This article was written some months go, but only published today. I recently acquired a new tape auto-changer / library. I have already run some simple tests on the library, and all seems well. I already have an existing Bacula installation and my plan is to add this new auto-changer into that. The Devices The following is a list of the devices associated with my auto-changer. The output has been trimmed to exclude
Adding a tape library to Bacula Read More »
I’ve been using Bacula since early 2004. I’ve been using FreeBSD since 1998. Jails are a relatively newcomer. I starting using it later in 2004. But it’s only recently that I’ve started using them intensively. Backups are always a touchy subject. With ezjail, the files you need to backup are greatly reduced. You’re not backing up the base OS, just the local files. I’ve created a fileset which seems to do the right
ezjail-jail: making a full backup of a FreeBSD jail with Bacula Read More »
I’ve been moving services from one server to another. Manually. My Bacula server is now running in a FreeBSD jail. I just got ready to copy backups from disk to tape. But one aspect was failing: updating my statistics. After each tape job, I collect statistics on that tape, with respect to tape errors. That is done via SSH. The job error was: 05-Jun 13:52 bacula-dir JobId 132208: shell command: run AfterJob “/home/dan/bin/dlt-stats-kraken”
Bacula – AfterJob: Host key verification failed Read More »
One of the challenges of providing hands-on demonstrations is giving everyone their own sandbox to play in. I don’t want people to spend time on installing software. I want people to learn about the software in question, specifically Bacula. With this in mind, I’ve been building up a solution based on FreeBSD 9.1, ZFS, and jails. My solution is pretty nifty, but I don’t think it’s anything special. The key is simplicity. The
The Bacula Tutorial jail server Read More »
From time to time, my Bacula – space and time website shows some old jobs that need to be copied to tape. Stuff from 100 days or more. There’s no reason to copy stuff that old to tape. It’s already been copied to tape. So why does it appear? Last night I swapped some tapes in the tape library. This morning they would have been used and recycled. I’ll bet that those tapes
Deleting old Bacula Volumes Read More »
Sometimes, you need to restore. But you don’t know when the file changed. Here’s a simple SQL query which shows me that information: And here is the output Based on that output, I want to look at restoring from Jan 13 and before. That’s when the filesize change last changed from 172KB.
Bacula: When did that file change size? Read More »
I think I’m now at the point where I have all the hardware assembled and it’s ready for testing. Now I’m trying to determine what set of fio tests to run. If you know of a set of standard tests, or just have some of your own, please let me know in the comments. The hardware The disks I have assembled are all available via the LSI 9211-8i. The basic hardware specs are:
The hardware is ready. What tests to run? Read More »
This article talks about FreeBSD 8.2 and how device names might change when you add new devices to an existing system. The other day, when I was telling you about the new tape library, one of the important bits was the device names. The existing tape drive was sa0. The new one was sa1. That’s good. But today, after a system reboot, the tape drives are renumbered. Here is what I had: Today,
Hardcoding device names Read More »
As recently written, I have acquired a tape library with a 15-tape magazine. It contains a DLT-8000 tape drive which, although it is no longer state-of-the-art, is a step up from the DLT-7000 I am currently using. Today, I will try using this unit for the first time. I’ll do a simple write, try changing tapes, etc. I’ll be using my previous postings on this topic, such as one on using tape libraries
Testing a tape library Read More »
Recently, I rearranged the bottom shelf of my rack and rotated the DEC library 90°. Then I placed a new [to me] Overland DLT MinilibraryXpress (model LXM8115). I plugged the cable from my server into the Overland unit and daisy-chained that to the DEC library. The grey cable which leads up and out of the photo leads to the server. The cable which leads slightly up and to the left and then loops
Adding a new tape library Read More »