Newbie: Linux on Proliant 4000 with RH 7.2

[Kurt Harless_1]

Greetings,

I have RH 7.2 running on a compaq proliant 4000 with a
'slot 6 smart 2/p array controller'. The array is fully populated with 5 whopping 9.1 gb scsi drives (stop laughing).
Boot messages report:
Compaq SMART2 Driver (v 2.4.5)
...
cpqarray ida/c0d0: blksz=512 nr_blks=35536800
cpqarray ida/c0d1: blksz=512 nr_blks=35544960
Partition check:
ida/c0d0: p1 p2
ida/c0d1: p1

If I do a fdisk /dev/ida/c0d0 and do a 'p' to print the partition table I get the following;

Disk /dev/ida/c0d0: 1 heads, 35536800 sectors, 1 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 35536800 * 512 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/ida/c0d0p1 * 1 1 53024 83 Linux
Partition 1 has different physical/logical beginnings (non-Linux?):
phys=(0, 1, 1) logical=(0, 0, 33)
Partition 1 has different physical/logical endings:
phys=(12, 254, 32) logical=(0, 0, 106080)
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary:
phys=(12, 254, 32) should be (12, 0, 35536800)
/dev/ida/c0d0p2 1 1 391680 82 Linux swap
Partition 2 has different physical/logical beginnings (non-Linux?):
phys=(13, 0, 1) logical=(0, 0, 106081)
Partition 2 has different physical/logical endings:
phys=(108, 254, 32) logical=(0, 0, 889440)
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary:
phys=(108, 254, 32) should be (108, 0, 35536800)

Now I saw a posting that this is a bug in linux and I needed the latest ROM, since I've already used disk druid to do the base install. I went to the HP/compaq site and downloaded the self extracting ROM BIOS update and even tho I select proliant 4000, it gave me the wrong bios update, e.g. SP6224, which I believe said it was for a compaq proliant 2100?

All I want to do is add another partition to this 'logical device', but am confused since my starting and ending boundries seem messed up.

Additionally, during boot it says press f10 for system partition utilities, which then reports I have none, did I accidently blow these away during my linux install? Can I get them back? Would this show me how the raid is configured?
2 Logical volumes of 17gb each on 5 9.1 gb drives, seems like it doesnt add up!

All help greatly appreciated.

Kurt

[Martijn Dekkers]

Hi Kurt,

As far I can tell from memory, you can access the Setup functions for your RAID controller during boot time by pressing or somesuch - a message should scroll by telling you what to press and when. Unless you have data and/or live production system, i suggest zapping the whole box, and starting fresh.

I think the "system partition utilities" is actually a reference to having extended BIOS setup etc on a partition on disk. If this is the case, and you would like to restore this partition, you will need the original setup CD that came with the server. It will allow you to restore the partition.

As far as I can tell, your best bet is to (in order):

1.) backup your data etc.
2.) enter the array bios during boot and zap your existing layout, and create a new one - just make one big RAID5 volume is my advice, however, it would depend on your intended use of the machine to find a config for optimum performance.
3.) setup with the Compaq SmartStart CD that came with the machine. This will create the setup partition. After many reboots, you can get on with installing redhat. Don't!! use the SmartStart Utils to setup your OS.
4.) When setting up redhat, (or even better - debian) make sure you don't zap your newly made setup partition.

enjoy your new Linux machine!!

[Kurt Harless_1]

Is the Compaq SmartStart CD necessary? I got this server 3rd hand...
Does anyone provide a dl for this utility? I see compaq sells a subscription service for $149, but I didn't see my server listed in their matrix for versions 5 and 6.

Thanks

Kurt

[Steven E. Protter]

Its important that your equipment combination be supported.

You need to make sure the i/o card is set up properly and then proceed with the disk druid and rest of the install

If you don't see all of the disks in disk druid, start over, do not proceed.

On the off chance that this is an os problem, Is there a reason why you're not using the latest stable Red Hat release 7.3?

You may need a driver from HPQ for linux to support your controller.

P

[dan dobbs]

I had a similar experience with a Proliant 3000. Important safety tip: use a Smart Start CD (you can get them off of eBay, if you need to) to config your drives before you do anything else. There is a way to do it, documented here: http://www.geocities.com/rlcomp_1999/manual-smartstart.html Additionally, the F-10 utility thingy only works if you do additional configuration/installation (which I don't remember off the top of my head). There are a lot of sites out there, too---try 'proliant redhat install' in Google. Good luck!

HTH,

-dd