Setting NDMP Backup Destination Options

The Set Job Destination Options dialog controls how destination media volumes and devices behave during a backup operation.

To set backup destination options:

1. Open the Set Job Destination Options dialog box by doing one of the following:

   • Right-click the enterprise name or icon to display a context menu. Then click Set Destination Options.

• From the menu bar, select Backup > Set Destination Options.

• From the task panel, click Set Destination Options.

  The Set Job Destination Options dialog box appears.

2. Complete the Set Job Destination Options dialog box as needed.

Job Destination Options for NDMP Backup

The Set Job Destination Options dialog allows you to set options related to backup destinations. The options displayed depend on the backup mode.

Three Backup Type tabs appear:

• Backup Type

  Select the backup type these job options are being defined for. Choices are Base, Incremental, and Differential. For Catalog backups, only Base Backup is available.

An explanation of each field in the dialog and the available choices follows:

• 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.

Note. Selecting Use a new tape causes NDMP backup to use a new tape for each task in the backup job.

• 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.

• 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.

Warning! NDMP backup jobs may consist of multiple tasks. When Mark Original Offsite option is enabled, the tape is marked offsite and dismounted at the end of each task, and a new tape is mounted for the next task. Use caution when enabling this option for NDMP backup jobs, as it may result in multiple tapes being used for each backup job without fully utilizing the space available on each tape.

• 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.

• 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.

Tape Mount Attempts

The maximum number to check a tape in a standalone tape device.

Mount Interval (Seconds)

The number of seconds to wait between checking the availability of a tape in a standalone tape device.