Problem with AIR, SLP, and Vault
In my environment, I have a remote data center in which I have an SLP that performs a backup once a month, followed by a replication to my local data center. My local data center has an SLP that performs an import, followed by two duplications to tape, to separate volume pools. All of this is working as expected.
At my local data center, I have created a vault profile to eject the tape(s) from one of the pools. This is scheduled to happen three days after the import and duplications. The vault profile is set to include all across the Attribute and Location selections, except for the Volume Pool location, which is restricted to the lone pool that I want to offsite. The session is running as scheduled, but it is not selecting the tape with the duplicate images to eject.
I believe my problem may be related to what I read in the NBU help about the vault selection criteria. From the help page on the volume pool configuration option:
"Selecting Volume pools restricts the search for images to those in either all volume pools or just the volume pools that you choose to include in your search. An image is selected for duplication or vaulting if any fragments of its primary copy is found in a media that from any of the selected volume pools."
I think this is why my vault profile is failing to eject my offsite tape. The copy on the tape is not the primary copy of the image, that is the original SLP import that is still on disk. As an experiment, I did change the image on tape to be the primary copy, and the vault session then ejected the tape.
My first thought was to move the duplication step from the SLP to the vault profile. My problem here is that vault appears to be unable to select the SLP import images as source copies, as the SLP policies do not show up in the list of policies under the Attributes section.
The SLP duplication steps do not allow setting one of the copies as the new primary, so that workaround is out as well.
Has anyone gotten a similar work flow to function without resorting to custom scripts?
Actually from NBU 6.5.5 onwards, there is an official way to let Vault choose from a non-primary copy for duplication. Check out:
http://www.veritas.com/docs/000039996
This technote can be tricky to get it right at the first time, I had to try a few settings to make it work. See below...
I have tested something similar to your scenario - so I made the SLP on this local master having a "Import -> Duplication to tape" , which all run fine. So MSDP copy is the PRIMARY, and tape copy becomes SECONDary. Now I would like to have vault using the second copy as the SOURCE, I create that touch file.
Since I want that touch file to work only for 1 vault profile (say ProfileA), I have to edit the file to insert the profile name.
Now in the vault selection, uncheck the "Attributes", check the "Location", "Include all" for those locations except the last "Volume Pool" which I want it to choose the image from, "include" only the volume pool where the SECONDary copy (tape) sits in, and there you go.
At first, I thought this approach has a con side, because instead of disk to tape I use tape to tape duplication, but come to think about performance of MSDP rehydration to tape, it actually makes sense to go this way :)