Thanks very much for you thorough reply, and BTW, the Sam Houston is
still running and being kept in fine maintenance ship shape shape. Orin
Rehorst

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Roger Deschner [SMTP:U52983 AT UICVM.UIC DOT EDU]
> Sent: Monday, January 12, 1998 12:28 PM
> To:   ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
> Subject:      Re: Full backups
>
> > Have one user who wants a full backup once a month (and he's got the
> > clout to get 'em). How is that done, please.  (OS is Win95)
> >
> > TIA
> >
> > Orin Rehorst
> > MIS Project Manager
> > Port of Houston Authority
>
> I am afraid this is another case where clout is being utilized as an
> alternative to understanding. ADSM steadfastly refuses to back up a
> file
> that its database says it already has an exact copy of.
>
> It will take some use of political skills to convince this user that
> this
> is unnecessary with ADSM, and is a waste of both his and your time and
> resources. Full backups are just not "the ADSM way".
>
> Attempt to discern his motives for wanting this. Is he afraid of
> trusting
> his data to "the system"? That's just not a problem with a properly
> run
> ADSM server. ALL is data will ALWAYS be restorable; this is one of
> ADSM's
> strongest points compared to the alternatives. If the problem is the
> length of time it might take to do a restore, then enroll him such
> that
> COLOCATION is in effect. (You do not need to do this for all users -
> just
> make a special set of storage pools for him and any others you want to
> have COLOCATION for. You might call them VIP and VIP_TAPE.) COLOCATION
> might be the best compromise - then all his data will be on only 1 (or
> however many it takes) tape, and you can take him into the computer
> room
> and show him "his tape", and tell him that this tape contains only his
> data, nobody else's. Give him the Volume ID of "his tape", and explain
> that even if the ADSM database is completely lost, his data could
> still
> be restored from that tape. Since that one volume contains all the
> incremental backups that have ever been done from his PC, it can be
> considered a "full backup".
>
> Another sound idea which might make this user feel a lot better: If
> you
> don't do this already, do a periodic (much more often than monthly!)
> BACKUP STGPOOL, and take the backup copy offsite, someplace far away
> from
> the Houston Ship Channel and its big ships that sometimes run into
> things
> and blow up. (I grew up in Houston, and I still remember my school
> field
> trip aboard the M/V Sam Houston, so I know about this firsthand.)
>
> In fact, a periodic full backup could have a distinct DISADVANTAGE in
> ADSM. If he accidentally deletes a file just before the monthly full
> backup, but does not discover the deletion until afterwards, it might
> not
> be available to be restored. However, using ADSM "as it was intended",
> such files are always available, subject to the retention period you
> have
> specified.
>
> If you still have to do it, one way to trigger a full backup is to
> delete
> his filespace immediately before a scheduled backup of his node. Keep
> the
> time window here as short as possible.
>
> Roger Deschner      University of Illinois at Chicago
> rogerd AT uic DOT edu
> Aliases:                  u52983 AT uicvm.uic DOT edu
> R.Deschner AT uic DOT edu
> ======I have not lost my mind -- it is backed up on tape
> somewhere.=====