Copying large files between SCO servers

[TimRobDFW]

I have two SCO 5.0.5 servers. One is up 24-7 and the other is for testing. I want to copy selected directories from the main server to the test server. I mounted the seleced directories on the test server using NFS. Then, I tried to use cp /mnt/main/dir1/* /dir1, but the command stalls (ps -elf shows no activity).

I think that the size of the files (up to 1GB) is the cause. What is another solution that can handle large files?

 

[brendangriffin]

Hi,

Do you have a tape drive? you could always do a backup/restore to a path.

Brendan

 

[ChristianS]

Dear Tim,
For me, i propose to use the rcp command from the 24-7 server to the test server like the following:
rcp -r /directory_u_want :server_test/where_u_want
For example, while on the 24-7 server,type:
rcp -r /mydir test:/tmp
where the "test:" is your testing server.

P.S.: Instead of the server name you can use the ip address of the machine while rcp'ing. As well you have to make sure of /etc/.rhost* family files that must contain the name of both machines(this is to be done on each server).
---
I don't remember if the export file has something to do with the NFS, the 1 GB size doesn't affect the copy operation.
I would like to know how it ended with u.
Regards,
Christian

 

[TimRobDFW]

Using the tape drive would defeat the dual purpose of copying the files. I also wanted to have a secondary backup of the main server to the test server to cover the weekend and holidays so an employee doesn't have to come in to the office and change tapes.

I am curious however, I only have a tape drive on the 24-7 server. Is there a command to use a remote tape drive from the test server?

 

[pcunix]

You can feed data to a remote tape with rcmd, yes. Products like the Supertars (

http://pcunix.com/Reviewes/supertars.html

) can also talk across the network. Tony Lawrence
SCO Unix/Linux Resources

http://pcunix.com

tony@pcunix.com

 

[TimRobDFW]

Ok, here are my attempts and the results:

1) Tried cp with the main server mounted using NFS on the backup server => stalls - no error
2) Tried rcp to copy files from main to backup => stalls - no error
3) Tried rcmd main "cd /;find . -local -print | cpio -ovcC32768" > localfile => This method aborts when the archive file, localfile, reaches 2GB in size.
4) rcmd main "cd /;find . -local -print | cpio -ovcC32768" | dd of=localfile.cpio.dd conv=bmode bs=32k => This method aborts when the archive file, localfile, reaches 2GB in size.

The main server has about 21GB of data. The largest file is 1GB. Is there a way around the 2GB file limit?

 

[motoslide]

I know this thread is over 2 years old, but I just gotta put my 2cents worth in.
Create a script on the backup server called /usr/local/bin/get_stuff
In that script, enter the following lines:

umask 0
cd /destination_directory
tar xf - .

Make sure the script is executable.
Now, on the "24/7" system, go to the base directory of the files you wish to mirror, and run:

# umask 0
# tar cvf - .|rcmd backup /usr/local/bin/get_stuff

One of the primary benefits of using "tar" is that ownership and timestamps are preserved.

Following a similar idea, you can pull the stuff from the tape drive on 24/7 with this command: (tape device is assumed to be /dev/rStp0. Change as appropriate)

# dd if=/dev/Stp0 | rcmd backup /usr/local/bin/get_stuff

This assumes the tape to be in "tar" format. I'm not fluent in CPIO, but my guess is it could be made to work similarly.

Test all of this carefully before proceeding. I would normally create a small set of files and try to place them in /usr/tmp (or similar) before taking a chance of restoring into the wrong directory! Be careful.