Solstice DiskSuite 4.2.1 Installation and Product Notes

Upgrading Systems Running Earlier Versions of DiskSuite

On a system which uses DiskSuite, the procedures for upgrading the Solaris operating system and DiskSuite are interrelated. The definitions below can help you understand the procedures and the issues that they address.

Simple metadevice -- A metadevice composed of a single component (disk slice) with a "Start Block" (as shown by metastat) of 0.
Simple mirror metadevice -- A mirror whose submirrors are all simple metadevices.
Simple trans metadevice -- A trans device whose master device is a simple metadevice.
Operating system mount point -- A directory that contains Solaris system software and is used as a mount point in /etc/vfstab. Operating system mount points are affected by upgrades of Solaris. Operating system mount points always include root, /usr, and swap. The directories /var, /opt, /usr/openwin, /export, /export/root, and /export/exec may also be operating system mount points depending on how Solaris was installed.
Operating system metadevice -- A metadevice is considered an operating system metadevice if /etc/vfstab mounts an operating system mount point on it. An operating system metadevice must be either a simple metadevice, a simple mirror metadevice, or a simple trans metadevice. Some systems that use DiskSuite will not have any operating system metadevices. If root is on a metadevice, all underlying components of that metadevice must be bootable.

The factors that affect installation on systems already running earlier versions of DiskSuite are:

You must be running Solaris 8 to use DiskSuite 4.2.1
System architecture (that is, SPARC or x86)
Solaris version running on the system before installation
Solstice DiskSuite version running on the system before installation
Whether you have operating system metadevices

The Solaris installation program cannot upgrade Solaris software that resides on metadevices, so each operating system metadevice must be decomposed into a single component (slice) before the Solaris installation program runs. After Solaris has been installed, these operating system metadevices must be reconstructed.

DiskSuite configuration and state information is stored in a private replicated database called a metadevice state database (or metadb). Disk drives are described in the database using the driver name and minor number of the device. Since the release of DiskSuite 4.0, Solstice DiskSuite has allowed old metadbs to be read by new releases of Solaris and DiskSuite. Each release of DiskSuite supports at least two versions of Solaris. That enables you to upgrade to a desired Solaris/DiskSuite combination from your current versions by upgrading Solaris and then upgrading DiskSuite. The support matrix is depicted in the following table.

Table 1-1 Solstice DiskSuite Support Matrix


	Solaris 2.5.1	Solaris 2.6	Solaris 7	Solaris 8
DiskSuite 4.0	Supported
DiskSuite 4.1	Supported	Supported
DiskSuite 4.2 SPARC		Supported	Supported
DiskSuite 4.2 x86		Supported*	Supported*
DiskSuite 4.2.1				Supported

* -- Use the metacvt command delivered with Solstice DiskSuite 4.2.1 to remove the system metadevice state database replicas and metadevices before Solaris 8 upgrades on x86 machines. The metacvt command creates a shell script that restores the replicas and metadevices after the upgrade.

For the metadevice state database information to be valid, new Solaris software must be applied via upgrade, preserving the device bindings across the upgrade.

Caution -

If a full install of Solaris is performed, all DiskSuite configuration information will be lost. Losing the DiskSuite configuration information can result in data loss or complete system failure.

It is important not to change the hardware configuration of a machine during an upgrade to avoid changes in device bindings. Again, loss of device bindings invalidates the metadevice state database information and can result in data loss or complete system failure.

One of the features of Solaris 8 for x86 is unification of the SCSI drivers. The same sd driver is now used on both SPARC and x86. Because the metadevice state database information contains device driver names, an upgrade to Solaris 8 on x86 requires that the DiskSuite metadbs be rebuilt. The DiskSuite 4.2.1 software distribution includes a version of the metacvt(1M) command that automates metadb removal and reconstruction.

The procedures for dealing with the factors just described can be condensed into the following rules:

Always run the "Upgrade" option of the Solaris installation program when upgrading Solaris on a system that is already configured and running Solstice DiskSuite.
Never change the hardware configuration of a machine during an upgrade.
To upgrade to DiskSuite 4.2.1 and Solaris 8, the system must be running Solaris 2.5.1, Solaris 2.6, or Solaris 7 and DiskSuite 4.0, DiskSuite 4.1, or DiskSuite 4.2. If necessary, follow the instructions given in the Solstice DiskSuite 4.0 Product Notes to upgrade the system to Solaris 2.5 and DiskSuite 4.0, then upgrade to Solaris 2.5.1.
To upgrade an x86 system to DiskSuite 4.2.1 and Solaris 8, all metadevices must be decomposed, the DiskSuite metadevice state databases must be removed from the system, and the DiskSuite packages must be removed before the system is upgraded to Solaris 8. After the upgrade to Solaris 8, the DiskSuite 4.2.1 packages must be added and the metadevices reconstructed. The metacvt script supplied with DiskSuite 4.2.1 automatically decomposes the metadevices, removes the metadevice state database from the system, and writes a shell script that can be used to restore the metadevice state database and reconstruct the metadevices after the upgrade and installation of the DiskSuite 4.2.1 packages.
To upgrade to DiskSuite 4.2.1 and Solaris 8, the system must be running Solaris 2.5.1, and DiskSuite 4.1. If necessary, follow the instructions given in the Solstice DiskSuite 4.0 Product Notes to upgrade the system to Solaris 2.4 and DiskSuite 4.0.
Metadevices containing operating system files (operating system metadevices) must be decomposed into simple components (single slices) before the operating system can be upgraded.

Caution -
Failure to decompose operating system metadevices prior to upgrading the system will result in loss of data and can result in complete system failure.
Metadevices must not be reconstructed or mounted on file systems until the new version of the Solstice DiskSuite software has been installed.