kes Make sure valid argument passed to str_to_utime() where Arno

[bacula/docs] / docs / manual / faq.tex

%%
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\section*{Bacula Frequently Asked Questions}
\label{_ChapterStart48}
\index[general]{Questions!Bacula Frequently Asked }
\index[general]{Bacula Frequently Asked Questions }
\addcontentsline{toc}{section}{Bacula Frequently Asked Questions}

These are questions that have been submitted over time by the
Bacula users.

Please also see
\ilink{the bugs section}{_ChapterStart4} of this document for a list
of known bugs and solutions.

\begin{description}
\label{what}
\subsection*{What is Bacula?}
\item [What is {\bf Bacula}? ]
   \index[general]{What is Bacula? }
   {\bf Bacula} is a network backup and restore program. 

\subsection*{Does Bacula support Windows?}
\item [Does Bacula support Windows?]
\index[general]{Does Bacula support Windows? }
   Yes, Bacula compiles and runs on Windows machines (Win98, WinMe, WinXP,
   WinNT, Win2003, and Win2000).  We provide a binary version of the Client
   (bacula-fd), but have not tested the Director nor the Storage daemon.
   Note, Win95 is no longer supported because it doesn't have the
   GetFileAttributesExA API call.
 

\label{lang}
\subsection*{What language is Bacula written in?}
\item [What language is Bacula written in?]
\index[general]{What language is Bacula written in? }
   It is written in C++, but it is mostly C  code using only a limited set of
   the C++ extensions  over C.  Thus Bacula is completely  compiled using the
   C++ compiler. There are several modules, including the Win32 interface, that
   are written using the  object oriented C++ features. Over time, we are slowly
   adding a larger  subset of C++.  

\label{run}
\subsection*{On what machines does Bacula run?}
\item [On what machines does Bacula run? ]
   \index[general]{On what machines does Bacula run? }
   {\bf Bacula} builds and executes on RedHat Linux (versions RH7.1-RHEL
   4.0, Fedora, SuSE, Gentoo, Debian, Mandriva, ...), FreeBSD, Solaris,
   Alpha, SGI (client), NetBSD, OpenBSD, Mac OS X (client), and Win32
   (client).

   Bacula has been my only backup tool for over  five years backing up 7
   machines nightly (5 Linux boxes  running Fedora Core, previously
   RedHat, a WinXP machine, and a WinNT machine).
 

\label{stable}
\subsection*{Is Bacula Stable?}
\item [Is Bacula Stable? ]
\index[general]{Is Bacula Stable? }
   Yes, it is remarkably stable, but remember, there are still a lot of
   unimplemented or partially implemented features.  With a program of this
   size (140,000+ lines of C++ code not including the SQL programs) there
   are bound to be bugs.  The current test environment (a twisted pair
   local network and a HP DLT backup tape) is not exactly ideal, so
   additional testing on other sites is necessary.  The File daemon has
   never crashed -- running months at a time with no intervention.  The
   Storage daemon is remarkably stable with most of the problems arising
   during labeling or switching tapes.  Storage daemon crashes are rare.
   The Director, given the multitude of functions it fulfills is also
   relatively stable.  In a production environment, it rarely if ever
   crashes.  Of the three daemons, the Director is the most prone to having
   problems.  Still, it frequently runs several months with no problems.

   There are a number of reasons for this stability.  

   \begin{enumerate}
   \item The program was largely written by one person to date
      (Kern).\\
   \item  The program is constantly checking the chain of allocated
      memory buffers to ensure that no overruns have occurred.  \\
   \item All  memory leaks (orphaned buffers) are reported each time the
      program  terminates.\\
   \item Any signal (segmentation fault, ...) generates a 
      traceback that is emailed to the developer.  This permits quick
      resolution of bugs even if they only show up rarely in a production
      system.\\
   \item There is a reasonably comprehensive set of regression tests
      that avoids re-creating the most common errors in new versions of
      Bacula.
   \end{enumerate}

\label{AuthorizationErrors}
\subsection*{I'm Getting Authorization Errors. What is Going On? }
\item [I'm Getting Authorization Errors. What is Going On? ]
\index[general]{Authorization Errors}
\index[general]{Concurrent Jobs}
   For security reasons, Bacula requires that both  the File daemon and the
   Storage daemon know the name  of the Director as well as its password. As a
   consequence,  if you change the Director's name or password, you must  make
   the corresponding change in the Storage daemon's and  in the File daemon's
   configuration files.  

   During the authorization process, the Storage daemon and File daemon
   also require that the Director authenticates itself, so both ends
   require the other to have the correct name and password.

   If you have edited the conf files and modified any name or any password,
   and you are getting authentication errors, then your best bet is to go
   back to the original conf files generated by the Bacula installation
   process.  Make only the absolutely necessary modifications to these
   files -- e.g.  add the correct email address.  Then follow the
   instructions in the \ilink{ Running Bacula}{_ChapterStart1} chapter of
   this manual.  You will run a backup to disk and a restore.  Only when
   that works, should you begin customization of the conf files.

   Another reason that you can get authentication errors is if you are
   running Multiple Concurrent Jobs in the Director, but you have not set
   them in the File daemon or the Storage daemon.  Once you reach their
   limit, they will reject the connection producing authentication (or
   connection) errors.

   If you are having problems connecting to a Windows machine that
   previously worked, you might try restarting the Bacula service since
   Windows frequently encounters networking connection problems.

   Some users report that authentication fails if there is not a proper
   reverse DNS lookup entry for the machine.  This seems to be a
   requirement of gethostbyname(), which is what Bacula uses to translate
   names into IP addresses.  If you cannot add a reverse DNS entry, or you
   don't know how to do so, you can avoid the problem by specifying an IP
   address rather than a machine name in the appropriate Bacula conf file.

   Here is a picture that indicates what names/passwords in which
   files/Resources must match up:

   \includegraphics{./Conf-Diagram.eps}  

   In the left column, you will find the Director, Storage, and  Client
   resources, with their names and passwords -- these  are all in {\bf
   bacula-dir.conf}. The right column is where the corresponding values
   should be found in the  Console, Storage daemon (SD), and File daemon (FD)
   configuration  files.  

   Another thing to check is to ensure that the Bacula component you are
   trying to access has {\bf Maximum Concurrent Jobs} set large enough to
   handle each of the Jobs and the Console that want to connect
   simultaneously.  Once the maximum connections has been reached, each
   Bacula component will reject all new connections.

   Finally, make sure you have no {\bf hosts.allow} or {\bf hosts.deny}
   file that is not permitting access to the site trying to connect.

\label{AccessProblems}
\subsection*{Bacula Runs Fine but Cannot Access a Client on a Different Machine.
   Why? }
\item [Bacula Runs Fine but Cannot Access a Client on a Different Machine.
   Why? ]
\index[general]{Cannot Access a Client}
   There are several reasons why Bacula could not contact a client  on a
   different machine. They are:  

\begin{itemize}
\item It is a Windows Client, and the client died because of an  improper
   configuration file. Check that the Bacula icon is in  the system tray and the
   the menu items work. If the client has  died, the icon will disappear only
   when you move the mouse over  the icon.  
\item The Client address or port is incorrect or not resolved by  DNS. See if
   you can ping the client machine using the same  address as in the Client
   record.  
\item You have a firewall, and it is blocking traffic on port  9102 between
   the Director's machine and the Client's  machine (or on port 9103 between the
   Client and the Storage daemon  machines).  
\item Your password or names are not correct in both the Director and  the
   Client machine. Try configuring everything identical to  how you run the
   client on the same machine as the Director, but  just change the Address. If
   that works, make the other changes  one step at a time until it works.  
\item You may also be having problems betwen your File daemon and your
   Storage daemon. The name you use in the Storage resource of your
   Director's conf file must be known (resolvable) by the File daemon, 
   because it is passed symbolically to the File daemon, which then
   resolves it to get an IP address used to contact the Storage daemon.
\item You may have a {\bf hosts.allow} or {\bf hosts.deny} file that is
   not permitting access.
\end{itemize}

\label{startover}
\subsection*{My Catalog is Full of Test Runs, How Can I Start Over?}
\item [My Catalog is Full of Test Runs, How Can I Start Over? ]
  \index[general]{My Catalog is Full of Test Runs, How Can I Start Over? }
  If you are using MySQL do the following:

\footnotesize
\begin{verbatim}
   cd <bacula-source>/src/cats
   ./drop_mysql_tables
   ./make_mysql_tables
 
\end{verbatim}
\normalsize

If you are using SQLite, do the following:

\footnotesize
\begin{verbatim}
   Delete bacula.db from your working directory.
   cd <bacula-source>/src/cats
   ./drop_sqlite_tables
   ./make_sqlite_tables
 
\end{verbatim}
\normalsize

Then write an EOF on each tape you used with {\bf Bacula} using: 

\footnotesize
\begin{verbatim}
mt -f /dev/st0 rewind
mt -f /dev/st0 weof
\end{verbatim}
\normalsize

where you need to adjust the device name for your system.  

\label{restorehang}
\subsection*{I Run a Restore Job and Bacula Hangs. What do I do?}
\item [I Run a Restore Job and Bacula Hangs. What do I do?]
\index[general]{I Run a Restore Job and Bacula Hangs. What do I do? }
   On Bacula version 1.25 and prior, it expects you to have the correct
   tape mounted prior to a restore.  On Bacula version 1.26 and higher, it
   will ask you for the tape, and if the wrong one is mounted, it will
   inform you.

   If you have previously done an {\bf unmount} command, all Storage daemon
   sessions (jobs) will be completely blocked from using the drive
   unmounted, so be sure to do a {\bf mount} after your unmount.  If in
   doubt, do a second {\bf mount}, it won't cause any harm.

\label{windowstart}
\subsection*{I Cannot Get My Windows Client to Start Automatically? }
\item [I Cannot Get My Windows Client to Start Automatically? ]
\index[general]{Windows Auto Start}
   You are probably having one of two problems: either the Client is dying
   due to an incorrect configuration file, or you didn't do the
   Installation commands necessary to install it as a Windows Service.

   For the first problem, see the next FAQ question.  For the second
   problem, please review the \ilink{ Windows Installation
   instructions}{_ChapterStart7} in this manual.

\label{windowsdie}
\subsection*{My Windows Client Immediately Dies When I Start It}
\item [My Windows Client Immediately Dies When I Start It]
\index[general]{Windows Client Dies}
The most common problem is either that the configuration file is not where
it expects it to be, or that there is an error in the configuration file.
You must have the configuration file in {\bf
c:\textbackslash{}bacula\textbackslash{}bin\textbackslash{}bacula-fd.conf}.

To {\bf see} what is going on when the File daemon starts  on Windows, do the
following:  

\footnotesize
\begin{verbatim}
    Start a DOS shell Window.
    cd c:\bacula\bin
    bacula-fd -d100 -c c:\bacula\bin\bacula-fd.conf
    
\end{verbatim}
\normalsize

This will cause the FD to write a file {\bf bacula.trace}  in the current
directory, which you can examine and thereby determine  the problem.  

\label{scroll}
\item [When I Start the Console, the Error Messages Fly By. How can I see
   them? ]
\index[general]{Error Messages}
   Either use a shell window with a scroll bar, or use the gnome-console.
   In any case, you probably should be logging all output to a file, and
   then you can simply view the file using an editor or the {\bf less}
   program.  To log all output, I have the following in my Director's
   Message resource definition:

\footnotesize
\begin{verbatim}
    append = "/home/kern/bacula/bin/log" = all, !skipped
    
\end{verbatim}
\normalsize

Obviously you will want to change the filename to be appropriate  for your
system.  

\label{nobackup}
\subsection*{My backups are not working on my Windows 
   Client. What should I do?}
\item [I didn't realize that the backups were not working on my Windows 
   Client. What should I do? ]
\index[general]{Backups Failing}
You should be sending yourself an email message for each job. This will  avoid
the possibility of not knowing about a failed backup. To do so  put something
like:  

\footnotesize
\begin{verbatim}
  Mail = yourname@yourdomain = all, !skipped
  
\end{verbatim}
\normalsize

in your Director's message resource.  You should then receive one email for
each Job that ran.  When you are comfortable with what is going on (it took
me 9 months), you might change that to:

\footnotesize
\begin{verbatim}
   MailOnError = yourname@yourdomain = all, !skipped
   
\end{verbatim}
\normalsize

then you only get email messages when a Job errors as is the case  for your
Windows machine.  

You should also be logging the Director's messages, please see the  previous
FAQ for how to do so.  

\label{sched}
\subsection*{All my Jobs are scheduled for the same time. Will this cause
   problems?}
\item [All my Jobs are scheduled for the same time. Will this cause
   problems? ]
\index[general]{Schedule problems}
   No, not at all.  Bacula will schedule all the Jobs at the same time, but
   will run them one after another unless you have increased the number of
   simultaneous jobs in the configuration files for the Director, the File
   daemon, and the Storage daemon.  The appropriate configuration record is
   {\bf Maximum Concurrent Jobs = nn}.  At the current time, we recommend
   that you leave this set to {\bf 1} for the Director.

\label{disk}
\subsection*{Can Bacula Backup My System To Files instead of Tape?}
\item [Can Bacula Backup My System To Files instead of Tape? ]
\index[general]{Backup to Disk}
   Yes, in principle, Bacula can backup to any storage medium as long as
   you have correctly defined that medium in the Storage daemon's Device
   resource.  For an example of how to backup to files, please see the
   \ilink{Pruning Example}{PruningExample} in the Recycling chapter of this
   manual.  Also, there is a whole chapter devoted to \ilink{Basic Volume
   Management}{_ChapterStart39}.  This chapter was originally written to
   explain how to write to disk, but was expanded to include volume
   management.  It is, however, still quite a good chapter to read.

\label{bigfiles}
\subsection*{Can Bacula Backup and Restore Files Greater than 2 Gigabytes?}
\item [Can Bacula Backup and Restore Files Greater than 2 Gigabytes in
   Size?  ]
\index[general]{Large file support}
If your operating system permits it, and you are running Bacula version
1.26 or later, the answer is yes.  To the best of our knowledge all client
system supported by Bacula can handle files larger than 2 Gigabytes.

\label{cancel}
\subsection*{I want to stop a job. Is
   there  a better way than {\bf ./bacula stop} to stop it?}
\item [I Started A Job then Decided I Really Did Not Want to Run It. Is
   there  a better way than {\bf ./bacula stop} to stop it?]
\index[general]{Cancelling jobs} 
   Yes, you normally should use the Console command {\bf cancel} to cancel
   a Job that is either scheduled or running.  If the Job is scheduled, it
   will be marked for cancellation and will be canceled when it is
   scheduled to start.  If it is running, it will normally terminate after
   a few minutes.  If the Job is waiting on a tape mount, you may need to
   do a {\bf mount} command before it will be canceled.

\label{trademark}
\subsection*{Why have You Trademarked the Name
   Bacula\raisebox{.6ex}{{\footnotesize \textsuperscript{\textregistered}}}?}
\item [Why have You Trademarked the Name
   Bacula\raisebox{.6ex}{{\footnotesize \textsuperscript{\textregistered}}}?]
\index[general]{Bacula Trademark}
We have trademarked the name Bacula to ensure that all media  written by any
program named Bacula will always be compatible. Anyone  may use the name
Bacula, even in a derivative product as long as it  remains totally compatible
in all respects with the program defined  here.

\label{docversion}
\subsection*{Why is Your Online Document for Version 1.37 but the Released Version is 1.36?}
\item [Why is Your Online Document for Version 1.37 of Bacula when the
   Currently  Release Version is 1.36?]
\index[general]{Multiple manuals}
As Bacula is being developed, the document is also being enhanced, more  often
than not it has clarifications of existing features that  can be very useful
to our users, so we publish the very latest  document. Fortunately it is rare
that there are confusions with  new features.  

If you want to read a document that pertains only to a specific  version,
please use the one distributed in the source code.  

\label{sure}
\subsection*{Does Bacula really save and restore all files?}
\item [How Can I Be Sure that Bacula Really Saves and Restores All Files? ]
\index[general]{Checking Restores}
   It is really quite simple, but took me a while to figure
   out how to "prove" it.  First make a Bacula Rescue disk, see the
   \ilink{Disaster Recovery Using Bacula}{_ChapterRescue} chapter
   of this manual.
   Second, you run a full backup of all your files on all partitions.
   Third, you run an Verify InitCatalog Job on the same FileSet, which
   effectively makes a record of all the files on your system.  Fourth, you
   run a Verify Catalog job and assure yourself that nothing has changed
   (well, between an InitCatalog and Catalog one doesn't expect anything).
   Then do the unthinkable, write zeros on your MBR (master boot record)
   wiping out your hard disk.  Now, restore your whole system using your
   Bacula Rescue disk and the Full backup you made, and finally re-run the
   Verify Catalog job.  You will see that with the exception of the
   directory modification and access dates and the files changed during the
   boot, your system is identical to what it was before you wiped your hard
   disk.
   Alternatively you could do the wiping and restoring to another computer
   of the same type.

\label{upgrade}
\subsection*{I want an Incremental but Bacula runs it as a Full backup. Why?}
\item [I did a Full backup last week, but now in running an Incremental,
   Bacula  says it did not find a FULL backup, so it did a FULL backup. Why?]
\index[general]{FULL backup not found}
   Before doing an Incremental or a Differential
   backup, Bacula checks to see if there was a prior Full backup of the
   same Job that terminated successfully.  If so, it uses the date that
   full backup started as the time for comparing if files have changed.  If
   Bacula does not find a successful full backup, it proceeds to do one.
   Perhaps you canceled the full backup, or it terminated in error.  In
   such cases, the full backup will not be successful.  You can check by
   entering {\bf list jobs} and look to see if there is a prior Job with
   the same Name that has Level F and JobStatus T (normal termination).

   Another reason why Bacula may not find a suitable Full backup is that
   every time you change the FileSet, Bacula will require a new Full
   backup.  This is necessary to ensure that all files are properly backed
   up in the case where you have added more files to the FileSet.
   Beginning with version 1.31, the FileSets are also dated when they are
   created, and this date is displayed with the name when you are listing
   or selecting a FileSet.  For more on backup levels see below.

\label{filenamelengths}
\subsection*{Do you really handle unlimited path lengths?}
\item [How Can You Claim to Handle Unlimited Path and Filename Lengths
   when  All Other Programs Have Fixed Limits?]
\index[general]{Path and Filename Lengths} 
   Most of those other programs have been around for a long time, in fact
   since the beginning of Unix, which means that they were designed for
   rather small fixed length path and filename lengths.  Over the years,
   these restrictions have been relaxed allowing longer names.  Bacula on
   the other hand was designed in 2000, and so from the start, Path and
   Filenames have been kept in buffers that start at 256 bytes in length,
   but can grow as needed to handle any length.  Most of the work is
   carried out by lower level routines making the coding rather easy.

   Note that due to limitations Win32 path and filenames cannot exceed
   260 characters. By using Win32 Unicode functions, we will remove this
   restriction in later versions of Bacula.

\label{unique}
\subsection*{What Is the Really Unique Feature of Bacula?}
\item [What Is the Really Unique Feature of Bacula?]
\index[general]{Unique Feature of Bacula} 
   Well, it is hard to come up with unique features when backup programs
   for Unix machines have been around since the 1960s.  That said, I
   believe that Bacula is the first and only program to use a standard SQL
   interface to catalog its database.  Although this adds a bit of
   complexity and possibly overhead, it provides an amazingly rich set of
   features that are easy to program and enhance.  The current code has
   barely scratched the surface in this regard (version 1.38).

   The second feature, which gives a lot of power and flexibility to Bacula
   is the Bootstrap record definition.

   The third unique feature, which is currently (1.30) unimplemented, and
   thus can be called vaporware :-), is Base level saves.  When
   implemented, this will enormously reduce tape usage.

\label{sequence}
\subsection*{How can I force one job to run after another?}
\item [If I Run Multiple Simultaneous Jobs, How Can I Force One
   Particular  Job to Run After Another Job? ]
\index[general]{Multiple Simultaneous Jobs}
Yes, you can set Priorities on your jobs so that they  run in the order you
specify. Please see:  
\ilink{the Priority record}{Priority} in the  Job resource.

\label{nomail}
\subsection*{I Am Not Getting Email Notification, What Can I Do? }
\item [I Am Not Getting Email Notification, What Can I Do? ]
\index[general]{No Email Notification}
   The most common problem is that you have not specified a fully qualified
   email address and your bsmtp server is rejecting the mail.  The next
   most common problem is that your bsmtp server doesn't like the syntax on
   the From part of the message.  For more details on this and other
   problems, please see the \ilink{ Getting Email Notification to
   Work}{email} section of the Tips chapter of this manual.  The section
   \ilink{ Getting Notified of Job Completion}{notification} of the Tips
   chapter may also be useful.  For more information on the {\bf bsmtp}
   mail program, please see \ilink{bsmtp in the Volume Utility Tools
   chapter}{bsmtp} of this manual.

\label{periods}
\subsection*{My retention periods don't work}
\item [I Change Recycling, Retention Periods, or File Sizes in my Pool
   Resource  and they Still Don't Work.]
\index[general]{Recycling}
\index[general]{Retention Periods}
\index[general]{Pool changes}
  The different variables associated with a Pool are defined in the  Pool
  Resource, but are actually read by Bacula from the Catalog database.  On
  Bacula versions prior to 1.30, after changing your Pool Resource,  you must
  manually update the corresponding values in the Catalog by  using the {\bf
  update pool} command in the Console program. In Bacula  version 1.30, Bacula
  does this for you automatically every time it  starts.  
  
  When Bacula creates a Media record (Volume), it uses many default  values from
  the Pool record. If you subsequently change the Pool  record, the new values
  will be used as a default for the next Volume  that is created, but if you
  want the new values to apply to existing  Volumes, you must manually update
  the Volume Catalog entry using  the {\bf update volume} command in the Console
  program. 

\label{CompressionNotWorking}
\subsection*{Why aren't my files compressed?}
\item [I Have Configured Compression On, But None of My Files Are
   Compressed.  Why?]
\index[general]{Compression}
   There are two kinds of compression. One is tape compression. This  is done by
   the tape drive hardware, and you either enable or disable  it with system
   tools such as {\bf mt}. This compression works  independently of Bacula.  
   
   Bacula also has compression code, which is normally used only when
   backing up to file Volumes.  There are two conditions for this
   "software" to become enabled.

\begin{enumerate}
\item You must have the zip development libraries loaded on your  system when
   building Bacula and Bacula must find this library,  normally {\bf
   /usr/lib/libz.a}. On RedHat systems, this library  is provided by the {\bf
   zlib-devel} rpm.  

 If the library is found by Bacula during the {\bf ./configure}  it will be
 mentioned in the {\bf config.out} line by:  

\footnotesize
\begin{verbatim}
             ZLIB support:  yes
          
\end{verbatim}
\normalsize

\item You must add the {\bf compression=gzip} option on your  Include
   statement in the Director's configuration file.  
\end{enumerate}

\label{NewTape}
\item [Bacula is Asking for a New Tape After 2 GB of Data but My Tape
   holds 33 GB. Why?]
\index[general]{Tape capacity}
There are several reasons why Bacula will request a new tape.  

\begin{itemize}
\item There is an I/O error on the tape. Bacula prints an error message  and
   requests a new tape. Bacula does not attempt to continue writing  after an
I/O
   error.  
\item Bacula encounters and end of medium on the tape. This is not always 
   distinguishable from an I/O error.  
\item You have specifically set some size limitation on the tape. For  example
   the {\bf Maximum Volume Bytes} or {\bf Maximum Volume Files}  in the
   Director's Pool resource, or {\bf Maximum Volume Size} in  the Storage
  daemon's Device resource.  
\end{itemize}

\label{LevelChanging}
\subsection*{Incremental backups are not working}
\item [Bacula is Not Doing the Right Thing When I Request an Incremental
   Backup. Why?]
\index[general]{Incremental backups}
   As explained in one of the previous questions, Bacula will automatically
   upgrade an Incremental or Differential job to a Full backup if it cannot
   find a prior Full backup or a suitable Full backup.  For the gory
   details on how/when Bacula decides to upgrade levels please see the
   \ilink{Level record}{Level} in the Director's configuration chapter of
   this manual.
   
   If after reading the above mentioned section, you believe that Bacula  is not
   correctly handling the level (Differential/Incremental),  please send us the
   following information for analysis:  

\begin{itemize}
\item Your Director's configuration file.  
\item The output from {\bf list jobs} covering the period where you  are
   having the problem.  
\item The Job report output from the prior Full save (not critical).  
\item An {\bf llist jobid=nnn} where nnn is the JobId of the prior  Full save.
 
\item The Job report output from the save that is doing the  wrong thing (not
   critical).  
\item An {\bf llist jobid=nnn} where nnn is the JobId of the job  that was not
   correct.  
\item An explanation of what job went wrong and why you think it did.  
   \end{itemize}

The above information can allow us to analyze what happened, without it, 
there is not much we can do.  

\label{WaitForever}
\subsection*{I am waiting forever for a backup of an offsite machine}
\item [I am Backing Up an Offsite Machine with an Unreliable Connection.
   The  Director Waits Forever for the Client to Contact the SD. What Can  I
   Do?]
\index[general]{Backing Up Offsite Machines}
   Bacula was written on the assumption that it will have a good TCP/IP
   connection between all the daemons.  As a consequence, the current
   Bacula doesn't deal with faulty connections very well.  This situation
   is slowly being corrected over time.
   
   There are several things you can do to improve the situation.  

\begin{itemize}
\item Upgrade to version 1.32 and use the new SDConnectTimeout record.  For
   example, set:  

\footnotesize
\begin{verbatim}
          SD Connect Timeout = 5 min
          
\end{verbatim}
\normalsize

in the FileDaemon resource.  
\item Run these kinds of jobs after all other jobs.  
   \end{itemize}

\label{sshHanging}
\subsection*{SSH hangs forever after starting Bacula}
\item [When I ssh into a machine and start Bacula then attempt to exit, 
   ssh hangs forever.]
\index[general]{ssh hangs}
   This happens because Bacula leaves stdin, stdout, and stderr open for
   debug purposes.  To avoid it, the simplest thing to do is to redirect
   the output of those files to {\bf /dev/null} or another file in your
   startup script (the RedHat autostart scripts do this automatically).
   For example, you start the Director with:
   
\footnotesize
\begin{verbatim}
    bacula-dir -c bacula-dir.conf ... 0>\&1 2>\&1 >/dev/null
    
\end{verbatim}
\normalsize

and likewise for the other daemons.  

\label{RetentionPeriods}
\subsection*{I'm confused by retention periods}
\item [I'm confused by the different Retention periods: File Retention, 
   Job Retention, Volume Retention. Why are there so many?]
\index[general]{Retention Periods}
   Yes, this certainly can be confusing.  The basic reason for so many is
   to allow flexibility.  The File records take quite a lot of space in the
   catalog, so they are typically records you want to remove rather
   quickly.  The Job records, take very little space, and they can be
   useful even without the File records to see what Jobs actually ran and
   when.  One must understand that if the File records are removed from the
   catalog, you cannot use the {\bf restore} command to restore an
   individual file since Bacula no longer knows where it is.  However, as
   long as the Volume Retention period has not expired, the data will still
   be on the tape, and can be recovered from the tape.
   
   For example, I keep a 30 day retention period for my Files to keep my
   catalog from getting too big, but I keep my tapes for a minimum of one
   year, just in case.

\label{MaxVolumeSize}
\subsection*{MaxVolumeSize is ignored}
\item [Why Does Bacula Ignore the MaxVolumeSize Set in my Pool?]
\index[general]{MaxVolumeSize}
   The MaxVolumeSize that Bacula uses comes from the Media record, so most
   likely you changed your Pool, which is used as the default for creating
   Media records, {\bf after} you created your Volume.  Check what is in
   the Media record by doing:

\footnotesize
\begin{verbatim}
llist Volume=xxx
\end{verbatim}
\normalsize

If it doesn't have the right value, you can use: 

\footnotesize
\begin{verbatim}
update Volume=xxx
\end{verbatim}
\normalsize

to change it.  

\label{ConnectionRefused}
\subsection*{I get a Connection refused when connecting to my Client}
\item [In connecting to my Client, I get "ERR:Connection Refused.  Packet
   Size too big from File daemon:192.168.1.4:9102" Why?]
\index[general]{ERR:Connection Refused}
   This is typically a communications error resulting  from one of the
   following:
 

\begin{itemize}
\item Old versions of Bacula, usually a Win32 client, where two  threads were
   using the same I/O packet. Fixed in more recent  versions. Please upgrade.  
\item Some other program such as an HP Printer using the same  port (9102 in
   this case).  
\end{itemize}

If it is neither of the above, please submit a bug report at  
\elink{bugs.bacula.org}{http://bugs.bacula.org}.  

Another solution might be to run the daemon with the debug  option by:  

\footnotesize
\begin{verbatim}
    Start a DOS shell Window.
    cd c:\bacula\bin
    bacula-fd -d100 -c c:\bacula\bin\bacula-fd.conf
    
\end{verbatim}
\normalsize

This will cause the FD to write a file {\bf bacula.trace}  in the current
directory, which you can examine to determine  the problem.  

\subsection*{Long running jobs die with Pipe Error}
\item [During long running jobs my File daemon dies with Pipe Error, or
       some other communications error. Why?]
\index[general]{Communications Errors}
\index[general]{Pipe Errors}
\index[general]{slow}
\index[general]{Backups!slow}
   There are a number of reasons why a connection might break.
   Most often, it is a router between your two computers that times out
   inactive lines (not respecting the keepalive feature that Bacula uses).
   In that case, you can use the {\bf Heartbeat Interval} directive in
   both the Storage daemon and the File daemon. 

   In at least one case, the problem has been a bad driver for a Win32
   NVidia NForce 3 ethernet card with driver (4.4.2 17/05/2004). 
   In this case, a good driver is (4.8.2.0 06/04/2005).  Moral of
   the story, make sure you have the latest ethernet drivers
   loaded, or use the following workaround as suggested by Thomas
   Simmons for Win32 machines:
     
   Browse to:
   Start \gt{} Control Panel \gt{} Network Connections

   Right click the connection for the nvidia adapter and select properties. 
   Under the General tab, click "Configure...". Under the Advanced tab set 
   "Checksum Offload" to disabled and click OK to save the change.  

   Lack of communications, or communications that get interrupted can
   also be caused by Linux firewalls where you have a rule that throttles
   connections or traffic.  For example, if you have:

\footnotesize
\begin{verbatim}
iptables -t filter -A INPUT -m limit --limit 3/second --limit-burst 3 -j DROP
\end{verbatim}
\normalsize

   you will want to add the following rules {\bf before} the above rule:
\footnotesize
\begin{verbatim}
iptables -t filter -A INPUT --dport 9101 -j ACCEPT
iptables -t filter -A INPUT --dport 9102 -j ACCEPT
iptables -t filter -A INPUT --dport 9103 -j ACCEPT
\end{verbatim}
\normalsize
   This will ensure that any Bacula traffic will not get terminated because
   of high usage rates.
   
\subsection*{How to I tell the Job which Volume to use?}
\item[I can't figure out how to tell the job which volume to use]
   \index[general]{What tape to mount}
  This is an interesting statement. I now see that a number of people new to
  Bacula have the same problem as you, probably from using programs like tar.

  In fact, you do not tell Bacula what tapes to use.  It is the inverse.  Bacula
  tells you want tapes it wants.  You put tapes at its disposition and it
  chooses.  

  Now, if you *really* want to be tricky and try to tell Bacula what to do, it
  will be reasonable if for example you mount a valid tape that it can use on a
  drive, it will most likely go ahead and use it.  It also has a documented
  algorithm for choosing tapes -- but you are asking for problems ...

  So, the trick is to invert your concept of things and put Bacula in charge of
  handling the tapes.  Once you do that, you will be fine.  If you want to
  anticipate what it is going to do, you can generally figure it out correctly
  and  get what you want.  

  If you start with the idea that you are going to force or tell Bacula to use
  particular tapes or you insist on trying to run in that kind of mode, you will
  probably not be too happy.

  I don't want to worry about what tape has what data. That is what Bacula is
  designed for.

  If you have an application where you *really* need to remove a tape each day
  and  insert a new one, it can be done the directives exist to accomplish that.
  In such a case, one little "trick" to knowing what tape Bacula will want at
  2am  while you are asleep is to run a tiny job at 4pm while you are still at
  work  that backs up say one directory, or even one file. You will quickly find
  out  what tape it wants, and you can mount it before you go home ... 

\end{description}