Module 3 — Disk, Volume & Storage Management

Overview

This module covers essential OpenVMS disk and volume management tasks, including mounting and dismounting volumes, inspecting device characteristics, managing quotas, performing image backups, and diagnosing storage-related issues.

Exam: Multiple‑Choice Questions

1. Which command displays detailed information about a disk device?





2. Which command mounts a disk with the label DATA?





3. Which command performs a full image backup of a disk?





4. Which command displays disk quota information?





5. Which command safely removes a mounted disk?





Hands‑On Exercises

Exercise 1 — Inspect Disk Characteristics

  1. Display all disks:
    SHOW DEVICE D*
  2. Display full details for a specific disk:
    SHOW DEVICE/FULL DKA200:
  3. Identify:
    • Volume label
    • Allocation class
    • Mount status
    • Error counts

Exercise 2 — Mount and Dismount Volumes

  1. Mount a test volume:
    MOUNT DKA200: TESTVOL
  2. Verify the mount:
    SHOW DEVICE DKA200:
  3. Dismount the volume:
    DISMOUNT DKA200:

Exercise 3 — Perform an Image Backup

  1. Create a full disk image backup:
    BACKUP/IMAGE DKA200: TESTVOL.BCK/SAVE/LOG
  2. Restore the image to another disk (lab environment only):
    BACKUP/IMAGE TESTVOL.BCK DKA300:/LOG

Exercise 4 — Manage Disk Quotas

  1. Display quotas for all users:
    SHOW QUOTA
  2. Display quotas for a specific user:
    SHOW QUOTA/USER=<username>
  3. Modify a quota (requires privileges):
    SET QUOTA/OVERDRAFT=5000 <username>

Exercise 5 — Diagnose Disk Issues

  1. Check for disk errors:
    SHOW ERROR
  2. Inspect device error counters:
    SHOW DEVICE/FULL DKA200:
  3. Analyze error log:
    ANALYZE/ERROR

Scenario‑Based Troubleshooting Challenges

Scenario 1 — Volume Will Not Mount

A disk refuses to mount and reports a structure level mismatch.

Expected approach:

  • SHOW DEVICE/FULL
  • Try MOUNT/OVERRIDE=IDENTIFICATION
  • Check error log
  • Consider disk corruption or wrong volume label

Scenario 2 — Disk Performance Degradation

Users report slow I/O on a shared volume.

Expected approach:

  • MONITOR DISK
  • Check error counts
  • Check for ACP bottlenecks
  • Inspect fragmentation
  • Consider moving hot files

Scenario 3 — User Out of Disk Space

A user cannot create files despite having quota.

Expected approach:

  • Check disk free space
  • Check user quota
  • Check volume quota limits
  • Check for file version buildup

Answer Key

The answer key for this module is located at:
answers/module3-answers.md

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