Lost my database
After a disk-array hardware fault on INFORMIX-OnLine 7.24.UC7 under HP-UX 10.20, the poster restarted the server and found his dbspaces/blobspaces present but empty, with only 4 chunks instead of dozens. Responders asked for onstat -d output and quickly suspected that oninit -i (-iy) had been run during the restart; the logs confirmed it, meaning the instance had been reinitialized and all data/chunk definitions wiped. Consensus: there is no tool to rebuild sysmaster and recover the data; the only options are a cold level 0 restore plus level 1/2 and logical log rollforward, or recreating the spaces and reimporting from an export. Jonathan Leffler suggested contacting IBM support if nothing further had been changed. No successful recovery is reported in the thread.
Auto-generated by DrWatson from the posts below — may be imperfect; read the full thread.
my first posting here so please help me if I'm completely in the wrong group or something... I'm running INFORMIX-OnLine Version 7.24.UC7 on a HP-9000 machine with HP-UX B.10.20. My informix and hp experience is certainly not at an expert level so I'll telll you what I know. We experienced some sort of hardware failure at the disk array level; fault lights- that kind of stuff. So I shut down everything, powered down the offending disk array brought it back up, brought up the server. Everything looked fine. Go to launch the informix engine and bring up my database and it's GONE...my dbspaces and blobspaces are there but empty... question...what some diagnostic type things I can do to go about trying to discover if my database is actually there but just in some bad state that the engine doesn't see it..
Did any consistency checks run on disk array ? Have you got Level 0 archive on
tape ? What RAID configuration you have ?
What is the output of oninit -v ?
Worst case, Level 0 restore is an option.
----- Original Message ----
From: BO PRITCHARD <bopritchard@mindspring.com>
To: ids@iiug.org
Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 11:30:31 AM
Subject: Lost my database [7957]
my first posting here so please help me if I'm completely in the wrong group
or something...
I'm running INFORMIX-OnLine Version 7.24.UC7 on a HP-9000 machine with
HP-UX B.10.20. My informix and hp experience is certainly not at an expert
level so I'll telll you what I know. We experienced some sort of hardware
failure at the disk array level; fault lights- that kind of stuff. So I shut
down everything, powered down the offending disk array brought it back up,
brought up the server. Everything looked fine. Go to launch the informix
engine and bring up my database and it's GONE...my dbspaces and blobspaces are
there but empty...
question...what some diagnostic type things I can do to go about trying to
discover if my database is actually there but just in some bad state that the
engine doesn't see it..
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BO PRITCHARD wrote:
> my first posting here so please help me if I'm completely in the wrong group
> or something...
>
> I'm running INFORMIX-OnLine Version 7.24.UC7 on a HP-9000 machine with
> HP-UX B.10.20. My informix and hp experience is certainly not at an expert
> level so I'll telll you what I know. We experienced some sort of hardware
> failure at the disk array level; fault lights- that kind of stuff. So I shut
> down everything, powered down the offending disk array brought it back up,
> brought up the server. Everything looked fine. Go to launch the informix
> engine and bring up my database and it's GONE...my dbspaces and blobspaces
are
> there but empty...
>
> question...what some diagnostic type things I can do to go about trying to
> discover if my database is actually there but just in some bad state that the
> engine doesn't see it..
>
>
Maybe u ran command that initialize disk space and share memory, didn't you?
for example, u bring it up the database from offline to online with
oninit -iy(oninit -i is very dangerous command, I have experience done mistake
running this command :D, all of my dbspace were gone)
--
www.wahyunet.com
Have you run dbaccess to see if actually if yours databases are GONE ?
What are the status of chunks in dbspaces bring the result of : onstat -d
IF oninit -iy was run...is that pretty much a death warrant?
they appear fine...problem is there used to be dozens and dozens of chunks! Dbspaces address number flags fchunk nchunks flags owner name c4d9e108 1 1 1 1 N informix rootdbs c4d9e6b8 2 110 2 1 N B informix blobstg c4d9e728 3 10 3 1 N B informix blob0 c4d9e798 4 1 4 1 N informix tascdms 4 active, 2047 maximum Chunks address chk/dbs offset size free bpages flags pathname c4d9e178 1 1 0 250000 192929 PO- /dev/vg01/linx0 c4d9e430 2 2 0 50000 ~49801 50000 POB /dev/vg01/linxb1 c4d9e508 3 3 0 1000000 ~996046 1000000 POB /dev/vg01/linxb0 c4d9e5e0 4 4 0 1000000 999947 PO- /dev/vg01/linx1 4 active, 2047 maximum
For what was there, yes !! The only way back is a cold level 0 restore
followed by any availble level 1 (and/or 2) and roll forward log
files. Else pick up your cards on the way out and don't let the door
hit you.
Keith
On 12/12/06, BO PRITCHARD <bopritchard@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> IF oninit -iy was run...is that pretty much a death warrant?
>
>
>
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> Forum Note: Use "Reply" to post a response in the discussion forum.
>
>
oninit -iy !! :-(((
On 12/12/06, BO PRITCHARD <bopritchard@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> they appear fine...problem is there used to be dozens and dozens of chunks!
> Dbspaces
> address number flags fchunk nchunks flags owner name
> c4d9e108 1 1 1 1 N informix rootdbs
> c4d9e6b8 2 110 2 1 N B informix blobstg
> c4d9e728 3 10 3 1 N B informix blob0
> c4d9e798 4 1 4 1 N informix tascdms
> 4 active, 2047 maximum
>
> Chunks
> address chk/dbs offset size free bpages flags pathname
> c4d9e178 1 1 0 250000 192929 PO- /dev/vg01/linx0
> c4d9e430 2 2 0 50000 ~49801 50000 POB /dev/vg01/linxb1
> c4d9e508 3 3 0 1000000 ~996046 1000000 POB /dev/vg01/linxb0
> c4d9e5e0 4 4 0 1000000 999947 PO- /dev/vg01/linx1
> 4 active, 2047 maximum
>
>
>
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> Forum Note: Use "Reply" to post a response in the discussion forum.
>
>
yes, according to the logs oninit -i was run...so is there anyway possible to
be able to restore sysmaster to a state that it recognizes my db...the raw
dbspaces/chunks for that db appear to be intact...there must some sort of
utility or tools to be able to do this...does anyone have any experience or
insight into this?
Hi,
Since oninit -i was used, there are only two options
1. Restore a Level 0 Archive.
2. Start over.
If you have no archive, then your only option is to redo whatever you did
to create the chunks, dbspaces, database, etc. in the first place. The
oninit -i wiped out all knowledge and memory of what was there. If you'vegot an export of the database, you can recreate the dbspaces and import
the database. But that's about the extent of your options.
The sysmaster database has no bearing on the matter. There is nothing in
that database that will help or hurt. You can run the DBMS just fine
without the sysmaster database.
Cheers,
Dick Snoke
IBM Software Group - ChannelWorks
dsnoke@us.ibm.com
(404) 487-1595
"BO PRITCHARD" <bopritchard@mindspring.com>
Sent by: ids-bounces@iiug.org
12/12/2006 11:36 AM
Please respond to
ids@iiug.org
To
ids@iiug.org
cc
Subject
Re: Lost my database [7967]
yes, according to the logs oninit -i was run...so is there anyway possible
to
be able to restore sysmaster to a state that it recognizes my db...the raw
dbspaces/chunks for that db appear to be intact...there must some sort of
utility or tools to be able to do this...does anyone have any experience
or
insight into this?
*******************************************************************************
Forum Note: Use "Reply" to post a response in the discussion forum.
Nope, more like suicide.
- Scott
-----Original Message-----
From: ids-bounces@iiug.org [mailto:ids-bounces@iiug.org] On Behalf Of BO
PRITCHARD
Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 5:51 AM
To: ids@iiug.org
Subject: Re: Lost my database [7962]
IF oninit -iy was run...is that pretty much a death warrant?
************************************************************************
*******
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warrant, execution order, injection, and proclamation of death. Only the burial
is missing.
Art S. Kagel
----- Original Message -----
From: Bo Pritchard <ids@iiug.org>
At: 12/12 8:00:30
IF oninit -iy was run...is that pretty much a death warrant?
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Forum Note: Use "Reply" to post a response in the discussion forum.
Level 0 restore is the ONLY way
On 12/12/06, BO PRITCHARD <bopritchard@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
> yes, according to the logs oninit -i was run...so is there anyway possible to
> be able to restore sysmaster to a state that it recognizes my db...the raw
> dbspaces/chunks for that db appear to be intact...there must some sort of
> utility or tools to be able to do this...does anyone have any experience or
> insight into this?
>
>
>
*******************************************************************************
> Forum Note: Use "Reply" to post a response in the discussion forum.
>
>
Except that the version was 7.24, if you contacted IBM Informix Tech
Support, they might be able to help - if you haven't done anything
radical. However, with 7.24, your chances of having a support
contract are nil; OTOH, it is a down system.
However, if you've done any tinkering worth mentioning, then the full
restore (starting at Level 0, maybe continuing with Levels 1 and/or 2,
and logical logs) is your only likely option. If you don't have those
backups, you are in serious problems.
On 12/13/06, Keith Simmons <smiley73@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
> Level 0 restore is the ONLY way
>
> On 12/12/06, BO PRITCHARD <bopritchard@mindspring.com> wrote:
> >
> > yes, according to the logs oninit -i was run...so is there anyway possible
> to
> > be able to restore sysmaster to a state that it recognizes my db...the raw
> > dbspaces/chunks for that db appear to be intact...there must some sort of
> > utility or tools to be able to do this...does anyone have any experience or
> > insight into this?
> >
> >
> >
>
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> > Forum Note: Use "Reply" to post a response in the discussion forum.
> >
> >
>
>
>
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> Forum Note: Use "Reply" to post a response in the discussion forum.
>
>
--
Jonathan Leffler #include <disclaimer.h>
Email: jleffler@earthlink.net, jleffler@us.ibm.com
Guardian of DBD::Informix v2005.02 -- http://dbi.perl.org/