Backup Exec 2012 Not Compressing Data on Backups

[StJoeMike]

I am having an issue when I try and complete backups in Backup Exec 2012. The data is not compressing. I have Compression turned on in the job but it simply will not do it. I was not having an issue on Backup Exec 2010. I could backup all my severs on 3 maybe 4 tapes but today when I came in the backups were still running from the weekend and I had to add an 8th tape. I must be missing something. I am not sure. I tried a small job all by its self and it compressed that one. There is just something not right. Any help you all can give me would be great because I am simply stuck.

[Ken_Putnam]

If your small job compressed correctly, you can try a DB repair using BEUtil or just delete and recreate the jobs 

[StJoeMike]

I am not sure I follow... "try a DB repair using BEUtil" What database would I try and repair?

[Ken_Putnam]

That would be the BEDB. 

Repair Database is one of the options when you run BEUtil

[StJoeMike]

This is the first I have heard of BEUtil. You may be on to something. I recently have upgraded from 2010 to 2012 and ever since I have not be able to get my jobs to compress. I did delete all my jobs and recreate them but that didnt seem to do any good.. is there anything online I can read more on BEUtil? What do you think running a repair database will do to improve my backups on compression?

[Ken_Putnam]

What do you think running a repair database will do to improve my backups on compression?

I was thinking that if your newly create test job does compress, but your old migrated jobs do not, then compression is obviously enabled for the drive, but perhaps during the migration your old jobs got corrupted somehow

(It does see to happen with some regularity during version upgrades)

[King_Julien]

Hi Joe,

For more information about running a maintenance of the BEDB.please check the following TechNote:

How to run a extensive database repair and cleanup of the Backup Exec database when it is found to be inconsistent
http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH67239

 I don't know if there's another technote about "how to use beutiliy" with more details, but you have to take great care using BEUtilty, you can fix some BE issues , but also, you can ruin an entire BE installation.

Regards!

[StJoeMike]

Yes.. From the direction of tech support I had to recreate all my jobs. converting from 2010 to 2012 you must recreate all your jobs.. the converted ones did not work at all. I still am jhhaving the issue however.. It is really strange..

[pkh]

Your problem could be due to the fact that your jobs are not appending to the tapes, rather than a compression problem.  Check the tape statistics and see whether each tape is full and what is the compression ratio of the tape.  See my article below

https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/articles/tape-statistics-explained

Although it is written for BE 2010, it should be relevant to BE 2012

If your jobs are not appending to your tapes, check other article

https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/articles/why-my-job-not-appending-data-my-tapes

[Colin_Weaver]

As an update Symantec have found two conditions relating to compression in BE 2012

1) is Do not use the compression setting "Hardware if Available otherwise Software". We are working on a fix for this but for now use "Hardware if available otherwise none"

2) is the Admin console displays the compression as 1:1 - this appears to be a cosmetic/display issue a full backup of a known set of datat to tape as an overwrite and then compare byte count of data set with amount used on tape youw ill find compression has taken place. Agsin we are working on a solution to this.

Of course there may still be an unidentified cause out there so please log cases if the above information does not solve your issue

EDIT:

Anyone who continues to think compression is not working should also review

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH50960

And if both the mode_select6 and mode_sense6 commands do show the 7th byte setting compression then you are either backing up data that can't be compressed, or your hardware vendor may need to look at the problem

[Muhammad_Susiwa]

Migration job did corrupted the actual job.

Please reset your Storage Media.

I have recreated each job and compression is working as normal.

thanks

[ilive4fri]

I'm having the same problem at two different accounts and I have had multiple cases open with Symantec second level support for approximately 6 months.  The bottom line is that compression is not working.  It is a problem with BackupExec 2012.  The problem described above is EXACTLY what is happening at both of my clients.  Their backup jobs fit fine on the tape with compression prior to upgrading to BackupExec 2012.  After upgrading they do not fit.  Compression is not happening.  It is stating 1:1 compression and that is not an error.  That is approximately the compression ratio if it is even that. 

When Symantec Tech support backs up a 2 gig file they create it compresses.  However, it is not compressing my backup job.  Please do not blame my data as not being able to be compressed.  It is exactly the same data that did compress with the earlier version of Symantec.

Yes, they have pulled the logs and it show that BackupExec is sending the compression command to the tape drive.  BUT IT IS NOT COMPRESSING THE DATA!  Please do not blame the hardware manufacturer.  This is not a hardware manufacturer issue.  Compression works fine in other backup products as well as your previous versions.  Also, my two different clients have different hardware and the issue is happening both places.  I would imagine that the person who wrote the original post above has different hardware too.

I find it frustrating that there is a issue with your product.  I have worked very hard to help assist you with finding the issue.  However, you keep deflecting the issue and closing the cases.  This will not help you sell your software.  Fixing the problem will help you sell your software.  Your answer to the post above is just another deflection. 

Please do not tell me 1:1 is a false ratio when it wrote 20GB to a tape and the tape shows 20GB capacity.

Please do not tell me compression is working because you see the commands in the trace.  If it wrote 20GB to a tape and the capacity on the tape is 20GB - IT DIDN'T COMPRESS THE DATA!

Please do not tell me that the problem must be on the hardware manufacturers side because you are sending the command to compress the data.  When using any other product but BackupExec 2012 the data does compress, so the hardware is working just fine.

PLEASE FIX THE PROBLEM.  I have your product installed at 54 clients.  I'm just starting to work my way around them all to upgrade to BackupExec 2012.  I have been patiently working with your company for six months.  I'm about a couple weeks away from giving up and switching my clients over to another backup vendor.

[StJoeMike]

Hi ilive4fri, I feel your pain. It has been a long time since I had this problem so I will do my best to recall everything that I did to get it resolved. I do remember that there was a setting in the jobs that if I had it set a certian way the backups would not compress, but if I made a change they would. Let me log in and look.....

Yes in the job properties I had the compression set to: "Hardware (If available, otherwise Software)" I believe this is the default setting. With it set that way, it was not working. I changed it to: "Hardware (If available, otherwise None)" When I have that setting set it works. (I still ahve it set that way.) The tech I talked to at Symantec said that was okay for me to use that setting becasue chances are we don't want software compression anyway..You might try that.

Also.. Since you said you were doing upgrades. We too, upgraded from 2010 to 2012. It was a horrible process. I had many more problems, not just the compression one. What I learned is all the jobs had to be recreated. When the upgrade completed it did imoport my old jobs but with the new software I had a LOT of dupe jobs, I deleted some and could never get them to work. So I wiped the jobs clean and started from scratch. Just a bit of advice.

I do not work for Symantec, I am just sharing what seemed to have worked for me since you say my opening remarks are very similar to your problem.

[tattooedtechie]

I too am experiencing the issue with compression not working.

I've tried changing the setting for compression to  "Hardware (If available, otherwise None)" but this doesn't help.

Before the upgrade to 2012 I had one backup job that would normally take about 5 tapes....and now it takes up to 9 tapes for the same job.

Please help me here.....I don't think the CFo will have a pleased look if I go to him and say I need to double my tapes...LOL.

[Steve_Kratz]

I thought Backup Exec did that on its own...

[StJoeMike]

Another thing I had to do was delete the job completely and start over.. Before I upgraded, in 2010 we had a separate job for Inc and Full.. We had a full backup that ran once a week and it backed up 9 servers. We also had a inc that ran daily m-f and backed up the same servers.. Since we had 2 jobs with 9 servers.. When I did the update, it created 2 jobs in 2012 for each of my 9 servers.. I had a job for server1-full and one for server1-inc, that continued for all 9.. etc.. Each job had separate inc and full tasks in them.. So needled to say it was crazy.. At first I tried to delete ones I didn’t need and that didn’t work. The best thing for me was to wait until the full needed to run and I deleted all of my jobs and recreated them using 2012.

One thing you might try is to create a test job. Pick one folder that has about 2 or 3 gig of data in it and try to back that up. See if the compression works on that one job.