Flashes (Alerts)
Abstract
Versions 6.1.0 through 6.1.5.2 of Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack can cause a crash when adding a GUID partition table (GPT) disk with zero signature as a repository to a FastBack Server installed on a machine that already has a GPT disk with zero signature. New data saved with the “Save” operation before the crash may not be saved
Content
Problem Summary:
When FastBack server is installed on a machine having GPT disk with signature zero, the operation of adding a repository disk, which is a GPT disk with signature zero as well, causes the original machine disk to become “read only” after reboot. New data written to this original machine disk after the reboot can cause a crash and the “Save” operation not to function, which can result in data saved with the “Save” function after the reboot not to be saved..
This problem is described by APAR IC81191: USE OF GPT DISKS WITH A DISK SIGNATURE OF 0, MAY LEAD TO USER DATA NOT BEING SAVED ON THE FASTBACK SERVER MACHINE.
Affected products
Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack versions 6.1.0 through 6.1.5.x when FastBack server is installed on GPT disks, and the repository disk in a GPT disk with signature zero as well.
How to determine whether your FastBack server is affected
FastBack servers installed on GPT disks with disk signature zero, should be able to see one of the values as zero in the “protect” registry key under: “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\FBREP”.
If that value doesn’t exist, they are affected.
Example for an affected customer:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\FBREP]
"Protect"="346f346e,e52fc50d,99569956"- no zero value exists.
When not affected, the string does contain zero value:
"Protect"="346f346e,e52fc50d,99569956,0" (zero value exists).
How to avoid the problem:
In order to add the disk signature to the registry and switch the mode from read-only to read-write, users could run the following command on the FastBack server machine from the command line:
- diskopen.exe 0 -force
diskopen.exe 0 -force -forever
Where 0 is the index disk number of the GPT disks with zero signature in the system.
Availability of Fixes:
| Release | Vulnerable levels | First level with fix within that release |
| Tivoli Storage Manager FastBack 6.1 | 6.1.0 through 6.1.5.x | 6.1.6
Available now in Fix Central |
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Document Information
Modified date:
25 September 2022
UID
swg21599591