LOAD-IMAGE

Restores a physical backup of a database.

Syntax

LOAD-IMAGE

Restrictions

• LOAD-IMAGE is only available in the SYSMAN account.
• LOAD-IMAGE may only be run by the database owner.
• A physical save cannot be restored on a host with different byte ordering; for example, a SAVE-IMAGE save of a Windows (Intel) database can be restored on a Linux (Intel) system, but not on a Solaris (sparc) system. For long term archives it is recommended that a logical save format (using FILE-SAVE, for example) is used, because this is machine architecture independent.
• Only one instance of LOAD-IMAGE may be run at a time on a database. LOAD-IMAGE cannot be run at the same time as any of the other physical save and restore commands.

Comments

• LOAD-IMAGE can only restore a complete database. To restore individual files, restore the backup to a new database and then use remote accounts and files to access its contents.
• LOAD-IMAGE locks the database and shuts it down (logging off all users) before starting to load the data. Its previous lock state is restored when the load completes unless the load fails, in which case the database is left locked.
• When complete, LOAD-IMAGE changes the restored free space table to match the database skeleton used. Loading an image into a larger database will therefore enable full use of the increased disk space.
• LOAD-IMAGE can also be run from the host by using the realload command.

• LOAD-IMAGE is a Proc that runs the IMG.LOAD command with the appropriate options. If LOAD-IMAGE does not suit your requirements and you are experienced in writing Procs, you can copy the LOAD-IMAGE Proc from file SYSPROG-PL and customise it to meet your needs.

  Caution

  Do not change the standard LOAD-IMAGE Proc. Always copy standard Procs into your own Proc library file and make any changes to your copy.

• The internal name of the restored database will be the same as that from which it was saved. To change the internal name to match that in the ROUTE-FILE, use the CUSTOMER.IDENT TCL command. The internal database name is used by TCL commands such as WHO.
• If a CREATE-INDEX or DELETE-INDEX was in progress when the database was saved, the index concerned will be incomplete when restored and this could result in an unexpected reduction in performance. You can identify the incomplete indexes with LIST-INDEXES; the indexes concerned are marked as invalid. Incomplete indexes must be deleted and recreated if required.
• If the data on the tape is encrypted, your REK file must contain the correct encryption keys to allow your users access. If transferring data from another database, you must load the keys (using the LOAD-REK command) after the restore has completed, so that the REK file is not overwritten. Refer to Copying Encrypted Data to another Host for more details.

Procedure

1. Ensure that the tape is loaded and on-line, and you are logged on to SYSMAN.

2. Enter at the TCL prompt:

   LOAD-IMAGE

3. The software then prompts for the tape units to be assigned:

   Enter tape units, in sequence, separated by commas ?

   Enter the number(s) of the tape unit(s) to be assigned.

   If your backup was saved using multi-deck parallel save, you must enter the same number of tape units as used when saving. If you need more tapes than you have tape decks, you can use tape images as additional decks.

   If you press RETURN without entering any tape unit numbers, LOAD-IMAGE exits without performing the restore.

4. You are then prompted:

               *******************
               *                 *
               *  W A R N I N G  *
               *                 *
               *******************
   
   This operation will log off all users from this database (databaseName)
   and overwrite its contents from the saved image.
   
   Are you sure you wish to continue (Y/N) ?

   Enter Y  to continue or N  to exit.

5. Unless an obvious problem is detected during start up (such as no tape being attached), LOAD-IMAGE then exits from Reality and runs the realload host command. On completion you will be prompted

   Hit <return> to exit

   When you respond to this prompt, if you are logged on to Reality locally, you will be returned to the host system prompt; if you are connected directly to Reality over a network, your network connection will be broken.

Example

The following shows a typical LOAD-IMAGE procedure.

:T-DEVICE 1 C:\TEMP\FASTBACKUP.RTI:C2 9

:LOAD-IMAGE
Enter tape units, in sequence, separated by commas ?1
Tape density (if other than Device Default) ?

            *******************
            *                 *
            *  W A R N I N G  *
            *                 *
            *******************

This operation will log off all users from this database (fbtest)
and overwrite its contents from the saved image.

Are you sure you wish to continue (Y/N) ?Y
Loading Database Image...

 100% complete
Load complete in 00 hrs 00 mins 01 secs
Image Load completed.
Hit <return> to exit...

See Also

realload host command, IMG.LOAD, SAVE-IMAGE, realdump host command.