I'm sure a common problem with most shops is backups, their size, and the window in which you have to back up the data.

What we are working with:

VMware vSphere 4.1 Cluster

PS4000XV Equallogic Storage Array (1.6TB Volume dedicated for Backup to Disk)

Physical Backup Server with a single LTO4 drive.

BackupExec 2010 R3 with the following agents, Exchange, SQL, Active Directory, VMware.

Dual Gigabit MPIO Connections between all devices (Storage Array, Backup Server, VM Hosts)

What we would like to accomplish:

I would like to implement an efficient Backup to Disk to Tape solution where all of our VMs are backed up to the Storage Array first, and then once completely backed up to the array are replicated to tape. In the event we needed to recover, we would be able to do so directly from tape.

Where we are at currently.

Of the several ways I have setup the jobs in Backup Exec 2010 R3 the backup jobs all queue up at the same time, as soon as a job is finished backing up to disk it then starts that same job to tape, but pulling from the original source instead of the designated B2D location. I understand that I could create a job that backs up the "Backup to Disk" folder to tape, but in the event of restoration, I would first need to stage the data in the B2D folder before I could restore the VM.

I would really like to hear from individuals in similar situations. Any and all comments and critiques are appreciated.