Configuring HP-UX for a New Disk Device

The simplest way to configure a disk device (hard disk, floppy disk, disk array, or CD-ROM) is to use SAM (/usr/sbin/sam). If SAM is not loaded on your system or if you prefer to use the command-line interface, the following procedure will guide you through the task. Familiarize yourself with the instructions before getting started.

Invoke /usr/sbin/ioscan -fn to figure out what addresses are available on the interface card to which you will be attaching the disk.
For examples of ioscan usage, consult "Using ioscan to Display your I/O Configuration," in Appendix B of this book.

Consult the tables in the previous section ( “Selecting Device Drivers for a Disk Device and Interface”) to determine the device driver(s) needed for your disk and interface. (If you are configuring a magneto-optical device, use the table in the section, Magneto-Optical Disk Configuration Guidelines, found in the next chapter.) If any necessary static driver is absent from the kernel, you will need to rebuild the kernel to include it. Here is how to rebuild the kernel:

Change directory to the build environment (/stand/build). There, execute a system preparation script, system_prep, which extracts the system file from the current kernel, as follows:
cd /stand/build /usr/lbin/sysadm/system_prep -v -s system
The system_prep script writes a system file in your current directory (that is, it creates /stand/build/system). The -v gives verbose explanation as the script executes.

Modify the /stand/build/system file to add the absent driver(s) by invoking the kmsystem command. The -c Y specifies that driver-name is to be configured into the system.

/usr/sbin/kmsystem -S /stand/build/system -c Y driver-name




	NOTE: To avoid introducing format errors, do not edit the HP-UX system description files directly. Instead, use the commands `kmsystem` and `kmtune`. These commands are new for Release 11.0; consult kmsystem(1M) and kmtune(1M) in the HP-UX Reference.

Build the new kernel by invoking the mk_kernel command. This creates /stand/build/vmunix_test, a kernel ready for testing.
/usr/sbin/mk_kernel -s /stand/build/system
Save the old system file by moving it. Then move the new system file into place.
mv /stand/system /stand/system.prev mv /stand/build/system /stand/system
Prepare for rebooting by invoking the kmupdate command. This sets a flag that tells the system to use the new kernel when it restarts.
/usr/sbin/kmupdate

Notify users that the system will be shut down to configure the disk. You can use the wall command and/or the interactive capabilities of the shutdown command to broadcast a message to users before the system goes down. See wall(1M) or shutdown(1M) in the HP-UX Reference.
Bring the system down to a halt, using the shutdown command.
Turn off the power to all peripheral devices and then to the SPU.
Install the hardware, following instructions provided in the hardware documentation. When attaching the disk, set the switches on the disk to an unused target address, which you will have determined from ioscan output. Use the cabling recommended in the hardware documentation. If installing a SCSI device make sure the last device in the SCSI chain is terminated.
Turn on the power to all peripheral devices. Wait for them to become "ready", then turn on power to the SPU.
On booting up, HP-UX detects the new disk and associates it with its device driver.
Also during boot-up, insf creates the character and block device special (/dev) files required to communicate with the disk. For a disk array in independent mode, insf creates device special files for each disk; in striped mode, insf treats the entire array as a single disk.
Verify the configuration by executing ioscan. If you are configuring a hard disk, you have finished the initial configuration.
If you are configuring a floppy disk drive, initialize the floppy disk by invoking the mediainit command on the character device special file.

Configuring HP-UX for a New Disk Device

Technical documentation

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