Re: Newbie Sybase backup problem

#1

Todd Hobdey wrote:

Quote:

I've been charged with backing up an ASE 11.9.2 database running on Redhat
AS 2.4.9-e.24, but I know almost nothing about either Sybase or Linux. The
box in question has a DAT tape drive on it.

I've managed to get the Backup Server process running (why it wasn't I don't
know). I then tried adding a disk backup device with

sp_addumpdevice "disk", diskbackup, "/opt/sybase-11.9.2/backup"

....snip...

Server Message: Number 401802, Severity 2
Server 'SYB_BACKUP', Procedure 'bs_write_header', Line 0:
Backup Server: 4.18.2.1: Unsupported device type. The stat() system call
returned type '81F7D48' for '' . Refer to your operating system
documentation for more details.

Is /opt/sybase-11.9.2/backup a file or directory? If it's a directory ...
that'll cause problems, ie, backupserver is expecting a file.

Assuming '..../backup' is a directory ... to dump to file you have a couple
options ...

1 - redefine diskbackup as '/opt/sybase-11.9.2/backup/your-dump-file-name'

Now try to dump to diskbackup. Just remember to move/cp the resultant dump
file before your next dump to diskbackup (it'll overwrite the previous
dump).

2 - dump directly to a dump file (don't have to create a dump device), eg:

dump database master to '/opt/sybase-11.9.2/backup/20040511.master.dbdump'

This should create a file called '20040511.161324.master.dbdump' out in the
/opt/sybase-11.9.2/backup directory. (Yeah, you can name it something else
if you want ... I just prefer to have a date/time stamp on my dump file
names.)

Quote:

sp_helpdevice also shows tapedump1 = /dev/st0 (40MB) and tapedump2 =
/dev/st1 (625MB), so I try
....snip...
Server Message: Number 405502, Severity 2
Server 'SYB_BACKUP', Procedure 'bs_write_header', Line 0
Backup Server: 4.55.2.1: Device validation error: couldn't open raw device
/dev/st0, error: Permission denied

Does /dev/st0 (or /dev/st1) actually exist on your hardware? If not, get
rid of these dump devices. If the device(s) does exist ... make sure the
user who owns the backupserver process (eg, 'sybase' account) has
permissions to access the tape drive.

As for dumping directly to your DAT drive ... you'll need to know it's
device handle/address ... you should then be able to dump to said
handle/address. Check out your ASE doc's for information on using the
'dump database' command with tape drives.

--
Mark A. Parsons

Iron Horse, Inc.
iron_horse (AT) NOSPAM (DOT) compuserve.com

#2

Todd Hobdey wrote:

Quote:

Server Message: Number 404101, Severity 1
Server 'SYB_BACKUP', Procedure 'bs_write_header', Line 0:
Backup Server: 4.41.1.1: Creating new disk file
/opt/sybase-11.9.2/backup/master200405120739.dmp.
Server Message: Number 414102, Severity 2
Server 'SYB_BACKUP', Procedure 'bs_write_header', Line 0:
Backup Server: 4.141.2.63: [0] The 'execve' call failed for device
'/opt/sybase-11.9.2/backup/master200405120739.dmp' with error number 13
[Permission denied]. Refer to your operating system documentation for
further details.

Still sounds like a permissions problem ... if not ownership ... then what
about ability to write to said directory?

Quote:

Server Message: Number 404302, Severity 2
Server 'SYB_BACKUP', Procedure 'bs_write_header', Line 0:
Backup Server: 4.43.2.2: Couldn't create multibuffering subprocess.

see notes below ...

Quote:

"/opt/sybase-11.9.2/bin/backupserver -SSYB_BACKUP -I/opt/sybase-11.9.2/inter
faces -e/opt/sybase-11.9.2/install/backup.log -M/opt/sybase-11.9.2"

The -M option is looking for the full path to the sybmultbuf
binary/executable ... not just the directory (as you've specified here) ...
it should be something like '-M/opt/sybase-11.9.2/bin/sybmultbuf'.

Failure to locate the sybmultbuf binary could ... uhhh ... cause a few
problems? ;-)

Why did backupserver start in the first place? ... *shrug* ... perhaps it
doesn't 'check' the reference to sybmultbuf until it actually needs it, eg,
when performing a dump?

Quote:

After running it, the backupserver process is gone, so I can only assume the
multibuffering error kills it and which results in the "Cannot read..."
error.

See if you can get past the sybmultbuf issue ... perhaps this'll get you
past the permissions problem, ie, the permissions error may be bogus in
light of the sybmultbuf issues, eh?

--
Mark A. Parsons

Iron Horse, Inc.
iron_horse (AT) NOSPAM (DOT) compuserve.com

#3

Todd Hobdey wrote:

Quote:

Finally got it! There was an invalid -M command in the start file

Yep ... you beat my post by about 3 minutes!!!! ;-)

Quote:

dump database master to "tapedump2" ("tapedump2" being defined as /dev/nst0
at 24GB)

....snip...

Quote:

Do I need to prepare the tape somehow (like Atoz The Librarian does in that
one episode of Star Trek)? I don't have an Atavacron, and like I said I
really don't know much about Linux. Oh, and the tape isn't write protected.

Check out the tape options to the 'dump database' command ... in particular
....

dump database master to tapedump2 with init

This should force BS to overwrite whatever's currently on the tape and
'initialize' it as a Sybase dump tape.

There are other options for determining whether to rewind (or append) a
tape, unload the tape, setting the storage capabilities of the tape
(drive), setting a retention period for a tape, etc. Check out the options
for the 'dump database|transaction' commands for more details.

--
Mark A. Parsons

Iron Horse, Inc.
iron_horse (AT) NOSPAM (DOT) compuserve.com

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Re: Newbie Sybase backup problem

comp.databases.sybase comp.databases.sybase

Re: Newbie Sybase backup problem - 05-11-2004 , 06:15 PM

Re: Newbie Sybase backup problem - 05-12-2004 , 04:07 PM

Re: Newbie Sybase backup problem - 05-12-2004 , 04:14 PM