One of our Backup Exec 11d jobs failed last night with the following error in the Backup Exec job log:

Final error: 0xe000846b – The resource could not be backed up because an error occurred while connecting to the Backup Exec for Windows Servers Remote Agent. Make sure that the correct version of the Remote Agent is installed and running on the target computer. Final error category: Resource Errors

This same error was seen in the Windows Application log as Backup Exec Event 34113.

A check of the server listed in the error log showed the Backup Exec Remote Agent service had been stopped and disabled last night.  I checked with the administrator who did this, and she confirmed the server had been decomissioned and was no longer being backed up.  Oddly enough, she said she removed the server from the Backup Exec job’s selection list.

I opened up the selections list for the job in question, and lo and behold, the offending server was still selected.  I deselected the server, applied changes, re-opened the server selections – and the server was still selected.

Initial thought was something was wrong with Backup Exec, so I exited the program, restarted the BE services, went back into the application and went through the exercise of deselecting the decommissioned server and saving changes… but the server was once again selected.

The solution ended up being based on Symantec Document ID 277355.  Rather than unchecking the box next to the server’s name on the “View by Resource” tab, I deleted all of the decommissioned server’s resources on the “View Selection Details” tab.  After saving changes and exiting the application, I saw that the server was no longer showing as selected when viewing the job selections list.

Note:

My instuctions are for Backup Exec 11d. Symantec Document ID 277355 is written for BE 10.0 and 10d.  In version 10 instead of selecting the “View Selection Details” tab, change the view format from Graphical to Text.  Same thing, different terminology and GUI layout.

We’ve been experiencing issues with some of our Backup Exec 9 remote agents losing their connections to media server during backup.  The Backup Exec server job logs report the following generic error:

Final error: 0xa000fe30 – A communications failure has occurred.

To help troubleshoot this problem, I decided to enable debugging on the Backup Exec remote agent. To do this, on the Netware server that is running the Backup Exec remote agent:

1.  Make a backup copy of the sys:\system\bestart.ncf file

You can temporarily enable Backup Exec debug logging by adding the -debug start parameter to the Backup Exec Remote Agent for Windows Servers service. This is a temporary setting that will be reset when the services are cycled or at the next server reboot.  To enable debug logging permanently, see the second section that details editing the reqistry.

3. Select and right-click on the Backup Exec Remote Agent for Windows Servers service, and then select Properties

4. In the Startup Parameters box, type -debug.  Click Start in the Properties page to start the service. Click OK 

2. Run REGEDIT.EXE

3. a. Backup Exec 10d or below: Browse to HKey_Local_Machine\Software\VERITAS\Backup Exec\Engine\Logging

5. Quit the registry editor

6. Start the Backup Exec for Windows Servers services

• Backup Exec 10d or below:  \Program Files\Veritas\Backup Exec\NT\Logs
• Backup Exec 11d or above:  \Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\Logs

Exact Error Message

Workaround:

Perform the following to resolve this issue:

1. On the SQL server, stop the Backup Exec Remote Agent Service from Windows Control Panel > Services.

\Program Files\VERITAS\Backup Exec\NT

for Backup Exec version 11d and above, the default location is 

for 11d and above:

\Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\RAWS

3. Rename the bedssql2.dll file to bedssql2.old

If the SQL/MSDE is installed on a Remote Server:

WARNING:  Renaming the bedssql2.dll will effectively disable the SQL agent on the server it is renamed upon.  If the SQL agent is purchased in the future, the issue with the corrupt database(s) must be resolved first, and backup of the SQL servers on which the bedssql2.dll was changed is desired – the bedssql2.old file MUST be renamed back to bedssql2.dll. 

Backup Exec 11d saves it’s jobs logs as .xml files by default. Symantec Document ID 287036 describes how to use the bemcmd.exe program to save the .xml job log as a text or html file.

The default location of bemcmd.exe is the \Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec directory on the drive the software is installed.

To convert the job log D:\Backup Exec\Data\BEX_BKP2_08574.xml into a .html file named dailydiff.html, run the following from a command prompt where bemcmd.exe is located (type as one line):

bemcmd -o31 -l”dailydiff.html” -s1 -f”D:\Backup Exec\Data\BEX_BKP2_08574.xml”

To save the same BEX_BKP2_08574.xml log file as a text file the command would be (again, typed as a single line):

bemcmd -o31 -l”dailydiff.txt” -s0 -f”D:\Backup Exec\Data\BEX_BKP2_08574.xml”

Here is the registry entry to stop Backup Exec from failing backup jobs when corrupt files are encountered

[For Backup Exec versions 9x and 10x]
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VERITAS\Backup Exec\Engine\Backup

[For Backup Exec versions 11x and 12x]
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SYMANTEC\Backup Exec for Windows\Backup Exec\Engine\Backup

On the menu bar, select Edit | Add Value

In the Value name field, type in Fail Jobs On Corrupt Files

For the Data Type, select REG_DWORD

In the right window, double-click Fail Jobs on Corrupt Files

Change the Value to 0 (zero)

Restart the Backup Exec services or restart the Windows server.