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Multiple servers to one Tape solution / Full and Incremental ?

Hardwired
Level 2

I want to establish a simple backup system for 3 servers using one LTO6 Tape drive.   I keep a box of scratch tapes available at all times.  So I create 3 jobs to do a full backup of the different servers  at 8pm, 12pm and 2am on the first Monday of each month.   The 8pm full backup is set to use appendable media or overwrite if no append able media is available ( I do so because this is the first job, and scratch media is not appendable) The second and third  jobs are set to append and not overwrite.

My question is this,  if I’m positive my scratch tape will hold the data for all three servers, is this the best way to do this?   I would also follow the same logic with incremental’s the rest of the month… i.e. have the earliest job set to append or overwrite and each job later to only append, every weekday until time to do the next full.

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pkh
Moderator
Moderator
   VIP    Certified

Unless you are using BE 2012, you can just backup all the servers in one job and write everything to tape, overwriting it.  This will save you all the hassle of scheduling 3 jobs.

If you are using BE 2012, then it is recommended that you upgrade to either BE 15 or BE 2014 which allows you to backup more than 1 server per job.  The upgrade is free if you are on a current maintenance contract.

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pkh
Moderator
Moderator
   VIP    Certified

Unless you are using BE 2012, you can just backup all the servers in one job and write everything to tape, overwriting it.  This will save you all the hassle of scheduling 3 jobs.

If you are using BE 2012, then it is recommended that you upgrade to either BE 15 or BE 2014 which allows you to backup more than 1 server per job.  The upgrade is free if you are on a current maintenance contract.

Hardwired
Level 2

I guess I'm not understanding BE's definition of overwrite?  If I have 3 servers being backed up to one tape in one job on an overwrite, then BE somehow partitions the data between servers and starts at he begining of the tape until the job is done correct?   Does this mean I should put in a new scratch tape  everyday thereafter for incrimentals as well?   I appreciate your help.  Thanks!

pkh
Moderator
Moderator
   VIP    Certified
If you backup multiple servers in one job, the data for each server are still distinct and can be restored separately. When you overwrite a tape, the darts will be written from the start of the tape, this maximising the available space on the tape If there is space on the tape after the full backup, you can append the data from the incremental job onto the tape I would suggest that you read the tape management section of the Admin Guide