Hot Spare Pools (Tasks)

This chapter explains how to work with Solaris Volume Manager's hot spares and hot spare pools. For information about related concepts, see Chapter 15, Hot Spare Pools (Overview).

Hot Spare Pools (Task Map)

The following task map identifies the procedures needed to manage Solaris Volume Manager hot spare pools.

Creating a Hot Spare Pool

How to Create a Hot Spare Pool

1. Check Prerequisites for Creating Solaris Volume Manager Elements.

2. To create a hot spare pool, use one of the following methods:

   • From the Enhanced Storage tool within the Solaris Management Console, open the Hot Spare Pools node, then choose Action->Create Hot Spare Pool. For more information, see the online help.

   • Use the following form of the metainit command:

     metainit hot-spare-pool-name ctds-for-slice

     
     

     where ctds-for-slice is repeated for each slice in the hot spare pool. See the metainit(1M) man page for more information.

Note - The metahs command can also be used to create hot spare pools.

Caution - Do not create volumes or hot spares larger than 1TB if you expect to run the Solaris Operating Environment with a 32-bit kernel or if you expect to use a version of the Solaris Operating Environment prior to Solaris 9 4/03. See Overview of Solaris Volume Manager Large Volume Support for more information about large volume support in Solaris Volume Manager.

Example--Creating a Hot Spare Pool

# metainit hsp001 c2t2d0s2 c3t2d0s2
hsp001: Hotspare pool is setup

In this example, the hot spare pool hsp001 contains two disks as the hot spares. The system confirms that the hot spare pool has been set up.

Caution - Solaris Volume Manager will not warn you if you create a hot spare that is not large enough. If the hot spare is not equal to, or larger than, the volume to which it is attached, the hot spare will not work.

Where to Go From Here

To add more hot spares to the hot spare pool, see How to Add Additional Slices to a Hot Spare Pool. After you create the hot spare pool, you need to associate it with a submirror or RAID 5 volume. See How to Associate a Hot Spare Pool With a Volume.

How to Add Additional Slices to a Hot Spare Pool

1. Check Prerequisites for Creating Solaris Volume Manager Elements.

2. To add a slice to an existing hot spare pool, use one of the following methods:

   • From the Enhanced Storage tool within the Solaris Management Console, open the Hot Spare Pools node, then choose the hot spare pool you want to change. Choose Action->Properties, then choose the Components panel. For more information, see the online help.

   • Use the following form of the metahs command:

     metahs -a hot-spare-pool-name slice-to-add

     
     

     Use -a for hot-spare-pool-name to add the slice to the specified hot spare pool.

     Use -all for hot-spare-pool-name to add the slice to all hot spare pools. See the metahs(1M) man page for more information.

   ---

   Note - You can add a hot spare to one or more hot spare pools. When you add a hot spare to a hot spare pool, it is added to the end of the list of slices in the hot spare pool.

   ---

Example--Adding a Hot Spare Slice to One Hot Spare Pool

# metahs -a hsp001 /dev/dsk/c3t0d0s2
hsp001: Hotspare is added

In this example, the -a option adds the slice /dev/dsk/c3t0d0s2 to hot spare pool hsp001. The system verifies that the slice has been added to the hot spare pool.

Example--Adding a Hot Spare Slice to All Hot Spare Pools

# metahs -a -all /dev/dsk/c3t0d0s2
hsp001: Hotspare is added
hsp002: Hotspare is added
hsp003: Hotspare is added

In this example, the -a and -all options add the slice /dev/dsk/c3t0d0s2 to all hot spare pools configured on the system. The system verifies that the slice has been added to all hot spare pools.

Associating a Hot Spare Pool With Volumes

How to Associate a Hot Spare Pool With a Volume

1. Check Prerequisites for Creating Solaris Volume Manager Elements.

2. To associate a hot spare pool with a RAID 5 volume or submirror, use one of the following methods:

   • From the Enhanced Storage tool within the Solaris Management Console, open the Volumes and choose a volume. Choose Action->Properties, then choose the Hot Spare Pool panel and Attach HSP. For more information, see the online help.

   • Use the following form of the metaparam command:

     metaparam -h hot-spare-pool component

     
     

     -h	Specifies to modify the hot spare pool named.
     hot-spare-pool	Is the name of the hot spare pool.
     component	Is the name of the submirror or RAID 5 volume to which the hot spare pool is being attached.

     See the metaparam(1M) man page for more information.

Example--Associating a Hot Spare Pool With Submirrors

# metaparam -h hsp100 d10
# metaparam -h hsp100 d11
# metastat d0
d0: Mirror
    Submirror 0: d10
      State: Okay        
    Submirror 1: d11
      State: Okay        
...
 
d10: Submirror of d0
    State: Okay        
    Hot spare pool: hsp100
...
 
 
d11: Submirror of d0
    State: Okay        
    Hot spare pool: hsp100
...

The -h option associates a hot spare pool, hsp100, with two submirrors, d10 and d11, of mirror, d0. The metastat command shows that the hot spare pool is associated with the submirrors.