Quick Start:

Downloading to laptop:

1.

Before powering the laptop, connect power to the RefTek and ensure that the disk is spinning. An alternate method is to power the laptop with the PCMCIA/SCSI card removed, use FSC on the laptop to enable SCSI power on the RefTek (F5-4-1), then connect the download cable to the RefTek and insert the PCMCIA/SCSI card into the laptop. The important thing is to have the disk powered before the PCMCIA/SCSI card is powered.
2.

Be sure that the PCMCIA/SCSI card is in PCMCIA socket 0. Socket 0 is the top socket on the IBM A series laptops. Connect the download cable to the RefTek and boot the laptop. Shortly after the PCMCIA module gets loaded during the boot process, the SCSI card and RefTek disk model names are reported. If you see repeated SCSI retry messages, it is best to shut down the laptop, check the cabling, PCMCIA SCSI card, and start over!
3.

Login to the laptop as user field and the password passcal.
4.

Click on the little laptop symbol at the bottom of the screen, or type 'racs' in an xterm to start the RACS control panel. The 'PCMCIA', and 'RefTek' lights should be green. The 'Archive' light may be red.
5.

Press the 'Enable' button on the RACS control panel. After a few seconds, (be patient), the 'Archive' light should turn green.

Press the 'X-fer' button to start the download of the data from the RefTek to the laptop. The 'Archive' light should flash during the transfer. An indication is given in the message area.
7.

To download a second disk, press the 'Swap' button and wait for all of the lights to turn red. First disconnect the SCSI cable at the RefTek, then the power. Next connect the power to the second RefTek and ensure that the disk is spinning, then connect the SCSI cable to the second RefTek. Go to step 5.
8.

After the transfer is complete, select 'View transfers...'. This will show the location and name of the downloaded files.

Off loading to workstation:

1.

To transfer data from the laptop to a workstation an ftp connection is used. First the archive must be activated with RACS by pressing the 'Enable' button on the RACS control panel. The 'Archive' light should turn green.
2.

Start the ftp client by typing 'gftp' in an xterm or by pressing the gftp icon at the bottom of the screen. The gftp icon looks like a sheet of paper with a gray foot print on it.
3.

Ensure that the laptop is connected to the workstation through a hub or crossover cable. There is also a useful utility, 'netcfg', to help configure the network connection. It may not necessary to configure the network connection to use ftp.
4.

Insert the IP address of the workstation, the user name (field) and the password (passcal) in the gftp window and press on the connection button to initiate the ftp connection.
5.

Use gftp to select the files in /data to be transferred, and the location that you want them transferred to and initiate the ftp transfer.
6.

After the transfer is complete and data integrity has been determined, RACS can be used to remove files from the RAID by selecting 'View transfers...' under the 'Status' menu.


Overview:

The main display is broken into four sections:

1.

The menu section provides menus for low level control or for access to detailed information.
2.

The status section provides three status lights indicating the present status of the Archive, the RefTek disk and the PCMCIA/SCSI.
3.

The message area provides an area for text messages. This is broken down into three sections. The upper section is for general messages, the center section provides information about the PCMCIA/SCSI bus and RefTek disk and the current state of the tranfer. The lower section provides current information about the archive, and indicates how much free space is available.
4.

The control button area provides buttons to control connecting and disconnecting of the RefTek disk, and the start and stop of transfers.


Usage:

1.

The 'File' menu:

The set 'Input Device...' menu provides a way to set the input device. This is the device where the RefTek disk will show up and is most likely /dev/sda.
2.

The set 'Output Device...' menu is where the output device is selected. In most cases the RAID device shows up at /dev/md0 and the manual devices show up at /dev/hda and /dev/hdc. For details on this see the file /etc/raidtab.bak.
3.

The 'Output prefix...' menu allows you to set the output prefix of the files written to the archive. This can be any text information such as station name. It must only contain characters that can be used in directory names under UNIX.



2.

The 'Status' menu:

The 'PCMCIA status...' menu provides detailed information on devices connected to the PCMCIA/SCSI bus, including the RefTek disk.

The 'Archive status...' menu provides information on how the archive is presently configured. The output from this menu selection is to the message area.
3.

The 'View transfers...' menu provides detailed information on previous transfers to the archive. Files are also deleted from the archive through this menu selection. This menu selection will also provide a way to transfer files to tape (not yet implemented as of August 2001).



3.

The 'Special' menu:
1.

The 'Disable all' is a way of resetting the PCMCIA bus and RAID array. All lights should turn red after selecting this option.
2.

The 'Check install' menu allows you to check that all required external programs are present.



The Redundant Array Copy System design goals:

1.

Should be faster than the present system. The present system has a transfer rate of about 0.6 MB / second, the RACS system has demonstrated transfer speeds of between 1.2 MB / second to 6.0 MB / second depending on the output media.
2.

Should be inexpensive and easy to produce. The RACS system is constructed from off-the-shelve items and should be easy to produce. The per unit cost has yet to be determined, but depending on options should fall in the $2000 to $3000 dollar range.
3.

Should provide for data redundancy. Data redundancy is accomplished by either using the build in RAID system or in paranoid mode by creating seperate files by multiple offloads.
4.

Should provide trouble shooting features. Feedback as to the status of the PCMCIA/SCSI and RefTek disk is displayed. Transfering data from the RefTek via SCSI can be very frusrtating at times!
5.

Should allow for QC at the site. Access to the PASSCAL software suite including pql is provided to do data quality control at the site.
6.

Should keep a record of offloads. The RACS system keeps a log containing information such as time of offload, das offloaded, transfer speed, initial disk pointer position, and file name in archive. Additional information can be added via a file prefix.
7.

Ability to move data from RAID array to tape will be provided in a future version. The present RACS system uses an ethernet connection to move data from the RAID to a sun workstation for processing and archiving to tape.