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VxVM System Administrator's Guide

Volume Manager Error Messages

Appendix A


Introduction

This appendix provides information on error messages associated with the Volume Manager configuration daemon (vxconfigd) and the kernel. It covers most informational, failure, and error messages displayed (on the console) by vxconfigd and the kernel driver. These include some errors that are infrequently encountered and difficult to troubleshoot.

The message descriptions are numbered for ease of reference. Clarifications are included to elaborate on the situation or problem that may have generated a particular message. Wherever possible, a recovery procedure (action) is provided to locate and correct the problem.

The following sections are included in this appendix:

Logging Error Messages

The Volume Manager provides the option of logging console output to a file. This logging is useful in that any messages output just before a system crash will be available in the log file (presuming that the crash does not result in file system corruption). vxconfigd controls whether such logging is turned on or off. If enabled, the default log file is /var/vxvm/vxconfigd.log.

vxconfigd also supports the use of syslog() to log all of its regular console messages. When this is enabled, all console output is directed through the syslog() interface.

syslog() and log file logging can be used together to provide reliable logging (into a private log file), along with distributed logging through syslogd.

To enable logging of console output to a file, you can either invoke vxconfigd as follows or edit VxVM startup scripts (described later):

vxconfigd -x log
To enable syslog() logging of console output, you can either invoke vxconfigd as follows or edit VxVM startup scripts (described later):

vxconfigd -x syslog

To enable log file and/or syslog() logging, you can also edit the following portion of the /etc/init.d/vxvm-sysboot startup script:

# comment-out or uncomment any of the following lines to enable or
# disable the corresponding feature in vxconfigd.

#opts="$opts -x syslog"                 # use syslog for console                                           messages
#opts="$opts -x log"                    # messages to /var/vxvm/vxconfigd.log
#opts="$opts -x logfile=/foo/bar"       # specify an alternate log                                           file
#opts="$opts -x timestamp"              # timestamp console messages

# to turn on debugging console output, uncomment the following line.
# The debug level can be set higher for more output.  The higest debug
# level is 9.

#debug=1                                # enable debugging console ouptut

Uncomment the line(s) corresponding to the feature(s) that you want enabled at startup. For example, to set up vxconfigd to automatically use file logging, uncomment the opts="$opts -x log" string.

For more information on logging options available through vxconfigd, refer to the vxconfigd(1M) manual page.

Volume Manager Configuration Daemon Error Messages

The Volume Manager is fault-tolerant and resolves most problems without system administrator intervention. If the Volume Manager configuration daemon (vxconfigd) recognizes what actions are necessary, it will queue up the transactions that are required. VxVM provides atomic changes of system configurations; either a transaction completes fully or the system appears as though the transaction was never attempted. When vxconfigd is unable to recognize and fix system problems, the system administrator needs to handle the task of problem solving.

The following sections cover the error messages associated with the Volume Manager configuration daemon.

vxconfigd Usage Messages

The following are usage messages associated with vxconfigd.

Message: Usage: vxconfigd - long

Usage: vxconfigd [-dkf] [-r reset] [-m mode] [-x level] 

Recognized options: 
-d 				set initial mode to disabled for transactions 
-k 				kill the existing configuration daemon process 
-f 				operate in foreground; default is to operate in background 
-r reset				reset kernel state; requires 'reset' option argument 
-m mode 				set vold's operating mode 
				modes: disable, enable, bootload, bootstart 
-x debug				set debugging level to <debug>, 0 turns off debugging 
-R file				set filename for client request rendezvous 
-D file				set filename for client diag request rendezvous

>>Clarification

This is the full usage message for vxconfigd, which results from entering the command vxconfigd help.

Message: Usage: vxconfigd - short

Usage: vxconfigd [-dkf] [-r reset] [-m mode] [-x level] 
For detailed help use: vxconfigd help

>>Clarification

This is the standard vxconfigd usage error message. Appearance of this message implies that some option was supplied incorrectly.

>>Action

If you need help in using vxconfigd, try using the command
vxconfigd help.

For more detailed information, see the vxconfigd(1M) manual page.

Message: -r must be followed by 'reset'

-r must be followed by 'reset'
>>Clarification

This is a usage error. The -r option requires an option argument consisting of the string reset.

>>Action

Either don't use the -r option, or supply the reset option argument.

Message: -x argument: invalid debug string

-x argument: invalid debug string
>>Clarification

An unrecognized string was specified as an argument to the -x option.

>>Action

See vxconfigd(1M) for a list of valid arguments to -x.

Message: -x devprefix=device_prefix: prefix too long

-x devprefix=device_prefix: prefix too long

>>Clarification

The -x devprefix=device_prefix option was used to define a prefix path for the /dev/dsk and /dev/rdsk directories, and that prefix was too long.

>>Action

Use a shorter prefix.

vxconfigd Error Messages

The following are general error messages associated with vxconfigd.

Message: signal_name [core dumped]

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: signal_name [ - core dumped ]

>>Clarification

The vxconfigd daemon encountered an unexpected signal while starting up. The specific signal is indicated by signal_name. If the signal caused the vxconfigd process to dump core, then that will be indicated. This could be caused by a bug in vxconfigd, particularly if signal_name is "Segmentation fault." Alternately, this could have been caused by a user sending vxconfigd a signal with the kill utility.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support.

Message: Unrecognized operating mode

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: mode_name: Unrecognized operating mode

>>Clarification

An invalid string was specified as an argument to the -m option. Valid strings are: enable, disable, and boot.

>>Action

Supply a correct option argument.

Message: vxconfigd cannot boot-start RAID-5 volumes

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: volume_name: vxconfigd cannot boot-start RAID-5 volumes

>>Clarification

A volume that vxconfigd should start immediately upon booting the system (i.e., the volume for the /usr file system) has a RAID-5 layout. The /usr file system should never be defined on a RAID-5 volume.

>>Action

It is likely that the only recovery for this is to boot the Volume Manager from a network-mounted root file system (or from a CD-ROM), and reconfigure the /usr file system to be defined on a regular non-RAID-5 volume.

Message: Cannot get all disk groups from the kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Cannot get all disk groups from the kernel: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Cannot get all disks from the kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Cannot get all disks from the kernel: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Cannot get kernel transaction state

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Cannot get kernel transaction state: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Cannot get private storage from kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Cannot get private storage from kernel: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Cannot get private storage size from kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Cannot get private storage size from kernel: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Cannot get record from the kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Cannot get record record_name from the kernel: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Cannot kill existing daemon, pid=process-ID

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Cannot kill existing daemon, pid=process-ID

>>Clarification

The -k (kill existing vxconfigd process) option was specified, but a running configuration daemon process could not be killed. A configuration daemon process, for purposes of this discussion, is any process that opens the /dev/vx/config device (only one process can open that device at a time). If there is a configuration daemon process already running, then the -k option causes a SIGKILL signal to be send to that process. If, within a certain period of time, there is still a running configuration daemon process, then the above error message will be displayed.

>>Action

This error can result from a kernel error that has made the configuration daemon process unkillable, from some other kind of kernel error, or from some other user starting another configuration daemon process after the SIGKILL signal. This last condition can be tested for by running vxconfigd -k again. If the error message appears again, contact Customer Support.

Message: Cannot make directory

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Cannot make directory directory_path: reason

>>Clarification

vxconfigd failed to create a directory that it expects to be able to create. Directories that vxconfigd might try to create are: /dev/vx/dsk, /dev/vx/rdsk, and /var/vxvm/tempdb. Also, for each disk group, /dev/vx/dsk/diskgroup and /dev/vx/rdsk/diskgroup directories are created. The system error related to the failure is given in reason. A system error of "No such file or directory" indicates that one of the prefix directories (for example, /var/vxvm) does not exist.

This type of error normally implies that the VxVM packages were installed incorrectly. Such an error can also occur if alternate file or directory locations are specified on the command line, using the -x option. The _VXVM_ROOT_DIR environment variable may also relocate to a directory that lacks a var/vxvm subdirectory.

>>Action

Try to create the directory manually and then issue the command
vxdctl enable. If the error is due to incorrect installation of the VxVM packages, try to add the VxVM packages again.

Message: Cannot open /etc/vfstab

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Cannot open /etc/vfstab: reason

>>Clarification

vxconfigd could not open the /etc/vfstab file, for the reason given. The /etc/vfstab file is used to determine which volume (if any) to use for the /usr file system. If the /etc/vfstab file cannot be opened, vxconfigd prints the above error message and exits.

>>Action

This error implies that your root file system is currently unusable. You may be able to repair your root file system by mounting the root file system after booting from a network or CD-ROM root file system. If the root file system is defined on a volume, then see the procedures defined for recovering from a failed root file system in the "Recovery" appendix.

Message: Cannot recover operation in progress

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Cannot recover operation in progress 
Failed to get group group from the kernel: error

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Cannot reset VxVM kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Cannot reset VxVM kernel: reason

>>Clarification

The -r reset option was specified to vxconfigd, but the VxVM kernel drivers could not be reset. The most common reason for this is "A virtual disk device is open." That error implies that a VxVM tracing device or volume device is open.

>>Action

If, for some reason, you really want to reset the kernel devices, you will need to track down and kill all processes that have a volume or VxVM tracing device open. Also, if any volumes are mounted as file systems, unmount those file systems.

An error reason other than "A virtual disk device is open" should not normally occur unless there is a bug in the operating system or in the Volume Manager.

Message: Cannot start volume, no valid complete plexes

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Cannot start volume volume, no valid complete plexes

>>Clarification

This error indicates that the volume for either the root or /usr file system cannot be started because the volume contains no valid plexes. This can happen, for example, if disk failures have caused all plexes to be unusable. It can also happen as a result of Actions that caused all plexes to become unusable (for example, forcing the dissociation of subdisks or detaching, dissociation, or offlining of plexes).

>>Action

It is possible that this error results from a drive that failed to spin up. If so, rebooting may fix the problem. If that does not fix the problem, then the only recourse is to restore the root or /usr file system or to reinstall the system. Restoring the root or /usr file system requires that you have a valid backup. See the "Recovery" appendix for information on how to fix problems with root or /usr file system volumes.

Message: Cannot start volume, no valid plexes

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Cannot start volume volume, no valid plexes

>>Clarification

This error indicates that the volume for either the root or /usr file system cannot be started because the volume contains no valid plexes. This can happen, for example, if disk failures have caused all plexes to be unusable. It can also happen as a result of Actions that caused all plexes to become unusable (for example, forcing the dissociation of subdisks or detaching, dissociating, or offlining plexes).

>>Action

It is possible that this error results from a drive that failed to spin up. If so, rebooting may fix the problem. If that does not fix the problem, then the only recourse is to restore the root or /usr file system or to reinstall the system. Restoring the root or /usr file system requires that you have a valid backup. See the "Recovery" appendix for information on how to fix problems with root or /usr file system volumes.

Message: Cannot start volume, volume state is invalid

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Cannot start volume volume, volume state is invalid

>>Clarification

The volume for the root or /usr file system is in an unexpected state (not ACTIVE, CLEAN, SYNC or NEEDSYNC). This should not happen unless the system administrator circumvents the mechanisms used by the Volume Manager to create these volumes.

>>Action

The only recourse is to bring up the Volume Manager on a CD-ROM or NFS-mounted root file system and to fix the state of the volume. See the "Recovery" appendix for further information.

Message: Cannot store private storage into the kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Cannot store private storage into the kernel: error

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Differing version of vxconfigd installed

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Differing version of vxconfigd installed

>>Clarification

A vxconfigd daemon was started after the stopping of an earlier vxconfigd with a non-matching version number. This can happen, for example, if you upgrade from an earlier release of VxVM to VxVM 2.3 and run vxconfigd without a reboot.

>>Action

To fix, reboot the system.

Message: Disk, group, device: not updated with new host ID

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Disk disk, group group, device device: not updated with new host ID 
Error: reason

>>Clarification

This can result from using vxdctl hostid to change the VxVM host ID for the system. The error indicates that one of the disks in a disk group could not be updated with the new host ID. Most likely, this indicates that the given disk has become inaccessible or has failed in some other way.

>>Action

Try running the following to determine whether the disk is still operational:

	vxdisk check device
If the disk is no longer operational, vxdisk should print a message such as:

device: Error: Disk write failure

This will result in the disk being taken out of active use in its disk group, if it has not been taken out of use already. If the disk is still operational (which should not be the case), vxdisk will print:

device: Okay

If the disk is listed as Okay, try vxdctl hostid again. If it still results in an error, contact Customer Support.

Message: Disk group, Disk: Cannot auto-import group

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Disk group group, Disk disk: Cannot auto-import group: reason

>>Clarification

On system startup, vxconfigd failed to import the disk group associated with the named disk. A message related to the specific failure is given in reason. Additional error messages may be displayed that give more information on the specific error. In particular, this is often followed by:

	vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Disk group group: Errors in some 		
	configuration copies: Disk device, copy number: Block bno: error ...

The most common reason for auto-import failures is excessive numbers of disk failures, making it impossible for the Volume Manager to find correct copies of the disk group configuration database and kernel update log. Disk groups usually have enough copies of this configuration information to make such import failures unlikely.

A more serious failure is indicated by error types of:

	Format error in configuration copy 
	Invalid magic number 
	Invalid block number
	Duplicate record in configuration
	Configuration records are inconsistent

These errors indicate that all configuration copies have become corrupt (due to disk failures, writing on the disk by an application or the administrator, or bugs in the Volume Manager).

Some correctable errors may be indicated by other error messages that appear in conjunction with the auto-import failure message. Look up those other errors for more information on their cause.

Failure of an auto-import implies that the volumes in that disk group will not be available for use. If there are file systems on those volumes, then the system may yield further errors resulting from inability to access the volume when mounting the file system.

>>Action

If the error is clearly caused by excessive disk failures, then you may have to recreate the disk group and restore contents of any volumes from a backup. There may be other error messages that appear which provide further information. See those other error messages for more information on how to proceed. If those errors do not make it clear how to proceed, contact Customer Support.

Message: Disk group, Disk: Group name collides with record in rootdg

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Disk group group, Disk device: Group name  collides with record in rootdg

>>Clarification

The name of a disk group that is being imported conflicts with the name of a record in the rootdg disk group. VxVM does not allow this kind of conflict because of the way the /dev/vx/dsk directory is organized: devices corresponding to records in the root disk group share this directory with subdirectories for each disk group.

>>Action

Either remove or rename the conflicting record in the root disk group, or rename the disk group on import. See the vxdg(1M) manual page for information on how to use the import operation to rename a disk group.

Message: Disk group, Disk: Skip disk group with duplicate name

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Disk group group, Disk device: Skip disk group with duplicate name

>>Clarification

Two disk groups with the same name are tagged for auto-importing by the same host. Disk groups are identified both by a simple name and by a long unique identifier (disk group ID) assigned when the disk group is created. Thus, this error indicates that two disks indicate the same disk group name but a different disk group ID.

The Volume Manager does not allow you to create a disk group or import a disk group from another machine, if that would cause a collision with a disk group that is already imported. Therefore, this error is unlikely to occur under normal use. However, this error can occur in the following two cases:

>>Action

If you want to import both disk groups, then rename the second disk group on import. See the vxdg(1M) manual page for information on how to use the import operation to rename a disk group.

Disk group: Cannot recover temp database

   vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Disk group group: Cannot recover temp
   databae: reason 

   Consider use of "vxconfigd -x cleartempdir" [see vxconfigd(1M)].

>>Clarification

This can happen if you kill and restart vxconfigd or you if you disable and enable it with vxdctl disable and vxdctl enable. This error indicates a failure related to reading the file /var/vxvm/tempdb/groupname. This is a temporary file used to store information that is used when recovering the state of an earlier vxconfigd. The file is recreated on a reboot, so this error should never survive a reboot.

>>Action

If you can reboot, do so. If you do not want to reboot, then do the following:

1. Ensure that no vxvol, vxplex, or vxsd processes are running.

Use ps -e to search for such processes, and use kill to kill any that you find. You may have to run kill twice to make these processes go away. Killing utilities in this way may make it difficult to make administrative changes to some volumes until the system is rebooted.

2. Run the command:

	vxconfigd -x cleartempdir 2> /dev/console

This will recreate the temporary database files for all imported disk groups.

The vxvol, vxplex, and vxsd commands make use of these tempdb files to communicate locking information. If the file is cleared, then locking information can be lost. Without this locking information, two utilities can end up making incompatible changes to the configuration of a volume.

Message: Disk group: Disabled by errors

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Disk group group: Disabled by errors

>>Clarification

This message indicates that some error condition has made it impossible for VxVM to continue to manage changes to a disk group. The major reason for this is that too many disks have failed, making it impossible for vxconfigd to continue to update configuration copies. There should be a preceding error message that indicates the specific error that was encountered.

If the disk group that was disabled is the rootdg disk group, then the following additional error should be displayed:

	vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: All transactions are disabled

This additional message indicates that vxconfigd has entered the disabled state, which makes it impossible to change the configuration of any disk group, not just rootdg.

>>Action

If the underlying error resulted from a transient failure, such as a disk cabling error, then you may be able to repair the situation by rebooting. Otherwise, the disk group may have to be recreated and restored from a backup. Failure of the rootdg disk group may require reinstallation of the system if your system uses a root or /usr file system defined on a volume.

Message: Disk group: Errors in some configuration copies: Disk, copy

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Disk group group: Errors in some configuration copies: Disk disk, copy number: [Block number]: 
reason ...

>>Clarification

During a failed disk group import, some of the configuration copies in the named disk group were found to have format or other types of errors which make those copies unusable. This message lists all configuration copies that have uncorrected errors, including any appropriate logical block number. If no other reasons are displayed, then this may be the cause of the disk group import failure.

>>Action

If some of the copies failed due to transient errors (such as cable failures), then a reboot or reimport may succeed in importing the disk group. Otherwise, the disk group may have to be recreated from scratch.

Message: Disk group: Reimport of disk group failed

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Disk group group: Reimport of disk group failed: reason

>>Clarification

After vxconfigd was stopped and restarted (or disabled and then enabled), the Volume Manager failed to recreate the import of the indicated disk group. The reason for failure is specified. Additional error messages may be displayed that give further information describing the problem.

>>Action

A major cause for this kind of failure is disk failures that were not addressed before vxconfigd was stopped or disabled. If the problem is a transient disk failure, then rebooting may take care of the condition.

Message: Disk group: update failed

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Disk group group: update failed: reason

>>Clarification

I/O failures have prevented vxconfigd from updating any active copies of the disk group configuration. This usually implies a large number of disk failures. This error will usually be followed by the error:

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Disk group group: Disabled by errors

>>Action

If the underlying error resulted from a transient failure, such as a disk cabling error, then you may be able to repair the situation by rebooting. Otherwise, the disk group may have to be recreated and restored from a backup.

Message: Failed to store commit status list into kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Failed to store commit status list into kernel: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: GET_VOLINFO ioctl failed

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: GET_VOLINFO ioctl failed: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Get of current rootdg failed

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Get of current rootdg failed: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Memory allocation failure

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Memory allocation failure

>>Clarification

This implies that there is insufficient memory to start up the Volume Manager and to get the volumes for the root and /usr file systems running.

>>Action

This error should not normally occur, unless your system has very small amounts of memory. Adding just swap space will probably not help because this error is most likely to occur early in the boot sequence, before swap areas have been added.

Message: Mount point: volume not in rootdg disk group

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Mount point path: volume not in rootdg disk group

>>Clarification

The volume device listed in the /etc/vfstab file for the given mount-point directory (normally /usr) is listed as in a disk group other than rootdg. This error should not occur if the standard VxVM procedures are used for encapsulating the disk containing the /usr file system.

>>Action

You will need to boot the Volume Manager from a network or CD-ROM mounted root file system. Then, start up the Volume Manager using fixmountroot on a valid mirror disk of the root file system. After starting VxVM, mount the root file system volume and edit the /etc/vfstab file. Change the file to use a direct partition for the file system. There should be a comment in the /etc/vfstab file that indicates which partition to use, for example:

#NOTE: volume usr (/usr) encapsulated partition c0b0t3d0s5

Message: No convergence between root disk group and disk list

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: No convergence between root disk group and disk list 
Disks in one version of rootdg: 
	device type=device_type info=devinfo ... 
Disks in alternate version of rootdg: 
	device type=device_type info=devinfo ...

>>Clarification

This message can appear when vxconfigd is not running in autoconfigure mode (see the vxconfigd(1M) manual page) and when, after several retries, it can not resolve the set of disks belonging to the root disk group. The algorithm for non-autoconfigure disks is to scan disks listed in the /etc/vx/volboot file and then examine the disks to find a database copy for the rootdg disk group. The database copy is then read to find the list of disk access records for disks contained in the group. These disks are then examined to ensure that they contain the same database copy. As such, this algorithm expects to gain convergence on the set of disks and the database copies contained on them. If a loop is entered and convergence cannot be reached, then this message will appear and the root disk group importation will fail.

>>Action

Reorganizing the physical locations of the devices attached to the system may break the deadlock. Failing this, contact Customer Support.

Message: Open of directory failed

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Open of directory directory failed: reason

>>Clarification

An open failed for the /dev/vx/dsk or /dev/vx/rdsk directory (or a subdirectory of either of those directories). The only likely cause of such a failure should be that the directory was removed by the administrator or by an errant program. For this case, the reason should be "No such file or directory." An alternate possible cause is an I/O failure.

>>Action

If the error was "No such file or directory," then create the directory (using mkdir). Then run the command vxdctl enable.

If the error was an I/O error, then there may be other serious damage to the root file system. You may need to reformat your root disk and restore the root file system from backup. Contact your system vendor or consult your system documentation.

Message: Read of directory failed

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Read of directory directory failed: reason

>>Clarification

There was a failure in reading the /dev/vx/dsk or /dev/vx/rdsk directory (or a subdirectory of either of those directories). The only likely cause of this error is an I/O failure on the root file system.

>>Action

If the error was an I/O error, then there may be other serious damage to the root file system. You may need to reformat your root disk and restore the root file system from backup. Contact your system vendor or consult your system documentation.

Message: System boot disk does not have a valid root plex

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: System boot disk does not have a valid root plex 
Please boot from one of the following disks: 
Disk: diskname Device: device ...

>>Clarification

The system is configured to use a volume for the root file system, but was not booted on a disk containing a valid mirror of the root volume. Disks containing valid root mirrors are listed as part of the error message. A disk is usable as a boot disk if there is a root mirror on that disk which is not stale or offline.

>>Action

Try to boot from one of the disks named in the error message.

Message: System startup failed

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: System startup failed

>>Clarification

Either the root or the /usr file system volume could not be started, rendering the system unusable. The error that resulted in this condition should appear prior to this error message.

>>Action

Look up other error messages appearing on the console and take the actions suggested in the descriptions of those messages.

Message: There is no volume configured for the root device

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: There is no volume configured for the root device

>>Clarification

The system is configured to boot from a root file system defined on a volume, but there is no root volume listed in the configuration of the rootdg disk group.

The system somehow has two rootdg disk groups, one of which contains a root file system volume and one of which does not, and vxconfigd somehow chose the wrong one. Since vxconfigd chooses the more recently accessed version of rootdg, this error can happen if the system clock was updated incorrectly at some point (causing the apparent access order of the two disk groups to be reversed). This can also happen if some disk group was deported and renamed to rootdg with locks given to this host.

>>Action

Either boot with all drives in the offending version of rootdg turned off, or import and rename [see vxdg(1M)] the offending rootdg disk group from another host. In the case of turning off drives, run the following command after booting:

	vxdg flush rootdg

This will update time stamps on the imported version of rootdg, which should make the correct version appear to be the more recently accessed. If this does not correct the problem, then contact Customer Support.

Message: Unexpected configuration tid for group found in kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Unexpected configuration tid for group group found in kernel

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Unexpected error during volume reconfiguration

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Unexpected error during volume volume reconfiguration: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Unexpected error fetching disk for volume

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Unexpected error fetching disk for disk volume: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Unexpected values stored in the kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Unexpected values stored in the kernel

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Version number of kernel does not match vxconfigd

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Version number of kernel does not match vxconfigd

>>Clarification

The release of vxconfigd does not match the release of the Volume Manager kernel drivers. This should happen only as a result of upgrading VxVM, and then running vxconfigd without a reboot.

>>Action

Reboot the system. If that does not cure the problem, then add the VxVM packages again.

Message: Volume for mount point /usr not found in rootdg disk group

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Volume volume for mount point /usr not found in rootdg disk group

>>Clarification

The system is configured to boot with /usr mounted on a volume, but the volume associated with /usr is not listed in the configuration of the rootdg disk group. There are a couple of possible causes of this error:

>>Action

In case 1, boot the system on a CD-ROM or networking-mounted root file system. If the root file system is defined on a volume, then start and mount the root volume using the procedures defined in the "Recovery" appendix. If the root file system is not defined on a volume, then just mount the root file system directly. Edit the /etc/vfstab file to correct the entry for the /usr file system.

In case 2, either boot with all drives in the offending version of rootdg turned off, or import and rename [see vxdg(1M)] the offending rootdg disk group from another host. In the case of turning off drives, run the following command after booting:

	vxdg flush rootdg

This will update time stamps on the imported version of rootdg, which should make the correct version appear to be the more recently accessed. If this does not correct the problem, then contact Customer Support.

Message: cannot open /dev/vx/config

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: cannot open /dev/vx/config: reason

>>Clarification

The /dev/vx/config device could not be opened. vxconfigd uses this device to communicate with the Volume Manager kernel drivers. The reason string indicates the reason for the open failure. The most likely reason is Device is already open. This reason indicates that some process (most likely vxconfigd) already has /dev/vx/config open. Other less likely reasons are "No such file or directory" or "No such device or address." For either of these two reasons, the two likely causes are:

>>Action

For the reason "Device is already open," if you really want to run vxconfigd, then stop or kill the old one. You can kill whatever process has vxconfigd open by running the command:

	vxdctl -k stop

For other failure reasons, consider re-adding the base Volume Manager package. This will reconfigure the device node and re-install the Volume Manager kernel device drivers. If you cannot re-add the package, then contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: enable failed

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: enable failed: reason

>>Clarification

Regular startup of vxconfigd failed for the stated reason. This error can also result from the command vxdctl enable. This error may include the following additional text:

additional-reason; aborting
This message indicates that the failure was fatal and that vxconfigd is forced to exit. The most likely cause that results in an abort is inability to create IPC channels for communicating with other utilities.

additional-reason; transactions are disabled
This message indicates that vxconfigd is continuing to run, but no configuration updates are possible until the error condition is repaired.

Additionally, this may be followed with:

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: Disk group group: Errors in some configuration copies:
Disk device, copy number: Block bno: error ...

Reasons for failure vary considerably. Other error messages may be displayed that further indicate the underlying problem. If the Errors in some configuration copies error occurs, then that may indicate the problem.

>>Action

Evaluate other error messages occurring with this one to determine the root cause of the problem. Make changes suggested by the other errors and then retry the command.

Message: /dev/vx/info

vxvm:vxconfigd: ERROR: /dev/vx/info: reason

>>Clarification

The /dev/vx/info device could not be opened, or did not respond to a Volume Manager kernel request. This error most likely indicates one of the following:

>>Action

Consider re-adding the base Volume Manager package. This will reconfigure the device node and re-install the Volume Manager kernel device drivers.

vxconfigd Fatal Error Messages

The following are fatal error messages associated with vxconfigd.

Message: Disk group rootdg: Inconsistency -- Not loaded into kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: FATAL ERROR: Disk group rootdg: Inconsistency -- Not loaded into kernel

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Group: Cannot update kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: FATAL ERROR: Group group: Cannot update kernel

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Interprocess communication failure

vxvm:vxconfigd: FATAL ERROR: Interprocess communication failure: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Invalid status stored in kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: FATAL ERROR: Invalid status stored in kernel

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Memory allocation failure during startup

vxvm:vxconfigd: FATAL ERROR: Memory allocation failure during startup

>>Clarification

This implies that there is insufficient memory to start up the Volume Manager and to get the volumes for the root and /usr file systems running.

>>Action

This error should not normally occur, unless your system has very small amounts of memory. Adding just swap space probably will not help, because this error is most likely to occur early in the boot sequence, before swap areas have been added.

Message: Rootdg cannot be imported during boot

vxvm:vxconfigd: FATAL ERROR: Rootdg cannot be imported during boot

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager error. This error should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

vxvm:vxconfigd: FATAL ERROR: Unexpected threads failure: reason

vxconfigd Notice Messages

The following are notice messages associated with vxconfigd.

Message: Detached disk

vxvm:vxconfigd: NOTICE: Detached disk disk

>>Clarification

The named disk appears to have become unusable and was detached from its disk group. Additional messages may appear to indicate other records detached as a result of the disk detach.

>>Action

If hot-relocation is enabled, the VxVM objects affected by the disk failure may be taken care of automatically. Mail will be sent to root indicating what actions were taken by the Volume Manager and what further actions the administrator should take.

Message: Detached log for volume

vxvm:vxconfigd: NOTICE: Detached log for volume volume

>>Clarification

The DRL or RAID-5 log for the named volume was detached as a result of a disk failure, or as a result of the administrator removing a disk with vxdg -k rmdisk. A failing disk is indicated by a Detached disk disk message.

>>Action

If the log is mirrored, hot-relocation may automatically relocate the failed log. Remove the failing logs using either vxplex dis or vxsd dis. Then, use vxassist addlog [see the vxassist(1M) manual page] to add a new log to the volume.

Message: Detached plex in volume

vxvm:vxconfigd: NOTICE: Detached plex plex in volume volume

>>Clarification

The specified plex was disabled as a result of a disk failure, or as a result of the administrator removing a disk with vxdg -k rmdisk. A failing disk is indicated by a Detached disk disk message.

>>Action

If hot-relocation is enabled, the VxVM objects affected by the disk failure may be taken care of automatically. Mail will be sent to root indicating what actions were taken by the Volume Manager and what further actions the administrator should take.

Message: Detached subdisk in volume

vxvm:vxconfigd: NOTICE: Detached subdisk subdisk in volume volume

>>Clarification

The specified subdisk was disabled as a result of a disk failure, or as a result of the administrator removing a disk with vxdg -k rmdisk. A failing disk is indicated by a Detached disk disk message.

>>Action

If hot-relocation is enabled, the VxVM objects affected by the disk failure may be taken care of automatically. Mail will be sent to root indicating what actions were taken by the Volume Manager and what further actions the administrator should take.

Message: Detached volume

vxvm:vxconfigd: NOTICE: Detached volume volume

>>Clarification

The specified volume was detached as a result of a disk failure, or as a result of the administrator removing a disk with vxdg -k rmdisk. A failing disk is indicated by a Detached disk disk message. Unless the disk error is transient and can be fixed with a reboot, the contents of the volume should be considered lost.

>>Action

There is no action to be taken. Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Offlining config copy on disk

vxvm:vxconfigd: NOTICE: Offlining config copy number on disk disk: Reason: reason

>>Clarification

An I/O error caused the indicated configuration copy to be disabled. This is a notice only, and does not normally imply serious problems, unless this is the last active configuration copy in the disk group.

>>Action

You should consider replacing the indicated disk, since this error implies that the disk has deteriorated to the point where write errors cannot be repaired automatically. This can also result from transient errors, such as cabling problems or power problems. Check for a cabling problem.

Message: Volume entering degraded mode

vxvm:vxconfigd: NOTICE: Volume volume entering degraded mode

>>Clarification

The detach of a subdisk in the named RAID-5 volume has caused that volume to enter "degraded" mode. While in degraded mode, performance of the RAID-5 volume will be substantially reduced. More importantly, failure of another subdisk may leave the RAID-5 volume unusable. Also, if the RAID-5 volume does not have an active log, then failure of the system may leave the volume unusable.

>>Action

If hot-relocation is enabled, the VxVM objects affected by the disk failure may be taken care of automatically. Mail will be sent to root indicating what actions were taken by the Volume Manager and what further actions the administrator should take.

vxconfigd Warning Messages

The following are warning messages associated with vxconfigd.

Message: Bad request: client, portal [REQUEST|DIAG], size

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Bad request number: client number, portal [REQUEST|DIAG], size number

>>Clarification

This is a diagnostic message that indicates an invalid request generated by a utility that has connected to vxconfigd. This message indicates a bug in that connected utility.

>>Action

If you are actually developing a new utility, then this error indicates a bug in your code. Otherwise, this error indicates a bug in the Volume Manager. Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Cannot change disk group record in kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Cannot change disk group record in kernel: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager problem. This warning should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Cannot create device

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Cannot create device device_path: reason

>>Clarification

vxconfigd cannot create a device node either under /dev/vx/dsk or under /dev/vx/rdsk. This should happen only if the root file system has run out of inodes.

>>Action

Try removing some files from the root file system. Then, regenerate the device node with the command:

vxdctl enable

Message: Cannot exec /sbin/rm to remove directory

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Cannot exec /sbin/rm to remove directory: reason

>>Clarification

The given directory could not be removed because the /sbin/rm utility could not be executed by vxconfigd. This is not a serious error. The only side effect of a directory not being removed is that the directory and its contents will continue to use space in the root file system. However, this does imply that the rm utility is missing or is not in its usual location. This may be a serious problem for the general running of your system.

>>Action

If the rm utility is missing or is not in the /sbin directory, you should restore it from somewhere.

Message: Cannot fork to remove directory

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Cannot fork to remove directory directory: reason

>>Clarification

The given directory could not be removed because vxconfigd could not fork in order to run the rm utility. This is not a serious error. The only side effect of a directory not being removed is that the directory and its contents will continue to use space in the root file system. The most likely cause for this error is that your system does not have enough memory or paging space to allow vxconfigd to fork.

>>Action

If your system is this low on memory or paging space, then your overall system performance is probably being substantially effected. Consider adding more memory or paging space.

Message: Cannot issue internal transaction

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Cannot issue internal transaction: reason

>>Clarification

This problem usually occurs only if there is a Volume Manager bug. However, it may occur in cases where memory is low.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Cannot open log file

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Cannot open log file log_filename: reason

>>Clarification

The vxconfigd console output log file could not be opened for the given reason. A log file is opened if -x log is specified, or if a log file is specified with -x logfile=file. The default log file is /var/vxvm/vxconfigd.log. The most likely cause for failure is "No such file or directory," which indicates that the directory containing the log file does not exist.

>>Action

Create any needed directories, or use a different log file path name.

Message: Detaching plex from volume

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Detaching plex plex from volume volume

>>Clarification

The given plex is being detached from the given volume as part of starting the volume. This error only happens for volumes that are started automatically by vxconfigd at system startup (i.e., for the root and /usr file system volumes). The plex is being detached as a result of an I/O failure, a disk failure during startup or prior to the last system shutdown or crash, or a disk removal prior to the last system shutdown or crash.

>>Action

If you want to ensure that the root or /usr file system retains the same number of active mirrors, then remove the given plex and add a new mirror using the vxassist mirror operation. You might also consider replacing any bad disks before using vxassist mirror.

Message: Disk in group flagged as shared; Disk skipped

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Disk disk in group group flagged as shared; Disk skipped

>>Clarification

The given disk is listed as shared, but the running version of VxVM does not support shared disk groups. This message can usually be ignored.

>>Action

There is no action to take. If you want to use the disk on this system, then use vxdiskadd to add the disk for use by the local system. However, do not do that if the disk really is in a shared disk group that is in use by other systems that are sharing this disk.

Message: Disk in group locked by host Disk skipped

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Disk disk in group group locked by host hostid Disk skipped

>>Clarification

The given disk is listed as locked by the host with the listed Volume Manager hostid (usually the same as the system hostname). This message can usually be ignored.

>>Action

There is no action to take. If you want to use the disk on this system, then use vxdiskadd to add the disk for use by the local system. However, do not do that if the disk really is in a disk group that is in use by another system that is sharing this disk.

Message: Disk in group: Disk device not found

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Disk disk in group group: Disk device not found

>>Clarification

No physical disk can be found that matches the named disk in the given disk group. This is equivalent to failure of that disk. Physical disks are located by matching disk IDs stored in the Volume Manager header on a disk and disk IDs stored in the disk group configuration. The configuration contains the official list of disk IDs for all disks in a disk group (the IDs are contained in disk media configuration records). The physical disks are then scanned to match that list against the disk IDs stored in disk headers. This error message is displayed for any disk IDs in the configuration that are not located in the disk header of any physical disk.

This may result from a transient failure (such as a poorly-attached cable, or from a disk that failed to spin up fast enough). Alternately, this may happen as a result of a disk being physically removed from the system, or from a disk that has become unusable due to a head crash or electronics failure.

Any RAID-5 or DRL log plexes on this disk will be unusable; any RAID-5 subdisks or mirrored plexes containing subdisks on this disk will also be unusable. These disk failures (particularly multiple disk failures) may cause one or more volumes to become unusable.

>>Action

If hot-relocation is enabled, the VxVM objects affected by the disk failure may be taken care of automatically. Mail will be sent to root indicating what actions were taken by the Volume Manager and what further actions the administrator should take.

Message: Disk in kernel is not a recognized type

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Disk disk in kernel is not a recognized type

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager problem. This warning should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Disk names group, but group ID differs

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Disk disk names group group, but group ID differs

>>Clarification

As part of a disk group import, a disk was discovered that had a mismatched disk group name and disk group ID. This disk will not have been imported. This can only happen if two disk groups of the same name exist that have different disk group ID values. In that case, one group will be imported along with all its disks and the other group will not. This message will appear for disks in the un-selected group.

>>Action

If it turns out that the disk should be imported into the group, then this will have to be done by adding the disk to the group at a later stage. It will not happen automatically as part of the import. All configuration information for the disk will also be lost.

Message: Disk group is disabled, disks not updated with new host ID

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Disk group group is disabled, disks not updated with new host ID

>>Clarification

As a result of failures, the named disk group has become disabled. Earlier error messages should indicate the cause of this. This warning message indicates that disks in that disk group were not updated with a new Volume Manager host ID.

This warning message should result only from a vxdctl hostid operation.

>>Action

Typically, unless a disk group was disabled due to transient errors, there is no way to repair a disabled disk group. The disk group may have to be reconstructed from scratch. If the disk group was disabled due to a transient error (such as a cabling problem), then a future reboot may not automatically import the named disk group, due to the change in Volume Manager host ID for the system. In that case, the disk group should be imported directly using vxdg import with the -C option.

Message: Disk group: Disk group log may be too small

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Disk group group: Disk group log may be too small
Log size should be at least number blocks

>>Clarification

The log areas for the disk group have become too small for the size of configuration currently in the group. This should normally never happen without first displaying a message about the database area size. This message only occurs during disk group import; it can only occur if the disk was inaccessible while new database objects were added to the configuration, and the disk was then made accessible and the system restarted.

>>Action

If this situation does occur, then the disks in the group will have to be explicitly reinitialized with larger log areas (which would require data to be restored from backup). See the vxdisk(1M) manual page. To reinitialize all of the disks, they must be detached from the group with which they are associated and then reinitialized and re-added. The disk group should then be deported and re-imported for the changes to the log areas for the group to take effect.

Message: Disk group: Errors in some configuration copies: Disk, copy

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Disk group group: Errors in some configuration copies: Disk disk, copy number: [Block number]: reason ...

>>Clarification

During a disk group import, some of the configuration copies in the named disk group were found to have format or other types of errors which make those copies unusable. This message lists all configuration copies that have uncorrected errors, including any appropriate logical block number.

>>Action

There are usually enough configuration copies for any disk group to ensure that these errors do not become a serious problem. No action is usually necessary.

Message: Error in volboot file

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Error in volboot file: reason Entry: disk device disk_type disk_info

>>Clarification

The /etc/vx/volboot file includes an invalid disk entry. This error should occur only if the file was edited directly (for example, using the vi editor).

>>Action

This is just a warning message. The offending entry can be removed using the command:

vxdctl rm disk device

Message: Failed to store commit status list into kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Failed to store commit status list into kernel: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager problem. This warning should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Failed to update voldinfo area in kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Failed to update voldinfo area in kernel: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager problem. This warning should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Field too long in volboot file

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Field too long in volboot file: 
Entry: disk device disk_type disk_info

>>Clarification

The /etc/vx/volboot file includes a disk entry with a field that is larger than the size the Volume Manager supports. This error should occur only if the file was edited directly (for example, using the vi editor).

>>Action

This is just a warning message. The offending entry can be removed using the command:

	vxdctl rm disk device

Message: Get of record from kernel failed

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Get of record record_name from kernel failed: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager problem. This warning should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Group: Duplicate virtual device number(s)

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Group group: Duplicate virtual device number(s): 
Volume volume remapped from major,minor to major,minor ...

>>Clarification

The configuration of the named disk group includes conflicting device numbers. A disk group configuration lists the recommended device number to use for each volume in the disk group. If two volumes in two disk groups happen to list the same device number, then one of the volumes must use an alternate device number. This is called device number remapping. Remapping is a temporary change to a volume. If the other disk group is deported and the system is rebooted, then the volume that was remapped may no longer be remapped. Also, volumes that are remapped once are not guaranteed to be remapped to the same device number in further reboots.

>>Action

You should use the vxdg reminor operation to renumber all volumes in the offending disk group permanently. See the vxdg(1M) manual page for more information.

Message: Internal transaction failed

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: Internal transaction failed: reason

>>Clarification

This problem usually occurs only if there is a Volume Manager bug. However, it may occur in cases where memory is low.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: cannot remove group from kernel

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: cannot remove group group from kernel: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager problem. This warning should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: client not recognized by VXVM library

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: client number not recognized by VXVM library

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager problem. This warning should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: client not recognized

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: client number not recognized

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager problem. This warning should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: library and vxconfigd disagree on existence of client

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: library and vxconfigd disagree on existence of client number

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager problem. This warning should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: library specified non-existent client

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: library specified non-existent client number

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager problem. This warning should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: response to client failed

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: response to client number failed: reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager problem. This warning should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: vold_turnclient failed

vxvm:vxconfigd: WARNING: vold_turnclient(number) failed reason

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager problem. This warning should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Kernel Error Messages

The following sections cover the kernel level error messages.

Kernel Notice Messages

The following are notice messages associated with the kernel.

Message: Can't open disk in group

vxvm:vxio:NOTICE: Can't open disk disk in group disk_group. If it is removable media (like a floppy), it may not be mounted or ready. Otherwise, there may be problems with the drive. Kernel error code number

>>Clarification

The named disk cannot be accessed in the named disk group.

>>Action

Ensure that the disk exists, is powered on, and is visible to the system.

Message: Can't close disk in group

vxvm:vxio:NOTICE: Can't close disk disk in group disk_group. If it is removable media (like a floppy), it may have been removed. Otherwise, there may be problems with the drive. Kernel error code public_region_error/private_region_error

>>Clarification

This is unlikely to happen; closes cannot fail.

>>Action

None.

Message: Read error on object of mirror in volume corrected

vxvm:vxio:NOTICE: read error on object subdisk of mirror plex in volume volume (start offset, length length) corrected

>>Clarification

A read error occurred, which caused a read of an alternate mirror and a writeback to the failing region. This writeback was successful and the data was corrected on disk.

>>Action

No action is required. The problem was corrected automatically. The administrator may, however, note the failure as a reference because if the same region fails again or frequently, the error could indicate a more insidious failure and the disk should be reformatted at the next reasonable opportunity.

Message: String on volume device in disk group

vxvm:vxio:NOTICE: string on volume device_ # (device_name) in disk group group_name

>>Clarification

An application requested message. The application running on top of the Volume Manager has requested the output of this message.

>>Action

Refer to documentation for the appropriate application for more information.

Kernel Warning Messages

The following are warning messages associated with the kernel.

Message: Received spurious close

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: Device major, minor: Received spurious close

>>Clarification

This message happens if a close was received for an object that was previously not opened. This will only happen if the operating system is not correctly tracking opens and closes.

>>Action

No action is necessary; the system will continue.

Message: Failed to log the detach of the DRL volume

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: Failed to log the detach of the DRL volume volume

>>Clarification

An attempt to write a kernel log entry indicating the loss of a DRL volume failed. The attempted write to the log failed either because the kernel log is full or because of a write error to the drive. The volume will become detached.

>>Action

Messages about log failures are often fatal, unless the problem is transient. However, the kernel log is sufficiently redundant that such errors are unlikely to occur.

If the problem is not transient (i.e. the drive cannot be fixed and brought back online without data loss), the disk group must be recreated from scratch and all of its volumes must be restored from backup. Even if the problem is transient, the system must be rebooted after correcting the problem.

If error messages were seen from the disk driver, it is likely that the last copy of the log failed due to a disk error. The failed drive in the disk group should be replaced and the log will then be re-initialized on the new drive. The failed volume can then be forced into an active state and the data recovered. See Appendix B, "Recovery" for further information.

Message: DRL volume is detached

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: DRL volume volume is detached

>>Clarification

A Dirty Region Logging volume became detached because a DRL log entry could not be written. This might be because of a media failure, in which case other errors may have been logged to the console.

>>Action

The volume containing the DRL log will continue. If the system fails before the DRL can be repaired, a full recovery of the volume's contents may be necessary and will be performed automatically when the system is restarted. To recover the DRL capability, a new DRL log should be added to the volume using the vxassist addlog command.

Message: Read error on mirror of volume

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: read error on mirror plex of volume volume offset offset length length

>>Clarification

An error was detected while reading a mirror. This error may lead to further action shown by later error messages.

>>Action

If the volume is mirrored, no action is necessary at this time since the alternate mirror's contents will be written to the failing mirror; this is often sufficient to correct media failures. If this error occurs often but never leads to a plex detach, there may be a marginal region on the disk at the position shown. It may eventually be necessary to remove data from this disk (see the vxevac(1M) manual page) and then to reformat the drive. In the unmirrored case, this message indicates that some data could not be read. The file system or other application reading the data may report an additional error, but in either event, data has been lost. The volume can be partially salvaged and moved to another location if desired.

Message: Write error on mirror of volume offset length

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: write error on mirror plex of volume volume offset offset length length

>>Clarification

An error was detected while writing a mirror. This error will generally be followed by a detach message, unless the volume is un-mirrored.

>>Action

The disk reporting the error is failing to correctly store written data. If the volume is not mirrored, consider removing the data and reformatting the disk. If the volume is mirrored, it will become detached and you should consider replacing or reformatting the disk.

If this error occurs often but never leads to a plex detach, there may be a marginal region on the disk at the position shown. It may eventually be necessary to remove data from this disk (see the vxevac(1M) manual page) and then to reformat the drive.

Message: Object detached from volume

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: object plex detached from volume volume

>>Clarification

An uncorrectable error was detected by the mirroring code and a mirror copy was detached.

>>Action

To restore redundancy, it may be necessary to add another mirror. The disk on which the failure occurred should be evacuated and reformatted, if possible. If the drive has failed completely, it may need to be replaced.

Message: Overlapping mirror detached from volume

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: Overlapping mirror plex detached from volume volume

>>Clarification

An error has occurred on the last complete plex in the mirrored volume. Any sparse mirrors that map the failing region must be detached so that they cannot be accessed to satisfy that failed region inconsistently. This message indicates that such an overlapping mirror was found and is being detached.

>>Action

No Action is directly necessary. The message indicates that the volume may have left some data inaccessible at the failing region and that it is no longer redundantly stored.

Message: Kernel log full

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: Kernel log full: volume detached

>>Clarification

A plex detach failed because the kernel log was full. As a result, the mirrored volume will become detached.

>>Action

It is unlikely that this condition could ever occur. The only corrective action for the detached volume is to reboot the system.

Message: Kernel log update failed

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: Kernel log update failed: volume detached

>>Clarification

A plex detach failed because the kernel log could not be flushed to disk. As a result, the mirrored volume will become detached. This could be caused by all the disks containing a kernel log going bad.

>>Action

Correct the failed disks so that kernel logging can once again function.

Message: Detaching RAID-5 volume

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: detaching RAID-5 raidvol

>>Clarification

Either a double-failure condition in the RAID-5 volume has been detected in the kernel or some other fatal error is preventing further use of the array.

>>Action

If two or more drives were lost due to a controller or power failure, then once the disks can be re-attached to the system, they should be recovered using the vxrecover utility. Check the console for other errors that may provide additional information as to the nature of the failure.

Message: Object detached from RAID-5 volume

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: object subdisk detached from RAID-5 raidvol at column column offset offset

>>Clarification

A subdisk was detached from a RAID-5 volume at the specified column number and offset. This is caused by the failure of a disk or an uncorrectable error occurring on that disk.

>>Action

Check the console for other error messages indicating the cause of the failure. If the disk has failed, then it should be replaced as soon as possible.

Message: RAID-5 volume entering degraded mode operation

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: RAID-5 raidvol entering degraded mode operation

>>Clarification

This message occurs when an uncorrectable error has forced the detach of a subdisk. At this point, not all data disks exist to provide the data upon request. Instead, parity regions are required to regenerate the data for each stripe in the array. Accesses will consequently take longer and will involve reading from all drives in the stripe.

>>Action

Check the console for other error messages indicating the cause of the failure. If the disk has failed, it should be replaced as soon as possible.

Message: Double failure condition detected on RAID-5 volume

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: Double failure condition detected on RAID-5 raidvol

>>Clarification

Double-failures occur if I/O errors are received at the same altitude in the array from more than one column of the array. This could be caused by a controller failure causing more than a single drive to become unavailable; by the loss of a second drive after having run in a degraded state for significant periods of time; or by two separate disk drives failing simultaneously (which is unlikely to happen).

>>Action

If the condition is correctable and the drives recoverable, the conditions should be corrected. The volume can then be recovered using the vxrecover(1M) command.

Message: Failure in RAID-5 logging operation

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: Failure in RAID-5 logging operation
vxvm:vxio:WARNING: log object object_name detached from RAID-5 volume 

>>Clarification

These two messages will appear together when a RAID-5 log has failed and has been detached.

>>Action

To restore RAID-5 logging to the RAID-5 volume, simply create a new log region and attach it to the volume.

Message: Stranded ilock on object

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: check_ilocks: stranded ilock on object_name start offset len length

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager problem. This warning should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Overlapping ilocks

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: check_ilocks: overlapping ilocks: offset for length, offset for length

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager problem. This warning should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.

Message: Illegal vminor encountered

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: Illegal vminor encountered

>>Clarification

If a volume device other than the root volume device is opened before a configuration has been loaded, this message could result.

>>Action

No action should be necessary; an attempt to access a volume device was made before the volume daemon (vxconfigd) loaded the volume configuration. Under normal startup conditions, this message should not occur. If the operation is necessary, start the Volume Manager and re-attempt the operation.

Message: Uncorrectable read error

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: object_type object_name block offset: Uncorrectable read error 

>>Clarification

A read or write operation from the specified object failed. An error will be returned to the application.

>>Action

This error represents lost data. The data may need to be restored and failed media may need to be repaired. Depending on the type of object failing and on the type of recovery suggested for that type, an appropriate recovery operation may be necessary.

Message: Uncorrectable read/write error

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: object_type object_name block offset: 
Uncorrectable read error on object_type object_name block offset 
vxvm:vxio:WARNING: object_type object_name block offset: 
Uncorrectable write error on object_type object_name block offset

>>Clarification

A read or write operation from the specified object failed. An error will be returned to the application. Although similar to the previous message, this message is able to supply more specific information about the failing object.

>>Action

This error represents lost data. The data may need to be restored and failed media may need to be repaired. Depending on the type of object failing and on the type of recovery suggested for that type, an appropriate recovery operation may be necessary.

Message: subdisk failed in plex in volume

vxvm:vxio:WARNING: subdisk subdisk failed in plex plex in volume volume 

>>Clarification

The kernel has detected a subdisk failure, which may mean that the underlying disk is failing.

>>Action

Check for obvious problems with the disk (such as a disconnected cable). If hot-relocation is enabled and the disk is failing, the subdisk failure may be taken care of automatically.

Kernel Panic Messages

The following are panic messages associated with the kernel.

Message: Object association depth overflow

vxvm:vxio:PANIC: Object association depth overflow

>>Clarification

This is an internal Volume Manager problem. This warning should not occur unless there is a bug in the Volume Manager.

>>Action

Contact Customer Support for more information.


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