Restoring from Tape

[storageguy]

Hi,

We have SAP on Oracle that we backed-up using BRtools. We have Veeam Plugin for SAP on Oracle installed.
In the Veeam Console, we also created a Backup Copy as well as File to Tape Copy.

Now we want to restore a specific database and redo logs from Tape Copy. But in the Tape, I can only see .vab and .vasm files.

How would i know which .vab and .vasm files contains the database and redo logs that I want to restore from the Tape Copy?

Thanks for any help

[vnikiforov]

Hello,

You don't need to identify individual files. A single .vab can hold multiple backups of both the database and its logs, since the plug-in reuses backup files for up to 24 hours or 1000 objects per file. The backup file mapping is resolved by Veeam Backup & Replication and the plug-in.

Rough workflow - restore the whole job folder instead of picking files.
Note: if you run into any difficulties with this approach, please open a case with Veeam support for assistance.
This forum is not a technical support forum, but a platform to meet the Product management, RnD and discuss product features.

1. Use file restore from tape to bring the entire plug-in backup folder back to disk: all .vab and .vasm files plus the .vacm job metadata file.
2. Put that folder on a backup repository, rescan it, and map the backup on the SAP server, following Importing Backup Files.
3. Run BRRESTORE with the veeam_initSID.sap profile as usual: brrestore -b for the database and brrestore -a for the redo logs.

[PetrM]

Hello,

Thanks @vnikiforov for the clear instructions!

However, I have to note that we do not officially support using a File to Tape job to process plug-in backup files to tape, because we have never completed a full testing cycle for this workaround in our lab. Moreover, in rare corner cases, this .vab reuse approach may result in inconsistent data on tape when paired with a File to Tape job.

@storageguy
I believe that you may stick with this workaround keeping in mind the instructions Vladimir provided above until the 13.1 release, in which we're going to officially support processing plug-in backups to tape using a regular B2T job. Also, I'd recommend performing test restores occasionally to make sure everything is under control.

Thanks!