03-12-2018 02:19 PM
Hi all,
I have a question concerning backing up DFS servers. I have a server on the west coast and one on the east coast. If i run a full backup on server west, will that reset the archive bit on server east and vice versa. Since it's constantly replicating I would also assume that it is replicating the archive bit. I understand this isn't the preferred method, but we must maintain NTFS permissions. Any thoughts?
Thanks
03-12-2018 06:52 PM
You cannot backup DFS files using the normal backup methods. You need to backup the Shadow Copy Component on the disk on which they reside, to back them up. This being the case, whether the archive bit is set or not does not matter.
Also, you cannot do incremental/differential backups of the Shadow Copy Component. It is always full backups.
03-13-2018 07:00 AM - edited 03-13-2018 07:04 AM
The DFS Shadow Copy User data DOES support FULL/INCREMENTAL backup and is not always a full.
The archive bit will only be set or changed on the source server.
In the Windows OS, DFSR doesnt appear to change archive bit status on the replication partner(s).
About backing up Distributed File System (DFS) in Backup Exec
https://www.veritas.com/support/en_US/article.000013645
Restoring DFSR (Distributed File System Replication) Data with Backup Exec
https://www.veritas.com/support/en_US/article.100022950.html
03-13-2018 01:53 PM
Thanks Steve,
That is exactly the information I was looking for. I will pass this on to my manager who asking me this question. Now to design a proper backup strategy.
Vince
03-14-2018 03:52 PM - edited 03-14-2018 04:06 PM
Ok, I did some more testing. Yes, DFSR will replicate the archive bit. I did a quick test I remove the archive bit on a file on the west coast and saw that it replicated to the east coast server. I then did it the from east to west, same behaviour. Another issue I have found it, I did a full backup of the west coast server 2 weeks ago, I noticed that some files that haven't been touched in years still have the archive bit set, that bit should have been reset.
What I did find was I wasn't using the archive bit at all, but modified by time. Explains why the archive but wasn't reset, which is a good thing because I do not want to replicate 8TB of data every full backup.