Hi John, On Friday 12 October 2007 04:13:40 pm John Drescher wrote: > On 10/12/07, Ivan Adzhubey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi, > > > > Got my new AIT5 tape drive delivered today, did a firmware upgrade of the > > autochanger and installed it alongside with the old AIT3 one. All btape > > tests on the new drive completed with flying colors. Now I need advice on > > how to configure Bacula for two drives which use different (and > > incompatible) types of media in the same autochanger. Documentation is > > not very clear about it and apparently no one actually tested such setup > > but it seems to be possible. > > > > Documentation states: "The MediaType specified in the Director's Storage > > resource, must correspond to the Media Type specified in the Device > > resource of the Storage daemon configuration file". But what if I have > > two Devices configured in SD file with different MediaTypes? Do I need a > > second Storage resource in DIR config file pointing to the same > > Autochanger resource in SD config, but with the different MediaType? Will > > it work this way? > > Although I do not have the same situation (incompatible drives) but I > do have a two drive changer and for 6 months I used the drives > directly instead of specifying the autochanger device in my jobs. So > this is what I would do: > > Specify the Media Type independently for each device and then add > Storage resources for both devices (in addition to the autochanger) to > the bacula-dir.conf file. Then have your backups go to the individual > drives and not the changer.
My understanding so far is that your configuration (no Autochanger) is effectively very similar to mine (with Autochanger). Autochanger resource is apparently just a virtual place to keep things like Changer Command and Changer Device so that multiple Device resources in SD (describing actual drives) do not need them included in each one. Basically, it works the same both with and without Autochanger defined, except I guess Bacula can choose between the two drives automatically if it knows they are in the same autochanger (but I am not sure I want it to). Still, config looks rather cumbersome with these fake duplicate Storage devices. Wouldn't it be more clear if we drop mandatory requirement for MediaType in DIR/Storage resource altogether and move all MediaType specifications to SD only? After all, everything physical media definitely belongs to storage device(s). Another question is whether to go for separate pools per media type or not. Separate pools could server as extra protection to be absolutely sure Bacula won't try to load AIT5 tape into AIT3 drive, which may not only destroy the tape but damage the drive as well. However, from design point of view, it is not a proper solution. Pools should be about function (e.g. Full vs. Incremental backups) and not about physical implementation (e.g. tape format and capacity). I guess it's time to bite the bullet and proceed with testing, let's see what happens... --Ivan The information transmitted in this electronic communication is intended only for the person or entity to whom it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this information in error, please contact the Compliance HelpLine at 800-856-1983 and properly dispose of this information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Still grepping through log files to find problems? Stop. Now Search log events and configuration files using AJAX and a browser. Download your FREE copy of Splunk now >> http://get.splunk.com/ _______________________________________________ Bacula-users mailing list Bacula-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bacula-users
