DDS-4 tape drive on RS/6000 7025 F50 with AIX 5.3
David Kirkby
DDS-4 tape drive? When I run cfgmgr hte tape drive got added. Smit
shows:
rmt0 Available 10-60-00-5,0 Other SCSI Tape Drive
But I can't actually read or write to the tape drive.
After about 15 minutes, during which time there's no noises from the
tape drive, I see:
tar: /dev/rmt0: There is an input or output error.
I'm wondering if DDS-4 is too new for this combo or hardware and AIX,
though that seems unlikely. I bought the drive used, and are assured
it passes all tests and has been updated to the latest firmware.
Dave
David Kirkby
I shouldhave made it clear. All I tried adding was one fileof 26 bytes
# ls -l m
-rw-r--r-- 1 root system 26 14 Sep 18:26 m
# tar cfv /dev/rmt0 m
tar: /dev/rmt0: There is an input or output error.
#
David Kirkby
I should have added, the tape drive is an HP C5683-00125 and the tape
is a brand new DDS-4 tape (also HP). I've put the drive internalto the
RS/6000 and have checked the SCSI ID's for the tape, CD and a hard
disk I added with a 68 -> 80 pin adapter were all as given in the
service manual.
I also tried an external DDS-4 tape (also HP) on the rear SCSI
connector and could not get that to work either. I know that drive is
fine - I bought it new and has had little use. However, IIRC I had a
DDS-2 tape, which I know DDS-4 drives cant write. I'm not sure about
reading. So I need to recheck that.
Dave
Tony
>I should have added, the tape drive is an HP C5683-00125 and the tape
>is a brand new DDS-4 tape (also HP). I've put the drive internalto the
I've never tried using non-IBM certified / branded hardware on a pSeries
server, so I can't really comment.
IBM often rebadged other vendor hardware for pSeries kit, including HP tape
drives, but I don't know if they also shipped them with their own custom
firmware.
What do you get from lscfg -vl rmt0
--
Tony Evans
Saving trees and wasting electrons since 1993
blog -> http://perceptionistruth.com/
books -> http://www.bookthing.co.uk/
[ anything below this line wasn't written by me ]
Rick Ekblaw
> I'm wondering if DDS-4 is too new for this combo or hardware and AIX,
> though that seems unlikely.
IBM offered a DDS-4 tape drive for the 7025, see Announcement Letter
100-294. Since your tape does not have IBM VPD (Vital Product Data)
associated with it (because it is not an IBM drive intended for use on
an RS/6000), you'll need to set the device options in SMIT yourself. I
don't know the "magic numbers" for a DDS-4 drive, as I don't have one.
Maybe someone else can provide the appropriate values.
Rick Ekblaw
David Kirkby
> In comp.unix.aix, David Kirkby <drkir...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >I should have added, the tape drive is an HP C5683-00125 and the tape
> >is a brand new DDS-4 tape (also HP). I've put the drive internalto the
>
> I've never tried using non-IBM certified / branded hardware on a pSeries
> server, so I can't really comment.
>
> IBM often rebadged other vendor hardware for pSeries kit, including HP tape
> drives, but I don't know if they also shipped them with their own custom
> firmware.
>
> What do you get from lscfg -vl rmt0
# lscfg -vl rmt0
rmt0 P2/Z1-A5 Other SCSI Tape Drive
Manufacturer................HP
Machine Type and Model......C5683A
Serial Number............... 9
Device Specific.(Z3)........2020
My batteries are just about to dieon the laptop
David Kirkby
Thank you. I'll look at that. Are there lots of combinations? I can't
really look now as i only have access from a laptop and batteries are
dying quickly
dave
B Holloway
"Rick Ekblaw" <ekb...@vnet.ibm.com> wrote in message
news:Gs-dnd3TVsTBnwnR...@westnet.com.au...
Rick
Have internal DDS3's in a 7025-F80 and in a 7043-140.
Would those numbers be of any use to David.
Basil
Tim WBST Clarke
"David Kirkby" <drki...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:5b904c0d-2c5f-4f7b...@c16g2000vbp.googlegroups.com...
====
It would appear that the equivalent IBM external DDS4 drive for RS/6000s is
the 7206-220. Google searches of "IBM 7206-220" and "RS/6000 DDS4" produce
some useful links amongst the chaff.
--
Cheers,
Tim Clarke (a.k.a. WBST)
Guildford, U.K.
Tim WBST Clarke
news:yBYko.148498$ee6....@newsfe28.ams2...
Alternately, I have some spare, ex-RS/6000 internal tape backup drives,
which you could have for a modest sum:
Exabyte EXB-8505 based 8mm 5GB drive, P/N 46G2665 and
Archive 4326RP (5.25" mount) based 4mm DDS2 drive, P/N 87G4925
David Kirkby
wrote:
> Alternately, I have some spare, ex-RS/6000 internal tape backup drives,
> which you could have for a modest sum:
>
> Exabyte EXB-8505 based 8mm 5GB drive, P/N 46G2665 and
> Archive 4326RP (5.25" mount) based 4mm DDS2 drive, P/N 87G4925
> --
> Cheers,
> Tim Clarke (a.k.a. WBST)
> Guildford, U.K.
Thank you Tim, but if it is possible to get the DDS-4 internal drive
working, I'd rather that, as I have a load of DDS-4 tapes, whereas I
might hae one or two DDS-2's and I don't have any 8 mm tapes. I only
paid £10 for the DDS-4 drive off of eBay - tapes will cost me nearly
as much as that.
That said, I primarily wanted this to to back up the rootvg if I
screwed things up to save time reinstalling from scratch. I don't see
tapes as much use for backing up data now, as disks are so much bigger
than tape capacities for the same sort of money. I paid £20 for a 73
GB disk - to back that up fully one would need something better than a
DDS-5, as my experience with DDS-4 tape drives is one can never get
the 2:1 compression factor claimed of such devices.
Dave
Dave
David Kirkby
wrote:
> # lscfg -vl rmt0
> rmt0 P2/Z1-A5 Other SCSI Tape Drive
>
> Manufacturer................HP
> Machine Type and Model......C5683A
> Serial Number............... 9
> Device Specific.(Z3)........2020
>
> My batteries are just about to dieon the laptop
> ====
>
> It would appear that the equivalent IBM external DDS4 drive for RS/6000s is
> the 7206-220. Google searches of "IBM 7206-220" and "RS/6000 DDS4" produce
> some useful links amongst the chaff.
> --
> Cheers,
> Tim Clarke (a.k.a. WBST)
> Guildford, U.K.
Thank you Tim.
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=ssg1S7001221&aid=1
implies that it is supported as an external drive. Whether getting one
of those, and perhaps taking the drive out might work internally. I'd
prefer it internal if possible.
I can find lots of references about using DDS-4 tape drives with
Trivoli software. I think I have a copy of that, but its I doubt that
would be any use for restoring if I manage to screw up the root volume
group. One does not want to have to rely on installed software at that
point.
Even playing with smit might be hopeless at that level.
IIRC there are quits a few small switches on the drive - perhaps one
combination of them might get it working.
For general backup/restore, I'd prefer to move data to a Sun which is
networked and has a pair of mirrored 2 TB disks. For home use, backing
up moderen disks with tape is just a waste of time, given disks are so
much bigger than the storage capacity of economic tape drives.
Dave
Tim WBST Clarke
> Alternately, I have some spare, ex-RS/6000 internal tape backup drives,
> which you could have for a modest sum:
>
> Exabyte EXB-8505 based 8mm 5GB drive, P/N 46G2665 and
> Archive 4326RP (5.25" mount) based 4mm DDS2 drive, P/N 87G4925
Thank you Tim, but if it is possible to get the DDS-4 internal drive
working, I'd rather that, as I have a load of DDS-4 tapes, whereas I
might hae one or two DDS-2's and I don't have any 8 mm tapes. I only
paid £10 for the DDS-4 drive off of eBay - tapes will cost me nearly
as much as that.
That said, I primarily wanted this to to back up the rootvg if I
screwed things up to save time reinstalling from scratch. I don't see
tapes as much use for backing up data now, as disks are so much bigger
than tape capacities for the same sort of money. I paid £20 for a 73
GB disk - to back that up fully one would need something better than a
DDS-5, as my experience with DDS-4 tape drives is one can never get
the 2:1 compression factor claimed of such devices.
Dave
====
That's fine Dave, I just thought I'd present you with options. I appreciate
the related cost issues. TBH, mixing non-IBM firmware drives and RS/6000s
can be a bit fraught. But, Rick Ekblaw is a very helpful IBM guy for we
hobbyists and there are knowledgeable guys here and the related "older IBM
hardware" forum: comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware.
--
Regards,
Tim Clarke
Monetaim
Guildford, U.K.
Tim WBST Clarke
Thank you Tim.
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=ssg1S7001221&aid=1
Dave
====
I doubt that playing with the configuration switches would be advisable,
without a Technical Reference for the specific drive to hand and having
noted the current settings first. I believe that what has been suggested is
to configure AIX's driver parameters to match the drive, as it doesn't have
the IBM firmware to automate this. You'd need these from someone who has an
IBM DDS4 drive installed and configured to achieve the desired operational
result, again, I believe.
David Kirkby
wrote:
> Dave
> ====
> I doubt that playing with the configuration switches would be advisable,
> without a Technical Reference for the specific drive to hand and having
> noted the current settings first. I believe that what has been suggested is
> to configure AIX's driver parameters to match the drive, as it doesn't have
> the IBM firmware to automate this. You'd need these from someone who has an
> IBM DDS4 drive installed and configured to achieve the desired operational
> result, again, I believe.
> --
> Cheers,
> Tim Clarke (a.k.a. WBST)
> Guildford, U.K.
I could probably find a technical reference from the HP site. Noting
the position of the switch is trivial.
I wonder if installing the Trivoli software might help. It's possible
that I could dig a set of parameters out from that. So not actually
use the software, but just use it to get parameters. But I'm not
convinced any of this will be any use to restore in the event of a
messed up system. Perhaps buying the IBM 7206-220 external drive if I
see one on eBay would be a better solution. I assume that drive could
probably moved internally when I'd prefer it to be.
I could stick this drive, which only cost me a tenner into a Sun. I've
never had problems with Solaris and tape drives. But I've had a few
tape drives fail. There was a DDS-3 drive in this machine when I
bought it, but that has died - it looks like a mechanical problem, as
ejecting a tape is very difficult. I think theres one in there now
which will not come out.
Dave
Dave
David Kirkby
I can't find the IBM announcement letter you refer to.
Dave
David Kirkby
wrote:
> Hi David...
>
> "David Kirkby" <drkir...@gmail.com> wrote in message
Just read this info on the sales brosure:
"The 7332 Model 220 comes with its own device driver that is used by
save/restore
utilities provided with the AIX operating system."
That rather suggests this will never be any use for restoring a system
from a totally screwed up state.
I've look on eBay and see several of those drives in the USA, but they
are quite expensive. A lot more than the tenner I paid for the HP
drive.
Dave
Tim WBST Clarke
> Dave
> ====
> I doubt that playing with the configuration switches would be advisable,
> without a Technical Reference for the specific drive to hand and having
> noted the current settings first. I believe that what has been suggested
> is
> to configure AIX's driver parameters to match the drive, as it doesn't
> have
> the IBM firmware to automate this. You'd need these from someone who has
> an
> IBM DDS4 drive installed and configured to achieve the desired operational
> result, again, I believe.
I could probably find a technical reference from the HP site. Noting
the position of the switch is trivial.
I wonder if installing the Trivoli software might help. It's possible
that I could dig a set of parameters out from that. So not actually
use the software, but just use it to get parameters. But I'm not
convinced any of this will be any use to restore in the event of a
messed up system. Perhaps buying the IBM 7206-220 external drive if I
see one on eBay would be a better solution. I assume that drive could
probably moved internally when I'd prefer it to be.
I could stick this drive, which only cost me a tenner into a Sun. I've
never had problems with Solaris and tape drives. But I've had a few
tape drives fail. There was a DDS-3 drive in this machine when I
bought it, but that has died - it looks like a mechanical problem, as
ejecting a tape is very difficult. I think theres one in there now
which will not come out.
====
I presume you mean the Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) software? Unfortunately,
I've zero experience of that and so couldn't advise.
As regards an IBM 7206-220, should you find one cheaply enough, there's no
difference between an internally or externally mounted drive, given the
necessary mountings and ensuring interface compatibility (SSA, SCA, LVD/SE,
SE, SCS1-2 50/68-pin, SCSI-3 etc. But *beware* of High Voltage Differential
(HVD) external bus interfaces as these can blow the interface circuitry of
an SE or LVD/SE drive). SCSI Bus termination and selecting an unused SCSI
Id. should be second nature, of course.
From the blurb I briefly scanned, the 7206-220 can, at least, read DDS2 and
DDS3 cartridges, and read/write DDS4 cartridges. However, received opinion
is that Digital Linear Tape (DLT) drives are to be preferred for regular and
reliable tape backup/restore operations of large capacity, the 4mm tape
cartridges being unsuited to heavy duty usage. AIX supports system
reinstallation etc. from a variety of media, including configured tape
devices, I believe. The appropriate smit(ty) menu options and help info.
will guide you in this.
HTTH
David Kirkby
wrote:
> That's fine Dave, I just thought I'd present you with options. I appreciate
> the related cost issues. TBH, mixing non-IBM firmware drives and RS/6000s
> can be a bit fraught. But, Rick Ekblaw is a very helpful IBM guy for we
> hobbyists and there are knowledgeable guys here and the related "older IBM
> hardware" forum: comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware.
> --
>
> Regards,
> Tim Clarke
> Monetaim
> Guildford, U.K.
Thank you. I've learned my lesson over the non-IBM hardware -
fortunately not an expensive mistake though. £10 plus a fiver for
carriage wont break me.
I'll have a search through my tapes and see how many DDS-2 tapes I
have. If I've got a few, I might take you up on the 4 mm DDS-2 drive.
I think at one point I had a DDS-2 drive in an old Sun, so I might
have a few tapes. But I've got about 30 to 40 DDS-4 tapes.
Let me know what you want for the DDS-2 drive.
Yes, Rick is *very* helpful. That said, everyone on comp.unix.aix
seems to be helpful. On some forums/newsgroups, people are pretty
unhelpful. I recall submitting a bug report about a 3 month old
version of the stats package R, only to be told not to waste their
time on old versions. They have not fixed the bug in the latest
version, and I could probably write a patch, but I've found the list
pretty unhelpful.
R wont build on Solaris x86 with gcc. I'd like to try to resolve that,
but I fear too much abuse if I ask for help that I can't be bothered.
If I manage to fix it myself, I'm not even convinced I'd bother
submitting a patch.
Dave
Dave
Tim WBST Clarke
> It would appear that the equivalent IBM external DDS4 drive for RS/6000s
is
> the 7206-220. Google searches of "IBM 7206-220" and "RS/6000 DDS4" produce
> some useful links amongst the chaff.
Just read this info on the sales brosure:
"The 7332 Model 220 comes with its own device driver that is used by
save/restore
utilities provided with the AIX operating system."
That rather suggests this will never be any use for restoring a system
from a totally screwed up state.
I've look on eBay and see several of those drives in the USA, but they
are quite expensive. A lot more than the tenner I paid for the HP
drive.
====
The procedure, I believe, would be to reinstall the base operating system
and configure the attached devices from the original media (CDs in your
case) and then do the full restore from tape or other backup media.
Tim WBST Clarke
====
http://www.ibm.com/common/ssi/rep_ca/4/897/ENUS100-294/ENUS100-294.PDF
David Kirkby
wrote:
> "David Kirkby" <drkir...@gmail.com> wrote in message
David Kirkby
wrote:
> "David Kirkby" <drkir...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> Just read this info on the sales brosure:
>
> "The 7332 Model 220 comes with its own device driver that is used by
> save/restore
> utilities provided with the AIX operating system."
>
> That rather suggests this will never be any use for restoring a system
> from a totally screwed up state.
>
> I've look on eBay and see several of those drives in the USA, but they
> are quite expensive. A lot more than the tenner I paid for the HP
> drive.
> ====
> The procedure, I believe, would be to reinstall the base operating system
> and configure the attached devices from the original media (CDs in your
> case) and then do the full restore from tape or other backup media.
> --
> Cheers,
> Tim Clarke (a.k.a. WBST)
> Guildford, U.K.
Thank you Tim. But would 'smit' work with this? I assume that writes
files somewhere (for example, I think it keeps a log of everying you
do in hom direcotry of root. That's not going to work on a CD. I guess
one might have to do at the command line.
Tim WBST Clarke
news:b2679bf8-10fd-4882...@q26g2000vbn.googlegroups.com...
On Sep 18, 9:29 am, "Tim WBST Clarke" <WBSTCla...@googlemail.com>
wrote:
> "David Kirkby" <drkir...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> Just read this info on the sales brosure:
>
> "The 7332 Model 220 comes with its own device driver that is used by
> save/restore
> utilities provided with the AIX operating system."
>
> That rather suggests this will never be any use for restoring a system
> from a totally screwed up state.
>
> I've look on eBay and see several of those drives in the USA, but they
> are quite expensive. A lot more than the tenner I paid for the HP
> drive.
> ====
> The procedure, I believe, would be to reinstall the base operating system
> and configure the attached devices from the original media (CDs in your
> case) and then do the full restore from tape or other backup media.
Thank you Tim. But would 'smit' work with this? I assume that writes
files somewhere (for example, I think it keeps a log of everying you
do in hom direcotry of root. That's not going to work on a CD. I guess
one might have to do at the command line.
====
From the AIX 5.1 manual System Management Guide: Operating System and
Devices:
Backing Up User Files or File Systems
Two procedures can be used to back up files and file systems: the SMIT fast
paths smit backfile or smit
backfilesys, and the backup command.
For additional information about backing up user files or file systems, see
"Backing Up User Files or File
Systems" in the AIX 5L Version 5.1 System Management Concepts: Operating
System and Devices.
Prerequisites
v If you are backing up inode file systems that may be in use, unmount them
first to prevent
inconsistencies.
Attention: If you attempt to back up a mounted file system, a warning
message is displayed. The
backup command continues, but inconsistencies in the file system may occur.
This warning does not
apply to the root (/) file system.
v To prevent errors, make sure the backup device has been cleaned recently.
Backing Up User Files or File Systems Tasks
Task SMIT Fast Path Command or File
Back Up User Files smit backfile 1. Log in to your user account.
2. Backup:
find . -print | backup -ivf /dev/rmt0
Back Up User File Systems smit backfilesys 1. Unmount files systems that you
plan
to back up. For example:
umount all or
umount /home /filesys1
2. Verify the file systems. For example:
fsck /home /filesys1
3. Back up by i-node. For example:
backup -5 -uf/dev/rmt0 /home/libr
4. Restore the files using the following
command:1
restore -t
Note:
1. If this command generates an error message, you must repeat the entire
backup.
Backing Up the System Image and User-Defined Volume Groups
Backing Up Your System
The following procedures describe how to make an installable image of your
system. For more information
about backing up the system, see "Backing Up the System Image and
User-Defined Volume Groups" in
the AIX 5L Version 5.1 System Management Concepts: Operating System and
Devices.
Prerequisites
Before backing up the rootvg volume group:
v All hardware must already be installed, including external devices, such
as tape and CD-ROM drives.
v This backup procedure requires the sysbr fileset, which is in the BOS
System Management Tools and
Applications software package. Type the following command to determine
whether the sysbr fileset is
installed on your system:
lslpp -l bos.sysmgt.sysbr
If your system has the sysbr fileset installed, continue the backup
procedures.
If the lslpp command does not list the sysbr fileset, install it before
continuing with the backup
procedure. See Installing Optional Software and Service Updates in the AIX
5L Version 5.1 Installation
Guide for instructions.
installp -agqXd device bos.sysmgt.sysbr
where device is the location of the software; for example,/dev/rmt0 for a
tape drive.
Before backing up a user-defined volume group:
v Before being saved, a volume group must be varied on and the file systems
must be mounted.
80 Operating System and Devices
Attention: Executing the savevg command results in the loss of all material
previously stored on
the selected output medium.
v Make sure the backup device has been cleaned recently to prevent errors.
Backing Up Your System Tasks
Task SMIT Fast Path Command or File
Backing up the rootvg volume
group
1. Log in as root.
2. Mount file systems for backup.1
smit mountfs
3. Unmount any local directories
that are mounted over another
local directory.
smit umountfs
4. Make at least 8.8MB of free
disk space available in the
/tmp directory.2
5. Back up.
smit mksysb
6. Write-protect the backup
media.
7. Record any backed-up root
and user passwords.
1. Log in as root.
2. Mount file systems for backup.1
See mount command.
3. Unmount any local directories that are
mounted over another local directory.
See umount command.
4. Make at least 8.8MB of free disk space
available in the /tmp directory.2
5. Back up.
See mksysb command.
6. Write-protect the backup media.
7. Record any backed-up root and user
passwords.
Verify a Backup Tape3 smit lsmksysb
Backing up a user-defined volume
group4
smit savevg 1. Modify the file system size before
backing up, if necessary.5
mkvgdata VGName
then edit
/tmp/vgdata/VGName/VGName.data
2. Save the volume group.
See the savevg command.
Notes:
1. The mksysb command does not back up file systems mounted across an NFS
network.
2. The mksysb command requires this working space for the duration of the
backup. Use the df
command, which reports in units of 512-byte blocks, to determine the free
space in the /tmp
directory. Use the chfs command to change the size of the file system, if
necessary.
3. This procedure lists the contents of a mksysb backup tape. The contents
list verifies most of the
information on the tape but does not verify that the tape can be booted for
installations. The only
way to verify that the boot image on a mksysb tape functions correctly is by
booting from the
tape.
4. If you want to exclude files in a user-defined volume group from the
backup image, create a file
named /etc/exclude.volume_group_name, where volume_group_name is the name of
the volume
group that you want to back up. Then edit /etc/exclude.volume_group_name and
enter the
patterns of file names that you do not want included in your backup image.
The patterns in this
file are input to the pattern matching conventions of the grep command to
determine which files
are excluded from the backup.
5. If you choose to modify the VGName.data file to alter the size of a file
system, you must not
specify the -i flag or the -m flag with the savevg command, because the
VGName.data file is
overwritten.
For more information about installing (or restoring) a backup image, see
?Installing BOS from a System
Backup? in the AIX 5L Version 5.1 Installation Guide.
There is also this:
Tape Drive Attributes
The following describes tape drive attributes you can adjust to meet the
needs of your system. The
attributes can be displayed or changed using the Web-based System Manager
Devices application, SMIT,
or commands (in particular, the lsattr and the chdev commands).
Each type of tape drive only uses a subset of all the attributes.
General Information about Each Attribute
Block Size
The block size attribute indicates the block size to use when reading or
writing the tape. Data is written to
tape in blocks of data, with inter-record gaps between blocks. Larger
records are useful when writing to
unformatted tape, because the number of inter-record gaps is reduced across
the tape, allowing more data
to be written. A value of 0 indicates variable length blocks. The allowable
values and default values vary
depending on the tape drive.
Device Buffers
Setting the Device Buffers attribute (the mode attribute for the chdev
command) to the Yes value indicates
an application is notified of write completion after the data has been
transferred to the data buffer of the
tape drive, but not necessarily after the data is actually written to the
tape. If you specify the No value, an
application is notified of write completion only after the data is actually
written to the tape. Streaming mode
cannot be maintained for reading or writing if this attribute is set to the
No value. The default value is Yes.
With the No value, the tape drive is slower but has more complete data in
the event of a power outage or
system failure and allows better handling of end-of-media conditions.
Extended File Marks
Setting the Extended File Marks attribute (the extfm attribute for the chdev
command) to the No value
writes a regular file mark to tape whenever a file mark is written. Setting
this attribute to the Yes value
writes an extended file mark. For tape drives, this attribute can be set on.
The default value is No. For
example, extended filemarks on 8 mm tape drives use 2.2 MB of tape and can
take up to 8.5 seconds to
write. Regular file marks use 184 K and take approximately 1.5 seconds to
write.
When you use an 8 mm tape in append mode, use extended file marks for better
positioning after reverse
operations at file marks. This reduces errors.
Retension
Setting the Retension attribute (the ret attribute for the chdev command) to
Yes instructs the tape drive to
retension a tape automatically whenever a tape is inserted or the drive is
reset. Retensioning a tape
means to wind to the end of the tape and then rewind to the beginning of the
tape to even the tension
throughout the tape. Retensioning the tape can reduce errors, but this
action can take several minutes. If
you specify the No value, the tape drive does not automatically retension
the tape. The default value is
Yes.
Density Setting #1 and Density Setting #2
Density Setting #1 (the density_set_1 attribute for the chdev command) sets
the density value that the
tape drive writes when using special files /dev/rmt*, /dev/rmt*.1,
/dev/rmt*.2, and /dev/rmt*.3. Density
Setting #2 (for the density_set_2 attribute of the chdev command) sets the
density value that the tape
drive writes when using special files /dev/rmt*.4, /dev/rmt*.5, /dev/rmt*.6,
and /dev/rmt*.7. See "Special
Files for Tape Drives" on page 197 for more information.
The density settings are represented as decimal numbers in the range 0 to
255. A zero (0) setting selects
the default density for the tape drive, which is usually the drive's high
density setting. Specific permitted
values and their meanings vary with different types of tape drives. These
attributes do not affect the ability
of the tape drive to read tapes written in all densities supported by the
tape drive. It is customary to set
Density Setting #1 to the highest density possible on the tape drive and
Density Setting #2 to the second
highest density possible on the tape drive.
Reserve Support
For tape drives that use the Reserve attribute (the res_support attribute
for the chdev command),
specifying the Yes value causes the tape drive to be reserved on the SCSI
bus while it is open. If more
than one SCSI adapter shares the tape device, this ensures access by a
single adapter while the device is
open. Some SCSI tape drives do not support the reserve or release commands.
Some SCSI tape drives
have a predefined value for this attribute so that the reserve and release
commands are always supported.
Variable Length Block Size
The Variable Length Block Size attribute (the var_block_size attribute for
the chdev command) specifies
the block size required by the tape drive when writing variable length
records. Some SCSI tape drives
require that a nonzero block size be specified in their Mode Select data
even when writing variable length
188 Operating System and Devices
records. The Block Size attribute is set to 0 to indicate variable length
records. Refer to the specific tape
drive SCSI specification to determine whether this is required.
Data Compression
Setting the Data Compression attribute (the compress attribute for the chdev
command) to Yes causes
the tape drive to be in compress mode, if the drive is capable of
compressing data. If so, then the drive
writes data to the tape in compressed format so that more data fits on a
single tape. Setting this attribute
to No forces the tape drive to write in native mode (noncompressed). Read
operations are not affected by
the setting of this attribute. The default setting is Yes.
Autoloader
Setting the Autoloader attribute (the autoload attribute for the chdev
command) to Yes causes Autoloader
to be active, if the drive is so equipped. If so, and another tape is
available in the loader, any read or write
operation that advances the tape to the end is automatically continued on
the next tape. Tape drive
commands that are restricted to a single tape cartridge are unaffected. The
default setting is Yes.
Retry Delay
The Retry Delay attribute sets the number of seconds that the system waits
after a command has failed
before reissuing the command. The system may reissue a failed command up to
four times. This attribute
applies only to type ost tape drives. The default setting is 45.
Read/Write Timeout
The Read/Write Timeout or Maximum Delay for a READ/WRITE attribute sets the
maximum number of
seconds that the system allows for a read or write command to complete. This
attribute applies only to
type ost tape drives. The default setting is 144.
Return Error on Tape Change
The Return Error on Tape Change or Reset attribute, when set, causes an
error to be returned on open
when the tape drive has been reset or the tape has been changed. A previous
operation to the tape drive
must have taken place that left the tape positioned beyond beginning of tape
upon closing. The error
returned is a -1 and errno global value is set to EIO. After being presented
to the application, the error
condition is cleared. Also, reconfiguring the tape drive itself clears the
error condition.Attributes for 2.0 GB 4 mm Tape Drives (Type 4mm2gb)
Block Size
The default value is 1024.
Device Buffers
The general information for this attribute applies to this tape drive type.
Attributes with Fixed Values
If a tape drive is configured as a 2.0 GB 4 mm tape drive, the Retension,
Reserve Support, Variable
Length Block Size, Density Setting #1, and Density Setting #2 attributes
have predefined values that
cannot be changed. The density settings are predefined because the tape
drive always writes in 2.0 GB
mode.
Attributes for 4.0 GB 4 mm Tape Drives (Type 4mm4gb)
Block Size
The default value is 1024.
Device Buffers
The general information for this attribute applies to this tape drive type.
Density Setting #1 and Density Setting #2
The user cannot change the density setting of this drive; the device
reconfigures itself automatically
depending on the Digital Data Storage (DDS) media type installed, as
follows:
Chapter 19. Tape Drives 189
Media Type Device Configuration
DDS Read-only.
DDS |||| Read/write in 2.0 GB mode only.
DDS2 Read in either density; write in 4.0 GB mode only.
non-DDS Not supported; cartridge will eject.
Data Compression
The general information for this attribute applies to this tape drive type.
Attributes with Fixed Values
If a tape drive is configured as a 4.0 GB 4 mm tape drive, the Retension,
Reserve Support, Variable
Length Block Size, Density Setting #1, and Density Setting #2 attributes
have predefined values that
cannot be changed.
HTTH
David Kirkby
wrote:
> "David Kirkby" <david.kir...@onetel.net> wrote in message
>
> news:b2679bf8-10fd-4882...@q26g2000vbn.googlegroups.com...
> On Sep 18, 9:29 am, "Tim WBST Clarke" <WBSTCla...@googlemail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > "David Kirkby" <drkir...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> > Just read this info on the sales brosure:
>
> > "The 7332 Model 220 comes with its own device driver that is used by
> > save/restore
> > utilities provided with the AIX operating system."
>
> > That rather suggests this will never be any use for restoring a system
> > from a totally screwed up state.
>
> > I've look on eBay and see several of those drives in the USA, but they
> > are quite expensive. A lot more than the tenner I paid for the HP
> > drive.
> > ====
> > The procedure, I believe, would be to reinstall the base operating system
> > and configure the attached devices from the original media (CDs in your
> > case) and then do the full restore from tape or other backup media.
>
> Thank you Tim. But would 'smit' work with this? I assume that writes
> files somewhere (for example, I think it keeps a log of everying you
> do in hom direcotry of root. That's not going to work on a CD. I guess
> one might have to do at the command line.
> ====
> From the AIX 5.1 manual System Management Guide: Operating System and
> Devices:
Thank you. I'll take a look at that. It's a bit hard to read on a
post, but I'll find the document online.
I just found a 36 GB SCSI disk with a 68-pin connector. That will be
handy - replace one of the 4.5 GB ones - at least that's the intension
The disk is an IBM disk, so I guess there's more hope than usual it
will work. I should have more space on this machine than I'll ever
need, but how many people have said that before, only to run low on
disk space?
Dave
Michael Kraemer
IBM don't make their own drives, AFAIK,
but use rebadged ones, mostly from Seagate.
If such a beast didn't run in an RS/6000 before,
it might be necessary to adjust the dip switches on the drive.
On Seagate STD2401LW drives e.g., I used (1..10)
On/On/On/On/On/Off/On/Off/Off/On
and on HP drives (1..8)
On/On/Off/On/On/Off/Off/On
but you should inspect the product manual to be on the safe side.
You'll be out of luck if those switches are set incorrectly.
hth
David Kirkby
> IBM don't make their own drives, AFAIK,
> but use rebadged ones, mostly from Seagate.
I'm sure that's true, but they could have some changes made to the
firmware if they wanted them. Though I guess that would cost money, so
perhaps it's not in their interest to have changes made.
But if it means people have to buy IBM badged drives, then perhaps it
is. Otherwise IBM could not charge a premium for the drives.
> If such a beast didn't run in an RS/6000 before,
> it might be necessary to adjust the dip switches on the drive.
> On Seagate STD2401LW drives e.g., I used (1..10)
> On/On/On/On/On/Off/On/Off/Off/On
> and on HP drives (1..8)
> On/On/Off/On/On/Off/Off/On
> but you should inspect the product manual to be on the safe side.
> You'll be out of luck if those switches are set incorrectly.
>
> hth
Thank you. I'll take a look. I've nothing to lose by trying - I can
always put them back if it does not help.
This is the item I got off of eBay
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300467063366
Hewlett Packard HP DAT40 20/40 internal SCSI DAT C5683
It was much better priced them some of them on eBay. Sometimes I
wonder how people manage to sell things on eBay when they are asking 5
ore more times what someone else wants for the same item.
Dave
Tim WBST Clarke
> That's fine Dave, I just thought I'd present you with options. I
appreciate
> the related cost issues. TBH, mixing non-IBM firmware drives and RS/6000s
> can be a bit fraught. But, Rick Ekblaw is a very helpful IBM guy for we
> hobbyists and there are knowledgeable guys here and the related "older IBM
> hardware" forum: comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware.
Thank you. I've learned my lesson over the non-IBM hardware -
fortunately not an expensive mistake though. £10 plus a fiver for
carriage wont break me.
I'll have a search through my tapes and see how many DDS-2 tapes I
have. If I've got a few, I might take you up on the 4 mm DDS-2 drive.
I think at one point I had a DDS-2 drive in an old Sun, so I might
have a few tapes. But I've got about 30 to 40 DDS-4 tapes.
Let me know what you want for the DDS-2 drive.
====
Just as an FYI, I'd guess £7.00, plus P&P at cost, as necessary, for the
DDS-2 drive. I've another spare with a different P/N, but still based upon
the same Archive drive.
David Kirkby
wrote:
> "David Kirkby" <drkir...@gmail.com> wrote in message
That's Tim, I'll bear that in mind, but I'd like to try to get the
DDS-4 working - mainly since I have a load of DDS-4 tapes, which will
be useless in a DDS-2 drive.
PS, where does the WBST come from?
Dave
Tim WBST Clarke
>
> > That's fine Dave, I just thought I'd present you with options. I
> appreciate
> > the related cost issues. TBH, mixing non-IBM firmware drives and
> > RS/6000s
> > can be a bit fraught. But, Rick Ekblaw is a very helpful IBM guy for we
> > hobbyists and there are knowledgeable guys here and the related "older
> > IBM
> > hardware" forum: comp.sys.ibm.ps2.hardware.
>
> Thank you. I've learned my lesson over the non-IBM hardware -
> fortunately not an expensive mistake though. £10 plus a fiver for
> carriage wont break me.
>
> I'll have a search through my tapes and see how many DDS-2 tapes I
> have. If I've got a few, I might take you up on the 4 mm DDS-2 drive.
> I think at one point I had a DDS-2 drive in an old Sun, so I might
> have a few tapes. But I've got about 30 to 40 DDS-4 tapes.
>
> Let me know what you want for the DDS-2 drive.
> ====
> Just as an FYI, I'd guess £7.00, plus P&P at cost, as necessary, for the
> DDS-2 drive. I've another spare with a different P/N, but still based upon
> the same Archive drive.
That's Tim, I'll bear that in mind, but I'd like to try to get the
DDS-4 working - mainly since I have a load of DDS-4 tapes, which will
be useless in a DDS-2 drive.
PS, where does the WBST come from?
====
I was dubbed "Warm Beer Swilling Tim" by one of the Yanks on c.s.i.p.h to
distinguish me from "Colonial Tim" (a.k.a. CT) on the other side of the
pond. ;-)
Uli Link
> In article<3fe02f3d-901f-48d7...@q2g2000vbk.googlegroups.com>,
> David Kirkby<drki...@gmail.com> writes:
>> I've got an RS/6000 7025 F50 with AIX 5.3 on it. Should that support a
>> DDS-4 tape drive? When I run cfgmgr hte tape drive got added. Smit
>> shows:
>>
>> rmt0 Available 10-60-00-5,0 Other SCSI Tape Drive
>>
>> But I can't actually read or write to the tape drive.
<http://kalwin.fr/unix/cmds/aixcmds1/chdev.htm>
Some years ago I successfully backup'ed/restored on of my machines
running AIX 4.3.3 with a stock HP DDS3 drive.
So your drive should work (if the drive is in working condition under
any operating system...)
Dip switches set according to manual for RS/6000 AIX
and had to alter some values with "chdev".
For creating a bootable tape the O/S *must* be able to change the tape
drive's blocksize. The first three files on tape are always written with
a 512byte block size and the fourth file (which contains the content of
rootvg itself) should be written with the tape drives optimal blocksize.
Usually DDS drives use variable blocksize.
--
ULi
Michael Kraemer
>
> Some years ago I successfully backup'ed/restored on of my machines
> running AIX 4.3.3 with a stock HP DDS3 drive.
> So your drive should work (if the drive is in working condition under
> any operating system...)
> Dip switches set according to manual for RS/6000 AIX
> and had to alter some values with "chdev".
>
> For creating a bootable tape the O/S *must* be able to change the tape
> drive's blocksize.
This would imply blocksize=0 in smitty?
> The first three files on tape are always written with
> a 512byte block size and the fourth file (which contains the content of
> rootvg itself) should be written with the tape drives optimal blocksize.
> Usually DDS drives use variable blocksize.
Well, according to my observations
a freshly configured DDS usually shows up with bs=512
if it's an "ost" and with bs=1024 for an "IBM" drive.
Nevertheless I could always get a bootable mksysb
(except for those with "overlong" boot records).
Apart from that I found that AIX almost always worked
with the DDS (1,2,3,4,5) drives I threw at it,
provided the dip switches were correct.
I only can remember driver issues with ancient releases
such as AIX 3.1, which did not support "ost" devices.
David Kirkby
Thank you very much.
I've not tried a full system back, and restore from tape yet, but
after setting the switches as you suggest for HP drives ( (1..8) = On/
On/Off/On/On/Off/Off/On), I can now read and write to the DDS-4 tape
drive!
What (if any) limitations this HP drive will have I don't know, but I
can at least use tar and retrieve files.
Dave
Michael Kraemer
David Kirkby <david....@onetel.net> writes:
> What (if any) limitations this HP drive will have I don't know, but I
> can at least use tar and retrieve files.
There should be no limitations, at least not for normal operations.
There's a subtlety on AIX, however, that the tape drive's blocksize
can be controlled via the smitty interface.
The default is either 512 or 1024 bytes, which is taken seriously,
but doesn't matter in most cases.
Once, however, I used the convenient "tcopy" to create a 1:1
backup copy of a foreign tape which had blocksize 10240.
tcopy hacked that into pieces of 512 bytes on the output media without
further notice. When I needed that output tape, it turned out to
be useless due to wrong blocksize, so I had to repeat the copy,
this time with the drive's blocksize=0 (==variable).
David Kirkby
Well, I used smit, and it created a backup OK.
Thanks for your help Michael. My server now appears to have a
functioning DDS-4 tape drive, which is somewhat more useful than the
non-working DDS-3 one it had before.
[MORE...3]
Creating tape boot image........
bosboot: Boot image is 29311 512 byte blocks.
.
Creating list of files to back up..
Backing up 28315 files..............................
17015 of 28315 files (60%)...................
28315 of 28315 files (100%)
0512-038 mksysb: Backup Completed Successfully.
bosboot: Boot image is 29311 512 byte blocks.
Dave