sqevans Posted May 21, 2010 Report Share Posted May 21, 2010 Hi, Again.... Last night, in the middle of the night, while backing up from disk to tape, I got the "flashing black question mark" and it says that it "needs media", but the tape is nowhere near full....and I can't seem to get it to reset itself. What caused this? How do I fix? Here is the error (there is no time stamp on the error, so I don't know how long it took to get there): + Normal backup using Thursday Tape at 5/20/2010 11:00 PM (Execution unit 1) To Media Set Media Set Thursday... - 5/20/2010 11:00:01 PM: Copying Backup-Bay2 > !Trouble writing: "1-Media Set Thursday" (1542455296), error -205 ( unknown) !Trouble writing media: "1-Media Set Thursday" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqevans Posted May 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2010 This is now happening every time Retrospect tries to backup to tape, which results in nothing happening. So now, nothing is backing up. Can anybody guide me to somewhere to go for help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallMeDave Posted May 23, 2010 Report Share Posted May 23, 2010 I got the "flashing black question mark" and it says that it "needs media", but the tape is nowhere near full....and I can't seem to get it to reset itself. [color:purple]!Trouble writing media[/color] The log states that Retrospect is unable to write to that tape. So it's asking for another tape to write to. Completely expected and desire behavior. You can't "reset" a tape that Retrospect has been unable to write to; you can only erase the tape completely and use it as a fresh Member of this (or any other) Media Set. This is now happening every time Retrospect tries to backup to tape Every time Retrospect tries to write to this tape? Or to any tape? If it's the former, it's likely an issue with just that tape. If it's the latter, it could be an issue with the drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqevans Posted May 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2010 It is happening to every tape now. The only way I seem to be able to fix it is to power cycle the tandberg tape unit. It writes for a while, and then seems to "lose the media" The drive has barely been used. Bought it about 6 months ago, and am just getting the servers up and running, so it's new in principle. Any ideas? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallMeDave Posted May 23, 2010 Report Share Posted May 23, 2010 Given the possibility that it's a hardware issue, [color:purple]"the tandberg tape unit"[/color] simply isn't enough information for others to make suggestions. Please provide a _complete_ description of your hardware, software, host adapter (if present), driver, firmware, etc etc etc. If there are native tools available for your tape drive, have you run to them? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniels Posted May 24, 2010 Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 The other question is how old are the tapes you are trying to use? If the tapes are old or have been used in a different type of device the tandberg tape unit may not be reading them correctly. I had this problem when I tried to move AIT-3 tapes that were used in Sony tape drive into Overland Storage Powerloader. I had to go through three units until finding out the tapes were bad. I would suggest checking the tandberg tape unit with new media and see if you get the same results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqevans Posted May 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 Hi Gentlemen, thanks for your responses. To answer: The tape drive is a Tandberg LTO-3 T24 autoloader. When I look online via a webrowser, it says it is an Exabyte Magnum 224, if that helps. The tapes are all new (in the last month).... So, I restarted the tape drive this am, and recycled the media set from Retrospect....and then manually started the script. It worked fine through three quarters of the back up, and just ran out of memory: + Normal backup using Thursday Tape at 5/24/2010 10:55 AM (Execution unit 1) To Media Set Media Set Thursday... - 5/24/2010 10:55:58 AM: Copying Backup-Bay2 > !Trouble writing: "1-Media Set Thursday" (1606418432), error -205 ( unknown) !Trouble writing media: "1-Media Set Thursday" error -205 ( unknown) lmNeeded: memory pool missing, needed = 208, nsp->start = 805634048, nsp->end = -872349440, nsp->count = 922812416, nsp->flags = 0x4000000 > !Not enough application memory !/&OK//&Stop///!Catalog File out of sync with Media Set "Media Set Thursday". To repair it, use Tools>Repair Catalog>Update existing Catalog File. > !Catalog File out of sync with Media Set "Media Set Thursday". To repair it, use Tools>Repair Catalog>Update existing Catalog File. 5/24/2010 2:15:38 PM: Execution incomplete Remaining: 576 files, 97.2 GB Completed: 311 files, 181.5 GB Performance: 934.2 MB/minute Duration: 03:19:39 (00:00:45 idle/loading/preparing) I just upgraded the RAM on this server to 4 GB (Xserve G5). Thanks for anything that could help.... sqe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhwalker Posted May 24, 2010 Report Share Posted May 24, 2010 The tape drive is a Tandberg LTO-3 T24 autoloader. When I look online via a webrowser, it says it is an Exabyte Magnum 224, if that helps. Yes, it does. I suggest that you run the Tandberg (Exabyte) diagnostics to make sure the LTO 3 drive is working well. Here is the link: Tandberg (Exabyte) ltotool diagnostic Also, although the error messages don't indicate problems with the autoloader / library, you might want to run the Tandberg (Exabyte) autoloader diagnostic. Here is the link: Tandberg (Exabyte) libtool diagnostic It's a bit unclear from your post just which LTO-3 (Magnum 224) version you have, but here are the firmware updates: Tandberg (Exabyte) LTO 3 firmware updates It would be helpful if we knew how the tape drive and autoloader were connected to the xServe G5. FiberChannel? If so, what interface card? SCSI? If so, what HBA interface card? FireWire? I've never used FiberChannel, but I have used SCSI for years with tape, and some HBA cards (Adaptec, and the Apple-rebranded LSI Logic 22320) have problems. Been there, done that. The tapes are all new (in the last month).... Have you used a cleaning tape to run a cleaning cycle for the heads? I just upgraded the RAM on this server to 4 GB (Xserve G5). You might want to set this aside until the Retrospect 8.2 update arrives ("real soon now"), which is expected to improve stability on PPC computers. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqevans Posted May 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2010 Hi there! Thanks for the response....I suspect that your comment to just wait it out may be the best. To answer your questions: 1. I downloaded the files you suggested (thanks for the links), but I can't get my command line to see the tape drive. I'm definitely on the local net. In fact, I can log onto the tapedrive from the web interface and it works fine. Only think I can't seem to do is update firmware from the web. 2. From the device webpage: Library: Exabyte Magnum 224 (Firmware C240) Drive: IBM Ultrium-TD3 (Firmware 7AP1) 3. I have am using a fiber connection between the mac and the drive. Obviously I have the ethernet cable plugged into the tape drive as well so I can manage. The fiber card in the xserve is: Apple Fibre Channel 133MHz 64-bit PCI-X Card (p/n 1003610) 4. I have a cleaning tape, but haven't used it yet....can I do that from retrospect, or should I do that from drive. That is on my list of questions to ask, but I figured that I had enough open questions at this point.... Thanks! sqe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhwalker Posted May 25, 2010 Report Share Posted May 25, 2010 (edited) 1. I downloaded the files you suggested (thanks for the links), but I can't get my command line to see the tape drive. I'm definitely on the local net. In fact, I can log onto the tapedrive from the web interface and it works fine. Only think I can't seem to do is update firmware from the web. Well, a few points: (a) As I indicated, I've not used tape via FiberChannel, so I've never used the Exabyte/Tandberg diagnostics via FiberChannel, only via SCSI. ( As you will note, the diagnostics are a bit dated. Perhaps they don't support FiberChannel. © It's a bit unclear from your post - you are running the diagnostics on the computer that has the FC interface, right? The diagnostics only work on directly-attached devices that appear in Apple System Profiler, and don't have any networking code. (d) Also, you would need to stop Retrospect engine in order for the engine to release the devices for the diagnostic to be able to grab them. 2. From the device webpage: Library: Exabyte Magnum 224 (Firmware C240) Drive: IBM Ultrium-TD3 (Firmware 7AP1) Ok. Only reason I mentioned the firmware was that our Exabyte drive and autoloader weren't up to recent revision level when we got them, and update was necessary. I assume you are on top of that. 3. I have am using a fiber connection between the mac and the drive. Obviously I have the ethernet cable plugged into the tape drive as well so I can manage. The fiber card in the xserve is: Apple Fibre Channel 133MHz 64-bit PCI-X Card (p/n 1003610) OK, I think others are using that card successfully. I haven't personally used it, so I can't comment one way or the other. 4. I have a cleaning tape, but haven't used it yet....can I do that from retrospect, or should I do that from drive. Well, I'd suggest doing it from the drive. Retrospect 8 is a bit immature right now. Even with Retrospect 6, Retrospect would get confused when a cleaning tape was used (because, unlike other tapes, the cleaning tape would auto-eject after the cleaning cycle), and Retrospect would wait forever for the tape to appear at BOT - necessitated quitting and restarting Retrospect. Even if you try from Retrospect, if it doesn't work, well, just file a bug report. And it might be productive simply to wait for the big bugfix update ("real soon, now") so that the bug report would be meaningful and have a chance of being addressed. Just now I noticed a more recent Tandberg tape diagnostic tool on their website (tdtool, version 1.0) that indicates it supports DAT and LTO for all interface types (USB, FC, SCSI, SAS). Perhaps this is the new replacement for the older Exabyte diagnostics that I have used. You might want to give it a try. The link is here: tdtool 1.0 diagnostic Russ Edited May 25, 2010 by Guest tdtool diagnostic info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniels Posted May 25, 2010 Report Share Posted May 25, 2010 (edited) So, I restarted the tape drive this am, and recycled the media set from Retrospect....and then manually started the script. It worked fine through three quarters of the back up, and just ran out of memory: + Normal backup using Thursday Tape at 5/24/2010 10:55 AM (Execution unit 1) To Media Set Media Set Thursday... - 5/24/2010 10:55:58 AM: Copying Backup-Bay2 > !Trouble writing: "1-Media Set Thursday" (1606418432), error -205 ( unknown) !Trouble writing media: "1-Media Set Thursday" error -205 ( unknown) lmNeeded: memory pool missing, needed = 208, nsp->start = 805634048, nsp->end = -872349440, nsp->count = 922812416, nsp->flags = 0x4000000 > !Not enough application memory !/&OK//&Stop///!Catalog File out of sync with Media Set "Media Set Thursday". To repair it, use Tools>Repair Catalog>Update existing Catalog File. > !Catalog File out of sync with Media Set "Media Set Thursday". To repair it, use Tools>Repair Catalog>Update existing Catalog File. 5/24/2010 2:15:38 PM: Execution incomplete Remaining: 576 files, 97.2 GB Completed: 311 files, 181.5 GB Performance: 934.2 MB/minute Duration: 03:19:39 (00:00:45 idle/loading/preparing) I just upgraded the RAM on this server to 4 GB (Xserve G5). Thanks for anything that could help.... sqe The problem is that there is a bug in 8.1 engine where it crashes on certain G4 and G5s. I was experiencing the same problem and can tell you firsthand that the problem is fixed in 8.2 I was authorized by Retrospect Technical Support to try 8.2 to determine if the problem was solved and since going to 8.2 I have not encountered this error. Edited May 25, 2010 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhwalker Posted May 25, 2010 Report Share Posted May 25, 2010 I was experiencing the same problem and can tell you firsthand that the problem is fixed in 8.2 I was authorized by Retrospect Technical Support to try 8.2 to determine if the problem was solved and since going to 8.2 I have not encountered this error. That's very useful information. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gskibum Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 (edited) OK now I'm getting this with backing up to disk. I made a Media Set using 4-1TB disks, and it seems that the problem happens when 400 GB of data is reached. What's strange is I have another Media Set using 6-1TB disks for backing up a server with far more data than the other Media Set, and it's not experiencing this problem. I'm deciding whether to try the beta, or keep starting this Media Set and script fresh until the official 8.2 update is released. Edited June 30, 2010 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniels Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 You should definitely go to the Beta since it will fix the engine crashes which is causing this error. You can actually keep your backup sets when you go to the Beta. After installing the Beta you will need to locate your backup sets using Locate under Media Sets. I have used the same media sets when going from the Alpha to Beta 1 and then to Beta 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maser Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Is your Media Set configured to only have 400G of capacity? Maybe it's flashing because the Media Set is full and it needs you to add a member to it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gskibum Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Thank you Daniels. I'll definitely give the beta a go this afternoon, after my initial server backup completes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gskibum Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Maser, how is it even possible to make a 400 GB media set with 4-1TB drives? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maser Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 You can specify the size of a disk media set when you create it (or increase/reduce the size later) For example, I have a 4.5TB RAID as my primary external drive that holds my 8 media sets But each set has a capacity of 1.7-2.5 TB based on when I created it. But I could have easily created them to be 300G if I wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gskibum Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 Do you mean the fields in Members/Edit where the percentage of each member disk is specified? I have those all set to 100%. What's strange is so far it's always the same client that's getting backed up when this happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniels Posted June 30, 2010 Report Share Posted June 30, 2010 When I experienced the problem it was almost always on the same client so there must be a certain point in the execution that caused the engine to crash. You will see this problem disappear when you go to the Beta. BTW, I use tapes for my backup so it is not Media Set type specific. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maser Posted July 1, 2010 Report Share Posted July 1, 2010 Do you mean the fields in Members/Edit where the percentage of each member disk is specified? I have those all set to 100%. What's strange is so far it's always the same client that's getting backed up when this happens. The 100% is based on the amount of free disk space available at the time. For example, if you have a 1TB external drive with 600G of files on it already and you set up a new media set to be set up on it, even if the Media Set is set to use "100%", it will set the maximum capacity of the media set to be 400G. (But this might not be your issue? -- What *is* the "capacity" of the media set in question?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gskibum Posted July 1, 2010 Report Share Posted July 1, 2010 Cool. For this media set I'm using 4 just-formatted 1 TB drives. They each had 930 GB free at time of media set creation. In the next day or so I'm going to start a couple of new topics, one related to clarifications about media sets. So far so good with the beta. Right off the bat I noticed much increased performance. Fingers crossed and optimistic that the problem with this particular media set is also corrected. It'll take a couple of days to get to that point. Maybe more because of the holiday weekend. The clients backing up to this media set are mostly laptops that will be off site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maser Posted July 1, 2010 Report Share Posted July 1, 2010 So, what *is* the capacity of the Media set in question? Is it 930G? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallMeDave Posted July 3, 2010 Report Share Posted July 3, 2010 if you have a 1TB external drive with 600G of files on it already and you set up a new media set to be set up on it Please Steve, use the correct terminology here. It will avoid confusion for all concerned. "...if you have a 1TB external drive with 600G of files on it already and you Add it as a Member of a Disk Media Set..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gskibum Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 [color:blue]Problem was my making.[/color] :banana: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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