I/o data path protection – Dell PowerVault MD3000 User Manual

Page 51

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About Your Host

51

I/O Data Path Protection

You can have multiple host-to-array connections for a host. Make sure to

select all of the connections to the array when configuring host access to the

storage array.

NOTICE:

Refer to the Installation Guide for more information on cabling

configurations.

NOTE:

For maximum redundancy, you must select all host connections to the array

when manually defining host topology. For example, a host might have two host

connections listed when manually configuring host access. For this host, you would

select the two host connections listed in the "Available hosts" section and add them

to the "Selected hosts" section using the Add button.

NOTE:

For more information on configuring hosts see "About Your Host" on page 43.

If a component such as a RAID controller module or a cable fails, or an error

occurs on the data path to the preferred RAID controller module, virtual disk

ownership is moved to the alternate nonpreferred RAID controller module for

processing. This failure or error is called failover.
Multi-path drivers such as MPIO and MPP are installed on host systems that

access the storage array and provide I/O path failover. The multi-path driver

(MPIO in Windows and MPP in Linux) is used for failover. Automatic Virtual

Disk Transfer (AVT) is used specifically for single-port cluster failover. The

AVT feature mode is automatically selected by host type.

NOTE:

You should have the multi-path driver installed on the hosts at all times,

even in a configuration where there is only one path to the storage system, such as

a single port cluster configuration.

During a failover, the virtual disk transfer is logged as a critical event, and an

alert notification is sent automatically if you have configured alert

destinations for the storage array.

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