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The best Backup Software available for AIX
- Thread starter jpor
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MoshiachNow
IS-IT--Management
Hi,
We succesfully use Legato 6.02. "Long live king Moshiach !"
h
We succesfully use Legato 6.02. "Long live king Moshiach !"
h
Hello,
The question is this.
More then what is the best off the shelf backup software.
When one runs 24/7 operation and data is very critical and it has to be backed up.
If the backup software has a problem and backup failes for some reason( or you get a message that backup is successful but when you restore this backup on test system and findout some files are missing) then you want the maker of the software to be your partner and figure out why the backup software did not do what it is suppose to do.
Just the best of the shelf backup software does not count.
Data is very critical. The real test is backup the data using the software and then restore on the test system to make sure you can get the all the data on test system and run the test system just like production system.
I have seen too many times people use backup strategy and backup the tape and never test the restore process. When system fail or hardware fails and try to restore from the tape then they findout the real truth.
The question is this.
More then what is the best off the shelf backup software.
When one runs 24/7 operation and data is very critical and it has to be backed up.
If the backup software has a problem and backup failes for some reason( or you get a message that backup is successful but when you restore this backup on test system and findout some files are missing) then you want the maker of the software to be your partner and figure out why the backup software did not do what it is suppose to do.
Just the best of the shelf backup software does not count.
Data is very critical. The real test is backup the data using the software and then restore on the test system to make sure you can get the all the data on test system and run the test system just like production system.
I have seen too many times people use backup strategy and backup the tape and never test the restore process. When system fail or hardware fails and try to restore from the tape then they findout the real truth.
it mostly depends on apps you are running
has solution for anything that may get lost without backup
although
may have some cheaper/other solutions that suits your needs
has solution for anything that may get lost without backup
although
may have some cheaper/other solutions that suits your needs
If you are being really critical about your backups, and you are (I would assume) already an AIX shop, may as well go with Tivoli ( We use that, however we are not entirely satisfied with IBM's version of a storage frame (the Shark, or ESS, or whatever). So we use Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) to do our backups and an ESS frame for the disk pool only, with an IBM 3494 library for tapes. Since Oracle and SAP both partner with IBM, support is pretty decent from any angle. Our other storage is all EMC.
This sort of setup will require some investment in iron if you don't already have it laying around, as well as a warm body to run the whole thing if you are a large shop. However the 3494 robot means you need fewer operators handling tapes. We only have a human touch the duplicate tapes which are being sent off site.
However for disaster recovery we use quite a different setup which does not involve tapes, so as mentioned earlier you need to set down exactly what your recovery targets are. Once you know that, you'll be able to decide what hardware/software you will need.
This sort of setup will require some investment in iron if you don't already have it laying around, as well as a warm body to run the whole thing if you are a large shop. However the 3494 robot means you need fewer operators handling tapes. We only have a human touch the duplicate tapes which are being sent off site.
However for disaster recovery we use quite a different setup which does not involve tapes, so as mentioned earlier you need to set down exactly what your recovery targets are. Once you know that, you'll be able to decide what hardware/software you will need.
We currently have a veritas setup backing up 13 UNIX boxes, 5 of which are AIX production and development boxes. Hardware includes a StorageTek silo with 4xLVD LTO drives.
I have to say it hasn't been smooth sailing and would strongly advise that you really do take a good look at the alternatives before settling. In our case, where we do full backups every night the data which is backed-up is also cloned (duplicated) for offsite delivery. Problems we have had included faulty tapes from Maxell and EMTEC; Seagate LVD drives but fundamentally the enormous time it takes to clone a tape. Hopefully the new version of Veritas will cure this one since we're now stuck with this baby.
Remember : look around for what's right for you.
Mon
I have to say it hasn't been smooth sailing and would strongly advise that you really do take a good look at the alternatives before settling. In our case, where we do full backups every night the data which is backed-up is also cloned (duplicated) for offsite delivery. Problems we have had included faulty tapes from Maxell and EMTEC; Seagate LVD drives but fundamentally the enormous time it takes to clone a tape. Hopefully the new version of Veritas will cure this one since we're now stuck with this baby.
Remember : look around for what's right for you.
Mon
monman reminded me of why we have one guy who does nothing but run our backup system: it is a huge headache and full time job. Also of note, we have not yet been provided with full-featured backup scripts or binaries to deal with our larger landscapes (SAP+Oracle) so we had to develop our own backup scripts! Some of our work even uses undocumented AIX commands.
The 3494 uses 3590 tape drives, which are not bad actually, but any drive can eat a tape and you want good service when it does, which is why I like having IBM handle the whole thing. It's still better if a robot handles the tapes, though. We overcame our backup speed problem by throwing more drives at it and converting some to fibre connection.
Good luck!
The 3494 uses 3590 tape drives, which are not bad actually, but any drive can eat a tape and you want good service when it does, which is why I like having IBM handle the whole thing. It's still better if a robot handles the tapes, though. We overcame our backup speed problem by throwing more drives at it and converting some to fibre connection.
Good luck!
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