Enterprises often employ large, complex, computing environments which include a number of servers and clients containing computer data. Certain systems and methods presently exist for backing up computer data that can be subsequently recovered. Such systems and methods may be used to backup computer data from and recover computer data to individual computers. Such systems and methods may also be used to backup computer data from and recover computer data to a plurality of computers, such as servers or clients, for example, connected to one or more networks. Typically, personnel such as system administrators or database administrators, for example, are responsible for implementing backup procedures which may involve scheduling backups and recovering selected portions of previously stored backup data to a particular computer when desired. Backup procedures are implemented to reduce or prevent any loss of data from the servers, clients or other computers that are subject to the backup procedures.
In some environments, sequential access devices are employed to backup computer data. Such sequential access devices may be selected and employed for a number of reasons, including the lower acquisition cost of such devices relative to comparable random access devices, lower maintenance costs of certain sequential access devices, and higher reliability of certain sequential access devices, for example.
Known backup storage systems and methods have certain disadvantages associated with creating sequential backup volumes and recovering computer data from a previously created sequential backup volume. One such disadvantage is that prior art backup and/or recovery systems and methods cause sequential backup volumes to be created and/or recovered without sufficient regard to efficient utilization of resources, such as efficient utilization of available sequential access devices, for example. Overcoming this disadvantage may be relevant in enterprise information processing environments which rely on high data availability where hours or even minutes of downtime are important. Overcoming this disadvantage may also be relevant in enterprise information processing environments in which it is desirable to reduce the amount of time sequential access devices are utilized for backup and recovery activities.
In some environments, responsible personnel may attempt to informally improve the efficiency of backup and recovery operations by selectively scheduling certain objects according to past experiences or rules of thumb. In other computing environments, however, such as those employing dynamic schema databases, for example, it is not possible for responsible personnel to plan optimal backup and recovery operations.
Consequently, there is a need for methods and systems that address the shortcomings of prior art backup and recovery applications and provide a more efficient backup and/or recovery of computer data to and/or from sequential backup volumes.