Hi there,
I am faced with backing up a maximum of 4TB of data. Currently there is only a fraction of actual data, about 0.5TB. It is expected to expand over time, not too rapidly, I would say maybe in 10 years the data will be filled. I have a HP MSL6000 series library with 30 slots. I need to set this up and have the tape admin be able to simply take out what needs to be taken out, at the apropriate time, with the smallest margin of error and greatest of ease. Each tape is 200/400. I was thinking of doing the following:
Partition the 30 slots into 6 sections of 5 tapes. Since each section will be able to hold a maximum of 4TB compressed, this would mean if the library were to fill up quite a bit, that each section should be able to accomidate the growth. I would reserve two sections for tapes which would always stay in--for ease of restore: so the tapes wouldn't have to be grabbed from off-site. The more backups the better.
The other four sections would be weekly backups which would be removed from the library once a week, and would be replaced/removed with the next section weekly (say on thursday.) This process would be for offsite storage (DR.) This would mean the tape admin would only have to remove 5 tapes per week, only one day a week. It is important not to over-work the tape admin, as he has many other backups to monitor/rotate. I understand that a weeks worth of work would be lost should the building burn down.
Another reason I like my idea, is as each section has 5 tapes in it, the growth shouldn't really make the rotation too "messy." It's easy to understand that 5 tapes need to be removed and replaced, once a week.
A couple of questions. I'm using BE 10d. CAN the tapes be put back into the library in ANY order provided they are put in the correct section? This would also make the tape admin's job easier--not having to worry about order, only section.
Also, the main reason I am writing to the forum is, what are my other options? I know there is a ton out there. I think the biggest reason why this is complicated is because my backups span multiple tapes (at least 2 for now.) I want this to be simple, but effective.
Could someone perhaps recommend a different scenario for me which may possibly involve a less frequent full, and maybe a more frequent differential, or something like that. I want to explore different options too.
Keep in mind the goal is little work/simplicity for the tape admin. Thanks for thoughts you may have!
