Backup Agent on Linux and macOS
The following topics cover installing and using Backup Agent on Linux and macOS.
Before You Begin
This topic contains information with which you need to be familiar to successfully install Backup Agent on Linux and macOS.
Before installing, begin by reviewing the following documents for important information:
• This chapter provides important information such as system requirements and platform specific notes that are relevant to your operation.
• Release notes. The release notes are in a readme file located on the distribution media and contain late-breaking product news that could not be included in the product documentation.
Backup Agent Installation Checklists
This section provides you with checklists and other information to prepare you for installation on Linux and macOS.
Precautions
The following lists important precautions to follow prior to installing Backup Agent.
o Your system hardware and software meets the minimum requirements to install Backup Agent (which are the same the minimum requirements to install the database engine). The hardware and software requirements are listed on the Actian Corporation web site.
o The Zen database engine is stopped and restarted during the installation of Backup Agent. If your business requirements prohibit stopping the database engine during certain hours, install Backup Agent during an acceptable period.
o As with any software application, you should always back up any important files on the hard drive before you begin the installation.
o If you have enabled Archival Logging, you must disable it before you can use Backup Agent.
Database Engine Requirements
Linux and macOS Platform Notes
This section provides information that is specific to the Linux and macOS versions of Backup Agent.
Linux and macOS do not support upgrading Backup Agent the same way as on Windows platforms. With these distributions, you first uninstall the previous version of Backup Agent and then install the version you want.
Installing Backup Agent Using TAR
The TAR format allows you to install on Linux and macOS. The name of the installation package follows the convention:
• Zen-BackupAgent-linux-x86_64-yy.yy-zzz.zzz.tar.gz.
• Zen-BackupAgent-macosx-x86_64-yy.yy-zzz.zzz.tar.gz.
The yy.yy designates a release number and zzz.zzz designates a build number. Verify the actual name for the file you install.
Installation of Backup Agent stops and restarts the Zen engine service, so your database is briefly shut down.
Note: If you use a Linux system that supports RPM Package Manager, you may want to use RPM instead of TAR. See
Installing Backup Agent Using RPM for more information.
The following topics explain how to install Backup Agent products using TAR:
Installing Backup Agent for Linux
Your installation is either a first time, with no previous version, or an upgrade to an existing installed version.
First Time Installation on Linux
To install Backup Agent on Linux using TAR
1. Log in as the root user.
2. Change the current directory.
cd /usr/local/actianzen
3. Enter the following command to copy the .tar file to here.
For example, if you download the package to /home/bholly:
cp /home/bholly/<package_name> .
4. Unpack the .tar file using the following command:
tar -zxf <package_name>
5. Change directories to the directory where the installation scripts reside.
cd pba/etc
6. Run the preinstallation script.
./preinstall.sh
7. Run the postinstallation script.
./postinstall.sh
If successful, the prompt displays the following message:
Install has successfully completed.
9. After installation, you can verify that the database engine is running by using the following command:
/etc/init.d/actianzen status
Your installation is complete. For additional information, see
Common Questions After Installation on Linux and macOS.
Upgrade Installation on Linux
If you have a previous version of Backup Agent already installed, you must uninstall that version and then install the new Backup Agent product. See
Uninstalling Backup Agent on Linux or macOS for more information.
Installing Backup Agent for macOS
Your installation is either a first time, with no previous version, or an upgrade to an existing installed version.
First Time Installation on macOS
To install Backup Agent on macOS using TAR
You must be logged in as a user with administrator rights to use the sudo command.
1. Open a terminal window by entering terminal in a Spotlight search.
2. At the prompt, enter a sudo command like the following to gain administrative rights to install applications:
sudo -i bash -l
3. Change the current directory.
cd /usr/local/actianzen
4. Unpack the .tar file using the tar command.
For example, if you downloaded the installation package to your Desktop:
tar -zxf /Users/<name>/Desktop/<package_name>
5. Change directories to the directory where the installation scripts reside.
cd pba/etc
6. Run the preinstallation script.
./preinstall.sh
7. Run the postinstallation script.
./postinstall.sh
If successful, the prompt displays the following message:
Install has successfully completed.
9. After installation, you can verify that the database engine is running by using the following command:
/usr/local/actianzen/etc/init.d/actianzen status
Your installation is complete. For additional information, see
Common Questions After Installation on Linux and macOS.
Upgrade Installation on macOS
If you have a previous version of Backup Agent already installed, you must uninstall that version and then install the new Backup Agent product. See
Uninstalling Backup Agent on Linux or macOS for more information.
Installing Backup Agent Using RPM
The name of the Backup Agent installation package on Linux follows the convention Zen-BackupAgent-linux-yy.yy-zzz.zzz.x86_64.rpm.
The yy.yy designates a release number and zzz.zzz designates a build number. Verify the actual name for the file you install.
Note: To install this package, you must be logged in as root. If you are installing from the CD, you must be in the CD root directory.
Caution! Installation of Backup Agent stops and restarts the Zen service, so your database is briefly shut down.
To install Backup Agent using RPM
1. Log in as the root user.
2. Change directories to the location of the RPM package
3. Issue the following command, replacing the package name used here with the correct name:
rpm -ivh <BackupAgent_package_name>
Note: If you are installing to a non-RPM based Linux installation such as Slackware, you need to add the --nodeps option so that the package manager does not check for RPM dependencies, which your system does not have. For example, rpm -ivh --nodeps <package_name>.
The package scripts install the product and perform other tasks as noted in
Installation Scripts. If successful, the prompt displays the following message:
Install has successfully completed.
4. After installation, you can use the following command to verify that the database engine is running:
/etc/init.d/actianzen status
Verifying RPM Installation
You can verify that RPM installed the Backup Agent package using the following case-sensitive command:
rpm -q 'Zen-BackupAgent'
When successful, a specific version should be returned:
Zen-BackupAgent-yy.yy-zzz.zzz
Installation Scripts
This section contains additional information about Backup Agent installation on Linux and macOS.
• If you use the RPM installation system, installation scripts run automatically before and after the package manager copies all needed files to the location /usr/local/actianzen/pba.
• If you use TAR, you will run the script postinstall.sh manually after installation.
In either case, the scripts perform the following tasks:
• Verify necessary permissions to complete the installation.
• Shut down the Zen service.
• Set user:group ownership to zen-svc:zen-data for the installed files.
• Configure and register Backup Agent with the Zen service.
• Restart the Zen service.
Caution! Installation of Backup Agent stops and restarts the Zen service, so your database is briefly shut down.
Common Questions After Installation on Linux and macOS
This topic contains information that you should read after installing Backup Agent on Linux and macOS. If you have problems with installation, see the troubleshooting topic in Getting Started with Zen or visit the Actian website for online help resources.
Where do I find the product documentation?
The product includes a man page. To read it, run the following command at a prompt:
man pvbackup
Backup Agent documentation in PDF format is available in the following file:
/usr/local/actianzen/pba/doc/pvbackup.pdf
A readme file for the product is also available. See
Database Engine Requirements for Backup Agent.
What files were installed as part of Backup Agent?
Backup Agent installation places the directories and files under the Backup Agent root directory. By default this directory is /usr/local/actianzen/pba.
I had to remove and then reinstall my Zen Engine. Why doesn’t Backup Agent operate anymore?
You must remove and reinstall Backup Agent.
Using Backup Agent on Linux and macOS
On Linux and macOS, the pvbackup command is used at the command line exactly the same as it is under Windows systems. This section provides an overview of the command and its syntax. For more information, see
Using the Backup Agent Command Line Interface.
pvbackup
pvbackup64
Description
This utility sets and manages Continuous Operations on Zen database files during a live backup using a backup software application.
Syntax
pvbackup -on | -off | -status | -help
Tip... pvbackup64 is used with 64-bit Backup Agent.
Options
Remarks
You must be logged in as user zen-svc to run this utility. Other users also can run it if their Zen accounts are configured to do so. For details, see the application management chapter in Getting Started with Zen.
Uninstalling Backup Agent on Linux or macOS
This topic covers removal of Backup Agent from a Linux or macOS machine.
Caution! Removing Backup Agent stops and restarts the Zen service, so your database is briefly shut down.
Removing the TAR Version on Linux
To uninstall a Backup Agent TAR installation on Linux
1. Log in as the root user.
2. Log in as zen-svc or any other user of group zen-data. For user zen-svc, no password is needed.
su - zen-svc
3. Be sure that Backup Agent is turned off by issuing one the following commands:
pvbackup -off
pvbackup64 -off
The command displays the following text:
Backup Agent is now OFF.
4. Exit back to root user.
exit
5. Since the uninstall will remove /usr/local/actianzen/pba and its subdirectories, be sure the current working directory is located above the Backup Agent home directory. For example, change directories:
cd /usr/local/actianzen
6. Run the first uninstall script.
sh pba/etc/preuninstall.sh
The system shuts down Zen, cleans up memory, unregisters Backup Agent libraries, and removes files, logs, links, and configuration settings made by the initial installation.
Backup Agent is now removed from your Linux system.
7. When the first script finishes, run the second uninstall script.
sh pba/etc/postuninstall.sh
The second script removes the Backup Agent directories and restarts Zen.
Backup Agent is now removed from your Linux system.
8. After installation, you can verify that the database engine is running with the status command.
/etc/init.d/actianzen status
Removing the TAR Version on macOS
To uninstall a Backup Agent TAR installation on macOS
You must be logged in as a user with administrator rights to use the sudo command.
1. Open a terminal window by entering terminal in a Spotlight search.
2. At the prompt, enter a sudo command like the following to gain administrative rights to install applications:
sudo -i bash -l
3. Change directories to the directory where the Backup Agent installation scripts reside.
cd /usr/local/actianzen/etc
4. Use the following uninstall scripts:
./preuninstall.sh
./postuninstall.sh
The scripts must be executed in sequence: preuninstall first, followed by postuninstall.
Backup Agent is now removed from your macOS system.
5. After installation, you can verify that the database engine is running by using the following command:
/usr/local/actianzen/etc/init.d/actianzen status
Removing the RPM Version
To uninstall using RPM
Caution! Removing Backup Agent stops and restarts the Zen service, so your database is briefly shut down.
1. Log in as the root user.
2. Log in as zen-svc or any other user of group zen-data. For user zen-svc, no password is needed.
su - zen-svc
3. Be sure that Backup Agent is turned off by issuing one the following commands:
pvbackup -off
pvbackup64 -off
The command displays the following text:
Backup Agent is now OFF.
4. Exit back to root user.
exit
5. Since the uninstall will remove /usr/local/actianzen/pba and its subdirectories, change the current directory to another location. For example, change directories to Zen home:
cd /usr/local/actianzen
6. Issue the following command:
rpm -e <BackupAgent_package_name>
The package manager stops the Zen service, removes the /usr/local/actianzen/pba directory, its subdirectories, and all files, logs, links, and configuration settings made by the initial installation, then restarts the Zen service again.
Backup Agent is now removed from your Linux system.
7. After installation, you can verify that the database engine is running by using the following command:
/etc/init.d/actianzen status