Best Practice: BackupExec v12.5 backup --> SAN --> USB HDDs

[Frosty]

I'm looking for some input on what would be considered "best practice" in terms of setting up backups from BackupExec v12.5 so that they go first of all to our SAN and then we take a 2nd copy offsite via USB HDDs.

As things stand currently, the server that runs BackupExec is not connected directly to the SAN.  So I am thinking of setting up a completely new install of backupExec v12.5 on a different server, one that is physically connected to the SAN.  I assume that we can then run "Backup To Disk" to a folder on the SAN.

My question is really more about how to get a 2nd copy of the backup on to the USB drives, so that we can store offsite.  In reading this forum, it looks like its recommended that we run a 2nd set of backups in order to achieve this.  However I am confused about this, as there are going to be a couple of dozen different physical USB HDDs in use.  Do I need a separate backup-to-disk folder for each physical USB HDD?

If so, this seems to be really, really clunky.  In an ideal world I would configure one (1) backup-to-disk folder on the SAN, then just use a batch script to replicate that data off to the USB HDDs.  But I suspect this is not what I should do.

One further complication:  in order to meet disaster recovery requirements, I will need to have the ability to recover all my data direct from the USB HDDs in our Disaster Recovery site, from a different server that will only have a clean install of BackupExec v12.5 on it, so I need to be confident that I can grab the most recent USB HDD, connect it to that server, catalog the disk, and recover.

Can anyone shed any light on best practice to suit this scenario? 

[Hemant_Jain]

You will need to create backup to disk folder corresponding to USB disks and run a duplicate backup job to target the backup job to this new backup to disk folder. This duplicate backup would create a new backup set which will be an exact copy of the existing set and you will be able to directly restore from this set and old set on the SAN disk can be done away with. Now, regarding using different usb disks, you may use a single Backup to disk folder on all of them, but you will need to run an inventory job, after everytime you change the disk. For more information on duplicate backups, check following documents:

http://support.veritas.com/docs/299212
http://support.veritas.com/docs/256096
http://support.veritas.com/docs/255866

Please mark it a solution, if this is useful.
Thanks

[CraigV]

Hi Frosty,

No real best practice around this, and no need to do a second backup to get your data to the removable disk. THis is going to be a bit cumbersome to manage as well.
Rather use a duplicate job to get that data copied to a second source.
Less complexity involved, and it's a procedure to set up.

Job Setup --> Backup Tasks (left-hand side) --> New job to duplicate backup sets

You'd have created your B2D folders on your external USB HDD already, and can then point the duplicate jobs to that.

Laters!

[Ken_Putnam]

rather than create the DUPLICATE job separately as Craig has indicated, you can use the Template provided by Symantec to do this automagically when the B2D to your SAN finishes

[Frosty]

OK, if I am understanding that all correctly, it works something like this:
-- I set up one (1) backup-to-disk folder on the SAN;
-- I set up one (1) backup-to-disk folder which will be used for all the USB drives;
-- I configure my primary backup to run to the SAN;
-- I configure a "duplicate backup" which duplicates the backup-to-disk SAN folder to the backup-to-disk USB folder after the primary backup has run; and
-- each day, before running my daily backups, I schedule an inventory job which catalogs the data on that day's USB drive (because otherwise the data on the drive won't match what the BackupExec system thinks ought to be there)

Does that sound roughly right?  Anyway, I will have a go at that today and see how it works out.  Thanks for all your input/advice.  I will post again once I have it working in practice and will confirm the final setup that worked for me.

[CraigV]

Hi Frosty,

All-in-all, that is quite correct.
Let us know how it goes!

[Ken_Putnam]

Rather than the Inventory, I'd suggest Pause/Unpause of the USB devices, especially if you are using the same device for each physical drive

BackupExec really doesn't handle multiple physical devices sharing a single B2D device  very elegantly, tho it does (usually) work

[Frosty]

Hi Ken,

Can you expand a little on this?  I am unfamiliar with the terminology and process.  What you seem to be suggesting is that I in fact should have multiple backup-to-removable-disk devices, each one matching to a physical USB drive, and that I should pause the one I have just finished using and unpause the one for the next backup. 

Or does this mean that there is one (1) backup-to-removable-disk folder, and somehow "under that" I have something configured for each physical USB drive, and I then pause/unpause each physical drive as needed.

Regards,

Steve

[Ken_Putnam]

The way that most of us think it SHOULD work is that you mount a USB disk drive as the drive letter assigned to your B2D device, then inventory the device, then away you go.  Just like a tape drive with tape volumes

Unfortunately, that's not the way that Veritas designed it.  They explicicitly state "external drives may be removed but not swapped"  The recommended procedure is indeed to assign a separate drive letter to each physical drive.  Not really an option if you  have a tiered backup plan

Most folks have gotten multiple HDs to mount as a single B2D device, but an inventory may or may not refresh the header info.  Pausing and Unpausing the B2D device ensures that BackupExec knows which physical drive is connected