Thanks for your reply, I did the suggested corrections but the error persists.
Anyway I was able to do the restore using the TAPEDEV parameter of the onconfig.
Thank you very much for the help you gave me.
Original Message:
Sent: Wed February 22, 2023 09:50 AM
From: Art Kagel
Subject: Informix IDS 10 - Windows 32 bits - ontape
Guillermo:
This command:
ontape -r -t e:\backinf\RestoreFile
with no quotes and no space between the drive designator (e:) and the file path (\backinf\RestoreFile) should work.
Try again! I pretty certain that it was the space between the e: and the file path that was the issue.
Art
------------------------------
Art S. Kagel, President and Principal Consultant
ASK Database Management Corp.
www.askdbmgt.com
Original Message:
Sent: Wed February 22, 2023 08:39 AM
From: guillermo villanueva
Subject: Informix IDS 10 - Windows 32 bits - ontape
Thank you very much for the answer.
The problem is that in IDS 10, this syntax:
ontape -r -t FILENAME
Does not work, it gives error: Invalid argument
------------------------------------------------
E:\Informix\bin>onmode -ky
E:\Informix\bin>ontape -r -t "e:\backinf\RestoreFile"
invalid argument
------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
guillermo villanueva
Original Message:
Sent: Wed February 22, 2023 08:07 AM
From: Marcus Haarmann
Subject: Informix IDS 10 - Windows 32 bits - ontape
Guillermo,
the recommended approach would be using the -t parameter with a file name
instead of using STDIO with a redirect.
Art described it that way.
Since redirecting the input in restore process leaves no choice to getting input
for a level 1 (y/n) (because stdin is redirected and keyboard is not known any more
to the ontape process), the DB server will assume a finished backup, having no possibility
to ask for user input.
I am not sure about windows installations, but for a backup with -t parameter, the destination file
needs to exist as empty file before ontape is called (empty, with informix:informix / mode 660).
So backup should be taken with ontape -s -L 0/1 -t FILENAME
And restore with ontape -r -t FILENAME
That way, stdin is not redirected and leaves the option to ask for user input
about a possible level 1 backup.
Original Message:
Sent: 2/22/2023 7:51:00 AM
From: guillermo villanueva
Subject: RE: Informix IDS 10 - Windows 32 bits - ontape
Art Kagel, thank you very much for your response.
When I tried to do step 3 it gave me a syntax error and threw the ontape help, then I tried the following syntax:
ontape -r -t STDIO < "e: \backinf\RestoreFile".
This way when I ran it, it stayed working and I was waiting for it to ask me for the level 1 file, but it never did, it finished processing and showed me again the windows prompt leaving the informix in "Quiescent" status, but ontape never asked me for the other backup files.
What could have happened, can you help me?
------------------------------
guillermo villanueva
Original Message:
Sent: Thu February 16, 2023 11:26 AM
From: Art Kagel
Subject: Informix IDS 10 - Windows 32 bits - ontape
Giullermo:
Here. OK, ontape expects to restore from a file. so:
- Rename the level 0 archive file to something like:
C:\backinf\RestoreFile - If the engine you want to restore is online, take it offline with:
onmode -ky - Kick off ontape restore with:
ontape -r -t C:\backinf\RestoreFile - When ontape asks if you want to restore a level 1 archive, rename the level 0 file back to its original name, then rename the level 1 archive file to the same name as you did in #1: C:\backinf\RestoreFile
- Respond 'Y' to ontape's prompt and it will restore the level 1 archive from the named file.
- When it prompts to ask if you want to restore a level 2 archive, reply 'N' if you do not have one, or repeat #4 for the level 2 archive file and respond 'Y'
- When it prompts to ask if you want to restore logical log backups, then reply as appropriate. Ontape will look for the logical log backup files to be the path specified in the LTAPEDEV parameter in the ONCONFIG file. If that is a folder path, then ontape will find the files itself under that folder. If it is a filename, then you will have to sequentially rename each logical log backup file to that pathname before letting ontape attempt to restore that log backup. When you have run out of log files to restore, just reply 'N' to the prompt.
- When ontape completes the engine will be in Quiescent mode. You should bring the engine online with "onmode -m" before doing anything else. If you do not bring the engine fully online before shutting it down you will have to start the restores all over again. The engine needs to complete fast recovery be going to "OnLine" mode before shutting down.
The problem you will have on Windows is the difficulty of renaming the backup files between level restores. Make sure to open a window to do that in before starting the restore.
On a side note, seriously consider upgrading to the latest release of Informix (v 14.10.FC9W1). If you are currently living on an old Windows machine with Informix v10.00 you can probably get away with a free Innovator-C Edition or very inexpensive Express Edition license. Reach out to me privately if you want to talk about getting back into support and a modern version of Informix. Each of the versions after 10.00 (11.10, 11.50, 11.70, 12.10, & 14.10) was faster than the last and new hardware is MUCH faster, so... Also a new major release will drop in 2023.
------------------------------
Art S. Kagel, President and Principal Consultant
ASK Database Management Corp.
www.askdbmgt.com
Original Message:
Sent: Thu February 16, 2023 09:55 AM
From: guillermo villanueva
Subject: Informix IDS 10 - Windows 32 bits - ontape
Hello group good morning.
Please, could you help me with the ontape backup of an informix IDS 10?
My IDS is on windows 32 bit, it is a very old system and I would like to make incremental backups which I successfully did with:
cd Informix\bin
ontape -s -L 0 -t STDIO >"c:\backinf\L0Backup"
...
a few hours later
...
cd Informix\bin
ontape -s -L 1 -t STDIO >"c:\backinf\L1Backup"
The problem is that then I don't know how to restore them including to level 0 and level 1.
In the documentation I could find, it says how to do it in linux, but not how to do it in windows.
Thank you very much in advance.
Guillermo
------------------------------
guillermo villanueva
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