This document applies to Central Console v1.60 and below.

A corrupted File Tracker System (FTS) database will require resetting the database to default settings. Once the database is reset, the FTS can be rebuilt using one of three methods:

• Merging tape backups into the FTS database.
• Restoring the FTS from a previous Self backup.
• Allow daily backups to rebuild the FTS database.

Symptoms that confirm a corrupted FTS

• Backup data not found. You cannot see any backup history, under any date range, when browsing the FTS.
• The system hangs or abends while browsing the FTS.
• The following error messages are reported in the Activity log during a backup or merge:
  
  "Failed BO_<some-term>"
  
  "FTSAPI Possible file tracker corruption"
  
• The Activity log reports that the FTS is constantly pruning.
• The StorageExpress™ system locks up frequently and unexpectedly during backup or pruning operations.

What causes a corrupted FTS database?

Almost any time a process which accesses the FTS database is fatally interrupted, the database becomes corrupted. Common causes of this are:

• Improper shutdown of the StorageExpress™ system
• Shutdown of the system during a prune/purge operation
• SYS: volume becoming full

How to recover or reset a corrupted File Tracker Database

There are three different methods to clean up the File Tracker System. They are listed here in order of thoroughness.

Central Console method

Central Console v1.5x and above have a Reset File Tracker button available to clear the FTS database. This method is the easiest, yet least thorough.

1. From the main menu select 'Restore'.
2. Select 'Browse Tape Catalog'.
3. Select the 'Reset File Tracker' button.

System Console -- Manual FTS database reset

There are two methods for the manual FTS database reset, depending on the severity of corruption and user preference. For both steps you will need to be at the System Console of the StorageExpress™ system. The system console can be reached either via the NetWare* RCONSOLE utility or via a monitor and keyboard connected directly to the StorageExpress system.

The first step could be to delete the F*.BTR files from the SYS:ENGINE directory. Deleting the F*.BTR files wipes out the most often corrupted part of the database. This leaves the S*.BTR files which contain information regarding job rotation. A summary of the steps is as follows:

1. At the System Console prompt type 'EPDOWN2' and press the [Enter] key.
2. At the System Console prompt type 'LOAD NWSHELL' and press the [Enter] key. If prompted for a password, enter the same password used for Central Console. The NWSHELL program will put you at a 0:/> prompt. NWSHELL creates a basic DOS shell on the NetWare* partition of the StorageExpress system.
3. At the 0:/> prompt, type 'CD ENGINE' and press the [Enter] key.
4. At the 0:/> prompt, type 'DEL F*.BTR' and press the [Enter] key.
5. At the 0:/> prompt, type 'DEL *.BS?' and press the [Enter] key.
6. At the 0:/> prompt, type 'COPY ..\NULLFTS\F*.*' and press the [Enter] key.
7. At the 0:/> prompt, type 'EXIT' and press the [Enter] key. Hit any key to return to the System Console when prompted.
8. At the System Console prompt, type 'REMOVE DOS' and press the [Enter] key.
9. At the System Console prompt, type 'EPDOWN' and press the [Enter] key. The StorageExpress system will automatically reboot into NetWare* Mode.
10. After the StorageExpress system has finished rebooting into NetWare* Mode, you may merge tapes or allow the next backup to insert records into the database

The above procedure will destroy all information regarding what was backed up, yet should allow your streamline jobs to rotate properly.

If the above procedure is not is not sufficient, the following procedure is the easiest and most thorough way to manually reset the database:

1. At the System Console prompt, type 'EPDOWN2' and press the [Enter] key.
2. At the System Console prompt, type 'LOAD NWSHELL' and press the [Enter] key. If prompted for a password, enter the same password used for Central Console. The NWSHELL program will put you at a 0:/> prompt. NWSHELL creates a basic DOS shell on the NetWare* partition of the StorageExpress system.
3. At the 0:/> prompt, type 'CD ENGINE' and press the [Enter] key.
4. At the 0:/> prompt, type '*.B*' and press the [Enter] key.
5. At the 0:/> prompt, type 'COPY ..\NULLFTS\*.*' and press the [Enter] key.
6. Steps 3 through 5 can be repeated to reset the Temporary FTS database as well. Simply replace the word 'ENGINE' with 'TEMPFTS'.
7. At the 0:/> prompt, type 'EXIT' and press the [Enter] key. Hit any key to return to the System Console when prompted.
8. At the System Console prompt, type 'REMOVE DOS' and press the [Enter] key.
9. At the System Console prompt, type 'EPDOWN' and press the [Enter] key. The StorageExpress system will automatically reboot into NetWare* Mode.
10. After the StorageExpress system has finished rebooting into NetWare* Mode, you may restore the database using a recent self backup. You may also merge tapes or allow the next backup to insert records into the database

This applies to:

StorageExpress™ Systems