availability with these features: automatic path failover to an alternate path automatic path recovery after failed path is serviced automatic failback when a path recovers from failure dynamic load-balancing over multiple paths command-line user interface (CLI) for Auto Path management ability to reestablish previous load-balancing policy after reboot through the CLI The HP Auto Path software performs dynamic load balancing of data flow through multiple paths. It detects multiple paths to each logical device and distributes the data load among the paths for optimum performance. The user interface lets a system administrator define load balancing policies and preferred paths, and view device path information. Auto Path manages

Auto Path features

11

paths according to the balancing policy, ensuring that no single path is a performance bottleneck.

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HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

ULM services
The SCSI Upper Layer Module (ULM) interface is used by Auto Path and similar modules to provide flexible configuration and layering of modules above the SCSI disk drivers. In order for Auto Path to be configured into 11.0/11.11 (and coexist with other pseudodrivers) Auto Path must register itself with the ULM services for each LUN path that it wants to control.

Auto Path features

13

Dynamic load balancing

Auto Path performs dynamic load balancing while monitoring each path to ensure that the I/O transaction is completed. The load balancing policy is selected by the administrator. The dynamic load balancing policy prevents any path from becoming overloaded, and it helps to prevent the congestion that occurs when many I/O operations are directed to common devices along the same path. If a preferred path is used for a device, the entire I/O for that particular device flows through the preferred path and no load balancing is done by Auto Path for that device. VA disk arrays Increased performance is not always realized with Virtual Array systems. In most cases, the best performance is provided by using preferred paths.

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HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

Automatic failover
In the event of a failure of any part of a path between the disk array and a server, Auto Path automatically switches to an alternate path, dropping the failed path out of the I/O rotation without any loss of data. The failover is not visible to applications, so normal operation continues without downtime. For troubleshooting information, see Troubleshooting (page 31).

Auto Path features

15

Automatic path recovery

When a path fails, it is no longer used. After the path is returned to normal, Auto Path automatically begins using the path with the designated load balancing policy. No user action is necessary. If the failed path was set as the preferred path, after the path is recovered, Auto Path automatically begins using the preferred path. No user action is necessary.

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HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

System requirements
To install Auto Path, the system must conform to these requirements: HP-UX 11.00 or 11.11 64-bit operating system administrator root access to the host system SCSI Upper Layer Module Services installed on the system HP-UX 11.00: version B.11.00.01 HP-UX 11.11: version B.11.11.01 For specific installation requirements for your system, contact your HP account representative. Additional information Be sure to view the readme.txt on the Auto Path installation CD-ROM for important information about product limitations.

Auto Path features

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HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

2
Installation

This chapter describes the procedures for installing Auto Path. Installation of Auto Path software is performed by users with administrator privileges. The HP account representative can assist in determining the supported configurations for your system.

Installation

19

Installing Auto Path software: HP-UX host

Before installing Auto Path software, ensure that SCSI Upper Layer Module Services is installed on the system. To install Auto Path, you must have superuser (root) access on the HP-UX host. Caution Read the readme.txt file on the installation media for more details about installation. To install Auto Path: 1. Log on to the HP-UX system as superuser (root). 2. Insert the Auto Path installation CD into the CD-ROM drive. 3. Mount the CD on your file system. 4. Assuming that the CD was mounted to a directory called /cdrom, from the command line, execute the swinstall command: For installation on HP UX 11.00, execute: swinstall s /cdrom/autopath_HPUX_11.00.depot For installation on HP UX 11.11, execute: swinstall s /cdrom/autopath_HPUX_11.11.depot Follow the instructions for swinstall. Installation of the Auto Path package creates the /Autopath directory under /opt and copies the readme.txt, autopath.pdf, and changes.log files to this directory.

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HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

Uninstalling Auto Path: HP-UX host

To uninstall Auto Path: 1. Log on to the HP-UX system as superuser (root). 2. From the command line, execute the swremove command. Select the Auto Path product for removal. The system reboots after removal is completed.

Installation

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HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

3
Command-line interface

The Auto Path command-line interface (CLI) can be used only on hosts connected to devices with the Auto Path driver installed. The commands supported by this interface and the syntax are described here: autopath display (page 24) autopath help (page 26) autopath recover (page 27) autopath retrieve (page 28) autopath set_lbpolicy (page 29) autopath set_prefpath (page 30)

Command-line interface

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autopath display
Display devices

Syntax

autopath display { path | all } path all Specifies the physical device path. Details about all Auto Path devices in the system.

Description

The autopath display command displays details about Auto Path devices such as alternate paths to an Auto path device, associated status, Load Balancing policy settings. In the output, (PP) indicates the preferred path.

Examples

# autopath display

/dev/dsk/c3t0d1 VER 2.00.00 VER 2.00.00 /dev/dsk/c3t0d1 Round Robin

Auto Path Driver Version: Auto Path CLI Version : Details for path: Load Balance Policy :

========================================================= Device Paths Device Status ========================================================= /dev/dsk/c3t0d1 Active /dev/dsk/c5t0d1 Failed =========================================================

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HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

HP $ autopath display all Auto Path Driver Version: Auto Path CLI Version : Details for path: Load Balance Policy : VER 2.00.00 VER 2.00.00 /dev/dsk/c3t0d0 Preferred Path

========================================================= Device Paths Device Status ========================================================= /dev/dsk/c3t0d0(PP) Active /dev/dsk/c5t0d0 Active ========================================================= Details for path: Load Balance Policy : /dev/dsk/c3t0d1 Round Robin

========================================================= Device Paths Device Status ========================================================= /dev/dsk/c3t0d1 Active /dev/dsk/c5t0d1 Failed =========================================================

Command-line interface

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autopath help
Display help

Syntax Description Example

autopath help The autopath help command displays a list of Auto Path commands and their syntax.
HP $ autopath help autopath: Usage: autopath display [all|pathname] autopath help autopath recover autopath retrieve autopath set_lbpolicy policy pathname autopath set_prefpath pathname

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HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

autopath recover
Recover failed paths

Syntax Description

autopath recover The autopath recover command spawns a process to enable automatic path recovery. This command can be automatically activated during system bootup. If the process is terminated or is not invoked automatically, you can invoke this command from the command line to enable the automatic path recovery feature.

Related information

Automatic path recovery (page 16)

Command-line interface

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autopath retrieve
Restore Auto Path settings

Syntax Description

autopath retrieve The autopath retrieve command restores the load balancing policy and preferred path settings across system reboots. Retrieval of settings may not be effective if SAN configuration changes have been made for the host.

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HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

autopath set_lbpolicy
Set load-balancing policy

Syntax

autopath set_lbpolicy policy path policy The load balance policy name: NLB RR SQL SST path no load balance policy round robin shortest queue length shortest service time

The physical device path.

Description Example

The autopath set_lbpolicy command sets the load balance policy for the specified device path.
HP $ autopath set_lbpolicy RR /dev/dsk/c0t0d0 autopath: Load Balance Policy set successfully for /dev/dsk/c0t0d0

Command-line interface

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autopath set_prefpath
Set preferred path

Syntax

autopath set_prefpath path path Specifies the physical device path.

Description

The autopath set_prefpath command sets the preferred device path to an Auto Path device. When the path details are displayed with the autopath display command, the preferred path is marked (PP).
HP $ autopath set_prefpath /dev/dsk/c4t0d0 autopath: Preferred path set successfully for /dev/dsk/c0t0d0

Example

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HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

4
Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting can be performed by the customer or an HP service representative in accordance with your HP service contract. If you are unable to resolve an error condition, ask your HP service representative for assistance.

Troubleshooting

31

Recovering after a failure

When a path fails, it is no longer used by Auto Path. After the path is returned to normal, Auto Path automatically begins using the path with the designated load balancing policy. No user action is necessary. If the failed path was the designated preferred path, after the path recovers, Auto Path automatically begins using the path as the preferred path. No user action is necessary. Tip If a path to the device has been serviced and the device failover does not occur, check whether the autopath recover command has been terminated inadvertently. If so, restart the recovery process by executing the autopath recover command. autopath recover (page 27)

Related information

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HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

Auto Path messages

Auto Path reports errors, diagnostic messages, and informational messages to the /var/adm/syslog/syslog.log file. The user can execute dmesg command to view the messages reported by Auto Path. Auto Path reports the following messages:
Event Sample message

DEVICE ACCESS FAILURE

AUTOPATH: Warning: Unable to access device 0x1f040000

MAXIMUM LUN COUNT LIMIT AUTOPATH: Warning: LUN count reached maximum value of 65536. Last device recognized is 0x1f040000 MAXIMUM PATH COUNT REACHED MESSAGE AUTOPATH: Warning: Cannot add path 0x1f040000 as an alternate link. Path count to end device reached maximum value of 8

ULM REGISTRATION FAILURE AUTOPATH: Warning: Cannot register path 0x1f040000 as an Auto Path device. Path is already registered PATH FAILED MESSAGE AUTOPATH: Path 0x1f040000 failed! Rerouting IO to alternate path

ALL PATHS FAILED MESSAGE AUTOPATH: All the paths to the end device 0x1f040000 failed! PATH RECOVERED MESSAGE AUTOPATH: Path 0x1f040000 recovered MEMORY ALLOCATION FAILURE AUTOPATH: Warning: Memory Allocation failed

Troubleshooting

33

Contacting HP customer service

If you call HP customer support, provide as much information about the problem as possible, including the circumstances surrounding the error or failure and the exact content of any error messages displayed on the host system.

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HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)

index

A Auto Path features 11 autopath display syntax description 24 autopath help syntax description 26 autopath recover syntax description 27 autopath retrieve syntax description 28 autopath set_lbpolicy syntax description 29 autopath set_prefpath syntax description 30 C command-line interface syntax descriptions 23

D deinstallation Auto Path 21 disk arrays supported 5 F failover automatic 15 H HBA supported driver pairs 17 HP customer service contacting 34

Index

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I installation Auto Path 19 deinstalling 21 HP-UX host 20 requirements 17 L load balancing description 14 P path automatic recovery 16 R recovery actions needed 32

S SCSI Upper Layer Module (ULM) services registration 13 T tips device failover 32 troubleshooting Auto Path 31 U ULM registering Auto Path 13

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HP StorageWorks Auto Path: Users Guide (HP-UX)