Xsan troubleshooting tips

If you can’t connect to a computer using the Server app

If there’s a firewall between the computer you’re using the Server app on and the SAN computer, make sure TCP port 311 is open on the firewall.

If controllers aren’t able to join the SAN

If a computer you expect to be a metadata controller for the SAN isn’t listed in the Server app, make sure:

If a volume fails to mount on a client

If a volume fails to unmount from a client

If RAID LUNs aren’t accessible over Fibre Channel

If a LUN doesn’t have as much space as expected

To make striping across all LUNs possible, Xsan adjusts LUN sizes to make LUNs in a storage pool the same size as the smallest LUN in the pool. Xsan doesn’t use the extra space on larger LUNs if you mix LUNs of different sizes in a storage pool.

If you can’t rename an Xsan volume in the Finder

Xsan doesn’t let a mounted Xsan volume be renamed using the Finder, but you can use the Xsan pane of the Server app to rename the volume.

If you can’t add a storage pool

Some words are reserved and can’t be used to name a storage pool. If a storage pool is used for user data, the first eight characters of the storage pool name can’t be a reserved word. If you enter a reserved word as the storage pool name, the OK button in the storage pool sheet is dimmed. Examples include Exclusive, Journal, Log, MetaData, Regular, and Type.

For a register of reserved words, see the cvfs_config man page by entering this command in Terminal:

$ man -M /System/Library/Filesystems/acfs.fs/Contents/man/ 4 cvfs_config

If a client can’t use a volume after a Fibre Channel interruption

If a client loses its Fibre Channel connection to the SAN (for example, because a cable is unplugged), the client might not recognize LUNs in an Xsan volume after the connection is restored. If this happens, restart the client to remount the volume.

If problems persist, restart all SAN devices. Restart RAID systems first, then continue with SAN controllers, and finally, restart all clients.

If file copying doesn’t finish

If the Ethernet connection to a metadata controller is lost, Finder file-copy operations in progress on clients might not finish, even though the volume successfully fails over to a standby controller.

If a volume unexpectedly restarts

Xsan can restart a volume for a variety of reasons, including controller restart and volume failover. The notification is the same in all cases, but you can examine the log files for more details.