SUMMARY
Event ID 6398 when backing up Sharepoint 2007
ISSUE
Purpose
Describe cause and resolution steps for SharePoint 2007 Backup Failures related to Event ID 6398
Description
The SharePoint timer service in SharePoint 2007 is a critical service allowing the farm, even if installed as a single server deployment, to cros-time various sub-components of Sharepoint. With the timer service in a failed state, backups are not possible using Microsoft’s integrated APIs that the Unitrends Agent leverages.
Cause
The Config Cache is where information about each server in the farm is stored. This cache helps prevent many subcomponents from needing direct access to SQL in order to make DB calls. In some cases this information can become corrupt and needs to be cleared out and rebuilt.
Resolution
1) Stop the OWSTIMER service on ALL of the MOSS servers in the farm.
2) On the Index server, navigate to:
Server 2003 location: Drive:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\SharePoint\Config\GUID and delete all the XML files from the directory.
Server 2008 location: Drive:\ProgramData\Microsoft\SharePoint\Config\GUID and delete all the XML files from the directory.
3) Delete all the XML file in the directory.
NOTE: DELETE ONLY THE XML FILES, NOT THE .INI FILE.
4) Open the cache.ini with Notepad and reset the number to 1. Save and close the file.
5) Start the OWSTIMER service on the Index server and wait for XML files to begin to reappear in the directory.
6) After you see XML files appearing on the Index server, repeat steps 2, 3 & 4 on each query server, waiting for XML files to appear before moving to subsequent servers.
7) After all of the query servers have all been cleared and new .xml files have been generated, proceed to the WFE and Application servers in the farm, following steps 2, 3, 4 and 5 for each remaining server.