Is there anyone who configured an HBA failover on Windows ?
What I need is a simple failover driver, not load-balancing, not a
failover between 2 different HBAs. Am I the only one who needs it?
My experience:

it looks that Emulex driver doesn't support failover on Windows:
http://oak.emulex.com/fcsskb/findso...?solution=13098

QLogic has a "Failover Wizard" in SANsurfer software but it doesn't
work, giving a strange error message (see it here:
http://napobo3.blogspot.com/2006/06...it-captcha.html )
"Must have an hba model that is not running a supported driver to
configure"
On the QLogic website I found the information about the QLdirect:
"The QLdirect driver provides two main features with the enhanced
miniport driver under Windows 2000/Windows Server 2003:
Failover of a target device between two HBAs
Optimization of the I/O path
Improved performance and CPU usage..."
but I could not find the QLdirect s/w.

Anyone's success story, please.
TIA,
-- Leon

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Yes, many times.  Typically, you purchase the failover software that resides
on your host(s) from your hardware storage vendor --> EMC Powerpath, HP
Securepath, etc... Now, if you're looking for something that's free, there
isn't really any such thing because typically failover algorithm's (even the
one you're asking about) use Vendor specific SCSI commands to perform this
functionality.  The closes thing you get to free are with the operating
systems that support native multipath failover (MS2003 using STorport and
Netware 6.5 to name the only two I'm confident to reference).  With 2003 you
will need the hardware storage vendor's DSM module to perform this
functionality (see HP's MSA1xxx product line, they allow you to download
their failover software).  Qlogic does provide a FREE failover driver but
you  need to find out which hardware storage vendors and models they
support.

The Moojit
<napobo3@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1149841744.007747.188840@g10g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Is there anyone who configured an HBA failover on Windows ?
> What I need is a simple failover driver, not load-balancing, not a
> failover between 2 different HBAs. Am I the only one who needs it?
> My experience:
>
> it looks that Emulex driver doesn't support failover on Windows:
> http://oak.emulex.com/fcsskb/findso...?solution=13098
>
> QLogic has a "Failover Wizard" in SANsurfer software but it doesn't
> work, giving a strange error message (see it here:
> http://napobo3.blogspot.com/2006/06...it-captcha.html )
> "Must have an hba model that is not running a supported driver to
> configure"
> On the QLogic website I found the information about the QLdirect:
> "The QLdirect driver provides two main features with the enhanced
> miniport driver under Windows 2000/Windows Server 2003:
> Failover of a target device between two HBAs
> Optimization of the I/O path
> Improved performance and CPU usage..."
> but I could not find the QLdirect s/w.
>
> Anyone's success story, please.
> TIA,
> -- Leon
>

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

napobo3@gmail.com wrote:
> Is there anyone who configured an HBA failover on Windows ?

Yes, many times. You need to tell us which storage you require failover
on since the solutions very.

I've run EMC's PowerPath, HP's SecurePath, and Microsoft's MPIO.  All
work

The Veritas DMP product supports a lot of different configurations but
I haven't worked with DMP on Windows.

> What I need is a simple failover driver, not load-balancing, not a
> failover between 2 different HBAs. Am I the only one who needs it?

So what are trying to accomplish?  One HBA to an active/passive or
active/active controller?  Which one?

What does your storage vendor suggest?

../Ed

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

I don't understand what you mean by "Is there anyone who configured
an HBA failover on Windows" but then you say "What I need is a simple
failover driver, not load-balancing, not a failover between 2 different
HBAs"

Well do you or don't you want a failover mechanism between HBAs? Most
of the time you will have separate HBAs if your looking at a redundant
storage configuration. Each HBA will have a redundant link to redundant
controllers on your storage subsystem.

The mechanism of failing over a HBA real time while the system is
active, is handled by third party software which will be operating
system and disk vendor specific. Products like PowerPath, HDLM and VxVM
with DMP.

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

"Stunster" <dgholt@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1150171590.450844.282960@h76g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>I don't understand what you mean by "Is there anyone who configured
> an HBA failover on Windows" but then you say "What I need is a simple
> failover driver, not load-balancing, not a failover between 2 different
> HBAs"
>

I think he means that he's not looking for fancy things like failover with
one path on an Emulex and the other path on a QLogic controller.

Rob

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Ed Wilts wrote:
> napobo3@gmail.com wrote: 
>
> Yes, many times. You need to tell us which storage you require failover
> on since the solutions very.
>
> I've run EMC's PowerPath, HP's SecurePath, and Microsoft's MPIO.  All
> work

None of them is an "HBA failover". I wasn't clear enough. When I wrote
"HBA failover" I meant the failover between ports on the same HBA
provided by the HBA driver, not by the 3rd-part software or Microsoft
MPIO.

>
> The Veritas DMP product supports a lot of different configurations but
> I haven't worked with DMP on Windows.
> 
>
> So what are trying to accomplish?  One HBA to an active/passive or
> active/active controller?  Which one?

One HBA, 2 ports to 2 ports of active/active storage
or degraded configurations like:
One HBA, 1 port via FC switch to 2 ports of active/active storage
One HBA, 2 ports via FC switch to 1 port of active/active storage
It looks that Emulex,QLogic,LSI Logic stopped to support the failover
in the HBA driver for WIndows, that's why I am asking.

Thank you,
-- Leon

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Stunster wrote:
> I don't understand what you mean by "Is there anyone who configured
> an HBA failover on Windows" but then you say "What I need is a simple
> failover driver, not load-balancing, not a failover between 2 different
> HBAs"
>
> Well do you or don't you want a failover mechanism between HBAs? Most

I don't. See my prev. reply in this thread.
Thank you,
-- Leon

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Rob Turk wrote:
> "Stunster" <dgholt@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1150171590.450844.282960@h76g2000cwa.googlegroups.com... 
>
> I think he means that he's not looking for fancy things like failover with
> one path on an Emulex and the other path on a QLogic controller.
>
> Rob

You're right, please see my reply above in this thread.
Thank you,
-- Leon

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Please specify storage you are connected to.
It will help a lot as there is nothing as "generic" answer.
Thanks

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Nope.  Failover software is typically a filter driver that run atop the HBA
Miniport driver (referencing Windows).  You will never find this
functionality in a standalone - Emulex or Qlogic for example.  Failover
algorithm's are proprietary and are specific to the storage vendor's
hardware.

Da Moojit.

<napobo3@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1150873894.630092.274410@y41g2000cwy.googlegroups.com...
>
> Ed Wilts wrote: 
>
> None of them is an "HBA failover". I wasn't clear enough. When I wrote
> "HBA failover" I meant the failover between ports on the same HBA
> provided by the HBA driver, not by the 3rd-part software or Microsoft
> MPIO.
> 
>
> One HBA, 2 ports to 2 ports of active/active storage
> or degraded configurations like:
> One HBA, 1 port via FC switch to 2 ports of active/active storage
> One HBA, 2 ports via FC switch to 1 port of active/active storage
> It looks that Emulex,QLogic,LSI Logic stopped to support the failover
> in the HBA driver for WIndows, that's why I am asking.
>
> Thank you,
> -- Leon
>

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]