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BACKUP PRODUCTS
Data deduplication disaster recovery considerations
Data deduplication is no longer just a cool technology, and it has made its way into many data centers around the world. In many instances, it's also replacing tape as the media of choice for backups. This evolution must definitely be taken into consideration when developing disaster recovery strategies.
Disk... More...
Troubleshooting automated tape libraries
What you will learn: Between shared libraries, LAN free backups, HBAs, drivers and firmware, many things can cause an automated tape library to function unpredictably. Learn how to troubleshoot automated tape library problems.
Let's assume that the most basic trouble areas have been verified and eliminated as... More...
Data deletion or data destruction?
While the ability to clearly establish what data end-of-life really means is still a challenge for most companies, uncontrolled data growth has resulted in corporate policies regarding data storage and retention. Most policies have been driven or imposed by legislation and regulations such as HIPAA, the ...
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Why you need a data backup reporting tool
When backup reporting needs go beyond knowing what happened last night, it's probably time to start considering specialized data backup reporting tools. Regardless what backup software technology you use or whether you're backing up to tape, to disk or to a virtual tape library (VTL), most backup administrators...
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Data backup strategies: Migrating from tape to disk
You've read numerous articles about moving from tape to disk for data backup and you've attended many conferences and webinars about it. But have you really considered all of the implications of this technological change?
We must first define what disk-to-disk (D2D) backup actually means. The most generally... More...
Beyond tape backups
What you will learn from this tip: Most agree that tape backups are no longer suitable for all data protection needs. Organizations are now presented with numerous backup options to choose from. This tip will help you rationalize some of these options.
Many organizations that have suffered an outage or failure... More...
Backup guidelines: Keeping off-site storage 'in-house'
What you will learn from this tip: You may have considered handling your long-term tape media storage internally for security or cost-efficiency reasons. This tip provides tape handling and storage information that can save you some future pains and unpleasant surprises.
Your organization may have recently... More...
Archive or backup?
What you will learn from this tip: Archiving, backup and their differences.
Backups and archives consist of copies of data kept for a certain amount of time for future access (at a very high level). In essence, both are very similar in nature except for their respective lifespan. Generally, most view a backup as a short... More...
IBM Tivoli Storage Manager vs. traditional backup
What you will learn from this tip: Learn about the architectural concepts behind IBM's Tivoli Storage Manager backup software and the main differences with what are often referred to as "traditional" backup products. This piece is the first of a series of four on Tivoli Storage Manager.
Acclaimed as the most... More...
How to back up virtual machines
What you will learn: The options available for backing up VMware environments, how each works, and the pros and cons of each approach.
Server virtualization has grown in popularity over the past few years and is now a part of many SMB- and enterprise-class data centers. New challenges often come along with new... More...
Is a VTL right for your organization?
What you will learn from this tip: Ever since virtual tape libraries were ported to open systems, the technology has gained in popularity. This tip will help you evaluate the reasons why you may or may not want to implement virtual tape.
Virtual tape library (VTL) technology has been around for many years and was once... More...
Implementing IBM Tivoli Storage Manager
What you will learn: How to decide if IBM's Tivoli Storage Manager is the right backup software for your IT environment.
IBM's Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) has been around for many years. Introduced in the early 1990s as ADSTAR Distributed Storage Manager (ADSM), the software was built on mainframe data storage... More...
Best practices using IBM's Tivoli Storage Manager
What you will learn from this tip: This is the second in a four-part series on IBM's Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) backup software. This segment outlines some of the best practices when designing and implementing a TSM backup environment. There are many aspects to consider when deploying an IBM Tivoli Storage Manager...
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Best practices: Optimizing your backups
What you will learn from this tip: Most organizations back up data one way or another nowadays -- but just how many do it well? This tip will show you some of the areas of backup you should consider optimizing.
There is definitely a line to be drawn between data backups and good data backups. If your organization does not... More...
The five most important backup and restore reports
Which five reports of a backup and restore environment do you think are most important to review at regular intervals, to have a daily operations level and trending/forecasting view of the environment? Based on experience, the most important items that should be reported to a backup administrator on a daily...
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The top three mistakes made when configuring a backup tape library
Can you describe the top three mistakes that are made when configuring a tape library? I would have to start with the number one on my list, which is not really a configuration mistake but rather, a sizing error. Too often, organizations underestimate their backup data storage requirements and fail to design their...
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What are the advantages to disk subsystems?
What are the advantages to disk subsystems? I'm assuming you are referring to "centralized disk subsystems." When comparing to direct attached storage (DAS), which was the standard for a long time in the open systems world, disk subsystems offer a compelling number of advantages. The first one and most capitalized on...
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Analyzing drive usage in backup environments
I am looking for any easy way to analyze drive usage in my backup environment. We are running Windows 2000 as our master server and three Windows and one Unix box as our media servers. Attached to these are 21 ACS drives that use a silo to load 9840 and 9940 tapes.
We would like to eliminate a few drives, if possible, but... More...
Which backup drive should we buy: LTO, DDS or DLT?
My company is planning to purchase a tape drive for backup. However, there seem to be three different standards: LTO, DDS and DLT. I understand that DDS is one of the older generations, and that LTO more or less has better storage and higher performance. Which would you recommend? DDS certainly cannot compare with LTO...
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Calculating MTTF (mean time to failure) for tape libraries
Where can I find MTTF data and repair profiles for tape libraries -- Overland in particular? A visit to the Overland Web site will provide you the MTTF (or MTBF) information you are looking for. The various library data sheets provide these ratings. Depending on the library model and the type of tape device you are (or...
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Commvault tapes stop writing before full
Why do our CommVault tapes stop writing before they are full? We get a message that there is no media. When I check the tapes, there is plenty of valid data space and the tapes are not marked full. There are a few situations where this condition can be encountered. However, without more details about the actual error and...
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Tape drive file size limitations
Having problems backing up files larger than 1 gigabyte (GB) to a tape drive, I have tried SQL and NT backup. I can backup the small files using both SQL and NT backup. I have an external tape drive, hooked up via SCSI drive. I have replaced the tape drive and all related hardware, but I'm still having the same issue. There are...
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Best practices for offsite storage
What are the IT industry's best practices regarding how far away backup tapes should be stored offsite? Could you explain how this distance was agreed upon? The question of distance between production and backup data, regardless of the media, is one that comes back frequently. There is not a lot of "best practices...
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How long should a tape be in rotation before it is retired?
How long should a tape be in rotation before it is retired? The typical consultant's answer would be: "It depends." Different manufacturers rate their tapes differently, some more optimistically than others do. Usually, the rating will vary depending on whether the tape is in use of shelved for long term retention...
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The true role of a backup administrator
In today's IT environment, being in charge of data backups usually means two roles: backup operator and backup administrator. Daily tasks such as making sure backups completed, ejecting tapes from a library and inserting scratch tapes have traditionally been the responsibilities of backup operators. Not that...
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