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Question

IBM i backup job completes successfully but no data is backed up

  • March 9, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 11 views
A
Apprentice
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Hello,

I’m experiencing an issue with backups from an IBM i server using Commvault.

Recently, the scheduled backup jobs finish with the status “Completed” and without errors, but when reviewing the backup contents, no data appears to have been backed up.

In this case, the backup configuration is set to back up only one specific library, and this is precisely the library that is not being backed up.

So far, I have verified the following:

  • The Check Readiness test is successful on both the IBM i client and the Proxy.
  • The IBM i user configured for Commvault has the required privileges.
  • Backups were working correctly last week.
  • The backups run during early morning hours, when there is no system activity.
  • I tested the Save While Active parameter using “*LIB” and “*SYNCLIB”.
  • No network connectivity issues have been detected.

Has anyone experienced a similar situation where the backup job completes successfully but the configured library is not backed up?

Any guidance or suggestions on additional checks would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

2 replies

J
Vaulter
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  • Jace RossVaulter
  • Vaulter
  • March 10, 2026

Hi Alexis,

I don’t have an IBM i system to test with at the moment but there’s a few things.
In some subclients (I don’t know if this applies to IBM i off the top of my head) there’s an option to allow empty content, this allows for a job to run, backup nothing and mark completed. I would validate this first.

Next, are you backing up incrementally? If the job is incremental, has data changed in the selected library between backups? If you run a full backup does it detect and protect data?

The next thing I would look at if all of the above fails to yield results is the FileScan.log file on your access node. This log outlines the scan occurring on your library and what data is marked as valid for backup. If that log is a bit too much, look for near the end of a scan operation and file a line like the one below.
 

614 e1e 10/31 23:16:09 7254 CScanJobCallback::GetNextPhaseArguments_UpdateStats(494) - Total Collect Files=[139], Total Data Size=[11457657344], Total items to Backup=[139935], Total Folder to backup=[0]


This is from one of my Linux systems but it shows that at the end of the scan it found 139935 items to backup which amounts to 11457657344B in size.

Hopefully this helps identify your issue,
Jace

Jace Ross, Senior Technical SME
A
Apprentice
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  • AlexisApprentice
  • Author
  • Apprentice
  • March 10, 2026

Hi Jace,

Thank you for your suggestions.

Let me provide some additional context about my situation:

The backup is currently configured to protect a single IBM i library. The jobs are running successfully but when browsing the backup, no data is available.

Here are some additional details from my environment:

  • The backups are being executed as Full backups and incremental.
  • The library contains multiple objects and approximately 230 GB of data.
  • During the backup window, the library appears to be locked by active processes.
  • I verified this using the following command on the IBM i system:

WRKOBJLCK OBJ(LIB001) OBJTYPE(*LIB)

This confirms that there are processes holding locks on the library during the backup window.

  • I have already tested the Save While Active parameters including:

    • *LIB

    • *SYNCLIB

  • The backup window runs from 03:00 AM until 08:30 AM, but the library remains locked during that entire period due to application activity.

  • The applications accessing this library are critical and cannot be stopped or paused, even during low-activity hours.

Because of this, the library is consistently locked when the backup attempts to read it.

Based on this scenario, do you think the locks could prevent the scan phase from detecting eligible objects for backup? Or is there any recommended configuration within Commvault for backing up IBM i libraries that have persistent locks?

Any additional guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again for your help.

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