Feature request: Tape to tape jobs and/or stream to multiple

[kkuszek]

Hello,
I want to keep an onsite and offsite tape backup. I want to reduce the window for tapes on my backup server and feel like having to just run the same job twice is a bit redundant and taxing.
I would like it if it was possible to schedule a job to duplicate 1 tape to another.
I also think if possible it would be ideal to allow a job to simultaneously stream to 2 different tape drives at once in a library using 2 drives. This would be ideal and wouldn't require reading twice.

[veremin]

So, correct me if I'm wrong, what you're willing to achieve is to run a tape backup job once, and then duplicate written mediums afterwards, using, say, tape duplication job?

As to parallel processing, it's coming in version 9, but it doesn't apply to the situations when you want to archive the same data twice, unless you have two identical jobs running at the same time.

Thanks.

[kkuszek]

Hello,
yes that is correct. My requirement is to have 2 tape copies of backups. It would be most ideal to write to 2 drives at once instead of the disk keeping busy longer and the tape jobs running longer in an ever shrinking backup window.
Another way to achieve that would be to allow for tape to tape duplication jobs, then I double my tape window but at least I might not be hammering the disk.
I can see situations where both functionalities are advantageous.

[veremin]

As mentioned, parallel processing is coming in version 9. Which means, that if your backup chain has several files to archive and tape library has more than one drive, a backup to tape job will be able to make advantage of them in simultaneous fashion.

If you want to copy same data twice, two identical backup to tape jobs will be required.

Thanks.