About the Duplication tab configuration options

Table: Duplication tab configuration options describes configuration options for the Duplication tab.

Table: Duplication tab configuration options

Property

Description

Alternate Read Server

This option applies to NetBackup Enterprise Server only.

The name of an alternate read server. If robots (or drives) are shared by more than one media server, you can designate a different media server to read the original backups than the media server that wrote the backups. Using an alternate read server may transfer data over your network, affecting your site's computing environment. The Source Media Server and Alternate Read Server may be the same.

By default this option is disabled. To configure an alternate read server, select Alternate Read Server. Then select a media server from the drop-down menu. For advanced duplication, click New to configure duplication rules.

Change

For advanced configuration only, the button used to display the Duplication Rule dialog box so you can change a destination media server and duplication rules for that server.

If you select Alternate Read Server on the Duplication tab, the Duplication Rule dialog box has fields for both Source Media Server and Alternate Read Server. If you did not select Alternate Read Server, only a Source Backup Server field appears.

Configure

For basic duplication only, the button used to display the Multiple copies dialog box.

Delete

For advanced configuration only, the button used to delete the selected destination media server and duplication rules for that server.

Duplicate Smaller Images First (applies only to disk backup images)

Select to duplicate images in smallest to largest order. This capability applies only when duplicating disk backup images.

By default, Vault duplicates images from largest to smallest, which improves tape drive utilization during duplication and duplicates more data sooner. If you know that your most important data is in smaller backup images, you can select this option so that those images are duplicated before the larger images.

This choice does not affect the total time required to duplicate the images.

Note:

By default, Vault duplicates tape images using the time the backup was created. It duplicates images from the oldest to the newest.

Duplication Job Priority

The priority to assign to the Vault duplication jobs, from 0 to 99999. A larger number is higher priority. All duplication jobs for the profile run at the same priority.

Vault duplication jobs compete with other process in NetBackup (such as regularly scheduled backups) for resources, including tape drives. If you want your Vault duplication jobs to obtain resources before other processes, assign a higher priority to the Vault jobs than to other NetBackup processes. Priority for backups, restores, and synthetic backups is assigned in the master server Global Properties.

Expire Original Disk Backup Images

The delay (in hours) until duplicated backup images become eligible to expire after the Vault session runs (applies only if the backup images are on disk and the duplication job has selected that copy as a source copy for duplication).

You can use this option to set an earlier time for the images to become eligible to expire, however, the imageDB cleanup process performs the expiration of eligible images as a separate operation. The imageDB cleanup process is run every 12 hours by default. You can change this default value using the Image DB Cleanup Interval option on the Cleanup node of Master Server Host Properties on the NetBackup Administation Console or the bpconfig -cleanup_int command. Refer to the NetBackup Commands document for more information about this command.

If the duplication of a disk image is not successful, the disk image does not expire. In addition, if the number of hours (X) equals zero, then the images expire immediately after a successful Vault duplication occurs.

Expire Original Tape Backup Images

The delay (in hours) until duplicated backup images become eligible to expire after the Vault session runs (applies only if the backup images are on disk and the duplication job has selected that copy as a source copy for duplication).

You may chose to set this option to expire original VTL images. You can use this option to set an earlier time for the images to become eligible to expire, however, the imageDB cleanup process performs the expiration of eligible images as a separate operation. The imageDB cleanup process is run every 12 hours by default. You can change this default value using the Image DB Cleanup Interval option on the Cleanup node of Master Server Host Properties on the NetBackup Administation Console or the bpconfig -cleanup_int command. Refer to the NetBackup Commands document for more information about this command.

If the duplication of a tape backup image is not successful, the tape image does not expire. In addition, if the number of hours (X) equals zero, then the images expire immediately after a successful Vault duplication occurs.

Make This Copy Primary

Whether the copy should be designated the primary backup. Only designate a duplicate as the primary if the primary backup is ejected and transferred off site.

NetBackup restores from the primary backup, and Vault duplicates from the primary backup. By default, the original backup image created during a NetBackup policy job is the primary copy. If the copy that you indicate as primary fails, and you have configured continue as the fail option, the first successful copy is the primary copy.

Media Owner

The name of the owner of the media onto which you are duplicating images. Specify the media owner from the drop-down list box, as follows:

  • The media owner option Any lets NetBackup choose the media owner. NetBackup chooses a media server or a server group (if one is configured).

  • The media owner option None specifies that the media server that writes the image to the media owns the media. No media server is specified explicitly, but you want a media server to own the media.

  • The media owner option Server Group allows only those servers in the group to write to the media on which backup images for this policy are written. All server groups that are configured in the NetBackup environment appear in the drop-down list.

Multiple Copies

Whether to create multiple copies concurrently. You can select Multiple Copies if the master server properties allow it.

If you select Multiple Copies, click Configure to display the About the Multiple Copies options.

If you configure multiple copies, you cannot configure a Storage Unit, Volume Pool, Retention Level, or Primary Copy on the basic Duplication tab.

New

For advanced configuration only, the button used to display the Duplication Rule dialog box in which you can add a destination media server and duplication rules for that server.

If you select Alternate Read Server on the Duplication tab, the Duplication Rule dialog box has fields for both Source Media Server and Alternate Read Server. If you did not select Alternate Read Server, only a Source Backup Server field appears.

Number of Read Drives

The number of drives to use for reading backup images. When you enter a number of read drives, the same number is entered into the Destination Write Drives field. You must have an equivalent number of read and write drives available.

Preserve Multiplexing

Whether to preserve multiplexing. Multiplexing is the process of sending concurrent, multiple backup images from one or more clients to the same piece of media. This process speeds up duplication, but slows down restores and disaster recovery processes. If the option to preserve multiplexing is selected, the multiplexed duplication process occurs for all multiplexed images that are selected for duplication during a given Vault session.

If the source image is multiplexed and the Preserve Multiplexing option is selected, ensure that the destination storage unit configured for each copy has multiplexing enabled. Multiplexing is configured in NetBackup Management > Storage Units.

Multiplexing does not apply to disk storage units or disk staging storage units as destinations. However, if the source is a multiplexed tape and the destination is a disk storage unit or disk staging storage unit, selecting Preserve Multiplexing ensures that the tape is read on one pass rather than multiple passes.

Retention Level

The retention level for the copy. Each copy has a separate expiration date. If a retention level is not specified, the expiration date is the same as the original. If you specify a numeric retention level, the expiration date for the duplicate media is calculated by adding the specified retention period to the date the original backup was created. If you specify Use Mappings for the retention level, the retention period is based on the retention period of backup image copy 1.

When the retention period expires, information about the expired backup is deleted from the NetBackup and Media Manager catalog, the volume is recalled from off-site storage, and the backup image is unavailable for a restore.

Skip the Duplication Step

Select if you do not want to configure duplication.

Source Backups Reside On

The location of the backup images: disk or removable media or both. Vault duplicates images from the primary backup images on removable media or from backup images on disk.

Storage Unit

The name of a storage unit that contains the resources to which the copies of the backup images are written.

Storage units can be Media Manager storage units, disk storage units, disk staging storage units, or Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) storage units.

If the Media Manager or NDMP storage unit has more than one drive, the source and destination storage units can be the same. NDMP storage units are supported only when one copy is created per duplication rule. Because of potential NDMP performance limitations, Symantec suggests that you duplicate between drives that are directly attached to the same NDMP host.

If the duplicated backup images are to be vaulted, the media in the destination storage unit must be in the Robotic Volume Group.

All storage units must be connected to the same media server.

Volume Pool

The name of the offsite volume pool to which Vault assigns the duplicate media. Images on media in the offsite volume pool are ejected for transfer offsite. Do not use the volume pool that was used for the original backup. NetBackup does not verify in advance that the media ID selected for the duplicate copy is different than the media that contains the original backup. To ensure that two processes do not try to use the same volume at the same time, specify a different volume pool.

Write Drives

The number of write drives. This value is the same as the number of read drives.

More Information

About the Multiple Copies options

Assigning multiple retentions with one profile