MSA1000 and HP-UX

[Hasan_9]

Hi Everybody,

I have a rx2620 and HP-UX 11iv2 on it. I want to connect it to a MSA1000. My MSA has a 2/8 SAN switch and currently, there is a Linux Box that is connected to it. I wonder does it be possible to connect both HP-UX and Linux boxes to this MSA concurrently? Do HP-UX and Linux coexist with together?Please advice.

Hasan

[A. Clay Stephenson]

There shouldn't be a problem at all as long as you make sure that only 1 box has access to a given LUN at any one time.

[Felipe Martinez]

Hasan:

HP-UX is supported on the MSA1000 but just in homogeneous environments only and just single controller. Originally just firmware 4.30 was for HP-UX, now, firmware 4.48 is supported too.

The next documment give you more information:

ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/products/storageworks/techdoc/msa1000/365448-001.pdf

[Steven E. Protter]

Hook it up properly and run ioscan -fnC disk on HP-UX after this is done.

The disks should become visible.

If you have a GFS filesystem using Linux I'm uncertain if HP-UX has drivers that can deal with it and access the data via the SAN.

If You try and use a logical volume that is mounted and activated on Linux the data will likely become corrupt.

I do not believe Serviceguard supports a mixed environment of Linux and HP-UX.

In short, I wonder what the HP-UX box can do to safely access disk allocated to the Linux box.

Concurrent access to the data will likely destroy it.

What is your planned access method and tools?

SEP

[Hasan_9]

Thank you All,

I will not use a shared LUN or Array between two boxes. I plan to create a separated array and LUNs for HP-UX. I do not any plan to share a LUN between two boxes.
Hasan

[Steven E. Protter]

You're all set. As far as I know with the right fiber connector HP-UX supports that device. I've worked with it with Linux.

SEP

[Borislav Perkov]

Hi Hasan,

HP-UX and Linux can not share same LUNs.
HP-UX supports MSA1000 only with one controler.
All configurations on HP-UX for volume groups and logical volumens you must do only from a command line. You may experience problems if you do it from SAM, I have that problem with rx2620 connected with MSA1000.

Regards,
Borislav

[Hasan_9]

Thank you Borislav,

I do not any paln to use a same LUN on Linux.
I asked about diffrenet LUNS, One of them use in HP-UX and others for Linux. Felipe directed me to a document. that document says " This alternative firmware supports HP-UX only and is not supported for use with any other operating system."

However, In following link says "This release offers support of HP-UX (homogeneous support only, prior single controller configuration limitations still apply), with support for Windows, Linux, NetWare, and homogeneous support of Tru64 UNIX and OpenVMS"
http://h18006.www1.hp.com/products/storageworks/softwaredrivers/msa1000/msa1k_intel.html
Which one is true?

Hasan

[Steven E. Protter]

An interesting wrinkle that last message.

The current MSA1000 with two fiber controllers offers you a way out of this problem.

The problem seems to be if you change the firmware to accommodate HP-UX you may have an unsupported possibly unworkable situation with Linux.

You don't want to do that. The Linux setup I worked with was a BEAR. It was fully supported and hard to make it work right and the default configuration didn't fail over properly.

But you have two controllers. Assuming the issue it the controller firmware, you can uprade firmware on one of them and exclusively dedicate that to HP-UX and HP-UX disks. HP-UX doesn't support more than one controller anyway.

My approach does make things more complex and less flexible. But it might meet your needs which don't seem to require redundancy.

Only you can decide if my idea makes sense.

SEP

[Torsten.]

Some documents, also the quickspecs, are telling us:

Heterogeneous support:
Microsoft Windows® Server 2003 (32-bit and 64-bit) Windows 2000, Windows NT®, NetWare and Linux (32-bit and 64-bit)

Homogeneous support:
HP-UX

That means, windows and linux can co-exist, but if you want to use HP-UX, you can *only* use hp-ux.

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/11033_div/11033_div.html

[Felipe Martinez]

Hasan:

This docunent refer than new firmware 4.48 works with HP-UX, Windows, Linux, Netware and True64 but, HP-UX and True64 works only un homogeneous configurations.

Prior to this firmware, the only firmware than supports HP-UX was 4.30

Now the 4.48 firmware works for all OS supported but the restrictions are the same.

[Ted Buis]

It should also be noted that the second controller needs to be physically removed for HP-UX. This makes it effectively like an Smart Array PCI Controller. HP-UX needs active-active controllers. You may want to ask you HP rep about the possibility of future updates (NDA likely required) for the MSA1500. I believe there is an upgrade path from the MSA1000 to the MSA1500. In the future this may allow you to achieve your objective while protecting some of your existing investment in the MSA1000. The present limit of only 32 LUNs for HP-UX is a problem for some potential uses.

[Torsten.]

@ Steven:

Did I understand right? 2 different versions of firmware at the same time? This is *NOT* possible. The controllers will only work with one version and if there are 2 different versions, the most recent version will be cloned to the other controller, at least after next reboot or power cycle.

[Steven E. Protter]

Two controllers, each have their own firmware.

HP shipped us one these things with two different versions of firmware on it. 1.34 on controller 1 an 1.45 on controller 2.

Since the environment was homeogenous, or should have been, we upgraded and corrected.

This situation defies what the MSA1000 is designed to do, but if one controller were tasked to handle HP-UX and the second Linux, it would probably run just fine.

If its firmware for the MSA1000 box itself, then my solution is unworkable.

SEP

[Hasan_9]

Steven,

Are you Sure? I read in one of documents of MSA1000, that whenever you add second controller, they suncronize their firmware with together! Would you please check your MSA and let everyone to know?

Hasan,

[Torsten. · Accepted solution]

OK, I remember the User Guide is telling, when 2 different versions are detected, the controller is asking for cloning or not. If you don't say yes at the front panel, the controllers will stay with the different firmware but the one with the older version will be disabled and the controllers are *not* redundant. So you cannot *work* with different versions. Perhaps the behaviour is/will change with firmware.

Anyway to answer the question: Do HP-UX and Linux coexist with together?

No, not supported.

[Hasan_9]

Question: Can a MSA1000 (with just one controller) connect to a Linux box and a HP-UX box simultaneously? (Sharing a LUN between two boxes is not considered)

Each person gives a different answer. What is the correct answer, finally?

Hasan

[Felipe Martinez]

Hassan:

The answer is no.

[Ted Buis]

Current firmware for the msa1000 is for active/passive controllers, so only one is ever active.

[Steven E. Protter]

I'd recommend contacting your local HP response center. My answer was theoretical. I don't think trying my idea is necessarily a good course of action. With further flection that is, after reading some of the documents provided by others.

This is a very complex and sometimes difficult to manage piece of hardware.

Another idea for you is to Have HP-UX or Linux have exclusive control of the MSA1000 and provide disk to other systems via Samba or NFS. Yes its slower, but its proven and the documents say its a supported configuration.

Good Luck.

SEP

[Hasan_9]

Thank you