Help with my Roatating Backup Script

[Dowfen]

Hi Everyone,

 

 

 

I work as the Backup Administrator for my company and I am using Retrospect Server Edition.

 

 

 

I would like some help and input with my current situation. I'll explain the problem.

 

 

 

We have about 30 client computers and 5 servers all backed up with a Dell DLT drive using Retrospect Server. The DLT holds 80GB.

 

 

 

The script I am using is a Rotating Backup Script. It backs up to Backup Set A one week and the next it switches to Backup Set B. (We only back up documents and changes made to the documents; we do not just backup everything everynight.) This method of backing up gives us two complete backup sets. However, the DLT tapes fill up very quickly. Within a month or two we have used 6 DLT tapes to their capacity. (There is no one computer or server that just takes up all this space, but the amount of computers we have use the space) DLT tapes are expensive; $60-100 a pop and due to the current economic climate, we are trying to save money.

 

 

 

How can I increase the life of my rotating backup script without buying many more tapes? We have a total of 6 DLT tapes right now, and it's not that we can't afford to buy more, I'm just trying to find a way to maximize the life of a Rotating Backup while minimizing the cost of DLT tapes. We want to keep with the Rotating Script for the reliability and we do not want to switch to DAT tapes as we used those before and did not like their perfermance. We have invested a lot of money in the switch to DLT tapes and we like the speed and reliability a lot, but I'm hoping that someone will have an idea that will help me out.

 

 

 

Any and all help is greatly appreciated,

 

 

 

Eric Berglund

 

 

[lv2ski]

It sounds like you will have to do a Recycle Backup every now and then. What that does is it erases the data on the media and erases the catalog file. Then it rebacks up your source all over again. Fresh new backup. Maybe at the begining of the week on Mondays you might want to do this to each set?....just an idea!