Comparison TSM-Server vs. TSM FastBack Server

[obiwan2]

Hi all,

can anyone explain the differences between a "normal" TSM-Server and a TSM FastBack Server ?

I never used/tested the FastBack-Server.....

We are using (at the moment) Acronis Backup & Recovery v11 Server for creating System-Images of our Servers and store them on a SAN-device. As an alternative one of my colleagues means we could even use Cristies TBMR.....

But now I've found a few informations about FastBack and now I'm a little bit confused..... can I use FastBack as a replacement für Acronis and/or TBMR ? What if I have (for example) 150 Servers (Windows, Linux, SUN Solaris) that need to be saved / "imaged" for the need of a fast restore ? At the moment we have 4 TSM-Servers running on Solaris 5.10....

Any help is appreciated !!
Thanks

Hubert

 

[Harry_Redl]

Hi,

the only common thing is "TSM" in the name. (To make situation even more funny there is another product - FastBack for Workstations which has NOTHING common with TSM Fastback ...)

The one who has the most experience with TSM Fastback here is http://adsm.org/forum/member.php?3368-mccleld
(So I suppose he is going to correct me if I am wrong)

So what is TSM FastBack:
- block level replicating machine working on volume level
- Server is Windows ONLY
- clients are Windows & RHEL & SLES only (NO Solaris, NO AIX, no HP-UX, NO NetWare)
- it is DISK ONLY solution - no tapes (for using tapes - with mount funcitonality mentioned below - you can use "big" TSM - which has some level of integration - or any other backup SW - if you are not afraid of scripting)
- it has the ability to mount the backup from the repository - so the application can run from the backup repository as you replicate the data back on the background
- it can work in continuous data protection mode
- it can replicate its repositories to the central FastBack server
- it has BMR funcionality
... and other stuff

So as long as you have Solaris servers in your environment, it cannot help you

Harry

 

[obiwan2]

Thank you Harry for these very valuable informations !!!

One more point against FastBack - and one more for Cristies TBMR

 

[mccleld]

Hi @Harry_Redl and @obiwan2,

Sorry, I've been offline for a while and only just seen this - I think you've pretty much summed up the technical side of FastBack; FastBack is essentially a software-based disk snapshot tool. From a benefits perspective, FastBack's big sell is that it's incredibly quick at recovering large volumes of data instantly (or very quickly), filling in some gaps where traditional TSM struggles (e.g., file servers with millions of objects). It's worth noting that we are seeing some components of FastBack being integrated into the core TSM Server product and (I've an uninformed hunch) this integration will further continue.

Cheers,
____________
David Mc
London, UK

 

[obiwan2]

@ mccleld

Hi David,

I'm a little bit confused........

Can you please explain me the differences (or the plus's and minus's) between:
- TSM FastBack
and
_ TSM FlashCopy Manager


Which product should be used in which case ??? Or is it "nearly" the same ?

Thanks

Hubert