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VERITAS Volume Manager 3.2 Administrator's Guide: for HP-UX 11i and HP-UX 11i Version 1.5 > Chapter 3 Administering Dynamic Multipathing (DMP)

Disabling and Enabling Multipathing

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You can use vxdiskadm menu options 17 and 18 to disable or enable multipathing. These menu options also allow you to exclude devices from or include devices in the view of VxVM. For more information, see “Disabling Multipathing and Making Devices Invisible to VxVM” and “Enabling Multipathing and Making Devices Visible to VxVM”.

Disabling Multipathing and Making Devices Invisible to VxVM

NOTE: Some of the operations described in this section require a reboot of the system.

Select menu task 17 (Prevent multipathing/Suppress devices from VxVM's view) from the vxdiskadm main menu to prevent a device from being multipathed by the VxVM DMP driver (vxdmp), or to exclude a device from the view of VxVM:

  1. At the following prompt, confirm that you want to continue:

    Exclude Devices
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/ExcludeDevices
    
    This operation might lead to some devices being suppressed from VxVM's view or prevent them from being multipathed by vxdmp (This operation can be reversed using the vxdiskadm command).
    Do you want to continue ? [y,n,q,?] (default: y)
  2. Select the operation you want to perform from the displayed list:

    Exclude Devices
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/ExcludeDevices
    1 Suppress all paths through a controller from VxVM's view
    2 Suppress a path from VxVM's view
    3 Suppress disks from VxVM's view by specifying a VID:PID
    combination
    4 Suppress all but one paths to a disk
    5 Prevent multipathing of all disks on a controller by VxVM
    6 Prevent multipathing of a disk by VxVM
    7 Prevent multipathing of disks by specifying a VID:PID combination
    8 List currently suppressed/non-multipathed devices
    
    ? Display help about menu
    ??Display help about the menuing system
    q Exit from menus
    
    Select an operation to perform:
  • Select option 1 to exclude all paths through the specified controller from the view of VxVM. These paths remain in the disabled state until the next reboot, or until the paths are re-included.

    Exclude controllers from VxVM
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/ExcludeDevices/CTLR-VXVM
    
    Use this operation to exclude all paths through a controller from
    VxVM.
    
    This operation can be reversed using the vxdiskadm command.
    You can specify a controller name at the prompt. A controller name
    is of the form c#, example c3, c11 etc. Enter 'all' to exclude all
    paths on all the controllers on the host. To see the list of
    controllers on the system, type 'list'.
    
    Enter a controller name:[ctlr_name,all,list,list-exclude,q,?]
  • Select option 2 to exclude specified paths from the view of VxVM.

    Exclude paths from VxVM
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/ExcludeDevices/PATH-VXVM
    
    Use this operation to exclude one or more paths from VxVM.
    
    As a result of this operation, the specified paths will be excluded
    from the view of VxVM. This operation can be reversed using the
    vxdiskadm command.
    
    You can specify a pathname or a pattern at the prompt. Here are
    some path selection examples:
    
    all: all paths
    c4t2:all paths on controller 4, target 2
    c3t4d2:a single path
    list:list all paths on the system
    
    Enter a pathname or pattern:[<Pattern>,all,list,list-exclude,q?]
  • Select option 3 to exclude disks from the view of VxVM that match a specified Vendor ID and Product ID.

    NOTE: This option requires a reboot of the system.
    Exclude VID:PID from VxVM
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/ExcludeDevices/VIDPID-VXVM
    
    Use this operation to exclude disks returning a
    specified  VendorID:ProductID combination from VxVM.
    
    As a result of this operation, all disks that return
    VendorID:ProductID matching the specified combination will be
    excluded from the view of VxVM. This operation can be reversed
    using the vxdiskadm command.
    
    You can specify a VendorID:ProductID pattern at the prompt. The specification can be as follows:
    VID:PID         where VID stands for Vendor  ID
    
    PID stands for Product ID
    
    (The command vxdmpinq in /etc/vx/diag.d can be used to obtain the
    Vendor ID and Product ID)
    
    Both VID and PID can have an optional '*' (asterisk) following
    them.
    
    If a '*' follows VID, it will result in the exclusion of all disks
    returning Vendor ID starting with the specified VID. The same is
    true for Product ID as well. Both VID and PID should be non NULL.
    The maximum allowed lengths for VendorID and ProductID are 8 and 16
    characters respectively.
    
    Some examples of VID:PID specification are:
    
    all- Exclude all disks
    aaa:123- Exclude all disks having VID &212#;aaa' and PID &212#;123'
    aaa*:123- Exclude all disks having VID starting with &212#;aaa' and
       PID &212#;123'
    aaa:123*  - Exclude all disks having VID &212#;aaa' and PID starting
       with &212#;123'
    aaa:*  - Exclude all disks having VID &212#;aaa' and any PID
    
    Enter a VID:PID combination:[<Pattern>,all,list-exclude,q,?]
  • Select option 4 to define a pathgroup for disks that are not multipathed by VxVM. (A pathgroup explicitly defines alternate paths to the same disk.) Only one path is made visible to VxVM.

    Exclude all but one paths to a disk
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/ExcludeDevices/PATHGROUP-VXVM
    
    Use this operation to exclude all but one paths to a disk. In case
    of disks which are not multipathed by vxdmp, VxVM will see each
    path as a disk. In such cases, creating a pathgroup of all paths to
    the disk will ensure that only one of the paths from the group is
    made visible to VxVM. The pathgroup can be removed using the
    vxdiskadm command.
    
    Example: If c1t30d0 and c2t30d0 are paths to the same disk and both
    are seen by VxVM as separate disks, c1t30d0 and c2t30d0 can be put
    in a pathgroup so that only one of these paths is visible to VxVM.
    
    The pathgroup can be specified as a list of blank separated paths,
    for example, c1t30d0 c2t30d0.
    
    Enter pathgroup: [<pattern>,list,list-exclude,q,?]
  • Select option 5 to disable multipathing for all disks on a specified controller.

    Exclude controllers from DMP
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/ExcludeDevices/CTLR-DMP
    
    Use this operation to exclude all disks on a controller from being
    multipathed by vxdmp.
    
    As a result of this operation, all disks having a path through the specified
    controller will be claimed in the OTHER_DISKS category
    and hence, not multipathed by vxdmp. This operation can be reversed
    using the vxdiskadm command.
    
    You can specify a controller name at the prompt. A controller name
    is of the form c#, example c3, c11 etc. Enter 'all' to exclude all
    paths on all the controllers on the host. To see the list of
    controllers on the system, type 'list'.
    
    Enter a controller name:[<ctlr-name>,all,list,list-exclude,q,?]
  • Select option 6 to disable multipathing for specified paths.

    Exclude paths from DMP
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/ExcludeDevices/PATH-DMP
    
    Use this operation to exclude one or more disks from DMP.
    
    As a result of this operation, the disks corresponding to the
    specified paths will not be multipathed by DMP. This operation can
    be reversed using the vxdiskadm command.
    
    You can specify a pathname or a pattern at the prompt.  Here are
    some path selection examples:
    
    all:all paths
    c4t2:all paths on controller 4, target 2
    c3t4d2:a single path
    list:list all paths on the system
    
    Enter a pathname or pattern :[<pattern>,all,list,list-exclude,q,?]

    If a path is specified, the corresponding disk will be claimed in the OTHER_DISKS category and hence not multipathed.

  • Select option 7 to disable multipathing for disks that match a specified Vendor ID and Product ID.

    NOTE: This option requires a reboot of the system.
    Exclude VID:PID from DMP
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/ExcludeDevices/VIDPID-DMP
    
    Use this operation to prevent vxdmp from multipathing disks returning a specific VID:PID combination.
    
    As a result of this operation, all disks that return VendorID:ProductID matching the specified combination will be claimed in the OTHER DISKS category(i.e. they will not be multipathed by vxdmp). This operation can be reversed using the vxdiskadm command.
    
    You can specify a VendorID:ProductID combination at the prompt. The specification can be as follows:
    
    VID:PID where VID stands for Vendor ID PID stands for Product ID
    (The command vxdmpinq in /etc/vx/diag.d can be used to obtain the Vendor ID and Product ID)
    Both VID and PID can have an optional '*' (asterisk) following them.
    If a '*' follows VID, it will result in the exclusion of all disks returning Vendor ID starting with the specified VID. The same is true for Product ID as well. Both VID and PID should be non NULL. The maximum allowed lengths for Vendor ID and Product ID are 8 and 16 characters respectively.
    
    Some examples of VID:PID specification are:
    all- Exclude all disks
    aaa:123- Exclude all disks having VID &212#;aaa' and PID &212#;123'
    aaa*:123- Exclude all disks having VID starting with &212#;aaa' and
       PID &212#;123'
    aaa:123*- Exclude all disks having VID &212#;aaa' and PID starting
       with &212#;123'
    aaa:*- Exclude all disks having VID &212#;aaa' and any PID
    
    Enter a VID:PID combination:[<pattern>,all,list,list-exclude,q,?]

    All disks returning the specified VID:PID combination will be claimed in OTHER_DISKS category and hence not multipathed.

Enabling Multipathing and Making Devices Visible to VxVM

NOTE: Some of the operations described in this section require a reboot of the system.

Select menu item 18 (Allow multipathing/Unsuppress devices from VxVM's view) from the vxdiskadm main menu to re-enable multipathing for a device, or to make a device visible to VxVM again.

  1. At the following prompt, confirm that you want to continue:

    Include Devices
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/IncludeDevices
    
      The devices selected in this operation will become visible to
      VxVM and/or will be multipathed by vxdmp again. Only those
      devices which were previously excluded can be included again.
    Do you want to continue ? [y,n,q,?] (default: y)
  2. Select the operation you want to perform from the displayed list:

    Volume Manager Device Operations
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/IncludeDevices
    1 Unsuppress all paths through a controller from VxVM's view
    2 Unsuppress a path from VxVM's view
    3 Unsuppress disks from VxVM's view by specifying a VID:PID combination
    4 Remove a pathgroup definition
    5 Allow multipathing of all disks on a controller by VxVM
    6 Allow multipathing of a disk by VxVM
    7 Allow multipathing of disks by specifying a VID:PID combination
    8 List currently suppressed/non-multipathed devices
    
    ? Display help about menu
    ??Display help about the menuing system
    q Exit from menus
    
    Select an operation to perform:
  • Select option 1 to make all paths through a specified controller visible to VxVM.

    Re-include controllers in VxVM
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/IncludeDevices/CTLR-VXVM
    
    Use this operation to make all paths through a controller visible to VxVM again.
    
    As a result of this operation, all paths through the specified controller will be made visible to VxVM again.
    
    You can specify a controller name at the prompt. A controller name is of the form c#, example c3, c11 etc. Enter 'all' to include all paths on all controllers on the host.
    
    Enter a controller name:[<ctlr-name>,all,list,list-exclude,q,?]
  • Select option 2 to make specified paths visible to VxVM.

    Re-include paths in VxVM
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/IncludeDevices/PATH-VXVM
    
    Use this operation to make one or more paths visible to VxVM again.
    
    As a result of this operation,the specified paths will become visible to VxVM again.
    
    You can specify a pathname or a pattern at the prompt. Here are some path selection examples:
      all:          all paths
      c4t2:         all paths on controller 4, target 2
      c3t4d2:       a single path
    
    Enter a pathname or pattern :[<pattern>,all,list,list-exclude,q,?]
  • Select option 3 to make disks visible to VxVM that match a specified Vendor ID and Product ID.

    NOTE: This option requires a reboot of the system.
    Make VID:PID visible to VxVM
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/IncludeDevices/VIDPID-VXVM
    
    Use this operation to make all disks returning a specified VendorID:ProductID combination visible to VxVM again.
    
    As a result of this operation, disks that return VendorID:ProductID matching the specified combination will be made visible to VxVM again.
    
    You can specify a VID:PID combination at the prompt. The specification can be as follows:
    VID:PID         where VID stands for Vendor  ID PID stands for
    Product ID
    (The command vxdmpinq in /etc/vx/diag.d can be used to obtain
    the Vendor ID and Product ID)
    Both VID and PID can have an optional '*' (asterisk) following them.
    If a '*' follows VID, it will result in the inclusion of all disks returning Vendor ID starting with VID. The same is true for Product ID as well. Both VID and PID should be non NULL. The maximum allowed lengths for Vendor ID and Product ID are 8 and 16 characters respectively.
    
    Some examples of VID:PID specification are:
    
    all- Include all disks
    aaa:123- Include all disks having VID &212#;aaa' and PID &212#;123'
    aaa*:123- Include all disks having VID starting with &212#;aaa' and
       PID &212#;123'
    aaa:123*- Include all disks having VID &212#;aaa' and PID starting
       with &212#;123'
    aaa:*- Include all disks having VID &212#;aaa' and any PID
    
    Enter a VID:PID combination:[<pattern>,all,list,list-exclude,q,?]

    All disks returning the specified Vendor ID and Product ID combination will be made visible to VxVM.

  • Select option 4 to remove a pathgroup definition. (A pathgroup explicitly defines alternate paths to the same disk.) Once a pathgroup has been removed, all paths that were defined in that pathgroup become visible again.

    Remove a pathgroup definition
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/IncludeDevices/PATHGROUP-VXVM
    
    Use this operation to remove the definition of pathgroup. Specify the serial numbers of the pathgroups at the prompt. This can be obtained by typing list-exclude at the prompt.
    
    Enter pathgroup number(s):[<number>,list-exclude,q,?]
  • Select option 5 to enable multipathing for all disks that have paths through the specified controller.

    NOTE: This option requires a reboot of the system.
    Re-include controllers in DMP
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/IncludeDevices/CTLR-DMP
    
    Use this operation to make vxdmp multipath all disks on a controller again.
    
    As a result of this operation, all disks having a path through the specified controller will be multipathed by vxdmp again.
    
    You can specify a controller name at the prompt. A controller name is of the form c#, example c3, c11 etc. Enter 'all' to include all paths on all controllers on the host.
    
    Enter a controller name:[<ctlr-name>,all,list,list-exclude,q,?]
  • Select option 6 to enable multipathing for specified paths.

    NOTE: This option requires a reboot of the system.
    Re-include paths in DMP
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/IncludeDevices/PATH-DMP
    
    Use this operation to make vxdmp multipath one or more disks again.
    
    As a result of this operation, all disks corresponding to the specified paths will be multipathed by vxdmp again.
    
    You can specify a pathname or a pattern at the prompt. Here are some path selection examples:
      all:          all paths
      c4t2:         all paths on controller 4, target 2
      c3t4d2:       a single path
    
    Enter a pathname or pattern :[<pattern>,all,list,list-exclude,q,?]
  • Select option 7 to enable multipathing for disks that match a specified Vendor ID and Product ID.

    NOTE: This option requires a reboot of the system.
    Make VID:PID visible to DMP
    Menu: VolumeManager/Disk/IncludeDevices/VIDPID-DMP
    
    Use this operation to make vxdmp multipath disks returning a specified VendorID:ProductID combination again.
    
    As a result of this operation, all disks that return VID:PID matching the specified combination will be multipathed by vxdmp again.
    
    You can specify a VID:PID combination at the prompt. The specification can be as follows:
    VID:PID where VID stands for Vendor  ID PID stands for
    Product ID
    (The command vxdmpinq in /etc/vx/diag.d can be used to obtain the Vendor ID and Product ID)
    Both VID and PID can have an optional '*' (asterisk) following them.
    If a '*' follows VID, it will result in the inclusion of all disks returning Vendor ID starting with the specified VID. The same is true for Product ID as well. Both VID and PID should be non NULL. The maximum allowed lengths for Vendor ID and Product ID are 8 and 16 characters respectively.
    
    Some examples of VID:PID specification are:
    
    all- Include all disks
    aaa:123- Include all disks having VID &212#;aaa' and PID &212#;123'
    aaa*:123- Include all disks having VID starting with &212#;aaa' and
       PID &212#;123'
    aaa:123*- Include all disks having VID &212#;aaa' and PID starting
       with &212#;123'
    aaa:*- Include all disks having VID &212#;aaa' and any PID
    
    Enter a VID:PID combination:[<pattern>,all,list-exclude,q,?]
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