inchley Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 I've already posted this in a different forum, but this is probably the more appropriate one. Sorry if it offends anyone posting twice. I'm evaluating Retrospect 8.1, after limping along with 6.1. We've been with Retrospect for years, and with VXA for about 6 years. Backup Server: Mac mini, Intel Core 2 duo 1.83 GHz, 2Gb RAM, OS X 10.5.8. Backup device: Tandberg VXA-320 tape storageloader, Firewire, about a year old. Source clients: about 10 Macs, mixture of G4, G5, Intel, all OS X 10.4 or 10.5, including two on OS X Server. Retrospect 8.1 multi-server edition, under an evaluation licence. Running a script (Recycle or Normal - behaviour the same with both )to back up all machines, the Mac mini itself is backed up, including a successful verification, but as soon as the script starts on the next machine in the list, we get a Catalog out-of-sync message. I have: 1. Checked that all software and firmware on the Mac mini and the VXA drive is up to date. 2. Changed the firewire cable. 3. Tried the Repair function - Retrospect reported success in repairing but then immediately gave the same error when I tried to do a backup. 4. Tried the Rebuild function - again, Retrospect reported success in rebuilding but then immediately gave the same error when I tried to do a backup. 5. Tried omitting the first networked computer in the list from the script in case the computer was the problem - no effect. 6. Completely uninstalled Retrospect 8 and all its files, followed by a reinstall. No effect. 7. Tried running it both from the server itself and from a networked Mac. No difference. 8. Used vxatool and libtool to move the tapes around the VXA-320 and re-format them. (Note that you need to stop the Retrospect engine via System Prefs first, to avoid horrible conflicts from having two processes address the backup device at the same time.) No benefit. I note that another thread also suggested Retrospect 8.1 and the VXA-320 do not get along. Is this what it is? I'm very open to questions and suggestions - I really do want to buy this software but it's not looking likely at the moment. Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inchley Posted December 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Just to note: A 'recycle' backup, backing up only the backup server's own HD, worked fine. A 'normal' incremental backup immediately following, again backing up only the backup server's own HD, failed with a 'catalog file out of sync' error. Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhwalker Posted December 21, 2009 Report Share Posted December 21, 2009 Martin, there's some missing information. This is not the same VXA-320 issue reported elsewhere. That problem was a failure to properly see the device. Yours sounds like an issue between the Retrospect engine and the catalog. (1) exactly what version of Retrospect console (8.x.x) ? (2) exactly what version of Retrospect engine (8.x.x) ? (3) please provide some details as to where you are storing the catalog. Locally on the machine with the Retrospect engine? What's the format of the filesystem on which the catalog is being stored, etc. Don't think I've heard this one reported before. Just want to make sure it's not a bug with an older build of Retrospect. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inchley Posted December 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 (edited) Thanks for the response, Russ. I downloaded the trial last Friday (18th December) Retrospect Console 8.1 build 626. I assume the engine is the same, though I can't see where the info is obtainable. All the settings are standard: Mac mini HD formatted HFS+. This is the only hard drive, and is running the Retrospect engine. Same behaviour whether I use the console from my 10.5.8 iMac, or locally on the Mac mini. Retrospect files at /Volumes/Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Retrospect. Catalog folder is there. Martin Edited December 23, 2009 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inchley Posted December 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 (edited) Russ -some extra Info: I installed Retrospect on a 2009 Xserve running OS X Server 10.5.8 and transferred the VXA-320 to that machine, to check that it was not the Mac mini itself. I ran an equivalent test – Recycle backup of the main hard drive (about 35 Gb of files) followed by a normal backup of the same drive. I got exactly the same behaviour as with the Mac mini - the Recycle backup was fine, while the Normal backup failed at some point during or after scanning, with the Catalog file out of sync message. Console log for this point reads: 12/23/09 1:11:59 PM Retrospect[51999] *** -[NSCFString appendString:]: nil argument 12/23/09 1:12:02 PM Retrospect[51999] *** -[NSCFString appendString:]: nil argument 12/23/09 1:13:23 PM com.retrospect.RetroEngine[51981] #2> !/&OK//&Stop///!$[43]Catalog File out of sync with Media Set "$[01]Media Set A$[02]". 12/23/09 1:13:23 PM com.retrospect.RetroEngine[51981] To repair it, use Tools>Repair Catalog>Update existing Catalog File. Martin Edited December 23, 2009 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhwalker Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 Ok. Sounds like you have identified a bug. The reason for my inquiries, and the underlying information I was trying to get, was: (a) Retrospect console and engine version. You've answered that by implication. The engine version is not easily obtainable (I consider this a GUI bug, should appear in the console next to each available engine), but can be obtained if you do a get info on the engine .pkg ( whether it might be caused by having the catalog stored on a firewire drive on the same firewire chain as the VXA-320. Seems not. Others have reported issues with the VXA-320 firewire and Retrospect. Your log post is helpful, and Robin should log a bug for this. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inchley Posted December 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 Thanks Russ. I don't know where this leaves me. Retrospect 6.1 gives me a different set of problems which I was hoping to cure with an upgrade. Does experience suggest this might get addressed quickly if it is a bug (I don't know who you mean by 'Robin')? I would probably be moving to different software by now (e.g. Tolis BRU), if it were not for Retrospect's proactive function, which is really useful for a couple of staff with laptops and local accounts. Any final comments welcome. Happy Christmas! Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhwalker Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 I don't know where this leaves me. Retrospect 6.1 gives me a different set of problems which I was hoping to cure with an upgrade. Well, there will not be any further bug fixes or updates for Retrospect 6.1, because that's a dead product with no more development. Does experience suggest this might get addressed quickly if it is a bug (I don't know who you mean by 'Robin')? I have no inside information - I'm just a user like you are. Robin Mayoff is the head of EMC Retrospect Support. He occasionally posts in these user-to-user support forums, and he does monitor them, and he is the one who logs the Retrospect 8 bugs reported in these forums (he will acknowledge by a bug number). Right now, Retrospect 8.1 is in its infancy, and is very immature. Bugfix releases seem to be coming out every few months - you can check the Retrospect release announcements here: Retrospect release announcements to see how often they appear. The Retrospect 8.1.626 was an "emergency" limited bugfix release to correct two specific problems - a Daylight Savings Time bug that caused all past backups to disappear from view, and one that prevented Retrospect from working with volumes >= 8 TB in size. I would probably be moving to different software by now (e.g. Tolis BRU), if it were not for Retrospect's proactive function, which is really useful for a couple of staff with laptops and local accounts. BRU has its own issues. It does not manage autoloaders as well as Retrospect does, and can overwrite backups if you are not careful. It's usable from the command line, but the GUI leaves much to be desired. Retrospect's strength is during restores, with the snapshot paradigm, rather than having to restore the first full backup, then all following incrementals, as with all other backup programs. Only Retrospect gives the snapshot illusion of showing you what was on the source at the time of backup, rather than just the files backed up in each session. I will comment that Tolis Group shut down their user support forums about a year ago because the uproar was so great about the (sad) state of the product. EMC has kept this forum open, and Retrospect 8 is getting better with each bugfix release. Our firm's needs are very specific for a backup program, and are somewhat different from those of others. I suggest that you contact EMC Retrospect Support to resolve this issue. They may have a workaround, and I have found them quite good. I think that they are on holiday vacation right now, though. Here's how to contact them: Contact EMC Retrospect support A telephone call is really the only way. Candidly, your problem isn't going to be resolved in these user-to-user forums. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inchley Posted December 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2009 OK, Russ. Many thanks. Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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