This topic discusses backup and recover using Linux® utilities.
At the time of writing, not all the applications listed here had been tested for use with iSeries™ tape drives. However, even though a particular Linux backup application has not been tested for use with iSeries tape drives, this does not mean that the application will not work. You need to test your backup application to determine if it is compatible with the tape drive installed on your iSeries server.
When performing a backup you should close any operation that is using files on the Linux file system or the directory you intend to back up. Though native Linux backup utilities do back up files that are in use, we recommend that you close all open files and the operations using them so as to preserve the latest file updates and avoid any data corruption.
If the file system is network file system (NFS) then file locking occurs when the file residing on NFS is in use by an operation. Creating a tar or cpio backup archive can fail if you try to include such files. Commercial applications like IBM® Tivoli® Storage Manager (TSM), ARCserve, Veritas, or Legato provide better facilities for backing up data as they provide open file agents. Even so, it would be safe practice to stop the operation that is locking the file over NFS before backing it up.
Before you begin your backup using a Linux utility or application, you need to determine the block size of the tape device you are using. To do this you run the magnetic tape (mt) command, for example:
mt -f /dev/st1 status
Replace /dev/st1 with the device name of your tape drive.