SAM error (file /var/sam/`hostname`.dion not found) & no /var/lvmconf/vg00.conf after a crash

[Mehrzad Gomari_2]

Hi,
I am not able to fix this issue with hp ux 11.0 yet. I lost prim disk of vg00 and got the switch to secondary disk in vg00. There are 2 disks. Now I lost /var/lvmconf/vg00.conf and also SAM does not see anything (e.g. V. Groups) But my system works just fine. This is a problem with SAM and I need to know how to recreate this vg00.conf. Every while system produces this message that can not stat vg00.conf file. I tried to restore it from the tapes I have but system does not allow this to get replace or with any normal command to get it recreated!
I changed the controler on the disk put it back and recreated the lv01-08 already, however, this error still is on the system.

About the `hostname`.dion in /var/sam/ is also strange and I can not recreate this file with any media.

I thank you in advance for any inputs. Thanks

[Mel Burslan]

vgXX.conf resides under /etc/lvmconf/ not /var/lvmconf

also,

my .dion file has only a timestamp in it and looks like it was created with command

date > /var/sam/hostname.dion

[Sridhar Bhaskarla]

Hi,

'lvlnboot -R' should create this configuration file. The direct command is 'vgcfgbackup'. Look at the syntax.

However, this should have been /etc/lvmconf. If it is really giving you a problem, then create a symbolic link from /var to /etc.



-Sri

[Sridhar Bhaskarla]

Hi (Again),

I meant symbolic link from /var/lvmconf to /etc/lvmconf not really /var to /etc.

-Sri

[Mehrzad Gomari_2]

Hello again,
Well, that was an obv. typo about /var/lvmconf...
Any how, to get to the point, as I said vg00.conf in /etc/lvmconf/vg00.conf is missing after the disk failur I had and all other 'usual' way you could use to recreate this does not work. Among those obv. commands are the followings that they do not work:

1)
root>vgcfgbackup -u vg00
vgcfgbackup: Configuration file "/etc/lvmconf/vg00.conf" not found or is corrupted

2)
root>lvlnboot -R
vgcfgbackup: IO error on configuration file: No such device or address

Also about `hostname`.dion I know this is a timestamp, the problem is by not having it,SAM will not work correctly at all. Recreating this also through obv. ways failed so far.

Any more ideas how to recreate these files?

Thank you for all your comments.

MG

[Bharat Katkar]

Try doing:

#vgscan -a

This should help.
Regards,

[Mehrzad Gomari_2]

I actually tried that vgscan too, but this is mostly to recreate LVM config file. Did not help.

[Sridhar Bhaskarla]

Hi,

What is the output of your 'vgdisplay vg00'?. Is it properly displaying all the disks or giving out any errors. You will need to fix it first. Otherway is to run lvlnboot manually for each logical volume.

#lvlnboot -b /dev/vg00/lvol1
#lvlnboot -s /dev/vg00/lvol2
#lvlnboot -r /dev/vg00/lvol3
#lvlnboot -d /dev/vg00/lvol2

Replace the logical volumes with the correct ones above if they do not match by any chance.

For the .dion, try recreatign the file by using the command

date > `hostname`.dion

and see if it works.

-Sri

[Bharat Katkar]

M.G.

See the doc attached which talks about restoring corrupt VGxx.conf file.
Hope this helps.
Regards,

[Mehrzad Gomari_2]

Hello Sri,
I have also tried your manual creation of those root and so on lv, however,since these entries automatically using vgcfgbackup it is failing. I was able only so far to recreate the vg00.conf file but in different location, here is the command:

::root>vgcfgbackup -f /tmp/vg00.conf vg00
Volume Group configuration for /dev/vg00 has been saved in /tmp/vg00.conf

However, there is not much option on vgcfgrestore to use this entry to recreate /etc/lvmconf/vg00.conf original file.

The new created /tmp/vg00.conf file has right disks in it. It is correct, however, I do not know how to fix this problem without bringing down the OS and install a new OS. I am trying to avoid that because there is active Oracle and Sap running in this server.

Hello Bharat,
Thanks for the info and the word doc. As I said these commands do not offer much to fix this problem. There is a mach. that is holding this replacement for this file in /etc/...vg00.conf, this is what I do not know yet.

Facts: vgdisplay -v vg00 works just fine; I was able to mirror the new disk and they are both in sync with no problems. But, so far no vg00.conf file. :)

Any more comments? Anybody?

By the way option -R will produce the same error, I think they all validating vg00.conf file and that is why they are failing.

Here is the log of lvlnboot:
::root>lvlnboot -b /dev/vg00/lvol1
vgcfgbackup: IO error on configuration file: No such device or address
::root>lvlnboot -s /dev/vg00/lvol2
vgcfgbackup: IO error on configuration file: No such device or address
::root>lvlnboot -r /dev/vg00/lvol3
vgcfgbackup: IO error on configuration file: No such device or address
::root>lvlnboot -d /dev/vg00/lvol2
vgcfgbackup: IO error on configuration file: No such device or address

[Sridhar Bhaskarla]

Hi,

Did you try after taking a copy of whatever that is there in /etc/lvmconf?

vgcfgrestore -f /etc/lvmconf/vg00.conf vg00.

-Sri

[Mehrzad Gomari_2]

I did manage to take a current copy of it into /tmp/vg00.conf, however, as you see bellow, it does not like it. The information on this /tmp/vg00.conf file is valid and current. But so far no way to get it into /etc/lvmconf/vg00.conf location.

Here is the log of the commands and the result:
1)
::root>vgcfgrestore -f /tmp/vg00.conf vg00
Configuration info for Physical Volume "vg00" not found
in "/tmp/vg00.conf" :
Character-special file for PV not supplied on command line, OR
PV did not belong to Volume Group /dev/vg00 when configuration file was created.
2)
::root>vgcfgrestore -f /tmp/vg00.conf -l
Volume Group Configuration information in "/tmp/vg00.conf"
VG Name /dev/vg00
---- Physical volumes : 2 ----
/dev/rdsk/c2t2d0 (Bootable)
/dev/rdsk/c1t0d0 (Bootable)
3)
::root>vgcfgrestore -l -n vg00
vgcfgrestore: Error opening LVM configuration file : /etc/lvmconf/vg00.conf

Any more idea? :)
Regards

[Sridhar Bhaskarla]

Hmm.. Actually I meant vgcfgbackup not vgcfgrestore. Friday evening. Try

#vgcfgbackup -f /etc/lvmconf/vg00.conf vg00

-Sri

[Mehrzad Gomari_2]

Sri,
In any case both have similar result. Using -f with vgcfgbackup does not generate this file in /etc/lvmconf but it will create it in different path like /tmp/ with no errors.

Log:
vgcfgbackup -f /etc/lvmconf/vg00.conf vg00
vgcfgbackup: IO error on configuration file: No such device or address

copy and other ways using -f option also do not work in that location.

[Sridhar Bhaskarla]

One more idea. How about doing something that will create vg00.conf file. For ex., creating a logical volume.

Try

#lvcreate -n test -L 20 vg00
#lvremove /dev/vg00/test

-Sri

[Mehrzad Gomari_2]

:)
Nice try, but, this is the the result, the same;

::root>lvcreate -n test -L 20 vg00
Logical volume "/dev/vg00/test" has been successfully created with
character device "/dev/vg00/rtest".
Logical volume "/dev/vg00/test" has been successfully extended.
vgcfgbackup: IO error on configuration file: No such device or address

[Mehrzad Gomari_2]

Thanks to all. Here is the summary:
I was forced to reboot the system.
After the root still the /etc/lvmconf/vg00.conf was missing. I started the operation by make_tape_recovery command that was producing error messages on not valid /stand/bootconf file. I modified this manually and vg00.conf was then automatically created.

Help says that there are times that admin should modify this file manually. 'man bootconf'

Thanks for all inputs.
MG