Secure Path Issue with multipath on msa1000

[deepak bajpai]

Hi,

I am trying to setup a multipath cluster with the following

msa 1000 storage
2 DL380G3 servers
2 Emulex HBAs on each server
2/16-EL HP SAN switches
Server OS - windows 2003 EE SP1

We have done all the interconnections.one HBA of each server is connected to first switch which in turn is connected to the Active controller. Second HBA of each server goes to second switch which is connected to the passive controller.

Installed secure path 4.0c for windows on both servers.Installed secure path manager on the one out of these 2.rebooted both these servers

In MSA 1000 ACU we could see only one MSA 1000 controller which is active. In SSP we could see only those HBAs connected to active controller and assigned them access to LUNS.In each server's diskmgmt we could see these LUNs.

Now, when we run commnad " spmgr display" on server having spmgr then it shows error: 'issues with manager /Agent password 'and does not display configuration information of multipath

We disconnected primary link but the redundant path didnt come up.

what could be the issue? any more configurations to be done for securepath?

Thanks in advance.

Regrads,
Deepak

[Metadata]

Hi Deepak,

Firstly you need to upgrade Secure Path to 4.0C SP2-1 as this is supported with Win2K3 SP1 here is a link to the download page http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareIndex.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodNameId=1825351&prodTypeId=18964&prodSeriesId=315586&swLang=13&taskId=135&swEnvOID=1005

In regards to the 'issues with manager /Agent password ' did you set the password and client access using the secure path cfg utility? This application is located in start->program files->Secure Path->Securepathcfg

The other alternative is to use Secure Path manager to test the path failover.

When you removed the FC cable from the primary path was there I/O been sent to the lun/logical drive, otherwise Secure Path will not failover the path if there is no I/O been sent to the lun.

Tom

[deepak bajpai]

I Have updated the secure path 4.0c with its latest sp but still there is some problem with the communication of SP agents and SP manager.

I have set password in the SP agents.In SP manager I set it usng 'spmgr.exe passwd'

Please help

Thanks,
Deepak

[deepak bajpai]

Please find attached the setup diagram

The Nodes have Emulex HBA cards.
Fiber switches are HP 2/16-EL switches

[deepak bajpai]

Please find attached the setup diagram

The Nodes have Emulex HBA cards.
Fiber switches are HP 2/16-EL switches.

Also, in the MSA1000 ACU we see only one controller which is active. Is it normal? Or we should be able to see both Active and Passive controller in the MSA1000 ACU?

[deepak bajpai]

Does it Matter if I use Dell Pe2650 servers to form nodes instead of DL 380 G3 ones?

Will secure path which is from HP work on dell servers?

I think make of servers should not matter as long as I am using HP MSA1000

Thanks,
Deepak

[Stephen Kebbell]

Hi,

there are 2 things you need to set in SecurePathcfg for SP Manager to be able to communicate properly:
1) Computername (FQDN) - put both machines in the list, and set it on both machines, too
2) Password - set it here, and use spmgr passwd on the command line, so you can run other spmgr commands from the command line.

Also you need to go to SecurePath Manager Web application, create a new profile with using the password you set via (2) above, and add the 2 hosts using the notation CLUSTERNAME:HOSTNAME (do this when the cluster is up and running). Then you should be able to see the paths in the web interface.

I think it's normal to see only one MSA in ACU. In SSP you will see all active HBAs and the passive HBA from the node where you are running ACU (will show up as "Offline - Local"). Set SSP for that, then run ACU on the 2nd node, and you should then get the entry for the 2nd HBA in that node in SSP. Only then will you be able to see all available paths.

It does not really matter that you have Dell servers. For SecurePath Manager (4.0C SP2) you will probably need HP System Management Homepage, but you can install that on a non-HP system (I installed it on a Dell Desktop the other day - worked fine)

Regards,
Stephen

[deepak bajpai]

In securepath manager we can see 2 controllers and both are being shown in working state.We enabled path verification on both hosts and the storage subsystem.But, wehen we swicthed off the primary switch which is connected to the primary controller then the secure path software did not opt for the alternate path.It seems it did not even sense that there was an alternate path.

In the array configuration utility we see only one controller at one time.May be because the redundant one is in passive state.

But, then why secure path manager is not switching the path to the storage's passive controller through second switch.Please refer attached setup diagram in my previous message too.

Thanks,
Deepak

[deepak bajpai]

Plese find attached a doc having snapshots of msa1000 acu and secure path manager web page for reference

Thanks,
Deepak

[deepak bajpai]

hi,

There was problem with the SP manager to Agent communication before but then we found out its solution.We created profile in SPMGR, added hosts' FQDN to that and set profile password which is same as the password we set using securePathCfg on hosts.

SP manager web inetrface showed no failure with the communication later.

MSA1000 ACU cant be installed on Dell hosts by the way.

Also, the HBAs in SSP are with respect to the controller.So, if we can not see secondary controller how we would assign LUNs to these HBAs.In the SSP when active controller is running we we did not see adapter IDs for the secondary HBAs in our hosts. It is logical as they are connected to secondary switch which in turn is connected to the redundant switch.

We installed on another our storage management server which is connected to secondary switch too but it detected an error.

It seems both the controllers are in Active state.

How to bring the redundant controller in passive state?

Thanks,
Deepak

[deepak bajpai]

It seems our problem is that we havent assigned LUN access for our HBAs in secondary slots.

We tried doing that by through ACU on one of our MSA1000 management server which is connected to secondary switch and in turn to the redundant controller but ACU detected Error.

Perhaps both the controllers are in active states which is why ACU didnt show us redundant controller's details.

[Stephen Kebbell]

Hi Deepak,

try running ACU on each host with 2 HBAs. For some reason, the MSA1000 will not see any HBAs on a "remote" host that attach to the passive controller. Only when you run ACU locally on the dual-path host will the "passive" HBA show up in your SSP list (then you can assign the LUNs to it)

Regards,
Stephen

[deepak bajpai]

Stephen,

If that is the case then its such a valuable information for me.

Thanks a lot!!

[deepak bajpai]

Stephen,

I am using Dell Servers.And seems ACU which is from HP cant be installed on Dell servers.

May be I would try using HP machines.

Thanks,
Deepak

[Stephen Kebbell]

Hi Deepak,

what error message do you get when trying to install ACU?
Have you installed HP system management homepage ? (this will install on Dell machines - I installed it on a Dell PC before)
Then try installing ACU again. If all else fails, you may have to try using the MSA's CLI interface via serial port.

Regrads,
Stephen