Solaris SAN Configuration and Multipathing Guide

Enabling and Disabling Multipathing

With the release of the Solaris 10 Update 4 OS, the stmsboot(1m) command is now available for use on SPARC, x86, and x64 based systems to enable or disable multipathing for Fibre Channel (FC) and SAS devices. The stmsboot command updates the /etc/vfstab file and dump configuration to reflect device name changes during the next reboot. You do not need to manually edit the /kernel/drv/fp.conf or /kernel/drv/mpt.conf files.

The following considerations apply to the stmsboot -e, -d, and -u options:

You should reboot immediately after running the stmsboot command.
Ensure that eeprom(1m) boot device is set to boot from your current boot device. This is required since the stmsboot command reboots the machine to complete the operation.
The stmsboot command saves a copy of your original /kernel/drv/fp.conf, /kernel/drv/mpt.conf and /etc/vfstab files before modifying them. See Appendix C, Multipathing Troubleshooting if you encounter unexpected problems while using stmsboot.

Note –

The behavior of the stmsboot command in the Solaris 10 OS differs from the stmsboot command provided by Sun StorEdge SAN Foundation software in the Solaris 8 and Solaris 9 OS. In the Solaris 8 and Solaris 9 OS, the stmsboot command is used to enable or disable multipathing on the boot device only for SPARC based hosts only. In the Solaris 10 OS, the command is used to enable or disable multipathing on all capable devices.

The stmsboot command is available on both SPARC and x86/x64-based systems from the Solaris 10 Update 4 OS onwards. In the Solaris 10 Update 5 OS the stmsboot command is used to enable, disable or update multipathing for Serial-Attached SCSI devices as well as FC devices.

To Enable Multipathing

Perform the following steps to enable multipathing on all multipath-capable devices on SPARC or x86/x64 based systems. If you want to enable multipathing only on specific FC or SAS HBA ports, refer to Enabling or Disabling Multipathing on a Per-Port Basis.

The multipathing software automatically recognizes Sun supported devices. If you want to enable multipathing on third-party devices, add entries to the /kernel/drv/scsi_vhci.conf file as described by Device Name Change Considerations in Multipathing Considerations.

Run the stmsboot -e command:

# stmsboot -e
WARNING: stmsboot operates on each supported multipath-capable controller
         	detected in a host. In your system, these controllers are

	/devices/pci@780/pci@0/pci@8/SUNW,qlc@0/fp@0,0
	/devices/pci@780/pci@0/pci@8/SUNW,qlc@0,1/fp@0,0
	/devices/pci@7c0/pci@0/pci@1/pci@0,2/LSILogic,sas@1
	/devices/pci@7c0/pci@0/pci@1/pci@0,2/LSILogic,sas@1
	/devices/pci@7c0/pci@0/pci@1/pci@0,2/LSILogic,sas@2
	/devices/pci@7c0/pci@0/pci@9/LSILogic,sas@0
	/devices/pci@7c0/pci@0/pci@9/LSILogic,sas@0

	If you do NOT wish to operate on these controllers, please quit stmsboot
	and re-invoke with -D { fp | mpt } to specify which controllers you wish
	to modify your multipathing configuration for.

	Do you wish to continue? [y/n] (default: y) y
	Checking mpxio status for driver fp
	Checking mpxio status for driver mpt
	WARNING: This operation will require a reboot.
	Do you want to continue ? [y/n] (default: y) y
	The changes will come into effect after rebooting the system.
	Reboot the system now ? [y/n] (default: y) y

Note –

During the reboot, /etc/vfstab and the dump configuration are updated to reflect the device name changes.

(Optional) After the reboot, if necessary, configure your applications to use new device names as described by Device Name Change Considerations in Multipathing Considerations.

To Disable Multipathing

Perform the following steps to disable multipathing on all multipath-capable devices on SPARC or x86/x64 based systems. If you want to disable multipathing only on specific FC or SAS HBA ports, refer to Enabling or Disabling Multipathing on a Per-Port Basis.

Run the stmsboot -d command.

# stmsboot -d
WARNING: stmsboot operates on each supported multipath-capable controller
         	detected in a host. In your system, these controllers are

	/devices/pci@780/pci@0/pci@8/SUNW,qlc@0/fp@0,0
	/devices/pci@780/pci@0/pci@8/SUNW,qlc@0,1/fp@0,0
	/devices/pci@7c0/pci@0/pci@1/pci@0,2/LSILogic,sas@1
	/devices/pci@7c0/pci@0/pci@1/pci@0,2/LSILogic,sas@1
	/devices/pci@7c0/pci@0/pci@1/pci@0,2/LSILogic,sas@2
	/devices/pci@7c0/pci@0/pci@9/LSILogic,sas@0
	/devices/pci@7c0/pci@0/pci@9/LSILogic,sas@0

	If you do NOT wish to operate on these controllers, please quit stmsboot
	and re-invoke with -D { fp | mpt } to specify which controllers you wish
	to modify your multipathing configuration for.

	Do you wish to continue? [y/n] (default: y) y
	Checking mpxio status for driver fp
	Checking mpxio status for driver mpt
	WARNING: This operation will require a reboot.
	Do you want to continue ? [y/n] (default: y) y
	The changes will come into effect after rebooting the system.
	Reboot the system now ? [y/n] (default: y) y

Note –

During the reboot, /etc/vfstab and the dump configuration are updated to reflect the device name changes.

(Optional) After the reboot, if necessary, configure your applications to use new device names as described by Device Name Change Considerations in Multipathing Considerations.