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Question -Aux copy LTO4 tape from one Tape library to tape LTO7 on other Tape library


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Hello,

I have two Tape library, old with LTO4 tapes and new Tape library with LTO7 tapes.
I created an Aux copy separately for each storage policy and successfully copied the content from LTO4 tapes from old Tape library to LTO7 tapes on new Tape library.

We plan to shut down the old Tape library soon.

When that happens, will I be able to do a Restore normally from LTO7 tapes to which content from old LTO4 tapes has been copied?

Best regards,
Elizabeta

 

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Best answer by Laurent 14 June 2021, 17:16

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Userlevel 7
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@elizabeta , to confirm the data you’d be restoring from is on LTO7 tapes and would be read by LTO7 drives?

That should work just fine.  I would suggest doing a test restore from one of these tapes to ensure your DR process is solid.

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Hello,

Thank you @Mike Struening for your reply. I tried to restore (I choosed backup date on old Tape library IBM) and this appeared

 


I see old Tape library(IBM) and old tape (from that tape I did an aux copy to the tape in the new Tape library)…
I choosed Restore Index and I have successfully restored the content..

It seems that the old LTO4 tape from the old Tape library was selected for restore and not the new LTO7 tape to which identical content was copied…

 

How to check if everything is OK with the new tape in the new Tape library.

Will there be a problem with the restore from that new tape if we shut down the old tape library…

Best regards,
Elizabeta

 

 


 

 

 

 

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@elizabeta I guess you left all options to default ones when you initiated your restore, so it would automatically select the lowest copy precedence as the source.

Now what you need to do when you Browse and Restore is to select Advanced Options tab, check the ‘Browse from copy precedence’ checkbox, and change the value to the one that is your copy from LTO4 to LTO7.

 

If that works, then you can change your copy precedence in your storage Policy to have the LTO7 copy with lower precedence than the LTO4 copy one.

At at the end, you will be able to delete that old LTO4 storage policy copy.

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Hello,

Tha​​​​nk you  ​​​@Laurent for your answer. I choosed under Advanced, Browse from copy precedence 2, and succesufully restored from new LTO7 tape from new Tape library.

Now, I would like to delete Aux copy (with that copy I copied the data from LTO4 to LTO7)

 

and this occurs:
 

If I delete this copy will I be able to do a Restore from the new LTO7 tape to which the data was copied?

The second question, in case of shutting down the old Tape library, will I be able to normally do the Restore from the new LTO7 tape to which the data from the old LTO4 tape from the old Tape library was copied?

 

Userlevel 7
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@elizabeta , if you delete that copy, you will not be able to restore jobs from that exact copy, regardless of the media.

For your second question, the only limitation for the restore is the media it is on, not the media it was copied from.

Userlevel 6
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@elizabeta Exactly, and if you wish to be sure it will work later, you can :

 

  • promote your LTO7 copy as the primary copy of this StoragePolicy ==> LTO7 tapes will be the 1st source for your restores (and backups if you still perform them on this SP).
  • disable your LTO4 library through the Commcell console ==> This will cause the LTO4 tapes to be unavailable for backup/restores.
  • Then check for the restore, but without changing, in the advanced options, the Copy Precedence. ==> It should automatic use the LTO7 tapes.
  • If all of this is done, then deletion of the LTO4 copy+ confirmation should be the end of this story with your LTO4 :wink:   
Userlevel 3
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Hello,

Thank you for your answers.

@Laurent I tried to promote my LTO7 copy as the primary copy of this Storage Policy, 
I run Properties of this StoragePolicy copy


How I can disable LTO4 library?
I click right on may LTO4 Tape library

 


Should I click Deconfigure ?

Thank you!

Best regards,
Elizabeta

Userlevel 7
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@elizabeta clicking deconfigure will remove that library from use (which is what you want here):

https://documentation.commvault.com/11.23/expert/10202_deconfiguring_tape_library.html

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To temporarily disable your Tape Library, right-click on it and Select Properties , then Go to the Status tab :

Uncheck the Enable Library checkbox, and the library should be disabled for use ==> Not usable for a restore at all..

 

Regarding the Storage Policy Copy promotion as the new primary, you can’t ‘unpromote’ the Primary from it’s properties, as you saw it’s grayed out. Instead, you have to open the properties of the LTO7 copy, and from its properties, you should be able to have the possibility to check the ‘Primary’ checkbox. It also has to be a synchronous SPC, otherwise the checkbox will not be available.

  I do not remember from your previous posts if you created a selective SPC or a synchronou SPC.. 

That is not a problem, you can still create a new copy in the same Storage Policy, with the same settings as yout LTO4 SPC, but pointing to your LTO7 library, and then promote this new SPC as the new primary, like this.

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Hello,

@Mike Struening ok I want deconfigure Tape library, 

i just want to be sure it will work restore with LTO7 tape….

@Laurent regarding the Storage Policy Copy promotion as the new primary, I created new synchronou SPC with the same settings as my LTO4 SPC, but pointing to LTO7 library,

I have this:

 


Copy-bas1 is previously created SPC (selective) (I cannot promote it primary)

 


Should I promote Synchronous SPC (Copy-bas2) as Primary… What is this Warning?
What to do with the last selective copy (Copy-bas1), should I delete it?

The ultimate goal is temporarily disable my Tape Library, right-click on it and Select Properties , then Go to the Status tab : uncheck Enable library,
while doing the restore with LTO7 tape properly…

Thank you!

BR,
Elizabeta

 

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@elizabeta Just to triple check :

bas_retention_4weeks : this is your current primary for this storage policy. Is this a backup to disk or a backup to LTO4 tapes ?

Copy-bas1 ==> from what I understood, this is the SP copy that you created to read from your LTO4 tapes and copy all jobs to the LTO7 tapes. So no, you should not delete them at all. Maybe you can just disable it, as you would probably never use it anymore.

 

The warning message is issued because the concerned SPC had the option to allow multiple streams (data readers/writers) to be enabled to maximize copy performance / faster copy.

 

While your direct backup to tape can’t combine them, throwing this warning message.

Unfortunately in my environment, I have no direct backup to tape, so I can’t test for you or provide any screenshot to help..

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Hello,

bas_retention_4weeks : this is current primary for this storage policy. This is a backup to LTO4 tapes ?

I will not delete the Copy-bas1 on your recommendation for a successful restore…
 

I will only temporarily disable the Tape library (LTO4 media) and then deconfigure it later..

Tha@Mike Struening and @Laurent !

Best regards,
Elizabeta

Userlevel 7
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Sounds good!  If you feel someone answered your question, feel free to mark their post as Best Answer :nerd:

Userlevel 3
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Hello,

Thanks again @Mike Struening  and @Laurent !

Best regards,
Elizabeta 

Userlevel 7
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A pleasure, always!!!

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