Using the Command Line Interface › pfc - Preflight Checklist Utility Command › pfc - Preflight Checks

pfc - Preflight Checks

The pfc system preflight checks include checking system requirements for the server, checking the CA ARCserve Backup system account, checking the client and database agents needed for the job, and checking the availability of media in the scratch set (if applicable).

The pfc command includes the following options:

pfc [-cahost <hostname>] [options] [filename(s)]

-allchecks
-syschecks
-bchecks
-agentchecks
-mediachecks
-a
-n
-s
-v
-logpath <path>
-alert

• -cahost <hostname>

  Identifies the name of the system hosting the operation.

  If you want to execute the operation on a remote system, this switch must be included in the command.

  If you want to execute this operation on your local system, this switch is not required and should not be included in the command.

  Note: The [-cahost <hostname>] switch is optional. This switch is not needed if you are using these commands locally; however, a hostname is required if you are performing these commands remotely. The host specified by the ‑cahost switch can be a member server or primary server. However, CA ARCserve Backup will always add the job to the job queue of the primary server, and the primary server will then dispatch the job to the proper server (primary/member) according to this switch when the job is processed.

  Note: If you installed CA ARCserve Backup using the "ARCserve Manager (Console)" mode, you must include the -cahost switch to execute this command from your local machine. Because this Console installation mode does not actually install all CA ARCserve Backup capabilities on your local machine, it is mandatory that -cahost be included when submitting this command remotely to the primary or member server containing CA ARCserve Backup or else the command will fail.

• filename(s)

  Specifies a job script file name if you want to perform a check on a specific job. For example, 00000005.job. These files are located in the 00000001.qsd directory under the directory where CA ARCserve Backup was installed.

• -allchecks

  Performs all checks of the parameters of CA ARCserve Backup, including system checks, ARCserve checks, agent checks, and media checks. These checks are performed in non-interactive mode on all Ready jobs in the job queue. You cannot specify filenames when you use this switch.

• -syschecks

  Performs system-related checks, including disk space, RPC (Remote Procedure Calls) communication, system resources, and so on.

• -bchecks

  Performs process and resource-related checks, including the status of CA ARCserve Backup daemons, database checks, tape changer checks, and so on.

• -agentchecks <filenames>

  Performs check of the agent resources required by the backup jobs specified. When you use this, you must specify one or more job script file names. These files are located in the 00000001.qsd directory under the directory CA ARCserve Backup was installed to.

  For this command, you would need to specify the job file under $ARCSERVE_HOME\00000001.qsd directory as the last parameter.

  For example, if you want to run an Agent check for a job that has a job number of 3, then there should be a job file "00000003.job" under $ARCSERVE_HOME\00000001.qsd directory, and the pfc command for this check would be:

  pfc -agentchecks 00000003.job
  

  Note: You can also use the -a switch with this option to run Agent checks for all jobs in the queue.

  Note: The Master server credentials cannot be verified by the Preflight Checklist (PFC) utility.

• -mediachecks <filenames>

  Performs media checks. When you use this, you must specify one or more job script file names. These files are located in the 00000001.qsd directory under the directory CA ARCserve Backup was installed to. For example, pfc -mediachecks job105.

  For this command, you would need to specify the job file under $ARCSERVE_HOME\00000001.qsd directory as the last parameter.

  For example, if you want to run a Media check for a job that has a job number of 3, then there should be a job file "00000003.job" under $ARCSERVE_HOME\00000001.qsd directory, and the pfc command for this check would be:

  pfc -mediachecks 00000003.job
  

  Note: You can also use the -a switch with this option to run media checks for all jobs in the queue.

• -a

  Specifies all Ready jobs in the job queue. You cannot specify filenames when you use this switch.

• -n

  Runs in non-interactive mode. When you use this, pfc does not stop during execution to prompt for input.

• -s

  Attempts to start any CA ARCserve Backup engines that are not running. The -bchecks option must also be used or -s has no affect.

• -v

  Runs in verbose mode. When you use this option, pfc provides detailed information in its output to the Command Prompt window and log about the checks being performed. This includes information used for debugging, such as the name of the failing function and the error code returned when an API call fails.

• -logpath <path>

  Sets the path for log files. The default path is the CA ARCserve Backup LOG directory (ARCServe_HOME/logs/pfclogs). You can change this location by specifying a path for the -logpath option.

• -alert

  If you configured the Alert feature, this command lets you send an alert. For example, if you configured Alert to send email and use the -alert command, the PFC log is sent as an email attachment.

  For more information about configuring alerts, see the chapter Administering the Backup Server in the CA ARCserve Backup Administration Guide.