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Home > Archive > Data Storage > March 2007 > Best backup software for DAT tapes?
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Best backup software for DAT tapes?
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| This is probably an FAQ...
Since 1996 I have been using Seagate Backup Exec, version 6.something.
It's rubbish really but worked OK for NT4. The worst part of it is
lousy error recovery and in particular its inability to display the
total backup size before it starts to write to a tape. So, unless I
*know* that the tape will be big enough for the data, I have to use
Windows Explorer, Properties and check the size of the data.
Otherwise, the thing just gets to the end of the tape and asks for
another one to be inserted. I never do that; if I need more than one
tape I backup different machines (this is over an ethernet LAN) to
different tapes, etc.
Another stupid feature of BE is that one cannot restore a tape which
cannot be catalogued, and if a tape has a fault near its end, or if in
a multi-tape set one of the tapes has a fault, no restore at all can
be done. I've used a specialised generic tape reading program in such
cases which just dumps everything on the tape to a specified folder.
More recently I tried a current version of BE. It didn't seem to
actually work any better, and on one machine it completely trashed the
hard disk...
Also, we now run win2000 and win2000 has certain open files which BE
won't backup. There are always some .TMP files which prevent a backup
completing, and they have to be manually skipped.
Is there something that is a LOT nicer, and makes it easy to determine
the backup size (in GB) before one commits to writing to the tape, and
works fully with winNT, win2000, winXP?
We use HP DDS3 and DDS4 drives, SCSI attached via Adaptec SCSI cards.
Peter.
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Return address is invalid to help stop junk mail.
E-mail replies to peter1124@peter2000XY.co.uk but remove the X and the Y.
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| Al Dykes 2005-04-13, 5:46 pm |
| In article <o5lp5119ct81dtnnaab886jujtn9sl9r0l@4ax.com>,
Peter <peter@no3456where.co.uk> wrote:
>This is probably an FAQ...
>
>Since 1996 I have been using Seagate Backup Exec, version 6.something.
>
>It's rubbish really but worked OK for NT4. The worst part of it is
>lousy error recovery and in particular its inability to display the
>total backup size before it starts to write to a tape. So, unless I
>*know* that the tape will be big enough for the data, I have to use
>Windows Explorer, Properties and check the size of the data.
>Otherwise, the thing just gets to the end of the tape and asks for
>another one to be inserted. I never do that; if I need more than one
>tape I backup different machines (this is over an ethernet LAN) to
>different tapes, etc.
>
>Another stupid feature of BE is that one cannot restore a tape which
>cannot be catalogued, and if a tape has a fault near its end, or if in
>a multi-tape set one of the tapes has a fault, no restore at all can
>be done. I've used a specialised generic tape reading program in such
>cases which just dumps everything on the tape to a specified folder.
>
>More recently I tried a current version of BE. It didn't seem to
>actually work any better, and on one machine it completely trashed the
>hard disk...
>
>Also, we now run win2000 and win2000 has certain open files which BE
>won't backup. There are always some .TMP files which prevent a backup
>completing, and they have to be manually skipped.
>
>Is there something that is a LOT nicer, and makes it easy to determine
>the backup size (in GB) before one commits to writing to the tape, and
>works fully with winNT, win2000, winXP?
>
>We use HP DDS3 and DDS4 drives, SCSI attached via Adaptec SCSI cards.
>
>
>Peter.
>--
>Return address is invalid to help stop junk mail.
>E-mail replies to peter1124@peter2000XY.co.uk but remove the X and the Y.
I think it's time to update your software........
backup Exec has changed ownership, if we're talking about the same
product. I used Veritas Backup Exec on the 7.something and it worked
fine. They seem to be up to version 10. I assume something's
changed.
These days I'd look for disk-to-disk-to-tape backup strategy. I'd like
to think that Veritas can do that now.
--
a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m
Don't blame me. I voted for Gore.
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adykes@panix.com (Al Dykes) wrote
>backup Exec has changed ownership, if we're talking about the same
>product. I used Veritas Backup Exec on the 7.something and it worked
>fine. They seem to be up to version 10. I assume something's
>changed.
I did test the Veritas version; it's really no better. No backup size
determination before the tape writing starts. And it crashed big-time.
Peter.
--
Return address is invalid to help stop junk mail.
E-mail replies to peter1234@peter2000XY.co.uk but remove the X and the Y.
Please do NOT copy usenet posts to email - it is NOT necessary.
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| No takers apparently, but I can report that windoze's own backup
program does exactly what I need, and works.
Next, I will try to see if it is tape format compatible with Veritas
BE10. Might be, given they come from the same code base.
Can't select software/hardware compression though...
Peter <peter@no3456where.co.uk> wrote
>This is probably an FAQ...
>
>Since 1996 I have been using Seagate Backup Exec, version 6.something.
>
>It's rubbish really but worked OK for NT4. The worst part of it is
>lousy error recovery and in particular its inability to display the
>total backup size before it starts to write to a tape. So, unless I
>*know* that the tape will be big enough for the data, I have to use
>Windows Explorer, Properties and check the size of the data.
>Otherwise, the thing just gets to the end of the tape and asks for
>another one to be inserted. I never do that; if I need more than one
>tape I backup different machines (this is over an ethernet LAN) to
>different tapes, etc.
>
>Another stupid feature of BE is that one cannot restore a tape which
>cannot be catalogued, and if a tape has a fault near its end, or if in
>a multi-tape set one of the tapes has a fault, no restore at all can
>be done. I've used a specialised generic tape reading program in such
>cases which just dumps everything on the tape to a specified folder.
>
>More recently I tried a current version of BE. It didn't seem to
>actually work any better, and on one machine it completely trashed the
>hard disk...
>
>Also, we now run win2000 and win2000 has certain open files which BE
>won't backup. There are always some .TMP files which prevent a backup
>completing, and they have to be manually skipped.
>
>Is there something that is a LOT nicer, and makes it easy to determine
>the backup size (in GB) before one commits to writing to the tape, and
>works fully with winNT, win2000, winXP?
>
>We use HP DDS3 and DDS4 drives, SCSI attached via Adaptec SCSI cards.
>
>
>Peter.
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