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Re: Tape label on multi tape OpenVMS backup

 
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Russ Carraro
Regular Advisor

Tape label on multi tape OpenVMS backup

O/S is OpenVMS for VAX and ALPHAs, V6.2 and 7.1. When "backup" writes onto multiple tapes, is there a way to prevent it from over writing the tape label on tapes 2, 3, ...?
21 REPLIES 21
Robert Gezelter
Honored Contributor

Re: Tape label on multi tape OpenVMS backup

Russ,

The label will be unchanged (which may mean re-written with the same volume label) if you use the /LABEL parameter.

See the manual on the OpenVMS www site at http://www.hp.com/go/openvms or the online HELP text for details.

- Bob Gezelter, http://www.rlgsc.com
Russ Carraro
Regular Advisor

Re: Tape label on multi tape OpenVMS backup

The backups are set up automatically. The user can mount any one of a hundred different prelabled tapes into a 7 slot tape stacker. If there was a way to automatically capture the label of all the tapes loaded in the stack then an inclusive "/label=(tape1,tape2,...tape7)" option could be built. Unfortunately I don't know how to capture those labels.
Steven Schweda
Honored Contributor

Re: Tape label on multi tape OpenVMS backup

> Unfortunately I don't know how to capture
> those labels.

Mount each tape, and ask what its label is
(F$GETDVI() or whatever)?
Hoff
Honored Contributor
Solution

Re: Tape label on multi tape OpenVMS backup

BACKUP /EXACT_ORDER
Jan van den Ende
Honored Contributor

Re: Tape label on multi tape OpenVMS backup

Russ,

to make the command complete, use /LABEL=(l1,l2,l3...) --and-- /EXACT.

Be prepared for BACKUP-F- errors (fatal backup errors) if any one tape does NOT have a (readable!) label that exactly matches the next one, ie, the first label out-of-order or un-readable WILL and your BACKUP command at that moment.

hth

Proost.

Have one on me.

jpe
Don't rust yours pelled jacker to fine doll missed aches.
RBrown_1
Trusted Contributor

Re: Tape label on multi tape OpenVMS backup


JPE says to use /EXACT_ORDER *and* /LABEL.

My understanding of Russ's requirement and my understanding of BACKUP makes me think that Russ should use /EXACT_ORDER *without* /LABEL.

A reading of HELP BACKUP /EXACT_ORDER or the BACKUP documentation will be useful to you.

Hoff
Honored Contributor

Re: Tape label on multi tape OpenVMS backup

BACKUP /EXACT_ORDER

The /LABEL stuff gets involved when you want to verify the labels; Russ indicates he wants BACKUP to leave the existing labels alone. (Which is kind of an odd filing system, but it's also not the first time oddness has been requested from BACKUP.) Which indicates /EXACT_ORDER as a soliton qualifier.

Check the BACKUP manual here, and run a few test cases to try this. It's seemingly (unusually?) clear in this particular area.

BACKUP is hugely convoluted as a user interface goes and the qualifiers interact in strange and unusual ways; I've been at it for eons now, and it's still common practice for me to read the manual to confirm the particular syntax for some permutation of BACKUP I don't use regularly.



Jan van den Ende
Honored Contributor

Re: Tape label on multi tape OpenVMS backup

RBrown:

>>>
My understanding of Russ's requirement and my understanding of BACKUP makes me think that Russ should use /EXACT_ORDER *without* /LABEL.
<<<

??? And WHAT order can BACKUP check/maintain to be followed /EXACTly ??

Yeah, that would be the order given by the /LABEL=(,,,) values...

I have never even considered, nor had an impression, that it could be otherwisw.

fwiw

Proost.

Have one on me.

jpe
Don't rust yours pelled jacker to fine doll missed aches.
Russ Carraro
Regular Advisor

Re: Tape label on multi tape OpenVMS backup

Thanks for the replies but they don't solve my problem. Using either the "/label=(tape01,tape03,...)" or "/exact=(tape01,tape03,...)" parameters means the backup process knows all the tapes to be used before the backup command is run. Other then the first reel, the command procedure dosen't know what tapes are loaded into the stacker. I guess what I need is a "/label=(tape01,*)".