TMF Operations and Recovery Guide (G06.26+)

Online Dumps
HP NonStop TMF Operations and Recovery Guide—522417-003
5-2
Making Online Dumps
Making Online Dumps
You can make online dumps only when TMF is running. Use the DUMP FILES
command to make online dumps, specifying the names of the audited files to be
dumped. The online dump process copies each file to tape or disk and makes an entry
in the TMF catalog for each file.
The online dump process locates the audited files to be dumped and gets the name of
a scratch tape from the TMF catalog, unless you have specified tape volume names in
the DUMP FILES command. If the requested tape or another TMF scratch tape is not
mounted, the labeled-tape process generates an event message of the form:
$ZSVR: 0014 MOUNT TMF012 WITH RING
"TMF Online-Dump ($X023). Tape #1."
You can respond to the tape request by mounting the requested tape or mounting any
TMF scratch tape; the online dump then begins.
An online dump to disk will run without your assistance as long as there is enough disk
space available to hold the audited files to be dumped.
If an online dump completely fills a tape volume, the dump process closes and rewinds
the tape, obtains the name of a new scratch tape from the TMF catalog, and opens the
new tape volume. If you do not pre-mount the new tape volume, the labeled-tape
process generates a new mount request.
If you need more scratch tapes, use the ADD TAPEMEDIA command to make TMF
labeled scratch tapes. See Section 6, The TMF Catalog, for information about the
ADD TAPEMEDIA command.
When the online dump process completes successfully, it generates an event message
like the following:
11:47 24FEB02 147,00,048 TMF *0211* OnlineDump:
Completed online dump to tape.
Dump serial number: 77.
You can cancel the DUMP FILES operation by using the CANCEL OPERATIONS
command. For more information on using the DUMP FILES and CANCEL
OPERATIONS commands, refer to the TMF Reference Manual.
Caution. Error messages generated by TMF and other subsystems during online dump
operations can sometimes have a vital impact that is not always obvious. For example, a disk
or tape parity or checksum error can prevent a file from being dumped. For this reason, you
should check the individual messages and summary information displayed by the DUMP
FILES command to ensure that you are aware of all such errors. In addition, you can use the
INFO DUMPS command to verify that all the intended files were dumped.
If a file is within a set of files to be dumped, do not purge it or change it to nonaudited while the
online dump process is running: allow the process to complete before you make these
changes. Purging or changing a file to nonaudited during an online dump can result in an
unsuccessful dump of the file. If this happens, the TMF catalog will not release the online
dump media and the associated audit dump media.