wwidmgr v13

This manual describes the WWIDMGR (World Wide ID Manager) command for Alpha Systems' consoles, which is used to manage Fibre Channel devices.

Primary Purpose: The wwidmgr command allows users to define user-friendly alias names (console device names) for the long, globally unique Worldwide Identifiers (WWIDs) of Fibre Channel devices. These aliases are essential for booting and dumping operations from Fibre Channel storage.

Who Needs It:

• UNIX 5.x and VMS users: Specifically those booting or performing dump operations via a Fibre Channel adapter.
• Diagnostic and Advanced users: For new installations, examining Fibre Channel topology, and gathering disk information.

When to Use It: The wwidmgr command is necessary for:

1. Initial setup of boot and dump devices.
2. When Fibre Channel configurations change and existing non-volatile information is incorrect.
3. Adding new or additional boot/dump devices.
4. Deleting existing boot/dump devices. Important Note: After running any wwidmgr commands, a system init or reset is required before booting can occur, and on some AlphaServer platforms, the console must be in diagnostic mode to use wwidmgr.

Key Operations and Commands:

• Display Information:

  • wwidmgr -show wwid: Displays known WWIDs, including user-defined identifiers (UDIDs). Options like -full show detailed topology, -item <n> or -udid <n> target a specific device, and -filter <regexp> allows searching.
  • wwidmgr -show adapter: Shows Fibre Channel adapter configurations and their current/next topology (FABRIC or LOOP).
  • wwidmgr -show port: Lists detected Fibre Channel n_ports (host adapters, switch connections, storage controller ports).
  • wwidmgr -show reachability: Presents the list of devices that will be accessible for booting/dumping after the next initialization.
  • wwidmgr -show ev: Displays the non-volatile environment variables (wwid for WWIDs, N for port paths) where configurations are stored.

• Device Setup:

  • wwidmgr -quickset -udid <value> or -item <n>: A simplified method to set up a device, storing its WWID alias and port path information. It's suitable for single devices or multiple devices sharing common storage controller paths.
  • wwidmgr -set wwid -item <n> -unit <unitno> or -udid <udidno>: Used for selectively setting up individual WWIDs, especially when devices do not share common paths (a limitation of quickset).
  • wwidmgr -set port -item <n> -node <1|2|3|4>: Used for selectively setting up individual n_port paths, also crucial for complex topologies where quickset is insufficient.
  • wwidmgr -set adapter -item <itemno> -topo <FABRIC|LOOP>: Configures the operating topology for a Fibre Channel adapter.

• Maintenance:

  • wwidmgr -clear all: Erases all stored non-volatile WWID and port information.
  • wwidmgr -clear wwid<n>: Clears a specific WWID entry.
  • wwidmgr -clear N<n>: Clears a specific port path entry.

• Advanced Features:

  • FFAUTO and FFNEXT: Console environment variables (set FFAUTO ON, set FFNEXT ON) used to force a "not connected" Fibre Channel device into a "connected" state, allowing it to be booted. FFAUTO is persistent, FFNEXT is a one-shot command.
  • The manual also details the structure of console Fibre Channel device names (e.g., dga200.1002.0.6.0) and how each field relates to the device's path and configuration.

In essence, wwidmgr is the critical command-line tool for configuring Fibre Channel storage and ensuring that Alpha Systems can correctly identify, boot from, and dump to these devices.