Is old tape needed?

[Kimn]

I would like to recycle a tape we last used maybe 6 months ago. How can I tell if this tape is still needed for a future restore?

 

We typically do incremental backups, with the last full backup maybe 8 months ago (strategy soon to change to include more Full backups).

 

I've been toying with setting it to "missing," running Verify, recreating the catalog, etc. But none of these seem to answer the specific question of, "Is it safe to overwrite this old tape?"

 

Thanks!! ~Kim

[natew]

Hi

 

No. It isn't safe.

There is no practical way to know what is on that tape. I suggest either:

 

A)using a new tape

 

or

 

B)starting a new backup set

 

or

 

C)starting this backup over from scratch.

 

Thanks

Nate

[Kimn]

Thanks Nate. I had the same thoughts, but wanted a (much more knowledgeable!) second opinion.

 

~Kim