Storage

VxVM DMP files not supported as backing stores

VxVM DMP device files (files under /dev/vx/rdmp/) cannot be used directly as backing store devices for Virtual Disks or Virtual PartDisks.

Integrity VM does not honor file permissions on backing stores

File permission settings do not affect the way Integrity VM accesses backing stores. Backing stores provided as virtual disks can be written to regardless of the file permission settings on the backing store. A backing store provided as a virtual DVD is always read-only. Attached devices do not consider file permissions when backing up data.

USB CD/DVD devices are not supported as attachable media and perform slowly as virtual devices

USB CD/DVD devices are not supported for use as attachable media, and perform slowly when used as virtual devices. HP Integrity blade, rx3600, and rx6600 servers with such devices should use Virtual FileDVDs or Ignite-UX for guest OS installations. Hardware supportability requirements for Integrity VM are described in the HP Integrity Virtual Machines Installation, Configuration, and Administration manual.

To identify USB CD/DVD devices, use the ioscan -Fun command.

The hpvmmodify command might fail to change a DVD

The hpvmmodify command might fail to change a Virtual FileDVD if it has already been modified by the virtual console. The hpvmstatus command displays the current status of the Virtual FileDVD, which may not be its original resource state. To see the original resource statement, which is required by the hpvmmodify command to change a Virtual FileDVD, use the hpvmstatus —D command.

Virtual FileDVD reverts to original resource statement

A Virtual FileDVD reverts to its original resource statement when the guest shuts down or reboots. Therefore, if you are completing a guest installation of multiple CDs or DVDs, reload the Virtual FileDVD when the guest reboots to complete the installation. In this case, you should preempt the automatic EFI reboot to insert the CD/DVD using EFI commands. When the correct media is loaded, proceed with the installation.

Using sam on guest cannot initialize disk

When you create a file system using the sam command on an HP-UX guest, do not initialize the disk. This option returns an error and the file system is not created.

Extending a logical volume backing store corrupts the guest

On the VM Host, do not extend a logical volume (LVM or VxVM) used as a backing store for a guest root disk. If you do this, the guest panics on its next reboot with the following error:

System panic: all VFS_MOUNTROOTs failed: Need DRIVERS.

In this case, the guest root device has been corrupted. You must reinstall the guest operating system.

For a logical volume used as a backing store for a guest data disk, you can extend the volume after removing it from the guest using the hpvmmodify command. After extending the volume, use the hpvmmodify command to add the volume to the guest. Do not modify a logical volume used as a backing store without first removing it from the guest.

After you extend the logical volume, use operating system commands on the guest to extend its file system.

Management limitations of virtual SCSI devices

Although SCSI devices appear to a guest as Ultra320 SCSI controllers claimed by the MPT driver, this is an emulation. There are several differences from using a real device. Specifically:

Using the mc —b command for attached changers does not work

Do not use the HP-UX command mc -b to reserve and release media changers. This command is not supported by Integrity VM. For information about how to use attachable devices, see the HP Integrity Virtual Machines Installation, Configuration, and Administration manual.

Attached devices not supported on Windows guests

Attached virtual devices (tapes, changers, or burners) are not supported on Windows guests. These types of devices can be used on HP-UX guests only.

HP LTT Devperf test may hang on attached tape devices

The HP-UX version of the HP Storageworks Library and Tape Tools device performance tape test fails if you specify block sizes over the maximum. For HP-UX guests, the virtual MPT adapter on HP-UX supports a maximum I/O transfer size of 256 K. Larger I/O requests are rejected properly, but the LTT tape device performance test retries the I/O device forever.

Installing Integrity VM A.02.00 May Clear SecurePath 3.0F SP1 Settings

If you are using SecurePath for a storage array configured as active-active, update to SecurePath 3.0F SP2 before installing Integrity VM A.02.00. With earlier versions of Securepath, you must manually restore your SecurePath configuration after installing Integrity VM A.02.00.