3.1.2 Matrix Server Administration Guide

Chapter 5: Configure the SAN 70

• Options, enclosed in double quotes, to pass to insmod when it loads

the driver. If no options are required, type a pair of double quotes (““)

in the field.

• A text description of the driver.

Edit the fc_pcitable File

To enable the failover feature, you will need to edit the fc_pcitable file. In

the file, locate the line for your device driver. (For version 8.00.00 and

later drivers, the option is in the qla2xxx module.)

Then add “ql2xfailover=1” to the insmod options for the driver. The

following example sets the failover option for a version 8.00.02 driver:

0x1077 0x0 qla2xxx qla2xxx-8.00.02 "ql2xfailover=1" QLogic

Abstraction Layer

When the QLogic failover feature is enabled, it replaces the MPIO failover

functionality of Matrix Server. You will need to reboot the server for the

change to take effect.

Third-Party MPIO and Fabric Fencing

When a node ceases to communicate with other nodes in the matrix,

Matrix Server must fence the node, removing its access to filesystems to

preserve data integrity. When fabric fencing is configured, Matrix Server

fences a node by administratively disabling all of the FibreChannel

switch ports that are directly connected to that node. The node must be

rebooted to regain its access to the SAN.

On nodes using a third-party MPIO solution such as EMC PowerPath or

IBM RDAC, the third-party MPIO software must discover and manage

the storage devices before Matrix Server can use them. The fencing action

can interfere with the ability of the third-party MPIO software to do this.

When a node is rebooted after being fenced, the HBA driver and the

third-party software attempt to discover the storage targets. However, no

devices are found at this point because Matrix Server has not unfenced

the FC switch ports used by the node.

When Matrix Server is started later in the boot process, the FC switch

ports are enabled and Matrix Server attempts to reinitiate the device