[comp.sys.hp] Backups on various HP systems

jailbait@wookumz.ai.mit.edu (Jailbait) (02/08/91)

I'm currently admining a number of HPs, mainly 9000/835's, with responsibilities
including some 9000/3xx and soon a HP/Sequoia 9000/1240. Most of these machines
have DAT/DDS drives on them and we perform backups nightly (either automated
or started at the end of the day and left to run. The problem is that our
systems are expanding in disk size, and are starting to reach/overflow the 1.3
Gigabyte DAT capacity.

As we do it now, we're simply using CPIO. We're willing to use anything else
that may work well, but the quest is for something that can be run automatically
in the background (via CRON) and simply call for another tape if it needs it.
The current situation is such that for a backup that will more than fill a 
tape, the backup must be run in the foreground and the /dev/icename must be
typed in when another tape is needed. This is less than optimal when you
have an 'operations' group monitoring the machines.

I know that many tape drives out ther can sense when a tape has been removed
and a new one put in, thus meaning that at the end of a tape, simply ejecting
the full tape and inserting the empty tape will enable the BU to continue.
(At least, I think I know this)

Is there any package out there for the HP DDS drive (both HP-IB and SCSI are
in use) that can do similar? Or, failing that, is there something that can
run in the background and request input from the foreground when it needs
a new tape? (Yeah, I know what the odds are for that.)

Is there any way I could've expressed this better? Probably, so if you have any
questions, feel free to ask (Mail or post.).

Many thanks,
JB

renglish@cello.hpl.hp.com (Bob English) (02/09/91)

In article <13234@life.ai.mit.edu> jailbait@ai.mit.edu writes:
|...is there [a backup program] that can
|run in the background and request input from the foreground when it needs
|a new tape?

Look up fbackup(1M) in the manual.  It should do what you want.  Among
other things, it will execute a program of your choice when it's time to
mount a new volume.

--bob--
renglish@hplabs.hp.com
I'm not sure HP has an official spokesperson.  I'm sure that I'm not one.

bijal@hpopd.pwd.hp.com (Bijal Shah) (02/12/91)

/ hpopd:comp.sys.hp / renglish@cello.hpl.hp.com (Bob English) /  8:24 pm  Feb  8, 1991 /
In article <13234@life.ai.mit.edu> jailbait@ai.mit.edu writes:
|...is there [a backup program] that can
|run in the background and request input from the foreground when it needs
|a new tape?

Look up fbackup(1M) in the manual.  It should do what you want.  Among
other things, it will execute a program of your choice when it's time to
mount a new volume.

--bob--
renglish@hplabs.hp.com
I'm not sure HP has an official spokesperson.  I'm sure that I'm not one.
----------

	Does this mean that fbackup is supported on DAT/DDS drives now.
	I understood that there were still timing problems with using
	fbackup.  Please clarify.

	In answer to the question, however, there are several things that you
	can do.  You could compress your files before the backup and uncompress
	them after it.  Better, though, is to spread your backups over a couple
	of nights.  By this, I mean take a full backup of at least 1Gb of the
	file systems, then the next day, or night take a backup of the rest.
	Quite simple, but it would be wise to do incremental backups if it
	is possible.  If you have 2 DDS drives, then the problem solved.
	If fbackup works, then problem solved.

						BJ