Veritas Backup Exec Tips

Reader Please Note: The information in this article is correct to the best of my knowledge. If you find any errors, have any comments, additions, or just have questions, please feel free to contact me at billetter@networktechnologist.com

Glossary

Term	Definition
BENT	Backup Exec for Microsoft Windows Servers (NT and 2000)
Open File Option (OFO)	Optional functionality for Backup Exec that allows backing up files that are open or busy.
Outlook Web Access (OWA)	Using a web browser to access the Exchange data. The resulting web page looks like the Outlook application and gives you access to your email, calandar, etc.

Sources for Veritas Support:

http://support.veritas.com    The Veritas Support web site

http://news.support.veritas.com    The Veritas Support forums - web access

veritas.backupexec.windowsnt.english    The Veritas Support forums - nntp access

Procedure to erase a tape

NOTE: This process works on Windows 2000 using Backup Exec 8.60 Rev 3878 using a DAT tape drive.

1. Put the tape to be erased in the tape drive.

2. In Backup Exec select the "Devices" tab and right click on the tape drive icon in the left hand window. Select "Inventory". After a short time in the right hand window you should see information such as Media Label, Allocated Date, Overwrite Protection Time Left and Append Time Left. You can check the progress of this process by selecting the "Activity Monitor" tab.

3. Make a note of the Media Label, this is used in step 5.

4. Still in the "Devices" tab, right click the tape drive and this time select "Erase -> Quick". This should start a quick erase of the tape. Again the progress can be check in the "Activity Monitor" tab.

5. In the "Media" tab right click the tape Media Label that you noted in step 3, and select the choice "Move Media . . "

6. Move the media to the "Scratch Media" location.

After step 6 the tape has been erased (assuming that no errors occured) and can be reused.

Backing up the M: drive for Exchange

You should not attempt to backup up the M: drive on your exchange server. Instead make sure that you have the appropriate agent for Exchange backup installed as part of the Veritas software. Then, select the object "Information Store". This is the complete exchange server.

Not only is it not necessary to backup the M: drive created by Exchange, this can corrupt your Exchange Data and create errors when using OWA. Neither Microsoft nor Veritas support the backing up of the M: drive.

Cures for Various Error Messages:

Error Connecting to the Media Server

For some functions, the remote registry services must be running on the NT/2000 server. This can be done using the Services applet, located in Control Panel -> Services on Windows NT and in Control Panel -> Administrative Tools on Windows 2000.

Error: The Open File Option does not currently support the ability to follow mount points.

This error condition is explained in Technote ID: 236143. On a Windows 2000 Domain Controller it can be caused because of some default mount points that are located in the Sysvol folder. To eliminate this error, in BENT under the Windows 2000 tab uncheck the "Backup Files and Directories by Following Junction Points" checkbox.

OFO: Initialization Failed
Device D:
OFO: Insufficient System Resources Exist to Initialize OFO
Veritas Technote ID: 234668 discusses the workaround for this. Evidently the OFO needs scratch disk space to use while backing up busy files. If this file size is set too big (yes, really, too big) then the backup can fail with this error message. This can be cured by running the OFO installation wizard and choosing smaller file sizes. In particular the initial size of static volume = 200 MB and maximum sizeof static volume = 800 MB seem to work. There is also a hot fix available for BENT Version 8.60 REV 3878 which should cure this problem.

Back To Main Page For List Of Other Documents