Newsgroups: comp.sys.apollo
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca!system
From: system@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca (System Admin (Mike Peterson))
Subject: Re:  disk data check on DN10K
Message-ID: <1991Jan28.181921.27272@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca>
Organization: University of Toronto Chemistry Department
References: <9101281506.AA05903@richter.mit.edu>
Date: Mon, 28 Jan 1991 18:19:21 GMT

In article <9101281506.AA05903@richter.mit.edu> krowitz@RICHTER.MIT.EDU (David Krowitz) writes:
>                              A system which is experiencing more than
>a few (say less than 6) new bad spots a year should be carefully kept with
>up-to-date backup tapes on hand.

Since Aug. 6/90, we have had 122 disk errors spread over the 4 760MB
disks on our DN10000 (mainly on the striped system disk pair). There
aren't that many repeats in the list. The invol/salvol procedure given
by DK works just fine (we just did it), and will even attempt to copy
deallocated blocks that belong to files/directories to good blocks.
We used to replace disks that were giving lots of errors, but that has
never helped in the past. Now the local office feels that we are better
off with the disks we know, rather than new/refurbished ones which have been
given a good shaking during shipping (we have had a lot of DOA disks).

As DK says, we do daily backups of all modified files just in case.
(BTW, the Workstation Solutions TapeAT version 3.1.3 now works on our
DN10000.)
-- 
Mike Peterson, System Administrator, U/Toronto Department of Chemistry
E-mail: system@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca
Tel: (416) 978-7094                  Fax: (416) 978-8775