Very Computer

  Responses to my previous post indicate that some folks
are interested in creating a customized bootable tape to
allow restores by inode of the root volume group.  You can
pick up boottape.1.tar.Z via anonymous ftp from
uvaarpa.*ia.EDU in pub/rs6000 which contains
appropriate diffs, scripts, and documentation for AIX
3.2.2.

  I'm genuinely surprised that only a few people indicated
concern about a very serious deficiency in AIX:  it is
currently impossible, without local modifications, to back
up and restore your root volume group by inode.  This
means that unless you are willing to do a mksysb every
day, you can't have reliable daily backups of the root
volume group.  At our site, with 27 RS6000s being backed
up, and a set of 11 systems programmers independently
making changes to the root volume group, reliable daily
backups are quite important.  Is UVa the only site with a
concern for backups?  Have other sites found another
solution?  I'd sure like to hear about it.  Most of all,
I'd like to think that IBM is concerned about this and
doing something about it.  How about it, readers from IBM
- has this issue escaped the managers?  Is anything in the
works?  If not, who do I talk to?  So far, it appears to
me that AIX is continuing on its "full backups only"
course.

Olaf Pors
Academic Computing Center / ITC
University of *ia

804-924-0633

11 systems programmers independently changing the rootvg of 27 RS6000's
sounds like quite a unique environment to me. At first glance, the first
solution that comes to mind is to change volume group arrangements so
that rootvg is more static. IE rootvg should just have AIX stuff in it.
Or is this how it is already?  And I dont see how inode backups solves
your problem.

Bottom line is that I dont think the IBM designers are concerned about
this because it seems to be the first time that it has come up.

If any IBM'ers think I'm wrong , please correct me via email to save me
much public embarrasment.

If any customers think I'm wrong, please feel free to correct me here on
the net, or via email, as you prefer.
--
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Rudy Chukran                |       EMAIL:            
IBM AIX Technical Consulting| RSCS: CHUKRAN at AUSTIN


Austin, Texas 78758         |
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