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IBM FlashSystem® A9000 and A9000R HyperSwap solution deployment on Linux® for IBM z Systems®

Question & Answer


Question

How to configure hosts that are running Linux® for IBM z Systems® that will be used with the HyperSwap feature of IBM FlashSystem® A9000 and A9000R?

Cause

IBM HyperSwap feature (introduced in code release 12.1.0 of IBM FlashSystem® A9000 and A9000R) requires special manual configuration, when deployed on Linux® for IBM z Systems®. The configuration is described in the following section.

For x86 Linux® operating systems, the Host Attachment Kit automates the appropriate configuration. A Host Attachment Kit for Linux® on IBM z Systems® does not exist. Hence manual configuration is required for the IBM z Systems® Linux® operating system.

Answer

To configure a native Linux® device-driver multipathing, on a IBM z Systems® host do the following steps:

1. Modify the “/etc/multipath.conf” file, according to the Linux® distribution in use.

Red Hat 6.x:

devices {

   device {

      retain_attached_hw_handler "no"

      product "2810XIV"

      vendor "IBM"

      prio "alua"

      path_grouping_policy "group_by_prio"

      hardware_handler "1 alua"

      detect_prio "no"

   }

}

defaults {

   user_friendly_names yes

}

Red Hat 7.x:

devices {

    device {

        retain_attached_hw_handler "no"

        product "2810XIV"

        vendor "IBM"

        prio "alua"

        path_grouping_policy "group_by_prio"

        hardware_handler "1 alua"

        detect_prio "no"

    }

}

defaults {

    find_multipaths yes

    user_friendly_names yes

}

SLES 12:

defaults {

    user_friendly_names yes

}

devices {

    device {

        rr_min_io 15

        product "2810XIV"

        vendor "IBM"

        prio "alua"

        path_checker tur

        path_grouping_policy "group_by_prio"

        path_selector "round-robin 0"

        retain_attached_hw_handler "no"

        hardware_handler "1 alua"

        no_path_retry queue

        detect_prio "no"

        failback 15

    }

}

SLES 11.x:

defaults {

    user_friendly_names yes

}

devices {

    device {

        rr_min_io 15

        product "2810XIV"

        vendor "IBM"

        prio "alua"

        path_checker tur

        path_grouping_policy "group_by_prio"

        path_selector "round-robin 0"

        retain_attached_hw_handler "no"

        hardware_handler "1 alua"

        no_path_retry queue

        detect_prio "no"

        failback 15

    }

}

2. Refresh the native device-driver multipathing to apply the change.
  
service multipathd reload

3. Verify the new multipath settings:

RH 6.x: 
echo "show config" | multipathd -k|grep "2810XIV" -A14

RH 7.x: 
multipath -t|grep "2810XIV" -A11

SLES 11.x: 
echo "show config" | multipathd -k|grep "2810XIV" -A14

SLES 12.x: 
multipath -t|grep "2810XIV" -A11
 

For more information, refer to the IBM System Storage Interoperation Center for which Red Hat® and SLES distributions are supported on Linux® on IBM z Systems® along with other requirements and limitations.

The registered trademark Linux® is used according to a sublicense from the Linux Foundation, the exclusive licensee of Linus Torvalds, owner of the mark on a world­wide basis.

Red Hat® is the trademark or registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. 

[{"Product":{"code":"STJKMM","label":"IBM FlashSystem A9000"},"Business Unit":{"code":"BU058","label":"IBM Infrastructure w\/TPS"},"Component":"Not Applicable","Platform":[{"code":"PF025","label":"Platform Independent"}],"Version":"Version Independent","Edition":"N\/A","Line of Business":{"code":"LOB26","label":"Storage"}}]

Document Information

Modified date:
22 June 2022

UID

ssg1S1010392

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