On Mon, 25 Sep 2006, Kern Sibbald wrote: >> Kern, is it possible to insert some sanity checks when starting jobs to >> ensure the tape is positioned where bacula thinks it should be? > > It is possible on most systems to do an ioctl(). I'm considering it, but the > problem is that it is not always reliable. The slightest little perturbation > and the OS (not Bacula) loses track of where it is on the tape. > > I'm also considering locking the door on those devices that support it.
VERY good idea! >> If not, I'd suggest rereading the label. > > This is something that I don't think I would do as it would require rewinding, > reading, and moving back to the end of the tape -- no very nice. I meant if Bacula can't confirm its position on the tape - ie in devices which support it, being able to tell that the position has changed. Locking the drive door would solve 99% of such cases though. >> I have to say I am surprised that a tape drive which was held open by any >> software wasn't locked. I've never been able to remove a DAT or other >> individual tape from a drive without using emergency eject procedures. > > Yes, and the big question is how much effort should be put into writing code > and reducing the efficiency of Bacula for something that doesn't or shouldn't > happen very often. ... in 1 or 2 drive situations perhaps ... With larger autochangers the probability of such errors occuring climbs rapidly. Locking the drive door increases the difficulty of making such an error by simply ejecting the wrong drive. AB ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take Surveys. Earn Cash. Influence the Future of IT Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to share your opinions on IT & business topics through brief surveys -- and earn cash http://www.techsay.com/default.php?page=join.php&p=sourceforge&CID=DEVDEV _______________________________________________ Bacula-users mailing list Bacula-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bacula-users
