DPM -> Firestreamer -> third party backup to tape

The technical support forum for Firestreamer (the virtual tape library).
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kajencik
Posts: 1
Joined: 13 Dec 2011, 17:06

Post by kajencik »

Hello, we are considering use of Firestreamer in our company. The scenario is following:

DPM 2010 - dedicated physical server, short term backup to local disks, weekly backup to disk array connected through FC.

The problem is, we need to expose our weekly backup ideally to a standalone closed file (ie virtual tape file unloaded from virutal library) on NTFS disk to get it to physical tape (our company uses another tool than DPM to backup data to tape). This is not possible using DPM only, as the short term disk backup partitions are constantly changing.

So here are my questions:

1) Does tape need to be unloaded from firestreamer using the GUI to be backed up, or can I just back up the virtual tape file once it is not used by DPM (and then possibly "insert" this backed up file to newly created firestreamer library in the worst case of disaster recovery)?
2) if the virtual tape needs to be manually unloaded first - can the loading/unloading of tapes be automated in any way?
jsf
Cristalink Support
Posts: 300
Joined: 29 Aug 2010, 09:03

Post by jsf »

1) We recommend unloading a tape first before backing it up with third party software (TPS).
When a tape is in a storage slot, Firestreamer keeps the file closed, so the file can be accessed by TPS. However, we don't recommend this because the tape can be moved to a tape drive, and Firestreamer will be unable to open the file if it's already open by TPS, which is likely to result in an error in DPM (for example, "tape appears to be a cleaning tape"). When a tape is in a tape drive, Firestreamer opens the file for exclusive use, and the file cannot be accessed by TPS. When a tape is loaded read-only, whether in a storage slot or a tape drive, it can be accessed by TPS.
2) Nearly all Firestreamer functions, including loading/unloading of tapes can be automated, see Automation. Try also searching this forum for "script" for script examples. There are also some sample scripts in the Internet published by users. Normally, to load/unload tapes, you need to unlock the library door in DPM, update the media layout in Firestreamer, then lock the library door.
Best regards,
John Smith
Cristalink Support
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