Storage Array Support
3
In this configuration, I/O can be spread among those four paths.
Figure 1.3. Active/Active Multipath Configuration with One RAID Device
1.2. Storage Array Support
By default, DM-Multipath includes support for the most common storage arrays that support DM-
Multipath. The supported devices can be found in the
multipath.conf.defaults
file. If your
storage array supports DM-Multipath and is not configured by default in this file, you may need to add
them to the DM-Multipath configuration file,
multipath.conf
. For information on the DM-Multipath
configuration file, see
Chapter 4, The DM-Multipath Configuration File
.
Some storage arrays require special handling of I/O errors and path switching. These require separate
hardware handler kernel modules.
1.3. DM-Multipath Components
Table 1.1, “DM-Multipath Components”
. describes the components of DM-Multipath.
Component
Description
dm-multipath
kernel module Reroutes I/O and supports failover for paths and path groups.
multipath
command
Lists and configures multipath devices. Normally started up
with
/etc/rc.sysinit
, it can also be started up by a
udev
program whenever a block device is added or it can be run by the
initramfs
file system.
multipathd
daemon
Monitors paths; as paths fail and come back, it may initiate path
group switches. Provides for interactive changes to multipath
devices. This must be restarted for any changes to the
/etc/
multipath.conf
file.