Workgroup 5.0 on OS X SCSI problem with VXA-1 drives

[jazzmasterson]

I need help.

 

I run the network for a small manufacturer, and we've been using Retrospect Workgroup and Client to back up our network onto a pair of SCSI VXA drives for a long time.

 

First, some details about our hardware and software:

 

The server machine is a G4/400 running OS 10.2.5, and has an ATTO UL3S card driving one Ecrix VXA 33/66 Gb tape drive, and an Adaptec 2906 card running another.

 

The drives are a year apart in age; the Adaptec card handles the older one. Both cards have the latest driver versions... the Adaptec's is version 1.1, which is listed as kosher on Dantz's compatibility page. The ATTO's version is... 1.2 I think, it's also the latest version, ditto kosherdom.

 

Retrospect Workgroup is at version 5.0.238, and all of the clients have been updated to whatever the latest update is for 5.0.

 

So at least we know I keep up on the software updates.

 

 

Now, our backup strategy is simple; I've got two backup sets, and a script that alternates between them weekly. Normal backups monday through thursday, and a recycle backup on friday (which often runs through saturday). The script backs up the user directory of 13 client machines, and two redundant copies of a FileMaker database. It all fits on a 66-GB tape with space left over.

 

 

Problem is, right now the tape drive on the Adaptec SCSI card seems to have a glitch. When I run a normal backup to it, the "select device" dialog shows up and says that there is no more room on the "1.9 GB tape drive." It then asks for another "1.9 GB tape" which will be renamed 2-[foo].

 

A recycle backup to the same tape drive fails partway through the backup; at a certain point (I can't say whether it's after 1.9 Gb of data has been written to the drive) the backup stalls and sits at the point it stalled at until the script terminates.

 

The two drives use different cables, so I can't swap the drives and see if the problem persists with the drive itself.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks in advance for any help...

 

J

[AmyJ]

Quote:

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Problem is, right now the tape drive on the Adaptec SCSI card seems to have a glitch. When I run a normal backup to it, the "select device" dialog shows up and says that there is no more room on the "1.9 GB tape drive." It then asks for another "1.9 GB tape" which will be renamed 2-[foo].

 

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Have you tried a different tape? I've seen many capacity issues caused by failing tapes.

Barring that, proceed down the following checklist to isolate the problem:

 

 

1) A dirty tape heads or bad media. Clean the drive using a cleaning cartridge.

 

2) Another device on your SCSI bus is interfering with the device’s communication. Make sure your SCSI ID numbers are set correctly.

 

Turn off your computer and the devices. Disconnect all SCSI devices except for the backup device making it the only SCSI device on the chain.

 

Note: If you are using Mac OS X, you should not use a wide device with a narrow card. Nor should you use a narrow device with a wide card.

 

3) You have a bad cable. Replace the SCSI cable that connects the device to the computer after removing other devices and cables from the SCSI chain.

 

4) You are missing a terminator or have a bad terminator. The last device and ONLY the last device in your SCSI chain needs to be terminated. Try replacing the terminator if you already have one on the chain.

 

5) The SCSI card may be failing. Try another supported card.

 

6) The computer may be having a problem. Install Retrospect on another computer and try the device on that other machine.

 

7) Boot into OS 9 (if possible) and check the OS 9 System Profiler to confirm that the drive is visible. Apple Menu> Apple System Profiler

 

If it is, open Retrospect and attempt to back up.

 

8) If the backup fails again, the drive may be defective. If you have implemented all of the preceding steps and get failures on multiple tapes after changing cables terminators and computers then the drive (being the only factor that has not changed) may be failing. Contact hardware vendor for additional troubleshooting or repair options.