Feature to be added for scheduling Backup Copy Jobs

[jhines97]

I have noticed that there are four options for scheduling a Backup Job. You can start the Backup Job after another Job has run is one of the options. If that option was implemented as a scheduling option for Backup Copy Jobs, or if an option to start another job was implemented as a check box in the Backup Job scheduling box you would be able to chain a Backup Copy Job to start right after a Backup Job was completed. I worked with Tyler to do some troubleshooting for a backup copy job that takes 8 - 14 hours to complete (it depends on the size of the backup). I run this backup twice per day (once at 4:30 am and once at 5:30 pm). Given the current Backup Copy Job scheduling parameters there is no way to reliably schedule two offsite copies per day. If a backup copy job is set to run every 12 hours if the backup copy takes more than 12 hours the backup copy is started over again and again and since a new backup point is seen in the repository the Copy Job is started over instead of resumed. This creates a vicious cycle that makes me have 0 restore points at my remote site. I tried having two different backup copy jobs that run continuously one that starts at 6:00 PM and one that starts at 5:00 AM, but the backup copy jobs would run into locked files on the source side at times and create a cycle of no restore points being copied. I have settled on a single backup point being copied offsite for now; with two backup points being created locally. I moved from Unitrends UEB to Veeam Backup and Recovery and UEB has the scheduling flexibility to schedule a Backup Copy Job (Unitrends refers to the same process as Backup Replication in the older versions of UEB). I miss that functionality from UEB, but Veeam B&R has so many other advantages.

[foggy]

If that option was implemented as a scheduling option for Backup Copy Jobs, or if an option to start another job was implemented as a check box in the Backup Job scheduling box you would be able to chain a Backup Copy Job to start right after a Backup Job was completed.

Backup copy job is a bit different in terms of scheduling, it runs continuously and is based on the copy intervals. Basically, it is chained to the source backup job in the sense that it waits for it to create the restore point and immediately starts copying data. If it is unable to meed the required backup window in your case (12 hous), it means that it is not properly configured or environmental limitations don't allow it to do this (too slow connection, for example). Was the initial job run successful? If you seed the initial backup copy job run or used the longer interval to allow the full data to be transferred, I guess it would then be able to copy all the changes during subsequent intervals.

[jhines97]

I experimented with Tyler Payton on case 02076662 for about a month to see if we could get the timing to work correctly. Neither Tyler nor myself were able to get the timing working correctly to copy more than a single job in 24 hours. The problem with changing the schedule from once per day to once every 12 hours was that the 12 hour window begins anytime the job is started. So, if the server is rebooted at noon on a Sunday (to install Microsoft patches) the windows are from noon to midnight and midnight to noon. If the server is restarted for maintenance to the Veeam product (like installing a new version) at 10am the windows are from 10am to 10pm and 10pm to 10 am. Since the windows have variable start times unless I am able to disable and re-enable the backup copy job at 4:30 pm on the day that the server was restarted the backup windows don't work out. Also, if the job takes longer than 12 hours to copy then we end up in a vicious cycle where no restore points are copied because 12 hours is too short to copy the data in one fell swoop and with a backup job running every 12 hours the backup copy job sees that a new restore point has been created and instead of continuing where it left off it starts the copy job all over again.

[foggy]

Ok, so the issue is in fact that the copy interval is restarted after backup server reboots. Thanks for explanation.

[jhines97]

Yes the issue is that the time to restart the job setting disappears when you select hours or minutes. The time of day setting remains when you select days. You can see such in the screenshots I have uploaded.
https://ibb.co/ggpOi5
https://ibb.co/ibnXbQ

[jhines97]

Having the backup job trigger the backup copy job may be an easier feat than changing the scheduling to allow for a time to be set to restart the copy job. If a user selects per hour or per minute the backup copy job would need to have multiple times scheduled instead of a single time.

[foggy]

We are already thinking in that direction, so thanks for providing additional feedback.