Custom Calendar

Topics | How To | Related Topics

Overview

• Scheduling and Custom Calendars
• Auxiliary Copy and Custom Calendars
• Data Aging Based on Extended Retention with Copies using Custom Calendars

How to Use Custom Calendars

Other Operations

• Audit Trail
• Events

Best Practices

Related Reports

Overview

The standard Gregorian calendar, which starts on the first day of January and is comprised of months that have a set number of days, is used as the basis for all scheduled operations, as well as data aging and auxiliary copies.

For organizations that use custom calendars for their fiscal year (i.e., a calendar that starts on a different day and month, and whose months have a unique number of days), standard calendars may pose a problem when operations must be scheduled according to the days of their custom calendar.

The Custom Calendar feature gives users the ability to create custom calendars so that their operations can be run within the boundaries of their own custom calculated time. A company may base their custom year on a calendar that starts in February, ends in January, and whose months have a unique number of days. This feature allows users to use the same custom calendar for their scheduled operations, and as the basis for copy data to storage policy copies, and for the aging of data from these copies.

Use the Control Panel from the Tools menu on the CommCell Console to create custom calendars.

Scheduling and Custom Calendars

Custom calendars can be used for weekly, monthly and yearly schedules. For example, a monthly schedule for a custom calendar that defines months that are 32 days long will run every 32 days, starting on the starting day of the month as defined in the calendar. Yearly schedules will run every n days (the number of days defined in the calendar), and will start on the day that is defined as the start of the custom calendar year.

Auxiliary Copy and Custom Calendars

Selective storage policy copies associated with custom calendars will have data copied during auxiliary copy operations either monthly, quarterly, half yearly, or yearly based on the days defined in the calendar. If a storage policy copy is re-associated with a different calendar, the auxiliary copy operation re-calculates the dates in which data is copied based on the time definitions set in the custom calendar.

Data Aging Based on Extended Retention with Copies using Custom Calendars

A data aging operation that ages data from a storage policy copy with the Extended Retention option enabled will age data according to the time definitions set in the custom calendar, if that copy is using a custom calendar.

For example, let's assume that you want to preserve the tapes containing the last full and incremental backups copied during monthly periods that end on the last Friday of the month. In order to do this, you must define a custom calendar to make the last Friday of the month signify last day of the month, and you must select the Last Full Backup of Time Period option from the associated storage policy copy's properties Retention dialog. When selected, the last full backup of each extended retention rule will be retained, providing there are no remaining full backup scheduled for the same subclient during that time period. To define the custom calendar to make the last Friday of the month signify last day of the month, see Create a Custom Calendar. In this case, the defined calendar would resemble the following:
 

How to Use Custom Calendars

The following section provides the steps for using Custom Calendars.

1. Create a Custom Calendar
   • A custom calendar can be created from the Custom Calendars dialog box.
2. Create a Job Schedule
   • A custom calendar can be selected for a monthly or yearly schedule from the Schedule Details tab of the Schedule Details dialog box. The custom calendar can be used as an alternative to a standard calendar.
3. Associate a Custom Calendar to a Storage Policy Copy
   • A custom calendar can be associated with a storage policy copy from the General tab of the Copy Properties dialog box.
   • Once associated, Auxiliary Copy and Data Aging operations of this copy will be based on the custom calendar.

Custom Calendars and Other Operations

Audit Trail

Operations performed with this feature are recorded in the Audit Trail. See Audit Trail for more information.

Events

One year from the date in which a custom calendar definition is missing from a custom calendar, a Major event is generated in the Event Viewer every 24 hours.

Best Practices

Consider the following when creating custom calendars:

• If you plan to use a custom calendar, be sure that the calendar has been defined for several years. If the time definitions for a custom calendar have expired:
  • Related schedules will be deleted.
  • Data Aging operations will not prune data from a storage policy copy using an expired custom calendar.
• Changing a time definition in a custom calendar for a time that occurs in the past will:
  • Change the way data is aged from a copy that has the Extended Retention option enabled, according to the dates of the custom calendar.
  • Change the time intervals by which data is copied to a selective copy, according to the dates of the custom calendar.
• It is recommended that new storage policy copies and schedules be created for use with a new custom calendar, but this is not necessary.

Related Reports

The CommCell Configuration report identifies the schedules and/or storage policy copies that are using custom calendars.

The Job Schedule reports identify the schedules that are using custom calendars.

The Storage Policy report identifies the storage policy copies that are using custom calendars.

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