Netbackup Incremental backups not consistent if the client moved to another policy

[daza]

Can somebody explain why - I have copied the policy to a new one with one particular client and left only Incremental backup schedule to run, but instead of running an incremental backup it looks like it is doing the full backup again. Netbackup server and client are 7.1.0.2 on Windows 2008.

My thoughts that if the new policy for the client , with all attributes kept, like Policy type and selection would not have an impact to the backups. When you back up a file on a Windows filesystem  the archive bit is used to determine what files have been backed up previously, so when you are running an Incremental backup against the same filesystem that has been backed up, the backup agent will scan the filesystem and only back up the files that have been modified from the time the last backup has completed successfully. A good backup is clearing the archive bit and this is how the NetBackup knows that this file is already backed up.

Any input would be appreciated.

[Nicolai]

What you see is normal behaviour. Both full and incrmental backup schedules must reside in the same policy.

[daza]

yes I know, I've seen it. Just curious, why the policy info and the client info are tied so much in the database for the backup process, but for the restore, if you have the client in multiple policies with different selection, but the same policy type - you will see all the backup images regardless the policy, so it looks like it is just looking for the backup images records of the client.

[MN_Pankaj]

@daza - in your above response, you pretty much answered your original question. As Nicolai also observed here, the backup schedules are connected to the same policy, and the incremental would check for a previous full for the same policy, and if that is not found, become a full, to set up a foundation for future, if you will...

However, you make an interesting observation by comparing backups to restores. It is theoretically possible to make backups cross-check across different policies, but the additional complexity outweigh the benefit. If you really feel need for change in backup behaviour for same client across multiple policies, escalate your request to NetBackup Product Management.