Weekly drive rotation: Does not recognise new Drive

Good luck with that. I found out early on that BESR does not play nicely with removable media. I wanted to do the same thing with a Dell PowerVault RD1000 (rotate two cartridges on a weekly basis) but if you remove either the "destination" or the target machine you are backing up, from the network, it throws the job into a state of disarray. Keep in mind that this is in a configuration that uses the BESR Manager, I'm not sure if these same issues occur with a standalone installation, local to the target. I'm now finding that if I remove my laptop from the network after creating a base (full backup), BESR sees that as a new target and will run a full backup on the next run instead of an incremental. Symantec support advises that they have no intention of doing anything to change this type of behavior and now I'm wondering if a simple reboot of a target will cause the same types of issues. For whatever reason, BESR relies way too heavily on a heartbeat between the application, the destination, and the target.

Scarlett IT,

You are correct - you cannot use 2 different destination drives for the same job. If you are going to backup to 2 separate drives, create 2 separate jobs. Or utilize the offsite feature. Either way, if you happen to miss one of the backups or offsite copy, they should resume when the drives are reconnected.

When I say offsite, it should be noted that offsite is used loosely to define a location separate from the backup job destination drive. Offsite could be a network location, another drive or a remote FTP site.

NTFS Junction points can get around the USB drive identification feature at the minor expense of needing your backup drives to have a consistent drive letter. See http://www.symantec.com/connect/forums/howto-usb-drive-rotation-besr-70-85

Jkornheiser, the only requirement for BESR to make an incremental is that must be able to see all parts of the current incremental chain when the backup starts. If a job is triggered when the laptop is away from the network and the destination is entirely unavailable for writing and the chain still breaks, then that would be an unfortunate bug (why break the chain when the backup can't run?). If the base really was relocated while the network share maintains availability, then running a new base that would be the expected behaviour.

It is possible that the manager is causing issues as well. I'd used it in version 8.0, but found it to be somewhat troublesome, and we don't change the backup configuration often enough to make it worthwhile. Email reporting gets the job done, and one unmanaged BESR installation can manage others easily enough (not to mention the usual RDP administration, etc).

"the only requirement for BESR to make an incremental is that must be able to see all parts of the current incremental chain when the backup starts."

That's what I thought Andrew, but that's not what I'm being advised by Support (Symantec Case 281-749-345) and that's not what I'm seeing with testing.

I setup a job to backup my laptop on a weekly basis and on the first run, it created a base, then an incremental the second week, then a full base again on the third week. I contacted Support and they asked me to delete the backup job, all of the PQH files, recreate the job, and try again. This time it created a full base on the first run, then in week 2 tried to create a full base again. Support then suggested that I try a daily backup job since my laptop typically stays on the network through the week, and goes home with me on the weekend.........so I followed their advice, it ran a full base on Monday, and an incremental on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. No problem with it trying to run a full base out of nowhere.

The destination and the backups themselves are not moving. They are dumped to a fixed disk that is always there. I agree that it should only check the target, destination, and previous backups when the job is kicked off, but that's not what I'm seeing occur. It is apparent that removing the laptop from the network (but making sure it is there when the job is scheduled to run), is not preventing a full base from being run randomly when it is expected to run an incremental.

Scarlet IT -- Are you still manually editing the job or have you tried Andrew's Junction Point method?  I'm working on a similar scenario to yours but with ESATA drives instead of USB drives.  I have some VBS code that can update the destination drive , but it doesn't fully overcome this products limitations when doing "base and incrementals" backups to rotating media.

Am I correct in assuming that the destination drives have different drive letters?

I have not tested Andrew's configruation with the Junction Point method. Regardless, BESR identifies drives in several ways. If the destination changes, even if the drive letter stays the same, BESR will detect that. The incremental chain will be broken and a new base image will be created, from which to build the incrementals. Offsite works a little different than this and you can rotate the drives.

Andreas -- Could you please verify Andrew's comments above about BESR's use of the USN journal? 

I think your info on breaking the incremental chain is actually pointing toward a solution for Scarlet IT's issue.  Since Scarlet IT is the original poster, I would like to get the posted issue solved first before delving into other aspects of the BESR incremental chain.  If I understand Scarlet IT correctly, the desired behavior is to break the incremental chain every Monday and begin anew -- just with different drives as a destination.  Defining two different backups to different destinations is possible, but one of the backups would have to be an independent recovery point.  If I understand correctly, Independent recovery points are always full backups, so that would not meet Scarlet IT;s criteria.

I was under the false impression that it was not possible to update the parameters of a defined recovery point set job via script, but working on the solution to the following post opened my eyes:

https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/two...

I've done some further testing and found that it is quite possible to isolate the correct job ID if you have multiple jobs and they have unique display names. I've yet to assemble all the code together, but here is my proposed path toward the solution:

• Define an image job and set the destination to any applicable destination drive.  Do not set a schedule for the job.  Give the job a unique display name.
• A VBS script will be used to invoke the imaging job, and be scheduled to run through the Windows Task Scheduler.
• The script will determine which external drive is attached and generate a unique folder on the drive based on the  week ending date.
• The destination parameters will be passed to the BESR imaging job and updated.
• On Mondays, creating a new base image will be forced.  Tuesday through Saturday, incremental images will be invoked.
• If a destination drive fails and another is put in its place, then the broken chain rules apply and a new base is created regardless when the job is run next.

I have most of the code written for these steps already, just in different scripts.  The fun part will be assembling all the snippets together and testing them to see if the desired final result is achieved.  If it works, it will be another example of how the capabilities of BESR can be extended with VBScript.

I've also done some further testing with Andrew's method, and it seems to work well.  However, I like to isolate my images to folders named for the week ending date.  The code I'm planning to generate could easily be combined with Andrew's junction point method to achieve the same result.  My USB drive seem to retain a drive letter well, but my ESATA are not faring as well.  I have to change their drive letters every time, but luckily this can be done with VBScript too.

Well, it was more work than I anticipated, but I proved it was possible to have BESR image job destination settings updated via script.  I was able to get this to work with both junction points and standalone external drives.  However, I'll only be posting the standalone drive code today.  The junction point version of the script only works with Vista and Server 2008, so I'm holding off until I can get it to work with XP and Server 2003 reliably.  One of the routines in the JP version actually checks to see if the external drive associated with the junction point is attached. The routine relies on the output of the dir /aL command.  The XP and Server 2003 versions of the dir /aL command will reveal the junction points, but not their destinations.  I'm searching for some other method of doing this without installing some other program.

The code is heavily commented, so I'm not going to document too much here.  One thing  I can add is to make sure the external drives are swapped out before invoking the script either manually or via Windows Task Scheduler.  Otherwise, the same attached drive will be used again, but with a different destination folder.  Desirable if there is enough space and the swap out day is a holiday.  Also, there is an expriration date setting made for the base and incremental tasks.  Some users may want to comment the .EndDateLocal seting in oTask and oIncTask in order to disable it.  When the expiration date is reached, the imaging job will seem to disappear from the Run or Mangage Jobs GUI.  The job has not disappeared, it is just hidden from view.  It will appear again when the script updates the new schedule.  If this functionality bothers you, then by all means comment the above referenced settings to keep the job visible regardless of schedule.

The schedule is based on Scarlet IT's desired schedule, but the code is easily modified for those with a different desired weekly schedule.  I am working on adapting the code foe a monthly schedule.  By extending BESR's capabilities with this code, I think it shows that Rotating External Drives functionality could be built into future versions of BESR.  There is an obvious demand for it if the posts in this forum are any indication.

Batch file to invoke the script:

cscript.exe BESRRotateDrives.vbs

The script:

' BESRRotateDrives.vbs
'
' Edited and adapted by marcogsp
'
' Purpose: 
' 
' Script to update an existing BESR imaging job's settings when rotating external drives for storing images.
' When rotating external drives a new base-incremental recovery point set is created.  The incremental images are not
' spanned across different drives. This script does not create a new imaging job.  It iterates through the list of
' existing imaging jobs, determines which drives are being imaged, and updates the imaging schedule and images location.
'
' It is assumed that the setting for prepending the computer name to the image is being used.  Coupled with the file spec
' used in the script, the resultant image name might look something like this(C:\ drive as sample):
'
' ComputerName_C_001.v2i
' 
' There are two marked sections in this script that the user needs to edit to suit their own environment.
' The first marked section is near line 142. The user must define an array of drive letters matching the drive letters
' of the rotated external drives.  A minimum of one drive must exist in the array.  
' Please refer to the first marked section for further documentation on this process.  Also in the first marked section, 
' the user must supply the display name of the job to be updated, and the day of the week you wish to be the start day.
' The start day is the base for all the date calculations in this script.
'
' The second marked section of the script (Near line 329) contains settings for the  base and incremental tasks schedules.
' Edit this section to change the start time and scheduled days
'
'
' The script creates a folder for storing images based on the the week ending date, i.e. Saturday's date
' A sample folder name would be in this format: WE-09-29-09
' Reflected date is in MM-DD-YY format.
'
' This script is invoked from a simple batch file.  The batch file command would be:
' cscript.exe BESRRotateDrives.vbs
'
' The batch file is then scheduled to run as a once weekly task job in the Windows task scheduler.
' The scheduled day should be the day you swap out external drives for best results in capturing
' the most images.
'
' If an external drive fails and is replaced, either run the Windows task scheduler job manually.
' or the batch file it invokes.  As long as the replaced drive has a drive letter specified in this script's array
' of available drives, the target folder will be recreated and a new base-incremental
' recovery point set is started
'
' Both the batch file and this script should be placed in the same folder.




Option Explicit


Dim sDate
Dim sShortMonth, sShortDay, sWEfolder
Dim iDaysTillSaturday, sSatDate
Dim aExtDrives, sDriveLetter, sDestDrive
Dim sImagesFolder
Dim iDayInterval, sStartDate, sEndDate, sStartTime
Dim iStartDay
Dim sServerName
Dim sJobID, sJobDisplayName, sExpectedDisplayName

Dim aVols()
Dim iSize, sVolumesArray
Dim sArrayMember

Dim oFSO, oDriveLetter
Dim oWshShell
Dim oV2iAuto, oImageJob, oCurrentJob
Dim oTempVolume, oVol
Dim oTask, oIncTask



' Drive Letter Volume Objects

Dim oVolume_C
Dim oVolume_D
Dim oVolume_E
Dim oVolume_F
Dim oVolume_G
Dim oVolume_H
Dim oVolume_I
Dim oVolume_J
Dim oVolume_K
Dim oVolume_L
Dim oVolume_M
Dim oVolume_N
Dim oVolume_O
Dim oVolume_P
Dim oVolume_Q
Dim oVolume_R
Dim oVolume_S
Dim oVolume_T
Dim oVolume_U
Dim oVolume_V
Dim oVolume_W
Dim oVolume_X
Dim oVolume_Y
Dim oVolume_Z

' Image storage location objects

Dim oImageLocation_C
Dim oImageLocation_D
Dim oImageLocation_E
Dim oImageLocation_F
Dim oImageLocation_G
Dim oImageLocation_H
Dim oImageLocation_I
Dim oImageLocation_J
Dim oImageLocation_K
Dim oImageLocation_L
Dim oImageLocation_M
Dim oImageLocation_N
Dim oImageLocation_O
Dim oImageLocation_P
Dim oImageLocation_Q
Dim oImageLocation_R
Dim oImageLocation_S
Dim oImageLocation_T
Dim oImageLocation_U
Dim oImageLocation_V
Dim oImageLocation_W
Dim oImageLocation_X
Dim oImageLocation_Y
Dim oImageLocation_Z



'Day of the week constants -- For use with the DateAdd Function

Const Sunday = 1
Const Monday = 2
Const Tuesday = 3
Const Wednesday = 4
Const Thursday = 5
Const Friday = 6
Const Saturday = 7


'Begin Section - Edit this section to suit your environment.
'
'************************************************************************************
'
' Variables user must set  manually to reflect their environment


iStartDay = Monday 'Set the start day from list of constants above - no abbreviations

' Set variable for imaging job's display name that you want the script 
' to find.

sExpectedDisplayName = "Non-Scheduled Image Job for C:\ and D:\"

' Construct an array of external drives used to store BESR images
' Edit to reflect drive letters used in your environment
' Note: No colons or backslashes used in Array
' Be sure to enclose drive letters in quotes as shown
' and separated by commas
' 
'
' Sample for array of five drives
' aExtDrives = Array("V","W","X","Y","Z")
' 
' Array can and may contain just one member
'
' Sample: aExtDrives = Array("X")

' Define array of external drives below
' 

aExtDrives = Array("Z","X")

'
'
'************************************************************************************
' 
'End Section




sDate = Date 

WScript.Echo "The date is: " & sDate & VbCrLf

' How many days until Saturday and what is Saturday's Date

iDaysTillSaturday = (7 - (DatePart("w", sDate)))
sSatDate = DateAdd("d", iDaysTillSaturday, sDate)
WScript.Echo  "Saturday's date is: " & sSatDate & VbCrLf


' Iterate through the array and determine which external drive
' if any, is attached to the computer.  The first attached drive found
' will be the destination drive for the images

Set oFSO = WScript.CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

For Each oDriveLetter In aExtDrives

   sDriveLetter = oDriveLetter

     Select Case oFSO.DriveExists(sDriveLetter)

		 Case True
		
		     sDestDrive = sDriveLetter & ":"
		     
		     Exit For
		
		 Case False ' sDestDrive is a null value
		
		     WScript.Sleep 0
		
		 Case Else

			 WScript.Echo "Drive status cannot be determined."
			 WScript.Echo "Ending script execution." & VbCrLf
			 Call subCleanup            

     End Select

Next

' Fail this script if sDestDrive is set to a null value

		If sDestDrive = "" Then
		
		     WScript.Echo "None of the designated external drives were attached to the server." & VbCrLf
		     WScript.Echo "Ending script execution." & VbCrLf
		     Call subCleanup
		
		Else
		
		     WScript.Echo sDestDrive & " is available." & VbCrLf
		     WScript.Echo "Proceeding............." & VbCrLf
		     
		End If
  
     
Call subGenWEdate 'Create string representing destination folder's name

sImagesFolder = sDestDrive & "\" & sWEfolder


' Determine if image destination folder exists, otherwise create it

		Select Case  oFSO.FolderExists(sImagesFolder)
		
			Case True
			
				 WScript.Echo "Folder " & sImagesFolder & " exists." & VbCrLf
				
			  
			Case False
			
				 WScript.Echo sImagesFolder & " does not exist." & VbCrLf
				 oFSO.CreateFolder(sImagesFolder)
				 WScript.Echo "Folder has been created." & VbCrLf 
		 
			Case Else
			
				 WScript.Echo "Destination folder status cannot be determined." & VbCrLf
				 WScript.Echo "Folder was not created -- Ending script execution." & VbCrLf 
				 Call subCleanup
			  
		End Select



' Need to do some more date arithmetic before updating the image job.
' In this Script, a base image will be made on Mondays, and incremental
' images made on Tuesday through Saturday.  If this script is run on a Sunday,
' the following Monday will be determined and set as the start date for the job.
' If this script is run on Monday through Saturday, the Monday of the current week will 
' be the start date of the job.

' An end date for the job (7 days from Monday) will also be calculated and set.
' Since this script is designed to be once weekly, setting an end date for the job
' assures that next weeks images will start a fresh base and be stored in a separate
' date generated folder.

' If the Monday job is missed, the chain is broken and
' a new base is created regardless of incremental schedule.

' If you wish to change the start day to something other than Monday
' just edit the iStartDay variable at the beginning of the script.
' The same forward and backward date calculations will still apply,
' only based on the day you choose.



' Set the start and end date variables


iDayInterval = iStartDay - Weekday(sDate)

sStartDate = DateAdd("d",iDayInterval,sDate) 'Start on Monday's Date

WScript.Echo "Start Date: " & sStartDate

sEndDate = DateAdd("d",7,sStartDate) 'End 7 days from now

WScript.Echo "End Date: " & sEndDate &VbCrLf


     'set variable for server name
    
Set oWshShell = WScript.CreateObject( "WScript.Shell" )
sServerName = oWshShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings( "%COMPUTERNAME%" )
    
WScript.Echo "The server name is: " & sServerName


' Create BESR automation object and connect to local BESR agent

Set oV2iAuto = CreateObject("Symantec.ProtectorAuto")

     Call oV2iAuto.Connect(sServerName)
     
     
     
     
     
'Begin Section - Edit this section to suit your environment.
'
'************************************************************************************
'
'

     ''Set the Base and Incremental Task Settings
     
sStartTime = "21:00" 'Set start time for job in 24 hour format

Set oTask = CreateObject("Symantec.Scheduler.Task")

With oTask

    .Description = "Weekly full backup task"
    .RepeatInterval = oTask.Constants.IntervalWeekly
    '.AddRepeatDay(0) ' Sunday
    .AddRepeatDay(1) ' Monday
    '.AddRepeatDay(2) ' Tuesday
    '.AddRepeatDay(3) ' Wednesday
    '.AddRepeatDay(4) ' Thursday
    '.AddRepeatDay(5) 'Friday
    '.AddRepeatDay(6) ' Saturday
    .StartDateTimeLocal = sStartDate & " " & sStartTime
    .EndDateLocal = sEndDate
    
Call .Validate() ' Make sure we built the task correctly

End With
   
    ''Create a task to schedule the incremental backups

Set oIncTask = CreateObject("Symantec.Scheduler.Task")

With oIncTask

    .Description = "Daily Incremental Backups"
    .RepeatInterval = oIncTask.Constants.IntervalWeekly
    '.AddRepeatDay(0) ' Sunday
    '.AddRepeatDay(1) ' Monday
    .AddRepeatDay(2) ' Tuesday
    .AddRepeatDay(3) ' Wednesday
    .AddRepeatDay(4) ' Thursday
    .AddRepeatDay(5) ' Friday
    .AddRepeatDay(6) ' Saturday
    .StartDateTimeLocal = sStartDate & " " & sStartTime
    .EndDateLocal = sEndDate

Call .Validate() 

End With 

'
'
'************************************************************************************
' 
'End Section


' Iterate through the images jobs and find the one with the desired display name


For Each oCurrentJob In oV2iAuto.ImageJobs


  Select Case oCurrentJob.DisplayName
  
	  Case sExpectedDisplayName
	  
	    sJobID = oCurrentJob.ID 
	    sJobDisplayName = oCurrentJob.DisplayName   
	    WScript.Echo "The current job ID is: " & sJobID & VbCrLf
	    WScript.Echo "Job Display Name: - " & sJobDisplayName	_
	     & " - matches the expected display name."_
	     & VbCrLf
	    
	    Exit For
	    
	  Case Else
	  
	  	WScript.Echo "Job with description - " & sExpectedDisplayName & " - cannot be found -- Exiting Script"
  	
  	    Call subCleanup
  	
  End Select
  
       
    
Next

 Set oImageJob = oV2iAuto.ImageJob(sJobID)




' Determine which volumes the imaging job is imaging

iSize = 0


For Each oVol In oImageJob.Volumes

' Populate array with drives listed in imaging job

    ReDim Preserve aVols(iSize)
    aVols(iSize) = oVol
    iSize = iSize + 1

Next



' Iterate through the newly populated array and build sVolumesArray string
' 

sVolumesArray = ""

For Each oVol In aVols

	If sVolumesArray = "" Then
	
		sVolumesArray = funcFindArrayMember(oVol)
		
	Else
	
		sVolumesArray = sVolumesArray & "," & funcFindArrayMember(oVol)
	

	End If


Next

WScript.Echo "sVolumesArray: " & sVolumesArray & VbCrLf

'Update the image job settings


 Set oImageJob = oV2iAuto.ImageJob(sJobID)
 
 With oImageJob

	.Type = oImageJob.Constants.ImageTypeBase
	.IncrementalSupport = True
	.Reason = oImageJob.Constants.ImageReasonAutomatic
	.RunOnce = False
	.Volumes = Array(sVolumesArray)
	.Task = oTask
	.IncrementalTask = oIncTask
	
	'Uncomment the .Task and .IncrementalTask lines below 
	'if you wish to blank out the job schedule.  Also comment
	'the two similar lines above to avoid confusion.
	
	.Task = Nothing
	.IncrementalTask = Nothing
	
	
On Error Resume Next ' Allows for skipping over undefined locations

	.Location(oVolume_C.ID) = oImageLocation_C
    .Location(oVolume_D.ID) = oImageLocation_D
	.Location(oVolume_E.ID) = oImageLocation_E
    .Location(oVolume_F.ID) = oImageLocation_F	
	.Location(oVolume_G.ID) = oImageLocation_G
    .Location(oVolume_H.ID) = oImageLocation_H 
	.Location(oVolume_I.ID) = oImageLocation_I
    .Location(oVolume_J.ID) = oImageLocation_J
	.Location(oVolume_K.ID) = oImageLocation_K
    .Location(oVolume_L.ID) = oImageLocation_L
	.Location(oVolume_M.ID) = oImageLocation_M
    .Location(oVolume_N.ID) = oImageLocation_N	
	.Location(oVolume_O.ID) = oImageLocation_O
    .Location(oVolume_P.ID) = oImageLocation_P 
	.Location(oVolume_Q.ID) = oImageLocation_Q
    .Location(oVolume_R.ID) = oImageLocation_R    
	.Location(oVolume_S.ID) = oImageLocation_S
    .Location(oVolume_T.ID) = oImageLocation_T
	.Location(oVolume_U.ID) = oImageLocation_U
    .Location(oVolume_V.ID) = oImageLocation_V	
	.Location(oVolume_W.ID) = oImageLocation_W
    .Location(oVolume_X.ID) = oImageLocation_X 
	.Location(oVolume_Y.ID) = oImageLocation_Y
    .Location(oVolume_Z.ID) = oImageLocation_Z

On Error GoTo 0    
    
    
End With

 
' 'Note: AddImageJob method also updates job settings

 Call oV2iAuto.AddImageJob(oImageJob)
 

WScript.Echo "Imaging Job settings have been updated"


Call subCleanup




' subCleanup -- Subroutine to cleanup objects and quit script

Sub subCleanup

Set oFSO = Nothing
Set oDriveLetter = Nothing
Set oWshShell = Nothing
Set oV2iAuto = Nothing
Set oImageJob = Nothing
Set oCurrentJob = Nothing
Set oTempVolume = Nothing
Set oVol = Nothing
Set oTask = Nothing
Set oIncTask = Nothing


' Drive Letter Volume Objects

Set oVolume_C = Nothing
Set oVolume_D = Nothing
Set oVolume_E = Nothing
Set oVolume_F = Nothing
Set oVolume_G = Nothing
Set oVolume_H = Nothing
Set oVolume_I = Nothing
Set oVolume_J = Nothing
Set oVolume_K = Nothing
Set oVolume_L = Nothing
Set oVolume_M = Nothing
Set oVolume_N = Nothing
Set oVolume_O = Nothing
Set oVolume_P = Nothing
Set oVolume_Q = Nothing
Set oVolume_R = Nothing
Set oVolume_S = Nothing
Set oVolume_T = Nothing
Set oVolume_U = Nothing
Set oVolume_V = Nothing
Set oVolume_W = Nothing
Set oVolume_X = Nothing
Set oVolume_Y = Nothing
Set oVolume_Z = Nothing

' Image storage location objects

Set oImageLocation_C = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_D = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_E = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_F = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_G = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_H = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_I = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_J = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_K = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_L = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_M = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_N = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_O = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_P = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_Q = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_R = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_S = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_T = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_U = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_V = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_W = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_X = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_Y = Nothing
Set oImageLocation_Z = Nothing


WScript.Quit

End Sub


' subGenWEdate --Subroutine to generate week ending date String

Sub subGenWEdate


	If Month(DateValue(sSatDate)) < 10 Then
	
		sShortMonth = "0" & Month(sSatDate)
		
	Else
	
		sShortMonth = Month(sSatDate)
		
	End If
	
	
		If Day(sSatDate) < 10 Then
		
			sShortDay = "0" & Day(sSatDate)
			
		Else
		
			sShortDay = Day(sSatDate)
			
		End If
	
	
		'Set the sWEfolder Variable
		
		sWEfolder = "WE-"_
					& sShortMonth & "-" _
					& sShortDay & "-" _
					& Right(Year(DateValue(sSatDate)), 2)
								
End Sub


' funcFindArrayMember(oVol_In) 
' 
' Function to return array member for building sVolumesArray string.
' Also sets associated volume and image location objects for volumes
' that are found



Function funcFindArrayMember(oVol_In)

On Error Resume Next

	For Each oTempVolume in oV2iAuto.Volumes(false)
  						  					  		
  		If oVol_In = oTempVolume.MountPoint Then
  		
  			Select Case oVol_In
  			
  				Case "C:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_C = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_C.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_C = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_C.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_C.FileSpec = "C_"
 		
  				Case "D:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_D = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_D.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_D = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_D.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_D.FileSpec = "D_"
  						
  				Case "E:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_E = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_E.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_E = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_E.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_E.FileSpec = "E_"	

  				Case "F:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_F = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_F.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_F = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_F.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_F.FileSpec = "F_"

  				Case "G:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_G = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_G.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_G = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_G.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_G.FileSpec = "G_"

  				Case "H:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_H = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_H.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_H = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_H.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_H.FileSpec = "H_"

  				Case "I:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_I = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_I.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_I = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_I.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_I.FileSpec = "I_"
 				
  				Case "J:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_J = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_J.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_J = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_J.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_J.FileSpec = "J_"			

  				Case "K:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_K = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_K.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_K = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_K.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_K.FileSpec = "K_"
  						  						
  				Case "L:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_L = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_L.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_L = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_L.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_L.FileSpec = "L_"			  						
  						
  				Case "M:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_M = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_M.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_M = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_M.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_M.FileSpec = "M_"			  						
  						
  				Case "N:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_N = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_N.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_N = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_N.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_N.FileSpec = "N_"			  						
  						
  				Case "O:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_O = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_O.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_O = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_O.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_O.FileSpec = "O_"			  						
  						
  				Case "P:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_P = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_P.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_P = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_P.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_P.FileSpec = "P_"
  						  						
  				Case "Q:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_Q = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_Q.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_Q = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_Q.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_Q.FileSpec = "Q_"			  						
  						
  				Case "R:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_R = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_R.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_R = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_R.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_R.FileSpec = "R_"			  						
  						
  				Case "S:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_S = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_S.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_S = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_S.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_S.FileSpec = "S_"			  						
  						
  				Case "T:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_T = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_T.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_T = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_T.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_T.FileSpec = "T_"			  						
  						
  				Case "U:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_U = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_U.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_U = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_U.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_U.FileSpec = "U_"									

  				Case "V:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_V = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_V.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_V = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_V.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_V.FileSpec = "V_"			

  				Case "W:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_W = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_W.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_W = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_W.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_W.FileSpec = "W_"			

  				Case "X:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_X = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_X.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_X = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_X.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_X.FileSpec = "X_"			

  				Case "Y:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_Y = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_Y.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_Y = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_Y.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_Y.FileSpec = "Y_"			

  				Case "Z:\"
				 	
  					Set oVolume_Z = oTempVolume
  					
  					sArrayMember = "oVolume_Z.ID"
  					
  					Set oImageLocation_Z = CreateObject("Symantec.VProRecovery.FolderLocation")
  						oImageLocation_Z.Path = sImagesFolder
  						oImageLocation_Z.FileSpec = "Z_"			

 									  									 				
 				Case Else
 				
 					WScript.Sleep 0
  			
  			End Select
  		
		Else
		
			WScript.Sleep 0
				
  		End If

	Next
	
On Error GoTo 0
	
funcFindArrayMember = sArrayMember

End Function

Hi All

I was experiencing the same issues with rotating USB hard drives and think I came across the solution when using a USB Quantum GoVault which comes up as a USB drive in Windows 2003 SBS but Symantec System Recovery could not access the drive letter directly and the application hung. I shared the Quantum F:\ giving everyone full permission. Then I mapped a drive to the share called S:\  SSR is now able to access the drive and make backups without any issues. I have set the backup job to to a full snapshot on Monday and incremental until Saturday. I then change the disk every Monday morning so I'm getting a full on Mondays and snapshot for the rest of the week.

When using a mapped drive letter the system works perfectly and does not complain when the disks are changed.

Hope this Helps

Cool suggestion B_Abbey!  Have you tried using the URL of the shared drive(s) instead of a mapped drive in your imaging job setup?  For thise folks with way too many drive letters to manage, using the URL of the share might be a way to adapt your solution to their situation.

I actually do something similar to your solution in my production network.  The main file and print server has a SCSI drive enclosure which has a shared folder for storing BESR images.  The imaging jobs use the URL location of this folder as the base for their storage location.  However I like to segregate the images by week ending date (and Server) and the the File System Object will not work with URLs to create folders.  The scripts I use map a drive to the shared folder temporarily, create the desired folder, and then unmap the drive.  The newly created folder can then be added to the URL path.

Anyway, thanks for your suggestion.  I often get problem solving ideas  from other peoples' perspectives, and your's has helped with another situation I'm working on.