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I am trying to set automated backups to take. 5 tapes, so there is a backup for each day of the week keeping a week of backups, but I cannot find the way to set the utility to backup. I always get the error that there is no available media, but this is only with the scheduled backups. The server is not in a building a work often, so I wanted to know if any of you guys know why and how can I avoid this
Format, initialise whatever they call it some tapes so the Backup utility knows they exist. Now that it's done set up the backup for the tape, monday for monday tape ...etc. Backup catalogs the tapes.
Hmmm its a little more involved... it actually depends on the type of Tape drive you are using and its initialization settings. Also, depends if the ntbackup utilities for you version of server operating system actually detects the drives as drives or as backup tape drives.
Are you using a 3rd party backup util or just server 2003 or 2000 ntbackup?
Also, check to see if the hardware drivers are installed correctly, and then insert a blank tape. Run through the hardware program to format the tape and prepare it for cataloging... then ensure the tape drive is mounted in storage management... you should have a free media pool for removable storage etc.
OK, lets see. I will give more details.
First of all, I am a Veritas user. I don't really understand Btbackup. It is great, for a single on disk backup. It sucks for anything else (IMHO)
The server is a Windows 2000 Server. Dell poweredge 4006 I believe. It uses 4mm tapes. I formated all drives, label them by date, prepare them. I checked the media pools, and they are all there, but in the ntbackup they don't appear, so apparently they aren't really in the catalog. I selected new media when creating the jobs, and that might be why they don't work.
Also, I want to overwrite the tape after 6 days (so, for example, every monday the monday tape can be written, but not on Thuesday if it is forgotten to change)
The office that has the server is close to my house, but I don't really have time to go there and check the backup and make sure it is working, so I wanted to leave it all nice and tidy for the office manager to take care of it. But, for now he has to run the backup manually, so if he is absent, noone does backups. Intead, if the tape only needs to be changed, then anybody can change the tape. And I don't have time to play around with it until it works
Hmm... I guess you would have to check the compatability with that tape backup system and the Veritas backup software...
I dont think you can stop the backup process from overwriting a different day's tape ie Tuesday on the monday tape if they forgot to change it - this happens quite a lot ;)
Otherwise Im out of ideas, sorry Dehc.
IT is compatible with Veritas, but the comany is too smal to justify the software which doesn't come cheap.
I guess manual backups is it going to be fine :p
Oh I see, so its a small company that has tape drives on a 2k server and cant justify the big cost of software (veritas or retrospect etc)....
Well manual backup is good, or you could learn NTbackup as that has pretty good switch options and scheduling abilities..
Good luck :D
well....
I kind of give up
:p
I think it is cheaper for them to buy a USB 2 drive, and have the backups to the external drive than the hours I have to spend trying to figure out that backup :p
Or keep doing the backups manually
I wouldnt be too disheartened... that is exactly how a lot of businesses especially the Small Medium Business/Enterprises are doing their backups... Tape drives are too expensive, as are the tapes... then the special software and admin costs are enormous!
Your best bet, and what I've set up for many customers, is to purchase a Maxtor backup Kit (i think other manufactures have kits too). This kit is a USB2.0 External harddrive with 1 touch automatic backup or scheduled automatic backup ;) So just plug it in, use their software to configure the backup directories and options etc, then you can sleep a good nite rest :D
well, that was their primary idea, but they bought a firewire drive, and no PC has firewire :p
I will talk it over with them, and see what they want to do. I just feel it is a shame I couldn't get the weekly tape/daily backup to work
I did it for another customer, but I had the server with me for 3 months, so I played with it everyday. I should have made documentation about how I did it :p I hate writing documentation.
I should convince my company to hire my wife as my secretary ;) She is very organized (just the opposite as me) and could keep perfect documentation. She would be my perfect project manager :D Maybe too perfect and I will actually end up working more :eek: <second thoughts>.......
If you use the veritas software to initialise the tapes you are adding them to the media pool of the veritas software library - that's why they don't appear in the pool of NTbackup. NTbackup won't do a backup if it doesn't detect the right media - hence only tuesday works on tuesday - this becomes a right pain when you forget to change a tape and it all gets out of sync. Win2k NT backup is really very simple to use, Veritas not quite so simple but once working very reliable - persevere and you will acheive your goal but stick to just one software or the other.
Curio, I have no Veritas installed on that server. If we did I would got it done pretty quick. I have used Veritas for 3 years so I am very familiar with it, but I am not that familiar with NT backup utility.
Talking about Veritas, I have to deploy the updated backup agent, so I will go and do that
:p
Ok if the manual backup works then that proves that the drive etc works so something you are doing setting up backup is wrong. For a scheduled task make sure that the schedule starts after the time you input the task or it will never start. For say mondays backup set everything up so the schedule looks correct save the task as a job (or you can't schedule it) then put in the tape and run the scheduled task manually (choose it from the jobs menu). If the scheduled task can be selected and run manually then it should run automagicaly too, you also have the knowledge that the tape has been cataloged correctly and matched to the task. If your task hasn't run next visit check the event logs, task scheduler and NTBackup schedule itself to see if you have an error message when the task was due to run. If you are getting 'the specified media could not be found' - that means the wrong tape was in the drive at backup time.
I think it has something to do with the media. I formated the tapes and gave them as name the specific day the need to run, and prepared the media with the same name (from the media pool on W2K)
But the backup util only gives me the option to backup to "New Media". I remember that in the other backup schedule I set up was the same problem. If I don't prepare the media like that , it works fine, but if you leave the tape it overwrites it.
I truly consider this an area where MS shouold have improved. Pretty much is the same util as in Windows 2K in 2K3. Isn't backup a vital part??
They should have added better functions and a adminsitrator alert service. I think they didn't improve it because of Veritas, which IMHO is just an advanced GUI of BT backup util. It does give a lot of functions and it is worth its money for corporate big enought to pay for it, but the small bussiness is left behind, and that is sad
Well I don't know if this is what you are looking for , but this is what I use for those clients that cannot afford a fancy program like Veritas. First you must open NT Backup and make your backup selections save with an appropriate name in the default location. Next, paste the following into a text file, save as a .bat file changing where appropriate. The name of the device is the name that is displayed in Device Manager and the name "webs" is the label that I am using in this example. Save the batch file and use the scheduled task manager to run the job accordingly. Almost forgot I am also using the sleep utility that I think comes with the resource kit. As always YMMV...Badger
rsm.exe refresh /LF"Compaq 40/80 GB DLT Tape Drive"
c:\sleep 30
for /f "Tokens=1-4 Delims=/ " %%i in ('date /t') do set dt=%%i-%%j-%%k-%%l
for /f "Tokens=1" %%i in ('time /t') do set tm=-%%i
set tm=%tm::=-%
set dtt=%dt%%tm%
ntbackup.exe backup "@C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows NT\NTBackup\data\Website.bks" /n "Webs %dtt%" /d "Webs %dtt%" /v:yes /r:no /rs:no /hc:on /m normal /j "%dtt%" /l:f /p "DLT" /UM
rsm.exe eject /PF"Webs %dtt%" /astart
exit
P.S. I am not sure how that smiley face crept in there, but that should be a colon instead of the smiley.
I think NTbackup was made by same people as Backup Exec, that's why they left all the advanced features out.
@ Curio Yes, I saw they are actually more or less similar. I was thinking of Veritas as an Advanced Interface to NT backup
@ badger Thanks, I will try it out. what about the command for the drive. You have there a Compaq DLT tape. How do I get the exact name for the device they use?
Look in Device manager, the name listed there is the name to use. You could also look in Removable storage manager MMC and that will also show the device name.
Badger