Archive:How to create a migration job

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Overview

This article describes the configuration of data migration, applicable to SEP sesam versions ≤ 4.4.1. Note that this is not the latest version of the SEP sesam documentation and, as such, does not provide information on features introduced in later versions. For the latest version, see Configuring Migration.

SEP sesam migration is a process of copying selected save sets from one media pool (source pool, e.g., disk) to another media pool (target or destination pool, e.g., tape). You can select the save sets for migration from the selected backup task, task group, or client. To optimize migration performance, only the save sets with status successful or with warnings can be selected for migration, while the erroneous or only partially restorable save sets (containing data from cancelled backups) cannot be migrated.
With migration you can set up a disk-to-disk-to-tape (D2D2T) backup strategy to reduce your backup and recovery times, move older data offsite for long-term data retention and prepare for disaster recovery.

You can schedule a migration job so that it starts at a specific time and date or start it manually from the menu bar Activities -> Immediate start -> Migration.

Configuring a migration job involves the following steps:

  1. Creating a migration task by selecting the backed up data, source and target media pool
  2. Creating a migration schedule by specifying when you want to migrate your data
  3. Creating a migration event by reviewing migration task parameters and (optionally) setting event priority

Prerequisites

  • You must have at least two media pools configured in your SEP sesam environment.
  • You must have admin user rights for performing a migration.

Configuring a migration job in SEP sesam versions lower than 4.4.1

Step 1: Creating a migration task

  1. In the Main Selection -> Tasks -> By clients, select the device server with the source media pool, then click New Migration Task. The New migration task window is displayed.

  2. In the Name field, enter a meaningful name for the migration task. After storing the input, the name gets the prefix "Migration Task".
  3. From the Source Pool drop-down list, select the source media pool from which the data will be migrated.
  4. From the Drive drop-down list, select the drive number of the drive that will be used to read the data.
  5. From the Remote Device Server drop-down list, select the device server that will perform the migration operation. You should select the device server that sends the migration data.
  6. Count represents a switch that specifies how many times may the backed up data be migrated.
  7. Count = 0 --> migrate only once from the source media pool Count > 0 --> migrate N times from the source media pool

Step 2: Creating a migration schedule

SEP sesam establishes schedules as a frame, to which you link different events, such as backup, migration, replication etc. Schedules always contain one predefined task: a NEWDAY schedule. Linked to it is a NEWDAY event which is used by SEP sesam to reorder its database, enable undisturbed activity of the SEP sesam processes as well as to define a new backup day. Do not deactivate a NEWDAY event or delete a NEWDAY schedule, because this will cause SEP sesam to stop working properly! For details, see NEWDAY event.

A schedule defines the recurrence of an event and may be executed in minutes, hours, days, months or years. It can be set up to start periodically or to be executed just once. It can be used for any number of events, and a particular task (backup, restore, migration, etc.) can have events in several schedules.

To create a schedule, proceed as follows:

  1. In the Main Selection -> Scheduling -> Schedules, click New schedule. The Schedule window appears.
  2. By default, the Execution is already enabled. Note that if you deselect the execution option, all events that are linked to this schedule will be deactivated.
  3. In the Name field, enter the name for the schedule.
  4. In the Cycle box, select how you want to schedule your backup. For example, you could schedule a full backup to take place every Friday at 18:00.
    Among the tabs on the left, select once (no repetition, single run), daily (repetition in days, hours or minutes), weekly (repetition in weeks or weekdays), monthly (repetition on absolute or relative dates: 1st, 2nd, ... or Mon, Tue, ...), or yearly (absolute or relative dates).
    For our example, select weekly, every 1 week, and Friday.
  5. Under the Period of validity, specify the time range for the schedule. By default, the current date is already entered in the Begin field. You can specify any date as a start time for your periodical event. The schedule will only be activated after the specified date. If you want your schedule to be valid only for a limited period of time, e.g., half a year, check the End field and enter the date of its suspension. By default, this option is disabled and the schedule will be repeated in perpetuity.
  6. Under the Start time frame, select the time for your schedule – all events related to this schedule will be started at the time defined by this parameter. For our example, select 18:00. Consider that the actual start time depends on the processor load of the system. At the starting time of the event, every event is forwarded into the queue, where it might wait until jobs with a higher priority are finished. For jobs with the same priority, the FIFO rule (first in first out) applies. Optionally, you can also limit the start time by specifying the Duration. If the event cannot be executed within the duration time frame, it will not be executed at all.

Step 3: Creating a migration event

  1. In the Main Selection -> Scheduling -> Schedules, select the newly created schedule and click the button Migration Task Event. A new tab Source is displayed.

  2. From the Migration Task drop-down list, select the name of the already configured migration task for which you want to create a migration job.
  3. In the Relative backup date, enter the values in the from/to fields to define the number of days in the past that are considered for data migration, meaning all data in the source media pool that was backed up within a given period of time is going to be migrated to the target pool. For example, to migrate all data from the past week including the current Sesam day, the Relative backup date is set to -7 while to is set to 0. Or, to migrate all data from the last 10 days, specify the relative time frame from -10 to 0.
  4. In the FDI Type field, select the backup type you want to migrate (COPY, FULL, DIFF, INC): C F D I G, where G means a special backup type generation. The G backup type enables you to migrate a complete backup cycle in one step thus providing everything you need for disaster recovery. For example, the combination of selected backup types I and G within the specified time frame -1 to 0 in the Relative backup date would migrate all incremental backups from yesterday up to today as well as all dependent incremental and differential backups of the respective backup chain including the last associated full backup. This ensures that in need of disaster recovery all required backups are available on the storage media.
  5. From the State drop-down list, select the backup completion status of the save sets you want to migrate: * successfully or with warnings (default) * only successful * only with warnings * partially restorable
  6. Now open the tab Destination Parameter.

  7. In the Priority box, you can set up the Priority of your migration event. SEPuler always executes the schedules with higher priority first. Default priority level is 1, which is the lowest priority (the highest is 99). The only exception are the schedules with priority 0, which override all other priorities and are always executed. For details, see event priorities. You can also enable the Blocking date. This option should be used together with high priority for special events. If checked, the blocking event will block events of the same type of a lower priority, ensuring the backup to be processed in case other backups are scheduled at the same time.
  8. From the Media pool drop-down list, select the name of the target media pool to which the data will be migrated.
  9. In the Drive, select the drive number of the drive that will be used to write the data.
  10. In the Interface, you can specify another configured TCP/IP name of the backup server. Using this interface allows you to control which path the data stream flows through your network. This is optional and only works if your hardware is properly configured and equipped. Medium or destination tape:
    Currently you can only use the GET_OLDEST tape strategy.

To check the status of your migration job, go to Main selection -> Job State -> Migration.

See also

Configuring MigrationAdding a Task to the Task Group