I'm not sure if this is the place to ask this question but I have a script on an IBM RS6000 that has quit working. I can manually run a backup using SMIT and it appears okay, but not sure about the script.

----------code------------
#!/bin/ksh
#set -x
echo backup beginning
date
find /home -print | backup -i -f /dev/rmt0.1 -q
echo backup finished
date
----------------------------

it had several other directories included as well but I figured I would start with one and see if I could narrow down the problem of not backing up

Any help on this one would be greatly appreciated. I just kind of inherited this problem and this server because the person that maintained it quit.

TIA,
cami

"quit working" is not much to go on. Precisely what happens? I don't know AIX, but looking atthe backup man page, the only thing I notice is "/dev/rmt0.1" which looks odd. That man page says /dev/rmt0-1 would refer to two devices but I don't see any indication that a dot is acceptable. But since I don't know AIX, I suppose it might be legal.

The script is executed from the crontab or I can run it manually and I see no error as it runs, but when I run SMIT to view the contents of the tape backup I get the following error:

restore: 0511-160 Cannot read the backup media
/dev/rmt0: There is an input or output error.

The backups have been running for a couple of years and when I started randomly checking them after the network person left a month or so later I would get the error every so often until I was finally getting it every day. Not exactly sure where to go next.

I removed the .1 altogether and it appears to be working. Not sure how the script got modified or by whom but thanks for the hint.

Check your /dev directory. You may have a large file called /dev/rmt0.1.

I am not an expert, but I believe the ".1" after rmt0 tells the system not to rewind the tape so that another backup can be placed on the tape or allows a second backup on the same tape without writing over the first one. We have a backup that is similar. Here it is:
find /law1/DB/PROD -print | backup -iqvf /dev/rmt0.1
find /law1/lawson/ccsprod -print | backup -iqvf /dev/rmt0

JYoung - hmm, maybe you are an expert - good call. Found the same info here

Of course, now we know this is okay to use, what is messing up the script??? It should work with the 0.1.