RTAPE getting stuck? (UX400 accessing remote Sun)

["David H. Kaufman" <Kaufman%jasper.scrc.symbolics.com@RELAY.CS.NET>]

    Date: Fri, 5 Jan 90 16:31 CST
    From: dmitchell@backus.trc.amoco.com (Donald H. Mitchell)

	Date: Fri, 5 Jan 90 16:45:31 EST
	From: barmar@Think.COM

	Are you using my Unix RTAPE or Symbolics's UX400S interface to /etc/rmt?  I
	never have managed to get RTAPE working under SunOS (but Lamson claims he
	did).

							barmar
    Sorry for the confusion: the UX400S interface (TAPE TCP UNIX-REXEC).

    I worked around the problem.  Some results:
     - if the drive is "/dev/rst0" on SUN1 then specify "SUN1: st0".  The
       Symbolics automatically prepends an "r" on the drive name.

In fact, the Genera RMT client prepends "/dev/nr" (the no-rewind-
on-close form; see the SunOS st(4S) manual page) to the device name.  In
Genera 8.0, the tape device name defaults correctly on UX400Ses, which
makes it easier to remember the syntax.

     - 'Initialize Restoration' leaves tape drive busy: you must kill the
       /etc/rmt process.
     - any abnormal end to 'Perform Restoration' also leaves drive busy.

The bug that sometimes leaves Sun RMT servers active after Genera has
closed the RMT connection has been fixed in Genera 8.0.  (It's also
described on page 5 of the Genera 7.4 ECO #3 Ivory Software Installation
Guide, with the workaround you describe.)

     - Program correctly handles end of tape 1: i.e., cleanly completes
       including freeing the drive (however, need to 'Initialize
       restoration' again using tape 2).
     - For some reason that I cannot figure out but did repeat several
       times, restoring the "TV-FONTS" (sub)system just never worked in my
       configuration but did work when I asked my 3640 to do it.  (I was
       restoring system sources and my "SYS" logical is different for my
       3640 and UX400 in order to maintain the different genera versions;
       however, somethings I have pointing to the same place.  The fonts are
       all in the same place (i.e., not duplicated for each version)).  My
       configuration is roughly as follows.

    SUN1              SUN2                   SUN3               3640
     tape drive        UX400 sources          UX400 board        7.2 sources +
		       in Unix directories                       sys:site; +
								 sys:fonts;


    Note that the TV-FONTS were being restored to the 3640 through the UX400
    board's management.  The UX400 got stuck in "Chaos Out" although it
    successfully saved files to "sys:site;" when I deselected the "TV-FONTS"
    system.  That made me think the files might be corrupted; however, when
    I asked the 3640 to restore the TV-FONTS system from the same tape using
    its drive, it worked.

If you haven't already, please send a backtrace from this problem to
Customer-Reports.  (Type c-m-Suspend while you're stuck in Chaos Out,
then use the c-M debugger command.)  Customer-Reports is usually the
most effective path for resolving this kind of problem.

    What the world needs is more inexpensive Symbolics system
    administrators :-)