Topic: Onstream USB30 and SME 5.6

[Robbie]

I have a Onstream usb30 tape drive I am trying to get to work with SME 5.6. My problem appears to be that the freecom usb converter is not being recognized.

Onstream linked me to a page that explains how to setup the usb30 on a Linux machine, but I have not been successful at getting it to work. The website states the following.

The USB drive USB30 can be used via the usb-storage driver. Compile it with support for the FreeCom USB-Atapi converter CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_FREECOM, load it and load your osst driver. Syslog (dmesg) should tell you it has been identified.

I am guessing that the usb-storage driver that comes with the SME 5.6 system does not have the FreeCom USB-Atapi converter complied in. If anyone knows how to compile in this feature and/or anything else that might work I would greatly appreciate it if you could help me.

[Charlie Brady]

Robbie wrote:

> I am guessing that the usb-storage driver that comes with the
> SME 5.6 system does not have the FreeCom USB-Atapi converter
> complied in.

No, it seems to be enabled:

[charlieb@timtam charlieb]$ grep \
CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_FREECOM \
/usr/src/linux-2.4.18-5/configs/*
/usr/src/linux-2.4.18-5/configs/kernel-2.4.18-athlon-smp.config:\
CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_FREECOM=y
/usr/src/linux-2.4.18-5/configs/kernel-2.4.18-athlon.config:\
CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_FREECOM=y
...

Have you done "modprobe usb-storage"?

Charlie

[Robbie]

Yes, I have done a "modeprobe usb-storage" which returns nothing. That is what made me think I must not have the Freecom converter compiled in. Sorry I forgot to put that in the original post.

I ran a "grep -ri CONFIG_USB_STORAGE_FREECOM /usr/src/redhat/*" on my system, and it did not return anything.

Charlie,

In you grep command you showed that you greped the "/usr/src/linux-2.4.18-5/configs/" directory. I do not appear to have that directory on SME 5.6. Is there something I need to do?

[Charlie Brady]

Robbie wrote:

> Yes, I have done a "modeprobe usb-storage" which returns nothing.

You should expect it to return nothing. But does it print anything in /var/log/messages. After you load it, does anything show in /proc/scsi/scsi?

> In you grep command you showed that you greped the
> "/usr/src/linux-2.4.18-5/configs/" directory. I do not appear
> to have that directory on SME 5.6. Is there something I need
> to do?

You need to have the kernel-source RPM installed for that command to be fruitful.

Charlie

[Robbie]

First off Charlie thank you for all your help.

The following is what my "/var/log/messages" showes after a boot up and after I run "modprobe usb-storage".

May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: kmod: failed to exec /sbin/modprobe -s -k md-personality-3, errno = 2
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb.c: registered new driver usbdevfs
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb.c: registered new driver hub
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb-uhci.c: $Revision: 1.275 $ time 15:37:13 Jun 10 2002
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb-uhci.c: High bandwidth mode enabled
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb-uhci.c: v1.275:USB Universal Host Controller Interface driver
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb.c: deregistering driver usbdevfs
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb.c: deregistering driver hub
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb.c: registered new driver usbdevfs
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb.c: registered new driver hub
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb-ohci.c: USB OHCI at membase 0xde86d000, IRQ 5
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb-ohci.c: usb-00:03.0, Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 7001
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb.c: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 1
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: hub.c: USB hub found
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: hub.c: 2 ports detected
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb-ohci.c: USB OHCI at membase 0xde86f000, IRQ 10
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb-ohci.c: usb-00:03.1, Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 7001 (#2)
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb.c: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 2
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: hub.c: USB hub found
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: hub.c: 2 ports detected
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb-ohci.c: USB OHCI at membase 0xde871000, IRQ 11
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb-ohci.c: usb-00:03.2, Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 7001 (#3)
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb.c: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 3
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: hub.c: USB hub found
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: hub.c: 2 ports detected
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb.c: registered new driver hiddev
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: usb.c: registered new driver hid
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: hid-core.c: v1.8.1 Andreas Gal, Vojtech Pavlik
May 27 08:40:47 smedemo kernel: hid-core.c: USB HID support drivers
May 27 08:40:43 smedemo /etc/hotplug/usb.agent: ... no modules for USB product 0/0/0
May 27 08:41:11 smedemo e-smith[1717]: Processing event: local
May 27 08:41:11 smedemo e-smith[1717]: Running event handler: /etc/e-smith/events/local/S10module-load-usb-printer
May 27 08:41:12 smedemo e-smith[1717]: modprobe: Can't locate module usb-controller
May 27 08:41:12 smedemo kernel: usb-uhci.c: $Revision: 1.275 $ time 15:37:13 Jun 10 2002
May 27 08:41:12 smedemo kernel: usb-uhci.c: High bandwidth mode enabled
May 27 08:41:12 smedemo kernel: usb-uhci.c: v1.275:USB Universal Host Controller Interface driver
May 27 08:41:12 smedemo e-smith[1717]: /lib/modules/2.4.18-5/kernel/drivers/usb/usb-uhci.o: init_module: No such device
May 27 08:41:12 smedemo e-smith[1717]: /lib/modules/2.4.18-5/kernel/drivers/usb/usb-uhci.o: insmod /lib/modules/2.4.18-5/kernel/drivers/usb/usb-uhci.o failed
May 27 08:41:12 smedemo e-smith[1717]: /lib/modules/2.4.18-5/kernel/drivers/usb/usb-uhci.o: insmod usb-uhci failed
May 27 08:41:12 smedemo e-smith[1717]: Hint: insmod errors can be caused by incorrect module parameters, including invalid IO or IRQ parameters
May 27 08:41:13 smedemo kernel: usb.c: registered new driver usblp
May 27 08:41:13 smedemo kernel: printer.c: v0.11: USB Printer Device Class driver
May 27 08:41:13 smedemo e-smith[1717]: S10module-load-usb-printer=action|Event|local|Action|S10module-load-usb-printer|Start|1054039271 675255|End|1054039273 117820|Elapsed|1.442565
May 27 08:49:00 smedemo kernel: Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
May 27 08:49:00 smedemo kernel: usb.c: registered new driver usb-storage
May 27 08:49:00 smedemo kernel: USB Mass Storage support registered.


If I run "cat /proc/scsi/scsi" I get the following.

[root@smedemo log]# cat /proc/scsi/scsi
Attached devices: none

[Robbie]

Does anyone have any idea what my problem might be?

[guestHH]

FWIW maybe a firmware update? I remember that this was needed before 5.6 was there.

[Robbie]

Thank you for the suggestion, but I already have the USB30 at the most current firmware revision (1.09).

[Robbie]

Charlie,

Do you know if anything else I might try?

[Charlie Brady]

Robbie wrote:

> Do you know if anything else I might try?

A decent SCSI tape drive.

Charlie

[Robbie]

This system is built in a Shuttle XPC case. Since I have to have a CDROM to load the system and perform upgrades, and I want to have two hard drives for RAID I do not have the option for an internal IDE tape drive. The only pci slot I have is taken up by my second network card. This leaves me with no way to install a scsi card. My only option is a external USB tape drive unless someone knows of another option that I am not aware of.

I have built about 40 of these systems with SME on them and my customers really seem to like the ability to stick them anywhere with out taking up a lot of room. They like the low noise level that the XPC case provides and in general seem to really like the setup. The only problem so far is that I can only offer them an online backup solution for their SME systems.

Before I started putting SME on the systems I was using Microsoft's Small Business Server and was using the USB30 as a tape backup option for my clients. This gave them the option to backup to a tape drive or to an online server which I feel is an important option.

SME offers a very cost effective solution for these small business class servers and I would like to be able to sale the systems with the ability for the customer to have an onsite backup solution.

[Ed Form]

Robbie wrote:
>
> This system is built in a Shuttle XPC case. Since I have to
> have a CDROM to load the system and perform upgrades, and I
> want to have two hard drives for RAID I do not have the
> option for an internal IDE tape drive. The only pci slot I
> have is taken up by my second network card. This leaves me
> with no way to install a scsi card. My only option is a
> external USB tape drive unless someone knows of another
> option that I am not aware of.

Since later versions of SME seem to support USB quite well, could you use a USB adaptor for the secondary NIC? It might take a bit of kicking to get it in but if it flies the slightly slower speed won't matter on an ADSL feed.

Ed Form

[Robbie]

Ed,

Thank you for the suggestion. Yes, I have used the Belkin USB Ethernet adapter and it seems to work with SME. The only problem is that for a cost effective solution for these SME boxes I really need to be able to use a external USB tape drive. When I add in the cost of a SCSI adapter and the premium that the external scsi drive cost I have gotten outside of the price range that I am trying to keep the system in.

Anyone that has any suggestion please share them with me. I would be greatful for any information that might help me solve this problem.

[Robbie]

Does anyone have any new suggestions for me to try?


Robbie

[Jan Mortensen]

How To Configure The OnStream DI-30 for use in SME 5.1.2
By Kelvin Lee

 

Note : I’ve only tested this on SME 5.1.2. It might work on older versions but I can’t be sure.

 

OnStream’s web site recommends the use of ide-scsi + osst to drive the DI-30. This approach does not require a kernel patch or a kernel recompile (which is required if you decide to use the ide-tape kernel patch instead). It was by accident that I discovered that SME 5.1.2 ships with both ide-scsi.o as well as osst.o because officially, SME does not support the OnStream DI-30. However, my tests indicates that the osst.o modules that ships with SME does not seem to work properly. However, the latest version of osst available that is supported under kernel 2.2.19 used by SME works and have been included with this How-To.

 

Additionally, I’ve not been able to successfully use the DI-30 with flexbackup (I did not spend too much time on this, so it might be possible) but have had no problems so far with taper once taper has been correctly configured.

 

 

1.         Install the DI-30 Drive

Follow the recommended instructions on installing the DI-30 into your SME Server

 

2.         Download and install the updated osst.o module

Once you downloaded the new osst.o module, you may replace the one that shipped with SME which can be found in :

 

/lib/modules/2.2.19-7.0.8/scsi

 

3.         Modify rc.sysinit to automatically load ide-scsi and osst (thanks to Ari for

his help on this)

a) make a backup of your rc.sysinit file

# cp /etc/rc.d/rc.sysint /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit.bak

 

b) edit the rc.sysinit file

# pico -w /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit

 

c)  search for the section that reads "# Initialize the serial ports." (it's near the end)

 

d) Add the following section:

# install the ide-scsi module

insmod ide-scsi

insmod osst

 

Then reboot and allow the ide-scsi and osst modules to load.

 

4.         Run the Makedevs.sh script to create the osst device nodes

The Makedevs.sh script is listed here

 

#!/bin/sh
# Script to create OnStream SC-x0 device nodes (major 206)
# Usage: Makedevs.sh [nos [path to dev]]
major=206
nrs=4
dir=/dev
test -z "$1" || nrs=$1
test -z "$2" || dir=$2
declare -i nr
nr=0
test -d $dir || mkdir -p $dir
while test $nr -lt $nrs; do
  mknod $dir/osst$nr c $major $nr
  chown 0.disk $dir/osst$nr; chmod 660 $dir/osst$nr;
  mknod $dir/nosst$nr c $major $[nr+128]
  chown 0.disk $dir/nosst$nr; chmod 660 $dir/nosst$nr;
  mknod $dir/osst${nr}l c $major $[nr+32]
  chown 0.disk $dir/osst${nr}l; chmod 660 $dir/osst${nr}l;
  mknod $dir/nosst${nr}l c $major $[nr+160]
  chown 0.disk $dir/nosst${nr}l; chmod 660 $dir/nosst${nr}l;
  mknod $dir/osst${nr}m c $major $[nr+64]
  chown 0.disk $dir/osst${nr}m; chmod 660 $dir/osst${nr}m;
  mknod $dir/nosst${nr}m c $major $[nr+192]
  chown 0.disk $dir/nosst${nr}m; chmod 660 $dir/nosst${nr}m;
  mknod $dir/osst${nr}a c $major $[nr+96]
  chown 0.disk $dir/osst${nr}a; chmod 660 $dir/osst${nr}a;
  mknod $dir/nosst${nr}a c $major $[nr+224]
  chown 0.disk $dir/nosst${nr}a; chmod 660 $dir/nosst${nr}a;
  let nr+=1
done
 

 

5.         Create symbolic links to point to /dev/osst0 and /dev/nosst0

Because the backup scripts in SME references the devices /dev/st0 and /dev/nst0, we need to point those devices to /dev/osst0 and /dev/nosst0 respectively.

 

a) backup current /dev/st0 and /dev/nst0

cd /dev

mv /dev/st0 /dev/st0.old

mv /dev/nst0 /dev/nst0.old

 

b) create symbolic links to osst

ln –s /dev/osst0 /dev/st0

ln –s /dev/nosst0 /dev/nst0

 

6.         Configure taper as your backup program

I followed Darrel May’s excellent How-To on using taper as the backup program. You will need to configure taper a little further through its Change Preferences screen and set the following :-

Under Tape Drive Preferences

Have fast fsf : NO

Can seek : NO

Can fsr : NO

Set block size : NO

Block size : 032K

Need to erase tapes : YES

Use eom : NO

Illegal end of tape : NO

 

 

Under Unattended Preferences

Overwrite unrecognised tapes : YES

 

7.         Configure SME for nightly tape backups

The last step is to use SME’s server manager panel to enable tape backups.

 

 

That should be it. The OnStream DI-30 should now be working. Just remember that with taper, restores will need to be done interactively via it’s console interface. Good luck ! Just remember to test restores from time to time to make sure the backup is working as expected.