FastT500 Issue 1

[samurai123]

Hello All,

I am dealing with a problem where SMClient is not able to communicate with either of the controllers. We tried using Admin host and direct network connections to controllers. It just says unable to add when you try to add each controller using their IP address.

We can able to rlogin to the controllers and they are responding to ping on the network. They are online and working normal.

Any idea?

Thanks in advance

 

[victorv]

hi,
performs 2 checks:

1) using telnet, ensure that, for I don't know wich reason,
some flag about remote connection (for SMClient) has been disabled (a reboot and/or a deafault reset ?)

2) go near the storage, and link, using a 10/100 hub, your PC with SMClient and the controller: no firewall, no duplicated address, and other unpredictable situations.

ciao
vittorio

 

[samurai123]

Hello vittorio,

Thank you for the response.

I do think that the SM agents on the controllers are not responding to SMClient connections for some reason. The reboot of the controllers may fix this.

I did connect a laptop with SMClient on it to the controller directly but it didn't help.

Doing rlogin to the controller, I don't know how to trace the problem there. I see number of tasks maybe one of the task is not running or need restart. There is no documentation about using rlogin on IBM website. Maybe because it's meant from IBM people only.

Thanks

 

[victorv]

hi,

warning:
when I wrote "reboot", I did not intend to reboot the controller: I was looking for a cause that resetted them.

Reboot the controller is
I investgate furthermore.

bye

 

[samurai123]

Actually one of my colleagues upgraded the SMClient to 10.x version from 8.x. Since then I couldn't able to connect to the controller using SMclient GUI( Windows) and command line (Linux). I re-installed 8.x version but it didn't help.

I don't know how come both controllers will stop responding to the SMClient's request.

I thought if I could some help about rlogin session. Maybe something can out traced there and would fix the problem without rebooting the controllers.

Thanks

 

[victorv]

hi,
which sort of hosts is attached to the controller ?
(in the sense that uses the disks)
AIX, Linux, Windows ? How many hosts, FC-swiches ?

Have you installed StorageManager (not over 9.6) in a management station (your pc lan-wired to the ethernet port of the controllers, out-band schema), or in the same host where are the fiber disks (in-band)?
In outband, the station uses the samefeature of the SMClient, but it is graphical, and maby can say more about problem.

If you are in-band, you can see the controller, graphycally,
passing for the fibres: don'install now in a production server, but if you have more than one server linked in FC,
you can do in a non critical server; or you have already on machines and you don't know.

bye

 

[samurai123]

Hi,

Thanks for your replies and willingness to help.

We have 4-node cluster running RedHat Linux 7.x. These hosts are connected through 2x FC switches to the FastT500. FastT500 is attached to few EXPs cascaded to each other holding data in TB.

I did use SMClient 9.6 on the laptop and connected directly to the controllers using ethernet ports but no avail.

One of the Linux hosts has SMClient installed but just provides command line interface. So I tried to use it using IP addresses of the controllers but it came back with error "Network errors detected.... SMcli failed". If I try to add the controllers manually using SMClient GUI froma windows host, it says something liken "unable to find the host ..."

So out-band network communication is not working. Unfortunately, there is no SMClient GUI on the Linux host which is directly attached to the stroage. So I can't test in-band communication. I doubt if there is supported of SMClient on RH 7.x to provide GUI.

The Linux hosts are in production. The windows host is a PC running Windows XP.

 

[victorv]

look them:

http://www-947.ibm.com/systems/supp...ocdisplay?lndocid=MIGR-57817&brandind=5000028

http://www-947.ibm.com/systems/supp...ocdisplay?lndocid=MIGR-57820&brandind=5000028

looking in pictures, it seems that there are serial port,
in which you can give commands:

http://www-947.ibm.com/systems/supp...display?lndocid=MIGR-5076792&brandind=5000028

and set or not remote access:

See pdf about Storage Manager 9.x

sw:

http://www-947.ibm.com/systems/supp...display?lndocid=MIGR-5072774&brandind=5000028

doc:

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/abstracts/sg247010.html?Open

(this is for 10.30, but the part regarding telnet and putty
is the same), always thinking that ip address is not changed: if you have directeluy attacched PC to Controller,
you may be sure that pinging, it is not changed.

bye

 

[victorv]

hi,
we are not syncrhronized with chat, I write while you think.

However you have no production problem.

Linux is supported for Storage Manager.

Another way may be, other than serial port,
to install a FC adapter on a Windows box (I say Win becouse is easier), with just 1 fiber, (no redoundancy is required), zone the switch for wwname of new HBA, and install storage manager (no rdac, you don'need):
by this, you cannot access the production volumes (there are
not lun mapped for new wwname, and this is good),
but you can access at the controller via lun 31 (access)
to manage the storage.

ciao
vittorio

 

[samurai123]

Yes, there is a serial console port. I tried that. I get the same shell when I do the rlogin. So the remote access is enabled. Using rlogin, I verified that IP addresses are same which I have been trying with SMClient.

When I connected the laptop to the controller directly, I could able to pin the controllers. SMClient GUI didn't discover the controllers not it detect them while manually adding using IP addresses.

 

[samurai123]

Can you please explain about the access lun 31. I don't about what it is and its significance.

Do know a way to know if the SMagent is running on the controller or not using rlogin session?

 

[victorv]

hi,

Answer to your post-1:

Technical personel, can disable the Remote access, for security reasons; the lan ports may be in lan (normally is so) and it can enable and disable remote admin, using
serial port or fiber way:
The serial port is always enabled, it is located at the storage, and intusion is impossible: if you reach it, you can swip out disk!
Disable remote login, does not disable rs232.
Rs232 is enabled, but remote login no.

In the "DS5000Command Line Interface and Script"
...MIGR-5076792... gc52127501.pdf give a look for
rlogin: at page 81 there is something about it (to set)
See before at page 108 about Show Controller



About last post:

You can manage controllers without lan:
you attach a server and the storege to the switch, zone it,
and install Storage Manager:
- you are able to see all on the storage,
-you can build array, logical volumes
- and then map these in LUN for servers.

Only for this last step, you must inform the storage about wwnames of hba that can access to lun:
if you have not still declared them, how can storage permit to accept commands from your hba (not for disk sharing, but just for commands or analisys) ?
Remember thet in this scenario, we have lan un-wired.
It is done via lun 31 ( 32nd stating from zero) wich is denominated Access Type instead Storage or Other .



However,
if in both controllers SMClient is disabled, I believe that
the reason is stupid, as a duplicated address, (no becouse directely attached), personal firewall, or ... nothing
comes in mind now.
A thing comes in mind now: before was going? or never you have used it ?

bye
victor

 

[samurai123]

Rlogin is enabled and you get the same shell which you get on serial port.

The SMClient was working until my colleague updated the SMClient to 10.x. Since then it is not working not even with 8.x

Maybe the controller reboot is an option but not sure if it will help. I thought if I can get more information about controller shell interface and I have to restart some task on it.

 

[victorv]

ok,
now it is clear: 8 to 10 !

I had misunderstood this particular: I believed was
a temptation to solve the problem, instead it was the cause.

SMAgent and SMClient are object at server or management station environment.

If you think to reboot, don't be hurry, do it next year, and by command line, and just 1 controller.

Investigate forthermore, however I believe 10 is not OK
use 9 or 8.
If your collegue has told all to you, and he has not done anything in the storage, you have to do nothing in the controller, neither the reboot: nothing is changed at storage level, the problem is at the client.

Install Storage Manager 8 or 9 in a PC where there was not
8 or 10 or 20! and with no history.
Set up manually the 2 ip address of the controller,
if you have seen them at rs232 level,
and I am sure that it will go !

ciao
vittorio

 

[samurai123]

Yes, I will try to reboot only one controller only to see if that helps.

He didn't do anything other than SMClient upgrade. He said there are 3 disks not working on the storage. I don't know what location though. But this hard disks problem has been there for a while and SMClient was working at the time.

He updated the SMClient which just create a new problem when I wanted to fix the drive issue.

 

[samurai123]

I could able to find few commands which can be used in the controller shell. However I haven't found a command which will save the storage configuration in a .cfg file like it does using SMclient GUI.

Does anyone know about it?