Installing SeaTools for Ubuntu Linux Servers

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Affected Roles: Owner, Administrator

Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps: DW Spectrum IPVMS

Last Edit: March 30, 2023

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SeaTools Hard Disk Analysis

In cases where a server is operating within acceptable and supported parameters but is reporting recording issues, it is most logical to determine if there is a storage drive issue before assuming that there is a problem with the DW Spectrum Server program or camera.

SeaTools is a hard disk analysis program that was developed and released by Seagate technology for self-testing storage drive health and stability. While it is a relatively simple process of installing and opening SeaTools when using a Microsoft Windows system, however, using SeaTools with Ubuntu requires additional steps.

This article will outline how to install and use the SeaTools program on a DW Blackjack Server embedded with an Ubuntu Linux operating system.

**CRITICAL NOTE: This guide is reserved for DW Spectrum recording servers that are NOT using a RAID array or for virtual machines configured with virtual drives. RAID volumes on a RAID controller or iSCSI NAS will not report accurate information by these means unless the drive that is being tested is not part of the RAID array.

Supported/Affected Devices:

DW Blackjack Servers (Ubuntu Linux OS)

Part 1: Installing SeaTools on Ubuntu

The following guide must be performed locally, directly at the DW Blackjack Server itself.

1.1 Download SeaTools

To download SeaTools for Ubuntu Linux:

From the server, open a web browser and visit the Seagate resource library – https://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/seatools/.
Download “SeaTools (Linux)” and extract the file from the compressed/zipped folder, then move the installation file to the desktop.

1.2 Configure the Installation File

Before you can run the SeaTools installation file, some property permissions must be configured.

Right-click on the installation file and select “Properties”.

In the file properties, click on the Permissions tab and configure the following:

Access – set the Access setting for all groups to “Read and write”.
Execute – enable the “Allow executing file as a program” toggle.

Save the settings before closing the Properties window.

1.3 Install the SeaTools Application

To install SeaTools after configuring the properties settings:

From the Ubuntu desktop, press the CTRL+ALT+T keys to open the Terminal application then enter the command:

sudo su

When prompted, enter the root-level password for the superuser profile of the system. The entry will be hidden while entering the password.

The current default login for DW Blackjack is:

Default Password: Dw5pectrum

Change the directory to the desktop with the command:

cd Desktop

The Terminal command line will then indicate that the directory is pointing to the desktop.

To run the installation file using the Terminal, enter the command:

./SeaToolsLinuxX64Installer.run

**NOTE: The command itself is “./”, followed by the installation filename as it is written.

A confirmation window will display requesting permission to install SeaTools and all related modules. Select “Yes” and proceed through the installation wizard.

Once the installation has completed, enable “Launch Application” and click the Finish button to run SeaTools.

Select the preferred language and accept the EULA license agreement to continue.

Part 2: Testing Storage Drives with SeaTools

After installing SeaTools for Linux, you can use the application to test the storage drives of the system. To test a storage drive:

From the main interface in SeaTools, select the Health tab and click the Self Test button beside the target drive.

Allow the self-test to complete the drive analysis process. The test on average will take around 1 minute ~ 2 minutes to complete, depending on the size of the drive.
- If the storage drive FAILS during the self-test, it can be assumed that there may be a hardware issue with the selected storage drive.
- If the storage drive ABORTS during the self-test, please run the self-test process again. If the drive aborts multiple times, it can be assumed that the drive may be failing or is considerably damaged.
- If the storage drive PASSES after running multiple tests, it can be assumed that there the drive is healthy. However, if you are still skeptical, you may run an Extended Test for a more thorough check.

**NOTE: Since it is a relatively quick and generic test, it is recommended to run the self-test more than once (3 ~ 4 times is more than sufficient). Alternatively, you can use an Extended Test but it will take significantly more time to complete.

This concludes the installation and testing instructions for using SeaTools on a DW Blackjack Server embedded with an Ubuntu Linux operating system.

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