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LTO-3 Slow write speeds?

ScribanteIT
Level 3

Hi All

 

Need some assistance in troubleshooting slow write speeds using my HP Ultrium LTO-3. My setup as follows.....

 

Supermicro server

2 X Xeon 2.0ghz processors

32gig ram

Server 2008 R2

Backup Exec 2012 SP1

HP Ultrium LTO-3 SCSI

LSI Ultra320 SCSI Adapter

 

My write speed has not been over 120mb /min, I know this drive is capable over 1000mb/min? Have tried using Symantec and HP drivers to no avail?

 

Any assiatnce would be greatly appreciated.

 

Dane

9 REPLIES 9

ZeRoC00L
Level 6
Partner Accredited

Did you create a local backup job ? That means backup data from the local server, this elimiates the network speed.
 

pkh
Moderator
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   VIP    Certified
You should also upgrade to SP4 by running LU. After upgrading to SP4, run LU a couple of times until it says no more updates and then push out the remote agent to your remote servers

CraigV
Moderator
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Partner    VIP    Accredited

...best bet to test this is to download and install HP Library and Tape Tools, and then stop the BE services. Run the Write Test diagnostic and check and see what you're getting.

That said, you're seldom going to get the vendor's maximum speeds, depending on the type of data being backed up. Lots of small files are going to ensure the drive stops/starts a lot affecting speeds.

Another option is to create a zip file of a couple of GBs, and then write this to tape with BE to see what you're getting.

Make sure your BE services are not being actively scanned by any AV installed (put in exclusions if so), and make sure the tapes don't have a lot of Hard Write Errors which shows the tapes could be faulty.

Thanks!

ScribanteIT
Level 3

Backups are all run locally, no remote agents being used.

ScribanteIT
Level 3

I tried the SP4 update but no luck.

ScribanteIT
Level 3

This is the one thing i have not done but will plan to do so this weekend.

ScribanteIT
Level 3

Can anyone using a LTO-3 and Backup Exec 2012 confirm which drive they are using for Tape drive?

Larry_Fine
Moderator
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Using the Symantec Kernal mode driver is generally recommended over the vendor driver.

The actual driver being used is not visible in device manager, so don't worry if the driver in device manager appears old.

This may help: http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO98943

 

pkh
Moderator
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You should always use the Symantec driver for your tape drives.  The tape drives are certified for use with BE using these Symantec drivers.

There are many causes of the slow throughput of the tape drives, network speed, server congestion etc.  You got to tune your environment if you want the maximum throughput.  See my article below, in particular the part about tuning the tape drive.

https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/articles/tuning-backup-exec