How do I rebuild the flash disk on PacketShaper models 1700, 3500, and 7500?
Article ID: 166167
Updated On:
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Issue/Introduction
The PacketShaper models 1700, 3500, and 7500 have the ability to completely
rebuild the boot flash disk in the event that it becomes corrupt. These model
PacketShapers are equipped with two flash disks. One is the normal boot flash
containing the PacketWise image and configuration files. The secondary flash is
a maintenance flash disk which is only accessed if the normal boot process is
interrupted by pressing Ctrl-Y to enter the Monitor Mode Menu.
When the Boot Monitor Menu is accessed, one of the options available is:
G) Erase and reload PacketShaper Compact Flash.
When this option is selected, the boot flash disk will be reformatted, and the units
configuration will be restored to factory defaults. In addition, the PacketWise
image contained on the Secondary flash (usually 7.x) will be installed on the
boot flash. After this operation is completed it will be necessary to reconfigure the
PacketShaper or load a previously saved backup of the configuration. It will also
be necessary to upgrade to a current version of PacketWise as well. The units keys
and branding information are preserved and re-applied as part of the process.
This operation should be performed if the unit fails to boot from either the
current or backup PacketWise image or there is some corruption to the boot flash
which is not fixed by running “sys clean flash”
Access to the Boot Monitor Menu is available only through a console connection.
To access the Boot Monitor Menu, power cycle or reboot the PacketShaper and
Press Ctrl-Y as you see the booting message on the LCD. This interrupts the normal
boot sequence and instructs the PacketShaper to boot from the Secondary flash.
The Secondary flash contains a Linux image which loads and then presents the
user with the Boot Monitor Menu.
1. Power cycle or reboot the PacketShaper and press Ctrl-Y as you see the booting
message on the LCD.
You will see these messages as the PacketShaper boots from the Secondary flash:
Loading.
Booting 'Packeteer Monitor'
kernel /vmlinuz rw root=/dev/ram ramdisk_size=120000 console=ttyS0,9600 quiet
[Linux-bzImage, setup=0x1400, size=0x16960d]
initrd /m200rd.gz
[Linux-initrd @ 0x5aa93000, 0x355cc9d bytes]
After Linux loads the Boot Monitor menu is presented
M200 Boot Monitor v1.0
Copyright(c) Packeteer Inc., 2000-2006
================================================
Boot Monitor Menu Secondary: Flash
================================================
A) Display System Configuration
B) Configure IP Address
C) Browse Directory Contents
E) Download File via LAN (TFTP GET)
F) Upload a File via LAN (TFTP PUT)
G) Erase and reload PacketShaper Compact Flash
H) Erase and reformat PacketShaper Hard Disk
I) Upgrade BIOS
J) Perform Hardware Reset
K) Ping
L) Upgrade Boot Monitor
Monitor Selection (menu=?):
2. Select option G to Erase and reload PacketShaper Compact Flash and enter “y” when
prompted. You will see these status messages:
Are you sure you want to erase and reformat the PacketWise flash disk (y/n)?
Saving branding information...
Deleting old partitions...
Making new partitions...
Formatting partitions...
Copying files...
Restoring branding information...
Done
Monitor Selection (menu=?): ?
3. Entering “?” returns the Boot Monitor Menu
Monitor Selection (menu=?): ?
M200 Boot Monitor v1.0
Copyright(c) Packeteer Inc., 2000-2006
================================================
Boot Monitor Menu Secondary: Flash
================================================
A) Display System Configuration
B) Configure IP Address
C) Browse Directory Contents
E) Download File via LAN (TFTP GET)
F) Upload a File via LAN (TFTP PUT)
G) Erase and reload PacketShaper Compact Flash
H) Erase and reformat PacketShaper Hard Disk
I) Upgrade BIOS
J) Perform Hardware Reset
K) Ping
L) Upgrade Boot Monitor
4. Select option “C” to Browse Directory Contents to verify the structure of the boot flash
disk
The listing should show this directory structure.
Monitor Selection (menu=?): c
Displaying directory: Flash /mnt
total 25
drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 16384 Dec 31 1969 .
drwxr-xr-x 19 root root 1024 Dec 8 18:51 ..
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 2048 Dec 8 18:58 bin
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 2048 Dec 8 18:58 cfg
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 2048 Dec 8 18:58 cmd
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 2048 Dec 8 18:58 log
Enter a file name, directory or press Return for main menu
Enter period + return to list current directory
Selection:
5. Press “Return” to access the Boot Monitor Menu again and select option “j”
to Perform Hardware Reset.
6. After selecting “j” to Perform a Hardware Reset, then select option “A” to
Reboot and load PacketWise.
Monitor Selection (menu=?): j
Select desired boot combination:
A) Reboot and load PacketWise
B) Reboot and return to Boot Monitor
PacketWise flash disk mounted for maintenance
C) Reboot and return to Boot Monitor
Hard Disk mounted for maintenance
Select a letter or press Return for main menu
Selection: A
Resetting...Are you sure (y/n)? y
Shutting down loopback interface: [ OK ]
Stopping iptables: [FAILED]
Starting killall: [FAILED]
Sending all processes the TERM signal...
Sending all processes the KILL signal...
Saving random seed:
Syncing hardware clock to system time
Please stand by while rebooting the system...
Restarting system.
After rebooting the system will com back up in factory default configuration. The
PacketWise version will have been reverted to version (7.x) which is stored on the
Secondary flash.
Proceed with upgrading the PacketShaper to the latest version of PacketWise or
the version which was previously being used. Information about upgrading
PacketWise and restoring configurations can be found in the release notes.
If rebuilding the flash fails or the PacketShaper still fails boot, contact Blue Coat Support
to request an RMA and return the unit for repair.
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