Help on selecting new server

[Seth_Bokelman]

I'm going to be purchasing a new NetBackup server soon, it'll probably be a Dell box running Windows. Does anyone have advice on what model(s) I should look at? Would a typical 2950 unit with a couple of quad core CPUs and 8GB of RAM do the trick? Or should I be looking at a quad-socket model like the 6850?

Thanks in advance!

[Stumpr2]

Here is your guide. Read it carefully. It will guide you to the proper decision.

VERITAS NetBackup (tm) Enterprise Server / Server 6.0 Backup Planning and Performance Tuning Guide for UNIX, Windows, and Linux

http://seer.support.veritas.com/docs/281842.htm

[Seth_Bokelman]

Well, sort of, I've read through that, and it's full of useful, but generic advice. I was looking for some more specific advice in relation to the Dell server line (or perhaps reasons not to select them, and a suggestion of an alternative) with an eye towards choosing a server with the maximum amount of internal throughput. I'm looking at getting an ADIC/Quantum i500 with a couple of FC Ultrium 4 drives (if they ship within the next 6 months or so, otherwise Ultrium 3) and the media server will have two 1Gbps interfaces into two separate networks where the clients reside.

I'm guessing that even with 2Gbps of bandwidth available, that the network is going to be my bottleneck, and not a new media server, and certainly not this new generation of tape drives. My experience has all been with a SunFire v480 server, and while I've heard that the Intel stuff doesn't have the throughput of the Sun systems, I'm not sure of the relevancy of those remarks in 2007 vs. 2003.

[Dennis_Strom]

An E4500 outa do quite dandy.

[Fred2010]

Hi Seth,

I'm running Netbackup 6 MP4 on several PowerEdges 2950's with 8Gb, SAN attached T10000 drives, SSO without any problems.

Nowadays those quadcore 2950's are available, so you won't go wrong there I think.

A 6850 is a bit overkill imho, but I have no idea what number of clients you are talking (But if you got money to burn, I could send you my banking details in a private email ;) )

Running 32 bits Windows myself: I have enabled the PAE switch on Windows to use my 8 GB as otherwise the extra 4 GB won't be used at all.

If you are thinking of 64 bits Windows, you better check the compatibility matrix if *everything* you plan to buy or own is supported: I wasted many days trying to get everything together and failed :(

If you have many clients, consider a separate Master server that doesn't do any media server tasks.

Also definately consider having extra networkcards in your servers: MIne easilly fill a teamed Gigabit continiously.

If you get the new type of drives, consider only serviceing one drive per server: You probably won't keep 2 drives busy with one media server.

You don't want to start shoe-shining you new drives :)

Hope this helps

Message was edited by:
Manfred Engels

[Chia_Tan_Beng]

IMHO, other than CPU & memory, you're right on paying enough attention to the I/O bandwidth of the server's bus architecture. Make sure that each I/O bus for each slot (e.g. PCI-X, etc) has substainable throughput and is not shared.

Also be aware of some dual/quad port NIC or combo card had shared circuitry hence they'll not give full throughput if all ports are active at the same time.

Assess the compatibility on teaming or Ether Channel so that your GE is not the bottleneck if you need to configure when needed. Since you're expecting LTO-4 if available, base your capacity planning on figures that LTO-4 can give (its doubled the LTO-3) and the compatibitily matrix of both (e.g. HBA, SAN switch, drives, etc).

While a quadcore 2950 may be enough for a start, study your (immediate) future requirements and possible option on expanding the backup landscape for unexpected backup volume increase (e.g. available I/O slot, enough SAN port for additional media server/blade server, splitting the master out from the media server function, etc). It all boils down to your needs and budget.

After all the technical study, remember to secure a performance commitment for the proposed system (e.g. data throughput in & out of the server, etc) from your vendor/integrator and what's the remedy action (& at whose expand) if performance is not up to expectation.