System dump for HP-UX v11.x operating system

In this post, I will cover one of the most entertaining and important topic  how we take system dump for HP-UX v11.x version operating system.

let's starting with V11.00, the following things have changed with respect to system dumps.

1. A dump does not necessarily contain all the memory pages.

2. Save core was replaced by 2 different commands:

• Save crash for boot time dump image management.
• Crashutil for port boot dump analysis.

3. Dump area can now be configured both in the kernel, or in the /etc/fstab file. Also, those dump areas don't need to be in the vg00 volume group.

Now we understand what is the role of Dump size.

Dump size:

Default dump size is quite small (not the full memory), but it should be ok for most usage. It can be modified if required using the crashconf utility.

Note: In crashconf , all sizes are in physical pages (4Kb on PA-RISC).

Now we will go for configuration part which is describe below.

Configuration:

Dump area/logical volumes must be created contiguous and with bad blocks relocation disabled. Use the following lvcreate options if creating manually (or use SAM ).

hpx:/># lvcreate -r n -C y ...

Configuring in the kernel:-

lvlnboot can be used to configure dump areas in the vg00 volume group, as long as you have a dump lvol line in the /stand/system file.

Run time configuration:-

Add lines in /etc/fstab with the following format:

device  /  dump  defaults 0 0

Using swap space as dump area:

Swap spaces can still be used as dump areas. In that case, both usage should be explicitly declared:

• use lvlnboot twice ( - +-s +- and - +-v +- options) 
• or put 2 lines in /etc/fstab (one for swap and one for dump type

When the system disk is mirrored, the swap LV is actually mirrored, whereas the same device used for dumping will only write to one disk.

Dump areas usage order:-

Dump areas are used in reverse order of their declaration, so it's important to declare last the dump areas not used for swap if you have some (this speeds up reboot, since swap can be activated before saving the dump image). 

Also, if your run time configuration does not include any dump area in the vg00 volume group, the kernel will first automatically use the primary swap space as dump device. This might slow down the reboot since the dump must be completely saved before reactivating this primary swap. To avoid that

• declare non-swap dump partitions in /etc/fstab 
• add a dump none line in /stand/system to explicitly use run-time configuration only 

Please comment on the post if you have any query regarding the system dump on HP-UX operating system.

How to find MP console IP address from the running HP-UX Operating system

This post is useful to identify the MP console IP address from the running HP-UX OS, if you forgotten the existing IP address.

For Itanium systems running 11.31 version only we can use smh and the cprop command. These both method works to recover the forgotten password.

cprop is what the smh webpage uses to retrieve the IP address. Run the smh webpage (hostname:hp_ux)

Home -> System -> Management Processor

It is show you the IP address of console port. Also please find the below "cprop" command usage, how to we run this command.

hp_ux:/>/opt/propplus/bin/cprop -summary -c “Management Processor”

[Component]: Management Processor

[Table]: Management Processor

——————————————————-

****************************************************

                   [Hash ID]: Management Processor:11a64d1ax41eed6da

                    [Status]: OK

                 [IPAddress]: 192.168.1.23

                       [URL]: https://192.168.1.23

                     [State]: Enabled

****************************************************

For PARISC boxes and Itanium models running 11.23 or earlier, you must use the serial port on the back of the box. The commands will be:

ctrl-a (to get the attention of the console interface)

<login> typically Admin and Admin

CM (to get to the command menu)

LC 

MA (to exit the CM menu)

X  (to exit the GSP or MP menu)

You can connect the MP console using serial cable, in every HP-UX server are consist this port. Connect the serial cable from one end of server MP port and other side connect to laptop. When you login on the MP console you will get the above option on the server.

Basic HP-UX Commands for Logical Volume Manager (LVM)

This post is useful for those users which are beginners on HP-UX platform. They can easily find all the basic command which are required for creation a file system using logical volume manager (LVM).

Concept of LVM are same in all Unix operating system. LVM is basically used for disk management in operating system that allow to manager the physical disks and logical volume. Here, I will provide to you all basic HP-UX commands.

Basic Commands of HP-UX LVM: 

⏩ How to create a new volume group, logical volume and file system on HP-UX operating system
 

For creating a new physical volume group on HP-UX system, please use the below method.

hpx:/>pvcreate /dev/rdsk/c2t1d1

"Pvcreate" command is used for creating a physical volume on operating system.

⏩ How to create a volume group on HP-UX operating system.

For creating a volume group, first we need to create a directory which we used as a volume group. In my case I will use my volume group name "vstorage" so I need to create a directory with name of vstorage.

hpx:/>mkdir /dev/vstorage
hpx:/>mknod /dev/vstorage/group c 64 0x010000

Once you create a directory, then please create a new volume group with the available disk c2t1d1.

hpx:/>vgcreate /dev/vstorage /dev/dsk/c2t1d1

⏩ How to create a logical group on HP-UX operating system.

When you successfully create a new volume group "vstorage" as describe in above step, we will create a logical group as describe below.

hpx:/>lvcreate -L 2048 /dev/vstorage

If you see the above command we have created a 2 GB size of logical volume.

⏩ How to create a filesystem on HP-UX operating system.

When you successfully created a new logical volume group, then we will create a new file system with the help of VG and LV.

Please find the below command to create a filesystem on HP-UX operating system using LVM.

hpx:/>newfs -F vxfs -o largefiles /dev/vstorage/vg_vstorage

Note: Here, we used "vstorage" as a VG and vg_vstorage as a LV. Now we will create a directory where we mount the new LV.

hpx:/>mkdir /hpux
hpx:/>mount /dev/vstorage/vg_vstorage /hpux

Now, your new file system "/hpux" has been created with the help of LVM. You can mount the file system permanently in filesystem configuration file, so once you take a reboot of server, your file system will not disappear.

Please comment on the post, if you are facing any issue regarding this topic.

ILO LAN console setup on HP-UX rp/rx systems

HP-UX Operating System are mostly used in IT industries because it is more secure and high reliable operating system. For managing hardware and software of HP-UX, ILO is in used.

ILO is a console for HP-UX servers, If your server operating system get crashed, then you can login in to ILO console and check all the logs related to failure as well as you can take a virtual console of OS from ILO.

Here, we will see how to configure the HP-UX ILO on specialized Unix server.

For initial setup, connect a serial terminal to the system. Use CONSOLE cable if there are multiple (usual HP bulkhead) 9600 bauds, 8N1. After that hit Ctrl-b after memory and CPU test at boot time, or if the system is already running

To modify the configuration, you can also telnet to the console IP address, and hit Ctrl-Shift-e , then c , then f to access the console and Ctrl-b to enter setup. You should see the ILO login prompt like that.

MP login: Admin
MP password: *********

Once you successful login, you'll see the ILO MP menu and find the different command to run. Please find the below MP main menu as given below.

MP MAIN MENU:

CO:   Console

VFP: Virtual Front Panel

CM:  Command Menu

CL:   Console Log

SL:   Show Event Logs

HE:  Main Help Menu

X:    Exit Connection

➤ Please select the CO command from MP main menu. The prompt changes to MP:CM> You are now ready to perform the configuration changes.

Note: The preferred method is always the directly connected terminal.

➤ The SA command shows you the Access Configuration menu. Change the settings so that it looks like that. This command allows you to modify MP access configuration.

Current Set Access Configuration:

R - Remote/Modem: OS SESSION

T - Telnet:                  Enabled 

W - Web SSL:           Enabled 

H - SSH:                    Disabled 

I - IPMI over LAN:   Enabled

Edit Section IP settings:

➤ The LC command shows you the LAN Configuration menu. Change the settings so that it looks like that.

Current LAN Configuration:

     MAC Address                              : 0x001a4b0add53
     D - DHCP Status                          : Disabled
     I - IP Address                               : 10.123.5.6
     M - MP Host Name                     : ethan-r
     S - Subnet Mask                          : 255.0.0.0
     G - Gateway Address                  : 10.123.0.1
     L - Link State                              : Auto Negotiate
     W - Remote Serial Console Port : 2023
     H - SSH Access Port                   : 22
     - - IPMI / LAN Port                     : 623

➤ You can see the current settings using the LS command. When you run the LS command it is shown you all current LAN configuration.

➤ The SO command with the O choice shows you the Security/Login options menu. Change the settings so that it looks like that:

Current Security Options:

     L - Login Timeout in minutes          : 1
     N - Number of Password Faults allowed : 3
     F - Allow MP Firmware upgrade via PCI : Enabled
     R - Allow MP reset via IPMI           : Disabled
     P - Allow MP password reset via IPMI  : Disabled

Edit Section Users:

➤ Use the UC command to view the User Configuration. If you can see the below my command output when you run the UC command on the command menu.

Login ID             User Name               Access Rights   Enabled
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1 - Admin         Default Admin         C, P, M, U       Yes
   2 - Oper            Default Operator      C                     Yes
   3 - root              root                           C, P, M, U       Yes

Using above all method section we can configure the ILO on HP-UX rp/rx system. Please make sure in every HP-UX system parametere are different , so you can change as per your requirment.

Please post the comment on the blog, if you have any query regarding this topic.