/sys$common/syshlp/helplib.hlb Sys Parameters, MPDEV_LCRETRIES  *Conan The Librarian (sorry for the slow response - running on an old VAX)

    (Alpha only) MPDEV_LCRETRIES controls the number of times the
    system retries locally connected paths before moving on to local
    unconnected paths or to an MSCP served path to the device. The
    valid range for retries is 1 through 256. The default is 1.