I have OpenPSL as the support provider. Need I say more.

Actually, recently the service we have been getting from IBM Informix
has been much improved. I still report problems to OpenPSL but I ask
for immediate pass-through to IBM Informix and I normally get somebody
on the case within a few hours.

And occasionally I even get fixes put onto the IBM web-site for me to
download within 72 hours. Actually today I heard that yesterday they
had made two software releases available for me to download within 72
hours. Does that mean 72 working hours? If not is it 3 working days? I
do think it should be clarified, and possibly made longer. I am
supporting about 50 customers and cannot guarantee to be available to
download within a few hours. Yesterday I was out of email contact all
day, which lost me 24 of the 72 hours, and today I was not at a download
machine until late in the day. And it took 2 hours to download IDS 9.4
for AIX. Need I say more?I wonder if that is part of the problem at
OpenPSL.

But if you want to hear a good one. Yesterday OpenPSL sent me some
software by courier. When it didn't arrive today we chased it up and
found that it had been sent to the Reading depot (about 10 miles away).
They sent it to Newbury, about 10 miles from Reading, and also 10 miles
away from us. Now it will be delivered to us on Tuesday as it is a
holiday weekend. I think OpenPSL ought to get a better courier service.

Regards

Malcolm

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-informix-list@iiug.org [mailtowner-informix-list@iiug.org]
On Behalf Of scottishpoet
Sent: 30 April 2004 17:52
To: informix-list@iiug.org
Subject: Re: Onbar completion codes


> The problem with onbar seems to have been fixed. It turned out to be
> that I had TAPEDEV set to /dev/null in the onconfig file. That has
> got me very confused as I am not using ontape so why does onbar look
> at the TAPEDEV. (I guess some developer somewhere has a good reason
> for that - but it doesn't make life any easier).

Well, if that is the behaviour, I'd contact your support provider and
look to get a bug logged.

The "Backup and Restore Guide" states (page 4-4 in my copy) TAPEDEV
Specifies the tape device where storage spaces are backed up. ON-Bar
does not use the TAPEDEV parameter.

So the behaviour you describe is either a docs bug or a product bug.

However if you had LTAPEDEV set to /dev/null thats a different problem.

Despite the fact onbar will ignore the value, of LTAPEDEV, if it is set
to /dev/null the engine will already have marked the logs as backed up.
The engine will have read LTAPEDEV and seen it is s "special device". So
when onbar tries to backup the logs it says .. these have already been
backed up. Hence the Warning on page 4-10 of my manual.


malcolm.weallans@btopenworld.com (malcolm) wrote in message
news:<3efc1745.0404300155.4d91049d@posting.google. com>...
> Thanks all for the help so far. This is the news.
>
> The problem with onbar seems to have been fixed. It turned out to be
> that I had TAPEDEV set to /dev/null in the onconfig file. That has
> got me very confused as I am not using ontape so why does onbar look
> at the TAPEDEV. (I guess some developer somewhere has a good reason
> for that - but it doesn't make life any easier).
>
> I am now getting lots of the shmdt: errno 22 messages, so it looks
> like that could be a separate problem.
>
> As to the completion codes - I still can't find out what 156 means.
> As my alter ego Malc_p pointed out the manual lists 155 and 157 but
> not 156. And how are we supposed to find this in the manual. I
> looked in the index for error codes, and even completion codes. In
> onbar they are RETURN codes - I guess I should have known that as the
> error message does say RETURNING but I searched the document for
> returning and that didn't find anything. I even looked in the section
> marked "Troubleshooting" but that doesn't include analysing the log.
>
> regards
>
> Malcolm
>
> "Malc" <malc_p@btinternet.com> wrote in message
> news:<c6rlt8$pbq$1@sparta.btinternet.com>...
> > "malcolm" <malcolm.weallans@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
> > news:3efc1745.0404290751.220b0316@posting.google.c om...
> > > I am having fun trying to get onbar to work on IDS 9.40 running on

> > > Linux.
> > >
> > > Whenever I run onbar -b -L I get shmdt: errno = 22, and the
> > > bar_act.log indicates that onbar has completed with code 156.
> > > Where can I find what these error codes mean?
> > >
> >
> > Have a look at the Backup and restore guide, chapter 11. Oh, bugger.
> > Code 155 and 157 are listed..... gues which one ain't?
> >
> > Malc_p

sending to informix-list

"malcolm weallans" <malcolm.iiug@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
news:c6u6ni$p4a$1@terabinaries.xmission.com...
>
> I have OpenPSL as the support provider. Need I say more.
>
> Actually, recently the service we have been getting from IBM Informix
> has been much improved. I still report problems to OpenPSL but I ask
> for immediate pass-through to IBM Informix and I normally get somebody
> on the case within a few hours.

Not from the 1st July you won't!

"Neil Truby" <neil.truby@ardenta.com> wrote in message
news:c6ug59$g5cmi$1@ID-162943.news.uni-berlin.de...
> "malcolm weallans" <malcolm.iiug@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
> news:c6u6ni$p4a$1@terabinaries.xmission.com...
> >
> > I have OpenPSL as the support provider. Need I say more.
> >
> > Actually, recently the service we have been getting from IBM Informix
> > has been much improved. I still report problems to OpenPSL but I ask
> > for immediate pass-through to IBM Informix and I normally get somebody
> > on the case within a few hours.
>
> Not from the 1st July you won't!
>
>
Why what happens on 1st July?

"David Williams" <djw@smooth1.fsnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:c6ur0a$hhk$1@news8.svr.pol.co.uk...
>
> "Neil Truby" <neil.truby@ardenta.com> wrote in message
> news:c6ug59$g5cmi$1@ID-162943.news.uni-berlin.de...
> > "malcolm weallans" <malcolm.iiug@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
> > news:c6u6ni$p4a$1@terabinaries.xmission.com...
> > >
> > > I have OpenPSL as the support provider. Need I say more.
> > >
> > > Actually, recently the service we have been getting from IBM Informix
> > > has been much improved. I still report problems to OpenPSL but I ask
> > > for immediate pass-through to IBM Informix and I normally get somebody
> > > on the case within a few hours.
> >
> > Not from the 1st July you won't!
> >
> >
> Why what happens on 1st July?

Bear in mind that OpenPSL is an IBM distributor, like Avnet or Ingrams etc.

Customers whose support has been fulfilled through OpenPSL, rather than
through Passport Advantage, will not be allowed direct access to IBM
Informix Tech Support, no matter what the circumstances. Instead, support
calls - even down systems calls - will have to be handled by OpenPSL staff.
OpenPSL staff will themselves be allowed to talk to the IBM team and then
relay advice back to the customer/partner.

This was initially introduced in March without any announcement by either
IBM or OpenPSL. OpenPSL customers/partners found out only when IBM Tech
Support in the UK refused to accept their calls. After a storm of protest
the arrangement was deferred until 1st July to allow OpenPSL to train some
staff in Informix products.

Most end-user customers will of course be entirely unaware which distributor
their IBM Business Partner will have used to fulfill their support.