Questions regarding environment configuration are explained.
Q: How do I make a backup of a system disk that is managed with GDS?
A
Q: How do I make a backup of a disk (other than a system disk) that is managed with GDS?
A
The backup of GDS's logical volume can be made in the same way as a physical slice. However, make sure you make a backup using the logical volume. For example, do not boot from the CD-ROM device or network and make a backup using the physical slice, since correct data may not be saved.
You can also efficiently create a backup with the mirroring function. For details, see "1.3.8 Snapshots by Slice Detachment" "D.5 sdxslice - Slice operations", "5.3.2 Backup" and "6.5 Backing Up and Restoring Local Disks and Shared Disks."
By making use of GDS Snapshot proxy volumes, you can also configure backup administration that minimizes operation stop time. For details, see "1.5 Proxy Volume," "D.14 sdxproxy - Proxy object operations," "D.19 Snapshot Creation Using Command," "5.3.2.2 Backup (by Synchronization)," "5.3.2.3 Backup (by OPC)" and "6.6 Online Backup and Instant Restore through Proxy Volume."
Furthermore, backing up data through a server outside the domain running the service using GDS snapshot shadow volumes can hold the effects on the service to a minimum. For details, see "1.6 Shadow Volume" and "6.8 Backing Up and Restoring through an External Server."
Q: The following message is output on the console after mirroring the system disk with GDS. Is there a problem? What is the resolution method?
/usr/sbin/pmconfig: /etc/power.conf line (30) failed to convert mount
point /dev/sfdsk/System/dsk/root to prom name: Invalid argument
A
There is no problem, and no resolution is necessary.
The message says that by mirroring the system disk, the Power Management function and the suspend-resume function provided by Solaris will become unavailable.
Apart from these functions being unavailable, there is no effect.
For details on the Power Management function and the suspend-resume function, and whether the device you are using supports these functions, see the manual provided with Solaris.
Note
The Power Management system provided by Solaris is different from the automatic power control provided by Enhanced Support Facility (ESF). The above restrictions are unrelated to ESF's automatic power control.
Q: I cannot execute the format(1M) command or prtvtoc(1M) on a physical disk managed by GDS (e.g. c0t0d0s0). How can I solve this problem?
A
Since access to physical disks is restrained by GDS, you cannot perform this operation.
For details, see "A.2.3 Restraining Access to Physical Special File."
If all you need to do with the commands format(1M) or prtvtoc(1M) is to refer to the disk contents, you may do so by booting from the CD-ROM device or network, and specifying the physical disk. However, you must exercise care since updating the data on the physical disk will damage the mirrored data. For details, see "A.2.12 Booting from a CD-ROM Device (or Network)."
Q: Can I install OS upgrades while system disks are in mirroring configuration through GDS?
A
No.
Upgrading by using Boot Environment (BE) and Solaris Live Upgrade cannot be performed.
Cancel the system disk mirroring and then upgrade the OS.
