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Can a tape device be installed on a workstation?
- Thread starter JamesMack
- Start date
Are you planning to use backup exec from the server to back up? or are you going to install the backup software on the workstation as well?
I know it will work for sure with the tape drive and the backup software on the workstation, however I don't know if you'll be able to do so with the software on the server. The only way I think that it will work on the server is that if Backup Exec can see the tape drive over the network, otherwise it might not be in the list of backup devices. I'm not all that familliar with Backup Exec, but if you want it to work for sure, put the software on the workstation as well.
And if you're not going to use the built-in XP backup software, then go in to the services in XP (Start, Run, 'services.msc') and Stop and Disable the Removable Storage (Manager) service. (Sometimes listed as Removable Storge Manager, depending on version of the OS) This service is only used by the native backup applet, and will only cause conflicts with other backup software.
Also, make sure that you clean the drive once every 20 hrs of tape pulling (1/wk). Make sure that you're not using an expired cleaning tape, cleaning tapes are only good for 50 uses.
Don't Verify. These drives have 4 R/W heads (two of each) and perform RAW (read after write) writing. The data is already being verified, and performing Verify is only redundant and will increase your backup time and reduce the life of the drive.
These drives have a duty cycle of 12%. This means that they were not designed to operate for more than 12% of the day. 12% of 24hrs = 2.88 hrs. If your backups are exceeding this (could be due to verify) then you are pushing the drive real hard. Try to change your backup strategy. Don't do a full backup every night. Do a full backup on Friday and incrementals the rest of the week. If your friday backup runs longer than 3 hours it's not as bad as the drive running that long every day.
The drive might also be doing what is called "shoe-shining". Data is not being transferred to the drive in a nice even stream as it should. Instead, the buffer will fill up, then dump it. Then it will wait for the buffer to fill again and dump it again. For a DAT40, the transfer rate in the SCSI BIOS should be set to 10 MB/s.
One last thing: ensure that there are no other SCSI devices on the same SCSI bus as the tape drive. Tape drives are pigs and they like to hog the bus. Especially ensure that there are no SCSI hard drives on the bus as it will only cause data collisions and increase backup time again. The recommended SCSI adapter for that drive is an Adaptec AHA-29160lp (if it's LVD mode) or the AHA-2940uw (non-LVD mode). Hope this helps.
I know it will work for sure with the tape drive and the backup software on the workstation, however I don't know if you'll be able to do so with the software on the server. The only way I think that it will work on the server is that if Backup Exec can see the tape drive over the network, otherwise it might not be in the list of backup devices. I'm not all that familliar with Backup Exec, but if you want it to work for sure, put the software on the workstation as well.
And if you're not going to use the built-in XP backup software, then go in to the services in XP (Start, Run, 'services.msc') and Stop and Disable the Removable Storage (Manager) service. (Sometimes listed as Removable Storge Manager, depending on version of the OS) This service is only used by the native backup applet, and will only cause conflicts with other backup software.
Also, make sure that you clean the drive once every 20 hrs of tape pulling (1/wk). Make sure that you're not using an expired cleaning tape, cleaning tapes are only good for 50 uses.
Don't Verify. These drives have 4 R/W heads (two of each) and perform RAW (read after write) writing. The data is already being verified, and performing Verify is only redundant and will increase your backup time and reduce the life of the drive.
These drives have a duty cycle of 12%. This means that they were not designed to operate for more than 12% of the day. 12% of 24hrs = 2.88 hrs. If your backups are exceeding this (could be due to verify) then you are pushing the drive real hard. Try to change your backup strategy. Don't do a full backup every night. Do a full backup on Friday and incrementals the rest of the week. If your friday backup runs longer than 3 hours it's not as bad as the drive running that long every day.
The drive might also be doing what is called "shoe-shining". Data is not being transferred to the drive in a nice even stream as it should. Instead, the buffer will fill up, then dump it. Then it will wait for the buffer to fill again and dump it again. For a DAT40, the transfer rate in the SCSI BIOS should be set to 10 MB/s.
One last thing: ensure that there are no other SCSI devices on the same SCSI bus as the tape drive. Tape drives are pigs and they like to hog the bus. Especially ensure that there are no SCSI hard drives on the bus as it will only cause data collisions and increase backup time again. The recommended SCSI adapter for that drive is an Adaptec AHA-29160lp (if it's LVD mode) or the AHA-2940uw (non-LVD mode). Hope this helps.
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