topic %BACKUP-F-CLUSTER, unsuitable cluster factor in Operating System - OpenVMS

%BACKUP-F-CLUSTER, unsuitable cluster factor

Art Wiens — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 12:45:29 GMT

I am building a CHARON-VAX replacement for an aging Vaxstation VMS v6.2 with a 4GB system disk (RZ29B - 8380080 blocks).

I created a 8GB container with CHARON's MKDISK utility (16760160 blocks) to give it a bit of "breathing room". I init'd the disk with:

$ init dka300: vms062 /dir=16000 /headers=1000000 /nohigh /index=begin /max=1000000 /system

The resulting disk has a cluster factor of 17 (as per the formula). The old disk has a cluster factor of 9.

$ backup /image saveset.bck/save dka300: /noinit

gives the error in the subject line.

If I do an image restore, letting it init the drive, it works and results in a cluster factor of 17 on the restored disk.

I would like to retain the values I specified on the init line.

Any ideas? An old patch that might be missing?

Cheers,
Art

Re: %BACKUP-F-CLUSTER, unsuitable cluster factor

Robert Gezelter — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:22:07 GMT

Art,

I do not have a suitably configured 6.2 system handy, but I note that:

Headers and Maximum files = 1,000,000

and a disk size of 8,380,080 blocks works out to a average file size of approximately 8 blocks.

Have you tried changing the HEADERS and MAX parameters?

- Bob Gezelter, http://www.rlgsc.com

Re: %BACKUP-F-CLUSTER, unsuitable cluster factor

Bojan Nemec — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:26:25 GMT

Art,

There is a patch which addresses a similar problem. But is for Alpha 7.3!
It is possible that this bug exists from 6.2 to 7.3?
There is a link to the ECO:

http://ftp.support.compaq.com.au/pub/patches/vms/axp/v7.3/dec-axpvms-vms73_backup-v0200--4.README

Maybe it will help for a workaround.

Bojan

Re: %BACKUP-F-CLUSTER, unsuitable cluster factor

Art Wiens — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:36:10 GMT

Bob, you may be on to something there. If I do the math, 16760160 / 17 = 985,892 so maybe saying 1,000,000 is just a bit too much. I will retry shortly.

Bojan, yes I saw that too and went to look at the last BACKUP patch for VAX (3) but it doesn't mention the -F-CLUSTER error.

Thanks, maybe it's a quick fix.

Cheers,
Art

Re: %BACKUP-F-CLUSTER, unsuitable cluster factor

Volker Halle — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:42:22 GMT

Art,

from the sources [BACKUP]STAINIVOL:

C = .VOLUME_SIZE / (.CLUSTER+1);
IF maxfilnum GTR .C THEN Signal BACKUP$_CLUSTER

You /MAXIMUM_FILES value seems just a little bit too big...

Volker.

Re: %BACKUP-F-CLUSTER, unsuitable cluster factor

Art Wiens — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 13:50:26 GMT

Reduced the values to 900,000 and off it goes!

Bob, reply back ... you deserve a few more points for making me think ;-)

Thanks and Cheers,
Art

Re: %BACKUP-F-CLUSTER, unsuitable cluster factor

Robert Gezelter — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 14:17:13 GMT

Art,

My pleasure. It was nothing.

- Bob Gezelter, http://www.rlgsc.com

Re: %BACKUP-F-CLUSTER, unsuitable cluster factor

BrianT_1 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:16:22 GMT

I'm still using a VAX with OpenVMS V7.3. I'm getting this same error whether I init the disk first myself or try to allow BACKUP to init it. I have a cluster factor of 8 and the disk had been running for _years_ with no problem (until it failed). The total size is 53294505, so that should allow 53294505/9=5921611 files. I specified only /maximum_files=1500000. No matter what I do, I cannot restore this backup with /IMAGE. I can, of course, restore it without /IMAGE, but how can BACKUP create the saveset without complaint and then not let me restore it exactly as it was?

Re: %BACKUP-F-CLUSTER, unsuitable cluster factor

Hoff — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:40:08 GMT

Are you current on your ECOs for OpenVMS VAX V7.3? BACKUP and SCSI and UPDATE would be the obvious targets. (If not, load these now and try again.)

How big was the old disk, and how big is the new disk? (If I've done the math correctly, it looks like it might be an RZ23 disk? And is this really a 104 MB disk?)

Which VAX? (There are other disk-capacity issues, depending on the VAX model and VAX console.)

Is this BACKUP /IMAGE a system disk?

How many files were on the old disk?

What command(s) did you use to restore the disk?

To INITIALIZE the disk?

What was the original BACKUP command? (You can get this from the BACKUP /LIST -- just post the whole header.)

There are cases where BACKUP cannot restore a disk image due to conflicts in the structures, too.

As for the specified maximum file count here, I've yet to encounter an OpenVMS system that has a disk anywhere near full of one-cluster files. Is that really the case here? (There's a tool around -- DFU? -- that can show the distribution of files sizes.

---

CLUSTER, unsuitable cluster factor for 'device-name'

Facility: BACKUP, Backup Utility

Explanation: During an attempt to initialize an output volume, the Backup
utility found that the cluster factor was too large or too
small for the specified device.

User Action: If the input is a save set, use the BACKUP/LIST command
to determine the volume initialization parameters of the
input volumes. Refer to the description of the DCL command
INITIALIZE, determine a suitable cluster factor, and
initialize the output volumes using the INITIALIZE command.
Then, reenter the command specifying the /NOINITIALIZE
qualifier.

---

I'd tend to start a new thread; where you have control over the thread and over the discussion. Certainly reference the case and the thread here, but your case here does differ from the original thread. Same error, yes, but different commands and different OpenVMS VAX versions.