Configuration Comparisons - HP NetServer AA 4000 Reference Manual

Configuration Comparisons

Backup
Performance
Centralization
of Backup
Installation /
Configuration
Tape devices
Backup software
Installation /
Configuration
Network Server Division
The IOPs will have one NIC each that is not redirected and will be
connected to the same switch for the network backups. In this
configuration, the backup software backs up the CE and the two
IOPs as three individual systems.
The following table lists the factors of tradeoff among the three
configurations:
Local Backup
Gives best backup
performance.
No centralization. Requires
separate management of
multiple tape drives and
multiple tape cartridges. If
data set backed up is large,
this can require significant
IT operator time.
With four tape drives total,
this is the most
cumbersome solution.
Additional considerations
include: more hardware in
the rack, more cabling,
more power requirements,
separate SCSI HBA in the
IOP, three backup software
licenses needed, and extra
software configuration.
Four tape devices. Pure-
local backup requires
duplicate tape drives for
both CE and IOPs for HP
AA.
Pure-local backup requires
three complete installation
of backup software. One
for CE, and one for each
IOP.
Ch 6: Backp and Restore
Semi-Local Backup
Backup performance is
good for the CE, but slow
for the IOPs. This may be
acceptable since the IOP, in
general, has very little
storage requirement. IOPs
are static in nature and they
do not need a freqent
backed. Overall, the impact
is moderateas a 500MB IOP
partiiton takes as little as 20
minutes to backup.
No centralization. Requires
separate management of
multiple tape drives and
multiple tape cartridges. If
data set backed up is large,
this can require significant
IT operator time.
The easiest of the local
backup solutions.
Additional configuration is
only needed to redirect the
tape drives to the CE and to
perform a network backup
for the IOPs.
In semi-local backup
configuration, only two tape
drives for CEs are required.
Install backup software on
CE for local backup. Only
client-side backup software
components are required on
each IOPs.
Network Backup
Slowest of the backup
performance. The
dedicated Backup Network
becomes a major factor
that limits the throughput.
One should take into
consideration the network
bandwidth that is shared
among many systems.
Network backupd allow a
single backup server to
backup all the systems
from a central data center.
This is the optimum for
centralization.
Network backups requires
two additional NICs in
each IOP with one
additional IP address to
configure on each IOP and
on the CE. Connect to a
private backup LAN for
best network backup
performance and to reduce
load on user network.
Use an autochangers for
the network backup. Since
the changer usually cost
more but can be shared to
backup other systems on
the same network.
In network backup
configuration, the CE and
both IOP are backup
clients. Each requires only
the client-side backup
software components.
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