[gentoo-user] Smartd

[gentoo-user] Smartd

[Jon Hardcastle]

Probably not strictly a Gentoo issue, but as i am running Gentoo I'll see if the collective knowledge here can help me!

I have a strange problem with my server. All the hard drives go to sleep after ~3hrs of inactivity. BUT if they happen to still be asleep when the scheduled smart check takes place you can hear it 'spin up' and just before you know the drive is 'up' smartd decides the drive isn't smart capable and gives up. I get log entries in 'messages' and dmesg and also smartd emails me to tell me the drive isn't smart capable.

You get the same result if you do -a on a sleeping drive... it says the drive isn't capable.. run it again.. and Bob's your uncle. Any clues? Can you vary the time before it tries after a spin up?

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N: Jon Hardcastle
E: Jon@eHardcastle.com
'..Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.'
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Re: [gentoo-user] Smartd

[ert256]

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[ 23.10.2008 17:14 ], Jon Hardcastle :
> Probably not strictly a Gentoo issue, but as i am running Gentoo I'll see if the collective knowledge here can help me!
> 
> I have a strange problem with my server. All the hard drives go to sleep after ~3hrs of inactivity. BUT if they happen to still be asleep when the scheduled smart check takes place you can hear it 'spin up' and just before you know the drive is 'up' smartd decides the drive isn't smart capable and gives up. I get log entries in 'messages' and dmesg and also smartd emails me to tell me the drive isn't smart capable.
> 
> You get the same result if you do -a on a sleeping drive... it says the drive isn't capable.. run it again.. and Bob's your uncle. Any clues? Can you vary the time before it tries after a spin up?
> 
If this is a server, why don't you turn auto-sleep off ?
Or maybe you can check out -n option in manual
-- 
Rafał (ert16) Trójniak
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Re: [gentoo-user] Smartd

[Volker Armin Hemmann]

On Donnerstag 23 Oktober 2008, Jon Hardcastle wrote:
> Probably not strictly a Gentoo issue, but as i am running Gentoo I'll see
> if the collective knowledge here can help me!
>
> I have a strange problem with my server. All the hard drives go to sleep
> after ~3hrs of inactivity. BUT if they happen to still be asleep when the
> scheduled smart check takes place you can hear it 'spin up' and just before
> you know the drive is 'up' smartd decides the drive isn't smart capable and
> gives up. I get log entries in 'messages' and dmesg and also smartd emails
> me to tell me the drive isn't smart capable.
>
> You get the same result if you do -a on a sleeping drive... it says the
> drive isn't capable.. run it again.. and Bob's your uncle. Any clues? Can
> you vary the time before it tries after a spin up?
>
> -----------------------
> N: Jon Hardcastle
> E: Jon@eHardcastle.com
> '..Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are
> fearful.' -----------------------

I am not sure what your problem really is - but why don't you exclude the 
drivers in /etc/conf.d/smartd?

Re: [gentoo-user] Smartd

[Jon Hardcastle]

--- On Thu, 23/10/08, Volker Armin Hemmann <volker.armin.hemmann@tu-clausthal.de> wrote:

> From: Volker Armin Hemmann <volker.armin.hemmann@tu-clausthal.de>
> Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] Smartd
> To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org
> Date: Thursday, 23 October, 2008, 6:53 PM
> On Donnerstag 23 Oktober 2008, Jon Hardcastle wrote:
> > Probably not strictly a Gentoo issue, but as i am
> running Gentoo I'll see
> > if the collective knowledge here can help me!
> >
> > I have a strange problem with my server. All the hard
> drives go to sleep
> > after ~3hrs of inactivity. BUT if they happen to still
> be asleep when the
> > scheduled smart check takes place you can hear it
> 'spin up' and just before
> > you know the drive is 'up' smartd decides the
> drive isn't smart capable and
> > gives up. I get log entries in 'messages' and
> dmesg and also smartd emails
> > me to tell me the drive isn't smart capable.
> >
> > You get the same result if you do -a on a sleeping
> drive... it says the
> > drive isn't capable.. run it again.. and Bob's
> your uncle. Any clues? Can
> > you vary the time before it tries after a spin up?
> >
> > -----------------------
> > N: Jon Hardcastle
> > E: Jon@eHardcastle.com
> > '..Be fearful when others are greedy, and be
> greedy when others are
> > fearful.' -----------------------
> 
> I am not sure what your problem really is - but why
> don't you exclude the 
> drivers in /etc/conf.d/smartd?

It is a server, but i want the drive to power down if they aren't going to be used for a while.. Also the -n option only works for other kinds of checks.. not for scheduled checks. there appears to be no way to exclude drives that are sleeping from scheduled checks.

I want the drives to be checked by smartd also. I just hoped there was a way of getting smartd to wait alittle longer after waking the drive up.

-----------------------
N: Jon Hardcastle
E: Jon@eHardcastle.com
'..Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.'
-----------------------

Re: [gentoo-user] Smartd

[Dan Wallis]

On 24/10/2008, Jon Hardcastle <jd_hardcastle@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I want the drives to be checked by smartd also. I just hoped there was a way
> of getting smartd to wait alittle longer after waking the drive up.

Could you generate some disk activity on the disk(s) just prior to the
scheduled check(s)? I realise this isn't a solution, but more of a
work-around.


Dan

Re: [gentoo-user] Smartd

[Jon Hardcastle]

--- On Fri, 24/10/08, Dan Wallis <mrdanwallis@gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Dan Wallis <mrdanwallis@gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] Smartd
> To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org
> Date: Friday, 24 October, 2008, 1:15 PM
> On 24/10/2008, Jon Hardcastle
> <jd_hardcastle@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > I want the drives to be checked by smartd also. I just
> hoped there was a way
> > of getting smartd to wait alittle longer after waking
> the drive up.
> 
> Could you generate some disk activity on the disk(s) just
> prior to the
> scheduled check(s)? I realise this isn't a solution,
> but more of a
> work-around.
> 
> 
> Dan

I did look into this actually.. but haven't made any head-way just yet.

Cheers for the suggestion though.

-----------------------
N: Jon Hardcastle
E: Jon@eHardcastle.com
'..Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.'
-----------------------