mcf File Fields - Sun QFS File System 5.3 Configuration and Administration Guide

`mcf` File Fields

This section describes the fields in an mcf file.

Equipment Identifier Field (Required)

The Equipment Identifier field identifies the physical file system device or removable media device. If this field contains the name of a file system, it is limited to 31 characters. For all other content, this field is limited to 127 characters.

Use the Equipment Identifier field to provide the information in the following table.

Information	Identifier Length	Description
File system name	31 characters	The file system name must be identical to the name in the Family Set field, and the subsequent lines in the `mcf` file must define all the disks or devices included in the file system. More than one file system can be declared in an `mcf` file. Typically, the first data line in an `mcf` file declares the first file system, and subsequent lines specify the devices included in the file system. Other file systems declared in the `mcf` file can be preceded by a blank comment line for readability. Note - File system names must start with an alphabetic character and can contain only alphabetic characters, numeric characters, or underscore (_) characters.
`nodev` keyword	127 characters	The keyword `nodev` indicates that the system on which the `mcf` file resides is being used as a client host in a shared file system on an Oracle Solaris host. This keyword can appear in this field only as the Equipment Identifier for one or more metadata devices that reside on the metadata server. For more information about creating an `mcf` file for the members of a shared file system, see Chapter 5, Configuring a Shared File System. Note - Do not use this keyword if your file system is in an Oracle Solaris Cluster environment.
Disk partition or slice description	127 characters	A `/dev/` entry in this field identifies a disk partition or slice.
Automated library or optical drive description	127 characters	A `/dev/samst` entry identifies an automated library or optical drive. If you are configuring a network-attached automated library, see Chapter 4, Creating Parameters Files for Network-Attached Automated Libraries, in Sun Storage Archive Manager 5.3 Configuration and Administration Guide.
Tape drive description	127 characters	This entry can be in one of two forms: A `/dev/rmt` entry. A path to a symbolic link that points to the same file to which the `/dev/rmt` link points. If you specify a tape drive in this manner, be sure to create the link before mounting the file system.

The Equipment Number Field (Required)

For each row in the mcf file, the equipment number (eq) field must contain a unique numeric identifier for the file system component or device being defined. This number must be an integer between 1 and 65534, inclusive.

Tip - Use low numbers to keep the internal software tables small.

The Equipment Type Field (Required)

The required Equipment Type field provides information that the software uses to determine how to interact with a particular device. Enter the two- or three-character mnemonic for the device type.

Some equipment can use the generic equipment types of od (optical disk), tp (tape), and rb (robot). For a file system, the following table describes specific Equipment Type codes:

Table 2-1 Equipment Type Field

Equipment Type	Description
`ms`	Defines a file system that stores both data and metadata on the same device (an `md` device).
`ma`	Defines a file system that stores metadata on a separate device (an `mm` device). The data in an `ma` file system can be stored on `md`, `mr`, or `g`_XXX devices.
`md`	Defines a striped or round-robin device that uses dual allocation for storing file data. See also Dual and Single Allocation Schemes.
`mm`	Defines a metadata device for storing inode and other metadata information. You can specify multiple metadata devices. Metadata (including inodes, directories, allocation maps, and so on) on `ma` file systems is located on metadata devices, separated from the file data devices. By default, metadata is allocated using round-robin allocation if you have multiple metadata devices.
`mr`	Defines a round-robin or striped data device that uses single allocation for storing file data. See also Dual and Single Allocation Schemes.
`g` XXX	Defines a striped data device. Striped groups start with the letter `g` followed by a number. The number must be an integer between 0 and 127, inclusive; for example, `g12`.All members in a striped group must be the same type and size. Different striped groups within one file system are not required to have the same number of members. `md`, `mr`, and `g` XXX devices cannot be mixed in one file system. Data can be striped (if all groups contain the same number of devices) or round-robin between groups. The default is round-robin.

Besides the file system equipment types, other codes are used to identify automated libraries and other devices. For more information about specific equipment types, see the mcf(4) man page.

Family Set Field (Required)

The family set field contains the name for a group of devices.

Family set names must start with an alphabetic character and can contain only alphabetic characters, numeric characters, or underscore (_) characters. The family set name cannot be longer than 31 characters.

The family set names are described in the following table.

Family Set	Description
File system name	All disk devices in the file system must use the same file system name in this field. The software uses the family set name to group devices together as a file system. It physically records the family set name on all of the devices in the file system when the `sammkfs` command is issued. You can change this name by issuing the `samfsck` command with the `-F` and `-R` options. For more information about the `sammkfs` command, see the `sammkfs`(1M) man page. For more information about the `samfsck` command, see the `samfsck`(1M) man page.
Automated library identifier	The library and all its associated drive devices must use the same identifier.
-	The dash character (-) indicates a stand-alone removable media device.

You can create a comment that is associated with a specific family set by inserting the identifier #family-set-name: just before the first device in that family set. Any comments that are added between that comment line and the last device in the family set will be associated with that family set. If the family set is later deleted through the SAM-QFS Manager software, any related comments will also be deleted from the mcf file.

Device State Field (Optional)

The Device State field specifies the state of the device when the file system is initialized. Valid device states are on and off. The default is on. This is an optional field. If you do not want to specify a value, insert a dash character (-) to indicate that this field is omitted.

Additional Parameters Field (Optional)

For an automated library device, the Additional Parameters field is optional and can be left blank. By default, library catalog files are written to /var/opt/SUNWsamfs/catalog/ family-set-name. Use this field if you want to specify an alternative path to the library catalog file.

For a shared file system, this field must contain the keyword shared.

For other entries, insert a dash (-) or leave this field blank.

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