Tape sizes & DPM2010

The technical support forum for Firestreamer (the virtual tape library).
Intellident
Posts: 5
Joined: 25 Jul 2011, 10:52

Post by Intellident »

Morning all,
Ive just installed firestreamer for usage with our DPM server.

At the moment i have it configured with one (soon to be two) USB HDDs, 3Tb in size (2.7Tb formatted).
Ive set Firestreamer to make 5 500Gb tapes on the drive and have set the protection groups to the times and schedules according to our backup strategy.

Questions though:
- If i add a second drive with a 2.5Tb tape in it, will DPM automatically rotate between the two 'tapes' ? As i see no options in DPM to set the tape to backup to.
- Does filestreamer support tape sets? So Drive 1 would have set 1 which would have tapes 1-5 in it, and drive 2 would have set 2 with tapes 5-10 in it?
I ideally want it setup so it does its monthly and bi-weekly backups, then offset with a second drive, a second set of bi-weeklys, so the only thing i have to concern myself with making sure the right drives are connected at the right times.

Thanks in advance all. :)
jsf
Cristalink Support
Posts: 300
Joined: 29 Aug 2010, 09:03

Post by jsf »

If i add a second drive with a 2.5Tb tape in it, will DPM automatically rotate between the two 'tapes' ? As i see no options in DPM to set the tape to backup to.
Did you mean to say 5+5=10 tapes? It will rotate unpredictably between all 10 tapes, provided they are defined in the media layout.
Does filestreamer support tape sets? So Drive 1 would have set 1 which would have tapes 1-5 in it, and drive 2 would have set 2 with tapes 5-10 in it?
Like with a physical tape library, there are no "tape sets". All tapes are the same.

If you want to back up to tapes 1-5 when only Drive1 is connected, and tapes 6-10 when only Drive2 is connected, you need to load the correct media layout from the currently connected drive. You can also load all 10 tapes at the same time when both drives are connected.

See also Basic Concepts and FAQ.
Best regards,
John Smith
Cristalink Support
Intellident
Posts: 5
Joined: 25 Jul 2011, 10:52

Post by Intellident »

[quote="js"]
Did you mean to say 5+5=10 tapes? It will rotate unpredictably between all 10 tapes, provided they are defined in the media layout.[/quote]
No, 5x 500Gb, totaling 2.5Tb of tapes per 3Tb drive.
So now we have 5 tapes on one drive and 5 on the other, if we swap between the drives, as long as we mount/unmount the tapes before/after each swap, DPM shouldnt care what tapes its writing to should it? As long as there are tapes there?

[quote]Like with a physical tape library, there are no "tape sets". All tapes are the same.[/quote]
Actually, most physical libraries do have the ability to create tape sets. Its common to have A & B sets of tapes.

[quote]
If you want to back up to tapes 1-5 when only Drive1 is connected, and tapes 6-10 when only Drive2 is connected, you need to load the correct media layout from the currently connected drive. You can also load all 10 tapes at the same time when both drives are connected.[/quote]
So if drive 1 (tapes 1-5) is the only one connected, without issue, DPM will just start writing to those, and if only drive 2 (tapes 6-10) is connected, then it'll do the same also?
Effectively giving me my tape rotation?

Thanks.
jsf
Cristalink Support
Posts: 300
Joined: 29 Aug 2010, 09:03

Post by jsf »

When you update the media layout in Firestreamer ("unmount" the tapes that are on the disconnected drive and "mount" the tapes that are on the connected drive), it will appear to DPM as if you removed one set of tapes from the tape library and inserted another one. DPM will write to whatever tapes are available to it, subject to its own criteria.
Actually, most physical libraries do have the ability to create tape sets. Its common to have A & B sets of tapes.
Can you provide a link to a page that describes this feature for some physical tape library? The standards that relate to tape libraries don't define tape sets, so backup software has no way to know about them.
So if drive 1 (tapes 1-5) is the only one connected, without issue, DPM will just start writing to those, and if only drive 2 (tapes 6-10) is connected, then it'll do the same also?Effectively giving me my tape rotation?
Yes, that's how tapes are rotated in physical tape libraries and in Firestreamer. You remove tapes and you insert tapes. DPM will use the current tapes if its own criteria are met (available space, expiration date, co-location etc).
Best regards,
John Smith
Cristalink Support
Intellident
Posts: 5
Joined: 25 Jul 2011, 10:52

Post by Intellident »

[quote]
Can you provide a link to a page that describes this feature for some physical tape library? The standards that relate to tape libraries don't define tape sets, so backup software has no way to know about them.
[quote]
Its been a while since ive touched a library, but i remember a HP MSL i used at a previous job could have sets based on the two tape drawers, which were presented to BackupExec as seperate sets through its driver.


[quote]
Yes, that's how tapes are rotated in physical tape libraries and in Firestreamer. You remove tapes and you insert tapes. DPM will use the current tapes if its own criteria are met (available space, expiration date, co-location etc).
[/quote]
So as ive got DPM set to have an expiry of 7 days and colo on, it should work fine then shouldnt it?

Thanks.
jsf
Cristalink Support
Posts: 300
Joined: 29 Aug 2010, 09:03

Post by jsf »

1) The only way you can differentiate tapes is through the use of multiple tape libraries. You can have up to 8 of them with Firestreamer.

2) It should work, but it's up to DPM. Only Microsoft can guarantee it.
Best regards,
John Smith
Cristalink Support
Intellident
Posts: 5
Joined: 25 Jul 2011, 10:52

Post by Intellident »

New question.
After doing two test rotations, using the process of:
Unlock Library in DPM
Edit then delete media in FS
Add existing media off other drive in FS.
Lock Library in DPM
Inventory Library in DPM


Is there a simplier process to the above, and why is it that each time i add the file media, i have to re-setup their maximum sizes?

Thanks.
Intellident
Posts: 5
Joined: 25 Jul 2011, 10:52

Post by Intellident »

The only way around this weird bug is to swap tape sets with media maps....
jsf
Cristalink Support
Posts: 300
Joined: 29 Aug 2010, 09:03

Post by jsf »

Instead of editing the current media layout each time you swap drives, you need to save each media layout as a .fsmap file on the corresponding drive. Then you can simply load the correct media map from the current drive. To save the media layout as a media map, use File > Save As in the Media Layout Editor. To load a media map, use Load From File in the Media view.
Best regards,
John Smith
Cristalink Support
mlopez
Posts: 5
Joined: 24 Oct 2011, 01:18

Post by mlopez »

I (and I expect others who may not have joined this forum) have similar questions about using Firestreamer to make our lives easier. Given DPM's limited tape usage controls, is it possible to script Firestreamer to programatically handle the loading and unloading of media? DPM already supports PowerShell scripting for just about anything it does, so this would be a fittin g complement.

A (hopefully unnecessary) preemptive comment: from some other posts I've seen ere I'm afraid that someone might reply with something like pre"real tape libraries don't do that". A more relevant fact is that Firestreamer is SOFTWARE. I trust we won't press the emulation analogy so far that it stops being helpful.

Thanks,

M.
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