Xraid - raid volume backup procedure question, need input...

If I have an xraid with two sets raid volumes, 2.5 TBs each, that I use for alternating backup. Am I eventually going to loose the fiber channel card, raid volumes, or xraid by switching out the raid volumes? I will have volume A in for a few weeks to a month then take out the drives/raid volume and put in volume B for about the same amount of time. I place the drives in the same spots/ side of the xraid. Each drive is labeled and place in the same spot each time. Everything has been working perfectly for a couple years but recently an apple specialist has told me that it's not a good idea. And that in time I am likely to damage/loose my fiber channel card, raid volume or xraid? That I am confusing the raid connection by changing drives.

Actually, this all started with our xserve failing. The hardware and procedures I put in place worked perfectly. The xraid backup etc. Retrospect did it's job also. we were able to recover everything now I'm looking to improve our downtime and put a new xserve in place. Retrospect apparently worked because it was on the xraid. The recovery from firewire drives as a backup system is low and painful and can there's also a chance that you have to rebuild the retrospect file. The apple certified folks were impressed, no issues. And I don't power it down that often, once a month average, maybe. What I do want to implement in retrospect is a working backup. Not that we will work off of it but if that was in place then we'd be up and running sooner.

Similar Messages

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    If I want 4 partitions on the XServe RAID, and I have one RAID volume made of all 14 disks, can I partition that RAID volume or do I need to choose 3-4 disks and create individual RAID volumes/partitions for them?
    The reason I'm asking is that I'm wondering if each partition would still span over 14 disks, even if the RAID volume was devided into 4 partitions (to keep the maximum speed on each partition).
    Thanks,
    Patrick

    Hi Patrick,
    You have a couple options...
    Probably the best one is "slicing." On the RAID itself, you can create a 7-disk RAID 5 set (or 6 disks and use the 7th as a hot spare -- this gives a little more safety should a drive fail) and then slice it into a number of LUNs that will be exported separately. Each will show up as a separate "chunk" of storage to your hosts.
    The alternative is to go into Disk Utility on a connected host and actually partition the storage there. You see a 1 TB volume for example, and you can just partition it into 4 or 5 volumes, no problem.
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  • Utility need to saftly mount / repair raid volume over fibre optic

    Hi,
    was wondering if there's any ideas for the following scenario:
    Mac Pro / OS 10.5.x which usually mounts a RAID volume over fibre optic link. The thing is the RAID volume is corrupt, and when any Mac tries to mount it (after being informed that it's damaged, and givent the option to format / ignore...) it crashes.
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    The questions are - is there any way to access the volume without crashing the mac?
    Once the volume is accessible, what's the best tool for repairing rAID volumes these days?
    Any thoughts appreciated ( i know this is all a bit vague, just looking for general info, opinions). Many thanks in advance.
    c

    Hello,
    First of all thanks for the reply. The only problem is that I've already tried what you suggested. When I press the option key on the keyboard with the installation cd inserted I see what I am supposed to, the CD, Windows Vista and Macintosh HD. When I select Macintosh HD it does that same thing, goes to the "restart your computer" screen.
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    I think the reason that Macintosh HD shows up when I press Option at startup is because Apple has hard-coded it in so that it's always there, no matter if you can actually access it or not depending on whether or not it's mounted.
    Right now the best thing for me is to find out how to mount Macintosh HD, if it has to be done manually through Terminal I'll do it, I just need the syntax but something tells me if it doesn't work through GUI it probably won't work through command prompt.
    Anyway, thanks for the reply. Let's hope we get something.

  • I own apple devices my question is that if someone finds my device eg. iphone and restores it from their backup would they need my apple password?ios7.

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  • Raid Volumes Randomly Dismounting

    Okay first a warning .. this is going to be a long post!
    Overview: When my raid is connected through my Fibre Channel Switch it randomly dismounts.
    Specifics:
    Xserve G5 (10.4.7) with the LSI Dual-Channel 2GB Fibre Channel PCI-X HBA & Fibre Channel Utility 2.0
    Xserve RAID - Each side with its own Raid 5 , hot spare - no masking & latest firmware
    Exabyte Magnum 224 FC
    Qlogic Sanbox 5200 Series (12 port) - Latest Firmware (configured with two zones (port not WWN) ; Zone 1: Port 1 HBA, Both Xraid | Zone 2: Port 0 HBA, Exabyte
    Background : This used to ALL work! Recently we began to experience drastic slow downs when writing to the raid and common sense not working free space, which was the problem, was the last thing I checked. Before that though I tried swapping cables, replacing the raid controller, redoing zoning, straight connect - Obviously none of this was the issue. *note here: at this point I am using an identical Fibre Channel Card in my Xserve from my G4 - a careless maneuver broke the Apple installed card whilst it was laying on a table.*
    When I got things working (made room on the volume) I happened to be in a configuration the circumvented the switch.. raid directly into the host and things , as said, worked fine. The next night I took the systems down to put everything on the switch again to allow a back-up to be ran. Now is when the current behavior begins. Randomly and without recognizable patterns both raid volumes would dismount from the host. Checking Raid Admin shows the volumes as being in order and all lights are green.
    This time I fear my switch has gone and after time spent with Qlogic (and zilliions of different configurations) a new switch is sent out in the mean time back to a straight connection and things are working fine. New switch arrives, is configured, and immediately problem persists. Qlogic/Apple suggest the midplane on the raid is bad (even though it works straight through). I happen to have a brand new in box XRAID (with current firmware) so I set that up put in the drives from the old raid and the problem persists again when plugged into the switch. Direct to host things work fine.
    So I read some documentation on Apple and Fibre channel and made a few changes to HBA ports and Switch Port Settings and came to the following scenario... Volumes stayed mounted through an entire work day, but after a brief time into a backup the volumes unmounted.
    Here is some more specific info about my exact setup as it last failed...
    ZONE 1 (zoned by port not WWN)
    Switch Ports 0, 1, 2
    HBA Port 1 into Switch Port 0
    Raid into Switch Ports 1, 2
    All ports are identifying themselves to switch as switch topology
    HBA port configured as Topology: Point-to-Point, Speed: 2Gb/s
    SW Port 0 configed as State: Online, Speed: auto, Type: Detect, I/O Stream Guard: Enable, Device Scan: Disable
    SW Port 1, 2 configed as State: Online, Speed: auto, Type: Detect, I/O Stream Guard: Auto, Device Scan: Enable
    ZONE 2 (zoned by port not WWN)
    Switch Ports 8, 9
    HBA Port 0 into Switch Port 9
    Exabyte into Switch Port 8
    Port 8 identifying as Loop topology, 9 as switch
    HBA port configured as Topology: Auto, Speed: Auto
    SW Port 8 configed as State: Online, Speed: auto, Type: Detect, I/O Stream Guard: Auto, Device Scan: Enable
    SW Port 9 configed as State: Online, Speed: auto, Type: Detect, I/O Stream Guard: Enable, Device Scan: Disable
    I realize that some of these settings, particularly those on the HBA are different between ports, but we have tried virtually every combination (I think)
    Around the time of the backup job system.log on the host has these entries:
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 5 (External Bus Reset) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: External Bus Reset for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 7 (Link Status Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Link is down for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 8 (Loop State Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Loop Initialization Packet for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 9 (Logout) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 7 (Link Status Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Link is active for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 6 (Rescan) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 5 (External Bus Reset) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: External Bus Reset for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 7 (Link Status Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Link is down for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 8 (Loop State Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Loop Initialization Packet for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 9 (Logout) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 7 (Link Status Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Link is active for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 6 (Rescan) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 5 (External Bus Reset) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: External Bus Reset for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 7 (Link Status Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Link is down for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 8 (Loop State Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Loop Initialization Packet for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 9 (Logout) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 7 (Link Status Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Link is active for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 6 (Rescan) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 5 (External Bus Reset) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: External Bus Reset for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 7 (Link Status Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Link is down for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 8 (Loop State Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Loop Initialization Packet for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 9 (Logout) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 7 (Link Status Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Link is active for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:41 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 6 (Rescan) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:42 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 5 (External Bus Reset) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:42 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: External Bus Reset for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:42 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 7 (Link Status Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:42 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Link is down for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:42 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 8 (Loop State Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:42 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Loop Initialization Packet for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:42 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 9 (Logout) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:42 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 7 (Link Status Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:42 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Link is active for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:42 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 6 (Rescan) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: I/O error.
    Mar 7 17:55:42 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 5 (External Bus Reset) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:42 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: External Bus Reset for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:42 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 7 (Link Status Change) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:55:42 files kernel[0]: FusionFC: Link is down for SCSI Domain = 3.
    Mar 7 17:55:50 files kernel[0]: s3: I/O error.
    =======
    Then followed by a ton of various I/O errors
    =======
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: I/O error.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: I/O error.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: I/O error.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: FusionMPT: Notification = 6 (Rescan) for SCSI Domain = 3
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: I/O error.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: I/O error.
    =======
    Finally by media not present errors which end the log
    =======
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: media is not present.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: media is not present.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: media is not present.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: media is not present.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: media is not present.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: media is not present.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: media is not present.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: media is not present.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: media is not present.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk5s3: media is not present.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: jnl: dojnlio: strategy err 0x6
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: jnl: end_transaction: only wrote 0 of 8192 bytes to the journal!
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: jnl: close: journal 0x4c21bb4, is invalid. aborting outstanding transactions
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: media is not present.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: media is not present.
    Mar 7 17:56:42 files kernel[0]: disk4s3: media is not present.
    Mar 7 17:56:45 files kernel[0]: jnl: close: journal 0x4c21c98, is invalid. aborting outstanding transactions
    And that folks is it.. I'm up for any and all suggestions, questions, comments etc.. I'm absolutely desperate here!
    Please, please does anyone have any ideas what's going on here.
    Thanks,
    James Nierodzik

    Hi Roger, thanks for the reply.
    Throughout the battles I did try cables that were not in the scenario to no avail so I don't think it's a cablling issue though I suppose it still could be.
    Well into the backup was last night's failure point.. days previous, when through the switch, it had failed at periodic points throughout the day. I could not tie those periods to greater than normal I/O demand though.
    As for cooling the components are kept in a well circulated room that is kept 24x7 at 62 degrees with an alarm on the cooling unit so I am about as certain as can be that cooling is not a factor.

  • Apple DU vs SoftRAID's drivers for RAID volumes, performancewise?

    Hi,
    For some time I have been using SoftRAID's (http://www.softraid.com/) drivers (v. 4.0.7) for an OS+apps SSD and my users' accounts on a 2*2TB RAID0 (WD Caviar Blacks) volume. At present the User volume is about 50% full (2 of 4TB).
    I am considering to make the users' accounts volume a 2*3TB RAID1 (Hitachis) for safety reasons. My questions to the knowledgable people in this forum are:
    1) I am aware that a RAID1 will be slower than a RAID0 volume. But will an Apple DU RAID1 or a SoftRAID RAID1 volume likely be faster?
    2) Using SoftRAID's drivers on disks/volumes prohibits use of some troubleshooting utilities such as iPartition, DriveGenius, etc. Hence, is it adviseable to put SoftRAID drivers also on non-RAID volumes, such as my SSD boot volume?
    I am hoping somebody with experience in these things can advise.
    Thanks.

    Softraid always worked with TTPro and Disk Warrior, and never needed the others, and I wouldn't let iPartition touch someone else's.
    Apple mirror I rate as weaker, doesn't use a stripe read, doesn't alert to I/O errors. don't they mention in features their implementation of mirror rebuilds and faster background rebuilds when needed?
    Personally, a good backup sets and clones. Mirror if you use three rdives so even under a failure you still have two and it can do background rebuild. Otherwise, dont' use mirror. 3TB mirrors are huge long and slow to copy. Really think you need to worry about hardware drive failure, huh?
    I've used SoftRAID from 2.2.1 days a decade ago. They support is one of if not the best I have had the pleasure to deal with and help me through as well as given me an education.

  • Single RAID 5 voume with partitions or mulitple RAID volumes?

    I'm setting up in the RAID Utility. My question is: Is it better to create a single RAID 5 Volume and create 3 partitions using Disk Utility or create 3 RAID 5 Volumes from the RAID 5 Set? I want the OS, Data 1, and Data 2 to be separate and get the best performance possible. Any questions, let me know.

    Hello, Techromancer27, and welcome to the AppleBoards,
    Are you asking about the Xserve RAID the 14 drive hardware unit or setting up a RAID inside an Xserve using the RAID card? This discussion group is dedicated to the Xserve RAID hardware unit so it is easy for these questions to get confusing.
    If you are asking about the Xserve itself and the internal disks you have only the option of creating a single RAID5. RAID5 requires a minimum of 3 drives which is all the Xserve can hold so your choice is pretty clear. If you are asking about an external unit of some kind with more drives you'll need to elaborate.
    HTH,
    =Tod

  • RAID with Disk Utility question

    I've setup a RAID array in disk utility for an external SATA NAS that I have. The Silicon Image Si3132 drivers are not working for Snow Leopard (the SATARAID 5 drivers) so I've installed the base non-raid drivers for 10.6.
    I'm using Disk Utility to setup the RAID for now until I get updated drivers from SI. Here's my question:
    Let's just say that my Mac Pro one day decides to die and I have to rebuild a new OS on the machine. I will then have this external drive where I've configured a software RAID with Mac OS X. Will I be able to rebuild this RAID and recover the data, or will I lose all of the data if the Mac needs to be rebuilt?
    The external enclosure has its own controller, but these silicon image drivers do not seem to want to work as they are kernel panicking.
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    You have four internal hard drives; ability to boot from FW or USB, and I would include TimeMachine and clone (Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper). Some WHS NAS servers also support TimeMachine and SuperDuper, but I would have local backups. Two minimum.
    I would not rely on SI or RAID.
    And all you need to boot from, and I'd have at least two, is a basic 30GB partition for Mac OS: a working copy of your system as is, a copy of last version installed also, AND, one "emergency" boot partition for disk maintenance and repairs.
    Then use NAS as second line of backup for your data, disk images, etc.

  • Hot backup procedure

    Hello, I have a database that takes in between 80 to 600 transactions per day through an external feed. I need to implement a hot backup that will run once a day. I don't need to do point in time recovery because I can restore from the prior nightly backup and then replay the tlog file from the external feed. What is the best way to implement a hot backup. Is it as simple as running a sql procedure that will loop through all the tablespaces and put them in backup mode and then copy them to another location? I am open to all and any recommendations. The database is Oracle 9.2.0.1 running on Windows 2000 or 2003 server. Please provide any scripts if you can. Thank you and have a great day!
    David

    I wrote a dynamic hot backup script once, you can look into it if you want:
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    SET TIM OFF TIMI OFF ECHO OFF VERIFY OFF FEED OFF TRIMS ON
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    DEFINE DEST_DIR=C:\Backup
    DEFINE DIR_SEP=\  -- win*=\    | unix=/
    DEFINE SH=host    -- win*=host | unix=!
    DEFINE COPIE=copy -- win*=copy | unix=cp
    DEFINE SUPPR=del  -- win*=del  | unix=rm
    DEFINE MARGE_ARCHIVELOGS=10
    -- Preparation pour les archives
    COL FARCH NEW_VALUE FIRST_ARCHIVELOG NOPRINT;
    SELECT MAX(SEQUENCE#)-1  FARCH FROM V$LOG;
    PROMPT *************************************************
    SET SERVEROUTPUT ON SIZE 200000
    SPOOL &DEST_DIR.&DIR_SEP.part1.sql
    DECLARE
         -- Curseur pour recuperer la liste des datafiles
         CURSOR cDatafiles IS SELECT TABLESPACE_NAME, FILE_NAME FROM DBA_DATA_FILES ORDER BY TABLESPACE_NAME;
         REP_BACKUP     VARCHAR2(500 CHAR) := '';     -- Définition du répertoire principal de destination de sauvegarde
         OTN                         VARCHAR2(50 CHAR) := ' ';                                             -- Variable en aiguillde trainante pour le declanchement du mode backup
         PFILE_INFO     VARCHAR2(500 CHAR) := '';                                             -- Variable pour test de type de fichier d'initialisation
    BEGIN
         -- Validation du repertoire de destination
         SELECT INSTANCE_NAME INTO REP_BACKUP FROM V$INSTANCE;
         REP_BACKUP := '&DEST_DIR.&DIR_SEP'||REP_BACKUP||'&DIR_SEP'||TO_CHAR(SYSDATE,'YYYYMMDD')||'&DIR_SEP';
         DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('&SH mkdir ' || REP_BACKUP);
         DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('--');
         -- Traitement des DATAFILEs
         FOR vDatafiles IN cDatafiles
         LOOP
              -- Si le tablespace parcourru n'est pas le meme que le precedent
              IF (OTN != vDatafiles.TABLESPACE_NAME) THEN
                   -- Si ce n'est pas le premier alors on bascule l'ancien hors du mode backup
                   IF (OTN != ' ') THEN
                        DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('ALTER TABLESPACE ' || OTN || ' END BACKUP;');
                   END IF;
                   -- Mise a jour de l'aiguillde trainante et mise en mode backup du tablespace
                   OTN := vDatafiles.TABLESPACE_NAME;
                   DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('ALTER TABLESPACE ' || OTN || ' BEGIN BACKUP;');
              END IF;
              -- Il faut sauvegarder les fichiers!
              DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('&SH &COPIE ' || vDatafiles.FILE_NAME || ' ' || REP_BACKUP);
         END LOOP;
         -- Evite un effet de bord: sortir le dernier tablespace du mode backup*
         DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('ALTER TABLESPACE ' || OTN || ' END BACKUP;');
         DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('--');
         -- Sauvegarde du fichier de controle sous forme controlfile et trace
         DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('ALTER DATABASE BACKUP CONTROLFILE TO ''' || REP_BACKUP || 'control.ctl'';');
         DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('ALTER DATABASE BACKUP CONTROLFILE TO TRACE AS ''' || REP_BACKUP || 'trace.ctl'';');
         DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('--');
         -- Vérification du type de fichier d'initialisation
         SELECT VALUE INTO PFILE_INFO FROM V$PARAMETER WHERE NAME='ifile';
         IF (PFILE_INFO IS NULL) THEN
              -- A priori on utilise un fichier de type SPFILE ou le PFILE standard
              SELECT VALUE INTO PFILE_INFO FROM V$PARAMETER WHERE NAME='spfile';
              IF (PFILE_INFO IS NULL) THEN
                   -- On utilise le pfile standard     
                   -- Donc on créée temporairement un spfile pour en faire une sauvegarde)
                   DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('CREATE SPFILE=''' || REP_BACKUP || 'spfile.ora'' FROM PFILE;');
                   DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('CREATE PFILE=''' || REP_BACKUP || 'pfile.ora'' FROM SPFILE=''' || REP_BACKUP || 'spfile.ora'';');
                   DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('&SH &SUPPR ' || REP_BACKUP || 'spfile.ora');
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                   -- On utilise un spfile
                   -- Donc on le sauvegarde simplement
                   DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('CREATE PFILE=''' || REP_BACKUP || 'pfile.ora'' FROM SPFILE;');
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              -- on utilise un pfile specifique
              DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('&SH &COPIE ' || PFILE_INFO || ' ' || REP_BACKUP);
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    END;
    SPOOL OFF
    @&DEST_DIR.&DIR_SEP.part1.sql
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         -- urseur de parcours de la liste des archivelogs
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         FROM V$ARCHIVED_LOG
         WHERE SEQUENCE# BETWEEN pLow AND pHigh
         AND DEST_ID IN
         (SELECT DEST_ID
         FROM V$ARCHIVE_DEST
          WHERE DESTINATION IS NOT NULL
          AND UPPER(DEST_NAME) IN
                    (SELECT UPPER(NAME)
                     FROM V$PARAMETER
                     WHERE VALUE IS NOT NULL
                     AND NAME LIKE '%log_archive_dest_%'
                    AND UPPER(SUBSTR(VALUE,1,8))='LOCATION'
         ORDER BY SEQUENCE#;
         LAST_ARCHIVELOG          NUMBER := 0;
    -- Variables de bornage des archives a sauvegarder
         FIRST_ARCHIVELOG     NUMBER := &FIRST_ARCHIVELOG;
         CURR_ARCHIVELOG          NUMBER := 0;
         REP_BACKUP     VARCHAR2(500 CHAR) := '';
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    BEGIN
         -- Validation du repertoire de destination
         SELECT INSTANCE_NAME INTO REP_BACKUP FROM V$INSTANCE;
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         EXECUTE IMMEDIATE 'ALTER SYSTEM SWITCH LOGFILE';
         -- On va savegarder les &MARGE_ARCHIVELOGS derniers archivelogs.
         SELECT MAX(SEQUENCE#)-1 INTO LAST_ARCHIVELOG FROM V$LOG;
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         FOR vListearchive IN cListearchive(FIRST_ARCHIVELOG,LAST_ARCHIVELOG)
         LOOP
              -- Traite t'on une nouvelle archive?
              IF (CURR_ARCHIVELOG != vListearchive.SEQUENCE#) THEN
                   DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('&SH &COPIE  ' || vListearchive.NAME || ' ' || REP_BACKUP);
                   CURR_ARCHIVELOG := vListearchive.SEQUENCE#;
              END IF;
              -- si non il n'y a rien à faire.
         END LOOP;
    END;
    SPOOL OFF
    PROMPT *** Exec part 2
    @&DEST_DIR.&DIR_SEP.part2.sql
    PROMPT *************************************************But it's provided without guarantee. It's been a long time i've not used it! And it might have bugs. Up to you to test it, backup is not a matter where you trust people :-)
    Of course, you could also use a simple RMAN script, depending on what you are trying to achieve exactly:
    RUN
      allocate channel c01 type disk format 'c:\backup\%d%U';
      backup database;
      backup archivelog all delete input;
    }This is just a sample. And you need to choose how you'll use RMAN.
    Yoann.
    Edited to clean up the code from unnecessary blank lines...
    Message was edited by:
    Yoann Mainguy

  • Xserve RAID volume corruption, volumes missing in Disk Utility

    I have an Xserve with 3 drives in a RAID 5 set. The RAID set is divided into 2 volumes. After hard booting the server to recover from a crash, the volumes seemed to disappear.
    We booted to an install disk and ran Disk Utility, which showed that there were no volumes at all. We then ran RAID Utility, which showed the volumes there.
    After the RAID ran a re-initialization and verify, RAID Utility shows green lights throughout, as if everything is fine. Nothing else, however, can see the volumes.
    We booted to an external drive with OS X installed, and basically found the same situation. Only RAID Utility can see those volumes, but otherwise they're just plain missing. However, RAID Utility does show "Partitions: None" for both of those volumes.
    We have tried placing the drives into another server to determine if the problem is with the RAID card, but we had the same results. I also tried booting to target disk mode, but the other machine can't see the volumes all the same.
    Using an external boot disk, we upgraded the RAID firmware. We also reset the SMC, as well as the PRAM. Nothing is working so far.
    AppleCare basically told me that we're SOL and have to rebuild. Unfortunately, there is some data there which was overlooked in our backup procedure. If there is any possibility of recovering the data, I'd like to try it before giving up.
    My absolute last option is to recreate the volumes exactly as they were before, then hope that I can use some manner of un-erase to recover the data. However, I'm not sure how RAID works on that level, should it just jumble the data, or if this is even remotely a feasible option.

    Port 1: Link Established
    2Gps
    Point to point
    Status light green
    In the system Profiler I'm not sure what you're asking for, I'm running 10.5.8 standard not server.
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    RAID Admin shows the JBOD disks as online and lists the LUNs etc.
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  • XServe-RAID Offsite Backup

    I was hoping to use the left controller of the RAID to backup all my clients using TimeMachine and then have the right controller mirror that on the fly (so that would be RAID 50). I was then hoping that I could swap out ALL the right controller drives to store them off-site each week.
    Would that plan be possible do you think? OK to take out all drives from the right controller at the same time, leaving the left RAID5 running on its own until the new set is put into the right controller to rebuild the RAID50 again? Make sense? Possible?
    Thank you, Grant

    However there just doesn’t appear to be any failsafe easy solution to backup the XServe RAID for offsite storage is there. Is is quite unfortunate and surprising and I would have thought there would have been a methodology worked out for this somewhere. But from what I am hearing, there isn’t.
    Xserve RAID is a storage array box, and (somewhat confusingly) it's exceedingly uncommon to back up "just a storage box." I do know a few storage controllers that offer replication capabilities, but I'm extremely suspect that the tools work reliably. Storage controllers don't have all of the context on the processing that they need to perform reliable data replication; to ensure consistency.
    It's common to perform remote replication via network and tools are available to do that. You almost certainly will end up with local customizations here, too.
    The tools are specific to particular application storage involved; there's no Server Time Machine here, as you need use (for instance) mysqldump or you need MySQL replication for a MySQL database, and a different tool for another database. Or you need quiesce the databases.
    Which leads various folks to punt on the process, to shut down down the server, and block-clone the disks involved. To quiesce the server. That too can likely be automated, with some scripting and a controlling host.
    As for the remote storage (when not using a network), getting the data off-site then depends on what removable media is available. Ultrium tape has decent capacity and good physical reliability and speed, but tends to have poor support on Mac OS X Server, and Ultrium drives and loaders tend to be expensive. Removable disks do reasonably well here, and various options are available, but they're less physically reliable than tapes. For tens of gigabytes, flash media is a potential option, though it's not the speediest of storage.
    Networking can be an option here for remote storage, depending on how small your delta (churn) and how good your compression is and how big your network pipe might be; your network pipe has to be big enough to manage your maximum available window.
    If you're looking for turn-key, there are commercial products which claim to deal with this stuff. And unless they're using mysqldump or such for databases, I'm professionally skeptical at the integrity of the archives they create on an active server. (I've watched the storage and data archive folks claim to have solved this for thirty years now. They can mostly solve it, too, for some values of mostly.)
    [Here is a MySQL mysqldump|http://labs.hoffmanlabs.com/node/1336] procedure, which can serve to show how to do daily, weekly or monthly archives, and how to run mysqldump tool from bash.
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    It'd be feasible for somebody to create a (big, hairy) tool to catch all the usual suspects on a Mac OS X Server box. But then you have to maintain it across all of the slightly-weird installations, and you also have to deal with restorations. (I'd love to write a generic one of these; this would necessarily be a superset of Time Machine. This is a big and complex project, and one that would require extensive testing.)
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  • Raid Battery Backup?

    Hi.   I'm working through new disk subsystem issues (see links below for reference).  It looks like I have a new issue to address - raid battery backup.
    My current editing system uses a battery backup.   Other than some issues lately, it's worked well.   I'm getting a new Areca 1882ix raid controller soon.   The question is, do I need a battery backup specifically for the raid controller?  E.g. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816151111 Or is a system battery backup adequate?
    Thanks,
    Dan.
    Related discussions:
    http://forums.adobe.com/message/4587655#4587655
    http://forums.adobe.com/message/4593660#4593660

    Harm,
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    Now if Areca will get their buns in gear and bring out the PCIe 3.0 version of the 1882ix... 
    Thanks and regards,
    Dan.

  • RAID - a very general question concerning stability

    Hi everyone,
    I've read quite a bit about RAID and the various types of arrays one may set up. Most posts give the following info:
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    ••• RAID 1, and other types of mirrored arrays, are safer because of the built-in duplication of the data on one or more disks.
    ••• Mirrored arrays, as a general rule, should not be used for backup purposes because, while they duplicate data, they don't replace good backup routines and are therefore susceptible to human error, fires, floods, theft, and general calamity.
    But there is one question which I cannot seem to find an answer to:
    As I understand it, the stability of any particular array depends on the stability of the disks used. I have used quite a lot of harddrives in my years but have never had a drive fail on me. Perhaps I've been lucky. Then again, I've never hooked drives up using RAID.
    My question is therefore:
    Using harddrives in any type of RAID setup, will that make them more prone to failure?
    Is it a matter of statistical risk? In other words, each drive has a certain, theoretical Mean Time Between Failure and the more drives you have the greater the theoretical MTBF.
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    /pullman

    pullman,
    No, drives do not become more susceptible to failure as a result of being included in an array.
    I'm not sure I totally agree about mirrored arrays not being good for backup purposes. In this regard, one must make the distinction between using a RAID array to make a backup, versus using the array to store a backup. In the first case, the data is stored on the array and the built-in redundancy stands in place of a de facto backup strategy. In the second, the backup strategy includes the use of a RAIDed volume to further safeguard the already-redundant backup (which is made by other means).
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    So, we get back to the age-old question: Is a single backup enough? Well, it really comes down to the critical nature of the data being backed up.
    Scott

  • Need inputs regarding the dvd drive on primary ide channel.

    Specs:
    Motherboard: MSI P35 Neo3 (MS-7935 1.0)
    CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E6550
    Memory: Team Elite DDR2800 (2x1GB Dual Channel)
    Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB 32MB Cache (SATA)
    Optical drive: LG GSA-H55L (IDE only) Firmware version 1.02
    Graphics card: Gecube HD3870
    Chipset: Intel P35/G33/G31 (Rev. A2)
    Southbridge: Intel 82801IB (ICH9)
    LPCIO: Fintek F71882F
    BIOS: AMI V1.1 (11/07/2007)
    Hello,
    Almost all new motherboards today only have a primary ide channel and the rest are SATA.
    I need inputs regarding the dvd drive which is shown in device manager as located on the primary ide channel while the hard drive is located on the secondary channel. Because I would like to update the dvd drive to the latest firmware (version 1.06; to be able to recognize more blank media) but the LG site recommends that the drive (dvd) be located on the secondary ide channel.
    I already tried to uninstall every channel from the device manager but all would still be the same after reboot, dvd drive on primary, hard drive on secondary.
    Current ide mode in BIOS is set to AHCI+IDE mode, DMA modes are fine (UDMA4 for dvd, UDMA5 for hard drive), boot sequence (1st=HD, 2nd=DVD, 3rd=Floppy drive)
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    I would like to know if anybody with this same situation was able to successfully update the optical drive's firmware or is there some way to place the optical drive on the secondary ide channel and the hard drive on primary for me to follow and replicate the process.
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    Thanks sir NovJoe for the reply.
    Just received the solution from another forum where I posted the same problem.
    They said that the flash program for the firmware will detect the drive on its own and would not flash other devices except the optical drive itself. So its pretty safe, and I can confirm this since I just flashed my ODD a little over a while ago and everything went fine. No errors.
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