fbackup error code = 2

[Christopher Damon]

I keep getting errors at the end of fbackup that look like this:

Output from fbackup:

br_backup: Invoking fbackup. See /var/sam/log/br_log for details.
fbackup(1004): session begins on Wed May 23 04:00:01 2001
fbackup(3203): volume 1 has been used 15 time(s)
fbackup(3024): writing volume 1 to the output file /dev/rmt/c0t6d0BESTn
fbackup(3003): normal EOT
fbackup(3310): enter '^[yY]' when volume 2 is ready on /dev/rmt/c0t6d0BESTn,
or '^[nN]' to discontinue:
fbackup(3004): writer aborting
fbackup(1002): Backup did not complete : Reader or Writer process exit

Although all files are being backed up and volume 1 does not run out of space, I still get the error. What could be the problem?

Thanks.

[Paula J Frazer-Campbell]

Hi Christopher
Your log is showing that you have ran out of space on the backup medium as it is asking for a second tape:-

fbackup(3003): normal EOT
fbackup(3310): enter '^[yY]' when volume 2 is ready on /dev/rmt/c0t6d0BESTn,
or '^[nN]' to discontinue:
fbackup(3004): writer aborting
fbackup(1002): Backup did not complete : Reader or Writer process exit

Check tape size against data and also look at what you are backing up dirs like /crash and /tmp do not need to be backed up.

HTH

Paula

[Christopher Damon]

I am still uncertain why the log says "fbackup(3003): normal EOT" if it requires an additional tape? Also, if this is run from crontab, how do I interact with fbackup if/when a 2nd volume is put into the tape drive?

Thanks.

[Patrick Wallek]

'normal EOT' mean that fbackups has detected the EOT (End of Tape) marker.

Since you are running this from cron, there isn't a way to interact with fbackup, to do that you have to be running from SAM or interactively from the command line.

The best way to get around this would be to look at the data you are backing up and see if you can split it into a couple of different backups that fit on one tape each. If you have multiple tape drives, you can run one backup on one drive and the other on the second drive.

[Patrick Wallek]

Something else I just thought of -- Make sure that your tapes are at the beginning of the tape before starting the backup. If you're somehow starting in the middle of a tape then that would cause you not to be able to use the whole tape.

[Paula J Frazer-Campbell]

Hi Christopher

Normal EOT (end of tape) means that up to the point of filling the current tape in the drive that the backup routine is ok, the fbackup routine will timeout on waiting for a 2nd tape hence the entry in log.

You have several choices.
1. Change the tape when fbackup requests it - ooohh
2. Reduce the ammount of data so that it all fits on one tape.
3. Fit a bigger tape drive.
4. Backup to disks overnight and then backup from these during the normal working day (tape change easier).

from man fbackup:-

The type of device used for backups can affect such things as media
expenses, ability to do unattended backups, and speed of the backup.
Using 36-track tapes will probably result in the highest performance,
but require user intervention for changing tapes. Both DLT and DDS
autochangers and libraries can provide unattended backups. A
magneto-optical autochanger can also provide an unattended backup for
a large system and long life media, however the media cost is high.
Lower cost and good performance can be achieved with a single DLT tape
drive, but multi-volume backups must be attended.


Paula