Something else of note. Once a backup is started with Symantec BESR it backups the file structure as it currently stands. Then while during that backup, if a file changes, BESR will go back and get that file again before the backup actually completes. So a backup that takes 20 minutes to perform should be an exact replica of that machine at the 20 miniute mark. -----Original Message----- From: foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jack.Easley@xxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 12:01 PM To: foxboro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [foxboro] Convert a Foxboro P91 Server from a P91 Dell Power Edge 2800 to a new Dell Power Edge 2900 Folks, All I know for sure is that Symantec Backup Exec is a kazillion times better than what we had with tape backups, and it has worked perfectly every time I have used it to restore. The point Tom brought up about the CSA AW needing to be backed up at about the same time as the other AWs is a good one. I will change my backup schedules such that they all run on the same night of the week, rather than successive nights. Of course we had this issue with tape backups before and it was even worse, unless you did tape backups on all AWs the same night (unlikely). I feel that Symantec has put a lot into this over the years and that it is better than Windows Shadowing as Cory mentions. I'm not going to worry about corrupted files using this procedure unless I hear reports here or elsewhere. Of course, as both Cory and Tom mention, timing is everything, so keep it in mind while planning your backup strategy. Jack Easley Sr. I&C Technician Luminant Power, Martin Lake Plant Phone 903.836.6241 jack.easley@xxxxxxxxxxxx -----Original Message----- From: foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:foxboro-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of tjvandew@xxxxxxxxx Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 9:41 AM To: foxboro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [foxboro] Convert a Foxboro P91 Server from a P91 Dell Power Edge 2800 to a new Dell Power Edge 2900 Corey, Good question. Scheduling the backup during times when applications are not in use would be a good thing. In the case of the Aim historian, it is always collecting data but this whole backup and restore scheme assumes that you are willing to take a loss of historical data because it is highly unlikely that you will have performed an online backup immediately before you lose a hard drive and have to restore. The other more significant issue is that new blocks or compounds get added between the last online backup and your need to restore. This means you will have CSA and workfile mis-matches that you will have to resolve. From what I can see there is no silver bullet that addresses all of these issues. So you go with the option that will hopefully get you back up and running with the least pain. As I said before, we did have one instance where the boot record on a P92 was corrupt and we couldn't boot off the hard drive but we were able to boot off of the Acronis "True Image" CD and backup the D: partition. We built a new box from a Day 0 and then restored the D: partition and we were back up and running on the same day. It was a risk but we were successful. "I'd rather be lucky than good";<) Tom VandeWater Control Conversions, Inc. Corey R Clingo wrote: > I'm curious -- with any of these solutions, is there any concern about > consistency of the backups when doing them online? I see 2 potential > issues: > > 1. Single-file inconsistency -- files being backed up while being written, > leaving the backup copy corrupt. Windows has Volume Shadow Copy for this, > but I believe applications have to be written to take advantage of it (and > I'm guessing most of Foxboro's aren't). > > > 2. Multiple-file inconsistency -- one file not "matching" another file > because they were backed up at different times while an application using > both of them was writing to them. > > > The scary thing about this to me is that it may only bite you 1 time in > 100. It must still be an issue for some, as some (large) applications we > use that are constantly writing data to disk have "write pause" or > buffering options to allow you to run backups on consistent file sets. > > > Corey Clingo > BASF Corp. > Confidentiality Notice: This email message, including any attachments, contains or may contain confidential information intended only for the addressee. 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