Re: [Bacula-users] bacula Offsite Backups

[Holikar, S. (ext) <sac...@si...>]

 
Thanks Uwe for the reply.

I request some explanation here.
You suggested :

1.	Create a separate offsite pool and then after use, remove them as necessary from the autochanger and set their volume status to "Archive" using the "update volume" bconsole command. 
	
	You meant that after making the volume status as Archive , we can remove the tapes from the library and keep offsite. Correct?
	The documentation says "All the files contained on an Archived Volume are removed from the Catalog."  Is it true ?
	Then how do we make sure that the data would be intact with all previous records when the actual offsite tapes are required to be inserted/restored back in the library ?

	Please clarify. 

2.	Following that I erase the tapes I put into the library in exchange for the archived ones and (re-)label
	them with bconsole as necessary.
	
	Why there is need to erase the tapes which are archived ?? Please explain.


Thanx.


- Sachin
		


-----Original Message-----
From: Uwe Schuerkamp [mailto:uwe...@ni...] 
Sent: Freitag, 9. März 2012 13:48
To: Holikar, Sachin (ext)
Cc: bac...@li...
Subject: Re: [Bacula-users] bacula Offsite Backups

On Fri, Mar 09, 2012 at 08:48:40AM +0100, Holikar, Sachin (ext) wrote:
> Hello Admis,
> 
> We have a working Bacula ( Release 2.2.7) setup.
> So far all the backup tapes are retained inside the tape library. But now we have decided to keep 1 set offsite.
> We have created a separate pool of tapes ( say 10 tapes) and taken few important backups last week. Now couple of tapes are used for this backup job.
> Now the questions are :
> 
> 1.  Can we just take out the filled/half-filled tapes out of the tape library just like that to be kept at offsite?  Or some necessary procedure is required for this?
> 2.  Once we take out few tapes from the offsite pool , can we start taking new backup onto remaining tapes in this pool?
> 3.  Or simply point me to correct links where we can read the fundamentals of offsite backups.
> 
> 
> Thanks in advance.
> 
> Regards,
> - Sachin


Hello Sachin,

for most small bacula sites I keep all tapes in one pool, then remove
them as necessary from the autochanger (say all that have been written
during a week) and set their volume status to "Archive" using the
"update volume" bconsole command. Following that I erase the tapes I
put into the library in exchange for the archived ones and (re-)label
them with bconsole as necessary. 

You should also take a look at your volume retention time, it should
be long enough so that bacula won't "forget" the archived tapes at
some point. 

HTH Uwe