Turn on RPL in StorNext volumes that run on StorNext MDCs

Xsan clients on macOS can access only StorNext volumes that allow fast reverse path lookup. Learn how to turn on RPL on StorNext MDCs.

When Xsan clients access StorNext volumes, fast reverse path lookup (RPL) must be turned on. You can turn on RPL on StorNext and newer metadata controllers (MDC). File systems created with StorNext or greater automatically start RPL. If you create a file system in an earlier version of StorNext you need to turn RPL on manually.

Check to see if you need to turn on RPL

Activate the file system, then look at the cvlog entries on the StorNext MDC. If you don’t have RPL turned on, you’ll see a log entry like this:

[1205 18:39:26] 0x2b0d56b98050 (Info) RPL is disabled.

Turn on RPL

To convert a file system to use RPL, stop the system, then use the “-L” option of the cvupdatefs command. For example, type this command on the StorNext MDC.

sudo /usr/cvfs/bin/cvupdatefs -L on VolumeName

Replace the VolumeName with the name of your file system.

After you run the command with this option, the file system uses RPL the next time you activate it. The process might take several hours depending on how many files are in the file system.

To see the cvupdatefs manual, type “man cvupdatefs” on a StoreNet MDC. If you need more help, contact Quantum support.

Without RPL, Finder sometimes can’t browse a StorNext volume. The folders might appear to be empty, even if the command line shows that the files are there.