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8. Using the Linux Operating System: actiDisk RDX
Removable Hard Disk Storage System Appendix
8.1 Overview
This document describes the use of actiDisk RDX removable disk docking stations on Linux operating systems.
There are two models of the actiDisk RDX docking station: an internal SATA version and an external USB version.
Both SATA and USB models support Linux.
8.2 Linux Compatibility
There are a large number of possible Linux distributions which will support the actiDisk RDX docking stations natively.
The Linux distributions listed in the table below have been tested and found compliant (see
Table 1
).
Table 1. Compatibility
Linux Distribution
actiDisk RDX Internal SATA
actiDisk RDX External USB
RHEL 3.0 Update 7
Supported
Supported
RHEL 4.0 Update 3
Supported
Supported
SLES 10 x64
Supported
Supported
SLES 9 Service Pack 3 x64
Not Supported
Supported
SLES
– SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (Novell)
RHEL
– Red Hat Enterprise Linux
SLES 9 Service Pack 3
does not support SATA ATAPI devices and therefore does not support the actiDisk RDX Internal
SATA product.
8.3 Using the actiDisk RDX System with Linux
actiDisk RDX Cartridge File System Considerations
The actiDisk RDX cartridge is formatted as NTFS at point of sale. NTFS format does not allow writes in a Linux operating
system.
Your cartridge must be reformatted to a different fi le system supported by Linux, such as FAT32, ext2, and ext3, etc. Please
refer to the man pages for
fdisk
and
mkfs
for detailed instructions on how to manipulate partition table and create fi le
systems on Linux. If creating multiple partitions on a cartridge, see section
„Eject“
below.
• The choice of the fi le system also has signifi cant impact on backup performance. Ext3 typically gives the best overall
performance.
• The FAT32 fi le system has a 4GB fi le size limit which can limit archive sizes when using tar.
• Some system BIOS do not handle FAT32 formatted disk volumes correctly and may hang on boot. This typically occurs
when USB boot is enabled in the BIOS. See
„System Will Not Complete Boot Process with actiDisk RDX
External“
section in „Troubleshooting“ for more information.
NOTE:
Although
mkfs
will allow format of un-partitioned media, we recommend always using
fdisk
to create
partitioned media before formatting. Issues exist with the 2.4 kernel and
umount
when using un-partitioned media.
Automount
A cartridge must be mounted in order to for it to be accessible by the backup application. Some Linux distributions include
pre-confi gured
automount
for removable disks, others may require user confi guration. Please refer to the man pages for
automount
for more information.