HP Integrity Virtual Machines Release Notes

8 Storage Information
This section contains information about storage devices used as backing stores for guest virtual
devices.
8.1 DMP Files Not Supported as Backing Stores
Veritas VxVM DMP device files (files under /dev/vx/rdmp/) is not supported by Symantec
for whole disk backing stores for virtual machines.
8.2 Using Database Management Products on Virtual Machines
For optimal performance with storage intensive applications such as Oracle®, HP strongly
recommends using whole disk backing stores. Virtual disks that use logical volumes or files as
backing storage do not provide optimal performance for this type of application. For more
information about the Integrity VM storage subsystem, see the HP Integrity Virtual Machines
Installation, Configuration, and Administration manual.
8.3 Integrity VM Does Not Honor File Permissions on Backing Stores
File permission settings do not affect the way Integrity VM accesses backing stores. Backing
stores provided as virtual disks can be written to regardless of the file permission settings on
the backing store. A backing store provided as a virtual DVD is always read-only. Attached
devices do not consider file permissions when backing up data.
8.4 Using USB CD/DVD Devices
USB CD/DVD devices are not supported for use as attachable media, and perform slowly when
used as virtual devices. HP Integrity blade, rx3600, and rx6600 servers with such devices should
use Virtual FileDVDs or Ignite-UX for guest operating system installations. Hardware
supportability requirements for Integrity VM are described in the HP Integrity Virtual Machines
Installation, Configuration, and Administration manual.
To identify USB CD/DVD devices, use the ioscan -fun command.
8.5 The hpvmmodify Command Fails to Change a DVD
The hpvmmodify command might fail to change a Virtual FileDVD if the device has already
been modified by the virtual console. The hpvmstatus command displays the current status of
the Virtual FileDVD, which may not be in its original resource state. To see the original resource
statement, which is required by the hpvmmodify command to change a Virtual FileDVD, use
the hpvmstatus —D command.
8.6 Virtual FileDVD Reverts to Original Resource Statement
A Virtual FileDVD reverts to its original resource statement when the guest shuts down or
reboots. Therefore, after you install a guest from multiple CDs or DVDs, you must reload the
Virtual FileDVD when the guest reboots to complete the installation. Stop the automatic EFI
reboot and insert the CD/DVD using the appropriate IN and EJ commands. When the media is
loaded, proceed with the installation.
8.7 Physical Device null Assigned to Nonexistent Path
Devices with physical storage type null may be given device path specifiers that do not exist.
This problem does not prevent guests from starting. In previous versions of Integrity VM, the
guest does not start if the device path for a null physical storage type device does not exist as a
real device, file, or directory.
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