Querying and Configuring HBAs

After installing an HBA on a host, run the following command to check whether the host has identified the HBA:

bash-3.2# lsdev -Cc adapter | grep fc

fcs0    Available 05-02 10 Gb FCoE PCI Express Dual Port Adapter (771001801410af03) 

fcs1    Available 05-03 10 Gb FCoE PCI Express Dual Port Adapter (771001801410af03) 

fcs2    Available 06-00 4Gb FC PCI Express Adapter (df1000fe)

fcs3    Available 06-01 4Gb FC PCI Express Adapter (df1000fe)

According to the command output, the host has identified two 4 Gbit/s Fibre Channel host ports. The information is consistent with that about the actually installed HBA, indicating that the host has identified the installed HBA.

The command output also shows the physical device identifier for each HBA port, for example, fcs2. The identifiers will be used in follow-up query commands.

Run the following commands to view the properties of an identified HBA:

bash-3.2# lscfg -vpl fcs2

  fcs2             U78AB.001.WZSGU6H-P1-C6-T1  4Gb FC PCI Express Adapter (df1000fe) 

        Part Number.................10N7255 

        Serial Number...............1C047083C7 

        Manufacturer................001C 

        EC Level....................D77040 

Customer Card ID Number.....5774

        FRU Number..................10N7255 

        Device Specific.(ZM)........3 

Network Address.............10000000C9AD0B20

        ROS Level and ID............02E8277F 

        Device Specific.(Z0)........2057706D 

        Device Specific.(Z1)........00000000 

        Device Specific.(Z2)........00000000 

        Device Specific.(Z3)........03000909 

        Device Specific.(Z4)........FFE01212 

        Device Specific.(Z5)........02E8277F 

        Device Specific.(Z6)........06E12715 

        Device Specific.(Z7)........07E1277F 

        Device Specific.(Z8)........20000000C9AD0B20 

        Device Specific.(Z9)........ZS2.71X15 

        Device Specific.(ZA)........Z1F2.70A5 

        Device Specific.(ZB)........Z2F2.71X15 

        Device Specific.(ZC)........00000000 

        Hardware Location Code......U78AB.001.WZSGU6H-P1-C6-T1 

  PLATFORM SPECIFIC 

  Name:  fibre-channel 

    Model:  LPe11002 

    Node:  fibre-channel@0 

    Device Type:  fcp 

    Physical Location: U78AB.001.WZSGU6H-P1-C6-T1 

bash-3.2#

In the command output, Customer Card ID Number shows the HBA model and Network Address indicates the WWN.

AIX assigns a unique physical device identifier (fcs#) and a unique virtual device identifier (fscsi#) to each HBA port. The properties of the two identifiers are used in the interaction among storage systems, AIX, and upper-layer applications.

Run the following command to view the properties of an HBA's physical device identifier:

bash-3.2# lsattr -EHl fcs2

attribute     value      description                                        user_settable 

bus_intr_lvl             Bus interrupt level                                False 

bus_mem_addr  0xffe7e000 Bus memory address                                 False 

bus_mem_addr2 0xffe7c000 Bus memory address                                 False 

init_link     al         INIT Link flags                                    True 

intr_msi_1    123461     Bus interrupt level                                False 

intr_priority 3          Interrupt priority                                 False 

lg_term_dma 0x800000 Long term DMA                                      True 

max_xfer_size 0x100000 Maximum Transfer Size                              True 

num_cmd_elems 200        Maximum number of COMMANDS to queue to the adapter True 

pref_alpa     0x1        Preferred AL_PA                                    True 

sw_fc_class 2          FC Class for Fabric                                True 

tme           yes        Target Mode Enabled                                True 

bash-3.2#

Run the following command to view the properties of an HBA's virtual device identifier:

bash-3.2# lsattr -EHl fscsi2

attribute    value        description                           user_settable

attach       none         How this adapter is CONNECTED         False

dyntrk       no           Dynamic Tracking of FC Devices        True

fc_err_recov delayed_fail FC Fabric Event Error RECOVERY Policy True

scsi_id                   Adapter SCSI ID                       False

sw_fc_class  3            FC Class for Fabric                   True

bash-3.2#

Among the preceding properties, note the following parameters:

• dyntrk

  Indicates the status of the dynamic tracking function. By default, the value is no. When dynamic tracking is enabled, HBA service status is monitored in a timely manner.

• fc_err_recov

  Indicates the status of the fast error recovery function. By default, the value is delayed_fail. This parameter determines the time an HBA spent in fault diagnosis.

If a switch is used, set dyntrk to yes and fc_err_recov to fast_fail.

These parameters are related to service path selection. Configure these parameters based on site requirements when multiple paths exist. For details about how to configure the parameters, see the user guides specific to multipathing.

To modify an HBA parameter setting, perform the following steps:

1. Run the lsattr –Rl fcs# –a parameter name or lsattr -Rl fscsi# -a parameter name command to query the possible values of the desired parameter.

   The following is an example:

   bash-3.2# lsattr -Rl fcs2 -a max_xfer_size
   0x100000
   0x200000
   0x400000
   0x800000
   0x1000000
   bash-3.2#

   The command output shows five possible values of max_xfer_size.

2. Run the chdev –l fcs# –a parameter name=value or chdev –l fscsi# –a parameter name=value -P command to change the value.

   bash-3.2# chdev -l fcs2 -a max_xfer_size=0x1000000

3. Run the lsattr -EHl fcs# or lsattr -EHl fscsi# command to verify that the parameter has been successfully modified.