Networker

Re: [Networker] Chronic NDMP backup problems -- BACKUP CHECKPOINT?

2004-01-06 16:57:45
Subject: Re: [Networker] Chronic NDMP backup problems -- BACKUP CHECKPOINT?
From: Tim Mooney <mooney AT DOGBERT.CC.NDSU.NODAK DOT EDU>
To: NETWORKER AT LISTMAIL.TEMPLE DOT EDU
Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2004 15:57:36 -0600
In regard to: Re: [Networker] Chronic NDMP backup problems -- BACKUP...:

>        Even if you didn't have this "shoe-shining" issue, you'd still
>have the same problem we and others face -- what happens when a really
>big saveset aborts 2/3 of the way through?   What do you do with the old
>tapes, etc.    As far as I know, no backup system reliable checkpoints
>so it can resume where it left off.

I'm not aware of any that does checkpointing either, and it seems like
it would be a very hard problem to solve.

Although I've never used it, NetWorker's SaveSet Consolidation (SSC)
might be useful to look at.  It can be used to essentially merge the
results of subsequent savesets, so under certain circumstances you might
be able to spread your full backups farther apart.

Another interesting backup product, TIBS from Teradactyl, uses a similar
concept ("TeraMerge") but appears to rely on it much more than the
optional way that NetWorker makes it available.  I've always wanted to
evaluate TIBS and see how it works, but there's never been any point
for our environment, since it doesn't support NetWare as a client.

>        Has anyone out there heard of such a thing?   This will get more and
>more critical as we move towards the terabyte as the unit of storage
>currency.

Exactly correct, and rather than putting the burden on the backup
administrator (split your 1 TB volume manually into 50 savesets by
not using "All" and using special directives), I think something like
checkpointing or "artificial full backups" via something like SSC or
TeraMerge is going to become critical.  We already have many clients
with volumes that are painful to rerun if a full fails, I can't imagine
what it's going to be like in five or 10 years.

Tim
--
Tim Mooney                              mooney AT dogbert.cc.ndsu.NoDak DOT edu
Information Technology Services         (701) 231-1076 (Voice)
Room 242-J6, IACC Building              (701) 231-8541 (Fax)
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105-5164

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