Volume names in ZFS and scsi_vhci MPxIO Arrays

Solaris has a nifty 8-character-string named "volname" perfectly usable to distinguish disks when working with format.

Imagine this:

# format     
Searching for disks...done


AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
       0. c3t0d0 <DEFAULT cyl 8872 alt 2 hd 255 sec 63>
          /pci@7b,0/pci1022,7458@11/pci1000,3060@2/sd@0,0
       1. c6t600D0230006B66680C50AB19E032BF00d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006b66680c50ab19e032bf00
       2. c6t600D0230006B66680C50AB7821F0E900d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-3.41TB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006b66680c50ab7821f0e900
       3. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE2E1F609B00d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be2e1f609b00
       4. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE5BC9D49100d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-3.41TB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be5bc9d49100
       5. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE6F2E72AF00d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be6f2e72af00
       6. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE7D50643500d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be7d50643500
       7. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE17A06DA500d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be17a06da500
       8. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE3427E7E200d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be3427e7e200
       9. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE6456AC0D00d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be6456ac0d00
      10. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE6866B36E00d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be6866b36e00

So which of these "698.38GB" disks are your NRAID (non-raid) FC-SAS-bridged disk and which is a RAID1 volume through 2 RAID controllers?
Use volume names!

It's simple:

Specify disk (enter its number): 3
selecting c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE2E1F609B00d0
[disk formatted]
/dev/dsk/c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE2E1F609B00d0s0 is part of active ZFS pool nraidtest. Please see zpool(1M).


FORMAT MENU:
        disk       - select a disk
        type       - select (define) a disk type
        partition  - select (define) a partition table
        current    - describe the current disk
        format     - format and analyze the disk
        fdisk      - run the fdisk program
        repair     - repair a defective sector
        label      - write label to the disk
        analyze    - surface analysis
        defect     - defect list management
        backup     - search for backup labels
        verify     - read and display labels
        inquiry    - show vendor, product and revision
        volname    - set 8-character volume name
        !<cmd>     - execute <cmd>, then return
        quit
format> volname
Enter 8-character volume name (remember quotes)[""]:HeyGuys
Ready to label disk, continue? y

format> quit
# format
Searching for disks...done


AVAILABLE DISK SELECTIONS:
       0. c3t0d0 <DEFAULT cyl 8872 alt 2 hd 255 sec 63>
          /pci@7b,0/pci1022,7458@11/pci1000,3060@2/sd@0,0
       1. c6t600D0230006B66680C50AB19E032BF00d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006b66680c50ab19e032bf00
       2. c6t600D0230006B66680C50AB7821F0E900d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-3.41TB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006b66680c50ab7821f0e900
       3. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE2E1F609B00d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>  HeyGuys
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be2e1f609b00
       4. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE5BC9D49100d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-3.41TB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be5bc9d49100
       5. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE6F2E72AF00d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be6f2e72af00
       6. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE7D50643500d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be7d50643500
       7. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE17A06DA500d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be17a06da500
       8. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE3427E7E200d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be3427e7e200
       9. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE6456AC0D00d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be6456ac0d00
      10. c6t600D0230006C1C4C0C50BE6866B36E00d0 <ADVUNI-OXYGENRAID 416F4-347B-698.38GB>
          /scsi_vhci/disk@g600d0230006c1c4c0c50be6866b36e00

You see the "HeyGuys" volume name?

This "volname" does NOT break any label you use for your zpools. It is perfectly doable in running state and it helps me very much.