Specifications
HP Multipath I/O Configurations
Multipath
Support for
EVA with
QLogic
Failover Driver
LifeKeeper supports the EVA 3000/5000 and the EVA 4X00/6X00/8X00 with the
QLogic failover driver. The 3000/5000 requires firmware version 4000 or higher.
The 4000/6000/8000 requires firmware version 5030 or higher. The latest QLogic
driver supplied by HP (v8.01.03 or later) should be used. The host connection
must be "Linux". There is no restriction on the path/mode setting by LifeKeeper.
Notice that previous restrictions for a special host connection, the setting of the
preferred path/mode and the ports that can be used on the EVA do not exist for
this version of firmware and driver.
Upgrading a
Single Path
MSA1000/
MSA1500 or
EVA
Configuration
to Multiple
Paths with
Secure Path
To upgrade a cluster from single path to multiple paths, perform the following
steps (this must be a cluster-wide upgrade):
1. Upgrade LifeKeeper to the latest version following the normal upgrade
procedures. This step can be accomplished as a rolling upgrade such that
the entire cluster does not have to be down.
2. Stop LifeKeeper on all nodes. The cluster will be down until the hardware
upgrade is complete and step 5 is finished for all nodes.
3. Install/upgrade the HP Platform Kit on each node.
4. Install the HP Secure Path software on each node. This will require a
reboot of the system. Verify that Secure Path has properly configured
both paths to the storage. See Secure Path documentation for further
details.
5. Start LifeKeeper. All hierarchies should work as they did before the
upgrade.
Note: This is a change from how the previous version of LifeKeeper supported an
upgrade.
Secure Path
Persistent
Device Nodes
Secure Path supports “persistent” device nodes that are in the form of
/dev/spdev/spXXwhereXXis the device name. These nodes are symbolic links
to the specific SCSI device nodes /dev/sdXX. LifeKeeper v4.3.0 or later will
recognize these devices as if they were the “normal” SCSI device nodes
/dev/sdXX. LifeKeeper maintains its own device name persistence, both across
reboots and across cluster nodes, by directly detecting if a device is /dev/sda1 or
/dev/sdq1, and then directly using the correct device node.
Note: Support for symbolic links to SCSI device nodes was added in LifeKeeper
v4.3.0.
Active/Passive
Controllers and
Controller
Switchovers
The MSA1000 implements multipathing by having one controller active with the
other controller in standby mode. When there is a problem with either the active
controller or the path to the active controller, the standby controller is activated to
take over operations. When a controller is activated, it takes some time for the
controller to become ready. Depending on the number of LUNs configured on the
array, this can take 30 to 90 seconds. During this time, IOs to the storage will be
blocked until they can be rerouted to the newly activated controller.
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