Here are the instructions to make your Mark5A 'SDK7' based:

The easiest (and recommended) way to do that is by getting the latest development version of the Mark5A code from Haystack and install it by following the instructions below (There are also instructions on how to restore the normal production version again).
 

The new version is available from Haystack ftp: Mark5A.dev.tgz
 

Installing it is pretty simple:

  1. Remove all diskpacks from the Mark5
  2. Make a backup of your current /etc/rc.local
  3. Copy the downloaded file to /tmp/Mark5A.tgz
  4. Run (as root) /home/jball/bin/Mark5Update.dev
  5. Make sure your rc.local has the the correct command to load the windrvr6 kernel module:
    /home/streamstor/linux/driver/redist/wdreg windrvr6 no
     
    In many cases that last "no" will be missing. Without it, the driver will not be loaded and the software will not work.
  6. Reboot the Mark5

Step 1 is important; if you accidentally write to a pack with the new software it becomes unreadable with the old software.

Afterwards, please restore the old software:

  1. Run (as root) /home/jball/bin/Mark5Update
  2. Restore your backup of /etc/rc.local