metassist(1M)
NAME
metassist - automated volume creation utility to support
Solaris Volume Manager
SYNOPSIS
metassist -V
metassist -?
metassist create [-v n] [-c] -F config_file
metassist create [-v n] [-c | -d] -F request_file
metassist create [-v n] [-c | -d] [-f] [-n name] [-p data-
paths] [-r redundancy] [-a available [,available,...]] [-u
unavailable [,unavailable,...]] -s setname -S size
metassist create -?
DESCRIPTION
The metassist command provides assistance, through automa-
tion, with common Solaris Volume Manager tasks.
SUBCOMMANDS
The following subcommands are supported:
create
The create subcommand creates one or more Solaris
Volume Manager volumes. You can specify this request
on the command line or in a file specified on the com-
mand line.
If you create a volume using the command line , you
can specify the characteristics of the volume in terms
of the desired quality of service it will provide -
its size, the number of redundant copies of the data
it contains, the number of data paths by which it is
accessible, and whether faulty components are replaced
automatically. The diskset in which the volume will
reside and the volume's size must be specified on the
command line in this form of the command.
If you create a volume using a request in a file, you
can specify the characteristics of the volume in terms
of the quality of service they provide, as on the com-
mand line. Alternatively, the file can specify the
types and component parts of the volume, (for example,
mirrors, stripes, concatenations, and their component
slices). The file may also specify volumes partly in
terms of their types and partly in terms of their com-
ponent parts, and may specify the characteristics of
more than one volume. All volumes specified in a file
must reside in the same diskset, whose name must be
specified in the file.
If you specify the -c or -d option on the command
line, the command runs without creating an actual
volume or volumes. Instead , it outputs either a a
Bourne shell command script (-c option) or a volume
configuration (-d option). The command script, when
run, creates the specified volume or volumes. The
volume configuration specifies the volume or volumes
in complete detail, naming all their components.
The input file given on the command line can take one
of the following forms:
o a volume request, which specifies a request
for a volume with explicit attributes and
components, or matching a given quality of
service
o a volume configuration, produced by a pre-
vious execution of the command
OPTIONS
The following option is mandatory if you specify a volume
request or volume configuration in a file:
-F config_file | request_file
Specify the volume request or volume configuration
file to process. If config_file or request_file is -,
it is read from standard input.
The -d option cannot be specified when inputfile is a
volume configuration file.
The following options are mandatory if you specify a volume
request on the command line:
-s set
Specify the disk set to use when creating volumes. All
the volumes and hot spare pools are created in this
disk set. If necessary, disks are moved into the
diskset for use in the volumes and hot spare pools.
If the diskset doesn't exist the command creates it.
This option is required. metassist works entirely
within a named disk set. Use of the local, or unnamed
disk set, is not allowed.
-S size
Specify the size of the volume to be created. The
size argument consists of a numeric value (a decimal
can be specified) followed by KB, MB, GB, or TB,
indicating kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes, or tera-
bytes, respectively. Case is ignored when interpret-
ing this option. This option is required.
The following options are optional command line parameters:
-a device1,device2,...
Explicitly specify the devices that can be used in the
creation of this volume. Named devices may be con-
trollers or disks. Only used when specifying a volume
on the command line.
-c Output the command script that would implement the
specified or generated volume configuration. The com-
mand script is not run, and processing stops at this
stage.
-d Output the volume configuration that satisfies the
specified or generated volume request. No command
script is generated or executed, and processing stops
at this stage.
-f Specify whether the volume should support automatic
component replacement after a fault. If this option is
specified, a mirror is created and its submirrors are
associated with a HSP.
-n name
Specify the name of the new volume. See metainit(1M)
for naming guidelines.
-p n Specify the number of required paths to the storage
volume. The value of n cannot be greater than the
number of different physical paths and logical paths
to attached storage. Only used when specifying a
volume on the command line.
-r n Specify the redundancy level (0-4) of the data. The
default is 0. Only used when specifying a volume on
the command line. If redundancy is 0, a stripe is
created. If redundancy is 1 or greater, a mirror with
this number of submirrors is created. In this case,
the volume can suffer a disk failure on n-1 copies
without data loss. With the use of HSPs (see the -f
option), a volume can suffer a disk failure on
n+hsps-1 volumes without data loss, assuming non-
concurrent failures.
-u device1,device2,...
Explicitly specify devices to exclude in the creation
of this volume. Named devices can be controllers or
disks. You can use this option alone, or to exclude
some of the devices listed as available with the -a
option, Only used when specifying a volume on the com-
mand line.
-v value
Specify the level of verbosity. Values from 0 to 2 are
available, with higher numbers specifying more verbose
output when the command is run. -v 0 indicates silent
output, except for errors or other critical messages..
The default level is 1.
-V Display program version information.
-? Display help information. This option can follow a
subcommand for subcommand-specific help.
EXAMPLES
Example 1: Creating a Mirror
The following example creates a two-way, 36Gb mirror on
available devices from controller 1 and controller 2. It
places the volume in diskset mirrorset.
# metassist create -r 2 -a c1,c2 -s mirrorset -S 36G
Example 2: Creating a Mirror with Additional Fault Tolerance
The following example creates a two-way, 36Gb mirror on
available devices from controller 1 and controller 2. It
provides additional fault tolerance in the form of a hot
spare. It places the volume in diskset mirrorset.
# metassist create -r 2 -a c1,c2 -f -s mirrorset -S 36G
Example 3: Creating a Three-way Mirror and Excluding Devices
The following example creates a three-way, 180Gb mirror from
storage devices on controller 1 or controller 2. It excludes
the disks c1t2d0 and c2t2d1 from the volume. It places the
volume in diskset mirrorset.
# metassist create -r 3 -a c1,c2 -u c1t2d0,c2t2d1 -s mirrorset -S 180Gb
Example 4: Determining and Implementing a Configuration
The following example determines and implements a configura-
tion satisfying the request specified in a request file:
# metassist create -F request.xml
Example 5: Determining a Configuration and Saving It in a
volume-config File
The following example determines a configuration which
satisfies the given request. It saves the configuration in a
volume-config file without implementing it:
# metassist create -d -F request.xml > volume-config
Example 6: Determining a Configuration and Saving It in a
Shell Script
The following example determines a configuration which
satisfies the given request. It saves the configuration in a
shell script without implementing it:
# metassist create -c -F request.xml > setupvols.sh
Example 7: Implementing the Given volume-config
The following example implements the given volume-config:
# metassist create -F config.xml
Example 8: Converting the Given volume-config to a Shell
Script
The following example converts the given volume-config to a
shell script that you can run later:
# metassist create -c -F config.xml > setupvols.sh
EXIT STATUS
The following exit values are returned:
0 Successful completion.
>0 An error occurred.
FILES
/usr/share/lib/xml/dtd/volume-request.dtd
/usr/share/lib/xml/dtd/volume-defaults.dtd
/usr/share/lib/xml/dtd/volume-config.dtd
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attri-
butes:
____________________________________________________________
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
| Availability | SUNWmdr |
|_____________________________|_____________________________|
SEE ALSO
mdmonitord(1M), metaclear(1M), metadb(1M), metadetach(1M),
metahs(1M), metainit(1M), metaoffline(1M), metaonline(1M),
metaparam(1M), metarecover(1M), metarename(1M),
metareplace(1M), metaroot(1M), metaset(1M), metastat(1M),
metasync(1M), metattach(1M), md.tab(4), md.cf(4),
mddb.cf(4), md.tab(4), volume-config(4), volume-request(4),
attributes(5), md(7D)
NOTES
The quality of service arguments are mutually exclusive with
the -F inputfile argument.
When specifying a request file or quality of service argu-
ments on the command line, the /etc/default/metassist.xml
file is read for global and per-disk set defaults.
Characteristics of this file are specified in the DTD, in
/usr/share/lib/xml/dtd/volume-defaults.dtd.
Characteristics of the XML request file are specified in the
DTD, in /usr/share/lib/xml/dtd/volume-request.dtd.
Characteristics of the XML configuration file are specified
in the DTD, in /usr/share/lib/xml/dtd/volume-config.dtd.
This command must be run as root.
This command requires a functional Solaris Volume Manager
configuration before it runs.
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