System Administration Commands                      metassist(1M)

NAME
     metassist - automated volume  creation  utility  to  support
     Solaris Volume Manager

SYNOPSIS
     metassist -V

     metassist -?

     metassist create [-v n] [-c] -F config_file

     metassist create [-v n] [-c | -d] -F request_file

     metassist create [-v n] [-c | -d] [-f] [-n name]  [-p  data-
     paths]  [-r  redundancy] [-a available [,available,...]] [-u
     unavailable [,unavailable,...]] -s setname -S size

     metassist create -?

DESCRIPTION
     The metassist command provides assistance,  through  automa-
     tion, with common Solaris Volume Manager tasks.

  SUBCOMMANDS
     The following subcommands are supported:

     create          The create subcommand creates  one  or  more
                     Solaris  Volume  Manager  volumes.  You  can
                     specify this request on the command line  or
                     in a file specified on the command line.

                     If you create a  volume  using  the  command
                     line  ,  you can specify the characteristics
                     of the volume in terms of the desired  qual-
                     ity  of  service it will provide - its size,
                     the number of redundant copies of  the  data
                     it  contains,  the  number  of data paths by
                     which it is accessible, and  whether  faulty
                     components  are  replaced automatically. The
                     diskset in which the volume will reside  and
                     the  volume's  size must be specified on the
                     command line in this form of the command.

                     If you create a volume using a request in  a
                     file, you can specify the characteristics of
                     the volume in terms of the quality  of  ser-
                     vice  they  provide, as on the command line.
                     Alternatively,  the  file  can  specify  the
                     types  and  component  parts  of the volume,
                     (for example, mirrors,  stripes,  concatena-
                     tions, and their component slices). The file
                     may also specify volumes partly in terms  of
                     their  types  and  partly  in terms of their
                     component parts, and may specify the charac-
                     teristics  of  more  than  one  volume.  All
                     volumes specified in a file must  reside  in
                     the  same diskset, whose name must be speci-
                     fied in the file.

                     If you specify the -c or -d  option  on  the
                     command   line,  the  command  runs  without
                     creating  an  actual  volume   or   volumes.
                     Instead , it outputs either a a Bourne shell
                     command script (-c option) or a volume  con-
                     figuration  (-d option). The command script,
                     when run, creates the  specified  volume  or
                     volumes.  The volume configuration specifies
                     the volume or volumes  in  complete  detail,
                     naming all their components.

                     The input file given on the command line can
                     take one of the following forms:

                       o  a volume  request,  which  specifies  a
                          request  for  a  volume  with  explicit
                          attributes and components, or  matching
                          a given quality of service

                       o  a volume configuration, produced  by  a
                          previous execution of the command




OPTIONS
     The following option is mandatory if you  specify  a  volume
     request or volume configuration in a file:

     -F config_file | request_file

         Specify the volume request or volume configuration  file
         to  process.  If config_file or request_file is -, it is
         read from standard input.

         The -d option cannot be specified when  inputfile  is  a
         volume configuration file.



     The following options are mandatory if you specify a  volume
     request on the command line:

     -s set

         Specify the disk set to use when creating  volumes.  All
         the volumes and hot spare pools are created in this disk
         set. If necessary, disks are moved into the diskset  for
         use  in the volumes and hot spare pools.  If the diskset
         doesn't exist the command creates  it.  This  option  is
         required.  metassist  works entirely within a named disk
         set. Use of the local,  or  unnamed  disk  set,  is  not
         allowed.



     -S size

          Specify the size of the volume to be created. The  size
         argument  consists  of a numeric value (a decimal can be
         specified) followed by KB, MB,  GB,  or  TB,  indicating
         kilobytes,  megabytes,  gigabytes, or terabytes, respec-
         tively.  Case is ignored when interpreting this  option.
         This option is required.



     The following options are optional command line parameters:

     -a device1,device2,...

         Explicitly specify the devices that can be used  in  the
         creation  of this volume. Named devices may be controll-
         ers or disks. Only used when specifying a volume on  the
         command line.



     -c

         Output the  command  script  that  would  implement  the
         specified or generated volume configuration. The command
         script is not run, and processing stops at this stage.



     -d

         Output  the  volume  configuration  that  satisfies  the
         specified or generated volume request. No command script
         is generated or executed, and processing stops  at  this
         stage.



     -f

         Specify whether the volume should support automatic com-
         ponent  replacement  after  a  fault.  If this option is
         specified, a mirror is created and  its  submirrors  are
         associated with a HSP.



     -n name

         Specify the name of the new volume. See metainit(1M) for
         naming guidelines.



     -p n

         Specify the number of  required  paths  to  the  storage
         volume. The value of n cannot be greater than the number
         of  different  physical  paths  and  logical  paths   to
         attached  storage. Only used when specifying a volume on
         the command line.



     -r n

         Specify the redundancy level  (0-4)  of  the  data.  The
         default  is 0. Only used when specifying a volume on the
         command line. If redundancy is 0, a stripe  is  created.
         If redundancy is 1 or greater, a mirror with this number
         of submirrors is created. In this case, the  volume  can
         suffer  a  disk failure on n-1 copies without data loss.
         With the use of HSPs (see the -f option), a  volume  can
         suffer  a  disk failure on n+hsps-1 volumes without data
         loss, assuming non-concurrent failures.



     -u device1,device2,...

         Explicitly specify devices to exclude in the creation of
         this  volume. Named devices can be controllers or disks.
         You can use this option alone, or to exclude some of the
         devices  listed  as  available  with the -a option, Only
         used when specifying a volume on the command line.



     -v value

         Specify the level of verbosity. Values from 0 to  2  are
         available,  with  higher numbers specifying more verbose
         output when the command is run. -v  0  indicates  silent
         output,  except  for errors or other critical messages..
         The default level is 1.



     -V

         Display program version information.



     -?

         Display help information. This option can follow a  sub-
         command for subcommand-specific help.



EXAMPLES
     Example 1: Creating a Mirror

     The following example creates  a  two-way,  36Gb  mirror  on
     available  devices  from  controller  1 and controller 2. It
     places the volume in diskset mirrorset.

     # metassist create -r 2 -a c1,c2 -s mirrorset -S 36G

     Example 2: Creating a Mirror with Additional Fault Tolerance

     The following example creates  a  two-way,  36Gb  mirror  on
     available  devices  from  controller  1 and controller 2. It
     provides additional fault tolerance in the  form  of  a  hot
     spare. It places the volume in diskset mirrorset.

     # metassist create -r 2 -a c1,c2 -s mirrorset -S 36GB

     Example 3: Creating a Three-way Mirror and Excluding Devices

     The following example creates a three-way, 180Gb mirror from
     storage devices on controller 1 or controller 2. It excludes
     the disks c1t2d0 and c2t2d1 from the volume. It  places  the
     volume in diskset mirrorset.

     metassist create -r 2 -a c1,c2 -f -s mirrorset -S 36GB

     Example 4: Determining and Implementing a Configuration

     The following example determines and implements a configura-
     tion satisfying the request specified in a request file:

     # metassist create -F request.xml

     Example 5: Determining a Configuration and Saving  It  in  a
     volume-config File

     The  following  example  determines  a  configuration  which
     satisfies the given request. It saves the configuration in a
     volume-config file without implementing it:

     # metassist create -d -F request.xml > volume-config

     Example 6: Determining a Configuration and Saving  It  in  a
     Shell Script

     The  following  example  determines  a  configuration  which
     satisfies the given request. It saves the configuration in a
     shell script without implementing it:

     # metassist create -c -F request.xml > setupvols.sh

     Example 7: Implementing the Given volume-config

     The following example implements the given volume-config:

     # metassist create -F config.xml

     Example 8: Converting the Given  volume-config  to  a  Shell
     Script

     The following example converts the given volume-config to  a
     shell script that you can run later:

     # metassist create -c -F config.xml > setupvols.sh

EXIT STATUS
     The following exit values are returned:

     0        Successful completion.



     >0       An error occurred.



FILES
     /usr/share/lib/xml/dtd/volume-request.dtd



     /usr/share/lib/xml/dtd/volume-defaults.dtd



     /usr/share/lib/xml/dtd/volume-config.dtd



ATTRIBUTES
     See attributes(5) for descriptions of the  following  attri-
     butes:

     ____________________________________________________________
    |       ATTRIBUTE TYPE        |       ATTRIBUTE VALUE       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Availability                | SUNWmdr                     |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|


SEE ALSO
     mdmonitord(1M), metaclear(1M),  metadb(1M),  metadetach(1M),
     metahs(1M),  metainit(1M),  metaoffline(1M), metaonline(1M),
     metaparam(1M),       metarecover(1M),        metarename(1M),
     metareplace(1M),  metaroot(1M),  metaset(1M),  metastat(1M),
     metasync(1M),    metattach(1M),     md.tab(4),     md.cf(4),
     mddb.cf(4),  md.tab(4), volume-config(4), volume-request(4),
     attributes(5), md(7D)

NOTES
     The quality of service arguments are mutually exclusive with
     the -F inputfile argument.

     When specifying a request file or quality of  service  argu-
     ments  on  the  command line, the /etc/default/metassist.xml
     file is read for global and per-disk set defaults.

     Characteristics of this file are specified in  the  DTD,  in
     /usr/share/lib/xml/dtd/volume-defaults.dtd.

     Characteristics of the XML request file are specified in the
     DTD, in /usr/share/lib/xml/dtd/volume-request.dtd.

     Characteristics of the XML configuration file are  specified
     in the DTD, in /usr/share/lib/xml/dtd/volume-config.dtd.

     This command must be run as root.

     This command requires a functional  Solaris  Volume  Manager
     configuration before it runs.