How to make the tape always be overwrite if we insert the correct label ?

[Symanticus]

Hi All,

I'd like to know for my backup plan so that the tape always be overwritten if we insert the correct label ?

my backup goes like this:

Week 1

• Monday - LTO-Monday-1
• Tuesday - LTO-Tuesday-1
• ... all the way up to Friday week 1 tape

Week 2

• Monday - LTO-Monday-2
• Tuesday - LTO-Tuesday-2
• ... all the way up to Friday week 2 tape

in case someone insert the wrong week tape into the drive i don't want it to break the whole weekly backup set.

Does BE 2010 R2 can check if the correct tape with the expected label is inserted then the overwrite can be processed ?

I do this since i always perform full backup to tape for all of my backup data.

FYI: I'm using LTO-4 single tape drive and needs someone (non IT user) in the remote office to insert the tape drive manually.

Cheers,

Albert 

[pkh · Accepted solution]

BE reads the tape label so that it can check which media set the tape belongs to and determines whether this tape is overwriteable from the Overwrite Protection Period (OPP) of the media set.  Hence the setting of the OPP of the media set is very important.

If you have 4 set of tapes, i.e. you want keep the data for at least 4 weeks, then you should set the OPP to 4 weeks.  If you set it to, let's say, 2 weeks, then on the third week, you first week's tape is overwriteable and if the user accidentally put in that tape, it will be overwritten.

[Symanticus]

great, thanks for your suggestion sir pkh, i was confused between the overwrite protection and the backup media set.

Cheers,

Albert

[Symanticus]

Actually, just a little bit more, what if the OPP has been expired already (already over) but the user still put the wrong tape into the drive ? will BE overwrite the tape eventhough the Tape Label is not the same ?

I assume the user can get warning from the email that the wrong tape label is inserted. cmiiw ?

Thanks,

[pkh]

There is no way for BE to know which tape should be used for which week.  As long as the tape is overwriteable, it will be overwritten.

[Symanticus]

ok, so in this careful action should be made everytime inserting the backup tape.

Thanks pkh, you always be helpful here in this forum.

Cheers,

Albert

[pkh]

If your OPP is set correctly, then there is no worries about accidental overwriting.