JavaScript is required to for searching.
Skip Navigation Links
Exit Print View
System Administration Guide: Devices and File Systems
search filter icon
search icon

Document Information

Preface

1.  Managing Removable Media (Overview)

2.  Managing Removable Media (Tasks)

3.  Accessing Removable Media (Tasks)

4.  Writing CDs and DVDs (Tasks)

5.  Managing Devices (Overview/Tasks)

6.  Dynamically Configuring Devices (Tasks)

Dynamic Reconfiguration and Hot-Plugging

Attachment Points

Detaching PCI or PCIe Adapter Cards

Attaching PCI or PCIe Adapter Cards

PCIe Hot-Plugging With the (hotplug) Command

Troubleshooting PCI Hot Plug Operations (hotplug)

SCSI Hot-Plugging With the cfgadm Command (Task Map)

SCSI Hot-Plugging With the cfgadm Command

How to Display Information About SCSI Devices

How to Unconfigure a SCSI Controller

How to Configure a SCSI Controller

How to Configure a SCSI Device

How to Disconnect a SCSI Controller

SPARC: How to Connect a SCSI Controller

SPARC: How to Add a SCSI Device to a SCSI Bus

SPARC: How to Replace an Identical Device on a SCSI Controller

SPARC: How to Remove a SCSI Device

Troubleshooting SCSI Configuration Problems

How to Resolve a Failed SCSI Unconfigure Operation

PCI or PCIe Hot-Plugging With the cfgadm Command (Task Map)

PCI or PCIe Hot-Plugging With the cfgadm Command

PCIe Led Indicator Behavior

How to Display PCI Slot Configuration Information

How to Remove a PCI Adapter Card

How to Add a PCI Adapter Card

Troubleshooting PCI Configuration Problems

Reconfiguration Coordination Manager (RCM) Script Overview

What Is an RCM Script?

What Can an RCM Script Do?

How Does the RCM Script Process Work?

RCM Script Commands

RCM Script Processing Environment

RCM Script Tasks

Application Developer RCM Script (Task Map)

System Administrator RCM Script (Task Map)

Naming an RCM Script

Installing or Removing an RCM Script

How to Install an RCM Script

How to Remove an RCM Script

How to Test an RCM Script

Tape Backup RCM Script Example

What the Tape Backup RCM Script Does

Outcomes of the Tape Backup Reconfiguration Scenarios

Example--Tape Backup RCM Script

7.  Using USB Devices (Overview)

8.  Using USB Devices (Tasks)

9.  Using InfiniBand Devices (Overview/Tasks)

10.  Managing Disks (Overview)

11.  Administering Disks (Tasks)

12.  SPARC: Adding a Disk (Tasks)

13.  x86: Adding a Disk (Tasks)

14.  Configuring Oracle Solaris iSCSI Targets and Initiators (Tasks)

15.  The format Utility (Reference)

16.  Managing File Systems (Overview)

17.  Creating ZFS, UFS, TMPFS, and LOFS File Systems (Tasks)

18.  Mounting and Unmounting File Systems (Tasks)

19.  Using The CacheFS File System (Tasks)

20.  Configuring Additional Swap Space (Tasks)

21.  Checking UFS File System Consistency (Tasks)

22.  UFS File System (Reference)

23.  Backing Up and Restoring UFS File Systems (Overview)

24.  Backing Up UFS Files and File Systems (Tasks)

25.  Using UFS Snapshots (Tasks)

26.  Restoring UFS Files and File Systems (Tasks)

27.  UFS Backup and Restore Commands (Reference)

28.  Copying UFS Files and File Systems (Tasks)

29.  Managing Tape Drives (Tasks)

Index

Dynamic Reconfiguration and Hot-Plugging

Hot-plugging is the ability to physically add, remove, or replace system components while the system is running. Dynamic reconfiguration refers to the ability to hot-plug system components. This term also refers to the general ability to move system resources (both hardware and software) around in the system or to disable them in some way without physically removing them from the system.

Generally, you can hot-plug the following bus types:

In addition, you can hot-plug the following devices with the cfgadm command:

Features of the cfgadm command include the following:

The benefit of using the cfgadm command to reconfigure systems components is that you can add, remove, or replace components while the system is running. An added benefit is that the cfgadm command guides you through the steps needed to add, remove, or replace system components.

For step-by-step instructions on hot-plugging components, see the following:


Note - Not all SCSI and PCI controllers support hot-plugging with the cfgadm command.


As part of Sun's high availability strategy, dynamic reconfiguration is expected to be used in conjunction with additional layered products, such as alternate pathing or fail over software. Both products provide fault tolerance in the event of a device failure.

Without any high availability software, you can replace a failed device by manually stopping the appropriate applications, unmounting noncritical file systems, and then proceeding with the add or remove operations.


Note - Some systems have slots that hot-pluggable and slots that are not hot-pluggable. For information about hot-plugging devices on your specific hardware configuration, such as on enterprise-level systems, refer to your hardware configuration documentation.


Attachment Points

The cfgadm command displays information about attachment points, which are locations in the system where dynamic reconfiguration operations can occur.

An attachment point consists of the following:

Attachment points are represented by logical and physical attachment point IDs (Ap_Ids). The physical Ap_Id is the physical path name of the attachment point. The logical Ap_Id is a user-friendly alternative for the physical Ap_Id. For more information on Ap_Ids, refer to cfgadm(1M).

The logical Ap_Id for a SCSI Host Bus Adapter (HBA), or SCSI controller, is usually represented by the controller number, such as c0.

In cases where no controller number has been assigned to a SCSI HBA, then an internally generated unique identifier is provided. An example of a unique identifier for a SCSI controller is the following:

fas1:scsi

The logical Ap_Id for a SCSI device usually has this format:

HBA-logical-apid::device-identifier

In the following example, c0 is the logical Ap_Id for the SCSI HBA:

c0::dsk/c0t3d0

The device identifier is typically derived from the logical device name for the device in the /dev directory. For example, a tape device with logical device name, /dev/rmt/1, has the following logical Ap_Id:

c0::rmt/1

If a logical Ap_Id of a SCSI device cannot be derived from the logical name in the /dev directory, then an internally generated unique identifier is provided. An example of an identifier for the /dev/rmt/1 tape device is the following:

c0::st4

For more information on SCSI Ap_Ids, refer to cfgadm_scsi(1M).

The cfgadm command represents all resources and dynamic reconfiguration operations in terms of a common set of states (such as configured and unconfigured) and operations (such as connect, configure, unconfigure, and so on). For more information on these common states and operations, see cfgadm(1M).

The following table shows the receptacle and occupant states for the SCSI HBA attachment points.

Receptacle State
Description
Occupant State
Description
empty
N/A for SCSI HBA
configured
One or more devices is configured on the bus
disconnected
Bus quiesced
unconfigured
No devices are configured
connected
Bus active

The following table shows the receptacle and occupant states for SCSI device attachment points.

Receptacle State
Description
Occupant State
Description
empty
N/A for SCSI devices
configured
Device is configured
disconnected
Bus quiesced
unconfigured
Device is not configured
connected
Bus active

The state of SCSI attachment points is unknown unless special hardware indicates otherwise. For instructions on displaying SCSI component information, see How to Display Information About SCSI Devices.

Detaching PCI or PCIe Adapter Cards

A PCI adapter card that is hosting nonvital system resources can be removed if the device driver supports hot-plugging. A PCI adapter card is not detachable if it is a vital system resource. For a PCI adapter card to be detachable, the following conditions must be met:

For example, if a system has only one Ethernet card installed in it, the Ethernet card cannot be detached without losing the network connection. This detachment requires additional layered software support to keep the network connection active.

Attaching PCI or PCIe Adapter Cards

A PCI adapter card can be added to the system as long as the following conditions are met:

For step-by-step instructions on adding or removing a PCI adapter card, see PCI or PCIe Hot-Plugging With the cfgadm Command.

PCIe Hot-Plugging With the (hotplug) Command

You can use the hotplug command to manage hot pluggible connections, where a connection can be a connector or port, on PCI Express (PCIe) and PCI SHPC devices only. A hotplug connector is a physical representation in the system where a component is inserted or removed. A hotplug port is a logical representation in the system device tree where the connection of a device to the system is managed.

You can use the hotplug features to online or offline a device, even an on-board device, without physically adding or removing the device from the system.

You must enable the hotplug service to manage devices with the hotplug command.

# svcadm enable svc:/system/hotplug:default

The following examples describe how to use the hotplug command.

Display all the PCI/PCIe hot pluggible connectors/ports (virtual and physical) in the system as follows:

# hotplug list -lv

Configure an Ethernet card in a PCIe slot. For example:

# hotplug enable /pci0,0 pcie0

Unconfigure an Ethernet card in a PCIe slot. For example:

# hotplug disable /pci0,0 pcie0

Offline a PCI device node, which means detach the device driver for that node. For example:

# hotplug offline /pci0,0/pci1 pci.0,2

Online a PCI device node, which means attach the driver for that node. For example:

# hotplug online /pci0,0/pci1 pci.0,2
Troubleshooting PCI Hot Plug Operations (hotplug)

The following service must be running to use the hotplug command.

svc:/system/hotplug:default

Otherwise, you will see the following message:

ERROR: hotplug service is not available.

The following error message is displayed on systems that do not have any supported I/O buses:

ERROR: there are no connections to display.
       (See hotplug(1m) for more information.)

The above message could mean that the system might have other hot-pluggible I/O devices, but you need to use the cfgadm command rather than the hotplug command to manage these devices.