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AST RESEARCH, INC.        TECHNICAL BULLETIN # 1241                 6-27-95

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	   SCSI TIMEOUT DURING BACKUP ON FILESERVERS WITH BANYAN VINES


PROBLEM

If a Seagate Barracuda Series ST32550N is installed on a system being used 
as a fileserver running Banyan Vines 5.54(x), an error message similar to 
"WARNING:  Disk Request Time-out on SCSI "Adapter Address 0x0000F800 Unit 
1" could occur during a backup.  This error will usually not be seen unless 
a complete file service backup is attempted on a very large file service 
(typically 600MB or larger).  

This error (or similar error depending on what brand SCSI HBA is used) 
may result in a system hang, recovery after a SCSI BUS reset, distorted 
video, or a combination of symptoms.  


CAUSE

Some microcode revisions used on the ST32550N drives can result in 
backup difficulties when used in a Banyan Vines environment.  The suspect 
microcode can be determined by the following method:

1) Drives whose part numbers end in -0xx should NOT be at the -0012 
microcode level.

2) Drives whose part numbers end in -1xx should NOT be at the -0011 
microcode level.

The microcode level can be determined by inspecting the sticker labeled 
"Download Microcode Revision Level xxxx" which is located on the hard 
drive.


SYSTEMS AFFECTED

Any system that is being used as a Banyan Vines Fileserver in which a user 
has installed a Seagate ST32550N HDD.


SOLUTION

Contact the regional Seagate field office for instructions on how to get the 
drive's microcode updated. If you do not know how to contact your regional 
Seagate field office,  contact Seagate Customer Service at (800)468-3472 
for assistance obtaining the phone number as well as determining which 
office you should call.