# Surface Scan in /var/log/messages, cause for concern?



## spomerg (Dec 2, 2010)

Hello everyone,

Was checking my daily security run cron for one of my FreeBSD 8.1 systems and was alerted to these records in /var/log/messages:

```
Dec  2 02:37:12 myhost kernel: ciss0: *** Surface Scan URE, LDrv=0 LBA=0x000F77000-0x000F771FF
Dec  2 03:09:40 myhost kernel: ciss0: *** Surface Scan completed successful pass, logical drive 0
```
I don't ever recall seeing this in my log and although it suggests the the scan was okay, why was a scan done in the first place? Is this anything to worry about?

- Gavin


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## phoenix (Dec 2, 2010)

Sounds like the RAID controller is verifying the data on the drives.  This is a useful way to find drives with errors before the drive dies completely.

Check if the RAID controller includes a utility to set the days/times the scan runs.  On our 3Ware controllers, we schedule the auto-verify process to only run after 6pm and to pause if it doesn't complete in 12 hours, and to only run on the weekends.


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## spomerg (Dec 2, 2010)

Ah, okay. I'm sure I can probably find such a setting in HP's ACU (Array Configuration Utility), if it exists. I'll have to check on one of my servers that isn't live. I did read in one of HP's pdf docs that there's at least a surface scan delay setting:



> The setting for the surface scan delay determines the time interval for which a controller must be inactive before a surface scan analysis is started on the physical drives that are connected to it.



So is the ciss0 device for my HP SmartArray controller then?

Thanks phoenix.

- Gavin


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## SirDice (Dec 3, 2010)

spomerg said:
			
		

> So is the ciss0 device for my HP SmartArray controller then?



ciss(4) says:


> *DESCRIPTION*
> The ciss driver claims to provide a common interface between generic SCSI transports and intelligent host adapters.


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