Re: Where to get SWXCRMGR for VMS?

From: Alex Daniels (alexdaniels_at_themail.co.uk)
Date: 02/17/04

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In reply to: Yehavi Bourvine: "Where to get SWXCRMGR for VMS?"
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Date: 17 Feb 2004 09:45:30 -0800

yehavi@vms.huji.ac.il (Yehavi Bourvine (58-4279)) wrote in message news:<2004Feb16.091110@hujicc>...
> Hello,
>
> I've installed a fresh VMS on a system which has the KZPAC RAID array. There
> is a software called SWXCRMGR to be installed on VMS to monitor this
> controller. In the past it was on Compaq's WEB site or on the VMS disks;
> however, I cannot find it anymore, neither on HP's site nor on the 7.3-1 disks.
> Any idea where I can get it?
>
> Note that I am looking for the VMS software, not the ARC (stand-alone
> configuration) companion of it (which is available in the firmware CDs).
>
> Thanks! __Yehavi:
>
> Yehavi Bourvine
> The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

I wont give my thoughts on what I think about SWXCR's, however I
managed to find DEC-AXPVMS-SWXCR-V0300--1.PCSI lying around, below are
the release notes, have a read through and see if its any good for
you.

Don't know what CD/Tape it originaly came off, but can send you a zip
of the PCSI kit if you want..

Regards

Alex

Release Notes

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utilities
for Alpha-Based Systems

These notes provide information not incorporated into the RAID
Array 200
Family for Alpha-Based Systems User Guides. Known restrictions of
the
utilities and various specifications for these products, such as
part
numbers and version levels are also identified.

COPYRIGHT Digital Equipment Corporation 1997. All Rights
Reserved.
This software is proprietary to and embodies the confidential
technology of
Digital Equipment Corporation. Possession, use, or copying of the
software
and media is authorized only pursuant to a valid written license
from
Digital Equipment Corporation or an authorized sublicensor.

RESTRICTED RIGHTS: Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S.
Government
is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii)
of DFARS
252.227-7013, or in FAR 52.227-19, or in FAR 52.227-14 Alt. III,
as
applicable.

NOTE

The information contained in these Release Notes, part #AA-QGTTE-
TE,
updates and supercedes prior versions of Release Notes for
StorageWorks
RAID Array 200 Online Management Utilities for Alpha-Based
Systems. If you
received this Note as part of an update kit, disregard any earlier
version
of these Release Notes you may have received.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

ALL users should check the revision level of the firmware
installed on their
KZPSC PCI RAID controller. Run the RAID Configuration Utility
(SWXCRMGR.EXE) and note the firmware revision on all PCI (KZPSC)
controllers installed in the system. If any PCI controllers have a
firmware version prior to V2.42, then you should upgrade the
firmware to V2.42. To upgrade the firmware refer to the firmware
upgrade section of the StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Subsystems
Controller Installation and StandAlone Configuration Utility
User's Guide, section 9.2.2.

It is strongly recommended that all customers run the Parity Check
with restore option (available from the Main Menu of the RAID
Configuration Utility), after the new firmware has been loaded.

General Notes

Feedback

We encourage you to send us feedback on our products. If there
are any suggestions or comments you would like to make, please
send to:
Email to: sbemgr@subsys.enet.dec.com U.S. Mail to: SBEMGR Digital
Equipment
Corporation Mail Stop SHR3-2/W8 334 South Street Shrewsbury, MA
01545

Controller Terminology

In reading the accompanying RAID Array 200 documentation, please
note the
following terminology associations:

This: RAID Array 210 EISA controller

refers to: KZESC-xA, KZESC-xB
or SWXCR-EA, SWXCR-EB

This: RAID Array 230 PCI controller

refers to: KZPSC-xA, KZPSC-xB
or SWXCR-PA, SWXCR-PB

The RAID Array 200 Controller documentation and software uses
SWXCR for
generic references to controllers.

Number of SWXCR Controllers Supported

All Alpha-based RAID Array 200 drivers and utilities support four
controllers (in any combination of EISA or PCI).

Configuration with Shared Interrupts

We recommend using edge triggered interrupts for the SWXCR
controller.
However, if you choose to use level interrupts, limit the number
of boards
sharing the same interrupt to avoid performance problems.

SCSI Termination and Fault Management

The controller must be at the end of the SCSI bus for proper
termination of
the SCSI signals. Consult the appropriate documentation for your
storage
enclosure to ensure it is properly terminated. When using Fault
Management
the terminators used must support Fault Management. The SWXCR
controllers
are supplied with termination that supports Fault Management.
Check with
your system supplier to be sure that system/device termination
supports
Fault Management, otherwise the Fault Management option must be
DISABLED on
the controller. If a terminator that does not support Fault
Management is
attached to any channel of the SWXCR, the results are
unpredictable when
Fault Management is ENABLED.

Revision Matrix

The following table cross references the hardware board revision
levels for
the RAID Array 200 family of controllers with the release date and
revision
level of the software accompanying the board. The FW and BIOS
columns refer
to firmware and BIOS revision levels; the other columns refer to
the
version numbers of the respective distribution diskettes for the
release of
all Alpha based utilities (KIT), the Standalone Configuration
Utility
(RCU), Windows NT (NT), Digital UNIX (UNIX), and OpenVMS (VMS).

Hardware Software/Documentation Rev Matrix for ALPHA Platforms

Product Board Rev FW BIOS KIT RCU NT UNIX VMS

KZESC C01 (4/94) 1.99 1.17 N/A 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
KZESC C02 (3/95) 2.15 1.17 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.0
KZESC C02 (4/95) 2.15 1.17 1.1 3.0 2.1 2.1 2.0
KZESC C03 (7/95) 2.16 1.19 1.2 3.1 2.1 2.2 2.1

KZPSC A02 (3/95) 2.19 1.02 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 N/A
KZPSC B01 (4/95) 2.19 1.02 1.1 3.0 2.1 2.1 2.0
KZPSC B01 (6/95) 2.19 1.02 1.2 3.1 2.1 2.2 2.1
KZPSC C01 (1/96) 2.36 1.20 1.3 3.2 2.1 2.3 2.2
KZPSC D01 (8/96) 2.36 1.20 1.3 3.2 2.1 2.3 2.2
KZPSC D02 (2/97) 2.42 1.20 1.3A 3.3 2.1 2.3 2.2

N/A = Not Available under this kit release.

Kit/Board Compatibility

As a general rule, the latest kit can be used with any board
revision and
provided upgrade paths. Older kit revisions cannot be used with
newer board
revisions, because they are not compatible.

Part Numbers

CK-SWXCR-AA
Cable kit for KZESC-xB (SWXCR-EB) includes
internal and external "Y" cables

BN21H-02
8 bit SCSI cable (2m) for KZESC

BN31L-1E
8 bit SCSI cable (1.5m) for KZPSC

BN31K-0E
16 bit internal cable w/bulkhead (0.5m) for
KZPSC-xB third channel external connections

BN31M-1E
16 bit SCSI cable for KZPSC to BA346

BN31S-1E

16 bit SCSI right angle cable (1.5m) for KZPSC to
BA356 StorageWorks enclosure

KZPSC-UB
Battery backup for KZPSC cache memory

MS100-AA
16MB Cache memory for KZPSC and KZESC

MS100-AB
32MB Cache memory for KZPSC and KZESC

Write Back Cache

If you plan to use write back cache on the SWXCR-Px controllers
you should
use the Battery backup option for the controller to avoid data
loss under
circumstances where the controller is unable to complete a write
operation
to disk (for example, power failure). Also we recommend that the
disk
drives attached to the controller have their write cache disabled;
contact
your drive vendor for more information.

Standalone Configuration Utility Notes

Standalone Configuration Utility File Descriptions

SRLMGR.EXE Serial RAID configuration utility
SWXCRMGR.EXE RAID configuration utility v3.11
SWXCRFW.EXE Firmware download utility for EISA and PCI
controllers

WARNING

Make sure you use the correct firmware file for the type of
controller to
be upgraded. Using the wrong firmware file can render your
controller
inoperative. The SWXCRFWA.216 file is for EISA controllers and the
SWXCRFWP.242 file is for PCI controllers.

SWXCRFWA.216 2.16 Firmware for the EISA RAID controller
SWXCRFWP.242 2.42 Firmware for the PCI RAID controller
!MLX0075.CFG Windows NT EISA configuration file
                  for the 3 channel EISA raid controller.
!MLX0077.CFG Windows NT EISA configuration file
                  for the 1 channel EISA raid controller.
AMLX0075.CFG VMS/Digital UNIX EISA configuration file
                  for the 3 channel EISA RAID controller.
AMLX0077.CFG VMS/Digital UNIX EISA configuration file
                  for the 1 channel EISA RAID controller.

Before upgrading to V2.42 it is recommended that the RAID
configuration be
saved to a floppy using the Backup/Restore option provided in the
Tools
menu option of the Standalone Configuration Utility. Refer to the
Saving
Configuration to Diskette section of a StorageWorks RAID Array 200
Subsystems Controller Installation and Standalone Configuration
Utilities
Users Guide section 7.3.6.

SWXCR RAID Configuration Utility and ARC Console Firmware v4.x

The RCU provided with this kit must be used if you have one of the
systems
listed below with an ARC Console at the listed version or higher.
The
controller may be rendered inoperative if a prior revision of the
RCU
SWXCRMGR utility is used with these systems.

Platform ARC Version

     AlphaServer 2100 4.25
     AlphaServer 1000 4.26
     AlphaStation 400 4.28

For other platforms, please contact your Digital representative.

WARNING

The SWXCRMGR utility in this kit (version 3.11) should not be used
on
DEC2000 and DECpc aXp 150 series systems. Owners of these systems
should
contact their Digital Service Representative or call 800-STORWORK
to obtain
the appropriate RCU for their needs.

SWXCRMGR Override Option

The RAID configuration utility has an override option which allows
the user
to enter the utility without waiting for the drives to timeout in
the event
of either a dead logical drive or an unwanted configuration. To
use the
override option, type 'SWXCRMGR -o' when starting the utility.
You can
then make failed drives OPTIMAL or completely change your RAID
configuration. This option should only be used when using the
Tools or New
Configuration menu options of the SWXCRMGR utility.

Serial Utility

The Standalone utility for the SWXCR controller can be run using a
VTxxx
terminal and serial connection to the host system by typing
a:\SRLMGR.EXE
at the Run a Program: menu option of the ARC console. The
SRLMGR.EXE
version of the utility has character cell terminal support while
providing
the same interface and functionality as the VGA version of the
Standalone
utility. For correct operation using the VTxxx terminal
characteristics
should be set as follows:

1) Check your system manual on how to setup your system for
serial mode.
2) Set to No Cursor mode
3) Set to VTxxx Mode, 8 Bit Controls

The Escape key is Ctrl-[. When the utility prompts the user to hit
escape
to continue, the Ctrl key should be pressed and held down while
the [ key
is pressed. This will invoke the escape function.

Failing A Drive

Failing a drive with the SWXCRMGR utility will spin the drive
down. Selecting Format under the Rebuild option will not spin the
drive
up. Reselecting the controller under the Select SWXCR option will
spin the
drive up and allow a format under the rebuild option.

Digital UNIX Notes

Subset Names

SWXCRMGR111 StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online
Management Utility version 1.1.1
SWXCR122 StorageWorks SWXCR Utility for
Digital UNIX
version 1.2.2

Performing Rebuilds with the SWXCRMGR

When performing rebuilds across multiple controllers with the GUI,
rapidly
changing back and forth between controllers can cause the utility
to
crash. The utility crash does not otherwise affect system
operation and all
rebuilds will continue. We recommend not switching controllers
after the
last rebuild has started until all rebuilds complete.

SWXCRMGR Does Not Report Automatic Rebuilds

The GUI does not report rebuilds which the controller
automatically
initiates. If an automatic rebuild is occurring, the GUI will mark
the drive
as WOL. Do not start a second rebuild on a controller that is
currently
doing an automatic rebuild.

Canceling a Parity Check or Rebuild with the SWXCRMGR

You can cancel a parity check or rebuild that is in progress by
reselecting
the Parity Check or Rebuild function from the Management menu, and
then
clicking the cancel button on the main window.

SWXCRMGR Does Not Update Error Counters

The device error counters are read from the controller at the time
the
SWXCRMGR GUI is invoked. Inspection of the error counters after
the GUI has
been running for a period of time may result in error counts that
have not
been updated. The SWXCR monitor utility will however continue to
provide
updated error reporting.

SWXCRMON Utility

The accompanying disk contains version V1.2.2 of the SWXCR monitor
utility
for Digital UNIX. Version 1.2.2 of the monitor utility for
Digital UNIX
incorporates changes from earlier versions of the utility to allow
event
notification via a mail client's Subject: line when the the
utility is used
to log messages via the mail facility.

Installation and usage of this utility is as described in the
document
"StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utility for Digital
UNIX
User's Guide". Prior to installing the utility, you should remove
any
prior installations of the utility. The following instructions are
a quick
summary of the steps to install the utility. Consult your Digital
UNIX
documentation if you need further explaination.

1. Identify any previous installations of the SWXCR Utility for
Digital
UNIX ( OSF/1 ). Use the 'setld -i' command to determine if
previous
versions of the utility are installed.

for example: setld -i | grep -i swxcr

This command may identify subsets for either the 'StorageWorks
RAID Array
200 Management Utility' or the StorageWorks SWXCR Utility for
Digital UNIX
(or OSF/1)'. You should note the subset name of any 'StorageWorks
SWXCR
Utility for Digital UNIX (or OSF/1)' for use in the following
step.

2. Remove any "SWXCR Utility for Digital UNIX (or OSF/1)" subsets
that are
   identified in step 1. This is accomplished using the 'setld -
d' command
   with the subset name(s) identified in step 1. For example
using the SWXCR
   Utility for Digital UNIX v1.2.1 subset's name SWXCR121, you
would type

setld -d SWXCR121

You are now ready to install the new monitor utility.

3. Mount the accompanying distribution disk to a convenient
filesystem
mount point such as /mnt.

4. Install the monitor utility using the 'setld -l' command.
Using the
example mount point /mnt, you would type:

setld -l /mnt

5. Select the monitor utility's subset, SWXCR122, when prompted
and confirm
your choices. The utility will then be installed.

6. Dismount the utility disk and you are done.

OpenVMS Notes

File Descriptions
DEC-AXPVMS-SWXCR-V0102--3.PCSI PCSI installable Extended
Utilities
for OpenVMS V6.1
DEC-AXPVMS-SWXCR-V0300--1.PCSI PCSI installable GUI and
Extended
Utilities for OpenVMS
V6.2 and later
INVOKE_PCSI.COM Installation file for the
utilities

Utilities Provided with this Kit

This kit contains an extended command line utility, SWXCR, used
for
monitoring the RAID array and performing parity checks on its
devices. SWXCR is supported on OpenVMS version 6.1 and higher. A
GUI based
RAID management utility, SWXCRMGR, is supported on OpenVMS version
6.2 and
higher. Prior to installing the extended utilities on systems
running
OpenVMS V6.1, you should install the SWXCR kit found on the
OpenVMS V6.1
distribution media.

Performing Rebuilds with the SWXCRMGR

SWXCRMGR Does Not Report Automatic Rebuilds

The GUI does not report rebuilds that the controller automatically
initiates. If an automatic rebuild is occurring the GUI will mark
the drive
as WOL. Do not start a second rebuild on a controller that is
currently
doing an automatic rebuild.

Canceling a Parity Check or Rebuild with the SWXCRMGR

You can cancel a parity check or rebuild that is in progress by
reselecting
the Parity Check or Rebuild function from the Management menu, and
then
clicking the cancel button on the main window.

SWXCRMGR Does Not Update Error Counters

SWXCRMGR VMScluster Support

Previous version of these utilities would not operate properly in
a
cluster environment when the SYSGEN parameter DR_UNIT_BASE number
was
non-zero. However, in a cluster environment, multiple servers
could not
both be set to zero. SWXCR Utilities have been modified so that
they will
operate properly when DR_UNIT_BASE is non-zero.

The modifications made to the utilities affect the SWXCR Monitor,
the
SWXCR Parity Check utility, and the SWXCR Manager.

The DR_UNIT_BASE number on any given node in a VMScluster
environment
should be set at least eight apart from all DR_UNIT_BASE numbers
on other
nodes in the VMScluster environment, in order to avoid naming
conflicts.

SWXCRMGR

The SWXCRMGR program has been modified to allow examination of
controllers
on systems that have non-zero DR_UNIT_BASE values.

SWXCR MONITOR

The process name is changed from SWXCR$MON_DRx (where `x' is the
controller letter of the device specified in the `SWXCR MONITOR'
command),
to a name composed as follows:

"SW$" + DECnet-node-name + "$" + allocation-class + controller-
letter

For example, if the user types the following command:

$ SWXCR MONITOR DRA10

on node ASTRO, where the allocation class is set to 5, the process
name
will be set to:

SW$ASTRO$5A

This naming convention, used above for the process name, is
propagated to
the log file name and the mailbox name, as well.

Using the example above, the log file name would be:

SW$ASTRO$5A.LOG

and the mailbox name would be:

SW$ASTRO$5A_MBX

Note that when you are running SWXCR MONITOR in a VMScluster
environment,
only those controllers that are local to the current node can be
monitored
from that node. In order to monitor a controller connected to a
different
node in the cluster, you must log into that particular node and
start a new
monitor process for that particular controller. If you attempt to
monitor
a controller which is not local to the current node in the
cluster, an
error is returned.

SWXCR CHECK

In a VMScluster environment, you may only perform a parity check
operation
on a device that is local to the node from which you are
operating. In
order to perform a parity check (with our without repair) on a
logical
drive associated with a controller connected to a different node
in the
cluster, you must log into that particular node and then issue the
appropriate "SWXCR CHECK" command. If you attempt to perform a
check
operation on a logical drive unit that is not local to the current
node in
the cluster, an error is returned.

Windows NT Notes

Installation of NT on SWXCR Boot Partitions with Multiple Logical
Drives

There is a limitation in the Windows NT installation mechanism
which
results in a failure to successfully complete an installation to a
SWXCR
boot device when more than one logical drive is defined on that
device.

Partition Restrictions under Windows NT

The Windows NT boot partition size cannot exceed 2024 MB in size.
Please
see Microsofts Windows NT documentation for further details.

Passthru Device Support on the SWXCR Controller

Windows NT v3.1 does not support passthru devices such as tape
drives and
CD-ROMs. Windows NT v3.5 and later support any number of passthru
devices
without restrictions. System Services Version of the SWXCRMON
Utility
There is provided an alternative version of the SWXCRMON utility
that
operates as system service under Windows NT. This version will
start
automatically whenever the NT system is booted. Otherwise, the
system
service monitor is identical in functionality to the standard
version
provided through the SETUP routine. You may use each version
separately or
together. We welcome any comments you have regarding this utility;
please
see the address shown under the feedback section of the General
release
notes. The files for the system service monitor utility are
located on the
NT release disk under the directory \serv_mon. The instructions
for
installation and removal of the utility are contained in the file
SWXCRSRV.REL located in that directory.

Utility Version Numbers

The revision levels for the Windows NT utilities are:

SWXCRMON v1.35
SWXCRMGR v1.26

StorageWorks RAID Array 200 Online Management Utilities for Alpha-
Based Systems

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