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Conference cookie::archive_backup

Title:Archive/Backup
Moderator:COOKIE::MHUAIG
Created:Wed Sep 08 1993
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:479
Total number of notes:2283

440.0. "NT and Unix client support plans ?" by ATZIS3::PIEBER (chaos has many faces) Mon Apr 21 1997 11:11

    Hi folks,
    
    this is question about future product features regarding Unix and NT
    ABS client support:
    
    Is there a plan (better: date) yet, as to when
    
    NT: 
    
    	+ registry 
    	+ SQL Server 
    	+ MS Exchange
    	(+ ORACLE DB)
    
    Unix:
    
    	+ SAP databases
    	+ ORACLE databases
    
    will be possible to be backed up ? 
    
    	The demand for these issues is growing fast here and we have one
    customer, who will have migrated all his office applications to NT by
    the end of the 1997. We are talking backup of about 90-150 GB per
    weekly full save and a yet to be determined amount of data daily.
    
    	The question from the customer is, whether ABS will be able to 
    savely backup this data soon. And if not all of the above, what are 
    the plans/dates in this area.
    
    	I get the impression here in Austria, that demand for Unix and NT
    client support will soon dominate over demand for VMS backup support.
    
    Ewald.
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440.1COOKIE::MHUAMon Apr 21 1997 14:225
    
    Please forward the question to COOKIE::CROSS (Judy Cross) about future
    dates and plans.
    
    Masami
440.2Unix and NT database backup supportCOOKIE::CROSSWed Apr 23 1997 16:3112
At present the Unix and NT clients are used to backup files - the files can
be anything. We don't backup files that are open with an exclusive lock. If a
database file is open without an exclusive lock we can back it up. However, we
cannot guarentee the integrity of the data as some key transactions may be in 
cache that is not backed up.

All this to say that we do not yet fully support backup of SQL, SAP or Oracle
databases or the NT registry file. We are working on registry file backup now
but I can't give you a firm date yet. 

Full support for database backup is on the requirements list. Please keep in
mind that it's a long list!
440.3STOWKS::SLUISHans van Sluis -- Storage Engineering Support Europe- DTN 889 9526Mon Apr 28 1997 05:5323
Ewald,

Currently ABS only supports one stream ( = client) per tape drive. This means
that a Unix/NT client do not utilize multiple drives in parallel; the onlt
backup agent that has this behaviuor is RMU BACKUP.

If you have a tape drive (e.g. TZ88, local SCSI), that is able to handle 3.0
MB/sec, one hour give you 3600 * 3.0 = 10.8GB/hour. Giving the size of data
you're talking about (90 - 150 GB/day), the backup window might become very long
if everything is in one Save Request. So you'll need multiple streams to 
meet your backup window (you know where to set the number of drives, don't you). 
Ideal would be a change in ABS to allow multiple streams from one Unix/NT client
for the same save request, so tune up the number of drives in the Execution
Environment (not the Storage Class). However, I'm afraid that a lot of water
still have to flow through the Rhine/Donau before we see something of that kind.

Another, very good solution for the customer, is to use Networker on Unix / NT.
It comes with modules for Oracle, SAP and SQL server (later this year). So, you
might want to move away from ABS if you're forced to by the (lack of offered
versus customer required) functionallity. NSR is the major competitor of ABS
inside Digital

Hans