Overview: The Next Generation Mass Storage Stack (September 2009)

instance number refers to exactly one device. Note: The instance numbers might not be
sequentially ordered based on hardware path, as instance numbers are assigned in the
order of discovery in HP-UX 11i v3.
DSFs for disks are now under the /dev/[r]disk directory, and DSFs for tape devices are
under the /dev/rtape directory. This avoids any confusion with existing legacy DSFs,
which reside in /dev/[r]dsk and /dev/rmt. The naming convention for persistent DSFs
is described in mksf(1M) as follows:
/dev/disk/diskN
/dev/rdisk/diskN
/dev/disk/diskN_pP
/dev/rdisk/diskN_pP
/dev/rtape/tapeNoptions
/dev/rchgr/autochNoptions
/dev/pt/ptN
Where
N is the instance number of the disk or tape
P is the optional partition number
The mapping from persistent to legacy DSF name is described in the following table:
Persistent DSF Name Legacy DSF Name Description
/dev/disk/disk# /dev/dsk/c#t#d#
The entire disk (block access)
/dev/rdisk/disk# /dev/rdsk/c#t#d#
The entire disk (raw access)
/dev/disk/disk#_p# /dev/dsk/c#t#d#s#
Partition on the disk (block access)
/dev/rdisk/disk#_p# /dev/rdsk/c#t#d#s#
Partition on the disk (raw access)
/dev/rtape/tape#options /dev/rmt/c#t#d#options
Tape device (raw access)
/dev/rchgr/autoch# /dev/rac/c#t#d#_options
Autochanger device (raw access)
/dev/pt/ptinstance /dev/rscsi/c#t#d#
Pass-through device (raw access)
Note: A single persistent DSF maps to multiple legacy DSFs if the device is multi-pathed.
Accessing the Agile View
To retain backward compatibility, most commands show the legacy view of mass storage by default. You can
select the agile view with command line options or a graphical toggle, as documented for each command. For
example, ioscan shows the legacy view by default, and switches to the agile view if you use the –N option.
System Manager Homepage (SMH) provides a toggle to select the preferred display view or to select which type
of DSF should be used.
In addition, some commands display a specific view based on input parameters. For example, lssf uses the
agile view if you use a persistent DSF as a command line argument. Other commands display the type of DSF or
hardware path saved from a previous configuration. For example, if some LVM disks were configured in the
legacy view and others in the agile view, vgdisplay displays the LVM configuration using a mix of both views.
Finally, some commands, such as setboot, display information only in the agile view. Since this is not backward
compatible, such exceptions are noted in the Backward Compatibility
section.
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