Tim Mooney said:
>I'm frankly very pleased that NetWorker *allows* such deep and
relatively
>complete scripting... I agree that it would be nice if NetWorker
exposed 
this functionality via the GUI, 

It's not so much whether it does it with our without the GUI.  It's
whether or not it's built into the product without having to write your
own code.  For example, NBU Vault in it's first two iterations was not
in the GUI, but it did work.  You had to edit config files.  NOW it's in
the GUI.

>Maybe I'm just behind the times, but is it really the expectation these
>days that someone should be able to be responsible for the backups and
>data protection of an enterprise without being able to do modest
>scripting or being willing to learn?

Absolutely.  I'm coming from a world where I've written HUNDREDS of
script for backup products over the years.  I can remember when I
implemented NBU for a large software company and had to write 150 custom
scripts for them to make it do what they wanted.  That was 9 years ago.
Now there are very few shops where I can't implement NBU without custom
scripts.  That is definitely not the case with NW.  It's scheduling
limitations and it's inability to automate tape copying in large
environments forces me to script.

Remember also that the world is becoming more and more Windowsy.  And
Windows people don't like/don't know scripting anywhere near as much as
the Unix folk.  It's just a fact of life.

What's the problem with scripts if you know how to write them?  They
cost money.  A lot of people think of them as free, but they are NOT.
You have write them (cost).  You have to update them when you upgrade NW
(cost).  You have to debug them when they don't work (cost).  You have
to add features to them as people's needs change and your bosses and
customers change (cost).

Custom scripts are one of the biggest impediments large companies have
to change.  They don't want to update NW/NBU because they don't want to
debug all their scripts.  The backup guy will always be the backup guy
because to lose him/her or move him/her somewhere else would mean
someone else will have to pick up that code -- and it NEVER works right
after they leave.  I push all my clients to avoid scripting whenever
possible, so a product's ability to support their requirements without
writing code is paramount in my choice for a backup product.





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