Backup failing - "A previous instance is still active" (4043488)

A backup jobs generates a "A previous instance is still active" message and then fails.

A previous instance for the job is running when the current instance is attempted.

1. The previous instance is "waiting for media" and never completes before the next instance begins.
2. The amount of time to perform the backup is considerable (backup takes approximately 25 hours to complete, but is scheduled to run every 24 hours)

RESOLUTION 1 :

Determine and resolve the cause of the "Waiting for Media" condition - refer to Solution SOL79009 "No suitable media or Running: Waiting for Media" for further details.

RESOLUTION 2 :

• Implement disk-to-disk-to-tape backups using NetVault SmartDisk or a Virtual Tape Library (VTL)
• Split the job into smaller sub-jobs and run them simultaneously to multiple tape drives.
• Ensure that drive transfer buffers are allocated enough shared memory - refer to Solution SOL80119 "Optimal Shared Memory (Transfer Buffer) settings for NetVault".