Troubleshooting
Problem
Unable to make file systems on partitions after adding a 5th or subsequent drive for Servers.
Resolving The Problem
Source
RETAIN tip H173978
Symptom
After adding a fifth or subsequent drive to a Caldera Open Linux eServer 2.3 system or a Caldera OpenLinux 3.1 system, you are unable to make file systems on partitions on the new drive.
Affected configurations
The system may be any of the following IBM 
xSeries servers:
- An xSeries 370, type 8681, any model
- An xSeries 350, type 8682, any model
- An xSeries 340, type 8656, any model
- An xSeries 330, type 8654, any model
- An xSeries 250, type 8665, any model
- An xSeries 240, type 8664, any model
- An xSeries 230, type 8658, any model
- An xSeries 220, type 8645, any model
The system may be any of the following IBM Netfinity servers:
- A Netfinity 8500R server, type 8681, any model
- A Netfinity 6000R server, type 8682, any model
- A Netfinity 5600 server, type 8664, any model
- A Netfinity 5100 server, type 8658, any model
- A Netfinity 4500R server, type 8656, any model
The following network operating systems are affected:
- Caldera Open Linux eServer, version 2.3
- Caldera Open Linux eServer, version 3.1
Solution
- Before adding the fifth or subsequent disks, type the following command: # cat /proc/partitions
This shows a list of disks and partitions recognized by the system. - Power off, install additional SCSI hard disk drive, power back on, and type the following command:
# cat /proc/partitions
Verify that the hard disk drive has been recognized. - Create the device nodes to access the devices using: /sbin/makedev sd efgh..p
- Create partitions on the drive by using one of the partition creation tools, e.g. fdisk, cfdisk, etc.. Change the partition type, if required. Create additional partitions, as necessary. Save and exit.
- Create the required filesystems on the disk using mkfs. Create additional filesystems on other partitions, as required.
- Check the newly created filesystems using fsck.
- View the current mounted filesystems and create unique mount points.
- To enable the disk to be automatically mounted during the boot phase, edit /etc/fstab and include lines such as:
| #device | Mount point | FS type | Mount options | Dump FREQ | FSCK pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| /dev/sde1 /dev/sde2 | /sde1 /sde2 | ext2 ext2 | defaults defaults | 1 1 | 1 |
These can be tailored to suit the requirements of the system. Add additional lines for other partitions.
- To mount the new partition, run the following command, which will read the /etc/fstab file and implement any changes made
since boot.
mount -a - Finally check that the new filesystem is mounted and available: # mount
Additional information
The /etc/makedev.d/scsidisks script allows for four SCSI disks to have partitions. Additional SCSI disks above the fourth are configured by default as single partitions consisting of the whole disk.
Document Location
Worldwide
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Document Information
Modified date:
28 January 2019
UID
ibm1MIGR-39497