AIX AGENT 3.0 cron changes after reboot

[JCM]

Case#05618868

AIX 7.1
VEEAMAGENT for AIX 3.0

On march 2nd the VEEAMAGENT for AIX was upgraded from version 2.0.0.256 to version 3.0.0.561 and from that point forward the veeamsvc.log shows the the “crontab -e ‘the new crontab file: followed by all cron entries, written in the log file. previously, this was not shown.
The upgrade to version 3.0 could have created the issue but it was not noticed until the changes in the vbrserver IP address.

Our vbrserver was relocated to a different IP and therefore we had to remove the old vbrserver and add a new entry.
The backup job was recreated and then scheduled.
After the AIX reboot the crontab entry is overwritten, and therefore does not include the manually entered --activefull and --highpriority options.
In the cron the job appears as:
35 4 * * * /opt/veeam/bin/veeamconfig job start --id {ada9d05d-9e67-4c7a-a943-bb30303d835c} --retriable --scheduled > /dev/null

The crontab (crontab -e), was manually edited to add the --activefull and –highpriority. So the crontab entry is:
35 4 * * * /opt/veeam/bin/veeamconfig job start --id {ada9d05d-9e67-4c7a-a943-bb30303d835c} --activefull --highpriority --retriable --scheduled > /dev/null

The job ran successfully for three days and then after the AIX server reboot the crontab entry is:
35 4 * * * /opt/veeam/bin/veeamconfig job start --id {ada9d05d-9e67-4c7a-a943-bb30303d835c} --retriable --scheduled > /dev/null

The --activefull and –highpriority options are missing from the crontab entry.
A similiar issue occured in a previous week during scheduling changes.
The issue is how to prevent the old entry (the entry that excludes the --activefull and—highpriority) from being written to the cron after a system reboot?
the entry in the veamsvc.log file: update job [{ada9d05d-9e67-4c7a-a943-bb30303d835c}] in crontab.
[29.08.2022 01:16:06.699] < 1> lpbcore| is schedule enabled? [true].
[29.08.2022 01:16:06.699] < 1> lpbcore| is active full schedule enabled? [true].
[29.08.2022 01:16:06.699] < 1> lpbcore| apply: [29.08.2022 01:16:06.699] < 1> lpbcore| schedule: every day at 04:35
[29.08.2022 01:16:06.699] < 1> lpbcore| active full schedule: every day
[29.08.2022 01:16:06.699] < 1> lpbcore| setting job [{ada9d05d-9e67-4c7a-a943-bb30303d835c}] in crontab.
[29.08.2022 01:16:06.699] < 1> lpbcore| number of records: [1].
[29.08.2022 01:16:06.699] < 1> | creating child process: crontab with arguments: -e [29.08.2022 01:16:06.748] < 1> lpbcore| the new crontab file: .......all irrelevant cron entries show here....
29.08.2022 01:16:06.751] < 1> lpbcore| > 35 4 * * * /opt/veeam/bin/veeamconfig job start --id {ada9d05d-9e67-4c7a-a943-bb30303d835c} --retriable --scheduled > /dev/null

Any input would be appreciated as I need to manually make changes after each reboot.

thanks

Jane

[HannesK]

Hello,
and welcome to the forums.

An upgrade should not change the scheduling behavior. Support also already checked, whether it could be related to backup job settings. As you said it's a standalone machine, that is not managed by a protection group / backup policy, this is also not the reason.

The only thing I can recommend is to continue with support.

Best regards,
Hannes

[JCM]

Hello,

After following up with Veeam support the conclusion was that, on reboot or when the veeam service starts/stops, it updates the scheduling entry in the crontab.
We do an activefull everyday so we only have one veeam backup entry and I manually add the activefull option to the entry.
The schedule entry gets overwritten (when the veeam service restarts) and the manually added activefull option is removed.
They did not respond to why the entire crontab file was written to the log files.

Support felt a better option was to use the VB&R Protection Group configuration and not the AIX Agent.

Sharing the information.

Jane

[HannesK]

Hello,
ah, did you set the schedule with "veeamconfig schedule set..."? With the schedule stored in the configuration, it makes sense to me, that the schedule is reset. Today we have version 4.0. I'm not sure, whether it's worth to investigate about the change between 2.0 and 3.0 (I cannot find that change documented in public. but the old behavior could have been a bug)

If yes, then deleting that schedule with veeamconfig and doing the crontab entries manually should also work.

Agree with support: I would also go for the VBR protection groups in general.

Best regards,
Hannes

[Peejay62]

Hi,

would it be a support call to have the agent not to overwrite cron entry or having it to write a modified entry after reboot? We only need to add an environment variable in the line in order to have the agent executed correctly. For various reasons we'd like to stick to agent based/cronbased scheduling for the time being. I am getting a bit tired of adjusting the cron everytime a system has rebooted. veeamconfig schedule set doesn't give any option to add an extra parm or something like that.

[JCM]

Hi,
We also would like to stick to the agent/cronbased scheduling as our administration position of AIX Veeam agent is a conflict in security with the Veeam Administrator for all other servers.
When I put the call into Veeam my intent was a support call where a fix would be provided but the support response was focused on VBK protection groups.

[HannesK]

Hello,
I repeat my question from above...did you set the schedule with "veeamconfig schedule set..."?. If yes, did you delete that agent-based schedule?

Best regards,
Hannes

[JCM]

Hello,
I did set the schedule with "veamconfig schedule set".
I have read your reply again and if I understand correctly you are stating delete the veeamconfig schedule set entry, from Veeam and in the crontab, and manually enter the same entry into the crontab (crontab -e as opposed to the veeamconfig set writing to the cron).

I have not done that because my understanding from Veeam support was there is limited entries (possibly adjusting time) that can manually entered into the crontab; that the scheduling had to be configured through Veeamconfig schedule set.

thanks
Jane

[PTide]

@JCM,

AIX agent relies on crontab. You can leave automatic schedule disabled and create your own crontab routine which will start the agent jobs for you.
You just need to make sure that you don't set any schedule - do not use 'veeamconfig schedule set' for a standalone agent, and leave "Run the job automatically checkbox" unchecked.

If you used "veeamconfig schedule set" then you need to disable it for all jobs.
Otherwise the agent will recreate the schedule in crontab.

P.S. FYI - v4.0 is available.

Thanks!

[JCM]

@PTide
I will try your suggestion and well as look at v4.0.

Thank you for the additional explanation.