Is tape still the best method? Imaging?

[TechFan]

We are just about to start doing digital imaging of all of our documents (500+/day). I am guessing we will be filling up a lot of space fast. How do you backup something once it gets to 120GB or so?? Is it better to use imaged HD's? 120GB HD are pretty cheap. . .get 5 and rotate them??

Anyway, struggling with how to manage and backup storage across many servers in really large amounts. Would prefer not to have a tape drive in every server. . .though we already have 4. . .adding new servers soon.

 

[jjjon]

An ATL would be best -- (HD may be getting cheaper but tape is still cheaper per MB, and can be moved off-site)-- with something like Veritas Netbackup Datacenter. We're using Veritas with an 8-drive (DLT7000s) tape library(326 tapes) to back up about 30 servers every night. Would look into SuperDLT library though, much better performance!

 

[MostlyNuts]

You could simply get yourself a cheap JBOD, backup to that and set a later time to automatically migrate this data to the existing tape resources you have for offsite storage. This would save you $$$ on new tape technology.
I have implemted this in the past with Legato NetWorker and it always worked very well.

 

[Rols]

How much data do you expect to be backing up? 120GB isnt that much these days, that amount of data will typically fit onto a single tape (ie SDLT, LTO, AIT3). If you are backing up between 150GB to 1 or 2 TB's I would suggest an Overland Library its small, scalible and readily avalible. I think the 8 drive ATL Silo was a bit overkill. As for software - Netbackup again is a little overkill (its typically used in datacentre/enterprise type environments) lower level software such as Veritas Backup Exec, CA's Arcserve or even tapeware will do the job.

Before you purchase anything do some research and spec out what you are trying to achieve - that way you wont be buying anything you dont need - backup products dont come cheap these days.

 

[TechFan]

We currently have at least 5 servers (adding two in the next couple weeks) 3 of them have tape drives. The other two are terminal servers that don't store data or change much so we have images of them stored on another server and backed up. We have 4 drives, I believe as follows: 1 DDS2, 2 DDS3, and 1 DDS4 drives currently. One of the DDS3 drives is just sitting on the shelf.

The vendor/consultant here says we should buy a DLT1 drive instead of getting another DDS4 drive ($690 for the DDS4 drive, not sure about the DLT drive yet).

I am not sure exactly how much is backed up right now, probably around 40GB in a 4-5hr window. But if we start doing imaging, I can see that number growing really really fast. Especially if they switch the EMR imaging to the server rather than through Optika (and the attached jukebox - not being used to its potential, but have way outdated software = BIG $ to upgrade).

We are using ArcServe 6 for the servers (1 novell 4.11 and 2 NT4 -> all Win2k in the next couple months). I see that version 9 has been released and I am thinking about upgrading to it along with buying a new copy for the new server. I don't understand the licensing for it either (what is the agent for? A server without a tape drive?) or what the options are for my config.

I really appreciate all of your advice. I am a MCSE (NT4 & Win2k) and CCA, but have just come from a bigger company where we could be more focused in our areas or expertise. I wasn't involved in the backups (except for telling the person in charge what server/share I needed on the backup schedule). I have been here now for a couple months and I am in charge of the entire system. Full of challenges that are good experience boosters.

 

[Rols]

OK let start with basics.

These days we all know about the dreaded "TCO" (total cost of ownership) & we are trying to reduce this as much as possible. There for it would make economic sense to consolidate all your backup needs.

Instead of purchasing 4 tape drives for each of your servers you should use a backup server and a tape library that will backup ALL your servers. That reduces the number of server licenses you need & minimises management of the the backup system ie: someone doesnt have to go to each server to change tapes & manage jobs etc, management of the backup regime can be done centrally.

Im not an Arcserve expert & I havent had great experiences with the product - I would tend to recommend Veritas Backup Exec for a small/medium site like this. But there are some people who swear by Arcserve so it really comes down to personal preference. If you have had previous experience in Arcserve and feel comfortable using the product then stick with it (you may also be able to upgrade your current licenses rather that having to purchase new ones).

To answer your question agents are used by the backup software to give or improve the ability of the backup server when backing up other remote servers. For example with Backup Exec if you are backing up an exchange server on your network you would have to install the exchange agent for the backups to work. Sometimes agents are not necessary but most of the times they are.

To make a proper recommendation I would have to know the exact spec of your environment. (assuming your backups are going to grow from your current 40GB in 4-5hours)

If I may ask - what country are you located?

Feel free to ask if you need more advice.

 

[gwichman]

To expand on the above statement which is somewhat wrong regarding agents, agents are generally used to add functionality that the default product does not have. Most backup products support only one thing by default - backing up another computer's file system. This doesn't add any specific application support. For example say you're running MSSQL, Exchange, or Oracle DB.. You can't backup either of these applications while they are up and running, because the files that comprise of the database are constantly open and changing. Backing up those files would actually be worthless if the application is up. Some people will shut the application down, back up the files, then start the application again. That works great if you can afford that window of downtime. Otherwise you need some technic to back up the application while it's running. Some applications by default do support limited backup functionality. For example you can do a backup to a locally attached tape drive or even to disk - but does not have hooks for the actual backup software you're using.

So often given most applications you have a few options..
1-shut down the app, back up the appropriate files, start the app
2-use functionality built into the app to backup the app to some disk space some where, then the real backup app (arcserver, backup exec, whatever) comes along and backs up those files from the disk. After you can erase them.
3-purchase an agent which is typically software provided that interfaces between the given applications API and the backup product to allow you to backup the product while it's up and running.

Some agents even let you do things you can't normally do. An example is Exchange normally via the MS API's only lets you do a full, incremental, or differential backup. But arcserver and veritas agent's will also let you do mailbox backups which can be useful if you find yourself periodically restoring mailboxes for people. Otherwise you'd have to restore the entire server to a seperate box, export the mailbox, and import it on the real production server. Unfortunetly mailbox backups serve as very poor full exchange backups so most organizations using those products actually back up their exchange server twice. Once with a mailbox backup, and once as a more traditional backup.

Bottom line is an agent almost always adds some type of functionality that the product itself doesnt have.

Otherwise i agree with Rols and he's doing a good job replying to you =). I've used all the various backup products except maybe Legato (used it a little but not much). Arcserv and Backup Exec are comparible if you ask me. Stick with what you know.

If you only have 5 + 2 servers then it's probably not time to make the plunge yet for a dedicated backup server and tape library or auto changer. Depends on your budget.. Would it be easier to manage your backups? Sure but i wouldnt spend that money until i found myself anticipating some significant increase in the number of servers you have or found that swapping tapes daily to be unwieldy.

 

[TechFan]

Thanks gwichman.