level -0 backup running too long

Hello everybody, I am running level-0 backup using the command ontape -s. Normally, it will only take 45 minutes. These past 2 weeks, it is running too long, sometimes for 2 days. And sometimes, it will run on its regular phase,and is finished within 45 minutes. Could anybody give me some idea, why suddenly, it is taking so long. I am running INFORMIX DB-Access Version 7.30.uc2. I will appreciate any ideas..... Thanks, Lorna

Hi, do you have a lot of changes (inserts/updates/deletes) during backup time? Heavy load can increase backup time significantly. 7.30.UC2 is very very old, did you consider an upgrade? (but I must admit that we have one 7.30.UC3 running, too). Where does your backup go to (tape, disk, over network)? What about CPU/memory/disk usage of the machine during backup time? Bye Andreas > ------------------------------------------- SPAR Oesterreichische Warenhandels-AG Hauptzentrale Europastrasse 3 A - 5015 Salzburg Tel: +43 662 4470 24223 Mobile: +43 664 6259575 E-Mail: Andreas.KUTSCHE@spar.at Internet: http://www.spar.at ------------------------------------------- -----Urspr|ngliche Nachricht----- > Von: forum.subscriber@iiug.org [mailto:forum.subscriber@iiug.org]Im > Auftrag von Lorna de Jesus > Gesendet: Mittwoch, 12. Oktober 2005 18:30 > An: ids@iiug.org > Betreff: level -0 backup running too long [5819] > > > Hello everybody, > > I am running level-0 backup using the command ontape > -s. Normally, > it will only take 45 minutes. These past 2 weeks, it is > running too long, > sometimes for 2 days. And sometimes, it will run on its > regular phase,and is > finished within 45 minutes. Could anybody give me some > idea, why suddenly, > it is taking so long. > > > I am running INFORMIX DB-Access Version 7.30.uc2. I will > appreciate any ideas..... > > > Thanks, > Lorna

Lorna I think you -> -----Original Message----- -> From: Lorna de Jesus [mailto:LdeJesus@jmrodgers.com] -> Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 5:30 PM -> To: ids@iiug.org -> Subject: level -0 backup running too long [5819] -> -> -> Hello everybody, -> -> I am running level-0 backup using the command -> ontape -s. Normally, -> it will only take 45 minutes. These past 2 weeks, it is -> running too long, -> sometimes for 2 days. And sometimes, it will run on its -> regular phase,and is -> finished within 45 minutes. Could anybody give me some -> idea, why suddenly, -> it is taking so long. -> -> -> I am running INFORMIX DB-Access Version 7.30.uc2. I will -> appreciate any ideas..... -> -> -> Thanks, -> Lorna -> ******************************************************************************** ** This message is sent in strict confidence for the addressee only. It may contain legally privileged information. The contents are not to be disclosed to anyone other than the addressee. Unauthorised recipients are requested to preserve this confidentiality and to advise the sender immediately of any error in transmission. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses, however we cannot guarantee that this message is free from such problems. ******************************************************************************** **

Lorna I think you may be hitting Bug 101062 Very Old Pages. http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=630&context=SSGU8G&q1=101062&uid=swg 21137719&loc=en_US&cs=utf-8&lang=en Try placing this line :- CCFLAGS 0x400000 in your onconfig file and then bouncing the engine. Should hopefully resolve the problem. Keith -> -----Original Message----- -> From: Lorna de Jesus [mailto:LdeJesus@jmrodgers.com] -> Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 5:30 PM -> To: ids@iiug.org -> Subject: level -0 backup running too long [5819] -> -> -> Hello everybody, -> -> I am running level-0 backup using the command -> ontape -s. Normally, -> it will only take 45 minutes. These past 2 weeks, it is -> running too long, -> sometimes for 2 days. And sometimes, it will run on its -> regular phase,and is -> finished within 45 minutes. Could anybody give me some -> idea, why suddenly, -> it is taking so long. -> -> -> I am running INFORMIX DB-Access Version 7.30.uc2. I will -> appreciate any ideas..... -> -> -> Thanks, -> Lorna -> ******************************************************************************** ** This message is sent in strict confidence for the addressee only. It may contain legally privileged information. The contents are not to be disclosed to anyone other than the addressee. Unauthorised recipients are requested to preserve this confidentiality and to advise the sender immediately of any error in transmission. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept for the presence of computer viruses, however we cannot guarantee that this message is free from such problems. ******************************************************************************** **

Dear Mr de Jesus To my knowledge 7.30 is not supported anymore and I strongly suggest you cantact IBM to get an upgrade version . (7.31, 9.4 or even 10.00) Apart from that from your description it appears you are hit Informix defect 101062. ARCHIVE PERFORMANCE DEGRADATION WHEN MANY CALLS TO ARC_VERY_OLD_PAGE() The defect causes archives to run very slow , in case many updates have happend between two L-0 archives. This defect is fixed in IDS 7.31.UD1 and higher and in 9.4 and 10.00. With kind regards Tilman Model-Bosch -- Tilman Model-Bosch IBM Data Management Solutions, Informix Advanced Support c\\\\o SAP AG TECHDEV 05 Neurrotstr.16 69190 Walldorf forum.subscriber@iiug.org wrote on 12.10.2005 18:30:29: > Hello everybody, > > I am running level-0 backup using the command ontape -s. Normally, > it will only take 45 minutes. These past 2 weeks, it is running too long, > sometimes for 2 days. And sometimes, it will run on its regular phase,and is > finished within 45 minutes. Could anybody give me some idea, why suddenly, > it is taking so long. > > > I am running INFORMIX DB-Access Version 7.30.uc2. I will > appreciate any ideas..... > > > Thanks, > Lorna

Lorna, Sounds like you may have run across the 'old page' feature. About every 3 months - perhaps more perhaps less, the timestamp on each page gets to a point where the engine cannot tell if the page is old or has just been updated. Accordingly, all old pages have their timestamp updated. You can tell that this is happening by the number of writes which occur to pages during the backup. This is normal. You can split your database into 12 logical chunks (the number will vary according to how often the feature surfaces) and perform a weekly update against each chunk (update table set col=col where 1=1) for the next three months. This will, in effect, stagger the age of your pages so that only 1/12 of the timestamps need to be updated. So during each backup you will see 1/12th of the pages get updated. This will increase the time of your standard backup from 45 minutes to (2 days you said? then 48/12) 4:45, but it will be consistent. You ARE running with an old version of the engine. You could also start using onbar which will backup the dbspaces in parallel - as opposed to ontape which does them serially. Regards, Jack Parker > Von: forum.subscriber@iiug.org [mailto:forum.subscriber@iiug.org]Im > Auftrag von Lorna de Jesus > Gesendet: Mittwoch, 12. Oktober 2005 18:30 > An: ids@iiug.org > Betreff: level -0 backup running too long [5819] > > > Hello everybody, > > I am running level-0 backup using the command ontape > -s. Normally, > it will only take 45 minutes. These past 2 weeks, it is > running too long, > sometimes for 2 days. And sometimes, it will run on its > regular phase,and is > finished within 45 minutes. Could anybody give me some > idea, why suddenly, > it is taking so long. > > > I am running INFORMIX DB-Access Version 7.30.uc2. I will > appreciate any ideas..... > > > Thanks, > Lorna

Hi Everybody, Thanks guys.... to all the informative ideas. Lorna -----Original Message----- From: forum.subscriber@iiug.org [mailto:forum.subscriber@iiug.org]On Behalf Of Jack Parker Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2005 6:55 AM To: ids@iiug.org Subject: RE: level -0 backup running too long [5828] Lorna, Sounds like you may have run across the 'old page' feature. About every 3 months - perhaps more perhaps less, the timestamp on each page gets to a point where the engine cannot tell if the page is old or has just been updated. Accordingly, all old pages have their timestamp updated. You can tell that this is happening by the number of writes which occur to pages during the backup. This is normal. You can split your database into 12 logical chunks (the number will vary according to how often the feature surfaces) and perform a weekly update against each chunk (update table set col=col where 1=1) for the next three months. This will, in effect, stagger the age of your pages so that only 1/12 of the timestamps need to be updated. So during each backup you will see 1/12th of the pages get updated. This will increase the time of your standard backup from 45 minutes to (2 days you said? then 48/12) 4:45, but it will be consistent. You ARE running with an old version of the engine. You could also start using onbar which will backup the dbspaces in parallel - as opposed to ontape which does them serially. Regards, Jack Parker > Von: forum.subscriber@iiug.org [mailto:forum.subscriber@iiug.org]Im > Auftrag von Lorna de Jesus > Gesendet: Mittwoch, 12. Oktober 2005 18:30 > An: ids@iiug.org > Betreff: level -0 backup running too long [5819] > > > Hello everybody, > > I am running level-0 backup using the command ontape > -s. Normally, > it will only take 45 minutes. These past 2 weeks, it is > running too long, > sometimes for 2 days. And sometimes, it will run on its > regular phase,and is > finished within 45 minutes. Could anybody give me some > idea, why suddenly, > it is taking so long. > > > I am running INFORMIX DB-Access Version 7.30.uc2. I will > appreciate any ideas..... > > > Thanks, > Lorna