Status Code 174 "media manager - system error occurred" occurs when backing up Windows Clients to a Gigabit interface on an Oracle SUN Solaris Media Server.

Problem

Status Code 174 "media manager - system error occurred" occurs when backing up Windows Clients to a Gigabit interface on an Oracle SUN Solaris Media Server.

Error Message

Critical bpbrm (pid=xxxx) unexpected termination of client nbclient1
Critical bptm (pid=xxxx) attempted to write xxx gigabytes, xxxxxxxxxx bytes, it is not a multiple of 512
Info bptm (pid=xxxx) waited for full buffer xxxxxx times, delayed xxxxxxx times
Info bptm (pid=xxxx) EXITING with status 174 <----------
Info bpbkar (pid=xxxx) done. status: 174: media manager - system error occurred
end writing; write time: x:xx:xx
media manager - system error occurred  (174)

Cause

Overview:

During backups, the NetBackup media server keeps track of the number of bytes received during backup. The media server pads all blocks sent to 512 bytes. After a backup finishes, NetBackup divides the total number of bytes by 512 as an integrity check. If the number does not divide evenly by 512, then it is assumed that some amount of data was not received. A Status 174 error is then seen on Windows clients. UNIX Clients do not experience the 174 error.

Troubleshooting:

• Research has shown that this problem is often associated with Network Interface Card (NIC) configuration issues.
• On the Solaris media server, the bptm log in /usr/openv/netbackup/logs/bptm/ will show messages similar to the example below:
  <32> fill_buffer: attempted to write 58 gigabytes, 1972054444 bytes, it is not a multiple of 512
<2> mm_child_done: SIGCLD: exit=174, pid=2324
<2> bptm: EXITING with status 174 <----------

Solution

Ensure correct configuration of the Network Interface Cards (NIC) on both the client and media server.

Windows Client:

Windows network cards, especially Gigabit Ethernet cards, may drop packets when the NIC is under high load and the driver code is not up to date. These problems have been addressed with updated Windows NIC drivers.

• On the Windows client, click Start | Settings | Control Panel | Hardware | Device Manager | Network Adapter | Properties to determine the NIC vendor and driver version
• Download and install the latest drivers from the NIC vendor's website
• Additionally, temporarily try breaking any NIC teams that are used if problems persist. This will ensure that the failure is not a result of the teaming configuration

Oracle SUN Solaris Media Server:

Ensure that the media server's Gigabit card is not in a 33MHz system slot. It should be in a 66MHz system slot, or an intermittent Status 174 can result.

• Use the Solaris /usr/platform/`arch -k`/sbin/prtdiag -v command to display the system I/O cards and the slots they reside in
• Relocate cards as needed. Consult with OS vendor, or see further details in (Oracle) SUN document ID 41665 at: https://sunsolve.sun.com

Ensure that the Solaris Gigabit driver patch is up to date on the master or media server. The gigabit drivers are separate from the OS patches.

• Run the OS level netstat -i command to find the Gigabit card type
• Consult with OS vendor to update as required with the latest available fixes at  https://sunsolve.sun.com