tape changer, but not tape drive

[Dan Langille]

I first encountered this problem in April, now I'm back to it:

   http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-scsi/2008-April/003452.html

In short, the system has tape library.  The library has worked in the
past (http://www.freebsddiary.org/digital-tl891.php) but now it does
not.  I can see either the tape library or the tape drive.  Which I see
depends upon the cable configuration.

   http://www.freebsddiary.org/images/tape-libraries-cables.jpg

As shown above, that's how I would expect things to work normally.
However, in that configuration, I do not see the tape drive.  The cable
going down, goes to the computer.  If I reconnect that cable to the plug
to the left of the terminator, the system can see the DLT drive, but not
the tape library.

Under 6.3-STABLE FreeBSD, I can see either one device or the other.

ch0 at ahc0 bus 0 target 0 lun 0
ch0:  Removable Changer SCSI-2 device
ch0: 20.000MB/s transfers (10.000MHz, offset 8, 16bit)
ch0: 10 slots, 1 drive, 1 picker, 0 portals

or

sa0 at ahc0 bus 0 target 1 lun 0
sa0:  Removable Sequential Access SCSI-2 device
sa0: 20.000MB/s transfers (10.000MHz, offset 8, 16bit)
acd0: FAILURE - INQUIRY ILLEGAL REQUEST asc=0x24 ascq=0x00 sks=0x40 0x00
0x01

Any ideas?

Full dmesg output here:  http://www.langille.org/tmp/dmesg.boot

TIA.

_______________________________________________
freebsd-scsi@... mailing list
http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-scsi
To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-scsi-unsubscribe@..."

[Adam McDougall]

On Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 09:39:07PM -0400, Dan Langille wrote:

  I first encountered this problem in April, now I'm back to it:
 
     http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-scsi/2008-April/003452.html
 
  In short, the system has tape library.  The library has worked in the
  past (http://www.freebsddiary.org/digital-tl891.php) but now it does
  not.  I can see either the tape library or the tape drive.  Which I see
  depends upon the cable configuration.
 
     http://www.freebsddiary.org/images/tape-libraries-cables.jpg
 
  As shown above, that's how I would expect things to work normally.
  However, in that configuration, I do not see the tape drive.  The cable
  going down, goes to the computer.  If I reconnect that cable to the plug
  to the left of the terminator, the system can see the DLT drive, but not
  the tape library.
 
  Under 6.3-STABLE FreeBSD, I can see either one device or the other.
 
  ch0 at ahc0 bus 0 target 0 lun 0
  ch0:  Removable Changer SCSI-2 device
  ch0: 20.000MB/s transfers (10.000MHz, offset 8, 16bit)
  ch0: 10 slots, 1 drive, 1 picker, 0 portals
 
  or
 
  sa0 at ahc0 bus 0 target 1 lun 0
  sa0:  Removable Sequential Access SCSI-2 device
  sa0: 20.000MB/s transfers (10.000MHz, offset 8, 16bit)
  acd0: FAILURE - INQUIRY ILLEGAL REQUEST asc=0x24 ascq=0x00 sks=0x40 0x00
  0x01
 
  Any ideas?
 
  Full dmesg output here:  http://www.langille.org/tmp/dmesg.boot
 
  TIA.
 
Is it possible the middle cable is broken in some way?  Perhaps you
could swap it with another cable to try to find out, such as with
the cable going from the library to the 2944 card.  Might be intermittant
and start working if bent or moved.  Also can you see the connectors
inside the library (on the back side of the external plate) to check
if they are well seated or damaged?  You could also try swapping the
first and second connection or the third and fourth, or both, if it is
hooked up like I think it is, those should have an equal chance of working
and might reveal a bad port or partially bad port.  Also try leaving off
the terminator or one/both ends of the middle cable just to see if the
system can tell the difference especially while booting, just to confirm
if it makes any negative difference at all.  
_______________________________________________
freebsd-scsi@... mailing list
http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-scsi
To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-scsi-unsubscribe@..."

[Dan Langille]

Adam McDougall wrote:

> On Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 09:39:07PM -0400, Dan Langille wrote:
>
>   I first encountered this problem in April, now I'm back to it:
>  
>      http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-scsi/2008-April/003452.html
>  
>   In short, the system has tape library.  The library has worked in the
>   past (http://www.freebsddiary.org/digital-tl891.php) but now it does
>   not.  I can see either the tape library or the tape drive.  Which I see
>   depends upon the cable configuration.
>  
>      http://www.freebsddiary.org/images/tape-libraries-cables.jpg
>  
>   As shown above, that's how I would expect things to work normally.
>   However, in that configuration, I do not see the tape drive.  The cable
>   going down, goes to the computer.  If I reconnect that cable to the plug
>   to the left of the terminator, the system can see the DLT drive, but not
>   the tape library.
>  
>   Under 6.3-STABLE FreeBSD, I can see either one device or the other.
>  
>   ch0 at ahc0 bus 0 target 0 lun 0
>   ch0:  Removable Changer SCSI-2 device
>   ch0: 20.000MB/s transfers (10.000MHz, offset 8, 16bit)
>   ch0: 10 slots, 1 drive, 1 picker, 0 portals
>  
>   or
>  
>   sa0 at ahc0 bus 0 target 1 lun 0
>   sa0:  Removable Sequential Access SCSI-2 device
>   sa0: 20.000MB/s transfers (10.000MHz, offset 8, 16bit)
>   acd0: FAILURE - INQUIRY ILLEGAL REQUEST asc=0x24 ascq=0x00 sks=0x40 0x00
>   0x01
>  
>   Any ideas?
>  
>   Full dmesg output here:  http://www.langille.org/tmp/dmesg.boot
>  
>   TIA.
>  
> Is it possible the middle cable is broken in some way?  Perhaps you
> could swap it with another cable to try to find out, such as with
> the cable going from the library to the 2944 card.  Might be intermittant
> and start working if bent or moved.

I did try that.  I used the cable from my stand-alone DLT drive, which
has been used before (and after) and is known to be good.

> Also can you see the connectors
> inside the library (on the back side of the external plate) to check
> if they are well seated or damaged?

I'll pull the unit apart and have a look.  I have been in there before.
   Since it last worked, the unit has gone through two moves.

 > You could also try swapping the
> first and second connection or the third and fourth, or both, if it is
> hooked up like I think it is, those should have an equal chance of working
> and might reveal a bad port or partially bad port.  

I did try moving the looped cable to plugs 1&2 and connecting my
computer to plug 3.

> Also try leaving off
> the terminator or one/both ends of the middle cable just to see if the
> system can tell the difference especially while booting, just to confirm
> if it makes any negative difference at all.  

OK, I will try that.

Thank you.
_______________________________________________
freebsd-scsi@... mailing list
http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-scsi
To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-scsi-unsubscribe@..."

[Adam McDougall]

Dan Langille wrote:

> Adam McDougall wrote:
>> On Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 09:39:07PM -0400, Dan Langille wrote:
>>
>>   I first encountered this problem in April, now I'm back to it:
>>        
>> http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-scsi/2008-April/003452.html
>>     In short, the system has tape library.  The library has worked in
>> the   past (http://www.freebsddiary.org/digital-tl891.php) but now it
>> does   not.  I can see either the tape library or the tape drive.  
>> Which I see   depends upon the cable configuration.
>>        http://www.freebsddiary.org/images/tape-libraries-cables.jpg
>>     As shown above, that's how I would expect things to work
>> normally.   However, in that configuration, I do not see the tape
>> drive.  The cable   going down, goes to the computer.  If I reconnect
>> that cable to the plug   to the left of the terminator, the system
>> can see the DLT drive, but not   the tape library.
>>     Under 6.3-STABLE FreeBSD, I can see either one device or the other.
>>     ch0 at ahc0 bus 0 target 0 lun 0
>>   ch0:  Removable Changer SCSI-2 device
>>   ch0: 20.000MB/s transfers (10.000MHz, offset 8, 16bit)
>>   ch0: 10 slots, 1 drive, 1 picker, 0 portals
>>     or
>>     sa0 at ahc0 bus 0 target 1 lun 0
>>   sa0:  Removable Sequential Access SCSI-2 device
>>   sa0: 20.000MB/s transfers (10.000MHz, offset 8, 16bit)
>>   acd0: FAILURE - INQUIRY ILLEGAL REQUEST asc=0x24 ascq=0x00 sks=0x40
>> 0x00   0x01
>>     Any ideas?
>>     Full dmesg output here:  http://www.langille.org/tmp/dmesg.boot
>>     TIA.
>>   Is it possible the middle cable is broken in some way?  Perhaps you
>> could swap it with another cable to try to find out, such as with
>> the cable going from the library to the 2944 card.  Might be
>> intermittant
>> and start working if bent or moved.
>
> I did try that.  I used the cable from my stand-alone DLT drive, which
> has been used before (and after) and is known to be good.
>
>> Also can you see the connectors
>> inside the library (on the back side of the external plate) to check
>> if they are well seated or damaged?
>
> I'll pull the unit apart and have a look.  I have been in there
> before.   Since it last worked, the unit has gone through two moves.
>
> > You could also try swapping the
>> first and second connection or the third and fourth, or both, if it is
>> hooked up like I think it is, those should have an equal chance of
>> working
>> and might reveal a bad port or partially bad port.  
>
> I did try moving the looped cable to plugs 1&2 and connecting my
> computer to plug 3.

The two plugs for each device (library, tape1, tape2) are probably tied
directly together in a Y
shape to the internal device so you can use them as an In/Out, so
putting the looped cable on
plugs 1 and 2 probably does nothing and isolates that device from the
rest.  As long as the looped
cable is not between 1&2 or 3&4, you can probably use any other order
although the manufacturer
may have recommendations.  I see nothing wrong with the way you appear
to have cabled it but
variations may reveal something.

>
>> Also try leaving off
>> the terminator or one/both ends of the middle cable just to see if the
>> system can tell the difference especially while booting, just to confirm
>> if it makes any negative difference at all.  
>
> OK, I will try that.
>
> Thank you.
>

_______________________________________________
freebsd-scsi@... mailing list
http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-scsi
To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-scsi-unsubscribe@..."

[Dan Langille]

Adam McDougall wrote:

> Dan Langille wrote:
>> Adam McDougall wrote:
>>> On Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 09:39:07PM -0400, Dan Langille wrote:
>>>
>>>   I first encountered this problem in April, now I'm back to it:
>>>        
>>> http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-scsi/2008-April/003452.html
>>>     In short, the system has tape library.  The library has worked in
>>> the   past (http://www.freebsddiary.org/digital-tl891.php) but now it
>>> does   not.  I can see either the tape library or the tape drive.  
>>> Which I see   depends upon the cable configuration.
>>>        http://www.freebsddiary.org/images/tape-libraries-cables.jpg
>>>     As shown above, that's how I would expect things to work
>>> normally.   However, in that configuration, I do not see the tape
>>> drive.  The cable   going down, goes to the computer.  If I reconnect
>>> that cable to the plug   to the left of the terminator, the system
>>> can see the DLT drive, but not   the tape library.
>>>     Under 6.3-STABLE FreeBSD, I can see either one device or the other.
>>>     ch0 at ahc0 bus 0 target 0 lun 0
>>>   ch0:  Removable Changer SCSI-2 device
>>>   ch0: 20.000MB/s transfers (10.000MHz, offset 8, 16bit)
>>>   ch0: 10 slots, 1 drive, 1 picker, 0 portals
>>>     or
>>>     sa0 at ahc0 bus 0 target 1 lun 0
>>>   sa0:  Removable Sequential Access SCSI-2 device
>>>   sa0: 20.000MB/s transfers (10.000MHz, offset 8, 16bit)
>>>   acd0: FAILURE - INQUIRY ILLEGAL REQUEST asc=0x24 ascq=0x00 sks=0x40
>>> 0x00   0x01
>>>     Any ideas?
>>>     Full dmesg output here:  http://www.langille.org/tmp/dmesg.boot
>>>     TIA.
>>>   Is it possible the middle cable is broken in some way?  Perhaps you
>>> could swap it with another cable to try to find out, such as with
>>> the cable going from the library to the 2944 card.  Might be
>>> intermittant
>>> and start working if bent or moved.
>>
>> I did try that.  I used the cable from my stand-alone DLT drive, which
>> has been used before (and after) and is known to be good.
>>
>>> Also can you see the connectors
>>> inside the library (on the back side of the external plate) to check
>>> if they are well seated or damaged?
>>
>> I'll pull the unit apart and have a look.  I have been in there
>> before.   Since it last worked, the unit has gone through two moves.
>>
>> > You could also try swapping the
>>> first and second connection or the third and fourth, or both, if it is
>>> hooked up like I think it is, those should have an equal chance of
>>> working
>>> and might reveal a bad port or partially bad port.  
>>
>> I did try moving the looped cable to plugs 1&2 and connecting my
>> computer to plug 3.
> The two plugs for each device (library, tape1, tape2) are probably tied
> directly together in a Y
> shape to the internal device so you can use them as an In/Out, so
> putting the looped cable on
> plugs 1 and 2 probably does nothing and isolates that device from the
> rest.  As long as the looped
> cable is not between 1&2 or 3&4, you can probably use any other order
> although the manufacturer
> may have recommendations.  I see nothing wrong with the way you appear
> to have cabled it but
> variations may reveal something.

I looked inside.  Nothing obviously disconnected etc.

I tried connecting the computer into plug 1, leaving 2 and 3 empty.
Regardless of whether or not the terminator is in plug 4, FreeBSD does
not see the tape drive.

FWIW, I went into the SCSI utility for the SCSI card during boot.

ahc0: <Adaptec 2944 Ultra SCSI adapter> port 0x9400-0x94ff mem
0xfb400000-0xfb400fff irq 16 at device 9.0 on pci0
ahc0: [GIANT-LOCKED]

The card itself sees only the library, not the drive.  Thus, I conclude
this is something outside FreeBSD (so far).

>>
>>> Also try leaving off
>>> the terminator or one/both ends of the middle cable just to see if the
>>> system can tell the difference especially while booting, just to confirm
>>> if it makes any negative difference at all.  
>>
>> OK, I will try that.
>>
>> Thank you.

No difference.
_______________________________________________
freebsd-scsi@... mailing list
http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-scsi
To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-scsi-unsubscribe@..."

[Dan Langille]

Dan Langille wrote:

> Adam McDougall wrote:
>> Dan Langille wrote:
>>> Adam McDougall wrote:
>>>> On Tue, Oct 27, 2009 at 09:39:07PM -0400, Dan Langille wrote:
>>>>
>>>>   I first encountered this problem in April, now I'm back to it:
>>>>        
>>>> http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-scsi/2008-April/003452.html
>>>>     In short, the system has tape library.  The library has worked
>>>> in the   past (http://www.freebsddiary.org/digital-tl891.php) but
>>>> now it does   not.  I can see either the tape library or the tape
>>>> drive.  Which I see   depends upon the cable configuration.
>>>>        http://www.freebsddiary.org/images/tape-libraries-cables.jpg
>>>>     As shown above, that's how I would expect things to work
>>>> normally.   However, in that configuration, I do not see the tape
>>>> drive.  The cable   going down, goes to the computer.  If I
>>>> reconnect that cable to the plug   to the left of the terminator,
>>>> the system can see the DLT drive, but not   the tape library.
>>>>     Under 6.3-STABLE FreeBSD, I can see either one device or the other.
>>>>     ch0 at ahc0 bus 0 target 0 lun 0
>>>>   ch0:  Removable Changer SCSI-2 device
>>>>   ch0: 20.000MB/s transfers (10.000MHz, offset 8, 16bit)
>>>>   ch0: 10 slots, 1 drive, 1 picker, 0 portals
>>>>     or
>>>>     sa0 at ahc0 bus 0 target 1 lun 0
>>>>   sa0:  Removable Sequential Access SCSI-2 device
>>>>   sa0: 20.000MB/s transfers (10.000MHz, offset 8, 16bit)
>>>>   acd0: FAILURE - INQUIRY ILLEGAL REQUEST asc=0x24 ascq=0x00
>>>> sks=0x40 0x00   0x01
>>>>     Any ideas?
>>>>     Full dmesg output here:  http://www.langille.org/tmp/dmesg.boot
>>>>     TIA.
>>>>   Is it possible the middle cable is broken in some way?  Perhaps you
>>>> could swap it with another cable to try to find out, such as with
>>>> the cable going from the library to the 2944 card.  Might be
>>>> intermittant
>>>> and start working if bent or moved.
>>>
>>> I did try that.  I used the cable from my stand-alone DLT drive,
>>> which has been used before (and after) and is known to be good.
>>>
>>>> Also can you see the connectors
>>>> inside the library (on the back side of the external plate) to check
>>>> if they are well seated or damaged?
>>>
>>> I'll pull the unit apart and have a look.  I have been in there
>>> before.   Since it last worked, the unit has gone through two moves.
>>>
>>> > You could also try swapping the
>>>> first and second connection or the third and fourth, or both, if it is
>>>> hooked up like I think it is, those should have an equal chance of
>>>> working
>>>> and might reveal a bad port or partially bad port.  
>>>
>>> I did try moving the looped cable to plugs 1&2 and connecting my
>>> computer to plug 3.
>> The two plugs for each device (library, tape1, tape2) are probably
>> tied directly together in a Y
>> shape to the internal device so you can use them as an In/Out, so
>> putting the looped cable on
>> plugs 1 and 2 probably does nothing and isolates that device from the
>> rest.  As long as the looped
>> cable is not between 1&2 or 3&4, you can probably use any other order
>> although the manufacturer
>> may have recommendations.  I see nothing wrong with the way you appear
>> to have cabled it but
>> variations may reveal something.
>
> I looked inside.  Nothing obviously disconnected etc.
>
> I tried connecting the computer into plug 1, leaving 2 and 3 empty.
> Regardless of whether or not the terminator is in plug 4, FreeBSD does
> not see the tape drive.
>
> FWIW, I went into the SCSI utility for the SCSI card during boot.
>
> ahc0: <Adaptec 2944 Ultra SCSI adapter> port 0x9400-0x94ff mem
> 0xfb400000-0xfb400fff irq 16 at device 9.0 on pci0
> ahc0: [GIANT-LOCKED]

Is this the appropriate card to be using with this device?

There is a label on the back of the library saying: SCSI DIFF

I know the unit is configured to use SCSI-2

> The card itself sees only the library, not the drive.  Thus, I conclude
> this is something outside FreeBSD (so far).
>
>>>
>>>> Also try leaving off
>>>> the terminator or one/both ends of the middle cable just to see if the
>>>> system can tell the difference especially while booting, just to
>>>> confirm
>>>> if it makes any negative difference at all.  
>>>
>>> OK, I will try that.
>>>
>>> Thank you.
>
> No difference.
> _______________________________________________
> freebsd-scsi@... mailing list
> http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-scsi
> To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-scsi-unsubscribe@..."

_______________________________________________
freebsd-scsi@... mailing list
http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-scsi
To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-scsi-unsubscribe@..."

[Dan Langille]

Good news:

Adam McDougall wrote:
> Dan Langille wrote:
>> Adam McDougall wrote:
>> > You could also try swapping the
>>> first and second connection or the third and fourth, or both, if it is
>>> hooked up like I think it is, those should have an equal chance of
>>> working
>>> and might reveal a bad port or partially bad port.  
>>

$ sudo camcontrol devlist
Password:
<DEC TL800    (C) DEC 0326>        at scbus0 target 0 lun 0 (pass0,ch0)
<DEC TZ89     (C) DEC 1837>        at scbus0 target 5 lun 0 (sa0,pass1)
<QUANTUM DLT7000 1E48>             at scbus1 target 5 lun 0 (sa1,pass2)
<HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-H10A JL02>    at scbus3 target 0 lun 0 (pass3,cd0)


Witness: http://www.langille.org/tmp/library-good-cables.jpg

It seems putting the cables in the 'right' order helps.  FWIW, I have
since put that terminator into that empty slot and rebooted.  Everything
is there.  Done a backup/restore/diff.  All fine.  :)

Thank you.
_______________________________________________
freebsd-scsi@... mailing list
http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-scsi
To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-scsi-unsubscribe@..."