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Two BackupExec (2012) servers backing up one file server (different locations)

Brett_apfc
Level 2

We've been using BackupExec 2010 for numerous years along with the Continuous Protection Server.  CPS does not support Windows Server 2008 R2, which we have started using for some of our file servers.  BackupExec 2012 has discontinued CPS.

 

I have two locations:  UT, NV

 

At NV we have some financial information that we backup to UT for an "off site" backup.  We have been using CPS to accomplish this.  With 2012 I would like to be able to just use a Disk-based storage to run a job to copy those financial file from NV to UT using a new UT BackupExec 2012 server.

NV site would continue to run their own daily/weekly backups for the same financial data (local backup jobs).

 

My question:  Can my UT server push the 2012 agent and run backup jobs agains a file server in NV while at the same time allow the NV backup server to continue running backup jobs against that same file server?  Or, will I break the existing local backup relationship in NV by connecting to the file server from the UT server?  (we are not using central admin)

 

Thank you.

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions

pkh
Moderator
Moderator
   VIP    Certified

You can backup the same files from different media servers.  You got to ensure that the following is in place

1) You can access the files from both media servers, i.e. your UT server can backup the files in NV without problems. You got to get the credentials right, both domain trust each other, etc.

2) You can only have 1 remote agent on the server, so make sure that it is at the right fix level for both media servers.  Ideally, both media server should have the same fixes and the remote agent can be installed from any one of the server.

3) If you are backing up the files using full backup, then there is no problem.

4) If you need to backup the files using incremental/differential backup on either media servers, then DO NOT USE THE ARCHIVE BIT METHOD FOR BOTH SERVERS as the archive bit will be reset and one server will mess up the backup scheme of the other server.

If you need to backup the files using incremental/differential backup on either media servers, use the modified time method.  Here is a quote from page 534 of the BE 2012 Admin Guide.

When Backup Exec runs a full backup or incremental backup, the time the backup launches is recorded in the Backup Exec Database. The next time you run an incremental or a differential backup, Backup Exec compares the file system time to the backup time from the Backup Exec Database. If the file system time is later than the database time, the file is backed up. If the file's modified time is older than the previous backup's modified time, that file is not backed up.

The modified time method will not mess up the backup scheme of the other server.

5) The bandwidth got to be sufficient to backup the files.  BE is quite sensitive to network lags.  If you have insufficient bandwidth or bad network quality, then you are likely to face backup failutres.  If this this the case, you might have to use the dedup option with client-side dedup to reduce the amount of data transfered across the network.

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1 REPLY 1

pkh
Moderator
Moderator
   VIP    Certified

You can backup the same files from different media servers.  You got to ensure that the following is in place

1) You can access the files from both media servers, i.e. your UT server can backup the files in NV without problems. You got to get the credentials right, both domain trust each other, etc.

2) You can only have 1 remote agent on the server, so make sure that it is at the right fix level for both media servers.  Ideally, both media server should have the same fixes and the remote agent can be installed from any one of the server.

3) If you are backing up the files using full backup, then there is no problem.

4) If you need to backup the files using incremental/differential backup on either media servers, then DO NOT USE THE ARCHIVE BIT METHOD FOR BOTH SERVERS as the archive bit will be reset and one server will mess up the backup scheme of the other server.

If you need to backup the files using incremental/differential backup on either media servers, use the modified time method.  Here is a quote from page 534 of the BE 2012 Admin Guide.

When Backup Exec runs a full backup or incremental backup, the time the backup launches is recorded in the Backup Exec Database. The next time you run an incremental or a differential backup, Backup Exec compares the file system time to the backup time from the Backup Exec Database. If the file system time is later than the database time, the file is backed up. If the file's modified time is older than the previous backup's modified time, that file is not backed up.

The modified time method will not mess up the backup scheme of the other server.

5) The bandwidth got to be sufficient to backup the files.  BE is quite sensitive to network lags.  If you have insufficient bandwidth or bad network quality, then you are likely to face backup failutres.  If this this the case, you might have to use the dedup option with client-side dedup to reduce the amount of data transfered across the network.