UNIX Configuration Guide:
Sun Systems

Configuration Switch Settings

The configuration settings for an HP SureStore DAT drive installed on a Sun system should be as follows:

Operating in immediate mode and with infinite flush improves the drive's performance by reducing the time it takes to write data and filemarks because all commands will be treated as immediate. The drawback is that if power fails during a write operation, any data in the buffer will be lost.

These settings allow drives to "plug-and-play" with Sun workstations that have internal SCSI support and are running SunOS 4.1.x (Solaris 1) and later without modifying the Device Definition files. For SunOS 5.x (Solaris 2), you will have to modify the kernel's st.conf file as described below.

Note: If you use vendor-supplied software that recommends a switch setting other than this, use the setting the software vendor recommends.

HP SureStore DAT24x6 Autoloader Option Switch Settings

The HP SureStore DAT24x6e autoloader has an additional selector switch on the rear panel. This switch sets different configurations for the autoloader mechanism which is read by the firmware at power-on. For a SunOS system, this switch should be set to 5 (the default value), which sets the internal switches as follows:

Note: Set the value with the autoloader switched off.

For a more detailed explanation, please see Autoloader Option Switch.

SunOS 4.1.x (Solaris 1) Configuration

SunOS 4.1.x requires that the SCSI address of tape devices be either 4 or 5. If the address is set to 4, the "rst0" or "nrst0" driver is used. If the address is 5, "rst1" or "nrst1" is used.

When using the "cpio" command, set the block size option (B) to a block size of 5120 or greater to improve performance.

Optimizing Performance

Note: If you use the configuration switch setting described above, the tape drive should work well with SunOS 4.1.x without modifying the SCSI tape configuration files.

If you want to optimize performance in plug-and-play applications, modify the device files as follows:

1. In the file /usr/sys/scsi/targets/stdef.h, add the following line (shown in bold) after the entry which defines an Exabyte device:

   #define ST_TYPE_EXABYTE 0x28 /* Exabyte *
   #define ST_TYPE_HP1 0x29 /* HP */

   For "0x29 " in the second line, use the next unused number.

2. In the file /usr/sys/scsi/targets/st_conf.c, after the paragraph:

   /* Exabyte 8mm cartridge */
   {
   "Exabyte 8mm Helical Scan", 7, "EXABYTE", 
   ST_TYPE_EXABYTE, 1024, (ST_VARIABLE | ST_BSF | 
   ST_BSR | ST_LONG_ERASE | ST_AUTODEN_OVERRIDE), 
   5000, 5000, { 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00 },
   { 0, 0, 0, 0 } 
   } 

   add the following paragraph:

   /* HP 4mm Helical Scan */
   { 
   "<drive name>; 4mm DAT", <n>, "<drive number>",
   ST_TYPE_HP1, 1024, (ST_VARIABLE | ST_BSF | 
   ST_BSR | ST_LONG_ERASE | ST_AUTODEN_OVERRIDE), 
   8000, 8000, { 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00 },
   { 0, 0, 0, 0 } 
   } 

   where <drive name> is any descriptive name you like, and <n> (the string length) and <drive number> should be as in the following table. Each drive number has 6 spaces after the first "HP".

   Drive	n	Drive Number
   HP SureStore Tape 5000	16	"HP      HP35480A"
   HP SureStore DAT8	14	"HP      C1533A"
   HP SureStore DAT24	14	"HP      C1537A"
   HP SureStore DAT24x6	14	"HP      C1557A"

3. If you wish to change the default SCSI IDs allowed for tape devices, modify the kernel configuration file in:

   % /usr/sys/`arch -k`/conf

   To identify the configuration file, use the following command:

   % /etc/dmesg | grep Sun | tail -1

   This produces output similar to the following:

   SunOS Release 4.1.4 (GENERIC) #1: Thu Jul 18 10:17:29 GMT 1996

   This means that the configuration file to examine is called GENERIC. Look for the tape entries in the scsibus listing (see example below) and modify the target (SCSI ID) assignments for the appropriate SCSI controller.

        # declare first scsi bus
   scsibus0 at esp
        # first hard SCSI disk
   disk sd0 at scsibus0 target 3 lun 0
        # second hard SCSI disk
   disk sd1 at scsibus0 target 1 lun 0       
        # third hard SCSI disk
   disk sd2 at scsibus0 target 2 lun 0      
        # fourth hard SCSI disk
   disk sd3 at scsibus0 target 0 lun 0       
        # first SCSI tape
   tape st4 at scsibus0 target 4 lun 0      
        # second SCSI tape
   tape st5 at scsibus0 target 5 lun 0    
        # CD-ROM device
   disk sr1 at scsibus0 target 6 lun 0   
    

4. Once you have made these modifications, recompile your kernel as follows: 

   % cd /usr/sys/`arch -k`/conf

   If you already have a kernel configuration file (called MYCONF), then configure the kernel with the following command: 

   % /usr/etc/config MYCONF

   This will create a directory (../MYCONF) in which you can rebuild the kernel: 

   % cd ../MYCONF
% make

   Note: If the make reports any errors, you should not proceed in using the kernel generated. Check that you have followed all the instructions correctly.

   If the make runs successfully, move the existing kernel somewhere safe and install the new one using the following commands: 

   % mv /vmunix /vmunix.old
% mv ./vmunix /vmunix

5. You are now ready to halt the system. (If others users are on the system, use shutdown instead.)

   % sync;halt

6. Once the system is halted, power on the tape drive and reboot the system from the boot prompt. (On older workstations, the boot prompt is a > symbol.) If you have powered the system down completely, it may reboot automatically.

   % ok boot vmunix

SunOS 5.x (Solaris 2) Configuration

In the file /kernel/drv/st.conf, after these lines:

    ########
    # Copyright (c) 1992, by Sun Microsystems, Inc.
    #ident  "@(#)st.conf    1.6     93/05/03 SMI"

add the following (the six spaces are significant in the strings):

tape-config-list =
"HP      HP35470A", "HP DDS 4mm DAT", "HP-data1",
"HP      HP35480A", "HP DDS-DC 4mm DAT", "HP-data1",
"HP      C1533A", "HP DDS2 4mm DAT", "HP-data2",
"HP      C1537A", "HP DDS3 4mm DAT", "HP-data2",        
"HP      C1553A", "HP DDS2 4mm DATloader", "HP-data2",
"HP      C1557A", "HP DDS3 4mm DATloader", "HP-data2";
HP-data1 = 1,0x34,1024,0x639,3,0x00,0x13,0x3,2;
HP-data2 = 1,0x34,1024,0xd639,4,0x00,0x13,0x24,0x3,3;
 
name="st" class="scsi"
 target=X lun=0; 

For a DAT24x6e autoloader, also add the following lines below:

name="st" class="scsi"
 target=X lun=1;

Where the values for HP-data1, HP-data2, and name, which provide normal DDS mode, have the following meanings:

1. Adding the following to st.config just above tape-config-list may improve the system's ability to keep the tape drive streaming, depending on use:

   tape-driver-buffering = 4;

2. If you are replacing an existing tape device on the same SCSI ID, remove the contents of the /dev/rmt directory as follows:

   % cd /dev/rmt
% rm *

3. Do a reconfigure boot:

   % cd /
% touch /reconfigure
% sync
% halt

4. When the system is down, reboot:

   % boot -r

   Make sure you include the -r switch, so that the device directory is reconfigured using the new data.

You will now be able to use the drive by accessing the appropriate device file (where X is the SCSI ID of the drive). 

• When you require a rewind device with compression, use:
  /dev/rmt/Xcb

• When you require a non-rewind device with compression, use:
  /dev/rmt/Xcbn

Autoloader Device Files

The autoloader configuration switch settings cause the autoloader's changer mechanism (lun=1) to report itself as a tape drive. This configuration allows random access to any tape within the autoloader using the mtx utility.

The necessary device files should exist. If you find you need to create them, follow the steps for Solaris 2 above. The correct device files in the /dev/rmt directory will look similar to the following examples:

For the lun=0 device file:

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root 50 Apr 25 16:45 0-> ../../device/sbus@1,f8000000/esp@0,800000/st@4,0:

For the lun=1 device file:

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root 50 Apr 25 16:45 1-> ../../device/sbus@1,f8000000/esp@0,800000/st@4,1:

You can check these files with the following command:

% ls -al /dev/rmt | grep "st@X,1" | head -1

where X is the autoloader's SCSI ID.