How To Initiate a Multiple-Tape Catalog Backup

Similarly to how the automatic-catalog backup works, it is important to ensure that no other NetBackup operations that modify the NetBackup catalogs are in progress while the two catalog backups are performed. Such operations include:

• Backups and archives
• Catalog compression
• TIR record expiration or retrieval (during a restore operation)
• Catalog image record expiration
• Image imports
• Image duplication

Performing the catalog backups when any of these operations are in progress can cause an inconsistent catalog backup.

Since both image import and image duplication operations must be initiated manually by the NetBackup administrator, it is relatively easy to ensure that these are not in progress during the catalog backup. However, it is more difficult to ensure that no backups or restores are running, since both the NetBackup scheduler and other users can initiate these.

More difficult still, are operations that are started automatically by NetBackup, such as catalog compression, TIR record expiration or retrieval, and image record expiration. Due to the way the NetBackup scheduler interlocks processes, do not start the two-step backup script with the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/session_notify script. We suggest using another scheduler (such as cron on UNIX) to start the two-step backup script or run it manually when the above operations are not occurring.