Hi

I have one server (IBM x3650) installed with RHEL 5. This server is connected to IBM DS4700 SAN Storage. The multipath driver for this server is LSI RDAC.

Whenever we do the patch update using yum to update all the rpms (if we have a new kernel installed), we need to do the following

1. Update the OS using yum and install the new kernel.
2. Edit /etc/fstab to hash out all the entries of the SAN based filesystem
3. Reboot the server.
4. Disconnect the fiber cables from HBA card (otherwise it will take very long time to boot, as each LUN from the SAN has 8 paths and the new kernel will take a long time to recognize each path, since the RDAC drivers are not loaded for the new kernel)
5. Boot the server to newly installed kernel (normally to single user mode)
6. Recompile the RDAC modules for the newly installed kernel. This will create new initrd file, which I need to add to the grub configuration.
7. Remove all the hashes (unhash) in the entries of /etc/fstab for the SAN filesystems.
8. Reboot again to the new kernel with newly complied initrd for the RDAC.
9. This time it works without any issues.

This takes about 1-2 hours to complete sometimes. It also means we need someone to be there near the server, whenever we perform the kernel upgrade.

Is there way to compile the RDAC module for the newly installed kernel (but not running) and have the modules in place before we reboot the server after the installation of the new kernel?

cheers,

Suresh