Backing up and restoring Tivoli databases

To back up existing Tivoli object databases for all computers in the Tivoli management region so you can use these backup copies to restore them to a known working state if you encounter a problem during installation.

Background information

This procedure describes a routine backup method that you can use frequently. In addition to this backup, arrange a complete backup of the Tivoli environment whenever you make significant changes to the system, such as the installation of this product. If you encounter a problem during a change operation, you can use the system backup to restore the entire Tivoli environment to a known working state.

This procedure provides a stable and complete snapshot of the Tivoli database and related files and a safer alternative to manually compressing the database files in a .tar or .zip format. For example, when you save a database to a .tar or .zip file, an error might occur if the Tivoli object dispatcher is simultaneously writing to the Tivoli database.

This procedure also enables you to estimate the size of the backup files to ensure that you have sufficient disk space in the target directory to complete the operation.

You back up or restore databases using the wbkupdb command. In a large Tivoli management region, the wbkupdb process can take a long time because backups of the managed node databases are performed serially. Concurrent backup processes are not allowed in the same Tivoli management region. You must complete one wbkupdb command before you execute a second instance of the command.

The backup file is saved to the default location, which is the \backups directory in the Tivoli database directory. The \backups directory is created if it does not exist.

Tivoli Management Framework must be running on the Tivoli management region server and on the managed node whose database is being restored. Otherwise the wbkupdb command cannot restore any database (managed node or Tivoli management region server). See the Tivoli Management Framework Reference Manual for a description of all the capabilities of the wbkupdb command.

Required authorization role

backup or super

The default directory to which backup files are written has root write permissions only. If you cannot log in as the root administrator, you must change the location of the backup file to a directory for which you have write access.

Before you begin

You must have a valid user login name and a group name for the computer on which the backup file is stored.

On UNIX, set umask to 022 for root.

When you finish

None

Procedure

You can perform backups from the command line interface (CLI) or in the Tivoli desktop.

You can perform restore operations from the command line interface only.

Command line

Use the wbkupdb command.

wbkupdb [-d device] [-r] [node_name ...]

where:

-d device

Specifies the file or device to which the backup file is saved or from which the backup file is retrieved. If you specify a file name with this option, you can insert a file date and time anywhere in the file name by adding the variable %t. The variable is replaced with a date/time stamp in the form Mondd-hhmm. For example, if you specify -d /usr/backups/TMR1%t.bk, the resulting file is named TMR1Dec21-0955.bk. The time is displayed in 24-hour mode.

-r

Restores the databases for the specified nodes.

node_name

Specifies the node to be backed up or restored. You can specify multiple nodes.

See the description of the wbkupdb command in the Tivoli Management Framework Reference Manual for more options.

Examples

The following example backs up the Tivoli databases for all managed nodes in the Tivoli management region from which the wbkupdb command is run. The backups are written to the user-defined file /usr/backups/TMR1.bk.

wbkupdb -d /usr/backups/TMR1.bk

The following example backs up the database of a single managed node, sherman. In this example, the backup file is saved to the default location.

wbkupdb sherman

The following example restores a single managed node, sherman. The -r flag restores the backed up database on sherman. The -d flag identifies /usr/backups/TMR1.bk as the backup file to restore.

wbkupdb -r -d /usr/backups/TMR1.bk sherman

Tivoli desktop

1. Select Backup from the Desktop menu to display the Backup Tivoli Management Region window.
2. Select one or more managed nodes from the Available managed nodes scrolling list.
3. Click the left-arrow option to move them to the Backup these managed nodes area.
4. Type the name of the managed node on which the backup image or device is located in the Save image on node field.
5. Type the full path name for the backup file in the Device/File field.
6. Click Estimate Backup Size to see the estimated backup size required for each managed node. Ensure that sufficient disk space exists for the target directory.
7. Click Close to display the Backup Tivoli Management Region window.
8. Click Start Backup to display the Backup Status window and begin backup operation.
9. Click Close to close the Backup Tivoli Management Region window and display the Tivoli desktop window.

wbkupdb

Syntax

wbkupdb -e -l [object node_name...]

wbkupdb [-b] [-d device] [-f] [-h node_name] [node_name...]

wbkupdb -l [-d device] [-f] [-h node_name] [object node_name...]

wbkupdb -d device -r [-R] [node_name...]

wbkupdb -d device -r -l [-R] [object node_name...]

wbkupdb -s

Description

Note

When the -e option is used, this command estimates the total size of the backup archive. The wbkupdb -e command estimates the size of the backup of each managed node and the total size of the archive. This report is an estimate, but it is very close to the actual size of the backup image.

The third and fourth forms of this command (as shown in the syntax) back up the database and store it in the specified file or device on the specified system. If the backup file already exists and is a disk file, you must specify the -f option to overwrite the old backup file.

When the -r option is used, this command restores Tivoli object databases. This is primarily useful for reverting to a previously saved copy of the Tivoli object databases that you backed up. The Tivoli server or managed node that is to be restored must have Tivoli Management Framework operational. If a restore operation is being performed from a system other than the Tivoli server, you cannot restore both the Tivoli server and the local database unless you specify the -R option. If you restore the local database, you must use the explicit node_name syntax and specify the local node at the end or specify the -R option.

If the object dispatcher that is to be restored is not running (and presumably cannot be run because its database is corrupted or missing), you can extract the database manually and put the files in the correct location in the database directory.

The wbkupdb command also saves any old versions of files and the notification database. Typically, these are not restored, because you probably do not want to read notices that have already been read. If for some reason the file is destroyed, you can restore it manually. The \files_versions directory is not restored. If you want to see old revisions of system files, the files can be moved from the \files_versions.restore directory as necessary.

The following list details the files and databases backed up in the temporary directory on UNIX and Windows managed nodes and Tivoli servers:

• For UNIX managed nodes, recovered files are as follows:
  • odb.bdb.restore
  • odb.adj.restore
  • odb.log.restore
  • \file_versions.restore (directory)
• For a UNIX Tivoli server, recovered files are as follows:
  • odb.bdb.restore
  • odb.log.restore
  • imdb.bdb.restore
  • notice.bdb.restore
  • notice.log.restore
  • odlist.dat.restore
  • \epmgr.bdb.restore (directory)
  • \file_versions.restore (directory)
• For Windows managed nodes, recovered files are as follows:
  • odb.bdb
  • odb.adj
  • odb.log
  • \file_versions (directory)
• For a Windows Tivoli server, recovered files are as follows:
  • odb.bdb
  • odb.log
  • imdb.bdb
  • notice.log
  • odlist.dat
  • \epmgr.db (directory)
  • \file_versions (directory)

Options

-b

Blocks the writing of data to the Tivoli object databases during the backup. When you specify this option, the object dispatcher does not write data to the Tivoli object database while the database is backed up. After the backup operation completes, any write operations that queued during the backup operation are written to the database. Use the -b option when you want to ensure that the Tivoli object databases are unchanged for the duration of the backup, for example, in a very busy Tivoli environment. If you use the -b option to back up a node that has not been upgraded to a version of Tivoli Management Framework that contains this feature, the standard backup method is used for that node.

The -b option causes the backup operation to check for needed disk space before performing the backup. A warning message is displayed if sufficient disk space is not available.

Note

The needed disk space is estimated by calculating twice the sum of the sizes of odb.bdb and imdb.bdb. In some environments, this estimate might be too low. For these situations, you can set the TIVBACKUPSIZE environment variable to override the estimate produced by the -b option. Set the value for TIVBACKUPSIZE in KB. On Windows operating systems, TIVBACKUPSIZE must be a system environment variable.

 

When you specify this option, the object dispatcher writes error messages that result from the backup to the oservlog file.

-d device

Specifies the file or device to which the backup file should be saved or from which the backup file should be retrieved. If you specify a file name, you can insert a file date and time anywhere in the file name by adding the %t variable. This variable is replaced with a time stamp in the form Mondd-hhmm. For example, if you specify -d /usr/backups/TMR1%t.bk, the resulting file is named TMR1Dec21-0955.bk. The time is displayed in 24-hour mode.

-e

Estimates the size of the backup.

-f

Overwrites a previous backup file of the same name.

-h node_name

Specifies the system that contains the .tar file that is created by the wbkupdb command. The default is the Tivoli server.

-l

Specifies that options on the command line are object and label pairs. This option is for internal use only.

-r

Restores the databases for the specified nodes.

-R

Does not restart object dispatchers after restoring the database files. A number of .restore files are placed in the database directory. To effect the changes, use the reexec option of the odadmin command or one of its derivatives to restart the object dispatchers so that they pick up the restored copies of the databases.

-s

Suppresses display of an initial desktop message for each managed node being backed up.

node_name

Specifies the node to be backed up. You can specify multiple nodes.

object

Specifies a backup object identifier.

Authorization

To restore from a backup, the restore role in the Tivoli region to perform a restore operation is required.

The default backup directory requires root write permission. Log in as the root administrator or change the location of the backup file. If you are performing a "rescue" operation, you must be root on the machine where the crashed database is located.

Examples

1. The following example backs up the Tivoli object databases for all managed nodes in the Tivoli region, and writes the backups to the /usr/backups/TMR1.bkfile:

   wbkupdb -d /usr/backups/TMR1.bk

2. The following example backs up the database of managed node sherman. Because no backup file is specified, the backup is written to the $DBDIR/backups directory.

   wbkupdb sherman

3. The following example restores the database to managed node sherman by using the /usr/backups/TMR1.bk backup file:

   wbkupdb -r -d /usr/backups/TMR1.bk sherman

See Also

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Last modified: March, 12, 2019