How do I protect (backup) a BackupExec media server

[Anton_Panyushki]

Hello,

I have a BE2010 media server and a bunch of clients. Could you please point me out to the technote on how do I configure the backup of my BE media server? At the moment I'm taking drive C: (the sole drive on )

This question popped up as I tried to take differentinal backup of internal SQL DB which is embedded into BE media server and received an error.

The Backup Exec SQL Agent was not used to create the last full, differential, or log backup of this database. You must use the SQL Agent to run a full backup before you can run a differential backup or transaction log backup.

That error message looks odd as previously I took full database backup and it completed w/o any errors.

I also got a wanring that sounds like that "BEDB is in use - skipped"

 

[AmolB]

To recover Backup Exec you need to have a full backup of the DATA and CATALOGS folders.

Above folders are located at X:\Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\

DATA folder contains Backup Exec database(BEDB) and the CATALOGS folder has all the 

catalogs generated by the backup jobs. 

Everyday Backup Exec runs a database maintenace and creates a backup of the database in the 

form if BEDB.bak and its saved in the DATA folder. If you configure a backup of the DATA and 

CATALOGS folder you see some exceptions (.mdf and .ldf files been skipped).

As a best practice you may manually make copy of above folders by stopping the SQL server

BKUPEXEC service. 

Below link explains how to import existing database into new installation of Backup Exec.

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH49757

[pkh]

Backup does its own database maintenance daily, by default, at 4 a.m.  You don't have ot backup the BEDB.  It is already backed up by BE to the Data directory under the BE installation directory.  Just backup the Data and Catalog directory under the BE installation directory.

[RahulG]

Having a flat file bakup of data and the catalog folder is more than enough to recover the media server . Catalogs can be generated again but it takes increases the recovery time. Moreon you can also recover your configuration by bedb.bak file which is created during database maintenance .

[Anton_Panyushki]

Thanks a lot. I  backup the  entire disk on which BE is installed on the daily basis and  backups completes w/o any errors or warnings. I checked backups and found out that Data and Catalogs dirs are in these backups. Unfortunatelu, there is only one BE media server on the site at the moment. How do I restore media server should it crashes for some reason?  

[AmolB · Accepted solution]

If in case media server dies, you will have to install OS and then Backup Exec.

Inventory and then Catalog tapes, restore the BEDB.bak from the backups.

Then using below article you can import Backup Exec Database 

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH49757