Do I format a 6140 snapshot volume in Solaris 10?

Question

I have created a snapshot in Storagetek 6140 and mapped it to host, for the purpose of using the snapshot to backup the database (base) volume.
On the host, in format, I can see the snapshot disk. Do I label and partition it? Or do I just mount it, and if so which slice?
I want to create a metadevice so as not to have to use the full wwn in the mount command, so I have:
metatinit d999 1 1 /dev/dsk/c6t600A0B800029BA4E000005AE47534D9Cd0s2
mount /dev/md/dsk/d999 /mdata2_snapshot
and this all seems to work ok.
But in format, if I select the disk it asks if I would like to label it now. Not sure whether to do this or not.
Would be very grateful for any advice. I can't find anything about this in the documentation.
Many thanks
Diana

Answer 1

No you should not format or repatition the volume as it will have the same characteristics as the original primary volume.
You use it in exactly the same way as you used the original volume - with the usual caveats of metasets etc.
If you're using slice 2 of the original volume, your command should work. If not, then you should change the partition number to reflect the primary volume.
Remember however, if you delete and recreate the snapshot, it will have a different WWN so you'll also have to remove the metadevice for the snapshot prior to removing the snapshot volume.
HTH,
--A.