The backupkill command dequeues a Backup System operation that is pending, or terminates an operation
that is running, in the current interactive session. It is available only in interactive mode. If the
issuer of the backupinteractive command included the -localauth flag, the -cell argument, or both, then
those settings apply to this command also.
To terminate a dump operation, specify either the dump name (volume_set_name.dump_level_name) or its job
ID number, which appears in the output from the backupjobs command. To terminate any other type of
operation, provide the job ID number.
The effect of terminating an operation depends on the type and current state of the operation:
• If an operation is still pending, the Tape Coordinator removes it from the queue with no other
lasting effects.
• If the Tape Coordinator is unable to process the termination signal before an operation completes, it
simply confirms the operation's completion. The operator must take the action necessary to undo the
effects of the incorrect operation.
• If a tape labeling operation is running, the effect depends on when the Tape Coordinator receives the
termination signal. The labeling operation is atomic, so it either completes or does not begin at
all. Use the backupreadlabel command to determine if the labeling operation completed, and reissue
the backuplabeltape command to overwrite the incorrect label if necessary.
• If a tape scanning operation is running, it terminates with no other effects unless the -dbadd flag
was included on the backup command. In that case, the Backup System possibly has already written new
Backup Database records to represent dumps on the scanned tape. If planning to restart the scanning
operation, first locate and remove the records created during the terminated operation: a repeated
backupscantape operation exits automatically when it finds that a record that it needs to create
already exists.
• If a dump operation is running, all of the volumes written to the tape or backup data file before the
termination signal is received are complete and usable. If the operation is restarted, the Backup
System performs all the dumps again from scratch, and assigns a new dump ID number. If writing the
new dumps to the same tape or file, the operator must relabel it first if the interrupted dump is not
expired. If writing the new dump to a different tape or file, the operator can remove the dump record
associated with the interrupted dump to free up space in the database.
• If a restore operation is running, completely restored volumes are online and usable. However, it is
unlikely that many volumes are completely restored, given that complete restoration usually requires
data from multiple tapes. If the termination signal comes before the Backup System has accessed all
of the necessary tapes, each volume is only partially written and is never brought online. It is best
to restart the restore operation from scratch to avoid possible inconsistencies. See also "CAUTIONS".