Here is the scenario:
1 HP Proliant server with a firewire card in the server - 80GB of HD mirrored.
1 Firewire attached Maxtor One-Touch drive, 300gb, formatted as NTFS
2 additional Maxtor drives daisy chained off the Maxtor One-Touch drive using Firewire.
Backup Exec 10.0(d) IE 10.1. Unpatched bacause I see no patches that apply to this problem or configuration. No additional modules. CPS installed, but not operating at this time. Please do NOT refer me to the webpage on how to set up backup to disk or backup to removable disk folders - I have tried those steps and they did not solve this problem.
Permanently attached Maxtor is never turned off, never taken offline, and is mapped to the "H:" drive using Drive Manager.
Daisy chained drive is changed out every day (and taken offsite). This drive is mapped as the "G:" drive. Every morning at 4:30am the H: drive is duplicated to the G: drive. This process works perfectly with no problems.
There are 5 directories on the permanently attached "H" drive:
H:\Backup\Monday
H:\Backup\Tuesday
H:\Backup\Wednesday
H:\Backup\Thursday
H:\Backup\Friday
There is a B2D (Backup to disk) folder established for each of these directories.
There is a media pool set up for each individual directory. Media pools are set up to allow overwrite after 1 hour and append for up to 6 hours. Overwrite protection is turned off in the global options (as a debugging step - I'd like to turn it back on). The backup files within each directory are dragged into the media pool for that day. The backup to disk files are set up to be 80GB each max, with up to 2 files per session. The actual on-disk backup size is about 10GB at this time.
There are 5 backup jobs, one for each day of the week that backups the C:, D: and System state of the drives to the corresponding backup directory on the H: drive. I have run all 5 jobs manually and each runs fine if you sit there and babysit it. I have also done a "test run" of each of the 5 jobs - they all run. Jobs are scheduled daily to run on the day of the week they are set up for at 11pm.
I can go for 1 or two days but eventually the system takes the h: drive offline (it is NEVER physically detached from the server) and after that point - the backups fail because the "media is offline". This despite the fact the media is obviously online and I can just right click the media in the media window and choose "online" and it comes right up.
Here is a log from a successful backup:
Completed status: Completed with exceptions Expand AllCollapse All
Job Information
Job server: GRSERVER
Job name: Wednesday Backup
Job started: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 at 11:00:02 PM
Job type: Backup
Job Log: BEX_GRSERVER_00200.xml
Drive and media mount requested: 3/15/2006 11:00:03 PM
Device and Media Information
Drive and media information from media mount: 3/15/2006 11:00:13 PM
Drive Name: Wednesday
Media Label: B2D000068
Media GUID: {c30b16b4-caa0-418a-960a-ba6fd6749450}
Overwrite Protected Until: 3/16/2006 12:00:13 AM
Appendable Until: 3/16/2006 11:00:13 PM
Targeted Media Set Name: wednesday
Job Operation - Backup
Backup Options
Media operation - overwrite.
Software compression enabled.
Server - GRSERVER
Set Information - D: Data
Backup Set Information
Family Name: "Media created 3/15/2006 11:00:03 PM"
Backup of "D: Data"
Backup set #1 on storage media #1
Backup set description: "Backup 00001"
Backup Type: Full - Back Up Files - Reset Archive Bit
Backup started on 3/15/2006 at 11:00:25 PM.
Backup Set Detail Information
Unable to open the item D:\CPS\Journals\Inbound\.keeper - skipped.
Unable to open the item D:\CPS\Journals\Outbound\.keeper - skipped.
Backup completed on 3/15/2006 at 11:14:58 PM.
Backup Set Summary
Backed up 25374 files in 1874 directories.
2 items were skipped.
Processed 8,671,439,206 bytes in 14 minutes and 33 seconds.
Throughput rate: 568 MB/min
Set Information - C:
Backup Set Information
Family Name: "Media created 3/15/2006 11:00:03 PM"
Backup of "C: "
Backup set #2 on storage media #1
Backup set description: "Backup 00001"
Backup Type: Full - Back Up Files - Reset Archive Bit
Backup started on 3/15/2006 at 11:16:01 PM.
Backup Set Detail Information
Drive and media mount requested: 3/15/2006 11:16:01 PM
Drive and media information from media mount: 3/15/2006 11:16:06 PM
Drive Name: Wednesday
Media Label: B2D000063
Media GUID: {2305f97c-3f60-4ab7-8c37-27f5c426661f}
Overwrite Protected Until: 3/16/2006 12:16:06 AM
Appendable Until: 3/16/2006 11:16:06 PM
Targeted Media Set Name: wednesday
Backup set #2 on storage media #2
Unable to open the item C:\WINDOWS\system32\wins\winstmp.mdb - skipped.
Backup completed on 3/15/2006 at 11:30:05 PM.
Backup Set Summary
Backed up 32937 files in 2592 directories.
1 item was skipped.
Processed 4,493,503,106 bytes in 13 minutes and 57 seconds.
Throughput rate: 307 MB/min
AOFO: Started for resource: "Shadow?Copy?Components". Advanced Open File Option used: Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).
The following volumes are dependent on resource: "C:" .
The snapshot provider used by VSS for volume C: - Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider 1.0 (Version 1.0.0.7).
Note: Backup Exec did not perform a snapshot of all volumes simultaneously because the option 'Process logical volumes for backup one at a time' was selected as a backup job property.
Set Information - Shadow?Copy?Components Shadow?Copy?Components
Backup Set Information
Family Name: "Media created 3/15/2006 11:00:03 PM"
Backup of "Shadow?Copy?Components Shadow?Copy?Components"
Backup set #3 on storage media #2
Backup set description: "Backup 00001"
Backup Type: Full - Back Up Files - Reset Archive Bit
Backup started on 3/15/2006 at 11:32:51 PM.
Backup Set Detail Information
Drive and media mount requested: 3/15/2006 11:32:52 PM
Drive and media information from media mount: 3/15/2006 11:32:58 PM
Drive Name: Wednesday
Media Label: B2D000082
Media GUID: {e196d47b-97e0-44c7-83d7-f71f6a703569}
Overwrite Protected Until: 3/16/2006 12:32:58 AM
Appendable Until: 3/16/2006 11:32:58 PM
Targeted Media Set Name: wednesday
Backup set #3 on storage media #3
Backup completed on 3/15/2006 at 11:37:15 PM.
Backup Set Summary
Backed up 9 Shadow Copy Writers
Backed up 9 Shadow Copy Components
Processed 1,375,537,883 bytes in 4 minutes and 17 seconds.
Throughput rate: 306 MB/min
Job Operation - Verify
Drive and media mount requested: 3/15/2006 11:37:24 PM
Drive and media information from media mount: 3/15/2006 11:37:27 PM
Drive Name: Wednesday
Media Label: B2D000068
Media GUID: {c30b16b4-caa0-418a-960a-ba6fd6749450}
Overwrite Protected Until: 3/16/2006 12:16:03 AM
Appendable Until: 3/16/2006 11:00:13 PM
Set Information - D: Data
Verify Set Information
Verify of "D: Data"
Backup set #1 on storage media #1
Backup set description: "Backup 00001"
Verify started on 3/15/2006 at 11:37:27 PM.
Verify completed on 3/15/2006 at 11:41:28 PM.
Verify Set Summary
Verified 25374 files in 1874 directories.
0 files were different.
Processed 7,056,564,072 bytes in 4 minutes and 1 second.
Throughput rate: 1675 MB/min
Set Information - C:
Verify Set Information
Verify of "C: "
Backup set #2 on storage media #1
Backup set description: "Backup 00001"
Verify started on 3/15/2006 at 11:41:28 PM.
Verify Set Detail Information
Drive and media mount requested: 3/15/2006 11:41:28 PM
Drive and media information from media mount: 3/15/2006 11:41:29 PM
Drive Name: Wednesday
Media Label: B2D000063
Media GUID: {2305f97c-3f60-4ab7-8c37-27f5c426661f}
Overwrite Protected Until: 3/16/2006 12:32:54 AM
Appendable Until: 3/16/2006 11:16:06 PM
Verify completed on 3/15/2006 at 11:42:49 PM.
Verify Set Summary
Verified 32937 files in 2592 directories.
0 files were different.
Processed 2,801,630,636 bytes in 1 minute and 20 seconds.
Throughput rate: 2004 MB/min
Set Information - Shadow?Copy?Components Shadow?Copy?Components
Verify Set Information
Verify of "Shadow?Copy?Components Shadow?Copy?Components"
Backup set #3 on storage media #2
Backup set description: "Backup 00001"
Verify started on 3/15/2006 at 11:42:50 PM.
Verify Set Detail Information
Drive and media mount requested: 3/15/2006 11:42:50 PM
Drive and media information from media mount: 3/15/2006 11:42:51 PM
Drive Name: Wednesday
Media Label: B2D000082
Media GUID: {e196d47b-97e0-44c7-83d7-f71f6a703569}
Overwrite Protected Until: 3/16/2006 12:37:25 AM
Appendable Until: 3/16/2006 11:32:58 PM
Verify completed on 3/15/2006 at 11:43:43 PM.
Verify Set Summary
Verified 9 Shadow Copy Writers
Verified 9 Shadow Copy Components
0 files were different.
Processed 681758295 bytes in 52 seconds.
Throughput rate: 750 MB/min
Job Completion Status
Job ended: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 at 11:43:44 PM
Completed status: Completed with exceptions
Exceptions
Click an exception below to locate it in the job log
Backup- D: DataUnable to open the item D:\CPS\Journals\Inbound\.keeper - skipped.
Unable to open the item D:\CPS\Journals\Outbound\.keeper - skipped.
Backup- C: Unable to open the item C:\WINDOWS\system32\wins\winstmp.mdb - skipped.
----------------------------
Here is a msg from a failed backup:
----------------------------
(Server: "GRSERVER") The Backup-to-Disk device is offline.
This is typically caused by the folder becoming inaccessible due to it being deleted, renamed, or unshared. It may also be caused by a disk full condition. The folder state has been set to offline. Please attend to this condition. Additional detail may be found in the Event Viewer - Application Log.
And here is a message when the job gets finally cancelled:
Completed status: Canceled, timed out Expand AllCollapse All
Job Information
Job server: GRSERVER
Job name: Backup 00001
Job started: Monday, March 06, 2006 at 11:00:03 PM
Job type: Backup
Job Log: BEX_GRSERVER_00115.xml
Drive and media mount requested: 3/6/2006 11:00:04 PM
V-79-57344-33045 - Error - Mount failed.
Physical Volume Library Drive or Robot paused, offline, or disabled.
Job Completion Status
Job ended: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 at 7:00:08 AM
Completed status: Canceled, timed out
The job was canceled by user System.
Errors
Click an error below to locate it in the job log
V-79-57344-33045 - Error - Mount failed.
Physical Volume Library Drive or Robot paused, offline, or disabled.
----------------------------------------
Note - the volumes are all mounted. In the event of one failure just 7 hours before the backup ran I ran a "test run" of the backup job which succeeded.
I want to further note that not having the ability to have a live person help debug this without paying a support incident - despite paying over $1000 for the software to begin with - is IMHO highway robbery. This product is advertised as doing backup to disk. If it's not performing as advertised why would I pay to have you fix it for me.