User Guide - Polycom



SE200/RSS2000 Bootable USB Drive Utility

User Guide

External Deployments

Table of Contents

1. Purpose 3

2. Process Overview 3

3. Making the USB Drive Bootable 3

4. Copy the Ghost Application File to the USB Drive 4

5. Copy the SE200 Ghost Images to the USB Drive 5

6. Copy the RSS2000 Ghost Image to the USB Drive 6

7. Default Autoexec Menu Options 6

7.1 Ghost SE200 Unit option 6

7.2 Ghost RSS2000 Unit option 6

7.3 Delete Messages.txt File option 6

7.4 Copy ReadiManager Databases option 6

7.5 Delete Messages.txt File & Copy ReadiManager Databases option 7

7.6 Exit to Command Prompt option 7

8. Imaging an SE200/RSS2000 7

8.1 Automated restore from images on the USB drive without a monitor and keyboard 7

8.2 Manual Restore 7

8.3 Changing the Default Imaging Process 8

8.4 Ghost Images & IP Addresses 8

9. Fixing an Issue with Messages.txt for the SE200 8

10. Copying the ReadiManager Databases for the SE200 9

11. Fixing an Issue with Messages.txt & Copy the ReadiManager Databases for the SE200 9

12. Troubleshooting 10

12.1 Polycom Log 10

12.2 Ghost Log 10

12.3 Troubleshooting Tips 10

13. USB Drives 10

13.1 Sizes of USB Drives 10

13.2 Memorex TravelDrive 1GB 10

13.3 SanDisk Cruzer Micro 1.0GB 11

13.4 SanDisk Cruzer Micro 1.0GB U3 11

13.5 SanDisk Cruzer Mini 1.0GB 11

User Guide

Purpose

The purpose of the bootable USB drive is to provide customers a mechanism to re-image an SE200 or RS2000 in order to return to a known working state. Since this utility will overwrite any existing configuration, it is considered to be a last resort option when attempting to diagnose problems.

For new installs, the utility can be used to quickly bring an SE200 system up to current revision of software.

This document is intended to assist customers in the creation and usage of the utility.

WARNING: The default behavior of this utility is to boot up and restore images to the internal drives without user intervention. Booting any PC with this USB drive can permanently erase any data on that PC.

Process Overview

The general process for making a bootable USB drive utility is as follows:

• Make the USB drive bootable using the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool.

• Copy the Ghost application file to the USB drive.

• Copy the Ghost images to the USB drive.

Making the USB Drive Bootable

HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

The primary tool for making the USB drive bootable is the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool. This utility will make your USB drive bootable with DOS system files.

1. Download and install the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool

a. Download the utility from the Support FTP site:



b. Extract the contents of the zip file, and run the “Format Utility for USB DeviceSP27213.exe.”

This will install the HP Format Utility on your computer. You should see the program in your start menu under a folder called “Hewlett-Packard Company.”

2. Download and extract the contents of USBFiles.zip to a temporary folder.

a. Download the zipped file from the following Support FTP location:



b. Extract the contents of the zip file which contains DOS system files and the Ghost application.

In this example, the contents were extracted to C:\USBFiles

3. Insert the USB drive into your PC.

4. Run the HP Format Tool from your start menu.

(“Hewlett-Packard Company” -> “HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool”)

5. Make sure the correct USB drive is selected. File system should set as FAT.

6. Check “Create a DOS startup disk.”

7. In the field, “using DOS system files located at:,” select the temporary folder you created for USBFiles.zip (c:\USBFiles, in this example).

8. Click “Start.”

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9. Select Yes to the security warning to proceed with the format.

10. Select OK to acknowledge the successful completion of the format.

11. Your USB drive should now be bootable, and you should see three files on the USB drive: io.sys, msdos.sys, and . (Io.sys and msdos.sys are hidden system files.) You should test your USB drive to see if it really is bootable.

12. Once you have confirmed that the USB drive is bootable, you can copy the contents of the USBFiles.zip (previously extracted to C:\USBFiles) to the USB drive. There is a folder in the in zipped contents called Images. This folder will need to be on the USB drive. The images for the SE200/RSS2000 will need to be copied into this folder.

Copy the Ghost Application File to the USB Drive

Once the USB drive is bootable, it has only a few DOS system files. The Ghost application file still needs to be copied to the drive. These files are contained in a zip file called, USBFiles.zip, which in the previous section we had extracted to c:\USBFiles.

1. Copy all the files and directories from c:\USBFiles to the USB drive. You will probably be prompted to overwrite the three DOS system files that were copied by the HP Format Utility. Since the files are the same, it is OK to overwrite all files.

Your USB drive should now have the Ghost application file. You will also notice that there are a lot of other files on the drive.

[pic]

a. , msdos.sys, , and io.sys are DOS system files

b. Autoexec.bat is a file that automatically runs the imaging process

c. Ghost.exe is the disk imaging tool

d. Xset.exe is a utility to record date and time for the imaging log file

e. Images folder is the directory to store all the images

Copy the SE200 Ghost Images to the USB Drive

Even though you have copied the Ghost imaging application to the USB drive, it is still not ready to image an SE200. You still need to copy the actual images to the drive.

Download the current SE200 release images. The current release version can be obtained here:



1. There are two image files in that location. One is for the CF card, and the other is for the hard drive. You will need both, and they are named as follows:

SE-CF.gho

SE-HD.gho

2. If your USB drive does not have an Images folder, create it now.

3. Copy the ghost image files to the Images folder on the USB drive.

It is important that you get the names right, otherwise the USB drive will not re-image the SE200. The autoexec.bat will check for these files before starting the imaging process. If it fails to find the files, an error will be written to the polycom.log file.

Copy the RSS2000 Ghost Image to the USB Drive

Even though you have copied the Ghost imaging application to the USB drive, it is still not ready to image an RSS2000. You still need to copy the actual images to the drive.

Download the current RSS2000 release images. The current release version can be obtained here:



4. There is one image file in that location. The file is for the CF card. The file is named as follows:

RSS-CF.gho

5. If your USB drive does not have an Images folder, create it now.

6. Copy the ghost image file to the Images folder on the USB drive.

It is important that you get the names right, otherwise the USB drive will not re-image the RS2000. The autoexec.bat will check for this file before starting the imaging process. If it fails to find the files, an error will be written to the polycom.log file.

Default Autoexec Menu Options

The default autexec.bat includes several options in order to fix various issues that have appeared. Please review the sections that are presented later in this guide for more details on how to change the default execution option. The list below represents the options that are currently available:

1. Ghost SE200 Unit

2. Ghost RSS2000 Unit

3. Delete Messages.txt File

4. Copy ReadiManager Databases

5. Delete Messages.txt File & Copy ReadiManager Databases

6. Exit to Command Prompt

1 Ghost SE200 Unit option

This option will image the drives that are in the SE200 units. Please see the following section that describes this process in more detail – Imaging an SE200/RSS2000.

2 Ghost RSS2000 Unit option

This option will image the drives that are in the RSS2000 units. Please see the following section that describes this process in more detail – Imaging an SE200/RSS2000.

3 Delete Messages.txt File option

In v3.0 and v3.0.1 of the SE200, there is an issue with the messages.txt file growing to a size that completely fills the boot drive and ultimately causes the SE200 to not function. The message.txt file records the different processes that the SE200 uses during various scheduling events. Under heavy scheduling usage, this file can grow beyond the designed expectation. This option will delete the meesage.txt file and copy a new codecmanager.ini which moves the message.txt to the other much larger hard drive.

4 Copy ReadiManager Databases option

There are times when the SE200 does not respond as designed, like with the messages.txt issue. If the SE200 is not functioning correctly, then downloading the SE200 databases from the web GUI or through the serial console is not possible. In these cases, there is no other way to retrieve the SE200 databases. This option will copy the ReadiManager and Logger backup databases in order to be restored after the SE200 unit has been imaged or replaced.

5 Delete Messages.txt File & Copy ReadiManager Databases option

Based on user requests, this option does both procedures for Delete Messages.txt File and Copy ReadiManager Database options. Please see the previous sections for more information.

6 Exit to Command Prompt option

This option simply skips all of the previous procedures and returns to the DOS prompt. This option is useful if further functionality or procedures are required that are not covered in the above sections.

Imaging an SE200/RSS2000

The bootable USB drive utilizes Symantec Ghost to re-image and provides two options for re-imaging:

• Automated restore from images located on the USB drive.

• Manual restore

1 Automated restore from images on the USB drive without a monitor and keyboard

WARNING: Restoring an image to a ReadiManager SE200 IAM from the USB drive requires 6 hours! This problem does not exist for the stand-alone SE200 unit which takes about 30 minutes to restore from the USB drive.

When booting from the USB drive, the default action is to restore both the compact flash (CF) card and the hard drive from images located on the USB drive in the Images directory. This process can run without the use of a monitor, keyboard, or mouse. This process is efficient because it does not require anything more than the USB drive, and the procedures are simple.

1. Insert the USB drive.

2. Reboot the unit using the power switch.

3. The Ghost application will automatically startup and restore the CF card and hard drive from the images located in the Images directory. The autoexec.bat file assumes that the images are named as follows: SE-CF.gho and SE-HD.gho for the SE200 and RSS-CF.gho for the RSS2000. If you replace these images, be sure to either keep the same names or make the appropriate changes in the autoexec.bat file. The entire process will take about 30 minutes on a stand-alone SE200 and 6 hours on an IAM. The indicator light on the USB drive will flash throughout the entire process. The hard drive activity indicator on the unit will also flash during this process. At the end of the process, the USB light will remain solid with no flashing, and the SE200 hard drive light will be off.

If the lights stop flashing after only a few minutes, there might be something wrong. Wait a few minutes to see if they start flashing again. If not, plug the USB drive into your PC and check the logs. (Refer to the troubleshooting section.)

4. When the restore process is complete and drive lights stop flashing, remove the USB drive; and reboot the system using the power switch.

5. The SE200/RSS2000 is now ready for normal configuration via the serial port menu as indicated in the first time setup..

2 Manual Restore

If all else fails, the bootable USB drive provides an option to exit to the command prompt (option #3).

From here, you can run Ghost manually. This, of course, does require a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to be connected to the SE200/RSS2000.

3 Changing the Default Imaging Process

WARNING: The following section is very important. If the procedure is not followed correctly, the end result could be a SE200 software load on a RSS 2000 unit or vice-versa.

The autoexec.bat is a batch file responsible to running the imaging process automatically. The current autoexec.bat is configured to be able to image either the SE200 or the RSS2000. By default, if no choice is entered when prompted, the SE200 procedure will run, option #1. Please verify this is still the case by editing the autoexec.bat and locate the following lines:

ECHO 1. Ghost SE200 Unit

ECHO 2. Ghost RSS2000 Unit

ECHO 3. Exit to Command Prompt

CHOICE /C:123456 /T:1,30 What option would you like to execute

The flag /T refers to the time options. The 1 after the colon refers to the default option to choose if no user input is detected. The 30 number refers to the timeout period that the system will wait for user input. In this case, the SE200 imaging process will be activated after 30 seconds. To change the default process to image the RSS2000 instead, change the 1 to a 2. The following line is an example of making the imaging of the RSS2000 the default action:

CHOICE /C:123 /T:2,30 What option would you like to execute

4 Ghost Images & IP Addresses

The default IP address for a system restored is 172.22.80.115.

For systems restored with the image, the address is 192.168.1.254.

Fixing an Issue with Messages.txt for the SE200

Currently, there is an issue with the messages.txt growing to a size on the compact flash drive to the point of causing a system failure. In order to temporarily fix this issue, please use the following instructions to modify the USB stick:

Only download the latest USB Files from the location below if this was not done in step 3.2:

1. Download the zipped file from the following Support FTP location:



2. Extract the contents of the zip file which contains DOS system files and the Ghost application.

In this example, the contents were extracted to C:\USBFiles

3. Copy all the files and directories from c:\USBFiles to the USB drive. You will probably be prompted to overwrite the three DOS system files that were copied by the HP Format Utility. Since the files are the same, it is OK to overwrite all files.

4. Edit the Autoexec.bat on the USB drive

5. Change the “1” to a “3”, see the example below:

• Before: CHOICE /C:12345 /T:1,30 What option would you like to execute

• After: CHOICE /C:12345 /T:3,30 What option would you like to execute

The “3” in the line above tells the system what choice to execute if no user input is selected. This is a requirement on the SE200 stand-alone units where a key board, mouse, and monitor connections are not possible.

Copying the ReadiManager Databases for the SE200

Currently, there is an issue with copying or exporting the ReadiManager and Logger databases when the web GUI is not available for any reason. Currently, the only way to copy the databases is through the web GUI or through the console via a serial cable. There are times when both of these methods are not available. In order to copy the databases, please use the following instructions to modify the USB stick:

Only download the latest USB Files from the location below if this was not done in step 3.2:

1. Download the zipped file from the following Support FTP location:



2. Extract the contents of the zip file which contains DOS system files and the Ghost application.

In this example, the contents were extracted to C:\USBFiles

3. Copy all the files and directories from c:\USBFiles to the USB drive. You will probably be prompted to overwrite the three DOS system files that were copied by the HP Format Utility. Since the files are the same, it is OK to overwrite all files.

4. Edit the Autoexec.bat on the USB drive

5. Change the “1” to a “4”, see the example below:

a. Before: CHOICE /C:12345 /T:1,30 What option would you like to execute

b. After: CHOICE /C:12345 /T:4,30 What option would you like to execute

The “4” in the line above tells the system what choice to execute if no user input is selected. This is a requirement on the SE200 stand-alone units where a key board, mouse, and monitor connections are not possible.

Fixing an Issue with Messages.txt & Copy the ReadiManager Databases for the SE200

Choose this option if both of the above sections are needed.

Only download the latest USB Files from the location below if this was not done in step 3.2 or any of the above steps:

1. Download the zipped file from the following Support FTP location:



2. Extract the contents of the zip file which contains DOS system files and the Ghost application.

In this example, the contents were extracted to C:\USBFiles

3. Copy all the files and directories from c:\USBFiles to the USB drive. You will probably be prompted to overwrite the three DOS system files that were copied by the HP Format Utility. Since the files are the same, it is OK to overwrite all files.

4. Edit the Autoexec.bat on the USB drive

5. Change the “1” to a “5”, see the example below:

a. Before: CHOICE /C:12345 /T:1,30 What option would you like to execute

b. After: CHOICE /C:12345 /T:5,30 What option would you like to execute

The “5” in the line above tells the system what choice to execute if no user input is selected. This is a requirement on the SE200 stand-alone units where a key board, mouse, and monitor connections are not possible.

Troubleshooting

Since in most situations you will not have a monitor and keyboard connected to the system, you will have to rely on the log files to diagnose any problems with the Ghost process. It is also advisable to run through the procedures in the lab so you know what to expect when you get onsite.

1 Polycom Log

The polycom.log file located in the root directory of the USB drive contains information written by the autoexec.bat file. It includes information about which process is run. It also checks to see that the Ghost images are named correctly and in the correct directory.

2 Ghost Log

The ghosterr.log is written by the Ghost application and is located in the \ghost directory. This file is useful if the Ghost application encounters problems. Common errors include: user abort and unable to locate Ghost images.

3 Troubleshooting Tips

Make sure the USB stick is bootable.  Try booting up another machine with the USB stick.  It should work on stand-alone SE200 units as well as any newer PC as long as the BIOS is set to boot from USB-HDD.  If it is not bootable, then re-build the USB stick (procedures attached).

If the USB stick is bootable, then check the symptoms on the IAM.  Connect a monitor and keyboard to the IAM and watch the boot process.  The boot sequence should be as follows:  POST, DOS boot menu, Windows 98 splash screen, Ghost. 

If it doesn’t POST, then there might be a hardware problem. Please contact support for RMA procedures.

If it POST’s but doesn’t show the DOS boot menu, then there is probably something wrong with the USB stick.  If the same symptoms occur on other machines with the same USB stick, rebuild the USB stick.

If it boots to Windows XP, then either the USB stick is not bootable or the BIOS is not set properly.

If restoring from Ghost images from the USB stick, check the logs on the USB stick:  \polycom.log and \ghost\ghosterr.log.  

USB Drives

Some people have asked about which USB drives they should purchase. These are the ones that have been tested with this procedure.

1 Sizes of USB Drives

The main consideration for selecting the size of the USB drive is the size of the drive images and whether or not you would like the ability to restore these images from the USB drive. So far, images are both less than GB. Thus, a 2GB drive is sufficient.

2 Memorex TravelDrive 1GB

No problems making his Memorex USB drive bootable using the system.exe utility.

3 SanDisk Cruzer Micro 1.0GB

[pic]

There are apparently two versions of this drive: a U3 and regular. This is the regular. The HP format utility worked great on this drive, and imaging a stand-alone SE200 took about 30 minutes.

4 [pic]SanDisk Cruzer Micro 1.0GB U3 [pic]

[pic] [pic]

This drive comes with U3 Smart software on a protected CDFS partition which I have not yet figured out how to remove. While it is annoying, it does not prevent the drive from being made bootable. I used the f-disk method to make the USB drive bootable without any problems. I recommend against this drive because of the annoying U3 Smart software and the CDFS partition.

5 SanDisk Cruzer Mini 1.0GB

[pic] [pic]

This drive differs from the Cruzer Micro in that it does not have the U3 Smart software or the protected CDFS partition. I used the f-disk method to make the USB drive bootable without any problems. I recommend against this drive because of the lack of easily making the drive bootable.

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