About spanning media
Media selection after an end of media (EOM) condition depends on whether NetBackup is configured to allow backups to span media, as follows:
NetBackup spans media if the host property is specified for the server. NetBackup selects another volume to begin the next fragment, and the resulting backup has data fragments on more than one volume.
After an EOM condition, NetBackup attempts to use an unassigned volume rather than one that already has images on it. NetBackup checks the EMM database for a volume that is the correct media type, in the correct volume pool, and so on.
If a suitable unassigned volume is unavailable, NetBackup selects a volume.
NetBackup does not span media if the host property is not specified. The backup terminates abnormally when the end of media is reached. The operation is rescheduled according to the master server host property .
You can further configure NetBackup behavior for standalone drives. Normally, when NetBackup spans media and an EOM is encountered on a standalone drive, NetBackup searches for other media or generates a pending mount request. You can configure a wait period for standalone drives. The wait period is helpful when a gravity feed tape stacker takes a long time to load the next media in the drive.
To configure NetBackup to wait, specify the media server host property. This property specifies the number of seconds NetBackup waits to use a volume that is loaded in a compatible drive. After the wait period expires, NetBackup searches for another drive. NetBackup also waits to generate a pending mount request during tape span operations. The property applies only when standalone drive extensions are enabled.