Initializing disks as VxVM disks

Last published : Jun 11, 2026
Perform the following procedure to initialize disks as VxVM disks.
To initialize disks as VxVM disks
  1. Scan for the new hdisk devices.
    \# /usr/sbin/cfgmgr
    1. List the new external disks or the LUNs as recognized by the operating system. On each node, enter:
    \# lsdev -Cc disk
  2. Determine the VxVM name by which a disk drive (or LUN) is known.
In the following example, VxVM identifies a disk with the AIX device name /dev/rhdisk75 as EMC0_17:
\# vxdmpadm getdmpnode nodename=hdisk75
NAME     STATE    ENCLR-TYPE   PATHS    ENBL    DSBL    ENCLR-NAME
============================================================
EMC0_17  ENABLED  EMC          1        1       0       EMC0
Notice that in the example command, the AIX device name for
the block device was used.
As an option, you can run the command vxdisk list vxvm_device_name to see additional information about the disk like the AIX device name. For example:
\# vxdisk list EMC0_17
  1. To initialize the disks as VxVM disks, use one of the following methods:
    • Use the interactive vxdiskadm utility to initialize the disks as VxVM disks.
For more information, see the Storage Foundation Administrator's Guide.
  • Use the vxdisksetup command to initialize a disk as a VxVM disk.
    \# vxdisksetup -i device_name
    The example specifies the CDS format:
    \# vxdisksetup -i EMC0_17
Repeat this command for each disk you intend to use as a coordinator disk.