SCSI Timeout: errors resulting in system crash

greetings all!

We have a Dell 2650 which we've been testing prior to putting it into
production as a mail server.  We're running Debian 3.0, with a 2.4.18
kernel, and have a 2-drive mirror for the system drive and a 3-drive
RAID5 set for the mail directories.

After only a few days in live mode, we lost the system; it crashed,
requiring a powercycle.  Upon rebooting (which went fine) we found
entries in the logs looking like this:

---cut---
Feb 25 01:19:00 skeptopotamus kernel: aacraid:ID(1:03:0) Timeout
detected on cmd[0x28]
Feb 25 01:19:00 skeptopotamus kernel: aacraid:SCSI Channel[1]: Timeout
Detected On 2 Command(s)
Feb 25 01:19:13 skeptopotamus kernel: scsi : aborting command due to
timeout : pid 50212683, scsi0, channel 0, id 1, lun 0 Read (10) 00 00 48
01 8f 00 00 80 00 Feb 25 01:19:13 skeptopotamus kernel: scsi : aborting
command due to timeout : pid 50212684, scsi0, channel 0, id 1, lun 0
Read (10) 00 00 48 02 0f 00 00 80 00 Feb 25 01:19:15 skeptopotamus
kernel: aacraid:SCSI Channel[1]: Timeout Detected On 4 Command(s)
Feb 25 01:19:25 skeptopotamus kernel: aacraid:ID(1:03:0) Timeout
detected on cmd[0x28]
Feb 25 01:19:25 skeptopotamus kernel: aacraid:SCSI Channel[1]: Timeout
Detected On 7 Command(s)

---cut---

...after getting the machine back up, I ran afacli and got the
following:

---cut---

Executing: diagnostic show history /old=TRUE


 *** HISTORY BUFFER FROM LAST RUN ***

[00]:  <...repeats 1 more times>
[01]: SCSI Channel[1]: Timeout Detected On 4 Command(s)
[02]: ID(1:03:0) Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[03]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[04]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[05]:  <...repeats 1 more times>
[06]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[07]:  <...repeats 1 more times>
[08]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[09]: SCSI Channel[1]: Timeout Detected On 7 Command(s)
[10]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[11]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[12]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[13]:  <...repeats 1 more times>
[14]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[15]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[16]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[17]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[18]:  <...repeats 5 more times>
[19]: SCSI Channel[1]: Timeout Detected On 13 Command(s)
[20]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[21]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[22]:  <...repeats 2 more times>
[23]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[24]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[25]:  <...repeats 1 more times>
[26]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[27]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[28]:  <...repeats 4 more times>
[29]: SCSI Channel[1]: Timeout Detected On 13 Command(s)
[30]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[31]:  <...repeats 3 more times>
[32]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[33]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[34]:  <...repeats 2 more times>
[35]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[36]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[37]:  <...repeats 3 more times>
[38]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[39]: SCSI Channel[1]: Timeout Detected On 14 Command(s)
[40]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[41]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[42]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[43]:  <...repeats 5 more times>
[44]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[45]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[46]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[47]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[48]:  <...repeats 2 more times>
[49]: SCSI Channel[1]: Timeout Detected On 14 Command(s)
[50]: ID(1:03:0) Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[51]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[52]:  <...repeats 5 more times>
[53]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[54]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[55]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[56]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[57]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[58]:  <...repeats 1 more times>
[59]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[60]:  <...repeats 1 more times>
[61]: SCSI Channel[1]: Timeout Detected On 15 Command(s)
[62]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[63]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[64]:  <...repeats 1 more times>
[65]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[66]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[67]:  <...repeats 2 more times>
[68]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[69]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[70]:  <...repeats 2 more times>
[71]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[72]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[73]:  <...repeats 2 more times>
[74]: SCSI Channel[1]: Timeout Detected On 15 Command(s)
[75]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[76]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[77]:  <...repeats 1 more times>
[78]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[79]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[80]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[81]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[82]:  <...repeats 2 more times>
[83]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[84]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[85]:  <...repeats 4 more times>
[86]: SCSI Channel[1]: Timeout Detected On 15 Command(s)
[87]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[88]:  <...repeats 1 more times>
[89]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[90]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[91]:  <...repeats 4 more times>
[92]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[93]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[94]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x2a]
[95]:  <...repeats 2 more times>
[96]: ID(1:03:0): Timeout detected on cmd[0x28]
[97]:  <...repeats 1 more times>
[98]: SCSI Channel[1]: Timeout Detected On 15 Command(s)
[99]: 

========================
History Output Complete.

---cut---


My question:  Is this a drive error?  If so, why would it bring down the
system, given that both RAID sets are redundant?  If not, what are my
options?

Thanks very much to all.

-J.B. Zimmerman



-- 
-------------------------------------
J.B. Zimmerman         [email protected]
       Network Administrator
Ximian, Inc. -  http://www.ximian.com

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