dskx(8)dskx(8)Namedskx - generic disk exerciser
Syntax
/usr/field/dskx [ options ] -rdev
/usr/field/dskx [ options ] -pdevpart
/usr/field/dskx [ options ] -cdev
Description
The exerciser tests the disk drives on your system. The exerciser has
three main options which include read only, write/read/validate data on
a partition, and write/read/validate data of a disk.
The exerciser does random seeks and reads of random block sizes and
random seeks, writes, reads, and validations of random data patterns of
random block sizes. The exerciser will run until or kill -15 pid is
sent to the process.
A logfile is made in for you to examine and then remove. If there are
errors in the logfile, make sure you check the file, because that is
where the driver and kernel error messages are saved.
CAUTION: Both the -c and -p options of the exerciser destroy data on
the disk. Use extreme caution before using them on any non-scratch
media. If you are unsure of what data is on the disk, contact your
system manager before running with either of these options.
Arguments
One of the following function flags and arguments must be specified.
-rdev Performs a random read-only test on all partitions except the
c partition. The dev argument can be a raw or buffered
device name and number. For example, rhp0, ra3, hk1.
-pdevpart Writes, reads, and validates data from the device name and
number specified by dev and the partition specified by part.
The dev argument can be a raw or buffered device name and
number. For example, rhp0, ra3, hk1. The part argument can
be any valid partition from a - h.
CAUTION: Be careful when exercising partitions that overlap
other partitions, as you may inadvertently destroy data on a
partition that you do not want to test. You can use the -q
option of the command to see what partitions overlap on the
device on your system.
-cdev Writes, reads, and validates data from all partitions except
the c partition on the device specified by dev. The dev
argument can be a raw or buffered device name and number.
For example, rhp0, ra3, hk1.
Options
The options are:
-h Prints help message for the command.
-ofile Saves output diagnostics in file.
-tn Specifies the run time in minutes (n). The default is to run
until the process receives a or kill -15 pid.
-dm Prints statistics every m minutes.
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 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.
Examples
The following example exercises RA disk unit 1, for 60 minutes in the
background:
% /usr/field/dskx -t60 -cra1 &
The following example exercises raw HP disk unit 0, partition d, until
or kill -15 pid:
% /usr/field/dskx -prhp0d
See Also
Guide to System Exercisers
dskx(8)
