On Wed 21 Apr, 1999, beepy@netapp.com (Brian Pawlowski) wrote:
I truly apologize for this.
This is a weird one. This is not a "feature" of our box, it was something I put in that exploits capabilities of the PROM (OpenFirmware) to allow floppy boot like processing at boot time.
You see, in development engineering, we used to have a special build kernels that allow booting off hard disk, but still going through the "floppy boot menu", and profiled kernels for performance analysis...
I, being extremely bored watching linking kernels, made it dynamically configurable... I was playing many games quickly when I hung out alone in a small perf lab.
It was not meant for field use... But obviously you guys are using it...
Strikes me that if you're finding it useful then it's not a million-to-one shot that it'll be useful to customers too, albeit in a slightly different way.
Let me check, and see if there is not yet an open RFE on this. I will submit one, asking for enable/disable of PROM environment variables from running system...
Ouch.
In one sense, I regret adding these features - since it is truly a break from the design of a simple box (the original design was that a floppy was required to access maintenance menu - I did an incomplete end run - but the remote console operation precludes floppy loading, so what is the real requirement here?)
Make it possible, to competent (read: curious, brave and support-contract- holding) customers to do floppy-boot tasks with remote consoles. Document it in a place that you can only get to if you hold a support contract.
I have to say that I've been using NetApp's for 3 years now, and have learnt a few tricks and tips but I'm not going to get to go on the training course as a direct result of that experience (it's not deemed necessary for my job).
I'm learning things here, and from support calls that apparently get taught to customers who also buy the courses - but which are built into these boxes from the get-go. I think they'd be useful to me, I want that knowledge, and all that's needed is for a bit of documentation to be placed somewhere on NOW.
Courses shouldn't teach 'secrets' IMHO, they should be about bringing people up to speed from zero-knowledge, or extending their knowledge into advanced domains in limited-time frames. Getting people away from their workplace and giving them the space and framework to learn.
The knowledge should also be provided as part of the basic package for others to pick up as and when, if they've already surmounted the learning curve to a large degree. Ie in full manuals and other documents - perhaps limited to people with support contracts to keep customers honest and to keep the feedback loop closed.
I have to say I'm a little peeved when courses are products in and of themselves (ie where they teach things over and above the manuals) because it's just another way for vendors to screw customers for a few more bucks IMHO.
Previously I never thought NetApp was that kind of vendor. The Appliance philosphy seems to preclude this kind of thing...
Someone could restore my faith by pointing me at some hidden docs on NOW that explain it all, which I've just never noticed before! 8)
No promises on a solution here...
Natch, but even the vague hint of one has some of us slavering in anticipation!
Again, my apologies...
For what? Nothing to apologise for IMHO.
-- End of excerpt from Brian Pawlowski