Large DB backup stumper

  • I have a 65GB database with 2 filegroups, each one containing 1 file. When I try to do a full backup, whether thru a maintenance plan or not, I get the following error:

     BackupMedium::ReportIoError: write failure on backup device 'K:\MSSQL7\BACKUP\mbs\MBS_db_200506152300.BAK'. Operating system error 33(The process cannot access the file because another process has locked a portion of the file.).

    The backup job runs for 4 or 5 hours then dies with the above error. I rebuilt the database recently due to table structure changes but I had the problem with the old db also. The very first backup I did on this new database worked but now subsequent ones will not.

    I am not getting any specific help from MS KB.

    Has anyone else seen this?

    Is there some service that runs on Win2K that is known to cause this problem?

    My other backups on various dbs < 10GB work fine.

    Thanks for any help.

  • If I recall correctly we had a similar issue that was caused by our netbackup system.  We wound up scheduling the SQL backups and the NetBackup so that the SQL backups completed before Netbackup started and we never saw that issue again.

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  • I'd agree 100% with this, we had the exact same problem and resolved it by rescheduling the second backup to a time after the first one had finished

  • I rescheduled the backups to run this weekend well after the system backups are finished.

    Thanks for the suggestions.

  • Watch out for Virus scanners as well, DB, log, trace, etc. files should always be excluded.

    Andy

  • But who in their right mind wouldn't have already excluded all of these things from the virus scanners

    Quick appologies to anyone willing to admit it

  • I agree for SQL Server, but now that every tom dick an harry app is installing MSDE...

    Andy

  • Mike

    I'll only admit I ran into the error before .

    Definitely either scheduled backups and virus scanning [will] cause this error. Depending on the scanning package, you may have trouble writing to the 'locked' file again after the error.

  • Wow.

    I don't know much about virus scanners. Our Network Admin installs them and handles firewall issues.

    We are running eTrust on that server.

    Is there any whitepaper or kb article that explains this so I have some ammo to take to them?

    Thanks.

     

  • SQL Server Security: Dealing with Anti-Virus Programs

    http://qa.sqlservercentral.com/columnists/bkelley/sqlserversecuritydealingwithantivirusprograms.asp

    This is the best that I have seen.

    Andy

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