Category: Screencast

How do I disable C-States on a Dell server?

View a step-by-step screencast of this process:

A few customers have been affected by a firmware bug that can cause instability when using Intel’s C-State power-saving functionality. If you are still experiencing instability after verifying that your server is at the most recent recommended BIOS and firmware levels, you may disable C-States using two methods:

BIOS:

  • Reboot the server
  • Press F2 to enter the BIOS configuration menu
  • Select Processor Settings
  • Scroll down to “C States” and “C1E”
  • Use the arrow keys to set both to Disabled
  • Press ESC repeatedly and select “Save changes and exit”

OpenManage:

  • Launch the OpenManage web interface (https://IP_ADDRESS:1311/)
  • Log in using your root username and password
  • Select Main System Chassis -> BIOS -> Setup tab
  • Select “Processor C State Control”
  • Select the “Disabled” radio button -> Apply -> “Go Back to BIOS Setup Page”
  • Repeat for “Processor C1-E”
  • Reboot the server to apply the settings change

How do I gather CrashPlan logs?

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Before contacting CrashPlan for support, please gather the CrashPlan PRO client backup logs:

  • (Optional) Launch the CrashPlanDesktop client
  • (Optional) Double-click the CrashPlan logo in the upper right corner
  • (Optional) At the prompt that appears along the bottom of the screen, type “dump all” and hit Enter
  • Open a terminal session to the server and run the following commands to create an archive of the CrashPlan client logs. In this example, we’ll name the archive “crashplan_logs_20110124.tar.gz” and send it to the root user’s Desktop folder:
    • cd /usr/local/crashplan
tar czvf /root/Desktop/crashplan_logs_20110124.tar.gz ./log
  • To attach the logs to directly from the server, launch the web browser and browse to the CrashPlan Support website
  • To transfer the logs to your workstation for use as an email attachment or otherwise, log into the server via FTP and transfer the archive you just created

Resources:

How do I check disk usage on my AIX server?

View a step-by-step screencast of this process:

  • Log into the AIX server as root via Eterm
  • To see the total size of each filesystem in gigabytes:
df -Pg
  • The standard Eclipse filesystems are located under /u2. Add the “Used” column for each of these filesystems, plus any non-standard Eclipse filesystems that you may have (/train, /backup, etc.)

How do I perform a manual ABS CrashPlan backup?

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  • Stop the CrashPlan service:
service crashplan stop
  • Run the snapshot backup script to create new snapshots of the Eclipse filesystems
/bin/save
  • Start the CrashPlan service:
service crashplan start
  • To verify the back is running, log into the server’s GUI as root using VNC, DRAC or the local console
  • Use the CrashPlanDesktop shortcut, or press to open the run dialog box and run the command:
CrashPlanDesktop
  • If the backup is not currently running, click “Play” button next to the backup job to manually start the backup job.
  • If the backup button is grayed out because the backup service is not currently scheduled to operate, you’ll need to temporary change the schedule to “Always” in the CrashPlan settings menu.

Related:

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