Re: backup takes too long

Billy Wheeler wrote: > > On 12 May 97 at 15:12, Tim Schaefer wrote: > > > Curtis Preston wrote: > > > Bill, I've got to disagree with you big time. Onarchive is a nightmare, > > > and should not be used for anything. Take the lead from Informix, and > > > dump it. (That's why they wrote onbar!) Your "this will require some > > > setup" is putting it mildly. I am a data protection expert, and worked > > > with Onarchive for many months. Short version: > > > > > > 1) read the manual 4 times > > > 2) went to the official class > > > 3) spent 4 months designing and testing a solution > > > 4) tried ~3~ times to do a recovery using the backups. > > > 5) After multiple failures, we gave up, bought a bigger/faster drive > > > and went back to ontape. > > > Are you suggesting the restore features of OnArchive do not work > > correctly, > > or are you talking about the product in general? > > Erm, I've done successful restores in a production environment. I am > definitely *not* a data protection expert, so I don't know what I > could have done wrong... :-) > > Perhaps I erred in making a fairly simple backup strategy. > > Having said that, however, I didn't find OnArchive to be a > particularly usable product... :-( > Well, I don't consider myself a backup expert either. :-) The usability of OnArchive seems adequate for simple backups, but the restore features are questionable. I'm periodically hearing about how bad OnArchive is, but nobody has any definite reasons why. I found several limitations to the product, but these may not apply to all situations. For example, you have to initialize tapes to an OnArchive format, and it can't work with some of the automated tape drives, using tape changers, etc. For a small company this may not be a bad thing. For a big operation, yes this would be a problem. If there is some lingering reason why it's bad other that usability, what is it? I'd like to be able to say, "OnArchive is bad because ..." Thanks! :-) Tim > -- > Ciao, > Billy > > Nose to the ground and ear to the grindstone in: Kuwait City > > Help fight crime in South Africa: http://www.robkaplan.org.za/ -- Tim Schaefer \\\\|// tschaefe@mindspring.com (6 6) ------------------------oOOo---( )---o00o--------- http://www.mindspring.com/~tschaefe http://www.inxutil.com MAKE TIDAL WAVES DIVE IN THE OCEAN IS BIG