Managing Tapes By Backup Set - With a Scratch Pool

Method 2 uses serial or manual volume naming. When an additional tape is needed for backup, you pull it from the scratch tape pool and assign it to a backup set rotation. The tape remains assigned until it expires.

The tapes are managed and stored by backup set rotation, as in method 1, using tape labels to visually identify which rotation the tape belongs to.

Unused tapes are stored physically in the scratch tape pool rack in volume order. If an unexpired tape is placed on the rack in error, Robot Save won’t allow you to use it.

If you want to use a scratch tape pool, this is the safest method and is least likely to cause operator error.