Key New Features and Changes

This page contains a partial list of the key new features and changes for IRIX 6.5.18. To see the list of key features and changes for the IRIX 6.5 and IRIX 6.5.1 through 6.5.17 releases, see the previous IRIX features page.

Look for information about the IRIX 6.5 release family on Supportfolio Online (http://support.sgi.com) and http://www.sgi.com.

For details on any of these new features and changes, refer to the release notes.

Note: Some features listed here apply only for certain software bundles or hardware configurations.

IRIX 6.5.18 Key New Features

The following changes have been incorporated into the core 6.5.18 overlay CDs and the Applications CD.

New Software Enhancements - Feature Stream Only

Filesystems

• CXFS Manager GUI adds XVM GUI functionality
  In IRIX 6.5.18f, the CXFS Manager graphical user interface (GUI) has been enhanced to contain all of the XVM GUI functionality. Using the CXFS GUI in IRIX 6.5.18f or later release, you can view and configure CXFS filesystems as well as use drag-and-drop to structure volume topologies and administer XVM disks. Command buttons provide shortcuts to some tasks.

  For information on the CXFS GUI, see the CXFS Version 2 Software Installation and Administration Guide. For details about XVM volume management, see the XVM Volume Manager Administrator's Guide.

• XVM snapshot feature
  The XVM snapshot feature provides the ability to create virtual point-in-time images of a filesystem without causing a service interruption. The snapshot feature requires a minimal amount of storage because it uses a copy-on-write mechanism that copies only the data areas that change after the snapshot is created. The XVM snapshot feature is supported in the CXFS XVM GUIs.

  For information on the XVM snapshot feature, see the XVM Volume Manager Administrator's Guide.

  Use of the XVM snapshot features requires a FLEXlm license.

• XVM Volume Manager GUI as a standalone product
  In an environment without cluster services enabled, you can set up and administer logical volumes with the XVM Manager GUI as a standalone product. For information on XVM volume management, see the XVM Volume Manager Administrator's Guide.

• CXFS Supports IRIX Client-Only Nodes
  As of 6.5.18f, IRIX nodes may now be CXFS client-only nodes, meaning that they run a minimal implementation of the CXFS and cluster services, and do not contain a copy of the CXFS cluster database. Client-only nodes are installed with the cxfs_client software product.

  Nodes that you want to run as potential metadata servers must be installed with the cluster_admin software product, allowing the node to perform cluster administration tasks and contain a copy of the cluster database. They must also be defined as metadata server-capable administration nodes.

  A CXFS cluster is now supported with as many as 32 nodes. As many as 16 of those nodes can be CXFS administration nodes and all other nodes can be client-only nodes. SGI strongly recommends that only potential metadata servers be configured as CXFS server-capable administration nodes and that there be an odd number of server-capable nodes for quorum calculation purposes.

• CXFS relocation disabled; CXFS recovery supported on standby nodes
  In 6.5.18f, CXFS relocation is disabled by default and CXFS recovery is supported only when using standby nodes. This includes recovery (when using standby nodes) of hierarchical storage management (HSM) products using the data management application programming interface (DMAPI).

  A standby node is a metadata server-capable administration node that is configured as a potential metadata server for a given filesystem, but does not currently run any applications that will use that filesystem. To use recovery, you must not run any applications on any of the potential metadata servers for a given filesystem; after the active metadata server has been chosen by the system, you can then run applications that use the filesystem on the active metadata server and client-only nodes.

  Relocation and recovery are fully implemented, but the number of associated problems prevents full support of these features in the current release. Although data integrity is not compromised, cluster node panics or hangs are likely to occur. Relocation and recovery will be fully supported in a future release when these issues are resolved.

  For information on CXFS, see the CXFS Version 2 Software Installation and Administration Guide.

• CXFS upgrade: filesystem definitions
  The structure of the CXFS filesystem configuration was changed with the release of IRIX 6.5.13f. Backward compatibility with earlier versions is no longer maintained as of IRIX 6.5.14f, since all nodes in the cluster must be running the same or adjacent releases.
  • If you are upgrading from IRIX 6.5.13f to 6.5.14f or later, there is no further impact.

  • If you are upgrading from 6.5.12f or earlier, you must perform a one-time manual conversion of your CXFS filesystem definitions.

  See the CXFS Version 2 Software Installation and Administration Guide for more information.

• CXFS upgrade: cluster nodes
  For CXFS customers, if you install IRIX 6.5.18f including sysadm_base on a cluster node where the 6.5.13f or earlier version of CXFS is installed, you will need to upgrade to the 6.5.18f version CXFS (sysadm_cxfs) and install 6.5.18f sysadm_cluster.

New Software Enhancements - Maintenance and Feature Stream

Filesystems

• Support added for UDF filesystems
  The IRIX 6.5.18 release includes read-only support for the UDF filesystems format typically used for DVDs and packet-written CD-RWs. IRIX support for UDF filesystems does not, however, include support for playing DVD movies. DVDs will be automatically mounted by mediad in the same way that CD-ROMs are automatically mounted. For further information on mounting UDF filesystems, see IRIX Admin: Peripheral Devices.

  Note: Support for UDF filesystems requires that you install eoe.sw.udf.

Device Drivers

• QLFC enhanced driver messages
  QLFC has been enhanced to improve its output message format for messages logged to the console and SYSLOG. The name of the driver as it appears in messages has been changed from "QL" to "QLFC". The syntax of the messages has been modified to include the fabric port number in the message, in a form similar to the manner in which fabric devices are named.

  For example, where the old driver would output this message:

  ql11d(0x200400a0b80cd1ab): target has returned.

  the new driver will output this message:

  qlfc11: 200400a0b80cd1ab/c11p2: target has returned.

Networking/Security

• List approved shells in the /etc/shells file
  In IRIX 6.5.18, the /etc/shells file has been added to provide system administrators with the ability to define appropriate shells for users. The implementation of this feature includes the following ramifications:

  • A user's shell, as defined in /etc/passwd or an NIS map, must be listed in /etc/shells for the user to change a password with yppasswd or ypchpass.

  • A user's shell, as defined in /etc/passwd or an NIS map, must be listed in /etc/shells for sendmail to deliver a user's mail if the user's mail is piped to a process (such as procmail or vacation).

  Users are able to log in and use the system interactively, regardless of whether the shell is listed in /etc/shells. For more information see the shells(4) man page.

Hardware Inventory Command

• New hinv command support
  For the IRIX 6.5.18 release, the hinv command with the -v option displays the PCI/PCI-X bus speed of QLogic fibrechannel adapters. The hinv -t scsictlr command displays the SCSI/fibrechannel adapters.

Real-Time

• Processor timer load management
  Beginning with IRIX 6.5.18, a user is able to keep the interrupt and processing load generated by interval timers away from specific CPUs. This feature may reduce latency and jitter for real-time applications. For more information see the sysmp(2) and mpadmin(1) man pages.

Kernel Tunable Parameters

• Revised reboot_on_panic parameter description
  The reboot_on_panic parameter, when set to 1, specifies that the system should automatically reboot after a kernel panic. This is particularly useful for servers or other systems which frequently go unattended or are used remotely, where it may not be convenient to physically reset the system. The default for SGI servers and large graphical systems is to reboot after a kernel panic.

  It is important to note that the rebound variable, an environment variable set in the PROM monitor for most processors, is always checked before the reboot_on_panic parameter and can override it. If the reboot_on_panic parameter is set to 0 and the rebound value is set to y, the reboot_on_panic parameter in effect becomes 1 and your system will automatically reboot.

  For more information, see IRIX Admin: System Configuration and Operation.

Resource Administration

• Job limits support clarified
  Job limit values (rlim_t) are 64-bit in both n32 and n64 binaries. Consequently, n32 binaries can set 64-bit limits. o32 binaries cannot set 64-bit limits because rlim_t is 32-bits in o32 binaries. IRIX supports three Application Binary Interfaces (ABIs): o32, n64, and n32 (for more information on ABIs, see the abi(5) man page). IRIX Admin: Resource Administration, IRIX Admin: System Configuration and Operation, and the setjlimit(2) man page have been updated with this information.

Checkpoint and Restart

• Enhancements to atcheckpoint() and atrestart()
  At checkpoint time and at restart time, registered functions are called in the same order as the first-in-first-out order of their registration with atcheckpoint() or atrestart(), respectively. This is an important consideration for applications that need to register multiple callback handlers for checkpoint or restart events.

  Use of atcheckpoint() and atrestart() now ensures that registered signal handlers are invoked only when a checkpoint or restart of the application is actually in progress (as opposed to the user sending the signals directly via a function such as sigsend()).