Re: (history of) BACKUP/ALIAS

From: AEF (spamsink2001_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 04/12/05 

Date: 11 Apr 2005 17:58:22 -0700

JF Mezei wrote:
> Phillip Helbig---remove CLOTHES to reply wrote:
> > tried out all the combinations. But the HELP says that /NOALIAS
will
> > IGNORE alias file entries---I don't want them ignored, I want them
> > copied, not as files, but as aliases. I can't see why anyone doing
an
> > image copy would want anything else.

What happens is that the data for alias files are ignored. The aliases
ARE copied as aliases.

>
> The help text and documentation are very confusing.
>
>
> However, onsider that the alias is really just an extra record in a
> directory file.

Correct. Using /IMAGE/ALIAS to build a save set will save an extra copy
of the file (in the save set) per alias entry for that file. This just
wastes time.

Normally you want BACKUP/IMAGE to get only one copy of each file (to a
save set), including all the .DIR files. In a restore operation,
BACKUP/IMAGE then restores all the files, including the .DIR files
(which contain all the alias entries if any). This will restore all
aliases.

>---o---<

As I've said before, the only advantage I can see to copying the same
file repeatedly (to a save set), once for each of its aliases (and once
for the primary entry!), is that you can then use /SELECT to restore
said file by any of its alias names. In some situations you may want
that, but it's going to cost you in extra processing time.

> (is there also an entry in indexf.sys ?)

No.

>
> If backup gets the contents of the directory file, when that
directory
> file is restored, it will have a pointer to the original file.

Correct, assuming /IMAGE is used during both the save and restore
operations.

>
>
> Perhaps the help text should simply state that /NOALIAS will not
process
> the CONTENTS of alias file in order to avoid the contents being
backed
> up multiple times.. This woudl make it easier to understand that the
> alias entry itself would be preserved.

OK. Even better: Explicitly state that skipping the alias files with
/NOALIAS will not prevent a proper restore.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: (history of) BACKUP/ALIAS
    ... > ARE copied as aliases. ... It helps to remember that directories are *files*, and that an alias ... directory entry will get backed up with the ... In a restore operation, ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • Re: Word looks for another server on the network
    ... Pictures alias removed the AFP Connection Status dialog. ... If Word is interested in obtaining a resource, ... In the dialog that comes up after the request fails. ... I did not delete any aliases, ...
    (microsoft.public.mac.office.word)
  • Re: Duplicate/False Mount Points
    ... to the aliases appearing in /Volumes. ... somehow that alias carries info about the drive's contents. ... When you mount a volume, it has to appear *somewhere* in the file ... root of the startup file system. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.system)
  • Re: Migrating from one server to another
    ... - where one of the aliases seems to become the ... unconfigure that alias to move it somewhere, ... for actually configuring stuff on the servers themselves.) ... We do not have them in the ODM. ...
    (AIX-L)
  • Re: Parse style names into alias segments?
    ... The delimiters in alias names can turn into semicolons then, ... I like the idea of incorporating the comma delimiters in the comparison. ... But now I'm asked to add aliases to my standard set of styles. ... segment of the style name, then evaluate each segment, ...
    (microsoft.public.word.vba.general)