SLES10 Kdump process fails when using EMC Power Path

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Environment

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Service Pack 2
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Service Pack 3
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 Service Pack 1
HP BL485/685

Situation

When an attempt is made to kdump a SLES10/HP blade server that has EMC Power path installed, the server ends up at a single user prompt due to failed SAN volume mounts. In this test case, /usr, /var and /home were all independent lvm partitions.

The problem is that the .os_version file stored in /etc/opt/emcpower contains different kernel data from the running kdump kernel. EMC's code will try and execute code that calls /usr/bin/dirname and /usr/bin/expr. Neither are present because the lvm volume /usr has not been mounted yet.

Where multiple volumes fail to mount, the server will drop to single user mode and the kdump capture will fail.

Resolution

EMC is aware of this issue. Contact EMC for final resolution.

Possible workarounds:

a) Change fstab options to not check (fsck) SAN volumes. This should be used for troubleshooting only.

b) Leave /usr as part of the root volume.

Disclaimer

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