Veritas InfoScale™ 7.3.1 Troubleshooting Guide - Linux

To substitute a root disk mirror for a failed root disk

1. Use the vxplex command to remove the plex records that were on the failed disk:

   # vxplex -g bootdg -o rm dis rootvol-01 swapvol-01

   This example removes the plexes rootvol-01 and swapvol-01 that are configured on the failed root disk. You may need to modify the list of plexes according to your system configuration.

2. Shut down the system, and then power it down.
3. Remove the failed root disk (in this example, sda).
4. Reconfigure the root disk mirror (in this example, sdb) to appear to the system as the original root disk (sda). This may require you to change settings on the drive itself, and to relocate the root disk mirror in the same physical slot as was occupied by the original root disk. Consult your system documentation for more information.
5. Configure a disk of the same or larger capacity as the failed root disk as a replacement for the root mirror disk (sdb). It should occupy the same slot that was vacated if this is necessary for the system to see it as the same disk.
6. Power up the system, and boot it from Linux installation CD number 1.
7. On a Red Hat system, run the following command at the boot prompt to put the system in rescue mode:

     boot: linux rescue

   On a SUSE system, choose the "Rescue" option from the menu.

   Log in as root, select your language and keyboard, and choose to skip finding your installation.

8. Use the fdisk command to ensure that the new root disk (sda) and the replacement disk (sdb) have the same geometry:

   # fdisk -l /dev/sda
   # fdisk -l /dev/sdb

   See the fdisk(8) manual page for details.

9. If the replacement disk already contains a VxVM private region, use the fdisk command to change the partition type for the private region partition to a value other than 7f.

    # fdisk /dev/sdb

10. Make a temporary mount point, /vxvm, and mount the root partition on it:

    # mkdir /vxvm
    # mount -t ext3 /dev/sda1 /vxvm

    In this example, the root partition is /dev/sda1, and the root file system type is ext3. You may need to modify this command according to your system configuration. For example, the root file system may be configured as a reiserfs file system.

11. If the disk has a separate boot partition, mount this on /vxvm/boot:

    # mount -t ext3 /dev/sda2 /vxvm/boot

    In this example, the boot partition is /dev/sda2, and the boot file system type is ext3. You may need to modify this command according to your system configuration.

12. Ensure that the device for the new root disk (in this example, sda) is defined correctly in the boot loader configuration file.

    For the GRUB boot loader:

    Check that the contents of the GRUB configuration file (/vxvm/boot/grub/menu.lst or /vxvm/etc/grub.conf as appropriate) are correct, and use the grub command to install the master boot record (MBR) in case it has been corrupted:

    # /vxvm/sbin/grub
       grub> root (hd0,1)
       grub> setup (hd0)
       grub> quit

    Here /boot is assumed to be on partition 2.

    For the LILO boot loader:

    Check that the contents of the /vxvm/etc/lilo.conf file are correct, and use the lilo command to recreate the master boot record (MBR) in case it has been corrupted:

    # /vxvm/sbin/lilo -r /vxvm

    In these examples, the MBR is written to /dev/sda. You may need to modify the command according to your system configuration.

13. Unmount the partitions, run sync, and then exit the rescue shell:

    # cd /
    # umount /vxvm/boot
    # umount /vxvm
    # sync
    # exit

14. Shut down and power cycle the system. Enter the system's BIOS settings mode (this is usually achieved by pressing a key such as Esc, F2 or F12 on the console keyboard). Verify in the BIOS settings that the system is set to boot from the new root disk (in this example, sda). Otherwise the system may not be bootable.
15. Reboot the system, selecting vxvm_root at the GRUB or LILO boot prompt as appropriate.
16. Run the following command to mirror the volumes from the new root disk onto the replacement disk:

    # /etc/vx/bin/vxrootmir sdb rootdisk

    This example assumes that the disk media name of the replacement disk is sdb. You may need to modify this name according to your system configuration.