Therefore I wrote a script that deletes old backups. I wanted to keep at least one back up / quarter for several years (until I, or someone else cleans them up by hand). I also wanted to keep the last 4 weekly full backups, and keep another 4 backups, one for each of the 4last months.

The script can handle multiple databases. With that I mean: it can handle multiple directories, where each directory holds the backups of one database. It is written for db2 databases, but it can easily be adapted for other databases of course. I wrote a lot of comments in the code, so it should be self explanatory.

This is what I came up with:

#!/bin/bash
shopt -s nullglob #make sure the for loop always gives something expected back. or a null value.
#examplestring: dbtest.0.db2inst.NODE0000.CATN0000.20120426021540.001
#add a new value for each directory it should check. Every directory will be checked seperatly.
locations[0]="/path/to/a/backupdir/"
locations[1]="/path/to/another/backupdir/"

#function to check if a value is present in an array.
containsElement () {
  local e
  for e in "${@:2}"; do [[ "$e" = "$1" ]] && return 0; done
  return 1
}

for location in "${locations[@]}"
do
  unset i
  i=0
  unset file
  #create an array that only contains the filenames that end on '001'
  #(db2 can split backups into multiple files, we want to check only one)
  for uniquefile in $location*.001
   do
    file[$i]="$(basename $uniquefile)"
    let i++
  done

  #order the array. newest filest first
  unset sorted
  readarray -t sorted < <(printf '%s\0' "${file[@]}" | sort -rz | xargs -0n1)

  unset z
  z=0 #keep count of files that are already selected to stay
  unset yearMonths

  yearMonths=0 #keep count of what months (with year included, form: 201205) are already selected to stay
  explicitMonths=( 01 04 07 10 ) #select the months of wich a backup file should always stay once. (every quarter)
  unset stay #keep an array of files that need to stay.
  stay=0
  for a in "${sorted[@]}";
   do

   date=$(echo $a | awk -F '.'  '{print $6}')
    yearMonth=${date:0:6}
    month=${date:4:2}

   #keep the weekly backups for 4weeks
    if [ "$z" -lt "4" ]
     then
      stay[$z]="$a" #add the filename to the 'stay' array.
      let z++
      #add the month of the last saved backups. we don't need extra backups for that month anymore.
      yearMonths[0]="$yearMonth"

    #keep backups for 4 months (4weeks + 4months) some months. year can be included, since the unnecesary backups will already be removed by next year, when the script checks again.
    else if [ "$z" -lt "8" ]
     then
      if ! containsElement "$yearMonth" "${yearMonths[@]}"
       then
        stay[$z]="$a"
        let z++
        yearMonths[$[${#yearMonths[@]}+1]]="$yearMonth"
      fi
    fi
    fi

    #keep one backup per quarter
    if containsElement "$month" "${explicitMonths[@]}" && ! containsElement "$yearMonth" "${yearMonths[@]}"
     then
      stay[$z]="$a"
      let z++
      yearMonths[$[${#yearMonths[@]}+1]]="$yearMonth"
    fi
  done

  #loop again over all files, only delete the files that are not present in the 'stay' array.
  for a in "${sorted[@]}";
   do
    #check if element has to stay or not, and check if the element isn't empty. (the * would do bad things 
    if ! containsElement "$a" "${stay[@]}" && [[ -n "$a" ]]
     then
        #also delete the files which belong together. (ending on .001, .002, .003, ...)
        rm $location${a%???}*
    fi
  done
done

I want to get an e-mail when something goes wrong on our servers. Especially if it’s a scheduled script that I normally don’t check that often any-more. (as you know from my previous post, some of scripts run every 10s, so even if I would check it by hand every hour, a serious backlog could already be generated). This worked very well by just creating a ‘forward’ file in the home directory of the user. ( ~/forward) which contains one e-mail address. The problem is that only the ‘from’ address will be something like hostname@domain [without any tld or something]. And our exchange server didn’t want to except e-mails coming from such a source.

After some googling and trying things I decided to give up and write my own very small script that takes care of this all.

#!/bin/bash
stuff=""
#put all output in one string
while read data; do
    stuff="$stuff n $data"
done
#if string is not empty, send e-mail with contents
if [[ -n "$stuff" ]]
then
  datetime=$(date "+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%N")
  echo -e "Date: $datetime \n Trace: $stuff" | mail -s 'MESSAGE FROM CRON'  -- -f
fi

This is how the mailer is called inside the crontab system:

*/10 * * * * /path/to/script 2>&1 &>/dev/null | /path/to/cronmailer

ps: if someone knows a better solution, like, how to set a ‘from’ address in cron, please tell me.. but for now this will work just fine..

[edit]
For some reason, another options just started to work. Not sure what I did wrong the first time I tried it
Anyway, you can also set the ‘MAILFROM’ value when editing the crontab.
Just add the following to the top of your crontab:

MAILFROM=your@email.tld

Thanks Patrick for letting it me try again. But this option is only available on newer machines. (I can’t find it on rhel 5/6)

• runs the child script 10s after the end of the previous try
• sends an e-mail if stderr is returned
• if the runner would stop, it will auto restart (due to a cronjob)
• only one instance will run at the same time.

#!/bin/bash
sleep=10
if ! ps -p $(cat /path/to/runner.pid);
  then
    echo $$ > /path/to/runner.pid
    while :
     do
        error=$(/path/to/script 2>&1 >/dev/null)
        if [ -n "$error" ];
          then
            echo "$error" | mail -s "<subject>" <to@mymailaddres.tld> -- -f <from@thisaddress.tld>
        fi
        sleep $sleep
    done
fi

Of course you can choose the time to restart the script by editing the ‘sleep’ value.
In the cronfile I added the following line:

*/30  * * * *  /path/to/runner 2>&1 >/dev/null

This way the runner script can only be ‘offline’ for 30min! Which is still acceptable.

Early 2011 we decided to start with a stack based on IBM Cognos, IBM DB2, SLES and IBM system X servers.

And we made the right call. As you can see on our website we already won some prizes with our cloud solution, but this one tops all our awards. This is like winning an Oscar. But then delivered by IBM. And they call it the ‘Beacon’ awards. We won in the category of Cloud Application Provider.

I’m not only excited about this, but also I’m also proud that I work at a company where there is an atmosphere of winning. Of moving forward, of  doing the right thing.
Interested in our Business Analytics platform based on IBM Cognos and IBM SPSS? check what we can offer you and request a free trial!
Interested in working for such a company? check our jobs page!

#!/bin/bash
CVT=$(cvt $1 $2)
if [ -n "$3" ]
then
    DISPLAYNR=$3
else
    DISPLAYNR="VGA1"
fi
xrandr --newmode ${CVT:78}
xrandr --addmode $DISPLAYNR ${CVT:78:17}
xrandr --output $DISPLAYNR --mode ${CVT:78:17}

Just put this code in a file, and make it executable (chmod +x [[file]]). Then run it like this (if the filename is ‘screenreso’):

# ./screenreso 1920 1200 VGA1

where ‘VGA1′ is optionally, the script defaults to VGA1

And as always, Fedora people will visit fosdem with great quantities. So I’m putting a lot of effort in making this the best Fosdem for Fedora people ever. I hear you thinking, how can this event become even better? Well, I try to provide activities for Fedora people every evening.

An overview:

• friday: Fad, dinner, beer event
• Saturday evening: Tour through Brussels
• Sunday evening: Super Bowl game @ fatboys (sadly, only 10 people can join)

If you are planning to come, be sure to check the Fedora wiki , and the Fosdem website.

Do you what a kitten needs to catch a mouse?
Cheese? I hear you thinking. No, the cat has to be hungry. She needs the will to win.
Sometimes the cat will win. And get a delicious meal. Sometimes she will loose. But does she gives up? I hope not, she would die from starvation..

Feedback is the breakfast of a champion.
But we’re scared. Scared of not getting accepted. We don’t dare to give feedback. Because we are scared they won’t accept our comments.
The irony is that most complaints are due to the fact that we don’t dare to say things. Important things. The truth.
We should all learn to communicate more. Getting the truth out there is a service point.

But we’re scared. In a conversation we will change our personality so the other person(s) would accept us. It’s a thing we like to call empathy.
Sometimes we need to talk to another person in a correcting way. When that happens we don’t always seek acceptation. But you can say it in a way both persons become a better person out of it. When it happens to you, accept it. Deal with it. Evolve.

—————————————————>
0                                                     10
Popular                                       Respect
Emphatic                                Own Identity
Moving towards 10 is a positive evolution. But do mind the situation, sometimes it’s better to act ‘popular’. “Conceptual Intelligence” is important.

Where are you on the axis?

In a relation with other people or companies sometimes problems occur. That’s normal. If it only happens once in a while, there is no real problem. But when it becomes a structural problem, act! Remember what you already did for them. And tell them. Be aware of the ‘take it for granted’-syndrome.

If you ever get the question from someone who wants you to do something, while you told him you weren’t going to do anything this week(end), maybe you should do it anyway. Just this once. Of course not all the time. But this once, why not? Tell him / her this is an exception, and he / she should be happy you are doing it anyway. Next time he/she asks something, tell them all the things you already done for him. And don’t be afraid to keep on repeating it. You’ve done it to help them. They should be happy about it. And you should get respect.

These are emphatic people: they
* ask questions
* listen
* show mercy
* have a good memory, and remember details
* have intuition

These are projective people: they
* stand out of most people
* are leaders

You should be projective when people are in doubt. Be firm when you want to get something done (by others).
Start with a global intention. Only when they are really interested and promise things you can offer them discounts or other benefits. People tend to like a little mystery. Tell them you can still fine tune your offer when they act fast. But don’t show them your offer in detail till they decided. It can only ruin things. We should all watch things a little longer from a distance before we close in.

Remember, those who are nice go to heaven. Those who aren’t get everywhere.

I arrived in Milan on Friday. In Zurich someone came to me with the question if I was going to FUDcon too. It’s always nice to get to know new people and to talk to people with the samen interests. I was a bit confused because I thought there would already be something happening that day. Conference wise I mean. So we tried to figure out how to get in the hotel. After asking a couple of time the directions, and take a detour of some kilometers -*G*, Italians – we finally found the hoteel where we found some people already worried. After getting refreshed we went to a coctailbar with quite a special – but succesful – business model. All drinks cost 10euro, even a cola, but the food was free. Of course most people bought more than one coctail, which made it an expensive meal. I guess you could say their business model is working . I went back to the hotel with John and his daughter, and hit the hay around 11pm. I didn’t know it yet, but it would become a night without a lot of sleep.

On Saturday I went to the breakfast room around 8am, where I met up with some other early birds. After havind a nice meal -but nothing special- we went by group to the venue. I was really surprised about what buildings I saw. I almost got the impression that Italy is a former communistic country. Some italians told me that it was the fault of our good friend Berlusconi. They claimed progress stopped some 20years ago. not long after Berlusconi became the president. Still, I don’t think I have ever seen such buildings – not even old buildings – in other western countries I already visited. Anyway, I was in Milan to attend FUDcon, not for sight seing. When we arrived at the venue we were welcomed by a whole team of young people providing us with a nicely made flyer, a badge and a T shirt. My only remark is that we started an hour late. And there was no ‘state of the union’ talk either. Despite those 2 little things, I really had a good day filled with well prepared talks. And I resolved a problem with my Fedora install -which was already latent for some months- together with some of the Brno Red Hat guys.
In the evening FUDcon happened. The pizza place we went to was like Pizza Hut, but then with pizza. And with beer glasses of 1 liter. I thought the pizza was pretty good – although I already had better. The real Italians thought it was really bad. I guess it’s all about perception. What i did see was some weird toppings. I mean, french fries on a pizza? What were they thinking?

Sunday, the last day of FUDcon, and the last day I was in italy there was a day of hacking. I had the impression a lot of people didn’t show up this last day. I guess sight seeing is somewhat more interesting. I know Kanarip did some good things with BKchem, and we had a good discussion with the Ambassador people where we disussed some of the troubles were having, with the possible solutions. Just like the day before we got a free lunch which was pretty nice.
Around 3.30pm I went to the subway, on my way to the central station. From there I had to take make a train ride from about 40minutes to the airport. Luckily I already checked in via the internet, else I would have missed the plane I think. Now I’m flying over the Alps, enjoying the view and writing this blog post.

cheers!

[edit]
After I landed in Brussels, I was totally happy. I helped some people out. I wanted to be home. but then, oh, then.. I came in Brussels South station, and almost all trains were delayed.also, the people behind me are making noise. to much noise. arch..

There are 2 ways to unmount a device when it’s busy.

1. the clean way:

# fuser -m /media/attached
/media/attached/:        1249c

ps auxw | grep 1249
bert      1249  0.2  0.3 1052124 30760 ?       Sl   Sep18   2:19 python /usr/bin/revelation

revelation is what is keeping you away from unmounting the drive. just kill it

2. the not so clean way

there is another easier way, which basicly just ditches the drive and then takes care of the problems afterwards.

umount -l /dev/sdc1

cheers

but I want more o.0