vtrnorth Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 I'm using Retrospect on a dual 2.3GHz Xserve OS 10.4.11 and backing up to an Exabyte VXA-172 autoloader. Over the past 2 to 3 weeks I've not been able to backup successfully due to Retrospect freezing before the end of the backup. When I check the 'Force Quit' panel it says that Retrospect is not responding. I have to force quit to get out of the program and then when I restart Retrospect and check the status of the Exabyte, Retrospect freezes again. To get out of this I have to shut down and restart both the server and the tape drive. can anybody shed any light on this problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhwalker Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 Presumably you have the SCSI version, because I don't believe that the VXA-172 is yet available in FireWire. Correct? What SCSI HBA are you using? What firmware version and driver version for the HBA? Have you tried running the Exabyte diagnostics (vxatool)? What Exabyte VXA firmware version? What Autoloader firmware version? Does the drive show up in Apple System Profile? What version of Retrospect are you running? What Retrospect Driver Update? Just as a comment, your timing (past 2 or 3 weeks) sounds like it correlates with the Mac OS X 10.4.11 update. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtrnorth Posted November 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 We have the SCSI version. The VXA appears in the System Profile and shows the 1 x 10 as rev. A10E and the VXA172 as rev. 3206. However, when I try and interogate the unit with vxatool I get the message that no tape drive can be found. The server is in use at the moment, but if I remember correctly from when I tested it over the weekend I had to power down/up the VXA before vxatool would see it. The version of Retrospect we are running is 6.1.138 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallMeDave Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 Quote: The version of Retrospect we are running is 6.1.138 The RDU (Retrospect Driver Update) file information is also important, although if you're having trouble communicating with the drive using vxatool then this is not a Retrospect issue at all. SCSI host bus adapter? Make/Model/Firmware info??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhwalker Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 Quote: We have the SCSI version. You still haven't provided any information as to the SCSI HBA that you are using, or its firmware version or its driver version. Many SCSI HBAs do not work well, and those that do have had firmware updates to make them work with Mac OS 10.4.10 and later in an attempt to get around Apple bugs in the kernel. The Apple Dual-Channel SCSI adapter (really a rebranded LSI Logic 22320) that Apple sells as a BTO option with its Xserves is a notable example of a SCSI HBA with problems. Been there, done that, have one gathering dust on a shelf from our Xserve. Never worked right, things only started working when it was replaced with an ATTO SCSI HBA (UL4D). Quote: However, when I try and interogate the unit with vxatool I get the message that no tape drive can be found. Then your problem isn't with Retrospect. If vxatool can't see the device, then there's no hope for Retrospect to see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtrnorth Posted November 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 Sorry for the delay, we have the Atto UL3D. Yesterday the System Profile showed the VXA172 but not the 1 x 10 Autochanger. When I look at the VXA through a web browser it shows everything as being ok. As you say, this looks like the SCSI card is at fault. I'll post my findings when I change the card but thanks for the help in the meantime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhwalker Posted November 28, 2007 Report Share Posted November 28, 2007 Quote: Sorry for the delay, we have the Atto UL3D. Yesterday the System Profile showed the VXA172 but not the 1 x 10 Autochanger. When I look at the VXA through a web browser it shows everything as being ok. As you say, this looks like the SCSI card is at fault. I'll post my findings when I change the card but thanks for the help in the meantime. Not sure about that. Check terminators and cable, try changing SCSI IDs on card and autoloader. Unless it has failed, the UL3D should be OK, but the UL4S/UL4D is the one we have on our Xserve G5. The UL3D drivers / firmware haven't been updated in a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vtrnorth Posted December 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 I stripped out the server over the weekend and removed and re-fitted the SCSI card even though it looked ok. Since then all the problems seemed to have gone! I'll monitor the situation over the next couple of weeks and let you know the outcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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