Recycle Backup Sets and Members

[Maverick_94]

Hi,

 

When I recycle a backup set, members disappears from the backup set. The members are tapes, so I have to add them to the backup set again.

Is there a solution to recycle the backup set and not "lose" members ?

 

Thanks

[AndrewA]

You do not have to pre-add the members, as long as the tape names stay the same Retrospect will automatically grab the same tapes when the backup is ran and overwrite the tapes.

[Mayoff]

A recycle Backup by definition erases the entire backup set, as if you have never used it before.

 

During the next backup, it will automatically take the tape that is either erased or the tape with the correct name, like 2-Monday. If will take the correctly named tape before it uses an erased tape.

[Maverick_94]

But it doesn't work. Retrospect is asking a new member...

[eppinizer]

But it doesn't work. Retrospect is asking a new member...

 

When Retrospect ask for the new member it tells you that the new member will be named something like 5-MavsPC. Check your storage device tab, you should find see your tape drive that you are using for the backups. Is the name of the tape that is in the drive one number less than the member that is requested, in this case it would be 4-MavsPC?

 

 

Edited April 15, 2008 by Guest

[Maverick_94]

But it's not possible to set an automatic job who backup datas on tapes, then (the next month for example) recycle the backup set before backup datas again on tapes ?

I don't want to add members after each recycle. Is that possible ?

[blm14]

I dont understand why you're recycling tape backup sets anyways. Without the backup set, you'll have to rebuild the catalog file from the tapes if you ever want to recover anything from them which can take a VERY long time. Why not just keep the old tape sets and create new ones?

[eppinizer]

blm14,

 

I read Mavericks post serveral times trying to figure out exactly want Maverick wants to do. I came to this Conclusion.

 

I believe what he is trying to do is set an automatic recycle backup that will continue to erase and rewrite the new backup-set on the same tapes. If he kept the old tape sets than he would not be able to reuse the tapes.

 

Maverick,

Recycle backup will erase your backup-set and catalog file and start anew, writing the new backup set to the first disk of the old backup set if its in the drive. If it is not in the drive Retrospect will look for a blank peice of media. After Retrospect backups the new backup set data on to the first drive, it will ask for new members because it sees that the rest of the tapes already have data belonging to a different set. Without having new or erased tapes available for retrospect to use, this will not work.

[MRIS]

Are you able to fit a full backup onto 1 tape?

Are you using a Disk-to-Disk-to-Tape strategy?

 

If it all does fit onto one tape then a simple recycle backup to the tape should work.

 

If it does NOT all fit onto 1 tape then yes there will be a manual intervention step required when the first tape ends. Apart from inserting the next tape, you will have to erase it (using retrospect's next tape selection dialog GUI) at that point, however seeing that you are there already and switching tapes, this might work for you.

[Maverick_94]

My strategy is the following :

I use one tape to backup my server every weeks and every months.

The first friday of january, I do a backup and I reuse the tape the next first friday of february. I do the same thing for each week of the month and for each month (I will reuse the tape in 12 months).

 

If I do a normal backup, there is too datas for the tape and it asks a new tape. So, I decided to backup the server the first friday on january, I keep, the backup 1 month and the first friday of february, I recycle the backup set and I do a new clean backup with no old files.

I believe this method is often uses, right ?

 

What is your method to do I want to do ?

 

I though to groom the backup set after 1 backup but it's not possible when you backup on a tape.

Edited April 18, 2008 by Guest

[Maverick_94]

Withi this method, I will use a lot of tapes and it will be expansive.

[MRIS]

Maverick_94, so what you are saying is that if you backup to a tape in January, and if you then perform a normal backup to the same tape in February that the tape will fill and a second tape will be required to complete the backup, and that you wish to avoid this.

 

It seems that the size of your server's data and the size of the tapes are closely matched, and for this reason performing a recycle backup each time will wipe the tape and ensure all the data fits on one tape each time. So yes, simply configure your backups to all be recycle backups and this should work like you expect.

 

Keep in mind that normal backups add onto a tape, recycle backups wipe the tape and backup everything.

 

 

[blm14]

I just want to say that I think it's a really bad idea to wipe your tapes.

 

Also the more you write to them the more they will degrade over time. Better to just suck up the extra cost and use more tapes...

Edited April 18, 2008 by Guest

[bruggles]

So When backing up to tape, how does NEW BACKUP SET differ from Recycle?

 

If you want to redo a FULL Backup to a tape which do you use?

[rhwalker]

So When backing up to tape, how does NEW BACKUP SET differ from Recycle?

New Backup Set wants new media, and does not disturb older backup sets.

 

Recycle will set the contents of a given backup set to empty, and will re-use the media.

 

If you want to redo a FULL Backup to a tape which do you use?

Depends on what you want. If you want to re-use the same tape (and all other tape members of the same backup set), do a Recycle.

 

See page 25 of the Users Guide:

Retrospect 7.5 Windows Users Guide