Clone to Tape

Just for curiosity I have setup such a scenario a while ago.

This is what I did:

  -  Defined a workflow with

       1 backup action

       2 clone actions

           For both I specified

             - previous action: 'backup'

             - concurrent: yes

I cloned to the same pool (disks)

However, If you have a specific workflow that only runs clone actions, this will not be possible as the 'previous' action can only be a clone.

@TheRapac

              unfortunately the only way to achieve this is to use multiple clone actions.

Read Once, Write Many

"You cannot use the NetWorker software to create an instant clone by writing to two devices simultaneously. This operation is also referred to as parallel cloning, twinning, or inline copy. Where parallel cloning or twinning is required, consider using the NetWorker cloning feature." (from the Administration Guide for NetWorker.

There is an RFE for this NW-I-123, documented in KA 485251 -- "NetWorker: Support for Inline Cloning (also know as (aka) instant clone, parallel cloning, twinning, or inline copy)"

You need to be very careful when reading the whole paragraph "Benefits of cloning and staging" in the Admin Guide.

The tricky marketing term here is "instant cloning".

It obviously refers to the creation of a backup and a clone save set at the same time. This is not possible. The reason is clearly stated in the Admin Guide a litle bit earlier:

  "NetWorker can only perform a clone operation after a successful backup, which provides the following benefits: ..."

  And there is a bunch of reasons listed.

Technically, I see at least 2 good reasons why it is not possible:

  -  Currently, it is not possible to run 1 save process and write to mor than 1 pool

  -  The sync might become an issue, especially a fast backup device but a slow clone device.

       It is obvious that the slow device will determine the overall speed which of course slows down the backup.

So please read the Admin Guide - it explains it also pretty well.

However, once you have the backup save set, you can run multiple clone operations at the same time - even to the same pool - if you just have multiple devices.