OptaSense OS5.11 Manuals - Module 1 - Setting Up The Processing Node Hardware

Proprietary
OptaSense OS5.11 Manuals – Module 1
Setting up the Processing Node Hardware
Valid for OS5 versions 5.11 until superseded
Date: February 2021
Issue: Issue 2
OptaSense Ref: OptaSense/ISM/964
© OptaSense Ltd 2021 OptaSense® OS5.11 Manuals - Module 1

Proprietary OptaSense/ISM/964 – Issue 2
Amendment Record
Issue Change Reason for Change Date
Request
1 N/A First Release January 2020
2 N/A Logo update February 2021
Contact:
support@optasense.com
The document contains information proprietary to OptaSense® and whose unauthorised disclosure would cause damage
to the interests of OptaSense®. Requests for permission for wider use or dissemination should be made to your
OptaSense® account manager.
Specification is liable to change without warning – please contact OptaSense® for latest version.
Reference: OptaSense/ISM/964
Copyright © OptaSense® Ltd 2021, Cody Technology Park, Ively Road, Farnborough GU14 0LX
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© OptaSense Ltd 2021 1 OptaSense® OS5.11 Manuals - Module 1
Contents
1 Introduction to the Processing Node ................................................................................... 3
Server Identification ..................................................................................................................... 3
1.1.1 Avnet Servers ................................................................................................................................ 3
Linux configuration for a processing node ................................................................................... 4
1.2.1 Setting up the IPMI facility ......................................................................................................... 10
1.2.2 Setting up the nodes to restore on AC power loss ..................................................................... 12
1.2.3 Changing the server hostname, IP and/or Gateway................................................................... 12
Configuring rolling recorders ...................................................................................................... 13
1.3.1 Checking the physical location of the mounted hard disk drive ................................................ 14
1.3.2 Formatting the rolling recorders ................................................................................................ 14
1.3.3 Disk Labels in OS5 ....................................................................................................................... 15
Rolling Recorder Troubleshooting .............................................................................................. 15
1.4.1 Step 1: Identify location of the disks .......................................................................................... 15
1.4.2 Step 2: disk free “df” command.................................................................................................. 15
1.4.3 Step 3: display message “dmesg” command .............................................................................. 15
1.4.4 Step 4: list “ls” command ........................................................................................................... 16
1.4.5 Step 5: file systems table “fstab” command .............................................................................. 16
1.4.6 Step 6: fixed disk “fdisk” command ............................................................................................ 17
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1 Introduction to the Processing Node
Server Identification
Depending on the OptaSense system requirements, the configuration of the hard drives and Ethernet
ports at the rear of the server will change depending if the server is being used as a Processing Unit
(PU) or Dual Processing Unit (DPU). Extended power variants of each of these are also available for
leak installations (XPU/DXPU). Example Ethernet port layouts are shown below for the latest Avnet
Server versions and the obsolete Hammer and Rackserver Servers used on older OptaSense systems.
Processing Units (PU) and Dual Processing Unit (DPU) connect directly to the Interrogator Unit (IU),
further details on the OptaSense System architecture can be located in the OptaSense System
Specification document.
1.1.1 Servers
Identified with (top of unit,):
PU/XPU
(Eth2 and
Eth3 not
used)
DPU
DXPU
The number of hard drives installed in the server will also depend on the requirement for the server.
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Server Hard Drive – Bay Allocation

Description A (sda) B (sdb) C (sdc) D (sdd)
PU 500GB 10TB Not Used 10TB
DPU 500GB 10TB 10TB 10TB
XPU/DXPU 500GB 10TB 10TB 10TB

Table 1 – Server Description and associated HDD table
The power and reset buttons can be found above the last hard drive bay (D). The servers are normally
configured to restart on AC power loss although it may be required to reboot the server manually.
The LEDs located next to the power button enables the user to check the network and hard drive
usage of the server to ensure it is functioning correctly.
Figure 1: Power, reset buttons and LED icons on server
Linux configuration for a processing node

A Linux operating system CD needs to be acquired from OptaSense to use for the configuration
process. The CD used needs to be the latest revision to tie in with whichever version of OptaSense is
to be installed and the correct hardware deployment. The Linux installation is a narrow installation
of CentOS tied to range of OptaSense supported hardware.
The following procedure should be observed to install the Linux operating system:
• Temporarily install a monitor into the VGA port on the Server and a keyboard to either the
front/rear USB
• Insert the configuration CD into the Server and effect a hard reboot (from the power
switch).
• On the boot of the Server, to enter the BIOS, press Del to run Setup.
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Figure 2 – BIOS Setup screen
• Navigate to the BOOT tab in the BIOS then insure that ‘CD/DVD’ is the first device in the
boot priority.
Figure 3 – Boot Device Order
• When the boot priorities are set up correctly then navigate to the ‘Save & Exit’ tab. Then
save changes and reset
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Figure 4 – Save or Delete changes screen
• The Server will boot from CD and a number of modes will be offered in the ‘Installer Main
Menu’:
1. To install a new operating system, enter your menu choice as ‘1’ then enter.
Figure 5 : Installer main menu options
2. The next ‘Select install device’ menu will give a range of options:
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Figure 6 : Select install device
3. Enter your menu choice as ‘1’, and then press enter– this will install the operating
system onto the sda hard disk drive. NOTE SDA, SDB & SDC relate to the physical disks
if there are 2 physical disks only SDA & SDB will be available for selection.
4. After the ‘Install Device’ has been selected, the screen will refresh and the ‘Current
Device’ will be listed as ‘sda’. Other than this, the menu will be identical.
5. After the selected menu choice has been reflected in the refreshed menu, enter your
menu choice as ‘n’ to proceed.
6. The next menu will ask for a host name. Enter the host name of the node as allocated
from the approved ND should be entered
7. Type your hostname and then press enter
8. After the selected menu choice has been reflected in the refreshed menu, enter your
menu choice as ‘n’ to proceed.
Figure 7 : Select Hostname menu
9. The ‘Select network type for eth0’ menu follows. The default value is static and unless
specified does not require changing. Once the current choice is correctly displayed as
‘Static’, then enter your menu choice as ‘n’ to proceed.
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Figure 8 : Select network type for eth0
10. The system will then prompt for the IP address information. Here the IP address of the
item as allocated from the approved ND should be entered. Enter your menu choice
as ‘1’ and press enter, before entering the IP address as illustrated on the ND, again
press enter.
11. The ‘Current Subnet Mask’ should also be checked to ensure that it is 255.255.255.0 If
it is not set to 255.255.255.0 and needs to be changed, enter your menu choice as ‘2’
and press enter, before entering the correct subnet mask. Again, press enter.
12. Once the correct information has been inputted, enter your menu choice as ‘n’ and
press enter to proceed.
Figure 9 : Select IP address for eth0
13. The last two menus are then replicated for both eth 1 and eth 2. Table 2 lists the
configuration of the Ethernet ports required for each item.
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14. The following table details the Ethernet ports that need to be configured for each
possible rack server unit. The Eth0 port is used for the connection to the Control Unit
(NOTE: often via Switch), whilst the Eth1 and Eth2 ports are used for connections to
IUs.
Item Eth0 Eth1 Eth2
Static – Ethernet Static – Ethernet

PU/XPU Not Required
connection to switch connection to an IU
Static – Ethernet Static – Ethernet Static – Ethernet

DPU/DXPU
connection to switch connection to an IU connection to an IU
Table 2 : Ethernet port configurations
15. The system will then prompt for a root password. Enter your menu choice as ‘n’ and
press enter to proceed with the default setting (“password”).
Figure 12 : Set root password
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16. The system will then present an ‘Install New System Summary’. Check all of the details
are correct and then enter your menu choice as ‘i’. Press enter to start the installation.
Figure 13 : Install New System Summary
Figure 14 : Install Complete
17. Once the installation is complete, reboot the Server and remove the disk. Once the
server has restarted wait for the login page to appear (NOTE: this may take up to 10
minutes). Then login to Server with username: OptaAdmin and the password:
OptaAdmin.
18. Enter the command: “cat /etc/*release” to display the Linux version.
1.2.1 Setting up the IPMI facility

All network nodes have the ability to utilise a spare Ethernet Port for the configuration of the
Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) system. Configured correctly, the IPMI system
allows you to log in remotely onto the configured IP address by using a web browser on any CU
connected to the network. Once logged on, a vast amount of diagnostic information can be accessed,
including if cooling fans are running correctly.
The following procedure should be followed to activate the IPMI feature on each server and processor
nodes:
1. To enter the BIOS, on the boot of the server, wait until the following screen appears during
the boot procedure. Press delete to enter the BIOS.
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Figure 15 – BIOS Options
2. Toggle across to the ‘IPMI’ tab. Highlight ‘Station IP Address’ and Press enter. Adjust this
IP address to the corresponding IP address and ensure the ‘configuration address source’
is Static.
Figure 16 – IPMI Config
3. Before you save the changes and exit, it is preferable to set up the restore on AC power
loss function (see section 1.2.2) as this is still on the BIOS set-up facility. To save the
changes and exit, press F4 and then ESC. The processor or server node should start to load
up automatically.
4. To check the IPMI system has been configured correctly, connect a laptop to the newly
configured Ethernet port ensuring that the laptop has a static IP address and subnet mask
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sympathetic to the IPMI Ethernet port. Once this has been done, load a web browser and
type in the IP address of the configured IPMI Ethernet port to confirm its successful
configuration.
1.2.2 Setting up the nodes to restore on AC power loss

All of the server and processor nodes have the ability to restore automatically on AC power loss. This
is very useful when a power cut affects equipment located hundreds of kilometres away.
The following procedure should be followed to activate the restore on AC power loss feature on each
server and processor node. If the IPMI system has just been configured, you are in the BIOS set-up
facility and can disregard the first two points.
1. Enter the BIOS with the same method as above.
2. Toggle across to the ‘Advanced’ tab. Highlight ‘Boot feature’ and Press enter.
Figure 17: Advanced – Initial BIOS setup utility – Advanced settings tab
3. In the new ‘Advanced – BOOT feature’ sub-menu, highlight ‘restore on AC Power Loss’ and
ensure it is set to Power On.
4. To save the changes and exit, press F4 and then ESC. The processor or server node should
start to load up automatically.
1.2.3 Changing the server hostname, IP and/or Gateway

If the IP address of the server is incorrect or temporarily needs changing, follow the instructions:
1. Open Putty.exe
2. Putty into the desired node by filling in the IP address and clicking the ‘Open’ button
3. Enter username: OptaAdmin
4. Enter password: OptaAdmin
5. Enter username: su
6. Enter password: password
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7. Enter command: nano /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 (or eth1 or eth2) –

this will allow you to change the network adapter configuration. If
you wish to change the hostname, then instead, nano /etc/hosts.
Note: if you change the eth0 IP address you will HAVE to update the
hosts file regardless.
8. Make required change to ifcfg or hosts as needed
9. Enter command: press ctrl-x to exit and y to save the changes
If we finish at this point, we can test by carrying out the following:

10. Enter command: /etc/init.d/network restart
However, if we reboot the PU all the changes will be lost. You can use this mechanism however to
verify that your changes were good, in order to make the changes permanent:
11. Enter command: mount /mnt/cflash/1_0.nod /mnt/tmp -o loop (If the dir doesn’t
exist then first enter: mkdir /mnt/tmp) – this will mount (temporarily)
the OS source from cflash – if we make changes here they will be
permanent – so make sure they are right. We can either make the
same changes to the same file in this new mounted tree or copy them
from files in (section 7):
12. Enter command: cp /etc/hosts /mnt/tmp/etc/hosts copying the above FIXED file into
the master location. Or if you want to copy the network config file: cp
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
/mnt/tmp/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
13. Enter command: umount /mnt/tmp
You can now reboot. E.g. using reboot
Configuring rolling recorders

The simplest way to manage the rolling recorder disks is from within the application itself (see
documentation in the Manual Module 6). However, a more detailed exposition of the direct Linux
commands and how to do this without OS5 installed is shown in the next sections.
All data recording functions are performed at the PU/DPU site for each IU. Depending on the item, the
number of hard disks and capacity of the hard disks varies ( Table 1 – Server Description and associated
HDD table). If the item is a (X)DPU then two ‘rolling recorder’ hard disks are required as they serve
two separate IUs.
The rolling recorder automatically records sensor data, histogram data, alert logging and system
(activity) logging.
Typical data storage rates for a standard 50km, 5000 channel installation, sampled at 2 kHz are:
• Histogram ~13 GB a day (typically assigned 1.2TB for 90 days use)
• Full Sensor data ~1.6 TB a day (typically assigned 4.4TB for 10 days use at 75%
decimation)
The Rolling Recorder can be specified to meet client expectations to store more Histogram data or
decimated sensor data. The specification detailed above is for the standard rolling recorder supplied
with OptaSense.
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There are a few things that need to be done to ensure that all of the hard disks within the server or
processor node are configured and set-up correctly. They are:
1. To ensure the physical location of the mounted hard drives is as we expect (explained in
section 1.3.1).
2. To format the rolling recorders.
1.3.1 Checking the physical location of the mounted hard disk drive
NOTE: This step is normally only required as a depot level activity on new units (i.e. OptaSense). The
instructions are included for completeness but can be skipped in most circumstances as units will have
been tested by OptaSense prior to leaving the factory.
All the server or processor nodes will be delivered already constructed from the project engineers.
The project engineers will always deliver the items with the 500GB SSD on the far left and if necessary,
any 10 TB rolling recorder hard disks in the next two slots. All manual recording data will be stored on
the last slotted hard disk.
Item Number of HDD’s Mounts
PU 3 sda – 500GB SSD; sdb – 10 TB, sdd - 10TB
DPU 4 sda – 500GB SSD; sdb – 10 TB; sdc – 10 TB; sdd – 10TB
XPU 4 sda – 500GB SSD; sdb – 10 TB; sdc – 10 TB; sdd – 10TB
DXPU 4 sda – 500GB SSD; sdb – 10 TB; sdc – 10 TB; sdd – 10TB
Table 3 : Hard disks
To check the location of the drive you can enter dd if=/dev/sdX of=/dev/null which will enable the
light on the drive (X being a, b or c).
Entering fdisk -l | grep Disk will list all the available disks and their full potential disk space.
1.3.2 Formatting the rolling recorders

Standard fdisk in Linux cannot handle drives over 2.2TB, standard rolling recorders hard drive sizes are
6TB. Again, note that this should be handled from the OS5 GUI, but if required – please use the
following.
• df -h
• umount /mnt/diskX (where X is either 2 or 3)
• parted /dev/sdb (and sdc if dual/leak)
• mklabel gpt
• yes
• gpt
• mkpart primary 0% 100%
• quit
• mkfs.ext3 -L diskXpart1 /dev/sdb1 (where X is either 2 or 3 and sdc if dual/leak)
• mount /mnt/diskX (where X is either 2 or 3)
• df -h (ensure that the disk has mounted correctly and the drive is formatted to the
size as required)
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1.3.3 Disk Labels in OS5

In OptaSense OS5, disks are referred to by labels rather than absolute names. Labelling and mounting
the OS boot disk is taken care of the installer but the disk 2 and disk 3 have to be labelled correctly
when formatted so they can be found by the OS – hence the “mkfs.ext3 -L diskXpart1” commands
above.
In the unlikely circumstance where a label needs to be changed without formatting it, use the
following command:
• e2label /dev/sdb1 disk2part1
• e2label /dev/sdc1 disk3part1
Rolling Recorder Troubleshooting

This section recommends a set commands and the order in which to carry them out in order to
diagnose the cause of problems with the hard disks.
1.4.1 Step 1: Identify location of the disks

From time to time the location of the hard drives can change from expected the following commands
will help locate and identify all hard drives installed.
Commands:
fdisk -l | grep Disk will identify all disks installed and the pre-formatted size.
dd if=/dev/sdX of=/dev/null will light up the status light on the specified disk
1.4.2 Step 2: disk free “df” command

The command “df” (abbreviation for disk free) lists the currently mounted hard drive partitions
(amongst other things). If your disk does appear on this list, then it is formatted and mounted, and the
hard disk isn’t the cause of your problems.
(Figure 18) displays the output from the df command. The lines we are interested in are the ones
which start “/dev/sd”… In this example two partitions are mounted, /dev.sda2 is mounted at
/mnt/user and /dev/sdc1 is mounted at /mnt/disk3. However, disk 2 (which should have a line) is
missing.
Figure 18: The “df” output
1.4.3 Step 3: display message “dmesg” command

If one or more of the disks are not mounted, then the next step is to check that they are all plugged
in. The command to use is
dmesg | grep ‘scsi disk’
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the number of lines this produce is the number of disks that linux can see plugged in.
Figure 19) shows the output from the “dmesg | grep ‘scsi disk’ ” command. Here there are three disks
plugged in, sda, sdb and sdc. If you don’t have the correct number of disks here, then the problem is
most likely that the disk isn’t probably connected.
Figure 19: The “dmesg” output
1.4.4 Step 4: list “ls” command

If your disk is plugged in but not mounted, then the problem could be that it isn’t formatted. To
check if this is the case use the following commands in sequence:
1. Cd /dev
2. ls | grep sd
(Figure 20) shows the output of these commands. The lines that don’t end in numbers (sda, sdb and
sdc) are the names of the hard drives, and the lines that end in numbers are the names of the
partitions. In the example disk sda has two partitions: sda1 and sda2, and disk sdc has one partition
sdc1, however sdb has no partitions, so the problem is that the second disk (sdb) needs formatting.
Figure 20: Checking if the disk is formatted
1.4.5 Step 5: file systems table “fstab” command

If the partitions appear in the list from step 3, then the problem could be that the hard drive is not in
the mount list. Use the following commands in sequence:
3. cd /etc
4. vi fstab
To exit the vi editor, once you have checked the file you will have to type “:Q” then press enter.
(Figure 21) shows the output of these commands, in the example both sdb1 and sdc1 are present, so
should be mounting, if these were missing then you would be best off reinstalling the operating
system, as it would indicate something went majorly wrong with the install but could try adding the
required lines to fstab.
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Figure 21: The “fstab” output
1.4.6 Step 6: fixed disk “fdisk” command

If you have reached this point then the hard drives are correctly plugged in, formatted and in the
table of drives to mount. It is possible that the drives may be formatted incorrectly, to check this
type:
fdisk –l /dev/sdb (or sdc depending on which hard drive isn’t mounting).
(Figure 22) shows the output of fdisk –l, in the example the “system” column says “EFI GPT”, it should
say “Linux” for a 2TB drive (EFI-GPT is correct for 3TB) so this is the source of our problems. In this
example you would have to delete the partition (type fdisk, then d), then reformat the drive.
Figure 22: The “fdisk –l” output
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OptaSense OS5.11 Manuals – Module 1

Setting up the Processing Node Hardware

Valid for OS5 versions 5.11 until superseded

Date: February 2021

OptaSense Ref: OptaSense/ISM/964

© OptaSense Ltd 2021 OptaSense® OS5.11 Manuals - Module 1

1 Introduction to the Processing Node

Identified with (top of unit,):

Server Hard Drive – Bay Allocation

PU 500GB 10TB Not Used 10TB

DPU 500GB 10TB 10TB 10TB

XPU/DXPU 500GB 10TB 10TB 10TB

Figure 1: Power, reset buttons and LED icons on server

Linux configuration for a processing node

Figure 2 – BIOS Setup screen

Figure 3 – Boot Device Order

Figure 4 – Save or Delete changes screen

Figure 5 : Installer main menu options

Figure 6 : Select install device

Figure 7 : Select Hostname menu

Figure 8 : Select network type for eth0

Figure 9 : Select IP address for eth0

Figure 10 : Select IP address for eth1

Figure 11 : Select IP address for eth2

Item Eth0 Eth1 Eth2

Static – Ethernet Static – Ethernet

Static – Ethernet Static – Ethernet Static – Ethernet

Figure 12 : Set root password

Figure 13 : Install New System Summary

Figure 14 : Install Complete

1.2.1 Setting up the IPMI facility

Figure 15 – BIOS Options

Figure 16 – IPMI Config

1.2.2 Setting up the nodes to restore on AC power loss

1.2.3 Changing the server hostname, IP and/or Gateway

7. Enter command: nano /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 (or eth1 or eth2) –

If we finish at this point, we can test by carrying out the following:

You can now reboot. E.g. using reboot

Configuring rolling recorders

Item Number of HDD’s Mounts

PU 3 sda – 500GB SSD; sdb – 10 TB, sdd - 10TB

1.3.2 Formatting the rolling recorders

1.3.3 Disk Labels in OS5

Rolling Recorder Troubleshooting

1.4.1 Step 1: Identify location of the disks

1.4.2 Step 2: disk free “df” command

Figure 18: The “df” output

1.4.3 Step 3: display message “dmesg” command

Figure 19: The “dmesg” output

1.4.4 Step 4: list “ls” command

Figure 20: Checking if the disk is formatted

1.4.5 Step 5: file systems table “fstab” command

Figure 21: The “fstab” output

1.4.6 Step 6: fixed disk “fdisk” command

Figure 22: The “fdisk –l” output

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