Previous Chapter : Next Chapter : Top
One of the most serious considerations facing every corporation is that of safeguarding vital information. The risk of losing data through machine failure, carelessness, or willful destruction must be minimized.
As a computer installation grows in size or scope, running backups and providing restore services becomes expensive in terms of time and resources, unless this operation can be automated. In a networked environment, these concerns become even more critical.
BACKUP.UNET is a software package that provides complete backup, restore, and storage media management for networked systems running a UNIX or UNIX like operating system. BACKUP.UNET fully supports tar, cpio, cpio -c, and ANSI formats.
BACKUP.UNET allows you to initiate backups and restores from anywhere on the network. Files and directories can be stored on any device (for example 4mm, 8mm, 9 track tape, or tape cartridge) that is also part of the network. Backups can even be done with users online.
BACKUP.UNET can backup a network of mixed UNIX systems. For example, a user on a Sun workstation can back up files to a tape drive on a DEC VAX machine.
If you are running a UNIX operating system in a networked environment, you can count on BACKUP.UNET to make your network safer, your data more secure, and your job a lot easier.
The following BACKUP.UNET features can help streamline the performance of your backup operations.
Unlike other UNIX backup products, BACKUP.UNET does not rely on a central server for processing. Its unique peer-to-peer architecture ensures that there is no single point of failure when you are backing up data. You can use any UNIX system on the network to back up and restore any other UNIX system. Since the backup database is distributed across the network, no single system will become a processing or resource bottleneck.
You may have files written to your backup media in compressed or uncompressed form. Compressing your data allows you t store more files on fewer volumes.
The BACKUP.UNET compression capability reduces word processing documents, program source code files, and database files sometimes to half their original size. Actual results depend on the file contents and structure.
BACKUP.UNET reduces the time required to perform backu operations by using a sophisticated multi process architecture to perform backup I/O operations. This technique allows BACKUP.UNET processing to overlap disk, tape, network, and catalog processing efficiencies.
An option is provided for users who want to turn off the BACKUP.UNET standard backup verification function. If your system provides hardware based I/O write verification, or if the volume of data to be backed up precludes re reading and verifying each volume, this option is for you.
With BACKUP.UNET, you can optimize your network resources.
You decide exactly what parts of each file system to back up and when. BACKUP.UNET also lets you back up raw partitions, special device files, and files larger than a single volume.
The append feature allows BACKUP.UNET to back up several host systems to a single tape volume. It also allows a host to put a series of backups, (for example, a single full backup and subsequent incremental backups) on one volume. The append feature works on high capacity tape drives that support tape positioning, such as 8mm, 4mm (DAT), 9 track, and some TK 50 devices.
Authorized users can operate and administer BACKUP.UNET from any participating host system. This includes the ability to:
Systems sharing I/O device resources on a central network may make simultaneous demands for backup and/or restore operations. BACKUP.UNET manages these demands based on priorities established when the system was installed.
When more than one suitable device is available, whether on a single system or multiple hosts, BACKUP.UNET selects a device and instructs the system operator to mount the requested volume on that device.
To simplify the operator's job and reduce free volume overhead,BACKUP.UNET can be configured to use a single media volume pool. Generally, a media volume pool is associated with each Input/Output Provider (IOP) or group of co located I/O Providers. In this case, all volumes in the shared media pool must be readable by all of the I/O Providers associated with that media pool.
Any or all of the hosts participating in a BACKUP.UNET system may be configured to perform any of the following functions:
If a normal backup I/O location becomes inoperative, backup/restore operations may be continued for requests subsequent to the one on the failed IOP, by using an alternate host's I/O devices.
This changeover is done with a single command, menu selection, or GUI window selection.
BACKUP.UNET gives you the option to simultaneously add or remove a user's operator or administrator privileges to or from every host in the BACKUP.UNET system or to specific hosts, one at a time. Thus, if you want a user to have privileges on one, a few, or all of the hosts in your BACKUP.UNET system, you can assign them easily and quickly.
Users can locate and request retrievals of their own files stored anywhere on the network. Users with administrator privileges can restore any files from anywhere on the network. BACKUP.UNET locates storage volumes automatically.
BACKUP.UNET provides you with many features that simplify backups and restores.
BACKUP.UNET uses a consistent graphical user interface (Motif, Graphical User Interface) and command line interface that operates on a wide variety of UNIX platforms.
BACKUP.UNET can write tapes in three formats---tar, cpio, and the ANSI X3.27 standard used by most non UNIX systems. Therefore, you can read BACKUP.UNET tapes on other UNIX systems and even most non-UNIX systems.
Backup searching allows BACKUP.UNET users to locate and restore the latest version of a file without having to specify an individual dump name.
If security requirements call for files to be encrypted before they are transmitted over the network, BACKUP.UNET calls a user supplied encryption program.
Many UNIX systems come with different manufacturers' I/O devices, including high capacity devices such as 8mm tape cartridges. Files and directories can be stored on any of the following devices: 4mm, 8mm, 9 track, cartridge, a variety of jukeboxes, and gravity fed stackers.
Each time a backup is run, BACKUP.UNET generates catalog entries, available network wide, that show the storage location of all backed up files and directories. This makes it easier to find the files that needs to be restored. These catalog entries are part of the BACKUP.UNET database which is automatically backed up as part of each backup operation.
BACKUP.UNET also labels backup tapes and rotates tapes to ensure even wear. It also tells you which storage tape is ready to re use for a backup and checks to see that the correct tape is mounted. This feature protects against inadvertent over writing of backup volumes.