HP XP7 Disk Array Configuration Guide (H6F56-96003)

For details on importing and deporting disks, dynamic volume creation and configuration, and
file system creation and configuration, see the HP Scalable NAS File Serving Software Administration
Guide .
Linux
The HP Cluster Gateway and HP Scalable NAS software both use the HP PolyServe software as
their underlying clustering technology and both have similar requirements for XP7 Storage. They
have both been tested with XP7 Storage and this appendix details configuration requirements
specific to XP7 Storage deployments using HP PolyServe Software on Linux.
For details on installing and configuring the HP PolyServe software, see the HP PolyServe Matrix
Server Installation Guide.
For any XP7 Storage-specific requirements, see the Enterprise Scalable NAS Products and Solutions
Compatibility Matrix, which you can download from http://bizsupport2.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/
support/SupportManual/c01336151/c01336151.pdf.
HBA configuration
HP recommends using the HBA drivers specifically supported by the XP7 Storage. Other drivers
will work, but may not produce optimal results during failure or failover situations.
On the HP Cluster Gateway and, typically, on HP Scalable NAS deployments, the HBA driver is
loaded by the HP PolyServe software from the /etc/opt/hpcfs/fc_pcitable file. Set any
driver loading options, such as configuring the QLogic failover driver, in this file.
MPIO software
Configure the HP Cluster Gateway and HP Scalable NAS software running on SuSE SLES9 and
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 4 to use the QLogic failover driver for their host based multipath
I/O software.
Configure the HP Cluster Gateway and HP Scalable NAS software running on SuSE SLES10 and
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Version 5 to use Device Mapper for their host based multipath I/O
software.
Array configuration
LUN presentation
To work correctly with the HP PolyServe clustering technology, all LUNs on the disk array need to
be presented identically to all nodes in the cluster. When using the LUNs for a membership partition,
create a Linux partition table on the LUNs using a tool such as fdisk. If the LUNs are being used
for dynamic volumes or file systems, you do not need to install a partition table on them.
Membership partitions
HP Scalable NAS uses a set of membership partitions to control access to the SAN and to store
the device naming database, which includes the global device names that HP Scalable NAS
assigns to the SAN disks placed under its control. The membership partitions must be placed on
the SAN, not on local storage.
HP Scalable NAS can use either one or three membership partitions, but to ensure that a membership
partition is always available, we strongly recommend that you use three membership partitions.
HP recommends that you create three LUNs for the membership partitions. Each LUN should be a
minimum of 1 GB in size. It is important to partition the membership partition LUNs, which are
represented to the operating system as SD devices, appropriately before HP Scalable NAS is
configured. (For example, use the fdisk or similar tool.)
Snapshots
To take hardware snapshots on XP7 Storage, you must install the latest version of firmware on the
array controllers. Also, the latest versions of Business Copy and Snapshot must also be installed
on the array controllers. On the servers, you must install and configure the latest version of RAID
152 HP Clustered Gateway deployments