Controlling Automatic SSP Failover

The SSP failover capability is automatically enabled upon SSP installation or upgrade. You control the failover state through the setfailover(1M) command, which enables you to do the following:

• Disable, enable, or force an SSP failover.

• View or set the memory or disk space thresholds in the ssp_resource file.

To Disable SSP Failover

1. As user ssp on the main SSP, type:

   ssp% setfailover off

   SSP failover remains disabled until you enable it. To determine whether failover was disabled, use the showfailover(1M) command to review the failover state, as explained in "Obtaining Failover Status Information".

To Enable SSP Failover

When you use the setfailover(1M) command to enable failover after it has been disabled, the connection states are checked before failover is enabled. All connection links must be functioning properly before failover can be enabled. If any failed connections exist, failover is not enabled.

1. As user ssp on the main SSP, type:

   ssp% setfailover on

   SSP failover is activated if all control board connections are working. To verify that failover was enabled, use the showfailover(1M) command to review the failover state and connection status, as explained in "Obtaining Failover Status Information".

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   Note -

   Wait several minutes before verifying the failover state. During this time, the setfailover command checks the control board connections before activating SSP failover.

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To Force a Failover to the Spare SSP

Before forcing an SSP failover, be sure that both the main and spare SSP are synchronized. Use the setdatasync(1M) command to synchronize the SSP configuration files between the main and spare SSP.

1. As user ssp on the main SSP, type:

   ssp% setfailover force

2. Use the showfailover(1M) command to determine whether the forced failover occurred and to review the failover state and connection status.

   For details, see "Obtaining Failover Status Information".

3. Re-enable SSP failover, as explained in "To Enable SSP Failover".

To Modify the Memory or Disk Space Threshold in the ssp_resource File

When memory or disk space resources drop below a certain threshold, a failover occurs. However, you can change the threshold for these resources, which are stored in the ssp_resource(4) file, by using the setfailover(1M) command.

1. On the main SSP, log in as user ssp and do one of the following:

   • To change the memory threshold, type:

     ssp% setfailover -m memory_threshold

     where memory_threshold is the updated virtual memory value in Kbytes.

   • To change the disk space threshold, type:

     ssp% setfailover -d disk_space_threshold

     where disk_space_threshold is the updated disk space value in Kbytes.

2. Verify the updated threshold value by using the setfailover(1M) command with only the -m or -d option.

Obtaining Failover Status Information

Use the showfailover(1M) command on the main SSP to display failover status information. The following example shows the failover information displayed.

ssp% showfailover  
Failover State:
     SSP Failover: Disabled
     CB Failover:  Active
Failover Connection Map:
     Main SSP to Spare SSP thru Main Hub:   FAILED
     Main SSP to Spare SSP thru Spare Hub:  FAILED
     Main SSP to Primary Control Board:     GOOD
     Main SSP to Spare Control Board:       GOOD
     Spare SSP to Main SSP thru Main Hub:   FAILED
     Spare SSP to Main SSP thru Spare Hub:  FAILED
     Spare SSP to Primary Control Board:    FAILED
     Spare SSP to Spare Control Board:      FAILED
SSP/CB Host Information
     Main SSP:                              xf12-ssp
     Spare SSP:                             xf12-ssp2
     Primary Control Board (JTAG source):   xf12-cb1
     Spare Control Board:                   xf12-cb0
     System Clock source:                   xf12-cb1

The failover status includes the

• Failover state

  The failover state is one of the following:

  • Active -- automatic failover is enabled and functioning normally

  • Disabled -- automatic failover has been disabled by operator request or by a failure condition that prevents a failover from occurring

  • Failed -- a failover occurred

    After a failover, the status is listed as Failed until you re-enable failover using the setfailover(1M) command. You must manually re-enable failover, even after you have fixed all connections and they are identified as GOOD in the failover connection map (explained below).

• Failover connection map

  The connection map provides the status of the control board connection links monitored by the failover processes. A connection link is either GOOD, which means the connection is functioning properly, or FAILED, which indicates the connection is not working.

  If you have failed connections, use this connection map to help determine the failure condition. For additional details on the failure conditions associated with the various failure points, see "Description of Failover Detection Points" in Chapter 10, SSP Internals.

• SSP/CB host information

  The host information identifies the SSPs, control boards, and the control board that manages the JTAG interface and system clock.

You can also obtain information about the role of the current SSP by specifying the showfailover(1M) command with the -r option. The SSP role is either UNKNOWN (SSP role has not been determined), MAIN, or SPARE.

For additional details on the showfailover(1M) command, see the showfailover(1M) man page.