Persistent device names for HP Smart Array storage

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 before SP1
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 before SP1
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 before SP4

Situation

HP Smart Array storage controller, cciss driver

Attention: This TID is partially outdated!
With SLES10 SP1/SLES9 SP4 and later, you can use the links below /dev/disk/by-id/.

The device names forarrays on an HP Smart Array storage controller (like/dev/cciss/c0d0) and for partitions on them (like /dev/cciss/c0d0p1) can change when arrays are deleted, but you wish to refer to them by persistent names.

Resolution

For most storage devices like SCSI disks and SAN LUNs, the udev infrastructure makes it possible to provide stable names for the storage (/dev/disk/by-id, /dev/disk/by-label, /dev/disk/by-path, /dev/disk/by-uuid), as documented in the product documentation. With arrays on an HP Smart Array controller, as supported by the cciss driver, this is currently not possible, but there are workarounds available.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10

Only persistent names based on filesystem UUIDs are available (/dev/disk/by-uuid) are available currently. The lack of support for the other persistent name schemes has been reported to Engineering.

Aside from /dev/disk/by-uuid names, the workarounds for older products which are discussed below can be used as well.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9

None of /dev/disk/by-* is supported currently; this has been reported to Engineering.

Persistent naming can be achieved through a workaround though.There are two known workarounds:

Use filesystem labels and mount filesystems by label in /etc/fstab.
Use LVM to manage the array/partition. (The LVM device names for the array/partition are persistent as the storage areas can be identified using their LVM metadata even when their numbering is changed)

Disclaimer

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