How to reclaim disk space for backup jobs that use Granular Recovery Technology

When a job that uses Granular Recovery Technology (GRT) creates a backup set, Backup Exec erases an IMG media that has an expired protection period. Backup Exec automatically erases the expired media to reclaim disk space for the new media that the backup job creates. Backup Exec erases the oldest IMG media for each backup set in a GRT-enabled job. For example, if a GRT-enabled backup job creates three backup sets, Backup Exec erases three IMG media that have expired overwrite protection periods.

If you want to erase more than one IMG media per backup set, see the following Symantec knowledge base article:

http://entsupport.symantec.com/umi/V-269-8

If Backup Exec runs out of disk space during a GRT-enabled backup, it deletes any expired media and continues the job. If no expired media is available, the job is queued and the backup-to-disk folder is paused. To resume the job, you must reclaim disk space or wait for media to expire. Backup Exec automatically checks the amount of available space periodically. When enough space is available, Backup Exec automatically resumes the job.

The Job Monitor provides information about the GRT-enabled backup jobs that cannot run due to low disk space. The Job Monitor displays "Queued" as the job state and "Ready; No idle devices are available" as the job status. When Backup Exec checks for available space, the job state changes to "Mounting Media."

You can reclaim disk space by using any of the following methods:

Table: How to reclaim disk space for GRT backup operations

Method	Description
Erase IMG media or backup-to-disk files to provide adequate disk space	Delete any IMG media or backup-to-disk files you no longer need. See Erasing backup-to-disk files. See Erasing media.
Use Windows Explorer to remove data that is not related to Backup Exec	The volume may contain some data that is not related to Backup Exec. You can use Windows Explorer to delete this data. You should never use Windows Explorer to delete Backup Exec data.
Wait for IMG media or backup-to-disk files to expire according to media set rules	Media set rules include the append and overwrite protection periods you set for media. You can wait until these rules expire to allow Backup Exec to reclaim disk space. See About media in Backup Exec.
Remove the low disk space threshold setting for the backup-to-disk folder for the current operation and take appropriate actions after the job has completed	If you set a low disk space threshold for the backup-to-disk folder, it may prohibit the job from completing due to low disk space. You can temporarily remove the low disk space threshold to allow Backup Exec access to that reserved space. When the job is complete, you can reinstate the low disk space threshold with a smaller reserve setting. See Configuring advanced options for a backup-to-disk folder.