External storage system configuration details (Fibre Channel)

Plan for your external storage system configurations through Fibre Channel connections with a node.

See the following website for the latest support information:

https://datacentersupport.lenovo.com/

All nodes in a system must be able to connect to the same set of storage system ports on each device. A system that contains any two nodes that cannot connect to the same set of storage-system ports is considered degraded. In this situation, a system error is logged that requires a repair action. This rule can have important effects on a storage system such as an IBM DS4000 series controller, which has exclusion rules that determine to which host bus adapter (HBA) worldwide node names (WWNNs) a storage partition can be mapped.

A storage-system logical unit (LU) must not be shared between the system and a host.

You can configure certain storage systems to safely share resources between the node and direct-attached hosts. This type of configuration is described as a split storage system. In all cases, it is critical that you configure the storage system and SAN so that the system cannot access logical units (LUs) that a host or another system can also access. This split storage system configuration can be arranged by storage system logical unit number (LUN) mapping and masking. If the split storage system configuration is not guaranteed, data corruption can occur.

Configurations where a storage system is split between two nodes are also supported. In all cases, it is critical that you configure the storage system and SAN so that the node cannot access LUs that a host or another node can also access. You can use storage system LUN mapping and masking to arrange for this configuration. If this configuration is not guaranteed, data corruption can occur.

Attention: Avoid configuring a storage system to present the same LU to more than one system. This configuration is not supported and is likely to cause undetected data loss or corruption.

Unsupported storage systems

When a storage system is detected on the SAN, the system attempts to recognize it using its Inquiry data. If the device is not supported, the system configures the device as a generic device. A generic device might not function correctly when it is addressed by a node, especially under failure scenarios. However, the system does not regard accessing a generic device as an error condition and does not log an error. Managed disks (MDisks) that are presented by generic devices are not eligible to be used as quorum disks.