Server Backup Solution

[Schoolies]

A client of mine has been setup with a cluster environment for their software system that can not be down for longer than an hour during the week. The previous techs set this up but the software that the company is using has not been tested to work in this environment. So the client wants to find another alternative to the cluster.

I know of a daily system state backup site, Data Protection, which I will suggest but I'm looking for a daily on-site solution as well.

Currently they have two brand new Dell servers, identical specs on them - Windows Server 2003, dual processor, 2GB RAM, etc.

I'm looking for a backup solution or failover solution such as the cluster environment which will provide the least amount of downtime. I know Veritas has a system state backup which is currently running. Is this the ony real solution I have besides the cluster which will not work?

Thanks!

 

[jdkick]

RAID.

 

[RebateMonger]

Are you saying you want to get rid of the cluster. But want to be able to have a restored or backup server online within one hour?

 

[Schoolies]

That is correct RebateMonger.

RAID is a hard drive solution but the system is still susceptible to hardware failures such as a motherboard crashing.

Thanks

 

[Schoolies]

Would a daily mirroring of the hard drive onto a the second server be a plausible idea?

 

[jc9970]

I recommend a Tape library with something like Backupexec for the software.

We use an Overland tape library with Commvault (software) at work.

 

[mechBgon]

Windows Server 2003's own Automated System Recovery (part of Backup) can be pretty fast on the rebound if you have a fast medium to restore from, such as a dedicated 7200rpm hard drive that only serves to store backups. I was doing some tests with WS03 and it managed a bare-metal ASR in about an hour. I even dumped the ASR file onto a DVD-R and (with a small amount of creativity) restored it onto an entirely dissimilar computer. Different chipset, IDE v. SCSI, not an iota of commonality between them.

I'd need to run a separate restore from a regular full backup after ASR, to get everything back. That might be worth testing out on a testbed setup if you don't come across anything you like better... you could do an ASR backup plus a full backup from the production machines, then restore them onto a test machine, bring one of your desktop systems over to the isolated test machine and see if it can tell the difference between its usual "boss" and the substitute.

A note with bare-metal ASR, good idea to make sure the recovery machine has a NIC that WinServer2003 recognizes from the get-go.

 

[Schoolies]

Thanks mechBgon, I'll check that out!

 

[stardrek]

Veritas is a great solution and I would suggest using it as best you can. Learn it, it will be very helpful. I work for a data recovery company and I deal with backup solutions on a daily basis. Veritas is top notch and can be used from a Windows to Unix and has the ability to work with MANY tape, harddrive, or other forms of storage/backup solutions. LEARN Veritas, just in your spare time if you can. Set aside an hour a week to learn and experiment. And test, test, test, test...at least twice a year have a schedualed weekend where you can have some downtime. Do a full restore on spare hardware if possible just to see if your backup solution is backing up properly. There is nothing worse then setting it all up and when the day comes that you need it, it fails.