NDMP restore uses wrong (non-ndmp) tape drive

[Anton_van_Bohem]

We are using Backup Exec 11d build 7170 to backup a NetApp filer, among other servers, to a library which has one of its tape drives connected to the filer (the 2nd drive) and the first drive (including robotic control) to the Backup Exec media server. The library is a HP MSL2024 with 2 Ultrium-2 drives.

Backups work fine, no problems there. However, when I try to restore a file from an NDMP backup, BE always uses the first tape drive. No matter what I configure in the restore job (I did specify the 2nd drive under "Device", I also tried other options),  the restore job defaults to the first drive.

The only option I found so far to work around this issue is to pause or disable the first drive.

Has anyone else seen this?

Message Edited by Anton van Bohemen on 06-27-200705:04 AM

[Scott_P]

Hi,
If I understand your configuration correctly, this is by design, technically. The reason being, because, on the library,  the robotic arm  has no way of knowing about the NDMP drive because it is using a Windows driver to control it. The library is aware of the drive but Windows will not use it. It does, however, know which tape the restore data is on, so it will search for it on that drive that's connected local to the media server, even though the data is located on the other. NDMP has no control over the library, because there is no driver to speak of on the NDMP device, so its controlled exclusively by Windows. So in essence, other than disabling the device like you've attempted already, any restore jobs from the NetApp filer will try and go through a library that it knows nothing about. Backups run ok because BE doesnt care what tapes are written to, but restores have to be from a specific tape. Does that make sense?

Regards,
Scott

[Anton_van_Bohem]

I can understand this:

the robotic arm  has no way of knowing about the NDMP drive because it is using a Windows driver to control it. The library is aware of the drive but Windows will not use it. It does, however, know which tape the restore data is on, so it will search for it on that drive that's connected local to the media server, even though the data is located on the other.

However, in some parts, BE is smarter. BE does know that the drive exists (it shows under devices under the library) and it does know it is controlled by NDMP (the first drive shows "controlled by: Kernel device driver", the second shows "controlled by: NDMP").

Further, I also tried the following: I deleted a tape from the media catalog (dragging it to the retired media set, then deleting it) without physically erasing the tape, so the catalog information in BE is deleted for that tape. Then I attemted an Inventory followd by a Catalog action. The inventory was executed in the first drive (reading the tape header) but the catalog job was executed in the second (NDMP) drive! The catalog job was succesfull and I again had access to the detailed contents of the tape.

Also, if I specify which drive to use in a restore job, I expect it to use that drive. BE just did not use that drive (as described in my original posting). It seems BE just tried the restore in the first available drive, which happened to be drive no. 1. After pausing drive 1, the first available drive was drive 2, so then the restore was succesfull.

So... if the design is to use a local tape drive controlled by the media server for restores, then why does it use a drive controlled by NDMP for a catalog job of an NDMP tape?

Hope you can shine some light on this.

Anton