RE: Cygrunsrv and backups

RE: Cygrunsrv and backups

[Craveiro, Marco]

Don, i'm sorry about being such a pain but i have googled for a bit with no
luck :-(
on my status i dont get the remaining blocks, only the total capacity. i
then did a status 3 which tells me that "reports remaining" is set to "no".
so i'm assuming i have this option disabled. i couldnt find no info on the
net on how to enable it.  is this some kind of hardware thing, as in my
drive does not support it or is it just a software preference? and if it is
how do i set to yes, do you know?

thanks mate.

marco

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Don Sharp [SMTP:dwsharp@iee.org]
> Sent:	29 April 2002 02:21
> To:	gnuwin32
> Subject:	Re: Cygrunsrv and backups
> 
> "Craveiro, Marco" wrote:
> > 
> > "Don Sharp" wrote:
> > 
> > > > anyway, there's just one thing i dont understand on your script:
> > > >
> > > >         mt -f /dev/nst0 tell
> > > >
> > > > why do you need this?
> > > >
> > >
> > > One doesn't strictly need it. I use it to tell me how near to a full
> > > tape I am using so I reshuffle what goes on which tape when it proves
> > > necessary.
> > >
> >         hey, that is quite cool as I want to add 2 tests to my script
> (is
> > the tape full, is the tape empty). how do i interpret the tell output,
> i.e.
> > whats the max blocks on a compressed dds-2 tape?
> 
> The initial
> 
> mt -f /dev/nst0 status
> 
> reports
> 
> tape capacity    :  1760887 KB          remaining        :  1760887 KB
> current block    :        0             write protected  :      
> no             datcompression   :       on
> 
> Note the tape capacity report. This is NOT a constant as bad blocks are
> removed from the capacity automatically. The tape is a DDS-1 of
> nominally 2Gb capacity.
> 
> The tape blocks reported by "tell" depends on the blocking set before.
> In my case because I am using default tar blocking it reports in 10K
> blocks. However I have noticed that if I run an NT backup beforehand,
> "tell" reports in 1K blocks. I believe that you can set the block size
> for the hardware using "mt".
> 
> HTH
> 
> Don Sharp

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Re: Cygrunsrv and backups

[Don Sharp]

"Craveiro, Marco" wrote:
> 
> Don, i'm sorry about being such a pain but i have googled for a bit with no
> luck :-(
> on my status i dont get the remaining blocks, only the total capacity. i
> then did a status 3 which tells me that "reports remaining" is set to "no".
> so i'm assuming i have this option disabled. i couldnt find no info on the
> net on how to enable it.  is this some kind of hardware thing, as in my
> drive does not support it or is it just a software preference? and if it is
> how do i set to yes, do you know?
> 

Sorry no. I suspect its a hardware capability.

Cheers

Don Sharp

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Re: Cygrunsrv and backups

[Don Sharp]

"Craveiro, Marco" wrote:
> 
> "Don Sharp" wrote:
> 
> > > anyway, there's just one thing i dont understand on your script:
> > >
> > >         mt -f /dev/nst0 tell
> > >
> > > why do you need this?
> > >
> >
> > One doesn't strictly need it. I use it to tell me how near to a full
> > tape I am using so I reshuffle what goes on which tape when it proves
> > necessary.
> >
>         hey, that is quite cool as I want to add 2 tests to my script (is
> the tape full, is the tape empty). how do i interpret the tell output, i.e.
> whats the max blocks on a compressed dds-2 tape?

The initial

mt -f /dev/nst0 status

reports

tape capacity    :  1760887 KB          remaining        :  1760887 KB
current block    :        0             write protected  :      
no             datcompression   :       on

Note the tape capacity report. This is NOT a constant as bad blocks are
removed from the capacity automatically. The tape is a DDS-1 of
nominally 2Gb capacity.

The tape blocks reported by "tell" depends on the blocking set before.
In my case because I am using default tar blocking it reports in 10K
blocks. However I have noticed that if I run an NT backup beforehand,
"tell" reports in 1K blocks. I believe that you can set the block size
for the hardware using "mt".

HTH

Don Sharp

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RE: Cygrunsrv and backups

[Craveiro, Marco]

"Don Sharp" wrote:

> > anyway, there's just one thing i dont understand on your script:
> > 
> >         mt -f /dev/nst0 tell
> > 
> > why do you need this?
> > 
> 
> One doesn't strictly need it. I use it to tell me how near to a full
> tape I am using so I reshuffle what goes on which tape when it proves
> necessary.
> 
	hey, that is quite cool as I want to add 2 tests to my script (is
the tape full, is the tape empty). how do i interpret the tell output, i.e.
whats the max blocks on a compressed dds-2 tape?

	marco


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Re: Cygrunsrv and backups

[Don Sharp]

"Craveiro, Marco" wrote:
> 
> oh mate, thanks for that, could have saved me hours of digging -
> unfortunately i receive the cygwin digest at the end of the day :-( need to
> change that.
> 
> anyway, there's just one thing i dont understand on your script:
> 
>         mt -f /dev/nst0 tell
> 
> why do you need this?
> 

One doesn't strictly need it. I use it to tell me how near to a full
tape I am using so I reshuffle what goes on which tape when it proves
necessary.

A further point of note is that one should no longer do mounts of tape
devices. For a while now they have been automatically available as
/dev/[n]st[01..] if present on the system. Look it up in the archives
around early to mid-November last year.

Cheers

Don Sharp

> cheers!
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Don Sharp [SMTP:dwsharp@iee.org]
> > Sent: 26 April 2002 06:09
> > To:   gnuwin32
> > Subject:      Re: Cygrunsrv and backups
> >
> > If you have experience of backing up using tar on Unix then you can do
> > the same with cygwin. Tape positioning with "mt" on the no-rewind
> > editions of the tape device (e.g. /dev/nst0).
> >
> > My backup script looks like
> >
> > #!/usr/bin/sh
> > mt -f /dev/nst0 status
> > echo "Archive T: starting at `date`"
> > cd /dost
> > tar cf /dev/nst0 *
> > mt -f /dev/nst0 tell
> > sleep 30
> > echo "Archive D: starting at `date`"
> > cd /cygdrive/d
> > tar cf /dev/nst0 *
> > mt -f /dev/nst0 tell
> > sleep 30
> > echo "Archive finished at `date`"
> > mt -f /dev/nst0 rewoffl
> >
> > The sleeps may not be necessary but I have had problems in the pass with
> > streaming tapes when I haven't include them.
> >
> > Hope that helps
> >
> > Don Sharp
> >

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RE: Cygrunsrv and backups

[Heribert Dahms]

Hi Don,

not cywgin-specific, but...
I would never give a * to a backup,
because you'll loose hidden files (.foo)
better use a dot: tar cf /dev/nst0 .


Bye, Heribert (heribert_dahms@icon-scm.com)

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Don Sharp [SMTP:dwsharp@iee.org]
> Sent:	Friday, April 26, 2002 15:09
> To:	gnuwin32
> Subject:	Re: Cygrunsrv and backups
> 
	[Heribert]  [snip]

> cd /dost
> tar cf /dev/nst0 *
> 
	[Heribert]  [snip]


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RE: Cygrunsrv and backups

[Craveiro, Marco]

oh mate, thanks for that, could have saved me hours of digging -
unfortunately i receive the cygwin digest at the end of the day :-( need to
change that. 

anyway, there's just one thing i dont understand on your script:

	mt -f /dev/nst0 tell

why do you need this?

cheers!
> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Don Sharp [SMTP:dwsharp@iee.org]
> Sent:	26 April 2002 06:09
> To:	gnuwin32
> Subject:	Re: Cygrunsrv and backups
> 
> If you have experience of backing up using tar on Unix then you can do
> the same with cygwin. Tape positioning with "mt" on the no-rewind
> editions of the tape device (e.g. /dev/nst0).
> 
> My backup script looks like
> 
> #!/usr/bin/sh
> mt -f /dev/nst0 status
> echo "Archive T: starting at `date`"
> cd /dost
> tar cf /dev/nst0 *
> mt -f /dev/nst0 tell
> sleep 30
> echo "Archive D: starting at `date`"
> cd /cygdrive/d
> tar cf /dev/nst0 *
> mt -f /dev/nst0 tell
> sleep 30
> echo "Archive finished at `date`"
> mt -f /dev/nst0 rewoffl
> 
> The sleeps may not be necessary but I have had problems in the pass with
> streaming tapes when I haven't include them.
> 
> Hope that helps
> 
> Don Sharp
> 
> "Craveiro, Marco" wrote:
> > 
> > Huh, before I starting getting flamed, may I just add that there is
> plenty
> > of documentation about ssh and cron on the mailing list, I just made the
> > mistake of using google instead of searching the mailing list directly.
> > Apologies.
> > 
> > I am still searching for docs on backing up, so if you got info on that
> > please let me know.
> > 
> > Thanks!
> > 
> > marco
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Craveiro, Marco
> > Sent: 26 April 2002 09:37
> > To: cygwin@cygwin.com
> > Subject: Cygrunsrv and backups
> > 
> > Hello cygwiners!
> > 
> > First many thanks for a great product, its getting greater with each
> > release. Contrary to some people on this list I have had no problems
> with
> > it. in fact, I have just finished installing it on a production server
> (nt
> > 4.0) and two workstations (w2k and XP) without any problems whatsoever;
> > setup.exe is brilliant. Also, huge thanks for the person that put in the
> > script that configures TeX, I was just about to start reading the
> howto's
> > :-))
> > 
> > Now, for my problem: I need to start backing up data using cygwin. I did
> a
> > search on the web but there are no obvious docs about it. Can someone
> point
> > me to:
> > 
> > - docs (or posts) talking about setting up cron and ssh as a service, or
> > describing cygrunsrv with different services. I have found a brilliant
> howto
> > for
> > Inetd, is there something like that for these other services?
> > - docs (or posts) talking about backing up data using cygwin: how do you
> > rewind the tape, Append data, etc.
> > 
> > If none or some of it is not possible please let me know.
> > 
> > Thanks for your time!
> > 
> > Marco
> > 
> > --
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RE: Cygrunsrv and backups

[Craveiro, Marco]

hi all,

--Chuck wrote:
> Dunno...but you might look into rsync via ssh; both have been ported to 
> cygwin and work well.

i ended up not looking into rsync because i found lots of documentation on
the web (including on the cygwin mailinglist) on how to use mt / tar. i have
compiled my findings into the attached document; hopefully other backup
newbies will find it helpful. er, cygwiners please bare in mind it is very
basic as this is my first shot at UNIX backups!! 

my script is now working but there are some points i would like to clarify.
I marked those as QUESTION, if someone can help me with them i would be
immensely grateful. Also, let me know if anything is incorrect / just plain
wrong.

thanks.

marco

backing up using cygwin and dat tapes
------------------------

there are several steps required:

STEP 1. Mount the device. Windows sees the dat tape as "//./tape0", and you
can mount it by issuing:

$ mount -f -s -b "//./tape0" "/dev/st0"

or 

$ mount -f -s -b "//./tape0" "/dev/nst0"

this tells the cygwin utilities that there is a tape device on the
system. The first version of the command lets the drive rewind the
media automatically; the second version is called no-rewind, and this
means the tape has to be rewound manually (notice the "n" on
/dev/Nst0). this is the preferred mode.

QUESTION: once you mount it, it stays permanently mounted. If you try
to unmount it you get an error message. how do you unmount it?

STEP 2. although most drives automatically rewind tapes on insertion, you
should make sure the tape is at the beginning by rewinding it manually. you
do
that with mt (magnetic tape):

$ mt -f "/dev/nst0" rewind

if there is no tape on the drive, this will result on an error
message, similar to:

mt: /dev/nst0: Permission denied

If you create a backup script, it is a good idea to test for this at
the beginning of it.

STEP 3. you can skip this step if you are using a new tape or if you are
going to overwrite the
existing data. 

if you want to append data to the tape it must be positioned at the right
place before 
you start writing. there are two ways of doing this:

$ mt -f "/dev/nst0" fsf 1

this command forward skips the tape by n files, being n in this case 1.

if you don't know how many files are on the tape, you can move directly to
the end:

$ mt -f "/dev/nst0" eod

do NOT confuse "eod" (end of data) with eot. see mt's man page for
details. 

QUESTION: what happens if my backup is bigger than one tape?

STEP 4. write the file with the tar command:

$ tar -zcf /dev/nst0 /home

here, I am backing up all home directories. Check the tar man page for
details of how to use tar.

if there are more files to write, keep on issuing new tar commands and they
will be stored sequentially on the tape. (by "more files" we mean more
tarballs, as each tarball can have many files).

at this point it is perhaps a good idea to add the backed up file to the
label of the tape. this makes things easier when testing / recovering.

STEP 5. make sure the backup was successful. 

STEP 5.1. first rewind the tape:
 
$ mt -f /dev/nst0 bsf 1

where 1 is the number of files you recently backed up. You can also
rewind the tape completely (see STEP 2).

STEP 5.2. when you are at the right position check the contents of the
tarball:

$ tar -ztf /dev/nst0

If tar displays the correct list of files on the screen the backup was
successful. Repeat the process for each tarball you created.

STEP 6. when finished testing, rewind the tape (STEP 2)

STEP 7. Eject the tape:

$ mt -f /dev/nst0 offline

the backup is completed. to restore the data, move to the right
position on the tape (STEP 3), and use tar:

$ tar -zxf /dev/nst0 

this restores the data onto the current folder.

NOTES: 

- It is usual to have all of these steps on a shell script. there are
  many examples of these on the web.

- as far as I am aware, all of the following steps apply to LINUX (and
  other GNU based unices) as well, with the exception of first step
  (you don't mount the media).

- you can use hardware compression on the drive, through mt's
  options. If you do so, do not compress the data again with the "z"
  option of tar.


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Re: Cygrunsrv and backups

[Don Sharp]

If you have experience of backing up using tar on Unix then you can do
the same with cygwin. Tape positioning with "mt" on the no-rewind
editions of the tape device (e.g. /dev/nst0).

My backup script looks like

#!/usr/bin/sh
mt -f /dev/nst0 status
echo "Archive T: starting at `date`"
cd /dost
tar cf /dev/nst0 *
mt -f /dev/nst0 tell
sleep 30
echo "Archive D: starting at `date`"
cd /cygdrive/d
tar cf /dev/nst0 *
mt -f /dev/nst0 tell
sleep 30
echo "Archive finished at `date`"
mt -f /dev/nst0 rewoffl

The sleeps may not be necessary but I have had problems in the pass with
streaming tapes when I haven't include them.

Hope that helps

Don Sharp

"Craveiro, Marco" wrote:
> 
> Huh, before I starting getting flamed, may I just add that there is plenty
> of documentation about ssh and cron on the mailing list, I just made the
> mistake of using google instead of searching the mailing list directly.
> Apologies.
> 
> I am still searching for docs on backing up, so if you got info on that
> please let me know.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> marco
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Craveiro, Marco
> Sent: 26 April 2002 09:37
> To: cygwin@cygwin.com
> Subject: Cygrunsrv and backups
> 
> Hello cygwiners!
> 
> First many thanks for a great product, its getting greater with each
> release. Contrary to some people on this list I have had no problems with
> it. in fact, I have just finished installing it on a production server (nt
> 4.0) and two workstations (w2k and XP) without any problems whatsoever;
> setup.exe is brilliant. Also, huge thanks for the person that put in the
> script that configures TeX, I was just about to start reading the howto's
> :-))
> 
> Now, for my problem: I need to start backing up data using cygwin. I did a
> search on the web but there are no obvious docs about it. Can someone point
> me to:
> 
> - docs (or posts) talking about setting up cron and ssh as a service, or
> describing cygrunsrv with different services. I have found a brilliant howto
> for
> Inetd, is there something like that for these other services?
> - docs (or posts) talking about backing up data using cygwin: how do you
> rewind the tape, Append data, etc.
> 
> If none or some of it is not possible please let me know.
> 
> Thanks for your time!
> 
> Marco
> 
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Re: Cygrunsrv and backups

[Charles Wilson]

Craveiro, Marco wrote:

> Huh, before I starting getting flamed, may I just add that there is plenty
> of documentation about ssh and cron on the mailing list, I just made the
> mistake of using google instead of searching the mailing list directly.
> Apologies.


actually, google does a better job of indexing the cygwin mailing list 
than sourceware's search engine.  You just need to put 'site:cygwin.com' 
in your google search string.

 
> I am still searching for docs on backing up, so if you got info on that
> please let me know.


Dunno...but you might look into rsync via ssh; both have been ported to 
cygwin and work well.

--Chuck



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RE: Cygrunsrv and backups

[Craveiro, Marco]

Huh, before I starting getting flamed, may I just add that there is plenty
of documentation about ssh and cron on the mailing list, I just made the
mistake of using google instead of searching the mailing list directly.
Apologies.

I am still searching for docs on backing up, so if you got info on that
please let me know.

Thanks!

marco

-----Original Message-----
From: Craveiro, Marco 
Sent: 26 April 2002 09:37
To: cygwin@cygwin.com
Subject: Cygrunsrv and backups


Hello cygwiners!

First many thanks for a great product, its getting greater with each
release. Contrary to some people on this list I have had no problems with
it. in fact, I have just finished installing it on a production server (nt
4.0) and two workstations (w2k and XP) without any problems whatsoever;
setup.exe is brilliant. Also, huge thanks for the person that put in the
script that configures TeX, I was just about to start reading the howto's
:-))

Now, for my problem: I need to start backing up data using cygwin. I did a
search on the web but there are no obvious docs about it. Can someone point
me to:

- docs (or posts) talking about setting up cron and ssh as a service, or
describing cygrunsrv with different services. I have found a brilliant howto
for 
Inetd, is there something like that for these other services?
- docs (or posts) talking about backing up data using cygwin: how do you
rewind the tape, Append data, etc.

If none or some of it is not possible please let me know.

Thanks for your time!

Marco 



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Cygrunsrv and backups

[Craveiro, Marco]

Hello cygwiners!

First many thanks for a great product, its getting greater with each
release. Contrary to some people on this list I have had no problems with
it. in fact, I have just finished installing it on a production server (nt
4.0) and two workstations (w2k and XP) without any problems whatsoever;
setup.exe is brilliant. Also, huge thanks for the person that put in the
script that configures TeX, I was just about to start reading the howto's
:-))

Now, for my problem: I need to start backing up data using cygwin. I did a
search on the web but there are no obvious docs about it. Can someone point
me to:

- docs (or posts) talking about setting up cron and ssh as a service, or
describing cygrunsrv with different services. I have found a brilliant howto
for 
Inetd, is there something like that for these other services?
- docs (or posts) talking about backing up data using cygwin: how do you
rewind the tape,
Append data, etc.

If none or some of it is not possible please let me know.

Thanks for your time!

Marco 



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