How to Repartition Drives in a Diskset

The metaset(1M) command repartitions drives in a diskset so that a small portion of each drive is reserved in slice 7 for use by Solstice DiskSuite software. The remainder of the space on each drive is placed into slice 0. To make more effective use of the disk, use this procedure to modify the disk layout. Allocating space to slices 1 through 6 enables you to use these slices when setting up metadevices.

1. Become superuser on the cluster node.

2. Use the format(1M) command to change the disk partitioning for each drive in the diskset.

   When you repartition a drive, you must meet the following conditions to prevent the metaset(1M) command from repartitioning the disk.

   • Create a partition 7 starting at cylinder 0 that is large enough to hold a state database replica (approximately 2 Mbytes).

   • Set the Flag field in slice 7 to V_UNMT (unmountable) and do not set it to read-only.

   • Do not allow slice 7 to overlap any other slice on the disk.

Refer to the format(1M) man page for details.

Where to Go From Here

To define metadevices by using an md.tab file, go to "How to Create an md.tab File".