Sun multipathing functionality, formerly Sun StorEdgeTM Traffic Manager software, is fully integrated starting with the Solaris Operating System 8 core I/O framework. Sun multipathing functionality enables you to more effectively represent and manage devices that are accessible through multiple I/O controller interfaces within a single instance of the Solaris operating system The Sun multipathing architecture enables the following:
Protection against I/O outages due to I/O controller failures
Automatic switches to an alternate controller upon an I/O controller failure
Increased I/O performance by load balancing across multiple I/O channels