xstm(1M)
NAME
xstm − X11-based support tool manager
SYNOPSIS
/usr/diag/bin/xstm [-m] [-l log_file]
DESCRIPTION
xstm provides access to a variety of system hardware support tools through an X Windows graphical user interface. Note that when you run this program for the first time, start-up initialization takes longer than when it is run again. In this sense, the initial execution of xstm is the equivalent of using the -m option (discussed below).
xstm presents the machine configuration with a system device map framed in a main window with a pulldown menu bar along the top. A descriptive icon is presented in the device map for each interface card and device detected on the system. Devices are depicted in a hierarchical, inverted “tree” format; the “root” is the host system ID itself. Beneath the host icon the device map tree breaks out to the system’s I/O and system interface devices, then to individual system devices. Subcomponents of the System Processor Unit (SPU) that can be individually identified (such as memory or floating point processor) are presented to the sides of the “host” unit.
General application functions such as viewing the application log file, loop control, and getting help are available from the main window pulldown menu bar.
Device support functions can be executed through pop-up menus activated by pressing the left pointer button with the pointer positioned over the device’s representative icon. Actions that can be performed on the specified device depend on what support functions are available on the system for that device type. Typically, these actions are verify, exercise, and diagnose. information about the device, obtained by the system mapping facility, is available for all devices. Results (success, failure, warning) are indicated by changes to the color (or grey shade) of the device icon.
When an action is selected the device icon’s color changes to pale blue, indicating that an action is in progress. When the action has completed, the device icon’s color signifies the success (green) or failure (red) of the action. Caution states (yellow) are indicated in some cases where indeterminate results are found or special precautions are required when dealing with the device. Detailed information on the results of the action can be found by invoking the information action, or by viewing the session log file that is maintained by xstm.
Some actions may require user intervention, such as mounting a tape and making sure that tape drive is on line. When such operator intervention is required, a dialog window appears on the display, with instructions on what action is necessary.
Options
-m At program start-up, force a search of physical devices on the system, and of diagnostic programs supported. When this option is used, xstm takes longer to reach the point where user interaction begins. This option is required when system configuration is changed or when a new diagnostic program is installed through sysdiag.
-l log_file Specifies the name of the file to which log events that occur during the time the application is active are written. Default is ./stm.log.
MENUS
Main Window Menu Bar Functions
General application functions are available from pull-down menus accessed by the Main Window Menu Bar. To access a menu, position the pointer over the Menu Bar label to be activated, and press the left button. Drag the pointer down to the menu item to be selected, then release the button.
Actions
The Actions Menu provides access to general application functions that are device-independent. The following “action” functions are available:
Verify All Run the verify action on all system devices that can be verified (i.e., device types for which a verifier tool is available).
Cancel All cancels all device support functions that are currently active or pending.
Exit causes xstm to shut down and exit. If there are any active support processes, prompts to end these processes are allowing the user to let them complete before exiting, or cancel the exit request.
View
The View Menu can be used to display the contents of the main log file maintained by xstm.
Options
The Options Menu accesses optional user functions. Currently, the following option is available via this menu:
Looping provides loop control over device support tools being executed. This option is intended primarily for troubleshooting intermittent problems with system exercisers. When this pulldown menu is selected, you are prompted to select a looping style (i.e., loop by number of iterations, loop for a specified period of time in minutes, or loop infinitely), and to enter values appropriate for the style selected.
When a loop value is set, the loop value applies to all requested device support actions (verify, diagnose, and exercise) until the loop value is changed.
The following looping style options are available:
By Count Loop a specific number of iterations.
By Time Loop for a specific period of time, measured in minutes.
Forever Loop on a test infinitely.
Looping styles are selected by positioning the pointer over one of the buttons and pressing the left button. The loop value box (below the buttons) changes to reflect the style selection.
After selecting the count or time looping style, enter the appropriate value in the loop value box at the bottom of the looping control panel. (Loop Forever does not require an entry in the loop value box). Initially, the default value of 1 is displayed in this window. In order to enter values for number of iterations or duration in minutes in the selection box, move the mouse pointer inside the selection box and press the left button to enter a value (this “selects” the value box). Enter a whole number greater than zero in the loop value box.
After entering the appropriate value in the selection box, set the chosen values by clicking on the OK widget, or reject them by clicking on the CANCEL widget.
The default loop value is "one iteration". If any loop value other than default is selected, the value is displayed on the device map to remind you what looping selection is in effect. To restore default looping, set looping back to looping style count, with a value of 1 iteration.
Note that if time expires in the middle of an operation’s excution, the operation will complete. That is, time looping does not cause the operation to end prematurely or to abort.
HELP provides online information about xstm. A window with information about the selected topic is displayed. Press the window’s OK button to close a help window. Topics available are:
On XSTM General information about the X11-based Support Tool Manager.
On Menu Bar Information about using the main window menu bar pulldown menus and the functions available from the pulldown menus.
On Device Map Help on the system device map, how to perform support functions, and how to get information about devices represented on the map.
On Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous information about the product, including tips on using xstm and graphic user interface behaviour.
On Version Displays the version of xstm being used and the copyright declaration.
DEVICE ICON POP-UP MENU FUNCTIONS
Support functions for specific devices are available from pop-up menus associated with each device icon (graphic symbols representing devices, cards, and major system components) on the device map area.
To access a device action pop-up menu, position the pointer over the icon representing the device to be investigated and press the left button. Drag the pointer down to the menu item to be selected and release the button.
Every device icon has at least one selection, information, that displays a window with device type and status information (see below). The other selections on the pop-up menu represent support functions that can be performed on the device. Selecting one of these menu items causes the respective function to be executed on the device or component.
Availability of other device action selections depends on whether or not support tools for the device type are installed on the system, and are detectable by the Support Tools Manager.
The device action selections are:
Information Pops up a Device Information window. This window displays the part number and part name information detected by the device mapping facility, and, where applicable, the status of device support functions that have been executed on the device.
The top of the window displays the hardware path, part number, and device description. If there are support functions available for the device, a radio button is displayed for each support function. Pressing one of these buttons causes the status of the respective support function for the device and, if the support tool provides one, the log file for the device to be displayed. Press the OK button to close the window.
The other selections which may be available are:
Diagnose Runs a diagnostic program on the device. Diagnostic programs are designed to detect and isolate faulty hardware on a device.
Exercise Exercisers continuously stress a device or subsystem. This function is useful in providing very high confidence verification and in detecting intermittent errors.
Verify Performs a simple test of component function, providing a “pass/fail” indication of device condition. “Verify” is typically the first-level test of a device’s condition.
RESOURCES
xstm user-configurable application X11/Motif resources are in the file Stm. A base copy of this resource file is in directory /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XStm.
XStm contains the resources for device icon indication of device action results. These are set to colors by default. An example set of resources for grey scale is provided in a comment area of the file.
The bitmaps to use for representing various device types, as well as fonts and background colors, are also in the resource file.
EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
Environment Variables
DISPLAY must be set to the desired X Windows display ID (e.g., local:0.0).
WARNINGS
xstm is a tool that controls the execution of system- and device-level diagnostic and support tools. Executing this software places additional load on system throughput and sensitive system peripheral devices. xstm program uses considerable CPU time due to the nature of its internal processing. Unnecessary use of this product is strongly discouraged.
xstm (and cstm/mstm) are delivered configured so that any user can execute the “verify” tools. This can cause unnecessary system load should the program be executed indiscriminately. System administrators and managers may prefer to change the permission bits of the program so that only super-user can use the tool:
chmod 544 /usr/diag/bin/xstm
Most of the various dialog windows that appear in xstm are not delivered so that they “auto-raise” with the main window; this is to avoid having the window become unnecessarily obscured. If you are “missing” a window, try lowering the “top” window (or “shuffling” up or down). The missing window is probably underneath. In particular, if a Device Information window is already active, and you request the "information" action, the window doesn’t auto-raise.
When you start xstm or cstm while someone else is running diagnostics on a device (e.g., SCSI disk), this device will not show up on the xstm or cstm device map. This is because the diagnostic has the device for exclusive use; as a result the facility that maps system devices is not able to probe the device and treats it as non-existent.
Attempting to initiate a diagnose operation on MEMORY while someone else is already running the memory diagnostic program (whether through xstm, cstm, or sysdiag), the following error message results:
(MEMERR 10260) Memdiag unable to OPEN memory, BAD exit status = 501
This message does not imply a memory hardware problem, but is instead due to the limitation that only one diagnostic process is able to diagnose memory at any given time. This situation can also be encountered if the memory logging process (MEMLOGP) is scanning the memory controllers.
Occasionally, following a “Cancel Requests” request made from the “Actions” menu (on the main window pulldown menu bar), an error message stating UNKNOWN CHILD SENT AM COMMAND or Reply is to non-existent request may appear. This occurs when you cancel or abort a test, but the test result has already been issued. This condition is harmless and should be ignored in this circumstance.
When xstm has an execution error during startup, the error pop-up windows are not always displayed in their entirety before execution stops. In this condition, check the standard error port for your environment. Standard error can be directed to the X-terminal panel from which you entered the xstm command, or to an error log file such as $(HOME)/.vue/Xerrors.
If xstm fails during startup, the most common reason is that the program cannot open its log file stm.log. This can happen when the root user runs xstm from an NFS mounted file system, or when the log file permissions are set so that the xstm user has no write privilege.
Initiating exercise operations may impact system performance. In some cases, entering the diagnostic user interface (sysdiag) can result in the following error message:
*** ERROR - Could not establish communication with external parts of
the diagnostic system (DUIINITERR 1)
*** Diagnostic system error 4435
In this situation, wait for the exercise operations to complete so that more resources can be shifted to the diagnostic system.
Do not run xstm or cstm from NFS -mounted current working directories. Running xstm or cstm from an NFS directory can lead to execution problems due to NFS security features and the execution mode of xstm and cstm.
Only one graphics verifier or exerciser can be run at a time. A program or system crash could prevent the graphics tool lock file from being removed when it should be. If a graphics verify or exercise cannot be started and no other test is being executed, removing the lock file /tmp/.graphicsdaf.lock should allow a single test to run.
When running the graphics exerciser for HP 98705A or HP 98705B, one of the two following entries should be in the /usr/lib/X11/X0screens file:
/dev/crt depth 16 doublebuffer #for 16 planes (HP98705B)
/dev/crt depth 8 #for 8 plane (HP98705A)
The graphics diagnostic causes an X11 (including HP-VUE ) environment to reset when the diagnostic completes. This is because the diagnostic would otherwise leave the graphics device in an unknown state when the program finishes. When running from HP-VUE, the diagnostic in effect logs you out and returns to the Vuelogin screen. In other environments, when the diagnostic completes you must manually press [Ctrl-Shift-Reset] from the keyboard to return the graphics console to a normal operating state.
To run the graphics diagnostics for HP98705A, HP98705B (G98705DG) or HP98765A, HP98766A (G98735DG), make sure neither X11 windows nor HP-VUE are running on the ITE console. The graphics ITE should be exclusively accessed during the diagnostics test. After the tests are done, a [Ctrl-Shift-Reset] can restore the ITE console to its original state.
To test floppy disk drives, blank formatted media must be used. If the floppy is not formatted, the verification or exercise operation runs for a long period of time, then fails with the error message Cannot read entire buffer. Read only 0 bytes instead of 4096 bytes. If there is no media in the drive, the verification or exercise operation fails with the error message Could not open temporary device file. Error: open (6; No such device or address) .
Execution times for floppy disk device support operations take longer if the floppy disk device is unmounted. That is, verify/exercise/diagnose on a mounted floppy disk may execute in seconds, but these operations may take minutes if the device is unmounted.
When reporting problems on xstm, refer to part number B2478-10001.
AUTHOR
xstm was developed by HP.
FILES
XStm
Default X11 application resource definition file. Directories /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults and $HOME are searched to find XStm.
Session Log File
The session log (default name: stm.log) contains a detailed history of the actions performed by xstm. This log begins with a chart indicating the system and I/O configuration for the system and records the results for each action performed during the session. Each line of the chart specifies the location of the device, a description of the device, the current status of the diagnose action, and the current status of the verify action.
Note that the Diagnostic Status and Verifier Status columns can contain entries of N/A or Not Checked. N/A signifies that the Diagnose or Verify action is not available for the device. Not Checked signifies that the action has not been run, which is correct when xstm begins.
Other Files
/usr/diag/bin/am support application manager
/usr/diag/bin/dtm diagnostic tool manager
/usr/diag/bin/CXSTM000 default NLS message catalog
SEE ALSO
Hewlett-Packard Company — HP-UX Release 9.10: April 1995