5.3. Issues with queue_if_no_path feature

If features "1 queue_if_no_path" is specified in the /etc/multipath.conf file, then any process that issues I/O will hang until one or more paths are restored. To avoid this, set the no_path_retry N parameter in the /etc/multipath.conf file (where N is the number of times the system should retry a path). When you do, remove the features "1 queue_if_no_path" option from the /etc/multipath.conf as well.

If you need to use the features "1 queue_if_no_path" option and you experience the issue noted here, use the dmsetup command to edit the policy at runtime for a particular LUN (that is, for which all the paths are unavailable). For example, if you want to change the policy on the multipath device mpath2 from "queue_if_no_path" to "fail_if_no_path", execute the following command.

dmsetup message mpath2 0 "fail_if_no_path"

Note that you must specify the mpathn alias rather than the path.