Backing up a File backup (6 GB +)

[MS_IntelliCow]

I'm a first-time poster. I've been tasked with designing a backup system using mainly what hardware is available to me, and have worked out a setup that, theoretically, will work quite well. Primarily, we have three servers that get backed up to an 80GB internal hard drive on Backup Server A (a G3 running OS 9.2.1 and, probably, Retrospect 5) -- this backup file will start at 5 GB and grow over the course of the month to 8 or 9 GB, when a Recycle backup will bump it back down to 5. So far, so good. However, the next step calls for this single, large backup file to be backed up to a 12GB DDS3 tape drive attached to a DIFFERENT computer, Backup Server B (an older PowerMac, currently running OS 8.6 and Retrospect 4.2, though this could be changed if necessary) . I thought that this setup would be fine, but I've read several posts regarding the Mac's inability to copy a 2GB+ file over the network; in other words, Backup Server B couldn't take the 6 GB backup file on Backup Server A's hard drive and copy it to the tape drive. So, here's the big question: Is this a limitation of the Mac OS or Retrospect, and, in either case, would upgrading to OS 9.2.1 and Retrospect 5 solve the issue?

 

 

 

Note: Yes, I could connect the tape drive to Backup Server A and have it handle everything, but email error reporting gets obnoxious; I want the company administrators to be notified immediately if the hard drive fails or Backup Server A crashes, but I don't want them to get all of the insignificant errors like "file open overnight, can't back it up" and the like. With two servers, I could have Backup Server B spew error reports to the important people, since it would only have problems in the event of major failure, but Retrospect's email notification is too limited and inflexible to filter out the piddling little errors and only email the important ones. Plus, if the Backup Server A actually crashes, no one will know about it unless Backup Server B starts whining loudly that it can't find A; with just one server, and the tape being swapped monthly, no one will know if A crashes if there's just one server.

[AmyJ]

There are actually two answers to your question.

 

 

 

1. Apple file sharing cannot copy a 2 gig + file across the network. So, if you mount the volume, you cannot copy the file to the local machine with Retrospect or the OS.

 

 

 

2. With the release of Retrospect 5.0, we introduced the ability to backup files larger then 2 gig. However, there is a known issue with backing up files larger then 2 gig via our client software. We will be releasing a build later this year to support OS 10.2, which will also include the fix for the 2 gig file size limit on the client. The files can be backed up locally with the current version, but not through the client.

 

 

 

Hope this helps!

[MS_IntelliCow]

Okay, so what you're saying is:

 

 

 

1) If I try to do the backup without client software, i.e. mounting the HDD in Backup Server A to Backup Server B's desktop and treating it like a local backup, the Mac OS chokes, but...

 

 

 

2) If I try to do the backup WITH client software, even with Retrospect 5, it chokes because the client software is incapable of backing up 2GB files anyways???

 

 

 

In other words, I don't have a chance of putting a 6GB backup file onto a tape, unless both the hard drive containing the backup file and the tape drive are connected to the same machine (read: I lose, big time). However, I know people have been able to back up 2GB+ files over the network, even if Retrospect supposedly doesn't support this. So, I ask those of you who have accomplished this feat: how'd you do it? Does it work normally, despite what Dantz says? Or is there a workaround? ...or am I out of luck?

[MS_IntelliCow]

Wait a minute, this is FANTASTICALLY easy. I just figured it out. If I do a Duplicate backup to the internal hard drive of Backup Server A, then have Backup Server A back up THIS directory to a single file (appending the changed files in exactly the same manner as if it was backing up directly from the original source File Servers) while Backup Server B (with its tape drive) backs the same directories up onto tape at the same time, I end up with identical incremental backups on Backup Servers A & B (on both the hard drive and the tape), which was my original goal. If Backup Server A crashes in any way, the rock-solid Backup Server B will email the company VIPs, since it won't have any frivolous errors that may annoy 'em. It also means that the File Servers are occupied only at night. Thank you for your time and information, and get the new version of the Client software released ASAP.