From: wall@mcm.com (Steve Wall)
Subject: Sybase support
Organization: Mellon Capital Management Corp. San Francisco, CA.
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 01:27:36 GMT

I have a situation whereby the 4.9.1 release tape (QIC 150 Mb cartridge)
cannot be properly read by sybload. I get the message (something like):

	Couldn't position /dev/nrst0


I can dd if=/dev/nrst0 through each file on the tape (total of 4? sybload,
Server 4.9.1, Open Client, DWB) without problem, so I know all files
on the tape are readable and the tape can be repositioned.

Questions: Has anyone else had problems with 4.9.1 sybload with or
	    without a cartridge drive in use?

	 : Is there a way to extract the files on the tape without
	    sybload (some combination of dd/tar/?)? I tried this
	    and didn't seem to have any luck fishing around the tape.
	    I seem to remember having to do this with earlier Sybase
	    releases.

	 : Why (in the hell..?) does Sybase use a Sparc executable
	     to load their software - a trace(1) on sybload shows
	     a process fork somewhere along the way (a fork/exec of
	     mt(1) or dd(1)?), so I can't trace to see why the
	     tape positioning might be failing? Seems like a shell
	     script would be adequate here.


Flame:	I eventually had to break down, bite the bullet, and call Sybase
	tech support (a dreary prospect, usually, for a small site
	like ours [even though we do pay ~$10k/year support] - hard
	to push the issue to the next level when you receive
	unacceptable pseudo-answers [often] from level 1).

	They do have nice new recorded voices, a new structure
	(immediate attention rather than a dispatched call back),
	new voice mail menus, new titles ("analysts" [?]), etc., but
	the same lack of answers for (what I believe to be) VERY
	easy questions (like the one above).

	So, I call:

	    Friday - convey problem, tell about fishing around
		    the tape with dd/tar/mt/etc. No help, sent
		    to Configuration Group (?).

	    Monday - no call, so I call Sybase. Get the "analyst"
		    who says s/he has looked over the OLD Global
		    Tape Loading docs and found something about
		    a manual positioning of the tape (hmmmmm -
		    sounds interesting, hand winding the tape,
		    looking for an end of file marker?). I say,
		    "that doesn't sound right. Have you talked
		    with the Configuration Group?" "Analyst" says,
		    "No". I say, "So I'm supposed to spend part
		    of my day manually positioning a tape as I
		    follow what appears to be a wild goose chase set
		    out by an uninformed "analyst" as a result
		    of an unresponsive Configuration group?" 
		    blah, blah, blah - no more details needed
		    - you get the idea.

		    I ask "analyst" to contact me at the end of
		    day, even if s/he has no new news, so that
		    I can push through higher managers, sales,
		    whatever to get a response.

		    As of now, no call back, nothing, zilch. If
		    I REALLY had to get 4.9.1 up, I'd be up the
		    creek.

	    Tuesday - Call my Oracle/Informix sales rep?


Note also that I'm a person who will always look at possible mistakes
on my part before calling Sybase support - I only call them if I'm
both STUCK and REALLY desperate.

Any help with the 4.9.1 sybload questions and/or commiserating about
Sybase tech support is welcome. Sorry for the long posting. (Posted
to usa only since foreign Sybase support might be independent - and
better?)

Steve
-- 

Steve Wall (wall@mcm.com)
Mellon Capital Management Corporation
San Francisco, CA