Re: Backup /ALIAS question

From: David J Dachtera (djesys.nospam_at_comcast.net)
Date: 03/01/05 

Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 21:26:55 -0600

Syltrem wrote:
>
> I use /NOALIAS whenever I do a /IMAGE
>
> But the problem is on the restore operation.
> When restoring directories with aliases, I have to manually do SET
> FILE/ENTER after the restore.
>
> $ back sys$sysdevice:[sys*...]*.*.*/noalias
> $1$dga64:[temp]s.bck/sav/igno=int
> erl
> %BACKUP-W-ADNOTSAVED, alias directory SYS$SYSDEVICE:[SYS0]SYSCOMMON.DIR;1
> and it
> s directory tree not saved
> %BACKUP-W-ADNOTSAVED, alias directory SYS$SYSDEVICE:[SYS1]SYSCOMMON.DIR;1
> and it
> s directory tree not saved
> %BACKUP-W-AFNOTSAVED, alias file SYS$SYSDEVICE:[SYS0]SYSCOMMON.DIR;1 was not
> sav
> ed
> %BACKUP-W-AFNOTSAVED, alias file SYS$SYSDEVICE:[SYS1]SYSCOMMON.DIR;1 was not
> sav
> ed
> $
> $ back $1$dga64:[temp]s.bck/sav $1$dga64:[temp...]*.*.*/alias
> $ dir $1$dga64:[temp.sys0]SYSCOMMON.dir
> %DIRECT-W-NOFILES, no files found
>
> This is very cumbersome.
>
> If, otoh, I use the /ALIAS qualifier in the backup, the restore will create
> multiple copies of the files, which is somewhat worse.
>
> Anyone knows how to do a good restore with file aliases? I can recreate them
> manually because I know what they are on my system, but it's far from being
> ideal.

I believe the issue is that these kind of "links" are a bit new, coming
in with ODS-5. Up until now, it's just been a manual operation to copy
files using BACKUP or whatever and then SET FILE/ENTER to create the
aliases after. Up until now, BACKUP didn't care whether the DID in the
header matched the FID of the directory where the entry was found (dunno
if it does now, either).

So, no, I don't have an answer, either, just a suggestion: keep track of
your aliases yourself and plan on re-aliasing post-restore.

Something I haven't explored: whether BACKUP restores directories or
builds them on the fly. I'm think maybe that when restoring (no /IMAGE),
if the target directory doesn't exist, it gets created empty and is
populated on the fly. The /IMAGE behavior is likely somewhat different,
I should think, because then the directory would be restored from the
saveset and the alias entry would already be there. 

-- 
David J Dachtera
dba DJE Systems
http://www.djesys.com/
Unofficial OpenVMS Hobbyist Support Page:
http://www.djesys.com/vms/support/
Unofficial Affordable OpenVMS Home Page:
http://www.djesys.com/vms/soho/
Unofficial OpenVMS-IA32 Home Page:
http://www.djesys.com/vms/ia32/
Coming soon:
Unofficial OpenVMS Marketing Home Page

Relevant Pages

  • Re: ABC problem with disk
    ... >> to restore a system disk. ... sheep" who unwisely insist on side-stepping VMS BACKUP. ... Unofficial OpenVMS Hobbyist Support Page: ... Unofficial Affordable OpenVMS Home Page: ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • Re: (history of) BACKUP/ALIAS
    ... >> copied, not as files, but as aliases. ... What happens is that the data for alias files are ignored. ... In a restore operation, ... BACKUP/IMAGE then restores all the files, ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • Re: Backup /ALIAS question
    ... But the problem is on the restore operation. ... When restoring directories with aliases, I have to manually do SET ... If, otoh, I use the /ALIAS qualifier in the backup, the restore will create ... > /NOALIAS backs up contents of primary file entry but only file entries> of aliases. ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • Re: BACKUP weirdness
    ... This is really not good with a system disk (where aliases are heavily used). ... then BACKUP just dumps all the files in the Master File Directory. ... Can someone tell me how to restore these files into their correct ... $ RENAME SYSCOMMON.DIR SYSCOMMON_OLD.DIR ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • Re: Backup /ALIAS question
    ... >> So it appears we have to keep track of aliases if not using the ... BACKUP now attempts to restore alias or synonym file ...
    (comp.os.vms)