What is Serial Split Brain?

Serial Split Brain (SSB) refers to a state where the disk group has been imported multiple times where each import had a partial view of the disks that make up the disk group and uses a different configuration copy during the import.

In this situation, Veritas Volume Manager (VxVM) cannot know which import the user most cares about. The imports could occur on the same host, but most often would occur on different hosts, such as in a Campus Cluster.

For example, in a Campus Cluster, Serial Split Brain occurs if connectivity between two sites is disrupted, and each site imports the same disk group but sees only half of the LUNs that make up the disk group.

The attached document has more technical detail surrounding the VxVM "SSB" feature.