QB5.0.3 worked! QB5.0.4?
3 messages in this thread
Randy,
EUREKA! The QB 5.0.3 patch solved my SCSI SPACE command problem!
I patched QB without a hitch. I was then able to space to any partition
on my streaming tape.
One question. Although the Space command worked, it took a long time.
For instance, to space past a 60-Meg partition, it took about 8 minutes.
Is it supposed to take this long? Is the tape drive reading data
continuously?
Suggestions for QB 5.0.4: Automate the Space Command, so there is
automatic multiple backups to one streaming tape. That is, the user should
be able to select the partition they want to go to, and QB should figure
out how much to space to get to that partition. Right now, you have to
remember in what order you backed up the partitions and then manually use
the Space command to get to the desired partition.
Also, provide more information as to what the tape drive is doing and
where it is on the tape. Right now it just displays "searching tape" while
you wait. You should also provide a display for some sort of index or
table of comments for each tape.
Are these improvements being considered, and if so, when can we expect
them?
Thanks.
Dom Fontana
<– Sent from New York via AutoPilot –>
Dom,
Glad this solved your problem with the space command. Unfortunately the
space command involves a very basic level of interaction between the
program and the drive. We essentially tell the drive to look for the next
filemark (with each backup sessions being a file) and the drive proceeds to
search the tape for a filemark with no feedback being returned to the
program other then the simple "searching tape" status. The drive does
indeed look at all of the intervening data while searching for the
filemark.
Thanks for the input on the next version of Quarterback. Hopefully the next
version will be able to benifit from many of the suggestions that we have
received.
Randy Brooks
Central Coast Software
A division of New Horizons Software, Inc.
Randy –
I'm glad you're continuously improving QB, and listening to user input
— that makes for a great product! The thing I think would help would be
to have Quarterback write a Logical End-Of-Tape when a backup session is
finished, so that it can be searched for when appending a session on to
the end of an already used tape. This would eliminate the need to keep
track of how many sessions are on a tape, and having to issue a space
command that many times.