tar error

[deepak_9]

Hi All,
Getting following error when trying to tar some "dbf" files to a media. I have changed the dats twice/thrice but getting the same thing. Pl suggest a way to get out of it.

Regards

[Steven Sim Kok Leong]

Hi,

Can you post the parameters you use for the tar? Perform the following command after the tar exited with error:

# echo $?

What is the error code?

What media are you using? Verify whether the media is alright by performing a dd test eg.

dd if=/dev/rmt/0m of=/dev/null

Hope this helps. Regards.

Steven Sim Kok Leong
Brainbench MVP for Unix Admin
http://www.brainbench.com

[deepak_9]

Hi Steve,

I have checked it with 3-4 medias but getting the same error. Media we r using is DDS4, SONY Make . The syntax I am giving is :-
tar -cvf /dev/rmt/1mb d00/oracle 2>&1 | tee /test.log

Still the same error.


Regards

[Kurt Beyers.]

Try specifying the full path name:

tar -cvf /dev/rmt/1mb /d00/oracle 2>&1 | tee /test.log

What is the error you are getting?

Kurt

[deepak_9]

Tar : end of tape
Tar : to continue ,enter device/file name when ready or null string to quit


I am getting the above error.

[Steven Gillard_2]

That doesn't appear to be an error, tar is filling up the tape and asking for another one. How much data are you trying to archive?

Regards,
Steve

[deepak_9]

Yeh Steve,

There lies a point. Because the data I am backing up is of 4 GB and dat is of DDS-4 capacity[20 GB] and also I have checked it with 3-4 dats.

[Santosh Nair_1]

You could try compressing the files before dumping them to tape. If I recall, dbf files compress really well, sometimes up to 10:1. Or if you're really adventurous, you can try compressing the files as you write them to tape, i.e.

tar cvf - /dbd00/oracle 2>&1 |gzip -c > /dev/rmt/1mb| tee /test.log

Hope this helps.
-Santosh

[Thierry Poels_1]

Hi,

- are some files tarred, or nothing at all?
- did you try cleaning the drive "a few times"?
- can you read older DDS4 tapes?
- could you read/write DDS4 tapes in the past?
- it is a DDS4-DRIVE ? ;-)

One possibility was a bad tape, but you already ruled this one out by trying other tapes. So another possibility is that the drive is defect.

good luck,
Thierry.

[Deepak Extross]

Are there any huge hidden files in the directory being tarred?
Check with "ll -a".

[Steven Gillard_2]

You state the files you are backing up are 4Gig. Is it possible these are 'sparse' files? Can you compare du with ll output on the files?

Otherwise I suspect Thierry is right, I would start to suspect the drive. Make sure its cleaned and if you still have problems log a hardware call.

Regards,
Steve