Using a big disk

[wilr]

Hello All,

I want to add a new 750GB disk to a HPUX 10.2 system, but I've read that the maximum filesystem size on VxFS is 128GB.

Will the HPUX OS still detect new disk? And if so, will I be able to configure it to use 128GB of the 750GB available.

I don't care about the wasted space and I'm unable to upgrade the OS.

[Mike Shilladay]

Hi,

128GB is the largest filesystem size documented to be alvailable. Is your question what is the maximum VG size? You may need to increase the extent size from the default of 4MB with the -s switch and the total number of extents available with the -e switch. If the disk is recognised, then you could carve up the disk into 128GB chunks and create a filesystem on each logical volume.

I am afraid 10.20 is too far back for me to test this on, the oldest OS for me is 11.0

Hope that helps,

Mike.

[Tim Nelson]

If you already have the disk, and it is supported by the interface you are connecting it to, and when you run ioscan it shows as claimed, and then run diskinfo on it, it returns 750GB vs unknown or IO error.

Then you could be good to go...

Create 1 lvol at 128GB
create another lvol at another 128GB
do that ~ 5 more times.

I am going to guess that your HBAs are so old that they will not support the drive but, you never know. Sometimes the planets do line up.

[wilr]

Thanks Mike & Tim

I basically wanted to know if ioscan and diskinfo would detect a disk of this size (>128GB).

I am unable to test it on our running system - we have to wait until our next downday before we can install it.

I guess HPUX 10.2 is too old for anyone to remember or have bothered trying something like this.

Thanks
Reece

[Bill Hassell · Accepted solution]

> I guess HPUX 10.2 is too old for anyone to remember or have bothered trying something like this.

There is nothing to remember except that 750 GB disks simply did not exist when 10.20 was obsoleted and became unsupported. Therefore, adding a disk that is 6 years into the future on this old system is simply an experiment. You may have problems with the interface -- 10.20 runs on systems with SCSI-2 and SCSI-FWDHV. IF this disk is compatible with SCSI-2, it should work but there have been no FWDHV disks manufactured for many years. What model of HP 9000 are you using?

If ioscan can see the disk, then the size is not a problem. You can carve the disk into several 128 GB lvols and use all the space.

[wilr]

> uname -m
9000/785

The disk is Ultra-320 SCSI so ioscan should pick it up.

Thanks.

[wilr]

Closing

[TTr]

I am sure many of us would like to know the outcome of this. The Ultra-320 disk may work on a SCSI-2 bus but you would need a narrow to wide scsi cable converter. I don't expect it to work on an FWD bus.
It should also work on some 10.20 workstations with WSE (wide single ended) and LVD buses.

If you succesfully connected the disk, did the OS see the entire disk size?