SYMAPI runs on one of the following components, the so-called SYMAPI server:
external Management Server under Windows or Linux
for SE servers, preferably on an AU
Figure 2: Embedding of SYMAPI
In SHC-OSD more than one SYMAPI server can be defined, see section "Multiple SYMAPI servers (Symmetrix/VMAX3)". However, only one of the defined SYMAPI servers is ever active. The active SYMAPI server can be switched to another defined SYMAPI server either automatically or manually.
Communication between SHC-OSD and SYMAPI is implemented over a LAN (TCP/IP) with the internet protocol IPv4.
Gatekeepers
SYMAPI on the external SYMAPI server requires so-called gatekeepers to operate. Gatekeepers are devices that are configured in the storage system and on the SYMAPI server for handling the management inputs/outputs of the SYMAPI functions.
Failure detection
Up to SHC-OSD the integrated SYMAPI server enabled the failure of a storage system to be determined unambiguously by SHC-OSD and logged with NDE0008. Because of the modified structure of the SYMAPI servers, this is no longer possible. The storage system can still be active, even when the SYMAPI server no longer has access.
SHC-OSD can, as before, still determine whether a storage system can no longer be administered. This status is logged with NO in the HOST-ACCESS column in the outputs of the /SHOW-STORAGE-CONFIGURATION and /SHOW-SYMMETRIX-CONFIGURATION commands.
However, this does not necessarily mean that the storage system has failed.