AIX and AIXs own MPIO

Technical Bulletin #6 January, 2012

This technical bulletin provides information on how to configure AIX Application Servers to use AIXs own MPIO high availability software with DataCore Servers.

Cumulative Change Summary Added AIX 5.2 TL10 Added AIX 6.1.x Removed all references to End of Life SANsymphony and SANmelody versions that are no longer supported as of April 2010. Added commands to check Fast I/O Failure and Dynamic Tracking. Added AIX 7.1 Added SANsymphony-V R8.x Removed all references to End of Life SANsymphony and SANmelody versions that are no longer supported as of July 31 2011 Updated DataCore Server and Host minimum requirements. Removed all references to End of Life SANsymphony and SANmelody versions that are no longer supported as of December 31 2011

Date March, 2009 Jul, 2009 June, 2010 June, 2011 October, 2011 November, 2011 January, 2012

COPYRIGHT Copyright 2011 by DataCore Software Corporation. All rights reserved. DataCore, the DataCore logo, SANsymphony, and SANmelody are trademarks of DataCore Software Corporation. Other DataCore product or service names or logos referenced herein are trademarks of DataCore Software Corporation. All other products, services and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. ALTHOUGH THE MATERIAL PRESENTED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS BELIEVED TO BE ACCURATE, IT IS PROVIDED AS IS AND USERS MUST TAKE ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE USE OR APPLICATION OF THE PRODUCTS DESCRIBED AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT. NEITHER DATACORE NOR ITS SUPPLIERS MAKE ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY OR ENDORSEMENT REGARDING, AND SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY FOR, THE USE OR APPLICATION OF ANY DATACORE OR THIRD PARTY PRODUCTS OR THE OTHER INFORMATION REFERRED TO IN THIS DOCUMENT. ALL SUCH WARRANTIES (INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND AGAINST HIDDEN DEFECTS) AND LIABILITY ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. No part of this document may be copied, reproduced, translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form without the prior written consent of DataCore Software Corporation

AIX and AIXs own MPIO

DataCore Server minimum requirements

SANsymphony-V R8.1.x or greater SANsymphony 7.0 PSP 4 update 1 or greater for AIX versions 5.x and 6.x only SANsymphony 7.0 PSP 4 Update 2 or greater for AIX versions 6.x and 7.1 SANmelody 3.0 PSP 4 Update 1 or greater for AIX versions 5.x and 6.x only SANmelody 3.0 PSP 4 Update 2 or greater for AIX versions 6.x and 7.1
These DataCore Server versions are minimum requirements; users should always refer to the latest release notes for any new fixes or enhancements. Do not assume that all features can be used with these minimum requirements and that you may need to upgrade your existing environment to use them.

Host minimum requirements

Please refer to the text in the document for AIX version specific settings. Do not install DataCore Support for AIX MPIO binaries on AIX Hosts running 5.3 TL5 or earlier see Configuring DataCore Disk Types to AIX to configure specifically for these older versions of AIX. AIX Hosts with AIX 5.3 TL6 and greater or AIX 6.1.x and 7.1.x must use DataCore Support for AIX MPIO binaries on the AIX servers which can be downloaded directly from the DataCore Support website FAQ 1214. If DataCores AIX Path Failover driver is installed then this must be removed, or if you intend to move from a version of AIX that did not support DataCore Support for AIX MPIO binaries (and were using the process outlined in Configuring DataCore Disk Types to AIX), then see the Release Notes for DataCore Support for AIX MPIO.

AIX and AIXs own MPIO

DataCore Server configuration settings

For SANsymphony-V:
Ports used for Host mappings must be Front End (FE) only. Do not mix other Port Role types. Use the IBM AIX Native MPIO Legacy Host operating system for AIX versions 5.2 ML9 and earlier, or for AIX 5.3 ML5 or earlier. Use the IBM AIX Host operating system for AIX versions 5.2 TL10 and greater, for AIX 5.3 TL6 and greater, for AIX 6.1.x or AIX 7.1.x. The IBM AIX with DataCore AP Host operating system was for Hosts using DataCores AIX Path Failover Driver and is no longer supported Only use the ALUA support option for Multipath if using Fixed AP or Round Robin path selection policies. Do not use the ALUA support option if using Most Recently Used path selection policy. Virtual Disks mapped to more than one Host must use the same LUN number for all connections from all DataCore Servers. Note: Mirror mapping LUNs between DataCore Servers do not have to match as they are not seen by the Host. Wait for any mirror synchronization to complete and the Virtual Disk to be healthy before serving and discovering the DataCore Disk on the Host for the very first time.

For SANsymphony and SANmelody:

All Fibre Channel HBA settings must be set to Target Only using the DataCore Fibre Channel Manager GUI - the default is Target and Initiator. Target Only configured HBAs can still be used as Targets for mirroring between DataCore Servers if required. Using the DataCore Fibre Channel Manager GUI, make sure that the Disable Port While Stopped is checked. Using the iSCSI Manager GUI, right-click on the iSCSI Channel you wish to use and select properties, then select Configure Port and make sure that the Disable Port While Stopped option at the bottom of the GUI is selected. Mirrored Virtual Volumes configured for highly available mirroring must be the 3 Party AP type. Virtual Volumes configured as Standard Mirrors, or Linear Virtual Volumes can be used and mapped to more than one ESX Host, but are only accessible via the Primary DataCore Server. No other mirror type should be used. Use the IBM AIX Native MPIO Legacy Host operating system for AIX versions 5.2 ML9 and earlier, or for AIX 5.3 ML5 or earlier. Use the IBM AIX Native MPIO Legacy TL6+ Host operating system for AIX versions 5.2TL10 and later, 5.3 TL6 or later, 6.1.x and 7.1.x. The IBM AIX with DataCore AP Host operating system was for Hosts using DataCores AIX Path Failover Driver and is no longer supported Virtual Volumes mapped to more than one Host must use the same LUN number for all Target Only connections on all DataCore Servers. Mirror mapping LUNs between DataCore Servers do not have to match as they are not used by the Host. The first twelve characters of the Virtual Volumes name are used by the Application Server as the LUNs 'serial number' and must be unique for each Virtual Volume served to the Application Server. Virtual Volume names that are not unique will be misidentified as duplicate LUNs and could result in some/none of them being discovered on the Application Server. VMwares Consolidated Backup (VCB) Proxy Host requires the first eight, (not twelve) characters of the Virtual Disk to be unique. Wait for any mirror synchronization to complete and the Virtual Volume to be healthy before mapping and discovering the DataCore LUN on the Host for the very first time
3
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AIX and AIXs own MPIO

AIX Host configuration settings

Using iSCSI
ISCSI connections are only supported for Linear Virtual Disks in SANsymphony-V with the Multipath option unchecked in the Host details; or Linear Virtual Volumes/Standard Mirrors for SANsymphony and SANmelody.

General
AIXs own MPIO require a healthy LUN 0 in order for it to detect and be able to use additional LUNs assigned to initiator connections. Therefore, create and serve a small Linear Virtual Disk as a dummy LUN 0 from each DataCore target to each AIX initiator that you intend to use. Do not set this dummy LUN 0 as a mirror (as while it is unhealthy or in recovery no other LUNs from the same DataCore Server will be detectable until it is healthy again). Also, as this LUN 0 is not actually used for data, setting it as a mirror is unnecessary.

AIX and AIXs own MPIO

Configuring DataCore Disk Types to use with AIX

Do not use the information when DataCore Support for AIX MPIO is installed. The following steps have only to be run once the first time the Host is served a Virtual Disk. 1. Enable Fast IO Failure and Dynamic Tracking on all FC controllers on the AIX application server, by running:

chdev -l fscsiN -a fc_err_recov=fast_fail -a dyntrk=yes

(where N is the FC controller number). Repeat the above for all fibre controllers. There is no need to reboot at this point. If the fscsiN device is in use, the above command will fail. If this occurs, you will need to run the same command but with a -p option:

chdev l fscsiN a fc_err_recov=fast_fail a dyntrk=yes P

The P flag changes the device's characteristics permanently in the Customized Devices object class without actually changing the device. 2. Reboot 3. To check Fast IO Failure and Dynamic Tracking is set correctly run:

lsattr El fscsiN
(where N is the FC controller number). 4. Repeat the above for all fibre controllers. You should now see:

dyntrk fc_err_recov

yes fast_fail

Dynamic Tracking of FC Devices FC Fabric Event Error RECOVERY Policy

True True

AIX and AIXs own MPIO

5. Now run the following AIX shell script: #!/bin/ksh odmadd << \! PdAt: uniquetype = "disk/fcp/mpioosdisk" attribute = "mpio_model_map" deflt = "0808DataCore" values = "041480" width = "" type = "R" generic = "" rep = "s" nls_index = 0 !

6. For DataCore LUNs in an HACMP configuration with AIX 5.2 TL10 and greater edit

/etc/cluster/disktype.lst
And add the line:

disk/fcp/mpioosdisk FCPARRAY
7. Run the command

(Make sure there is a [TAB] space.)

bosboot a
This will create a new boot image containing the DataCore MPIO definition. 8. Reboot the Host.

AIX and AIXs own MPIO

Note: The following additional steps must be run each time the Host is served any Virtual Disk. 1. On the Host run cfgmgr and then lsdev to list them. For example: # lsdev -Cc disk hdisk0 Available hdisk1 Available hdisk2 Available hdisk3 Available

10-60-00-8,0 20-60-01 20-60-01 20-60-01

Other SCSI MPIO Other MPIO Other MPIO Other

Disk Drive FC SCSI Disk Drive FC SCSI Disk Drive FC SCSI Disk Drive

2. Use the chdev command to change and optimize the hdisk attributes:

chdev -l hdiskN -a hcheck_interval=60 -a hcheck_cmd=inquiry -a \ queue_depth=16 a rw_timeout=70

(Where N is the hdisk number) 3. Repeat for all DataCore hdisks.

Important It is very possible that after an upgrade to a new Maintenance Level (ML), Technology Level (TL) or even Program Temporary Fix (PTF), AIXs Object Data Manager (ODM) configuration may be overwritten. It is therefore important to verify that the DataCore ODM entry still exists, run this command:

odmget q attribute=mpio_model_map PdAt

If the DataCore string does not exist in the list, then ODM has been overwritten and steps 5 - 8 in the initial procedure will need to be re-run (including a reboot of the Host). After the reboot, verify that the DataCore string exists by re-running step 1 on this page.

AIX and AIXs own MPIO