Logical Log archive error

Hi all, [ Informix 7.3, Sun Solaris 5.7 ] I did a bunch of research before trying my first Level 0 archive of our database. I couldn't bounce the DB, so I used onmonitor to adjust the TAPEDEV and LTAPEDEV to point to physical disk files (we only have 1 tape drive, and this was just a test anyway). Once the archive completed, a perfect success I might add.... thanks to all of you out there!, I used onmonitor again to change LTAPEDEV back to /dev/null. And here is where the problem arose: The Logical Logs kept filling, but weren't automatically being sent to /dev/null. After about 20 minutes (yes, they are very small! That's the next step :-)), all where full, but flag as "U------" instead of "U-B----". What did I do wrong? I thought the change back to /dev/nyull took effect immediately if done through onmonitor. Please help! In the meantime I have "ontape -c" running, but I'd like to fix this correctly. Thanks, Michael Hoffman

The logical logs will always fill unless you turn off the logging then the only events that get logged are things like creation of databases and tables. The logical logs can be instrumental in restoring you database in the event of a crash. With the llog's you can restore up to the point of failure after restoring your last archive. I would ask the question, "Why aren't you saving your logical logs to file or tape for restoration purposes?" Good luck "Michael Hoffman" <mrh@panix.com> wrote in message news:8tmmgs$4sd$1@news.panix.com... > > Hi all, > > [ Informix 7.3, Sun Solaris 5.7 ] > > I did a bunch of research before trying my first Level 0 archive of > our database. I couldn't bounce the DB, so I used onmonitor to adjust the > TAPEDEV and LTAPEDEV to point to physical disk files (we only have 1 tape > drive, and this was just a test anyway). Once the archive completed, a > perfect success I might add.... thanks to all of you out there!, I used > onmonitor again to change LTAPEDEV back to /dev/null. > > And here is where the problem arose: The Logical Logs kept filling, > but weren't automatically being sent to /dev/null. After about 20 minutes > (yes, they are very small! That's the next step :-)), all where full, but > flag as "U------" instead of "U-B----". > > What did I do wrong? I thought the change back to /dev/nyull took > effect immediately if done through onmonitor. > > Please help! In the meantime I have "ontape -c" running, but I'd like to > fix this correctly. > > Thanks, > Michael Hoffman >

In <8tn1a3$7rk$1@apollo.nyed.uscourts.gov> article, Don Coburn mentioned that: : The logical logs will always fill unless you turn off the logging then the : only events that get logged are things like creation of databases and : tables. : The logical logs can be instrumental in restoring you database in the event : of a crash. With the llog's you can restore up to the point of failure : after restoring your last archive. : I would ask the question, "Why aren't you saving your logical logs to file : or tape for restoration purposes?" : Good luck A very good question. The quick & dirty answer: I just started this job. :-) The database was set up by people with little Informix experience and my first assignment is to create a backup/restore procedure for our live and test systems. We will be adding a dedicated tape drive within the week to handle continuous log backups. In the meantime, we don't really care if we don't have a true backup. The cause of the posted problem, in fact, was my attempt to prove that we had enough disk space for a DB -> Disk -> Tape backup scheme. Thanks, Michael Hoffman : "Michael Hoffman" <mrh@panix.com> wrote in message : news:8tmmgs$4sd$1@news.panix.com... :> :> Hi all, :> :> [ Informix 7.3, Sun Solaris 5.7 ] :> :> I did a bunch of research before trying my first Level 0 archive of :> our database. I couldn't bounce the DB, so I used onmonitor to adjust the :> TAPEDEV and LTAPEDEV to point to physical disk files (we only have 1 tape :> drive, and this was just a test anyway). Once the archive completed, a :> perfect success I might add.... thanks to all of you out there!, I used :> onmonitor again to change LTAPEDEV back to /dev/null. :> :> And here is where the problem arose: The Logical Logs kept filling, :> but weren't automatically being sent to /dev/null. After about 20 minutes :> (yes, they are very small! That's the next step :-)), all where full, but :> flag as "U------" instead of "U-B----". :> :> What did I do wrong? I thought the change back to /dev/nyull took :> effect immediately if done through onmonitor. :> :> Please help! In the meantime I have "ontape -c" running, but I'd like to :> fix this correctly. :> :> Thanks, :> Michael Hoffman :>

I also agree with Don Coburn, if this is your production server, then it is a really really good idea to keep the logs. But if you don't want the logical logs backed up, then yes change to /dev/null, - but - you must shutdown and restart the engine for the change to take effect. Regards Kelly Michael Hoffman wrote: > > Hi all, > > [ Informix 7.3, Sun Solaris 5.7 ] > > I did a bunch of research before trying my first Level 0 archive of > our database. I couldn't bounce the DB, so I used onmonitor to adjust the > TAPEDEV and LTAPEDEV to point to physical disk files (we only have 1 tape > drive, and this was just a test anyway). Once the archive completed, a > perfect success I might add.... thanks to all of you out there!, I used > onmonitor again to change LTAPEDEV back to /dev/null. > > And here is where the problem arose: The Logical Logs kept filling, > but weren't automatically being sent to /dev/null. After about 20 minutes > (yes, they are very small! That's the next step :-)), all where full, but > flag as "U------" instead of "U-B----". > > What did I do wrong? I thought the change back to /dev/nyull took > effect immediately if done through onmonitor. > > Please help! In the meantime I have "ontape -c" running, but I'd like to > fix this correctly. > > Thanks, > Michael Hoffman