Working with devices

 

Most of the peripheral equipment attached to the System i™ platform is considered a device. Every device in the system has a current status. From iSeries™ Navigator, you can work with devices.

A device is a piece of equipment that is connected to your system. Most hardware, including internal processors, ports and adapters, drives, communications hardware, workstations, and printers, are considered devices. The operating system organizes these devices by their type, such as workstation or optical drive (CD-ROMs), and identifies specific devices by their resource name. For most internal devices, like processors, adapters, and ports, the operating system automatically assigns the resource name. For most external devices and some internal storage devices, the System i platform manages communication with the device through a device controller. Most devices managed through a controller have resource names defined by their device description. You can use the device type to learn its resource name, physical location, current status, and other information.

Every device in the system has a current status that describes whether it is turned on, and whether it is currently communicating with the system. Before a device can function, both this device and all devices connecting it to the system must be varied on (Operational) and functioning. For example, if a communication line or network adapter is varied off, any device attached to the system through those devices does not function.

Most devices have the following possible types of status.

Table 1. Possible types of status for most devices

Status	Description
Varied off	The operating system has disabled the device, and it must be varied on again before communicating with the system.
Varied on (Operational)	The operating system has enabled communications with the device, and is waiting for communications.
Pending	The operating system is attempting to enable communications with the device.
Active	The device is currently busy communicating with the system, and cannot be varied off.

Other types of status are possible for some specific device types, or to indicate a specific problem. For example, a workstation that is waiting for a user to sign on will have a status of Signon display, and a device that the operating system is unable to locate will have a status of Resource not detected.

 

Viewing and managing devices

On iSeries Navigator, you can display the current status, physical location, and configuration information for devices. To work with devices in iSeries Navigator, expand Configuration and Service and select Hardware. To display detailed information about the device, including its model, type and serial number, physical location in the system, and logical address, right-click the device and select Properties. Additionally, iSeries Navigator provides many functions for managing tape devices, disk units, and pools. See the online help in iSeries Navigator for more information.

To change the status or properties of a device, use the character-based interface and type go device from any command line.

 

Parent topic:

Overview of basic system operations

Related information
Local Device Configuration PDF