Setting Backup Default (Base / Incremental / Differential) Destination Options

Backup destination options control how DPX handles media volumes and devices during a backup operation.

To check the default backup destination options or edit default backup destination options:

1. Open the Configure Defaults window by selecting Configure from the Function Tab bar and clicking Defaults.

2. Do one of the following:

   • Right-click the option subset name or icon to display a context menu. The selection is indicated by the selection check box next to the option icon, and the Backup Destination Options dialog appears. Then select Edit.

   • Click the Backup Destination Options subset icon or name to select it. The backup destination options subset is the method used to select the backup type – base, incremental, or differential. The selection is indicated by the selection check box next to the option icon, and the Backup Destination Options dialog appears.

Note. The default backup destination dialog is the same for each backup type, only the title varies. For Block backups, Incremental and Differential options are derived from Base.

• Tape Usage Determines whether or not to accept a tape with data on it.

Use a new tape	Requires media with status New or Empty from the selected media pool. Media with status New is only be used if the option “Unlabeled Tape Usage” (defined below) is set to “Allow unlabeled tapes and label them”.
Attempt to append data to available tape	Accepts a backup tape from the selected media pool with data on it (status Appendable) and writes to the unused portion of the tape. The appended data can have a retention period that differs from the data preceding it on the tape.

• Unlabeled Tape Usage Determines expected behavior when an unlabeled tape is found in the tape drive.

Label unlabeled tapes	Label the unlabeled tape. This saves the step of labeling a tape beforehand.
Reject unlabeled tapes	Do not use the unlabeled tape.

• Tape Retention (Days) Determines how long the backed-up data for this job is saved in the Catalog. Note that every job can have a different retention associated with it, so a single tape may contain jobs with retentions ranging from one day to many years. A tape will expire (that is the status changed from Full or Appendable to Empty) if all jobs on the tape expire (i.e., reach their retention periods). The Catalog condense operation checks for expired retention periods. If you do not perform a Catalog condense, then tapes will not expire. It is recommended that you perform a Catalog condense on a regular basis.

• Mark Original Offsite Determines if a backup tape is stored offsite. DPX adds the Offsite status to the tape.

Yes	Indicates in the Catalog that the tape is stored offsite.
No	Indicates in the Catalog that the tape is stored onsite.

• Append Offsite Determines if a backup tape with status “Offsite” can be appended to.

  Yes	Tapes in the library with status “Offsite” can be appended to. The Append Offsite field on the Edit Media Pool dialog must also be set to “Yes”.
  No	Tapes in the library with status “Offsite” can not be appended to.

  The Offsite status of a tape can be viewed through the Operate Tape Library function, the Configure Media function, or in the media volume report. Note that when you use the Operate Tape Library function to import a tape with status Offsite, the Offsite status is cleared and the tape is available for use.

• Twin Tapes

  Enables the twinning option. The twinning option creates two sets of backups simultaneously, eliminating the need for separate tape duplication for off-site vaulting.

Yes	Backs up data simultaneously to two tapes.
No	Disables twinning.

• Mark Twin Offsite Indicates in the Catalog the location of twinned tapes, if twinning is on.

Yes	Indicates that the twinned tape (second tape) is stored offsite.
No	Indicates in the Catalog that the tape is stored onsite.

• Tape EOJ Usage

  Determines what to do with the tape when the backup job is complete.

Rewind Tapes	For a standalone tape device, this option rewinds the tape and leaves it in the drive. For a tape library tape drive, this option rewinds, unloads, and returns the tape to its slot.
Unload Tapes	For a standalone tape device, this option rewinds the tape and ejects it from the drive. For a tape library tape drive, this option rewinds, unloads, and returns the tape to its slot. For DiskDirectory, this option causes empty volsers to be used before new volsers.
Leave Tapes	For both standalone and tape library tape drives, this option leaves the tape wound to the point where the job ended and leaves it in the drive. The next job attempts to use the tape in the drive instead of mounting a new tape. In the case of standalone drive, if the currently mounted tape is unacceptable (for example, if the next backup requires a tape from a different media pool), the operator is prompted to mount another tape. In the case of a tape library, if the tape in the drive is rejected for any reason, it unloads the tape, returns it to its slot, and proceed to select another tape.

• Cheksum Files

  Generates a checksum value for each file that is backed up. The checksum value is written to the SIDF header.

Yes	Generates a checksum value for backed up files.
No	Turns off checksum generation. If you turn checksum generation off, level 3 verification cannot be performed. For more information on level 3 verification, see the source option Verify Backup.

• Performance Options Indicates the desired performance option. This option helps control the number of tasks running concurrently within a backup job. The appropriateness of each selection depends upon the backup you are running.

Standard	Backs up UNIX nodes and Windows disks concurrently. Use this option when memory on the master or device server(s) is limited or when you will not derive benefit from any of the other choices.
Split Job by Partitions	Backs up UNIX partitions (mount points) and Windows disks concurrently. Use this option when backing up multiple partitions and there are no device or memory limitations.
Split Job by Files	Use this option when backing up single partitions (disks or volumes) that contain many files. This selection will create a task for every available tape drive in this job. Note. This option not supported for Linux OES.
Split Large Files/Partitions	Splits files that exceed the Split Size threshold. Each part of the split file is backed up concurrently. Use this with large raw partition backups or when you are backing up very large files and the number of files or partitions is less than the number of devices.

• Split Size (MB) Sets a threshold for file splitting. File splitting is the ability to split a file into smaller pieces and back up those pieces simultaneously. File splitting is designed for large files or raw partitions. If Split Large Files/Partitions is selected in Performance Options and the file exceeds the size entered here, the file splits automatically. If the file does not exceed the size entered here, the file does not split. Keep the threshold large enough (2 GB) so that file splitting is reserved for truly large files.

Note. This option applies only to UNIX. It is not available for Windows.

• Concurrency Per Device (Nodes) Sets the maximum number of tasks that can have files backed up to a single device. The default is 1.

Note. Increasing concurrency to values >1 during backups slows restore performance and requires more memory on the master server during restore.

• Max Devices (Devices) Limits the number of storage devices valid for use with this job. Use this option if you want to stop DPX from using all the drives in the selected device cluster so that some drives will be available for other purposes.

• Min Devices (Devices) Holds tasks within a job until the number of drives specified are available for each task to use.

• Tape Mount Attempts: Attempts Determines the maximum number of times to check a tape drive for a tape (for standalone tape devices only).

• Tape Mount Attempts: Intervals Determines how long to wait (in seconds) between attempts.

Early Device Release

Controls tape drive usage.

Select Yes to release the tape drive after the current task with a tape drive finishes so that the next job can use the same tape drive before completing the entire job.

Or, select No so as not to make the tape drive available for the next job until the entire job is completed.