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Knowledge Base Article: 000010340

What are the required /etc/system settings on a Solaris 10 or 11 SPARC server (using kernel
embedded Leadville driver)? (000010340)
Version:6

Original Create Date: Wed May 21 04:57:24 GMT

Audience: Level 30 = Customers Article Type: How To
2008

Channels: First Published: Fri May 31 04:45:06 GMT 2013 Validation Status: Final Approved

Originally Created By: Anthony Kotopoulis Last Modified: Tue Oct 08 05:57:00 GMT 2013 Last Published: Tue Oct 08 05:46:54 GMT 2013

Summary:

Goal: What are the required /etc/system settings on a Solaris 10 or 11 SPARC server (using kernel embedded Leadville
driver)?

Environment: OS: Solaris 10 SPARC

OS: Solaris 11 SPARC
Product: Symmetrix
Product: CLARiiON
Host adapter: Emulex
Host adapter: QLogic
Host adapter: Leadville driver

Resolution: Solaris 10:

The /etc/system file must have the following entries:
forceload: drv/ssd (Sol. 10 default)
set ssd:ssd_max_throttle=20
set ssd:ssd_io_time=0x1e (Sol. 10 default is 0x3c)*
set ssd:ssd_io_time=0x78 if multipathing is NOT present.
set fcp:fcp_offline_delay=20
set fcp:ssfcp_enable_auto_configuration=1
* The recommendation was changed from 0x3c to 0x1e on April 2012. We recommended ssd io time of 60
seconds since the early days, and things have change since then. Storage array performance and NDU are
much faster with newer arrays. Hence, the recommended 30 seconds for faster failover in a "real" timeout/error
situation. Not setting this parameter to 30 seconds will result in longer failovers.
Solaris 11:
All from Solaris 10 except for,
set fcp:ssfcp_enable_auto_configuration=1 (Do NOT put this line into /etc/system)
Having this in /etc/system in Solaris 11 would result in error "sorry, variable 'ssfcp_enable_auto_configuration' is
not defined in the 'fcp'" in /var/adm/messages. As per Engineering, this value is not required anymore from
Solaris 11.

Notes: A reboot -r must be performed to enable new settings.

There is no need to configure the ssd.conf file or persistent bindings. The kernel-embedded Leadville driver has the
ability to dynamically re-scan for new devices as long as the previously described settings are configured.
There are documents that claim that the following parameters are no longer required for Solaris 10:
set fcp:fcp_offline_delay=20
set fcp:ssfcp_enable_auto_configuration=1

However, it has been proven in EMC labs that, as soon as the three previous entries are added, 4 times out of 6
fcp_offline_delay is set to 0 if the "set fcp:fcp_offline_delay=20" line is not also included in /etc/system. Therefore, EMC
still recommends to add these two entries in /etc/system.
The kernel-embedded Leadville driver can be disabled if there is a requirement to run an Emulex or QLogic driver.

In the case of meta devices (which have more physical devices on the back end and can thus physically process more
I/Os in parallel), it may be beneficial to increase the queue depth to 32. It is important to note that in Solaris the
sd_max_throttle/ssd_max_throttle settings are global, so all devices including non-meta's will also be affected.
The max throttle setting of 20 is suitable for many environments. However, in some situations this value can be further
fine tuned for configuration-specific optimizations. Your local EMC performance expert can assist with fine tuning
recommendations.
For the required settings on Solaris 10 (x86) Opteron servers see article 10280.
Product: CLARiiON AX Series, Symmetrix, CLARiiON, PowerPath, CLARiiON CX Series, CLARiiON CX3 Ultrascale Series

External Source: Primus

Primus/Webtop solution ID: emc188339

Originally Created By: Anthony Kotopoulis