Tape drive Error

[Mohd Azril Dollah]

Below is the error message.

There is NO /dev/rmt/0mn on this server. But i can see /dev/rmt/1mn

What's are the difference?
Now, i'm making make_tape_recovery -a /dev/rmt/1mn

Is the make_tape_recovery can works? How to set the default value of make_tape_recovery to /dev/rmt/1mn?

[Robert-Jan Goossens]

Hi,

You can create a link to /dev/rmt/1mn.

# ln -s /dev/rmt/1mn /dev/rmt/0mn

Regards,
Robert-Jan

[Mohd Azril Dollah]

So, the /dev/rmt/1mn is a normal behaviour of the box?

Is there any configuration file that i could vi instead of using soft link?

[Pete Randall · Accepted solution]

You can simply rename the device file:

mv /dev/rmt/1mn /dev/rmt/0mn

I'm attaching a description of the ways to make device files correspond to the way you want them to appear.


Pete

[Sp4admin]

Hello,

The device /dev/rmt/0mn is a standard device file. I guess when you do a "ioscan -fnC tape" you should see the device. If not then try to link or a move as suggested above.


sp,

[Bill Hassell]

Device files are normally created each time you bootup. The system looks for new devices so at one time in the past, you had a tape drive connected and since it was the first tape drive, it's name was 0m (zero m). The zero is the first occurance of a tape drive on this system. Later, another tape drive was attached at a different address (either a different SCSI card or SCSI address) and device 1m was created. Note that there are several device files with different characteristics (like 1mn) which are for the same occurance or instance of the tape drive. You can see all these devices with this command:

lssf /dev/rmt/*

Now you do not want to make the 1mn tape drive as the default for make_tape_recovery. The reason is that you are missing many different options and for ANY backup task on your comnputer, the backup command must be in a small script with ALL the required values. For instance, the correct command would be:

make_tape_recovery -I -v -x inc_entire=vg00 -a /dev/rmt/1mn

but even this is incomplete because you need to check that there is a tape in the drive and that it is not write-disabled. You may also want to add additional documentation to the backup image with the -t and -d options.

[Mohd Azril Dollah]

Hi Bill,

Can u provide me a full backup command for system. Steps how to do it, i've no experience before and how to check wether my backup (make_tape_recovery) is working and fine.

Thanks and regard.

[Bill Hassell]

There is a lot of detail that is needed. HP-UX runs on simple workstations with one disk as well as servers with terabytes of disk and dozens of CPUs. You'll need to describe the model of your computer, the number of internal and external disks, whether the system must run 24x7 (never stopped), what model your tape drive is, whether your system uses raw disks for a database, and so on.

[Mohd Azril Dollah]

# model
9000/800/rp3440
2 cpu

i'm planning to have a system shutdown to do a complete backup (cold backup).
Can u assist me on this?

[Mohd Azril Dollah]

HP-UX NICS01 B.11.11 U 9000/800 2875959279 unlimited-user license
CPU Count: 2
CPU Speed: 1000 MHz
CPU HW Support: 64-bit
Kernel Support: 64-bit
RAM Size: 8190 MB
bufpages: 1638 MB
maxuprc: 3687
maxvgs: 10
maxfiles: 60
max_thread_proc: 256
nfile: 63498
nflock: 4096
nproc: 4096
ninode: 34816
shmmax: 1073741824
shmmni: 200
dbc_max_pct: 20

[Ludovic Derlyn]

hi,

for ypour backup excute make_tape_recovery as specified
I think that to ceck your result, look in var/opt/ignite/logs
If you have need to save data , save it by fbackup

regards
L-DERLYN

[Bill Hassell]

AS mentioned, the CPU and memory is not complete. What model tape drive do you have? How much disk storage do you have? How much disk storage is external? As a start. run these commands:

ioscan -kfC disk
ioscan -kfC tape
bdf
vgdisplay -v

Since these will be lengthy, save this to a file and attach it rather than pasting it into your response.

[Mohd Azril Dollah]

using tape dat72. anything else? attached is the info.

[Bill Hassell]

OK, now you know about your system. The tape drive will store about 36 Gb of data (perhaps more), so you will need two backups, one to restore VG00 (the HP-UX files) and another to store the cramer files.

The command to save the HP-UX files is:

make_tape_recovery -I -v -x inc_entire=vg00 -a /dev/rmt/1mn

Make this tape whenever mjor changes are made to the HP-UX system, at least once a month.

The second command for a different tape to backup the cramer files is:

fbackup -v -c /etc/fbackup.config -f /dev/rmt/1m -i /cramerdb -i /cramerapps

You will also need to create this file:

blocksperrecord 4096
records 64
checkpointfreq 4096
readerprocesses 6
maxretries 5
retrylimit 5000000
maxvoluses 200
filesperfsm 2000

Name this file: /etc/fbackup.config

Run the fbackup command as often as your database needs backup, daily is probably necessary if this is a production computer.

Keep the tapes in a safe place away from the computer shop, ideally a different building. Do *NOT* discard old tapes in the trash. Instead, break the tapes in half and destroy the tape inside. This is to protect the data from being stolen. Note that your backup tapes are unsecure and should be treated as confidential material. Never leave data backup tapes lying on desks.

[Mohd Azril Dollah]

how to check wether i'm done with the backup? and the backup is working when i try to restore back from tape?

[Bill Hassell]

Since there are two different programs, they will look different. However, if you simply type in the complete command, the backup will complete and return to a shell prompt.

As far as checking the backups, the Ignite/UX backup (make_tape_recovery) is designed to replace your current VG00 system as it is a bootable tape. Checking it would require another similar computer where you can run the entire installation.

For your data backup, you can use frecover to read the entire tape, checking the files and directories that are on the tape using a special fbackup checksum. The command is:

frecover -r -v -N -f /dev/rmt/1m

This will read the entire tape and display all the files that were saved. To see just the contents of the tape, use this:

frecover -I - -f /dev/rmt/1m