Backup almost always fails

[David_Bass]

I'm running BE 10 rev 5484 and my backups are almost always failing on anything valuable. I'm primarily getting


SQL Database Server Backup:
Final error: 0xe0008524 - Unable to initialize the snapshot because the Advanced Open File Option (AOFO) is not installed on the target computer. You must install this option, restart the computer, and then run the job again.

AOFO is deselected in this job. It may have once been selected but was turned off for this running.


Testing Server:
Final error: 0xe000fec2 - A failure occurred accessing the SnapShot handle.


Domain Controller:
Final error: 0xe000fe30 - A communications failure has occurred.


All machines are running Windows 2003 SP 1 Standard Edition
I tried updating the network drivers in the backup server and the testing server but the backup still failed. I'm getting a lot of the communications failure errors on other servers. The only time I've been able to get a successful backup was either on the local backup server or once on a partial backup of an exchange server. It has even failed on the local backup server with "A failure occurred accessing the SnapShot handle"

Its getting bad here. Any help would be appreciated. This was a clean install of BE on a server that had not had BE before. We hooked up the Overland tape changer and started making some testing jobs and things went downhill from there.

Especially while backing up the database server, it seems to happily transfer about 35G of data, then dies on the verify, consistantly at 3G. On others it fails at different points, not always during the verify.

[priya_khire]

Hello,

We'll concentrate on one error at a time. Is the SQL server a remote server? You have mentioned that you were using AOFO before and later unchecked the option.

Follow the steps in the technote below in order to resolve the error:

Title: 0xe0008524 - Unable to initialize the snapshot because the Advanced Open File Option (AOFO) is not installed on the target computer. You must install this option, restart the computer, and then run the job again.
http://support.veritas.com/docs/277257

Revert if the issue persists.

Note : If we do not receive your reply within two business days, this post would be marked ‘assumed answered’ and would be moved to ‘answered questions’ pool.

Regards.

[David_Bass]

Nope, I don't have the AOFO license so when I go into job setup and tell it to use that feature, my only option is VSS. Before I was apparently using the demo version that comes with BE. The SQL servers are all remote, across a gigabit ethernet connection with teamed network cards.

[Deepali_Badave]

Hello,

Are you using the same selection list which you were using while using an evaluation version of Backup Exec?

If yes, create a new backup job and verify the result.

NOTE : If we do not receive your reply within two business days, this post would be marked assumed answered and would be moved to answered questions pool.

[David_Bass]

No, In fact each backup job had its own selection list for testing and debugging purposes. I have just gotten the AOFO so I will be testing again with it to see what that resolves. I never used an evaluation version of Backup Exec. The only evaluation version was the advance open file option demo that ships with backup exec.

[Renuka_-]

Hello,
Have you re-created the job and verififed the outcome?
NOTE : If we do not receive your reply within two business days, this post would be marked assumed answeredand would be moved toanswered questions pool.

[David_Bass]

Yes, I am testing now with AOFO and much more limited file selections. So far, one job has passed but that's far from a complete test. In another day I should have a good idea if it is working. Now if only I could figure out why the agent won't install on another machine.

[David_Bass]

I am still getting reasonably often communications failures and I had to set the backup agent service on the servers to automatically restart the service on failures, since they seem to frequently crash. Is that normal? My test yesterday was restoring an exchange calendar. First time I ran it, communications failure at roughly 99% then the second time it finished successfully.

I'm running another job right now of a multiple system backup. One of the group that has been complaining abou AOFO not being installed. I redid the agent install and rebooted all three fo them. Have I mentioned how much I dislike having to reboot production machines in order to use backup software?

[David_Bass]

Failure again. I specifically reinstalled the agent last night and rebooted the servers this morning then ran the job. It failed on all three servers that I tried this on. Do I need to manually uninstall the agent then try to reinstall it?

Job ended: Friday, February 03, 2006 at 8:41:51 AM
Completed status: Failed
Final error: 0xe0008524 - Unable to initialize the snapshot because the Advanced Open File Option (AOFO) is not installed on the target computer. You must install this option, restart the computer, and then run the job again.
Final error category: System Errors

Checking the server shows a bunch of volume shadow copy errors. And an error of the Veritas account that backup exec runs under trying to login to the sql server, where naturally, it doesn't have permission.

An error occurred while attempting to log in to the following server: "GLFHCDB1\BLAH1".
SQL error number: "4818".
SQL error message: "Login failed for user 'GLFHC\Veritas'.
".

And the VSS errors are all this:
Sqllib error: OLEDB Error encountered calling IDBInitialize::Initialize. hr = 0x80040e4d. SQLSTATE: 42000, Native Error: 18456
Error state: 1, Severity: 14
Source: Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server
Error message: Login failed for user 'NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM'.

[David_Bass]

I made a new job with identical selections to backup these three database servers. I explicitly checked and it was NOT going to use AOFO. The job fails saying that AOFO is not installed on the servers.

Firstly, AOFO better be installed since I did that last night and rebooted today. Is there a way to check if AOFO is actually installed and working besides trying a backup against it?

Any advice?

David

[David_Bass]

To answer part of my question since no one else seems interested. To check if the AOFO is started, open Computer Management, and click System Tools | System Information | Software Environment | Drivers. Look for the driver vsp.sys, which is the Volume Snapshot Provider Kernel Driver. This should be started.


After a manual install but before a reboot. vsp.sys is not listed. I won't know if it gets added until tomorrow. This is on the old file server that had Veritas 8 installed until recently.