SSO for Backup Exec 2010

[Samuk]

Hi,

I was told the SSO allows for LAN free backups from SAN to SAN.

Can someone please give me some pointers on how this works and should be configured?

I am in the process of going through the user-guide. though am still some what confused!

We have a backup server and a tape library that are both connected to the SAN. We want to backup servers on the network that are also connected to the SAN but not use the LAN.

 Also i assume i will need to do some zoning..how will this work?

Thanks in advance.

[ZeRoC00L]

From the FAQ:

How does Backup Exec licensing work in a SAN environment?

Every server connected to a storage area network (SAN) utilizing a shared SAN-based tape library requires a Backup Exec 2010 media server license as well as a Backup Exec 2010 SAN Shared Storage Option (SSO) license. If the SAN-based media server is not sharing a SAN-based tape library, then only the Backup Exec 2010 media server license is required to enable backups over the SAN. Additionally, if it’s a groupware/database server, it will also require a Backup Exec 2010 groupware/database agent (for example, Exchange Agent, SQL Agent, Oracle Agent, etc).

About zoning:

All you san connected servers need to get access to the (FC) library.

[Samuk]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I am little confused.

What do you mean by  "If the SAN-based media server is not sharing a SAN-based tape library """?"

We have only one backup exec server with one fibre channel library and this is zoned to the backup server only. Do you mean if its not sharing it with another media server?

[CraigV]

...that FAQ is misleading...

To use SAN SSO effectively, every server you want to access your tape drive needs to be SAN-attached. For this to happen, you'd license SAN SSO on your media server, and run a wizard to configure the sharing of the tape drive. This means multiple servers can access the library if it has multiple drives at the same time, without an issue of 1 media server locking the library exclusively.

You'd zone your SAN-attached servers to see the library, and once done, you need to install a FULL version of BE on each of those servers you want to back up across the SAN. This includes all licensing, and once done, you again run a wizard on each to "point" them to the central SAN SSO server.

This will allow you to back up across your SAN, and in effect become LAN-free.

What it is saying is that if you were backing up to disk for example (on a CX4, or EVA), you wouldn't need SAN SSO...you'd just carve out storage from the...er...storage :) ... and present to each media server.

[Colin_Weaver]

OK Clarification needed here

SSO is to share a SAN connected library between servers - to achive LAN free in this scenario though each data/application server being backed up has to be a media server

The OffHost capability of the ADBO (Advanced Disk Backup Option) allows you to do LAN free backups as long as you have a supported array/storage hardware platform or are using one of the Symantec software solutions (which off the top of my head might be SFW) You might therefore need to look into this a little more.