Protecting Remote Storage Media

Administrators can make up to three copies of each Remote Storage medium. This ensures that tape media, which is less durable than other types of media, is available to the administrator for multiple purposes, including rotating media to off-site storage and having data redundancy in case a tape becomes no longer usable. Media sets can be removed from changers to provide shelf storage of infrequently used data. Media sets can also be added to the backup sets to provide a full set of managed data for recovery.

Using the Remote Storage snap-in, the administrator can identify the copy state of each Remote Storage medium, request that copies be created or updated, and request that media be recreated from copies. Media copies should be part of the normal backup procedure for a Remote Storage volume.

A minimum of two drive changers and three tapes of equal length are needed to create media copies.

Once Remote Storage data has been moved to the media, a copy set of all Remote Storage media can be produced.

To make media copies

1. In the Remote Storage snap-in, set the number of needed media copies on the general properties tab. You need enough media within the changer to be able to create copies of each medium that is within the Remote Storage media list.
2. In the media context menu, start the Submit Synchronize Media Copies Now wizard. This will submit a one-time-only scheduled job to provide a copy of the media.

Note

The schedule can be updated under the scheduled task manager to provide an update of the copy set regularly. Only use this option if media sets are not being rotated out of the changer.

To add a media copy to the Backup set for recovery

1. After performing the media copy procedure, right-click the media set that is going to be used as part of the backup set.

   The copy must be in the Remote Storage pool before it can be deleted from the Remote Storage databases. By deleting the media copy, you set the tape to Idle, Available.

2. In the Remote Storage pool, right-click the appropriate media, and then click Copy.
3. In the Remote Storage pool, right-click the wanted media pool, and then click Paste.

   This allows the media copy to become part of the Backup set. This medium can subsequently be removed from the changer. A medium that is created by Backup does not carry an on tape catalog and requires significantly more time to restore than media produced from Remote Storage. Use multiple media copies to recover the media from a standard media copy. The deleted media copies can be recreated. Copies that are deleted from the database are not available for Remote Storage recovery but can be recovered using Backup.

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