mwfearnley's questions

We have a ProLiant ML350P Gen8 server with a P420 controller running ESXi 5.5.

It has a RAID 6 array using 7 disks. One of the disks got marked as Predictive Failure, and in response to this we added an 8th disk to the array as a spare.

We ejected the failing drive, to make the array rebuild on the spare. (Retrospectively, we probably could have achieved this more gracefully by setting the Spare Activation Mode.)

The spare is now active in the array, and the old disk is marked as Failed:

# /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=2 pd all show

Smart Array P420 in Slot 2

   array A

      physicaldrive 1I:2:5 (port 1I:box 2:bay 5, SAS, 1200.2 GB, OK)
      physicaldrive 1I:2:6 (port 1I:box 2:bay 6, SAS, 1200.2 GB, OK)
      physicaldrive 1I:2:7 (port 1I:box 2:bay 7, SAS, 1200.2 GB, OK)
      physicaldrive 2I:2:1 (port 2I:box 2:bay 1, SAS, 1200.2 GB, OK)
      physicaldrive 2I:2:2 (port 2I:box 2:bay 2, SAS, 1200.2 GB, Failed)
      physicaldrive 2I:2:3 (port 2I:box 2:bay 3, SAS, 1200.2 GB, OK)
      physicaldrive 2I:2:4 (port 2I:box 2:bay 4, SAS, 1200.2 GB, OK)
      physicaldrive 1I:2:8 (port 1I:box 2:bay 8, SAS, 1200.2 GB, OK, active spare for 2I:2:2)

# /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=2 array all show detail

Smart Array P420 in Slot 2

   Array: A
      Interface Type: SAS
      Unused Space: 0  MB (0.0%)
      Used Space: 7.6 TB (100.0%)
      Status: Failed Physical Drive
      Array Type: Data
      Spare Type: dedicated
      HP SSD Smart Path: disable

      Warning: One of the drives on this array have failed or has been removed.

So the array presumably has two disks' redundancy again, but this is obviously not the ideal state..

We would like to be able to make the active spare permanent, remove the failed drive from the array, and unassign it in the controller.

We tried to remove the ejected drive from the array configuration, but the controller was clearly not happy with this idea:

# /opt/hp/hpssacli/bin/hpssacli ctrl slot=2 array A remove drives=2i:2:2

Error: This operation is not supported with the current configuration. Use the
       "show" command on devices to show additional details about the
       configuration.
Reason: Array status not ok

Is there any way to do this, or do we just have to add another drive in the failed disk's old slot to relieve the spare, and let the array rebuild a second time?

I've seen various methods to set passwords in MySQL, e.g, things like:

GRANT USAGE ON db.* to 'dave'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'supersecretpassword');
SET PASSWORD [FOR 'dave'@'localhost'] = PASSWORD('reallysecretpassword');
UPDATE mysql.user SET PASSWORD=PASSWORD('confidentialpassword') WHERE user='dave' AND host='localhost';

But they seem to involve typing the password in the clear as part of an SQL command, which raises paranoia about things like whether it ends up in my SQL command history, or about whether anyone is looking over my shoulder or can peek at my terminal scrollback.

Is there anyway I can get MySQL to prompt me to give the password without echoing it to the screen (the same way Unix does with passwd)?

How can I persuade Windows Server 2012 onwards to put the "This PC" icon on the Desktop?

In Server 2008 it could be achieved through right-clicking the "Computer" icon in the Start Menu, or it can be done in the Control Panel through Personalisation -> Desktop Icons, if available.

But Personalisation requires the Desktop Experience feature to be installed in Windows Server editions, and the "This PC" tile on the Start Screen doesn't offer the Show on Desktop option.

Simple example: I have a logfile in C:\users\user\test.log, containing a line of text:

crit

I have check_mk_agent.exe installed in Program Files (x86)\check_mk, with check_mk.ini installed in the same folder, containing this text:

[logfiles]
    # # Define textfiles to be monitored, separated by |
    # textfile = C:\tmp logfiles\message_*.log|D:\log\sample.txt
    # # Set patterns for defined textfiles
    # ok = Successfully logged in*
    # crit = Error in*
    # warn = Unable to contact*
    # ignore = Backup * saved

    textfile = C:\users\user\test.log
    warn = *
    crit = crit
    ok = ok

This is supposed to return OK if the line reads "ok", or CRIT if the line reads "crit", or WARN otherwise.

However, it doesn't report any status at all. If I run check_mk_agent.exe test (similarly for debug), I get these lines, suggesting it has found the textfile OK, but is not reporting a status for it:

( ... )
<<<logwatch>>>
[[[C:\users\user\test.log]]]
<<<>>>

<<<>>>
<<<local>>>
( ... )

Can anyone help me get it working? I am not an expert with Check MK, and this is pushing the limits of my knowledge.