Manuals

Bad Block Table
Rebuild BBT
Write Back BBT
Error Counts
Format Drive
Make Online
Killing A Drive
Backup/Restore Configuration
Backup Configuration
Restore Configuration
Clear Configuration
Print Configuration

The DAC utility has a TOOLS option in the MAIN MENU that allows the user do many useful operations on the DAC960PL system. Once selected, a screen similar to Tools Menu is displayed. On the left side of the screen, the drive matrix is displayed with details of configured drives. On the right side, a TOOLS menu with eight options is displayed. They are described in the appropriate sections in this chapter.

Bad Block Table

When this option is selected, a screen similar to Bad Block Table is displayed. The screen shows a VIEW BAD BLOCK TABLE menu with two options: VIEW REBUILD BBT and VIEW WRITE BACK BBT.

Rebuild BBT

This table keeps information about the bad blocks detected on the system drive while a rebuild was in progress. When you select VIEW REBUILD BBT in the VIEW BAD BLOCK TABLE menu, a window similar to the one in Rebuild BBT displays the REBUILD - BAD BLOCK TABLE. It gives information on the system drive where the disk error was encountered, its block number, and the number of consecutive blocks where disk errors were encountered. Press any key to return to the TOOLS menu. REBUILD BBT is cleared once it is read. The user has the option of saving the REBUILD - BAD BLOCK TABLE, if any, to a file.

Write Back BBT

This table keeps information about the errors encountered during write-back operations due to bad blocks on the disk drive. When VIEW WRITE BACK BBT is selected in the VIEW BAD BLOCK TABLE menu, a window similar to the one in Write Back BBT displays the WRITE BACK - BAD BLOCK TABLE. It gives information on the system drive where the disk error was encountered, its block number, and the number of consecutive blocks where the disk errors were encountered. Press any key to return to the TOOLS menu. The WRITE BACK BBT is cleared once it is read. The user has the option of saving the WRITE BACK - BAD BLOCK TABLE, if any, to a file.

Error Counts

This option allows the user to view the error counters of various physical drives. When it is selected, the cursor moves to the drive matrix. Use the cursor keys to select a physical drive whose error counters are to be viewed. When you select a physical drive, a screen similar to Error Counts is displayed. The far right of the screen displays a window with information on all the errors encountered on the selected disk drive. The error counters are cleared by viewing VIEW REBUILD BBT or VIEW WRITE BACK BBT.

These error counts are maintained by the DAC960PL firmware for every physical drive.

Format Drive

This option is used to low-level format one or more physical drives simultaneously. When it is selected, a screen similar to Format Drive is displayed.

NOTE: Only drives that are not configured into packs are available for low-level formatting.

When you select FORMAT DRIVE, the cursor jumps to the drive matrix area and moves between RDY, UNF, DED, and SBY drives. To select each drive to be low-level formatted, move the cursor using the cursor direction key(s) and press <ENTERRRR.

When a drive is selected, a confirmation window appears as shown in Selecting Drives . Selecting NO or <ESC> will not select the drive for the format. Selecting YES will mark the drive for format. The letters SBY, DED, or RDY are replaced by FMT. Once all of the drives are selected, press <ESC> to view the final format confirmation screen.

Selecting YES starts the formatting and displays a screen similar to Low-Level Formatting . Once all of the drives are formatted, the letters FMT are automatically changed to their original states, with the exception of UNF, which will be changed to RDY.

Make Online

This option is used to make a DEAD physical drive (indicated as DED in the box) that is part of a configured pack ONLINE. Physical drives that are DEAD, but not part of a configured pack, cannot be made ONLINE. Also, the physical drive should have been powered on before the utility was invoked.

When MAKE ONLINE is selected, a brief message is displayed. When a key is pressed, the cursor jumps to the drive matrix area. Move the cursor to a drive that needs to be made ONLINE and press <ENTERRRR . A confirmation window similar to the one in Making a Drive Online is displayed. When YES is selected, the selected drive is made ONLINE. Also, the letters DED in the box in the drive matrix area are changed to ONL.

Killing A Drive

This option is used to make an ONLINE physical drive (indicated as ONL in the box) that is part of a configured pack DEAD. Only physical drives that are ONLINE and part of a configured pack, can be made DEAD.

CAUTION: In any RAID configuration, killing one drive in a physical pack with the kill drive command can cause loss of data on other drives in the physical pack. This command is not intended for systems with a hot-dock backplane and should not be used. You should kill a drive by physically removing it from the pack.

When KILL DRIVE is selected, a brief message is displayed. When a key is pressed, the cursor jumps to the drive matrix area. Move the cursor to a drive that needs to be killed and press <ENTER>. A confirmation screen similar to Killing a Drive is displayed. When YES is selected, the selected drive is killed. Also, the letters ONL in box, in the drive matrix area are changed to DED.

Backup/Restore Configuration

This option is used to backup or restore the configuration to diskette. When it is selected, a screen similar to Backup/Restore Configuration is displayed. The far lower right shows a BACKUP/RESTORE CONF menu with two options. Select BACKUP CONFIGURATION to back up the DAC960PL configuration to a file on a disk. This file can later be used for restoring the configuration in case the DAC960PL gets corrupted or becomes nonfunctional. Select RESTORE CONFIGURATION to restore a configuration to the same or a different DAC960PL. For more information on these options, refer to the following sections.

Backup Configuration

Use the following procedure to save the configuration information to a diskette for safekeeping:

1. Select BACKUP CONFIGURATION, and press <ENTER>.

The system beeps and displays a caution message. After observing the caution, press <ENTER> to proceed.

2. In the Backup/Restore Configuration menu, use the down-arrow key to highlight BACKUP CONFIGURATION, and press <ENTER>.

3. Type a filename to save the configuration information, and press <ENTER>.

For example, type

 A:\mylex.cfg

NOTE: Make sure you do not save the configuration information to drive C. Saving to drive C can cause system problems.

The system displays the following message:

Configuration saved to file, press any key to continue

Restore Configuration

When RESTORE CONFIGURATION is selected from the BACKUP/RESTORE CONF menu, the user is prompted to enter a filename for retrieval of the configuration. When the filename is entered, a confirmation screen similar to Restoring the Configuration is displayed. When YES is selected, the configuration is read from the file and saved on the DAC960PL. Also, the drive matrix displays the retrieved configuration. Select the VIEW/UPDATE CONFIGURATION option from the MAIN MENU to view the full details of the retrieved configuration. The next time the system is booted, the new configuration takes effect. If NO is selected, the restore operation is not done. Only the configuration files that were backed up using this utility can be restored.

Clear Configuration

This option is used to totally clear an existing DAC960PL configuration. When CLEAR CONFIGURATION is selected, a confirmation screen similar to Clearing a Configuration is displayed. Select YES to clear the configuration or NO to quit. All DAC960PLs are shipped with the configuration cleared.

Print Configuration

This option is used to make a hard copy of the DAC960PL configuration in ASCII format. When PRINT CONFIGURATION is selected, the user is prompted for a filename where the DAC960PL configuration information is to be written to (in ASCII format). When the filename is entered, a confirmation screen similar to Saving the Configuration for Printing is displayed. Select YES to save the configuration and NO to quit. Once the configuration is saved to a file, the file can printed and safely stored. This file can be used to manually restore the configuration in the future in case the backed-up configuration is lost or destroyed.

NOTE: If, during file-related operations in the DAC utility, reads or writes to disk encounter any errors, you are prompted for a RETRY or ABORT. If you choose ABORT, the DAC utility is exited.

In the file output, the line containing PACK 0 : [1:0] [1:1] [1:2] means that the physical drive at channel 1 SCSI ID 0 [1:0], the physical drive at channel 1 SCSI ID 1 [1:1], and the physical drive at channel 1 SCSI ID 2 [1:2] are part of this pack--in the order in which they are listed. The PHY. SIZE column shows the actual pack size used up by the corresponding system drive. The EFF.�SIZE column shows the effective system drive size as seen by the operating systems.