We've run Flashbackups on Windows clients with 250GB - 1TB filesystem sizes, 
and Solaris clients with 250GB filesystems (the 500GB volumes are in the queue 
to be run).  The policies we're using Flash on currently are all for basically 
full or nearly full volumes.  We don't have too many half-empty 1-2TB volumes 
that stay empty for very long.

Our Windows clients were averaging about 10 million files per 250GB volume.  
Walking that file system not only sucks for NetBackup but the OS doesn't like 
it much either.  A couple of those clients on a 32-bit Win2k3 client and you 
can watch the box tip over.  64-bit Windows handles it *much* better.

Remember that even though backing up 1TB of nothing may sound really bad, it's 
not quite as bad as you think it is since the tape drive is typically going to 
compress the heck out of the data.  The network traffic will probably suck 
though unless you make the client a SAN media server.

Single file restore for Windows has been available for several years - back in 
4.5 I think it got added.  Full volume restore still requires a file system of 
*identical* size as the source - it can't even be bigger which is a really 
annoying limitation especially given that that SAN arrays don't always present 
out to the same size across vendors (e.g. you probably can't create a volume of 
exactly 1TB on a Symmetrix whereas you can on an EVA).

        .../Ed

--
Ed Wilts, Mounds View, MN, USA
mailto:ewilts AT ewilts DOT org

I GoodSearch for Bundles Of Love
http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=821118 


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paul Keating [mailto:pkeating AT bank-banque-canada DOT ca]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 10:52 AM
> To: Ed Wilts; veritas-bu AT mailman.eng.auburn DOT edu
> Subject: RE: [Veritas-bu] Tuning Windows backups
> 
> Just out of curiousity, what is the filesystem sizes, and amount of
> "free space" on the filesystems?
> 
> Ie, are youbacking up 2TB volumes with 1TB of data?
> Or more like 900GB of data on a 1TB volume?
> 
> We're getting killed with some boxes that have about 1TB on a 2TB
> volume, but millions of files.
> It's gotten worse over time despite little data growth.
> Assuming defragging is sucking...
> However, backing up 1TB of empty space using FlashBackup would suck.
> 
> Also, maybe I'm out of the loop...been a while since I looked into
> this,
> but is single file restore available with Flashbackup for Windows now?
> 
> Paul
> 
> 
> --
> 
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: veritas-bu-bounces AT mailman.eng.auburn DOT edu
> > [mailto:veritas-bu-bounces AT mailman.eng.auburn DOT edu] On Behalf
> > Of Ed Wilts
> > Sent: May 18, 2007 9:57 AM
> > To: Bluejay AT fujigreenwood DOT com; veritas-bu AT mailman.eng.auburn DOT 
> > edu
> > Subject: Re: [Veritas-bu] Tuning Windows backups
> >
> >
> > Flashbackup.  That's the best answer on any client with
> > millions of little
> > files.  We're using it on file systems much larger than yours
> > and with 10x
> > the number of files.
> >
> >     .../Ed
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