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General description

KZPBA is a PCI SCSI adapter based on the QLogic ISP1040 Fast Wide SCSI adapter chip for HP Alpha.

In CHARON-AXP environment it supports up to 120 disks and tapes.(info) For systems with more than 16 heavily used units it is recommended to configure several virtual KZPBA PCI SCSI adapters and distribute the heavily loaded units evenly between the adapterssupports PCI I/O bypass controller for accessing to disk images and host physical disks.

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Loading PCI I/O bypass controller


Syntax for loading KZPBA storage loading PCI I/O bypass storage adapter:


load
KZPBA <name>
pci_io_bypass <name>


The <name> can be DI<x>, DR<x> or DU<x>


where x is selected according to VMS naming scheme, i.e. A stands for the first controller of given type, B - for the second, etc.


Example:


load
KZPBA PKA
pci_io_bypass DIA


The adapter instance name ("PKADIA" in the example above) is used then for parametrization, for example:


set
PKA
DIA container[
602
0]="/Mydisks/vms_distributive.vdisk"


The numbers in the square brackets represent SCSI ID and LUN of the devices on the virtual KZPBA SCSI bus.

They have the following format: XXYY, where:

ParameterRangeDescription
XX0..15SCSI ID
YY00..07LUN

By default KZPBA adapter uses first available PCI slota number of device on PCI I/O Bypass controller.


The maximum number of I/O Bypass controller devices is 64.


By default I/O Bypass controller uses PCI slot corresponded to the <x> parameter (see above). If instead some particular slot is needed, refer to refer to this section for  for details of specific placement of PCI peripherals on CHARON-AXP PCI bus.

By default each loaded KZPBA SCSI PCI adapter has SCSI ID=7. This setting can be changed with "scsi_id" parameter, for example:

set PKA scsi_id=0

(info) CHARON-AXP HP Alpha models may have one or two KZPBA adapters preloadedperipherals on CHARON Virtual Machine (VM) PCI bus (note that "irq_bus" and "irq" parameters are ignored for I/O Bypass controller). In this case the <x> will be changed automatically according to custom position of I/O Bypass controller on PCI bus.


(info) I/O Bypass controller is implemented for OpenVMS only.

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Configuration parameters

The KZPBA PCI SCSI adapter emulation has the following configuration parameters:

scsi_id

Parameterscsi_id
TypeNumeric
Value

Specifies SCSI ID of KZPBA PCI SCSI Adapter in a range 0..7

By default the "scsi_id" configuration parameter is set to 7.

Example:

set PKA scsi_id=0

host, port

Parameterhost, portTypeText StringValue

These parameters are used in SCSI cluster configurations.

ParameterDescription
hostSpecifies remote end-point (remote host name and, optionally, TCP/IP port on remote host) of SCSI connection between this KZPBA PCI SCSI adapter and remote KZPBA PCI SCSI adapter on some host.
portSpecifies local end-point (TCP/IP port on local host) of SCSI connection between this KZPBA PCI SCSI adapter and remote KZPBA PCI SCSI adapter on some host.

By default the "host" and "port" configuration options are not specified.

Syntax:

port[connection-number]=<local port> host[connection-number]="<host-name{:tcpip-port-no}>"

where: connection_number = remote_scsi_id * 100 + lun_id

Example:

set PKA port[600]=17060 host[600]="localhost:16070"

I/O Bypass controller has the following configuration parameters:

Anchor
container
container
container

Parameter

container[N]

N is "XXYY" number, where:

XX - SCSI ID (

0..

15)YY - LUN (00..07

32766 (no more than 64 units)

Type

Text String

Value

Possible values of the parameter are strings in one of the following forms:

  • Physical disk
    • "/dev/sd<L>" where "L" is letter.
    • "/dev/disk/by-id/..." - addressing by the disk ID, for example "/dev/disk/by-id/ata-ST1000DM003-9YN162_S1D01QJ4"
    • "/dev/disk/by-label/..." - addressing by the disk label, for example "/dev/disk/by-label/MyStorage"

    • "/dev/disk/by-uuid/..." - addressing by the disk UUID, for example "/dev/disk/by-uuid/0e808a2f-cdd3-4944-a245-f729ffd73882"
      (warning) Be careful not to destroy all the information from the disk dedicated to CHARON-AXP by mistake.

      Note

      "/dev/sd<L>" addressing is not persistent, so it is strongly recommended to use "/dev/disk/by-id/wwn-*" syntax instead to refer the disk by its WWID - especially in the enviroments utilizing FC and SAN storages.

       These disks must not be formatted by the host OS.

      Example:

      set PKA DIA container[0]="/dev/sdb"

      It is also possible to use not a whole disk, but previously created partitions on it. In this case the syntax is the following: "/dev/sd<L><N>" where N is the number of partition to be used. 

      Example:

      set PKA DIA container[0]="/dev/sdc1"

      .

  • Multipath disk
    • "/dev/dm-<N>" 
    • "/dev/mapper/mpath<N>" 
    • "/dev/mapper/disk<N>" 
      (warning) Be careful not to destroy all the information from the disk dedicated to CHARON-AXP by mistake.  

      These disks must not be formatted by the host OS.

      Example:

      set PKA DIA container[100]="/dev/dm-0"

      .

  • Loop (virtual block) devices

    • "/dev/loop<N>"
      Example:

      set PKADIA container[200]="/dev/loop0"



  • Direct mapping to some SCSI device, for example, a SCSI disk or tape reader disks

    • "/dev/sg<N>"
      Example:

      set PKA DIA container[300]="/dev/sg0"

      .

  • CD-ROM device
    • "/dev/sr<N>"
    • "/dev/cdrom" 

    • "/dev/cdrom<N>"
      Example:

      set PKA container[400]="/dev/sr0"

      .

  • ISO file for reading distribution CD-ROM image
    • [<drive>":\"<path-name>"\"]<file-name>[".iso"]
       Mapping may also include the full path (recommended), for example: "/my_disks/vms_distributive.iso"

      Example:

      set PKA DIA container[600]="/my_disks/vms_distributive.iso"

      .

  • File representing a physical disk of the HP Alpha system (disk image)
    • [<drive>":\"<path-name>"\"]<file-name>[".vdisk"]
      These files can be created from scratch with "mkdskcmd" utility. Data and OS disk backups are transferred from the original system via tapes or network and restored into these container files.   

      Mapping may also include the full path, for example: "/my_disks/my_boot_disk.vdisk"

      Example:

      set PKA DIA container[401]="my_dka401.vdisk"

      .

    File representing the tape (tape image)
    • [<drive>":\"<path-name>"\"]<file-name>
      "
      .vtape"

      These files are created automatically.

      Mapping may also include a full path (recommended), for example: "/my_tapes/backup.vtape"

      Example:

      set PKA container[500]="my_mka500.vtape"

      .

This parameter is initially not set, thus creating NO storage elements on the controller.

media_type

Parameter

media_type[N]

N is "XXYY" number, where:

  • XX - SCSI ID (0..15)
  • YY - LUN (00..07)
Type

Text String

Value

Instructs CHARON-AXP to use the supplied value as the PRODUCT field in the SCSI INQUIRY data returned to a software running on virtual HP Alpha system in response to SCSI INQUIRY command.

If not specified, CHARON-AXP attempts to guess the SCSI INQUIRY data based on virtual SCSI device type and underlying container (which is specified in the corresponding container configuration parameter).

Initially is not specified

.

Example:

set PKA media_type[0]="HSZ70"

removable

Parameter

removable[N]

N is "XXYY" number, where:

XX - SCSI ID (

0..

15)YY - LUN (00..07

32766 (no more than 64 units)

TypeBoolean
Value

When set to "true", the removable configuration parameter instructs CHARON-AXP to report the corresponding virtual SCSI device as removable.

By default the removable configuration parameter is set to "false".

Example:

set PKA DIA removable[400]=true
(info) Note that virtual SCSI tapes and CD-ROM devices are always reported as removable regardless of the "removable" configuration parameter.

geometry

The total size of the disk

is ”*/*/*/<B>" or ”*,*,*<B>" where B is the total size of the disk (in blocks) reported to the guest OS.

If omitted it is calculated automatically.

This is an optional parameter.

If this parameter is not set, CHARON -AXP VM will configure the geometry based on the most probable disk type.

Initially not set.

It is possiblle to specify each parameter independently of another one. The following syntax is used for that:

set

PKA geometry[300]="*,*,*,16777210"

The syntax described above is applicable only to disk storage elements. If the container is a tape image, the following format is used instead:

Syntax:

Parameter

geometry[N]

N is "XXYY" number, where:

XX - SCSI ID (

0..

15)YY - LUN (00..07

32766 (no more than 64 units)

Type

Text String

Value

This formatted string value specifies the explicit geometry of the disk storage element. This parameter is not applicable to tape storage elements.

The string format is <X>”/”<Y>[“/”<Z>] or <X>”,”<Y>[“,”<Z>][“,”<B>] where:

ParameterDescription
XThe number of sectors per track
YThe number of tracks per cylinder
Z

The number of cylinders on the unit.

If omitted, Z is calculated based on X, Y and the total number of sectors on the unit that reflects the size of the disk storage element.

This is an optional parameter.

B
Info
"<image-size>[, <early-warning-zone-size>]"

where:

ParameterDescriptionimage-sizeThe tape size in MBearly-warning-zone-size

The size (in KB) of the space left on the tape when a warning to the OS is issued.

If omitted, 64K is assumed

.

Example:

set PKA geometry[603] = "255/255"

use_io_file_buffering

Parameter

use_io_file_buffering[N]

N is "XXYY" number, where:

XX - SCSI ID (

0..

15)YY - LUN (00..07

32766 (no more than 64 units)

TypeBoolean
Value

When set to "true", instructs CHARON-AXP to enable host operating system I/O cache on reading/writing operations.

(info) Note that this caching has a significant effect only in case of mapping to disk and tape containers, not physcial drives. 

When enabled, host operating system I/O cache may significantly improve I/O performance of the virtual system. At the same time maintaining I/O cache requires additional host resources (CPU and memory) which may negatively affect overall performance of the virtual system.

Initially is set to "false".

Example:

set PKA DIA use_io_file_buffering[603]=true


When a tape or disk image connected to an emulated KZPBA controller is an I/O Bypass controller is dismounted by OpenVMS, it is disconnected from CHARON-AXP and can be manipulated. It can be replaced with a different disk image if it keeps the same name. This capability may be useful when designing back-up and restore procedures. When copying CHARON-AXP disk images while CHARON-AXP is running, please take care to minimize the risk of overloading a heavily loaded CHARON-AXP host system. For example, using a sequential series of simple ftp binary copies is less resource intensive and thus less disruptive than multiple, simultaneous copies.

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CHARON-AXP is able to boot from disk images of any OpenVMS/Alpha and Tru64 version.

...

The virtual KZPBA storage controller examines the file extension (vdisk or vtape) to distinguish between a disk image and a tape image.

...

.

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