Metadevice Conventions

• How are metadevices named?

  Metadevice names begin with the letter "d" followed by a number (for example, d0 as shown in Table 1-4).

• What are the default metadevice names?

  DiskSuite has 128 default metadevice names from 0-127. Table 1-4 shows some example metadevice names.

• Can metadevice names be abbreviated?

  Yes. Instead of specifying the full metadevice name, such as /dev/md/dsk/d1, you can use d1. You can use either the command line interface or DiskSuite Tool to name metadevices.

• What is the maximum number of metadevices possible?

  1024 (though the default number of metadevices is 128). You can increase the number of default metadevices by editing the /kernel/drv/md.conf file. See "System and Startup Files" for more information on this file.

• Where are metadevice names stored?

  Like physical slices, metadevices have logical names which appear in the file system. Logical metadevice names have entries in /dev/md/dsk (for block devices) and /dev/md/rdsk (for raw devices).

• Can metadevices be renamed?

  Yes. DiskSuite enables you to rename a metadevice at any time, as long as the name being used is not in use by another metadevice, and as long as the metadevice itself is not in use. For a file system, make sure it is not mounted or being used as swap. Other applications using the raw device, such as a database, should have their own way of stopping access to the data.

  You can use either DiskSuite Tool (via a metadevice's Information window) or the command line (the metarename(1M) command) to rename metadevices.

  The metarename(1M) command with the -x option can "switch" metadevices that have a parent-child relationship. Refer to Solstice DiskSuite 4.2.1 User's Guide for procedures to rename and switch metadevices.