Load Balancing Configurations

FSPM can be configured for static or round-robin load balancing. You can also configure load balancing separately for each LUN.

In static load balancing, the software selects the best available path and all commands are sent over that path until the path is no longer operational or a better path becomes available. Then, a failover to another appropriate path is initiated.

In round-robin load balancing, commands are sent by turn over the best available paths. This ensures that LUN commands are evenly distributed over any path that is available to access the LUNs. Round-robin load balancing is the default method to manage data paths.

Note: Round robin is the preferred method as round robin balances I/O across all available optimized paths.

Load balancing allows the paths to share the load in different ways:

Balances access to a LUN across all optimized Oracle FS System Controller ports available for that LUN
Balances access from a host across the host HBA channels

To configure round-robin or static load balancing through Oracle FS System Manager (GUI), refer to the Oracle Flash Storage System Administrator’s Guide for additional information.

Note:

Load balancing may be configured at the host as well as at the Oracle FS System or Pillar Axiom. The normal AIX multipath disk configuration mechanisms (such as the Web-based System Manager, SMIT, smitty, and the chdev command) support setting the load balancing for Oracle FS System and Pillar Axiom LUNs.

For Pillar Axiom storage system, if you change load balancing settings from the host and leave the FSPM control path connection communicating with the Pilot, the Pillar Axiom can override your changes at the host at any time. Running FSPM without a control path connection ensures that the Pillar Axiom cannot override your changes at the host, but other control path functions are not available

For Oracle FS System, you can change the load balancing settings on the Oracle FS System or on the host and regardless of where the settings are changed, the settings are updated on both the Oracle FS System and the host.