Chapter 5 Configuring SAN Devices

This chapter provides the high level overview of the steps used to configure SAN devices. In the Solaris 10 OS, FCAL, fabric, and point-to-point connected devices are made available to the host automatically. This feature differs from previous versions of the SAN Foundation software running on the Solaris 8 or the Solaris 9 OS. In those versions, manual configuration steps were required to achieve fabric-connected device availability on the host. To find out how to manually configure fabric-connected devices, refer to Appendix A, Manual Configuration for Fabric-Connected Devices.

The following topics are discussed:

SAN Device Considerations

Be aware of the following considerations before configuring the Sun StorageTek Traffic Manager software.

Configure ports and zones according to the vendor-specific documentation for storage and switches.
With the Solaris 10 OS you no longer have to manually configure devices unless you enable manual device configuration.
LUN masking enables specific LUNs to be seen by specific hosts. See your vendor-specific storage documentation that describes masking.
Turn off power management on servers connected to the SAN to prevent unexpected results as one server attempts to power down a device while another attempts to gain access. See power.conf(1M) man page for details about power management.
Connect arrays and other storage devices to the SAN with or without multipathing capability. The Sun StorageTek Traffic Manager software is an associated application that is bundled with the product name.
The STMS Boot utility is included with the Sun StorageTek Traffic Manager software that manages the enable and disable process needed for SAN booting. Issuing the stmsboot command allows the automatic update of /etc/vfstab and the dump configuration to reflect device name changes when enabling or disabling the Sun StorageTek Traffic Manager software. Note that the software is disabled by default with SPARC devices and enabled by default with x86 devices.

Adding SAN Devices

Adding and removing SAN devices requires knowledge of the following commands:

luxadm(1M)
format(1M)
fsck(1M)
newfs(1M)
cfgadm(1M) and cfgadm_fp(1M)

Note –
If you use the format command when the Sun StorageTek Traffic Manager software multipathing feature is enabled, you will see only one instance of a device identifier for each LUN. Without the Sun StorageTek Traffic Manager software enabled, you will see one identifier for each path.

The cfgadm and cfgadm_fp commands are used most frequently to configure storage devices on a SAN. Refer to the appropriate man page for detailed instructions about how to use each command.

To Add a SAN Device

Create the LUNs desired on the SAN device.

If necessary, apply LUN masking for HBA control on the SAN device.

Connect the storage device to the system.

If necessary, create port-based or WWN zones on the switch on the SAN device.

Run the fsck or newfs commands on the device, if used for file systems.

Mount any existing file systems available on the storage device’s LUNs or disk groups.

Note –
You might need to run the fsck command to repair any errors in the LUNs listed in the /etc/vfstab file.

Configuring Fabric Boot Devices on SPARC

The Sun StorageTek Traffic Manager software allows a Solaris 10 OS SPARC server to be booted from a fabric disk device.

Boot Considerations

Fabric boot devices can be added through the Solaris 10 OS interactive installation GUI or text installer just as internal boot devices have been added in the previous Solaris OS releases. Refer to the Solaris 10 OS installation guide for details. You should consider the following points while enabling a fabric boot device.

Minimize interference to boot devices through the following actions:
- Ensuring the boot device is not an overly subscribed target or LUN
- Avoiding installation of applications and software on target or LUN
- Reducing physical distance between host and fabric device, as well as the number of hops
Remove the boot disk from volume manager control prior to beginning the fabric boot procedure.
Ensure that the latest HBA Fcode and drivers are loaded for the install HBAs on the system.
If multipathing is desired on the boot device, use the stmsboot command as described in Chapter 4, Configuring Multipathing Software.