Horrible Disk Error

[HtownMack]

I've got a G3R w/ver 7 software.

Symptoms: On a system with duplicated spe, I have a Red alarm on my the TN1657 disk drive on the active spe and no alarms on the disk drive on the standby spe.

The active spe's disk fails 809, 812, 813, 814 and 815 and gives me error codes that aren't in the maintenance manual.

The standby disk passes all it's tests BUT....

on the Status Spe screen I get "NO" for disk presence in bothe the active and the standby spe's. Is there any troubleshooting I've overlooked or are my disks both shot to hell?!?! If so, will my tape drives (active and standby both with no errors) have room enough for me to save translations???

 

[mikeydidit]

It sounds like one of your disk drives has had it. If their has never been a time that you having a duplicated system has paid off, this is it. First I would do a reset system I and make the disk that is in trouble the off line or standby SPE. Then do “change system parameters maintenance” and set the SPE interchange to NO. This will put your good SPE online so you can work on the other. As for the save translations, that command takes what is on the memory boards and saves then to the disk drives. I don’t believe I would do that being one is in trouble. That would put stored data alarms in your switch and they can be a real pain to resolve. I would take the standby SPE down and reseat the disk that is in trouble. That may kick start it for you. If it still stays in trouble then you will have no choice but to replace it. Be sure to status the port network and set your tone clock to the active SPE before you power down the standby.


Mikey

 

[HtownMack]

Powering down even my standby spe sounds scary. I'll give it a try though.

 

[mikeydidit]

I have something that may make you feel better about it. I put this together for a couple of my tech's in case they needed it.

Replacing SPE circuit packs in a Duplicated system


Unlike a port carrier that is used for station circuit packs, you must power down one of the processors in a duplicated system before you can replace any circuit packs in that carrier. Always be sure to match the vintages on any circuit packs in A and B processors to insure their will be no conflicts in the software. Also before replacing any circuit packs to a higher vintage, make sure that our current version of software in the switch will support that pack. You can use the command “newterm” to display the current version of software. Below are the procedures for powering down a SPE.

1. Save translations
This step takes all translations on the 3 memory boards in both processors A&B and saves these translations to the hard drives in both processors.
Make sure that both processors show “Success” after this command completes.
2. Back up disk both full
This step saves all translations that have been saved to the hard drives and stores this information to the optical disk drives. Again this is done on A&B processors. The same is true for this command as with the save translations. Look to make sure that both SPE’s show “Success” after the command is complete.
3. Status SPE
This command will show the active and standby SPE locations. Make sure the SPE you need to shut down is in standby mode. If it is not, use the “Reset system I” command to change the SPE from active to standby. Use the status SPE command again to make sure the now active SPE is up and fully functional with no alarms present. Repeat this command until it is before proceeding.
4. Status Port Network
This command will allow you to see which tone clock is active and which is in the standby mode. You need to be sure that the active tone clock is in the active SPE that you are not taking down. If the tone clock is in the wrong SPE use the “Set tone clock” 01A or 01B to set it in the right SPE. The use the status port network command again to make sure it changed to the right SPE.
5. Power down procedures.
. Lock the SPE that you want “active” by using the toggle switches on the duplication interface pack. There are 3 positions on this. A, B, and auto select. Simultaneously move the select switches on A and B SPE’s to the desired SPE setting on the duplication interface packs. This will lock the active SPE. You are now ready to power down the standby SPE. Remove the power cord to the left power supply first. Then remove the cord to the right power supply. Wait until there are no lights present on the power supplies. The offline processor is now down. At this time you can replace any pack in this carrier.




6. Power up procedures
After making sure that you have seated the circuit packs you have replaced correctly, you can now plug in the power cords to the power supplies. First plug in the power cord to the right power supply and then plug in the left power supply. Move the select switches on the duplication interface packs back to “Auto select”.




7.Alarm resolutions
The standby SPE should now be trying to come up. This may take 5 to 10 minutes. You can track this process using the status SPE command. This will show you the status of the hard drives, optical disk, processors and selector switches positions. It will also show you the status of the handshake, shadowing, and if the standby SPE is refreshed. After the standby SPE comes completely up is should show that
1. Handshake is up
2. Shadowing is on
3. Standby refreshed is yes
4. SPE selected is AUTO
5. State of health is functional
6. R-media and Disk are in-service

If the standby SPE does not come back up it may be necessary to do a “Busy out SPE standby” command. Then do a “release SPE standby” to make it functional again.

* To replace another circuit pack in the active SPE repeat all of the above steps.

You would skip steps 1 & 2.


Mikey

 

[HtownMack]

Wow! Thanks for the detailed instructions. The only difference I saw between what you said and what's in the book is the book tells you to switch the SPE lock toggle switches one at a time.

Thanks a lot!!!