[Bug?] transfer of backup set lose data when matching is turned on

[pronto]

hi community,

 

can anybody verify if your number of data is different, when you compare the source backupset with the destination backupset after you transfer the backupsets in recycling mode with default settings in the script?

 

By default the matching is turned on and in our destination backupset we miss a significant number of data. This behavior is the same in three autarkic installations. The EMC Support tells us, this is not a relevant failure but we disagree about this. In our optinion the destination backupset *must be* exactly the same as the source backupset after a transfer in recycling mode.

 

Please check your results with care.

 

Bye pronto

[Mayoff]

You need to view the snapshots themselves to see if anything is missing. With Matching turned on, identical files are not going to be copied to the destination set, and as a result, the destination might be smaller. That is the definition of Matching

 

If you don't want Retrospect to do Matching/filtering of identical files then disable matching.

[pronto]

Hi,

 

yes now we turnend matching off but I cannot see the sense of this feature. When I want to transfer a backupset - in recycling mode - I expect exactly the same content in the target backupset. What else is the meaning of a transfer?

 

For example we have on a specific server a configuration batch file in multiple folders - hundredfold. Now we make a full backup of this server to disk, we can see this configuration file on each location where we expect it. Now we transfer this backupset to tape and after this the configuration file is missing - hundredfold. In this case it is very annoyed that we have to copy this file by hand to each specific location. In another case we have a system which contains multiple configuration files which became executed when a user logged on and if this file is missing the system is broken for this user - after a system crash and a restore was necessary.

 

I cannot believe that this is a well functional feature, when I have a inconsistent system after restoring that from a full backup. What is the meaning of the recycling feature and a full backup, when Retrospect still backup files - maybe - or maybe not - without any control by the operator? I would expect that Retrospect ignore the matching, when a transfer is configured in recycling mode.

 

Another problem we had, was that a user had an excel file two times on the same server. One time in his home directory and one time in his public folder. This excel file became broken and the user want a version of this file from the last week backup. He forgot that he copied this excel file to his public folder. We asked him where the file was stored and navigate to the specific location in the GUI of the tape backupset - but there is no excel file. In panic we searched for this file in the complete backupset an found it in his public folder but this cannot be the sense of a backup ... please you cannot see this seriously.

 

In other words you should to refer about this in your user manual, that a recycling transfer is only than a recycling transfer, when matching is turned off or you have to change your default settings - whatever but normaly the system defaults shouldn't be inconsistent with one another.

 

Bye Pronto

[Mayoff]

Have you tried turning on the bottom matching option, so that path is a factor in matching? If the paths are different, then the file will get copied again, even if the file is identical when using this option.

 

Quote:

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when I have a inconsistent system after restoring that from a full backup

 

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Have you actually tried this? The whole point of the snapshots, etc. is to give you exactly what you backed up at the time of the restore. Have you tried to browse a snapshot to see if it is missing anything?

 

Retrospect uses the name, size, date, time, permissions, and sometimes path for matching. If everything is identical then why waste the media space by copying it again if it isn't needed.

[pronto]

Hi Mayoff,

 

Quote:

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Have you actually tried this? The whole point of the snapshots, etc. is to give you exactly what you backed up at the time of the restore. Have you tried to browse a snapshot to see if it is missing anything?

 

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Yes I have tried to browse a snapshot and yes, they are files missing. We installed three (!) complete new backup systems and we can reproduce this behavior on each installation. The first initial transfer contains exactly the same number of files such as the source backupset. In every following transfer we missed files.

 

Quote:

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Retrospect uses the name, size, date, time, permissions, and sometimes path for matching. If everything is identical then why waste the media space by copying it again if it isn't needed.

 

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Okay, single item storing is a nice feature but Retrospect should at least shown *every* file in the graphical user interface of the backupset and in the snapshot respectively - but it didn't.

 

And the number of files is in many case so different that I cannot believe that this number of files are multiple. We had transfers which are maybe 30% in size from the original server size.

 

Try it, I'm sure that you can reproduce this behavior when you transfer a backupset and turned matching on (default settings). Please note, that the first transfer is okay but every following transfer in recycling mode will show this behavior. And you will see that you are missing files at least when you browse your backupset / snapshot. If the files will come back to the specific location when you restore this backupset I dont know, I didn't try this.

 

Another question is, why Retrospect backup each file (never mind if multiple or not) during a normal backup session and leave multiple data aside only when the backupset became transfered to another one.

 

Thanks for your attention

 

Bye Pronto