Drewski Posted May 31, 2002 Report Share Posted May 31, 2002 hi, we have retrospect backup server v5.6 on a win2k server in a secure room that we administrate via terminal services. when i try running retrospect via a terminal services session, i get "process already in use". i often need to go to the physical server and kill the process at the console since terminal services manager doesnt let me kill it remotely. how do folks deal with remote administration of retrospect? (btw, software like winVNC and timbuktu arent options for this machine- we want to avoid console logins and any extra software that might compromise security in the future) also, i was fairly distressed to find that this doesnt run as a service. it seems to run in a user context of the console user. (i'm just learning retrospect, so i might be missing something. but it was surprising to find "server-class" software behave like souped-up end-user software). it also seems like i need to stop retrospect in order to do any configuration (like adding a new job), and then start it again. is that normal? -Drew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewski Posted June 1, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2002 hi, another tidbit... the 'retrospect launcher' service is running, which says its supposed to automatically start retrospect when a script is ready to run. i started retrospect, added a script (a weekly, to execute later that night), quit retrospect, verified that the launcher service was still running, checked the next day, and the script hadnt run! verified that the launcher service was still running- it was. started retrospect, and it tried executing the script then. is this right? do i need to be constantly logged into the computer and running retrospect in order for scripts to run? or do i need to quit and restart the launcher service every time i add a new script? -drew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natew Posted June 4, 2002 Report Share Posted June 4, 2002 Howdy, One way to test the launcher service is to schedule a script to run in the next 10 minutes and then quit Retrospect. If the script executes you know that it is either a problem with scheduling or that the computer may be going into sleep mode when the script was supposed to run. If the script fails (it may take a minute or two after the scheduled time to actually launch) you may want to reinstall the launcher service. You can do this by going to the special tab, and unchecking "enable retrospect launcher service". Reboot the machine, re-check the box and the service will be completely reinstalled. Nate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natew Posted June 4, 2002 Report Share Posted June 4, 2002 Hello, Retrospect does not run as a service and therefore cannot be accessed by multiple users at the same time. As a result, If Retrospect has been auto launched or launched by another user you will get the "Retrospect is already in use" error message when you try to access it via Terminal Services. There are a couple of ways to get around this problem: 1)Access Retrospect at a time when it is not active. Most poeple establish a set time during the day for server maintainence where Retrospect is not allowed to launch. You should also make sure that Retrospect is set to quit after all scripted operations. Keep in mind the fact that if Retrospect is left running you will not be able to access it via Terminal Services. 2)Access Retrospect with another remote access program. Other remote access programs (Net Meeting, Timbuk2, PC Anywhere...) log in to the curently active destop on the remote machine rather than as a new terminal user. You will have full remote access to Retrospect if you access it with any of these programs. Cheers, NateW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewski Posted June 7, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2002 so i got around the 'launcher doesnt launch' problem with some phone help from Dantz: the launcher service defaults to running in the context of the 'currently logged on user', so when no one is on console, it just doesnt launch. the solution is to edit the service, logon tab, and give it an explicit logon identity like administrator. then launcher can launch when no one is logged on, and without a GUI. but- the retrospect process that launcher launches never exits! meaning that we still cant administrate it via terminal services. we cant manually kill the process via terminal services either because taskmgr limits you to processes for that session. 3rd party remote administration software like pc-anywhere are not allowed on the server due to policies for limiting the number of avenues of potential exploit. (just like one should never run a web server on the same machine as your fileserver or database server) is there a way to make the retrospect process self-terminate once the current backup is done? mini-rant: i think retrospect is great for a SOHO environment, but we're finding out it just doesnt work properly in a typical corporate setting that has secure servers and policies, and the literature should reflect its limitations so folks dont buy a product they'll later be disappointed with . or- add a proper service architecture and separate administrative interface and make everyone happy. -drew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natew Posted June 10, 2002 Report Share Posted June 10, 2002 You should be able to show all running local processes even from a terminal session. At the bottom of the processes tab in the Windows Task Manager is a check box for "show processes from all users". You can see "retrorun.exe" and "retrospect.exe" when this box is checked. From here you can kill the process if needed. If Retrosect has been set to quit after a script executes "retrospect.exe" shouldn't be in the list of processes. You can adjust this setting on the "unattended" menu in the preferences for Retrospect. Cheers natew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkeeler Posted August 14, 2002 Report Share Posted August 14, 2002 I totally agree with you 100% Drewski. This corporate-class software should be running as a service, and/or at least allow multiple instances of the application running. Another nice feature would to have a remote administration tool, (Backup Exec has this). So far I've been disappointed with this software, especially with the notification features (such as the hokey email script that took me ~1hr to fix because they lead you to use incorrect syntax in the batch file.) The only reason I haven't switched to Backup Exec, is due to Veritas's crappy 'agent' implementation. (actually, it's less of an implementation and more of a forced purchasing of add-ons). I haven't taken a look at version 6.0, but i'd imagine they haven't addressed these issues. I'm hoping they'll prove me wrong... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocwg Posted August 20, 2002 Report Share Posted August 20, 2002 None of your solutions work for me I can't kill the processes as access is denied for both restrospect and retrorun, and yes I show all users processes Also my prefs are set to quit in unattended tab? What now pray tell and what *exact* circumstances *does* your advice work, because it simply doesn't Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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