How does Backup Exec 16 choose which tape in a robotic library to write to?

[Jeyhun1]

Hi

I want choose specific tape driver when I back up something. I know I can create partitions... but I dont want to create partitions. Is there any additional way ? Please help me 

[Larry_Fine · Accepted solution]

Your title and question are a bit confusing or contradictory.

If you want to use a specific tape DRIVE, you select it when you create the backup job.  This generally reduces your fault tolerance.

If you want to use a specific tape CARTRIDE, then you would either have very strict media policies or use partitions.

Both methods go against the automatic nature of device and media management that Backup Exec likes to do for maximum efficiency and reliability.  But, if you want to force things a certain way, it can be done, but there are downsides.

[Colin_Weaver · Accepted solution]

Other than targetting partitions there is no simple (i.e. easy to avoid human error)  way to fix BE to use a specific tape (cartridge) - there is a chapter in the admin guide that covers how an overwritable tape is chosen (when one is needed) as you can adjust the selection order based on settings.

At the end of the day Backup Exec is designed to try and find a suitable tape to write to, whenever one is needed, this is because to most customers running (and completing) the current backup is more critical than exactly what tape it ends up being written to. In the scenario where you expect your backup to complete but have a  disaster while the backup job is asking for a tape, you could lose a day's worth of data just because you stopped Backup Exec from using any suitable, available tape.