recoverview

Product	Command type
ClearCase®	cleartool subcommand

Platform
UNIX®
Linux®
Windows®

Description

The recoverview command repairs a view database and the associated private storage area of a dynamic view. (A snapshot view has no private storage in the same sense as a dynamic view has.) Typically, you use this command after a system crash or similar mishap. You may also want to use this command to regain access to stranded view-private and checked-out files. (See Recovering view-private and checked-out files: View lost+found directory.)

Automatic recovery

When necessary, recoverview is invoked by a dynamic view's associated view_server process. Enter this command yourself if messages in the view log (view_log) suggest view database corruption (for example, INTERNAL VIEW DB ERROR).

Possible data loss

recoverview uses reformatview; that is, recovery involves a dump/load of the view database. recoverview deletes the old, invalid view database, which reformatview has renamed to db.dumped.

Depending on the state of the view database, this process may cause certain information to be lost. After a view is recovered, consult the view log to investigate possible data loss.

Note to UNIX users: The setuid bit is always lost on files that the view owner does not own.

For more information, see the reformatview reference page.

Recovering view-private and checked-out files: View lost+found directory

A file in view-private storage (including the view-private contents of a checked-out version) is normally accessed through a VOB pathname. That is, the file appears to be located in the VOB, but is actually stored in the view. But this view-VOB correspondence can be disrupted:

A VOB can become temporarily unavailable, for example, by being unmounted.
A VOB can become permanently unavailable, by being deleted.
A particular VOB directory can become unavailable permanently, by being deleted with an rmelem command.

In all these cases, view-private files that are accessed through the unavailable VOB structure become stranded; the files cannot be used for normal ClearCase operations, because there are no VOB pathnames through which they can be accessed. You can resynchronize your view with the available VOBs with the –vob and –dir options. This recovers stranded files by moving them into the view's lost+found directory. Recovered files remain inaccessible to normal ClearCase operations; you can access them through the view storage directory, using standard operating system utilities and commands.

Options and arguments

Synchronizing a view with one or more vobs

The following option synchronizes the dynamic view with one or more VOBs. With this option, recoverview moves all stranded files to the lost+found subdirectory. A typical time to synchronize is after performing a relocate operation.

–syn/chronize [ –vob pname-in-vob ]: Synchronizes the view with all VOBs in which the view has created view-private files. With –vob, synchronizes the view only with the VOB specified by pname-in-vob.

Forcing recovery

Default: recoverview displays a Recovery not needed warning message and exits immediately if the view database does not need to be recovered.
–f/orce: Performs a view database recovery, whether or not it is necessary. Suppresses the warning message in the situation described above.

Specifying the view

Default: None.
–tag view-tag: The view tag of any registered dynamic view.
view-storage-dir-pname: The pathname of a dynamic view storage directory. Use the lsview command to list a view's storage directory.
Important: Make sure that the current working directory is not the same as, or anywhere below view-storage-dir-pname.

Recovering view-private storage

The following options take internal ClearCase identifiers for a VOB or a VOB directory (vob-identifier and dir-identifier) as arguments. The lsprivate command uses these identifiers when listing an inaccessible VOB or VOB directory.

–vob vob-identifier: Moves all view-private files that correspond to the specified VOB to the lost+found directory.
–dir dir-identifier: Moves all view-private files that correspond to the specified directory element to the lost+found directory.

Important: If the VOB or directory is still accessible, using these options is probably incorrect; it will unsynchronize the view and VOB, not synchronize them.

Examples

The UNIX system and Linux examples in this section are written for use in csh. If you use another shell, you may need to use different quoting and escaping conventions.

The Windows examples that include wildcards or quoting are written for use in cleartool interactive mode. If you use cleartool single-command mode, you may need to change the wildcards and quoting to make your command interpreter process the command appropriately.

In cleartool single-command mode, cmd-context represents the UNIX system and Linux shells or Windows command interpreter prompt, followed by the cleartool command. In cleartool interactive mode, cmd-context represents the interactive cleartool prompt.

Note: recoverview writes status messages to the view_log file; it does not print status messages on the standard output device.

Synchronize the dynamic view jackson_fix with all VOBs in which it has created view-private files.
cmd-context recoverview –synchronize –tag jackson_fix
On a UNIX or Linux system, synchronize a dynamic view whose storage directory is /usr/home/jackson/ccviews/std.vws with the /vobs/dvt VOB.
cmd-context recoverview –synchronize –vob /vobs/dvt \ /usr/home/jackson/ccviews/std.vws
For dynamic view cp_bugfix, recover view-private files from a deleted VOB.
cmd-context lsprivate –tag cp_bugfix... cleartool: Warning: VOB is unavailable -- using name: "<Unavailable-VOB-1>". If it has been deleted use 'recoverview -vob <uuid>' VOB UUID is 1127d379.428211cd.b3fa.08:00:69:06:af:65 ...

cmd-context recoverview –vob 1127d379.428211cd.b3fa.08:00:69:06:af:65 \ –tag cp_bugfix