Can I rerun /sbin/ioinitrc to install new tape drive hardware?

[John Hall]

Here's one that I feel there is a solution but HP Support is telling me can't be done!

I have an HP L2000 server that was shutdown and powered off to install an external DDS-4 tape drive onto a SCSI controller. After it was connected, the tape drive was the only device on that controller. When the server came back up the tape drive was not recognized, in fact the output of "ioscan -fn" is identical before and after the install. I could not afford to shutdown this server to check what I believed to be a bent copper pin in the SCSI cable connector. So, even though HP did not recommend it, I turned off the tape drive, removed the SCSI cable, checked for bent pins, found and fixed one pin, replaced the cable, and turned the tape drive back on. The server did not experience any problems. Now I think I need to rerun the boot time script or binary (like /sbin/ioinitrc or /sbin/ioinit) for the system to initialize and recognize the tape drive. Even though I am playing with fire here, is there a script (shotgun approach) or command (surgical approach) to tell the system to reinitialize just the tape drive on this specific controller? I need any such procedure to NOT effect any existing devices or processes, just merely reintroduce the tape drive into the mix as though it had been properly connected at boot time. If anyone KNOWS how to do this I would appreciate the exact syntax and procedure. Ok, you gamblers ante up!

[Karthik S S]

For installing (new/reinstall) device special files you just have to run "insf -e -C Class".

You could run,

insf -e -C tape

-Karthik S S

[Helen French]

I would try the following:

# ioscan -fn

Check if that device is listed now. If shown on the output, then create the device files with:

# insf -e

[John Carr_2]

Hi

ioscan -fnCtape

and if its listed

insf -e

:-)
John.

[Jeff Schussele]

Hi,

Just run ioscan -fn & then insf -e & you should be good to go.

Rgds,
Jeff

[John Hall]

Whoa! Before I can run insf there must be a device listed in the ioscan. Is everyone telling me that as soon as I correctly connect the tape drive to the SCSI card that the server will immediately recognize it like plug-n-play?

[Karthik S S]

Yes it does.
-Karthik S S

[John Carr_2]

not always but if you can see it chance are it will install, sometimes it does take a reboot.

:-) John.

[Karthik S S]

It requires a reboot only when the related subsystems are not installed. In that case you need to do the kernel reconfiguration add the driver/subsystem and reboot the system for the drivers to get installed.

Correct me if I am wrong.

-Karthik S S

[Helen French]

For the last question: Well, it depends. Some time it does, some it does not. If it's a hot-pluggable device, it will be identified for sure. But in your case, you 've connected the device anyway and want to try something which might be helpful. So, running ioscan and insf will be safe and might be helpful.

[A. Clay Stephenson]

The tape drive should appear with simply an ioscan -f; that it does not indicates that you still have a problem. At the very least, the device should be listed with NO_HW. I suspect that you have bad termination, or that your bent pin caused the termination power fuse to open (if your controller has one), or your are mismatching SCSI topologies. If your tape drive is SE/LVD SCSI make absolutely certain that your are not connecting it to a HVD controller. Eventhough the cables fit, it does not insure that the topologies match.

If ioscan -f doesn't display the devicd then ioinit is going to do nothing for you.

[A. Clay Stephenson]

Actually, I should have said that at the very least, the device should appear as "UNCLAIMED" with an ioscan -f.