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My employer has CommVault Simpana 9.0.0 build 84 currently installed and configured on our backup server that is equipped with both a magnetic array and a tape library. It may be a newbie question, but it seems as if the system refuses to copy to tape and append one job after another to the same tape. Because of the current configuration, we now have multiple tapes with data ranging from a couple gigabytes to over a terabyte, but it is rare if ever at all that the system actually fills up a tape. I found some options under the Media tab for the copy properties of the various different Copy to Tape storage policies that I believe should fix my issue, but I am wondering what the preferred or recommended options and numbers are for the streams and multiplexing factor. I also check off that I want to Write a different library compared to the source copy. It would be ever so greatly appreciated if someone with a little more experience could advise me on these settings if they are in fact the settings that will fix my seemingly prematurely limited tape storage issue. I plan to try creating a new storage policy if for some reason these changes do not get the job done.

Thanks!

Russ

unauthorized
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2 Answers2

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It isn't clear to me from your question if all the jobs that you're trying to append use the same storage policy. You refer to "various different Copy to Tape storage policies" in the question.

Commvault has a limit of one storage policy per tape. From the Commvault books online, "It is good practice to limit the number of storage policies in your CommCell environment; this will better utilize your media since media cannot be shared across storage policies."

  • Thanks a bunch for the response! I'm seeing that the changes that I had made previously are definitly not working because I now have tapes with the same kind and amounts on more than just one. A definite step int eh wrong direction. – unauthorized Oct 03 '11 at 12:11
  • If these changes do not work, we are going to one storage policy for all backup to tape jobs and try to see if I can get that working. – unauthorized Oct 03 '11 at 12:14
  • Right now, they are as follows: Optimize Media Usage [x] Combine source data streams to [2] Streams(s) [x] Multiplex source streams Multiplexing Factor: [4] [x] Write to a different library compared to source copy Erase Media [ ] mark Media to be Erased After Recycling And I am going to try changing them to this: Optimize Media Usage [x] Combine source data streams to [1] Streams(s) [x] Multiplex source streams Multiplexing Factor: [5] [x] Write to a different library compared to source copy Erase Media [x] mark Media to be Erased After Recycling – unauthorized Oct 03 '11 at 12:14
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To answer my questions about the CommVault storing data onto multiple tapes, Dwight was definitly correct in the fact that the System can not put multiple storage policies onto one tape with the only exception being that the system generated DR policy can be configured to be included with a storage policy using its control panel. This resolved the issue of us having tapes going off site once a week with only 20Gb of DR data on them.

The only issue that this poses is that in the event of a total system failure and DR situation, one must use the TapeToolGUI and CommserveDisasterRecoveryGUI to locate the correct tape with your DR database and then use the DR tool to recover the database.

Hopefully this helps someone else!

unauthorized
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