Dashboard empty

[myhrik]

Hello,

Sorry for being ignorant, since I can't remember which version the dashboard was introduced in. It was working fine, until I upgraded to the next major version. I think maybe I skipped from v12 to v14. I'm now on 15. Anyway, the Dashboard has been gone since I upgraded to 14. It's simply blank. I seem to recall the same thing happening to my dad's Mac (he hay have skipped from v12 to v15 actually).

Screenshot attached. It's not supposed to be blank, right? How can I fix this?

Thanks :)
Eirik

[Lennart_T]

Yes, it is supposed to be blank until you select something, such as "Activities", "Scripts" or "Past Backups".

[twickland]

Actually, not true. The dashboard should have all of its reporting images available when the top level is selected.

[Lennart_T]

30 minutes ago, twickland said:

Actually, not true. The dashboard should have all of its reporting images available when the top level is selected.

Then I have the same "problem", because my dashboard is empty, too.

[DavidHertzberg]

myhrik and Lennart_T,

I believe what you are experiencing is what Lindsay Robertson reported last May.  I'm assuming your blank Dashboards are on Macs other than the "backup server".  I've been (belatedly, for reasons not appropriate to this thread) running Retrospect Mac 15.6.1.105 for nearly three weeks now, and the Dashboard on my Mac Pro "backup server" is filled with glorious information—some of which has old (the Backups bar graphs) or new (the circular Backup Report) bugs in it.  I am only licensed for the lowly Desktop Edition, so I can't install the Retrospect Mac Console on my MacBook Pro "client" machine; my installation is at home, and I'm not so decrepit that I can't walk into my bedroom and use my Mac Pro's Console.

My explanation for Lindsay Robertson's problem is in this post in that thread.  My final post in that thread recounts my phone conversation in May with Werner Walter, the head of Retrospect Inc. Sales.  The "related announcements" Werner referred to were the May release of the first beta version of the Web-based Management Console.  My impression is that J.G. Heithcock and his merry Product Management men (I'm speaking of Retrospect Inc.; I think they've heard of women ) are hell-bent on delivering a fully-functional Management Console with Retrospect 16.0 in March 2019.  As you can see, the Management Console is a Web-based version of the Dashboard, so the non-"backup server" Dashboard bug in the non-Management Console has not been fixed as of the 15.6.1.105 cumulative Release Notes.

 I don't know whether the Retrospect Inc. engineers will have time to fix your bug before March.  If you want to "go with the flow", here are instructions on how to install the Management Console—which will cost you nothing in Retrospect 15.  Maybe the Scandinavian representative of Retrospect Inc. will want to record your impressions, and possibly attach sensors to your bodies   , while you use it.  Werner told me that, in any case,  Retrospect Inc. cannot abandon the non-"backup server" Mac Console; the United States Air Force (helping to protect your NATO-member butt, myhrik, and Old Golden Boy would like Norway to pay more for that protection ) evidently uses Retrospect Mac, and won't allow Web-connected applications in security-sensitive locations.

[Lennart_T]

1 hour ago, DavidHertzberg said:

I'm assuming your blank Dashboards are on Macs other than the "backup server".

Hello David,

In my case it is on the backup server itself.

I will have to read up on your links tomorrow.  

[DavidHertzberg]

On 1/30/2019 at 2:59 PM, Lennart_T said:

Hello David,

In my case it is on the backup server itself.

I will have to read up on your links tomorrow.  

Then, Lennart_T,  you have a different problem from Lindsay Robertson's.  He/she reported back in May that the blank Dashboard only occurred on a non-"backup server" machine.  However that same post also said "All the other sections perform exactly as on the backup server console."  Is it true for you that, if you click on the Past Backups category in the leftmost column, you see the usual information?

Another question for both you and myhrik is: are you running Retrospect Mac 15.6.1.105?  If you are running 15.5 or 15.6.0, you should be aware that those were "bad releases" in which Retrospect features that had worked before no longer worked—especially for Retrospect Windows.  That is why Retrospect Inc. released 15.6.1.104 for Retrospect Windows and 15.6.1.105 for Retrospect Mac, and why they chose not to publicize those releases—because they fixed bugs that were newly-created by harried Retrospect Inc. engineers.

[myhrik]

Thanks for your answers and your info, David!
(Although I don't really feel like going into a discussion about NATO, my government or your president 😵)

In my case, I don't run Retrospect on a network of computers, so I never actually got into what "backup server" means or how it works. I only run Retrospect on one machine at a time - one Mac at work and one at home. I am only backing up to external hard drives.

The "about" window says I am on version 15.6.1 (105).

I will read your links as soon as I have the time. 😊

Cheers!

[DavidHertzberg]

Sorry, myhrik,

I don't agree with my President on almost everything, including his views on NATO.  That was just my bad late-afternoon attempt at humor, inspired by Werner Walter's revelation that it is the U. S. Air Force that is insisting Retrospect Inc. keep the non-Web Console for Retrospect Mac.

Seriously, I'm truly mystified by your blank-Dashboard problem—because I don't have it on what should be a very similar installation of Retrospect Mac.  Here's a brief explanation of "backup server", so you don't have to read the Wikipedia article on Retrospect:  Back in 2009, what was then the Iomega division of EMC (largely the same developers as now, AFAICT) split Retrospect Mac into two separate programs, the Engine and the Console.  The Engine runs on a "backup server" Mac that has the backup drives (which can actually be in the cloud) attached, and does all the work involved with actually executing scripts.  The Console runs the Graphic User Interface used by the backup administrator for communicating with the Engine.  The reason EMC Iomega separated the programs is that, in many enterprises running Retrospect, the "backup server" machine sits in a locked and fire-resistant "server room" to which the backup administrator doesn't have a key.  Therefore in any Server Edition of Retrospect Mac, the Console can be run on any Mac that is on the same Local Area Network as the "backup server" Mac.  In a cheaper Desktop Edition (which I have licensed) or Solo Edition of Retrospect, the Console must run on the "backup server" Mac—but it is still a separate program (Retrospect.app) from the Engine that can be stopped and started while the Engine is running.  After its split-off from EMC, Retrospect Inc. added the Dashboard as a high-level summary panel on the Console interface.

As I said in the first sentence of the preceding paragraph, the Console on my Desktop Edition of Retrospect Mac 15.6.1 (105) has had a fully-functioning Dashboard up through early this morning—which is when I last looked.  I ask you the same question I asked Lennart_T two posts above: If you click on the Past Backups category in the leftmost column of the Dashboard, do you see the usual information?

In any case, I think you should file a Support Case about your problem.  Here's why and how to do it.  If you upgraded to Retrospect Mac 15 in the last 30 days, you are entitled to personalized help with your problem—which may have something to do with your setup of Retrospect—as opposed to mere processing of the bug report.

[Lennart_T]

I'm also on 15.6.1 (105).

I see(in the KB article) that I have to sign up for the Management Console. I never did that (didn't know there was a Management Console), so that's why my console is empty. I do not see any real need for me to use the Management Console so I don't bother with it.

Thank you David, for the links.  

[DavidHertzberg]

1 hour ago, Lennart_T said:

I'm also on 15.6.1 (105).

I see(in the KB article) that I have to sign up for the Management Console. I never did that (didn't know there was a Management Console), so that's why my console is empty. I do not see any real need for me to use the Management Console so I don't bother with it.

Thank you David, for the links.  

Lennart_T,

I've never signed up for the Management Console and, as I've said two posts above, I'm seeing a fully-populated Dashboard on my Desktop Edition 15.6.1 (105) Console.  The only explanation I can imagine is that there's some new feature (I'd call it a bug in Retrospect 15 and a kludge in Retrospect 16) ensuring that, since you (and possibly myhrik) are licensed for a Server Edition, you can't see a non-blank Dashboard even on your "backup server" unless you are signed up for the Management Console.  Maybe that's what "We plan to launch it officially in Spring 2019 with a free tier [my emphasis] and a paid tier" on this About page means?

[Lennart_T]

39 minutes ago, DavidHertzberg said:

Lennart_T,

I've never signed up for the Management Console and, as I've said two posts above, I'm seeing a fully-populated Dashboard on my Desktop Edition 15.6.1 (105) Console.  The only explanation I can imagine is that there's some new feature (I'd call it a bug in Retrospect 15 and a kludge in Retrospect 16) ensuring that, since you (and possibly myhrik) are licensed for a Server Edition, you can't see a non-blank Dashboard even on your "backup server" unless you are signed up for the Management Console.  Maybe that's what "We plan to launch it officially in Spring 2019 with a free tier [my emphasis] and a paid tier" on this About page means?

David,

I'm using the Desktop Edition 15.6.1 (105), too. Step 1 on your linked page says you should sign up.  

[DavidHertzberg]

On 1/31/2019 at 3:47 PM, Lennart_T said:

David,

I'm using the Desktop Edition 15.6.1 (105), too. Step 1 on your linked page says you should sign up.  

Lennart_T and myhrik,

The more I thought about it today, the more the hypothesis in my preceding post made sense in terms of what I have deduced (from publicly-available information) about "Product Management Think" at Retrospect Inc..  J.G. Heithcock and his merry men evidently think Retrospect Inc. needs to "go big or go home"; to them that means [1] becoming appealing to consultants and [2] getting into the virtual-server backup sub-market.  [2] has motivated the development of R.V. (the head of Retrospect Tech Support has forbidden me to mention the name of this Retrospect product on the Forums), and [1] has motivated the development of the Web-based Management Console—which Retrospect Inc. is advertising as enabling a consultant to monitor up to 100 "backup servers" at multiple locations—which will be those of the consultant's customers (I'm here avoiding the use of the term "clients" to avoid confusion with the Retrospect term).  It would make marketing sense to limit the routine use of the Management Console to Server Edition licensees, since Desktop Edition and Solo Edition licensees would not normally hire consultants.

So I wanted to ask myhrik if he/she has a Server Edition license, and fired up my Console to find out what to tell him/her to look for in Preferences under the Retrospect menu.  I found—as I remembered—a Licenses icon on the top of the panel; the first license line in the pane displayed by clicking that icon says "Desktop" on my Console, and I'll bet the first license line of myhrik's pane (as well as Lennart_T's pane) says something else with the word "Server" in it. 

Then I noticed that immediately to the right of the Licenses icon is a Management icon, and the first item in the pane displayed by clicking that icon is an "Enable Management Console" checkbox.  If that checkbox is checked, as it may be by default if you have a Server license, uncheck it and see if your non-Management Console Dashboard becomes populated—which may require your quitting and re-starting Retrospect.app (which is perfectly OK; I've done it myself on occasion).

If this solves your problem, then it is still consistent with what years ago I perceived to be the other purpose of the Web-based Management Console.  If you read between the lines of the History section of the Retrospect Wikipedia article, you'll see that Retrospect Windows has been seriously crippled for 10 years because Windows security restrictions made it impossible to separate a GUI Console from the Engine as was done for Retrospect Mac.  The workaround, which all other enterprise client-server backup applications have implemented for their Windows "backup servers", is to make the Administrative Console a Web-served application and the Engine-equivalent a Web-served client.  I've gotten unofficial confirmation that Retrospect Inc.'s intent is to give the Windows version of the Management Console two-way interactive communication with the Retrospect Windows Engine.  Over a year ago, a Retrospect Mac administrator setting up a Retrospect Windows installation discovered he could almost perfectly control a Retrospect Windows "backup server" from a Retrospect Mac Console—because the Retrospect Inc. engineers have carefully preserved the inter-process communications capabilities of the Retrospect Windows Engine that were developed before 2009.

[Lennart_T]

22 minutes ago, DavidHertzberg said:

I'll bet the first license line of myhrik's pane (as well as Lennart_T's pane says something else with the word "Server" in it. 

You lost your bet, at least in my case.

[DavidHertzberg]

Sorry, Lennart_T, something you had written in a previous post made me think you actually have a Server Edition license for Retrospect Mac.

But how about the "Enable Management Console" checkbox in the pane displayed by clicking the Management icon at the top of the Retrospect->Preferences panel?  Is that checked?  If it is, does un-checking it and quitting-restarting the Console bring back what should be the contents of your Console Dashboard?

If the answer to both those questions is 'no", then I suggest you file a Support Case—which I'm sure you know why and how to do.  I'm out of ideas that would explain why you and myhrik have this problem and I don't.

[twickland]

As a point of reference, I'm running Retrospect Single Server Version 15.6.1 (105) on MacOS 10.12.6. The top-level dashboard items are visible whether or not the management console is enabled.

 

Lennart, a question for you: Can I assume that when you select "Past Backups," what you see is just the listing of past backups and not the spiffy and colorful pie charts, bar graphs, and other doodads that are supposed to be present on the dashboard when the server itself is selected?

[Lennart_T]

19 minutes ago, twickland said:

Can I assume that when you select "Past Backups," what you see is just the listing of past backups and not the spiffy and colorful pie charts, bar graphs, and other doodads that are supposed to be present on the dashboard when the server itself is selected?

Yes, I see only the list.

[DavidHertzberg]

Lennart_T and myhrik,

Early this morning I thought of another possible reason why you have this problem and I don't.  As recounted in this post (which you shouldn't read), on 9 January I stopped the Retrospect Engine on my "backup server" in System Preferences -> Retrospect and then moved the config80.dat file from Library -> Application Support > Retrospect to the desktop.  When I rebooted my "backup server", thus restarting the newly-installed 15.6.1 (105) Retrospect Engine and starting the Retrospect.app Console, it regenerated the evidently-corrupted config80.dat file—which turned out to fix a set of -530 bugs I had had for 2 years.

The reason you shouldn't read the post I linked to in the second sentence of the preceding paragraph is that it says I also moved another configuration file to the desktop.  Having done so made me spend several hours recreating the "client" machines and scripts and Media Sets, but later repeating the operation on another "backup server" boot drive containing Retrospect Mac 14.6 showed me I wouldn't have had to do that if I had merely moved config80.dat to the desktop.  Lennart_T—if he moves the config80.dat file from Library -> Application Support -> Retrospect to the desktop—will have to re-Add any "client" machines to Sources, re-checkmark those "client" Sources in Scripts that use them, and (after hitting Save) drag them in the Summary of those Scripts into the sequence they should be backed up (and hit Save again).   myhrik, because he/she evidently doesn't have any "client" machines, shouldn't have to do anything further.  To be on the safe side, Quit the Console and then re-launch it (Applications->Retrospect.app) again.

If you're brave enough to try this, I hope it helps.

[myhrik]

Hi again David,

Thank you for all your kind effort in keeping to help us, although to less than stellar response...  
Sorry about that. I've been off the forum since the last time I posted. Will try your tips at the first oppurtunity!

Oh, and I'm a he, by the way  

[DavidHertzberg]

On 2/7/2019 at 12:45 PM, myhrik said:

....

....

Oh, and I'm a he, by the way  

So how about updating the Gender in your Forums Profile, myhrik, from "Not saying" to "Male"—as I did years ago?

In general I don't try to guess people's genders from their "handles", although I make an exception for those "handles" that are obviously male or female.  OTOH I can't help but be aware that many backup administrators are women, and that a lot of those try to conceal that fact for fear that they won't be taken seriously on the Forums.  Unfortunately myhrik's ancestors, when they invaded Britain, contributed a number of words to the English language—but not gender-neutral third-person pronouns. So I write "him/her" and "he/she" when  the Forums Profile doesn't specify Gender and I can't guess.

My other tactic is to address a poster with the second-person pronoun, which is gender-neutral  in English (and has no difference between singular and plural, unless you're either from the American South—where they use "y'all" for the plural—or an old-time Quaker—who might use "thou" in talking to a singular someone besides the Almighty).  That's why so many of my posts begin with my naming the poster(s) I am responding to, myhrik.

Edited August 14, 2020 by DavidHertzberg
Added third paragraph

[Lennart_T]

On 2/1/2019 at 8:31 PM, DavidHertzberg said:

Lennart_T—if he moves the config80.dat file from Library -> Application Support -> Retrospect to the desktop—will have to re-Add any "client" machines to Sources, re-checkmark those "client" Sources in Scripts that use them, and (after hitting Save) drag them in the Summary of those Scripts into the sequence they should be backed up (and hit Save again).

I finally got around to trying this. Sorry about the delay.

First try:

Stopped the engine, renamed my 337 MB config80.dat file, rebooted the computer. The client was still there, no dashboard.

Second try:

Stopped the engine, Moved my renamed file, the .bak and the newly created .dat (955kB) to the desktop, rebooted the computer. The client was still there, no dashboard.

[DavidHertzberg]

8 hours ago, Lennart_T said:

I finally got around to trying this. Sorry about the delay.

First try:

Stopped the engine, renamed my 337 MB config80.dat file, rebooted the computer. The client was still there, no dashboard.

Second try:

Stopped the engine, Moved my renamed file, the .bak and the newly created .dat (955kB) to the desktop, rebooted the computer. The client was still there, no dashboard.

Lennart_T,

Thanks for trying, sorry it didn't work for you.   If you haven't already filed a Support Case, please do so; if you have filed one, please add an Additional Note about this attempt.

The original e-mail from Retrospect Tech Support (which was actually about another bug, rather than the -530 bugs it ended up fixing for me) said to also move the config80.bak file—if I had one—to the desktop.  I didn't have one and still don't, so I didn't mention the .bak file in this thread because I thought it must exist only for previous versions or for Retrospect Windows.  I wonder if the fact that I don't have one indicates some difference in my installation.   You can mention the fact that I don't have a config80.bak file in your Support Case; maybe that will provide a clue for the Retrospect Inc. engineers.

Edited February 9, 2019 by DavidHertzberg
Added P.S. about non-English-language versions of Retrospect, then moved it to a follow-on post for greater visibility

[DavidHertzberg]

Lennart_T and myhrik,

Here's another thought I just had, inspired by the fact that both of you are Scandinavians:  Your English is excellent, but do you actually use Retrospect Mac in a different language version—such as German?  My impression is that the Retrospect engineers are really rushing to get the Management Console out of beta, especially after the delay caused by their having had to concentrate on GDPR for 15.1.  Considering the foul-ups in 15.5 and 15.6.0—where the engineers evidently didn't test existing features to see if those still worked, I imagine it's possible that they didn't test the non-Management-Console Dashboard in languages other than English.  Come to think of it, here and here are threads whose OP goes by the Forums "handle" johanvos; the first thread is specifically about a Dashboard problem, and the second thread may be.  Given his "handle" and his less-than-perfect English, I'll bet johanvos actually uses the German version of Retrospect Mac.

[DavidHertzberg]

Lennart_T and myhrik,

Here's a further quick thought on why the Dashboard works on my "backup server" and not on yours:

My "backup server" Mac Pro is still running macOS 10.12 Sierra.  That's because I read that macOS 10.13 High Sierra is a bit flaky even in 10.13.6, and I'm not ready to upgrade to macOS 10.14 Mojave—because I've read that it will unavoidably convert my boot drive from HFS+ to APFS.  It's inconceivable to me that the Retrospect Inc. engineers are not testing with Mojave, unless they're afraid to add Mojave problems on top of Management Console problems.  I'm also not suggesting that you downgrade.