Best way to test the backups

[pie8ter]

BE 10d / XPsp2 / Tandberg LTO2(200/400).

I am in the process of developing a plan to test our backups on a monthly basis.  What is the best way to do this?

Create a separate lab and recreate the production network? or use virtual machines to recreate the production network and test the BE10d backups?

When I do a test restore to a test machine, do I need the BackupExec's remote agent installed on that test target machine?   For example, I want to test our SQL database backups.  Do I need to have BE's SQL remote agent installed on the test server prior to doing a sql database restore?

Thanks

[Hywel_Mallett]

Well, the answer is that there's no right or wrong answers! At least you're planning to test, which is a good start. If budgets allow, then restoring to similar hardware should allow you to test properly. Restoring to virtual machines I suppose would be OK, though I'm not sure how it would cope with disimilar hardware. As for agents, the SQL agent doesn't exist as such, it's just a license, so you need to have the license on the BE media server in your test environment. If you are testing recovery of the BE media server, then this is not an issue, as you'll be restoring the SQL license. It's not exactly what you are looking for, but have a look at Preparing For Disaster then What are agents? if I haven't properly explained the agent aspect.

[pie8ter]

Thanks.  Sorry I meant BE windows remote agent when I said SQL remote agent being on the test server. 

So you are saying I don't need to have the windows remote agent running on the target test server to restore backups?

Thanks

[Ken_Putnam]

For network restores, yes, the remote agent must be installed and running.

See the Admin Guide pg 620

http://support.veritas.com/docs/279401  if you can't find your copy