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Note

In AlphaStation 400 configuration use the following syntax for KGPSA-CA storage adapter loading:

load KGPSA FGA irq_bus = isa


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

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Configuration parameters

The KGPSA-CA PCI FC adapter emulation has the following configuration parameters:

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PresMode
PresMode
storage_controller_path_id

Parameterstorage_controller_path_id 
TypeText String
Value

Instructs the CHARON software to create a set of virtual FC devices and connect to the virtual system through the virtual KGPSA FC Adapter.

(info) (info) 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:

load KGPSA <controller name> storage_controller_path_id = <Storage controller path ID>

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.

Example:

load KGPSA FGA storage_controller_path_id = 5008-05F3-0005-2950-5008-05F3-0005-2951

It is also possible to use wildcards for specifying the ID number, for example:

load KGPSA FGA storage_controller_path_id = 5008-05F3-0005-2950-*-05F3-0005-*

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 uses "active" path (because it works through Windows), if Windows MPIO is OFF, CHARON selects the first matching path (and warns you in the LOG file).

(info) (info) 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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PPT
PPT
host_bus_location

Parameterhost_bus_location
TypeText 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:

load KGPSA <controller name> host_bus_location="PCI bus X, device Y, function Z"

where X, Y, and Z describe location of physical EMULEX LightPulse PCI/PCI-X/PCIe FC adapter in the host computer (see this section for details).

Example:

load KGPSA FGA host_bus_location="PCI bus 3, device 1, function 0"


wwid

Parameter

wwid[N]

N is 0..32766 (no more than 255 units)

TypeText String
Value

Sets WWID for emulated KGPSA adapter unit in case if the WWID can not be obtained directly from the device CHARON is mapped to.

For example in case of disk images or local physical drives CHARON 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:

set <controller name> wwid[unit-number]="XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX"

Example:

set FGA wwid[2]="6008-05F3-0005-2950-BF8E-0B86-A0C7-0001"


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Containers
Containers
container

Parameter

container[N]

N is 0..32766 (no more than 255 units)

TypeText String
Value

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

  • Physical disk
    • "\\.\PhysicalDrive<X>", where X is 0, 1, … 
      (warning) (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. 
      (info) (info) In this mode WWID is generated by CHARON and UDID is defined by the index of the "container" parameter. 
      Example:

      set FGA container[0]=”\\.\PhysicalDrive1"


      Note

      In case "\\.\PhysicalDrive<N>" points to some external iSCSI or FC disk note that the disks re-enumeration may appear on CHARON host reboot, for example an external disk originally referenced as "\\.\PhysicalDrive3" may become "\\.\PhysicalDrive1" etc. Especially it is important in shared disks cluster configurations!

       So it is stricty recommended to use "Mapping by WWID" / "Mapping iSCSI disks" ways of mapping in these situations (see below). The mapping by using "storage_controller_path_id" (see above) is acceptable as well, since it is not re-enumerating LUNs on each re-boot or CHARON restart.

      .

  • Physical disk by its WWID
    • "\\.\PhysicalDrive(DevID =XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX)"
      (warning) (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.
      DevID addresses the target physical disk by its WWID (hexadecimal 128-bit identifier assigned to the disk drive by its manufacturer/originator).
      (info) (info) In this mode WWID is generated by CHARON and UDID is defined by the index of the "container" parameter.
      Example:


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      set FGA container[100]="\\.\PhysicalDrive(DevID= 6008-05F3-0005-2950-BF8E-0B86-A0C7-0001)"


      The WWID values can be obtained from "Host Device Check" utility ("All drives" section), for example:

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  • iSCSI disks
    • "\\.\PhysicalDrive(iSCSITarget = <iSCSI target>, LUN = <LUN number>)"
      iSCSITarget addresses the disk by its iSCSI target name. LUN specifies LUN on connected iSCSI disk.
      (info) (info) In this mode WWID is generated by CHARON and UDID is defined by the index of the "container" parameter.
      Example:


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      set FGA container[200]="\\.\PhysicalDrive(iSCSITarget= iqn.2008-04:iSCSI.charon-target-test1, LUN= 1)"


      .

  • 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 "MkDisk" utility. Data and OS disks backups are transferred from the original system via tapes or network and restored into these container files. 

      Mapping may also include the full path (recommended), for example: "C:\My disks\my_boot_disk.vdisk"
      Example:

      set FGA container[401]="my_dka401.vdisk"


      Warning

      Using compressed folders to store virtual disks and tapes is not supported

      .

(info) (info) 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)

TypeText String
Value

Instructs CHARON-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-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:

set FGA media_type[0]="HSZ70"


removable

Parameter

removable[N]

N is 0..32766 (no more than 255 units)

TypeBoolean
Value

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

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

Example:

set FGA removable[400]=true



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geometry

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Parameter

use_io_file_buffering[N]

N is 0..32766 (no more than 255 units)

TypeText String
Value

Instructs CHARON-AXP to enable host operating system I/O cache on reading/writing operations.

The following values are possible:

  • "true" or "write-back" - the "write back" caching mode is used
  • "write-through" - the "write through" caching mode is used

  • "false" - caching is switched off

(info) (info) 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:

set FGA use_io_file_buffering[300]=true


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ModeDescriptionProsCons
Fabric virtualization mode

Virtual KGPSA-CA PCI FC adapter is mapped to physical disks (both local, FC and iSCSI) and disk images

(info) (info) This is default mode, suitable for most cases

  • High I/O performance using modern local SSD disks.
  • Requires CHARON-AXP reconfiguration and restart on any change to the mapped disk images and physical drives
  • Disk images cannot be used in case of Tru64 cluster, but acceptable for OpenVMS cluster.
"Presentation" mode

CHARON-AXP automatically creates/removes a set of virtual FC devices on a virtual KGPSA-CA FC adapter correspondent to available external SAN LUNs

(info) (info) This mode is recommended in case of working with SAN that may change LUN configuration - so CHARON-AXP will reflect it on-fly w/o reconfiguration and restarting.

  • No reconfiguration and restart of CHARON-AXP is needed on change to the virtual FC drives provided as LUNs by the connected SAN.
  • Effectively any SAN FC system could be used, that means newer, faster, larger, FC HBA controllers and device drivers supported by newer, faster host server platforms and operating systems - it offers significant performance capabilities and performance improvements.
  • Target configurations are restricted to the SAN models capable to work with HW Alphas (for example aquiring UDID must be supported in case of OpenVMS).
    This restriction comes from the fact that different SAN controllers could have different level of SCSI-3 protocol support, and if apparently some individual SAN model does not properly support complete set of SCSI-3 commands used by OpenVMS & Tru64  KGPSA-CA drivers, then with high probability such SAN Controller will not be able to work with CHARON-AXP in "presentation" (as well as in Pass Through) Mode.
Pass Through mode

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

(info) (info) This mode is recommended for cluster setups that include HW Alphas

  • High performance
  • Support of shared disks and cluster configuration that includes HW Alphas
  • Cannot be used in VMware environment
  • Obsolete PCI-X cards are not available anymore, HBA list is restricted to several EMULEX HBA models only. No way to use HBA from other vendors.
  • Target configurations are restricted to SAN models capable to work with HW Alphas.
  • As EMULEX LightPulse PCI/PCI-X/PCIe FC adapters have been never used on Alphas, formally there is a probability that some compatibility problems may be detected.

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set FGA container[0]="C:\My disks\my_dka401.vdisk"
set FGA container[100]="\\.\PhysicalDrive1"
set FGA container[200]="\\.\PhysicalDrive(DevID= 6008-05F3-0005-2950-BF8E-0B86-A0C7-0001)"
set FGA container[300]="\\.\PhysicalDrive(iSCSITarget= iqn.2008-04:iSCSI.charon-target-test1, LUN= 1)"

(warning)(warning) Use only "Mapping by WWID" and "Mapping iSCSI disks" syntax in case of the mapped physical disk located on some external disk controller (SAN, etc) since the "\\.\PhysicalDrive<N>" re-enumeration may happen on CHARON host reboot.

(info)(info) Note that WWID and UDID is generated by CHARON in its mode. It may be important in case of shared disks cluster configurations.

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Info

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 obtains these properties from the LUN (within the limits established by Windows), so LUNs should appear similar to all cluster members.

(info)(info) 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.

(info)(info) 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)!

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load KGPSA FGA host_bus_location = "PCI bus 3, device 1, function 0"

(warning)(warning) Non-US-EN installations of Windows may present “Location:” string in local language, but "host_bus_location" parameter requires English notation, so the words “PCI”, “bus”, “device”, and “function” must be specified in English.

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