TI: v8.0.774 -- Won't recognize clustered drives.

I'm running Windows 2000 Server, and have installed TI:8.0 (Build 774) on my two clustered computers.

I have successfully used TI to back up and restore the system drives (C:\) of both of the machines.

What I cannot do, however, is see the drives that are part of the cluster.
( This is an Oracle cluster )

I've stopped all the Oracle processes that are running, and made sure I was on the machine that has control of the disks... and still nothing.

Anyone have any idea why this wouldn't work with this system but would work with others?

 

Success -- but not in a way that is preferred.

I was able to get the drives recognized by W2K *and* TI by powering down the *entire* cluster, then powering it back up.

The reason I never tried this, is that our databases rarely get a chance to be brought down.

( I'm not so sure this is a good thing, and you might want to at least document this if you're not going to fix it. )

 

Wait, I spoke too soon.

This method will only work for one server (the last server to be the master when it booted.)

If I fail-over and give the disks to a different master that second master doesn't recognize them in TI, but still does in W2K:Adv Server.

What is the real fix to make TI recognize the drives that windows recognizes?

 

Bumping, in hopes that I can write up documentation for our customer...

 

Hello redsai,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please update your copy of Acronis True Image 8.0 to the 889 build. In order to get access to updates you should register account on our site (or just log in if you have already created it) and then register your copy of the product.

If the problem remains please install the below update with disabled logging and see whether the problem persists.

http://download.acronis.com/support/ticket/137/SnapAPI_s_e.exe

If the problem remains please contact us again.

Thank you.
--
Irina Shirokova

 

Update for service?

Very well. I'm reinstalling again today. ( When I get my hands on the CDs and the keys once more. ) I will attempt then, to get these files and have them virus scanned & installed.

Is there any documentation/support for this version, or is a change of the running code a requirement to get service?

 

Re: Update for service?

Hello redsai,

You can download the User's Guide of Acronis software on our web-site.

Thank you.
--
Irina Shirokova

 

TI: v8.0.889 -- Won't recognize clustered drives.

There.

I got ahold of the CD keys for this project and registered on your site. I have upgraded to 8.0.889 by the documented procedure (uninstall 774, install 889.)

Notes about this server:

• Windows 2000 Advanced Server
• Acronis True Image 8.0.889 Freshly installed.
• Two clustered disks.
• (These disks show up in "My Computer" if the machine owns them)

When this server is the master of the cluster, and the drives appear in "My Computer," Acronis does not place them in the Create Image Wizard's "Select Partitions to Image."

How do I make an exact image of these drives?

----
EDIT:
I forgot to mention, I have already read most of the documentation, and couldn't find anything relating to this problem. If there's a page # I'm missing, please tell me.

 

Re: TI: v8.0.889 -- Won't recognize clustered drives.

Hello redsai,

Could you please create Acronis Report on the computer to which the disk belongs in the way described at Acronis Help Post and send it to support@acronis.com along with the link to this thread? Also please describe what edition of Acronis True Image you use? Is it Acronis True Image 8.0 or Acronis True Image 8.0 Server?

Thank you.
--
Ilya Toytman

 

Yesterday, I went ahead and emailed support@acronis.com since I was in a hurry to get help.

Konstantin is handling this with me via email. He has delivered a patch to me that is proving testworthy.

I will post any results that I am allowed to after this issue has been resolved.

 

Hello redsai,

If you do not receive any response from Acronis Support Team within 48 hours please let me know your Acronis Request # which will be sent to you in autoreply, I will certainly find the reason of the delay.

Thank you.
--
Irina Shirokova.

 

Test result: FAILURE
----
Below are some headers of some information you might ask me. I would like some help making this new patched version of Acronis work with my cluster.

What I have done so far:
I installed the newest version.
I installed the snapapi patch that Konstantin sent me.
I stopped the parts of the cluster that were running on the drive I was to backup.
I backed up the drive.
I backed up the drive using my old system.
I restored the drive using Acronis TI.
My clustered drive failed.
I've recovered the system.

I will be:
Reinstalling with logging.
Waiting until the critical tasks are complete on my cluster.
Waiting for Support to get back to me.

Instructions I received:
Please install the below update with disabled logging and see whether the problem persists.
( Link removed )
If the problem does persist, please enable logging by running the update once more, reproduce the program failure and send us the c:\snapapi.log file.
If the problem does remain then please download Acronis Report utility available at ( Link removed ) and run it, create a report and send it to us.
This would provide us with detailed information on the hard disk partition structure.
Thank you.


What I did (Long version)
I ran the patched application to make a backup on Friday 7/15 (and made a just-in-case backup using a different mechanism.)

During these backups, and the subsequent restoration all services that were using the drive were off. No users were attempting to connect. And the node was only running the standard Windows processes that do not interface with this drive.

I initiated the restore process late Friday afternoon, and left it to run over the weekend.

When I returned on Monday the process I started Friday afternoon was almost finished, but had "read errors" for me to click through. After clicking through three or four (all of which were "read errors") Acronis said the restoration was successful.

My clustered drive showed up as failed in the Cluster Administrator. Whenever it would try to go online the drive would failover between the two nodes until it had retried the proper number of times.

Windows wouldn't recognize the drive, and so I had to rebuild the cluster from my other backup.

 

Email responses have been extremely sluggish, here's my problem:

I sent mail to them again Monday morning and still have yet to receive a response.

The last I heard from them was a standard "Try the most recent version. Try replacing your memory. Try disabling overclocking."
( Our RAM has been tested repeatedly and is fine, and we definetly do not do something as unstable as overclocking. See my response below about upgrading. )

My mail was asking about the known stability of 903 versus my current version, 889 (Upgraded at the very start of this process). It also asked if there could be some kind of workaround other than using the program in an intended way... I am also looking for some kind of assurance that this software will not crash our computers and damage the configuration of the cluster.

I have to declare these servers and all of their hardware/software one of three things:
functional, defunct with workaround, or defunct

--

Currently, ATI has been getting defunct on the big reason why we're testing it: it claims in press releases to back up clusters.
--

My deadline for this decision is tomorrow at 10am Central USA time ( -0500 GMT )

I'll be arriving the same time I always tell the support team: 8am Central USA.

If I can get support, files, or techniques to try, I can get this extended.

"Upgrade to the latest version..." might be fine if I could get a straight answer about what has changed.

 

I am attempting with the latest version, 903, to solve my problem. (Using the standard uninstall/reinstall procedures.)

The SnapAPI tool I received just updates the drivers...right?

Should that be installed if I'm attempting 903?

(I will not use that unless instructed to.)

 

I'm having the same issue I had before, I am unable to see the SCSI cluster devices in Acronis TI when I am the owner of them.

I am using the snapAPI executable that was sent to me before. (This had fixed this particular problem.)

 

Installed the snapAPI, it solved the drive-seeing issue... but has not solved the crashing problem.

 

Hello redsai,

Could you please let me know what kind of crash you encounter? Do you get BSOD or the crash of the application? If the former, please describe what is written on the BSOD (the type of error), if the latter - what application crashes?

Thank you.
--
Ilya Toytman

 

BSOD. Machine restarts in a non-graceful fashion.

The name of the error changes every time.

 

Hello redsai,

Please do the following in order to enable mini-dumps.

- Open Computer properties either by right clicking on My Computer icon and choosing Properties or by opening System properties in Control Panel;
- Go to Advanced tab;
- Press Startup and Recover Settings button;
- Choose Small memory dump in Write debugging information box;
- Close all the dialog windows by clicking OK buttons.

Then please reproduce the system crash and send the mini-dumps created to support@acronis.com indicating in the subject of the letter that you want to contact Ilya Toytman. I will examine the files and will let you know the reason for the failure.

Thank you.
--
Ilya Toytman