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IRIX 6.5.2 Base Documentation November 1998.img
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1. _C_H_A_L_L_E_N_G_E_/_O_n_y_x__I_O_4__P_R_O_M
This chapter contains information about the CHALLENGE/Onyx
IO4 PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory) Monitor. While in
most cases the CHALLENGE/Onyx PROM is similar to the PROMs
discussed in the user's manuals, it contains a new graphical
user interface and contains a number of new hardware
configuration features. And while most of these same
operations may be applied on other SGI systems, notably the
Indy and Indigo2, please refer to the _p_r_o_m(1M) manual page
for a complete description of all of the common commands and
environment variables.
1.1 _T_h_e__P_R_O_M__G_r_a_p_h_i_c_a_l__U_s_e_r__I_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e
In an attempt to improve the look and feel of the PROM user
interface, the IO4 PROM presents you with a graphical
interface on Onyx systems when the _c_o_n_s_o_l_e environment
variable is set to ``g''. In all cases you can use the
keyboard instead of the mouse, and in most cases the
keystrokes required to perform a particular task are
identical.
For example, the main five-item panel displayed when the
system first starts up is identical to the five-item menu
found on previous systems. To make a selection, you either
click any mouse button on one of the five buttons on the
left, or you press the corresponding number key. The top
item (``Start System'') is option number 1, and the last
item (``Enter Command Monitor'') is option number 5.
1.2 _C_H_A_L_L_E_N_G_E_/_O_n_y_x__H_a_r_d_w_a_r_e__C_o_n_f_i_g_u_r_a_t_i_o_n__C_o_m_m_a_n_d_s
The IO4 PROM provides a number of commands that you to
examine and modify the hardware configuration of your
system.
1.2.1 _C_h_e_c_k_i_n_g__a_n_d__U_p_d_a_t_i_n_g__t_h_e__H_a_r_d_w_a_r_e__I_n_v_e_n_t_o_r_y When
the system first starts up, the IO4 PROM automatically
examines all of the boards in the system to determine
whether any components have failed. During this process,
the IO4 PROM reads a copy of the hardware inventory out of
nonvolatile memory and compares the system's current
configuration with the last known inventory. If it finds a
discrepancy, the PROM prints a warning message. When errors
are found, the PROM automatically pauses before continuing
so that the administrator has a chance to examine the error
notices. The following example shows the output of the
inventory checker if it notices that one of the processors
on an IP19 is missing.
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CCCChhhheeeecccckkkkiiiinnnngggg iiiinnnnvvvveeeennnnttttoooorrrryyyy............
************ SSSSlllliiiicccceeee 1111 oooonnnn tttthhhheeee IIIIPPPP11119999 iiiinnnn ssssllllooootttt 2222 iiiissssnnnn''''tttt vvvviiiissssiiiibbbblllleeee
PPPPrrrreeeessssssss <<<<EEEENNNNTTTTEEEERRRR>>>> ttttoooo ccccoooonnnnttttiiiinnnnuuuueeee
If system uptime is critical (if, for example, your system
is a central server) and operators aren't available around
the clock, you might not want the PROM to wait for operator
intervention when the hardware inventory checker notices a
problem. To force the system to continue booting in the
face of non-fatal failures, set the _n_o_n_s_t_o_p environment
variable to ``1'' (see Section A.3, ``Environment
Variables'').
The hardware inventory routines are incapable of
differentiating between hardware that has been physically
removed from a system and hardware that is so broken that it
doesn't appear to be present. For this reason, if you
change the configuration of your CHALLENGE/Onyx system, you
must explicitly update the system's hardware inventory. To
do this, first enter the PROM monitor by selecting the
``Enter Command Monitor'' option from the PROM menu. When
the command monitor displays its prompt (``>>''), type
update, then press the <Enter> key. This tells the PROM
that the system's current configuration is correct and
prevents it from complaining in the future. Next, type
reset and press the <Enter> key to reset your system.
If you see error messages when no hardware modifications
have occurred, a component in your system might have failed.
Call your service provider. In this situation, the hardware
inventory information might provide valuable insight into
the nature of the problem. For this reason, do not update
the hardware inventory until a field service engineer first
examines the system.
1.2.2 _D_i_s_p_l_a_y_i_n_g__C_u_r_r_e_n_t__H_a_r_d_w_a_r_e__C_o_n_f_i_g_u_r_a_t_i_o_n To display
a list of boards installed in a CHALLENGE or Onyx system,
using the command monitor (with prompt ">>"), type hinv -b.
The ----bbbb option forces _h_i_n_v to display bus-specific
information. The ----vvvv switch, when used with the ----bbbb switch,
causes _h_i_n_v to display more detailed information about
boards. For example, typing:
hhhhiiiinnnnvvvv ----bbbb ----vvvv
displays the configuration of all the processors, memory
banks, and IO adapters in the system.
1.2.3 _P_O_D__M_o_d_e In the unlikely event of an extreme
hardware failure, the system might drop into a low-level
diagnostic environment known as POD (Power-On Diagnostics)
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mode. POD mode helps in system diagnosis and is not
intended for use by customers. Entering POD mode is usually
a sign of severe hardware problems; consult a service
provider.
1.3 _E_n_v_i_r_o_n_m_e_n_t__V_a_r_i_a_b_l_e_s
This section describes special procedures to customize
certain aspects of the PROM Monitor. Many aspects of the
system startup process can be customized by changing PROM
environment variables. Some of these PROM environment
variables are stored in nonvolatile memory, which retains
its value after the system is powered off. Some common
customizations are described in the sections below. More
information is provided in the _p_r_o_m(1M) manual page.
Environment variables can be changed with the _s_e_t_e_n_v command
in the PROM Command Monitor. To get to the PROM Command
Monitor, first choose ``Stop for System Maintenance'' when
the system is starting in order to get to the System
Maintenance Menu, then choose ``Enter Command Monitor'' by
either clicking on it with the mouse or pressing 5.
1.3.1 _S_e_l_e_c_t_i_n_g__t_h_e__C_o_n_s_o_l_e__D_e_v_i_c_e Servers and
workstations can be configured to use a terminal connected
to serial port #1 as their console. If a system has a
graphics board, the PROM Monitor uses it as the console if
the _c_o_n_s_o_l_e environment variable is set to ``g''; if
graphics aren't installed or the _c_o_n_s_o_l_e variable is set to
``d'', the system uses the serial port as the system
console.
To force the console to be the serial port, set the _c_o_n_s_o_l_e
variable to ``d'' using the _s_e_t_e_n_v command:
sssseeeetttteeeennnnvvvv ccccoooonnnnssssoooolllleeee dddd
To change the console back to the graphics screen, set the
_c_o_n_s_o_l_e variable to ``g'':
sssseeeetttteeeennnnvvvv ccccoooonnnnssssoooolllleeee gggg
Typing init reinitializes the system and forces it to switch
to the selected console device.
1.3.2 _B_o_o_t_i_n_g__F_r_o_m__a_n__A_l_t_e_r_n_a_t_e__D_i_s_k There are three
environment variables in the PROM for specifying the device
to boot from. The _S_y_s_t_e_m_P_a_r_t_i_t_i_o_n variable specifies the
location of the device volume header. Its default value is
``dksc(0,1,8),'' which specifies SCSI controller 0, disk 1,
partition 8. The _O_S_L_o_a_d_P_a_r_t_i_t_i_o_n variable specifies the
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device from which the IRIX kernel should be loaded. The
default value for the _O_S_L_o_a_d_P_a_r_t_i_t_i_o_n variable is
``dksc(0,1,0),'' which tells the PROM to look for the kernel
in partition 0 on disk 1 of SCSI controller 0. By
convention, the volume header is always partition 8 on a
disk, and the kernel is always located in partition 0.
The _r_o_o_t variable is the third variable that needs to be
changed when selecting a different boot device. The _r_o_o_t
variable tells IRIX the name of the device that holds the
root filesystem. Because it is used by IRIX rather than the
PROM, its format is different from that of the
_O_S_L_o_a_d_P_a_r_t_i_t_i_o_n and _S_y_s_t_e_m_P_a_r_t_i_t_i_o_n variables. The default
value of _r_o_o_t is ``dks0d1s0,'' which specifies that the root
filesystem is stored on partition 0 of disk 1 on SCSI
controller 0.
To boot from disk number two on controller 0, type:
sssseeeetttteeeennnnvvvv SSSSyyyysssstttteeeemmmmPPPPaaaarrrrttttiiiittttiiiioooonnnn ddddkkkksssscccc((((0000,,,,2222,,,,8888))))
sssseeeetttteeeennnnvvvv OOOOSSSSLLLLooooaaaaddddPPPPaaaarrrrttttiiiittttiiiioooonnnn ddddkkkksssscccc((((0000,,,,2222,,,,0000))))
sssseeeetttteeeennnnvvvv rrrrooooooootttt ddddkkkkssss0000dddd2222ssss0000
To boot from disk number one on controller 1, type:
sssseeeetttteeeennnnvvvv SSSSyyyysssstttteeeemmmmPPPPaaaarrrrttttiiiittttiiiioooonnnn ddddkkkksssscccc((((1111,,,,1111,,,,8888))))
sssseeeetttteeeennnnvvvv OOOOSSSSLLLLooooaaaaddddPPPPaaaarrrrttttiiiittttiiiioooonnnn ddddkkkksssscccc((((1111,,,,1111,,,,0000))))
sssseeeetttteeeennnnvvvv rrrrooooooootttt ddddkkkkssss1111dddd1111ssss0000
Finally, to boot from disk number 3 on controller 2, type:
sssseeeetttteeeennnnvvvv SSSSyyyysssstttteeeemmmmPPPPaaaarrrrttttiiiittttiiiioooonnnn ddddkkkksssscccc((((2222,,,,3333,,,,8888))))
sssseeeetttteeeennnnvvvv OOOOSSSSLLLLooooaaaaddddPPPPaaaarrrrttttiiiittttiiiioooonnnn ddddkkkksssscccc((((2222,,,,3333,,,,0000))))
sssseeeetttteeeennnnvvvv rrrrooooooootttt ddddkkkkssss2222dddd3333ssss0000
1.3.3 _S_t_a_r_t_i_n_g__t_h_e__S_y_s_t_e_m__A_u_t_o_m_a_t_i_c_a_l_l_y By default, the
PROM starts the operating system after waiting a brief
period of time each time the system is powered on. If you
do not click on the ``Stop for System Maintenance'' button,
or press the <Esc> key, the system attempts to start the
operating system by loading it into memory and executing it.
The environment variable _a_u_t_o_l_o_a_d can be set to ``yes'' to
enable this feature, or to ``no'' (the default) to inhibit
it. If automatic startup is disabled, the PROM displays the
System Maintenance Menu after running power-on diagnostics.
1.3.4 _B_o_o_t_i_n_g__W_i_t_h__N_o_n_-_T_e_r_m_i_n_a_l__H_a_r_d_w_a_r_e__F_a_i_l_u_r_e_s By
default, the PROM stops and prints a warning message if it
discovers that a component has failed in some manner. In
many cases, however, the failure of a single processor or
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bank of memory isn't enough to keep the system from coming
up. If your CHALLENGE/Onyx system is configured with eight
processors, losing one of them is non-fatal. To prevent
such non-fatal hardware problems from stopping the system in
the PROM, you can set the _n_o_n_s_t_o_p variable to 1:
sssseeeetttteeeennnnvvvv nnnnoooonnnnssssttttoooopppp 1111
To ensure that the system displays a notification message in
the event of any hardware failures, set nonstop to 0:
sssseeeetttteeeennnnvvvv nnnnoooonnnnssssttttoooopppp 0000
1.3.5 _R_e_b_o_o_t_i_n_g__I_m_m_e_d_i_a_t_e_l_y__A_f_t_e_r__C_r_a_s_h_e_s Normally, the
system will pause waiting for user intervention after a
system crash. In environments which demand high
availability such a pause may be undesirable. To force the
system to reboot immediately after a panic, set the _r_e_b_o_u_n_d
environment variable to ``y'' using the PROM's setenv
command:
sssseeeetttteeeennnnvvvv rrrreeeebbbboooouuuunnnndddd yyyy
To return to the default behavior of waiting for user
intervention, set _r_e_b_o_u_n_d to 'n'.
1.3.6 _R_e_s_t_o_r_i_n_g__D_e_f_a_u_l_t_s The PROM environment variables
can be reset to their factory defaults by issuing the
_r_e_s_e_t_e_n_v command from the PROM Command Monitor. Because
_r_e_s_e_t_e_n_v also resets the _n_e_t_a_d_d_r environment variable, you
may wish to note the system's IP address before using this
command.
1.4 _K_n_o_w_n__B_u_g_s
The following list details all known IO4 PROM bugs at the
time of release. Because the IO4 PROM is software-writable,
these bugs will be fixed by PROM updates in future releases
of the operating system.
1.4.0.1 _T_h_e__G_U_I__h_a_n_d_l_e_s__u_n_e_x_p_e_c_t_e_d__w_a_r_n_i_n_g__m_e_s_s_a_g_e_s__p_o_o_r_l_y
If an unexpected warning or status message is printed, the
graphical user interface switches over to a text port to
display the message. The PROM continues to execute, but
additional information is displayed textually rather than
graphically. This bug is usually seen if an informational
message is displayed while the miniroot is being loaded
during the installation process.