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Hello,

we back up PostgreSQL 15 databases as FSBasedBackupSet. The databases run on Linux RHEL9 VMs. Commvault copies the PGDATA directory as a file system after calling the pg_backup_start and performing a database quiescing. The backup runs online, which means that applications that could update the data, are running in parallel. If the database is large, the backup may end with "Completed with one or more errors". The reason for this is: Some files that the job scanned and collected in its CVFfiles are deleted. So we get something like this:

ClBackupFile::OpenFilesForBackup(7273) - Could not specify path '/data/postgres/db/as15/tab

We then started setting some paths in the additional sPGDirIgnoreList Parameter to exclude deleted files. This resulted in a backup job with return code 0 instead of "Completed with one or more errors".

But then some of the missing files seemed to be part of the database base directory. Excluding these means "incomplete backup" which cannot be used to clone the database. 

We cannot afford to do an offline backup or stop the applications at the time of backup.

We tried Block Level Change Backup and had some issues with it, so it is not an option for us now.

Also PIT Recovery is a mandatory feature for us. So Taking Dumps ia not a solution. 

Questions:

  1. How does Commvault handle changes in the list of files it has collected and recorded in its CVF files during its File Scan Phase?
  2. Is Commvault really capable of doing an online backup using FSBasedBackupSet?

Thank you and Regards

Dalia Elkady

 

 

Hello @Dalia Elkady 

Thanks for the details and information. to summaries you issue it seems you were worried about the complete with error but the fix you implemented has caused critical data to be missed and restore now fails. 

 

Thinking back to the root of the issue with why it is completing with errors seems to be caused to due to us getting a full list of items to protect during the scan but the items have moved/deleted when we get around to protecting it due to it being an active database. 

 

This is not too big of an issue with this job completing with errors but is still recoverable. 

With the nature of a FS backup of an online database we are always going to encounter these kinds of issues. 

 

if you don’t want these errors you could use either block level or dump solution as that will help or introduce a passive copy to protect from. Either way i would roll back your change to bring the backups into a recoverable state. 

 

Kind regards

Albert Williams

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