[Nottingham] Tape Backup failure

[David Wolfson]

OK, so I've been trying to sort out the next problem on this server and this one is fairly critical.  It has a DAT drive fitted which the boss likes to tell people backs up nightly, so save all data there.  This is despite repeated efforts on my part to tell hiim otherwise!  It doesn't work.  It used to, but not for a long time... I fear I may have tinkered in the past, however I've now managed to get the SMTP mail working, so get reminded of the fact it doesn't work everyday when I check my e-mail (my own worst enemy?).  

The setup is as follows;  contab runs the following script each night and I get an error message:

---script----
# !/bin/bash
# Backup script run daily @4am
date >>/root/log/backup.log

mt -f /dev/st0 rewind
tar -czf /dev/st0 /home

if [ $? -eq 0 ]
	then 
	echo "verified">>/root/log/backup.log
	echo "pepdm1 backup verified" |smbclient -M peaxdrw
	echo 'pepdm1 verified'|mail -s 'backup' eaxdrw at nottingham.ac.uk 
	else 
	echo "errors in verify" >>/root/log/backup.log
	echo "pepdm1 backup error" |smbclient -M peaxdrw
	echo 'pepdm1 error'|mail -s 'backup' eaxdrw at nottingham.ac.uk 
fi

mt -f /dev/st0 rewoffl

----error mail-----

tar: Removing leading `/' from member names
tar (child): /dev/st0: Cannot open: Read-only file system
tar (child): Error is not recoverable: exiting now
/bin/backup: line 13: 28012 Broken pipe             tar -czf /dev/st0 /home

Now before you ask, I know I'm pretty cabbage looking but I'm not green enough to have not check that the tape isn't write protected.  It's not.  

I've been tinkering a bit, which has only srvered to confuse me further.  
Tinker #1- change the script so that it just backs up my home folder to the tape.  This also works, and even sends all the verified messages to tell me so :-)
Tinker #2- change the scrpit to backup /home locally.  This works and gives a tarball of ~2849Mb.  The tapes are 24Gb, so to my mind this should fit...

Any suggestions?  Tinker #1 suggests that writing to the tape works, and #2 that the tarball should fit.  Do I need to do anything to erase the old archive first?  I hoped that rewinding the tape should do it...

Thanks once again,

Dave

___________________________
David Wolfson

Institute of Biomechanics
School of 4M
University of Nottingham

eaxdrw at nottingham.ac.uk
Tel: 0115 951 3277


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