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HP-UX Virtual Partitions Administrator’s Guide > Chapter 5 vPars Monitor and Shell Commands

Autoboot

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The AUTO File on a Virtual Partition

On a non-vPars server, the LIF’s AUTO file on the boot disk can contain a boot string that includes boot options, such as -lq for booting without quorum, or a boot kernel path, such as /stand/vmunix.other for booting an alternate kernel (for 11i v2 systems, alternate kernels are in /stand/alternate_config/). The AUTO file can be changed either through LIF shell commands or mkboot.

However, on a vPars server, the LIF’s AUTO file is read only on server bootup; for example, the AUTO file might contain "hpux /stand/vpmon" (PA-RISC) or "boot vpmon" (Integrity), which causes the vPars Monitor to be booted when the server is booted. The AUTO file is not read when a virtual partition is booted.

To simulate the AUTO file effect when a partition is booted, you can modify the boot options and boot path entries in the vPars partition database via vparmodify:

Examples

  • On a non-vPars server, to change the AUTO file to use the boot options -lq, the command is:

    • PA-RISC: # mkboot -a "hpux -lq"raw_device_file

    • Integrity: # mkboot -a "boot vmunix -lq" raw_device_file

    On a vPars server, to get the same effect when the partition winona2 is booted, modify the partition database using -o (boot options):

    # vparmodify -p winona2 -o "-lq"

  • On a non-vPars server, to change the AUTO file to use a different kernel, the command is:

    • PA-RISC: # mkboot -a "hpux /stand/vmunix.other"raw_device_file

    • Integrity: # mkboot -a "boot /stand/vmunix.other" raw_device_file

    On a vPars server, to get the same effect when the partition winona2 is booted, modify the partition database using -b (boot path):

    # vparmodify -p winona2 -b "/stand/vmunix.other"

    NOTE: For HP-UX 11i v2 (11.23) systems, alternate kernels are in /stand/alternate_config/

On a vPars server, the HP-UX command mkboot does modify the LIF’s AUTO file. However, on a vPars server, what is booted initially is the vPars Monitor; then the vPars Monitor boots the virtual partitions. Therefore, what can be in the LIF AUTO file is a boot string that boots the vPars Monitor.

Autobooting the vPars Monitor and Virtual Partitions

You can setup the vPars Monitor and all virtual partitions to boot automatically at power up. To do this, make sure the following four conditions are met:

  1. The hard partition’s primary and alternate boot paths point to the boot disks of different virtual partitions.  For example, to set the primary and alternate boot paths at BCH or EFI:

    pa pri 0/0/2/0.6.0

    pa alt 0/8/0/0.5.0

  2. The autoboot flag in stable storage is set to ON.  To set the autoboot flag to ON at BCH or EFI:

    auto on

  3. The contents of the AUTO files of the primary and alternate boot disks contain the boot string for booting the vPars Monitor. The -a option of /stand/vpmon boots all the virtual partitions that have the autoboot flag set.  

    • PA-RISC: "hpux /stand/vpmon -a"

    • Integrity: "boot vpmon -a"

    To set the contents of the AUTO file on the LIF, log into the virtual partitions that own the primary and alternate boot disks, and execute the mkboot -a command:

    For example, after logging into winona1 which owns the primary boot disk at 0/0/2/0.6.0, execute:

    • PA-RISC: winona1# mkboot -a "hpux /stand/vpmon -a" /dev/rdsk/c2t6d0

    • Integrity: winona1# mkboot -a "boot vpmon -a" /dev/rdsk/c2t6d0

    and after logging into winona2 which owns the alternate boot disk at 0/8/0/0.5.0, execute:

    • PA-RISC: winona1# mkboot -a "hpux /stand/vpmon -a" /dev/rdsk/c1t5d0

    • Integrity: winona1# mkboot -a "boot vpmon -a" /dev/rdsk/c1t5d0

  4. The autoboot flag of all the virtual partitions is set to AUTO. If applicable and desired, set the autosearch flag of all the virtual partitions to SEARCH.  AUTO is the default. However, if you need to reset these values to AUTO:

    winona1# vparmodify -p winona1 -B auto winona1# vparmodify -p winona2 -B auto winona1# vparmodify -p winona3 -B auto

    SEARCH is not the default value. If you wish to set the autosearch attribute to SEARCH:

    winona1# vparmodify -p winona1 -B search winona1# vparmodify -p winona2 -B search winona1# vparmodify -p winona3 -B search
NOTE: For Superdome and other nPartitionable servers, you must use the boot device path "path flags" to set automatic booting past the BCH for an nPartition. See the manual HP System Partitions Guide for more information, including the proper configuration of paths for an nPartition.

When booting multiple virtual partitions automatically, the sequence for booting is not deterministic, and booting a sequence of virtual partitions automatically is not supported. If booting a sequence is required, the sequence of virtual partitions needs to be booted manually (one by one). For more information on booting a virtual partition, see “Booting a Virtual Partition”.

When booting multiple virtual partitions automatically, there is no way to tell which virtual partition will be active with the console after the partitions have booted.

All changes to stable storage can only be performed at the BCH> prompt. See “System-wide stable storage and the setboot command”.

If you need to reboot the hard partition as part of the process to access the BCH>, see “Shutting Down or Rebooting the nPartition (Or Rebooting the vPars Monitor)”.

For information on accessing and using the BCH commands, see your hardware manual.

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