Transport Cables

Actions
Adding a Cable
Removing a Cable
Replacing a Cable
Enabling a Cable
Disabling a Cable

Adding a Cable

You can attach a cable between an adapter and a junction or between two adapters. You might need to add a cable for one of the following reasons:

To upgrade hardware
To add redundant hardware
By adding redundant hardware to the cluster interconnect, you can improve performance and increase availability.

To add a cable, complete the following steps:

Recommended step. Ensure that the cable you want to add is physically connected to the correct adapter and junction.
SunPlex^TM Manager enables you to add a cable to the configuration file without physically attaching a cable to the cluster. If the cable is configured and not attached, the cluster framework tries to use the cable and records error messages when its attempts fail.

From the navigation frame in SunPlex Manager, choose Transports.
The Transports window appears.
From the Action Menu, choose Add Cable.
A task window appears. This window prompts you to provide additional information.
Choose the adapter to which the cable is attached.
Choose the junction or adapter to which the cable is attached.
Click Add Transport Cable.
SunPlex Manager displays a confirmation message, including the command that is used to complete the task. Write down or copy this command for future use in scripts and other automated tasks.

After you add the cable to the configuration, the Cables table indicates that the cable is "Enabled".

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Removing a Cable

You might need to remove a cable for one of the following reasons:

To upgrade hardware

To remove an adapter or junction
When a cable is disabled, the two endpoints of the cable remain configured. You cannot remove adapters and junctions if they are still in use as an endpoint for a transport cable. See Removing an Adapter or Removing a Junction.

By performing this task, you permanently remove the selected cable from the cluster transport configuration.

Ensure the cable is redundant and cannot isolate one or more nodes from the cluster. Disabling the last cable renders the cluster inoperable.

The Sun Cluster 3.1 System Administration Guide describes how to use the command line to remove the last cable from a complete transport path.

To remove a cable, complete the following steps:

From the navigation frame in SunPlex Manager, choose Transports.
The Transports window appears.
From the Action Menu, choose Remove Cable.
A task window appears. This window prompts you to provide additional information.
Choose the cable to be removed.
Click Remove Transport Cable.
SunPlex Manager displays a confirmation message, including the command that is used to complete the task. Write down or copy this command for future use in scripts and other automated tasks.
Physically remove the cable.
"Installing and Maintaining Cluster Interconnect Hardware" in the Sun Cluster 3.1 Hardware Administration Manual describes how to physically remove a cluster transport cable.

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Replacing a Cable

You need to replace a cable if your cable fails. You can replace a cable in one of two ways:

Physically remove the old cable and add a new cable.
Recommended procedure. Disable the old cable and enable the replacement cable.
By disabling the cable first, you consequently prevent numerous error messages from displaying on the console.

To replace a cable, complete the following steps:

Disable the cable.
Replace the cable, as described in the Sun Cluster 3.1 Hardware Administration Manual.
Enable the cable.

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Enabling a Cable

Enable a cable to bring a replacement cable online. This task is only necessary when the cable is disabled. Enabling a cable is the last task to replace a cable. To enable a cable, complete the following steps:

From the navigation frame in SunPlex Manager, choose Transports.
The Transports window appears.
From the Action Menu, choose Enable Cable.
A task window appears. This window prompts you to provide additional information.
Choose the cable to be enabled.
Click Enable Transport Cable.
SunPlex Manager displays a confirmation message, including the command that is used to complete the task. Write down or copy this command for future use in scripts and other automated tasks.

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Disabling a Cable

When a cable fails, disable the cable before replacing it. By disabling the cable, you prevent numerous error messages from displaying on the console when you know the cable is not attached.

When a cable is disabled, the two endpoints of the cable remain configured. You cannot remove an adapter if that adapter is still in use as an endpoint in a transport cable. Therefore, to remove an adapter, you must remove the cable.

By performing this step, you disable the selected cable, preventing the node from communicating through the transport adapter. SunPlex Manager does not remove the last interconnect from the configuration. This action renders the cluster inoperable.

To disable a cable, complete the following steps:

From the navigation frame in SunPlex Manager, choose Transports.
The Transports window appears.
From the Action Menu, choose Disable Cable.
A task window appears. This window prompts you to provide additional information.
Choose the cable to be disabled.
Click Disable Transport Cable.
SunPlex Manager displays a confirmation message, including the command that is used to complete the task. Write down or copy this command for future use in scripts and other automated tasks.
Physically remove the cable.
"Installing and Maintaining Cluster Interconnect Hardware" in the Sun Cluster 3.1 Hardware Administration Manual describes how to physically remove a cluster transport cable.
Enable the replacement cable.

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