SCO Engineer looking for info on badtrk

Sat Nov 15 15:31:41 GMT 2003 SCO Engineer looking for info on badtrk

Bela Lubkin is researching an issue and asks if you have any SCO OpenServer systems with bad blocks marked out using the badtrk(ADM) or scsibadblk(ADM) schemes?

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From: Bela Lubkin <belal@sco.com>
Subject: survey: anyone actively using OSR5 badtrk/scsibadblk?
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Summary: do you have any SCO OpenServer systems with bad blocks marked
out using the badtrk(ADM) or scsibadblk(ADM) schemes?

=============================================================================

I'm researching an issue with the SCO OpenServer bad track aliasing
facilities.

There are two related facilities: badtrk(ADM) is used with IDE disks,
scsibadblk(ADM) is used with SCSI disks.  Either one can be invoked by
running:

  badtrk -f /dev/rhd0a

supplying the character device name for the Unix partition.  The user
interface of either `badtrk` or `scsibadblk` will be presented,
according to the type of the selected disk.

OSR5 installation automatically creates a badtrk or scsibadblk alias
table which is initially empty.  You are prompted whether to scan the
Unix partition for bad blocks; the default answer differs depending on
disk type.  A system installed with all default answers will sometimes
have been scanned for bad blocks, other times not.

Later, during the active life of a system, blocks are not automatically
added to the list.  They are only added if the administrator
deliberately runs `badtrk` or `scsibadblk` and performs a scan.

Modern hard disks are designed to prevent operating systems from ever
noticing a bad block.  The hard disks automatically detect bad blocks
and substitute good ones, usually at a level which is below the OS's
notice.

My question: are people actually seeing bad blocks in these OS-managed
tables today?

If you wish to respond, please run:

  # badtrk -f /dev/rhd0a

This can present either of two user interfaces.  On SCSI disks, the
option to show detected bad blocks is:

        4. List current bad block table

On IDE disks, the option is:

        1. Print Current Bad Track Table

Be sure to choose the right option.  Other options on each menu can
cause damage to your filesystems (you would have to answer several
further questions before anything harmful happened).  You can get out by
entering 'q' at each prompt, or with your interrupt key (usually DEL or
control-C).

I would like to hear from anyone who has reasonably modern hardware and
_does_ have bad tracks or blocks marked in these tables.  Please respond
directly to me, belal@sco.com.

>Bela<

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