Backup to tape

Arkeia Network Backup needs to know about the hardware it can use for backup and restore operations. In the case of a backup to tape, the storage media is one or several physical cartridges. Tape drives are in charge of reading from or writing to the tapes and optionally a tape library automatically manages the loading/unloading operations of tapes into tape drives.

Furthermore, tapes and tape drives must be organized respectively in tape pools and tape drivepacks. Please note that this is mandatory to be able to start backup jobs. For instance, a tape must be included in a tape pool, while a tape drive must be set in a tape drivepack to be used during a backup operation.

Basically, a tape pool is a group of tapes which are used together in the same backup strategy. In most cases, all tapes in a given tape pool are compatible from a tape technology point of view. Tapes are always associated to a tape pool.

A tape drivepack is a group of tape drives which are used together in the same backup. A given tape drive can be included in several different tape drivepacks, according to your backup strategy.