What are the commands given to sybase backup server ?

[vasanthk]

Dear All,

In any version of Sybase ASE, it is possible to log-in into
backup server using isql.
We can run simple select getdate()..
Where can i find the documentation covering the commands
given in a backup server session ?
Because, recently someone asked me that it is possible to
check the status of the dataserver from backup server
session.

Thanks in Advance,
Vasanth

[Bret Halford [Sybase]]

Well, yes. You can connect ("log into") any version of
backupserver with any version of isql (as far as I know).
However, the backupserver does not have a language handler
(parser) built into it, so there are no commands that you
can issue from such a connection. The fact that you can
connect is just an odd artifact of backupserver being
written using the Open Server libraries.
Such a connection session looks like this:

bret-sun2% setenv DSQUERY rel1502_bret_sun2_back
bret-sun2% isql -Usa

Password:
1> select @@version
2> go
No language handler installed.
Language cmd: select @@version
1> exit
bret-sun2%

ASE itself communicates with backupserver via remote procedure
calls (as opposed to opening a question and sending strings
of commands that need to be parsed and interpreted).
You can send RPCs to backupserver too. Backupserver
has an "sp_who" (I think it is standard for open server
applications), from ASE you can run

execute SYB_BACKUP...sp_who

bret-sun2% setenv DSQUERY rel1502_bret_sun2
bret-sun2% isql -Usa

Password:
1> SYB_BACKUP...sp_who
2> go
spid status loginame hostname blk
cmd
----------- ---------- ------------------------------ ------------ ---
----------------
1 sleeping NULL NULL 0
CONNECT HANDLER
2 sleeping NULL NULL 0
DEFERRED HANDLER
3 runnable NULL NULL 0
SCHEDULER
5 runnable NULL rel1250_bre* 0
SITE HANDLER
6 running sa bret-sun2 0
NULL

(5 rows affected)

But I would say no, you can't find out about the dataserver
from the backupserver. The communication stream is
designed to go the other way.

-bret

[Peter Collard]

shutdown also works eg

SYB_BACKUP... shutdown will shutdown the backupserver from the dataserver
which can be quite useful if you don't have a shell login on a remote
server.

similarly I think you'll get the other openserver commands
sp_ps
sp_terminate
sp_reglist
not that these will be of any use!