Name

mtx − generic magtape exerciser

Syntax

/usr/field/mtx [ options ] −adev
/usr/field/mtx [ options ] −sdev
/usr/field/mtx [ options ] −ldev
/usr/field/mtx [ options ] −vdev

Description

The mtx exerciser will write, read, and validate random data on the specified magnetic tape device from beginning of tape (BOT) to end of tape (EOT). There are four record length modes in which to run the mtx exerciser.  The modes are short (512 bytes), long (10240 bytes), variable (512-20480 bytes), and all of these three in sequence.

The exerciser will run until <CTRLC> or a kill −15 pid is sent to the process. 

A logfile is made in /usr/field for you to examine and then remove. If there are errors in the logfile, check the /usr/adm/syserr/syserr.<hostname> file, where the driver and kernel error messages are saved.

An enhanced tape exerciser called tapex provides more comprehensive tape testing than this exerciser.  Refer to tapex() for a complete description.

Options

The mtx options are:

−hPrint help message for the mtx command.

−ofileSave diagnostic output in file. 

−tiRun time in minutes (i).  The default is to run until the process receives a <CTRLC> or kill −15 pid. 

−rjRecord length for long-record test.  May range from 1 - 20480; the default is 10240 bytes. 

−fkSize of file in records.  The default is −1, go to end-of-tape. 

Arguments

You must specify one of the following function flags and its argument to the mtx exerciser.

−adevPerform short, long, and variable-length record tests on the dev, a raw device name and unit number.  For example, −armt0h. 

−sdevPerform short (512-byte) record length test.  The dev argument is a raw device name and unit number.  For example, −srmt0h. 

−ldevPerform long (10240-byte) record length test.  The dev argument is a raw device name and unit number.  For example −lrmt0h. 

−vdevPerform variable record length test (records vary from 512 bytes to 20480 bytes).  The dev argument is a raw device name and unit number.  For example, −vrmt0h. 

Restrictions

If there is a need to run a system exerciser over an NFS link or on a diskless system there are some restrictions.  For exercisers that need to write into a file system, such as fsx(,), the target file system must be writable by root.  Also the directory, in which any of the exercisers are executed, must be writable by root because temporary files are written into the current directory.  These latter restrictions are sometimes difficult to overcome because often NFS file systems are mounted in a way that prevents root from writing into them.  Some of the restrictions may be overcome by copying the exerciser to another directory and then executing it.

The following restrictions apply to the SCSI tape drives.  The Magnetic Tape Exerciser (MTX) runs the tape in start/stop mode; that is, the tape does not stream. Therefore, MTX should not run for extended periods of time (two hours maximum run time). In addition, MTX does not handle the end of tape properly. 

Examples

This example runs short, long, and variable-length tests on rmt0h until the process receives a <CTRLC> or kill −15 pid:

% /usr/field/mtx −armt0h

The following example runs a long-record length test on rmt0h for 240 minutes in the background:

% /usr/field/mtx −lrmt0h −t240 &

See Also

tapex(8)
Guide to System Exercisers