RE: My experience Re: Recovery from a crash

["Janet Fine" <janetrfine at hotmail dot com>]

6.25.05

Good Morning Everyone,

We had a similiar experience when we upgraded to the Sun processor last 
month.  The upgrade went smoothly and before the tech left our site, I 
checked all the obvious things--system backup, circ functions, opac, etc.  
After the tech left the library, I remembered our Community Information 
Database and attempted to back it up, with no luck.  I then attempted to 
search the CID database, with no luck.  I opened a call and was told that 
the CID didn't survive the migration but that we should be able to back it 
up from the most current full backup.  The most current full backup I had 
was from the day before the migration, so I felt confident everything would 
be ok.  Well, lo and behold, the Help desk couldn't read the backup tape and 
I was told that the tape was blank.  This was impossible as this was the 
tape that I had been using for 6 weeks and I dated the tape each time I 
backed up the CID.  Long story short, III was able to retrieve the CID from 
our old Dec processor. It turns out that even though I was going through the 
full backup (and verify) process almost daily, the CID was not backing up 
onto the tape--it was backing up onto a section of the drive that another 
tech had programmed it to do about a year ago when we were having backup 
problems with the CID.   We are back in business now, but it seems to me 
that III should be keeping track of their work arounds, or at least let us 
know what is happening so we can keep track.

Janet

----Original Message Follows----
From: "Harriet Zook" <hzook at pacific dot edu>
Reply-To: IUG INNOPAC List <innopac at innopacusers dot org>
To: <innopac at innopacusers dot org>
Subject: My experience Re: Recovery from a crash
Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2005 18:17:48 -0700

We also have had our system crash. 2 this year, on a new system that was
installed the fall of 2004 when we brought up Mil. The first happened
while we were out on Christmas break (library closed). We came back the
day after New Year's and found its demise. We had gotten a full backup
before it crashed so was able to restore everything. However, a couple
of changes that III had done prior to Christmas had to be redone. I
didn't think too much about it. Our latest happened June 13th (of course
while I was on vacation). Once again we had a complete full backup to
restore from, but once again I discovered the changes mentioned
previously were gone. When I questioned why this was so, I was told that
those changes had been done in a part of the system that is not
routinely backed up. I said WHAT! Something was mentioned about changing
a code so that it would be part of our regular back up (albeit it would
take longer to do). I said do it. But I'm not totally sure this has
happened. Later, I mentioned it to someone else at III and they said
that they would be telling someone that this should be backed up. I
would think that III would want the changes they make to the system
backed up so that they don't have repeatingly make the same changes over
again if something happens or have to reconstruct want has been done
before a crash.

Fortunately, as far as I can tell, we haven't had all the issues
mentioned in original message. But, I would recommend everyone check
into this issue. I will be following up with III after I unbury myself
from everything waiting for me upon my return from vacation.

>>> boggs at ups dot edu 6/16/2005 5:22:14 PM >>>
Hi,

Now that we are back up and running I wanted to do a summary of our
experience for the archive.  I know while we were down I was searching
the
archives to see what others had written, especially trying to find out
how
long it would take to restore from backup and what if anything didn't
recover. The good news, I suppose, is that there isn't much in the
archives
meaning it hasn't happened often or hasn't been a big enough deal to
write
about.
SNIP--
--
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Janet Fine
Department Head, Circulation Services
Great Neck Library
159 Bayview Avenue
Great Neck, NY 11023
(516) 466-8055 ext. 205