Crash on Solaris trying to backup /var/adm/wtmp

We see the following problem on a Solaris 2.5.1 ADSM client.

On a E4000 Sun Ultra Server the dsm incremental backup with
GUI-interface "dsm" and also the the scheduled incremental backup
process crashes. The system writes a "core" file. Below you see an
extraction from the terminal output during the scheduled incremental
backup.

   [...]

   Normal File-->       3,170,760 /etc/init.d/core ........................
   ... Sent
   Successful incremental backup of '/'

   [...]

   ANS4102I ***** Processed    21,000 files *****
   ANS4102I ***** Processed    21,500 files *****
   ANS4102I ***** Processed    22,000 files *****
   ANS4102I ***** Processed    22,500 files *****
   Successful incremental backup of '/usr'

   Incremental backup of file system: '/var'
   Directory-->               512 /var/adm/adsm  Sent
   Normal File-->             122 /var/adm/vold.log . Sent
   Normal File-->           4,104 /var/adm/wtmp ANS4483I Schedule log pruni
   ng started.
   Schedule Log Prune: 163 lines processed.  0 lines pruned.
   ANS4484I Schedule log pruning finished successfully.
   Scheduler has been stopped.

If we exclude the file /var/adm/wtmp with an "EXCLUDE" directive in the
include-exclude option file on the client, the backup finishes normally.

We opened the PMR4870X with this problem. IBM hotline tells us, that
there are several people who have reported this problem. Additionally,
they say the following, since have found the following record in their
database

   APAR= IC05825  SER=                            IN INCORROUT
   BUS ERROR - CORE DUMPED WHEN BACKING UP SUN FILE /UVAR/ADM/UTMP
   TO ADSM SERVER
   STAT= CLOSED
   CLOSING DATE 93/09/21
   ERROR DESCRIPTION:
   bus error - core dumped message received when backing up
   Sun file /var/adm/utmp to ADSM server.  The back-up process
   stops.
   LOCAL FIX:
   do not back up this file until fix is available; put this file
   in an exclude list.
   COMMENTS:
   The error is in Sun Microsystems code, not ADSM code. It will be
   fixed in Solaris 2.3 (should be available soon).
   Until the 2.3 Sun code is installed, the files "/var/adm/utmp"
   and "/var/adm/wtmp" should be excluded from backup by placing
   them in "EXCLUDE" entries in the include/exclude file. These
   files do not need to be backed up since they are recreated each
   time the system is rebooted.

this is a problem in the operating system Solaris. The point that this
is not Solaris 2.2 we have our problem didn't count. The suggested
solution from the hotline and also from the labs as we were informed
is that we should make a call to Sun.

Anybody from the developer team reading this list, do you really think
that you are not responsable to fix this problem? Afterall, IBM is
selling this software. If there is a patch required to run ADSM on a
client plattform, this should be mentioned in the installation
requirements to the software. And if there is no patch available, IBM
should persue the company of the operating system to make such a patch
available, if there is really a problem with the operating system. It
can not and should not be the responsibility of the customer to fix
the problems the software on plattforms which are supported.


Regards
        Andreas Floeter

______________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer: These are my views and not those of my employer.

                        Andreas Floeter
Phone: +49 40 74 37 - 48 50     FAX: +49 40 74 37 - 27 55 (or 47 60)
email: Andreas.Floeter AT airbus DOT de

                Daimler-Benz Aerospace Airbus GmbH
Kreetslag 10, 21129 Hamburg; Postfach 95 01 09, 21111 Hamburg, Germany