C H A P T E R  15

System Test (systest)

The systest checks the overall functionality of a Sun system by exercising the CPU, I/O, and memory channels.



Note - systest does support x86 platforms on the Solaris OS.





Note - systest has been enhanced to enable the CPU test subtest on x86 systems. systest now supports the same set of options for both SPARC and x86.



The test ensures the concurrency of the different channels by the use of Solaris threads. The test aims at stimulating failures that might be caused due to the interaction of the various different hardware modules in the system. It is very stressful on the CPU, and stresses the parallel computational capability of a multiprocessor system.


systest Options

To reach the following dialog box, right-click on the test name in the System Map and select Test Parameter Options. If you do not see this test in the System Map, you might need to expand the collapsed groups, or your system may not include the device appropriate to this test. Refer to the SunVTS User's Guide for more details.


FIGURE 15-1 systest Test Parameter Options Dialog Box




caution icon

Caution - Use discretion when defining the syspass parameter. One lapack pass (syspass=1) takes approximately 40 minutes on a server with 12 UltraSPARC® III processors. If the syspass value is set to a high value, it also increases the probability of detecting residual errors.





caution icon

Caution - Use strong discretion when defining the System Isolation (sysiso) parameter. BE AWARE THAT sysiso MAY ONLINE / OFFLINE CPUs IN THE SYSTEM. DO NOT USE sysisoON PRODUCTION SERVERS. If you choose CPUs (sysiso=2) Isolation, the run time may be much higher than for board(s) (sysiso=1) Isolation. The total run time for Isolation can not be precisely estimated. If a residual error is found in the initial evaluation phase, the Isolation functionality will online / offline CPUs in order to detect the defective boards and CPUs in the system.





Note - Users are advised to not use the Processor Affinity option for this test. Doing so reduces the effectiveness of the test.




TABLE 15-1 systest Options

systest Options

Description

Asynch I/O Test

Enables or disables the Asynch I/O subtest. The default is enable.

Memory Test

Enables or disables the Memory subtest. The default is enable.

Cpu Test

Enables or disables the CPU/FPU subtests. The default is enable.

Internal System Passes

Defines the number of internal lapack passes. A set of boards and CPUs will be declared GOOD after syspass number of passes. The default is 1.

System Isolation

Defines the type of Isolation that systest needs to perform if a residual error is found in the initial evaluation phase.

0 = No Isolation (default)

1 = Board(s) Isolation only

2 = Board(s) and CPUs Isolation


The default values are recommended for an initial evaluation of the system.


systest Test Modes


TABLE 15-2 systest Supported Test Modes

Test Mode

Description

Exclusive

Performs only the systest (full test).



systest Command-Line Syntax

/opt/SUNWvts/bin/systest standard_arguments -o -io=enable|disable
-mem=enable|disable, -cpu=enable|disable, -dev=system, -syspass=1,2000, -sysiso=0|1|2


TABLE 15-3 systest Command-Line Syntax

Argument

Description

io=enable|disable

Enables or disables the Asynch I/O subtest.

mem=enable|disable

Enables or disables the Memory subtest.

cpu=enable|disable

Enables or disables the CPU/FPU subtests. The CPU Test is not supported on x86 platforms.

dev=system

Specifies the pseudo device name.

syspass=1,2000

Defines the number of internal lapack passes. A set of boards and CPUs will be declared "GOOD" after "syspass" number of passes. The default is 1.

sysiso=0|1|2

Defines the type of Isolation that systest needs to perform if a residual error is found in the initial evaluation phase.

0 = No Isolation

1 = Board(s) Isolation only

2 = Board(s) and CPUs Isolation




Note - 64-bit tests are located in the sparcv9 subdirectory: /opt/SUNWvts/bin/sparcv9/testname, or the relative path to which you installed SunVTS. If a test is not present in this directory, then it might be available as a 32-bit test only. For more information, see 32-Bit and 64-Bit Tests.



Recommended Option Selection

The default values are recommended for an initial evaluation of the system.

Command-Line Examples

The following examples assume you want to execute systest from the command-line with verbose enabled.

Example 1:


# ./systest  -xv

The above example invokes the following:

Example 2:


# ./systest  -xv -o io=Disable,mem=Enable,cpu=Enable,dev=system

The above example invokes the following:



caution icon

Caution - Do not perform the following systestexamples (3 and 4) on production servers because systestmay online / offline CPUs.



Example 3:


# ./systest  -xv -o syspass=15,sysiso=1

The above example invokes the following:

Example 4:


# ./systest  -xv -o syspass=10,sysiso=2

The above example invokes the following: