7/30/2019 EMC Symmetrix BIN File-IMPL

1/4

EMC Symmetrix BIN file (Initial Memory Program Load IMPL.Bin)

EMC Symmetrix BIN file, largely an unknown topic in the storage industry and practically there

is no available information related to it. This post is just an attempt to shed some light as to whata BIN file is, how it works, whats in it and why is it essential with the Enginuity code. Some

EMC folks have capitalized on the BIN file as to the personality it brings to the Symmetrix,

while the EMC competition always uses it against them as it introduces complexities in the

storage environment with management and change control.

Personally I feel a Symmetrix wouldnt be a Symmetrix if the BIN file werent there. Thepersonality, characteristics, robustness, compatibility, flexibility, integration with OSs, etc

wouldnt be there if the BIN file didnt exist.

With the total number of OSs, device types, channel interfaces and flags it supports today, sort

of making it one of the most compatible storage arrays in the market. The configuration andcompatibility on the Symmetrix can be verified using the E-Lab navigator available on

Powerlink.

So here are some facts about the BIN file

Only used with Symmetrix systems (Enginuity Code) BIN file stands for BINARY file BIN file holds all information about the Symmetrix configuration One BIN file per system serial number is required BIN file was used with Symmetrix Gen 1 in 1990 and is still used in 2010 with

Symmetrix V-Max systems BIN file holds information on SRDF configurations, total memory, memory in slots,

serial number of the unit, number of directors, type of directors, director flags, engines,

engine ports, front end ports, back end ports, drives on the loop, drives on the SCSI bus,

number of drives per loop, drive types in the slots, drive speeds, volume addresses,

volume types, metas, device flags and many more settings

The setup for host connection if the OS is Open Systems or Mainframe environmentsusing FICON, ESCON, GbE, FC, RF, etc is all defined in the BIN file. Also director

emulations, drive formats if OSD or CKD, format types, drive speeds, etc is all defined in

the BIN file

BIN file is required to make a system active. It is created based on customerspecifications and installed by EMC during the initial setup

Any ongoing changes in the environment related to hardware upgrades, defining devices,changing flags, etc is all accomplished using BIN file changes

BIN file changes can be accomplished 3 ways.o BIN file change for hardware upgrades is typically performed by EMC onlyo BIN file change for other changes that are device, director, flags, metas, SRDF

configurations etc is either performed through the SYMAPI infrastructure using

SymCLI or ECC (Now Ionix) or SMC (Symmetrix Management Console) by the

7/30/2019 EMC Symmetrix BIN File-IMPL

2/4

customer. (Edited based on the comments: Only some changes now require

traditional BIN file change, typically others are performed using sys calls in

enginuity environment)

Solutions enabler is required on the Symcli, ECC, SMC management stations to enableSYMAPI infrastructure to operate

VCMDB needs to be setup on the Symmetrix for SymCLI, ECC, SMC related changes towork

Gatekeeper devices need to be setup on the Symmetrix front end ports for SymCLI, ECC,SMC changes to work

For Symmetrix Optimizer to work in your environment, you need DRV devices setup onyour Symmetrix.(Edited based on comments:Only required until DMX platform. Going

forward with DMX3/4 & V-Max platforms it uses sys calls to perform Optimizer

changes).

Back in the day

All and any BIN file changes on the Symmetrix 3.0, Symmetrix 4.0 used to be performed byEMC from the Service Processor. Over the years with introduction of SYMAPI and other

layered software products, now seldom is EMC involved in the upgrade process.

Hardware upgrades

BIN File changes typically have to be initiated and performed by EMC, again these are the

hardware upgrades. If the customer is looking at adding 32GBs of Cache to the existing DMX-4

system or adding new Front End connectivity or upgrading 1200 drive system to 1920 drives, all

these require BIN file changes initiated and performed by EMC. To my understanding the turn

around time is just a few days with these changes, as it requires change control and other

processes within EMC.

Customer initiated changes

Configuration changes around front end ports, creating volumes, creating metas, volume flags,host connectivity, configuration flags, SRDF volume configurations, SRDF replication

configurations, etc can all be accomplished through the customer end using the SYMAPI

infrastructure (with SymCLI or ECC or SMC). These are performed through Sys calls and not

necessarily using traditional BIN changes DMX-3 systems onwards.)

Enginuity upgrade

Upgrading the microcode (Enginuity) on a DMX or a V-Max is not a BIN file change, but rather

is a code upgrade. Back in the days, many upgrades were performed offline, but in this day and

age, all changes are online and accomplished with minimum pains.

Today

http://storagenerve.com/2010/03/12/symmetrix-bin-file/http://storagenerve.com/2010/03/12/symmetrix-bin-file/http://storagenerve.com/2010/03/12/symmetrix-bin-file/http://storagenerve.com/2010/03/12/symmetrix-bin-file/http://storagenerve.com/2010/03/12/symmetrix-bin-file/http://storagenerve.com/2010/03/12/symmetrix-bin-file/http://storagenerve.com/2010/03/12/symmetrix-bin-file/http://storagenerve.com/2010/03/12/symmetrix-bin-file/

7/30/2019 EMC Symmetrix BIN File-IMPL

3/4

So EMC has moved quite ahead with the Symmetrix architecture over the past 20 years, but the

underlying BIN file change requirements havent changed over these 8 generations of

Symmetrix.

Any and all BIN file changes are recommended to be done during quite times (less IOPS), at

schedule change control times. Again these would include the ones that EMC is performing froma hardware perspective or the customer is performing for device/flag changes.

The process

During the process of a BIN file change, the configuration file typically ending with the name

*.BIN is loaded to all the frontend directors, backend directors, including the global cache. After

the upload, the system is refreshed with this new file in the global cache and the process makes

the new configuration changes active. This process of refresh is called IML (Initial Memory

Load) and the BIN file is typically called IMPL (Initial Memory Program Load) file.

A customer initiated BIN file works in a similar way, where the SYMAPI infrastructure thatresides on the service processor allows the customer to interface with the Symmetrix to perform

these changes. During this process, the scripts verify that the customer configurations are valid

and then perform the changes and make the new configuration active.

To query the Symmetrix system for configuration details, reference the SymCLI guide. Some

standard commands to query your system would include symcfg, symcli, symdev, symdisk,

symdrv, symevent, symhost, symgate, syminq, symstat commands and will help you navigate

and find all the necessary details related to your Symmetrix. Also similar information in a GUI

can be obtained using ECC and SMC. Both will allow the customer to initiate SYMAPI changes.

Unless something has changed with the V-Max, typically to get an excel based representation ofyour BIN file, ask your EMC CE.

Issues

You cannot run two BIN files in a single system, though at times the system can end up in a state

where you can have multiple BIN files on various directors. This phenomenon typically doesnt

happen to often, but an automated script when not finished properly can put the system in this

state. At this point the Symmetrix will initiate a call home immediately and the PSE labs should

typically be able to resolve these issues.

Additional software like Symmetrix Optimizer also uses the underlying BIN file infrastructure tomake changes to the storage array to move hot and cold devices based on the required defined

criteria. There have been quite a few known cases of Symmetrix Optimizer causing the above

phenomenon of multiple BIN files. , Though many critics will disagree with that

statement. (Edited based on comments: Only required until DMX platform. Going forward with

DMX3/4 & V-Max platforms it uses sys calls to perform these Optimizer changes).

http://storagenerve.com/2010/03/12/symmetrix-bin-file/http://storagenerve.com/2010/03/12/symmetrix-bin-file/http://storagenerve.com/2010/03/12/symmetrix-bin-file/http://storagenerve.com/2010/03/12/symmetrix-bin-file/

7/30/2019 EMC Symmetrix BIN File-IMPL

4/4

NOTE: One piece of advice, never run SYMCLI or ECC scripts for BIN file changes through a

VPN connected desktop or laptop. Always run all necessary SymCLI / SMC / ECC scripts for

changes from a server in your local environment. Very highly recommend, never attempt to

administer your Symmetrix system with an iPhone or a Blackberry.

Hope in your quest to get more information on BIN files, this serves as the starting point..