ES310-chapter2:Installation

Upon completion of this module, you should be able to:
Describe how the SSVM utilizes disk space
Install the Sun StorEdge Volume Manager 3.x software
Explain the difference between the SSVM vxinstall Quick Installation and Custom Installation options
Initialize the SSVM installation with vxinstall

 

Pre-installation Planning
The software installation process can be a very challenging. The process and method chosen varies with each organization's current configuration and requirements but one variable remains constant:The installation should be carefully planned in advance.

 

One major disadvantage to placing your system disk under SSVM control is that recovery (in the event of a failed root disk) is much more complex.

 

Backups
Not only must you have backups, but you must verify them. Should there be a hardware failure or not enough space to facilitate the upgrade, you must be able to recover or back-out the software. Perform a complete backup immediately prior to the installation process.

 

Software Installation Process
In order to fully understand a Sun StoEdge Volume Manager installation, you must be familiar with the following aspects:
SSVM distribution package names and functions
SSVM package installation method
SSVM package distribution during installation
Option-support packages

 

Software Installation:
The SSVM software packages are installed using the pkgadd command as follows:
# pkgadd -d 'pwd'

 

The vxinstall Option Selection
The Quick Installation is not recommended, as the default action is to encapsulate all disks, including the root disk. This option includes the following features:
Examines all disks connected to the system, and either encapsulates existing partitions(placing these partitions under SSVM's control, leaving them intact and maintaning the integrity of the data),or initializes disks that do not have existing partitions.
Add all disks to the default disk group, rootdg.
Updates /etc/vfstab to ensure that file systems previously mounted on disk partitions will be mounted on volumes instead.

 

SSVM Disk Management
When the Sun StoEdge Volume Management brings disk drives under its control, it creates two regions on the disks:
Private region
Public region

SSVM Environment
During the SSVM installation, software is distributed to several locations. You should be familiar with the following:
Location and function of SSVM startup files

SSVM system boot messages and processes
Location of important binaries and scripts

 

System Startup Processes
vxconfigd:The volume configuration daemon(vxconfiged) is started by the S25vxvm-sysboot script early in the boot process. It needs to be running in order for the SSVM software to function. The default disk group, rootdg, must be configured in order for this daemon to start.
vxrelocd or vxsparecheck:One or the other will be started by the S95vxvm-recover script during the boot process
vxnotify:This daemon is started by either the vxrelocd or the vxsparecheck script file
vxrecover:This daemon can be run by either the S35vxvm-startup1, S85vxvm-startup2, or S95vxvm-recover scripts during a system boot, depending on the need for volume repair.
vmsa_server:The S96vmsa-server script starts the /opt/SUNWvmsa/bin/vmsa_server file in the background. The vmsa_server script starts two Java processes and one cmdserver process.