In using the GUI program with the Volume Manager, when you choose the
menu options Basic Operation/Create/RAID, you're given a form to
specify size, etc. The bottom of the form asks you to if you want to
create a filesystem and the mount point. In choosing this, I thought
it would build the filesystem. BUT it doesn't. It creates the
volume, puts in the plexes and considers it then RAID (in my case) and
you get this great icon representation.
The option Create Filesystem is a separate choice under Basic
Operations. When choosen, it grays out the volume icon for the
volume you selected to build a filesystem and doesn't really appear
to be doing anything. Since I was creating a filesystem on a 57gig
array ... well, I just didn't wait long enough. The patience factor
set in and I would exit the program and try to find a problem or
another way of getting my filesystem created and mounted.
Doing a newfs outside of the GUI program resulted in the filesystem
error that it wasn't in the kernel. That would be the VxFS.
I'm sure the CLI commands using vxassist work great, as does the GUI.
Just got to figure the time factor and know that the create filesystem
is another option.
Thanks to everyone who helped me. I emailed a few of them with more
information as I went on and I have that posted in the last response
just in case it could help someone else. My original question is
listed at the end.
Thanks to the following for their help!!
John Boland
Ross Hefland
Darren Dunham
Mike Youngberg
and Val
====================================================================
Responses:
====================================================================
i'm sure a thousand people are going to ask you this:
did you reboot after installing volume manager?
>>>>>> yeah, did this with the boot -r
a couple of things to look for:
my systems that are running volume manager having the following
entries in /etc/system:
* vxvm_START
forceload: drv/vxio
forceload: drv/vxspec
forceload: drv/sd
forceload: drv/QLGC,isp
forceload: drv/sbus
rootdev:/pseudo/vxio@0:0
set vxio:vol_rootdev_is_volume=1
* vxvm_END
these entries should have been added during the install (;>))
also, check the firmware revision on your sparc array, should be
greater than 3.11.
hope this helps
>>>>>>> didn't get far enough to look for this, but I'll hang onto
that information and look just to see if it's there.
------------------------------
I'm not sure about the Oracle stuff, but I might be able to help with
VM. Unless you told it explicitly when you created the volume, you
will have to make the new file system. Run newfs/makefs on the new
virtual device (newfs /dev/vx/dsk/vol01), make your mount point, then
mount the device.
>>>>>> tried this one. that's when I got the "filesystem not in
kernel" error....
Hmmm. We're running Volume Manager 2.3, but I would imagine it's
about the same.
In the GUI you choose Basic-Ops, Volume Operations, Create, Raid-5.
You get the RAID-5 Volume/FS Create form, right? The bottom half
of that form lets you create the file system while you're creating
the volume, but it isn't automatic.
I'm not really sure why you wouldn't be able to create a file system
manually though. I'm pretty new to UNIX, so there may be some
problems that are a little over my head!
>>>>>>> right on target!!!! creating the filesystem isn't automatic,
but sure appears it would be.
------------------------------
Did you halt the system, then boot -r ? If yes, veritas had not
installed properly.(BTW , if possible go to 2.5)
>>>>>>> yeah, booted the system properly. I'm unsure what the
difference(s) are between Sun Enterprise VM 2.4 and Veritas Volume
Manager. I'm going to have to look up the documentation to see what
the difference is. We just purchased the Sun VM a few months ago,
I'll also check to see if there is a 2.5 version. Thanks.
------------------------------
Sound's like you're using the GUI for 'create filesystem' and you have
'vxfs' checked. While Sun supplies Vertias' volume manager, it does
not supply the VxFS filesystem. That is a separate product from
Veritas.
You can still create a UFS filesystem on the device, or let Oracle use
the raw device without a filesystem at all.
>>>>>>> right on target. VxFS is a separate filesystem. I just stuck
with the one that the GUI program created. I guess the VxFS is some
sort of accelerated filesystem .....
------------------------------
You don't need to rebuild. Just reboot after installation which it
sounds like you've done.
That's fine. That's what we do. (We use RAID 0+1 -- not RAID 5).
>>>>>>> really appreciate hearing from you, especially since you use
Oracle on that array.
I emailed Mike with more information:
>Thank you for responding!! I really appreciate at least knowing that
>I'm on the right thought track for the array.
>Since I posted my question, I found that I needed to do the filesystem
>manually for some reason .... I think the gui would have worked, I
>just wasn't patient enough for it to happen. Yesterday I did the
>newfs and after 2-1/2 hrs of just getting the superblock numbers
>printed out, I aborted it. (It's a 57gig system).
This will take a while... If you want a 57GB VM vol start the newfs and go
home. My guess is 3-8 hours for this.
>I've decided to build it as three separate volumes, u02, u03 and u04
>... leaving the u01/system part on the boot disk. RAID 5 on the three
>volumes on the array. I haven't read the Oracle recommendations yet.
>Since you have it, can you let me know if I'm still on the right track?
I think that's fine.
>My only last question would be whether or not Oracle likes raw
>partitions.
I dunno, but I believe it (Oracle) can be configured to use raw
partitions. You should really check with Oracle on that. We use
Oracle 7.3.3 on a vxfs partition of 12-24GB. Works fine and
performance is not an issue (yet).
[vxfs really speeds up fsck. You don't want to fsck a 57GB file system
or even (3) 20 GB file systems. That would not be pleasant.]
So anyway, we use Oracle 7.3.3, Sol 2.5.1, VXVM, and VXFS, and other stuff.
It works.
====================================================================
original question(s):
====================================================================
I've got Volume Manager 2.4 installed on Solaris 2.5.1. I must not
have it installed properly because it won't let me make a filesystem
on it (says it isn't in the kernel) so I can mount it. It shows as
enabled and started as a RAID5 and looks good otherwise. 18 total
disks in the group, two as logs. So there is Vol01 in rootdg (the
default) with Vol01-01 and Vol01-02 for the log plexes.
My ultimate goal is to put an Oracle database onto the storage array.
My questions: Am I supposed to rebuild the kernal or shouldn't the
pkgadd and vxinstall have handled that? Did I miss a step or what??
As for the Oracle, I am planning to put the database on the storage
array, not bootable. Not sure that's the best idea and need to study
it more, but would appreciate someone's Solaris/Oracle experience if
they would share.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated and I will definately
summarize.
Melissa Brown
Systems Administrator
EDSI(BDM), DSAT
JITC at Fort Huachuca
(520) 538-4274
====================================================================
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