Solstice DiskSuite 4.2.1 User's Guide

Getting Started With DiskSuite

Table P-3 DiskSuite Roadmap-Storage Capacity


	Task			Description		For Instructions, Go To
	Set Up Storage Capacity			You can create storage capacity that spans slices by creating a striped metadevice or a RAID5 metadevice. The stripe or RAID5 metadevice can then be used for a file system or any application, such as a database, that accesses the raw device.		"How to Create a Striped Metadevice (DiskSuite Tool)" "How to Create a RAID5 Metadevice (DiskSuite Tool)"

	Expand an Existing File System			Increase the capacity of an existing file system by creating a concatenation then adding additional slices.		"How to Expand a Slice Containing Existing Data (DiskSuite Tool)"

	Expand an Existing Concatenation/Stripe			Use DiskSuite Tool to create a concatenated stripe to expand an existing concatenation or stripe.		"How to Expand an Existing Concat/Stripe (DiskSuite Tool)"

	Expand a RAID5 Metadevice			If you need to expand the capacity of a RAID5 metadevice, you can concatenate additional slices to it.		"How to Expand a RAID5 Metadevice (DiskSuite Tool)"

	Increase the Size of UFS			The `growfs(1M)` command expands the size of a UFS while it is mounted and without disrupting access to the data.		"How to Grow a File System (Command Line)"

	Create a File System			You can create a file system on a stripe, concatenation, mirror, RAID5 metadevice, or trans metadevice.		"How to Create a File System on a Metadevice (File System Manager)"

Table P-4 DiskSuite Roadmap-Availability


	Task			Description		For Instructions, Go To
	Maximize Data Availability			If you want maximum availability of your data, use DiskSuite's mirroring feature to maintain multiple copies of your data. You can create a mirror from unused slices in preparation for data, or mirror an existing file system, including root (`/`) and `/usr`.		"How to Create a Mirror From Unused Slices (DiskSuite Tool)" "How to Create a Mirror From a File System That Can Be Unmounted (DiskSuite Tool)" "How to Create a Mirror From a File System That Cannot Be Unmounted (DiskSuite Tool)"

	Add Data Availability With Minimum Hardware Cost			To increase data availability with a minimum of hardware, use DiskSuite's RAID5 Metadevice feature.		"How to Create a RAID5 Metadevice (DiskSuite Tool)"

	Add Increased Data Availability to an Existing Mirror or RAID5 Metadevice			To increase data availability for a mirror or a RAID5 metadevice, create a hot spare pool then associate it with a mirror's submirrors, or a RAID5 metadevice.		"How to Create a Hot Spare Pool (DiskSuite Tool)"

	Increase File System Availability After Reboot			To increase overall file system availability after reboot, add UFS logging (trans metadevice) to the system. Logging a file system reduces the amount of time `fsck(1M)` has to run when the system reboots.		"How to Create a Trans Metadevice for a File System That Can Be Unmounted (DiskSuite Tool)" "How to Create a Trans Metadevice for a File System That Cannot Be Unmounted (DiskSuite Tool)"

Table P-5 DiskSuite Roadmap-I/O Performance


	Task			Description		For Instructions, Go To
	Increase Mirror Performance			Adding additional state database replicas before creating the mirror helps improve a mirror's performance.		"How to Create Additional State Database Replicas (DiskSuite Tool)"

	Tune Mirror Read and Write Policies			The read and write policies for a mirror can be specified to improve performance for a given configuration.		"How to Change a Mirror's Options (DiskSuite Tool)"

	Optimize Device Performance			Creating stripes optimizes performance of devices that make up the stripe. The stripe's interlace value can be optimized for random or sequential access.		"How to Create a Striped Metadevice (DiskSuite Tool)"

	Maintain Device Performance Within an Existing Stripe			A concatenated stripe expands a stripe or concatenation that has run out of space. A concatenation of stripes is better for performance than a concatenation of slices.		"How to Expand a Slice Containing Existing Data (Command Line)"

	Improve System Performance			UFS logging (trans metadevice) helps performance by decreasing the number of synchronous disk writes.		"How to Create a Trans Metadevice for a File System That Can Be Unmounted (DiskSuite Tool)" "How to Create a Trans Metadevice for a File System That Cannot Be Unmounted (DiskSuite Tool)"

Table P-6 DiskSuite Roadmap-Administration


	Task			Description		For Instructions, Go To
	Simplify Administration of Large Configurations			The DiskSuite Tool graphical interface makes working with many disks quick and easy. It supports drag-and-drop operations and provides physical and logical views of the system.		Solstice DiskSuite 4.2.1 Reference Guide, Chapter 4, "DiskSuite Tool"

	Graphically Administer Slices/File Systems			DiskSuite is integrated with the Solstice Storage Manager graphical user interface. Use it to administer your disks and file systems, performing such tasks as partitioning disks and constructing UFS file systems.		Appendix A, Using Storage Manager

	Administer SPARCstorage Arrays			The DiskSuite Tool graphical interface enables you to perform a number of maintenance tasks on SPARCstorage Arrays, such as starting and stopping trays of disks, and working with NVRAM.		Chapter 6, Managing the System

	Reconfigure Metadevices			Administering metadevices is made easier through the `metarename(1M)` command.		"How to Rename a Metadevice (Command Line)"

	Optimize Solstice DiskSuite 4.2			DiskSuite performance is dependent on a well-designed configuration. Once created, the configuration needs monitoring and tuning.		"How to Graph Device Statistics (DiskSuite Tool)"

	Plan for Future Expansion			Because file systems tend to run out of space, you can plan for future growth by putting a file system into a concatenation.		"How to Expand a Slice Containing Existing Data (DiskSuite Tool)"

	Automate DiskSuite Monitoring			Use DiskSuite's SNMP features to integrate alerts with SunNet Manager.		"How to Enable SunNet Manager to Launch DiskSuite Tool (SunNet Manager)" "How to Configure DiskSuite SNMP Support (Command Line)"

Table P-7 DiskSuite Roadmap-Troubleshooting


	Task			Description		For Instructions, Go To
	Replace a Failed Slice			The situation could arise when a failing slice in a metadevice needs replacing. In the case of stripes and concatenation, you have to use a new slice, delete and recreate the metadevice, then restore data from a backup. Slices in mirrors and RAID5 metadevices might be able to be replaced and resynced without loss of data.		"How to Recreate a Stripe or Concatenation After Slice Failure (DiskSuite Tool)" "How to Enable a Slice in a Submirror (DiskSuite Tool)" "How to Enable a Slice in a RAID5 Metadevice (DiskSuite Tool)"

	Recover From Boot Problems			Special problems can arise when booting the system, due to a hardware problem or operator error.		"How to Recover From Improper `/etc/vfstab` Entries (Command Line)" "How to Recover From Insufficient State Database Replicas (Command Line)" "How to Recover From a Boot Device Failure (Command Line)"

	Work With an SSA Disk Problem			For the most part, using DiskSuite with a SPARCstorage Array is transparent. Some procedures, such as resolving disk problems, have slightly different steps.		"How to Replace a Failed SPARCstorage Array Disk in a Mirror (DiskSuite Tool)"

	Work With Trans Metadevice Problems			Problems with trans metadevices can occur on either the master or logging device, and they can either be caused by errored data or device problems. All trans metadevices sharing the same logging device must be fixed before they return to a usable state.		"How to Recover a Trans Metadevice With a File System Panic (Command Line)" "How to Recover a Trans Metadevice With Hard Errors (Command Line)"

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