Tape full halfway during backup

[dki]

Hi everyone,

I have a backup job directly to a tape. I have the Ultrium 200/400GB tape.

The problem is sometimes the compression isn't good enough that a 270GB of data will not fit inside one tape. So what happens is halfway it will stop the backup since its full so it will ask for another media. 

So my question is:

1. Does it continue the backup where it left off? Because when I do replace it with another tape, it didn't do anything or maybe I missed a configuration.

Thanks a lot.

[CraigV · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Getting 270GB out of the tape is pretty standard. That's about 1.3:1 compression. Getting around 400GB out of a 200GB tape (2:1 compression) is almost unheard of in a production environment.

You can confirm this by cheking out the compression stats on the tape.

Also, when the tape gets ejected, the backup continues on a tape that is overwritable/appendable, depending on your setting. It simply carries on.

Thanks!

[dki]

Does it detect the new tape and continue from there? Sorry I have tried to put a used tape but I doesn't continue. 

So that means I need to prepare a 2nd tape prior to the backup?

[CraigV]

...the tape must be overwritable. If not, then yes, you need to make sure the tape is erased prior to the backup.

Thanks!

[dki]

One last question,

How does the labeling works in the 2nd tape? Do I have to label it first or it will use the prior backup settings? 

Like for example in Tape 1 my label is BACKUP_20141201, so how does it treat the 2nd tape? Or do I have to label it first prior to backup?

[pkh · Accepted solution]

BE will not change the label of the second tape.