Backup Exec 2010 R2 - Slow to single host

[Brent-kal]

Hi all,

Just wondering if someone can point me in the right direction. We have a Backup Exec 2010 R2 server that is very slow running jobs from our file server. Either B2D or to the IBM TS3310 tape library.

Other jobs from Exchange / SQL are running at acceptable speeds, 1000mb/min+

Jobs from this host range from 800mb/min down to 350mb/min.

I have tried copying files over the network, and they copy at full speed. I don't believe this is a network issue.

I have unloaded OfficeScan AV, no change.

I have rebooted server, no change.

I have redeployed the BE Agent (via Backup Exec autodeploy), no change.

I have checked the fragmentation on the file server hosts data drives, 0% fragmentation as they are scheduled to run weekly.

Any other ideas that I can try?

[ZeRoC00L]

If you copy some files (first only large, then a folder with a lot of smaller files) from the fileserver to the backup server, what is the throughput you get ?

[CraigV]

Hi Brent,

The fact that your speeds show no change between the backup running to a B2D or the IBM is a good indication that your issue lies with the number of files being backed up...that's where I would check first of all. A large number of files means your tape for instance never really has the opportunity to run at a constant speed. Large files will get a faster throughput as the data is streamed more constantly, while smaller files cause the streamer to stop/start all the time.

Some things you can check are the following:

1. Check that the NICs and switch ports are hard-coded to the fastest setting of the server's NICs ie. 1GB FULL.

2. Make sure you are running the latest patches on the media server, and that these have been pushed out to your remote servers.

3. Make sure that only your media server's name or IP is in the publishing tab of the file server's RAWS agent.

You can also take a look at the Symantec TN below for interest's sake:

http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH8326

...an upgrade to BE 2010 R3 might also be worth it if you are able too. Doesn't mean it will fix your issue, but you will at least be running the latest version.

[Brent-kal]

Hi guys,

Thanks for your assistance. Before my post I had copied a large file (800mb) between the file server and the backup server. This copy was running at 20+mb/s.

I have since tried copying a directory with around 2.5GB of small files and to my suprise it's only running between 7-15mb/s, which translates to 420-900mb/min, around the same speed as the backups.

I am going to go through and double check the networking environment.

Also a note on the updates, currently I have a ticket logged with Symantec regarding Live Update not working. Hopefully we can resolve this and upgrade to R3 shortly.

Any other hints you can provide regarding the slow speed for individual files?

Thanks again.

[CraigV]

...there's pretty much nothing else you can do on that front except maybe running a Differential/Incremental backup instead of a Full...

[Colin_Weaver]

Bear in Mind Live Update won't ever upgrade you to R3 - to do that upgrade you have to download the complete product manually. Live Update is for Hotfixes within a single build not for a complete build change.