On Mon, Jun 21, 2004 at 09:46:37AM +0100, dev wrote: > Hello > > I am attempting to get a file server up and running for a non-profit org. We > chose Fedora because of the 2.6 kernel (for Serial ATA support). > > We have an internal HP DDS-4 Scsi Tape drive. I have no experience with SCSI > and don't know where to start to get this device to function. Can someone > please help me with the basics of where to look to troubleshoot, what kind of > modules I might need to load etc. I can find very little through google when > searching for info about this device with Linux. > > Any basic pointers as to where to start would be great. > > thanks > > Cyril > 1) Check the boot logs. If the tape drive is detected, you should see something like st: Version 20040318, fixed bufsize 32768, s/g segs 256 Attached scsi tape st0 at scsi0, channel 0, id 4, lun 0 st0: try direct i/o: yes (alignment 512 B), max page reachable by HBA 1048575 In the above example, the tape drive is on device 'st0'. Yours may differ. Do some research on the difference between the 'st0' and 'nst0' devices and when you want to use each. 1a) If the tape drive is not detected, did you see the SCSI adapter load? You will probably need an entry in /etc/modprobe.conf that identifies the type of SCSI adapter. For example, if you have one of the popular Adaptec controllers, you should have an entry like "alias scsi_hostadapter aic7xxx". Substitute your adapter name for the aic7xxx as appropriate. After defining the adapter, type 'modprobe scsi' as root. You should see the SCSI adapter scan for attached devices and display the results. You can 'cat /proc/scsi/scsi' to review later. 2) Insert a tape and see what happens. Lights should come on the tape drive and the tape will rewind. 3) Try the 'mt' command. This command gives you the ability to control the tape from the command line. Try erasing, rewinding, or the rewoffl command that rewinds and ejects the tape, If all that works, then select a backup method and start using it. I use the extremely simple 'tob' program. Someone on the list is bound to recommend their favorite utility. -- Jim Kaufman Linux Evangelist public key 0x6D802619 http://www.linuxforbusiness.net
