SAN Client: Support for different kernel versions on Linux Fibre Transport Media servers

Article: 100021571
Last Published: 2011-02-24
Ratings: 0 0
Product(s): NetBackup

Problem

SAN Client: Support for different kernel versions on Linux Fibre Transport Media servers

Solution

On a Linux system, the modules in the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/driver directory contain the kernel version that they were built with in their name. The nbftsrv_config script compares these with the uname -r output to find a match and uses the matching driver.
The problem with this approach is that since this is Linux, the kernel version is more flexible and it's possible that there won't be a module that matches what uname -r returns.
The fact that there isn't a match does NOT mean that the kernel level or OS release is not supported. The modules are actually built to run on different kernel levels. To resolve the situation it requires a bit of manual intervention prior to running nbftsrv_config.
If you plan to patch NetBackup, apply the patch before proceeding.
A symbolic link will need to be created for each module to the module that is the closest match to the kernel version.
Change to the directory where the modules are stored:
cd /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/driver/
Get a listing of what is available. Note that there may be different module versions available depending on the patch level applied or is the operating system is RedHat or SuSe Linux
# ls -l
-r-xr--r-- 1 root daemon 257238 Oct 31 2008 ql2300_stub.ko.2.6.9-34.ELsmp
-r-xr--r-- 1 root daemon 261638 Oct 31 2008 ql2300_stub.ko.2.6.9-55.ELsmp
-r-xr--r-- 1 root daemon 319674 Oct 31 2008 windrvr6.ko.2.6.9-34.ELsmp
-r-xr--r-- 1 root daemon 319674 Oct 31 2008 windrvr6.ko.2.6.9-55.ELsmp
Now check the kernel version to see if there is an existing match:
# uname -r
2.6.9-67.ELsmp
If there isn't, then use 'ln' to create a soft link to the best match. Be sure to do this for both windrvr6 and ql2300_stub.
A note on best match, the best match would be the module with the version that is closest to but not higher than the kernel version. It is not advised to use a module where the version is greater than the kernel version. It should be noted that the first three dot separated numbers, such as 2.6.9 or 2.6.16, must match. 
There is more detail on the kernel version compatibility by release  for SLES available from Novell:
 
 
For example, it would be suggested to run driver versions 2.6.16.60-0.21  with SLES 10 SP2 and 2.6.16.60-0.54.5 for SLES 10 SP3. 
The release level can be obtained from the file /etc/SuSE-release. 
 
 
# ln -s ql2300_stub.ko.2.6.9-55.ELsmp ql2300_stub.ko.2.6.9-67.ELsmp
# ln -s windrvr6.ko.2.6.9-55.ELsmp windrvr6.ko.2.6.9-67.ELsmp
 
# ls -l
-r-xr--r-- 1 root daemon 257238 Oct 31 2008 ql2300_stub.ko.2.6.9-34.ELsmp
-r-xr--r-- 1 root daemon 261638 Oct 31 2008 ql2300_stub.ko.2.6.9-55.ELsmp
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 29 May 4 17:12 ql2300_stub.ko.2.6.9-67.ELsmp -> ql2300_stub.ko.2.6.9-55.ELsmp
-r-xr--r-- 1 root daemon 319674 Oct 31 2008 windrvr6.ko.2.6.9-34.ELsmp
-r-xr--r-- 1 root daemon 319674 Oct 31 2008 windrvr6.ko.2.6.9-55.ELsmp
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 26 Jul 27 08:58 windrvr6.ko.2.6.9-67.ELsmp -> windrvr6.ko.2.6.9-55.ELsmp
 
 
After creating the symbolic links per above, nbftsrv_config will now find a match when it looks for available modules. To configure the Qlogic cards to be used for Fibre Transport, follow the steps documented in the Shared Storage Guide, page 158.
Essentially the commands needed are as following
 
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/nbftsrv_config -nbhba
This unloads the Qlogic modules and installs the ql2300_stub module. **Note this will take all the Qlogic cards offline so any SAN attached devices will not be available
 
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/nbhba -L
This will list all of the Qlogic cards and indicate if they are marked for initiator or target use.
 
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/nbhba -modify -wwn <wwn from nbhba -L> -mode target
This will change the mode a card operates in to target mode, or "designated for FT Server".
**Note this should always mark all the ports on the card. If all ports on the card are not marked, run the modify attempt again and check for errors.
 
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/nbftsrv_config (no arguments)
This will install the windrvr6 module and reinstall the Qlogic modules for any remaining unmarked cards. It will also start nbftserver. At this point the Fibre transport target ports should come online on the SAN and be available for zoning with the client initiators ports.
 

 


Was this content helpful?