C H A P T E R 1

Introduction

This manual describes SunVTS Version 6.2 tests that are distributed on the
Solaris 10 6/06 (Solaris 10 Update 2) Software DVDs.

This chapter contains the following topics:

x86 Platform Support

Test Requirements

Collection of SunVTS Tests

SunVTS User Interfaces

The Sun trademark Validation and Test Suite (SunVTS) software performs multiple diagnostic hardware tests from a single user interface. SunVTS verifies the connectivity, functionality, and reliability of controllers and devices.

SunVTS contains many individual tests that support testing of a wide range of products and peripherals. Most of the tests are capable of testing devices in a 32-bit or 64-bit Solaris environment.

Such flexibility means that the proper test modes and options need to be selected to maximize its effectiveness. This book covers the individual test options, modes, and requirements. For overall test configuration modes and options refer to the SunVTS User's Guide.

Note - 64-bit tests are located in this directory: /opt/SUNWvts/bin/64/, 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.

The default installation directory for SunVTS is /opt/SUNWvts. However, when you are installing SunVTS, you can specify a different directory. Refer to the SunVTS User's Guide for installation information.

Note - SunVTS does not support processor sets. If processor sets are defined, you must first delete the processor sets before running SunVTS.

SunVTS Version Information

The standard command line argument, testname -V, displays the SunVTS version and release date of the test if available.

x86 Platform Support

Starting with Solaris 10, the SunVTS infrastructure and core diagnostics are available for x86 Solaris platforms.

SunVTS is supported and tested on the following Sun x86 platforms:

Sun Fire V20z

Sun Fire V40z

Sun Fire B100

Sun Fire B200

Sun Fire x4100

Sun Fire x4200

Netra CP3020

Note - If you perform SunVTS on an unsupported platform, a warning message appears and SunVTS stops.

You must install the x86 version of the SunVTS packages to perform SunVTS on x86 platforms. The software packages use the same names as in the SPARC environment. The SunVTS packages delivered separately for both x86 and SPARC Solaris platforms are as follows:

SUNWvts - Contains the SunVTS core framework that includes the kernel and user interface.

SUNWvtsmn - Contains the SunVTS online manual pages

SUNWvtsr - Contains the SunVTS framework configuration files in the root partition (Superuser).

SUNWvtsts - Contains the SunVTS test binaries.

The SunVTS components available for x86 Solaris platforms are as follows.

Infrastructure:

sunvts

vtsk

vts_cmd

vtstty

vtsui

vtsprobe

SunVTS Tests:

BMC Environment Test (bmcenvironment)

Optical Disk Drive Test (cddvdtest)

CPU Test (cputest)

Cryptographics Test (cryptotest)

Disk and Floppy Drives Test (disktest)

Data Translation Look-aside Buffer Test (dtlbtest)

Emulex HBA Test (emlxtest)

InfiniBand Host Channel Adapter Test (ibhcatest)

Level 1 Data Cache Test (l1dcachetest)

Level 2 SRAM Test (l2sramtest)

Ethernet Loopback Test (netlbtest)

Network Hardware Test (nettest)

Physical Memory Test (pmemtest)

Qlogic Host Bus Adapter Test (qlctest)

RAM Test (ramtest)

Serial Ports Test (serialtest)

System Test (systest)

Tape Test (tapetest)

Virtual Memory Test (vmemtest)

Test Requirements

SunVTS Version 6.2 was first introduced and designed to run in the Solaris 10 6/06 (Solaris 10 Update 2) operating system (OS) and subsequent compatible releases. The operating system kernel must be configured to support all peripherals that are to be tested.

Some SunVTS tests have special requirements such as the connection of loopback connectors, installation of test media, or the availability of disk space. These requirements are listed for each test in the corresponding chapter in this book.

Collection of SunVTS Tests

Many individual tests make up the collection of tests in the SunVTS application. Each test is a separate process from the SunVTS kernel. Each test can be run individually from the command line or from the SunVTS user interface.

When SunVTS is started, the SunVTS kernel automatically probes the system kernel to determine the hardware devices. The devices are then displayed on the SunVTS control panel with the appropriate tests and test options. This provides a quick check of your hardware configuration, and no time is wasted trying to run tests that are not applicable to your configuration.

During testing, the hardware tests send the test status and messages to the SunVTS kernel through interprocess communication (IPC) protocols. The kernel passes the status to the user interface and logs the messages.

SunVTS has a shared object library that contains test-specific probing routines. At runtime, the SunVTS kernel dynamically links in and calls these probing routines to initialize its data structure with test-specific information. You can add new tests into the SunVTS environment without recompiling the SunVTS source code.

32-Bit and 64-Bit Tests

Because each test is a separate program, you can run individual tests directly from the command line. When this is done, care must be taken to run the appropriate test (32-bit or 64-bit) that corresponds to the operating system that is running (32-bit or 64-bit). This is done by running tests from specific directories as follows:

32-bit tests--/opt/SUNWvts/bin/testname

64-bit tests--/opt/SUNWvts/bin/64/testname

The test is an actual 64-bit binary test if testname is a binary file.

The test is a 32-bit test capable of running in the 64-bit environment if testname is a symbolic link.

Note - For information on SunVTS packages and installation procedures, refer to the SunVTS User's Guide.

If you use the sunvts command to run SunVTS, SunVTS automatically allocates 32-bit or 64-bit tests based on the 32-bit or 64-bit Solaris operating environment that is running. Therefore, the only time that you need to be concerned with the 32-bit or 64-bit operation is when you run the SunVTS kernel or SunVTS tests from the command line.

If you are not sure which operating system is running, refer to the Solaris System Administration manuals. In Solaris 10, you can use the following command to identify the application support of your system.

# isainfo -v

SunVTS User Interfaces

You can run SunVTS tests from multiple interfaces: The graphical user interfaces or the TTY interface. SunVTS tests can also be run individually from a shell tool command line, using the command-line syntax for each test (refer to Running a Test From the Command Line). TABLE 1-1 describes the various SunVTS user interfaces. Refer to the SunVTS User's Guide for more information on these interfaces.

TABLE 1-1 SunVTS System Interfaces
SunVTS System Interfaces	Description
Graphical user interfaces (GUIs)	Users can select tests and test options by pointing and clicking with a mouse button in the CDE interface.
TTY interface	Users can run SunVTS from a terminal or modem attached to a serial port. This feature requires that users use the keyboard instead of the mouse, and it displays one screen of information at a time.
Command-line execution	Users can run each of the SunVTS tests individually from a shell tool command line using the command-line syntax. Each test description in this book contains the corresponding command-line syntax.

Note - To increase or decrease a numeric value in a SunVTS CDE dialog box, you can use either the up or down arrows, or type a new value in the text box and press Return. Select Apply to apply all dialog box changes.

Running a Test From a User Interface

The common way to run SunVTS testing is through a SunVTS graphical user interface or the TTY interface.

Test configuration, control, and results are easily accessed through buttons and dialog boxes. These buttons and dialog boxes are covered in the SunVTS User's Guide. However, the Test Parameter Options dialog box is unique for each test, and is therefore covered in this manual.

Test Parameter Options Dialog Box

The options displayed in this menu differ for each test, but the lower set of buttons are generic and are described below.

FIGURE 1-1 Test Parameter Options Dialog Box

Screenshot of a generic Test Parameter Options dialog box with the drop-down menus displayed

TABLE 1-2 Test Parameter Options Dialog Box Items
Menu Item	Description
Configuration	Information such as device type, capacity, revision, and serial numbers for the selected device. This information cannot be changed.
Options	A list of test options that are used to customize the testing of the selectable device, group, or all devices. The options are specific for each test and are covered in the test specific-chapters in this manual.
Within Instance	Provides the means to apply the settings: to this device only with Apply, or to all devices within this group with Apply to Group, or to all devices (of the same device typefor all controllers) with Apply to All. The option settings are only applied to one instance of the test.
Across All Instances	Provides the means to apply the settings globally: to this device only with Apply, or to all devices within this group with Apply to Group, or to all devices (of the same device typefor all controllers) with Apply to All. The option settings are applied to all instances.
Reset	Returns the option values to their default settings and closes the test parameter option menu.
Cancel	Ignores any changes made to option values and closes the test parameter option menu.

Note - The Test Parameter Options Dialog Box descriptions also apply to the Test Parameter Options menu in the TTY interface.

Running a Test From the Command Line

In some cases it may be more convenient to run a single SunVTS test from the command line rather than through a SunVTS user interface. The following information describes how to do this.

Unless specified, the test runs without the SunVTS kernel (vtsk). All events and errors are sent to stdout or stderr and are not logged in the log files.

When you run a test in this way, you must specify all test options in the form of command-line arguments.

There are two types of command-line arguments:

Standard arguments--common to all tests. Refer to TABLE 1-3 for details.

Test specific arguments--unique to a specific test. Refer to the test-specific chapters in this book for details.

The standard syntax for all SunVTS tests is:

testname [-scruvdtelnf] [-i number] [-w number][-o test_specific_arguments]

Standard Command-Line Arguments

The following table defines the standard SunVTS command-line arguments:

TABLE 1-3 Standard Command-Line Arguments
Argument	Description
`-s`	Runs a test as though it were invoked from the SunVTS kernel (`vtsk`). The default is to send the output to `stdout` or `stderr`.
`-c`	Enables a core image of the test process to be created in the current working directory upon receipt of certain signals, otherwise those signals are caught and handled to prevent a core from being generated. The default is to disable the creation of a core image.
`-r`	Enables run on error so that when an error occurs, the test continues with the next test sequence instead of exiting. The default is false.
`-v`	Runs the test in Verbose mode and displays messages with more detailed information about the testing process. The default is false.
`-V`	Displays the SunVTS version and release date of the test.
`-d`	Runs the test in debug mode and displays messages to help programmers debug their test code. The default is false.
`-t`	Runs the test in Trace mode and displays messages that track function calls and sequences currently in use by the test code. The default is false.
`-l`	Runs the test in Online Functional mode. This is the same mode that tests run in when executed with the `vtsui.online` command. It is a non-intrusive version that will not significantly affect other applications. See the note below. The default is true.
`-x`	Runs the test in Exclusive mode.
`-n`	Runs the test in Connection mode. See the note below. The default is false.
`-f`	Runs the test in full Functional mode. This mode assumes that the test has complete control of the device under test. See the note below. The default is false.
`-p` number	Defines the number of passes for scalable tests. The default is 1.
`-i` number	Defines the number of instances for scalable tests. The default is 1.
`-w` number	Defines to which instance the test is assigned; this option is for scalable tests. The default is 0.
`-o`	Indicates that the options and arguments that follow are test specific.

Note - Separate each test-specific argument by commas, with no space after each comma.

Note - If you choose to specify a test mode with the l, n, or f option, specify only one option at a time because only one test mode can be selected at a time.

Test-Specific Arguments

There are test-specific arguments, as described in TABLE 1-4. Test-specific arguments follow the format specified in the getsubopt(3c) man page. For information about test-specific arguments refer to the specific test chapter in this book.

TABLE 1-4 SunVTS Test-Specific Arguments
Argument	Description
`-o`	Separate each test-specific argument by commas, with no space after the comma. For example: `#./sample -v -o dev=`device-name`,count=`count-number`,test=`testlist`,size=`file-size `,retain=`mode The test option format is specified by the man page `getsubopt`(3C).