Staged Backup

[35409a06-b751-49a5-a047-0204049d6ca1]

We're backing up two folders from an OS X server to a disk media set, then copying that to tape. Quantum DLT, Retrospect shows the tape capacity to be 312.5GB (really? .5? kewl)

 

What's happening is that the backup to disk runs without a hitch, then the copy to tape runs. So far so good. According to the log, first it copies the Groups folder backup, then the Users. Now it says it is going to compare. At this point it asks for new media? We can't figure out what it wants or why, so we end up manually stopping it.

 

Then I decided to check to see if the tape is good, so I set up a restore, and when I get to the point where I can preview, I click that button. Only one of the folders shows up (Users, as it happens, the last backup to get copied.)

 

Now I'm getting paranoid... so I'm actually running a restore from the tape to a folder. And right away, I notice that it is restoring user home directories but not in a Users folder, just to a folder named after the media set (per my checking the box in the restore assistant.) And it doesn't restore the Groups folder at all.

 

So now I set up a restore from the disk media backup. Shows no Groups folder.

 

We're running a new install of Retrospect 8.2 - 8.2.0 (339). Past Backups shows both Users and Groups being successfully backed up to both disk media and tape, where the tape shows the same time stamp as the disk media, I suppose because it is a copy even though the actual copy happens hours later. Media Sets shows space used is right for both Users and Groups.

 

Finally, I'm running a verify on the tape, and it looks like maybe all the files are on the tape...

 

Any insight or help would be greatly appreciated.

 

al

[35409a06-b751-49a5-a047-0204049d6ca1]

OK, both folders are there, both in the the disk media set and on the tape(s). I didn't notice that each folder shows up as a separate backup and has to be chosen individually for a restore, I guess I thought that they were part of the same backup operation so they should be treated as one entity.

 

Guess I'm starting to wrap my head around how Retrospect 8 works.

 

al

[35409a06-b751-49a5-a047-0204049d6ca1]

Still have an issue, though. After the copy to tape from the disk media, instead of performing the compare to validate the copy, it's asking for additional media (the tape isn't full, and the source disk media is still available...) It will sit there indefinitely (well, for hours anyway) and we've been manually stopping the backup so that the schedule can continue. I've done a manual verify on a tape, so there's no apparent reason for the backup to hang at that point - here's the log for a recent example:

 

+ Executing 3.2 Tuesday at 5/24/11 (Activity Thread 1)

To Media Set 2 Tuesday...

- 5/24/11 11:59:00 PM: Transferring from ods backup to disk

Users (5/24/11) on Client "OpenDirectoryServer"

5/25/11 1:26:03 AM: Execution completed successfully

Completed: 385997 files, 59.9 GB

Performance: 711.9 MB/minute

Duration: 01:26:58 (00:00:48 idle/loading/preparing)

 

- 5/25/11 1:26:03 AM: Transferring from ods backup to disk

Groups (5/24/11) on Client "OpenDirectoryServer"

5/25/11 2:10:44 AM: Execution completed successfully

Completed: 66098 files, 25.8 GB

Performance: 595.1 MB/minute

Duration: 00:44:37 (00:00:18 idle/loading/preparing)

 

- 5/25/11 2:10:44 AM: Transferring from ods backup to disk

Users (5/20/11) on Client "OpenDirectoryServer"

5/25/11 2:35:56 AM: Execution completed successfully

Completed: 5961 files, 17.9 GB

Performance: 736.9 MB/minute

Duration: 00:25:06 (00:00:21 idle/loading/preparing)

 

- 5/25/11 2:35:56 AM: Verifying 2 Tuesday

 

Anyone have any thoughts on that?

 

al