Ubuntu,  Unix,  Xsan

Remove StorNext FX From RHEL

When you remove a RHEL system with StorNext FX running on it from the network that has an Xsan the system won’t boot properly any longer. There are two things that need to happen in order to get around this. When done proactively the system can safely be moved. When done reactively, you’ll need to boot using the “I” key and disable all of the cvfs and fsmpm entries during the boot process.

Once booted, or if being done proactively, edit fstab and then remove the cvfs files. First, we’re going to edit /etc/fstab. Simple open it in vi and then put a # in front of each line that contains any mounts that say cvfs in the line. Once done, create a folder to put your old cvfs files into:

mkdir /disabled

Then, we’re going to need to move the cvfs files and folders, mostly stored as /etc/init.d/cvfs, /etc/init.d/cvfsold and the contents of /usr/cvfs:

mv /etc/init.d/cvfs /disabled/
mv /etc/init.d/cvfsold /disabled/
mv /usr/cvfs /disabled/

Next, reboot and you should be good. If you remove a system from a network and only edit fstab then it will still lock up when loading the fsmpm, so make sure to do all the steps indicated. You can then re-activate StorNext by uncommenting the lines in /etc/fstab and putting the files back by running the following:

mv /disabled/cvfs /etc/init.d/cvfs
mv /disabled/cvfsold /etc/init.d/cvfsold
mv /disabled/cvfs /usr/cvfs

Then reboot and voila, you’re back on the SAN. Good luck!