hello,

I'm using Veritas Backup Exec 9.0 for Windows servers and i was
wondering if there was a way to simply copy files without converting
(sometimes compressing) them into a single file w/ the .bkf extensions?

All my backups compress the files into a .bkf single file, which is ok
for all my different types of backups except for this one instance that
I need.   It seems all backups must be made to a "device" and one of
the properties of a "device" is the max size of the .bak file, so it
seems like it's not possible...

Thanks,
Dave

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

There is a way to do what you ask. There is an option in the job properties
where you can specify a pre or post command(batch file) to run before or
after the backup job. So, you could schedule a backup job that backs-up 1
file at night, and have it run a pre/post command to move the files you want
moved with a batch file.

If your going to "Back" them up, then they will either need to go to a bkf
file or a real tape drive. There is no other way for many reasons to do it
much different than this.

Thanks
Nick

"Dave" <chakachimp@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1141002414.295995.98520@v46g2000cwv.googlegroups.com...
> hello,
>
> I'm using Veritas Backup Exec 9.0 for Windows servers and i was
> wondering if there was a way to simply copy files without converting
> (sometimes compressing) them into a single file w/ the .bkf extensions?
>
> All my backups compress the files into a .bkf single file, which is ok
> for all my different types of backups except for this one instance that
> I need.   It seems all backups must be made to a "device" and one of
> the properties of a "device" is the max size of the .bak file, so it
> seems like it's not possible...
>
> Thanks,
> Dave
>

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Hello Nick,

Thanks for your reply. That sucks that it has to be done via a command
line.  The reason I need this is because I have an external hard drive
on my backup server. I had constant issues trying to copy directly to
this drive from all of my other servers.  I've moved to a 2-step
solution where I copy files first to the local hard drive on the backup
server and then from there to the external drive. This solution never
causes any problems and i'm happy with it, however it makes my bkf
files on the external drive contain bkf files...

I also only want to do this once a month, so the pre-post command
wouldn't help very much cuz i do the other backups much more
frequently.  Looks like i'll just implement a manual batch file to run
via a scheduled task, not a big deal...  The problem is this opens up
more possibilities of things going wrong and me not knowing about it.

It seems the root of my problem is either the drivers for the external
drives i'm using (Maxtor One-Touch II), the OS (windows 2000 server)
and/or backup exec 9.0.  Does Backup Exec 10d offer better features to
justify moving to it? Backup Exec 10d boasts about how much simpler it
is, which for me would I would be interested in because I constantly
struggle with the complexity of the features in 9.0...

Thanks!
Dave

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

just to append to my previous comments, i suppose there would be a way
to write a batch file that could conditionally check do this when i
want, however i dread going down this path mainly because if the backup
doesn't work, for example, i have a huge surface area as to where the
problem could have been...

Tx,
Dave

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Hi Dave,
You can use 10d to do a two staged approach like you are trying to do. There
is a copy job option that I believe was added to 9.1 where you can backup to
disk like you are currently doing, and then you can have another job run
later that will take that data in the bkf file and move it off to tape for
you. A two staged approach like you are trying to do currently, but
automated and you can run reports, etc, on the data.

I'm currently using an external Maxtor HDD with 10d to do my local backups
at home and it works great with 10d. Not to mention that you can do
synthetic fulls with 10d as well. There have been great strides to simplify
the backups and maintain performance with the recent versions. You should
try the eval on http://www.backupexec.com and see what you think. I think
you will be impressed.

Nick

"Dave" <chakachimp@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1141062839.312187.208280@j33g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> just to append to my previous comments, i suppose there would be a way
> to write a batch file that could conditionally check do this when i
> want, however i dread going down this path mainly because if the backup
> doesn't work, for example, i have a huge surface area as to where the
> problem could have been...
>
> Tx,
> Dave
>

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]