SCSI Toolbox :: Newsletter - January 2008
IN THIS EDITION
- Multi-Instancing the SCSItoolbox Suite
- Performa Coverage! Extend your Performa coverage through 2010 for 1/2 price!
- Hands-on training with a STB expert!
- Ask Dr. SCSI - "...I would like to get the test results for error rate, correctable error counts, temporary error counts, etc in a Tape drive test. Do you have any sample data for tape cartridge error test results of SCSI toolbox? Any type of tape cartridge is OK... "
- Testing through a RAID controller
Have you ever needed to run certain tests on some drives, while at the same time running different tests on another drive?
Here’s an example – you need to test the effects of disk vibration on a drive running a sequential Write/Read test. Does the vibration from other disks in the enclosure affect this drive? How can you test this situation?
By running simultaneous instances of STB!
Let’s describe an example where you have 12 disks in an enclosure – drives 0 - 11. You want to run Random Access tests on drives 0-10, and at the same time you want to run a sequential access test on drive 11. The random test on eleven drives will introduce a worst-case vibration situation that may cause errors on the twelfth drive.
First, start the STB Suite and use the STB Top Menu Options->Change Driver setting to select the Ntport driver.
Next, start the Random Access tests on the first 11 drives. Using the Disk Manufacturing Module (DMM) start a random (read or write) test on drives 0 through 10. Define this test to run for as long as the sequential test on the last drive will take.
Now start another instance of the STB Suite, and use DMM to run a sequential (read or write or both) test on drive 11. Define this test to test the entire drive.
The multi-threaded architecture of DMM will achieve the highest possible throughput to each disk drive. The random tests running on 11 drives will introduce worst-case vibration into the drive enclosure – possibly causing errors on the twelfth drive as it runs its sequential test.
Performa Coverage Offer - Extend your Performa coverage for an extra year at 1/2 price!
Until the end of February you can extend your Performa coverage for an additional year at 1/2 the annual price. If you're currently an active Performa customer the price is only $1,342.50 for two additional years of coverage! That's all the great support, upgrades, features, training and more. If your serial number(s) have currently fallen out of coverage the standard upgrade rate still applies however you can purchase an additional year at the discounted price of $447.50.
Contact Jeremy Wolfe at (720) 249-2641 today for more information and your customized price quote. Hurry this offer ends February 29th, 2008!
Hands-on training with a STB expert!
Here is a list of some recent customer training sessions that STB has conducted - live, interactive web sessions presented by STB programmers:
- Three stages of disk drive screening
- How to troubleshoot tape drive problems
- RAID issues in disk drive testing
Do you have questions about how to best use the STB Suite in your business? STB is happy to work with you in an interactive “live” environment to help you get the most out of your Toolbox. The cost? If you are a current Performa customer it is free! The commitment? Training sessions run between 30 and 60 minutes.
Contact Jeremy Wolfe at (720) 249-2641 today to schedule your own custom training session!
Ask Dr. SCSI - "Hello Dr. SCSI, I would like to get the test results for error rate, correctable error counts, temporary error counts, etc in a Tape drive test. Do you have any sample data for tape cartridge error test results of SCSI toolbox? Any type of tape cartridge is OK. "
Q. “Hello Dr. SCSI,
I would like to get the test results for error rate, correctable error counts, temporary error counts, etc in a Tape drive test. Do you have any sample data for tape cartridge error test results of SCSI toolbox? Any type of tape cartridge is OK.
Thank you very much for your support.
”
A. “Hi There:
In the Tape Manufacturing Module (TMM) we have a “Log Page” test which will log all the log pages to a text file: in particular you can look at log pages 2 and 3. Log Page 2 is the WRITE ERROR page, and Log Page 3 is the READ ERROR page. Parameter 3 shows Number of records with a recovered data check Parameter 6 shows Total number of uncorrected errors.
Typically one would clear all the log pages (which will initialize the corrected/uncorrected error counts to 0), then run a write or read test for say 1000MB, and then use the “Log Page” test and analyze the new corrected/uncorrected error counts.”
Here is a screenshot of a TMM session that does exactly that. All of the test steps used are highlighted, and the entire Test Sequence is shown in the upper left:
Now open the TMM .log file – located in your default STB folder.
This drive had no uncorrected or corrected read or write errors.
Testing through a RAID controller
Do you need to test disk drives connected to a RAID controller? In most cases the RAID controller isolates the physical drives from the host computer, making testing of individual drives impossible. STB engineers have been hard at work in cooperation with leading manufacturers of RAID controllers to implement testing solutions that can work in this environment! If you need to test drives connected to a RAID controller please contact us for details.
