Chapter 1
About This Release


Introduction

Backup Toolkit contains scripts for installation, device configuration, disaster preparation and recovery, and other miscellaneous tasks for use with the SAMS:Alexandria® backup product from Computer Associates International, Inc. (CA). Backup Toolkit is a required part of the SAMS:Alexandria installation on a DYNIX/ptx® host. Read these release notes before you install or run Backup Toolkit and SAMS:Alexandria on a DYNIX/ptx host.

These release notes support the following:


Upgrade Paths

On DYNIX/ptx V4.2.3 or later maintenance releases, you can upgrade to Backup Toolkit V4.2.3 and SAMS:Alexandria V4.50.70 from the following earlier versions:

On DYNIX/ptx V4.4.4 or later maintenance releases or DYNIX/ptx V4.5.x, you can upgrade to Backup Toolkit V4.4.3 and SAMS:Alexandria V4.50.70 from the following earlier versions:


Overview of These Release Notes

These release notes are organized as follows:

Chapter 1
About This Release. Describes software compatibility, system requirements, and related product documentation.
Chapter 2
Hardware Installation and First-Time Installations. Describes hardware installation of library devices on DYNIX/ptx hosts for use with SAMS:Alexandria and the preparation steps that must be performed for new SAMS:Alexandria customers.
Chapter 3
Install Backup Toolkit V4.2.3. Describes installation or upgrading of Backup Toolkit, SAMS:Alexandria, and ptx®/SLPT on a host running DYNIX/ptx V4.2.3 or later maintenance releases.
Chapter 4
Install Backup Toolkit V4.4.3. Describes installation or upgrading of Backup Toolkit and SAMS:Alexandria on a system running DYNIX/ptx V4.4.4 or later maintenance releases, DYNIX/ptx V4.5.x, or DYNIX/ptx V4.6.x.
Chapter 5
Deinstallation. Describes deinstallation of SAMS:Alexandria, Backup Toolkit, and ptx/SLPT.
Chapter 6
Problem Report Summary. Contains a summary of fixed and open problems against Backup Toolkit.

Features and Changes in This Release


Changes to Support Backup Toolkit V4.4.3 on DYNIX/ptx V4.6.x

Backup Toolkit V4.4.3 is supported on DYNIX/ptx V4.6.x with the following differences from other operating system versions:


ATTENTION

Immediately after installing Backup Toolkit, hosts running DYNIX/ptx V4.6.x must install Fastpatch 253655 for Backup Toolkit V4.4.3. This fastpatch enables Backup Toolkit to install SAMS:Alexandria on a DYNIX/ptx V4.6.x host and provides other required changes to support DYNIX/ptx V4.6.x.

For more information on the contents of this patch and installation instructions, refer to the README file distributed with the fastpatch.


With Fastpatch 253655 installed, Backup Toolkit V4.4.3 on DYNIX/ptx V4.6.x has the following changes:

These release notes and the online Backup Toolkit Administration for SAMS:Alexandria topic have been updated to include support for running Backup Toolkit V4.4.3 on DYNIX/ptx V4.6.x.


Changes in Backup Toolkit V4.2.3 and V4.4.3

The release of Backup Toolkit V4.2.3 and V4.4.3 includes the following changes:


Changes in Backup Toolkit V4.2.2 and V4.4.2

The release of Backup Toolkit V4.2.2 and V4.4.2 included the following changes:

Refer to the SAMS:Alexandria Release Notes for information about the enhancements, documentation clarifications, known problems, and repaired defects that are provided in the SAMS:Alexandria V4.50.53 release. The SAMS:Alexandria Release Notes mention devices and personalities that are not supported for use on NUMA-Q and Symmetry systems. For information on those features supported by IBM NUMA-Q, refer to "Overview of Backup Toolkit and SAMS:Alexandria" later in this chapter.


Changes in Backup Toolkit V4.2.1 and V4.4.1

The release of Backup Toolkit V4.2.1 and V4.4.1 includes the following changes:

Additionally, the following SAMS:Alexandria personalities are now supported on IBM NUMA-Q systems:


ATTENTION

For technical support on the AlexClient/NT personality and the RMAN personality, contact IBM Customer Support.


Refer to the SAMS:Alexandria Release Notes for information about the new features, enhancements, documentation clarifications, known problems, and repaired defects that were provided in the SAMS:Alexandria V4.50.17a release. The SAMS:Alexandria Release Notes mention devices and personalities that are not supported for use on IBM NUMA-Q systems. For information on those features supported by IBM NUMA-Q, refer to "Overview of Backup Toolkit and SAMS:Alexandria" later in this chapter.


Features in Backup Toolkit V4.2.0 and V4.4.0

Backup Toolkit V4.2.0 and V4.4.0 is the first release of a new DYNIX/ptx layered product for SAMS:Alexandria, both of which replace ptx/ESBM. Backup Toolkit V4.2.0 and V4.4.0 support SAMS:Alexandria V4.00.70 on hosts running DYNIX/ptx V4.2.3 or later maintenance releases and DYNIX/ptx V4.4.2 or later maintenance releases. For more information on the new product model, refer to "Overview of Backup Toolkit and SAMS:Alexandria."


Overview of Backup Toolkit and SAMS:Alexandria

This section summarizes the features of Backup Toolkit and SAMS:Alexandria. The following product areas are covered:


Backup Toolkit

Backup Toolkit contains scripts for installation, device configuration, disaster preparation and recovery, and other miscellaneous tasks required to install and use SAMS:Alexandria on DYNIX/ptx hosts. Backup Toolkit contains the following features:


SAMS:Alexandria

IBM NUMA-Q supports most of the features available in SAMS:Alexandria V4.50. Details on the features of SAMS:Alexandria are provided in the SAMS:Alexandria documentation. IBM NUMA-Q supports the following personalities and other noteworthy features:

IBM NUMA-Q does not support the following SAMS:Alexandria personalities or features:


COBRA/v4.50 Personality

IBM NUMA-Q supports the SAMS:Alexandria COBRA v4.50 personality, which is a backup and recovery agent for use with Oracle databases by SAMS:Alexandria server hosts. COBRA v4.50 includes OPS support. For supported Oracle versions, refer to the SAMS:Alexandria COBRA/v4 Personality Release Notes.

There are no separate installation steps for the COBRA personality; it is available for use after you have installed SAMS:Alexandria and configured a valid COBRA personality activation key. Documentation for this personality is provided in the SAMS:Alexandria COBRA System Administration Guide.


ATTENTION

For technical support on the COBRA personality, contact IBM Customer Support.


After Backup Toolkit is installed, the/usr/alexbkup/local/bin directory contains two COBRA v4.50 template store operation cards. The file cobra_cold is a template operation card for cold COBRA backups, and the file cobra_hot is a template operation card for hot COBRA backups. Both of these files can be used with alex-xfer commands to build COBRA v4.50 operation cards.

Existing COBRA v4.00 customers must perform additional steps to migrate from these earlier versions of COBRA to COBRA v4.50 For more information, refer to "Upgrade Operation Card Template Files From COBRA v4.00 to COBRA v4.50" at the end of Chapter 4.


ON-Bar Personality

IBM NUMA-Q supports the SAMS:Alexandria ON-Bar personality, a backup and recovery agent for use with Informix® Dynamic ServerTM databases by SAMS:Alexandria server hosts. The ON-Bar personality also supports the Informix Dynamic Server with the Advanced Decision Support Option and the Extended Parallel Option (ADO/XPO). For supported Informix Dynamic Server versions, refer to the SAMS:Alexandria ON-Bar Personality Release Notes.

There are no separate installation steps for the ON-Bar personality; it is available for use after you have installed SAMS:Alexandria and configured a valid ON-Bar personality activation key. The ON-Bar personality provides a JavaTM-based GUI for creating and running operation cards to back up and restore INFORMIX ODS database data. Documentation for this personality is provided in the SAMS:Alexandria ON-Bar Guide.


ATTENTION

For technical support on the ON-Bar personality, contact IBM Customer Support. (For technical support on the ON-Bar utility, contact Informix Technical Support.)


After Backup Toolkit is installed, the/usr/alexbkup/local/bin directory contains one ON-Bar template file, called onbar_simple. This file can be used with the alex-xfer command to build a SAMS:Alexandria ON-Bar operation card.


ptx/SLPT V2.0.2

ptx/SLPT is a layered product required for DYNIX/ptx V4.2.x hosts that use Backup Toolkit and SAMS:Alexandria. It includes the slpt pseudodevice driver that enables communication between SAMS:Alexandria and library and tape devices over a SCSI connection. It also includes the ms device driver for the DDSTM-2 library and DDS-3 library. ptx/SLPT is required for systems running DYNIX/ptx V4.2.x because this version of the operating system does not contain support for the DDS-2/DDS-3 library device driver and does not contain a SCSI pass-through device driver. (This functionality is included in DYNIX/ptx V4.3.0 and later versions.)

These Backup Toolkit release notes describe the installation of ptx/SLPT when you are also installing Backup Toolkit and SAMS:Alexandria on a DYNIX/ptx V4.2.x system. For further details about ptx/SLPT V2.0.2, refer to the ptx/SLPT V2.0.2 Release Notes.


System Requirements

The following requirements apply to each host that will be using Backup Toolkit V4.2.3/4.4.3 and SAMS:Alexandria V4.50.70.


Platform Requirements

Backup Toolkit V4.2.3 runs on Symmetry (CSM/SSM-based) systems, and Backup Toolkit V4.4.3 runs on NUMA-Q (SCI-based) or Symmetry systems with the following requirements:


ATTENTION

On DYNIX/ptx V4.2.x, each disk drive and tape device on a system running SAMS:Alexandria must be bound to a specific channel and unit number (SCSI ID of tape drive) in the system configuration file. Do not use wild-carding for these devices in the system configuration file; wild-carding causes the kernel to assign disk and tape device numbers in the order in which the devices are found at system boot time. If a device is not found, the unit number normally associated with that device will be assigned to another device. This can cause filesystems to be mounted on the wrong disk partitions, or tape devices to be associated with the wrong device name. Data loss can result. For more information, refer to the DYNIX/ptx System Configuration and Performance Guide.



Software Requirements

The software requirements for Backup Toolkit and SAMS:Alexandria are as follows:


Firmware Requirements

The firmware requirements are detailed in the following list. These firmware versions are only required for SAMS:Alexandria server hosts; client hosts do not require a specific version of QCIC, DDS-2, or DDS-3 firmware. The minimum versions required are listed; later versions will work as long as they are compatible with the version of DYNIX/ptx on your system.

To obtain the necessary DDS-2 or DDS-3 firmware, contact IBM Customer Support.


Network Requirements

Network support is enabled by installing SAMS:Alexandria as a server or as a client. This networking support includes support for SAMS:Alexandria operations that involve ptx/NFS, for example, backup and restoration of ptx/NFS-mounted filesystems. A server backup refers to a backup going to a library attached to the same system submitting the operation card. In this case, the library is local. A client backup refers to a backup going across a network to a library connected to another system, the server. In this case, the library is remote.

SAMS:Alexandria V4.50.53 and later patch releases include changes in network protocols. For this reason, the only network configurations that are supported are those between server and client hosts running SAMS:Alexandria V4.50.53 and later patch releases. Network configurations are not supported between hosts running SAMS:Alexandria V4.50.53 or later patch releases and hosts running versions of SAMS:Alexandria prior to V4.50.53 or running any version of ptx/ESBM.

For more information about configuring network operations, refer to the SAMS:Alexandria documentation.


Disk Space Requirements


Installation Requirements

The installation of Backup Toolkit consumes 1 MB of disk space in the directory /usr/backup_toolkit. The installation requirements for SAMS:Alexandria are described in the SAMS:Alexandria Installation Guide.


Run-Time Requirements

The run-time disk space requirements for the scripts from Backup Toolkit are for the creation of disaster recovery information. Approximately 5 MB are needed for disaster recovery information in the subdirectory disaster_recovery, which is in the SAMS:Alexandria home directory, typically /usr/alexbkup. This space is needed for the output files that are created by the systeminfo shell script during housekeeping in preparation for a disaster. Actual disk space requirements will vary with the system configuration and the installed software on the given host.

For more information about the output files created by systeminfo on DYNIX/ptx V4.2.x, refer to Chapter 5, "Disaster Preparation," of the Backup Toolkit Administration Guide for SAMS:Alexandria, part number 1003-75171-03. On DYNIX/ptx V4.4.x, V4.5.x, or V4.6.x, refer to Chapter 2, "Disaster Preparation for Alexandria" in the DYNIX/ptx V4.4 System Recovery and Troubleshooting Guide, DYNIX/ptx V4.5 System Recovery and Troubleshooting Guide, or the DYNIX/ptx V4.6 System Recovery and Troubleshooting Guide, as appropriate.


ATTENTION

The remainder of these release notes refer to the SAMS:Alexandria home directory as /usr/alexbkup. If the software is located in another directory, be sure to use that directory when you see references to /usr/alexbkup.


The run-time disk space requirements for SAMS:Alexandria are for the SAMS:Alexandria database and for the SAMS:Alexandria primary and secondary temporary directories. For more information, refer to the SAMS:Alexandria Installation Guide and the SAMS:Alexandria Reference Guide.


Backup Device Requirements

IBM NUMA-Q supports these data-storage libraries for use with SAMS:Alexandria: DDS-2 libraries, DDS-3 libraries, Hewlett-Packard® DLT4000 libraries, and STK libraries. IBM NUMA-Q also supports mixed library configurations for sites that are migrating from one tape device to another. For more information, refer to the Backup Toolkit Administration Guide for SAMS:Alexandria.

IBM NUMA-Q supports a maximum of eight libraries on a single system; however, the maximum allowed for a single library type can vary by library type. Refer to Table 1-1 for the maximum number of libraries for each library type.


ATTENTION

IBM NUMA-Q does not support configurations that use both compressed and non-compressed modes: all configured devices on one host must use the same compression mode.


The first library configured in SAMS:Alexandria on each host should dedicate two tape slots for SAMS:Alexandria database backups. Additionally, each library should dedicate one tape slot for a cleaning cartridge.

Observe the restrictions for connecting these libraries to an IBM NUMA-Q system that are described in the IBM NUMA-Q documentation for these libraries. Refer to "Library Hardware Documentation" later in this chapter for a list of these documents. For information about library usage considerations and configuring these libraries in SAMS:Alexandria on a DYNIX/ptx host, refer to the Backup Toolkit Administration Guide for SAMS:Alexandria.

Table 1-1 describes the supported libraries.

Table 1-1. Backup Devices Supported for Use with SAMS:Alexandria

Library

Internal Tape Drive

Media Type

Number of Tape Drives

Number of Tape Slots

Maximum per Host

DDS-2 Library

DDS-2 tape drive

4-mm DAT 4 GB tapes

2

4

22 or 60

20 or 58

8

DDS-3 Library

DDS-3 tape drive

4-mm DAT 12 GB tapes

2

4

20

60

8

HP DLT4000 Library

DLT4000 tape drive

DLTtape IIIxt 15 GB tapes

DLTtape IV 20 GB tapes

2

4

48

48

2

STK 9710 Library Storage Module (directly- or ACSLS-connected)

DLT4000 tape drive

DLTtape IIIxt 15 GB tapes

DLTtape IV 20 GB tapes

1 through 10

252 or 420 or 588

2

DLT7000 tape drive

DLTtape IIIxt 15 GB tapes

DLTtape IV 20 GB tapes (uncompressed in DLT4000 format)

DLTtape IV 35 GB tapes

STK 9730 Library Storage Module (directly-connected)

DLT4000 tape drive

DLTtape IIIxt 15 GB tapes

DLTtape IV 20 GB tapes

1 to 4

18 or 30

3

DLT7000 tape drive

DLTtape IIIxt 15 GB tapes

DLTtape IV 20 GB tapes (uncompressed in DLT4000 format)

DLTtape IV 35 GB tapes

STK 9740 Library Storage Module (ACSLS-connected)

DLT7000 tape drive

DLTtape IIIxt 15 GB tapes

DLTtape IV 20 GB tapes (uncompressed in DLT4000 format)

DLTtape IV 35 GB tapes

1 to 10

318-486 per LSMa

6 LSMs per ACSLS server, 2 ACSs on a single ACSLS servera

STK L700 Library (directly- or ACSLS-connected)b

DLT7000 tape drive

DLTtape IIIxt 15 GB tapes

DLTtape IV 20 GB tapes (uncompressed in DLT4000 format)

DLTtape IV 35 GB tapes

1 to 20

154-678

2


a. A single STK 9740 is called a Library Storage Module (LSM). You can connect up to six LSMs. The LSM cabinets bolt together and have a pass-through mechanism with which tape cartridges can be moved between cabinets. An array of LSMs (1 to 6) is called an Automated Cartridge System (ACS).

b. This library is supported as a directly-connected library on NUMA-Q hosts running DYNIX/ptx V4.5.x or V4.6.x and as an ACSLS-connected library on Symmetry hosts running DYNIX/ptx V4.5.x and all hosts running DYNIX/ptx V4.4.4 or later maintenance releases. On hosts running DYNIX/ptx V4.2.x or V4.4.2, the STK L700 library is not supported in any configuration.


Permission Requirements

Only users logged in as root can install Backup Toolkit, ptx/SLPT, and SAMS:Alexandria. The user alexbkup and the group alexbkup should be manually created during installation. Once the installation is completed, user alexbkup can configure and perform SAMS:Alexandria operations, including backup and recovery of all system files, even those owned by root. User alexbkup cannot view files owned by root after recovery because of the DYNIX/ptx permissions set on the files owned by root. However, alexbkup can modify all operation cards created by root. Your backup administrator can perform backups and recoveries as root or as alexbkup.


Software Compatibility


Compatibility with Previous Versions of Alexandria

Backup tapes that were created with Alexandria V3.00, Patch Level 53 or later, or any version of ptx/ESBM, can be used with SAMS:Alexandria V4.50.70. IBM NUMA-Q strongly recommends that you create new backups of all your data, especially the SAMS:Alexandria database, once the new version of SAMS:Alexandria is installed.

However, the only network configurations that are supported are those between server and client hosts running SAMS:Alexandria V4.50.53 or later patch releases. Network configurations are not supported between hosts running SAMS:Alexandria V4.50.53 or later patch releases and hosts running versions of SAMS:Alexandria prior to V4.50.53 or running any version of ptx/ESBM. This limitation exists because SAMS:Alexandria V4.50.53 and later patch releases include changes in network protocols.


Compatibility with DYNIX/ptx Utilities

On DYNIX/ptx V4.2.x, commands such as tar(1), cpio(1), mc(1) and mt(1) will not work with libraries and tape drives that are configured in SAMS:Alexandria after the alex startup script creates layered device drivers for these devices and the SAMS:Alexandria daemons are started. To use these commands, stop the SAMS:Alexandria daemons and designate the layered device filename that has the 'p' extension. For example, you would use /dev/mch/ms0p or /dev/rmt/td0p, instead of the regular device filename in the appropriate command. This issue does not pertain to hosts running DYNIX/ptx V4.4.x, V4.5.x, or V4.6.x since layered device drivers are not used on these operating system versions.


Compatibility with DYNIX/ptx Backup Utilities and Other Backup Products

SAMS:Alexandria cannot recover data that was backed up with DYNIX/ptx utilities such as tar and cpio. It can only recover data that it backed up. However, the DYNIX/ptx utilities cpio and tar can recover data backed up by SAMS:Alexandria as long as the data was backed up using the appropriate SAMS:Alexandria storage format, CPIO or TAR.


ATTENTION

If you insert a tape that was backed up by another backup product into a library configured for use with SAMS:Alexandria, SAMS:Alexandria will treat the tape as blank and could write over its data. To avoid this problem, you should set the write-protect switch to open for any 4-mm DAT tapes or DLT tapes you want to preserve that were created by another backup product .

Furthermore, to prevent SAMS:Alexandria from attempting to use the write-protected tape, you should mark the tape as User Reserved (UR). Otherwise, store operations will attempt to use the write-protected tape, but then fail when they cannot actually write to the tape.


If your site plans to use multiple backup products in parallel, you must understand how SAMS:Alexandria and any other backup products modify the access time when a given file is backed up.

By default, SAMS:Alexandria modifies the change time of a file when that file is backed up. However, some backup products, like the DYNIX/ptx dump utility, rely on the change time to determine which files should be backed up during an incremental backup. The outcome of using these products in parallel is that incremental backups by products like dump actually back up more files than expected, in some cases a full backup. This happens because these same files have been recently backed up using SAMS:Alexandria.

If this issue affects your site, you should enable the "Modify File Access Time Instead of File Change Time" option on the Store operation card. This option is MODIFY-ACCESS-TIME in the Store operation card file. When this option is enabled, SAMS:Alexandria modifies the file access time instead of the change time, thereby enabling products like dump to create the incremental backups that are desired. By default, this option is not enabled. You can also change the default setting of this option by editing the <<DEFAULT>> Store operation card.


Compatibility with ptx/SVM

SAMS:Alexandria can back up and recover both the data in ptx/SVM volumes and the ptx/SVM configuration information. Special backup and recovery procedures must be used when backing up or recovering ptx/SVM data. For more information, refer to the Backup Toolkit Administration Guide for SAMS:Alexandria.


Compatibility with ptx/CLUSTERS

On ptx/CLUSTERS systems, you can use SAMS:Alexandria to back up data on shared or local (private) disks by using local libraries. However, SAMS:Alexandria does not provide any special support for ptx/CLUSTERS. For example, SAMS:Alexandria does not have automated failover capabilities and does not support a shared SAMS:Alexandria database.

The restrictions for using SAMS:Alexandria on a ptx/CLUSTERS system are documented in the Backup Toolkit Administration Guide for SAMS:Alexandria. Refer to this documentation before installing SAMS:Alexandria or attempting any backups of data on a ptx/CLUSTERS system.


Compatibility with ptx/CTC

SAMS:Alexandria is not compatible with the methods that ptx/Clusters Transition Configurator (CTC) uses with ptx/CTC objects that are of type FS or NFS. (These two types include UNIX File Systems (UFS), Enhanced File Systems (EFS), and Network File System (NFS).) ptx/CTC enables you to set up and manage failover on an IBM NUMA-Q cluster. Specifically, SAMS:Alexandria does not back up data when the mount point for that data is a symbolic link. For example, the GenOp script will fail when ptx/CTC mounted filesystems are encountered because GenOp determines and sets the Store Root Directory field for the Store operation cards to the mount point, which is a symbolic link when the data is under ptx/CTC control.

Additionally, SAMS:Alexandria cannot track data that ptx/CTC has moved between local mount points and NFS mount points. Lastly, it does not support a shared, single copy of the SAMS:Alexandria database among all nodes of the cluster. As the data moves between nodes of the cluster, each SAMS:Alexandria database on a given node only knows when that data was last backed on that node and has no knowledge of the backups that might have occurred on the other nodes. For more information about ptx/CTC, refer to the ptx/CTC Administration Guide.


Compatibility with ACL Filesystems

SAMS:Alexandria cannot back up the access control list (ACL) information for files and directories in ACL filesystems. However, the data in ACL filesystems can be backed up. SAMS:Alexandria does not display any warning message about this omission.

To determine if a specific file has ACL information, use the getacl(1) command. To back up the ACL information, you can use the getacl command to place the ACL information into a file that can be backed up by SAMS:Alexandria. When the file that previously had ACL information is recovered, you can then also recover the file containing the ACL information and manually reapply the ACL information from this file as appropriate.


Compatibility with ptx/EFS Filesystems and Extent Attributes

SAMS:Alexandria can back up the data in a ptx/Enhanced File System (ptx/EFS) filesystem; however, the persistent extent attributes are not backed up. (Extent attributes are the extent allocation policies associated with a file.) SAMS:Alexandria does not display any warning message about this omission.

To determine if a specific file has persistent extent attributes, use the ls command with the -e option. To display extent attributes for several files on a ptx/EFS filesystem, use the ptx/EFS command getext. To back up the extent attributes, you can save the output from the getext command to a file that can be backed up by SAMS:Alexandria. When the original file is recovered, you can then also recover the getext output file containing the saved extent attributes and manually reapply them as appropriate.


ATTENTION

ptx/EFS is a dynamic inode/file allocation filesystem and the ptx/EFS filesystem information (file extent table) shares filesystem space with file data. The size of the ptx/EFS file extent table can vary depending on usage. SAMS:Alexandria is not aware of the size of the file extent tables that it backs up or the size of the file extent tables in ptx/EFS filesystems to which data is restored. For these reasons, when using SAMS:Alexandria with ptx/EFS, ensure that each ptx/EFS filesystem has at least one percent of free disk space.


For more information about ptx/EFS, refer to the ptx/EFS and ptx/CFS Administration Guide.


Compatibility with Extended Fundamental Types

SAMS:Alexandria is not compatible with extended fundamental types that are supported in DYNIX/ptx V4.2.x or later. For this reason, SAMS:Alexandria cannot save files that have 32-bit user IDs and group IDs. If you try to back up these types of files, the store operation will fail. Ensure that your system uses only user ID and group ID values less than or equal to 60,000. (By default, the ptx/ADMIN menu system limits user ID and group ID values to 60,000.)


Compatibility with International Language Environments

SAMS:Alexandria is affected by the settings of the environment variables used for internationalization, for example, LANG and LC_COLLATE, when these variables are set for the root login when the SAMS:Alexandria daemons are started by the alex-install command. The setting of these environment variables can cause the sort command to sort the backup file list differently than it would in the default C language environment. The unexpected sorting order causes SAMS:Alexandria to fail the backup. To avoid this situation, do not set the internationalization environment variables for the root login. Also, always use the Backup Toolkit /etc/init.d/alex script to start SAMS:Alexandria. This startup script unsets these environment variables if they are set.


Compatibility with Large Files and Large Raw Partitions

DYNIX/ptx supports raw partitions, files, and filesystems up to 1 TB in size (commonly called large files). SAMS:Alexandria automatically detects and backs up files and raw partitions that are 2 GB or larger when the RPF storage format is designated in the Store operation card. (COBRA always uses the RPF format to perform backups of Oracle datafiles.) Generally, you should create a separate Store operation card to back up this type of data.


ATTENTION

The Detail-File information for a raw partition backup always shows zero total kilobytes.


If you try to use the storage formats Alexandria, CPIO, or TAR to back up files or raw partitions that are 2 GB or larger, SAMS:Alexandria excludes these files from the backup and lists these files in the exclude files for that day. Exclude files are found in the /usr/alexbkup/Store directory and have the filename Xmachine_name.##, for example, /usr/alexbkup/Store/Xhost1.2.


ATTENTION

SAMS:Alexandria outputs a warning message only in the daily housekeeping mail that any files equal to or greater than 2 GB have been excluded from the backup. Note that the corresponding Store operation is marked as successful even though large files were excluded.



Backup Toolkit Man Pages

Backup Toolkit includes man pages that describe the IBM NUMA-Q disaster recovery tools. The man pages can be viewed online with the man command. For example, to view the systeminfo man page, enter the following command:

# man systeminfo

The following man pages are included with Backup Toolkit:

bktkbuildmini(1M)
Creates a custom miniroot for SAMS:Alexandria. This man page is only applicable to systems running DYNIX/ptx V4.2.x. On systems running DYNIX/ptx V4.4.x, V4.5.x, or V4.6.x, refer to the DYNIX/ptx man page buildmini(1M).
systeminfo(1M)
Captures system information that will be needed if you have to recover the host from a disaster.

SetupHD.Seq, which is provided by Backup Toolkit, does not have a man page; this command is documented in the Backup Toolkit Administration for SAMS:Alexandria.


Product Documentation

The following product documentation is described:

Additionally, this section describes the ways in which the SAMS:Alexandria documentation does not apply to DYNIX/ptx hosts.


Backup Toolkit Documentation

The following versions of IBM NUMA-Q documentation support the versions of Backup Toolkit and SAMS:Alexandria as described by these release notes:

online only
Backup Toolkit Administration for SAMS:Alexandria

For Backup Toolkit V4.5.x and V4.6.x customers, this document is available on the online documentation CD or at http://webdocs.sequent.com/.

1003-75171-03
Backup Toolkit Administration Guide for SAMS:Alexandria

For Backup Toolkit V4.2.x and V4.4.x customers. A hard-copy version of this document is shipped with Backup Toolkit V4.2.x. This document is available on the online documentation CD for Backup Toolkit V4.4.x customers.

Additionally, this document is provided in HTML format with Backup Toolkit V4.2.3. The files for this HTML document are located in a subdirectory of the Backup Toolkit installation directory, generally /usr/backup_toolkit/htmldocs. To display this HTML manual, use your browser to open the file bktkadmingde_alex.html. With the Netscape Navigator® browser, you can open the file by using the Open File menu option of the File menu. With the Mosaic browser, you can do this by selecting the file from the Open Local Document window.

1003-72359-09
DYNIX/ptx V4.4 System Recovery and Troubleshooting Guide

This document is applicable only to DYNIX/ptx V4.4.x and Backup Toolkit V4.4.x customers; it is not applicable to customers using Backup Toolkit on other versions of DYNIX/ptx.

1003-77586-02
DYNIX/ptx V4.5 System Recovery and Troubleshooting Guide

This document is applicable only to DYNIX/ptx V4.5.x and Backup Toolkit V4.4.x customers; it is not applicable to customers using Backup Toolkit on other versions of DYNIX/ptx.

1003-79898-00
DYNIX/ptx V4.6 System Recovery and Troubleshooting Guide

This document is applicable only to DYNIX/ptx V4.6.x and Backup Toolkit V4.4.x customers; it is not applicable to customers using Backup Toolkit on earlier versions of DYNIX/ptx.


SAMS:Alexandria Documentation

SAMS:Alexandria includes a documentation CD-ROM that provides web-browser and Adobe® Acrobat® access to the complete set of SAMS:Alexandria documentation. This CD-ROM also includes online-only troubleshooting and error messages guides. If you are existing SAMS:Alexandria customer, this documentation has not changed from that provided with SAMS:Alexandria V4.50.53.


ATTENTION

The release notes included on this CD-ROM are not the latest available. Be sure to refer to the hard-copy version of the release notes you receive, as well as the online readme file included with SAMS:Alexandria, for the most recent information.


The following subset of documentation is applicable when using SAMS:Alexandria on IBM NUMA-Q systems:


Library Hardware Documentation

The following IBM NUMA-Q documentation describes the libraries supported for use with SAMS:Alexandria:


SAMS:Alexandria Documentation Exceptions for DYNIX/ptx

The SAMS:Alexandria documentation does not apply to DYNIX/ptx systems in the following ways.