[Info-vax] best guess for mount-verification problem

[Phillip Helbig undress to reply]

In article <sbc86h$656$1 at gioia.aioe.org>,
helbig at asclothestro.multivax.de (Phillip Helbig (undress to reply))
writes: 

> I have a three-node cluster (when no satellite or test system has joined
> it) and physical disks (blue SBB in BA356) on each node (no dual-ported
> disks; each disk has a direct connection to only one node).  

> When something fails, I just replace it with something of similar build.
> (The main reason for moving to SBB disks was to be able to replace a
> disk (the most common failure) without having to dismount the members it
> hosts, shut down the system, remove it from the shelf, open it, replace
> the disk, close it, put it back on the shelf, boot it, remount the
> members it hosts.) 
> 
> For a while now I've noticed disks going in and out of mount 
> verification.  It is clear which node is involved.  So, my plan is to 
> replace hardware (and maybe try to find the problem when the hardware is 
> out of the cluster) and hope that it goes away.  

> Theoretically it could be the SCSI cable, but my guess is that it is
> either the expansion box or the SCSI card.  (I have had one expansion
> box fail, but it failed completely.)  Which is more likely?

I try to keep enough hardware on hand to last me until I die.  However, 
since a BA356 failed a couple of years ago, and another one might be 
failing now, the fact that I have only two spares is a bit unsettling.  
Does anyone in Europe have any BLUE BA356 boxes they would like to give 
to a good home?  (I might be willing to offer some older hardware in 
exchange, in particular VAX-related stuff.)  Shipping is probably too 
expensive, but I'll probably be passing through sometime in the next 
several months.

The boxes have to be Top-Gun Blue, since I also have the blue disks.  
(Since disks almost always fail at some point, such disks would also be 
interesting for me; one can't have too many spare disks.)