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Every instance of KGPSA-CA works in one of the three following modes:
- Fabric virtualization mode 55203975669364 (mapping to disk images and host/SAN physical disks). This is default mode.
- Usage of "presentation mode" of external storage controllers to automatically configure KGPSA-CA disks correspondent to the LUNs provided by the external storages
- Pass Through mode 55203975669364 (using a specific CHARON PCI Pass Through driver to work through the EMULEX LightPulse PCI/PCI-X/PCIe FC adapter plugged into host)
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Configuration parameters
The KGPSA-CA PCI FC adapter emulation has the following configuration parameters:
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Parameter | storage_controller_path_id |
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Type | Text String |
Value | Instructs the CHARON VM -AXP to create a set of virtual FC devices and connect to the virtual system through the virtual KGPSA FC Adapter. In this mode WWID and UDID values are taken from the storage controller directly. Note that some storage controllers may not support aquiring UDID, in this case this way of mapping cannot be used in case of OpenVMS (Tru64 Unix is Ok)! Syntax:
where the "Storage controller path ID" parameter is a storage (for example SAN) controller path ID. This ID can be obtained from the "Host Device Check" utility ("Storage Controllers" section). Once specified, all the disks attached to the storage are automatically mapped as disk units to CHARON VM-AXP. Example:
It is also possible to use wildcards for specifying the ID number: Example:
In this case CHARON will collect the LUNs from all the matching paths. This syntax works disregarding whether Windows MPIO is active or not. If it is active, CHARON VM -AXP uses "active" path (because it works through Windows), if Windows MPIO is OFF, CHARON VM -AXP selects the first matching path (and warns you in the LOG file). Note that LUNs obtained by usage of "storage_controller_path_id" parameter is not re-enumerated on reboot, so this mode is possible to use in case of shared disks clusters. |
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Parameter | host_bus_location |
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Type | Text String |
Value | Establish connection between virtual DEC-KGPSA-CA PCI FC adapter and physical EMULEX LightPulse PCI/PCI-X/PCIe FC adapter (pass through mode) Syntax:
where X, Y, and Z describe location of physical EMULEX LightPulse PCI/PCI-X/PCIe FC adapter in the host computer (see 55203975669364 for details). Example:
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wwid
Parameter | wwid[N] N is 0..32766 (no more than 255 units) |
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Type | Text String |
Value | Sets WWID for emulated KGPSA adapter unit in case if the WWID can not be obtained directly from the device CHARON VM -AXP is mapped to. For example in case of disk images or local physical drives CHARON VM -AXP cannot get its WWID from the the host system, so it is automaticaly introduce some generated WWID. In case if this WWID is not acceptable it can be replaced with the custom one using the "wwid" parameter. Syntax:
Example:
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Parameter | container[N] N is 0..32766 (no more than 255 units) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Type | Text String | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Value | Possible values of the parameter are strings in one of the following forms:
This parameter is initially not set, thus creating NO storage elements on the controller.. |
media_type
Parameter | media_type[N] N is 0..32766 (no more than 255 units) |
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Type | Text String |
Value | Instructs CHARON VM -AXP to use the supplied value as the PRODUCT field in the FC INQUIRY data returned to a software running on virtual HP Alpha system in response to FC INQUIRY command. If not specified, CHARON VM -AXP attempts to guess the FC INQUIRY data based on virtual FC device type and underlying container (which is specified in the corresponding container configuration parameter). Initially is not specified. Example: |
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removable
Parameter | removable[N] N is 0..32766 (no more than 255 units) |
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Type | Boolean |
Value | When set to "true", the removable configuration parameter instructs CHARON VM -AXP to report the corresponding virtual FC device as removable. By default the removable configuration parameter is set to "false". Example: |
geometry
Parameter | geometry [N] N is 0..32766 (no more than 255 units) | ||
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Type | Text String | ||
Value | This formatted string value specifies the explicit geometry of the disk storage element. The string format is <X>”/”<Y>[“/”<Z>][“/”<B>] or <X>”,”<Y>[“,”<Z>][“,”<B>] where:
If this parameter is not set, CHARON VM -AXP will configure the geometry based on the most probable disk type. Initially not set. Example:
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Parameter | use_io_file_buffering[N] N is 0..32766 (no more than 255 units) |
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Type | Text String |
Value | Instructs CHARON VM -AXP to enable host operating system I/O cache on reading/writing operations. The following values are possible:
Note this caching has a significant effect only in case of mapping to disk containers, not physical 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:
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There are 3 modes of KGPSA-CA mapping to system resources:
Mode | Description | Pros | Cons |
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Virtual KGPSA-CA PCI FC adapter is mapped to physical disks (both local, FC and iSCSI) and disk images This is default mode, suitable for most cases |
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"Presentation" mode | CHARON VM -AXP automatically creates/removes a set of virtual FC devices on a virtual KGPSA-CA FC adapter correspondent to available external SAN LUNs This mode is recommended in case of working with SAN that may change LUN configuration - so CHARON VM -AXP will reflect it on-fly w/o reconfiguration and restarting. |
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This mode allows connection between virtual KGPSA-CA FC adapter and physical EMULEX LightPulse PCI/PCI-X/PCIe FC adapter plugged into host’s PCI/PCI-X/PCIe slot This mode is recommended for cluster setups that include HW Alphas |
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Note that WWID and UDID is generated by CHARON VM -AXP in its mode. It may be important in case of shared disks cluster configurations.
See the "Containers55203975669364" section for details.
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CHARON-AXP can utilize so called "presentation mode" of the storage controller it maps to.
In this mode CHARON VM -AXP creates a set of virtual FC devices and connects to the SAN system through the virtual KGPSA FC adapter.
The main benefit of this mode is a flexible way of CHARON-AXP virtual disks management depending on the mapped storage controller configuration. LUN parameters of any available to CHARON host storage controller specified in CHARON VM -AXP configuration file via "storage_controller_path_id" parameter are automatically scanned and then assigned as ‘virtual’ FC drives which guest OS can see, no need to manually change/redefine/modify virtual LUN parameters in emulator.
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In "presentation mode" CHARON-AXP supports the following operations with FC disks (similar to ones supported in KGPSA FC Pass Through mode) w/o need of CHARON VM -AXP restart:
- Dynamically allocation (retranslation) of new created SAN LUN to virtual Alpha configuration
- Scan and translation of SAN LUN parameters to virtual Alpha’s KGPSA DGxx: virtual drive parameters
- Propagation of SAN LUN size change to virtual Alpha’s KGPSA virtual drive parameters
- Automatically deallocation from virtual Alpha deleted SAN LUN
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Once specified, all the disks attached to the storage are automatically mapped as disk units to CHARON VM-AXP.
It is also possible to use wildcards for specifying the ID number:
load KGPSA FGA storage_controller_path_id = 5008-05F3-0005-2950-*-05F3-0005-* |
In this case CHARON VM -AXP will collect the LUNs from all the matching paths.
This syntax works disregarding whether Windows MPIO is active or not. If it is active, CHARON VM -AXP uses "active" path (because it works through Windows), if Windows MPIO is OFF, CHARON VM -AXP selects the first matching path (and warns you in the LOG file).
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Usage of LUNs in cluster configuration: Note that PATHs (on OpenVMS level) do not affect OpenVMS cluster. What really makes sense is LUN size, geometry, WWI, etc. CHARON VM -AXP obtains these properties from the LUN (within the limits established by Windows), so LUNs should appear similar to all cluster members. |
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Note that the WWID and UDID are automatically obtained from disk server (SAN) in this mode - it is very convenient in case of shared disks cluster configurations. Also note that some storage controllers may not support aquiring UDID - in this case this way of mapping cannot be used in case of OpenVMS (Tru64 Unix is Ok)!
See the "Presentation mode" section for details.
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Supported | Not Supported | Not tested |
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LP8000 | LPe1150 (FC2142SR, A8002A) | LPe11000 |
Also see the "host_bus_location" section for details
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Once the configuration steps described above are done, start the CHARON VM -AXP and wait for the P00>>> prompt.
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