How to overcome 'loss' of SCSI controller after reboot

[Willem Grooters]

A PWS has 2 SCSI controllers: (on board) PKA controlling my system disk (only), (added) PKB controlling all other disks, CD and tape-unit.

When this machine reboots - that is: restarted without cycling power - either by command or crash, PKB is 'lost'; even SRM doesn't see it, nor (obviously) any device controlled by it. If VMS comes up, all devices but the system disk do not exist, with all consequences....(BTW, the same applies if the INIT command is issued in SRM prior to BOOT).

Is there some way to regain the controller - and disks - after VMS has started?

Willem

[Uwe Zessin]

Sounds like you have an unsupported adapter in the box - an LVD2 perhaps? I had a similar problem and downgraded to a KZPCM-DA.

[Willem Grooters]

Uwe:
$ sho dev pka0/full

Device PKA0:, device type Qlogic ISP1020 SCSI port, is online, error logging is
enabled.

Error count 0 Operations completed 93
Owner process "" Owner UIC [SYSTEM]
Owner process ID 00000000 Dev Prot S:RWPL,O:RWPL,G,W
Reference count 0 Default buffer size 65535
Current preferred CPU Id 0 Fastpath 1

$ sho dev pkb0/full

Device PKB0:, device type NCR 53C810 SCSI, is online, error logging is enabled.

Error count 0 Operations completed 130
Owner process "" Owner UIC [SYSTEM]
Owner process ID 00000000 Dev Prot S:RWPL,O:RWPL,G,W
Reference count 0 Default buffer size 0

One way to overcome the problem is to connect the really required disks to PKA (the built-in controller), but the disks are in a BA356 cabinet - and PKA has no external outlet....

[Cass Witkowski]

I have a PWS and put a TLZ09 tape drive on the Internal scsi interface with the two disks. Some times everything goes away. I suspect the tape drive is doing something weird. Can you try removing the tape drive and seeing if PKB comes back?

Cass

[Willem Grooters]

**** SOLVED ****

At least, sort of.
As ususal, the solution proves to be too simple....

I changed two SRM variables:

BOOT_RESTE from OFF to ON
PKB0_DISCONNECT form 1 to 0.

I guess it's the second one, but a RESET won't harm the system. Now REBOOT leaves PKB0 alone so all disks can now be accessed, without power cycle.

(That's the problem if you have to put your questions off your machine... Now I had time to play a bit. I had to set another SRM parameter so that's the moment to try it out. You normally won't do this on a running system ;-))

Hopefully someone else finds this info useful.

Willem