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

I haven't installed an SBS 2008 server yet, but in SBS 2003 I've just used the built in windows backup and swap external USB drives to backup to.  Yeah, it's slower to restore because you have to restore the OS first but I'm getting good backups.  I've had to restore a few files at times so it gets tested.




________________________________
From: Steve Erbach <erbachs at gmail.com>
To: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues <dba-tech at databaseadvisors.com>
Sent: Tue, January 12, 2010 11:04:12 AM
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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