Networker

Re: [Networker] Problems with Linux (CentOS) and inquire/nsrjb/etc.

2007-04-03 05:34:45
Subject: Re: [Networker] Problems with Linux (CentOS) and inquire/nsrjb/etc.
From: Davina Treiber <DavinaTreiber AT PEEVRO.CO DOT UK>
To: NETWORKER AT LISTSERV.TEMPLE DOT EDU
Date: Tue, 3 Apr 2007 10:31:25 +0100
Brian O'Neill wrote:

I'm setting up a new Linux server running Legato Networker 7.2.2 494, that has two libraries (one DX3000 VTL via FC connection, the other a PX502 via SCSI).

The server is running CentOS 4.4 (basically Red Hat ES4 Update 4).

I can see the libraries and all the drives via the OS and tools like mtx, mt, etc.

All the device files exist (both /dev/sgX and /dev/nstX).

However, the inquire, nsrjb, and jbconfig commands all take quite a while to run. They sit and do apparently nothing for a while.

I did an strace of the processes as they are running. The problem appears to be with the /dev/nstX files.

Essentially the commands scan through all the /dev/sgX files, up through /dev/sg19 (the last one). It tries to open /dev/sg20 through /dev/sg24 before giving up (I think it assumes after 5 failures it isn't likely to find more later on). So far this is fine.

Then it opens /dev/nst0 read-only, performs a couple ioctl() calls, and closes it. Fine.

Then it opens /dev/nst1 - or at least tries to. It waits for a while, then fails with "-1 EIO (Input/output error)". It does the same all the way through /dev/nst5, which being the 5th failure results in it giving up, and it rescans all the /dev/sgX devices again. inquire will list all the drives, showing a /dev/sgX device instead of the /dev/nstX device, except for the first one.

There are no problems with permissions - all device files are identical except for minor numbers, and I'm running as root.

mt can access and give the status of each device fine. If I try and use mt on the device that inquire/nsrjb is trying to access, I get that it is busy, so it DOES have it open.

There is no commonality either - /dev/nst0 is on the PX502, but so is /dev/nst1 and that doesn't work.

The upshot is that the commands take forever to run, and I don't appear to be able to label tapes anyways (the drive I inventory or label with appears to go into service mode for no reason, and it just complains that "no tape label found".

Any ideas as to what I'm missing?

This is an issue with the 2.6 kernel. The solution is to patch the st driver in the kernel. Some distros already include a patch for this. More details were posted by Dag Nygren on Sep 11th 2006, search the archives for this. It has also been discussed quite recently here.

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