RE: Can Disk mirroring/db snapshots replace the usage oftaking database backups?

JP, if your assumption is right that it uses an "onmode -c block" then you would have a recoverable/rollforwardable image.... IF anything goes wrong during the time the snapshot is taken.... then everybody waits till it is fixed... cuz the DB is blocked... this would appear to be no different than you yourself issuing the block/unblock commands... but if the auto-software (falconstor) introduced between the block/unblock goes haywire for any reason... well... there u are... blocked.. and so are your users.... it would be wise at the least to build some type of monitoring/page-out to DBAs in the process in the event there is a snag and a manual unblock is needed. (this falconstor should be able to page-out on that) if the software builds in a block/unblock... then it is still in your best interest to back up the DB logs via informix onbar because it will be onbar, not falconstor, restoring/rolling those logs forward. (same with RMAN i would guess) how big is your database?... how is this software going to make your life any easier? what prevents you from scripting a block/split/unblock yourself today without this software?... is this software being pushed on you by management? i only have 2 brain cells, but i can't imagine any value in adding this to an IDS system. do they really really support IDS or is that only lip service because they want u to buy it for oracle and/or sqlserver or something?.... some, if not all of your questions should be posed to falconstor.... if they truly support informix, they should be able to answer your concerns. if they really want your business, they should help u set it up for free on a free test server to see the value.... i searched their web site for informix, it came up with 2 tiny references... one in legal smallprint and the other in a news article... but if you search for oracle or sql server on their site... .. sqlserver has 2 pages of references and oracle has 3 pages. so they really support informix? put the ball in their court to prove it... sorry... feeling critical today... Norma Jean ________________________________ From: informix-list-bounces@iiug.org [mailto:informix-list-bounces@iiug.org] On Behalf Of jpierrot@chubb.com Sent: Friday, April 11, 2008 1:42 PM To: Kevin Cherkauer Cc: informix-list-bounces@iiug.org; informix-list@iiug.org Subject: Re: Can Disk mirroring/db snapshots replace the usage oftaking database backups? There are a few things I need to add to this post: According to the vendor, FalconStor has a built in snapshot agent for Informix which forces Informix to flush all information to disk and inserts a tag into the data stream being written to disk (presumably at the end of the data being flushed and in front of any new data), per se, the snapshot is consistent as of that point in time. Any update after that doesn't impact the snapshot data. I do not know yet how the snapshot agent triggers Informix to flush everything to disk, but assuming it somehow forces it with an onmode -c. (block). Not sure on how they do it. Based on the frequency level to capture the snapshot, is there any impact on users and environments? Do you see any impact with this Agent on the database environment and users and how does the database instance start to use this disk? Additionally, the Snapshot Agent uses an Informix API that isn't in 7 but was introduced in 9. Any feedback and comments on all the above would be greatly appreciated Regards, jp ============================================================ The information contained in this message may be privileged and confidential and protected from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any reproduction, dissemination or distribution of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it from your computer. Thank you. Tellabs ============================================================