The backup plan

[Guest kerrymoralee9280]

We want to backup all servers to one tape drive which is located internally in one of the servers. We want full backups, of all drives and system states etc.

 

We used to do this at my old school using Veritas Backup Exec with a snap in I think. Can anybody suggest any software that might do this with links and prices where possibly.

 

Thanks,

[GlennT]

Can you advise what servers need backing up? i.e are there any SQL/Exchange etc or is it purely file server stuff??

[Guest kerrymoralee9280]

It's purely file servers (they act as DHCP and DC's as well).

 

There is no fancy stuff to do other than the usual open file stuff etc. We used to have SQL I think but that was back in the day of RM Auditor.

[GlennT]

In that case you should be able to use Windows Backup. Just make sure the device and tape capacity can handle the volume of the job.

[zag]

Tape really is an old technology, you can buy a 2.5" external 250gb disk for around £100 these days.

 

Backupexec costs around £600 I think but you might want to add the advanced file open option to that as well.

[Sylv3r]

We use a disk->disk->tape system with Symantec Veritas.

 

This way it lets us recover relatively quickly from the disk if necessary.

 

It will cost you a couple of thousand but well worth it in the long run. I have it in a totally different area of the school completely also so if they was ever a fire in the server room the backup will be OK and vice versa.

[Guest kerrymoralee9280]

@Sylv3r: That's the kind of set up I'm pushing for. Ideally I want a server used purely for file serving to run the backups using BackupExec. All the files and system states from the other servers go to this backup server via a NAS box and then on to tape.

 

We have the tape drive already which holds 320gb, enough to store all the servers. All we will need is an equivelent sized HDD.

 

I really want to implement this plan but I'm not sure what will happen, which is why I'm looking into alternatives too, so I have a 'backup' backup plan hehe

[sidewinder]

I do D>D>T with Backup Exec 12

Got a server with around 900GB storage (RAID5) which is enough to hold one full backup, and 5 days differential backup.

I then transfer the full backup to tape using the duplicate feature in BE.

 

So then Ive got full backups on tape going back a month (plus one for the end of term, end of year etc) and the last full backup still on disk for quick restores

[elsiegee40]

And what happens if you drop this external backup?

 

The chance of dropping your external HDD on the same day your servers go down for good is small.

 

We decided to accept that risk.

 

The LaCie we have cost less than replacing the full set of tapes... which has to be done on a regular basis because tapes stretch.

[steele_uk]

The chance of dropping your external HDD on the same day your servers go down for good is small.

 

We decided to accept that risk.

 

The LaCie we have cost less than replacing the full set of tapes... which has to be done on a regular basis because tapes stretch.

 

Do you only have one?

 

We have ten 800GB tapes here that are cycled daily with fridays always being held offsite. We also do every half term full backups that are sent to a different offsite location. Excessive, maybe but i am fairly old school with my backup stategy.

 

Tapes give me flexibility, and i am also unsure about the current influx of cheap large volume HDD's.

 

We use Veritas, and restoring files from the previous nights backup takes no more than a matter of minutes.

[Guest kerrymoralee9280]

Tapes may be an old technology but they are proven to be robust. I like the fact you can restore work from a HDD in seconds, but I also like the fact I can have backup upon backup with tapes (that are less likely to fail too). For these two reasons, I am wanting to implement a D2D2T backup system.

 

To me (and all the staff and students as well I would guess) the single most important part of our network is the data that is stored on it. That's why I don't want to take any risks on backups. Remember, there's a law that 'sod' wrote - The day your servers fail will be the day your LaCie fails too. Then where are you left? Begging your SMT not to sack you, that's where.

 

I've been looking at quotes for BackupExec, about £1000 to cover one server and then 3 other servers with the remote client snap in. Not a bad 'one-off' price to protect everything that matters.

[elsiegee40]

Do you only have one?

 

We are a tiny school and have a single 2TB LaCie which stores a weekly cycle of backups. It doesn't go offsite as we have 4 separate buildings on a large site and the LaCie is locked in the switch cupboard in the building furthest from the servers - 5 minutes there on foot (10 back cos it's up a steep hill!)

 

The tapes are expensive and were replaced annually and our HP tape drive unreliable (2 failures in 18 months)

 

Then where are you left? Begging your SMT not to sack you, that's where.

 

As this solution was put in place after lengthy discussions with the SMT about affordability and risks, I'm not worried. I would be surprised if anyone had put a backup solution in place without similar discussions about acceptable risks.

Edited March 13, 2008 by elsiegee40

[Guest kerrymoralee9280]

We are a tiny school and have a single 2TB LaCie ...

 

So you wouldn't recommend this for a network of our size? 4 servers and about 800 users?

[elsiegee40]

So you wouldn't recommend this for a network of our size? 4 servers and about 800 users?

 

It works for us, it should work for you, but it would be up to you AND YOUR SMT to make a decision about where acceptable risk crosses the affordability line.

 

I've found tapes to be nothing but trouble. Replacing them every 12 months is no guarantee they'll be readable when you need them.

 

If you want belt and braces have TWO External HDDs and swap them or keep them in separate locations!

[dave.81]

We are a tiny school and have a single 2TB LaCie which stores a weekly cycle of backups. It doesn't go offsite as we have 4 separate buildings on a large site and the LaCie is locked in the switch cupboard in the building furthest from the servers

 

This is along the plan that i'm working on for over the summer, though maybe 2 in 2 different buildings. i know our backups aren't up to scratch, 2 servers dont even have tape drives all to save money you understand:rolleyes:

 

Do you use the networked LaCie of that size, if so which one do you have, how have you set it up? Simple windows backup to mapped drive?

[elsiegee40]

Do you use the networked LaCie of that size, if so which one do you have, how have you set it up? Simple windows backup to mapped drive?

 

 

Yes we use a networked LaCie and NTBackup.

 

Basically, I've got a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday folder for the server Monday's full backup replaces the previous Monday's full backup and so on. It's lovely not changing tapes!

[torledo]

It works for us, it should work for you, but it would be up to you AND YOUR SMT to make a decision about where acceptable risk crosses the affordability line.

 

I've found tapes to be nothing but trouble. Replacing them every 12 months is no guarantee they'll be readable when you need them.

 

If you want belt and braces have TWO External HDDs and swap them or keep them in separate locations!

 

I found AIT to be nothing but trouble......but then i discovered LTO.

[strawberry]

we do full backups using veritas onto tape for our 2 dc's. We backup our other servers to a backup server with raid 5 array, this syncs weekly with a usb drive which we store offsite.

[bossman]

Been looking at a SAN solution which incorporates a D2D2Tape solution which will have a 10Tb capacity uncompressed which will last the school for the next 5 years this will be managed with Acronis Enterprise software.

These following factors have been thought about when looking at the backup solution:

 

1. ease of use

2. how much data needs to be backed up

3. how much time to back up (at present)

4. Live incremental backup for when schools go 24/7 365

5. restoration times including full DRP

6. reliability

7. Cost

 

This system will probably be in the thousands but will be totally scalable.

[dave.81]

I would say that being without any kind of off-site backup is not an acceptable risk (no matter how far away the backup device is from the server room).

 

But, each to their own I suppose.

 

So a backup device in a building half a mile away is not an acceptable risk? I'm sure some of the users of this forum live within this radius of their school.

[Sylv3r]

@Sylv3r: That's the kind of set up I'm pushing for. Ideally I want a server used purely for file serving to run the backups using BackupExec. All the files and system states from the other servers go to this backup server via a NAS box and then on to tape.

 

Feel free to have a look down to see it in action or I can send the necessary information on the equipment used and costs if necessary.

[SYNACK]

Just a cautionary note on NTBackup. If the file on the drive or tape becomes corrupted there is no procedure/method to recover individual files from out of the good bits of the file. So if your 250gb backup file has a couple of bad errors in it that keeps it from mounting there is no easy published way to recover any files from the backup.

 

We use NTBackup but we split up the resources into multiple jobs ie. Exchange, System state, User Docs, Shared Drives this way if one of the files is damaged the whole lot is not lost.