IBM HS20 and EVA5000

[Fernando_89]

We are trying to connect ibm hs20 wihth eva 5000. The EVA is connected to 2 brocade switches and the blades fibre switch module witch is an ibm, qlogic module. We have been able to make the blades mount the eva´s virtual disks, but we still have two problems. We can not make the blades boot from the EVA, when configuring the qlogic hba bios, it doesn´t see the virtual disk, instead what it finds are the eva controller ports witch it doesn´t recognize as disks. The second problem is that the blades witch are with the fibre port enable take over two hours to boot windows 2k.

[Uwe Zessin]

Fernando,

I don't know what the QLogic BIOS on the IBM blades look like, but a QLogic PCI adapter has two menu items. One just shows the target devices the adapter sees. The other one allows the user to select a target and display the LUNs.

EVA's LUN 0, if this is what you have discovered, is not a disk, but an 'array device'. It is required for LUN lookup and management. Your blades must be able to boot from a LUN > 0.

I assume the Windows system does a local boot... Does the system have redundant connections / paths to the EVA's controller ports? If yes, did you install any multipathing software (Secure Path or the EVA MPIO module)?

[Fernando_89]

The virtual disk presented to the blade is in LUN 1. The blade has 1 local disk with w2k, we installed this OS to try the configuration (physical connections, zoning, etc), it seems to be ok.The hba has two ports but we only have one enabled, so the OS has only the hba driver and the EVA software. We actually have two EVA5000, the zone we are working with has the port of the blade(in the ibm fibre module), one controller port of one of the EVA and another controller port from the other EVA.

[Steven Clementi]

Fernando:

Based on your image, if you arrow down to id 131, you should be able to hit enter and a list of available luns should appear (Or 141 depending on which EVA you want to boot from).

I am going to assume that you have created a vdisk already, but if not, you need to in order to see something in the lun listing.

Your second issue might be a little more complex. Are you booting from local drives? Is your zoning configured right? Best practice is to zone all your servers seperately...
e.g.
Zone1=Host1HBA1, ControllerAFP1, Controller BFP2
Zone2-Host2HBA1, ControllerAFP1, Controller BFP2

etc.

Did you build the servers while attached to the SAN?


Steven

[Fernando_89]

Sorry, I should have posted the screen with the error. I installed the OS installed drivers and EVA software presented the vdisk, the os could see the vdisk. I shutdown the os and entered the hba bios an tried to make the vdisk a boot disk, but get the error in the attachment.

The second issue i think as Steve mentioned is a zoning problem. I zoned in one of the brocades of the fabric as Steve stated, but i am not so sure the zoning configuration is passing correctly to the qlogic switch. I tried to zone from the qlogic but get an error "can not get lock from domain 2 and 4" witch are the domain ids of the brocades (the qlogic domain is 6).

[Uwe Zessin]

That looks like the first screen I mentioned (I'm not in the lab, so I can't compare). On the PCI adapter is another menu entry. When I choose this I get a list of controller ports again, but when I select a port a new screen pops up with a list of LUNs.

[SAKET_5]

Hi Fernando,

Based on my understanding of your scenario, your host does actually see the HSV110 controllers, so I would say zoning issue is ruled out. However issues with SSP (Selective Storage Presentation/LUN Masking) might still be a potential candidate. Under Command View EVA - running on the SMA (SAN Mgmt Appliance), have you created a host with the name_of_your_host which is trying to boot off the SAN by adding both its FCA ports via their WWNs? Once this is done, normally you would then present the Vdisk planned to be the boot LUN/Vdisk to the host created in the step before.

Let me know if I have understood your problem correctly..

Good luck.

[Uwe Zessin]

SAKET is right. I've checked the picture against a PCI adapter in the lab and you are on the right menu. The message comes up when the fibre channel adapter has access to LUN 0, which is not a disk device but not other LUNs are presented to it.

After presenting an additional LUN (I did this test on a HSG80), I had to re-scan the fabric several times before it was discovered.

[Fernando_89]

I've just made it work. It was a bios version issue in the hba. I went from 1.38 to 1.43 and it worked ( i even tried version 1.34 that comes with the EVA Windows Kit). What was confusing is that in w2k i was able to see the very same vitual disk.

About the second issue concerning the time it was taking the os to boot, i have found this work around but i don't know if it is correct.

My original setup before the blades where four brocade switches in two fabrics. I isl connected one of the brocades to the blade fibre module. I did the zoning configuration in the brocade, (when i tried to do the configuration in the qlogic i got an error messaging stating that it could not lock the domain id of the brocades).

I thought that even though the brocades and the qlogic where isl connected the zoning configuration was not passing on to the qlogic. While connected i zoned in the qlogic again and save the configuration (not activated) then broke the isl connection and activate the zoning configuration in the qlogic. Then put the isl connection back online again.

thank you very much for your time.