vbe is right. "fbackup" is not enough.

I would also like to add that "fbackup" in common with many of the unix feebies such as "dump" does not deal with large files (above 2Gb). It is also not accepted as a backup by HP support.


If you want to be able to recover from a system disc failure you should first make an Ignite backup and repeat that backup every time you make a significant change to the system configuration. Don't forget to record the current root password against that backup.

Then also use proper backup software (e.g. HP Omniback aka. Data Protector) to back up every file bearing in mind that "files" backups do not back up the Operating System properly - hence the Insight backup.

Don't forget to quiesce filesystems before you run a backup. In the basic case this mean stopping any databases and ensuring that no files are open. There are techniques available to keep database engines such as Oracle running during a backup.

It is advisible to rehearse and document the restore again-and-again to an expendable computer until you are confident that the restore works. If you are meticulous in your Insight backups or /dev/vg00 you may just need to bring /etc/passwd up to date before restoring the individual filesystems from the secondary backup.


Dealing with "fbackup" or "dump" process which go onto a continuation tape needs technical knowledge and planning. Imho you need to break the backup down into separate tapes by careful sizing and planning. i.e. Make each tape a separate backup operation containing one or more distinct disc partitions and don't let the backup software ask for a continuatation tape.
Imho. The best technique is to place each filesystem backup onto a separate tape partition and then use "mt" commands to navigate the tape. This is not necessary with HP Omniback because it recognises different mountpoints.