Forum Discussion

BackupJ's avatar
BackupJ
Level 3
16 years ago

benefits of adding a media server

Hi All,

Are there any benefits of adding a seperate media server if there is no issue with load on the one master/media combo?

The backups are running extremely slow but it appears the bottleneck is on the master/media interface. 

Is it better to just add another interface to the existing master/media or would there be any benefit to adding the interface on a seperate media server for load-balancing purposes as well?

Thanks


7.1.x and Earlier
Backup and Recovery
NetBackup
  • dp_nash's avatar
    dp_nash
    Level 3
    16 years ago
    I presume you are referring to LAN based backup here ?

    Couple of things you could try before opting for an additional media server are:

    1. Ensure the streaming and multiplexing options are set properly. Improper settings can adversly impact the backup performance
    2. If network interface [to the production LAN] is the bottleneck, you can look at a dedicated 10G link between the NBU server and the switch [if supported]


    I am not sure if you can enable load balancing between media servers with the conventional DSU/Media manager storage units. As far as I know OST LSUs support load balancing. You might want to reconfirm this once.

    Thanks


     
  • Nathan_B's avatar
    Nathan_B
    Level 4
    16 years ago
    Could you run something like an iperf between your clients and the master server, to check for duplex mismatch (backup would be EXTREMELLY slow).  Have you researched the NICs? We've seen some NICs that just don't work that well, and in other cases, we've seen drivers that weren't working right and that caused a slow down, maybe not enough to show as badly as a duplex mismatch, but quite a bit.