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From: esther@rayssd.ssd.ray.com ("Esther A. Paris")
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apollo
Subject: Apollos in a classified (SECRET) processing environment
Message-ID: <9105161235.AA15192@ray.com>
Date: 16 May 91 12:35:27 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Lines: 58

Hello all... forgive me if this question and a zillion answers have
been posted before - I'm new to this newsgroup.

So here goes:  I have some Apollos (OK, I confess Mentor is our OEM)
running in a classified (SECRET) environment.  One of the machines
has been switched from classified processing to unclassified processing.
However, this means that its 760-MB disk is locked up in a safe as
a classified SECRET document.  I'm looking for advice on how to 
declassify this disk.  I'll give you some additional background on 
the requirements for disk declassification and what our company has
done in the past on other machines.

The requirements to declassify go as follows (basically):

	1. verify there are no new bad blocks on the disk, compare 
	   current list of bad blocks to manufacturer's list of
           bad blocks.  (done)

	2. Write all zeros to every addressable spot on the disk.

	3. Verify that all zeros were written to the disk.

	4. Write all ones to every addressable spot on the disk.

	5. Verify that all ones were written to the disk.

	6. Write a third pattern to every addressable spot on the
	   disk (pattern of your choice).

	7. Verify that pattern-TBD has been written to the disk.

	8. Get the Defense Investigative Service to give the disk
	   its blessing (they want to see the procedure and the proof).

	9. Fill out the appropriate paperwork.  Use the disk!

We have programs to software-erase disks that run on VAX/VMS, Data
General AOS/VS, 'regular' UNIX (Suns, SGI, Pyramid), and I believe
DOS.  However, we cannot seem to adapt the regular UNIX programs to
run on the Apollo; these programs for the regular UNIX machines rely
on character and block special files and apparently these character
and block special files don't behave like regular UNIX character and
block special files for the Apollos.  As a matter of fact, when I run
the programs on the Apollo (or use the 'od' command to dump the character
and block special files) the disk reports the same information to me
every time, no matter how much or how little data is on the disk -- it
always reports 'NEWLY FORMATTED DISK, I HAVE A SYSBOOT AND THE REST IS
ALL CHARACTER 55'.  This seems to be a neat security feature to prevent
users from analyzing the character and block special files for the disk,
but unfortunately I need to bypass this security feature in order to
get my 760-desperately-needed-MBs back.  

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.  

Esther Paris
Raytheon Equipment Division
508/490-2022
esther@mar.ed.ray.com, or esther@rayssd.ssd.ray.com