[dba-Tech] Once and for all time: server backups

Max Wanadoo max.wanadoo at gmail.com
Tue Jan 12 11:19:24 CST 2010


I use Acronis for that.

Max


-----Original Message-----
From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Steve Erbach
Sent: 12 January 2010 17:04
To: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues
Subject: Re: [dba-Tech] Once and for all time: server backups

Max,

Well, the whole idea of using a clone/image-type backup is that the backup
drive is bootable.  THAT'S the potential huge time-saver here.  XCOPY
doesn't do that.

Steve Erbach

On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 10:46 AM, Max Wanadoo <max.wanadoo at gmail.com> wrote:

> Steve,
>
> DOS XCopy32 will do it all - with switches for incremental backup.
> You can  also schedule it from windows scheduler.
>
> Max
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Steve Erbach
> Sent: 12 January 2010 16:13
> To: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues
> Subject: [dba-Tech] Once and for all time: server backups
>
> Dear Group,
>
> My wife, Janet, wrote a while back asking for advice on server backups.
>  She's the *de facto* system administrator where she works, a retail
> high-end natural food supplement store with a large Internet presence [
> www.naturalhealthyconcepts.com].  I said "de facto" because she really has
> no experience with hardware or networking.  Databases, queries, a little
> web
> design, sure.  Trouble-shooting network and backup issues?  Yuck!
>
> Anyway, I've been, of course, privy to her continued struggles with the
> backup issues she's been having.  This all started when Janet's boss had a
> new server installed.  It's a Windows Small Business Server 2008 system.
>  That's a hybrid of Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2005.
>
> The company that installed the server had never installed Small Business
> Server 2008 before...but the co-owner of the computer company is a
roommate
> of one of the boss's employees...so, lets give the kid a chance, eh?
>
> Well, they haven't been much help.  Shortly after the server was
installed,
> I persuaded the network administrator of the place I had just been
> downsized
> from to come in on a weekend and take a look at the server and speed it up
> and offer suggestions.  He had recommended a backup system based on a
> Thermaltake BlacX eSATA and USB docking station.  Janet's boss purchased a
> couple 500 GB Seagate drives to cycle in the docking station.  For backup
> software, the network admin recommended Casper.  He didn't specify which
> edition of Casper to use...so Janet's boss authorized the purchase of the
> personal edition since it was only $50.
>
> Janet was able to get successful backups with Casper a few times...but she
> was continually frustrated because NOTHING seemed to work with respect to
> setting up a schedule for unattended backups.
>
> Lately she became a beta tester for the Casper Tech Edition, normally
about
> $550.  As a "reward" for being a beta tester, her company got a free copy
> of
> the new version.  This has also been a spotty performer.  Casper sometimes
> took over 12 hours to make a complete backup.
>
> She also tried Acronis Backup and Recovery 10 Server.  There was a 15-day
> trial edition.  That installation exacerbated her problems.  Apparently,
> Acronis replaces the Windows Volume Shadow Copy with its own version.
When
> she went to un-install Acronis, the Volume Shadow Copy service was
disabled
> somehow and now Casper has even more problems since it relies on VSS.
>  She's
> been trying to re-enable the Volume Shadow Copy service so that Casper
Tech
> Edition will work properly.
>
> One more thing: the server has a 70 GB SAS RAID 5 array and a 500 GB data
> drive.  Janet has attempted to backup both of these drives to one of the
> 500
> TB drives in the docking station since ALL the space on those two
> production
> drives isn't used up.  Acronis would often say that there wasn't enough
> room
> on the backup drive and abort.  Another little "feature" of Acronis,
> apparently, is that it makes a temporary image during backup and needs
> extra
> drive space...at least that's my (limited) understanding.
>
> Janet's boss has purchased a couple more 500 GB drives to use for backups
> and Janet is juggling those as best she can with the limited knowledge she
> has of the way these image backup programs work.
>
> So, here are the questions:
>
>    1. what do you think of using an external docking station to plug in
>   backup drives?
>   2. what do you think of the cloning-type backup solutions that are
>    SUPPOSED to make bootable backups of a server?
>    3. what do YOU use to backup your servers?
>   4. what positive/negative experiences have you had with
>   Acronis/Casper/Ghost/etc.?
>   5. should Janet recommend buying 1 TB drives for backups instead of
>    cramming two drives onto a 500 GB backup drive?
>
>
> That'll do for now!  This has been 9 or 10 months of struggling and
praying
> that the hardware doesn't fail.
>
> Regards,
>
> Steve Erbach
>
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