Create FlashCopy Logical Drive Wizard: Additional Instructions for Solaris – VERITAS Volume Manager

Use this procedure to create on a running the Solaris 8, Solaris 9, or Solaris 10 operating system using VERITAS Volume Manager logical drives. Failure to complete the steps listed might result in an inaccurate point-in-time image of the .


Important:

FlashCopy logical drives created on a host running the Solaris operating system (where the base logical drive is under VERITAS Volume Manager control) might not be mapped to the same host as the base logical drive.

For a process overview of the flashcopy logical drive creation process, refer to the Create FlashCopy Logical Drive Wizard: Process Overview – UNIX with Volume Manager Volumes online help topic.

You can reuse flashcopy logical drives for frequent backups or nightly backups. You can reuse flashcopy logical drives for speculative change or upgrade testing. For instructions about how to reuse a disabled flashcopy logical drive, refer to the Reusing FlashCopy Logical Drives online help topic.

  1. Stop all I/O activity to the base logical drive at this point or suspend data transfer to make sure that an accurate point-in-time image of the base logical drive is captured.
  2. Unmount the disk representing the base logical drive. At the host prompt, type this command, and press Enter:

    umount mount-point
    

    In this command, mount-point is the name of the disk being unmounted.

  3. Start the storage management software.
  4. Launch a Subsystem Management Window by selecting the in the Tree view or the Table view and selecting Tools >> Manage Storage Subsystem .


    Note:

    If your plex spans across a number of storage subsystems, make sure that the procedure is repeated for each storage subsystem.

  5. To perform the synchronize operation, type this command at the prompt, and press Enter:

    sync
    

    This action helps to make sure that all previously unwritten system buffers are flushed out to disk, making sure that all file modifications up to that point are saved. All unwritten system buffers are flushed.
  6. Within the Logical pane of the Logical/Physical tab, select a , and create a flashcopy logical drive using one of these methods:

    create snapshotVolume
    

    For command reference information about creating a flashcopy logical drive, refer to the online help topics in the Enterprise Management Window.

  7. Assign a between the flashcopy logical drive and the host that will access the flashcopy logical drive by using one of these methods:

    create mapping volume
    


    Important:

    FlashCopy logical drives that are created on a host running the Solaris operating system where the base logical drive is under VERITAS Volume Manager control might not be mapped to the same host as the base logical drive.

    For command reference information about creating a mapping, refer to the online help topics in the Enterprise Management Window.

  8. Make sure that the host operating system recognizes the flashcopy logical drive by completing one of these tasks.
  9. Run the utility to associate the LUN with a host operating system storage subsystem and to make sure that the host recognizes the flashcopy logical drive.After the logical drives have been created and the mappings have been defined, run the SMdevices utility to make sure that the logical drive name and the operating system storage subsystem name assigned by the operating system correlate.
  10. Open the VERITAS Volume Manager Storage Administrator, and scan all the mounted disks by selecting the host where the flashcopy logical drive resides and selecting Host >> Scan Disks .
    A scan of all the mounted disks is performed.
  11. Import the disk group that will enable access to a logical drive for the selected host.
    1. At the host prompt, type this command, and press Enter:

      vxdiskadm
      

    2. To make sure that the flashcopy logical drives are available to be imported, at the vxdiskadm main menu, type this command, and press Enter:

      list
      

    3. From the main menu, select Enable access to (import) a disk group.
    4. Enter the name of the disk group to be imported, and press Enter.
    5. Select N to choose to import another disk group.If importing the disk group fails when you use the previous method (or when you use the VERITAS Volume Manager System Administrator main dialog), at the host prompt, type this command, press Enter:

      vxdg -C import disk-group
      

      In this command, disk-group is the name of the disk group to be imported.
    All import locks are cleared, and the disk group is imported.
  12. Start the logical drive to make it available for use. At the host prompt, type this command, and press Enter:

    vxvol start volume
    

    In this command, volume is the name of the flashcopy logical drive.

    The defined logical drive changes status from Disabled to Enabled and is now ready for use.
  13. In the VERITAS Volume Manager System Administrator, mount the file system that is associated with the disk group by selecting the file system associated with the disk group, and right-clicking and selecting Filesystem >> Mount .
    The disk groups associated with the file system are mounted.
  14. On the host where the flashcopy logical drive resides, make sure that the file system was mounted correctly. At the host prompt, type this command, and press Enter:

    df-k
    

  15. At the host prompt, type this command, and press Enter:

    cd mount-point
    

    In this command, mount-point is the directory where the flashcopy logical drive is mounted.

    Locate the directory where the flashcopy logical drive was mounted, and make sure that the flashcopy logical drive contents match the original contents of the base logical drive.

  16. Use the flashcopy logical drive with your backup application (reusing a flashcopy logical drive) or for speculative change and upgrade testing (one-time usage).
  17. After the flashcopy logical drive is no longer required, disable or delete the flashcopy logical drive.

    If you disable the flashcopy logical drive instead of deleting it, you can retain the flashcopy logical drive and its associated . Then, when you need to create a different flashcopy of the same base logical drive, you can re-create the disabled flashcopy logical drive. This action takes less time than creating a new flashcopy logical drive, and stops any reduction in performance that might occur if the flashcopy logical drive remains available.

    For more information, refer to the Disabling a FlashCopy Logical Drive online help topic and the Deleting a Logical Drive online help topic.

    For command reference information about disabling or deleting a flashcopy logical drive, refer to the online help topics in the Enterprise Management Window.

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