Remote Backup failing due to 'extra backslash characters'

[jasonb]

Hi there,

I've got two Windows 2003 Servers. One has Backup Exec 11d ( 7170 I think ) with Advanced Open File, Exchange Agent and SQL Agent. Another has the Remote Agent installed ( with Advanced Open File ).

The back up of the Main Server works fine ( using Advanced Open File and including Exchange and SQL ). However, when I try to back up the remote server using the remote agent ( which has a small SQL database on it and then just the usual Windows System files ) by adding it to the selection list by choosing it from the 'favourite resources', the backup fails with the following message...

'The path for this database is invalid because it contains extra backslash characters. You must remove the extra backslash characters before the database can be backed up.'

From what I can see, the double backslash appears because it's a remote backup, and the path to the server is then \\servername\c\ . I don't know how else to do a remote backup without the server path having a double backslash in it ( and that double backslash is added automatically by Backup Exec ) and then once that double backslash is there the backup fails. This all worked fine with Backup Exec 10d, but since I've upgraded to 11d I'm getting this error.

Any ideas?

Jason.

[Michael_Ellis_2]

Previous versions of Backup Exec "masked" the extra slash.  Using SQL Enterprise Manager right click the database that failed the backup and check the path to the database and logs you will likely find the extra character.

SQL 2005 you will have to query the database from the command line as the GUI will mask the extra character.

You will have to disconnect then reconnect the database to fix it.  Go to the Microsoft to obtain an artcle containing the procedure.

[jasonb]

Hi Michael,

Thanks for your response. I'm not sure if the problem is within SQL itself, as the Backup seems to be failing for the whole backup, not just the SQL section. The SQL database on the remote server is the database you get with WSUS 3.0, which I think it's a built-in database that WSUS 3.0 uses. But I'll have a look and see if I can find any double backslashes anywhere and get back to you...

Jason.

[jasonb]

Hi again,

I've looked into this in more detail, and it really doesn't look like an SQL error to me. Here are the errors I get for each of the selections on the remote server, only one of which refers to the SQL Database on the server.

V-79-57344-34110 - AOFO: Initialization failure on: "\\kare02apps.kareld.com\C:". Advanced Open File Option used: Mi...
Snapshot provider error (0xE0000353): The path for this database is invalid because it contains extr...

Check the Windows Event Viewer for details.


V-79-57344-34110 - AOFO: Initialization failure on: "kare02apps.kareld.com\MICROSOFT##SSEE". Advanced Open File Opti...
Snapshot provider error (0xE0000353): The path for this database is invalid because it contains extr...

Check the Windows Event Viewer for details.


V-79-57344-34110 - AOFO: Initialization failure on: "\\kare02apps.kareld.com\Shadow?Copy?Components". Advanced Open ...
Snapshot provider error (0xE0000353): The path for this database is invalid because it contains extr...

Check the Windows Event Viewer for details.


V-79-57344-34110 - AOFO: Initialization failure on: "\\kare02apps.kareld.com\System?State". Advanced Open File Optio...
Snapshot provider error (0xE0000353): The path for this database is invalid because it contains extr...

Check the Windows Event Viewer for details.

I've removed the SQL database from the selection list to see if it makes a difference with tonight's backup. Here's the text version of the new selection list, with both the main server ( KARE02 ) and the remote server ( KARE02APPS )...

C:\*.* /SUBDIR

\\KARE02\Microsoft Information Store\First Storage Group¦*.* /SUBDIR

KARE02\BKUPEXEC\*.*

KARE02\BKUPEXEC\master /EXCLUDE

KARE02\BKUPEXEC\model /EXCLUDE

KARE02\BKUPEXEC\msdb /EXCLUDE

\\KARE02\Microsoft Exchange Mailboxes¦*.* /SUBDIR

Shadow?Copy?Components\*.* /SUBDIR

System?State\*.* /SUBDIR

\\kare02apps.kareld.com\C:\*.* /SUBDIR

\\kare02apps.kareld.com\Shadow?Copy?Components\*.* /SUBDIR

\\kare02apps.kareld.com\System?State\*.* /SUBDIR

I hope all of this helps / makes sense!

Jason.

[Michael_Ellis_2]

If you are running MSDE 2005 you will have to locate the additional slashes using command line tools.  Symantec has an article that will help find the extra slashes.

http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/284887.htm

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/224071/

[jasonb]

Hi again Michael,

Once again I've done some further investigating into this.

Firslty, the backup of the remote server last night ( which backed up the C Drive, the System State and the Shadow Copy Components but NOT the SQL data ) worked fine, so this does look like an SQL issue.

Secondly, SQL is not installed on the Remote Server as such. I've installed WSUS 3.0, which seems to install it's own cut down version of SQL for the WSUS DB, but I have no SQL tools on the remote server, and no way of changing SQL that I can see ( for example, it's not in Add/Remove Programs ).

Thirdly, when looking at the SQL option in the Selections screen for this server, it listed 4 DBs...

MASTER

MODEL

MSDB

SUSDB

I ran a backup to backup the Model DB, and it worked perfectly. It is only when I try to backup the Susdb DB that it fails, complaining of the double backslash. However, there's also a message saying 'the item is in use'.

So, I'm wondering if it's failing because of a double backslash, or because the DB is in use, and for some reason the SQL Agent and the AOF Agent still won't back it up if it's in use. As I don't have any SQL tools installed on the remote server ( or much SQL knowledge / experience for that matter ) I don't know how to check for the double backslashes associated with that database. The links in your reply seem to want me to use Enterprise Manager, which is not installed on the server.

For further info, the susdb.mdf and .ldf files are being backed up as part of the C Drive backup. And even though it's backing up the Model / Master / MSDB databases, I can't find those files anywhere on the C Drive!

Any other ideas? Thanks!

Jason.