Configuring new backup with autoloader

[CoreyWilson]

Hello all,

Please forgive this question as I know its simple - because I have done it in the past but I just cant remember how to set it up correctly.

Im using Backup Exec 10d. We have just an intalled a 10 tape autoloader. I want to configure BackupExec to backup to tape 1, then the next day backup to tape2, the next day backup to tape 3 and so on. I want to have each days backup on a single tape unless they need to be spanned.

I think I remember setting that up by creating a media set, setting to not append and setting the data protection to like 6 days or something. My only concern with doing that is if at the end of six days it would go back and start writing on tape 1 again when there are still four more tapes it could write to. Or would you simply set the data protection time to be longer then the time the tape would be in the drive before being rotated out with new tapes. For instance if you know you will rotate the tapes out after 10 days then set the overwrite protection to 11 days? Then when that tape 1 comes back, after an another 10 days the overwrite period will have expired and the tape can be written to?

Thanks for the help

Thanks.

 

[steveot]

You need to partition the library
Create individula jobs for each slot or day of the week

Creating, configuring, and targeting a backup job to a Robotic Library partition in Backup Exec 9.x and 10.x for Windows Servers

http://support.veritas.com/docs/262055

 

[CoreyWilson]

Is this really necessary? I had read this option in the support manual and dont remember going at this way before. In the past I was using an Overland Xpress autoloader with 14 tapes and as I remember we had it configured to backup to a different tape each day I dont remember having to partition it - infact I am almost certain that I didnt as that would introduce more work then I would consider necessary.

Is this the only way?

Thanks

 

[steveot]

Then just setup you media set to protect the tape. You are correct in your first statement about 6 day...yes it could possibly go back to the first tape in and overwrite. Just increase the OP period

Partitioning just allows more control. Downside if the job request more media it wont go outside the partition

 

[snurf3n]

I scratched my head over this prob myself last week. Only way I could get around it was to make sure the first job of every day didn't have the "append" option selected-but each subsequent job did.
I want all jobs for one day on one tape (or span)so I can manually remove from the Overland and send off site.
Worked ok over the weekend, Sat's data all on one DLT and Sun's on another. ;-)
Running 10.d, btw.

 

[CoreyWilson]

Hi Snurf3n,

Could I have you give me a little more info on how you setup your jobs then? You mention the first job of every day you set to not append but each job there after does. So do you run different backup jobs on the same day with different backup entries in backup exec then?

I am thinking I am just going to investigate using paritioning on the autloader. Reason I say that, it does not appear that you can manually set different overwrite days to different tapes, only to the entire media set. So if you have ten tapes in the drive for instance, you set overwrite protection to say 5 days, on the sixth day there is nothing stopping backup exec from using tape 1 again where in reality you want it to use tape 6.

The only way I can see around this is creating a media set for each day, and assigning each tape to a different media set with a different protection interval. Example Media Set Day 1 = Tape 1, Media Set Day 2 = Tape 2, etc and set the protection interval to 11 days on each, hence if on day 3 your backup spanned tapes then 10 day overwrite protection interval would be set on both tapes after the write(I think), if you had another set of tapes, then by the time these tapes go back into the drive ten days will have elapsed.

The only thing I cannot wrap my head around is, if you set the no overwrite to such and such a day, does it start from the day you set it, or from the day data is written to the tape.

You would really think there would be easier way, for as simple as I should be I cannot believe I cant remember how I configured it do what I want, and it was only a year ago :-(

 

[CoreyWilson]

You know what I just thought about what i said above though, you would have to create duplicate backup jobs and schedule every other week since one backup job can only be associated with one media set. You would have to create different backup jobs and specify the media set to be used.

meh