NetWorker: Synthetic Full for DPSS Save Set Performs True Full: 'Unable to find any full backups of the save set'

• Client using DPSS on Synthetic Full schedules finds that true fulls are being performed periodically
• True fulls appear when no other true full remains in the media database, even if synthetic fulls remain
• DPSS Synthetic Fulls take far more time than expected
• Error: 'Unable to find any full backups of the save set'
• mminfo does not list level fulls when querying using -q 'notsyntheticfull'
• mminfo shows the DPSS Synthetic Full to be a single monolithic save set, unlike the multipart DPSS true full or incremental save sets

This problem is a product defect found in versions 19.9-19.13 under NWREE-28300. The issue stems from failure to recognize the DPSS Synthetic Full in the media database as a valid base for creating a new Synthetic Full. As a result, a true nonsynthetic full is performed, which takes considerably longer.

Engineering is investigating and once the work is completed, updates to this article are planned with version availability.

As a workaround, administrators may elect to separate the DPSS save set paths into multiple save set subfolders, and unconfigure client for DPSS. This allows the Synthetic Full schedule to succeed using synthetics and providing the performance benefit expected.

Although Synthetic Full is perfectly acceptable as baseline for the next Synthetic full, a true full backup is still recommended at a minimum every few months.