The NLVM and NSSMU management tools support Linux POSIX volumes on OES 11 SP1 running on 64-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 11 Service Pack (SP) 2.
In addition to bug fixes, NSSMU provides the following changes and enhancements for Linux POSIX volume management in the OES 11 SP1 release:
Create Linux Volume:
The NCP Enable option can be used to enable the Linux POSIX file system on the volume to be accessed with the NetWare Core Protocol (NCP).
Support was added for the Btrfs file system. The Btrfs file system is now available as an alternative to other supported file systems (Ext2, Ext3, Reiserfs, and XFS) when you create a Linux volume. The btrfsprogs package is required. You can use NSSMU or NLVM to manage the Btrfs volumes as you would manage other Linux data volumes. Btrfs volumes can also be configured for NCP file access and for clustering with Novell Cluster Services.
Confirmation Prompt: You are automatically prompted to confirm actions for certain commands that destroy data, such as when you initialize a device or delete Linux POSIX volumes.
File System Types: When you create a Linux POSIX volumes, the supported file system types are now listed in alphabetical order: btrfs, ext2, ext3, reiserfs, and xfs.
Linux Volume Details: On the Linux Volumes page, a volume’s information includes the NCP Enabled parameter and status (Yes or No).
Mount Point Path: The default mount point path for Linux volumes is /usr/novell/<volume_name>.
Partitions: On the NSSMU Partitions page, the Partitions list panel has been widened to accommodate long partition names. If you widen the NSSMU display screen, it widens the Partitions list panel and allows you to see the partitions' full names.
In addition to bug fixes, NLVM commands provide the following changes and enhancements for Linux POSIX volume management in the OES 11 SP1 release:
Sizes: The following enhancements are available for the size option:
The default multiplier for sizes was changed from M (megabytes) to G (gigabytes). If no multiplier is provided, the value is assumed to be in gigabytes. For example:
size=20 (20 gigabytes is used)
Use the T multiplier to specify sizes in terabytes (TB).
All sizes can be entered as whole numbers or with fractional parts such as 200.45G and 3.98T.
Multiple Devices: You can specify multiple devices for the following commands:
Init: You can specify multiple devices to be initialized at the same time. Each device is formatted with the same specified partitioning scheme and share state.
Share: You can specify multiple devices to be shared at the same time.
Unshare: You can specify multiple devices to be unshared at the same time.
No Prompt: The --no-prompt NLVM option can be used with the nlvm delete linux volume command and the nlvm init command to prevent a confirmation message from being displayed.
Confirmation Prompt: You are automatically prompted to confirm actions to initialize a device or to delete a Linux POSIX volume.
Create Linux Volume:
Support was added for the Btrfs file system. The Btrfs file system is now available as an alternative to other supported file systems (Ext2, Ext3, ReiserFs, and XFS) when you create a Linux volume. The btrfsprogs package is required. You can use NSSMU or NLVM to manage the Btrfs volumes as you would manage other Linux data volumes. Btrfs volumes can also be configured for NCP file access and for clustering with Novell Cluster Services
The ncp option for the nlvm create linux volume command can be used to enable the Linux POSIX file system on the volume to be accessed with the NetWare Core Protocol (NCP).
List Linux Volumes: The volume information displays NCP if the Linux volume is enabled for NCP.
NSSMU, NLVM Linux commands, NCP Server, and Novell Cluster Services were modified to support the Btrfs file system for Linux volumes. The Btrfs file system is now available as an alternative to other supported file systems (Ext2, Ext3, Reiserfs, and XFS) when you create a Linux volume. The btrfsprogs package is required. You can use NSSMU or NLVM to manage the Btrfs volumes as you would manage other Linux data volumes. Btrfs volumes can also be configured for NCP file access and for clustering with Novell Cluster Services.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 11 Service Pack 2 (SP2) also supports the Btrfs file system in the YaST2 Partitioner. You can use the Partitioner during the system installation to configure a Btrfs solution for the system device. YaST2 automatically installs the btrfsprogs package if you use Btrfs for the root (/) file system. Bootloader support for /boot on Btrfs is not available in SLES 11 SP2; it is planned to be available beginning in SUSE Linux Enterprise 12.
For information about the features of Btrfs, see Btrfs
in the OES 11 SP1: Linux POSIX Volume Administration Guide.
NSSMU and NLVM were modified to support the creation of NCP volumes on Linux POSIX file systems. You can NCP enable Linux POSIX volumes, an LVM volumes, and clustered LVM volumes as you create them. When you enable NCP for a Linux volume, an NCP volume of the same name (using all capital letters) is automatically created. An NCP share is created at the root of the Linux volume.
For clustered LVM volumes, the NCP Virtual Server object is automatically created and the NCP mount, dismount, and status commands are added to the scripts for the LVM volume group cluster resource. The Novell Cluster Services Generic File System template is used to specify the default cluster policies and scripts for the cluster resource. After you create the resource, you can use the Clusters plug-in for iManager to set up preferred nodes for the resource and to manage the resource.
For information about Linux volume support changes in SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP2, see What’s New in SLES 11 SP2
in the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 Storage Administration Guide.