Overview of the md.tab File

The /ect/lvm/md.tab file is an ASCII file that the metainit(1M), metahs(1M), and metadb(1M) commands use as an input file. You can use the /ect/lvm/md.tab file to create metadevices, hot spare pools, and state database replicas in a way similar to batch processing (as opposed to using the command line or DiskSuite Tool). Once you have edited the file, the metainit(1M), metahs(1M), and metadb(1M) commands then activate the metadevices, hot spare pools, and state database replicas defined in the file.

When you edit the /ect/lvm/md.tab file, you specify one complete configuration entry for each line using the syntax of the metainit(1M), metadb(1M), and metahs(1M) commands.

You then run the metainit(1M) command with either the -a option, to activate all metadevices in the /ect/lvm/md.tab file, or with the metadevice name that corresponds to a specific entry in the file.

DiskSuite does not write to or store configuration information in the /ect/lvm/md.tab file. You must edit the file by hand and run the metainit(1M), metahs(1M), or metadb(1M) commands to create DiskSuite objects.

The following sections describe how to create state database replicas, metadevices, and hot spare pools using the md.tab file. For more information refer to the md.tab(4) man page.