[comp.os.vms] NI Access To HSC Based Disks, And Other Such Topics...

CLAYTON@XRT.UPENN.EDU ("Clayton, Paul D.") (07/01/88)

Celeste Finison has asked the following question.

> For those of you on the net familiar with VMS 5.0 and the configuration rules 
> for the mixed-interconnect cluster:
>
> Will it be possible for me to MSCP serve an HSC disk via a CI cluster node(s) 
> so that it may be mounted by a MicroVAX on the same ethernet that has booted 
> from its own locally attached system disk? If not why not?

There are several items to note here.

1. There is NO mention of the KEY word/phrase 'LAVC' in the question. If the 
question deals with two processors that are connected by Enet, BUT NOT 
part of the SAME cluster then you will NOT be able to share the disks. This is 
due to having the controller of who gets what, the 'connection manager' and 
'lock manager' work ONLY in a 'CLUSTER' configuration. The only way to share 
disks in a non-cluster configuration is to use the DECnet access methods, MSCP 
is not available.

2. A HSC disk, by definition, will essentially be MSCP served in a mixed CI/NI 
configuration. A disk that is attached to a HSC will have a CI processor serve 
as the 'gateway' to it for its NI brothers/sisters. HSC based disk failover is 
supported by the processors with the CI interface. The NI processors will not 
be involved in the failover process, except to requeue outstanding I/O 
requests.

3. A local NI based UDA/KDA/KDB disks CAN be, but does not HAVE to be, 
available to the other cluster nodes. It is determined by doing a '$SET 
DEVICE/SERVED' and loading the MSCP driver. The latest word that I have heard 
indicated that UDA/KDA/KDB based disk failover will not be available until the 
5.2 time frame. The assumption here, being that the disk(s) MUST have the same 
'allocation class' (SYSGEN parameter ALLOCLASS) and channel assigments (for 
example DUAxx) on BOTH sides of the 'A' and 'B' channels.

Hope this helps.  :-)

pdc

Paul D. Clayton 
Address - CLAYTON%XRT@CIS.UPENN.EDU

Disclaimer:  All thoughts and statements here are my own and NOT those of my 
employer, and are also not based on, or contain, restricted information.