SCO

I was asked to get a Dell PowerEdge 2600 server, out of warranty, running SCO 3.2v5.06 to perform a full backup. I spent hours researching and preparing a strategy only to fail on-site.

The only device names in /dev for a tape drive were
/dev/xStp0
/dev/xcdt0
/dev/xct0

There was no /dev/rStp0 as expected for a scsi drive, so I assumed the drive wasn't scsi. I tried all the above device names in all the commands below.

I tried many of the things would find searching online, but none worked. For example, I went into scoadmin to view the tape drive settings to verify kernel knew about it. It came back with only this
ID 0 Dat



I tried mounting the tape device but got errors about cannot access device

I tried writing a single file to tape only to get errors about cannot access device
# cd /tmp
# ls > junk
# find ./junk -print | cpio -ocaB > /dev/xStp0

I tried some tape commands and got same errors about cannot access
# tape reten /dev/xStp0 (or rewind)
# tape status same with # dtype /dev/xStp0
I tried hwconfig -h but didn't see anything that indicated the drive was recognized.
# sdiconfig -l was an unrecognized command
Since the system was in production during normal hours, I could not try mkdev tape, but even if I could, I'm not sure I'd get anywhere.

Since this is a Dell system, I'm wondering if the tape drive was ever configured correctly coming from them. The bundled internal tape drive appears to be a Dell PowerVault 100T Dat72. I determined that by looking at the service tag system configuration (shown here)
1
U1868,
Tape Backup Unit,20GB,Half Height,Internal,DDS4,Seagate V7

and by looking up the PowerEdge 2600's description at
http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/pedge/en/2600_specs.pdf

I'm in need of your advice regarding the tape drive.
I'd also like to know the easiest way to get a full backup off of this thing as soon as possible independent of the internal tape drive. For example, it must be running NFS since a user showed me she could access files from Windows. Is there a product that can backup from Windows? Is there a way to backup to USB? The cd drive is not writable. This thing has never been backed up.

I'd try microlite if I was sure that running mkdev tape would get me anywhere, but I'd like to know why the "installed" tape drive isn't working if possible.

Thanks.

Compare the contents of /etc/conf/cf.d/mscsi with the actual scsi hardware configuration.
You should be getting some scsi information during POST.
Then either change the hardware to match the configuration, or run "mkdev tape" to add the tape. You will have to relink the kernel to if you have to add the tape, which also will entail a re-boot. The windows access could be NFS, or Samba, or Visionfs which came bundled with the OS.

Many thanks for the complete and fast reply!

This production system has not been available for me to reboot and view post messages. Would the post messages also be logged in /usr/adm/messages ? (I forgot to look there)

---------- Post updated at 06:18 PM ---------- Previous update was at 06:14 PM ----------

I was prepared to carry out the mkdev tape operation, but was not able to since I could not reboot the production system. But I have a question about the procedure I found as (shown below): does mkdev tape perform the re-link since it rebuilds the kernel?

# mkdev tape
Pick 1) Install a Tape Drive
Pick 4) Install SCSI Tape Drive
Pick Yes Do you wish to configure the SCSI Tape Drive now? (y/n?)
Pick 0-7 What is the ID of the controller for this device?
Pick 0 or 1 Which SCSI host adapter supports this device?
Pick 0 What is the LUN of this device? Always enter 0 for the LUN.

You will then see:
The following special devices have been created:
/dev/rStp# /dev/nrStp# /dev/xStp#
Press <Return> to Continue.

The original Tape Drive Configuration Program menu will then be displayed.
Press "q" to quit and you will be asked:

You must create a new kernel to affect the driver change you specified.
Do you wish to create a new kernel now? (y/n)

Choose "y" and you will see the message:

The UNIX Operating System will now be rebuilt.
This is take a few minutes. Please wait.

Root for this system build it /.

This will take a few minutes and then you will be asked:

Do you want this kernel to boot by default? (y/n)

Again, answer "y".

Next you will be asked:

Do you want the kernel environment rebuilt? (y/n)

Again, answer "y".

When you receive a root prompt, shut the system down and reboot to
activate the new kernel.

You are now ready to use your tape drive.

The /usr/adm/messages will show the same information as scrolls on the screen during the boot process. It probably will not show anything for the tape as it only reports found and configured hardware. If the tape is configured as scsi-id 2, and there is a device set to id 2 then the device will show in the file. If the tape is configured as 2, and the device is set to 3, then nothing will show in the messages file.

The POST (Power On Self Test) information displays on the screen prior to the Boot: prompt appearing, unless it has been suppressed in the CMOS setup. You should see the amount of memory in the system, and the scsi host adapter information followed by a line of description for the device type, brand, model and scsi id for each device found.
You may also see a prompt to run the scsi setup (<ctrl>-A for Adaptec, <ctrl>-M for Mylex) etc.

Yes the re-link is done during the mkdev tape process. The current kernel is renamed to unix.old, and the environment should be rebuilt.
Do not re-link the kernel twice without either re-booting to confirm that that the new kernel works, or otherwise saving /stand/unix.old. With 5.0.6 the kernel should fit on a 1.44 floppy.

"If the tape is configured as 2, and the device is set to 3, then nothing will show in the messages file."

ahh...thanks

Would dcu (device configuration utililty) tell me the actual hardware jumper settings or would it also give the silent treatment if /etc/conf/cf.d/mscsi did not match actual jumper settings?

Isn't ps -A the command for all process on SCO? I didn't see NFS or Samba running, but I didn't know about VisionFS.

DCU is a Unixware product not Openserver.
Network services are started by scripts located in /etc/rc2.d
VisionFS is S90Visionfs (default names)
Samba S99nmbd and S99smbd
There is also Advanced File and Print Server, which installs as a separate product, look in scoadmin->License Manager
I checked a system with NFS running, and ps -a does not show it; use exportfs to see if any directories are exported.

Thank you!