Every image consist of hostname_backuptime. The backup time is a ctime value (32-bit) from epoch 1970-01-01 00:00:00.
To make it human readable, you can use the bpdbm -ctime <backuptime> on the master to figure out the actual date/time.
I sometimes use a spreadsheet to list the images I would like to remove from SLP management, and then use nbstlutil cancel -backupid <image name> on each.
Re-hydration performance issues is a common problem that I think almost everyone will come by when using de-duplication storage for backup, and tape as long-term at rest/final destination.
SLP management will keep all image copies until the last destination copy exists. If you cannot remedy the re-hydration performance problem (with 10GbE) or other methods such as more powerful de-dup storage, then you could potentially combine SLP with good olé Vault. Let SLP handle backup and replication to disk, and let Vault duplicate selected images to tape.
By using this approach, the primary image can be expired as soon as a second copy exists. But still, what happens if the second copy expires before Vault can duplicate? Well, you could potentially use Infinity as retention, and let Vault expire second copy upon successful duplication to tape.
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