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EK-DECAB-RM-B01

September 1992

156 pages

Original

0.8MB

Document:	DECmpp 12000/Sx Model 100 Parallel Disk Array Ref Manual
Order Number:	EK-DECAB-RM
Revision:	B01
Pages:	156
Original Filename:

OCR Text

DECmpp 12000/Sx Model 100
Parallel Disk Array
Reference Manual
Part Number: EK–DECAB–RM. B01
September 1992
This document provides a complete description of the DECmpp 12000/Sx
Parallel Disk Array hardware, its installation and service procedures.

Revision/Update Information:

This document has been revised for
DECmpp Version 1.1.

Operating System and Version: ULTRIX Version 4.2A.
Future releases may require higher
versions.
Software Version:

Digital Equipment Corporation
Maynard, Massachusetts

DECmpp 12000/Sx Version 1.1.

First Printing, January 1992
Revised, September 1992
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not be construed
as a commitment by Digital Equipment Corporation. Digital Equipment Corporation assumes no
responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document.
The software described in this document is furnished under a license and may be used or copied
only in accordance with the terms of such license.
NOTICE—Class A Computing Device:
This equipment generates, uses, and may emit radio frequency energy. The equipment has been
type tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A computing device pursuant to Subpart
J or Part 15 of FCC rules, which are designed to provide reasonable protection against such radio
frequency interference when operated in a commercial environment. Operation of this equipment in
a residential area may cause interference; in which case, measures taken to correct the interference
are at the user’s expense.
Restricted Rights: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government is subject to restrictions
as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software
clause at DFARS 252.227-7013.
© Digital Equipment Corporation 1992.
All Rights Reserved.
The postpaid Reader’s Comments forms at the end of this document request your critical evaluation
to assist in preparing future documentation.
The following are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation: DECnet, DECstation, DECsupport,
DECsystem, DECwindows, Rdb/VMS, ThinWire, TURBOchannel, ULTRIX, VAX, VAX DOCUMENT,
VMS, and the DIGITAL logo.
The following are registered trademarks of the MasPar Computer Corporation: MasPar and
the MasPar logo. The following are trademarks of the MasPar Computer Corporation: MasPar
Data Display Library (MPDDL), MasPar FORTRAN (MPF), MasPar Input/Output Channel,
MasPar Parallel Application Language (MPL), MasPar Parallel Disk Array (MPDA), and MasPar
Programming Environment (MPPE). UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX System Laboratories,
Inc.

This document was prepared using VAX DOCUMENT, Version 2.0.

Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 Parallel Disk Array Overview
1.1
Parallel Disk Array Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1.1
Disk Array Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1.2
DA Controller Backplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1.3
DA Backplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1.3.1
DA Controller Interconnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1.3.2
Disk Canister Interconnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1.3.3
Multiplexer Interconnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1.3.4
Lightpipe Interconnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.1.3.5
Power Interconnect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2
Disk Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.1
Disk Canisters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.2
MUX Printed Circuit Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.2.1
Data Multiplexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.2.2
Write Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.2.3
Sector Pulse Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.3
DPU-PDA Interface Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.4
Power/Fan Tray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.4.1
Power System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.4.2
Power/Fan Tray Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.4.3
Exhaust Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1–5
1–6
1–8
1–9
1–11
1–11
1–11
1–11
1–11
1–12
1–12
1–13
1–13
1–13
1–13
1–13
1–13
1–15
1–16
1–17

2 Parallel Disk Array Installation
2.1
Parallel Disk Array Site Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.1
Physical Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.1.1
Size and Service Clearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.1.2
Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.2
Power and Cooling Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.1.3
Power and Environmental Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2
PDA Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.1
Unpacking and Positioning the PDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.1.1
Assembling the Enclosure Skirts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.2
Electrical Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.2.1
Printed Circuit Boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.2.2
Installing Disk Array Controller PCBs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2.3
Installing MUX PCBs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3
Installing Disk Canisters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.1
Jumpers and Terminators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4
Connecting DPU and PDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4.1
Installing the DPU PCBs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2–1
2–1
2–1
2–1
2–1
2–3
2–4
2–4
2–6
2–7
2–7
2–8
2–8
2–8
2–8
2–11
2–11

iii

2.5
2.6

Setting DPU Jumpers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Turning On the DPU and PDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2–15
2–17

3 Parallel Disk Array System Administration
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.3.1
3.4
3.4.1
3.4.2

Establishing PDA Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Controller Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Setting Up File Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Default Partitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Upgrade Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Upgrading to 8 Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Upgrading to 16 Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3–2
3–5
3–7
3–7
3–8
3–8
3–8

4 Disk Formatting
4.1
The FORMAT Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.1.1
Operation Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.1.1.1
Bring Up a New Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.1.1.2
Bringing Up a New Bank with Flaw Data on Host . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.1.1.3
Formatting Newly Installed Disks Within an Online/Mounted
Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.1.1.4
Reformatting Online/Mounted Banks with Growth Errors
Logged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.2
The MOUNTBANK Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3
The RECONSTRUCT Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.1
Disabling and Replacing a Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.2
Assigning a Standby Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.3.3
Reconstructing a Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.4
The SCRUB Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4.5
The SPECIFYFLAW Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4–1
4–3
4–3
4–3
4–3
4–4
4–4
4–5
4–6
4–6
4–6
4–8
4–9

5 Removal and Replacement Procedures
5.1
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
5.8
5.9
5.9.1
5.9.2
5.10
5.11
5.12

Extending the DA Controller Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing DA Controller PCBs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing Disk Canisters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing MUX PCBs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing the Lightpipe PCB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing Power/Fan Tray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing Power Cables to the DA Backplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing Clock PCB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing DA Controller Backplane Cabling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing PDA-DPU Interface Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing Backplane Disk Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing the Lightpipe Signal Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing Lightpipe Power Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing Temperature Sensor Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5–3
5–5
5–6
5–7
5–8
5–9
5–12
5–14
5–15
5–15
5–17
5–18
5–19
5–20

6 Parallel Disk Array Diagnostics
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.3.1
6.4
6.5
6.5.1
6.5.2
6.5.3
6.5.4
6.5.5
6.5.6
6.6
6.7
6.7.1
6.7.2
6.7.3
6.7.4

Lightpipe Indicator Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Diagnostic Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Diagnostic Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Automatic Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
VME Adapter Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PDA Test Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Internal DA Controller Test (da_intern) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Read/Write Configuration Test (da_config) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Read/Write Buffer Test (da_buff) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mount Bank Test (da_mount) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Read/Seek Test (da_seek) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Read/Write Disk Test (da_disk) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DA Controller Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Status Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disk Error Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Error Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Extended Transfer Error Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Command/Status Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6–1
6–3
6–3
6–4
6–4
6–4
6–4
6–4
6–4
6–4
6–5
6–5
6–5
6–5
6–5
6–7
6–9
6–10

7 Upgrading the Parallel Disk Array
7.1
7.2

Upgrading to Eight Disk Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Upgrading to Sixteen Disk Drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7–2
7–3

A Configuration Data
A.1
A.2
A.3
A.3.1
A.3.2
A.3.3
A.3.4
A.3.5
A.3.6
A.3.7

The READCONFIG Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The WRITECONFIG Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
System Configuration Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Controller Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bank Control/Status Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disk Parameter Table Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bad Block Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bank X, Disk X, System Area Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
System Area Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
System Area RFT and GET Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A–1
A–2
A–3
A–4
A–10
A–15
A–18
A–19
A–20
A–21

B Parallel Disk Array System Block Diagrams
B.1

Parallel Disk Array System Block Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

B–1

C Recommended Spares List
D Disk Array Variations and Options

E Parallel Disk Array Reference Pages
dabinit(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
dabstat(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
dadisk(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
dadsbl(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
daflaw(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
daformat(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
dainit(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
damapchs(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
damount(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
darecon(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
dascrub(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
daspecflaw(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
dastat(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
dasubs(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
daxformat(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
daxrdc(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
daxscrub(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
daxwrc(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
da_error_log(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
da_error_report(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

E–2
E–3
E–4
E–5
E–6
E–8
E–10
E–11
E–12
E–13
E–14
E–16
E–17
E–18
E–19
E–20
E–21
E–22
E–23
E–24

DECmpp 12000/Sx Parallel Disk Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Parallel Disk Array, Model SMP11-AA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Parallel Disk Array, Model SMP11-AB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Parallel Disk Array, Model SMP11-AC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DA Controller Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DA Controller Slot Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DA Controller Backplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DA Drive Backplane (front) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DA Drive Backplane (rear) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disk Drive Canister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Power/Fan Tray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Power Bridge and Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Power/Fan Tray Service Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Parallel Disk Array Enclosure Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Removing Enclosure Shipping Bracket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PDA Enclosure Levelers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Front and Side Skirts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rear Skirt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disk Drive PCB (Component Side) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Inserting Disk Canister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1–2
1–3
1–4
1–5
1–6
1–7
1–8
1–9
1–10
1–12
1–14
1–16
1–16
2–2
2–4
2–5
2–6
2–7
2–10
2–11

Index
Figures
1–1
1–2
1–3
1–4
1–5
1–6
1–7
1–8
1–9
1–10
1–11
1–12
1–13
2–1
2–2
2–3
2–4
2–5
2–6
2–7

2–8
2–9
2–10
2–11
5–1
5–2
5–3
5–4
5–5
5–6
5–7
6–1
B–1
B–2
B–3

DPU Card Cage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DA Interface PCB Cable Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Data Parallel Unit Card Cage Slots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DPU Backplane Jumper Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PDA Enclosure (rear) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Extending the Disk Array Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing the DA Controller PCB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Power/Fan Tray (rear) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing the Power/Fan Tray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Power Bridge and Cables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replacing the Clock PCB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PDA Front Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disk Array Controller Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disk Array Backplane Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2–12
2–13
2–14
2–16
5–2
5–4
5–5
5–10
5–11
5–13
5–14
6–2
B–1
B–2
B–2

Related Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PDA Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DA Backplane Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Power System Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Backplane Power Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Power/Fan Tray Service Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PDA Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bank Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Diagnostic Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Status Bit Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Command-Related Error Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
READCONFIG Command Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
System Configuration Byte Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Controller Configuration Block Byte Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Controller Configuration Block Bit Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disk Error Log Select Bit Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
32-Byte Bank Control/Status Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
#2 Byte Bank Control/Status Block Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Error Checking and Correcting Bit Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bit Status and Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disk Parameter Table Byte Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Drive Type and Flag Bit Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Values for Disk Parameter Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bad Block Table Byte Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home Page Byte Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Home Page Byte Group Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Parallel Disk Array RSL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DECmpp Disk Array Variations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

x
1–2
1–10
1–15
1–15
1–17
2–3
4–7
6–3
6–7
6–10
A–2
A–3
A–4
A–5
A–7
A–10
A–11
A–13
A–14
A–15
A–16
A–17
A–18
A–20
A–20
C–1
D–1

Tables
1
1–1
1–2
1–3
1–4
1–5
2–1
4–1
6–1
6–2
6–3
A–1
A–2
A–3
A–4
A–5
A–6
A–7
A–8
A–9
A–10
A–11
A–12
A–13
A–14
A–15
C–1
D–1

vii

Preface
The SMP11-Ax Parallel Disk Array (PDA) is a random access, hard disk storage
device designed to complement the DECmpp 12000/Sx and DECmpp 12000–LC/Sx
Series Massively Parallel Processing systems.
This document provides a description of the Parallel Disk Array hardware
and how to install and service it. Anyone who services the PDA and needs to
replace any components in it should read this manual and be familiar with the
procedures.

Intended Audience
This guide is for use by Digital Services personnel and by self-maintenance
customers who will be servicing the PDA system. It may also be used by PDA
system administrators.

Document Structure
This manual contains seven chapters and five appendixes:
•

Chapter 1 is a general overview of the PDA configurations and components.

•

Chapter 2 contains installation procedures, including connecting the PDA to
the DECmpp 12000/Sx system data parallel unit (DPU) and powering up the
PDA.

•

Chapter 3 describes system administration procedures for bringing the PDA
online.

•

Chapter 4 explains the disk formatting instructions.

•

Chapter 5 explains how to replace the various PDA field replaceable units.

•

Chapter 6 explains the indicator display and the diagnostic procedures and
tests.

•

Chapter 7 describes procedures for upgrading the PDA to larger storage
configurations.

•

Appendix A contains PDA configuration data tables.

•

Appendix B contains system block diagrams.

•

Appendix C lists the PDA recommended spare parts.

•

Appendix D lists PDA option variants.

•

Appendix E contains PDA-specific reference pages.

Related Documents
Table 1 is a list of documents that provide additional information about the PDA
and the DECmpp 12000/Sx system.
Table 1 Related Documents

Document Title

Order Number

DECmpp 12000/Sx System Overview Manual

AA-PMAPB-TE

DECmpp 12000/Sx System Administration Guide

AA-PKU3C-TE

DECmpp 12000/Sx Parallel VME Reference Manual

EK-DECAB-PM

DECmpp 12000/Sx Hardware Installation Guide

EK-DECAC-IG

Conventions
The following conventions are used throught the DECmpp 12000/Sx
documentation set.
Convention

Meaning

Return

In examples, a key name shown within a box indicates that
you press a key on the keyboard. In text, a key name is not
enclosed in a box but is printed with an initial capital letter,
like Return.

Ctrl/x

A key combination, shown with a slash separating the two key
names, indicates that you hold down the first key while you
press the second key.

MB1, MB2, MB3

The buttons on a mouse. MB1 is the left button, MB2 is the
center button, and MB3 is the right button of a mouse whose
button arrangement is right-handed. It is possible to redefine
the mouse buttons.

A percent sign (%) represents the default user prompt for your
system.

A number sign (#) represents the default superuser (root)
prompt for your system.

In examples, a horizontal series of dots, or ellipsis, indicates
that additional parameters, values, or other information can be
entered.

..
.

In examples, a vertical series of dots, or vertical ellipsis,
indicates that a portion of the example is intentionally omitted.

[]

In syntax descriptions and functional descriptions, brackets
indicate optional items.

dpumanager(6)

Cross-references to the ULTRIX Reference Pages, which include
the appropriate section number in parentheses.

italicized text

In examples, italicized text denotes parameters, values, or
other information that will change from either session to
session or user to user. In text, italicized words or phrases are
used to add emphasis to important words, concepts, or titles of
manuals.

ULTRIX keywords

This typeface is used to indicate system output or the exact
name of a command, option, partition, pathname, directory, or
file.

Code examples

This typeface is used to display program coding examples.

UPPERCASE and
lowercase strings

The ULTRIX system differentiates between lowercase and
uppercase characters. Literal strings that appear in text,
examples, syntax descriptions, and function descriptions must
be entered exactly as shown.

Three types of notes are used in this manual:
•

Note
Gives additional information or information particularly important to the
procedure.

•

Caution
Indicates potential damage to equipment or data.

•

Warning
Indicates potential injury to a person.

xii

1
Parallel Disk Array Overview
The DECmpp 12000/Sx system includes a massively parallel, data-parallel
processor (the data parallel unit, or DPU) and a front-end server (scalar)
processor running ULTRIX. In a separate enclosure connected to the DPU, the
Parallel Disk Array (PDA), shown in Figure 1–1, provides a parallel, multidisk
architecture, consisting of a disk array (DA) controller and an array of disk
drives providing the bulk data storage. The disk array comprises 5-1/4 inch ESDI
disk drives, arranged in banks of 4, 8, or 16 data disks, with up to 2 associated
parity disks. An optional feature is a single hot standby disk, enhancing the PDA
fault-tolerant operation.
The disk array is a scalable I/O device for bulk data storage. (Architecturally,
it is similar to a conventional BSD 4.2 UNIX file system.) The DA controller
provides a high-speed data connection to the disk array. A VME control port
allows an external VME agent to perform additional basic control functions. A
diagnostic port allows for debugging. Front panel indicators provide status for
both DA system power and individual disks.
The PDA provides the DECmpp 12000/Sx with parallel access to large data files
and is fault-tolerant, using parity disks and 48-bit error correction code (ECC) on
each disk. Failed disks can be replaced during system operation, and the PDA
minimizes performance degradation on active disks while reconstructing data on
the new disk.
The PDA treats the entire disk array as a single, logical storage device. You can
create individual files of up to 2 Gbytes. Many smaller files may be stored across
multiple disks. Each formatted data disk provides 1.45 Gbytes of storage, with
up to 23 Gbytes of formatted capacity in a 16-disk configuration.
Disk-drive replacement procedures and configuration upgrades require a
minimum amount of effort. Each disk drive is in a modular disk canister, which
is easily installed or removed. The canisters in one configuration can often be
reused in a larger system, and most canisters do not have to be moved from their
current positions.
The chassis for expansion to a full complement of disk drive canisters is included
in all PDA configurations to permit ease of upgrading storage capacity.
Table 1–1 describes the three PDA configurations. These configurations are
shown in Figure 1–2, Figure 1–3, and Figure 1–4.

Parallel Disk Array Overview 1–1

Figure 1–1 DECmpp 12000/Sx Parallel Disk Array

MKV-040000314-82-DG

Table 1–1 PDA Configurations
MODEL

SMP11-AA

SMP11-AB

SMP11-AC

Disk Banks

Data + Parity Disks

4+1

8+1

16 + 2

Total Disks

Hot Standby (optional)

Total Unformatted
Capacity

6 Gbytes

12 Gbytes

24 Gbytes

Total Formatted Capacity

5.8 Gbytes

11.5 Gbytes

23 Gbytes

1–2 Parallel Disk Array Overview

Figure 1–2 Parallel Disk Array, Model SMP11-AA

Disk
Array
Controller

Backplane

Optional
Standby
Drive

MUX PCB

Bank 1

S
Bank 2

Drive
Canisters

Power/Fan Tray

FRONT

SIDE

REAR
MKV-040000314-70-MPS

Parallel Disk Array Overview 1–3

Figure 1–3 Parallel Disk Array, Model SMP11-AB

Disk
Array
Controller

Backplane
MUX PCB
Drive
Canisters

Bank 2

Drive
Canisters

Optional
Standby
Drive
S

Bank 1

Power/Fan Tray

FRONT

SIDE

REAR
MKV-040000314-71-MPS

1–4 Parallel Disk Array Overview

Figure 1–4 Parallel Disk Array, Model SMP11-AC

Disk
Array
Controller

Optional
Standby
Drive
Backplane
MUX PCB

7
Bank 2

Drive
Canisters

Bank 1

Power/Fan Tray

FRONT

REAR

SIDE

MKV-040000314-72-MPS

1.1 Parallel Disk Array Components
The PDA has the following major components, which are described individually
in more detail in the sections that follow:
•

Disk array controller — Contains printed circuit boards (PCBs) controlling
data and parity disk drives; provides a link to the DPU backplane through
the controller’s CPU PCB

•

Disk array backplane — Provides power and signal interconnects between
disk canisters and DA controller backplane

•

Disk chassis — Contains banks of disk canisters

•

Power/fan tray — Contains DC power supplies and a cooling fan

The disk array (DA) controller chassis mounts in the upper-front area of the
PDA enclosure. The disk drive/canister chassis and DA backplane mounts in the
middle of the enclosure. It is 38.86 cm (15.3 inches) high, 48.26 cm (19 inches)
wide, and 0.32 cm (0.125-inch) thick.
The power/fan tray at the bottom of the enclosure contains the DC power supply
and the cooling fan.

Parallel Disk Array Overview 1–5

1.1 Parallel Disk Array Components

1.1.1 Disk Array Controller
The intelligent DA disk controller stores and retrieves data from banks of either
four or eight data disks through printed circuit board (PCBs) connected to
its embedded backplane. Each data PCB can control up to three data disks.
Depending on the configuration, the DA controller can have up to 8 PCBs
controlling up to two banks of data disks; a bank can have four or eight data
disks. Each bank also has one parity disk to support the data disks.
Figure 1–5 shows the DA controller indicators and connectors:
•

10 disk indicators — red during initialization; green when the disk is on line

•

Ready indicator (CPU PCB) — red during initialization; green when the
controller is on line

•

Reset switch — Forces a powerup system reset (never used during normal
operation)

•

Com port — RS-232 serial communication port for offline diagnostics, online
system configuration, maintenance, and controller status monitoring

Figure 1–5 DA Controller Front Panel

Remove 2 Screws
to Access PCBs

COM
PORT
RESET

DATA
1

8 PAR STDBY
READY

Loosen 2 Screws
to Access PCBs
MKV-040000314-100-MPS

1–6 Parallel Disk Array Overview

1.1 Parallel Disk Array Components

Figure 1–6 shows the PCB slot assignments in the DA controller backplane:
•

Slots 1—8: Disk control PCBs

•

Slot 9: Parity disk PCB

•

Slot 10: Standby disk PCB

•

Slot 11: Parity PCB

•

Slot 12: Central processing unit (CPU) PCB
The DA controller integrates a master, high-speed interface (HSI) unit on the
CPU and Parity PCBs.

The DA controller mounts on the PDA enclosure rails with slide guides. Hinges
allow the fully extended DA controller to rotate forward 90 degrees, providing
access to its backplane and connectors. The DA controller is 38.1 cm (15 inches)
high, 42.55 cm (16.75 inches) wide, and 28.58 cm (11.25 inches) deep. Two 4-1/4
inch fans mounted on top of the DA controller card cage provide cooling for the
DA controller PCBs.
Figure 1–6 DA Controller Slot Assignments

Reset Switch

COM Port

Disk Control PCBs

Parity Disk PCB

Standby Disk PCB
(Optional)

Parity PCB

CPU PCB

MKV-040000314-73-MPS

Parallel Disk Array Overview 1–7

1.1 Parallel Disk Array Components

1.1.2 DA Controller Backplane
The DA controller backplane (Figure 1–7) has the following connector blocks:
•

A1—A10: 34-pin control cable (40-pin connector) to DA backplane connectors
JnP1

•

B1—B10: 20-pin data cable to DA backplane connectors JnP2

•

A12: 50-pin cable connector conveying control information (command/status)
to/from DA interface PCB in DPU

•

B11: 50-pin cable connector conveying data to/from DA interface PCB in DPU

Behind the DA controller, two cable clamps and a gravity guide bar hold the
cables to the DA backplane in place and support the cable slack necessary to
allow the DA controller to rotate forward.
Figure 1–7 DA Controller Backplane

13 12 11 10

CONTROL
8 7 6 5

13 12 11 10

DATA
7 6 5

1
B
+5
GND

DC Power
MKV-040000314-74-MPS

1–8 Parallel Disk Array Overview

1.1 Parallel Disk Array Components

1.1.3 DA Backplane
To support the various PDA configurations, the DA backplane has disk signal
and power connectors on both the front and rear sides. The multiplexer (MUX)
connectors are on the DA backplane rear side. The clock PCB is also on the
DA backplane rear side. Figure 1–8 and Figure 1–9 show both sides of the DA
backplane.
Figure 1–8 DA Drive Backplane (front)

J5P2

J7P2

JAP2

J9M1

J9B2

J8M1

J8B2

J8B1

J6M1

J6B2

Clock
PCB
Connectors
Disk
Power
Connect
Supply
Sense
Line
J9B1

J7B1

J5B1
J6B1

J4B2

J4B1

J2M1

J2B2

J2B1

Pins

JAM1

J3P2

JAB2

J1P2

JAB1

JAP1

J3B1

J9P1

J7M1

J7P1

J7B2

J5P1

J5M1

J3P1

J5B2

J9P2

J1P1

J3M1

J8P2

J3B2

J8P1

J6P2

J1M1

J6P1

J4P2

J1B2

J4P1

J2P2

J1B1

J2P1

Disk
Power
Power
Bars
GND

+12

MKV-040000314-75-MPS

The controller assignments for each DA backplane connector correspond to the
ESDI J1/P1, J2/P2 pin assignments. The read/write data and clocks, driveselected, and command-complete signals from the DA controller route through
the MUX interconnects. All other signals route directly to the disk canister
interconnects.
The DA backplane provides the following system interconnects: array controller,
disks, MUX, lightpipe, and power.

Parallel Disk Array Overview 1–9

1.1 Parallel Disk Array Components

Figure 1–9 DA Drive Backplane (rear)

J1B1

J1B2

J1M1

J3B1

J3B2

J3M1

J5B1

J5B2

J5M1

J7B1

J7B2

J7M1

JAB2

JAB1

JAM1

Light Pipe
Connectors

Clock
PCB

Disk
Connect

MUX
Connect
J2B1

J2B2

J2M1

J4B1

J4B2

J4M1

J6B1

J6B2

J6M1

J8B1

J8B2

J8M1

J9B2

J9B1

J9M1

Disk
Power

+12

GND
MKV-040000314-76-MPS

Table 1–2 lists the DA backplane connectors.
Table 1–2 DA Backplane Connectors
Type

Quantity

Description

Disk

Data signals; 10 on each side of backplane (only 9 are used on
the front side)

MUX

Data and status signals; DA backplane front

Command cable from DA controller C1; DA backplane front

Data cable from DA controller D1; DA backplane front

Power

Disk power; 10 on each side of backplane (only 9 are used on the
front side)

Sense line

Power sensor from disks to power supply; DA backplane front

Lightpipe

Disk status to front panel indicators; DA backplane front

1–10 Parallel Disk Array Overview

1.1 Parallel Disk Array Components

1.1.3.1 DA Controller Interconnect
The front of the DA backplane provides connections for two sets of cables from
the DA controller backplane:
•

34-pin command cables

•

20-pin data cables

1.1.3.2 Disk Canister Interconnect
Disk canisters plug directly into the 64-pin connectors. (Sixty pins are used.)
The 4-pin power connectors supply DC voltage to the disk canisters. The DA
backplane interconnects support 20 disk canisters (19 canisters are used) with
the following:
•

Disk signals to/from backplane

•

Disk-to-disk signals (spindle lock)

•

Disk power signals

1.1.3.3 Multiplexer Interconnect
The MUX PCBs plug directly into the DA backplane 64-pin connectors.
Read/write data and clocks, disk-selected, and command-complete signals route
here from the DA controller interconnects and from the disk interconnects. Status
lines to the lightpipe interconnects originate here.
The DA backplane interconnects provide 10 MUX PCBs with the following:
•

Data to/from the disk

•

Data to/from the controller

•

Drive status signals to the lightpipe and disk-panel indicators

1.1.3.4 Lightpipe Interconnect
The DA backplane has two 10-pin lightpipe connectors. The split ribbon cable
carrying disk status signals to the lightpipe has two separate 10-pin connectors
at one end and a single 50-pin connector on the other, which connects to the
PDA front panel lightpipe. Each lightpipe connector is dedicated to signals from
one side of the DA backplane. For more detail on the lightpipe displays, refer to
Chapter 6.
1.1.3.5 Power Interconnect
A system of bus bars supplies the necessary DC voltage to the +12 VDC, +5 VDC,
and ground planes within the DA backplane. A 4-pin connector provides power to
the disk.
A 4-pin connector provides the sense line connection back to the power supply.

Parallel Disk Array Overview 1–11

1.2 Disk Chassis

1.2 Disk Chassis
The rack-mounted, sheet metal disk chassis is similar to a card cage, containing
modular disk canisters instead of PCBs. The disk chassis has 10 disk canister
slots, arranged five-wide and two-high. The modular disk canisters slide into
the disk chassis on standard nylon card guides and connect to the DA backplane
behind the disk chassis.
The disk chassis is 38.1 cm (15 inches) high, 43.18 cm (17 inches) wide, and 30.48
cm (12 inches) deep.

1.2.1 Disk Canisters
Each modular sheet metal canister contains a 5-1/4 inch ESDI disk drive with
1450 Mbyte formatted capacity. Figure 1–10 shows a disk canister. Front panel
labels identify the disk canister bank number and disk number. The disk canister
front panel also has a power switch, controlling the +12 and +5 voltage to the
canister. The disk canister rear panel has two panel-mounted connectors:
•

64-pin signal connector

•

4-pin power connector

Figure 1–10 Disk Drive Canister

Power
Switch

R
DRV PW
RDY
OFF

BANK

DRIVE

Cutout
for MUX
PCB

Power
Connector

Signal
Connector
MKV-04000314-77-MPS

The indicator on the front of the disk canister is green when the disk is spinning
and off when the disk is not spinning. (The DA controller controls the disk
status.)

1–12 Parallel Disk Array Overview

1.2 Disk Chassis

1.2.2 MUX Printed Circuit Board
Using the MUX PCBs, the DA controller can access up to two banks of disks in
any one PDA enclosure. The MUX PCBs also provide disk status to the PDA
lightpipe and to the disk canister indicators.
The MUX circuitry can be divided into five functional blocks:
•

Read data, read clock, drive selected, and command complete multiplexing

•

Write data and clocks from array controller to disks

•

Provide status to lightpipe indicators

•

Provide status to disk canister indicator

•

Provide disk sector-pulse monitoring

1.2.2.1 Data Multiplexing
The MUX circuitry multiplexes four groups of signals, two to one:
•

Read data (rd)

•

Read clocks (rc)

•

Command complete (cc_)

•

Drive selected (ds_)

The MUX receives read data and read clocks from two different banks, determines
which bank is selected, and passes the appropriate read data and clocks to the
controller.
1.2.2.2 Write Data
Write data and clock signals from the array controller are routed to the bank
selected by the array.
1.2.2.3 Sector Pulse Monitor
The sector monitor is a retriggerable monostable multivibrator. Sector pulses
from the disk keep the output active. If the sector pulse is lost, the output goes
low, signaling that the disk is spun down.

1.3 DPU-PDA Interface Cable
Two 50-pin DPU-PDA interface cables interface the DA controller to the VME 6U
interface PCB (mounted on a Parallel VME 6U Adapter PCB) in the DPU. One
cable carries control information (command/status); the other cable carries data
signals.

1.4 Power/Fan Tray
The power/fan tray mounted in the bottom of the enclosure contains the complete
power subsystem and the exhaust fan, including AC power connection, 20 A and
1 A circuit breakers. Figure 1–11 provides front and side views of the power/fan
tray.
A set of power distribution connectors allows the complete tray to slide in and
out of the enclosure without having to bolt or unbolt power cables. Only the AC
power cable, the temperature sensor cable, and the lightpipe power cable need to
be detached before removing the tray.

Parallel Disk Array Overview 1–13

1.4 Power/Fan Tray

Figure 1–11 Power/Fan Tray

MKV-040000314-78-MPS

The power selector switch is on the power/fan tray rear panel, inside the PDA
enclosure at the rear. It is a toggle switch that must be pulled out slightly before
it can be moved. It has three positions:
•

OVERRIDE (straight up): Powers on the PDA, regardless of other conditions

•

LOCAL (middle position): Powers on the PDA independent of the DPU

•

REMOTE (lower position): Not used
Warning
DO NOT USE THE OVERRIDE SETTING. It overrides critical safety
systems. The override position is for factory use only.

All PDA configurations use the same power/fan tray. Its rating is:
220 Vac, 20A, 2500 W
Table 1–3 shows the power capabilities of the PDA’s DC power supply.

1–14 Parallel Disk Array Overview

1.4 Power/Fan Tray

Table 1–3 Power System Capabilities
Voltage

Current

+12 Vdc

80 A

–12 Vdc

20 A

+5 Vdc

200 A

–5.2 Vdc

25 A

The power/fan tray is 35.56 cm (14 inches) high, 43.18 cm (17 inches) wide, and
60.96 cm (24 inches) deep. It weighs approximately 41.73 kg (92 pounds).

1.4.1 Power System
The power system consists of the power-sequencing PCB, the DC power supplies,
and power distribution subsystem.
The bus bar system attaches to a high current plug and carries +5 Vdc, +12 Vdc,
and ground to the backplane power plates. The –5.2 Vdc and sense lines attach
to a low current plug.
DC power distribution begins with a quick disconnect between the power/fan tray
and the backplane power cables. The quick disconnect consists of high and low
current plugs. One-half of both connectors resides in the power/fan tray (with
associated harnesses). The other half of both connectors is attached to a frame
member and has a harness and backplane bus bars attached to it.
The backplane supplies power to the disk drives and the MUX PCBs. Table 1–4
shows the backplane power requirements.
Table 1–4 Backplane Power Requirements
Purpose

Volts

Amps

Watts

Multiplexer PCBs

Disk Drives

145

612

Total

807

The chassis ground circuit detects differences in potential between chassis ground
and logic ground and shuts down the power/fan tray when the potential exceeds a
preset 70 mV threshold.
Figure 1–12 shows the power cables to the DA backplane.

Parallel Disk Array Overview 1–15

1.4 Power/Fan Tray

Figure 1–12 Power Bridge and Cables

Power Sense Line Connector

GND

+12

GND

+12
GND

DC Power Connectors
MKV-040000314-79-MPS

Figure 1–13 Power/Fan Tray Service Indicators

Chassis Ground
Temperature
Main Power Vcc +5 V
Main Power Vee −5 V
Main Power +12 V
Main Power −12 V
AUX Power Vcc +5 V
AUX Power Vee −5 V
AUX Power +12 V
AUX Power −12 V
MKV−040000314−55−RAGS

1.4.2 Power/Fan Tray Indicators
Figure 1–13 shows the ten indicators located on the PDA power/fan tray rear
panel. These indicators provide information about the power/fan tray. They
show the status of some part of the power/fan tray and are green during normal
operation. If a failure is detected, the corresponding indicator changes to red, and
the power tray shuts down. Any red indicators are latched ON, indicating the
problem area, and initiate the power shutdown.

1–16 Parallel Disk Array Overview

1.4 Power/Fan Tray

Table 1–5 lists the function of each power/fan tray indicator (from the top).
Table 1–5 Power/Fan Tray Service Indicators
Indicator

Function

Chassis Ground

Green — Normal
Red — Logic ground to chassis ground short; excess voltage
detection

Temperature

Green — Normal
Red — Excess temperature

Main power Vcc +5 V

Green — Normal
Red — Failure in +5 V supply

Main power Vee –5 V

Green — Normal

Main power +12 V

Green — Normal

Main power –12 V

Green — Normal

Auxiliary power Vcc +5 V

Green — 15 A breaker is set on
Off — indicates problem with power sequencer

Auxiliary power Vee –5 V

Green — 15 A breaker is set on
Off — indicates problem with power sequencer

Auxiliary power +12 V

Green — 15 A breaker is set on
Off — indicates problem with power sequencer

Auxiliary power –12 V

Green — 15 A breaker is set on
Off — indicates problem with power sequencer

1.4.3 Exhaust Fan
The reverse-curve, radial fan in the enclosure bottom exhausts warm air out of
the enclosure bottom, creating a low-pressure zone in the plenum in the enclosure
center. This low-pressure zone draws air through the air intakes in the top of the
enclosure back door, through the PCBs, and into the plenum.
The cooling fan performance is 1200 ft3 /minute.

Parallel Disk Array Overview 1–17

2
Parallel Disk Array Installation
This chapter provides site preparation data and installation procedures for
the Parallel Disk Array. Make sure the site meets the requirements listed in
Section 2.1. When planning a location, ensure that there is sufficient room for
service access.

2.1 Parallel Disk Array Site Preparation
This section provides information to help you prepare a site for the parallel disk
array (PDA). It includes specifications and a physical description of the PDA
enclosure.

2.1.1 Physical Characteristics
2.1.1.1 Size and Service Clearance
The PDA is housed in its own H9A00 series enclosure which is connected to the
data parallel unit (DPU) via a high speed VME I/O bus. Refer to Figure 2–1 for
overall dimensions of this enclosure.
Space requirements include sufficient area to contain all of the equipment, and
to provide service clearance. Leave at least 92 mm (36 inches) of clearance in the
front and rear to access the PDA enclosure and to provide adequate ventilation.
No space is required on the sides of the enclosure, though there must be some
way to access the rear of the enclosure on a regular basis. There must also be
ample room for the power cable, which should be out of the way, where it will not
be stepped on, tripped over, or otherwise disturbed.
2.1.1.2 Weight
The maximum weight for DECmpp PDA enclosures is 500 kg (1100 pounds).
Warning
Due to the weight of the equipment, Digital recommends that at least two
people move the enclosure from the shipping pallet to the final location.

2.1.2 Power and Cooling Requirements
The PDA enclosure for all DECmpp 12000/Sx Series configurations should be
installed next to the DPU enclosure; both of which should be in a controlled
computer room environment. The area must be free of dust and other
environmental hazards.
Cooling air flow for PDA H9A00 series enclosure is such that cool air enters
through top louvers in the front door, runs vertically through the equipment and
is exhausted out bottom louvers in the front and rear doors.

Parallel Disk Array Installation 2–1

2.1 Parallel Disk Array Site Preparation

Figure 2–1 Parallel Disk Array Enclosure Dimensions

61 cm
24.0 in

(Dimensions are
Approximate)

170 cm
66.9 in

86.4 cm
34.0 in
54 cm
22 in
MKV-040000314-24-DG

All DECmpp configurations require that the PDA be tied to a dedicated power
input. The power requirements are determined by the number of disks and the
size of the power tray (either high or low power).
The power requirement for all SMP11-Ax PDA models is as follows:
20A, 220 V/240 V outlet (supports up to 19 disks)
All SMP11-Ax PDA enclosures are shipped with an L6-20P three-prong AC plug.
If you are not certain about your power source, contact a qualified electrician.

2–2 Parallel Disk Array Installation

2.1 Parallel Disk Array Site Preparation

2.1.3 Power and Environmental Specifications
Table 2–1 provides the PDA electrical and environmental specifications.
Table 2–1 PDA Specifications
Item

Specification

Line Voltage

220/240 Vac, 20A, 50/60 Hz, single phase

Line Voltage Tolerance

180 V minimum, 264 V maximum

Maximum Power

2500 W

Operating Temperature

10–40°C (50–104°F)

Humidity

20–80% noncondensing

Maximum Wet Bulb
Temperature

28°C (82°F)

Minimum Dew Point

2°C (36°F)

Maximum Altitude

2400 m (8000 ft) at 36°C (96°F)

Cooling Requirement

8540 Btu/hour (up to 19 disks)

Parallel Disk Array Installation 2–3

2.2 PDA Installation

2.2 PDA Installation
The following sections provide instructions for DECmpp 12000 parallel disk array
(PDA) installation, connection to the data parallel unit (DPU), and turning on.
When these procedures are completed, you can begin operations.

2.2.1 Unpacking and Positioning the PDA
Follow these steps to unpack the PDA:
1. Inspect the container for obvious signs of damage, including dents, scrapes, or
water damage. If you find any sign of damage, note this on the bill of lading.
2. Remove the plastic wrap, the corner pads, and any cardboard packaging.

Note
Leave a minimum 7-foot clearance in front of the shipping skid.

3. Insert the skid ramps into the holes in the front of the skid with arrows on
skid lined up with arrows on ramp boards.
4. With a 9/16-inch wrench, loosen and remove the shipping bracket bolts
the enclosure feet (Figure 2–2).
5. Remove the shipping brackets
to be reshipped.

and save them for use if the enclosure needs

Figure 2–2 Removing Enclosure Shipping Bracket

MLO-007680

Shipping bracket bolts

Shipping bracket

2–4 Parallel Disk Array Installation

2.2 PDA Installation

Figure 2–3 PDA Enclosure Levelers

2
1

MLO-007745

6. While the enclosure is still on the skid, loosen the 3/4-inch upper (lock) nut
on each foot by turning clockwise (Figure 2–3). Turn the 9/16-inch bottom nut
on each foot counterclockwise to raise the feet for skid clearance.

Warning
The PDA enclosure weighs 500 kg (1100 lbs). For safety, two people are
needed to roll the enclosure down the ramps.

7. Roll the enclosure down the ramp boards. The front two wheels are on swivel
casters, the rear two are fixed.
8. Ensure that both enclosure side panels are installed and secure.
9. Position the PDA enclosure to the right (facing front) of the DPU enclosure.
10. Leave a 36-inch clearance at the front and rear of the enclosure for service.
Caution
All enclosure side panels must be installed. This is important to
maintain proper cooling air flow and to reduce radiated emissions.

11. Raise the enclosure up on its feet as follows:
a. Lower each foot into position by turning clockwise on the 9/16-inch nut on
the foot.
b. Tighten each 3/4-inch locknut counterclockwise to lock the feet in place.
12. Ensure that the PDA enclosure is leveled such that its side panel butts
against the DPU side panel firmly with no gap. Also, ensure that the height
of each enclosure is identical so that horizontal lines are in alignment.

Parallel Disk Array Installation 2–5

2.2 PDA Installation

2.2.1.1 Assembling the Enclosure Skirts
Open the PDA enclosure skirt kit, PN H9C00-UA.
The skirts are installed after the enclosure is installed and raised up off its
casters by the leveling feet.
A separate skirt is installed on each side of the enclosure except on the side that
butts up against the DPU enclosure. Each skirt is attached to the enclosure by
two quarter-turn Phillips head captive screws.
Front Skirt
The front skirt, shown in Figure 2–4, has two pieces that must be fitted together,
then attached to the enclosure.
Figure 2–4 Front and Side Skirts

MKV-040000314-32-DG

Front curved pieces, PN 70-29318-01, and PN 7-29318-02

Front center piece, PN 74-41733-01
Right side piece, PN 70-29320-02 (left side piece, PN 70-29320-01)

Side Skirt
One side skirt is shown in Figure 2–4, item . Attach the side skirt(s) to the
side(s) of the enclosure frame that do not butt up against another enclosure.
Rear Skirt
The center piece of the rear skirt has a rectangular opening through which run all
external power and signal cables. The rear skirt panels are shown in Figure 2–5.
The curved pieces,
and , are attached to the center piece
with plastic
push-in fasteners, and attached to the frame with the push-in captive screws.
The cable cover, PN 74-41660-00, (not shown in Figure 2–5), fits into the notches
on the two side pieces.

2–6 Parallel Disk Array Installation

2.2 PDA Installation

Figure 2–5 Rear Skirt

2
3
MKV-040000314-33-DG

PN 70-29318-01

PN 74-41733-01
PN 70-29318-02

2.2.2 Electrical Installation

Note
Notify users that the DECmpp 12000/Sx system will be off line during
PDA installation. Before beginning any installation procedures, make
sure that the DPU is turned off.
1. Turn off the front-end processor and DPU, as described in the
DECmpp 12000/Sx Hardware Installation Guide and the DECmpp
12000/Sx Hardware Service Manual.
2. Set the circuit breaker on the DPU rear OFF. Leave the DPU power
cable connected to maintain the ground connection.

2.2.2.1 Printed Circuit Boards
The printed circuit boards (PCBs) for the PDA may be packaged separately for
additional protection. If so, you should install them now.
Always be sure to:
•

Handle all PCBs by the edges

•

Wear antistatic equipment (wrist or ankle strap)

•

Do any work on a static-free surface

Parallel Disk Array Installation 2–7

2.2 PDA Installation

2.2.2.2 Installing Disk Array Controller PCBs
Figure 1–5 shows the disk array (DA) controller front cover. The disk array (DA)
controller slots are shown in Figure 1–6 and described in Section 1.1.1.
Follow these steps to install the DA controller PCBs in the DA controller card
cage:
1. Open the PDA front door.
2. Remove the four screws attaching the DA controller front cover, exposing the
card cage.
3. Align the top and bottom edges of each PCB in the nylon card guides, and
slide the PCB into the appropriate slot.
If necessary, push the extractor levers down to seat the card firmly in the
connector.
4. Use four screws to reattach the DA controller front cover.

2.2.3 Installing MUX PCBs
The MUX PCBs are installed on the DA backplane, behind the rear disk chassis.
Figure 1–9 shows the MUX connector locations on the DA backplane. The
connectors are labeled as JnMn and are always to the left of the associated disk
interconnect. The MUX PCB itself projects into an open area on the disk canister
back panel and butts into a foam strip on the inside of the disk canister. Refer
also to Section 2.3 for the disk canister layout pattern.
Follow these steps to install the MUX PCBs:
1. Open the PDA rear door.
2. Holding the MUX PCB by the edges, seat it firmly in the DA backplane
connector.

2.3 Installing Disk Canisters
Each data disk has been factory-configured for a specific disk bank and disk
number. Labels on the disk canister front identify the bank number and disk
number. Disks are arranged within the 10-slot disk chassis (5-wide, 2-high).
Refer to Figure 1–2 through Figure 1–4 for bank and drive locations. To maintain
proper air flow, a blank panel closes any unused slots within the disk chassis.

2.3.1 Jumpers and Terminators
On the PCB component side of the disk drive, jumpers and terminators are
accessible through the open sides of the disk canister.
In bank 1 only (the rear bank), all the disk drives must have the terminator pack
installed at TM223 as shown in Figure 2–6. Also, jumpers must be installed on
pin sets JP224 1–2, 3–4, and 5–6, and a jumper on JP213 1–2. Be sure to install
these disk canisters only in bank 1.
In bank 2 only (the front bank), all the disk drives must have the terminator
pack removed at TM223, no jumpers installed on pin sets JP224, and a jumper
installed on JP213 3–4. Both configurations are shown in Figure 2–6.

2–8 Parallel Disk Array Installation

2.3 Installing Disk Canisters

Caution
Be sure to install disk canisters only in bank 1 if they are configured for
bank 1. Install disk canisters configured for bank 2 only in bank 2.

Caution
Do not change any other jumpers on the disk drive PCB. Do not
compare jumpers from one disk drive PCB to another. Many jumpers
(especially the black-colored ones) are factory-set during testing to
optimize performance.

Disk slot layouts for both front and rear disk banks are as follows. (The chassis
canister slots are also numbered in this order.) If used, the optional standby must
be in bank #1 (rear bank).
Rear Bank (Bank 1):
4-disk bank:

S - - - P 8 6 4 2

(S = standby disk option)
(P = parity)

8-disk bank:

S 7 5 3 1
P 8 6 4 2

(S = standby disk option)
(P = parity)

1 3 5 7 2 4 6 8 P

(Tenth slot not used)
(P = parity)

Front Bank (Bank 2):
8-disk bank:

Perform the following steps to install the disk canisters, as shown in Figure 2–7.
Caution
Be sure to slide the canister squarely into the guide rails. Guide rails can
break if the canister is twisted to one side.

1. Open the PDA front or rear door to access the proper disk bank.
2. Align the disk canister top and bottom edges in the nylon guide rails, and
push the canister into the disk chassis, seating it against the DA backplane.
3. Tighten the two captive screws, securing the disk canister to the chassis.
4. Set the disk canister switch ON (up). Pull the switch handle out and up.
After system powerup, refer to Chapter 6 for details on the lightpipe and disk
status.

Parallel Disk Array Installation 2–9

2.3 Installing Disk Canisters

Figure 2–6 Disk Drive PCB (Component Side)

Terminator
Jumpers JP224
J5

Do Not Add or
Remove Jumpers
17

18
7

2
1

J2
Terminator
Pack TM223
(In)

J6
J7

J4
Bank Select
Jumpers JP213

Do Not Add or
Remove Jumpers

Power
Connector

Bank 1 (Rear) Configuration

Terminator
Jumpers JP224
J5

Do Not Add or
Remove Jumpers
17

18
7

2
1

J2
Terminator
Pack TM223
(Out)

J6
J7

J4
Bank Select
Jumpers JP213

Do Not Add or
Remove Jumpers

Power
Connector

Bank 2 (Front) Configuration
MKV−040000314−53−RAGS

2–10 Parallel Disk Array Installation

2.4 Connecting DPU and PDA

Figure 2–7 Inserting Disk Canister

R
DRV PW
RDY
OFF

BANK

DRIVE

R
DRV PW
RDY
OFF

BANK

DRIVE

R
DRV PW
RDY
OFF

BANK

DRIVE

R
DRV PW
RDY
OFF

BANK

DRIVE

R
DRV PW
RDY
OFF

BANK

DRV
RDY

PWR

DRIVE

DRV
RDY

PWR

DRIVE

PWR

BANK

DRIVE

DRV
RDY

PWR

BANK

DRIVE

DRV
RDY

PWR
OFF

OFF

BANK

DRV
RDY

BANK

DRIVE

BANK

DRIVE

2.4 Connecting DPU and PDA
Two 50-pin cables carry control (command/status) information and data between
the DA controller and the VME 6U interface in the DPU.
On the DA controller backplane, the connecting plug marked control attaches
to connector P12 on the upper (A) row, and the connecting plug marked data
attaches to connector P11 on the lower (B) row. The connectors are held with a
strain release clamp on the DA controller backplane and with another clamp at
the top of the enclosure. The cables pass through a slot in the top front air baffle
and down the side of the enclosure, between the enclosure side rails and the
side panel. For shipping, the loose cabling is rolled and placed next to the power
supply extension on the bottom of the enclosure.

2.4.1 Installing the DPU PCBs
One Parallel VME 6U Adapter PCB connects the VME 6U interface PCB to the
DPU. All the Parallel VME 6U Adapter switches and jumpers are factory-set and
do not need adjusting. For more information on the Parallel VME 6U Adapter,
refer to the DECmpp 12000/Sx Parallel VME Reference Manual.
Referring to Figure 2–8, follow these steps to install the VME 6U interface PCB
in the DPU. The DPU-PDA cabling is easier if you connect the cables to the VME
6U interface PCB (on the Parallel VME 6U Adapter PCB) before inserting it in
the card cage.
The front panel of the fascia holding the VME 6U interface PCB has cutouts for
cable access. Behind the front panel, each cutout has a corresponding U-bracket,
which functions as a cable clamp, as shown in Figure 2–9. Two nuts attached to
studs fasten each U-bracket to the Parallel VME 6U Adapter.

Parallel Disk Array Installation 2–11

2.4 Connecting DPU and PDA

Figure 2–8 DPU Card Cage

1. Loosen the two nuts on both U-brackets until you can move them enough to
feed the interface cables through.
2. Feed the cables under the U-brackets and through the cutouts.
3. Connect the cable connector marked JC or control to the upper connector on
the VME 6U interface PCB.
4. Connect the cable connector marked JD or data to the lower connector on the
VME 6U interface PCB.
5. Tighten the nuts until the U-brackets hold the cables firmly.
6. Insert the Parallel VME 6U Adapter PCB into DPU backplane slot IO04
(Figure 2–10). It will work in any of the DPU I/O slots, but slot IO04 is
reserved specifically for this PCB. Slot IO00, the one next to the array control
unit (ACU), is reserved for the front-end VME interface (MVIB), and slot
IO08 is reserved for the PVME PCB.

2–12 Parallel Disk Array Installation

2.4 Connecting DPU and PDA

Figure 2–9 DA Interface PCB Cable Connections

Front View From Outside

Extraction Levers
and Knobs

Cutouts

Side View, Including 6U VME PCB and Cable
Cutout

U-bracket and Thumbscrew
Cable

VME 6U PCB
MKV-040000314-14--MPS

The Parallel VME PCB (KF100-AA option) ships standard with the DECmpp
12000/Sx. If the Parallel VME PCB is to be installed at this time in an early
model DECmpp system, refer to the DECmpp 12000/Sx Parallel VME Reference
Manual for installation procedures.

Parallel Disk Array Installation 2–13

2.4 Connecting DPU and PDA

Figure 2–10 Data Parallel Unit Card Cage Slots

Array
Control
Unit

A I I I I I I I I I I I I I II I I
C O O O O O O O O O O O
O O O O
O O O
U 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5
M
V
I
B

Input/Output
Slots

P
V
M
E

P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P
E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Modem
(USA Only)

PE Array Slots

DECmpp 12000
Card Cage (Rear View)

A I I I I I I P P P P
C O O O O O O E E E E
U 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 4
0 1 2 3 4 5
M

Modem
(USA Only)

V
I
B

P *
V
M
E

I/O Slots PE Array Slots
DECmpp 12000−LC
Card Cage (Rear View)
* Slot IO04 Reserved for Optional PDA Interface
MKV−040000314−03−RAGS

2–14 Parallel Disk Array Installation

2.5 Setting DPU Jumpers

2.5 Setting DPU Jumpers
Follow these steps to reconfigure the jumpers on the front of the DPU backplane.
1. Open the DPU front door. Figure 2–11 shows the location of the jumpers for
the DECmpp 12000.
2. Identify the IO slot containing the Parallel VME 6U Adapter/VME 6U
interface PCB pair. Normally this is slot IO04.
3. Remove the three backplane jumpers above the slot occupied by the Parallel
VME 6U Adapter.
4. Close the DPU front door.

Parallel Disk Array Installation 2–15

2.5 Setting DPU Jumpers

Figure 2–11 DPU Backplane Jumper Locations

Remove three backplane jumpers
above all occupied IO01 through
IO14 slots
E
C
P03

IOnn

IO01
Through
IO14
VME Jumpers
ACU PCB

Front−End
VME Interface PCB
(MVIB)
PVME PCB

First PE Array
PCB

Xnet Jumpers
MKV−040000314−04−RAGS

2–16 Parallel Disk Array Installation

2.6 Turning On the DPU and PDA

2.6 Turning On the DPU and PDA
Follow these steps to turn on both the DPU and the PDA.
1. Open the PDA rear door.
2. Turn the PDA circuit breaker ON.
3. Open the DPU rear door.
4. Turn the DPU circuit breaker ON.
5. Open the DPU front door.
6. Turn the DPU power keyswitch ON.
7. Turn on the front-end server.
8. Make sure that the DPU and PDA have powered up successfully:
•

DPU POWER indicator is green

•

PDA POWER indicator is green

•

DA controller CPU indicator is green

•

Indicator on each disk canister is green

9. Close all enclosure doors.
10. Boot the system.
You can now begin the system administration procedures described in Chapter 3.

Parallel Disk Array Installation 2–17

3
Parallel Disk Array System Administration
Chapter 3 provides procedures for bringing up the DECmpp 12000/Sx Parallel
Disk Array (PDA), initializing the disk array (DA) controller and the disk
banks, and other administrative procedures. For standard DECmpp 12000/Sx
system administration procedures, refer to the DECmpp 12000/Sx System
Administration Guide.
The PDA has been configured, inspected and tested in the factory. The
information presented in this chapter is not required to install a PDA. It is
intended for Digital Services personnel.
Note
The PDA configuration must be correct before executing doconfig on the
DECmpp 12000/Sx system.
If you are also installing a new DECmpp 12000/Sx system, you must
initialize and configure the PDA before configuring the DECmpp
12000/Sx. If you are adding a PDA to your DECmpp 12000/Sx system
or upgrading your existing PDA, you must verify the DA controller
configuration.

Parallel Disk Array System Administration 3–1

3.1 Establishing PDA Communications

3.1 Establishing PDA Communications
Make sure the PDA has been installed correctly, and verify that the kernel can
communicate with the PDA by entering the following command:
#dastat /dev/da0a
A message similar to the following should display:
(dpu0) Tue Jul 21 15:40:10 1992 Starting up; Version 2.2.0
(dpu0) Tue Jul 21 15:40:11 1992 loading microcode file: "/usr/mpp/etc/mp12ucode.wo"
(dpu0) Tue Jul 21 15:40:18 1992 loading ACU kernel file: "/usr/mpp/etc/acuk"
(dpu0) Wed Jul 22 12:10:55 1992 ACU kernel timeout (command 6)
ECSR=0x4002, QCSR=0x0, PTACCESS=0, CPC=0xffff00a8
(dpu0) Wed Jul 22 12:10:55 1992 Save of context failed, killing job; pid = 10333
(dpu0) Wed Jul 22 12:10:55 1992 ACU kernel command error (!ECSR<Run>)
(dpu0) Wed Jul 22 12:10:55 1992 unable to abort user -- reloading ACU kernel
(dpu0) Wed Jul 22 12:10:55 1992 Job context lost in system reset; pid = 10333
(dpu0) Wed Jul 22 12:10:55 1992 Job context lost in system reset; pid = 10355
(dpu0) Wed Jul 22 12:10:55 1992 loading ACU kernel file: "/usr/mpp/etc/acuk"
(dpu0) Wed Jul 29 10:54:21 1992 Starting up; Version 2.2.0
(dpu0) Wed Jul 29 10:54:22 1992 loading microcode file: "/usr/mpp/etc/mp12ucode.wo"
(dpu0) Wed Jul 29 10:54:41 1992 loading ACU kernel file: "/usr/mpp/etc/acuk"
(dpu0) Tue Aug 11 08:19:50 1992 Starting up; Version 2.2.0
(dpu0) Tue Aug 11 08:19:51 1992 loading microcode file: "/usr/mpp/etc/mp12ucode.wo"
(dpu0) Tue Aug 11 08:20:12 1992 loading ACU kernel file: "/usr/mpp/etc/acuk"

If the dastat command fails, check the following areas:
•

Device Entry

•

PDA Device

•

PVME PCB

•

Parallel VME 6U Adapter PCB

•

VME 6U Interface PCB

If there is no Device Entry, verify the device file is present by entering the
following command:

# ls -l /dev/da0a
If the Device Entry is not present, make the device, using the following command:
# cd /dev
# ./MAKEDEV da0
Then reboot by entering:

# /etc/reboot
If there is no PDA Device, verify the kernel exists by looking at the most recent
system startup message by entering the following command:

# uerf -R | more

3–2 Parallel Disk Array System Administration

3.1 Establishing PDA Communications

The following lines should display:
----- EVENT INFORMATION ----EVENT CLASS
OS EVENT TYPE
SEQUENCE NUMBER
OPERATING SYSTEM
OCCURRED/LOGGED ON
OCCURRED ON SYSTEM
SYSTEM ID

300.
0.

x82020230

PROCESSOR TYPE
MESSAGE

OPERATIONAL EVENT
SYSTEM STARTUP
ULTRIX 32
Tue Aug 11 08:07:13 1992 EDT
mpdemo.mps.m
HW REV: x30
FW REV: x2
CPU TYPE: R2000A/R3000
KN02/R3000
ULTRIX V4.2A (Rev. 47 MPSG) System #5:
_Tue May 12 13:33:00 EDT 1992
real mem = 92274688
avail mem = 79495168
using 1228 buffers containing 9224192
_bytes of memory
KN02 processor - system rev 48
cpu0 ( version 3.0, implementation 2 )
fpu0 ( version 3.0, implementation 3 )
asc0 at ibus5
rz0 at asc0 slave 0 (RZ56)
rz1 at asc0 slave 1 (RZ57)
rz4 at asc0 slave 4 (RRD42)
tz5 at asc0 slave 5 (TK50)
ln0 at ibus6
ln0: DEC LANCE Ethernet Interface,
_hardware address: 08:00:2b:1d:31:25
dc0 at ibus7
fb0 at ibus0
fb: Module type PMAG-BA 1024X864
vba0 at slot 2 (3VIA/MVIB)
ms0 at vba0 csr 0xfc800000 vmea32d32
_vec 0xbe priority 1
da0 at ms0 slave 0
(DK515-78 - 4 data drives)
acu0 at vba0 csr 0xfcc00000 vmea32d32
_vec 0xd0 priority 1
iqprobe at be889000
iq0 at vba0 csr 0xdc000000 vmea32d32
_vec 0xc0 priority 1

If the Parallel VME 6U Adapter (mpa0) line is not present, the wrong kernel has
been booted. Reboot with the correct kernel by entering the following commands:
# mv vmunix vmunix.old
# mv genvmunix vmunix
# /etc/reboot
After the line MasPar Bus Adapter (mpa0), the following line should appear:
da0: da_config <-5c8f
If this line does not appear, either:
•

The kernel is not configured for a PDA

•

The hardware is not installed correctly

The following message shows the successful attachment of both the disk array
(da0) and the data parallel unit (DPU) (acu0). This message should appear
during the bootstrap sequence (and in the SYSTEM STARTUP of uerf(8) file).

Parallel Disk Array System Administration 3–3

3.1 Establishing PDA Communications

----- EVENT INFORMATION ----EVENT CLASS
OS EVENT TYPE
SEQUENCE NUMBER
OPERATING SYSTEM
OCCURRED/LOGGED ON
OCCURRED ON SYSTEM
SYSTEM ID

300.
0.

x82020230

PROCESSOR TYPE
MESSAGE

Once the devices are recognized correctly, you need to create a new kernel by
running doconfig.
If the previous message does not contain a reference to da0 after the line
MasPar Bus Adapter (mpa0), the VME 6U interface PCB is not being properly

accessed. The problem could be an improperly seated Parallel VME 6U Adapter
or VME 6U interface PCB.
A message such as da0: da_mpvme adapter has unexpected value = 0x66
indicates that the Parallel VME 6U Adapter CSR (OPCSR) is not being properly
reset.
The message da0: da_dmaisr has unexpected value = 0xff indicates that the
VME 6U interrupt status register is not coming up properly after a reset.
The message dawaitcmd: CMDBUSY in PSR won’t clear usually indicates a cabling
problem between the DPU and the PDA. It could also indicate that power to the
PDA has been shut off.
The message daslave: CONTROLLER WON’T SYNC indicates some type of
initialization problem with the DA controller. Try using the DA controller
RESET command.
3–4 Parallel Disk Array System Administration

3.2 Controller Configuration

3.2 Controller Configuration
The DA controller must be programmed with the configuration of the PDA disk
banks and the disks within each bank. Each bank must contain the number of
data disks specified, as well as the same type of disk. All disk drives within the
PDA must be the same type and capacity.
1. Make sure that the controller is configured correctly by entering the following
command:

dastat /dev/da0a
The following information displays:
(dpu0) Tue Jul 21 15:40:10 1992 Starting up; Version 2.2.0
(dpu0) Tue Jul 21 15:40:11 1992 loading microcode file: "/usr/mpp/etc/mp12ucode.wo"
(dpu0) Tue Jul 21 15:40:18 1992 loading ACU kernel file: "/usr/mpp/etc/acuk"
(dpu0) Wed Jul 22 12:10:55 1992 ACU kernel timeout (command 6)
ECSR=0x4002, QCSR=0x0, PTACCESS=0, CPC=0xffff00a8
(dpu0) Wed Jul 22 12:10:55 1992 Save of context failed, killing job; pid = 10333
(dpu0) Wed Jul 22 12:10:55 1992 ACU kernel command error (!ECSR<Run>)
(dpu0) Wed Jul 22 12:10:55 1992 unable to abort user -- reloading ACU kernel
(dpu0) Wed Jul 22 12:10:55 1992 Job context lost in system reset; pid = 10333
(dpu0) Wed Jul 22 12:10:55 1992 Job context lost in system reset; pid = 10355
(dpu0) Wed Jul 22 12:10:55 1992 loading ACU kernel file: "/usr/mpp/etc/acuk"
(dpu0) Wed Jul 29 10:54:21 1992 Starting up; Version 2.2.0
(dpu0) Wed Jul 29 10:54:22 1992 loading microcode file: "/usr/mpp/etc/mp12ucode.wo"
(dpu0) Wed Jul 29 10:54:41 1992 loading ACU kernel file: "/usr/mpp/etc/acuk"
(dpu0) Tue Aug 11 08:19:50 1992 Starting up; Version 2.2.0
(dpu0) Tue Aug 11 08:19:51 1992 loading microcode file: "/usr/mpp/etc/mp12ucode.wo"
(dpu0) Tue Aug 11 08:20:12 1992 loading ACU kernel file: "/usr/mpp/etc/acuk"

2. Verify that the standby disk mode is correct. If the line Bank 1 standby
serves all banks appears instead of Each bank has standby, enter:

# dainit -m0 /dev/da0a
to set the configuration so that each bank uses its own standby disk.
3. Use the dabstat command to check the bank configurations.
This example checks Bank 1:
# dabstat -b1 /dev/da0a
Drive ID
1
Reserved
Sub ID
0
Mode
8 data drives
Use primary system area
Check drive array addresses
Log soft and hard errors
Recover policy is R/E/P
SUBS/DSBL
0 / 0
Bank Status
On line, Mounted OOOOOOOOOTotal blocks
703740
Reconstruct Address -1
Drive status
30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 11
Drive 1
Drive online/mounted
Drive 2
Drive online/mounted
Drive 3
Drive online/mounted
Drive 4
Drive online/mounted
Drive 5
Drive online/mounted
Drive 6
Drive online/mounted
Drive 7
Drive online/mounted
Drive 8
Drive online/mounted
Drive 9
Drive online/mounted
Drive 10
Drive won’t select
Drive 10 is absent unless it is the standby disk.

Parallel Disk Array System Administration 3–5

3.2 Controller Configuration

4. Use the dabinit command to set the correct bank configurations. For
example, to initialize Bank 1 with eight data disks, enter:
# dabinit -b1 -m8 /dev/da0a
To disable Bank 2, enter:
# dabinit -b2 -c /dev/da0a
Whenever you change the DA controller or bank configuration, you must reboot
the DECmpp 12000/Sx front-end server.

3–6 Parallel Disk Array System Administration

3.3 Setting Up File Systems

3.3 Setting Up File Systems
The following procedure describes how to set up your file systems on the disk
array.
Note
The h partition is reserved for diagnostic use. The PDA diagnostics use
this partition as a scratch area. The program chpt(8) will not modify
partition h or modify any other partition so that it overlaps partition h.
1. To check the default file partitions, enter the following command:

# chpt -q /dev/da0a
2. To create a new file system, run /etc/newfs by entering the following
command:

# /etc/newfs [-v] [-n] (special device and device type)
For the PDA, device type reflects the number of data disks.
The default partitions for 4- and 8-data disk banks are provided in Section 3.3.1.

3.3.1 Default Partitions
The following is an example of display from etc/fstab:
4 Disks:
Partition
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h

Bottom
0
1403040
2810520
4191360
0
2810520
0
5621040

Top
1403039
2810519
4191359
5621039
2810519
5621039
4191359
5629919

Size
1403040
1407480
1380840
1429680
2810520
2810520
4191360
8880

Overlap
e,g
e,g
f,g
f
a,b,g
c,d,g
a,b,c,e,f

Bottom
0
2095680
4191360
6287040
0
4191360
8391600
11250960

Top
2095679
4191359
6287039
8382719
4191359
8382719
11250959
11268719

Size
2095680
2095680
2095680
2095680
4191360
4191360
2859360
17760

Overlap
e,h
e
f
f
a,b,h
c,d

8 Disks:
Partition
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h

Parallel Disk Array System Administration 3–7

3.4 Upgrade Procedures

3.4 Upgrade Procedures
Follow the steps in the following sections when upgrading your PDA from 4 to 8
data disks or when adding a new disk bank (upgrading to 16 data disks).

3.4.1 Upgrading to 8 Disks
1. Save contents of all of the partitions on a tape using the server’s drive or over
the network.
2. Run dabinit(8), as described in Section 3.2.
3. Format new disks, as described in Chapter 4.
4. Restore all of the partitions from the tape.

3.4.2 Upgrading to 16 Disks
1. Run dainit(8) if the standby mode is different.
2. Run dabinit(8), as described in Section 3.2.
3. Format new disks, as described in Chapter 4.

3–8 Parallel Disk Array System Administration

4
Disk Formatting
Chapter 4 provides instructions for formatting the DECmpp 12000/Sx parallel
disk array (PDA) disks. The PDA has been configured, inspected, and tested in
the factory. The information presented in this chapter is not required to install a
PDA. It is intended for Digital Services personnel.
Because both the disk system area and the user area must be formatted, disk
formatting is a two-step process. Read the associated man page(s) first.
The following example shows a typical format sequence for a new bank:
# daformat -b1 -f2 -A /dev/da0a
# daformat -b1 -f3 -A /dev/da0a
Always use function 2 (-f2) when formatting the system area. Function 2
reads the manufacturer’s media defect information and saves it in the system
area. During the user area formatting, bad blocks are mapped using this defect
information.
In the following descriptions, all numbers are in decimal form except when
followed by the letter h (for example, 10h), which indicates a hexadecimal value.
The first time a controller is brought up, run the dainit(8) command to initialize
it.

4.1 The FORMAT Command
Formatting is the process of writing sector headers on each track of a disk. The
FORMAT (daformat(8)) command formats selected disks within a bank.
When formatting disks, the disk array (DA) controller reserves at least one sector
per track as a spare. If a single media flaw is logged on a track, the spare sector
is placed on the single media flaw. (Every track can tolerate one bad sector.)
If two or more sectors within one track have logged media flaws, the track is
considered bad and is assigned an alternate track during format.
Formatting a disk consists of two distinct operations:
•

Initializing the system area

•

Formatting the user area (system area already exists)

Formatting operations occur independently of the drive mount status or the bank
online status; the target drive needs only to be on line (power on and ready or
spun up).
A bank’s Flaw Descriptor Table (FDT) is generated from the Raw Flaw Table
(RFT) and is used to assign alternate tracks. The FDT is generated only during a
Bank Mount Sequence. Certain formatting operations (func 0, func 1, and func
2) do not alter a bank’s FDT in any way.
After formatting, run the MOUNTBANK command (damount(8)), as appropriate.

Disk Formatting 4–1

4.1 The FORMAT Command

The function field defines the function performance as follows:
•

0 — Normalize System Area
Reads the existing system area, reformats only the tracks used to store the
system area, and then writes the system area to disk with cleared Growth
Error Table (GET) and the reset disk array position address.
Caution
The function 1 option can destroy the drive’s OEM flaw list.

•

1 — Initialize System Area
Formats only the tracks used to store the system area and writes the system
area to disk with cleared RFT and cleared GET.

•

2 — Read Media Defect List, Initialize System Area
Reads the manufacturer-written media list to initialize the RFT, formats only
the tracks used to store the system area, and writes the system area to disk
with initialized RFT and cleared GET.
Note
Always use function 2 when formatting the system area. Function 2 reads
the manufacturer’s media defect information and saves it in the system
area. During the user area formatting, bad blocks are mapped using this
defect information.

•

3 — Discard GET, Format User Area
Reads the existing system area, clears the GET, writes the system area
back to disk, then formats all tracks in the user area. (The DA controller
automatically runs a Bank Mount Sequence on the selected bank.)

•

4 — Merge GET into RFT, Format User Area
Reads the existing system area, merges the GET into the RFT, clears the
GET, writes the system area back to disk, then formats all tracks in the user
area. (The DA controller automatically runs a Bank Mount sequence on the
selected bank.)

•

5 — Merge GET into RFT, Reformat Bad Tracks Only in User Area
Reads the existing system area, attempts to recover data from flawed tracks
(retries, ECC correction, RECONSTRUCT), reformats flawed tracks or
assigns an alternate, writes original data back, merges the GET into the RFT,
clears the GET, and writes the system area back to disk. (The DA controller
automatically runs a Mount Bank sequence on the selected bank.)
The DA controller executes this command entirely (including a Mount
Bank sequence) before executing any other commands (noninterleaving of
commands). (This is a special feature of func 5 only.)

Whenever a system area is written, a read check always follows to ensure
validity.

4–2 Disk Formatting

4.1 The FORMAT Command

4.1.1 Operation Examples
This section contains examples showing how to bring up a new bank.
4.1.1.1 Bring Up a New Bank
The following steps provide an example of how to initialize, format, and bring up
a new bank.
1. Enter the dabinit(8) command to define bank configuration parameters.
2. Enter either the daformat(8) -A func=1 command to initialize target disks, or
the daformat(8) func=2 command to read the media defect list, then initialize
target disks.
# daformat -b1 -f1 -A /dev/da0a
# daformat -b1 -f2 -A /dev/da0a
# daformat -b1 -f3 -A /dev/da0a
3. Enter the daformat(8) command, using the option -A and setting func = 3 to
format the user area on the target disks.
4. Enter the dabstat(8) command to verify that all the valid disks in the bank
are mounted.
4.1.1.2 Bringing Up a New Bank with Flaw Data on Host
The following steps show how to initialize, format, download flaw data, and bring
up a new bank.
1. Enter the dabinit(8) command to define bank configuration parameters.
2. Enter the daformat(8) command, using the option -A and setting func = 1 to
initialize target disks.
3. Enter the daspecflaw(8) command to download flaw data to target disks.
This data is recorded in the GET.
4. Enter the daformat(8) command, using the option -A and setting func = 4
(merge GET) to format the user area on the target disks.
5. Enter the dabstat(8) command to verify that all valid disks in the bank are
mounted.
4.1.1.3 Formatting Newly Installed Disks Within an Online/Mounted Bank
The following steps show how to disable an old disk drive and install a new drive
in an online, mounted bank.
1. Disable the old drive before removing it by entering the dadsbl(8) command
to define the Disabled (DSBL) field of the appropriate Bank Configuration
Table. The dadsbl(8) command initiates a Bank Mount sequence to activate
parity replacement for subsequent host data transfers.
2. Physically replace the old drive with a new drive.
3. Enter the daformat(8) func = 1 command to initialize target drives, or
daformat(8) func = 2 to read the media defect list, then initialize target
drives.
4. Enter the daformat(8) func = 3 command to format the user area on the
target drives.
5. Use the darecon(8) command to reconstruct data back to new drive.

Disk Formatting 4–3

4.1 The FORMAT Command

4.1.1.4 Reformatting Online/Mounted Banks with Growth Errors Logged
The following steps show how to initialize, format, download flaw data, and bring
up a new bank.
1. Enter the daformat(8) func = 5 command (merge the GET) to reformat
flawed tracks only on the target drives.

daformat func = 5 is the only format mode that attempts to read and recover
the user data during the format operation.
•

If the NON-TRANSFER COMMAND SUCCESS message displays, all data is
preserved, the reformat is complete, and the GET is empty. The procedure
is complete.

•

If unrecoverable data is encountered, the blocks with corrupted data
are logged in the Bad Block Table (BBT), and daformat(8) immediately
terminates, displaying the NON-TRANSFER COMMAND ERROR (RECONSTRUCT
NOT POSSIBLE) message. If daformat(8) func = 5 is reentered, the BBT
entries are reformatted/mapped out (data still corrupted), cleared from
the GET, cleared from the BBT, and merged into the RFT.
Corrupted data possibly exists until restored as described below.
If unrecoverable data is encountered (NON-TRANSFER COMMAND ERROR
(RECONSTRUCT NOT POSSIBLE)), continue with the procedure:

2. Temporarily halt all host transfer commands.
3. Log the BBT entries.
4. Reenter the daformat(8) func = 5 command. If the NON-TRANSFER COMMAND
ERROR (RECONSTRUCT NOT POSSIBLE) message displays, repeat step 2.
Otherwise, go to step 5.
5. Restore data blocks for all logged BBT entries.
6. Enable host transfer commands.
7. Use the READCONFIG command to read the BBT.

4.2 The MOUNTBANK Command
The disk array formatting commands automatically initiate a Bank Mount
sequence when necessary. When the PDA is turned on or after a system reset,
the DA controller executes the following Bank Mount sequence on a target bank
for which the Bank Configuration Table (DRIVE ID) is nonzero. If valid drives
on a bank are selected but not READY, the controller waits for a drive timeout
period (refer to Table 4–1), retrying the MOUNTBANK command until the drive
becomes READY or the timeout period expires.
During a Bank Mount sequence, if valid drives on a bank are selected but not
READY, the controller does not wait and flags the drives not mounted.
After a Bank Mount sequence, run the dabstat(8) command to verify correct
bank status. The MOUNTBANK command is normally initiated after bank
configuration parameters are changed. The DA controller should not be reset.
The DA Controller Bank Mount sequence is as follows:
1. Select the bank and run DRIVE INITIALIZATION, which identifies drives
with the status of SELECTED, NOTBUSY, READY, ONCYLINDER,
NOFAULT, and NOSEEKERROR. These drives are considered ONLINE.

4–4 Disk Formatting

4.2 The MOUNTBANK Command

2. Attempt to read the system area from ONLINE drives. Drives for which this
operation is successful are considered MOUNTED. The RFTs of mounted
drives are combined to form the bank’s FDT.
3. Establish MOUNTBANK status. The DA controller checks to see if all drives
required for the current bank configuration are MOUNTED, and, if so,
sets the Bank Mount bit. (You can perform read/write operations only with
MOUNTED banks.)
4. Determine which drive, if any, must be replaced using parity replacement.
The Bank Mount sequence also detects a special state of Substituted/Disabled
(SUBS/DSBL), where SUBS equals X, DSBL equals Y, and Y equals 10. This
state would be set if a standby drive were inoperable while it was actively
substituting for another drive. When this state is detected, the DA controller
immediately sets DSBL equal to X and SUBS equal to 0, deassigning the
standby drive and restoring the disabled status of the previously substituted
drive.
5. Initialize the target bank’s Reconstruct Disk Address.

4.3 The RECONSTRUCT Command
The RECONSTRUCT (darecon(8)) command initiates data/parity drive
reconstruction.
The target is valid only when DSBL is nonzero, SUBS is nonzero, and DSBL
is not equal to SUBS. For this condition, target selects the target drive for the
reconstruct operation:
0 = drive identified by DSBL
1 = drive identified by SUBS
Using the dainit(8) command, there are two selectable standby configurations:
•

One standby drive per disk array bank

•

One standby drive serving all disk array banks

In configuration 1, the standby drive must be assigned from the same bank as the
drive being replaced. This configuration must be selected if there are two or more
banks with different drive types.
In configuration 2, the single available standby drive must be connected to bank
1. This configuration can be selected only if all drives of all banks are the same
type.
The following variables determine inoperable drive configuration. Use the
dabstat(8) command to examine them and use the dadsbl(8) and dasubs(8)
commands to set them:
DSBL

0 = no drive inoperable

SUBS

0 = no drive substituted

X = drive X [1 . . . 10] inoperable (disabled)
X = drive X [1 . . . 9] substituted (assigned standby drive)

Disk Formatting 4–5

4.3 The RECONSTRUCT Command

4.3.1 Disabling and Replacing a Drive
The following steps disable a disk drive:
1. Check the DSBL field. If the DSBL field is already nonzero, do not disable an
additional drive in the bank.
2. Use the dadsbl(8) command to disable a drive. You can physically replace
the disabled drive at this time.
3. Use the darecon(8) command to set the DSBL field to 0 after a complete
reconstruction cycle.

4.3.2 Assigning a Standby Drive
The following instructions assign the standby drive:
1. Run the dasubs(8) command to assign a standby drive.
•

Standby Mode 1 (each bank has its own standby drive): if the target bank
SUBS field is already nonzero, an additional standby cannot be assigned.

•

Standby Mode 2 (Standby on bank 1 serves all banks): if any bank SUBS
field is already nonzero, an additional standby cannot be assigned.

After a standby is assigned to substitute for a newly disabled drive, the SUBS
field equals the DSBL field.

4.3.3 Reconstructing a Drive
The following steps reconstruct a drive:
1. Use the damount(8) command to initialize the target bank’s Reconstruct
Disk Address to all 1’s. The read-only Reconstruct Disk Address value plus 1
specifies a bank starting-disk address for a darecon(8) command.
2. Use read-only Reconstruct Disk Address value plus 1 to specify a bank
starting-disk address for RECONSTRUCT command.
If an unrecoverable media error is encountered during a reconstruct operation:
•

The reconstruct operation ends immediately.

•

The Reconstruction Disk Address is updated with the host reference position
of the error. The physical disk position is logged in the GET.

•

A NON-TRANSFER COMMAND ERROR message is returned to the host.

•

The host logs the Reconstruction Disk Address value and continues the
reconstruct operation by reentering the darecon(8) command without a
damount(8) command.

On successful completion of the reconstruct (NON-TRANSFER COMMAND
SUCCESS), a Bank Mount sequence is automatically initiated, and the host then
restores any logged data blocks with errors.
The RECONSTRUCT action varies, depending on the Bank Mount Sequence of
the target bank configuration defined by DSBL and SUBS. There are five cases to
consider, shown in Table 4–1.

4–6 Disk Formatting

4.3 The RECONSTRUCT Command

Table 4–1 Bank Configurations
Configuration

Explanation

Case 1

DSBL = 0 and SUBS = 0

Reconstruction is invalid in this configuration.

Case 2

DSBL = nonzero, and
SUBS = 0

The drive identified by DSBL is the
RECONSTRUCT target. Upon successful
reconstruction, DSBL is automatically set to 0.

Case 3

DSBL = nonzero, SUBS
= nonzero, and DSBL =
SUBS

The drive identified by DSBL/SUBS is reconstructed
onto the standby drive. Upon successful
reconstruction, DSBL is automatically set to 0,
and SUBS is left unchanged.

Case 4

DSBL = nonzero, SUBS
= nonzero, DSBL
SUBS

This is the same as Case 2, except one other drive
is already assigned as standby.

Case 5

DSBL = 0, SUBS =
nonzero

•

target = 0: The drive identified by DSBL is
the RECONSTRUCT target. Upon successful
reconstruction, DSBL is automatically set to 0.

•

target = 1: The drive identified by SUBS is
the RECONSTRUCT target. Upon successful
reconstruction, SUBS is automatically set to 0
(deassigning the standby drive).

The drive identified by SUBS is the
RECONSTRUCT target. Upon successful
reconstruction, SUBS is automatically set to 0
(deassigning the standby drive).

When a drive is deemed inoperable, use the dadsbl(8) command to load the
DSBL field of the appropriate Bank Configuration Table with the inoperable drive
number. All subsequent read operations on the bank use the parity replacement
drive to provide correct data to the host, and all write operations avoid the
disabled drive.
You now have two options:
•

If no standby drive is available, physically replace the inoperable drive with a
new drive:
1. Format (using the daformat(8) command) the new drive.
2. Reconstruct (using the darecon(8) command) the original drive’s data.
When RECONSTRUCT completes without error, the DA controller
automatically clears the DSBL field. This action falls under Case 2 in
Table 4–1.

•

If a standby drive is available, you can assign it to replace the inoperable
drive:
1. Use the dasubs(8) command to set the SUBS field equal to the DSBL
field of the Bank Configuration Table.
2. Enter the darecon(8) command to reconstruct the data.
When RECONSTRUCT completes without errors, the controller automatically
clears the DSBL field. This action falls under Case 3 in Table 4–1.

Disk Formatting 4–7

4.3 The RECONSTRUCT Command

Once a standby drive is in operation (replacing an inoperable data/parity drive),
the bank can tolerate another drive failure. If the next drive to fail is another
data/parity drive, mark it disabled, using the dadsbl(8) command to set the
DSBL field to the failed drive’s number. Entering the darecon(8) command at
this point results in either the DSBL drive or the SUBS drive being reconstructed,
depending on the value of target. This action falls under Case 4 in Table 4–1.
When you physically replace an inoperable data/parity drive with a new drive
and a standby drive is in operation replacing the original drive, bring the new
drive on line by entering the damount(8) command, followed by the darecon(8)
command. On successful reconstruction, the SUBS field is automatically set to 0,
deassigning the standby drive. This action falls under Case 5 in Table 4–1.
Finally, if a standby drive becomes inoperable while it is assigned to replace a
data/parity drive:
•

If no other drive is inoperable (DSBL = 0 and SUBS = X):
1. Set DSBL = Ah.
2. Enter a damount(8) command.
The DA controller immediately sets DSBL equals X and SUBS equals 0,
deassigning the standby and restoring the disabled status of the previously
substituted drive. This deassigns the standby drive and informs the DA
controller that the drive it was formerly replacing is still inoperable.

•

If another drive is inoperable (DSBL nonzero), the bank is unusable.

4.4 The SCRUB Command
The SCRUB command (dascrub(8)) initiates a digital surface analysis of selected
disk drives (previously formatted) within a bank.
The func field defines the function’s performance as follows:
•

0h — Read check only. Preserves disk data.

•

1h — Write 00000000h, then read check. Overwrites disk data.

•

2h — Write FFFFFFFFh, then read check. Overwrites disk data.

•

3h — Write AAAAAAAAh, then read check. Overwrites disk data.

•

4h — Write 55555555h, then read check. Overwrites disk data.

•

5h — Write CCCCCCCCh, then read check. Overwrites disk data.

•

6h — Write 33333333h, then read check. Overwrites disk data.

•

7h — Write 6DB6DB6Dh, then read check. Overwrites disk data.

•

8h — Write 92492492h, then read check. Overwrites disk data.

•

9h — Write C6DEC6DEh, then read check. Overwrites disk data.

•

Ah — Write 39213921h, then read check. Overwrites disk data.

•

Bh, Ch, Dh, Eh — Reserved (0s). Overwrites disk data.

•

Fh — Write random, then read check. Overwrites disk data.

Depending on the func field, the operation will read-only the entire disks or
write/read the entire disks, and then log any media errors encountered into the
GET.

4–8 Disk Formatting

4.4 The SCRUB Command

If any errors are logged into the GET, reformat (merge the GET into the RFT) to
map out new media errors.

4.5 The SPECIFYFLAW Command
Use the daspecflaw(8) command to specify the location of a media defect. (Used
primarily to download flaw information before reformatting.)
Data disks are numbered 1 through 8, parity is 9, and standby is 10.
Flaw information specified using this command is entered into the disk GET. You
can merge this data into the RFT when performing a FORMAT operation.

Disk Formatting 4–9

5
Removal and Replacement Procedures
Chapter 5 describes how to remove and replace the following DECmpp 12000/Sx
Parallel Disk Array (PDA) components:
•

DA controller PCBs

•

Disk canisters

•

MUX PCBs

•

Lightpipe PCB

•

Power/Fan tray

•

DA backplane power cables

•

Clock PCB

•

PDA–DPU interface cable

•

Disk drive cables

•

Lightpipe signal cable

•

Lightpipe power cable

•

Temperature sensor cable
Warning
To avoid personal injury and damage to the equipment, turn off the
front-end server and the data parallel unit (DPU), and turn the PDA
circuit breaker OFF before beginning any service procedures.

Several maintenance procedures require you to extend the disk array (DA)
controller chassis on its slides. This procedure is described in Section 5.1 and is
not repeated in the individual maintenance procedures.
Figure 5–1 shows a rear view of the PDA enclosure and its internal components.

Removal and Replacement Procedures 5–1

Figure 5–1 PDA Enclosure (rear)

DA Controller

Disk Array

Power/Fan Tray

MKV−040000314−85−RAGS

5–2 Removal and Replacement Procedures

5.1 Extending the DA Controller Chassis

5.1 Extending the DA Controller Chassis
Follow these steps to extend and tilt the DA controller chassis. The process is
shown in Figure 5–2.
Caution
To avoid overheating while the DA controller chassis is extended for long
periods of time, always use auxiliary fans while the PDA is turned on.

1. Turn the PDA circuit breaker OFF.
2. Open the PDA front door.
3. Remove and save the six screws attaching the DA controller to the PDA
enclosure frame.
4. Pull the DA controller chassis forward until it stops (the slides lock).
5. Pull out the T-shaped tilt-release handles at the bottom corners of the
DA controller chassis, allowing it to tilt forward. The chassis tends to fall
forward as soon as you pull the handles. Make sure you are supporting it
and controlling its movement. The chassis should lock in the 90-degree tilt
position. If it doesn’t, manually slide the tilt-release handles back into a
locking position.
6. Close the DA controller chassis by pulling forward on the tilt-release handles,
and tilting the DA controller chassis up until it locks in place. The chassis
may tend to fall backward past its normal position. Make sure you are
supporting it and controlling its movement.
7. Press the slide-release buttons on each rail and push the chassis back into
the PDA enclosure.
8. Use the six screws to secure the DA controller chassis to the PDA enclosure
frame.

Removal and Replacement Procedures 5–3

5.1 Extending the DA Controller Chassis

Figure 5–2 Extending the Disk Array Controller

Tilt Mechanism Close-up

Tilt Release

Release Button

MKV-040000314-94-MPS

5–4 Removal and Replacement Procedures

5.2 Replacing DA Controller PCBs

5.2 Replacing DA Controller PCBs
Follow these steps to remove and replace PCBs in the DA controller chassis,
shown in Figure 5–3.
1. Turn the PDA circuit breaker OFF.
2. Open the PDA front door.
3. Remove the two top screws and loosen the two bottom screws attaching the
DA controller front panel, shown in Figure 1–5. Remove the cover by lifting it
off the bottom screws.
4. Put on an antistatic wrist strap as a precautionary measure.
5. Press open the top and bottom extraction levers on the PCB front edge,
loosening it from the backplane.
6. Remove the PCB, pulling it straight out.
7. Holding the replacement PCB by the front edge, install it in the DA controller
card cage, pushing the top and bottom extraction levers closed to seat it
firmly on the backplane.
8. Replace the DA controller front panel by sliding it over the two bottom
screws. Use the two original screws at the top.
9. Close the PDA front door.
10. Turn the PDA circuit breaker ON.
Figure 5–3 Replacing the DA Controller PCB

Removal and Replacement Procedures 5–5

5.3 Replacing Disk Canisters

5.3 Replacing Disk Canisters
Follow these steps to remove and replace a disk canister.
1. Spin down the disk, following the disable procedures outlined in Chapter 4.
2. Open the PDA front or rear door to access the proper disk bank.
3. Put on an antistatic wrist strap as a precautionary measure.
4. Write the appropriate disk number and disk bank number on the replacement
canister labels.
5. Set the disk power switch OFF (down).
6. Make sure the LED on the front of the disabled disk canister is OFF.
Caution
Be sure to slide the canister squarely out of and into the guide rails.
Guide rails can break if the canister is twisted to one side.

7. Loosen the two captive screws on the disk canister front, and remove the disk
canister by sliding it straight out of the chassis.
8. Set the jumpers and terminators on the new disk to the correct bank. Use
the jumpers and terminator on the disabled disk as a guide. (Refer also to
Section 2.3.1.)
Caution
Change only the bank select jumpers/terminator. Do not change any other
jumpers on the disk drive PCB. Do not compare jumpers from one disk
drive PCB to another. Many jumpers (especially the black-colored ones)
are factory-set during testing to optimize performance.

9. Align the replacement disk canister top and bottom edges in the nylon guide
rails, and slide the canister squarely and firmly into the DA backplane.
10. Tighten the two captive screws.
11. Set the disk power switch ON (up).
12. Make sure the green LED on the disk canister front is ON.
13. Close the PDA door (front or rear).
14. Format the new disk (refer to Chapter 4).
Refer to Chapter 7 for PDA upgrade procedures (installing additional disk
canisters).

5–6 Removal and Replacement Procedures

5.4 Replacing MUX PCBs

5.4 Replacing MUX PCBs
Follow the steps below to remove and replace MUX PCBs. Refer to Figure 1–9 for
MUX PCB connectors.
1. Turn the PDA circuit breaker OFF.
2. Open the PDA rear door.
3. Put on an ESD wrist strap as a precautionary measure.
4. Remove the associated disk canister that covers the MUX PCB. For additional
working space, remove the adjacent disk canisters also.
5. Remove the MUX PCB.
6. Holding the replacement MUX PCB by the front edge, install it in the PDA,
seating it firmly on the backplane.
7. Replace the disk canisters.
8. Close the PDA rear door.
9. Turn the PDA circuit breaker ON.

Removal and Replacement Procedures 5–7

5.5 Replacing the Lightpipe PCB

5.5 Replacing the Lightpipe PCB
Follow these steps to remove and replace the lightpipe PCB in the PDA.
1. Turn the PDA circuit breaker OFF.
2. Open the PDA front door. The lightpipe PCB is mounted to the inside surface
of the front door.
3. Disconnect the lightpipe signal cable and power cable.
4. Loosen but do not remove the four screws that secure the lightpipe PCB to
the door.
5. Lift the lightpipe PCB bracket up and off the mounting studs and screws.
6. Put the replacement lightpipe PCB into position over the mounting studs and
screws, checking the alignment of the lightpipe and the lightpipe cutouts in
the door.
7. Secure the bracket of the replacement PCB to the door by turning the four
screws. Do not tighten; the PCB should be able to be moved slightly.
8. Connect the lightpipe power supply cable and the 50-pin ribbon cable to the
lightpipe PCB.
9. Turn the PDA circuit breaker ON.
10. Place the lightpipe LED test switch in the TEST position.
11. Fine tune the alignment of the lightpipe and the cutouts in the door to ensure
maximum light transmission through the cutouts.
12. Tighten the four screws securing the PCB bracket to the door.
13. Place the lightpipe LED test switch in the NORMAL position.
14. Close the PDA front door.

5–8 Removal and Replacement Procedures

5.6 Replacing Power/Fan Tray

5.6 Replacing Power/Fan Tray
Follow these steps to remove and replace the PDA power/fan tray, as shown in
Figure 5–4 and Figure 5–5.
Warning
This procedure requires two people. The power/fan tray weighs 41.73 kg
(92 pounds). To avoid injury, use proper lifting techniques when removing
or installing the power/fan tray.

Caution
Check the specification label on the replacement tray. Make sure that the
replacement tray provides the correct power level. Arrays with more than
10 disk drives require a power supply rated at 2500 W.

1. Open the PDA front and rear doors.
2. Turn the PDA circuit breaker OFF.
3. Unplug the PDA power cable from the source.
4. Disconnect the PDA power cable where it enters the power fan tray by pulling
sideways to the left.
5. Disconnect the lightpipe power cable and the temperature sensor cable.
6. Remove the two screws attaching the power/fan tray rear to the air exhaust
plenum.
7. Remove the four screws attaching the power/fan tray front to the enclosure
side rails.
Caution
The next step removes the power/fan tray. When the tray reaches the end
of its travel, ensure that the rear is supported so that it does not fall and
damage the AC input box.

8. Pull the tray straight out of the enclosure from the front. (You may want
someone to brace the PDA enclosure as you pull the tray out.)
9. Slide the replacement tray into the enclosure.
10. Using the screws removed in steps 6 and 7, secure the power/fan tray to the
enclosure with four screws in the front and two screws in the rear.
11. Connect the lightpipe power cable and the temperature sensor cable.
12. Connect the PDA power cable to the AC input box.
13. Plug in the PDA power cable.
14. Turn the PDA circuit breaker ON.
15. Observe the front power indicator and the power/fan tray status indicators in
the rear. Ensure that all indicators display a normal condition.

Removal and Replacement Procedures 5–9

5.6 Replacing Power/Fan Tray

16. Close the PDA front and rear doors.
Figure 5–4 Power/Fan Tray (rear)

Remote Out
Remote In

DA Controller

Temperature Sensor

Power Selector
Switch

P1 P2 P13

P3
Power
LEDs
P10

Sense Lines
Lightpipe

Main Circuit
Breaker

1A Circuit
Breaker
Power Cable
Connection
MKV−040000314−86−RAGS

5–10 Removal and Replacement Procedures

5.6 Replacing Power/Fan Tray

Figure 5–5 Replacing the Power/Fan Tray

Remove Two
Screws (Rear)

Remove Four
Screws (Front)
MKV−040000314−87−RAGS

Removal and Replacement Procedures 5–11

5.7 Replacing Power Cables to the DA Backplane

5.7 Replacing Power Cables to the DA Backplane
Follow these steps to replace the +5 V, +12 V, or ground cable between the
power supply and the DA backplane bus bar system. Figure 5–6 shows the cable
connections. Put on an ESD wrist strap as a precautionary measure.
1. Turn the PDA circuit breaker OFF.
2. Unplug the PDA from the power source.
3. Unplug all DA controller PCBs and slide them out 1 inch from the backplane.
4. Unplug all disk canisters and slide them out 1 inch from the DA backplane.
5. Label all power cables.
6. Remove the power/fan tray (Section 5.6).
7. Remove those disk canisters blocking access to the DA backplane bus bar.
8. Remove the nut fastening the cable to the appropriate power bridge highcurrent connector.
9. Remove the screw and nut connecting the cable to the backplane bus bar.
10. Fasten the replacement cable to the backplane bus bar, using a screw and
nut.
11. With the nut removed above, fasten the replacement cable to the power bridge
high-current connector.
12. Using an ohmmeter, verify that there are no shorts between cables or to
ground.
13. Replace the power/fan tray.
14. Return all disk canisters to their slots and plug in all disk canisters and DA
controller PCBs.
15. Turn the PDA circuit breaker ON.

5–12 Removal and Replacement Procedures

5.7 Replacing Power Cables to the DA Backplane

Figure 5–6 Power Bridge and Cables

Power Sense Line Connector

GND

+12

GND

+12
GND

DC Power Connectors
MKV-040000314-79-MPS

Removal and Replacement Procedures 5–13

5.8 Replacing Clock PCB

5.8 Replacing Clock PCB
The clock PCB is on the far left of the DA backplane rear side, shown in
Figure 1–9. Follow these steps to remove and replace the clock PCB, referring to
Figure 5–7.
Workspace is very constricted because of the disk chassis frame.
1. Open the PDA back door.
2. Turn the PDA circuit breaker OFF.
3. Put on an ESD wrist strap as a precautionary measure.
4. Remove those left-most disk canisters blocking access to the clock PCB. In
an 8-disk bank, removing the first two upper and lower canisters on the left
should be sufficient.
5. Remove and save the four plastic nuts attaching the clock PCB corners to the
plastic standoffs on the DA backplane.
6. The 20-pin connector is on the bottom-left side of the clock PCB. Grasping the
board by the edges, remove the PCB.
7. Install the replacement clock PCB by sliding it carefully behind the disk
chassis rear cross-piece and seating it firmly in the 20-pin connector.
8. Secure the clock PCB, screwing the four plastic nuts onto the standoffs. Do
not overtighten!
9. Replace the disk canisters removed in step 4 in their original positions.
10. Turn the PDA circuit breaker ON.
Figure 5–7 Replacing the Clock PCB

+12

Resistor
Terminator
Clock
Board

5–14 Removal and Replacement Procedures

5.9 Replacing DA Controller Backplane Cabling

5.9 Replacing DA Controller Backplane Cabling
The following cables connect to the DA controller backplane:
•

Two 50-pin PDA-DPU interface cables: control and data

•

Ten 40-pin disk control/status cables (34-pin at the DA backplane)

•

Ten 20-pin disk data cables

•

One flat-braid ground cable

•

One flat-braid +5 V cable

•

One jacketed multiconductor +12 V cable

Individual cable replacement is described in sections that follow.

5.9.1 Replacing PDA-DPU Interface Cable
Follow these steps to replace the interface cable between the DPU and the PDA.
This procedure is easier if you feed the new cable along at the same time that you
are removing the old one.
1. Open the PDA and DPU enclosure front and rear doors.
2. Turn off the DPU with the front keyswitch.
3. Turn both the PDA and DPU circuit breakers OFF.
4. Extend the DA controller chassis.
5. Remove screws fastening the top air baffle, and remove the baffle. There is
one top baffle in both the 1- and 2-bank configurations.
6. From the rear, remove the air baffle panel behind the DA controller chassis.
7. Disconnect the original interface cable from the DA controller backplane
(50-pin connectors at P13 or P11).
8. Remove one or two screws on the cable strain relief clamp on the DA
controller rear, easing it enough to slide the old cable out.
9. Four spring-loaded plungers secure the cable clamp to the PDA frame. Pull
and twist each plunger, locking it in the open position and unfastening the
clamp from the frame.
10. The cable guide clamp is held together with six alternate-position screws.
Remove two or three screws at the end holding the interface cables, and slip
the old cable out of the clamp sideways.
Keep the cable clamp partially fastened to remove an individual cable without
disturbing the others.
11. Remove all cable ties securing the cable along its travel down the PDA
enclosure.
12. Label both ends of the replacement cable.
13. Connect the replacement cable connectors to the DA controller backplane.
14. Slide the cable into the cable strain relief clamp, and replace the screws in
the clamp.

Removal and Replacement Procedures 5–15

5.9 Replacing DA Controller Backplane Cabling

15. Slide the replacement cable into the cable guide clamp, positioning it beneath
the other ribbon cable. Adjust the replacement cable slack, matching it to the
other ribbon cable as a guide, and tighten the clamp screws until the cables
are held firmly.
16. Put the cable guide clamp back into position, and release each plunger by
twisting it slightly until the end goes into the hole in the PDA frame.
17. Draw both the old and replacement cables through both the PDA and DPU
enclosures, following the path of the other interface cable through both
enclosures, and feed the new cable into the DPU.
18. At the DPU card cage, remove the Parallel VME 6U Adapter PCB with the
VME interface PCB attached.
19. Two nuts attached to studs fasten a U-bracket to the front of the Parallel
VME 6U Adapter PCB. This U-bracket functions as a cable clamp for the
interface cable. Loosen the nuts until you can move the U-bracket enough to
pull the old cable through.
20. Disconnect the old cable from the 50-pin PCB connector, and pull it through
the U-bracket.
21. Feed the replacement cable through the U-bracket and connect it to the PCB.
22. Tighten the nuts on the Parallel VME 6U Adapter PCB U-bracket, securing
the cable.
23. Replace the Parallel VME 6U Adapter PCB in the DPU card cage.
24. Replace the PDA rear and top air baffles.
25. Close the DA controller chassis, making sure that no cables are pinched.
26. Turn the DPU and PDA circuit breakers ON.
27. Turn on the DPU with the front keyswitch.

5–16 Removal and Replacement Procedures

5.9 Replacing DA Controller Backplane Cabling

5.9.2 Replacing Backplane Disk Cables
Follow these steps to replace the disk control/status or data cables from the DA
controller backplane to the DA backplane.
The control/status cable has a 40-pin connector to the DA controller backplane
and a 34-pin connector to the DA backplane.
1. Open the PDA front and rear doors.
2. Turn the PDA circuit breaker OFF.
3. Extend the DA controller chassis.
4. Remove the screws fastening the top air baffle and remove it.
5. Disconnect the original disk signal cable from the DA controller backplane
and from the DA backplane.
6. Remove one or two screws on the cable strain relief clamp on the DA
controller rear, easing it enough to slide the old cable out.
7. Label both ends of the replacement cable.
8. Using the old cable as a guide, fold the replacement cable to match.
9. Connect the replacement cable to the DA controller backplane.
10. Slide the cable into the cable strain relief clamp, and replace the screws in
the clamp.
11. Connect the opposite end to the DA backplane.
12. Replace the PDA top air baffle.
13. Close the DA controller chassis.
14. Turn the PDA circuit breaker ON.
15. Close the PDA front and rear doors.

Removal and Replacement Procedures 5–17

5.10 Replacing the Lightpipe Signal Cable

5.10 Replacing the Lightpipe Signal Cable
Follow these steps to replace the lightpipe signal cable from the DA backplane to
the lightpipe.
The lightpipe split-ribbon cable has a 50-pin connector to the lightpipe and three
10-pin connectors (one for each disk bank) to the DA backplanes.
1. Open the PDA front and rear doors.
2. Turn the PDA circuit breaker OFF.
3. Disconnect the lightpipe signal cable from the 50-pin connector at the bottom
edge of the lightpipe PCB.
4. Remove any cable ties securing the ribbon cable to the enclosure or chassis
and push the cable to the back of the PDA, between the air baffles and the
top.
5. At the rear, remove the far right disk canisters to access the lightpipe signal
connector.
6. Disconnect the ends of the cable from the DA backplane 10-pin connectors.
7. Pull the upper end of the cable down from the enclosure top, through the side
bracket, and remove the cable.
8. Connect the replacement cable 10-pin connectors to the DA backplane.
9. Feed the 50-pin end through the backplane side bracket, and push the end
over the air baffle to the front.
10. From the front, draw the cable forward, and connect it to the lightpipe PCB
50-pin connector.
11. Replace the disk canisters in the disk chassis.
12. Turn the PDA circuit breaker ON.
13. Close the PDA front and rear doors.

5–18 Removal and Replacement Procedures

5.11 Replacing Lightpipe Power Cable

5.11 Replacing Lightpipe Power Cable
Follow these steps to replace the lightpipe power cable from the power supply to
the lightpipe PCB.
1. Open the PDA front and rear doors.
2. Turn the PDA circuit breaker OFF.
3. Disconnect the lightpipe power cable from the lower-left side of the power/fan
tray.
4. Clip off cable ties securing the power cable to the cable mounts on the PDA
enclosure frame, following the cable path to the front of the PDA.
5. Disconnect the power cable from the lightpipe PCB.
6. Connect the replacement power cable to the lightpipe PCB.
7. Feed the cable toward the side and rear of the enclosure, using cable ties to
fasten it to cable mounts on the enclosure frame.
8. Connect the cable to the power/fan tray.
9. Turn the PDA circuit breaker ON.
10. Close the front and rear doors.

Removal and Replacement Procedures 5–19

5.12 Replacing Temperature Sensor Cable

5.12 Replacing Temperature Sensor Cable
Follow these steps to replace the temperature sensor cable from the power/fan
tray to the DA controller chassis enclosure.
1. Open the PDA front and rear doors.
2. Turn the PDA circuit breaker OFF.
3. Disconnect the temperature cable from the lower left side of the power/fan
tray.
4. Clip off cable ties securing the sensor cable to the cable mounts on the PDA
enclosure frame, following the cable path to the front of the PDA.
5. Clip the cable tie fastening the sensor cable to the vented top of the DA
controller chassis under the right fan.
6. Ensure that the sensor is level and in the same location as the original.
7. Use a cable tie to fasten the replacement sensor cable to the top of the DA
controller chassis.
8. Feed the cable toward the side and rear of the enclosure, using cable ties to
fasten it to cable mounts on the enclosure frame.
9. Connect the cable to the power/fan tray.
10. Turn the PDA circuit breaker ON.
11. Close the front and rear doors.

5–20 Removal and Replacement Procedures

6
Parallel Disk Array Diagnostics
Chapter 6 provides descriptions of the lightpipe indicator displays showing the
disk status, and descriptions of the diagnostic procedures and status error codes.

6.1 Lightpipe Indicator Status
Fourteen indicators in the DECmpp 12000/Sx parallel disk array (PDA) front
panel lightpipe (shown in Figure 6–1) provide status for the PDA and for disks in
the disk array (DA) banks.
The first two indicators show the system power status:
•

Off — Power system off

•

Yellow — Power system sequencing up, or Fault condition detected

•

Green — Power system up, no faults detected

The other indicators, in three groups of four, show the disk status within each
disk bank. Bank 3 is not used.
•

OD — Disks 1, 3, 5, 7

•

EV — Disks 2, 4, 6, 8

•

P — Parity disk

•

S — Standby disk

A sector pulse from the disk drives the disk status lightpipe display. If there is
no sector pulse, the indicator is yellow. If there is no disk installed, there is no
sector pulse, and the indicator is off:
•

Driving yellow — Disk not spinning

•

Driving green — Disk spinning and accessed (read, write, or seek)

•

None (indicator off) — Disk spinning and idle (not accessed) or no disk
installed

Because the indicators provide status for multiple disks in a given bank, the
lightpipe display priority is as follows:
•

Yellow — Any disk driving yellow

•

Green — Any disk driving green, and no disk driving yellow

•

Off — No disk driving yellow, and no disk driving green

Parallel Disk Array Diagnostics 6–1

6.1 Lightpipe Indicator Status

The indicator on the disk canister front provides status for each disk:
•

Green when the disk is spinning

•

Off when the disk is not spinning

Figure 6–1 PDA Front Indicators

Bank 1
Power

OD EV P

Bank 2
S

OD EV P

Bank 3
S

OD EV P S

MKV−040000314−84−RAGS

6–2 Parallel Disk Array Diagnostics

6.2 Diagnostic Procedures

6.2 Diagnostic Procedures
The standard DECmpp 12000/Sx system diagnostics test the front-end interface,
the array control unit (ACU), the processor element (PE) array, and the PE
array/router connections. Additional diagnostics test the Parallel VME 6U
Adapter PCB, the VME 6U interface PCB, and the PDA disk array controller.
Caution
Running diagnostic programs can cause the system to crash, especially
if the programs encounter problems. You should warn the users and
prepare the system for a possible crash before running diagnostics. It is a
good policy not to run diagnostics while users are on the system.
Avoid aborting any diagnostic program. In particular, do not abort the
process while any diagnostic is running. Diagnostic programs change
the system microcode, and then replace it when they are done. If they
are aborted, they leave the system in an unknown state. If this should
happen, you can recover by entering either:
# dpuboot -v
or:
# mpshutdown
# dpumanager

6.3 Diagnostic Environment
Table 6–1 shows the PDA top-level programs and the level-2 programs and
describes what each one tests. The individual diagnostics are described following
this table.
Table 6–1 Diagnostic Programs
Top Level

Description

vme_diags

DECmpp 12000
/Sx extended
VME

da_diag

Level Two

Description

mpda
vme

Parallel VME 6U Adapter CSR test

da_intern
da_config
da_buff
da_mount
da_seek
da_disk

DA controller PCB test

Memory 6U Adapter test

Tests PDA
R/W configuration test
R/W buffer test
Mount bank test
Read/seek test
R/W disk test

Parallel Disk Array Diagnostics 6–3

6.3 Diagnostic Environment

6.3.1 Automatic Mode
To run a top-level test program, enter the test program name at the system
prompt. It executes all the level-2 tests, scrolls messages to the screen, and
copies the same messages to the log file in the current directory. All actual
testing is done by the individual tests comprising level-2 programs.

6.4 VME Adapter Tests
The diagnostic vme_diags writes and reads the Parallel VME 6U Adapter CSR
registers of both the PDA disk array interface PCB and the PVME PCB.
The vme_diags diagnostic expects the PDA 6U Adapter CSR address to be at
0xFC800014 and the VME memory 6U Adapter CSR to be at 0xE8000014. (Refer
to the DECmpp 12000/Sx Parallel VME Reference Manual.)

6.5 PDA Test Programs
To begin PDA diagnostic tests, enter:
# da_diag
All of the level-2 tests execute in the order shown in Table 6–1.
Each level-2 test is described in the following sections. You can run these tests
individually by entering the test name at the system prompt.

6.5.1 Internal DA Controller Test (da_intern)
This test runs the disk array controller internal diagnostic. It checks the boards
in the array controller.

6.5.2 Read/Write Configuration Test (da_config)
Caution
User data may be overwritten with this test.

This test allows you to read/write portions of bank 4’s system configuration table
and also compare them, if you wish. The patterns to be read/written are a variety
of test patterns (hex 00, 0F, F0, FF, 33, 55, AA, CC). (Bank 4 is used as a scratch
pad for diagnostics.)

6.5.3 Read/Write Buffer Test (da_buff)
This test causes DMA-type data transactions between the front end and the disk
buffer space in the array controller. It is similar to R/W tests to the disks, but no
data flows between the buffer space and the disk drives.

6.5.4 Mount Bank Test (da_mount)
This test reads the system configuration table, determines the status of the
various drives in the user-specified bank, and reports any unexpected drive status
code (including not on line/not mounted) for the drives that are supposed to be
mounted.

6–4 Parallel Disk Array Diagnostics

6.5 PDA Test Programs

6.5.5 Read/Seek Test (da_seek)
This test performs reads of blocks on the disk in an ordered sequence that is
designed to exercise the seek operations of the drives.

6.5.6 Read/Write Disk Test (da_disk)
Caution
User data may be overwritten with this test.

Read/Write disk test is a read/write/compare test. It runs within a given partition
in a factory-specified area, and data transfers occur in packet sizes that are
factory-defined.

6.6 DA Controller Tests
You can also test the DA controller boards by running diagnostics via the RS-232
com port on the CPU board:
1. Connect a standard telephone cable from the printer port of the front-end
workstation to the communication port on the DA controller CPU printed
circuit board (PCB).
2. At the prompt, enter:
# tip da.9600
The screen displays connect /dev/tty03 in response.
3. To access the diagnostic menu, enter:
#

Ctrl/C

4. To run offline disk diagnostics, enter:
# b
# 1aa (4 drives)
# 1ff (8 drives)
5. To run offline board diagnostics, enter:
# a

6.7 Status Operations
The following sections describe the status error codes and command-related error
codes.

6.7.1 Disk Error Logging
The Disk Error Logging Status Messages provide current information about
detected media hard errors and soft (correctable) errors.
When a disk data transfer error occurs, the relevant information is stored in the
systems event log. Use uerf(8) to see the following disk error information.

Parallel Disk Array Diagnostics 6–5

6.7 Status Operations

FERP Error recovery:
Bit
F E R P
- - - 0 0 1 0 corrected by retries (2)
0 1 X 0 corrected by ECC correction (4,6)
0 X X 1 corrected by parity replacement (1,3,5,7)
1 X X X not correctable (8..15)
BANK

Indicates the bank number with error:
1Xh bank # 1
2Xh bank # 2
3Xh bank # 3

DISK

Indicates the disk number with error:
1h data disk # 1
2h data disk # 2
3h data disk # 3
4h data disk # 4
5h data disk # 5
6h data disk # 6
7h data disk # 7
8h data disk # 8
9h Parity disk # 9
Ah Stand-by disk # 10

0 = data field error
1 = header field error

CYL

Actual physical cylinder number with error

HEAD

Actual physical head number with error

SECTOR Actual logical sector number with error
POS

Actual physical bit position of sector with
error from index

BITLEN Actual physical bit length of sector with error
# OF
RETRIES Number of retry attempts
MATCH

Number of ECC matches for data field
retry attempts
1) If the data field ECC matches for all
retry attempts and retries fail, ECC
correction is attempted.
2) If the data field ECC does not match for any
retry attempt and retries fail, ECC correction
is not attempted.

REQCHS

Host block address of error

In the preceding file example, the following codes are used:
•

F — Failed, not recovered

•

E — ECC correction attempted

•

R — Retries attempted

•

P — Parity replacement attempted

6–6 Parallel Disk Array Diagnostics

6.7 Status Operations

6.7.2 Error Information
When a hard or soft media error occurs, information is stored in the error log.
The REQCHS is the disk address in the user-accessible area of the disk. The
REQCHS is used as input to the dampachs(8) command to determine the disk
array partition and where within that partition the error occurred. The error
position is also logged to the GET.
MESSAGE\DA_MEDIA_LOG: ferp 0x2, ms0, bnk 1,
\ _dsk 4, hdr 1, (c,h,s) 16,0,255,
\_pos,len 29754,8816, rtry 3, mtch 2,
\REQCHS (10,0,255)
If a disk drive has a drive fault, the fault status is printed in the error log:
MESSAGE\DA_FAULT_STATUS: 800
The status bits are defined in Table 6–2.
Table 6–2 Status Bit Definitions
Bit
Position

Bit
Value

Function

Reserved

Write-protected, fixed medium

Spindle synchronized

Reserved

Spindle motor stopped

Power-on reset conditions exist

Command data parity fault

Interface fault

Invalid or unimplemented command fault

Seek fault

Write gate with track offset fault

Vendor-unique status available

Write fault

Reserved

If the disk array cannot successfully complete a data transfer request, a
message is printed to the error log. Most of these errors are retried, as
indicated by the initial word of the message. If retries fail or the error is such
that it cannot be retried, the first word of the message is DA_XFER_ERROR:
MESSAGE\DA_XFER_RETRY: sdr 8405, code bd
\bank 1, disk 2, blockcount 0
\flags 19, dev 5000, bno 0, count 4096
•

Certain DA maintenance commands can result in the following nontransfer
error:
MESSAGE\DA_NONXFER_ERROR: sdr 8d01, code f4
\bank 0, disk 0

Parallel Disk Array Diagnostics 6–7

6.7 Status Operations

•

If a disk drive fails, the DA driver performs some functions automatically, and
the following message appears in the error log.
MESSAGE\DA_AUTO_DISABLE: bank 1, drive 2
\_failed
If this message appears or the status indicators show a drive failure, use
the dabstat command to determine the exact nature of the failure and the
appropriate recovery procedures to be done (such as replacing a failed drive).
After a drive fails, several actions can result, depending on the specific
system configuration and status. Some or all of the following actions and
related messages may occur.

•

The DA driver attempts to disable a failed drive. The following message is
printed when the drive has been disabled:
MESSAGE\DA_AUTO_DISABLE: bank 1, drive 2
\_disabled

•

If the drive cannot be disabled, the appropriate bank is disabled, and the
following message is logged:
MESSAGE\DA_AUTO_DISABLE: multiple drive failure
\bank 1 disabled

•

After the drive has been disabled, the DA driver attempts to reconstruct the
failed drive data on an available standby drive. If there is no standby, the
following message is logged:
MESSAGE\DA_AUTO_RECONSTRUCT:
\standby not available
\bank 1 operating without protection

•

A successful reconstruction is logged with the following messages:
MESSAGE\DA_AUTO_RECONSTRUCT: bank 1, started
MESSAGE\DA_AUTO_RECONSTRUCT: bank 1, complete

•

During reconstruct, it is possible (but unlikely if maintenance has been
performed) that a sector cannot be reconstructed, and the following message
is logged.
MESSAGE\DA_AUTO_RECONSTRUCT:
\unrecoverable media error
\bank 1, CHS(23,4,13) not recovered
The specified cylinder, head, and sector CHS are provided so that the
damapchs(8) command, used with the icheck(8) command, can be used to
locate the file, if any, that contains the unrecoverable data. The bad file can
then be dealt with as the user sees fit.

•

A catastrophic failure during reconstruct is logged with the following message:
MESSAGE\DA_AUTO_RECONSTRUCT:
\reconstruct aborted
\bank 1 operating without protection

6–8 Parallel Disk Array Diagnostics

6.7 Status Operations

6.7.3 Extended Transfer Error Status
The Extended Transfer Error Status provides the enumerated cause of an
uncorrectable transfer error (in CODE) and the amount of data successfully
transferred (in complete blocks) before the transfer was terminated.
When this type of error occurs, the information is put into the system event log:
CODE

Refer to command-related error codes for the definitive command
error codes.

BANK

Indicates the bank number with error:
1Xh bank # 1
2Xh bank # 2
3Xh bank # 3
00
can be any bank

DISK

Indicates the disk number with error:
0h no disk
1h data disk # 1
2h data disk # 2
3h data disk # 3
4h data disk # 4
5h data disk # 5
6h data disk # 6
7h data disk # 7
8h data disk # 8
9h Parity disk # 9
Ah Stand-by disk # 10

BLK_CNT Indicates the number of blocks written to the
disk before the write command was terminated;
for read commands it is always zero. (This is a 16-bit
unsigned value.

Parallel Disk Array Diagnostics 6–9

6.7 Status Operations

6.7.4 Command/Status Summary
Table 6–3 lists the command-related error codes.
Table 6–3 Command-Related Error Codes
Code

Description

-5 (FBh)
-6 (FAh)
-8 (F8h)
-9 (F7h)
-10 (F6h)
-11 (F5h)
-12 (F4h)
-13 (F3h)
-17 (EFh)
-18 (EEh)
-49 (CFh)
-51 (CDh)
-52 (CCh)
-53 (CBh)
-65 (BFh)
-66 (BEh)
-67 (BDh)
-68 (BCh)
-69 (BBh)
-70 (bah)
-71 (B9h)
-72 (B8h)
-74 (B6h)
-75 (B5h)
-76 (B4h)
-81 (AFh)
-82 (AEh)
-84 (ACh)
-87 (A9h)
-90 (A6h)
-94 (A2h)
-95 (A1h)
-96 (A0h)
-114 (8Eh)
-115 (8Dh)
-116 (8Ch)

Invalid start block number
Invalid block count
Invalid command parameter
Invalid count field (RdConfig, WrConfig)
Invalid bank number
Invalid drive ID number
Invalid disk number
Invalid channel number
Unknown transaction ID (Not in use)
Bank not mounted
Bank write-protect
Bank not on line
Reconstruct not possible
Bank busy
CPU parity error
FIFO or cable parity error
Disk fault
Unit not ready
Repeated seek failure
Unit not selected
Invalid or missing raw flaw tables
Format abort—verify failed
Too many bad tracks
GET overflow
No RCLK (clock from drive)
Disk Data Controller (DDC) error (FIFO data lost, sector overrun)
ECC data correction failed
No data sync
Header CRC error or sector not found
Temporal parity fault
Buffer not present error
Terminated from Abort Command
Unrecoverable hardware error
Data Channel timeout
Seek timeout
DDC timeout

6–10 Parallel Disk Array Diagnostics

7
Upgrading the Parallel Disk Array
The DECmpp 12000/Sx parallel disk array (PDA) supports configurations of
4, 8, or 16 data disks within a single enclosure. A small configuration can be
expanded by adding more storage capacity within the same enclosure or by
adding additional PDA enclosures.
Note
Always back up all data on the disk array before beginning any upgrade
procedures.

Upgrading the Parallel Disk Array 7–1

7.1 Upgrading to Eight Disk Drives

7.1 Upgrading to Eight Disk Drives
Upgrading the disk array from four to eight disk drives involves plugging in the
new drive canisters and formatting the drives. Follow these steps to upgrade
your PDA to eight disk drives.
1. Open the PDA rear door to access the disk chassis.
2. Make sure the PDA circuit breaker is OFF.
3. Put on an antistatic wrist strap as a precautionary measure.
4. Remove the screws securing the blank panels covering the unused disk slots
(slot numbers 1, 3, 5, and 7). Remove the blank panels and discard them.
Remove the blank panel for slot "S" at this time if you are also installing a
standby drive.
5. Referring to Figure 1–9, install four new MUX PCBs on the DA backplane
MUX connectors: J1M1, J3M1, J5M1, and J7M1. (Install a fifth MUX printed
circuit board (PCB) if the optional standby disk is also being added.)
6. The new disk canisters are factory-configured and labeled. If there is a
need to alter the configuration, refer to Section 2.3.1 to set terminators and
jumpers on each new disk to correspond to the bank number.
Caution
Be sure to slide the canister squarely into the guide rails. Guide rails can
break if the canister is twisted to one side.

7. Align each new disk canister top and bottom edges in the nylon guide rails,
and push the canister squarely into the disk chassis.
8. Label each new disk with the correct bank and disk numbers if they are not
marked so.
9. Tighten the two captive screws securing each disk canister to the chassis.
10. Turn each disk canister switch ON (up).
11. Open the PDA front door.
12. Remove and save four screws attaching the disk array (DA) controller front
panel, and remove the panel.
13. Insert four new disk array (DA) controller cards in slots 1, 3, 5, and 7 (and in
slot 9 if standby disk is being added).
14. Use four screws to reattach the DA controller front panel.
15. Close both the front and rear doors.
16. Turn the PDA circuit breaker ON.
Factory-supplied disk canisters are shipped preformatted. If your drives are
from another source, you can now format the disks, following the procedures in
Chapter 4.

7–2 Upgrading the Parallel Disk Array

7.2 Upgrading to Sixteen Disk Drives

7.2 Upgrading to Sixteen Disk Drives
Upgrading the disk array from eight to sixteen disk drives involves plugging in
the new disk canisters and formatting the disk drives.
The new disk canisters are factory-labeled and are installed in the following
pattern:
Front Bank
8-disk bank:

1 3 5 7 ( )
2 4 6 8 P

(tenth slot not used)

Follow these steps to upgrade your PDA to sixteen disk drives.
1. Open the PDA front and rear doors to access the disk chassis and the
power/fan chassis.
2. Make sure the PDA circuit breaker is OFF.
3. Put on an antistatic wrist strap as a precautionary measure.
4. Remove the screws securing the blank panels covering the unused disk slots
in the front chassis (front slot numbers 1 through 8 and P). Remove the blank
panels and discard them.
5. The new disk canisters are factory-configured and labeled. If there is a
need to alter the configuration, refer to Section 2.3.1 to set terminators and
jumpers on each new disk to correspond to the bank number.
Caution
Be sure to slide the canister squarely into the guide rails. Guide rails can
break if the canister is twisted to one side.

6. Align each new disk canister top and bottom edges in the nylon guide rails,
and push the canister squarely into the disk chassis.
7. Tighten the two captive screws securing each disk canister to the chassis.
8. Label each new disk with the correct bank and disk numbers if they are not
marked so.
9. Turn each disk canister switch ON (up).
10. Turn the PDA circuit breaker ON.
11. Close both the front and rear doors.
Factory-supplied disk canisters are shipped preformatted. If your drives are
from another source, you can now format the disks, following the procedures in
Chapter 4.

Upgrading the Parallel Disk Array 7–3

A
Configuration Data
Appendix A contains descriptions of the READCONFIG and WRITECONFIG
commands. It also contains configuration and data tables.

A.1 The READCONFIG Command
The READCONFIG command returns disk array (DA) controller configuration
data to the host. Use it to read system configuration data, disk type parameter
data, a bank’s Bad Block Table (BBT), and the system areas of individual disk
drives.
The sel and tab parameters control which table is selected for readback:
•

If sel is zero, the DA controller returns the internal DA controller tables.

•

If sel is nonzero, the system displays the bank BBT or the system area of the
disk drive selected with sel. In this case, the upper nibble of sel selects the
bank number from 1 through 4; the lower nibble selects the disk number from
1 through 10.
Data disks are numbered 1 through 8, parity is 9, and standby is 10.

The parameters offset and n define the starting byte offset and number of bytes
to read. Executing the READCONFIG command transmits n number of Extended
Data Status Message words to the host. A value of 0 for n is interpreted as 256.
The System Configuration table is a set of global parameters reflecting the DA
Controller current configuration. Some parameters are read/write, some are
read-only.
The Disk Parameter tables are all the parameters necessary to characterize a
particular type of disk drive. A parameter in the System Configuration table
defines the number of valid Disk Parameter tables.
A bank’s Bad Block Table consists of address positions of unrecoverable bad
blocks during a FORMAT Bad Tracks Only (func = 5).
A disk system area consists of a home page, an RFT, and a GET. The home page
is always system area page 0. The RFT spans system area pages 1 . . . n, where
n is from 1 . . . 254. Its current value is stored in the home page. The GET spans
system area pages (n + 1) . . . 255.
The READCONFIG command is followed by the NON-TRANSFER COMMAND SUCCESS
status message and n number of EXTENDED DATA status messages.
Table A–1 illustrates how this is done. Values for sel and tab are shown in
hexadecimal.

Configuration Data A–1

A.1 The READCONFIG Command

Table A–1 READCONFIG Command Status

sel

tab

Table Selected

00h

System Configuration table

00h

01h

Disk Type #1 Parameter table (read-only)

00h
..
.

02h
..
.

Disk Type #2 Parameter table (read-only)
..
.

00h

FFh

Disk Type #255 Parameter table (read-only)

10h
..
.

00h
..
.

Bank 1, Bad Block Table page 0 (read-only)
..
.

10h

FFh

Bank 1, Bad Block Table page 255 (read-only)

11h

00h

Bank 1, Disk 1, System Area page 0 (read-only)

11h
..
.

01h
..
.

Bank 1, Disk 1, System Area page 1 (read-only)
..
.

11h

FFh

Bank 1, Disk 1, System Area page 255 (read only)

12h
..
.

00h
..
.

Bank 1, Disk 2, System Area page 0 (read-only)
..
.

1Ah

FFh

Bank 1, Disk 10, System Area page 255 (read-only)

20h
..
.

00h
..
.

Bank 2, Bad Block Table page 0 (read-only)
..
.

20h

FFh

Bank 2, Bad Block Table page 255 (read-only)

21h

00h

Bank 2, Disk 1, System Area page 0 (read-only)

21h
..
.

01h
..
.

Bank 2, Disk 1, System Area page 1 (read-only)
..
.

21h

FFh

Bank 2, Disk 1, System Area page 255 (read-only)

22h
..
.

00h
..
.

Bank 2, Disk 2, System Area page 0 (read-only)
..
.

2Ah

FFh

Bank 2, Disk 10, System Area page 255 (read-only)

A.2 The WRITECONFIG Command
Use the WRITECONFIG command to select controller configuration parameters.
The WRITECONFIG command allows user-modification of write controller
parameters. Refer also to the READCONFIG command.
Attempting to write a read-only table element does NOT result in an error status;
its value is simply not changed.
The WRITECONFIG command waits for any currently executing transfer
command to complete before it starts to execute. Normally, changes in
configuration data then take effect for subsequent commands. Exceptions
are Data Channel Timeout, which requires a controller system reset, and Bank
Configuration parameters, which require a MOUNTBANK command.

A–2 Configuration Data

A.3 System Configuration Table

A.3 System Configuration Table
Note
The information in this section is provided only for completeness. The
data in these tables is initialized at installation with the dainit(8) and
dabinit(8) commands. It is never modified after installation.

The System Configuration Table stores global user-configurable parameters and
operational variables. Use the READCONFIG and WRITECONFIG commands to
access data in this table. The 256 bytes of this table are organized as shown in
Table A–2.
Table A–2 System Configuration Byte Organization
Offset
00h . . . 1Fh

Controller Configuration

20h . . . 3Fh

Bank 1 Control/Status

40h . . . 5Fh

Bank 2 Control/Status

60h . . . 7Fh

Reserved

80h . . . 9Fh

Reserved

A0h . . . BFh

Reserved

C0h . . . DFh

Reserved

E0h . . . FFh

Reserved

Read/write parameters are stored in the DA controller EEPROM.

Configuration Data A–3

A.3 System Configuration Table

A.3.1 Controller Configuration
The 32-byte Controller Configuration block is formatted as shown in Table A–3
and Table A–4.
Table A–3 Controller Configuration Block Byte Organization
Byte Offset

RW
Type

Name

Value

00h

Control

See below

01h

Retries

00h . . . FFh

02h

Data Chan Timeout

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

03h

Data Chan Timeout

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

04h

Status Filter

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

05h

Status Filter

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

06h . . .
07h

Reserved

00h

08h

Monitor Enable

See bitmap below (byte 1)

09h

Monitor Enable

See bitmap below (byte 0)

0Ah

Drive Timeout/Spin-up

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

0Bh

Drive Timeout/Spin-up

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

0Ch . . .
0Fh

Reserved

00h

10h

System

02h

11h

Rev

01h . . . FFh

12h

# Types

01h . . . FFh

13h

Reserved

00h

14h

Buffer Presence

00h . . . 03h (byte 1)

15h

Buffer Presence

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

16h . . .
1Fh

Reserved

00h

A–4 Configuration Data

A.3 System Configuration Table

Table A–4 Controller Configuration Block Bit Description
Name

Description

Control

Byte includes the following global control bits:
•

Bit 0 — Disk Addressing Mode
0 = Physical
1 = Logical

•

Bit 1 — Reserved

•

Bit 3:2 — Disk Error Log Select Bit
3=0, 2=0 — Log to GET only
3=0, 2=1 — Log none
3=1, 2=0 — Log to GET and host
3=1, 2=1 — Log to host only

•

Bit 4 — Standby Mode
0 = Mode 1: each bank has its own standby drive
1 = Mode 2: standby drive on bank 1 serves all banks (all
drives must be same DRV ID)

•

Bit 5 — Format & Scrub Policy
0 = track interleave
1 = cylinder interleave

•

Bit 6 — Reconstruction Policy
0 = track interleave
1 = cylinder interleave

•

Bit 7 — Command Reordering (future)
0 = Command reordering disabled
1 = Command reordering enabled

Configuration Data A–5

A.3 System Configuration Table

There are two types of selectable Disk Addressing modes:
•

Physical — The host sends a cylinder, head, and sector number for read/write
type commands. The actual physical cylinder addressed is offset by the
number of reserved cylinders (Disk Parameter Table). Reads the Drive
ID (Bank Control/Status) to get the following parameters from the Disk
Parameter Tables.
Starting Cylinder No. = 0
Last Cylinder No. = (No. of cylinders) - (No. of
reserved cylinders) - 1
Starting Head No. = 0
Last Head No. = (No. of data heads) - 1
Starting Sector No. = 0
Last Sector No. = (No. of sectors/track) - (No. of
skip sectors) - 1

•

Logical — The host sends a logical block address for read/write type
commands. Reads the Count parameter in the Bank Control/Status to
get the following parameters:
Starting Logical Block = 0
Last Logical Block = (Count) - 1

The Disk Error Log Select, along with the Log Error Type (hard/soft) control bit,
allows you to log selected media errors to the host, the GET, or both. The actual
errors logged can be hard errors only or hard and soft errors, depending on how
bit 6 is set in the bank-mode byte. Only the SCRUB command does not log errors
to the host; it always logs errors to the GET.
You can do FORMAT and RECONSTRUCT operations while the controller
is on line. Host commands, if pending, are interleaved with a FORMAT or
RECONSTRUCT operation on a track or cylinder basis, as shown in Table A–5.

A–6 Configuration Data

A.3 System Configuration Table

Table A–5 Disk Error Log Select Bit Descriptions
Byte #

Name

Description

Retries

Byte defining the number of attempts to reread an error detected by CRC or
ECC. A value of zero disables retries.
Bit 7:0 Number of retries

Monitor Enable

Monitor Status Enable word defines which text messages to enable out the
Com Port for monitor display:
•

Bit 0 — Command/Status Monitor
0 = off
1 = display command/status

•

Bit 1 — Error Recovery Monitor
0 = off
1 = display error recovery attempts (parity replacement, retries,
ECC correction)

•

Bit 2 — Error Logging
0 = off
1 = display error logging

•

Bit 3 — Reserved

•

Bit 4 — Formatting/Reconstruction Progress
0 = off
1 = display formatting/reconstruct cylinder progress

•
3

Data Channel
Timeout

Bit 15:5 — Reserved

Word used to set the Timeout period for the data channel. Each increment of
the Timeout value equals 1 second. To invoke a new Timeout value, initiate
a controller system reset. When the DA controller executes a Transfer
Command, the following sequence is initiated:

1. Timer is set to the Timeout period.
2. If the timer expires before the transfer completes, go to 3, else done.
3. If any data activity has occurred, go to 1, else terminate the Transfer
Command (Transfer Command Error).

A Timeout value of 0 disables the Timeout function:
•

Bit 15:0 — Data Channel Timeout
0 = timeout disabled
1 . . . 65,535 = timeout period
(continued on next page)

Configuration Data A–7

A.3 System Configuration Table

Table A–5 (Cont.) Disk Error Log Select Bit Descriptions
Byte #

Name

Description

Status Filter

Word defining which status message class types generate an interrupt to
the host by having bit 15 set in each word of the status message. In the
hardware, the host interface receives all status messages, but only those with
bit 15 set are decoded by the host interface to generate an interrupt:
•

Bit 0 — Transfer Command Intermediate, end of message

•

Bit 1 — Reserved

•

Bit 2 — Transfer Command Success, end of message

•

Bit 3 — Transfer Command Success, more status follows

•

Bit 4 — Reserved

•

Bit 5 — Transfer Command Error, Extended Data follows

•

Bit 6 — Reserved

•

Bit 7 — Reserved

•

Bit 8 — Extended Data, end of message

•

Bit 9 — Extended Data, Extended Data follow

•

Bit 10 — Nontransfer Command Success, end of message

•

Bit 11 — Nontransfer Command Success, more status follows

•

Bit 12 — Reserved

•

Bit 13 — Nontransfer Command Error, Extended Data follows

•

Bit 14 — Controller Status, end of message

•

Bit 15 — Reserved
0 = set (1) Bit 15 in return status message, interrupt host
1 = reset (0) Bit 15 in return status message, inhibit host interrupt

Examples of host interrupt status:
•

Value 0000h: all status message class types interrupt the host.

•

Value 0004h: all status message class types except Transfer Command
Success types interrupt the host. For this case, the host "DMA
Done" (interrupt without Transfer Command Error) signals successful
completion.
(continued on next page)

A–8 Configuration Data

A.3 System Configuration Table

Table A–5 (Cont.) Disk Error Log Select Bit Descriptions
Byte #

Name

Description

Drive Timeout
Spin-up

Word used for two functions:
•

Use the lower byte (byte 0) to set the Timeout period for the Power Up
Drive Ready period (drive spin-up time). Each increment equals one
second. If the drives are not READY within the Timeout period after
power is applied, the controller recognizes the drives as off line.

•

Use the upper byte (byte 1), bits 8–11, to set the Motor Spin-Up Delay
interval for ESDI drives (ignored for SMD drives). Each increment
equals one second. If Bank Mount sequence is run and the drives
are NOT spun-up, the controller issues the spin-up command to each
drive delayed by the Motor Spin-Up Delay interval. Bit 15 is used to
enable the automatic spin-down for only ESDI drives. If a DSBL field
is 0 and is set to nonzero followed by a MOUNTBANK command, the
drive identified by the DSBL field is issued a spin-down command. Any
MOUNTBANK thereafter will issue a spin-up command.

Rev

Byte defining the current revision of the controller firmware.

# Types

Byte indicating the number of drive types supported by the current revision
of firmware.

8&9

Buffer Presence

Bytes indicating which buffer cards are present:
•

Bit 0 — Buffer 1 present

•

Bit 1 — Buffer 2 present

•

Bit 2 — Buffer 3 present

•

Bit 3 — Buffer 4 present

•

Bit 4 — Buffer 5 present

•

Bit 5 — Buffer 6 present

•

Bit 6 — Buffer 7 present

•

Bit 7 — Buffer 8 present

•

Bit 8 — Buffer 9 present

•

Bit 9 — Buffer 10 present

•

Bit 15:10 — Reserved

Configuration Data A–9

A.3 System Configuration Table

A.3.2 Bank Control/Status Configuration
Each 32-byte Bank Control/Status block is formatted as shown in Table A–6 and
Table A–7.
Table A–6 32-Byte Bank Control/Status Block
Bank
1

Bank
2

Bank
3

Bank
4

Description (Access, Name, Address)

20h

40h

60h

80h

RW — Drive ID; 00h . . . 0Fh

21h

41h

61h

81h

RW — Sub Drive ID; 00h . . . FFh

22h

42h

62h

82h

RW — Mode; See below

23h

43h

63h

83h

RW — Reserved; 00h

24h

44h

64h

84h

RW — SUBS (Substitute);00h . . . 09h

25h

45h

65h

85h

RW — DSBL (Disable);00h . . . 0Ah

26h

46h

66h

86h

RW — Reserved

27h

47h

67h

87h

RW — Reserved

28h

48h

68h

88h

RO — Bank Status; See below (byte 1)

29h

49h

69h

89h

RO — Bank Status; See below (byte 0)

2Ah

4Ah

6Ah

8Ah

RO — Reserved

2Bh

4Bh

6Bh

8Bh

RO — Reserved

2Ch

4Ch

6Ch

8Ch

RO — Count; 00h . . . FFh (byte 3)

2Dh

4Dh

6Dh

8Dh

RO — Count; 00h . . . FFh (byte 2)

2Eh

4Eh

6Eh

8Eh

RO — Count; 00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

2Fh

4Fh

6Fh

8Fh

RO — Count; 00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

30h

50h

70h

90h

RO — Drive 1 Status; See below

31h

51h

71h

91h

RO — Drive 2 Status; See below

32h

52h

72h

92h

RO — Drive 3 Status; See below

33h

53h

73h

93h

RO — Drive 4 Status; See below

34h

54h

74h

94h

RO — Drive 5 Status; See below

35h

55h

75h

95h

RO — Drive 6 Status; See below

36h

56h

76h

96h

RO — Drive 7 Status; See below

37h

57h

77h

97h

RO — Drive 8 Status; See below

38h

58h

78h

98h

RO — Drive 9 Status; See below

39h

59h

79h

99h

RO — Drive 10 Status; See below

3Ah

5Ah

7Ah

9Ah

RO — Reconstruct Disk Address; See below (byte 3)

3Bh

5Bh

7Bh

9Bh

RO — Reconstruct Disk Address; See below (byte 2)

3Ch

5Ch

7Ch

9Ch

RO — Reconstruct Disk Address; See below (byte 1)

3Dh

5Dh

7Dh

9Dh

RO — Reconstruct Disk Address; See below (byte 0)

3Eh

5Eh

7Eh

9Eh

RO — Reserved

3Fh

5Fh

7Fh

9Fh

RO — Reserved

A–10 Configuration Data

A.3 System Configuration Table

Table A–7 #2 Byte Bank Control/Status Block Description
Name

Description

Drive ID

Byte defining the disk drive type of drives on this bank. The Drive ID
is a unique number assigned to a specific drive model that has been
qualified for use with the controller.
•

Bit 7:0 — Drive ID
0 = bank disabled
1 . . . 255 = drive type

Subdrive ID

Byte defining the subtype of Drive ID
•

Bit 3:0 — Subtype
0 = 1024 data byte sector size: 4096 Block size (4-drive bank)
or 8192 Block size (8-drive bank)
1 . . . 15 = See Strategy 2 Drive ID Codes, SID002, for
supported drive values.

•
Mode

Bit 7:4 reserved, readback 0

Byte defining the basic bank configuration:
•

Bit 1:0 — Reserved, readback 0

•

Bit 2 — 4/8 data drives
0 = 4-data drive bank (data drives 2, 4, 6, 8 valid only)
1 = 8-data drive bank (all data drives 1 . . . 8 valid)

•

Bit 3 — Reserved

•

Bit 4 — If set, use alternate system area

•

Bit 5 — If set, inhibit drive array position check

•

Bit 6 — Error Logging Policy
0 = Log hard errors only in the GET or host
1 = Log hard and soft errors in the GET or host

•

Bit 7 — Error Recovery Policy
0 = PRE Error Recovery Policy Sequence:
On-the-fly parity replacement
Retries
ECC correction
1 = REP Error Recovery Policy Sequence:
Retries
ECC correction
On-the-fly parity replacement

Configuration Data A–11

A.3 System Configuration Table

Once a drive bank is written in either a 4- or 8-data drive configuration, do not
change the configuration.
Error Checking and Correcting (ECC) code is appended to the data field of every
sector. Errors can be detected, and, depending on the type of error, can also be
corrected. Table A–8 shows the bit descriptions and Table A–9 shows the status
conditions.
In addition to the ECC code error detection, the DA controller performs two types
of data parity checking:
•

All data paths carry an additional parity bit used to detect any word errors
between the host and the drives.

•

Temporal parity fault detection is used as an additional cross-drive check
of all data drives against the parity drive on read operations. If a temporal
parity fault is detected, the transfer is terminated. The temporal parity fault
detection is used only if all data drives and the parity drive are operational
(no detected drive errors). Before reading new drives, write the entire drive
bank to allow successful temporal parity fault detection.

Cyclic Redundancy Checking (CRC) code is appended to the header field of every
sector. The code detects errors in the header field.
A hard error is a media error that is uncorrectable.
A soft error is a media error that is corrected by either retries or ECC correction.
For disk read operations:
•

PRE Error Recovery Policy Sequence
1. If a single drive error is detected, on-the-fly parity replacement is invoked,
and the error is not logged.
2. If multiple drive errors are detected, parity replacement is invoked on the
first-encountered drive error, and retries are attempted on any additional
drives in error.
3. If the retry attempts fail, ECC correction (data field only) is attempted.
4. If ECC correction fails, the transfer is terminated, and the errors are
automatically logged in the GET.

•

REP Error Recovery Policy Sequence
1. If drive errors are detected, retries are attempted.
2. If retry attempts fail, ECC correction is attempted.
3. If ECC correction fails, the errors are automatically logged in the GET
and on-the-fly parity replacement is invoked if a single drive is in error.
If multiple drive errors still exist, the transfer is ended.

A–12 Configuration Data

A.3 System Configuration Table

Table A–8 Error Checking and Correcting Bit Descriptions
Name

Description

SUBS

The following is a breakdown of the SUBS field:
•

Bit 3:0 — drive # being replaced
0 = none
1 . . . 9 = drive 1 . . . 9

•
DSBL

Bit 7:4 — Reserved

Field defining which drive is inoperable. If nonzero, do not write
this byte. After writing this byte, run a MOUNTBANK command to
reestablish the active bank. This byte is automatically reset to 0s after
a new replacement is reconstructed.
•

Bit 3:0 — Drive # being replaced
0 = none
1h . . . Ah = drive 1h . . . Ah

•
Bank Status

Bit 7:4 — Reserved

Word reflecting the current active status of the bank. The bankmounted bits (bit 15:12) indicates whether the bank is MOUNTED.
The drive-mount bits (bits 9:0) indicate the mount status of each drive
since the last Bank Mount Sequence occurred. Normal host read/write
is permitted only if bit 15 is set (bank-mounted). If any one or more
drives required for a normal host read/write is write-protected, the
bank as a whole is protected from write Transfer commands. However,
formatting is still possible on any drives not write-protected at the
drive level.
•

Bit 9:0 — Drives mounted
0 = not mounted
1 = mounted (System Area correctly read)

•

Bit 11:10 — Reserved

•

Bit 15:12 — Bank mounted
15=0, 14=0, 13=0, 12=0 — Bank drive ID zero or invalid
15=0, 14=0, 13=0, 12=1 — Not enough mounted drives for
valid configuration
15=0, 14=0, 13=1, 12=0 — Too many drive flaws
15=1, 14=0, 13=0, 12=0 — Bank mounted (read/write)
15=1, 14=0, 13=0, 12=1 — Bank mounted (read only)

Count

Word specifying the bank size in number blocks. Maximum number of
blocks in bank.
(continued on next page)

Configuration Data A–13

A.3 System Configuration Table

Table A–8 (Cont.) Error Checking and Correcting Bit Descriptions
Name

Description

Drive 1 . . . 10
Status

Byte reflecting the status of the disk at initialization. Initialization
occurs at power on, controller system reset, or MOUNTBANK
command.
•

Bit 3:0 — Current sequence (defined below)

•

Bit 5:4 — Current state:
0 = initialization
In states 0 and 1, read/write/format is not possible with this
drive.
1 = error
2 = warning
In state 2, only format is possible.
3 = success
In state 3, read/write/format possible.

•

Bit 7:6 — Reserved (readback 0)

Table A–9 Bit Status and Conditions
State

Sequence

Status

7654

3210

Condition

Initialization
Error

0000

Buffer fault or not present

0001

0000

Drive not assigned

0001

Drive not selected (drive not present or unit select
switch wrong)

0001

0010

Drive is busy (reserved by other channel)

0001

0011

Drive does not become READY (check drive)

0001

0100

Drive fault does not clear (check drive)

0001

0101

Drive seek error does not clear or on-cylinder not set
(check drive)

0001

0110

Drive Read_Clock not valid (check drive)

0010

0111

Error reading System Area (drive not formatted)

0010

1000

System Area not valid (drive must be reformatted)

Warning
(ONLINE)

0010

1001

System Area bank/drive address position doesn’t
match (drive cables wrong)

Mount
Success

0011

0000

Drive ONLINE/MOUNTED

Mount
Success

0011

0001

Drive ONLINE/MOUNTED (write-protected)

A–14 Configuration Data

A.3 System Configuration Table

The "Drive Not Assigned" condition occurs for the standby drive only when it is
configured in Standby Mode 2 (see control byte of controller configuration) and it
is not assigned to this bank.
The Reconstruct Disk Address is initialized to all 1’s during a Bank Mount
sequence for the associated bank. Any reconstruction operation to the selected
bank starts at the Reconstruct Disk Address value plus 1. The Reconstruct Disk
Address value is interpreted as follows:
•

All 1’s — Initial state

•

Logical Addressing — Host logical address block value where the last
reconstruct was attempted.

•

Physical Addressing — Host physical address block value where the last
reconstruct was attempted.
During a reconstruct operation, any unrecoverable media error can cause
the operation to abort immediately. Log the block address of the failure and
continue by resending only the RECONSTRUCT command.

A.3.3 Disk Parameter Table Overview
The Disk Parameter Tables store the supported disk parameters for each
supported Drive ID. Use the READCONFIG command to read the data in these
tables. The 256 bytes of each table are organized in 16-byte groups (Sub-DrvID)
as shown in Table A–10.
Table A–10 Disk Parameter Table Byte Organization
SubDrvID

Byte Offset

RW
Type

Name

Value

00h

Drive type

00h . . . FFh

01h

Flag bit

00h . . . FFh

02h

Number of cylinder

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

03h

Number of cylinder

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

04h

Number of data head

00h . . . FFh

05h

Number of sectors/track

00h . . . FFh

06h

Number of skip sector

00h . . . FFh

07h

Number of reserved
cylinder

00h . . . FFh

08h

Unformatted bytes/track

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

09h

Unformatted bytes/track

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

0Ah

Unformatted bytes/sector

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

0Bh

Unformatted bytes/sector

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

0Ch

Number of bytes/PLO sync

00h . . . FFh

0
..
.

0Dh . . . 0Fh
..
.

RO
..
.

Reserved
..
.

..
.

50h

Drive type

00h . . . FFh

51h

Flag bits

00h . . . FFh
(continued on next page)

Configuration Data A–15

A.3 System Configuration Table

Table A–10 (Cont.) Disk Parameter Table Byte Organization
SubDrvID

Byte Offset

RW
Type

Name

Value

52h

Number of cylinders

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

53h

Number of cylinders

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

54h

Number of data heads

00h . . . FFh

55h

Number of sectors/track

00h . . . FFh

56h

Number of skip sectors

00h . . . FFh

57h

Number of reserved
cylinders

00h . . . FFh

58h

Unformatted bytes/track

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

59h

Unformatted bytes/track

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

5Ah

Unformatted bytes/sector

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

5Bh

Unformatted bytes/sector

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

5Ch

Number of bytes/PLO sync

00h . . . FFh

5Dh . . . 5Fh

Reserved

6
..
.

60h
..
.

RO
..
.

Reserved
..
.

00h
..
.

FFh

Reserved

00h

The upper 4 bits of the Byte Offset reference the Sub-DrvID code.
Table A–11 lists the drive type and flag bit definitions.
Table A–11 Drive Type and Flag Bit Definitions
Name

Description

Drive Type

The following is a breakdown of the Drive Type field:
•

Bit 7:0 — Drive type
0 = ESDI, 256-byte Media Defect List sector size
1 = ESDI, 512-byte Media Defect List sector size

•

2 . . . 3 — Reserved

•

4 — SMD

•

5 . . . 255 — Reserved
(continued on next page)

A–16 Configuration Data

A.3 System Configuration Table

Table A–11 (Cont.) Drive Type and Flag Bit Definitions
Name

Description

Flag Bits

The following is a breakdown of the Flag Bit field:
•

Bit 0 — Data strobe offset capability present if set

•

Bit 1 — Track offset capability present if set

•

Bit 2 — Programmable sector size supported if set (ESDI only)

•

Bit 3 — Reserved

•

Bit 4 — Reserved

•

Bit 5 — Reserved

•

Bit 6 — Reserved

•

Bit 7 — Reserved

By selecting Drive ID 1, you can program the Disk Parameter Table (using
WRITECONFIG command) with the parameters listed in Table A–12.
Table A–12 Values for Disk Parameter Table
SubDrvID

Byte
Offset

RW Type

Name

Value

00h

Drive Type

00h . . . FFh

01h

Flag bits

00h . . . FFh

02h

Number of cylinders

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

03h

Number of cylinders

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

04h

Number of data heads

00h . . . FFh

05h

Number of sectors/track

00h . . . FFh

06h

Number of skip sectors

00h . . . FFh

07h

Number of reserved
cylinders

00h . . . FFh

08h

Unformatted bytes/track

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

09h

Unformatted bytes/track

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

0Ah

Unformatted bytes/sector

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

0Bh

Unformatted bytes/sector

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

0Ch

Number of bytes/PLO sync

00h . . . FFh

0
..
.

0Dh
..
.

RW
..
.

Reserved
..
.

..
.

30h

Drive Type

00h . . . FFh

31h

Flag bits

00h . . . FFh

32h

Number of cylinders

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

33h

Number of cylinders

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)
(continued on next page)

Configuration Data A–17

A.3 System Configuration Table

Table A–12 (Cont.) Values for Disk Parameter Table
SubDrvID

Byte
Offset

RW Type

Name

Value

34h

Number of data heads

00h . . . FFh

35h

Number of sectors/track

00h . . . FFh

36h

Number of skip sectors

00h . . . FFh

37h

Number of reserved
cylinders

00h . . . FFh

38h

Unformatted bytes/track

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

39h

Unformatted bytes/track

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

3Ah

Unformatted bytes/sector

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

3Bh

Unformatted bytes/sector

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)
00h . . . FFh

3Ch

Number of bytes/PLO sync

3Dh

Reserved

4
..
.

40h
..
.

RO
..
.

Reserved
..
.

FFh

Reserved

..
.

The upper 4 bits of the Byte Offset reference the Sub Drive ID code.

A.3.4 Bad Block Table
Entries in the Bad Block Table (BBT) are in ascending sorted order. The 256
bytes of a BBT page are organized as shown in Table A–13.
Table A–13 Bad Block Table Byte Organization
Byte Offset

RW Type

Name

Value

00h

Cylinder

00h . . . 0Fh (byte 1)

01h

Cylinder

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

02h

Head

00h . . . FFh

03h

Sector

00h . . . FFh

04h

Block

00h . . . FFh (byte 3)

05h

Block

00h . . . FFh (byte 2)

06h

Block

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

07h

Block

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

08h

Cylinder

00h . . . 0Fh (byte 1)

09h

Cylinder

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

0Ah

Head

00h . . . FFh

0Bh

Sector

00h . . . FFh

0Ch

Block

00h . . . FFh (byte 3)

0Dh

Block

00h . . . FFh (byte 2)

0Eh

Block

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)
(continued on next page)

A–18 Configuration Data

A.3 System Configuration Table

Table A–13 (Cont.) Bad Block Table Byte Organization
Byte Offset

RW Type

Name

Value

0Fh
..
.

RO
..
.

Block
..
.

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)
..
.

F8h

Cylinder

00h . . . 0Fh (byte 1)

F9h

Cylinder

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

FAh

Head

00h . . . FFh

FBh

Sector

00h . . . FFh

FCh

Block

00h . . . FFh (byte 3)

FDh

Block

00h . . . FFh (byte 2)

FEh

Block

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

FFh

Block

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

Eight bytes of FFh follow the last valid flaw address. The maximum number of
bad block entries will not exceed the number of sectors per track.
Each bad block is stored twice in BBT:
•

First 4 bytes = host physical block address

•

Next 4 bytes = host logical block address

The BBT is cleared of a flaw each time a Reformat Flawed Tracks Only operation
(FORMAT func = 5 command) is executed, and the flaw is mapped out. At the
end of a Non-Transfer Command Success (from FORMAT func = 5 or a system
reset), the BBT is cleared.

A.3.5 Bank X, Disk X, System Area Configuration
The Bank X, Disk X, system area consists of a home page, an RFT, and a GET.
The home page is always system area page 0. The RFT spans system area pages
1 . . . n, where n is from 1 . . . 254. Its current value is stored in the home page.
The GET spans system area pages (n+1) . . . 255. Use the ReadConfig command
to read the data in these tables. The tables are organized as follows:
Tab
---------00h
Home Page
01h . . . N
RFT
N+1 . . . FFh
GET

Configuration Data A–19

A.3 System Configuration Table

A.3.6 System Area Home Page
The 256 bytes of the home page are organized as shown in Table A–14; byte group
descriptions are given in Table A–15.
Table A–14 Home Page Byte Descriptions
Byte Offset

RW Type

Name

Value

00h

System

02h

01h

Rev

00h . . . FFh

02h

Bank Number

01h . . . 04h

03h

Drive number

01h . . . 0Ah

04h

Drive ID

00h . . . FFh

05h

Sub Drive ID

00h . . . 0Fh

06h . . . 0Fh

Reserved

00h

10h

Reserved

00h

11h

RFT Span

01h . . . FFh

12h

Reserved

00h . . . FFh

13h

Alternate Tracks

00h . . . FFh

14h . . . FFh

Reserved

00h

Table A–15 Home Page Byte Group Descriptions
Name

Description

System

System model used when the drive was formatted

Rev

EPROM revision number when the disk was formatted

Bank Number

Bank position when the drive was formatted

Drive Number

Drive position (1 to 10) when the drive was formatted

Drive ID

Drive type specified when the drive was formatted

Sub Drive ID

Subdrive type specified when the drive was formatted

RFT Span

Number of pages of the RFT

Alternate Track

Number of alternate tracks in use

A–20 Configuration Data

A.3 System Configuration Table

A.3.7 System Area RFT and GET Pages
Entries in the RFT and GET are in ascending sorted order.
The 256 bytes of a RFT or GET page are organized as follows:
Byte Offset

RW Type

Name

Value

00h

F/Cylinder

00h . . . 8Fh (byte 1)

01h

Cylinder

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

02h

Head

00h . . . FFh

03h

Reserved

00h . . . FFh

04h

Position

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

05h

Position

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

06h

Bit Length

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

07h

Bit Length

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

08h

F/Cylinder

00h . . . 8Fh (byte 1)

09h

Cylinder

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

0Ah

Head

00h . . . FFh

0Bh

Reserved

00h . . . FFh

0Ch

Position

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

0Dh

Position

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

0Eh

Bit Length

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

0Fh
..
.

RO
..
.

Bit Length
..
.

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)
..
.

F8h

F/Cylinder

00h . . . 8Fh (byte 1)

F9h

Cylinder

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

FAh

Head

00h . . . FFh

FBh

Reserved

00h . . . FFh

FCh

Position

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

FDh

Position

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

FEh

Bit Length

00h . . . FFh (byte 1)

FFh

Bit Length

00h . . . FFh (byte 0)

Eight bytes of FFh follow the last valid flaw address, followed by all 0’s until the
table ends.
If set, F bit (bit 15) of the cylinder indicates a bad track.

Configuration Data A–21

B
Parallel Disk Array System Block Diagrams
Appendix B contains the DECmpp 12000/Sx parallel disk array (PDA) system
block diagrams.

B.1 Parallel Disk Array System Block Diagrams
Figure B–1 shows the full system block diagram. Figure B–2 shows the DA
controller block diagram, and Figure B–3 shows the DA backplane block
diagram.
Figure B–1 Full System Block Diagram

DPU I/O
Disk Interface

Disk Array Controller

DAC PCBs
Data 1-8
Parity 9
Standby A

COM Port

Disk
Bank 2

Disk
Bank 1

Data 1-8
Parity 9

Data 1-8
Parity 9
Standby A

8
7

2
1

6
5

VME Interface

2
1

MUX PCB
Disk BP and B
Data MUX PCBs

Power and
Distribution
AC
AC
AC
AC
DC
DC
DC
DC

Disk Status
Light Pipe

CTRL 0
CTRL 1

Disk Drive PARAM (30 total)
Disk DP 0
Disk DP 1
Light Pipe PCA

MKV-040000314-90-MPS

Parallel Disk Array System Block Diagrams B–1

B.1 Parallel Disk Array System Block Diagrams

Figure B–2 Disk Array Controller Block Diagram

Litepipe Display
Disk Status Display Interconnect
16 Pin Ribbon Cable (2X)

Array
Controller

ESDI J1/P1 Interconnect

Disk Array Backplane
(DAB)

ESDI Combined J1/P1 and J2/P2
Interconnect (10X)

34 Pin Ribbon Cable (10X)

Disk
Canister
(10X)

ESDI J2/P2 Interconnect
20 Pin Ribbon Cable (10X)
ESDI Combined J1/P1 and J2/P2
Disk
Interconnect (10X)
Canister
(10X)

DC Voltages and
Sense Lines

Power
Supply

MKV-040000314-91-MPS

Figure B–3 Disk Array Backplane Block Diagram

To Litepipe Display

DISK ARRAY BACKPLANE
(DAB)
LSB1
16 Pin Header
Data
To
ESDI J2/P2
Controller Interconnect P2D1 - P2D16 Status
20 Pin Headers
(10X)

LSB2
16 Pin Header

Data/Status

Drive LED
Status and
Multiplexing Logic

D1B1 - D16B1
64 Pin DIN Connectors
(10X)

B1P1 - B1P16
4 Pin Mate-N-Lock
(10X)

To
Disk
Canisters

Clock
PCB
To
Disk
Canisters
To
ESDI J1/P1
Controller Interconnect
DC
Voltages &
Sense Lines
To
Power
Supply

P1D1 - P1D16
34 Pin Headers
(10X)
BUS Bars &
Sense Connector

D1B2 - D16B2
64 Pin DIN Connectors
(10X)

B2P1 - B2P16
4 Pin Mate-N-Lock
(10X)

To
Disk
Canisters

MKV-040000314-92-MPS

B–2 Parallel Disk Array System Block Diagrams

C
Recommended Spares List
Table C–1 provides a list of recommended spares for the DECmpp 12000/Sx
Series Parallel Disk Array.
Table C–1 Parallel Disk Array RSL
DEC PN

Vendor PN

Description

29-29380-01

3400-0034-00

Disk array multiplexer PCB1 2

29-29391-01

3400-0035-00

Disk array clock PCB1 2

29-29393-01

4200-0035-00

Temperature sensor cable2

29-30510-01

4300-0081-00

1.5 GB disk drive1 2

29-29409-01

8010-0012

MS-2 CPU PCB1 2

29-29410-01

8010-0013

MS-2 parity PCB1 2

29-29411-01

8010-0014

MS-2 ESDI controller PCB1 2

29-29412-01

8010-0015

MS-2 VME interface PCB (SVME)1 2

29-29388-01

4200-0071-00

SVME DPU to DA backplane ribbon cable1 2

70-30313-02

N/A

2500 W power supply (modified)2

70-30318-01

N/A

Lightpipe PCB2

Branch-level spare

Geography-level spare

Recommended Spares List C–1

D
Disk Array Variations and Options
Table D–1 lists all of the part numbers for the DECmpp Disk Array
configurations along with upgrade kits, spare drives, and the DECmpp VMEbus
interface options.
Table D–1 DECmpp Disk Array Variations
Part Number

Description

SMP11-AA

DECmpp Parallel Disk Array System w/4 RMP11-AA Data Disks,
5.8GB. Requires KF100-AA VME Interface.

SMP11-AB

DECmpp Parallel Disk Array System w/8 RMP11-AA Data Disks,
11.5GB. Requires KF100-AA VME Interface.

SMP11-AC

DECmpp Parallel Disk Array System w/16 RMP11-AA Data Disks,
23GB. Requires KF100-AA VME Interface.

SMP12-AA

DECmpp Parallel Disk Array Upgrade from 4 RMP11-AA Data Disks
(SMP11-AA) to 8 RMP11-AA Data Disks (SMP11-AB)

SMP12-AB

DECmpp Parallel Disk Array Upgrade from 4 RMP11-AA Data Disks
(SMP11-AA) to 16 RMP11-AA Data Disks (SMP11-AC)

SMP12-AD

DECmpp Parallel Disk Array Upgrade from 8 RMP11-AA Data Disks
(SMP11-AB) to 16 RMP11-AA Data Disks (SMP11-AC)

RMP11-AA

DECmpp Hot Standby 1.5GB Removable Disk Drive w/Controller

KF100-AA

DECmpp VME I/O Controller (PVME) w/8MB ECC RAM for DECmpp
12000/Sx Series Parallel Disk Array Systems

Disk Array Variations and Options D–1

E
Parallel Disk Array Reference Pages
This appendix contains the following parallel disk array reference pages:
•

dabinit(8)

•

dabstat(8)

•

dadisk(8)

•

dadsbl(8)

•

daflaw(8)

•

daformat(8)

•

dainit(8)

•

damapchs(8)

•

damount(8)

•

darecon(8)

•

dascrub(8)

•

daspecflaw(8)

•

dastat(8)

•

dasubs(8)

•

daxformat(8)

•

daxrdc(8)

•

daxscrub(8)

•

daxwrc(8)

•

da_error_log(8)

•

da_error_report(8)

Parallel Disk Array Reference Pages E–1

dabinit(8)

dabinit(8)
dabinit — Initializes controller, bank configuration information on a DECmpp Sx
disk array, Version 1.1

Syntax
dabinit -b bank [-t disktype] -m 4or8drives diskarray

Description
Installing a disk array, upgrading a disk array bank, or adding a new disk
array bank requires initialization of configuration parameters on the disk array
controller. The dabinit command is used when a bank is upgraded or a new
bank is added. The disk array controller’s Bank Control/Status Configuration is
initialized.
The argument diskarray is a character special file associated with the disk array
controller to which the command should be sent.

Options
-b bank
Use this option to specify the bank number; valid banks are 1–4.
-t disktype
Use this option to specify the type of disks that make up the bank. The
variable disktype is a digit. The type of disk that corresponds to disktype can
be determined with the dadisk(8) command.
-m 4or8drive
Use this option to specify the number of data disks in the bank; valid numbers
are 4 and 8.

Restrictions
Root privileges are required to execute this command.

Files
/dev/da? — Disk array controller device

See Also
da(4), dastat(8), dabstat(8), dadisk(8), dainit(8)

E–2 Parallel Disk Array Reference Pages

dabstat(8)

dabstat(8)
dabstat — Displays configuration and status information from the DECmpp Sx
disk array controller, Version 1.1

Syntax
dabstat -b bank [diskarray]

Description
The configuration and status of a bank of disk drives is examined with the

dabstat command. This is an example of the dabstat command output:
Drive ID
Sub ID
Mode

34
DK515-78
0
4 data drives
Use primary system area
Check drive array addresses
Log soft and hard errors
Recover policy is R/E/P
SUBS/DSBL
0 / 0
Bank Status
On line, Mounted -O-O-O-OOTotal blocks
659340
Reconstruct Address -1
Drive status
11 30 11 30 11 30 11 30 30 11
Drive 1
Drive not selected
Drive 2
Drive online/mounted
Drive 3
Drive not selected
Drive 4
Drive online/mounted
Drive 5
Drive not selected
Drive 6
Drive online/mounted
Drive 7
Drive not selected
Drive 8
Drive online/mounted
Drive 9
Drive online/mounted
Drive 10
Drive not selected
(Drive 10 will always appear as not selected if there is no standby drive in this
bank.)
The optional argument diskarray is a character special file associated with the
disk array controller to which the command should be sent. If not specified,
diskarray defaults to the first controller (/dev/da0).

Restrictions
Root privileges are required to execute these commands.

Files
/dev/da? — Disk array controller device