Configuring and unconfiguring primary and alternative devices

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Logical devices that are configured as alternative paths can be unconfigured and reconfigured at any time after the initial configuration is run. Unconfiguring an alternative path device removes that device from the primary device path list, removes the ALT appended to the location field, and changes the device to the Defined state. The primary and any other alternative devices are still available. Likewise, configuring a new alternative path device or reconfiguring an existing one in the Defined state adds that device to the primary device path list, appends ALT to the location field, and makes the device available.

Logical devices that are configured as primary paths can also be unconfigured and reconfigured at any time after initial configuration is run. However, the operation is different for a primary device. When a primary device is unconfigured, the following events occur.
  1. All alternative devices are unconfigured as described previously.
  2. The primary device is unconfigured.
  3. The PRI appended to the location field is removed.
  4. The device is changed to the Defined state.
  5. All alternative devices that were unconfigured are reconfigured. The first device that is reconfigured becomes the new primary device. All remaining alternative devices are reconfigured as alternative paths.

These methods unconfigure and reconfigure physical devices on the system when device connections or addressing changes are made.