Veritas VxVM/HPJFS & VxFS/HPOnlineJFS interoperability

[PAUL FARINELLI]

Will HP JFS file systems work with Veritas VxVM
and HP Online JFS Utilities work with Veritas
VxFS file systems?

[Todd McDaniel_1 · Accepted solution]

yea they will our datastructures are based upon the vxvm layout... HPUX uses vxfs filesystem which is a derivation of Veritas filesystem.

Once you use VXFS tool you will use their tools for Filesystem management and if you were to use Volume manager that would replace HPUX LVM management.

Once you convert to Veritas filesystems and VXVM you use those products' commands.

[PAUL FARINELLI]

1-If I have existing HP JFS file systems, can I use Veritas VxVM on them?

2- If I have Veritas VxFS file systems can I use HP Online JFS Utilities on them?

[Steven E. Protter]

1-If I have existing HP JFS file systems, can I use Veritas VxVM on them?
Yes, there are procedures for converting without destroying data.

2- If I have Veritas VxFS file systems can I use HP Online JFS Utilities on them?
Yes, OnlineJFS can defragment or extend or do other features on Veritas VxFS filesystems.

As noted, HP licensed the vxfs filesystem from Veritas. Its the same product, just with reduce d features when compared with the Veritas product.

SEP

[Todd McDaniel_1]

Paul,

I think you may be a small bit confused.


------------------------------------------------------
This is based on my limited info...

Once you convert a LVM/Online JFS filesystem to "Veritas" FS, even though LVM uses a derivation of vxfs, YOU WILL NOT be able to use Online JFS commands on those converted filesystems. You will use only Veritas commands after you convert using vxupgrade command on the filesystem.

BE very careful when converting filesystems from Online JFS/LVM data structures to Veritas. Make sure you backup your data 2x and vgexport -p as well...

[Alzhy]

Paul, please bear this in mind:


VxFS == JFS
Full VxFS == Online JFS

VxFS (aka JFS) is a Filesystem. Filesystems work independent of the VM (Volume Manager) -- of which 2 flavours exists on HP-UX environments namely: LVM (HP's native) and VxVM (Veritas' now also "native").

So the answer is both your questions are YES! If you want to use the full VxVM/VxFS offerring -- you need to buy what's called Veritas Foundation Suite.

The bundled base VxVM product in 11i (VxVM 3.5m) is quite useful already. If on a SAN environment .. you need not the full VxVM license IMHO.

OnlineJFS is bsically the full Veritas Filesystem (VxFS) product.

[PAUL FARINELLI]

As stated by Todd, I am confused. The fault is my inability to ask the questions in a technically precise way- so here goes another attempt:

1-WITHOUT converting or doing anything else to my HP JFS file system, can I use Veritas VxVM to manipulate that file system in any way?
and

2-WITHOUT converting or doing anything else, will I be able to use HP Online JFS Utilites to manipulate Veritas VxFS file systems in any way?

[Alzhy]

1 -WITHOUT converting or doing anything else to my HP JFS file system, can I use Veritas VxVM to manipulate that file system in any way?
and

RESP: If your JFS filesystem's underlying raw device is an LVM object, then NO you cannot. You must convert that object (an LVOL) to a VxVM object.

I am confused with your question "VxVM to manipulate that filesystem..."? Did you mean can you use VxVM commands to size/resize the raw device under that JFS filesystem? Remember JFS is a Filesystem, VxVM/LVM are volume managers. You cannot use VxVM/LVM to manipulate a Filesystem.. you use Filesystem commands for that. If sizing operations .. then of course Filesystem operations must match raw device operations (aka its underlying volume)

2-WITHOUT converting or doing anything else, will I be able to use HP Online JFS Utilites to manipulate Veritas VxFS file systems in any way?

Yes you can. As I said, VxFS and JFS can be used interhcangeably... they're the SAME product. The Online JFS being is the same as the Full VxFS product.


Once more:

VxVM is volume manager.
VxFS is a Filesystem also known as JFS.
Online JFS is the advanced version of JFS or the full VxFS product.

[Todd McDaniel_1]

Okay, Now let me ask YOU a few questions...


Why do you want or need to do this? Online JFS and LVM should be enough for 90% of your work.

To use the Veritas commands you need to buy that product... HPUX doesnt come with them.


How could you use Veritas product commands wihtout loading the suite on your box? and how could you use them without converting the LVM structures to Veritas VXVM?

[Alzhy]

The Guy is probably on an 11i System (a recent release) so he has the best of both worlds.. VxVM (base which is already very useful) come bundled.. so he has VxVM tools available (ie. the GUI VEA and the zillion or so ;^) VX commands that scares most "focused" admins).

Z thing that I notice on this forum is that there are still some who are unaware that OJFS/JFS is the same as VxFS/Full VxFS -- and ARE VERITAS products...

And that Filesystems (ie. JFS, HFS, UFS) ARE independent of their underlying Volume Manager (LVm or VxVM)..