How to add a scsi tape drive and controller after install

Problem:
You need to add a scsi controller after e-smith is installed.  In this example we'll add an Adaptec AIC7XXX compatible controller and a scsi tape drive.

Solution:

These commands are used for working with modules on the command line:

lsmod = list modules
insmod = install module
rmmod = remove module

Basically you need to load 2 modules and make sure other modules are not loading in conflict as the e-smith default is set to use ide-scsi if the scsi controller is not installed at the time e-smith is installed:

aic7xxx = Adaptec scsi controller
st = scsi tape

Start by issuing 'lsmod' to see what modules are loading. Next edit /etc/modules.conf and you should see these two lines:

alias scsi_hostadapter ide-scsi
pre-install ide-scsi modprobe ide-cd

Make a backup copy of /etc/modules.conf and if you have an ide cdrom, edit as follows. If not simply remove the second line:

alias scsi_hostadapter aic7xxx
pre-install aic7xxx modprobe ide-cd

Reboot e-smith and this should autoload the aic7xxx driver anytime a call is made to the scsi tape. Test by simply issuing:

mt -f /dev/st0 status

If this doesn't work, try appending to the end of /etc/rc.d/rc.local the following two lines:

insmod aic7xxx
insmod st

Finally, start the e-smith-manager and select Backup or Restore, Configure tape backups, Enable Tape Backup and set a tape backup time.

Regards,

Darrell