Can we use "Transfer" to copy a File Backup to tape?

[julianv]

I would like to know if the following scheme will work. We are installing Retrospect Workgroup Backup v.5 on Mac OS X. Our backup server will be used to back up 4 or 5 Macs into a common File Backup on a hard disk in the server. When the hard disk fills up (40 GB), we would like to copy this File Backup onto AIT tapes. Then we would erase the hard disk and start building a new File Backup, eventually moving that to tape, etc.

 

 

 

Chapter 9 (page 186) of the User's Guide says that the "Transfer" operation can do this. But there are some caveats. It says that Transfer does not create an exact copy of a backup set. "A backup set created by transfer has only the latest Snapshot for each source in its catalog; it has no Snapshots on its media." I don't understand what this means.

 

 

 

Suppose we have run multiple backups into the File Backup over several weeks, and the HD is full. We start a new backup on AIT tape, Transfer the entire File Backup into it, and then erase the HD. Now, if we need to restore a certain file from those tapes, are we limited to that file's state in the last Snapshot that was saved in the File Backup? Or can we recover earlier (backed-up) states of the same file?

 

 

 

After erasing the HD, should we create a new File Backup, with different name? When the HD fills up again, should we Transfer that File Backup to a new tape backup, or add it to the one started earlier?

 

 

 

This scheme does not sound optimal to me. I would prefer to run the File and tape backups simultaneously and separately. But my co-workers feel that the idea described above will be less work.

[AmyJ]

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Now, if we need to restore a certain file from those tapes, are we limited to that file's state in the last Snapshot that was saved in the File Backup? Or can we recover earlier (backed-up) states of the same file?

 

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You will be able to restore any file in the backup set. However, only the latest snapshots will be available for a snapshot restore (Restore entire disk and Restore files from a backup). To retrieve older, historical files you'll need to do a search restore(Search for files and folders) for the file across the backup using various criteria such as name, date, size, etc. -- you will not have a snapshot (picture) of the drive from which to choose files.

 

Backup set transfers do not do any matching. That is to say that all files selected in the transfer will be copied to the destination backup set regardless of whether or not the exact same file already exists in the set.

 

Ultimately it's less work to backup to file and to tape then to execute backup set transfers of entire backup sets.