active controllers in NetWare environments (434884-001, October 2006)

Migrating to active/active controllers in NetWare environments 5

Overview

This document outlines the required steps to migrate new and existing installations of Novell NetWare

MSA environments from a single-controller MSA using active/passive controller firmware to a

dual-controller MSA using active/active controller firmware.

Active/active feature set:

• Supports simultaneous I/O processing on the controllers to provide better performance and high

availability.

• Supports explicit controller ownership using the MSA Command Line Interface (CLI) and CPQONLIN.

• Supports implicit LUN failover to the other controller for optimized I/O processing.

Active/active limitations:

• The MSA supports a maximum of 32 LUNs.

Preparing for the migration

IMPORTANT:

• With MSA, HP does not support flashing back from active/active firmware to active/passive firmware.

The result is a loss of the array configuration.

• The controller cache module must be a minimum of 256MB. 128MB is no longer supported.

NOTE: Before proceeding with the upgrade, you must understand the following:

• Single-controller configurations are not supported in active/active environments. Active/active

environments must have two controllers installed in the MSA.

• Currently installed MSA controller firmware must be 4.94 or later.

• During the migration process:

• Do not move from a direct-connect configuration to a switched-fabric connection.

• Do not move the target Fibre Channel cable from one port on a fabric switch to another port.

• Do not change the switch domain.

CAUTION: A full backup of the NetWare operating system files and data volumes is highly recommended

before starting the upgrade process. HP is not responsible for data loss incurred during the upgrade

process.