Backup Strategy - Multiple Backup Sets

[jbullock]

I finally came up with what a backup strategy that satisfies both me and the powers-that-be, but I can't seem to get Retrospect to agree:

 

On the first friday of the months 1,4,7,10 I do a full backup to set "RED"

On the first friday of the months 2,5,8,11 I do a full backup to set "ORANGE"

On the first friday of the months 3,6,9,12 I do a full backup to set "YELLOW"

 

These tapes are taken offsite

 

Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I do an incremental (as Retrospect understands it) to "GREEN"

 

every other friday in a month (that is the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th), I do a full week's backup to the previous friday, (which basically collects everything from the GREEN backup) to set "BLUE"

 

the problem is this: After a full backup to "RED", for example, I want the next backup - Monday>GREEN in this case to do an incremental backup just as far back as RED. But because the tapes are blanked every week, Retrospect tries to do a full backup to get GREEN up-to-date. I don't really need green to be up-to-date, because RED is.

 

I've tried getting it to select only "Modified Date is on or after Backup date minus 3 days", but it doesn't seem to work. I'd like a preview of a scheduled run if possible, but ideally, I'd like to tell Retrospect that the RED backup set catalog should be used to check during a "Normal" backup.

 

Any thoughts on any of this? I'd really appreciate it.