ArcServe Backup Errors - EC=-2005

Recently began to receive errors from Arcserve (11.5) - it would complete a backup, then all future backups would fail with error:
Failed to login to database.(EC=-2005)
At this point, even the Server manager would fail (just hung on startup) - the only resolution was a reboot, but this would only last for the first backup.


Some googling turned up the fault - a corruption with the database that Arcserve uses.
There are a few tools you can use to correct the errors (run from the Arcserve installation directory): dbdiag.exe and dbfix.exe.
The format is:
dbcheck -a -L casdb;admin;secret DBNAME
or 
dbfix -a -L casdb;admin;secret DBNAME
where DBNAME is one of the following: asjob, asmedia, asobject, asrhost, astape, astpdrv or astpsdat .
Confusingly, the servername, username (admin) and password (secret) don't actually appear to be customisable - they look like they're hardcoded values for every installation - I'll admit to spending a while trying to use our specific server details :P


Our faults were primarily in the astpsdat and asobject databases - the fix took around 30 mins to complete (the astpsdat db seemed *really* bad).

IVR Telephony fun - phantom calls

We recently had a situation where our IVR system was delivering 'phantom' calls to the call centre - this started occurring after the resolution of another (provider) telephony issue. We use a customised IVR solution (Intel Dialogic cards connected via PSTN to a Nortel based PABX system).


Essentially we had calls arrive at the IVR, then pass through to default transfer options (menu based timeout) then be transferred to an operator - but there were no callers on the end of the line. On the basis that the call transfers were timeout based rather than selection based, we theorised that the calls were either being delivered without a customer to the IVR, or a disconnection within the IVR was not being detected correctly.


Eventually we managed to find a tech at our telephony provider with a clue who could examine the low level configuration of the PBX lines. He found that the lines had had the 'COD' ('Cutoff on Disconnect') feature removed from them. This meant that (as we suspected) that any hangups within the IVR wouldn't be signalled correctly - so would hang around until the IVR transferred on a timeout basis.


A tricky one really, since we have no visibility to our providers hardware and little access to qualified techs at their end. Plus the usual Telco policy of '(in)plausible denial' at every stage....

Noice Applications

I use a variety of apps in day to day work - many of them free and or open source.

• TrueCrypt - free encryption software for Win / Mac / Linux. Allows the creation of either file or partition containers in any size and a variety of formats. It's fast, the encrypted files are easily portable and fairly secure... I use it every day on the laptop...
• Sun VirtualBox - Open source (and free) virtualisation software. Quick (pretty decent performance anyway) and with some really nice features that makes it great to use on a workstation. I run a XP virtual machine for some occasional testing / development work - just fire up the vbox app, start the vm and I can login in < 30 secs (faster than booting a regular XP machine really). It's easy to resize the VM window (dynamically resizes XP for you) and you can easily swap to full-screen (or RDP to the machine). Very very handy, I've been really impressed with it. Not sure what will happen given that Oracle has now acquired Sun though....
• Utils:
• FileZilla - good open source FTP client, but I'd recommend the 'portable' version (PortalApps) to avoid bothering with installation. I'd also recommend reading some documentation, at this point the default install tends to cache a *lot* of info (e.g. login details)! :/
• Gimp - good graphics editting software. Can't really comment how it compares to photoshop, but it handles everything I need graphics software to do - and it's free. I'd recommend the portable version again here unless you are a really frequent user.
• Scite - a good open source text editor. Not much else to say here.

Tracking down Windows license Keys

I had the unfortunate requirement the other day to track down the license keys for some Windows servers we administer (long story, don't ask). The OEM keys were (as per usual these days) stuck to the machines - but the machines are located in a co-lo across town.


So Magical Jelly Bean keyfinder to the rescue - we were able to track down all the keys and save the hassle of a trip across town... Nice.


Note that you need an earlier version 1.x if you need NT keys (tragically, we *still* have some NT machines hanging around)...

Picasa = Good

Clearly I'm a little behind the times and out of the loop, since I only just tripped over Picasa from Google.


Very nifty free software for photo editting and (helpfully) removing red-eye from photos. While Vista / Win 7 has red-eye removal built in to some packages, Picasa is a good alternative or helpful if you're on XP.