How to Install Solaris I/O Multipathing Software

Perform this procedure on each node of the global cluster to install and configure Solaris I/O multipathing software (MPxIO) for Fibre Channel (FC) storage. Multipathing software manages multiple I/O paths to the shared cluster storage. This procedure is optional.

• SPARC: For the Solaris 9 OS, you install and configure Sun StorEdge Traffic Manager software.

• For the Solaris 10 OS, you enable the Solaris multipathing feature, which is installed by default as part of the Solaris 10 software.

Before You Begin

Perform the following tasks:

• Ensure that the Solaris OS is installed to support Sun Cluster software.

  If Solaris software is already installed on the node, you must ensure that the Solaris installation meets the requirements for Sun Cluster software and any other software that you intend to install on the cluster. See How to Install Solaris Software for more information about installing Solaris software to meet Sun Cluster software requirements.

• SPARC: For the Solaris 9 OS, have available your software packages, patches, and documentation for Sun StorEdge Traffic Manager software and Sun StorEdge SAN Foundation software. See Sun StorEdge Traffic Manager documentation at http://docs.sun.com/coll/traffic-mgr3.1?l=en and Sun StorEdge SAN Foundation documentation at http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/prod/san.sw?l=en#hic.

• For the Solaris 10 OS, have available the Solaris Fibre Channel Storage Configuration and Multipathing Support Guide.

1. Become superuser.

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   Note –

   SPARC: If you installed Sun Logical Domains (LDoms) software, perform this procedure in the I/O domain and export it to the guest domains. Do not enable Solaris I/O multipathing software directly in guest domains.

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2. SPARC: For the Solaris 9 OS, install on each node Sun StorEdge Traffic Manager software and any necessary patches.

   • For the procedure about how to install Sun StorEdge Traffic Manager software, see the Sun StorEdge Traffic Manager Installation and Configuration Guide at Sun StorEdge Traffic Manager Installation and Configuration Guide.

   • For a list of required patches for Sun StorEdge Traffic Manager software, see the Sun StorEdge Traffic Manager Software Release Notes at Sun StorEdge Traffic Manager Software Release Notes: For the Solaris Operating System.

3. Enable multipathing functionality.

   • SPARC: For the Solaris 9 OS, change the value of the mpxio-disable parameter to no.

     Modify this entry in the /kernel/drv/scsi_vhci.conf file on each node.

     set mpxio-disable=no

   • For the Solaris 10 OS, issue the following command on each node:

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     Caution –

     If Sun Cluster software is already installed, do not issue this command. Running the stmsboot command on an active cluster node might cause Solaris services to go into the maintenance state. Instead, follow instructions in the stmsboot(1M) man page for using the stmsboot command in a Sun Cluster environment.

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     phys-schost# /usr/sbin/stmsboot -e

     -e

     Enables Solaris I/O multipathing.

     See the stmsboot(1M) man page for more information.

4. SPARC: For the Solaris 9 OS, determine whether your version of Sun StorEdge SAN Foundation software includes built-in support for your storage array.

   If the software does not include built-in support for your storage array, edit the /kernel/drv/scsi_vhci.conf file on each node to include the necessary entries. For more information, see the release notes for your storage device.

5. SPARC: For the Solaris 9 OS, shut down each node and perform a reconfiguration boot.

   The reconfiguration boot creates the new Solaris device files and links.

   phys-schost# shutdown -y -g0 -i0 ok boot -r

6. After the reconfiguration reboot is finished on all nodes, perform any additional tasks that are necessary to complete the configuration of your storage array.

   See installation instructions for your storage array in the Sun Cluster Hardware Administration Collection for details.

Troubleshooting

If you installed Solaris I/O multipathing software after Sun Cluster software was installed on the cluster, DID mappings might require updating. Issue the following commands on each node of the cluster to regenerate the DID namespace.

phys-schost# cldevice clearphys-schost# cldevice refresh(Solaris 9 only) phys-schost# cfgadm -c configurephys-schost# cldevice populate

See the cfgadm(1M) and cldevice(1CL) man pages for more information.

Next Steps

To install VxFS, go to How to Install Veritas File System Software.

Otherwise, install the Sun Cluster software packages. Go to How to Install Sun Cluster Framework and Data-Service Software Packages.