Can we use one tape cartridge in a circle?

[akarelin]

We have Backup Exec 2014 SP2. Can we use one tape cartridge in a circle? I mean if a record is expired then the record will be overwritten by a newer record when the tape cartridge will be full.

[AmolB]

Yes you can, once the overwrite period expires the tape become eligible to be ovwerwritten.

You should read below article for better understanding of ovewrite and append period.

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH5459

[pkh · Accepted solution]

No. You cannot just overwrite one backup set on a tape. Suppose you have 3 backup sets on one tape. You cannot just overwrite the oldest backup set and leave the remaining 2 backup sets on the tape. When a tape is overwritten, all the backup sets on the tape are gone. Also, when a job writes to the end of a tape, it cannot continue writing to the front of the tape. It would require another overwritable tape to continue.

[akarelin]

Ok!

Thanks!