Error during backup

[steven Burgess_2]

Hi all

We keep receiving alerts with regard to a full backup on one of our systems in Vigo/Spain

I have had a new tape drive and requested the site use new tapes but still get the following error

12/01/02 02:10:03 Media Use = 0 (Assuming that this is a new tape)
12/01/02 02:10:03 Writing /etc/issue to tape to create volume header

fbackup(3105): writing 2 EOFs and rewinding the tape
fbackup(3106): please mount a good tape
fbackup(3316): enter 'yes' when volume 1 is ready on /dev/rmt/0m,
or 'no' to discontinue: fbackup(3004): writer aborting

Could it be that the site are using incompatible tapes with the drive?

Thanks in advance

Steve

[Sridhar Bhaskarla]

Hi Steven,

Make sure that tape drive is clean. Ask your counterparts to look at the LED to see if it is orange. They may have to put the cleaning catridge in it.

Also try with tar to write something into it. Test the tape by executing mt -t /dev/rmt/0m rew.

-Sri

[steven Burgess_2]

Hi

I attempted to mt -t /dev/rmt/0m rew

all ok

I then executed

tar -cvf /dev/rmt/0m /tmp

Then read the contents of the tape with

tar -tvf /dev/rmt/0m

All ok

[Michael Tully]

Hi Steven,

What sort of tape drive is it?

Please provide an output of

# ioscan -fnkC tape

It could be that the tape drive is alien to HPUX.... maybe

-Michael

[Sridhar Bhaskarla]

fbackup is sensitive to the cleanliness of the tape drive. I am not very sure if the tape drive is incompatible with the system as tar is working fine with it.

What model of tape drive is it?.

-Sri

[steven Burgess_2]

tape 0 8/16/5.0.0 stape CLAIMED DEVICE HP C1537A


/dev/rmt/0m /dev/rmt/c1t0d0BEST
/dev/rmt/0mb /dev/rmt/c1t0d0BESTb
/dev/rmt/0mn /dev/rmt/c1t0d0BESTn
/dev/rmt/0mnb /dev/rmt/c1t0d0BESTnb


This is a new drive

[Sanjay_6]

Hi Steven,

Make sure you are using the correct device file and it is not a no-rewind device file.

Hope this helps.

Regds

[Michael Tully]

Hi Steven,

If the drive is new it should not need
cleaning. In fact cleaning of tape drives
too often will wear out the drive faster.
Only clean a drive when the light comes on.

Is this the first time you have used
'fbackup' on this system. Perhaps it could
be a patching issue.

Check that you have these patches

HPUX 11
PHCO_21187 SAM/ObAM Patch
PHCO_23854 fbackup/frecover

HPUX 10.20
PHCO_21263 fbackup/frecover
PHCO_22268 SAM/ObAM Patch

Did the drive come with the correct
firmware installed?

HTH
-Michael

[Sridhar Bhaskarla]

Hi Steven,

Well We should have asked you the model of your system too.

Look at the following document. It may resemble your problem.

http://us-support3.external.hp.com/cki/bin/doc.pl/sid=05b139320f1df7d268/screen=ckiDisplayDocument?docId=200000024613994

-Sri

[Sridhar Bhaskarla]

One bad tape is enough to spoil the tape drive and there is no harm in cleaning the tape drive once to check out the problem. Michael, here is the link that recommends to "regularly clean the tape drives as well when prompted"

http://us-support3.external.hp.com/cki/bin/doc.pl/sid=56f3569813ca90fb4d/screen=ckiDisplayDocument?docId=200000057687050

I tried to search for incompatibilities of tape drives with the systems as well the 'fbackup' command. There are quite some documents found though most of them do not particularly specify the model he mentioned. Tape drives may be reported as sdifferent model on the system through ioscan or diskinfo commands. So, you may want to search for fbackup and your tape drive actual model at this location and see if you can find any relavent document.

http://us-support3.external.hp.com/cki/bin/doc.pl

This is a usful site to keep it handy.

-Sri

[steven Burgess_2]

Guys

Thanks for all you help

I will hand over to the day shift and request they get the exact model of the drive

I have checked with regard to the patches and can confirm we have neither installed

uname -a
B.10.20 E 9000/803 2004234123 8-user license

I will check out the threads supplied when I work out how to get to them without being told system could not log you on

Thanks

[George_Dodds]

Steven,

Create another userid on the americas site then you can view url's posted, it's a pain but it works.

[Frank Slootweg]

> 12/01/02 02:10:03 Media Use = 0 (Assuming that this is a new tape)
> 12/01/02 02:10:03 Writing /etc/issue to tape to create volume header
>
> fbackup(3105): writing 2 EOFs and rewinding the tape
> fbackup(3106): please mount a good tape
> fbackup(3316): enter 'yes' when volume 1 is ready on /dev/rmt/0m, or 'no' to discontinue:
> fbackup(3004): writer aborting

Please post *all* messages:

The first two (i.e. without "fbackup (....):") do not seem to be from fbackup.

The last three (i.e. with "fbackup (....):") are probably not the *first* messages from fbackup, and I want/'need' to see all messages, i.e. also the 'good' ones.

Also please post the output from "ll /dev/rmt/0m" and "lssf /dev/rmt/0m".

[George_Dodds]

Check to see if there using the same tapes as one of the other depots over there.

[Mark Vollmers]

Steven-

Hi. I don't know if you saw these errors when running or from email (if using SAM and cron to backup). If you are running from cron, I have found it useful to throw in a tape during the day and just sit and watch it. In your case, it should kick out right away, and you can see everything it says. Doesn't solve the problem, but helps for troubleshooting.

Mark

[Frank Slootweg]

From http://forums.itrc.hp.com/cm/QuestionAnswer/1,,0xf2cd5a3e6e0bd6118ff40090279cd0f9,00.html

fbackup(1004): session begins on Fri Jan 18 02:39:25 2002
fbackup(3203): volume 1 has been used 10 time(s)
fbackup(3024): writing volume 1 to the output
file /dev/rmt/0m
1: /
2: /usr8
3: /usr8/backup
fbackup(3045): WRITE ERROR while writing data record, at media record 965
fbackup(3102): attempting to make this volume salvagable
fbackup(3123): could not read the previous checkpoint record
fbackup(3105): writing 2 EOFs and rewinding the tape
fbackup(3106): please mount a good tape
fbackup(3316): enter 'yes' when volume 1 is ready on /dev/rmt/0m,
or 'no' to discontinue:
fbackup(3004): writer aborting
fbackup(1002): Backup did not complete : Reader or Writer process exit

The real error is the "fbackup(3045): WRITE ERROR while writing data record, at media record 965" error, i.e. an error when writing to tape.

It is probably best to use a new tape and have the drive checked/repaired (Probably your HP reference 999825524 refers to the latter.).

[George_Dodds]

Unless there not doing rotation of there tapes this one is not new or even new ish!

fbackup(3203): volume 1 has been used 10 times

I'd bet the cleaning tape is as old as the hills as well.

[steven Burgess_2]

The file for Frank was taken from last nights backup

The initial entry i put in the question was from the log of a backup with a new tape

I have an engineer on site at the moment wo will post the answer as soon as we have one

How are you George anyway.

Where are you working at the moment. I used to work on Steve Eaves shift whilst you were on Mark Hiam's?