mlevin77 Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 I'm running Retrospect Server (6.1.230) and using an Exabyte tape jukebox. I've been using it for a couple of years and everything was fine. For the first time, I'm seeing this weird behavior: I put replaced some full tapes (continuation of the backup), erased them, and resumed the server. Even though the "configure devices" screen is showing it knows there are 5 tapes in there marked as "Erased", the relevant script is listing all of its clients as "media" (meaning, it thinks its out of tapes). What's going on?? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennart_T Posted October 29, 2009 Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 (edited) Do you have the checkbox "Automatically skip to blank media" checked in the Preferences-->Media handling? EDIT: Assuming you only run "Backup server" and no scheduled scripts, you can run a Normal backup just to get things going again. Edited October 29, 2009 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlevin77 Posted October 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 Do you have the checkbox "Automatically skip to blank media" checked in the Preferences-->Media handling? no, it was unchecked, and when I checked it, it worked! But oddly, this has never been a problem before - in hundreds of such situations over the last few years, it used to just start up on the blank media. I wonder what's different now! Assuming you only run "Backup server" and no scheduled scripts, you can run a Normal backup just to get things going again. These are my scheduled scripts. thank you!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennart_T Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 Do you have the checkbox "Automatically skip to blank media" checked in the Preferences-->Media handling? no' date=' it was unchecked, and when I checked it, it worked! But oddly, this has never been a problem before - in hundreds of such situations over the last few years, it used to just start up on the blank media. I wonder what's different now! [/quote'] Most likely you removed the last tape BEFORE it was completely filled by retrospect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlevin77 Posted October 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2009 > Most likely you removed the last tape BEFORE it > was completely filled by retrospect. makes sense, but I was careful to leave the last tape (as numbered by Retrospect) in there, and in fact I could see it still in there, among the "erased" tapes, when this wasn't working. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennart_T Posted November 2, 2009 Report Share Posted November 2, 2009 If I remember correctly, it doesn't help just having the tape in the loader. It has to be in the tape drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlevin77 Posted November 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 this is really weird - it works now, but it appears to be backing up everything from scratch, ignoring the backup it did onto the tapes I took out (which, in the past, would lead it to only back up newly-changed files onto the new erased tapes). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennart_T Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 It looks as you have recycled the backup set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlevin77 Posted November 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 recycled it? how? All I did was to check the "Automatically skip to blank media" in Preferences-->Media handling. I've never seen this behavior before. How do I recycle the set? Maybe I need to start over. Is there a simple way to have it take all the tapes it has, erase them, and start from zero? What I had been doing in the past is erasing the tapes manually, then forgetting the saveset, creating a new one, and editing the scripts to use it. Pain in the butt; what is recycling - is it a faster way to do all that? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhwalker Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 yes. See pages 23 and 75 of the Users Guide. Retrospect 6.1 for Macintosh Users Guide Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlevin77 Posted November 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 fantastic! :-) thanks very much. Does this work the same way with a file on disk? I have another backup going to a huge file on a RAID disk array, which I also have to delete when it gets full. Will this work also? and, I read something about grooming - can it automatically take old files (especially, duplicated giant files like people's 20 Gig Entourage databases or ones that get overwritten by newer versions) as the set gets really big? If so, can my version (6.1) do it or do I need to upgrade to the latest? thank you!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhwalker Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 fantastic! :-) thanks very much. Does this work the same way with a file on disk? Yep. I have another backup going to a huge file on a RAID disk array, which I also have to delete when it gets full. Will this work also? Yep. It "recycles" the bits. and, I read something about grooming - can it automatically take old files (especially, duplicated giant files like people's 20 Gig Entourage databases or ones that get overwritten by newer versions) as the set gets really big? yep. When it works. If so, can my version (6.1) do it or do I need to upgrade to the latest? Nope. Yep. Make sure you read the requirements first. Note also that Retrospect 8 cannot currently read backup sets made by older versions of the program. What a concept that a backup program should be able to restore from backups made by older versions.... And note that Retrospect 8 still has a bit of maturing to do. You might want to check out a trial version first to see if it works for you. There is no manual. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlevin77 Posted November 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2009 Does this work the same way with a file on disk?I have another backup going to a huge file on a RAID disk array' date=' which I also have to delete when it gets full. Will this work also?[/quote']Yep. It "recycles" the bits. Russ I've been reading the manual and I think I don't understand how this works. I have say, 2 Tb available on my RAID. I'm backing up a bunch of clients using a script, and the destination is a file on this RAID. What I'd like is to have it back up (every 2 days) and keep as much as it can (i.e., old versions of saved files) until the backup file reaches, say 1.8 Tb (or by time, say for 2 weeks). Then, I want it to start pulling out old versions of things to make room for new stuff, keeping the overall file under 1.8 Tb but filled with as much up-to-date content as possible. Is this the "grooming" that doesn't work on my version (6)? If this is impossible, then how does the recycling work - can I set it up so that when we get to 1.8 Tb (or, every 2 weeks) it automatically recycles the media (clears everything and start over)? From the manual, it seems like the script has to indicate a normal or a recycle backup in the script. If I say recycle, when will it clear the saveset - each time the script runs? That's not what I want, because mine can run like 10-15 times before the RAID gets filled up. Can I make it recycle when it gets to a certain level? thank you, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennart_T Posted November 4, 2009 Report Share Posted November 4, 2009 (edited) I've been reading the manual and I think I don't understand how this works. I have say, 2 Tb available on my RAID. I'm backing up a bunch of clients using a script, and the destination is a file on this RAID.The destination is always a backup set. That may or may not be a file backup set. ...Is this the "grooming" that doesn't work on my version (6)? Yes, exactly. If this is impossible, then how does the recycling work - can I set it up so that when we get to 1.8 Tb (or, every 2 weeks) it automatically recycles the media (clears everything and start over)? You have to schedule by date. There is no way to do that automatically when the disk is full.If I say recycle, when will it clear the saveset - each time the script runs? That's not what I want, because mine can run like 10-15 times before the RAID gets filled up. Can I make it recycle when it gets to a certain level? You can schedule a recycle backup every weekend, or every other weekend (for instance).But you won't have any backup at all until that backup finishes. Between these recycle backups, you schedule as many "Normal" backup as you see fit. (Once per day?) Edited November 4, 2009 by Guest Added comment about "Normal" backup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlevin77 Posted November 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 You can schedule a recycle backup every weekend, or every other weekend (for instance). Between these recycle backups, you schedule as many "Normal" backup as you see fit. (Once per day?) Ok, so I will have two scripts for the same clients: one that backs up frequently as "Normal", and one that backs up as "Recycle" less frequently (with periodicity set so that it generally happens before the destination gets full). One question: won't this duplicate everything? That is, when my Recycle script runs, it will wipe the saveset file and back everyone up. Then the normal script runs, and won't it back everyone up again (duplicating what the Recycle script just did, even files that didn't change)? thanks! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennart_T Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 Ok, so I will have two scripts for the same clients: one that backs up frequently as "Normal", and one that backs up as "Recycle" less frequently (with periodicity set so that it generally happens before the destination gets full). You can have the same script. Just use two schedules: One for the Recycle backup and one for the Normal backup. One question: won't this duplicate everything? Yes it will. That's why I would schedule a recycle backup on a Friday evening. when my Recycle script runs, it will wipe the saveset file and back everyone up. Then the normal script runs, and won't it back everyone up again (duplicating what the Recycle script just did, even files that didn't change)? Once each client has been backed up once since the last recycle, any Normal backup will only backup new files and files that has changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlevin77 Posted November 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 You can have the same script. Just use two schedules: One for the Recycle backup and one for the Normal backup.Once each client has been backed up once since the last recycle, any Normal backup will only backup new files and files that has changed. perfect! How do I set two schedules for the same script? For the script, I see "Sources", "Destinations", "Selecting", "Options", and "Schedule". I can't figure out how to set two schedules and designate one of them as recycling. thank you, Mike thanks! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennart_T Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 You click on Schedule. Click "Add", click "repeating Interval", set a date and time on a Friday at 9 pm and "Every other week" (for instance) and Action to Recycle. Click OK. Then click "Add", click on "Day of week", select Mon through Fri at 10 pm, select "Normal" backup. Click OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlevin77 Posted November 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 You click on Schedule.Click "Add", click "repeating Interval" hmmm. I don't have "Add" - please see attached screengrab; from Schedule (on editing the script, where I see sources, destinations, selecting, options, and schedule), I see only Cancel, OK, or Custom (to set specific times). Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twickland Posted November 5, 2009 Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 You can't schedule a recycle backup using a backup server script. You'll either have to write a separate regular backup script, or else run an Immediate backup or recycle the backup set manually via Configure> Backup Sets> Configure [your_backup_set]> Options> Media Action> Recycle at the appropriate time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlevin77 Posted November 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2009 You can't schedule a recycle backup using a backup server script. You'll either have to write a separate regular backup script, or else run an Immediate backup or recycle the backup set manually via Configure> Backup Sets> Configure [your_backup_set]> Options> Media Action> Recycle at the appropriate time. I'm completely confused; the posts by Lennart Thelander say "You can schedule a recycle backup every weekend, or every other weekend (for instance). Between these recycle backups, you schedule as many "Normal" backup as you see fit. (Once per day?)" and "You can have the same script. Just use two schedules: One for the Recycle backup and one for the Normal backup." They seem to say I should be scheduling the recycling backup; what am I missing? thanks, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennart_T Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 My bad. I forgot you run "Backup Server". Sorry. OK, you need a (separate) backup script for recycling. You don't have to add all clients to the script, you can (for instance) add just the local boot disk. Then schedule once a week or every other week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlevin77 Posted November 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 OK, you need a (separate) backup script for recycling. You don't have to add all clients to the script, you can (for instance) add just the local boot disk. Then schedule once a week or every other week. got it - that makes perfect sense - it will recycle the media with a minimum of duplication. The only thing is, I still don't see where the choice for a "recycling" script is made - what menu is it on? I don't see it anywhere, when making a new script. thanks, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennart_T Posted November 6, 2009 Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 The only thing is, I still don't see where the choice for a "recycling" script is made - what menu is it on? I don't see it anywhere, when making a new script. In the script window, you click on Schedule. Click "Add", click "repeating Interval", set a date and time on a Friday at 9 pm and "Every other week" (for instance) and Action to Recycle. Click OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlevin77 Posted November 6, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2009 In the script window, you click on Schedule. Click "Add", click "repeating Interval", set a date and time on a Friday at 9 pm and "Every other week" (for instance) and Action to Recycle. Click OK. hmmm. I don't have "Add" - please see attached screengrab; from Schedule (on editing the script, where I see sources, destinations, selecting, options, and schedule), I see only Cancel, OK, or Custom (to set specific times). Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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