Backups not Running after Changing Tapes

[Gregg_Leventhal]

I have just changed tapes for the first time.  For the last month my backups ran pretty smooth.  Now, it seems to be requesting some of the old tapes to perform any new backups.  I tried manually performing a one time full backup to tape on one of the servers to see if that would let me back it up but it would not run.  I have created two media sets, one for daily incremental backups and one for weekly full backups.  I set half of my tapes to the full set and half to the incremental set.  

Why does it require the old tapes to continue backing up my servers?  How am I supposed to change tapes if it requires the same old tapes?

Backup Exec 2012 on a Windows 2008 R2 Server with an HP 1/8 Tape Autoloader

[Kiran_Bandi]

Now, it seems to be requesting some of the old tapes to perform any new backups.

You mean to say BE asking for overwritable medias? AFAIK, BE does not send any alert requesting a particular media for backups.

Do not move medias into media sets manually. Let them be in SCRATCH set. BE will move them into media sets as and when required.

Associate newly inserted medias back to SCRATCH media set and see how job goes.

Thanks!

[Larry_Fine]

The only time BE would be requesting a specific media by name during a backup would be during the verify phase IF the backup phase spanned two tapes.  In that case, if you were able to start the backup job on that first tape, it is assumed to be available again for the verify phase.

[pkh]

The only time BE would be requesting a specific media by name during a backup would be during the verify phase IF the backup phase spanned two tapes

... and when you are using a stand-alone tape drive.

The user is using a library, so the "first" tape is in the library and BE would not ask for it by name.  It would just be used.

[pkh · Accepted solution]

BE will only request for tapes if it cannot find any suitable tapes in the library.  Check the OPP of your media sets and make sure that they are set so that there will be tapes that are overwritable BEFORE the start of your jobs.  You can confirm that your setting is correct by going to the media tab and check the expiry date/time for each time.  It is no good that there is a tape which expires on the same day as the job rrun.  It must expire BEFORE the job run.

[Gregg_Leventhal]

I realized that I had no appendable media and that jobs would terminate if no appendable media was available.  Scratch media is not appendable strangely.  I set the append period to infinite for both of my custom media sets and will use only overwrite protection.

[pkh]

Scratch tapes are not appendable because you do not want to retain the information that is on the tape.  If you append to the tape, the existing information represents wasted space.

If you do not want to append to your tape, you should set the AP to 1 hour.  Setting it to infinite means that your tapes are forever appendable.

[Kiran_Bandi]

 jobs would terminate if no appendable media was available.

Change the job to - when begins "Append to Media, Overwrite if no appendable media found". Otherwise you will face the same situation again once all the medias in library are filled.

[pkh]

I realized that I had no appendable media and that jobs would terminate if no appendable media was available.

Read the whole sentence and don't jump to conclusion by reading part of it.

[Kiran_Bandi]

So pkh, what is the conclusion after reading full sentence? Why the jobs failed earlier and started running after increaing media set AP?

Overwritable medias available, no appendable media found. Jobs are getting terminated. After increasing Append period, jobs are running successfully. Unless, job is configured to start as "Append to media, terminate if no appendable media found" this is impossible. 

I do not see anything wrong in the conclusion i made, and i am still with it. 

[Larry_Fine]

I stand by my statement, regardless of it being a stand-alone drive or a library.  IF the first tape is exported from the library while the backup continues on the second tape, when BE switches to verify mode, BE WILL ask for the first tape to be imported.  I agree this is a rare situation, but it does fit the scenario provided by the OP, which we know know is not completely correct as BE was not "requesting some of the old tapes to perform any new backups".

[pkh]

How do you export a tape in the midst of a job?  Describe how you would set this up.  Also, describe how you can get BE to perform two operations on a library at the same time, i.e. doing a backup and doing an export at the same time.

[Larry_Fine]

As to "why" you would do this, I agree it is likely a mistake or a corner case. 

But it certainly is possible to run an export and a backup at the same time, at least on most changers.  You cannot get two utility jobs, like an inventory and an export, to run at the same time.  Bottom line, BE will not prevent you from exporting a tape because it was recently used and BE certainly cannot prevent you from using other moethods to remove a tape.