IGNITE; verify tape data

[Andrew Luis Arruza]

How can I verify the Ignite backup tape I created is usable.
I do not have another server I can use to Ignite to verify the tape.
Thanks for any/all help.
Points will be assigned.
Andy

[Steven E. Protter · Accepted solution]

You can start the boot process on the current server, intervene at the prompt for ineteractive install.

This will verify the kernel on the tape will boot.

The only true test however is recovery.

If your tape type is current you may be able to arrange a DR test at an HP performance center.

We're doing just such a test in anticipation of purchasing an A Class box to sit in a DR center. When we contacted HP they referred us to a third party vendor who will get a shot to bid on the hardware.

I'll let you know how it turns out. We have adequate hardware and have done several DR simulations verifying that our tapes are good.

SEP

[Jeff Schussele]

Hi Andy,

There's the rub - you *can't* be 100% sure until you boot it & restore with it.
BUT...you can verify that it's readable - with the following:

1) Rewind it
mt rew
2) File space forward 1
mt fsf 1
3) Check the tarball
tar tv

All above commands assume tape is the default device of /dev/rmt/0mn
We always make sure we have at least 2 months tapes onsite & another off - in rotation so the most current are the easiest to retrieve.
That way IF you have a bad tape - you're not dead in the water.

Rgds,
Jeff

[Sridhar Bhaskarla]

Hi Andy,

With the tape, there is no 100% guarantee that it will work by virtue of it being a mere *tape*.

There are couple of ways to check if it is bootable or if it does have the contents.

1. To check if the tape is bootable, extract the boot area

#copy_boot_tape -b -d /somewhere/bootarea -u /dev/rmt/0mn

(replace 0mn with your valid tape drive - no rewind)

Run the lif* commands

lifls /somewhere/bootarea
lifcp /somewhere/bootarea:AUTO -

etc.,

2. Extract|list contents of the tape

For ex.,

mt -t /dev/rmt/0mn rew
mt -t /dev/rmt/0mn fsf 1
tar tvf /dev/rmt/0mn (to list)
cd /tmp/make_tape
tar xvf /dev/rmt/0mn etc/services

Note that there is no forward slash before etc in the last command

Listing and recovering can be painfully slow.

-Sri