When all Primary/Optimized paths between the server and the storage array are disconnected, ASM disk group dismounts and the Oracle database may go down (3289311)

Last published : Sep 23, 2026
The Oracle database shows an I/O error on the control file, but there was no I/O error seen on any DMP device. When all Primary/Optimized paths are disconnected, DMP fails over to other available paths but the failover takes time. In the meantime, the application (ASM/Oracle database) times out the I/O.
The ASM alert log file displays messages such as the following:
Errors in file /u01/app/oracle/diag/rdbms/orcl/orcl2/trace/orcl2_ckpt_6955.trc:
ORA-00221: error on write to control file
ORA-00206: error in writing (block 4, # blocks 1) of control file
ORA-00202: control file: '+DATA_P6/ORCL/CONTROLFILE/current.261.826783133'
ORA-15081: failed to submit an I/O operation to a disk
ORA-15081: failed to submit an I/O operation to a disk
Wed Oct 09 14:16:07 2013
WARNING: group 2 dismounted: failed to read virtual extent 0 of file 261
Wed Oct 09 14:16:07 2013
USER (ospid: 6955): terminating the instance due to error 221
Wed Oct 09 14:16:07 2013
WARNING: requested mirror side 2 of virtual extent 0 logical extent 1 offset
16384
is not allocated; I/O request failed
WARNING: requested mirror side 3 of virtual extent 0 logical extent 2 offset
16384
is not allocated; I/O request failed
The above issue may occur when the server is configured as follows:
DB: Oracle 12c
Volume Manager: ASM
Multi-pathing Solutions: DMP
OS: Solaris
Disk Array : HP EVA in ALUA mode

Workaround:

The following workaround can reduce the probability of this issue, and when you see this issue, you could use Oracle commands to start the database manually.
Increase the application time out and make the following changes to reduce the time taken to mark the path as offline:
  • In the /kernel/drv/fp.conf file, add fp_offline_ticker=15.
  • In the /kernel/drv/fcp.conf file, add fcp_offline_delay=10.