EXPORT ADMIN (Export administrator information)

Use this command to export administrator and authority definitions from a server. You can export the information to sequential media for later importing to another server, or you can export the information directly to another server for immediate import.

Important: For commands that export administrators or nodes, you must consider the method of authentication. The IBM Spectrum® Protect server cannot export or import passwords for nodes or administrators that are authenticating with LDAP directory servers. If the current authentication method uses an LDAP directory server and the password is not already synchronized by that server, you must update the password. After issuing the EXPORT command, set the password by issuing the UPDATE ADMIN or UPDATE NODE command.

IBM Spectrum Protect exports administrator information such as:

  • Administrator name, password, and contact information
  • Administrative privilege classes that are granted to the administrator
  • Whether the administrator ID is locked from server access

You can use the QUERY ACTLOG command to view the status of the export operation. You can also view this information from the server console.

This command generates a background process that can be canceled with the CANCEL PROCESS command. If you export information to sequential media and the background process is canceled, the sequential media that is holding the exported data is incomplete, it must not be used for importing data. If a server-to-server export background process is canceled, a partial import might result. Evaluate any imported data on the target server to determine whether you want to keep or delete the imported data. Review the import messages for details. To display information about background processes, use the QUERY PROCESS command.

Restrictions:
The following restrictions apply to the export function:
  • Export operations from a later version and release to an earlier version and release is not supported.
  • Export operations between servers that are at the same version and release but with different fix packs might fail. For example, you cannot export from a V7.1.3 server to a V7.1.1 or earlier server.
  • Exported data from a server with retention protection enabled is not protected by retention when it is imported to another server.
  • Export processing excludes nodes of type network-attached storage (NAS).
  • Exporting data to a CENTERA device class or importing data from a CENTERA device class is not supported. However, files that are stored in CENTERA storage pools can be exported and files that must be imported can be stored on a CENTERA storage device.
  • Export operations write to volumes that are associated with a sequential-access device class and cannot write to volumes that are assigned to a storage pool.
  • Export operations using container storage pools is not supported.
Limitation: The IBM Spectrum Protect server does not convert code pages during export, import, and node replication operations. If servers are running in different locales, some information in databases or system output might become unreadable. Invalid characters might be displayed, for example, in the contact information for the administrator and client nodes, and in descriptions of policy domains. Any field that is stored in the server character set and that includes extended ASCII characters can be affected. To resolve the issue after the import or node replication operation, update the fields with the appropriate UPDATE commands. This server limitation does not affect client data. Any client data that was exported, imported, or replicated can be restored, retrieved, and recalled.

The EXPORT ADMIN command takes two forms: Export directly to another server on the network, or export to sequential media. The syntax and parameters for each form are defined separately.

Table 1. Commands related to EXPORT ADMIN
Command Description
CANCEL PROCESS Cancels a background server process.
EXPORT NODE Copies client node information to external media or directly to another server.
EXPORT POLICY Copies policy information to external media or directly to another server.
EXPORT SERVER Copies all or part of the server to external media or directly to another server.
IMPORT ADMIN Restores administrative information from external media.
QUERY ACTLOG Displays messages from the server activity log.
QUERY PROCESS Displays information about background processes.