ntbackup & MS SQL 2k SP3 on Server 2003
From: Brian Bergin (ntbugtraq.1_at_TERABYTE.NET)
Date: 09/03/03
- Previous message: James C. Slora, Jr.: "Re: Alert: Microsoft Security Bulletin - MS03-036"
- Next in thread: Harald Ums: "Re: ntbackup & MS SQL 2k SP3 on Server 2003"
- Reply: Harald Ums: "Re: ntbackup & MS SQL 2k SP3 on Server 2003"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] [ attachment ]
Date: Wed, 3 Sep 2003 17:39:14 -0400 To: NTBUGTRAQ@LISTSERV.NTBUGTRAQ.COM
Microsoft has confirmed to us in ticket # SRX030827607392 that if you use
ntbackup.exe under Windows Server 2003 (any edition) that Shadow Copy does
not work if you have SQL 2k SP3 installed and are using Full Recovery mode
for db's (the recommend recovery model). They claim that is "by design"
(anyone heard that before from Redmond?). This is the case even if you do
NOT backup any SQL related db's. So long as SQL 2k SP3 is installed Shadow
Copy fails. The tech working on my case also confirms that this was a
decision made internally during the development of 2003 but that it is
currently "undocumented."
The entire time we've been hunting down the error "Error returned while
creating the volume shadow copy:800423f4" MS has done everything but blame
the kitchen sink on the problem. There are no KB articles that reference
that error; however, there are plenty of posts to MS newsgroups asking for
help on this. On almost every occasion MS blames a hardware or disk driver
for the error. The system that prompted our case to MS is a fully HCL'd
dual Xeon Dell server that came preinstalled with Server 2003. Of course,
MS initially blamed Dell for the problem. At around 14:00 ET today I
received verbal confirmation of the problem and the "solution" (putting
db's in Simple Recovery mode). I've asked the MS rep to put it in writing
and to find out of Shadow Copy fails if Oracle 9 is installed vs. MS SQL 2k
SP3. As of this writing, 17:30 ET, I have yet to receive any documentation
from Microsoft.
This is the 2nd undocumented problem with ntbackup in as many months. The
first was that a tape first used on Server 2003 could not be read from,
restored from, or written to on Windows 2000 Server/Pro or Windows XP Pro
no matter the Service Pack level of the other OS. MS has provided what we
consider to be a hack fix in that the fix allows for 2k/XP to read and
restore from tapes created on Server 2003, but in order to write to those
tapes they must be reprepared in 2k/XP. One can only wonder what other
undocumented "features" of ntbackup still exist.
The other current issue with ntbackup is on XP Pro. If you select a group
of folders to backup and save them as a .bks file and later use those
selections to run a backup if every folder previously selected is not
available the backup will completely fail with no indication of why it
failed. MS states that is also "by design". I can see no reason for not
making a backup utility that is smart enough to ignore selections that
don't exist. For example, on a small network with <10 PCs and an XP Pro
box with a tape drive, one is able to backup mapped drives to tape;
however, if say John's PC was accidentally shut down when he left and is
unavailable, the ENTIRE backup will fail. To me that's not trustworthy
computing. Too many people already don't backup, but to frustrate someone
with erroneous errors like "The saved selection file
"NT\NTBackup\data\filename.bks" cannot be found." The problem is the .bks
file is there, it's the files/folders contained in the .bks file that it
cannot find. If the error said something like "Files in the filename.bks
cannot be found, backup aborting" then it'd be easy to fix.
For those of you who want us to buy a 3rd party app, for many SMB's it's
often a matter of cost. ntbackup should function properly. In this case
MS claims this is "by design" but freely admits its design is not
documented so companies relying on ntbackup must know that if they run
their SQL 2k SP3 db's in the recommended Full Recovery mode their system's
Shadow Copy backup routines will fail to fully complete.
IMHO, MS needs to take a close look at ntbackup.exe under XP and 2003 and
figure out why so many undocumented "features" were implemented and
document those. As I said, it's hard enough to get users to backup without
having Microsoft making it that much harder.
NOTE: Please reply to the list so others may benefit from your
thoughts. If you're concerned it may not make it to the list, please cc:
me on the reply.
Sincerely,
Terabyte Computers, Inc.
Brian S. Bergin
President
-ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Whatever Happened to Octopus?
LEGATO RepliStor, formerly known as Octopus, delivers breakthrough
replication performance that's 5X faster than the competition in an
independent head-to-head test. Learn how RepliStor uses patented,
asynchronous, real-time replication, to deliver disaster recovery, data
distribution and consolidated backups. It is the first replication solution
to achieve Windows 2003 certification. Get the performance report now.
http://portal1.legato.com/products/replistor/upgrade.cfm
-ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
- Previous message: James C. Slora, Jr.: "Re: Alert: Microsoft Security Bulletin - MS03-036"
- Next in thread: Harald Ums: "Re: ntbackup & MS SQL 2k SP3 on Server 2003"
- Reply: Harald Ums: "Re: ntbackup & MS SQL 2k SP3 on Server 2003"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] [ attachment ]
Relevant Pages
|
