Automated Operations Part 2

Selecting Files to Restore

By default, Retrospect selects all files from the source Backup Set. You can choose a different pre-defined selector or create a custom selector to select a subset of all files.

1. Click the Selecting button.
2. Click a selector, then click OK.

You can also click More Choices to use Retrospect’s file selection criteria to create a custom selector. Selectors are explained in detail in Using Selectors.

1. Selectors are used to determine which files are considered for restoring, not which files actually get restored. For example, if you choose All Files, Retrospect compares all the files in the source Backup Set with the files already on the destination volume. Matching files are not copied from the source to the destination.

Setting Restore Execution Options

Click the Options button to display the options window. Then, click More Choices to specify a number of options that are explained in detail in Execution Options.

The Update modify dates option is only available for restore operations. See Files Execution Options for more information.

Setting the Execution Unit

If your edition of Retrospect is capable of running multiple simultaneous executions, you can specify which execution unit to use for this operation (or choose “Any Execution unit’). Make your selection in the summary window’s list box. See Assigning Execution Units for more information.

Scripted Backup Set Transfer

If you need to copy all files and Snapshots from one or more Backup Sets to a single new or existing Backup Set on a regular basis, you can create a Transfer Backup Sets script to automate this process. These scripts can be used to:

• Clone a Backup Set
• Protect against media failure
• Provide for offsite storage
• Start a new cycle of backups
• Consolidate multiple Backup Sets to a single Backup Set

Transferring Backup Sets scripts, by default, match files in the source to files already in the destination and only copy the necessary files. Existing Snapshots and files on the destination remain untouched.

Transfer Backup Sets scripts do not have a preview feature. You must rely on selectors instead of picking and choosing files by hand.

To transfer files between Backup Sets, you must have a separate tape or CD/DVD drive for each Backup Set, even if both Backup Sets are on the same type of media. In the case of disk and file Backup Sets the need for separate backup devices does not apply.

If you do not have separate drives for each Backup Set, you can first transfer files temporarily to a disk Backup Set and then transfer the disk Backup Set to the final destination Backup Set.

The steps to create a Transfer Backup Sets script are:

• Creating a Transfer Backup Sets Script
• Selecting the Transfer Backup Sets Source
• Selecting the Transfer Backup Sets Destination
• Selecting Files to Transfer
• Setting Additional Options
• Setting the Execution Unit

The steps for scheduling and saving are the same for all scripts:

• Scheduling Scripts
• Saving Scripts

Creating a Transfer Backup Sets Script

1. From the navigation bar, click Automate then click the Manage Scripts button.

The script editing window displays.

1. Click the New button to create a new script.

The script selection window displays.

1. Select Transfer Backup Sets from the list and click OK.

The script naming window displays.

1. Enter a name and click New.

The script appears in its own window.

+ This script window is very similar to the immediate Transfer Backup Sets summary window, with information for the source Backup Set(s), destination Backup Set, file selection criteria, and options. Since this is a script, it also includes schedule information.

1. To change information, click the appropriate button.

Sources lets you specify one or more Backup Sets.

Destination lets you choose the destination Backup Set.

Selecting lets you choose a selector, a kind of filter for selecting files and folders to be transferred.

Options Lets you specify various options, including verification and data compression.

Schedule lets you set the script to run at a specific time or at regular intervals.

Selecting the Transfer Backup Sets Source

Because this is a new script, Retrospect says “No Backup Set selected” in the Sources section of the script summary window.

1. Click the Sources button to display the Backup Set Selection window.
2. Select one or more Backup Sets containing the data you want to transfer.

If the Backup Set you are looking for is not listed, click the More button to access additional Backup Sets by opening or recreating their Catalog Files.

1. Transfer Backup Sets scripts copy all Snapshots and associated files in the source Backup Set(s) to the destination Backup Set. This is different from Transfer Snapshots scripts, which copy only active Snapshots and associated files. See Scripted Snapshot Transfer for more information.
2. Click OK.

The Backup Set(s) are listed in the script window.

Selecting the Transfer Backup Sets Destination

Because this is a new script, Retrospect says “No Backup Set selected” in the Destination section of the script window.

1. Click the Destination button.

The Backup Set Selection window displays.

1. Select the destination Backup Set.

If the only Backup Sets listed in the window are already specified as the source, or if you do not want to use any of the Backup Sets in the list as the destination, click Create New to create a new Backup Set. See Creating Backup Sets for more information.

1. The destination Backup Set and the source Backup Set must be different.
2. Click OK.

Selecting Files to Transfer

By default, Retrospect selects all files from the source Backup Set(s). You can choose a different pre-defined selector or create a custom selector to select a subset of all files.

1. Click the Selecting button.
2. Click a selector, then click OK.

You can also click More Choices to use Retrospect’s file selection criteria to create a custom selector. Selectors are explained in detail in Using Selectors.

Setting Additional Options

Retrospect includes a number of execution options that are specific to Backup Set Transfers.

Click Options in the summary window to change the default settings for the Copy Snapshots, Verification, Data compression, Recycle source Backup Set, and other options.

See Transfer Execution Options for more information about these options.

Click the More Choices button to access additional execution options. See Execution Options for more information.

Setting the Execution Unit

If your edition of Retrospect is capable of running multiple simultaneous executions, you can specify which execution unit to use for this script (or choose “Any Execution unit’). Make your selection in the summary window’s list box. See Assigning Execution Units for more information.

Scripted Snapshot Transfer

If you need to copy Snapshots and their associated files from their source Backup Sets to a new or existing Backup Set on a regular basis, you can create a Transfer Snapshots script to automate this process. These scripts can be used to:

• Start a new Backup Set with a synthetic full backup
• Create an offsite disaster recovery Backup Set
• Start a new cycle of backups with a full backup

Transfer Snapshots scripts are different from Transfer Backup Sets scripts in a number of ways. Transfer Snapshots scripts:

• Transfer only active Snapshots; Transfer Backup Sets scripts transfer all Snapshots.
• Provide different methods for selecting which Snapshots get transferred; Transfer Backup Sets scripts always transfer all Snapshots.

By default, transferring Snapshots matches files in the source to files already in the destination and only copies the necessary files. Existing Snapshots and files on the destination remain untouched.

Transfer Snapshots scripts do not have a preview feature. You must rely on selectors instead of picking and choosing files by hand.

To transfer Snapshots between Backup Sets, you must have a separate tape or CD/DVD drive for each Backup Set, even if both Backup Sets are on the same type of media. In the case of disk and file Backup Sets the need for separate backup devices does not apply.

If you do not have separate drives for each Backup Set, you can first transfer Snapshots temporarily to a disk Backup Set and then transfer the disk Backup Set Snapshots to the final destination Backup Set.

Snapshot Transfer and Synthetic Fulls

Transfer Snapshots scripts allows you to create what Retrospect calls a “synthetic full” backup. Retrospect creates synthetic fulls when transferring Snapshots to:

• A new Backup Set
• An existing Backup Set when the “Match source Catalog File to destination Catalog File” option is turned off

Synthetic fulls allow you to quickly seed a new Backup Set with only the most recent Snapshots (for example) from an existing Backup Set. This allows you to start a fresh cycle of backups without losing the time-saving benefits of Progressive Backup. Subsequent backups to the new Backup Set will copy only new and changed files.

After the transfer, the destination Backup Set contains the same data it would after a full backup. You get a full backup without having to perform the more time-consuming process of executing a actual full backup.

• A synthetic full backup is the equivalent of a full backup done at the time of the most recent Snapshots. It does not include files that are new or changed since the date and time of those Snapshots, nor does it include older versions of files contained in non-current Snapshots.

Synthetic fulls are also useful for creating a Backup Set that contains all its files in one contiguous session. This allows Retrospect to restore entire volumes more quickly, since it does not have to search through multiple sessions to find all the required files.

The steps to create a Transfer Snapshots script are:

• Creating a Transfer Snapshots Script
• Selecting the Transfer Snapshots Source
• Selecting the Transfer Snapshots Destination
• Selecting the Files to Transfer
• Setting Additional Options
• Setting the Execution Unit

The steps for scheduling and saving are the same for all scripts:

• Scheduling Scripts
• Saving Scripts

Creating a Transfer Snapshots Script

1. From the navigation bar, click Automate then click the Manage Scripts button.

The script editing window displays.

1. Click the New button to create a new script.

The script selection window displays.

1. Select Transfer Snapshots from the list and click OK.

The script naming window displays.

1. Enter a name and click New.

The script appears in its own window.

+ This script window is very similar to the immediate Transfer Snapshots summary window, with information for the source Backup Set, destination Backup Set, file selection criteria, and options. Since this is a script, it also includes schedule information.

1. To change information, click the appropriate button.

Source lets you specify source Backup Sets and Snapshots.

Destination lets you choose the destination Backup Set.

Selecting lets you choose a selector, a kind of filter for selecting files and folders to be transferred.

Options lets you specify various options, including verification and data compression.

Schedule lets you set the script to run at a specific time or at regular intervals.

Selecting the Transfer Snapshots Source

Because this is a new script, Retrospect says “No Backup Set selected” in the Source section of the script summary window.

1. Click the Source button to display the source window.
2. In the source selection window’s top list, select the Backup Set containing the Snapshot(s) you want to transfer.

If the Backup Set you are looking for is not listed, click the More button to access additional Backup Sets by opening or recreating their Catalog Files.

Retrospect displays a list of the selected Backup Set’s active Snapshots in the window’s bottom list, along with the date and time of the Snapshot and the name of the backed up volume.

The list of Snapshots is only displayed if you select one of the following options: “Selected Snapshots” or “The most recent Snapshot for each source selected”. Only Backup Sets with a date next to them contain Snapshots.

By default, Retrospect saves the most recent Snapshot for each volume (or subvolume) that was backed up in its Catalog File. These Snapshots are considered active. All Snapshots, including older ones, are saved on the backup media (tape, disk, or CD/DVD). Following each successful backup or archive operation, the old Snapshot is replaced in the Catalog File with the new one. The old Snapshot remains untouched on the backup media and can be retrieved when needed.

1. A disk Backup Set with grooming enabled saves all the Snapshots required by its grooming policy in the Catalog File. For example, if you told Retrospect to save the last 10 backups, then up to ten Snapshots for each volume will be active. In addition, any Snapshots that have been manually locked are also active.
2. Click Add Snapshot if the Snapshot you want to transfer is not listed.

Retrospect displays a list of all Snapshots in the Backup Set. Select a Snapshot and click Retrieve to copy the older Snapshot from the Backup Set media (which may require you to insert media) and add it to the list in the source selection window. That Snapshot is now active.

1. The Retrieve button is disabled when you select a Snapshot that is already available.
2. Select the Snapshot(s) to transfer.

Once you select a source Backup Set, there are a number of ways to select which Snapshots to transfer.

1. The most recent Snapshot for each source transfers the most recent Snapshot and associated files for each volume (or subvolume) in the active Snapshots list. Retrospect transfers whatever the most recent Snapshots are at the time the script runs.
2. The most recent Snapshot for each source selected transfers the most recent Snapshot and associated files for each volume (or subvolume) you select in the active Snapshots list. Retrospect transfers whatever the most recent Snapshots are for the selected sources at the time the script runs.
3. All active Snapshots for each source transfers all active Snapshots and associated files. To see the list of active Snapshots and their sources, temporarily choose the “Selected Snapshots” option. Make sure to choose “All active Snapshots for each source” again before clicking OK. To make an older Snapshot active, click Add Snapshot.
4. Selected Snapshots transfers only those Snapshots (and associated files) that you select from the active Snapshots list. Control-click or Shift-click to select multiple Snapshots. To make an older Snapshot active, click Add Snapshot.

“The most recent Snapshot…” options are very useful for Transfer Snapshots scripts since the list of a Backup Set’s active Snapshots changes each time you back up.

1. Transfer Snapshots scripts only copy active Snapshots. To copy all Snapshots, use a Transfer Backup Sets script. See Scripted Backup Set Transfer for more information.
2. Click OK.

The Backup Set and Snapshot information is displayed in the source window.

To transfer additional Snapshots, click Add.

To remove a source, select it and click Remove.

When you are satisfied with your selections click OK.

Selecting the Transfer Snapshots Destination

Because this is a new script, Retrospect says “No Backup Set selected” in the Destination section of the script window.

1. Click the Destination button.

The Backup Set Selection window displays.

1. Select the destination Backup Set.

If you do not want to use any of the Backup Sets in the list as the destination, click Create New to create a new Backup Set. See Creating Backup Sets for more information.

1. Click OK.

Selecting the Files to Transfer

By default, Retrospect transfers all files from the selected Snapshots to the destination Backup Set. You can choose a different selector to transfer a subset of all files.

1. Click the Selecting button.
2. Click a selector, then click OK.

You can also click More Choices to use Retrospect’s file selection criteria to create a custom selector. Selectors are explained in detail in Using Selectors.

Setting Additional Options

Retrospect includes a number of execution options that are specific to Snapshot transfers.

Click Options in the summary window to change the default settings for Media Verification, Data compression, Recycle source Backup Set, and other options.

See Transfer Execution Options for more information about these options.

Click the More Choices button to access additional execution options. See Execution Options for more information.

Setting the Execution Unit

If your edition of Retrospect is capable of running multiple simultaneous executions, you can specify which execution unit to use for this script (or choose “Any Execution unit’). Make your selection in the summary window’s list box. See Assigning Execution Units for more information.

Scripted Grooming

Groom scripts provide the ability to schedule a time to reclaim disk space. When a Groom script runs, Retrospect deletes older files and folders from the source disk Backup Set(s) based on its specified grooming policy. In the absence of a Groom script, Retrospect won’t delete older files and folders until it requires more disk space.

See The Options tab for more information on enabling grooming for disk Backup Sets.

The steps to create a Groom script are:

• Creating a Groom Script
• Selecting the Source to Groom
• Setting the Execution Unit

The steps for scheduling and saving are the same for all scripts:

• Scheduling Scripts
• Saving Scripts

Creating a Groom Script

1. From the navigation bar, click Automate then click the Manage Scripts button.

The script editing window displays.

1. Click the New button to create a new script.

The script selection window displays.

1. Select Groom from the list and click OK.

The script naming window displays.

1. Enter a name and click New.

The script appears in its own window.

1. To add information to the script, click the appropriate button.

Source lets you specify one or more Backup Sets. See Selecting the Source to Groom.

Schedule lets you set the script to run at a specific time or at regular intervals. See Scheduling Scripts.

When the information in the script window is correct, you can save the script. See Saving Scripts.

Selecting the Source to Groom

If this is a new script, Retrospect says “No Backup Set selected” in the Source section of the script summary window.

Click the Source button to display the Backup Set Selection window.

• Retrospect displays only disk Backup Sets, since grooming is not supported with other media types.

Select one or more Backup Sets containing data you want to groom.

If the Backup Set you are looking for is not listed, click the More button to access additional Backup Sets by opening or recreating their Catalog Files.

• If you select a Backup Set that does not have grooming enabled, Retrospect will report an error in the Operations Log when the script runs and then continue grooming any additional source Backup Sets.

Click OK.

The Backup Set(s) are listed in the script window.

Setting the Execution Unit

If your edition of Retrospect is capable of running multiple simultaneous executions, you can specify which execution unit to use for this script (or choose “Any Execution unit’). Make your selection in the summary window’s list box. See Assigning Execution Units for more information.

Scripted Verification

Verification scripts provide the ability to schedule Backup Set media verification. This “offline verification” is a useful tool for maximizing your backup window. To manually verify media, choose Tools>Verify Media from Retrospect’s navigation bar. See Verifying Backup Set Media for more information.

For example, if your backup script is unable to complete during the evening when users are away from their computers, you can choose “No verification” for the backup script, then schedule a separate verification script to run in the morning. Since the backup script no longer includes a verification phase, it will finish more quickly.

Whenever possible, verification scripts verify data on Backup Set media by comparing the files in the source Backup Set to MD5 digests generated during the backup. This means that Retrospect does not need to access the backed up source volumes, which prevents slowdowns on those volumes.

In certain circumstances, Retrospect does not have access to MD5 digests generated during backup. This is true for all backups created using versions of Retrospect prior to Retrospect 7.7, as well as backups that took place when Retrospect’s “Generate MD5 digests during backup operations” preference was disabled. See Verification Preferences for more information.

In these cases, Retrospect still checks all files on the Backup Set media to make sure that they are readable.

• Verification scripts do require you to reinsert media when verifying backups that span media.

The steps to create a Verification script are:

• Creating a Verification Script
• Selecting the Verification Source
• Setting Additional Options
• Setting the Execution Unit

The steps for scheduling and saving are the same for all scripts:

• Scheduling Scripts
• Saving Scripts

Creating a Verification Script

1. From the navigation bar, click Automate then click the Manage Scripts button.

The script editing window displays.

1. Click the New button to create a new script.

The script selection window displays.

1. Select Verification from the list and click OK.

The script naming window displays.

1. Enter a name and click New.

The script appears in its own window.

1. To add information to the script, click the appropriate button.

Source lets you specify one or more Backup Sets. See Selecting the Verification Source.

Options lets you specify the verification options. See Setting Additional Options.

Schedule lets you set the script to run at a specific time or at regular intervals. See Scheduling Scripts.

When the information in the script window is correct, you can save the script. See Saving Scripts.

Selecting the Verification Source

If this is a new script, Retrospect says “No Backup Set selected” in the Source section of the script summary window.

1. Click the Source button to display the Backup Set Selection window.
2. Select one or more Backup Sets containing data you want to verify.

If the Backup Set you are looking for is not listed, click the More button to access additional Backup Sets by opening or recreating their Catalog Files.

1. Click OK.

The Backup Set(s) are listed in the script window.

Setting Additional Options

Retrospect includes an execution option that is specific to Verification scripts.

Click Options in the summary window to change the default setting for which backups you want to verify.

See Verification Execution Options for more information about this option.

Click the More Choices button to access additional execution options. See Execution Options for more information.

Setting the Execution Unit

If your edition of Retrospect is capable of running multiple simultaneous executions, you can specify which execution unit to use for this script (or choose “Any Execution unit’). Make your selection in the summary window’s list box. See Assigning Execution Units for more information.

Scheduling Scripts

Although you can manually execute a script at any time, scripts are designed to run unattended. In order to accomplish this, you need to create a schedule to specify when and how often to run the script.

If you want to execute the script only upon your command and in your presence, see Manual Script Execution.

You can schedule a script to run automatically on specified days or on a repeating schedule, such as every two weeks. You can define multiple schedules for the same script and specify the kind of backup you want for each scheduled execution.

For more information about using scripts as part of an overall backup strategy, see Backup Strategies.

To schedule a script:

1. In the script summary window, click the Schedule button.

The Schedule window displays.

1. Click the Add button.
2. Specify the type of scheduler you’d like to add, then click OK.

Day of week lets you define a schedule for one or more days of the week and specify a weekly repeating interval. For example, you could schedule a script to run on Monday and Wednesday, every other week. Keep in mind that a week starts on the Sunday of the week of the start date.

Repeating interval lets you define a schedule that is repeated after a specified interval. For example, the last Friday of every month or every three hours.

Single date lets you define a schedule for a single date and time. For example, April 19, 2003 at 6:00 a.m.

1. A script can contain any combination of one or more of these schedulers.
2. Create the scheduler as described in Creating a Script Scheduler, then click OK.

The Schedule window displays.

1. Click Add to create additional schedulers; click Modify to change the selected scheduler; or click Delete to remove the selected scheduler.
2. Click OK when you’re done scheduling the script.

The script summary window displays.

It lists the next six scheduled executions based on the scheduler(s) you created.

Creating a Script Scheduler

There are three types of schedulers available in Retrospect:

• Day of week
• Repeating interval
• Single date

While these schedulers have some common elements, the process for creating each type is somewhat unique.

Common Scheduler Elements

All scheduler types have a few common controls and settings. They are:

• Start Date and Time: This determines the earliest time at which the script is permitted to execute. To change the start date and time, click on any individual part of the date or time. When the item is selected, type the new information or click the arrows to change the information. (You can also press the up and down arrows on your keyboard. Press the Tab key to move the selection among the different elements.)
• Backup Action Type and Destination: If you are creating a scheduler for a backup script, you can also specify a backup action and destination. From the Action list box, choose Normal, New Member, Recycle, or New Backup Set. (backup and transfer scripts only)

Start Date and Time This determines the earliest time at which the script is permitted to execute. To change the start date and time, click on any individual part of the date or time. When the item is selected, type the new information or click the arrows to change the information. (You can also press the up and down arrows on your keyboard. Press the Tab key to move the selection among the different elements.)

For Day of week schedulers, specifying a start date does not mean a script will execute on that date, or even in the same week. Check the summary at the top of the window to see the actual date the script will first execute.

Backup Action Type and Destination If you are creating a scheduler for a backup or transfer script, you can also specify a backup action. From the Action list box, choose Normal, New Member, Recycle, or New Backup Set.

• Normal is a typical Progressive Backup. It selects only files that are new, newly-modified, or new to the Backup Set and appends them to existing members.
• New Member skips to a new member of the specified Backup Set. Retrospect will use an existing member with the correct name, or any new or erased media of the correct type. New Member is just like Normal, except files are copied to the next member of the Backup Set.
• Recycle clears the Catalog contents (if any) of a Backup Set so it appears no files are backed up. Then it looks for the first media member of the Backup Set and erases it if it is available. If the first member is not available, Retrospect uses any available new or erased medium. Everything selected from the source is backed up to the Backup Set.
• New Backup Set makes a new Backup Set (with a name similar to the old one) using a new or erased medium. The original Backup Set and its Catalog remain intact for long-term storage in a safe place. The new Backup Set and its Catalog are named with a number in sequence.

Retrospect allows you to have more than one Backup Set for a script so you can rotate media as part of your backup strategy. If the script has multiple Backup Set destinations, use the To list box to choose the Backup Set to be used for the scheduled execution.

The list box is not displayed if only one Backup Set is specified in the script.

Using the Day of Week Scheduler

If you want to run a script on specified days of the week, use a the Day of week scheduler.

To create a Day of week scheduler:

1. Select the Day of week radio button in the Scheduler dialog box.
2. Click OK.

The Day of Week scheduler window displays.

1. Set the start date and time as described in Common Scheduler Elements.
2. Retrospect’s Schedule preference (see Schedule Preferences) defines the time period during which scripts are allowed to execute. Scripts scheduled to execute outside this period will not run.

If necessary specify the backup action and destination Backup Set.

1. Click the checkboxes for the days of the week you want the script to execute.
2. Enter a number to use as the repeating interval for the weeks.

For example, if you enter two, the script executes every other week (or every two weeks).

1. When all of the settings in the scheduler window are correct, click OK.

Using the Repeating Interval Scheduler

If you want a script to run at a specified hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly interval, use a Repeating interval scheduler.

To create a Repeating interval scheduler:

1. Select the Repeating interval radio button in the Scheduler dialog box.
2. Click OK.

The Repeating interval scheduler window displays.

1. Set the start date and time as described in Common Scheduler Elements.
2. Retrospect’s Schedule preference (see Schedule Preferences) defines the time period during which scripts are allowed to execute. Scripts scheduled to execute outside this period will not run.

If necessary specify the backup action and destination Backup Set.

1. From the Repeat list box, select the time unit (Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months) for the repeating interval.
2. Type a repeat interval in the Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months field.

The Repeat list box changes to reflect the Repeat Interval you enter.

1. When all of the settings in the scheduler window are correct, click OK.

Using the Single Date Scheduler

If you want a script to run once at a specified date and time, use the Single date scheduler.

To create a Single date scheduler:

1. Select the Single date radio button in the Scheduler dialog box.
2. Click OK.

The Single date scheduler window displays.

1. Set the start date and time as described in Common Scheduler Elements.
2. Retrospect’s Schedule preference (see Schedule Preferences) defines the time period during which scripts are allowed to execute. Scripts scheduled to execute outside this period will not run.

If necessary specify the backup action and destination Backup Set.

1. When all of the settings in the scheduler window are correct, click OK.

Saving Scripts

After you’ve specified all the script settings, you need to save the script. There are three options for saving:

• Save: Click the Save icon  to save the script using the name you created it with. You can also just click the OK button in the script summary window.
• Save As: Click the Save As icon  to save the script using a new name. You can save a script once, modify the settings, then Save As to create a new script.
• Save and Run: Click the Save and Run icon

For more information on executing saved scripts, see Executing Scripts.

Scheduled Operations

Retrospect keeps track of all of your scheduled scripts and automatically executes them at the time you specified. To view a list of scheduled scripts, click Activity Monitor from Retrospect’s navigation bar, then click the Scheduled button.

Retrospect’s Schedule preference (see Schedule Preferences) defines the time period during which scripts are allowed to execute. Scripts scheduled to execute outside this period will not run.

Retrospect checks the computer’s clock and compares it to the next time a script is scheduled to run.

Retrospect is ever-vigilant about scheduled script executions. If a script is scheduled for automatic execution within the look ahead time (normally twelve hours), Retrospect will not automatically quit (or shut down or restart, depending on a preference setting described in Startup Preferences). It instead remains open and waits to execute the script.

For more information about the Activity Monitor’s Scheduled tab, see Scheduled Tab.

Testing Scripts

You can check the validity of a script from the script summary window at any time. Retrospect lets you know if the script is missing any required information or if it’s ready to run. If the script requires storage media, you can also check to make sure it’s ready and available.

To test a script:

1. From the Retrospect navigation bar, click Automate> Manage Scripts.
2. Double-click the script you want to test.

The script summary window displays.

1. Click the Check icon  in the toolbar.

Retrospect displays a dialog reporting on the validity of the script, as well as the next time the script is scheduled to run.

If the script is invalid, Retrospect provides information on what is wrong with the script.

1. If the script is valid, and it requires media, you can click the Check Media button to make sure the backup device is ready with the required media.
2. Click OK to return to the script summary window.

Executing Scripts

Retrospect provides several ways to execute scripts:

• Automatic Script Execution
• Manual Script Execution

For information on interacting with and controlling scripts, see Controlling Scripts.

Automatic Script Execution

Scheduling Scripts, describes how to schedule times for Retrospect to automatically execute a script. Retrospect keeps track of all your scheduled scripts and automatically executes them at the time you specified. The Activity Monitor window (described in Viewing Scheduled Scripts) shows upcoming scheduled events.

Manual Script Execution

To initiate a script manually, you can:

• Execute the script immediately from within Retrospect.
• Make a “run document” file that enables you to run the script at any time, upon your command, from your desktop (or wherever the file is saved).

Use the Manual Script Execution dialog to specify the method you want. There are three ways to access the Manual Script Execution dialog:

• Click the Save and Run button
• Choose the script from Retrospect’s Run menu.
• Click the Run Script button

To execute the script immediately:

1. Select the Execute now radio button.

The execution unit list box (if available) lets you override the selection you saved with the script. See Assigning Execution Units for more information on execution units.

If the script being run is a backup script, use the Action list box to set the backup type. See Backup Actions.

If the backup script has multiple destinations, use the other list box to specify the destination Backup Set.

1. Click Execute.

To make a run document:

1. Select the Make a “run document” radio button.

If the script being run is a backup script, use the Action list box to set the backup type. See Backup Actions.

If the backup script has multiple destinations, use the other list box to specify the destination Backup Set.

1. Click Save.
2. Browse to a location to save the run document, enter a file name, then click Save.
3. Do not change the file extension. All run documents must have the extension .rrr.
4. Double-click the run document from the desktop or Windows Explorer, to execute the script.

To run several scripts sequentially, select the run documents and choose Open from the File menu. When you open several run documents at once, the scripts associated with them will run in alphabetical order by script name, regardless of the run document file names.

You can create more than one run document for the same script, each specifying a different backup action and destination Backup Set.

Controlling Scripts

You can control automated operations in much the same way that you control immediate operations. See Controlling Operations for more information.

There are a number of preferences that are specific to scripts that must be set correctly. Scripts are designed to run unattended, even after you’ve quit Retrospect and gone home for the night. Make sure that you have selected the Retrospect’s Startup preferences to enable the Retrospect Launcher service and to allow the application to automatically launch to run scripts. See Startup Preferences for more information.

The Startup preferences also determine what Retrospect does when it has auto-launched and is finished executing the script. By default, Retrospect quits, unless ProactiveAI Backup is running or another script is scheduled to run in the application’s look ahead time. See Schedule Preferences for more information.

If you manually launch a script, you can use the “Stay in Retrospect” list box in Retrospect’s toolbar to determine what Retrospect does when it is finished executing. By default, Retrospect does nothing, but if you want to start script and then go home, you can choose to have Retrospect quit when the execution is complete. Unless ProactiveAI Backup is running, or another script is scheduled to run in the application’s look ahead time, Retrospect will quit (or shut down) when done. See Schedule Preferences for more information on specifying the look ahead time.

ProactiveAI Backup

Backup scripts are powerful and versatile, but in backup environments that change regularly, another kind of operation—ProactiveAI Backup—may be better suited to your needs. A regular backup script copies specific volumes in a certain order to a designated Backup Set. If the backup environment changes and volumes or media become unavailable, the backup will not happen until its next scheduled time, if ever. This is why Retrospect offers a ProactiveAI Backup option.

ProactiveAI is the next generation of Retrospect’s Proactive scheduling engine. With ProactiveAI, backup scripts will optimize the backup window for the entire environment to ensure every source is protected as often as possible.

Algorithm

ProactiveAI walks through the following algorithm to prioritize what to back up next:

1. Verify backup window: ProactiveAI only runs when it’s allowed to. To restrict the backup window, go to the script’s schedule.
2. Verify an execution unit is available: ProactiveAI only runs when an execution unit is available.
3. Ignore last backup time: Retrospect can back up every hour, every day, every Sunday, or any other schedule. As soon as ProactiveAI sees a new backup window (i.e. a new day), it will attempt to back up the sources. In contrast, previous versions of Retrospect would respect the time at which the last backup occurred. See "Backup Window" for more details.
4. Ignore unavailable sources: If a source is unavailable, Retrospect will not attempt to reach it again until every potentially available source has been contacted. This list includes Wake-on-LAN sources. See "Wake-on-LAN" for more details.
5. Prioritize by next day: For all available or potentially available sources, Retrospect divides them into buckets for what day they are scheduled to be backed up next.

Using a future date might seem strange, but it can be in the past as well. This sorting algorithm ensure Retrospect prioritizes initial backups and then overdue backups. Think of it as last backup day combined with the script’s schedule. As an example, Script A with weekly backups and Script B with daily backups would calculate the next backup date differently.

1. Prioritize by last time checked: When Retrospect reaches out to a source, it marks that time in its configuration. ProactiveAI uses this time to ensure it doesn’t re-check sources that it already checked but couldn’t find, so that the script can get through the entire list of sources before circling back.
2. Prioritize by the last backup’s duration: Now that Retrospect is down to sources within the same day of priority, ProactiveAI sorts them based on the last backup’s duration. Sources with faster previous backups will be backed up sooner than sources with slower previous backups.

As a real-life example, incremental backups of email services are fast, so those would be prioritized over a longer server backup. Because of this sorting, Retrospect will protect more sources throughout the day, but if a long server backup does not happen on a given day, its backup will be automatically given higher priority because its next backup was the day before.

Our Engineering team experimented with more data points, but the resulting sort order was too prone to hysteresis. In other words, if Retrospect includes more past data, including backup durations that were anomalies, the future prioritization continued to be affected for longer than we thought was useful.

1. Default to prior order: If there is no duration, ProactiveAI uses the prior order. For instance, if it’s the first set of backups, they will occur as sources are available.
2. Connect to the next source: Retrospect will attempt to back up the selected source. If it’s not available, Retrospect marks that time and moves on. If Retrospect times out and the client and script have Wake-on-LAN (WAL) set, Retrospect sends a WAL packet, waits three minutes, then tries to connect again. If that connection times out, Retrospect marks the sources as unavailable and moves on.
3. Record next backup date: After a successful backup, Retrospect marks the next backup date for the source and moves on. As discussed earlier, this future date varies based on the script’s schedule.

Backup Window

Retrospect begins a backup as soon as a source becomes available. If Alice’s laptop was backed up at 2:30pm yesterday, ProactiveAI will attempt to back up her laptop as soon as it comes online today, even if that’s before 2:30pm.

This change corrects a long-standing issue with drift, and for existing customers, this new schedule represents a significant change from previous versions. In the past, Proactive used the "Last Backup Time" to determine when to next back up a source. If Alice’s laptop was backed up at 2:30pm yesterday, an older version of Proactive would wait until 2:30pm today to attempt the next backup, regardless of whether it was idle and Alice’s laptop was available.

Alice might have only opened her laptop at 2:30pm yesterday, but ever other day, she is online at 9am. Without this change, every future backup would have been at 2:30pm or later until she missed a day. Instead, her laptop is protected as soon as it’s available for each backup window. For fine-grain scheduling, customers can use multiple ProactiveAI scripts with different schedules.

Wake-on-LAN

ProactiveAI is better optimized for handling Wake-on-LAN (WAL) sources. If the source has WAL enabled or the script has WAL enabled, ProactiveAI will include WAL packets in its operation. For each WAL source, Retrospect attempts a connection. If that times out after one minute, it sends a WAL packet, waits three minutes, and then attempts another connection. If that times out after one minute, ProactiveAI marks the source as unavailable, moves on, and will not attempt another connection until it has contacted each subsequent source.

In previous versions, Proactive would continue to attempt to wake up unresponsive or absent machines. For environments that had many laptops or otherwise unavailable machines, this workflow meant that Retrospect would spend a disproportionate amount of time looking for machines instead of backing up available machines.

Troubleshooting

ProactiveAI includes detailed logging to to understand the choices it’s making to optimize the backup window:

• Engine Log Level 4: What ProactiveAI is doing
• Engine Log Level 5: What ProactiveAI is considering

See Advanced Logging Options for details about enabling logging.

When to Use ProactiveAI Backup

The following table includes information comparing standard backup scripts to ProactiveAI Backup Scripts

.

See Network Backup Strategies for descriptions of situations which are suited to ProactiveAI Backup and for instructions on implementing a strategy based on ProactiveAI Backup.

Monitoring Progress

Periodically view the Backup Report (see Viewing the Backup Report) to see which volumes were backed up by ProactiveAI Backup and their intervals between backups. Of particular interest is the “Elapsed Days” column which shows how many days have passed since each volume’s previous backup.

The interval between backups will tend to be smaller when Retrospect is performing Progressive Backups after the first backup of each volume. Progressive Backups require far less time for most volumes and thus can occur more often.

Deleting a backup event from the Backup Report causes Retrospect to not consider that backup occurrence when it evaluates the priority of volumes to be queued for backup. Consequently, that volume is given a backup priority higher than its previous priority.

Interaction with Other Scripts

You can use multiple ProactiveAI Backup scripts operating simultaneously to manage limited backup resources. You can also use multiple scripts with different schedules to give some volumes a higher backup priority.

For example, one script could run eighteen hours a day, backing up volumes from the sales department. Another script could run six hours a day, backing up volumes from the accounting department. The sales department would be more likely to get completely backed up, whereas the accounting department script may not complete all its volumes in a single six hour period. Still, these volumes would eventually get backed up because volumes in greatest need of backup are backed up before volumes which have more recent backups.

As another example, consider volumes that are available intermittently, such as removable disks and notebook computers. Another script could back them up twenty-four hours a day, because they are available at random times during the day.

For further discussion of ProactiveAI Backup strategies, see Backup Strategies.

Other, non-ProactiveAI Backup scripts scheduled for execution during the active operating time of ProactiveAI Backup scripts can run without conflict.

ProactiveAI Backup Tips and Techniques

To get the most out of ProactiveAI Backup, you should follow a few simple guidelines.

Use Containers as Sources

Use containers (see Containers) to specify sources in your ProactiveAI Backup scripts, not individual volumes, especially when you back up clients. When you use containers, any new volumes added to a client are automatically included in backups.

Rotate Among Backup Sets

Create multiple Backup Sets and use them all as destinations in your ProactiveAI Backup script. Rotate through the sets by inserting different media in the backup device each day. ProactiveAI Backup uses whatever media you inserted.

Introduce New Media

Periodically do New Backup Set backups to introduce new media. Store old media off-site after each New Backup Set backup. Between New Backup Set backups, periodically do Recycle backups to prevent Catalogs from becoming cumbersome and to ensure fast restore operations.

When you want to rotate or introduce new media, do Recycle or New Backup Set backups by executing regular backup scripts using the same Backup Sets used by your ProactiveAI Backup scripts. You can schedule these, execute them from Retrospect’s Run menu, or save them as run documents and execute them.

To manually set a Backup Set for a Recycle or New Backup Set backup, configure the Backup Set and set the media action. (See The Options tab).

Monitor Media Availability

Because ProactiveAI Backup does not initially put up media request windows, you have to monitor media from the Activity Monitor. Click Activity Monitor>Proactive to check on your ProactiveAI Backup Scripts.

When Retrospect needs media it displays “media” in the status column of the Sources or Backup Sets view. Choose Backup Sets from the list box to see which destination Backup Sets have media available and which do not. Insert media as needed.

If a Backup Set needs a new or erased medium and you have to erase one, stop ProactiveAI Backup, erase the medium from Configure> Devices, then start ProactiveAI Backup again.

Use Other Scripts to Complement ProactiveAI Backup

Retrospect can have multiple ProactiveAI Backup scripts running concurrently, and it will manage the sources and destinations.

Other, non-ProactiveAI Backup scripts can execute while ProactiveAI Backup is running. You can schedule them or run them at will using run documents. Other scripts can complement ProactiveAI Backup scripts by starting Recycle and New Backup Set backups, and by forcibly backing up volumes that do not get backed up by ProactiveAI Backup.

Use Tape Libraries

An automatic tape loading device with ProactiveAI Backup is a powerful combination. All tapes in the library’s magazine are available for backup as Backup Set destinations. ProactiveAI Backup rotates between Backup Sets with no additional effort from you. It uses blank or erased tapes when a backup spans over two tapes, or when you set up a New Backup Set backup with Retrospect’s media action options.

Manage User Deferments

When a client user repeatedly defers his or her backups (as indicated in the Operations Log), you should make future backups occur at a time that is more convenient for the user, such as when he or she is not using the computer. Or, create a script with the countdown time option at zero to prevent the user from deferring execution.

Creating ProactiveAI Backup Scripts

This section takes you through the steps of creating a ProactiveAI Backup script: The process is very similar to creating a regular backup script, although ProactiveAI Backup scripts are scheduled differently.

To create a ProactiveAI Backup script:

1. From the navigation bar, click Automate, then click the ProactiveAI Backup button.

The ProactiveAI Backup window displays.

1. Click the New button to create a new script, then enter a name and click New.

The script appears in its own window.

+ This script window is very similar to a regular backup script summary window, with information for the source volumes, destination Backup Sets, file selection criteria, options, and schedule information.

1. To change information, click the appropriate button.

Sources lets you add or remove source volumes.

Destinations lets you choose one or more destination Backup Sets.

Selecting lets you choose a selector—a kind of filter for selecting files and folders to be backed up.

Options displays the options window in which you can toggle verification and data compression.

Schedule lets you set the script to run all the time or only on specific days at specific times.The execution unit list box (if available) lets you choose a specific execution unit (or use any execution unit) for this ProactiveAI Backup script..

Setting the ProactiveAI Backup Sources

The first step in defining a ProactiveAI Backup script is setting the sources.

1. Click the Sources button.

The Source Selection window displays.

1. Select a source volume (or volumes), then click OK.
2. ProactiveAI Backup scripts are especially well-suited for backing up laptop client volumes, or other volumes that appear irregularly on the network.
3. Click Add to select additional sources, or select a source and click Remove to remove it from the list. When the list of sources is complete, click OK.
4. If your script includes multiple sources, they are backed up according to need and availability.

Setting the ProactiveAI Backup Destination

After specifying the source(s) to back up, you must specify the destination Backup Set(s) for the data.

1. Click the Destinations button.

If there are no Backup Sets defined, the Backup Set Creation Wizard launches.

Create a new Backup Set, as described in Creating Backup Sets. The new Backup Set appears in the Backup Set Selection window.

If there are Backup Sets defined, the Backup Set Selection window displays.

+ You can click More or Create New to access additional Backup Sets or create new ones.

1. Select one or more Backup Sets, then click OK.
2. Click Add to select additional destinations, or select a Backup Set and click Remove to remove it from the list. When the list of destinations is complete, click OK.

Selecting Files for ProactiveAI Backup

By default, Retrospect selects all files on the source(s). You can choose a different pre-defined selector or create a custom selector to select a subset of all files.

1. Click the Selecting button.
2. Click a selector, then click OK.

You can also click More Choices to use Retrospect’s file selection criteria to create a custom selector. Selectors are explained in detail in Using Selectors.

1. Selectors are used to determine which files are considered for backup, not which files actually get copied. For example, if you choose All Files, Retrospect compares all the source files with the files already in the destination Backup Set, then copies only those files that are new or changed.

Setting ProactiveAI Backup Options

Click the Options button to display the options window in which you can specify how often to back up source volumes and whether or not to allow early backup. Click More Choices to see all of the available options categories and notice that many categories parallel those of regular backup scripts. Categories specific to ProactiveAI Backup scripts are Interval, Countdown, and Polling. These options are explained in detail in Execution Options.

Setting the Execution Unit

If your edition of Retrospect is capable of running multiple simultaneous executions, you can specify which execution unit to use for this operation (or choose “Any Execution unit”). Make your selection in the summary window’s list box. See Assigning Execution Units for more information.

Scheduling ProactiveAI Backup Scripts

A ProactiveAI Backup script’s schedule is one of the major differences between it and a regular backup script. From the script summary window, click the Schedule button.

Select a schedule:

• Always active makes Retrospect run the script twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
• Custom schedule brings up another window in which you can customize the script schedule. See Customizing the Schedule.
• Never active prevents Retrospect from running the script.

The Skip scheduled executions checkbox prevents ProactiveAI Backup from running until the time you specify.

Customizing the Schedule

By default, ProactiveAI Backup scripts are active 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you want to specify different hours or days for a script to be active, you can create a custom schedule.

When you select Custom schedule and click Custom, Retrospect displays the custom schedule window. Though similar to the Schedule Preferences window, it is specific to this ProactiveAI Backup script rather than global to all Retrospect executions.

If the schedule was previously Always Active, all twenty-four hours of each of the seven days of the week are selected, as above.

To select a day of the week, click on it. Click and drag to select contiguous days of the week. Use the Shift or Control key and click or drag to select days without de-selecting the previous selection.

To change a time, click on it and type or use the control.

Start is the time at which the script begins.

Wrap up is the period of time (in hours and minutes) before the stop time, during which Retrospect should complete the current backup but not begin new backups.

Stop is the time at which Retrospect absolutely must halt this script’s backups (until the next start time).

You can also set times by dragging the icons on the hourly schedule bar, but you should first experiment by typing the times to see how these controls work.

When a time is changed, the hourly schedule bar changes accordingly to graphically represent the start, wrap up, and stop times of the script.

Each selected day has a scaled-down hourly schedule bar, though it does not have controls.

You can revert a customized schedule with the Always and Never buttons.

Controlling ProactiveAI Backup

There are a number of ways to control ProactiveAI Backup and ProactiveAI Backup scripts, both from the Retrospect application and from Retrospect clients.

You can control ProactiveAI Backup from Retrospect’s Run Menu and the Activity Monitor’s Proactive tab. You can control ProactiveAI Backup scripts from the Retrospect Client Control Panel and the Activity Monitor’s Proactive tab

ProactiveAI Backup is not affected by the selection in the “Stay in Retrospect” list box in Retrospect’s toolbar, or by Retrospect’s unattended Startup preference. For example, Retrospect will not quit when a ProactiveAI Backup script is done.

Run Menu

From the Run menu, you can start/stop and enable/disable ProactiveAI Backup. When you save a ProactiveAI Backup script, ProactiveAI Backup is enabled (unless the script schedule is “never active”) after the backup computer is idle for ten minutes. Retrospect starts ProactiveAI Backup when a script’s scheduled start time arrives. If Retrospect is not open at the start time, it will launch automatically.

You can control ProactiveAI Backup manually by choosing commands from the Run menu:

• Choose Start ProactiveAI Backup to manually enable ProactiveAI Backup. ProactiveAI Backup scripts will then run at their scheduled times of execution. When ProactiveAI Backup is started, you can choose Stop ProactiveAI Backup from the run menu to stop it.
• You can also start/stop ProactiveAI Backup using the Start and Stop buttons on the Activity Monitor’s Proactive tab.

When ProactiveAI Backup is stopped, no ProactiveAI Backup scripts will run for 10 minutes, or until you start ProactiveAI Backup again.

• If you exit Retrospect, then relaunch it (or it is auto launched) ProactiveAI Backup will start automatically (after a short delay), unless it is disabled.
• Choose Disable ProactiveAI Backup from the Run menu to prevent any scheduled ProactiveAI Backup scripts from executing.

When ProactiveAI Backup is disabled, no ProactiveAI Backup scripts will run until you choose Start ProactiveAI Backup or Enable ProactiveAI Backup.

Activity Monitor

The Proactive tab in the Activity Monitor provides information about ProactiveAI Backup and ProactiveAI Backup scripts.

From the Proactive tab, you can pause ProactiveAI Backup scripts, start/stop ProactiveAI Backup, override schedules, and view status. See Proactive Tab for more information.

Client Control Panel

You can use the client control panel to request ProactiveAI Backup as soon as possible, or at a specific time. You can also defer a backup that is about to start until a later time.

See Controlling ProactiveAI Backups for more information.

See more information in Part 1