SuperDLT 320 Backup-Slow

[Excalibur1701]

Ok, I'm confused. We have been backing up our server using a Quantum 7000 unit, and it was taking nearly 14 hours to complete. So we decided to buy a faster unit, and bought a Quantum SuperDLT 320 unit. This is a much faster unit according to the specifications, but, the backups are still taking 14 hours. My guess is it's a SCSI limitation. We are using the Adaptec AIC-78xx SCSI device on an NT 4.0 server. Any suggestions on how to make our backups faster? My boss is hesitant on buying a new SCSI card.

Thanks.

 

[comtec17]

Here are the questions that come to my mind:

1. What is the make/model and bus speed of your server?

2. Have you defragged the system?

3. What software are you using to perform the backups?

4. Is there anything else on the same SCSI chain?

 

[stevet3]

That scis card is most likey a Adaptec 2940x

I would suggest a Adaptec 29160 or 39160

Looks as if you bottle neck is the scsi card.

Also, take a look at your current card..is the transfer rate set to max on the port you have the Drive On?

 

[kenyhp]

What type of data are you backing up. Is it a database, mail or files or all together?

 

[Excalibur1701]

The bulk of the backup are SQL dumps. It's currently 70gig in size.

This is a Dell Poweredge/6300. Not sure how to check for Bus Speed. It has never been defraged, because NT 4.0 does not provide this utility. I'm just using the NT 4.0 NTbackup utility and there is nothing else connected to the SCSI chain. Will have to look at the transfer rate next time I reboot the server.

Thanks for your help.

 

[comtec17]

Just as an FYI...

You can have the fastest drive in the world connected to this server and it will only operate as fast as the server components. If you are using an Adaptec internal controller or a 2940, you will not be able to get full speed of the drive. If your PCI slot for the server is only 33mhz and you are running an Adaptec 39160 HBA, you will still run slow because your server backplane is slow.