VMS Backup tapes on Ultrix

[Harry Sharp]

Greetings!

Once again I come seeking knowledge from the All-Knowing Net!

We are about to convert our VAX 8300 from VMS 4.7 to Ultrix 3.x (maybe 4.0).
Our problems are many, but the major concern is tranferring all of our user
files from the VMS environment to the Ultrix environment.

We are setting up a subsidiary site for our users to continue working
while the conversion is in progress.  Once done, however, it will be
necessary to bring them back home, as it were.  My boss had suggested we
ftp the users' files back from the subsidiary site.  I claim this would
be a nightmare.  I was told, "OK, *you* figure out how to do it then."

I started with a utility which was posted to mod.sources (yes, that old)
in 1986 which reads VMS backup tapes and writes out Unix files, complete
with directory structure.  This is fine so long as the VMS backup saveset 
fits on one tape.  Unfortunately, we have a 1600bpi TU-80 and a SA482
disk assembly.  Last full backup took 20 tapes.  Breaking down the users
into savesets which will fit completely on one tape will take hours.
I tried creating a saveset on disk and transferring it to a Unix box,
which I am using for testing, to see if I could read the saveset from
disk using this utility, something like tar's -f option.  No such luck.

I have both a TK50 and an Exebyte, but neither are on the VAX, so I don't
think I can use them remotely.

I am open to all suggestions, and willing to try many things.  If it
comes down to it, I will simply have to write a script to build savesets
of less than 80K blocks to fit on a tape, but I would prefer not.

Please e-mail to me at the address below.  Many thanks, in advance.
I will be willing to share any knowledge I obtain with others who may
have the same problem.

Harry Sharp
Assistant to the Director for Research Computing
Department of Mathematics
University of South Carolina
sharp at usceast.cs.scarolina.edu
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