How can I change the retention period for a single image on a tape (not the entire tape)

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First identify the Media ID of the volume that contains the image you want to extend. The easiest known way is to use the Java GUI (jbpSA) to attempt a restore (without actually submitting it) and use the "List Required Media" tab to see what tapes make up the set for the image. Once you have the Media ID you can use the bpimmedia command to determine the backupid of the image you want to extend.

Ex: bpimmedia -L -mediaid xxxxxx -client client-name

If the backupid, which consists of the client name with a time stamp appended, exceeds 20 characters, you will see truncation. If this occurs, use a the non-formatted version of the bpimmedia command (change upper case -L to lower case -l).

With the backupid in hand you can issue the bpexpdate command to modify the retention period.

Ex: bpexpdate -recalculate -backupid client-name_timestamp -d mm/dd/yy hh:mm:ss

This technique has been tested in a NBU 3.2GA environment running on a Sun E450 Masrer Server.