Veritas NetBackup™ for Informix Administrator's Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup (8.0)
  1. Introduction to NetBackup for Informix
    1.  
      Features of NetBackup for Informix
    2.  
      About NetBackup for Informix
    3.  
      About NetBackup for Informix terms
    4.  
      Example NetBackup for Informix configuration
    5.  
      About the Informix ON-bar utility and library
    6.  
      How NetBackup for Informix works
    7.  
      NetBackup documentation
  2. Installing NetBackup for Informix
    1.  
      Planning the installation of NetBackup for Informix
    2.  
      Verifying the operating system and platform compatibilityVerifying the operating system and platform compatibility for NetBackup for Informix
    3.  
      NetBackup server and client requirements for NetBackup for Informix
    4.  
      Informix server software requirements for NetBackup for Informix
    5.  
      About the license for NetBackup for Informix
    6.  
      Specifying the Informix home path
    7.  
      Adding new Informix instances
  3. Configuring NetBackup for Informix
    1.  
      About configuring NetBackup for Informix
    2. About configuring a backup policy for an Informix database
      1.  
        Adding a new NetBackup for Informix policy
      2.  
        About policy attributes for NetBackup for Informix
      3. About adding schedules to a NetBackup for Informix policy
        1.  
          Configuring an application backup schedule (NetBackup for Informix)
        2.  
          Example application backup schedule (NetBackup for Informix)
        3.  
          Configuring automatic backup schedules (NetBackup for Informix)
        4.  
          Example automatic backup schedule (NetBackup for Informix)
        5.  
          NetBackup for Informix backup types
        6.  
          About schedule properties (NetBackup for Informix)
      4.  
        Adding clients to a policy (NetBackup for Informix)
      5. About backup selections for an Informix client
        1.  
          About NetBackup for Informix scripts rules
        2.  
          Adding NetBackup for Informix scripts to the backup selections list
      6.  
        Configuring a Standard policy
    3. About NetBackup for Informix scripts
      1.  
        Modifying NetBackup for Informix scripts
      2.  
        About NetBackup for Informix environment variables
    4.  
      Configuring an additional bp.conf file
    5.  
      About permissions for NetBackup for Informix log files
    6.  
      Configuring the Maximum jobs per client (NetBackup for Informix)
    7.  
      Performing a manual backup (NetBackup for Informix)
  4. Performing backups and restores of Informix
    1.  
      About using NetBackup for Informix
    2.  
      About Informix ON-Bar backup types
    3.  
      Example Informix backup strategy
    4.  
      Automatic backup policy for Informix
    5.  
      Manual backup policy for Informix
    6.  
      Using the onbar command to perform a user-directed backup
    7.  
      About browsing Informix backups
    8.  
      Restoring files to the original client
    9.  
      Redirecting an Informix restore to a different client
    10.  
      Example of procedure for restoring an Informix database
  5. Troubleshooting
    1.  
      Verifying the NetBackup for Informix configuration
    2.  
      Verifying NetBackup for Informix log files
    3.  
      Enabling the debug logs manually (NetBackup for Informix)
    4. About the NetBackup for Informix log files
      1.  
        About the bphdb directory on the database client (NetBackup for Informix)
      2.  
        About the infxbsa directory on the database client (NetBackup for Informix)
    5.  
      About NetBackup server reports
    6.  
      About Informix ON-Bar utility logs
    7.  
      Setting the debug level (NetBackup for Informix)
    8.  
      Minimizing timeout failures on large database restores
    9.  
      Minimizing the loading and unloading of tapes for database backups
    10. About deleting expired backups from the Informix backup database
      1.  
        Informix versions XPS 8.x and IDS 9.x
      2.  
        Informix version IDS 7.x
    11.  
      Delays in completion of backup jobs

Verifying NetBackup for Informix log files

Use the following procedure to verify that the log files are configured correctly.

To verify the NetBackup for Informix log files

  1. Check the Informix instance log specified by MSGPATH in the Informix configuration file $ONCONFIG.
  2. Verify the existence of the following log directories:
    /usr/openv/netbackup/logs/user_ops/dbext/logs
    /usr/openv/netbackup/logs/infxbsa

    The user_ops and infxbsa directories and any subdirectories should have 777 permissions. They must exist and be accessible for the applications to operate correctly.

  3. Examine the client logs in the following order:

    • The Informix server log. This path is specified in ONCONFIG.

    • OnBAR debug log. This path is specified in ONCONFIG.

    • The NetBackup for Informix debug log directory, /usr/openv/netbackup/logs/infxbsa.If this directory was created properly and no log is present, then stop. The absence of a file in a properly created directory indicates a problem with the communication from ON-Bar to NetBackup for Informix. This file is the starting point of communication with NetBackup. Its absence indicates there are no further NetBackup activities on either the server or client.

  4. Examine other log files.

    The following log files reside in the /usr/openv/netbackup/logs directories on the servers indicated:

    Master server

    bpcd, bpdbm, bprd

    Media server

    bpbrm, bpcd, bpdm, bptm

    Client

    /user_ops/dbext/logs, bpcd, bphdb, infxbsa

    NetBackup writes a log file to /usr/openv/netbackup/logs/user_ops/dbext/logs for each backup and restore session. NetBackup writes the other log files on a daily basis. Log files in the log directories have the naming convention of log.mmddyy. or mmddyy_nnnnn.log (if robust logging is enabled). These files may offer additional debug information.

    For example, the bprd log file shows if a backup or restore request from bpbackup or bprestore was received. Examine the request's details such as client name, policy type, client type, and backup file name.

  5. Examine the communication progress file.

    The communication progress file logs communication between the NetBackup server and the NetBackup client during backups and restores. This file is the key file in the debugging process.

    The following is an example of a progress file name:

    /usr/openv/netbackup/logs/user_ops/dbext/logs/6749.0.1115233002

    Perform the following steps to determine the communication progress file's name:

    • Use the cd(1) command to change to the /usr/openv/netbackup/logs/infxbsa directory.

    • Use an editor to open the file in that directory.The following are examples of file names: log.103105, 103105.00001.log.

    • Use an editor to open the log file and search for the communication progress file's name.

      For example, search for the string openProgressFile.

      The search flags the following lines in the file:

    13:56:42.905 [6749] <4> openProgressFile: entering openProgressFile.
    13:56:42.905 [6749] <4> openProgressFile: commFull = </usr/openv/
    netbackup/logs/user_ops/dbext/logs/6749.0.1115233002>

    This output tells you that the communication progress file's name is 6749.0.1115233002.