User manual

FAQ/Troubleshooting
iXOS-JUKEMAN 2.2 User Manual Pre.12/97256
Why do I get weird SCSI errors, in particular data transfer overrun
messages with reference to a command “[0x8 ...]” on the console of
Solaris workstations?
Why do I get I/O Errors when I try to read a non root directory of a CD
on Solaris?
Both errors are due to problems with the Solaris Volume Management
daemon, vold. It is by default configured to control all CD drives, including
those which are controlled by iXOS-JUKEMAN.
When, upon a file system request, the jukebox inserts a CD into the drive,
vold detects the change and tries to automatically mount the CD - not a
bad idea. Unfortunately, Sun thinks all discs containing file systems, in-
cluding CDs, have 512 Byte blocks, and therefore computes too many
blocks for read commands (0x8 is the hexadecimal operation code of a
SCSI read command).
For example, if Solaris wants to read 64 KBytes from CD, a normal CD
drive with 2048 Byte blocks must deliver 32 blocks. Sun computes that 64
KBytes are 128 Blocks and asks for them. The drive replies by sending
128 Blocks - which are 256 KBytes. Of course they do not fit into the 64
KByte buffer - therefore the error message is quite reasonable. Having
detected that the CD is not mountable, vold tries to get rid of it and in-
structs the drive to eject the CD. The drive does it, and iXOS-JUKEMAN
can no longer access the CD. Typically it was able to read the root direc-
tory (because this was faster than the failed mount), but then the CD is
ejected, and iXOS-JUKEMAN cannot read anymore.
The solution depends on how brute you are. These are your options:
1. Kill vold (most brute, works immediately)
2. Delete /etc/vold.conf (prohibits that vold starts during boot)
3. Delete the line describing all CD drives from /etc/vold.conf (this is the
line starting with “use cdrom...”, normally placed just after the comment
line “# Devices to use”
4. Edit this line so that it does not describe CDs in jukeboxes.
The last option requires that you look closely to the device names
and pathes and detect which device represents which CD drive.
Windows95 clients and slow jukeboxes
If you have lots of Windows95 clients clients competing for CDs in a slow
jukebox, the LanManager Client may time out.