Configuring MPIO in non-ALUA enabled environments using the

Configuring MPIO in non-ALUA enabled environments using the ESX Host
Utilities (EHU)
1. Ensure all igroups containing the initiators of the ESX hosts do not have ALUA enabled using the
command igroup show -v.
Example:
Filer2> igroup show -v
esx4cluster (FCP):
OS Type: vmware
Host Multipathing Software: Required
Member: 10:00:00:00:c9:78:76:6b (logged
Member: 10:00:00:00:c9:78:76:6a (logged
Member: 10:00:00:00:c9:77:29:23 (logged
Member: 10:00:00:00:c9:77:29:22 (logged
ALUA: Yes
in
in
in
in
on:
on:
on:
on:
vtic,
vtic,
vtic,
vtic,
0c)
0d)
0c)
0d)
In this case we need to turn ALUA off. To do this, run the command igroup set <igroup
name> alua no.
Example:
Filer2> igroup set esx4cluster alua no
Filer2> igroup show –v
esx4cluster (FCP):
OS Type: vmware
Host Multipathing Software: Required
Member: 10:00:00:00:c9:78:76:6b (logged
Member: 10:00:00:00:c9:78:76:6a (logged
Member: 10:00:00:00:c9:77:29:23 (logged
Member: 10:00:00:00:c9:77:29:22 (logged
in
in
in
in
on:
on:
on:
on:
vtic,
vtic,
vtic,
vtic,
0c)
0d)
0c)
0d)
Note: the igroup show -v command only displays ALUA if it is enabled.
2. If any changes are made as per step 1, a reboot of the ESX hosts is required for the change to take
effect on the host side.
3. Install and Run the ESX Host Utilities:
Note: Installation of the ESX Host Utilities is outside the scope of this article. For a full set of
installation instructions, please see the ESX Host Utilities Installation and Setup Guide
Note 2: The following instructions are based on the ESX Host Utilities version 5.2.
The ESX Host Utilities are a set of tools used, among other things, to set a proper path configuration
for your ESX hosts. As the primary tool for this task, the config_mpath script runs from within the
ESX Service Console. This script will only work with ESX Classic, and not ESXi. For ESXi, please
skip to the sections dealing with the NetApp Virtual Storage Console 2.0 for vSphere, or refer to
kb44784 - What are the recommended settings for VMware ESX/ESXi 4.x & ESX/ESXi 3.5 when
connected to NetApp Storage Systems? After installing the ESX Host Utilities, establish a commandline session with the ESX host and run the following command:
config_mpath --primary –loadbalance [--secure – if you wish to use SSL]
A similar output should be seen for each LUN exposed to this ESX host. Note that while prior
versions of the ESX Host Utilities required specifying the –policy option, there is no longer a
requirement for this in the 5.2 version of the ESX Host Utilities. The policy will now be set
automatically, based on the ALUA setting for the initiator group:
root@esx4host sbin]# config_mpath --primary --loadbalance
Verifying firewall port is open...................................DONE
Determining Primary/Proxy paths for
LUN=naa.60a98000486e2f644a34533242364c45
PATH=vmhba4:C0:T0:L4 is a PROXY path active
PATH=vmhba5:C0:T1:L4 is a PROXY path active
PATH=vmhba5:C0:T0:L4 is a PRIMARY path active* Preferred
PATH=vmhba4:C0:T1:L4 is a PRIMARY path active
PSP Policy for LUN naa.60a98000486e2f644a34533242364c45 is now set to
fixed.
Preferred path has been set for vmhba5:C0:T0:L4 for LUN
naa.60a98000486e2f644a34533242364c45
Determining Primary/Proxy paths for
LUN=naa.60a98000486e2f39525a5737414f6168
PATH=vmhba4:C0:T0:L1 is a PRIMARY path active* Preferred
PATH=vmhba5:C0:T1:L1 is a PRIMARY path active
PATH=vmhba5:C0:T0:L1 is a PROXY path active
PATH=vmhba4:C0:T1:L1 is a PROXY path active
PSP Policy for LUN naa.60a98000486e2f39525a5737414f6168 is now set to
fixed.
Preferred path has been set for vmhba4:C0:T0:L1 for LUN
naa.60a98000486e2f39525a5737414f6168
Determining Primary/Proxy paths for
LUN=naa.60a98000486e2f644a34577737623272
PATH=vmhba4:C0:T0:L0 is a PROXY path active
PATH=vmhba5:C0:T1:L0 is a PROXY path active
PATH=vmhba5:C0:T0:L0 is a PRIMARY path active
PATH=vmhba4:C0:T1:L0 is a PRIMARY path active* Preferred
PSP Policy for LUN naa.60a98000486e2f644a34577737623272 is now set to
fixed.
Preferred path has been set for vmhba4:C0:T1:L0 for LUN
naa.60a98000486e2f644a34577737623272
These LUNs are not configured for ALUA in their igroups on the storage
system.
It is recommended to enable ALUA on NetApp storage systems if ALUA is
supported
by the version of Data ONTAP software installed.
naa.60a98000486e2f644a34533242364c45
naa.60a98000486e2f39525a5737414f6168
naa.60a98000486e2f644a34577737623272
The path policy has been set for your configuration.
The active I/O paths should now all be set to primary paths. As mentioned before, the Fixed Path
Selection Policy allows the MPIO system to move back to the preferred path once it becomes
available following a path failure.
4. Run the config_mpath script on each ESX host in the cluster.
Notes on the EHU when not using ALUA:
•
•
Any time an event occurs on the fabric that might result in a change in the active path being used
for LUN I/O; the config_mpath script should be re-run. These events include, but are not limited
to:
o Host Reboot (re-run the config_mpath script on that host)
o Zoning changes
o Cable pulls
o Storage failover and giveback
o A new LUN being provisioned
o Unplanned outages
One recommendation is to schedule the config_mpath script to run in a cron job on the ESX host.
More information on this can be found in kb50410 - How to add the config_mpath script to run
hourly using cron on ESX

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