HP StorageWorks

Using the QLogic HBA driver for

single-path or multipath failover mode
on Linux systems
application notes

Part number: AA-RVGWF-TE

Fifth edition: April 2006
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About this document
This section describes the following topics:
• Application notes information, page 3
• Intended audience, page 3
• Accessing future product updates, page 3
• Other documentation, page 3

Application notes information

These application notes describe the following topics:
• New features, page 3
• Supported hardware and software, page 4
• Installing the QLogic HBA driver, page 4
• Removing the QLogic driver, page 5
• Changing driver parameters, page 6
• Understanding QLogic failover, page 7
• Using QLogic failover with different storage system types, page 8
• Using the QLogic HBA driver on a system with other multipathing products, page 9
• Active/active EVA and autorestore, page 9
• Troubleshooting HSV210 devices on Linux, page 10

Intended audience
This document is intended for customers who are using the QLogic host bus adapter (HBA) driver in
failover mode on a system running Linux® operating software.

Accessing future product updates

HP strongly recommends that customers sign up online using the Subscriber’s choice web site:
http://www.hp.com/go/e-updates.
• Subscribing to this service provides you with e-mail updates on the latest product enhancements,
newest versions of drivers, and firmware documentation updates, as well as instant access to
numerous other product resources.
• After signing up, you can quickly locate your products by selecting Business support and then Storage
under Product Category.

Other documentation
Additional documentation, including white papers and best-practices documents, is available on the HP
web site: http://www.hp.com.

New features
This release provides support for the following new features.
• HP StorageWorks 3000/5000 Enterprise Virtual Array Active/Active (EVA3000/5000 A/A)
• Dynamic load balancing
• Auto restore

Using the QLogic HBA driver for single-path or multipath failover mode on Linux systems 3
Supported hardware and software
Table 1 lists supported hardware and software.

NOTE:
Depending on the storage array, existing Secure Path customers can transfer the path failover to the
QLogic HBA driver. For more information, see the HP StorageWorks LUN migration and persistence
utilities application notes.

Table 1 Supported hardware and software

Component Description
HBAs FCA2214DC — PN 321835-B21 (x86 only)
A7538A
A6826A (ia64 only)
BL20P FC Mezzanine card — PN 300874-B21
BL30P FC Balcony card — PN 354054-B21
BL25P Mezzanine card — PN 381881-B21
BL35P Balcony card
FC1142SR PCI-X — PN AE311A
FC1242SRDC PCI-X — PN AE312A
Storage systems EVA3000/5000
EVA4000/6000/8000
MSA1000/1500
XP128/1024/12000
Linux 7.xx Red Hat® Advanced Server 2.1, i86, ia64
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 (Service Pack 3 or later) i386, ia64, x86_64
Red Hat® Linux 3.0, i386, ia64, x86_64
Linux 8.xx SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9, x86, x86_64, ia64
Red Hat Linux 4 x86, x86_64, ia64

Driver versions
If an EVA4000/6000/8000 storage system resides in a storage area network (SAN), the minimum
driver version is 7.05.00a for 2.4 kernels and 8.00.02a for 2.6 kernels.
For an EVA3000/5000 active-active storage system, the minimum driver version is 7.07.03 for 2.4
kernels and 8.01.03 for 2.6 kernels.

Installing the QLogic HBA driver

You can use an installation script to install the QLogic HBA driver (see "Using the scripted
installation" on page 5), or you can install the driver manually (see "Using the manual
installation" on page 5).
Download the new driver from the HP storage web site:
http://h18006.www1.hp.com/storage/saninfrastructue.html

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Setting up driver parameters
Before you install the driver, set up the driver parameters using the set_parm.2x script for your kernel
type:
• For 2.4 kernels, use set_parm.24.
• For 2.6 kernels, use set_parm.26.
See Table 2 on page 7 for a list of parameters.

Using the scripted installation

NOTE:
You must install the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) and the kernel source files to use the scripted
installation.

The INSTALL script installs the following Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) files:
• QLA driver hp_qla2x00src RPM
• Fibre Channel utilities (fibreutils) RPM for the x86, x86_64, or ia64 architecture
You can use the INSTALL script for system configurations that meet any of the following conditions:
• No previous driver or platform kit was installed.
• The configuration was installed with an earlier version of hp_qla2x00src RPM.
• The configuration was installed with a platform kit that includes the qla2x00 binary RPM.
If you use the INSTALL command without specifying options, it installs the driver in either failover mode,
or non-failover mode, depending on the mode of the currently installed driver.
The following example shows the INSTALL command for single-path mode:
# ./INSTALL
To install the driver in multipath failover mode, use the INSTALL command with the -f option. For
example:
# ./INSTALL -f

Using the manual installation

You can customize the installation by using the RPM command to select individual RPM packages:
• To install the driver package and the fibreutils package, enter the following commands:
# rpm -ivh hp_qla2x00src-version-revision.noarch.rpm
# rpm –ivh fibreutils-version-revision.architecture.rpm
• To install the hp_qla2x00src RPM without running the driver build scripts, enter the following
command:
# rpm -ivh -noscripts hp_qla2x00src-version-revision.noarch.rpm
• To manually upgrade the RPMs, enter the following commands:
# rpm -uvh hp_qla2x00src-version-revision.noarch.rpm
# rpm -uvh fibreutils-version-revision.architecture.rpm

Removing the QLogic HBA driver

You can use an installation script to remove the QLogic HBA driver, or you can remove components
manually.
To remove the driver and Fibre Channel utilities, use the INSTALL script with the -u option:

Using the QLogic HBA driver for single-path or multipath failover mode on Linux systems 5
 # ./INSTALL -u
You can remove one, two, or all components manually by entering the appropriate commands:
• To remove the fibreutils package, enter the following command:
# rpm -e fibreutils
• To remove the # rpm -e hp_qla2x00 package, enter the following command:
# rpm -e hp_qla2x00
• To remove all components, enter the following command:
# rpm -e hp_qla2x00src

Changing driver parameters

HP sets the following parameter values in the nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) of the QLogic adapters:
• Port down retry count (qlport_down_retry)
• Login retry count (qlogin_retry_count)
• Queue depth (ql2xmaxqdepth)
• Failover (ql2xfailover)
• Load balancing type (ql2xlbType)
• Exclude model (ql2xexcludemodel)
• Auto restore (ql2xautorestore)

Port down retry count

The port down retry count (qlport_down_retry) parameter sets the number of retries that the
driver attempts before declaring the port down. Depending upon your configuration, ensure that the
values are set as follows:
• Single Path: 64
• Secure Path: 1
• For QLogic failover mode, the value depends on the kernel:
• For 7.x: 3
• For 8.x: 30

Login retry count

The login retry count (qlogin_retry_count) parameter sets the number of logins the driver attempts
before declaring the port down. Ensure that this parameter is set to one of the following values:
• For 7.x: 16
• For 8.x: 30

Queue depth
The queue depth parameter (q12xmaxqdepth) sets the length of the command queue for each logical
unit number (LUN). Valid values are from 1 to 256; however, setting the value too high can cause storage
saturation problems. HP recommends that you set this parameter to 16.

Failover
The failover parameter (ql2xfailover) turns the QLogic driver failover on or off. A value of 0
disables failover; and a value of 1 enables failover.

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 Enabling failover automatically sets the following parameters:
• Load balancing type(ql2xlbType)—The driver attempts to distribute LUNs evenly across
known active paths.
• Exclude model (ql2xexcludemodel—The driver exports certain devices as non-failover
devices. This parameter is used only if Secure Path is installed.
• Auto Restore (ql2xautorestore)—The QLogic failover driver attempts to failback active
I/Os to the preferred path.
The /etc/hp_qla2x00.conf file contains the failover parameter values. HP recommends that you do
not edit this file directly; the preferred method is to use the set_parm script.

Using the set_parm script

You can change the driver parameter values by using the set_parm script in either the
/opt/hp/src/hp_qla2x00src directory or the /opt/hp/hp_qla2x00 directory, depending which
RPM you have installed. Table 2 describes the driver parameter values.
You can also set the driver parameters manually using the set_parm command with the manual option.

NOTE:
If you change parameter values manually in the file, you must build a new initrd file by running the
edit_conf and make_initrd scripts before the new values take effect.

Table 2 Driver parameters

Parameter Switch Description
Single Path -s Connect through one path to the storage without any
redundancy.
Secure Path -m Use the Secure Path software for multipathing and failover.
QLogic Failover -x Use the multipathing and failover functionality built into the
qla2x00 RPM.

Understanding QLogic failover

The section describes the behavior of the QLogic failover driver.

Failover
The QLogic failover driver enables I/O to move from a failed path to a secondary path in a configuration
with multiple I/O paths to supported HP StorageWorks arrays.

Failback
If the secondary path fails after a failover, the QLogic failover driver enables I/O to move to another
path, which can be the original path if its functionality has been restored.

NOTE:
The secondary path must fail for failback to occur. I/O does not resume on the primary path
automatically when it is restored unless the auto restore feature is enabled.

Using the QLogic HBA driver for single-path or multipath failover mode on Linux systems 7
Failover path
When a path fails, the QLogic failover driver attempts to use another path with the same device types.
For example, if an HBA fails, the QLogic driver attempts to route the I/O through another HBA to the
same controller.

Preferred path
You can specify the path to a physical device that I/O uses. I/O uses the preferred path unless that
path fails.

NOTE:
Preferred paths are supported on the XP arrays, EVA4000/6000/8000 and EVA3000/5000 AA. To
set the preferred path, use the QLogic SANsurfer software.

Load balancing
Load balancing keeps all active paths equally busy by determining which path I/O takes. There are
two types of load balancing:
• Static load balancing—You specify manually which I/O path to use.
• Dynamic load balancing—An algorithm determines which I/O path to use.

NOTE:
To set the dynamic load balancing I/O, use QLogic SANsurfer software.

Using QLogic failover with different storage system types

You must follow specific storage system procedures when using QLogic failover. The procedure that
you use depends on your storage system type.

Using QLogic failover with EVA3000/5000 storage systems

If you are using the built-in failover functionality of the QLogic driver, set the failover preference to Path A
Failover or Path B Failover in the Management Appliance host settings. Failure to do so can cause I/O
errors when a failover occurs.

NOTE:
Set the host mode to Sun Solaris. Failure to do so can result in discovery errors.

Using QLogic failover with MSA1000/1500 storage systems

If you are using the built-in failover functionality of the QLogic driver, set the host mode to Linux. Failure
to do so can cause I/O errors when a failover occurs.

HSG80 storage systems

QLogic failover is not supported on HSG80 storage systems.

8
Using the QLogic HBA driver on a system with other
multipathing products
When you add new EVA4000/6000/8000 LUNs to a host that also presents LUNs to a legacy storage
system managed by Secure Path, you must update the QLogic driver and utilities.
To update the QLogic driver and utilities that support EVA4000/6000/8000:
1. Enter the /opt/hp/src/hp_qla2x00src/set_parm command to set the driver parameters.
2. Select option 2, Secure Path. Enter No, when prompted to create a new initrd file.
3. Enter 1 for option 4, Failover.
4. Export models to 6. Enter Yes, when prompted to create a new initrd file.
5. Select option 5, Quit.
6. Enter the /opt/hp/hp_fibreutils/pbl/pbl_inst.sh –i command for the 2.4 kernels
SCSI blacklist that does not include the HSV210 arrays.
This step is required for EVA XL LUN discovery to occur at system boot.
7. Reboot the system, and then verify that Secure Path is working.
8. Add your EVA4000/6000/8000 storage system to the SAN.

NOTE:
To ensure that the LUNs are listed in sequential order, list your EVA4000/6000/8000 storage
system before the lower switch port numbers of the legacy storage system managed by Secure Path.

9. Reboot the system, and then verify that the QLogic and Secure Path LUNs are present and
accessible.

NOTE:
Running hp_rescan and probe-luns script is not supported on systems with Secure Path. To
discover newly added devices, reboot the system.

Active/active EVA and autorestore

Autorestore occurs when the I/O path is restored to its original, preferred path. Usually, if the preferred
path is disrupted, the I/O moves to an alternate path. The I/O stays on this path until that alternate path
is disrupted. With autorestore enabled, I/O returns to the original preferred path when that original path
is restored to a normal working state.
With the QLogic failover driver, autorestore has to be enabled on each device (array) type.

Enabling autorestore for EVA

To enable autorestore for EVA active/active devices:
1. Open the /etc/modprobe.conf file for 2.6 kernel systems or /etc/modules.conf file for
2.4 kernel systems.
2. Locate the following lines that begins with:
• For 2.6 kernel systems, the line begins with options qla2xxx
• For 2.4 kernel systems, the line begins with options qla2300
3. Change the parameter ql2xautorestore=0xXXto ql2xautorestore=0x20.
The XX is the original value.
4. Save and close the file.

Using the QLogic HBA driver for single-path or multipath failover mode on Linux systems 9
 5. Run the /opt/hp/src/hp_qla2x00src/make_initrd script to implement the driver
parameters changes and to persist the changes through reboots.
6. Reload the QLogic driver modules or reboot.

Autorestore and other devices

If you enabled autorestore for other arrays, you must add their values with the value for EVA active/active
devices.
For example, if MSA active/active autorestore is enabled, the value for ql2xautorestore is 0x80. To
enable autorestore for both MSA active/active and EVA active/active devices, add the two parameters
together as follows:
0x20 + 0x80 = 0xA0
Therefore, the parameter value is now: autorestore=0xa0.

Troubleshooting HSV210 devices on Linux

In some of the earlier updates for Linux, the blacklist or HSV210 device list that is required by the
SCSI midlayer of the Linux kernel does not exist. Blacklist or device list can prevent Linux from
detecting listed devices during system boot. If you have trouble detecting these devices, run the
/opt/hp/hp_fibreutils/probe-luns script during system boot.
• Enter the following commands to install the probe-luns startup code:
# cd /opt/hp/hp_fibreutils/pbl
# ./pbl_inst.sh -i
• Enter the following commands to remove the probe-luns startup code:
# cd /opt/hp/hp_fibreutils/pbl
# ./pbl_inst.sh -u

NOTE:
If you are able to detect the devices, do not run probe-luns at system boot.

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