Technical data

Using BACKUP
11.17 Backing Up and Restoring the System Disk
11.17.3 Backing Up the System Disk to Tape
When backing up your system disk, you must understand the functions of the
/IMAGE and /PHYSICAL qualifiers to the BACKUP command before using
standalone BACKUP:
Qualifier Function
/IMAGE Lets you create a functionally equivalent copy of the entire system
disk. When restored, files from an image backup are placed
contiguously on the system disk, eliminating disk fragmentation.
/PHYSICAL Copies, saves, restores, or compares the entire system disk in terms
of logical blocks, ignoring any file structure.
For a complete description of the Backup utility qualifiers, refer to the OpenVMS
System Management Utilities Reference Manual.
How to Perform This Task
To perform an image backup of the system disk to tape, use the following
procedure:
1. Obtain blank tape cartridges or magnetic tapes that you can use for the
backup operation.
2. Write-enable the tape. To write-enable a tape cartridge, slide the write-protect
switch away from the tape cartridge label. To write-enable a tape, insert a
write-enable ring in the back of the tape reel.
3. Insert a tape into the tape drive.
4. Determine the device name of the system disk you are backing up. (See
Section 8.2 for information about determining the names of your devices.) To
display the device name of the system disk you are booted from, enter the
DCL command SHOW LOGICAL SYS$SYSDEVICE.
5. Depending on your configuration, either boot standalone BACKUP or start
the menu system:
• If you have access to the OpenVMS Alpha or VAX operating system
distribution compact disc, start the menu sytem described in
Section 11.17.1.
• If you do not have access to the OpenVMS VAX operating system
distribution compact disc, boot standalone BACKUP as described in
either Section 11.17.2.2 or Section 11.17.2.4.
6. Enter the BACKUP command in the following format:
BACKUP/IMAGE/VERIFY input-specifier: output-specifier:saveset.BCK/REWIND/LABEL=label
where:
• input-specifier is the device name of the system disk.
• output-specifier is the device name of the drive that you want to hold the
backup copy.
• saveset.BCK is the name of the save set. The name should reflect the
contents of the tape (for example, OCT_31_2000.BCK) and cannot exceed
17 characters in length.
Using BACKUP 11–59