Hello everyone

I cannot restore a backup done on file using onbar.

We would like to backup our Informix 7.31 database from HP900 server (HPUX 10.0) to a SuSE Enterprise Linux server (Informix 7.31).

What has been done:
- Backup the HP9000 informix server to disk using NFS file system ( Has been done successfully)

- Restore on the Linux server. PROBLEM
ERROR:
2004-09-07 00:44:46 28108 28107 /informix/PRD/bin/onbar_d -r -w -p
2004-09-07 00:44:46 28108 28107 Successfully connected to Storage Manager.
2004-09-07 00:44:46 28108 28107 XBSA Error (BSAQueryObject): Backup object doe
s not exist in Storage Manager.
2004-09-07 00:44:51 28108 28107 Due to the previous error, logical restore wil
l not be attempted.
2004-09-07 00:44:51 28108 28107 /informix/PRD/bin/onbar_d: process exit 100 (0
x64)

What is missing?
We are using ISM as storage manager.

What is the "XBSA Error (BSAQueryObject): Backup object does not exist in Storage Manager."
error?

Files copied from the hp9000 to the lnx1 server.
1. After the backup has been completed, I did copy hp9000:/informix/PRD/etc/ixbar.0 to lnx1:/informix/PRD/etc/ixbar.0.

2. I did modify the file ixbar.0
changed all the hp9000prdshm to lnx1prdshm

3. copy hp9000:/informix/PRD/etc/oncfg_hp9000prdshm.0 to lnx1:/informix/PRD/etc/oncfg_lnx1prdshm.0

The I did shutdown the lnx1 PRD informix server.
run : onbar -r -p -w
/tmp/BAR_ACT.LOG:
2004-09-07 00:44:46 28108 28107 /informix/PRD/bin/onbar_d -r -w -p
2004-09-07 00:44:46 28108 28107 Successfully connected to Storage Manager.
2004-09-07 00:44:46 28108 28107 XBSA Error (BSAQueryObject): Backup object doe
s not exist in Storage Manager.
2004-09-07 00:44:51 28108 28107 Due to the previous error, logical restore wil
l not be attempted.
2004-09-07 00:44:51 28108 28107 /informix/PRD/bin/onbar_d: process exit 100 (0
x64)

What is the problem?
What did I missed?
What is the "XBSA Error" ?

Here are the config used on the HP9000:
onconfig.hp9000.prd
--------------------------
# Backup/Restore variables
BAR_ACT_LOG /tmp/bar_act.log
BAR_MAX_BACKUP 4
BAR_RETRY 0
BAR_NB_XPORT_COUNT 10
BAR_XFER_BUF_SIZE 31
RESTARTABLE_RESTORE on
BAR_BOOT_DIR /informix/PRD/etc
BAR_PROGRESS_FREQ 0
ISM_DATA_POOL ISMData
ISM_LOG_POOL ISMLogs

SCRIPT FILE USED TO LAUNCH ISM:
---------------------------------------
SM_DISKDEV1=/dump/PRD/ISM_ARC
SM_DISKDEV2=/dump/PRD/ISM_LOGS
${INFORMIXDIR}/bin/ism_startup -init
${INFORMIXDIR}/bin/ism_add -device $SM_DISKDEV1 -type file
${INFORMIXDIR}/bin/ism_add -device $SM_DISKDEV2 -type file
${INFORMIXDIR}/bin/ism_op -label $SM_DISKDEV1 -volume 1 -pool ISMData
${INFORMIXDIR}/bin/ism_op -label $SM_DISKDEV2 -volume 2 -pool ISMLogs
${INFORMIXDIR}/bin/ism_op -mount $SM_DISKDEV1
${INFORMIXDIR}/bin/ism_op -mount $SM_DISKDEV2
${INFORMIXDIR}/bin/ism_add -admin informix@hp9000

Here is the config of the LNX1 server:
-----------------------------------------
it is the same has hp9000. Only the script to start ISM has been changed for the following line:
${INFORMIXDIR}/bin/ism_add -admin informix@hp9000
to
${INFORMIXDIR}/bin/ism_add -admin informix@lnx1

The file ixbar.0 has been copied from
hp9000:/informix/PRD/etc/ixbar.0 to lnx1:/informix/PRD/etc/ixbar.0

the file lnx1:/informix/PRD/etc/ixbar.0 has been altered to change hp9000prdshm by lnx1prdshm

the file oncfg_hp9000prdshm.0 has been copied from hp9000 to lnx1.

All suggestion will be highly appreciated.

Ignore my other post.

Did you find onbar documentation? It isn't that easy moving a backup from one server to another unfortunately. The one drawback to onbar. It can be done, but it is a sorta complicated, dozen step process. The one time I tried it, it took me a couple of tries before I got all the steps right. If I get time I will see if I can find those steps for you.

Hi,

I think that himself it cannot be done a restore on different hardware.
One possibility to copy the raw-devices of a server to another.
Or dbexport and dbimport. Not onload-onunload.

Gustavo.

You really need to find a copy of the IBM Informix Storage Manage - Administrator's Guide. The steps you need to perform are on pages 5-8 through 5-16. If you can post your fax number, I can fax those pages to you.

Basically you need to restore the ISM database over to the other server. The ISM that onbar uses contains info about the backups performed. So on the new machine when you tell it to do a restore as far as it knows you have no backup to restore from, because that info is still only on the old machine. Unfortunately it isn't as simple as just copying over a few files.

Hi,

I've been playing with the same "problem", there is a fast but radical solution to restore the backup taken on one machine to another. The steps are:

1. take level 0 backup on source server


-----------------------------
1. Initialize ISM on target Machine
2. Create devices and volumes
3. Shutdown ISM
4. Copy from source system $INFORMIX/ism/index and $INFORMIX/ism/mm
directories to target.
Example: (on Source)
# cd $INFORMIXDIR/ism
# tar cvf ISM_source.tar index mm

5. Transfer the tar file and install on target
Example: (on target)
# cd /$INFORMIXDIR/ism
# ftp source_host_name
ftp cd $INFORMIXDIR/ism
ftp bin
ftp get ISM_source.tar
# rm -rf index mm {remove existing index and mm)
# tar xvf ISM_source.tar
# nsrck -c (recreates client indexes)
# ism_startup (restart ISM server on target)

6. Mount transferred Volume(s)

------------------------------------
1. Move the source $ONCONFIG to the target
2. Move the source sqlhosts file to the target
3. move the ixbar file from the source server to the target server
4. move the bootstrap from the source server to to the target server.
5. change the server number on the target to match the source server
6. change the host name on the target to match the source Host.
8. change the target hostname to source hostname in /etc/hosts
7. perform the restore onbar -r -w or onbar -r
8. change the servername,host etc back to target name and bounce the server

This worked perfectly on my test, but like I said, you have to play with the server name, hosts, and bounce the engine. On my environment I'm allowed to do these things so its a lot faster thant going through the "12 step program" given in the ISM manual.

Hi

lgaxiola:
Thank you for your reply. Unfortunatly your solution is not applicable on my case. I cannot change the hostname. That would cause to much problems. But if I had test environment system, I would probably do it your way.

Gurey:
Your solution is not viable. I need to restore from a backup. I need to copy a production system to a test system at least ones a month. The dbexport and dbimport is too long. Beacause I am doing backups each day of the production system, I just wish to restore it to another system and instance.

Cpaluch:
I did find the Informix Storage Manager documentation.
I am trying to follow the instruction form the "To restore the data from ISMto the targetr database server" section page 5-18.

I am not sure that I am using the right section. But I did follow the instruction step by step with the following problem.

Step 1: Login informix
Step 2: Shutdown server
Step 3: Configure ISM environment variable
ISM_CLIENT=LNX1 # Backup done on server LNX1
ISM_SERVER=LNX2 # Restore to perform on server LNX2
ISM_DATA_VOLUME_POOL=ISMData
ISM_LOG_VOLUME_POOL=ISMLogs
export ISM_CLIENT ISM_SERVER
export ISM_DATA_VOLUME_POOL
export ISM_LOG_VOLUME_POOL

Step 5: login with root
ism_catalog -recreate_from /backup/PRD/ISM_ARC
------ PROBLEM
root> ./ism_catalog -recreate_from /dump/PRD/ISM_ARC
scanner: scanning file disk 1 on /dump/PRD/ISM_ARC
scanner: adding file disk 1 to pool ISMData
scanner: no client resource found for host `LNX1',
no index entries to be saved for save set `INFORMIX:/lnx1prdshm/rootdbs/0' (ssid 352867214)

The system stay like this. I left that message all night and at the morning nothing changed. What does that mean?

The lnx1prdshm is not on the restore server. It is on the backup server.

What did I do wrong?

Additional information.

What ever the following step I am trying to on useing the Informix Storage Manager, when I am using the onbar -r command I have the following error message in the bar_act.log file:

XBSA Error (BSAQueryObject): Backup object does not exist in Storage Manager.

What is that message? How can I solve that problem?

What you are trying to do in fact is an imported restore.
The procedure for doing this is described in :

Informix Backup and restore guide
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/epubs/pdf/ct1slna.pdf

pages 6-32 to 6-35

Informix Storage Manager admin guide

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/epubs/pdf/8348.pdf

pages 5-8 to 5-18

I've already used this (somewhat long) procedure to set up High Availability replication at it worked perfectly.

Best regards

Koen

Sorry,

I did not take into account the different platform HP-UXbackup and Suse Linux -restore.

Onbar restores for achieving this goal are not supported.

You can export-import or (easier)
1. create a schema (-ss) of your db's
2. create the databases on Suse
3. make sure you have enough logspace or put both source and target db in nologging mode
4. define HP-UX TPC/IP db serverconnection in SQLHOSTS on new SUSE box.
test the connection.
5. Make user you will be doing the copy in SUSE with trusted on HP-box.
6. Copy over data of all tables using " select into targettable select * from hpdb@hptcpipserver:sourcetable" on new Suse box.

Best regards

Koen
Best regards
Koen