MSA1000 + installation procedure on Alpha DS20

[Rob Crooks]

I have read the other posts I have found on this subject and after spending hours Googling the subject to no end, I have to tweak someones brain before I explode.

I have a spankin new MSA1000 with 3 RAID sets I config'd and named with CLI. I installed all the required patches onto VMS 7.3-2 and read all the manuals and docs I can find, but I still can't see what I have to do to get the server to see the drives.

I added a connection with CLI as below

CLI> add connection alpha1 wwpn=10000000-c9312038 profile=OpenVMS
Connection has been added successfully.
Profile OpenVMS is set for the new connection.

but I get a different "show connections" report from other post that I have seen

CLI> show connections

Connection Name: alpha1
Host WWNN = 10000000-C9312038
Host WWPN = 10000000-C9312038
Profile Name = OpenVMS
Unit Offset = 0

On the other posts that I have seen, the WWNN is supposed to be the FC Node Name from a "show device fga0:" on the VMS side, basically the Host WWNN should be 20000000-C9312038 in my case

Does anyone have a link where the process of presenting the LUN to the server is better explained than the MSA1000 manual?

How does the MSA get to understand the WWNN in the first place? Am I skipping a step somewhere?

Confused in Canada

Thanks

[Uwe Zessin · Accepted solution]

From a real life system, except the nodename + WWN altered bit:
:CLI> show connections
:
:Connection Name: xyz12_PGA0
: Host WWNN = 20000000-C9382xyz
: Host WWPN = 10000000-C9382xyz
: Profile Name = OpenVMS
: Unit Offset = 0
: Controller 1 Port 1 Status = Online

It looks like the Fibre Channel adapter has no connection to the controller on your configuration, so this could explain your different output.

Other thing...
Did you give each logical disk a unique 'identifier'?
CLI> set unit_id 0 101
Device identifier 101 created.

This will result in device $1$DGA101: on OpenVMS.

About presenting logical disks...
By default, all logical disks are presented to all connections. Use the 'ADD ACL' command to start using SSP (selective storage presentation - also known as 'LUN masking').
CLI> help add acl

If this is a single node or a single cluster, I would not bother with SSP, but always(!) make sure a connection has the correct profile assigned.

[Volker Halle]

Robert,

you can also look at this from 'the other side', i.e. OpenVMS. Remember to do a SYSMAN IO AUTOCONFIGURE when you have changed settings on your MSA1000 while your OpenVMS system is still running...

$ ANAL/SYS
SDA> FC ! to get some help
SDA> FC SET DEV FGA ! or FGB
SDA> FC NAME_LIST
SDA> FC ADDRESS_LIST

Or look at it from the fibre channel switch, to see, if the ports are up (both to your OpenVMS system and the MSA1000).

Volker.

[Robert Atkinson]

One other thing.

Presumably your going through a FC switch? If so, make sure it's configured to allow connections all the way through to your host, and is not blocking them.

Robert.

[Rob Crooks]

It's amazing how the simpliest of things can cause the biggest grief.

First of all, thanks to everyone for the suggestions. They led me to the answer by forcing me to examine all the parts. At least I've solved the problem and know more than I did when I started.

I ended up deleting my config on the MSA and starting over, but it still didn't work. The problem was with the MSA SAN switch 2/8 itself. The VAR just slid in the switch in the redundant slot and I didn;t think anything of it. From examining the docs (and it makes sense), the redundant unit has to be the same as the main. In my case the single-port FC module was disabled by the multi-port switch in the redundant position.

Once I removed the single-port unit and swapped the 2/8 switch into the proper slot and rebooted everything, I saw all disks on my Alpha properly.

Once again, a big Thank You to all that helped.

[Uwe Zessin]

Each controller has a direct connection to the slot in the back which can take a single-port FC-module, an embedded switch or a small hub (not supported on AlphaServers). There is no cross-connection (except for a controller communications interlink) and you are not allowed to put different components into the slots.

[Lachnitt_1]

Hi,

we have a MSA8000 (I don't know the little difference to your MSA1000, but lets see.).

When you added the RAID-SET, how is the ACCESS Setting? Is it ALL, or are there some Connection-Names (without your ALPHA1)?

To set it to ALL, do:
SET UNIT xxx ENABLE_ACCESS_PATH = ALL or ALPHA1[,...]

Don't forget MC SYSMAN IO AUTO [/LOG]!!!

If you need to see the RAIDSET on bootprompt, you have to add with the wwidmgr!

Hope this helps!
Bye Kuddel

[Uwe Zessin]

The SSP handling on the MSA1000 works a bit different than on the HSG as I have already mentioned. Your HSG commands do not apply.