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Asset ID: 1-71-1011782.1
Update Date:2010-08-10
Keywords:

Solution Type  Technical Instruction Sure

Solution  1011782.1 :   Veritas Volume Manager 3.x/4.x: How to Replace a Disk in an A5x00 Array  


Related Items
  • Sun Storage A5000 Array
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  • Sun Storage A5200 Array
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Related Categories
  • GCS>Sun Microsystems>Storage - Disk>Modular Disk - Other
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PreviouslyPublishedAs
216147


Description
How to Replace a Disk in an A5x00 Array.

Steps to Follow
When replacing a failed disk under Sun Enterprise Volume Manager[TM] 2.6 (SEVM) or Veritas Volume Manager (VxVM) 3.x control in the Sun Enterprise Network Array (SENA) A5x00 array, one cannot simply pull out the disk and replace it with a new one as with other types of drives.

Because each disk has a unique world-wide number (WWN), the following procedure must be followed to correctly remove and replace any disk in an A5x00 array.

Please see SunAlert < Solution: 201023 >, "Replacement of a Disk on StorEdge A5200 May Disconnect the Array", if this is an A5200, and the drive is in slot Front 10, or Rear 10 (f10, r10), it's in single loop mode and Loop A is the loop in use.

Also note that if you are experiencing difficulty with any of the procedures below, it is highly advisable to apply the latest luxadm patch for your particular operating system.  luxadm patches are as follows:

 Solaris 2.5.1  Patch# 105310-14 
Solaris 2.6    Patch# 105375-29 
Solaris 7      Patch# 107473-07 
Solaris 8      Patch# 109529-06 
Solaris 9      Patch# 113049-01  

If the procedure below is not followed, SEVM/VxVM may display this message when attempting to get the new disk online:

device cxtxxdxsx online failed : device path not valid

The following procedure illustrates the correct sequence of commands needed to replace a disk in an A5x00 array if a Volume Manager is being used.  The vxdiskadm command will bring up a menu of Volume Manager options.

1)  Inform Volume Manager you wish to remove the disk:

    # vxdiskadm -> option 4 (Remove a disk for replacement)

2) Offline the device (use the c#t#d# name):

    # vxdiskadm -> option 11 (Disable (offline) a disk device)

3) Remove the device and device nodes.  Use the enclosure name as reported by luxadm probe, and  f  or  r  for the  front  or  rear  panel.

   # luxadm remove_device enclosurename,[f|r]slot#

For example:  front panel slot 3 with box name of saturn:

   # luxadm remove_device saturn,f3

This command will prompt you to physically remove the device.  If this is successful, remove the disk drive, finish the procedure, and skip to step 5.  Otherwise, proceed to step 4.

4)  If removal says  "device busy" and does not continue the removal, there is the possibility of  ghost  disks remaining if the correct procedure was not used. This is confirmed by running the Volume Manager command  vxdisk list , and checking if there are 2 entries for the same disk drive (one is the  ghost ). If this is the case, please contact a Sun Representative, referring the Internal <Document: 1018799.1> for solving this issue.

In extreme cases, it may be necessary to manually remove the device paths for the A5x00 if all of the above procedures are not working. This procedure is detailed in <Document: 1005716.1> .  This is a last-resort workaround, if the previous reported  ghost disk  situation in Volume Manager is not the case.

Do not use the -f option of the luxadm remove_device command as this won't properly update the device tree.

5) Run the following command, and when prompted, insert the new disk in the same previous slot of the same A5x00 enclosure:

# luxadm insert_device enclosurename,[f|r]slot#

This will create the new device and device nodes.  Again, on a multi-initiated array, this command must be performed on all systems connected to the array.

NOTE: there are situations (for example, if the previous luxadm remove_device left some garbage or was not followed correctly) that can lead to the command syntax "luxadm insert_device enclosurename,[f|r]slot#" not creating all the dev/devices entries required to correctly see the disk in both format and "luxadm display" outputs. In this case, you need to remove the old disk's dev/devices references again (through "luxadm remove_device" or manually as reported before), and create the references for the new disk without specifying the "enclosurename,[f|r]slot#" in the command, as below:

      # luxadm insert_device

This command syntax will scan ALL the SENA/FCAL devices connected to the equipment, and create the new dev/devices entries for the disk.

6) Inform Volume Manager of the configuration changes with the command:

    # vxdctl enable

7) Bring the disk back online in Volume Manager:

 # vxdiskadm option 5 (Replace a failed or removed disk)





Product
VERITAS Volume Manager 3.5 Software
Sun StorageTek A5200 Array
Sun StorageTek A5100 Array
Sun StorageTek A5000 Array

Internal Comments
Reference:

- Internal Infodoc reference for procedure Step 4: <Document: 1018799.1> : StorEdge [tm] A5x00:
How to offline unresponsive disks when luxadm remove
fails.


SEVM, VxVM, Volume Manager, upgrade, upgrading, recovery, recover, Photon, A5000, A5100, A5200
Previously Published As
17003

Change History
Date: 2006-03-21
User Name: 95826
Action: Approved
Comment: - verified metadata
- changed review date to 2007-03-21
- checked for TM - 2 removed (no TM needed for Veritas as it is 3rd-party)
- checked audience : contract
Publishing
Version: 9
Date: 2006-03-21
User Name: 95826
Action: Accept
Comment:
Version: 0

Date: 2006-03-21
User Name: 86700
Action: Approved
Comment: I saw this in the tech review queue and checked the foll:-
1. It was a very old existing document.
2. Some updates were made.
3. Check the updates and found them ok.
4. Checked the comments and those hv been incorporated.
Sending for final review
-Sailesh
Version: 0

Date: 2006-03-20
User Name: 86700
Action: Accept
Comment:
Version: 0

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