backupexec

Any way to make Backup Exec choose storage for job properly?

Here is my problem: We are using Backup Exec 16 with 3 drives (2TB each) for storage configured (SAN device with 3 RAID arrays exposed to BE).

Since there is not much space, I had to configure backup jobs to use ANY storage it sees fit, because otherwise it would be a nightmare to balance storage usage. And that is where my problem begins: For some reason Backup Exec tries to do impossible things, like backup 170 GB mailbox database to the storage which have 50GB free, or even to full storage, while there is another storage with over 500GB to do the job.

I thought maybe that 500 GB Free storage was full at time of backup, so I ran backup job manually, but no luck - it still chooses another full storage, instead of proper one.

So, my question is: Is BE supposed to be dumb as rock or is that me misconfigured something?

PS: Also I am not allowed to rebuild those 3 raids into one space.

Solution

  • There are several methods to select storage. And, yes, BackupExec can span jobs between multiple storage. See limitations and explanation below:

    Specifying a default selection method for a device in a storage device pool

    • A storage device with the least amount of free space. This setting is beneficial for manual off-site rotation strategies since the job runs to the same device until the device is full.

    • A storage device with the most amount of free space. This setting is beneficial for a backup job for which Granular Recovery Technology (GRT) is enabled, and that is sent to a disk storage device pool. A GRT job cannot span when it is sent to a disk storage device.

    The Backup Exec Management Command Line Interface commands are as follows:

    New-BEStorageDevicePool sets the device selection method for a new disk-based storage device pool when you create it.

    Set-BEStorageDevicePool sets the device selection method for an existing disk-based storage device pool.

    For information on how to use the Backup Exec Management Command Line Interface and the commands, view the help file named BEMCLI, located in the default installation location:

    C:\Program Files\Veritas\Backup Exec

    See the guide