Cannot create VG using drives in JBOB DS2400

[Steve Longenecker]

Don't forget that this is a DS2400 that is attached to the server via dual fibre channel host bus adapters, therefore no SCSI termination is involved. I am new to fibre channel storage, and documentation in extremely thin, I.E. the DS2400 came with a Virtual Array manual that does not address using the DS2400 in a standalone configuration.

[Jeff Schussele]

Hi Steve,

Sorry, am totally unfamiliar with the DS2400.
But if it's fibre channel array & you're using a Tachyon card then you should be able to run the fcmsutil command.

Try this command:

fcmsutil /dev/td1
(Your dev file may vary & you'll have two of them)

This is going to give basic info such as WWN (World Wide Number - like a MAC address for the FC card), fabric topology, link speed, driver state, active logins, etc.

You may see the problem right away here.

If nothing obvious here - try:

fcmsutil /dev/td1 stat

This will give detailed fibre channel statistics.

Sure sounds like an FC communication problem.

Is there a Brocade switch in the path or is this direct connect? Your link type may be mismatched.

Rgds,
Jeff

[Steve Longenecker]

Jeff,

You may be on to something... fcmsutil stat shows on both Tachyon cards:

Loss of Sync 5
Bad Rx Char 255
CE_FCP_UNFREEZE recvd in CS_FCP_FROZEN 5485
Error Idle Interrupts 5486
ERQ/FCP Assists Resumed 5486
SF failed due to ASN, LKF or FTO 5485

[Jeff Schussele]

Steve,

OK, first thing I'd now suspect seeing those stats is bad/dirty fibre. Definitely clean both ends & preferrably try new fibre cables.

If after cleaning, all is well, it could have just needed to relogin to the array. I've seen that before....

Do you have a Storage team? If not who installed the system including cabling? I'd have them back & have them try new fibres. Also have them verify the setup on the DS2400 for the link type i.e. is the DS2400 expecting switched fabric or loop topology.

Rgds,
Jeff

[Steve Longenecker]

Jeff,

Hmmm.... Would you believe that it shipped that way from the factory. Sounds like it's time to invite HP for a visit if my spare cables don't work. What do you mean "relogin to the array"? Thanks.

[Jeff Schussele]

Steve,

Any time a fibre channel device powers up or resets it has to login in to the destination.

I've had Brocade to XP array connections that have "frozen" & simply unplugging the Brocade-to-XP fibre reset the connection.
Our storage guy told me that unplugging/replugging it causes the Brocade to relogin to the XP.
Same's true for a Tachyon-to-Brocade & in your case the Tachyon to DS2400, I'd believe that the same holds true.

I think he calls it logging in, but it's probably just a communication negotiation between devices or an initialization if you will. I really don't fully grasp the complexities of fibre comm - I do know that it's capable of handling many different protocols including SCSI.

But the basics apply to it as it would to a SCSI device running on copper - rules are to be followed & initialization must take place for the communication to be successful. There must be arbitration so no one device can hog all the bandwidth. There's a lot of error detection & recovery constantly going on & if somebody doesn't play by the rules, they are essentially cut off or ignored as they could bring the whole bus down.

You definitely need somebody to check your setup - something's not right.

Rgds,
Jeff

[Ted Ellis_2]

we have the 2405 disk systems here and when we received them the disks would not let us vgcreate either.... when we ran pvcreate -f, the command took a long time, but would report s successful completion. Then vgcreate would fail. Our solution was to load this utility called CommandView SDM... it was shipped with the unit. The disks required "formatting", if you can believe that. Normal swinstall will load the software, no reboot. Their is a pdf file with all the goods... if this applies to you.

Once the CommandView has been installed (after you have the disk systems on the server), you can run "cvui", which is just a little interface. If this is you, you may also need to format the disks. After the formatting, the pvcreate and vgcreates all worked normally.

Ted

[Steve Longenecker]

Ted,

I like your answer better than HP's. HP remarketing told our reseller that the DS2400 will work standalone. HP support tells me that the DS2400 will only work as an expansion shelf for a VA7400/7410, and is not supported as a standalone product.

I had the same experience with pvcreate -f. The command would take a long time, but would completed without error.

While I am waiting for my reseller to fight the good battle with HP remarketing, I'll have to find a copy of CommandView and give it a try. I am not having any success finding a downloadable copy at the HP S/W depot, so would you mind doing an swlist for me and update this thread with the product number for CommandView?

Thanks,

Stev

[Ted Ellis_2]

interesting indeed.. the DS2405 is JBOD supported...here is the swlist

CMDVIEWSDM A.1.05.00 hp StorageWorks CommandView SDM

and I can almost guaruntee this is your problem too. You can see the disks with ioscan just fine, but vgcreate fails. When the product installs it will build some sort of small database that lists all of the current disks and fibre adapters on the unit. You may need to update your path so you can run "cvui"... this will launch a cheesy little interface... you can then select each of the disks on your array and issue a format request. They can be done in parallel.... 10 - 73 GB drives took 1-2 hours. Then pvcreate and vgcreate work just fine...

feel free to email me direct at tellis@triu.com for more info

Ted

[Ted Ellis_2]

here is what I found with HP:

http://www.hp.com/products1/storage/products/disk_arrays/modular/commandview/overview/index.html

Ted