Batch restore of multiple snapshots?

[marksan]

Hello.

 

We have a 22-tape loader and a lot of tapes that need to be restored. we have hundreds of catalog files and each catalog files have hundreds of snapshots. Is there a way to automatically restore all snapshots on a tape at once? Right now, I load one snapshot, restore, then move on to the next snapshot on a tape until I go thru all of them.

Or, maybe there is a way to restore an entire CATALOG at once?

Thanks!

[rhwalker]

Perhaps you do not understand the Retrospect paradigm. It's different from other incremental backup programs. Under the hood, Retrospect does do incremental backups following the initial full backup, but the "catalog" is a database of all the full + incremental backups. The "snapshots" are database entries indicating which versions of which files were on the source at the time of the backup, and where all of those versions are in the various full/incremental backups taken during the backup history. When you restore from a snapshot (listing of files that were on the source at the time of that full or incremental backup), Retrospect figures out which incremental backup holds the version of the file(s) that you want to restore, and retrieves it.

 

I've never heard of restoring "an entire catalog" at once, or restoring a succession of snapshots. Again, it's a different paradigm from other backup programs, where you first restore the last full backup, then restore a succession of incrementals on top of that, all the way to the end.

 

Are you sure that you want to do what you are requesting? Could you explain a little more why you are trying to do what you requested? I can't see any reason that anyone would ever want or need to do that. Basically, just choose a point in time (snapshot) where your desired file was on the source, and restore it from that snapshot. That's the beauty of Retrospect. You can also search for all versions of a file, if that's what you need to see, but usually people want to bring a file's (or a volume's) state back to the way it was on a certain day in the past, and you just choose the right snapshot and off you go.

 

Russ

[marksan]

Hello, Russ.

 

Thanks for that information. I understand how Retrospect works but I guess I need to explain what I am trying to do.

We are a marketing firm and have clients' files backed up on tapes (a lot of them). Each tape contains many projects (categorized into respective folders) for one or more clients. We've been noticing that some tapes and the tape drive itself are failing to fully restore files (various errors but mostly bad head/media, did try cleaning and different drives but still happens) so we want to restore EVERYTHING and back up to external hard drives. So it's a rescue mission at this point and that's why I want to know if there's a way to restore everything as fast as possible with the least human interaction.

I hope I made my intention clear.

Thanks!

[rhwalker]

Ok, then the answer is that there is no automated way to do what you are asking. If it's particular files, though, you can search on all versions.