Configure Backup to use 8GB Compressed 1

[tteknos]

I'm running a Tape Backup on a Novell Server. Not 100% sure what the hardware is, but I know it's 4/8 GB, 4 beinc uncompressed and 8 being compressed. I need to know how to set a backup using my Seagate Backup Exec windows client to backup something in a compressed format, so I can utilize the FULL 8 GB of the tape. Currently only using 4GB and would like to use the full capacity. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

Ted

 

[bjverzal]

By default, the tape drive should automagically compress the data as it is written to tape.

Bill.

 

[tteknos]

Then why can it only fill up 4GB of the tape?

Ted

 

[bjverzal]

Ted,

How do you know this is the case ? Are you sure the tape is not a 2/4GB ?

Often times there is a dedicated chip that performs the hardware compression before writing the data to tape. Perhaps yours is not functioning ? A more likely scenario is that perhaps your data is not subject to compression, because it is already compressed ?

If you are backing up .zip files or .Z files, they are already compressed, and won't compress any further.

Bill.

 

[tteknos]

I'm backing up 1 entire system volume on netware. When I back up anything OVER 4 GB it asks me to insert a new disk. They are 4/8 disks, and I've tried many different new ones. There has to be some way to SET the compression.

Ted

 

[bjverzal]

I think there is a Backup Exec forum here. Perhaps you can find it and post it there ??

Bill.

 

[weakpun]

You will never get 8GB on the tape - 8 gig is a stated theoretical maximum under perfect compression ie you might be able to get an 8GB .txt file which consisted only of "1111111" etc on the tape, but not much else.

And, as bjverzal said, any files that are compressed already (jpgs, mp3s etc) won't compress down much further anyway. You can see this when you use something like winzip to compress something - with these types of files it hardly reduces the size at all.

That being said, you should be able to get more than 4GB on the tape- I would be surprised if you got any more than 5 or 6GB on it though.

Also, is the volume NSS or traditional Netware? Not sure if this makes a difference, but it could...

 

[tteknos]

It's traditional Netware. I have found though that you guys are right, it's not backing up 8GB simply because there's not alot of files that aren't already compressed in some way. Just got alternate tapes for these 8GB backups, or get a 20GB or something. Thanks again for responding.

Ted