Summary: Request for information on UERF

From: D. Mark Sprague <msprague_at_MIT.EDU>
Date: Tue, 06 Jun 95 09:21:33

Well I got two answers about looking at disks, but not really anything
on uerf. I have included the two answers that I got.

Thanks to:
        Hellebo Knut and William H. Magill

D. Mark Sprague

---------------------Begin Enclosure---------------------------------
Assuming that you are using a SCSI device, you want to use either
"scu" (under Digital Unix - formerly OSF/1) or cam_report under Ultrix.
(These don't collect and centralize information like VAXsim, but give
more
information than uerf.)

cam_report appears in ULtrix 4.3A as I recall. It's in /etc/field.
(man cam_report)
scu has always been part of OSF/1. (man scu)

Both are serious hardware level tools. They are not "layman pretty" like
VAXsim. They assume that you do know something about the hardware and
the
Operating System code.

If you are seeing SCSI errors in uerf, it's time to call dial-a-prayer
and
let them deal with it.

In general, if you are seeing SCSI disk problems in uerf reports it's
too
late to worry about anything except replacing the drive.
Depending upon the vintage of the drives, their nature is to work or to
fail
outright. They don't "go bad" like the old RA81s used to do - where you
could watch the errors increase for weeks before it failed.
The rz57s and rz58 have MTBFs of "hundreds of hours," while the new
RZ29s
are measured in "hundreds of thousands of hours!" Drive technology in
the
past year has changed radically - and not just in terms of "bytes for
the
buck" (ie capacity.) The new technology is simply incredibly more
reliable. Use this as an excuse to upgrade.

Under Digital Unix (OSF/1 3.2A), there is also a "product program"
called
"Digital Product Performace (DDP) program, which moniitors and verifies
in-field perfomrance of Ditial Systems." "MPH" Monitoring Performance
History, allows those of us with Internet connections or E-net links -
to
collect performance information and ship it back to Digital
automatically.
It's on the Complimentary Products CD (or available from
gatekeeeper.dec.com).

T.T.F.N
William H. Magill Manager, PennNet Computing
Services
Data Communications and Computing Services (DCCS) University of
Pennsylvania
Internet: magill_at_isc.upenn.edu magill_at_acm.org
          magill_at_upenn.edu
http://pobox.upenn.edu/~magil

---------------------Begin Enclosure 2---------------------------------

Regards,

Install the OSFVETxxx and the OSFXVETxxx subsets, where the xxx depends
on
the OS version (300 for Digital Unix 3.0 etc.) then do a 'diskx'. The
diskx
command verifies disks for proper functioning.

The VET subsets (Verifier and Exerciser Tools) are useful also for
exercising tapes and other devices. Have a look at the releasenotes.

GOOD LUCK :-)
Received on Tue Jun 06 1995 - 16:03:32 NZST

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