[Info-vax] Eisner? Down? (10 days later)

[G Cornelius]

DeCoy wrote:
> To answer a number of replies:
> 
> I have suggested that the easiest and most straightforward solution is to 
> get the Mylex-driven RAID 5 array to work.
> 
> We have spare 9GB drives for that.  My suggestion was that Stephen, with 
> whatever support and advice are available, work on that FIRST, to see if 
> it's viable (given hardware, software, and peopleware).
> 
> If we can't do that, then we'll explore alternatives for replacing the whole 
> disk setup.  We may have some in hand, but offers are appreciated.  We would 
> certainly go to bigger drives, at that point.
> 
> I'll briefly quote Stephen here, in case somebody can spot something:
> 
> <quote>
> In some of tries of the last experiment, the system console came alive
> and attempted to boot VMS.  You can see the last of the output in the
> screen shot at http://www.Arnold.com/Photo_123108_002.jpg.  Note the
> message "SCSI drive at channel 2, target 1 dead".  The message about CPU
> 01 starting are not relevant.  Nothing else happens and there is no disk
> activity after that message.

So the raid set is working long enough to bring in the kernel but
VMS cannot continue from there?  I assume that is true even with a
conversational boot?

Is he able to run the SWXCR utility from floppy?  It requires
a video monitor, I believe, and may require switching to the
NT-compatible BIOS (AlphaBIOS?).

What does booting from CD give him?

Are dra0-6 the virtual units, or the physical raid set members?

[Just some things that come to mind looking at the screen captures].

-- 
George Cornelius                  cornelius at mayo dot edu

> From this point I was able to ^P and give console commands.  Since
> storage is the problem, I entered "show disk".  The output is in the
> screen shot at http://www.Arnold.com/Photo_123108_003.jpg.  DRA0-5 are
> drives defined on the seven-member RAID set in the built-in shelf, on
> channels 1-2 of the Mylex controller.  DRA6 is on the six-member RAID
> set in the external gray storage shelf.  (We also have the FTP
> repository on large ATA drive connected via an ATA-SCSI adpater: DKA0.)
> <end of quote>
> 
> 
> 
> [Footnote: somebody mentioned getting an account on Eisner - those are 
> "free", of course assuming that the system runs]