Save Session hangs but data still writting to tape

How do you know that it hangs, but it still writes? Or are you saying you do not get updates for session, but you do for device? That could be java issue too and I would have that checked from some UNIX box using nsrwatch first.

As for existing later, I have no idea... do you see that all the time? Do you see it at the same place? During fulls only or it does not matter? When you do manual save of H drive from client in D3 at which point does it hang? I assume fw on win2k3 box has been turned down.

The save session from the group stops indicating different backup speeds as well as the total backed up does not increase. It could be java but the fact that it is failing does not lend to that. There is no local firewall running. The backup gets to different points, 60GB, 100GB, but even though the save session no longer updates with larger data amount or speed the devices tab still updates with speed changes and larger amount of data written to disk. I have seen this problem in the knowledgebase before EMC bought Legato but can't seem to find it now.

Well, if you see save as stale and volume device being yet updated (under assumption that is the only device that is using that volume at the time) you see that when save fails to communicate with nsrexecd on server and for server this sessions is dead. However save is still able to push data to storage node's nsrmmd and thus you see device activity. With certain modules you can stop backup from NW side, but real stop will occur once db API has sent some data to volume.

Now back to my previous questions, do you see that all the time? If yes what happens if you do manual save from client? Are you using VSS and/or journaling? If not can you try it to see if it makes any difference?

I see it almost all the time. I think it has backed up once successfully. the H: drive is about a 310 GB drive and I think I have noticed that If it fills one tape and needs to switch to another tape, this is when it looses some sort of connetivity and and the group statistics stop updating. When it only uses one tape and never has to suspend the data transfer, I think this is when it works. I'm just guessing though. VSS is dissabled and no journaling. I will try doing a manual backup from the client, but I think this will end with the same result, as the scheduled backup is kicking off just fine. Unless communication back and forth is different when kicking off a manual backup. If the manual backup does work all the time, what does this tell you?

It depends where it breaks.

If a manual backup is successful, their is no break??

Then try again. To be honest, given that this happens only for drive H I would first suspect something with drive that leads to breaking point. If it breaks there is more then good chance that you won't know anything more than before, but at least you will know you can reproduce it from client. Then in debug mode you can see where exactly it breaks. Of course there are other questions to be asked as is that the only sessions running from that clients when it happens, it this only session at all, etc..