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Question

Confused about "Secondary Target" for backup jobs

  • 24 November 2023
  • 5 comments
  • 242 views
M
Userlevel 4

I apologize if this is a silly question.  Here’s what I want to do - schedule backup jobs of VMs to disk repository, and then “clone” those backups to tape. So I‘ve set up backup jobs to my disk repository, and specified an  ACTIVE FULL backup on Friday and Incremental backups (which is what I want), and scheduled it for every night. Additionally, I have create a Tape job, pointing to this backup job, and scheduled it to start the next morning.

My question - the backup option for “Secondary Target” .. what exactly does that do? :-) Does that mean that the backup will go to my disk repository AND my tape library, all as part of one execution (i.e., does the tape part start as soon as the backup to disk finishes)? I already have the tape part executing on it’s own schedule, does this mean that the data will be sent to the tape *twice*, once by the scheduled tape job, and once as part of the “secondary target” option of the backup job? (which I don’t want).

The documentation states “Backup files created with the backup job will be archived to tape or copied to the secondary backup repository according to the secondary jobs schedule”. The part that I don’t understand is, if the tape job has it’s own schedule, what *exactly* does this option do, then? 

Again, sorry if I’m being dense.

5 comments

MicoolPaul
Userlevel 7
Badge +20

Hi @MikeLeone,

 

All you are doing via the secondary target is linking a backup job to a backup copy or backup to tape job. The primary job doesn’t do anything else, which is why the scheduling point you make refers to the scheduling configured on your backup copy or backup to tape job.

 

This documentation link might be of use:

Step 9. Specify Secondary Target - User Guide for VMware vSphere (veeam.com)

Michael Paul - #VeeamLegend | #VeeamVanguard | Veeam Certified Architect | VMware vExpert | https://micoolpaul.com | Twitter: @MicoolPaul | Mastodon: @micoolpaul@masto.nu | Bluesky: @micoolpaul.bsky.social
M
Userlevel 4

Hi @MikeLeone,

 

All you are doing via the secondary target is linking a backup job to a backup copy or backup to tape job. The primary job doesn’t do anything else, which is why the scheduling point you make refers to the scheduling configured on your backup copy or backup to tape job.

 

This documentation link might be of use:

Step 9. Specify Secondary Target - User Guide for VMware vSphere (veeam.com)

Thanks, I’ve seen that page, but it didn’t help clear my confusion.

So in my case, I really just need to be sure I have both the backup to disk, and the backup to tape jobs, both scheduled (at different times). It’s the scheduling of the backup to tape job that actually puts the data on the tape. I’m not sure what the “linking” of the secondary target does, since the backup to tape job is already set to use the backup to disk job as it’s source.

MicoolPaul
Userlevel 7
Badge +20

The secondary target allows you to do the linking that by the sounds of it you’ve already done manually, whilst you’re creating the backup job 🙂

 

It is only the backup to tape job that will put the data on tape don’t worry 🙂

Michael Paul - #VeeamLegend | #VeeamVanguard | Veeam Certified Architect | VMware vExpert | https://micoolpaul.com | Twitter: @MicoolPaul | Mastodon: @micoolpaul@masto.nu | Bluesky: @micoolpaul.bsky.social
M
Userlevel 4

OK, thanks! Yeah, I thought that by making the 2 jobs (1 to disk, then 1 from disk to tape) that i would accomplish what I needed. I just couldn’t figure out what I was missing in the “Secondary Target” section. So I will just continue on as I have been. Thanks!

Scott
Userlevel 7
Badge +8

I have my backups go to a second repository at another site. This is a Veeam Backup Copy.

You can also have a secondary destination as Tape if you have a job configured.

 

For example. Lets say you have multiple tape Media Pools. 1 Year, 2 Years, 5 Years, 10 Years can be the pool names and retention periods.

 

You could create a new Backup Job for a group of VM’s, and on the secondary jobs you could select your Backup Copy job for your replication to another repository, and a Media Pool on tape with the correct retention.

 

I have seen people use a single copy job, and copy jobs for every job.  Do what works best for you, and is easy to manage.

 

Just remember that if the Tape job is running long, the backup job will wait to start if it’s locked.  I have this issue sometimes as my tape jobs run over 24 hours due to the large amounts of data I back up on our weekly jobs.  Sometimes having multiple tape jobs scheduled at different times can be beneficial. 

 

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