SQL on Win2003 does not recognize unc path

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SQL on Win2003 does not recognize unc path

mjschwenger

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February 16, 2004 at 11:24 am

#152044

I'm trying to send a backup on a network drive. I'm using a script, which works on my existing server Win2000 and SQl2000, sp3, but it did not work on Win2003, on a NAS. I also tried to do it throught EM as well, but it still does not recognize the path - I get "unable to verify the existence of the backup file location" when I creat the back device. I did run DBCC TRACEON (1807).
Even if I go with the maped drive the result is the same - if I browse, SQL shows the local drive, I could not select the mapped ones...
May be the reason is that I'm running this on the NAS...
Any ideas why?
Any help is appreciate! Thanks,
MJ

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ThomasH SSCertifiable Points: 7437 More actions · Answer 1

I seem to remember a similar issue I had even with SQL2K. To get around the problem, I performed a simple "dummy" EXEC xp_cmdShell 'DIR \\PCName\Sharename' to "kick" SQL Srv into to "knowing" the UNC existed. Then performed the BACKUP DATABASE operation to the UNC. I think almost any SQL Srv. to UNC operation with give it a "kick", just BACKUP seemed to have a problem ???

Let us know how it works out.

Once you understand the BITs, all the pieces come together

mjschwenger SSCarpal Tunnel Points: 4019 More actions · Answer 2

It did work. Thanks a lot.

Only if you try to create a backup device, it still gives the error:"Network path not found", but the device is created and I could backup on it with no problems.

Thanks again.

MJ

hawg SSCertifiable Points: 6044 More actions · Answer 3

I haven't tried it on Win2003 but you might also try running the following command:

DBCC TRACEON(1807)

This allows SQL Server to recognize UNC notation.

I did this before I setup a maintenance plan to do nightly backups to a NAS filer and it runs every night without a problem.

----------------------------------------------------------01010011010100010100110000100000010100110110010101110010011101100110010101110010001000000101001001101111011000110110101101110011

mjschwenger SSCarpal Tunnel Points: 4019 More actions · Answer 4

DBCC TRACEON(1807) did not work at all. That was the first thing I tried.

The problem is that I'm not sending the files to the NAS, but the oposite - SQL server is on the NAS, and, because it's not too reliable, I want to send the backups to the other machine. SQL server in this case does not see any other drives then the NAS locals, even if you map the network drive - it's not visible for SQL. If you try to create a backup device (with or without traceon 1807), available are only the head and the arrays of the NAS.

But the old trick EXEC xp_cmdShell 'DIR \\PCName\Sharename'

did the miracle...

Thanks a lot.

MJ