Forgetting multiple snapshots from a disk backup set

[johnnymacgo 8]

Hi,

 

It would be real time saver if we would be able select multiple snaphots to forget in a disk based backup set. As it stands now you can only select one at a time, shift or control click doesn't work.

 

Thanks,

 

Johnny Mac

Edited July 2, 2010 by Guest

[Richy_Boy 18]

Agreed.. this has been suggested for years.

 

A simple tick box to one side so you can choose multiple snapshots would be a solution.

 

As it stands you have to baby the backup server while you delete.. waaaaaaaait... delete.... waaaaaaait.... delete..... wait...

 

Rich

Edited July 12, 2010 by Guest

[utig 1]

Another vote for multiple snapshot delete. I've wasted hours pruning backups.

[Lennart_T 146]

That would be a really nice feature.

[bobbodavis 5]

This should be a "MUST HAVE" feature. I've spoken with several Retrospect technicians and all of them will tell you that the best way to setup a site is to have multiple systems backing up to a single backup set so that you can take advantage of what they would consider to be a form of DEDUPE. Well, if this is how we're supposed to be setting up backup sets, then it only makes sense that we would need to have an option to groom out multiple snapshots in a single instance. At my site, we have an annual computer refresh so computers come and go fairly often. Imagine trying to manually groom indiviudal snaphosts for a single host that has 90 days of backups on disk. Now imagine trying to do that for 2-3 systems per week - it's absolutely ridiculous. Had I been aware of this particular shortfall, I would not have combined mutiple systems into single backup sets!!!

[Naraz1 0]

 then it only makes sense that we would need to have an option to groom out multiple snapshots in a single instance. At my site, we have an annual computer refresh so computers come and go fairly often. Imagine trying to manually groom indiviudal snaphosts for a single host that has 90 days of backups on disk. Now imagine trying to do that for 2-3 systems per week - it's absolutely ridiculous

 

 

 

_____________
Arslan1
 

[LRSFC_DanJ 0]

This definitely needs to be a thing, after getting our Retrospect server back up and running after a system drive crash I am having to clear out old snapshots from machines we no longer have so that there's enough space to back up our new machines and it's such a longwinded process.

[DavidHertzberg 49]

LRSFC_DanJ,

In your particular case, it appears the EU has—indirectly—given you a final gift (the result of the GDPR) before Brexit in Retrospect Windows 15.1.  You should be able to groom out the Snapshots from machines you no longer have with the following two-step process: [1] Groom out the .rdb files for those machines by creating an Exclude Selector (per pages 435-437 and 439-440 of the Retrospect Windows 15 User's Guide) for those "clients", and then using that Exclude Selector in a Groom script per this newly-added Knowledge Base article. [2] Clear out the Snapshots for those machines by doing a Recreate of the Catalog File for the Backup Set (per pages 453-455 in the UG) you have just done a Groom of.

Edited June 23, 2018 by DavidHertzberg
Also see pages 439-440 of the UG for adding multiple conditions to a selector that Exclude multiple machines

[x509 18]

David,

This approach does sound nice, but I am still on Retro V.12 (Windows).   My plate is way filled right now, so I was planning to do the upgrade to 15 probably in mid-July.  Believe me, with the 1803 update from Microsoft, it's knd of urgent that I uprade to V.15.

About EU and GDPR.  Even though I live in the USA, I'm sure that I will benefit at least somewhat to the GDPR, and that's a good thing. 

/rant

Here in the USA, users are treated only as commodities, as revenue sources, and to the devil with issues like data privacy or security breaches.  When Equifax announced that they had been breached and all the data of 143 million Americans (almost half the total population of the USA),  had been stolen, including Social Security numbers, there was some grumbling,.  But no executive has been charged criminally, the company hasn't been fined to the tune of multiple billions, and life goes on as if nothing had happened.  Or we can talk about the corporate strategy for disregard of user privacy at Facebook.  Willful disregard.  And aside from some handwringing and a few critical blogs and such, nothing has happened to them,  Zuckerberg completely snowed Congress in his testimony and no one has called him out.

rant/

x509

[DavidHertzberg 49]

1 hour ago, x509 said:

David,

This approach does sound nice, but I am still on Retro V.12 (Windows).   My plate is way filled right now, so I was planning to do the upgrade to 15 probably in mid-July.  Believe me, with the 1803 update from Microsoft, it's knd of urgent that I uprade to V.15.

About EU and GDPR.  Even though I live in the USA, I'm sure that I will benefit at least somewhat to the GDPR, and that's a good thing. 

/rant

....

rant/

x509

Responded to here, in the thread where it should have been posted.

[DavidHertzberg 49]

LRSFC_DanJ,

I seems that you might be able to speed up step [1] by doing performance-optimized grooming.  According to the last section of this Knowledge Base article, "Retrospect stores backups by volume, so each backup is a set of RDB files containing a single volume. If a selector excludes an entire volume, the RDB files that contain that volume will be removed."  Pending the enhancement suggested by Scillonian, "Currently when running a Groom script you need to remember to change the grooming setting in the Backup Set properties before running the Groom script and then revert it after the Groom script has run."

[johnnymacgo 8]

Well since I started this thread back in 2010 I wanted to let everyone know that it looks like this feature is finally here! This is from the just released V15.5 release notes:

FixedSnapshot: Allowed multiple snapshots to be selected for deletion (#7477)

Yaa!