Backup server getting tired

[waldorfm]

The server is Compaq DL380 with 512 MB RAM, Windows2K Server, Retrospect 6.5.343

 

I have three backup server scripts (proactive) running:

 

MoSu, running 8 PM to 4 AM everyday

MoSu Server, running 7 PM to 1 AM everyday

MoSu w/o filter, running 5:30 AM to 7:30 AM

 

All scripts have their own clients (folder) but write to the same backup set (tape).

All scripts have sophisticated filters, except MoSu w/o filter which has no filter.

None of the scripts backup Windows security information for Workstation, except

MoSu Server which has the Windows system state option on.

 

During the last several months I had frequent crashes and sometimes it would appear to be running, but failing to close a script or freeze as discussed already at some other topic. The problems started mainly with 6.5, and it may have also to do with Trend Antivirus scanning, which we have re-configured so that it does not interfere with client backup. As the backup set increases it takes longer and longer for the snapshot building, sometimes the snapshot building takes 1 hour vs. 5 min. of the physical data copy. Not all clients are at 6.5, some are at 5.1, we have several hundrets of users, but I never experienced any advantage in terms of performance or reliability between the different client versions, not even with specific tests.

 

Anyway, backup has now gotten almost de-functional. I've tried all the common tricks, such as new backup set, etc. This weekend the system only processed 2 computers, and only one script was running (MoSu). There is nothing unusual regarding the time the system spent with the 2 clients - it just didn't do much. Why the other scripts were not running... I don't know. The backup reports shows that the majority of computers have not been backed up for 1 - 2 weeks now. Any ideas?

 

P.S. Perhaps its not really within the scope of this message, but ever since I was made to switch the backup server platform from MacOS to Retrospect for Windows I'm fighting with backup schedules and lack of performance issues. I still believe Retrospect is an excellent product, if it works though. I just wish there would have been more development to integrate Windows OS related restore issues into the Mac version.

 

Best regards!

[waldorfm]

BTW. After all we don't use any of the windows specific backup features, except for backup of W2K servers, since they just seem to take too much time to backup. This brings me to the idea of switching to MacOS/X to get rid of most of the trouble. However, one of the reasons for the switch were problems with invalid filenames residing on windows clients using Arabic, Cyrillic, etc., and sometimes when users have files from their previous Mas on the Windows machine. I never found a solution to the problem, execpt using Retrospect for Windows server. Strange also that people have file/folders on their windows computers that they cannot create manually. Does anyone know how people on Windows computers have filenames with / or ?, obviously those are invalid. How does the client for Windows interprete filenames. There are almost no restrictions for filenames on MacOS, except the ":", so why does Mac Retrospect have problems with certain Windows filenames? And how to fix it? I searched for Finder.dat on the client machines, but it does not exist.