by Allen Hertling — CSY
The newest released version of the On-Line Diagnostics (aka
MESA Diagnostics) for the HP e3000 product named Support
Tools Manager (STM) is B8343AA.75.01. This release provides support
for new hardware, improvements in the functionality of STM, and correction of several reported defects. Additionally,
the content of STM has been slightly changed in that the Menu version
of STM (known as MSTM) is no longer provided on the HP e3000.
Also, the DTC support tool known as TERMDSM is no longer a part
of STM, but is supported separately as part of the HP 32022
MPE/iX Terminal IO product.
New Hardware
Support |
 |
STM provides support for the new HP e3000 PA8700
processors for the N4000s and the A500s. The software will properly
identify the hardware for display by the MAP command
and provide information as to the specific hardware status via the INFO and IL (Infolog) commands. The newly supported Fibre Channel Interface
Card and the VA7100 disk array are also identified.
Improved
Functionality |
|
STM operates by starting a system process (aka a daemon) named DIAGMOND. This happens automatically at bootup and as the result
of running the STMSTART.In previous versions, DIAG.SYS program. DIAGMOND and its child processes ran at a very high priority (13)
in the A linear queue. This high priority caused some problems of
competition (and hangs) for system resources between STM and the network software which STM is dependent upon.
With the A.75.01 release, DIAGMOND and its child processes (CCLOGD, MEMLOGD, DIAGLOGD, etc.) now run in the B queue at priority 150. Customers
should no longer utilize the various scripts provided by the HP
Expert Center that provided workarounds to the resource problems
by changing the queue and priority of the older versions of the STM programs.
When STM is started, the software conducts a hardware mapping
of the system (also when a REMAP command
is issued by a user). This process may take several minutes (typically
2 to 5, but sometimes more) during which the user interface program
(CSTM) will not generally be usable. Once the system mapping is complete,
the continuously running system log processes of DIAGLOGD, MEMLOGD, and CCLOGD are started as child processes of DIAGMOND. These processes have been improved to use fewer system
resources and to consume less CPU time. A side effect of these changes
may be evident in that some commands within CSTM may report that
the commands are disabled for a few seconds after exiting a command
(like INFO) or utility (like LOGTOOL or an expert tool). A short wait of 5 to 15 seconds should
allow the background processes to complete and the online interface
of CSTM to be re-enabled.
Corrected
Defects |
|
The A.75.01 release includes code changes for over a dozen
service requests that were reported against the MPE/iX 6.5 and 7.0
releases of STM. The causes of various System Aborts (1746), machine
checks, and hangs have been corrected and the A.75.01 release has
been more robust during testing of the MPE/iX 7.5 Release so much
so that the same software has been packaged into Patches for MPE/iX
6.5 and 7.0.
Some user interface changes are that the FF command
within LOGTOOL no longer fails, Firmware Updates to DLTs no longer
report FAILED when the updates were actually successful, Process
PIM Information is now reported for the N- and A-series, and Console
messages of "*** DIAGNOSTIC MONITOR ABORT FAILED" have been replaced with a more explanatory
message of "STM Diagnostic Monitor already stopped".
Program
Changes |
|
The Menu version of STM (MSTM) has been removed from the product.
The MSTM program added no functionality to the online diagnostics
but confused users as to the product features due to the extensive HP-UX
options which were not applicable to the HPe3000. Users entering MSTM.PUB.SYS will now be directed to use the command-driven CSTM.PUB.SYS. The version of the TERMDSM program which used to be available within the STM Run
Utility command is no longer provided as part of STM. It was functionally
identical to the standalone version of the program (TERMDSM.DIAG.SYS), which is part of the HP 32022 MPE/iX Terminal I/O
product. Confusion over where to report problems and the additional
support costs were deemed to be negative factors that led to the
removal of the duplicate functionality.
Log files
and Performance Problems |
|
Customers should be aware that the STM product collects system
information and places it into various log files. As these log files
grow in size and number, system performance may be negatively impacted.
Users should perform regular processes to clear or remove the many
log files created by STM. The STM ResetSysActLog (RSA)
command should be used regularly to clear the System Activity Log
(after examining the log contents with the SAL command,
of course). Several other log files may be seen under the /var/stm/logs/ directory. Users may wish to stop STM with the STMSHUT.DIAG.SYS program, purge various files within these directories,
and restart STM with the STMSTART.DIAG.SYS program. This might be performed as part of the Full
Backup on a monthly basis. Special care should be taken not to purge
historical logs that may provide critical hardware information such
as the files under /var/stm/logs/os/ of memlog and log<nnnn>.raw.cur.
Users may wish to examine the switch-threshold value in the /var/stm/config/sys/diaglogd.cfg file. Users should determine how fast the log files
grow and choose a switch-threshold value that is appropriate for their
system. Large files may cause backup delays and poor system performance.
To avoid delays and reduced performance, consider enabling a appropriate
switch-threshold with a choice of 1000 to 16000 depending on your
system.
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