Restore data form previous B. Exec backup job

[JustTryinToGetI]

I have an older tape media cartridge (LTO3...we are currently using LTO5) which was created on B. Exec 2010. I am now using B. Exec 2012.

I have put the tape in our new tape library. 

-  In B. Exec I go to the Storage Tab, and then I select 'All Media'.

- I then navigate to the specific tape and double-click. I am then presented with the details of the tape. It does accurately reflect the date of that original backup. And when I double click this line item with the details of the tape, I click on the 'Contents' and the tape is displaying .bkf files.

Problem

I do not see how to restore these .bkf files.

I don't see how to inventory the tape.  (I can 'Catalog' the tape by right clicking and selecting 'Catalog', but I don't see any job history showing it was done) And I don't see where to "hilight something' and select 'Restore' like is conventionally done when restoring other Server related jobs.

[Donald_Eady]

Under the robotic library click on slots.. Click/Highlight the tape and either right click and choose inventory and catalog or choose inventory and catalog from the ribbon at the top of the screen 

Edit.. 

Once you have inventoried and catalogued the the media then choose the backup and restore tab

- Click/highlight the server you would like to restore too and either right click and choose restore or choose restore from the ribbon at the top of the screen. 

-follow the prompts in choosing the type of data you would like to restore .. Files/folders... entire machine

- the next screen will give you the option to choose the files and folders you would like to restore ... in the date range at the top "Show backups from"  besure that the origional backup date of the inventoried tape is included and then select the resources that you would like to restore. 

[CraigV]

...they're displaying *.bkf files? Did you perhaps backup a B2D directly or run a duplicate job to tape?

Thanks!

[Kunal_Mudliyar1]

You cannot restore from teh storage tab..

You have to be in Servers tab to do a restore..

Located the server which from where you have backed up your BKF files..in the servers tab

Redirect Restore the BKF files to a directory

Again goto the storage tab > device conf wizard and import this restored folder as a legacy backup to disk folder

Inventory and catalog this folder which you have imported and it will show the catalogs of the backups which went to these bkf files.

After this restore again from this imported folder

[CraigV]

...the OP is restoring from tape, not disk. If you backup a B2D folder directly you run into a number of issues. Hence Symantec states a duplicate job is required to copy the data from B2D to tape!

Thanks!

[Donald_Eady]

Awesome catch Mr V !!!.. JustTryinToGetItToWork  CraigV is absolutely right... if when you view the contents of the tape and see BKF's then it would appear that you have backed up the B2D folder.. Howver you should be able to restore the contents to your current B2d folder then run the restore youre try to run from the disk location.

Thumbs up Craig  

[JustTryinToGetI]

Thank you all for your input.

Kunal - The original Server that these files were backed up from is no longer a Server. So I cannot select the Server to restore from.

Craig - It does appeat that my predescessor copied the .bkf files from disk to tape and did not do a Dup to Tape operation. Does this mean this is a lost cause?

Donald - Under the Robotic Library it does not display any media in the tape drives (BUT the media does show as being in the drives based on the Dell ML Tape Library Report I generated.              

Also Donald, , I do not see an option to 'restore' the .bkf files to disk. And if I do, I fear that B. Exec will treat them like any data file and it won't "know the contents" without being able to inventory them.

[Kunal_Mudliyar1]

You will see the discarded server after you run a catalog on this tape on which the backup was taken.

After the catalog is complete it will appear in the servers tab only for the restore sake.

Once this server comes up , hit restore and you will see the backed up backup to disk folder

That is how you can restore it.

[CraigV]

Mmm...maybe, maybe not. But you have no catalog here, and in spite of what has been suggested, all you will see are the *.bkf. Try restoring those files to disk. Create a B2D and move the files into that. Then run a catalog and try restore.

Other than that, you might not be able to restore...

Thanks!

[Kunal_Mudliyar1]

Try restoring those files to disk

How are you suggesting to restore?

The bkf files are backed up  from a server which is discarded and no longer show up in the GUI

Hence a catalog of this tape is required to get the server back in the GUI

One you catalog the tape the discarded server will appear in the GUI

You simply have to hightlight the discarded and hit restore to restore the bkf files which are stored on the tape to a temp folder

We need to do this as the User cannot restore from the storage tab and the server from which the backup is done does not show up in the Server tab

[Kunal_Mudliyar1]

I understand that the OP was restoring from tape , I dunno what in comment made you think that i want them to restore from disk...

[CraigV]

...maybe go read Symantec's recommendations around backing up a B2D...it's duplicating the B2D to tape to maintain catalogs etc. Backing it up directly messes things up (check up on that as well). All the OP has now is a bunch of *.bkf files...no mention of what's in them. It they were duplicated, the OP would see the files/applications/servers etc which he can't...because it wasn't done correctly by the guy he replaced.

The TN below explains it all, and this is the situation that the OP faces!

http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH176061

The only thing I can suggest is what I suggested earlier...try running a restore to disk and then try run a catalog job. If successful, then a restore job should follow.

Thanks!

[MusSeth]

i agree with craig, in order to restore from bkf files which were backed up to tape from B2d, they first needs to be restored to disk to a folder once done that user would have create a B2D and move those files in there inventory and than catalog

and once catalog completes he would be able to restore data.

just another thing "Donald - Under the Robotic Library it does not display any media in the tape drives (BUT the media does show as being in the drives based on the Dell ML Tape Library Report I generated.      "

could you please apply the latest backup exec service pack and check if the tape is showing up in slot or drive (if stand alone) and if you are able to run an inventory on the same.

[Kunal_Mudliyar1]

Understood Symantec does not recommend such backup practice. It will result to in issues .

However this error has happened how should we fix it?

Its either by restoring the data to a temp folder

But How should we do this as the backup sets are showing in the storage tab and not the Servers tab as the server is discarded

Hence I have suggested a catalog so that the discarded server show up in the GUI and we highlight it and select it for restore and pull the bkf files

one the bkf files are pulled off from the tape...we can extract data out of them by cataloging them

[MusSeth]

it does give an option to duplicate data to from the storage tab which we can use in order to get the content of tape duplicated to disk once done that as craig suggested would have create a B2D and get that files inventoried and catalog there, hopefully this should let OP restore the data which he needs.

[CraigV]

...There are is essentially NO catalog information on the tape...the OP can see the *.bkf files and that's it...

[JustTryinToGetI]

Okay. I have assimilated all your input. Thank you.

The latest is as follows:

As Kuhnal said (and others), I went to the Servers Tab and selected the name of the Server that this job used to be (it was actually a clustered file share before and that CFS still exists)  And this allowed me to do a restore of the data on the tape.

So, I restored the .bkf files on the tape to a local drive. And as MusSeth and Craig said, I then created a B2D on these .bkf's.

The problem remains of:

I do not have a way of inventorying the .bkf    So, when I go to do a restore now, it simply presents to me the .bkf files to be restored vs. the data files that lie underneath. (When I look at the backup set of this job, I don't see any options to "Inventory")

[Kunal_Mudliyar1]

Have you imported this newly created B2D to backup exec

You can create a new B2D file and copy the Bkf files there

Later do and inventory and catalog of that B2D

[CraigV]

...the OP stated he'd already created a B2D. Nothing to import if done in BE 2012...

Thanks!

[Kunal_Mudliyar1]

As a legacy B2D...