container release_cache :
Dell
Command Line Interface
Reference
Back to Contents Page
container release_cache
To release the cache buffers associated with a specific container, use the container release_cache command. When a disk fails or you remove a disk, the cache buffers associated with specific containers remain locked on the controller. This allows the opportunity for the disk to come back online or gives you the opportunity to replace the disk. In this case the containers regain the previously locked buffers.
On the other hand, you may want to return these cache buffers to the global buffer pool. This command allows you to disassociate the cache buffers associated with specific containers and release these cache buffers to the global pool.
Command Availability
This command is supported on the following operating systems:
Syntax
container release_cache {container}
Parameters
{container}
Specifies the ID number (0 to 63) of the container on which you want to release cache buffers.
Examples
The following example releases the cache buffers associated with container 0:
AFA0> container release_cache 0
Executing: container release_cache 0
Related Information
container Commands:
container remove drive_letter
To remove a drive letter, use the container remove drive_letter command. To use the container remove drive_letter command, none of the container's files can be open.
Command Availability
This command is supported only on Windows NT.
Syntax
container remove drive_letter {string}
Parameters
{string}
Specifies the drive letter to remove. The colon (:) after the drive letter is optional.
Examples
Before removing a drive letter from a container, use the container list command to obtain information about any existing containers. As the following example shows, there is a container 0 (a volume set) on this controller with a drive letter F:
AFA0> container list
Executing: container list
Num Total Oth Chunk Scsi Partition
Dr Label Type Size Ctr Size Usage B:ID:L Offset:Size
-- ----- ------ ------ --- ------ ------- ------ -------------
F: 0 Volume 10.0MB NTFS 0:02:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
The following example removes drive letter F from container 0:
AFA0> container remove drive_letter F
Executing: container remove drive_letter "F"
Use the container list command after using the container remove drive_letter command to display information about the container on which you just removed a drive letter, as in the following example:
AFA0> container list
Executing: container list
Num Total Oth Chunk Scsi Partition
Dr Label Type Size Ctr Size Usage B:ID:L Offset:Size
-- ----- ------ ------ --- ------ ------- ------ -------------
0 Volume 10.0MB NTFS 0:02:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
The following list describes the change to the display as the result of removing a drive letter from a container (in this example, container 0) with the container remove drive_letter command:
- The Dr column no longer displays the drive letter assigned in a previous use of the
container assign drive_letter command. In this example, the letter F no longer appears in the Dr column.
Related Information
container Commands:
container remove failover
To remove one or more failover disks that were assigned to a container via the container set failover command (), use the container remove failover command.
Command Availability
This command is supported on the following operating systems:
Syntax
container remove failover {container}
{scsi_device} [{scsi_device}...]
Parameters
{container}
Specifies the ID number (0 to 63) of the container whose assigned failover disk(s) you want to remove.
{scsi_device}
Specifies the ID for the SCSI device that you want to remove as a failover disk for the container specified in the container parameter. You previously assigned this SCSI device as a failover disk with the container set failover command. See the scsi_device section on page 3-8 for more information on how to specify the SCSI device.
{scsi_device}...
Specifies the ID(s) for any other SCSI device(s) you want to remove as failover disk(s) for the container specified in the container parameter.
Examples
Before removing one or more failover disks from a container, use the container show failover command to obtain information about any existing failover disks assigned to containers. As the following example shows, there is a container 0 that has two failover disks assigned to it on this controller:
AFA0> container show failover
Executing: container show failover
Container Scsi B:ID:L
--------- ----------------------------------
0 0:03:0 0:04:0
The following example removes SCSI device 0:03:0 as an assigned failover disk for container 0:
AFA0> container remove failover 0 (0,3,0)
Executing: container remove failover 0 (BUS=0,ID=3,LUN=0)
Use the container show failover command after removing a failover disk from a container's failover disk list with the container remove failover command to display information about the container's failover disk list, as in the following example:
AFA0> container show failover
Executing: container show failover
Container Scsi B:ID:L
--------- ----------------------------------
0 0:04:0
As the display shows, SCSI device (0,03,0) is no longer in the failover disk list for container 0.
Related Information
container Commands:
container remove file_system
To remove the file system from a container, use the container remove file_system command. Use this command when the file system on the container is no longer needed.
This command fails if there are open files on the container.
Command Availability
This command is supported only on Windows NT.
Syntax
container remove file_system {container}
Parameters
{container}
Specifies the ID number (0 to 63) of the container from which you want to remove the file system.
Examples
Before removing a file system from a container, use the container list command to obtain information about any existing containers. As the following example shows, there is a container 0 (a volume set) on this controller:
AFA0> container list
Executing: container list
Num Total Oth Chunk Scsi Partition
Dr Label Type Size Ctr Size Usage B:ID:L Offset:Size
-- ----- ------ ------ --- ------ ------- ------ -------------
F: 0 Volume 10.0MB NTFS 0:02:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
The following example removes the file system from container 0:
AFA0> container remove file_system 0
Executing: container remove file_system 0
Use the container list command after removing a file system from a container with the container remove file_system command to display information about the container, as in the following example:
AFA0> container list
Executing: container list
Num Total Oth Chunk Scsi Partition
Dr Label Type Size Ctr Size Usage B:ID:L Offset:Size
-- ----- ------ ------ --- ------ ------- ------ -------------
F: 0 Volume 10.0MB None 0:02:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
The following list describes the change to the display as the result of removing a file system from a container:
- The Usage column displays None (instead of NTFS)
to indicate that the specified container no longer has a file system.
Related Information
container Commands:
container remove global_failover
To remove one or more failover disks that were assigned to all containers via the container set global_failover command, use the container remove global_failover command.
Command Availability
This command is supported on the following operating systems:
Syntax
container remove global_failover {scsi_device}
[{scsi_device}...]
Parameters
{scsi_device}
Specifies the ID for the SCSI device that you want to remove as a failover disk for all containers. You previously assigned this SCSI device as a failover disk with the container set global_failover command. See the scsi_device section on page 3-8 for more information on how to specify the SCSI device.
{scsi_device}...
Specifies the ID(s) for any other SCSI device(s) you want to remove as failover disk(s) for all containers. You previously assigned these SCSI device(s) as failover disk(s) with the container set global_failover command.
Examples
Before removing one or more failover disks from all containers, use the container show failover command to obtain information about any existing failover disks assigned to containers. As the following example shows, there is a container 0 that has SCSI devices (1,2,0) and (1,3,0) assigned to it.
AFA0> container show failover
Executing: container show failover
Container Scsi B:ID:L
--------- ----------------------------------
GLOBAL 1:02:0 1:03:0
0 --- No Devices Assigned ---
The following example removes SCSI device 1:02:0 as an assigned failover disk for all containers:
AFA0> container remove global_failover (1,2,0)
Executing: container remove global_failover (BUS=1,ID=2,LUN=0)
Use the container show failover command after removing a failover disk from a container's failover disk list with the container remove failover command to display information about the container's failover disk list, as in the following example:
AFA0> container show failover
Executing: container show failover
Container Scsi B:ID:L
--------- ----------------------------------
GLOBAL 1:03:0
0 --- No Devices Assigned ---
As the display shows, SCSI device (1,2,0) is no longer in the failover disk list for all containers. However, SCSI device (1,3,0) remains in the failover disk list for all containers.
Related Information
container Commands:
container restore RAID5
To restore a RAID-5 set, use the container restore RAID5 command. Typically, you use this command to restore a RAID-5 set that contains one or more dead partitions. This command does not always succeed and, in fact, you should use this command if all other measures to restore the RAID-5 set fail.
One situation where the command might prove useful is for those situations where you may have inadvertently pulled a drive and then almost immediately put it back. The act of pulling the drive may cause some dead partitions to appear. You can then restore the RAID-5 set by using this command.
Command Availability
This command is supported on the following operating systems:
Syntax
container restore RAID5 {container}
Parameters
{container}
Specifies the ID number (0 to 63) of the container (a RAID-5 set) to restore.
Examples
Before restoring a RAID-5 set, use the container list command to display information about the RAID-5 set. If a partition is dead, the ":" (colon) in the Partition Offset:Size column changes to a "!" (exclamation point).
AFA0> container list
Executing: container list
Num Total Oth Chunk Scsi Partition
Dr Label Type Size Ctr Size Usage B:ID:L Offset:Size
-- ----- ------ ------ --- ------ ------- ------ -------------
0 RAID-5 30.0MB 64KB None 0:02:0 64.0KB! 10.0MB
0:03:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
0:04:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
0:05:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
The previous example shows that there is one dead partition on this RAID-5 set. The following example uses the container restore RAID5 command to attempt to restore the RAID-5 set:
AFA0> container restore RAID5 0
Executing: container restore RAID5 0
Use the container list command after using the container restore RAID5 command to display information about the RAID-5 set:
AFA0> container list
Executing: container list
Num Total Oth Chunk Scsi Partition
Dr Label Type Size Ctr Size Usage B:ID:L Offset:Size
-- ----- ------ ------ --- ------ ------- ------ -------------
0 RAID-5 30.0MB 64.0KB None 0:02:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
0:03:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
0:04:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
0:05:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
Note that in this case the command successfully restored the RAID-5 set as indicated by the replacment of the exclamation point ("!") with a colon (":").
Related Information
container Commands:
disk Commands:
container scrub
To Scrub a redundant container, use the container scrub command. A mirror set, a multilevel container of mirror sets, and a RAID-5 set are examples of redundant containers. For a mirror set or a multilevel container of mirror sets, this means the command reconstructs the data on both mirror halves (partitions), if found to be different. For RAID-5 sets, the command recalculates and replaces, if necessary, the parity information.
Command Availability
This command is supported on the following operating systems:
Syntax
container scrub [/io_delay{=integer}]
[/no_repair{=boolean}][/wait{=boolean}]
{container}
Parameters
{container}
Specifies the ID number (0 to 63) of the redundant container to scrub.
Switches
/io_delay{=integer}
Specifies the number of milliseconds the controller waits between the I/O operations required to scrub the redundant container. The I/O delay value is not preserved between reboots of the operating system. Valid values are 0 through 100.
This switch is supported on the following operating systems:
- Windows NT
- NetWare
- UNIX
/no_repair{=boolean}
Specifies whether the command performs the scrub operation on the redundant container without repairing the error. If you set this switch to TRUE, the command performs the scrub action without repairing the error. If you set this switch to FALSE, the command performs the scrub action and repairs any errors.
This switch is supported on the following operating systems:
- Windows NT
- NetWare
- UNIX
/wait{=boolean}
Specifies whether the command performs the scrub action synchronously or asynchronously. If you set this switch to TRUE, the command performs the scrub action synchronously, which means the command prompt does not return until the scrub action completes. If you set this switch to FALSE, the command performs the scrub action asynchronously, which means the command prompt returns immediately.
This switch is supported on the following operating systems:
Examples
Before scrubbing a redundant container, use the container list command to obtain information about any existing containers. As the following example shows, there is a container 0 (a mirror set) on this controller:
AFA0> container list
Executing: container list
Num Total Oth Chunk Scsi Partition
Dr Label Type Size Ctr Size Usage B:ID:L Offset:Size
-- ----- ------ ------ --- ------ ------- ------ -------------
D: 0 Mirror 10.0MB NTFS 0:02:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
0:02:0 10.0MB: 10.0MB
The following example synchronously scrubs container 0 using a delay time of 5 milliseconds:
AFA0> container scrub /io_delay=5 /wait=TRUE 0
Executing: container scrub /io_delay=5 /wait=TRUE 0
As the command executes, note the title bar of the DOS window displays the status of the command. For example:
Stat:OK!Task:100,Func:MSC Ctr:0,State:RUN 97.2%
See CLI Status Information for detailed information on the status information that the command displays in the title bar as it executes the task.
Use the container list command after using the container scrub command to display information about the scrubbed container, as in the following example:
AFA0> container list
Executing: container list
Num Total Oth Chunk Scsi Partition
Dr Label Type Size Ctr Size Usage B:ID:L Offset:Size
-- ----- ------ ------ --- ------ ------- ------ -------------
D: 0 Mirror 10.0MB NTFS 0:02:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
0:02:0 10.0MB: 10.0MB
As the example shows, there is no difference between the container list display prior to and after the scrub operation.
Related Information
container Commands:
container set cache
To set cache parameters for a specific container, use the container set cache command. You can use this command only if a native operating system's file system (for Windows NT, NTFS, or FAT) resides on the container. In fact, the CLI prevents you from setting cache parameters if the container
- Is a container involved in a reconfiguration operation
- The CLI disables the cache parameters on the container involved in a reconfiguration operation. The CLI re-enables the cache parameters (assuming they were previously set) on the container when the reconfiguration operation completes.
The controller provides two global cache buffer pools available to containers: a volatile read-ahead cache and a nonvolatile NVRAM write-back cache. Collectively, these global caches are referred to as the raw container cache.
The container set cache command allows you to set several characteristics associated with the raw container cache. These characteristics are embodied in the switches for the command.
Command Availability
This command is supported on the following operating systems:
Notes
Some controllers may not support the NVRAM write-back cache. Additionally, some controllers may not support the ability to enable the NVRAM write-back cache.
Syntax
container set cache [/read_cache_enable{=boolean}}
[/unprotected{=boolean}]
[/write_cache_enable{=boolean}] {container}
Parameters
{container}
Specifies the ID number (0 to 63) of the container on which you want to set cache parameters.
Switches
/read_cache_enable{=boolean}
Specifies whether to enable the read-ahead cache. If you set this switch to TRUE, the command enables the read-ahead cache for the specified container. This switch should always be enabled to optimize performance, unless your application--which is unlikely--is doing completely random reads.
This switch defaults to TRUE.
To disable the read-ahead cache for the specified container, set this switch to FALSE. Note that if you disable the read-ahead cache, no other characteristics can be set.
This switch is supported on the following operating systems:
- Windows NT
- NetWare
- UNIX
/unprotected{=boolean}
Specifies whether to set the container's NVRAM write-back cache to disable, enable when protected, or enable always. You use this switch in conjunction with the /write_cache_enable switch to accomplish the desired setting. See the write_cache_enable switch for more information.
This switch is supported on the following operating systems:
Specifies whether to set the container's NVRAM write-back cache to disable, enable when protected, or enable always. You use this switch in conjunction with the /unprotected switch to accomplish the desired setting. The following table summarizes the values for the /unprotected and /write_cache_enable switches:
| /write_cache_enable Switch Setting |
/unprotected Switch Setting |
Result |
| FALSE |
FALSE |
The NVRAM write-back cache setting for the specified container is disabled. |
| FALSE |
TRUE |
Not allowed. An appropriate error message displays. |
| TRUE |
FALSE |
The NVRAM write-back cache setting for the specified container is enabled when protected. This means the controller enables the container's NVRAM write-back cache only if a battery is present and its status is OK. |
| TRUE |
TRUE |
The NVRAM write-back cache setting for the specified container is enabled always. This means the controller forces the enabling of the container's NVRAM write-back cache even if write data could be lost due to no battery or a bad battery. |
This switch is supported on the following operating systems:
Examples
Before setting cache parameters for a specific container, use the container list command to obtain information about any existing containers. As the following example shows, there is a container 0 (a volume set) on this controller with no file system on it (as evidenced by None displayed in the Usage column):
AFA0> container list
Executing: container list
Num Total Oth Chunk Scsi Partition
Dr Label Type Size Ctr Size Usage B:ID:L Offset:Size
-- ----- ------ ------ --- ------ ------- ------ -------------
0 Volume 15.0MB None 0:02:0 64.0KB: 15.0MB
The following example sets cache parameters for container 0 by accepting all of the defaults:
AFA0> container set cache 0
Executing: container set cache 0
After setting cache parameters for a specific container, use the container show cache command to display cache parameter information, as in the following example:
AFA0> container show cache 0
Executing: container show cache 0
Global Container Read Cache Size : 5345280
Global Container Write Cache Size : 1970176
Read Cache Status : ENABLED
Write Cache Status : ENABLED
Stream Detection Status : ENABLED
Related Information
container Commands:
container set failover
To assign an automatic failover disk(s) for a single container, use the container set failover command. If the container was already assigned a failover disk(s), the command adds the specified disk(s) to the container's list of failover disk(s). Although all container types accept failover assignments, only mirror set and RAID-5 set (redundant) container types use the failover assignment if a disk fails.
Command Availability
This command is supported on the following operating systems:
Syntax
container set failover {container} {scsi_device}
[{scsi_device}...]
Parameters
{container}
Specifies the ID number (0 to 63) of the container on which to assign an automatic failover disk(s).
{scsi_device}
Specifies the ID for the SCSI device that you want to assign as a failover disk to the container specified in the container parameter. A SCSI ID consists of a SCSI channel number (for example, 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.), a SCSI device ID (0 through 15 inclusive), and a SCSI device logical unit number (0 through 7 inclusive). See the scsi_device section on page 3-8 for more information on how to specify the SCSI device.
{scsi_device}...
Specifies the ID(s) for additional SCSI device(s) that you want to assign as failover disk(s) to the container specified in the container parameter.
Examples
Before assigning a SCSI device as a failover disk to a container, use the container list command to obtain information about any existing containers. As the following example shows, there is a container 0 (a mirror set) on this controller:
AFA0> container list
Executing: container list
Num Total Oth Chunk Scsi Partition
Dr Label Type Size Ctr Size Usage B:ID:L Offset:Size
-- ----- ------ ------ --- ------ ------- ------ -------------
D: 0 Mirror 10.0MB NTFS 0:02:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
0:02:0 10.0MB: 10.0MB
The following example assigns two SCSI failover disks to container 0. If you assign only one SCSI disk as a failover device, ensure that there is sufficient freespace. If you assign more than one SCSI disk as failover devices, you need ensure that only one of these disks has sufficient space. The reason for this is that the failover operation will look for the disk that has enough space.
AFA0> container set failover 0 (0,3,0) (0,4,0)
Executing: container set failover 0 (BUS=0,ID=3,LUN=0)
(BUS=0,ID=4,LUN=0)
Use the container show failover command after using the container set failover command to display information about the container just assigned failover disk(s).
Related Information
container Commands:
container set global_failover
To assign an automatic failover disk(s) for all containers, use the container set global_failover command. If the container was already assigned a failover disk(s), the command adds the specified disk(s) to the container's list of failover disk(s). Although all container types accept failover assignments, only mirror set and RAID-5 set (redundant) container types use the failover assignment if a disk fails.
Command Availability
This command is supported on the following operating systems:
Syntax
container set global_failover {scsi_device}
[{scsi_device}...]
Parameters
{scsi_device}
Specifies the ID for the SCSI device that you want to assign as a failover disk. The command assigns this disk to all containers. A SCSI ID consists of a SCSI channel number (for example, 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.), a SCSI device ID (0 through 15 inclusive), and a SCSI device logical unit number (0 through 7 inclusive). See the scsi_device section on page 3-8 for more information on how to specify the SCSI device.
{scsi_device}...
Specifies the ID(s) for additional SCSI device(s) that you want to assign as failover disk(s) to all containers.
Examples
Before assigning a SCSI device as a failover disk to all containers, use the container list command to obtain information about any existing containers.
As the following example shows, there is a container 0 (a mirror set) on this controller:
AFA0> container list
Executing: container list
Num Total Oth Chunk Scsi Partition
Dr Label Type Size Ctr Size Usage B:ID:L Offset:Size
-- ----- ------ ------ --- ------ ------- ------ -------------
0 Mirror 15.0MB None 1:02:0 64.0KB: 15.0MB
Tigris 1:03:0 64.0KB: 15.0MB
The following example assigns two SCSI failover disks to all containers. If you assign only one SCSI disk as a failover device, ensure that there is sufficient freespace. If you assign more than one SCSI disk as failover devices, you need ensure that only one of these disks has sufficient space. The reason for this is that the failover operation will look for the disk that has enough space.
AFA0> container set global_failover (1,2,0) (1,3,0)
Executing: container set global_failover (BUS=1,ID=2,LUN=0)
(BUS=1,ID=3,LUN=0)
Use the container show failover command (with or without the /global switch) after using the container set failover command to display information about the container(s) just assigned failover disk(s), as in the following example:
AFA0> container show failover /global
Executing: container show failover /global=TRUE
Container Scsi B:ID:L
--------- ----------------------------------
GLOBAL 1:02:0 1:03:0
As the example shows, the display indicates that SCSI devices (1,2,0) and (1,3,0) are assigned as failover devices for all containers (the word GLOBAL appears in the Container column).
Related Information
container Commands:
container set io_delay
To set the I/O delay for a container, use the container set io_delay command. You can specify an I/O delay for the following container-related tasks:
- Creating a mirror set
- Creating a multilevel container of mirror sets from a multilevel container of volume sets
- Scrubbing a redundant container
You use this command to change the I/O delay from the one you specified in the command for the previously listed tasks. The I/O delay value is not preserved between reboots of the operating system.
Command Availability
This command is supported on the following operating systems:
Syntax
container set io_delay {container} {integer}
Parameters
{container}
Specifies the ID number (0 to 63) of the container on which to set the I/O delay.
{integer}
Specifies the number of milliseconds the controller waits between the I/O operations required to perform the specified background task. The I/O delay value is not preserved between reboots of the operating system. Valid values are 0 through 100.
Examples
Before setting the I/O delay on a container, use the container list command to obtain information about any existing containers. As the following example shows, there is a container 0 (a volume set) on this controller:
AFA0> container list
Executing: container list
Num Total Oth Chunk Scsi Partition
Dr Label Type Size Ctr Size Usage B:ID:L Offset:Size
-- ----- ------ ------ --- ------ ------- ------ -------------
F: 0 Volume 10.0MB NTFS 0:02:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
The following example creates a mirror set asynchronously and sets an I/O delay of 20 milliseconds for container 0. You need to perform the create mirror task asynchronously. Otherwise, you cannot change the I/O delay:
container create mirror /io_delay=20 0 (0,2,0)
Executing container create mirror /io_delay=20 0 (BUS=0,ID=2,LUN=0)
The following example shows how to change the I/O delay to 40 milliseconds on the currently running create mirror task:
AFA0> container set io_delay 0 40
Executing: container set io_delay 0 40
Use the container list command after using the container set io_delay command to display information about the container, as in the following example:
AFA0> container list
Executing: container list
Num Total Oth Chunk Scsi Partition
Dr Label Type Size Ctr Size Usage B:ID:L Offset:Size
-- ----- ------ ------ --- ------ ------- ------ -------------
F: 0 Volume 10.0MB NTFS 0:02:0 64.0KB: 10.0MB
As the example shows, there is no difference between the container list display prior to and after the set I/O delay operation.
Related Information
container Commands:
Back to Contents Page
| 
