HBA Login to FA Port

In general, we have the AIX admins run a cfgmgr command to rescan the busses for connections. If the HBA is not logged in to any switch ports or array FAs this usually resolves it for us.

However, I am not a UNIX guru and I don't know if there is a better way to handle this. I just know what works for me. For all I know I may be asking them to do this and they could be laughing their heads off and doing something entirely different (and correct). I doubt it, but you never know

cfgmgr should do it ..i am part-time aix admin and whenever i zone an AIX box to another array, i have to run cfgmgr to force to login.

On the DMX4 where the HBA is not logged in, do you have other HBA's currently logged in? If you don't, you may have an issue between the switch and the FA.

AIX admin run CFGMGR, now we are logged back int the FA port, but the host still reports that the path is down. We do have this HBA active to a 2nd array, as well the FA pport has the other half of this AIX cluster functioning fine. Seems these two items eliminate the fiber, HBA, switch ports and FA ports, at least on the surface.

His response from IBM are all that there is a failed component in the SAN, not sure I can agree with this knowing all the other items are working, but not going to rule anything completely out.

Brian, I'm sending you an e-mail to gather some information so I can take a look for you.

I'm going to defer to one of the other participants who are more familiar with AIX on how to best interpret the output. I know what I would do if you were running Powerpath, but it sounds like you are not.

LOL - Sounds like a typical IBM/Server Support answer. Everyone used to blame things on Network & Server, but now that Storage is a seperate discipline we seem to get blamed for everything first

Have you checked to see if AIX created a new path for this connection and is just reporting the old one as dead? Are you using PowerPath, MPIO, or some other multipathing?

Do you know the process to follow to check to see if the host created a new path. I do not have a high level of confidence the particular AIX admin I am dealing with will know.

Well, that is different then. Run "powermt display dev=all" and check the paths on any of the DMX devices.

You should be able to see if there is a new "alive" path which has replaced an "dead" path. If you still don't see your new path, go back and double check the masking for this one HBA through this FA. I'm going to assume that the mapping is correct since it sounds like you can see the devices properly through the other host in the cluster. If my assumption is wrong, then double-check your mapping too.

We are running power path

In issues I've run into previously regarding powerpath and AIX there has always been an 'emc_cfgmgr' command which works similarly to cfgmgr but also brings devices into powerpath devices.


"Upgrade to EMC_AIX_ODM file set 4.3.3.2 or higher.

The utility "emc_cfgmgr", which come with this newer ODM, will now configure all BCV (TimeFinder) devices down all paths correctly before it placing them in a "Defined" state. Once all hdisk and hdiskpower devices are re-configured using the newer "emc_cfgmgr", the utility "mkbcv -a" will cause ALL BCV hdisk **AND** hdiskpower entries to go "Available"."

I've seen cases (bad HBA or transient failure) when you have to power off/power on the HBA and it forces the HBA to login. If I remember corectly the command was "diag"

I was able to work with Brian on this offline. From the Symm we could see the HBA so we knew the zoning was good, but the HBA was not fully logged into the FA. To correct, the HBA was disabled then removed from PowerPath. Then thru diags the hot plug manager was used to cycle the port. This made the HBA send a FLOGI down the switch and login to the Symm.

Marking as answered due to working with Brian offline and knowing that the issue is resolved.

Hello,

  Just run the command again, should resolve the issue.

Hope this helps,

   Nollaig