Auxiliary backup commands for the piartool utility

Auxiliary command

Description

-abort

Abort a current running backup. For example: piartool -backup -abort

-history [index] [-lastreport]

Display backup history summary, if you specify neither an index nor the -lastreportflag.

Display report for the specified index, if you specify an index.

Display report for the most recent backup, if you specify the -lastreport option.

By default, the history of the last 100 backups are stored in the backup history. This default can be overridden by the backup_MaxHistory tuning parameter.

-identify [-type INCREMENTAL|DIFFERENTIAL|FULL|COPY] [-numarch N] [-cutoff date] [-component c1 c2 c3 ...] [-archive n1 n2 n3...] [-exclude c1 c2 c3...] [-excludeFuture] [-excludeArchivesWithEndTimesOlderThan date][-verbose]

Report the list of files that Data Archive will back up.

Use the -identify command to determine the files and components that will be included in a particular backup without actually performing the backup. For example, to identify the files included in a typical incremental, use the syntax:

piartool -backup -identify -type INCREMENTAL
-verbose [-excludeArchivesWithEndTimesOlderThan Date]

The -excludeArchivesWithEndTimesOlderThan option is sometimes used with archives that were backed up outside the normally scheduled backups.

If you have upgraded from an old version of the server and have not converted to incremental backups, use the syntax:

piartool -backup -identify -numarch N
-cutoff Date

The -numarch and -cutoff flags have the same meaning as the corresponding piartool -backup path command that is used to start backups. See Launch backups with the piartool utility.

To identify the files included in a backup of specific components, use the syntax:

piartool -backup -identify -component






c0 c1 c2... [-archive






n0 n1 n2...] [-verbose]

A component is a logical grouping of files. For example, all of the files for PI Base Subsystem are grouped under the pibasess component.

If the -verbose flag is specified, the command reports the following additional information:

• ComponentName

  The name of the component that the file belongs to. The component name is used for the c0 c1 c2... parameters of the -component flag.

• LastBackup

  The time the file was last backed up. The last backup date is listed as null if the associated file has never been backed up or if the last backup date is not stored.

• LastModified

  Last time the file was modified.

• SizeInBytes

  File size in bytes.

• ComponentDescription

  Descriptive name for the component. Used only for display purposes in third-party backup applications.

-query

Query the current backup state and the current list of subsystems that are registered for backup. This command is typically used to determine if a backup is currently in progress. It can also be used to query the current debug message trace level, where the trace level is set by the piartool -backup -trace command or the Backup_TraceLevel tuning parameter.

-SimulateVSS simulate_command

Simulate the COM+ events of a VSS backup without backing up any files. The -SimulateVSS commands are useful for third-party backup applications that can take snapshots but do not communicate to the Data Archive server via the VSS API. The -SimulateVSS -PrepareBackup2Freeze command causes all events, from the PrepareBackup event through the Freeze event, to occur. The simulated backup is aborted if it does not end within 60 seconds. You can use the -SimulateVSS -Thaw2PostSnapshot command in conjunction with the -SimulateVSS -BackupShutdown command to end the simulated VSS backup.

-trace level

Control writing of debug messages to the log file.

By default, the trace level is 0, resulting in no trace messages. Higher values of trace level result in more trace messages. Trace levels higher than 100 result in no more messages than a trace level of 100.

Normally, tracing should be off to avoid unnecessary messages in the log file.

If the trace level is non-zero, the trace level is displayed by the piartool -backup -query command.

Example:

piartool -backup -trace 1

The default trace level can be overridden by specifying a non-zero value for the Backup_TraceLevel tuning parameter.