Compression

[Benjamin_Bowen]

My problem is that Compression does not work. I can select it in on the media, select it on the drive, select it on the job, and yet I will only ever see a maximum of 20gb of data backed up on a 20/40Gb tape. There is never 21 or 22gb of data backed up, it is always less than 20gb. This to me spells out the fact that compression is not working, and not that it is just less than the theoretical maximum of 40gb, I never expect to get 40gb, I usually would expect 25-35gb, depending on the job, and what type of files it is backing up. So, I have ruled out just a bad HW/SW compression ratio, as it never gets beyond 20Gb.

I have upgraded the Veritas Software, I have upgraded the drivers, and have double and triple checked all the settings suggested in the following threads and support docs, and tested Hardware Compression, Software Compression, and also Hardware/Software Compression option incase one is not available. They all give the same result of less than the native capacity of the tape.

http://seer.support.veritas.com/docs/199542.htm

http://forums.veritas.com/discussions/thread.jspa?forumID=103&threadID=46459&messageID=4364148&

http://forums.veritas.com/discussions/thread.jspa?forumID=103&threadID=48521&messageID=4370561&

http://forums.veritas.com/discussions/thread.jspa?forumID=103&threadID=48550&messageID=4370813&

http://forums.veritas.com/discussions/thread.jspa?forumID=103&threadID=55661&messageID=4401632&

This next thread had some actual useful information about stopping Backup Exec Services and checking the tape capacity:

http://forums.veritas.com/discussions/thread.jspa?forumID=103&threadID=46505&messageID=4360998謦

So, after having tried all this, is there anything else I can do?

[Thomas_Cupps]

jump on the wagon brother. there are lots of us with this same problem & veritas/symantec has decided to ignore it & put it off as a tape drive problem. However I get compression with other programs including older versions of BE. I'm like you & have done all the above mentioned things. There is a problem with their code & the refuse to fix it. It's time we all stand up & really go after "them". I'm calling today & wont rest until I get a full refund or a fix for the problem. JOIN ME?

what kind of drive & tapes are you using? I have a seagate drive & certance tapes

[Benjamin_Bowen]

Thanks for the input. I have tried calling them, but they insist on me purchasing support before I talk to them about the product I have purchased. That or go online (here) and post about it. I'll wait a few days for an answer from a tech support person here, and see what they say. I'm a patient person :)

[Benjamin_Bowen]

Further, I have tried the suggested NTbackup route to examine the capacity of the tape, but it doesn't show up in NTbackup, the drive does show up as a 4mm DDS drive, but no tape shows up in the Restore & Manage Media tab. I don't have anything other than the Veritas drivers installed. Should I uninstall the Veritas drivers for the Drive? Or is that a waste of time?

[Thomas_Cupps]

at this point... everything I have tried is waste of time. who did you buy you software from? We are a reseller & ours coem with some sort of free support through veritas

[Benjamin_Bowen]

/bump for Veritas Employee reply

[Benjamin_Bowen]

/bumpy

still not answered. still not able to backup customer's files.

[Renuka_-]

Hello,
It is very rarely that twice th capacity is obtained after compression. But if you are using hardware compression, it is not the software to blame, hardware compression is actually done by the device itself, so: please check if your hardware supports compression. Also do you get any compression with only software compression enabled.
NOTE : If we do not receive your reply within two business days, this post would be marked assumed answeredand would be moved toanswered questions pool.

[Ken_Putnam]

Renuka -

Read the posts again.

They NEVER get more than 20GB on a 20/40 tape.

Your response does not address this at all

[Benjamin_Bowen]

Hello Renuka;

As per the response above, please re-read my post, and the posts I linked.

The point is, Compression is not working EVER. I don't know how else to explain that, but this is the problem. If I have a 20/40 Gb tape, I NEVER get more than 19-20Gb onto the tape. Not 21, not 22, not 23gb, it's never compressed.

And yes, I have run through everything suggested in the above linked threads - checking hardware compression is on, checking software compression is on, etc etc etc etc.

Please, if you're going to reply, at least read the original post in it's entirety before giving the same canned response that all the other threads above have been given.

[Benjamin_Bowen]

/bump for some sort of useful response

My question has not been answered.

My question has obviously not been read by the above posting Veritas Employee.

is this a *support* forum?

is this a *moderated* forum?

I'm not seeing either.

[Thomas_Cupps]

man.. I've been going through the same thing since sept.. or was it august... either way I;ve very displeased. Any one have another solution for backing up exchange 2003 on a remote machine?

[Benjamin_Bowen]

Well, after much fretting and a lot of pressure from the company we're trying to backup data for...

Veritas Tech Support (Purchased Support) has given me direction, my results with official Veritas Tech Support are as follows:

Some dude in India (yep...) had me join a webex session, took one look at my screen - and emailed me links to download 10.0d and the latest drivers.

Will keep you posted. Downloading the software now - it's over 400mb.

His next input was - if this doesn't solve it, call your hardware manufacturer, because it's not Veritas's issue.


So, although I can see their point, I'm still a little frustrated it took me PURCHASED SUPPORT and weeks of not knowing what is going on, for this....

[Thomas_Cupps]

I have purchased support & have jumped through all thier hoops including installin 10d & newest drivers. still no fix. Veritas always says it's hardware, but I can't see how thats possible, when I have tried two diffrent drives both of which are on veritas compatibilty list as compatible. Also older versions of BE work fine & compress great. NTBACKUP works fine & compresses great.

Let me ask you this, are you backing up data over a network or any other remote machines. are you backing up exchange data?


I desperatley need to resolve this problem & welcome any phone calls or emails. Mayeb several of us can get out heads together and come up wtih a solution. 903-276-9361, thomas@3n1.com

[Ashutosh_Tamhan]

Hello Benjamin!

Whenever you enable hardware compression for your backup through bews, the compression is solely done by the tape drive. Backup Exec just tells the tape drive that the data that is going to arrive for writing to it needs to be written compressed.
So if the tape doesn't compress, check if the tape drive really compresses or not. Also check what kind of data you are trying to compress. Files like images or database files dont let themselves compress much. You could test compressing the null files generally used by the tape testing tools provided by the manufacturer. If you those files are not available, try compressing text files.

Should you have any queries, please feel free to get back to us.

Happy new year to you and everyone here!

Regards,
Ashutosh

NOTE : If we do not receive your reply within two business days, this post would be marked assumed answered and would be moved to answered questions pool.

[NTRandallD]

The symantec line that the compression problem is hardware is starting to wear thin. We too have installed 10d with all latest patches and service packs and triple checked settings and yet have no compression. I KNOW THAT IT IS NOT A HARDWARE PROBLEM BECAUSE THE SAME MACHINE BACKING UP THE SAME DATA TO THE SAME TAPE DRIVE WITH Backup Exec 8.5 GOT A COMPRESSION RATIO OF 1.46 TO 1. YOU CANNOT TELL ME ,SYMANTEC, THAT THIS IS A HARDWARE PROBLEM. Yes I am one dissastisfied customer and unless Symantec comes out with a real patch soon that fixes the problem, we will be looking for other solutions.

Thanks and have a nice day.