setting hba parameters before the system boots

[VeronicaPA]

dear sirs, it is possible setting FC hba parameters in HP9000 servers before the system boots ? Maybe from BCH / ISL - ODE ??? as can do in Sun SPARC with OBP, x86 BIOS CTRL+Q ... I need boot from SAN with special HBA BIOS / OpenBoots options.

[Torsten.]

What do you wnt to set?


IMHO the answer is no, everything is set by the driver (and there is not so much to modify).

[VeronicaPA]

Hello Torsten, thanks. I have an old rp54xx HP9000 server and I would need set standard and advanced FC HBA parameters (port down retry count, luns per target, enable target reset, selectable boot device ...). In Sun SPARC and IBM POWER servers it is possible through OpenBoot Firmware PROMPT, in x86 servers with CTRL+Q BIOS too ... but HP9000 via BCH/PDC/ISL (not EFI), it would be possible ? Thanks again !!!

[Torsten.]

It's an old server ....


You can use fcmsutil during the OS is up.

[VeronicaPA]

Hello again, yes I know about fcmsutil in HP-UX, but I would need set this HBA parameters before the systems boot ... thanks again.

[Jose Mosquera]

Hola Veronica,

The utility fcmsutil be your main tool on HP-UX side.
Once installed HBAs (fc devices) you must start the machine. When you are on HP-UX prompt, you have to discover the HBA devices created by the system:
#ioscan-fc fnC
Will usually be "/dev/td0" and "/dev/td1"

They must be CLAIMED by the system. Please do not forget install the convenient HBA drivers by HP-UX version. (Check HP code recorded into metal side of the card)

These are the devices that you use with fcmsutil (ie):
#fcmsutil /dev/td0
For more information:
#man fcmsutil

I guess you know that then you must make the definitions at the level of SAN-Switches (ie: zonning), defining a level of your storage manager (ie: EVA's CommandView), etc...

Rgds.

[VeronicaPA]

Hello Jose, thank you very much, I know what I say but ...there is no way, in an old HP9000 server with PA-RISC, not EFI, to stablish parameters at HBA level before the systems boot ? For example, Hard LOOP ID parameter, stablish PRI boot LUN, speed-rate, etc. Thanks again.

[Torsten.]

I'not aware of any possibility.


Depending on the type of card, the card has no memory to store such info anyway.

In HP9000, the whole handling is different.

The driver "overlays" firmware and settings, so the HBA totally depends on the driver.

Even the firmware used for boot is overlayed by the systems firmware (depending on model).


So IMHO the answer is: no way.

[VeronicaPA]

.... yes, this is what I thought, but I wanted to confirm because I have some days looking for information and found nothing at all about it. Thanks !!.

[Jose Mosquera · Accepted solution]

Hola Veronica,

Everything that mention you is about architecture "rp"...
All starting # symbol mean HP-UX operative prompt...

#ioscan -funC fc
Class I H/W Path Driver S/W State H/W Type Description
=================================================================
fc 0 0/8/0/0 td CLAIMED INTERFACE HP Tachyon XL2 Fibre Channel Mass Storage Adapter
/dev/td0
fc 1 0/9/0/0 td CLAIMED INTERFACE HP Tachyon XL2 Fibre Channel Mass Storage Adapter
/dev/td1

Each HBA have the following parameter info (i.e: /dev/td0)
#fcmsutil /dev/td0

Vendor ID is = 0x00103c
Device ID is = 0x001029
XL2 Chip Revision No is = 2.3
PCI Sub-system Vendor ID is = 0x00103c
PCI Sub-system ID is = 0x00128c
Topology = PTTOPT_FABRIC
Link Speed = 2Gb
Local N_Port_id is = 0x030b00
N_Port Node World Wide Name = 0x50060b000023c7dd
N_Port Port World Wide Name = 0x50060b000023c7dc
Driver state = ONLINE
Hardware Path is = 0/8/0/0
Number of Assisted IOs = 1242358963
Number of Active Login Sessions = 3
Dino Present on Card = NO
Maximum Frame Size = 2048
Driver Version = @(#) libtd.a HP Fibre Channel Tachyon TL/TS/XL2 Driver B.11.11.12 PATCH_11.11 (PHSS_31326) /ux/kern/kisu/TL/src/common/wsio/td_glue.c: Sep 5 2005, 10:14:40

For detailed info about fcmsutil options:
#man fcmsutil

Rgds.

[VeronicaPA]

Hola José, gracias de nuevo. Entiendo a lo que te refieres, en mákinas con EFI (IA64), desde un EFI shell puedo modificar los parámetros que comento. Pero en mákinas con PDC (PA-RISC), veo que no es posible, entiendo que una vez iniciado el sistema si, pero y si necesito establecer algún parámetro durante el arranque desde SAN, impuesto por el fabricante del almacenamiento ? No hay forma alguna, de acceder a la NVRAM de la HBA para establecer estos parámetros (entiendo que es OpenBoot). Gracias :)

[Torsten.]

I don't understand every word, but I assume I get the idea what you wrote.



Depending on the card model there is no NVRAM at all to store anything, so you cannot modify anything.


But on every card, as soon as the driver takes over, the firmware and settings will be overlayed.





Years and years ago I investigated this with an SCSI card (same behaviour here).


The official card model for HP9000 was the same physical card as I had in my PC (LSI chip).

But when the firmware in my PC card was around 500kbyte, the HP9000 card has only a 50kbyte "firmware".
No BIOS at all.

The cards "firmware" was included in the systems PDC, so when the system was started, the PDC takes control.

Same here.



As long as both (HP from server side, your storage vendor from the array side) agree to support your HP9000 server and the boot from SAN is successful, I don't see a reason to worry about.

[VeronicaPA]

Hello Torsten, excuse me for writing in Spanish ... then it is not possible from PDC (with SCSI controllers some time ago and from PDC I could modify adapter paremeters with scsi command). Thank you very much for your comments !!.

[Torsten.]

No, IMHO you can't change anything from BCH.


Needless to say the SCSI card from my PC did not work in the HP9000 ... ;-))


http://h30499.www3.hp.com/t5/help/faqpage/faq-category-id/kudos#kudos

[Jose Mosquera]

Hola Vero,

I keep my English so that the other colleagues can understand and provide solutions. :)

OpenBoot is Sun Microsystems parlance, would be the equivalent of Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) on HP-UX Itanium.
The ancient rp architectures have a specific secondary system loader (SSL) utility for bootstrap that supports several operations detailed in hpux(1M).
Here, the initial system loader (isl) implements the operating-system-independent portion of the bootstrap process.
#man hpux
-or-
http://docs.hp.com/en/B2355-90681/hpux.1M.html

As Torsten say, the driver is the master piece here.

Here you find the available HBA drivers:
http://h20180.www2.hp.com/apps/Nav?h_pagetype=s-001&h_lang=en&h_cc=us&h_product=348749&h_client=S-A-R163-1&h_page=hpcom〈=en&cc=us

When you refer to a parameter set by the manufacturer of storage, you mean one in particular?

Rgds.

[VeronicaPA]

Hola Jose, the storage is Compellent and they recommend at HBA level: loop reset delay=8, adapter hard LOOP ID=125, LUNs per target=0, enable target reset=y, port down retry count=12 ... and still others to boot from SAN. Then ... impossible from PDC, ... and from ODE prompt ? there is any utility available to set these parameters ? gracias Jose :-)

[Jose Mosquera]

I think not...

Feliz finde, happy weekend...

[VeronicaPA]

... :-( buen finde, y gracias por tu ayuda !!.

[Torsten.]

Do you know what a real nightmare is?


Installing, configuring or troubleshooting a smartarray controller used as a boot device in a HP 9000 server, because

you cannot interact with the cards BIOS.


Same dilemma.

[VeronicaPA]

... and if you can not interact with the BIOS in this type of devices/adapters through BCH ... what can be done? in almost all platforms, Sun SPARC, IBM RS/6000 | POWER, x86, is something basic independent of the age of the machine ...

[Torsten.]

We are a bit off topic now, but not so far away.



In case of such smartarray controller your only chance is to boot from an install media (hp-ux 11.11 install DVD), go to recover shell, load the needed tools (ciss driver and saconfig/sautil utilities) and use them from the recovery shell.

Since this card has a BIOS, it can store the modifications that way.

[VeronicaPA]

... good idea :-) Thanks !!.

[Torsten.]

But now I'm curious about ... what card model we talk about all the time?

Are you able to boot from?

AFAIR there are some old cards not supported for boot at all.

I assume the cards supported on an old L class server cannot store any configuration values at all.

[VeronicaPA]

... 2 x A6795A @ 2 Gbps :-)

[VeronicaPA]

... yes I can boot from Compellent, HDS, EMC DMX & HP XP 12k. I just like to tune the settings :-)