Free Pool Media handling

[trembichda]

Hello Veeam,

iam actually working with our main backup tool HPE Data Protector.

For our VMware infrastrukture we are migrating more and more backups to Veeam Backup & Replication.

I miss a feature in Veeam that i know from HPE. It is called "Move free media to free pool".

In Veeam Backup & Replication under "Tape Infrastrukture" i can create media pools and set the option "add tapes from free media pool automatically when more tapes are required". But if a tape run out of protection, there is no way back like "move free or unprotected media to the free media pool". I come from Data Protector and there are both options. The way from the free media pool and back when a media is unprotected/free. I have a minimum of two media pools for monthly and yearly backups and one free media pool. Both pools operate with one free media pool and add tapes from them but never give a tape back if the tape is unprotected/free. The situation is possible that one pool has some unprotected media and another want to add a new tape for a backup job but in the free media pool is no free tape. So the backup job crashs. To do this operations manually and monitor the tape constellation is not ideal. Additonally Data Protector can send a free pool notification mail if in a free media pool are less than my specified tapes.

I hope this is a valid feature request and i can see this feature in one of the next versions.

Best regards,
Daniel

[Dima P.]

Hi Daniel,

Can you elaborate why assigning free tapes to the needed media pool in advance does not cover your scenario? Thanks.

[trembichda]

Hi Dima,

in my scenario i have any number of media pools that can handle tapes from one free media pool.
This is possible to set in Veeam.

But the way back if a tape is out of protection is not possible to set in Veeam.
So if a tape is unprotected, the tape or media remains in the media pool where it was assigned regarding the first backup job.
The situation could be, that a media pool has some unprotected/free media and a backup Job wants to write in another media pool.
If then no media/tape is in the free pool, the backup Job will fail.
Thats annoying because there are free media in Veeam but not in the free media pool, because a media pool does not share his unprotected/free tapes.
The media handling is only possible in one way and so i have to move the tapes manually in Veeam and take care that i have enough free medias in the free pool and not in a media pool.

[emak]

Hi

I have exactly the same question and was searching through the forum now. Maybe there is a way to drive with PS-Scripts?

Problem:
We have different media pools. A tape gets write protected depending on the job/media pool it was run. After the predefined time period it is unprotected/free again and we want that tape to be immediately available for all jobs again. We don't mind that a tape is switching between different media pools but we mind very much, when a copy backup job is not running because of no free tapes (while as a lot of free tapes were available, but just in the wrong pool).

Question:
Did I miss an answer in the forum when searching or is either the PS-Script a possible way or is maybe even a GUI solution planned in Veeam 9.5?

Thanks for your help.

[Dima P.]

Hi emak,

When specific tape media, assigned to the media pool, gets retired it will be reused by its own media pool again automatically. Are you looking for an option to return expired tape to free media pool and let such media be reused by another media pool if required?

[emak]

Hi Dima

Precisely, sorry for late answer! Is there a way to achieve that?

[Dima P.]

emak,

Only by manually moving expired tapes to free media pool or via said PS script. This request makes sense – consider it’s added to the next version enchantments discussion.