When using the optional Command Line features of SEP sesam commands are written directly to the SEP sesam database.

The commands are immediately acted upon by SEP sesam once the <Enter> key is pressed. Therefore, there is no chance to correct or change an entry, which is possible when using the SEP sesam GUI.

For this reason it is extremely important to follow a specific and defined plan when using the command line to prevent a user caused system failure in the backup environment. Such a mistake is not to be underestimated – a wrong or mistaken entry can lead to complete data loss or other damage to the database.

Unchecked or unverified command line entries should be avoided!

Such mistakes can void the warranty offered by your SEP sesam licensing agreement.

Before you start with scripting with the SEP sesam CLI you should acquire basic knowledge about the SEP sesam environment. First study the User Guide and the Administrator guide and work with a SEP sesam installation to get experience how the SEP sesam objects work together. Alternatively, use the seminar offers from SEP AG to learn the main structure of the functions and configuration of the SEP sesam. After that you're ready to start working with the SEP sesam CLI and write your first scripts.

Before you start reading the syntax description it could be helpful to have a look at a small SEP sesam CLI example for creation of a new SEP sesam environment by SEP sesam CLI.

With "Global Deletion" it's possible to delete a client or task with all dependent or related objects. That means if you want to delete a client you can delete all of its appropriate tasks at the same time. For example, if you delete a task during this process it will be removed from its task groups and task events. "Global Deletion" is available for client and task. You can enforce that by using the parameter -F YES. The string YES is for security. It verifies that the user actually wants to perform this task.

If a backup client is connected to a loader or drive it cannot be deleted by the parameter Force. First remove the loader or drive and then re-start the client/task deletion.

CLI main call

Usage:

Parameters:

Commands:

Commands for drive only:

Commands for loader only:

Objects:

Example:

Output:

All INFO messages are written to standard error. They can suppressed by redirecting stderr to /dev/null.

Displaying SEP sesam DB data

The content of the SEP sesam DB concerning several actions can be displayed with the parameter list or sql.

Options:

• -d: Delimiter \t = TAB (default)
• -F: Output format (default: header)

Examples:

The delimiter parameter is only valid with specific formats. Some usage examples follow:

• Output with column delimiter "|" (pipe) with different header

Command:

Output:

Command:

Output:

Command:

Output:

Here are some examples for the different format (-F) values:

• Standard display without format parameter

Command:

Output:

• Hide the column header

Command:

Output:

• Display the column header in a special form (header=value)

Command:

Output:

• Output the data as SQL DML command (insert)

Command:

Output:

You can use this output to create datasets manually, e.g.

Topology

Location

After the installation of a new SEP sesam server a standard location - named Local - is created. You can use this default location to add your clients or create your own locations as desired.

Usage:

If 'ID' is set to 'auto' SEP sesam will generate it automatically.

Options:

Example:

Client

Right after the installation of a new SEP sesam Server the SEP sesam server client object already exists. You have to register your backup clients in the SEP sesam environment before you can use them. If you add clients with the SEP sesam GUI during the registration process the SEP sesam Server checks if the client is visible/reachable to him. This is different with the SEP sesam CLI and therefore it's recommended to check the client availability by starting a small backup task after adding it (client).

Usage:

Options:

For backup clients in a Novell environment the following options are necessary to work properly.

Options for 'NetWare':

Example:

Interface

The configuration of the interface is only necessary if you want to use LAN-free backup or a SAN environment. Your backup server has to have at least two network interface modules. They have to be configured with different IP addresses and DNS names. You can then create an interface for every network interface you'd like to use. For more information see the SEP sesam Admin Guide.

Usage:

Options:

Example:

Tape Library (Loader)

This section will instruct you on how to configure your loader hardware.

Usage:

Options (add|modify|remove)

sm_cmd <load|unload|import|export> loader <loader number> [OPTIONS...]

Options (load,unload,import|export):

• load: move a tape from a slot (-s) the a drive (-d)
• unload: move a tape from a drive (-d) to a slot (-s)
• import: move a tape from an export or mail slot (-p) to a drive (-d)
• export: move a tape from a drive (-d) to an export or mail slot (-p)

Options (import|export):

Options (load|unload):

Example:

Loader Device

Here you configure your loader devices.

Usage:

Options (add|modify|remove)

Example:

Drive group

Every drive must be a member of a drive group. Therefore, drive group has to be created before adding a drive.

Usage:

Options:

Example:

Drive

After creating drive groups you can add your drive to the desired drive group. After adding or modifying a drive SEP sesam immediately creates the internal drive structures. This will cause an interruption of all running backups. To avoid this, you can use the parameter -o noconfig. The drive configuration will only be written into the SEP sesam database. To use the drive for SEP sesam operation you must first execute the sm_config_drives command manually.

Usage:

Options:

Options for Action REMOVE:

Example:

Mediapool

The number of necessary mediapools depends on your planned backup and media strategy.

Usage:

Options:

Example:

Media

Usage:

Options (add):

Options (modify):

Example:

Inventory

Usage:

Options:

Example:

Tasks

Task

Usage:

Options (add|modify):

Example:

Options (start):

Example:

Taskgroup

Usage:

Options:

Example:

Taskgroup relation

You can combine several tasks to task groups.

Usage:

Options:

Example:

Migration task

Usage:

Options:

Filter options:

Just one of the following 4 filter options can be set.

Example:

Restore task

Usage:

Options:

Example:

Command task

Usage:

Options:

Example:

Restart Task

Usage:

Options:

Parameter '-s' (saveset) can contain several savesets divided by comma

Example:

Schedules & Events

Schedule

If you want to execute your backups on a specific time table you have to create tasks first. Then you must create a schedule and add the task and the schedule to a backup event. There are different event types to connect to a schedule (see below).

Usage:

Options:

Example:

Task event

Usage:

Options:

If ID is set to 'auto' SEP sesam creates a unique ID.

Example:

Migration event

Usage:

Options:

Example:

Restore event

Options

Examples:

Command event

Usage:

Options:

If ID is set to 'auto' SEP sesam creates an unique ID.

Example:

Media event

Usage:

Options:

If ID is set to 'auto' SEP sesam creates a unique ID.

Example:

Shortcuts

CLI commands often used are also accessible through CLI shortcuts. The advantage is that the CLI command is shorter and the required parameter dependent on shortcut type will be set automatically.

Example to show the difference between default cli usage and cli with shortcut usage: default :

shortcut:

Following Examples show all available shortcuts:

Init Media Pool:

Init Media:

Start Backup

Start Backup Group

Start Restore Task

Start Migration Task

Additional features

Send email

Create an account

Usage:

Options:

Example:

Send an email

Usage:

Options:

If the account name is 'NONE' the parameters <-t, -f, -h> are mandatory.

Example:

Update GUI

Usage:

Options:

Direct access to the SEP sesam database

Usage:

Example:

Format outputs of 'SELECT' SQL queries

Errorcodes

In case of an error the CLI returns a specific error code which describes the error type.

See the following list of error codes:

Syntax examples