New Client - Index File Created, but no savesets after full backup

[ddimitrie]

Running Networker 6.1.3 on W2K server - added a client; have run backup several times on this client - the index file is there, is about 9MB, but contains no save sets. Each backup says that there has not been a full backup and proceeds to do a full backup. But there is no save set info in the index file.
I tried deleting the index files and starting again, but to no avail.
It is a Netware client, but I have also have had this happen on a W2K client; I can't remember how it was solved last time.

Darlene

 

[605]

Your description is misleading:

"the index file is there, is about 9MB, but contains no save sets".

There are several issues:
- the file index info is stored in a set of 3 files in
the ..\nsr\index\client\db6 directory
So it is not only one file
- NW must have the information at least in the media
index, but file index info without a reference in the
media index is simply useless as NW would not be able
to find this.

What do you really mean? - I just guess that the save set
size shows 9MB that have been backed up.


This procedure usually shows more details:

- Create a new directory on your client to identify the
backed up files easily
- Create a test group that you just start of manually
- Create a new client definition for your failing host:
- Assign the group to the failing client
(With NW/Windows Administrator it looks like you
assign a client to group but this is just a
different way how it is visualization to a client)
- For the save set, define the new directory
- Start the group from the command line:
savegrp -v -l full -G group_name
- Investigate the result
- Run mminfo to check how much data really has been saved
and which status the save set has (browsable ?)
- If so, run nwrecover (UNIX) and winworkr - recover
(Windows) to check whether you can see the backed up
files

Potential issues:
- You could also have a 'defect' media index
- If the backup runs successfully
you may have forgotten a local directive (.nsr for
UNIX or nsr.dir on Windows that simply skips files or
directories)
- If using a backup command for the client you may have
forgotten a "save -c client_name" that can be used to
actually fill another client's file index.
- Did you rename the client in the meantime ?
- Is the name resolution really unique ?

 

[ddimitrie]

I am referring to what the NW gui shows under the Indexes tab - it shows 9MB as the size of the index and when you right click and choose Show Save Sets, it states that no save sets were found for client xxx. I am aware that behind the scenes it consists of more than one file. I have tried the "Cross check index" option on the right click; no error messages are received, neither is there any apparent difference in the index.

I had already followed the procedure you outlined. mminfo shows that the savesets are there - 3 of them - and that they are browsable. What I do not see is the index saveset for this client; other clients show the index saveset.

Using the NW user gui - sorry - we use guis most of the time, not command lines - I try to do a save set recover and the message that pops up is "No recoverable save sets for client xxx".

As per your list of potential issues:
1) 'defect' media index - possibly
2) no directives in use
3) we use the gui to start groups and index info does go into the index file for the specific client being backed up
4) client has not been renamed
5) yes, name resolution is unique

 

[605]

Unfortunately, NW from time to time shows problems with the
GUI. So the most important question to clarify in such case
simply is: Does it work correctly from the command line ?

As the GUI does not do anything else than "composing" commands, the command line utilities are most helpful
(more verbose, more flexible) and especially beneficial if
you must do index management.

So running the savegrp command makes sense for troubleshooting - for instance you will see the filenames
passing by and you will see the exact save commands NW will
use.

Then try to recover the save set from the command line which
i guess is not that easy for a NetWare client.

Another test would be if you can list the client file index for that client using "nsrinfo client_name"

 

[sdeb]

I would also say that it is a corrupted media database.

It would be interesting if you could move your "MM" and "INDEX" directories and let Netwoker create default directories and launch a backup.

By this way your gonna be able to come back to your previous configuration easyly (and safely).

 

[goeze]

On the networker server try following on the command line:
mminfo -c CLIENT -ot
how does the output look?