Backup Remote Server

We have 16 remote sites with no IT personnel, and a local server. The local server is used to consolodate data and provide current data for the remote servers. This is Informix DS 7.31 on NT and is backed up using ontape. We have operators to moniter this server and make sure the backup works. Our DBA uses ontape because it mimics the process they use on 2 UNIX servers running Informix 7.31, which they are also responsable for. The remote servers servers run Informix WorkGroup server 7.30TC2 (I think on the TC2). No backup has been put in place, and this needs to be done. I would like to get some advice and ideas. What we need is backup software that does not required much local intervention beyond changing tapes. Ideally the back up would kick off somtime early in the morning and the remote personnel could swap the tape after the backup is complete for the next backup. Thanks for any help. Shannon

I'm not sure this feature is in 7.31, but you could try (we used it in 9.20). Specify a remote tape drive in the remote onconfig: Remote: mars Local: earth mars onconfig TAPEDEV earth:/dev/rmt0 Then to backup, put a tape in earth and telnet to mars and issue the ontape. Informix uses 'dd' and rsh to pipe the data over the network. So the bandwidth needs to be available. Also, it does not work well for continuos backup of logical logs. (I've made several assumptions here, like the two machines are setup to talk to each other). "Shannon Sellers" <ssellers@spike.dor.state.co.us> wrote in message news:8qub5m$9do@dispatch.concentric.net... > We have 16 remote sites with no IT personnel, and a local server. > > The local server is used to consolodate data and provide current data for > the remote servers. This is Informix DS 7.31 on NT and is backed up using > ontape. We have operators to moniter this server and make sure the backup > works. Our DBA uses ontape because it mimics the process they use on 2 UNIX > servers running Informix 7.31, which they are also responsable for. > > The remote servers servers run Informix WorkGroup server 7.30TC2 (I think on > the TC2). No backup has been put in place, and this needs to be done. I > would like to get some advice and ideas. What we need is backup software > that does not required much local intervention beyond changing tapes. > Ideally the back up would kick off somtime early in the morning and the > remote personnel could swap the tape after the backup is complete for the > next backup. > > Thanks for any help. > > Shannon > >