A Sample Media Rotation; Media Sets; Fixed Rotation Type Descriptions - HP BB118BV - StorageWorks Data Protector Express Package User Manual

Many users use what is called the "Grandfather, father, son" media rotation concept. In our example
schedules these are marked by using the acronym "GFS." In a GFS rotation you use progressively larger
intervals with fuller backups. The GFS-20 schedule uses a total of 20 sets. Six sets are used for the Day
backup interval. Six sets are used for the Week backup interval. Six sets are used for the Month backup
interval. Two sets are used for the Year interval.
Using this GFS-20 schedule, the first media set used would be "Yearly Set 1" since all the time intervals
would try to run as soon as they were scheduled to, and the Year interval would have precedence over all
of the other intervals.
You can also create a job in Data Protector Express that does not contain any media rotation. If
you do so, Data Protector Express will not prompt you to insert specific media in a backup device; instead
you are responsible for reusing media based on your own media rotation plan. To avoid over-using your
media, and for maximum data availability when rotating media manually, be sure you always use the
oldest backup media each time you run the backup job.

Media Sets

Data Protector Express organizes rotated media into groups and sets based on the rotation type and
schedule interval. You can use these sets of media to recover data in the event of a disaster or other data
loss. Data Protector Express tracks which versions of files are stored on any set of media to ensure
successful data recovery.
Each time you run a backup job, Data Protector Express copies data onto backup media. Data Protector
Express organizes the media used to complete a single backup job into distinct media sets. Whether the
job requires several media or only one media to complete, they are identified in the Data Protector
Express catalog as a set. If you need to restore a specific version of a file, Data Protector Express will
locate the data based on its media set.
When planning scheduled backup jobs, it is important to know whether one media or several will be
required to complete a backup job. This can usually be estimated by comparing the size of the backup
selection to the capacity of the selected media. If you do not want Data Protector Express to use more
than one media for a backup job, then you must select fewer files (or "objects") to back up.
For fixed rotation types, Data Protector Express will select media sets based on the day of the week, week
of the month, day of the month or day of the year. Data Protector Express assigns names to media sets in
a fixed rotation using the schedule below.
Not fixed. Media sets are named for the interval that has been run. They follow the form [Interval] Set
[number]. For example, the first time an hourly backup job runs, the name of the media set will be
"Hourly Set 1." Other examples are "Daily Set 1," "Weekly Set 1," "Monthly Set 1," and "Yearly Set 1."
Fixed by day of week. An example of an hourly media set is "9:00 PM Hour." An example of a daily
st
media set is "1st Monday." An example of a weekly media set is "1 Week of the Month." An example of
a monthly media set is "1st Month." An example of a yearly media set is "Yearly 1."
Fixed by week of month. An example of an hourly media set is "9:00 PM Hour." An example of a daily
st
media set is "Monday 1st Week." An example of a weekly media set is "1 Week of the Month." An
example of a monthly media set is "1st Month." An example of a yearly media set is "Yearly 1."