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SCSI Tape Devices Monitor (dm_stape)

Monitor Description | Configuration Files

Monitor Description

The SCSI Tape Devices monitor is designed to monitor the operation of all supported SCSI tape devices on your system. If a problem is detected with a tape device, the monitor immediately sends an event to Event Monitoring Service, which alerts you using the notification methods defined for the monitor. Clear, concise error messages identify the problem, what caused it, and what must be done to correct it.

The SCSI Tape Devices monitor employs two types of event detection: asynchronous and polling. Using asynchronous detection, the monitor continuously  watches for any errors or abnormal behavior reported by the device driver during I/O operations. If an error occurs, it is passed directly to the monitor for immediate analysis and event generation if necessary.

Using polling detection, the monitor requests status information from each tape device at regular intervals. The monitor then analyzes the data returned  to determine if a hardware problem has occurred. If an error has occurred that warrants notification, an event is generated.

The  monitor is launched automatically when the system is started, ensuring that all supported SCSI tape devices are protected from undetected hardware failure.

Release History

HP-UX 11i v2 June 2007 release: The SCSI Tape Devices Monitor is supported on the HP-UX 11i v2 systems.
The SCSI Tape Devices Monitor is not supported on the HP-UX 11i releases.
September 2002 Release: Added support of Ultrium devices
December 2001 Release: Changed default polling interval to 0 (no polling).
September 2001 Release: Added support for using stape driver cache file.
June 2001 Release: Added ability to stop polling for a specified period of time.
June 2000 Release and HP-UX 11i: Multiple-view hardware monitor support
March 2000 Release: Enhanced, more products supported (see below)
February 1999 Release: Initial release

Supported Products

The SCSI tape devices monitor supports the following tape libraries and autoloaders:

As of the March 2000 release (IPR 0003), the monitor also supports the following devices:

As of the June 2000 release (IPR 0006), the monitor also support the following devices:

As of the September 2000 release (IPR0009), the monitor also supports the following devices:

As of the September 2002 Release (HWE0209), the monitor also supports the following devices:

Special Requirements

None.

Resource Path

Event monitoring: /storage/events/tapes/SCSI_tape
Status monitoring: /storage/status/tapes/SCSI_tape

Monitor Name

/usr/sbin/stm/uut/bin/tools/monitor/dm_stape

PSM State Control

The set_fixed utility must be used to return a hardware resource to the UP state following a failure. The monitor does not support automatic state control. (See "Using the set_fixed Utility to Restore Hardware UP State" in the EMS Hardware User's Guide.)

Configuration Files

Startup Configuration File (.sapcfg)

File name: /var/stm/config/tools/monitor/dm_stape.sapcfg

Default Entries: The monitor uses the standard default monitor request entries. See the Generic Monitor Data Sheet.

Monitor Configuration File (.cfg)

File name: /var/stm/config/tools/monitor/dm_stape.cfg

Default settings:

POLL_INTERVAL 0 (no polling)
 SLEEP_START 60 minutes
 SLEEP_TIME 240 minutes
TIMESTAMP_DELAY 1440 minutes

Note: Polling is only supported for single-host systems.

Note: Multiple-view (Predictive-enabled) hardware monitors use the Client Configuration files (.clcfg) described below to set Suppression Time and Severity Action.

Starting with the IPR0106 release, dm_stape has the ability to stop polling for a specified period of time so it won't interfere with critical back-up applications that may be running.  The "SLEEP_START" and "SLEEP_TIME" values are used to prevent dm_stape from polling (sending SCSI commands) during a particular region of time in a 24-hour period.  The "SLEEP_START" time specifies the number of minutes past midnight to stop polling and "SLEEP_TIME" specifies the number of minutes to stop polling.  For example, the default values listed above instruct the monitor to stop polling starting at 1:00 A.M. (60 minutes past midnight) for a period of 4 hours (240 minutes).  If either value is set to zero, the monitor ignores this feature and performs a polling operation at the normal "POLL_INTERVAL" period of time.

Starting with the IPR0109 release, dm_stape will use a cache file generated by the stape driver to retrieve data from devices bound to that driver.  This will allow the monitor to collect this data without having to send SCSI commands to the device.   This only applies to devices bound to the stape driver; dm_stape will continue to send SCSI commands to devices bound by other drivers.  If the installed stape driver does not support this feature, then dm_stape will revert back to sending SCSI commands to get the data.  The data stored in the cache file has a timestamp to indicate when it was retreived.  When the monitor gets this data, it compares its timestamp with the current time and if the difference is greater than "TIMESTAMP_DELAY" minutes, it will send SCSI commands to get the latest data rather than use the data stored in cache.   Thus, the end user can specify how old the cached information will be considered valid.  The default value is 1440 minutes (1 day); the lower limit is 2 minutes and the upper limit is 43,200 minutes (30 days).

Default Client Configuration File (.clcfg)

File name: /var/stm/config/tools/monitor/default_MONITOR_NAME.clcfg

If a monitor is Multiple-view (Predictive-enabled), it uses a client-configuration file (*.clcfg) to control the text sent in text messages to specific targets (for example, to Predictive Support). The default_MONITOR_NAME.clcfg applies to messages sent to all targets. Specific .clcfg files (for example, predictive_MONITOR_NAME.clcfg) are used to control the text sent to specific targets (in this example, to Predictive Support).

HOST_ID tags in the .clcfg files control the System Information, which is reported under the "Additional System Data" label in the event messages. If a HOST_ID tag is enabled in the *.clcfg file, then the corresponding information will appear in the event message.

HOST_IDs available for all monitors are described in the Generic Monitor Data Sheet.

DEV_ID tags in the .clcfg files control the Monitor-specific information, which is reported under the "Component Data" label in the event messages. If a DEV_ID tag is enabled in the *.clcfg file, then the corresponding information will appear in the event message. DEV_IDs available for this monitor include:

DEV_ID tag Default Text label
dev_pdev On Physical Device Path
dev_inq_vendor On Inquiry Vendor ID
dev_inq_prod On Inquiry Product ID
dev_fw_version On Firmware Revision
dev_serial_num On Serial Number

PSM Configuration File (.psmcfg)

File name: /var/stm/config/tools/monitor/dm_stape.psmcfg

Default settings:

MONITOR_RESOURCE_NAME /storage/events/tapes/SCSI_tape
PSM_RESOURCE_NAME /template/scsi/events
MONITOR_STATE_HANDLING NO_UP_CONTROL
Requires the use of set_fixed to set UP state.
DOWN SEVERITY THRESHOLD Serious and Critical map to DOWN

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URL: http://docs.hp.com/hpux/onlinedocs/diag/ems/emd_tape.htm
Last updated: Friday October 26 20:55:44 CDT 2007