About a week ago, my backup server stopped backing itself up:

  chena      /var lev 0 FAILED [badly formatted response from chena]
  chena      /boot lev 0 FAILED [badly formatted response from chena]
  chena      / lev 0 FAILED [badly formatted response from chena]

All the other machines backup fine and theis setup as been workng for 
over a year.  The only change I've made recently is to recompile the 
kernel with a tape support as a module.  I've tried rebuilding and 
reinstalling amanda and I tried going back to the kernel with the 
tape support compiled in.  Neither made a difference.

A sample amandad.debug:

amandad: debug 1 pid 23803 ruid 250 euid 250 start time Sun Jul 27 
06:00:40 2003
amandad: version 2.4.3b2
amandad: build: VERSION="Amanda-2.4.3b2"
amandad:        BUILT_DATE="Fri Jul 25 16:50:11 PDT 2003"
amandad:        BUILT_MACH="Linux chena 2.4.18 #6 SMP Wed Jul 23 
10:08:38 PDT 2003 i686 unknown"
amandad:        CC="gcc"
amandad: paths: bindir="/usr/local/bin" sbindir="/usr/local/sbin"
amandad:        libexecdir="/usr/local/libexec" 
mandir="/usr/local/man"
amandad:        AMANDA_TMPDIR="/tmp/amanda" 
AMANDA_DBGDIR="/tmp/amanda"
amandad:        CONFIG_DIR="/usr/local/etc/amanda" DEV_PREFIX="/dev/"
amandad:        RDEV_PREFIX="/dev/" DUMP="/sbin/dump"
amandad:        RESTORE="/sbin/restore" 
SAMBA_CLIENT="/usr/bin/smbclient"
amandad:        GNUTAR="/bin/gtar" COMPRESS_PATH="/bin/gzip"
amandad:        UNCOMPRESS_PATH="/bin/gzip" MAILER="/usr/bin/Mail"
amandad:        listed_incr_dir="/usr/local/var/amanda/gnutar-lists"
amandad: defs:  DEFAULT_SERVER="chena" DEFAULT_CONFIG="DailySet1"
amandad:        DEFAULT_TAPE_SERVER="chena"
amandad:        DEFAULT_TAPE_DEVICE="/dev/null" HAVE_MMAP HAVE_SYSVSHM
amandad:        LOCKING=POSIX_FCNTL SETPGRP_VOID DEBUG_CODE
amandad:        AMANDA_DEBUG_DAYS=4 BSD_SECURITY USE_AMANDAHOSTS
amandad:        CLIENT_LOGIN="amanda" FORCE_USERID HAVE_GZIP
amandad:        COMPRESS_SUFFIX=".gz" COMPRESS_FAST_OPT="--fast"
amandad:        COMPRESS_BEST_OPT="--best" UNCOMPRESS_OPT="-dc"
got packet:
--------
Amanda 2.4 REQ HANDLE 001-F8250808 SEQ 1059310840
SECURITY USER amanda
SERVICE sendsize
OPTIONS maxdumps=1;hostname=chena;
GNUTAR //snap01/development 0 1970:1:1:0:0:0 -1 
exclude-file=Temporary\ \(Not\ Backed\ Up\!\)
GNUTAR //snap01/development 1 2003:7:15:9:51:31 -1 
exclude-file=Temporary\ \(Not\ Backed\ Up\!\)
GNUTAR /var 0 1970:1:1:0:0:0 -1 exclude-list=.exclude
GNUTAR /var 1 2003:7:21:20:17:10 -1 exclude-list=.exclude
GNUTAR /boot 0 1970:1:1:0:0:0 -1 exclude-list=.exclude
GNUTAR /boot 1 2003:7:21:21:27:37 -1 exclude-list=.exclude
GNUTAR / 0 1970:1:1:0:0:0 -1 exclude-list=.exclude
GNUTAR / 1 2003:7:21:20:38:14 -1 exclude-list=.exclude
--------

sending ack:
----
Amanda 2.4 ACK HANDLE 001-F8250808 SEQ 1059310840
----

bsd security: remote host chena user amanda local user amanda
amandahosts security check passed
amandad: running service "/usr/local/libexec/sendsize"
amandad: sending REP packet:
----
Amanda 2.4 REP HANDLE 001-F8250808 SEQ 1059310840
OPTIONS maxdumps=1;
FORMAT ERROR IN REQUEST PACKET
----

amandad: got packet:
----
Amanda 2.4 ACK HANDLE 001-F8250808 SEQ 1059310840
----

and sendsize.debug:

sendsize: debug 1 pid 23804 ruid 250 euid 250 start time Sun Jul 27 
06:00:40 2003
/usr/local/libexec/sendsize: version 2.4.3b2
REQ packet is bogus: extra text at end
sendsize: pid 23804 finish time Sun Jul 27 06:00:40 2003

-- 
Stephen Carville
------------------------------------------------------------------
Right wing socialists hate privacy as much as the left wing 
socialists hate guns.