What is the identifier that appears in the "Location/Device" column

[Former Member]

What is the identifier that appears in the "Location/Device" column of the Backup Media pane of the MaxDB Database Manager?

From what I've learned so far, backup target locations on disk or tape, must be defined by a "Backup Media" entry in MaxDB. The system requires the backup media definition so that it knows where and how to write database/log backup files. So, my initial thought was that the identifier appearing in the "Location/Device" column of the Backup Media pane (SDB_COM, for example) is a pointer to a structure that contains backup media information.

However, the "Properties" dialog box (right click over the identifier in the Backup Media pane and select properties) seems to be missing some very important information, such as the path to the target backup location!

I've searched all over for an explanation as have some of my co-workers and none of us have found anything resembling an explanation. Is this identifier really a point to a structure containing backup media information? How does this structure get created? How do you edit it? How do you delete it? Is it even necessary to do backups/restores?

I have recently been assigned responsibility for MaxDB at my company and have no prior knowledge of it, so please excuse me if everyone on the planet knows what this is and how to use it but me. I've ordered the SAP MaxDB Administration book but it has not yet arrived. Any help in the interim would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Paul Bezanson

[markus_doehr2 · Accepted solution]

> However, the "Properties" dialog box (right click over the identifier in the Backup Media pane and select properties) seems to be missing some very important information, such as the path to the target backup location!

If there's no explicit path given the "default" is used - which is the rundirectory of the database.

> I've searched all over for an explanation as have some of my co-workers and none of us have found anything resembling an explanation. Is this identifier really a point to a structure containing backup media information? How does this structure get created? How do you edit it? How do you delete it? Is it even necessary to do backups/restores?

I'm not really sure about what column you talk about, I don't see a column with "location/device", I see

Name - Device/File - Device Type - Backup Type - Backup tool - modified

Under "older" versions the name had to contain the external backup tool (e. g. NSR for networker).

Markus

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thanks very much for your response, Markus.

The column labeled "location/device" is in the 7.4 version of the database manager and I relatively certain it corresponds to the Device/File column in the 7.6 version of database manager. (We have both versions, 7.4 on the test system and 7.6 on the production system. I will use and refer to the 7.6 version from now on, as the dialogs are somewhat different between the two.)

With respect to an explicit path, I see no way in the "Medium Properties" dialog to define an explicit path, nor do I see an already existing path listed on any of the three tabs provided: "General", "Extended" or "Label".

This is the problem I'm having. I can't determine where or how to set an explicit path, or how to find whether an explicit path has already been set. If I didn't already know where the backup files are being written, I'd have no way of knowing where to look for them based on the information I've seen so far.

All I can see is a strange identifier (PDB_COM on our production system) that appears to be pointing to some kind of data structure that presumably contains the information I want. Where or how that identifier is being defined is a complete mystery to me at this point.

Any info you may be able to share in that regard would be very welcome.

Thanks again for your help, Markus.

Paul

[lbreddemann · Accepted solution]

Hi Paul,

actually you put the full path right into the text field where the backup file name is specified.

Just as the documentation tells you.

Just as I mentioned it in my blogs, e.g. ['Mind the gap...' (#3 - Backup/Restore - Part 1)|http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/10093] [original link is broken] [original link is broken] [original link is broken]; or [Questions to SAP Support: "How to prevent MaxDB from creating backups to the RUNDIRECTORY?"|http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/14881] [original link is broken] [original link is broken] [original link is broken];.

There's nothing hidden or strangely cryptified here - it's just straight forward and maybe a bit too simple.

regards,

Lars