ADSM-L

Re: [ADSM-L] VMware image subfile backups

2009-06-25 10:24:35
Subject: Re: [ADSM-L] VMware image subfile backups
From: Buddy Howeth <BHoweth AT PCOASTP DOT COM>
To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:19:12 -0700
We tried subfile backups as a matter of trying to reduce the amount of
data being sent across our network and discovered that sometimes errors
would occur during the backup.  We never tested a save.  The errors during
backup changed our mind in doing backups this way.


Buddy Howeth
Computer Operations Specialist
Information Systems
Pacific Coast Producers
Corporate Offices
631 N. Cluff Ave
Lodi, CA  95240-0756
(209) 367-8800 - Main#
(209) 367-6288 - Computer Room
(209) 366-6240 - Alpha Pager





Paul Zarnowski <psz1 AT CORNELL DOT EDU>
Sent by: "ADSM: Dist Stor Manager" <ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU>
06/25/2009 07:13 AM
Please respond to
"ADSM: Dist Stor Manager" <ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU>


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Subject
[ADSM-L] VMware image subfile backups






We are exploring VMware backups here, and I ran across the following
recommendation in IBM Redbook, "Deployment Guide Series: IBM TSM V5.5",
which recommends using subfile backups to backup the VMware image files:

>Incidentally, we use selective backup as opposed to incremental backup
>with full
>Virtual Machine images. We do so because when we use subfile backup, all
the
>subfile chunks can be retained for the same amount of time. full Virtual
>Machine
>backup works well with Tivoli Storage Manager adaptive differencing
(subfile
>backup) technology, which eliminates much of the backup overhead of
taking
>full
>images at the client side, before they ever make it to the Tivoli Storage
>Manager
>server. This process facilitates very efficient backups both from a
>client-processing perspective and from the perspective of overall storage
>utilization on the Tivoli Storage Manager server. Only changed blocks are
>transferred to the Tivoli Storage Manager server during subfile backup.

They are suggesting using adaptive subfile backup to backup the VMware
image files.  Is anyone really doing this?  Last I knew, subfile backups
were limited to files less than 2GB in size, which would seem to me to
make
this recommendation of extremely limited usefulness.

Thanks for any light-shedding.


--
Paul Zarnowski                            Ph: 607-255-4757
Manager, Storage Services                 Fx: 607-255-8521
719 Rhodes Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-3801    Em: psz1 AT cornell DOT edu

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