re: paul linton

Paul Linton writes he is "scared of what they can't see" re: using raw db tape backups for on-line. I also agree, but have found every time I needed it it was right there. We are using Turbo on a Unisys 5000, because our application programmers havent given us the go-ahead to go to On-Line. But the db backup works reliably, regularly, etc. We have a dedicated tape drive. All day the informix login is there writing Logical Logs out to it. At night, the operator logs of the logger, and begins a full db backup to tapes using that same drive. When done, the logger is back in use. One undesirable side effect is that during the day, even if we log off the logger, we cannot use that tape drive with cpio/tar etc. It always tells us that shared memory has it tied up. So I assume because Turbo was brought to multi-user mode with that device defined for its use, it wont let anyone else use it. I hope On-Line will be more forgiving. I do agree that it would be nice to be able to "check" the readability of tapes on another system, but so far no problem! Only problem we did have was fixed when the tape drive was repaired. Good luck! Ann Barnes, Letterkenny Army Depot. Chambersburg, PA 17201