91 lines
4.0 KiB
HTML
91 lines
4.0 KiB
HTML
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<META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="SGML-Tools 1.0.9">
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<TITLE>Ftape-HOWTO: Debugging the ftape driver</TITLE>
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<LINK HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-15.html" REL=next>
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<LINK HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-13.html" REL=previous>
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<LINK HREF="Ftape-HOWTO.html#toc14" REL=contents>
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-15.html">Next</A>
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-13.html">Previous</A>
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO.html#toc14">Contents</A>
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<HR>
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<H2><A NAME="s14">14. Debugging the <CODE>ftape</CODE> driver</A></H2>
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<P>
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<P>
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss14.1">14.1 The kernel/<CODE>ftape</CODE> crashes on me when I do `...' - is that a bug?</A>
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</H2>
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<P>
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<P>No, that is a feature <CODE>;‐)</CODE>
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<P>Seriously, reliable software do not crash. Especially kernels do not
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or rather <B>should</B> not crash. If the kernel crashes upon you
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when you are running <CODE>ftape</CODE>, and you can show that it is
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<CODE>ftape</CODE> that is messing things up, regard it as a Bug That Should
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Be Fixed. Mail the details to the maintainer
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(<CODE><heine@math1.rwth-aachen.de></CODE>) and to the tape list.
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<P>
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss14.2">14.2 OK, it's a bug ...ehhh... feature - How do I submit a report?</A>
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</H2>
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<P>
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<P>First, make sure you can reproduce the problem. Spurious errors are a
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pain in the ass, since they are just about impossible to hunt down
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<CODE>:-/</CODE> This is a quick check list:
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<P>
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<UL>
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<LI> Kernel version, and patches applied</LI>
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<LI> <CODE>ftape</CODE> version</LI>
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<LI> tape drive model / manufacturer</LI>
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<LI> Expansion bus type (EISA, ISA, PCI, or VL-bus)</LI>
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<LI> What you did to expose the problem</LI>
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<LI> What went wrong on your system.</LI>
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<LI> Do not delete the kernel and the <CODE>ftape.o</CODE> file. I might want
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you run try some patches out or run a different test on your system.
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</LI>
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</UL>
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<P>Increase the tracing level to 4 or 5 and run the command that caused
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problems again (don't do it if your fear that you loose data or damage
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your hardware, there is absolutely no warranty for neither data loss
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nor hardware damage caused by <CODE>ftape</CODE>, remember this). Increasing
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the trace level beyond 5 probably doesn't make any sense as it affects
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the timing of the driver in a way that it doesn't work well any
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more. Get the tracing data from the kernel log or <CODE>/proc/kmsg</CODE>,
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depending on where you harvest your error messages. Try to look at
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what <CODE>ftape</CODE> spews out at you. It may look in-comprehensible to
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you at first, but you can get valuable information from the logfile.
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Most messages have a function name prepended, to make it easier to
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locate the problem. Look through the source, don't just cry
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``WOLF!'', without giving it a try. If your version of the kernel (or
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<CODE>ftape</CODE> for that matter), is ``old'', when compared to the newest
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version of the kernel, try to get a newer (or even the newest) kernel
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and see if the problem goes away under the new kernel. When you post
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your problem report, include the information about ftape version,
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kernel version, expansion bus type (ISA, VL-bus, PCI or EISA), bus
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speed, floppy controller, and tape drive. State exactly what you did,
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and what happened on your system. Some people have experienced that
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<CODE>ftape</CODE> would not run in a PCI based box, but ran flawlessly in a
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normal ISA based 386DX machine (see section
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-6.html#pci-boxes">Getting PCI motherboards to work with <tt/ftape/</A> on PCI
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machines above)
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<P>Also, please think of the poor souls who actually <EM>pay</EM> the
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their Internet access (like me): avoid posting a (huge) log from the
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<CODE>ftape</CODE> run, without reason. Instead, you could describe the
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problem, and offer to send the log to the interested parties.
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<P>Send your bug report to <CODE><linux-tape@vger.rutgers.edu></CODE>. You
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might also want to mail the bug to
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<CODE><heine@math1.rwth-aachen.de></CODE>.
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<P>
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<P>
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<HR>
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-15.html">Next</A>
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-13.html">Previous</A>
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO.html#toc14">Contents</A>
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