ADSM-L

Re: [ADSM-L] Looking for suggestions to speed up restore for a Windows server

2007-08-29 10:58:18
Subject: Re: [ADSM-L] Looking for suggestions to speed up restore for a Windows server
From: Wanda Prather <wprather AT JASI DOT COM>
To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:56:09 -0500
Always test first, but:

1) Since the 5.3 (or maybe it was 5.2, don't remember) Windows client, you
can do online image backups.  The MS VSS facility (if it's having a good
day) is used to snapshot the volume.

2) I don't think there is a problem with restoring an image to a different
host, if you aren't messing with the C: drive.

ANybody have different results?


> Oh the bottleneck is definitely file create --
>
> The top three directories (drive letters):
> Z -- userhome -- 764,184 files, 60,281 directories
> Y -- 'data' -- 636,514 files, 47,144 directories
> W -- 'engineering' -- 745,976 files, 134,863 files
>
> The TSM server is spending all it's time in SENDW, except for the
> roughly 2 hours (over the course of 60) that it was in mediaw waiting to
> get to the directory structure on the other tape pool. And I've got some
> ideas from Richard that will cut that right out.
>
> I seem to recall someone actually running a study on restore performance
> vs file count; I'm trying to find it in the mail archives.
>
> Maybe an image backup would help -- this is an active/passive windows
> cluster and 'offline' is not an available backup option. Can I get away
> with an online image backup?
>
> Also -- we restore to unlike hardware at the hot site (install Win2003
> server, install TSM client, restore) -- would this be an issue for an
> image restore?
>
> Thanks --
>
> Tom
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ADSM: Dist Stor Manager [mailto:ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU] On Behalf 
> Of
> Kelly Lipp
> Sent: Monday, August 27, 2007 5:40 PM
> To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
> Subject: Re: Looking for suggestions to speed up restore for a Windows
> server
>
> How about periodic Image backups of the file server volumes?  Couple
> that with daily traditional TSM backups and perhaps you have something
> that works out better at the DR site.
>
> The problem is as you described it: lots of files to create.  Did you
> observe that you were pecking through tapes, or was the bottleneck at
> the file create level on the Windows box?  Or could you really tell?
>
> Even if you create another pool for the directory data (which is easy to
> implement) you would still have that stuff on many different tapes.
> What about a completely new storage pool hierarchy for that one client?
> And then aggressively reclaim the DR pool to keep the number of tapes at
> a very small number.
>
> I'd really like to know where the bottleneck really was.  If it's file
> create time on the client itself, speeding up other things won't help.
> If that's the case, then I like the image backup notion periodically.
> Even if you did this once/month, the number of files that you would
> restore would be fairly small compared to the overall file server.  And
> the TSM client does this for you automagically so the restore isn't
> hard.
>
> And this also brings up the fact that a restore of this nature in the a
> non DR situation probably isn't much better!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Kelly
>
>
> Kelly J. Lipp
> VP Manufacturing & CTO
> STORServer, Inc.
> 485-B Elkton Drive
> Colorado Springs, CO 80907
> 719-266-8777
> lipp AT storserver DOT com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ADSM: Dist Stor Manager [mailto:ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU] On Behalf 
> Of
> Kauffman, Tom
> Sent: Monday, August 27, 2007 12:40 PM
> To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
> Subject: [ADSM-L] Looking for suggestions to speed up restore for a
> Windows server
>
> We had our fall D/R hotsite test last week and all went well -- except
> for the recovery of our primary Windows 2003 file sharing system. It
> just takes WAY too long.
>
> Part of the problem is the sheer number of files/directories per drive
> -- I'm working with the Intel/Windows admin group to try some changes
> when we swap this system out in November.
>
> Part of the problem is that the directory structure is scattered over a
> mass of other backups. I'm looking for suggestions on this.
>
> The system is co-located by drive, but only for five of the nine logical
> drives on the system. I may have to bite the bullet and run all nine
> logical drives through co-location.
>
> Is there any way to force the directory structure for a given drive to
> the same management class/storage pool as the data? I'm thinking I may
> have finally come up with a use for a second domain, with the default
> management class being the one that does co-location by drive. If I go
> this route -- how do I migrate all of the current data? Export/Import?
> How do I clean up the off-site copies? Delete volume/backup storage
> pool?
>
> I'm on TSM Server 5.3.2.0, with a 5.3 (not sure of exact level) client.
>
> TIA
>
> Tom Kauffman
> NIBCO, Inc
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