BackupPC-users

Re: [BackupPC-users] NFS woes

2011-04-19 13:03:43
Subject: Re: [BackupPC-users] NFS woes
From: Timothy J Massey <tmassey AT obscorp DOT com>
To: backuppc-users AT lists.sourceforge DOT net
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:59:23 -0400
comfi <backuppc-forum AT backupcentral DOT com> wrote on 04/19/2011 12:49:00 PM:

> I'll perform the tests you guys recommend, although I've done
> hundreds of NFS tests of the years and I know what to expect there.
> This NFS implementation feels fairly typical, speed-wise.
> Personally, I agree with some of you who say something sounds
> broken. 4.5 minutes to pull up a host summary list of 3 servers,
> whose cummulative backup size is less than 400MB? That's long enough
> to copy the entire contents of the backup pool several times over. I
> guess what I'm looking for here is some insight into what BackupPC
> is doing at that point, so I can figure out what it is that may be
> broken. Is it crawling the entire backup pool for something? Or is
> it just looking at the config files for all available hosts?


No:  the BackupPC server process is merely looking at log files.  It's not (e.g.) scanning the pool to see the size:  that is contained in the "backups" file in each host.  As you've seen with the pool on a local drive, the access should be relatively instantaneous--no matter *how* big the pool is.

> Or, on a completely attack vector, can all of the BackupPC
> operations be performed from a shell?


Yes.  Check on the commands in the <BackupPC dir>/bin.  The GUI merely uses those shell commands on your behalf.

How long are your backups taking?  Can you give us some host size/backup time examples?

Are the backups running at full speed?  Could the problem be with the Apache or BackupPC CGI process and *not* an NFS issue directly?  How are you connecting the two:  CGI or modperl?

> As for using a different device, a previous backup admin spent a ton
> of dough on this Data Domain device, which is supposed to be
> designed specifically for storing backups. I'd much rather throw
> together something different, but the purse strings are tied fairly
> tightly for this project.

The idea of a dedicated NAS/SAN device for backup is not terrible;  it's the choice of NFS for BackupPC that is questionable!  :)  If you could do iSCSI you likely wouldn't have any of these issues...

I would *really* like to know the results of the dd test I mentioned in my VMware thread (it's right in the first message!), as well as any iozone testing you'd like to do.  If we can eliminate base NFS performance we might be able to give you better answers.

I (or anyone else) can't see your system;  all we know is what we've experienced in similar situations, and our gut tells us that you have an NFS problem that is 100% separate from BackupPC.  It would be nice to be proven wrong, so that we can quit tripping over that in our thought process.

Timothy J. Massey
 
Out of the Box Solutions, Inc.
Creative IT Solutions Made Simple!

http://www.OutOfTheBoxSolutions.com
tmassey AT obscorp DOT com
      22108 Harper Ave.
St. Clair Shores, MI 48080
Office: (800)750-4OBS (4627)
Cell: (586)945-8796

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benefiting from Server Virtualization: Beyond Initial Workload 
Consolidation -- Increasing the use of server virtualization is a top
priority.Virtualization can reduce costs, simplify management, and improve 
application availability and disaster protection. Learn more about boosting 
the value of server virtualization. http://p.sf.net/sfu/vmware-sfdev2dev
_______________________________________________
BackupPC-users mailing list
BackupPC-users AT lists.sourceforge DOT net
List:    https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/backuppc-users
Wiki:    http://backuppc.wiki.sourceforge.net
Project: http://backuppc.sourceforge.net/
<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>