The Locations tab of the SQL Safe Backup wizard allows you to specify the backup location you want to use to store the backup set. For a TSM backup, you can change the TSM connections settings to override the values set in the client options file if you need to write the backup files to a TSM Server other than the TSM Server already specified in the dsm.opt file.

What information is on the Locations tab?

You can select the location type and the UNC or full path of an existing archived backup set.

What do you do if you don´t have an existing archive file?

If you do not have an existing archive file, SQL Safe creates a new archive file that includes this backup set, using the name you specified.

What do you do if you do have an existing archive?

You can Append to an existing archived backup set or choose to Overwrite it.

How do you specify a UNC path?

To specify a UNC, type the UNC path directly in the field. You cannot specify a UNC when using the browse option.

Using a UNC path allows you to restore backups to a different or new server from the original archive.

Where can you store your backup set?

SQL Safe supports the following location types:

  • Single File
  • Striped Files
  • Tape (using Tivoli Storage Manager)
  • Data Domain 
  • Amazon S3 Cloud
  • Microsoft Azure Cloud
  • Tape (Tivoli Storage Manager) Striped Files

What actions can you take with the location types?

Location TypeAction
Single FileEnter the name of the backup archive.
Striped FilesEnter as many backup archive names as the number of striped files you want. When backing up SQL Server 2000 databases, consider using as few striped files as possible since a high number of striped files can significantly degrade performance due to SQL Server memory allocation.
TapeEnter the path of the TSM configuration file and the Object Name.
Data DomainChoose if you want to Overwrite or Append the existing archive file, the name of the Primary Archive filename, and the Mirror Archives Filenames.
Amazon S3 CloudSpecify your Amazon S3 cloud storage options to be used for your backup. These options include: Access Key, Secret Key, Region, Bucket Name and File Size. For more information, go to Cloud Settings.
Microsoft Azure Cloud

When Microsoft Azure Storage is selected, specify the following options to be used for your backup: Container name, Azure Storage Account Name, Azure Access Key, and Filename.

Tape (Tivoli Storage Manager) Striped Files

When you select Tape (Tivoli Storage Manager) Striped Files. The options you have to provide are the following: High Level file name, location of the TSM Client configuration file, Number of Stripes, and the respective names for each Low Level file name.

What are striped files?

If you want to take advantage of distributing I/O overhead for a large database, select striped files, and select backup locations on different local disks.

When backing up SQL Server 2000 databases, consider using as few striped files as possible since a high number of striped files can significantly degrade performance due to SQL Server memory allocation.

How do you handle errors encountered while writing to the network during a backup?

Click Enable Resiliency and access the Network Resiliency Settings window where you can specify how often you want to retry when errors occur and after how much time the operation will fail. You can also configure how much time is allowed for the total retry time of the backup.

How do you mirror your backups?

Click Mirroring Archives, and then specify where you want the mirror copies to be stored. 

For each mirror, SQL Safe creates a copy of the backup archive set. You can specify up to 2 mirrors for each backup operation. Keep in mind that creating mirrors can impact the performance of your backup operation.

If you want to stop the backup operation when the mirror location is unavailable, select the corresponding option.

How do I keep my backup running despite network errors?

Select Retry writing backup files after network errors, and then click Configure to change the default settings. By default, SQL Safe will retry the backup operation every 10 seconds and then fail after 5 minutes (300 seconds) of continuous errors. Also, over the course of the operation, SQL Safe allows a total of 60 minutes in which to retry the backup before stopping the operation.

This option is not available when backing up to tape using Tivoli Storage Manager.

What do I specify when backing up to a TSM Server?

When a TSM location is selected, you must specify the following settings:

  • high level file path
  • low level file path
  • the location of the TSM Client options file that enables generate password for authorization

You can change the TSM connections settings to override the values set in the client options file. You can also configure SQL Safe to mark these files as inactive after a specified age.

Note that SQL Safe accepts up to 260 characters for the TSM file path name.

Can I store backup files in a different TSM Client file space?

Yes. Under TSM Client Settings, specify the name of the node you want to use and the password required to access the node.

What settings can I change in the TSM Client options file?

Click Change to specify the node name, the password required to access the node, and the TCP/IP Server address and port.

SQL Safe is a high-performance backup and recovery solution for your SQL Servers. Learn more > >

 

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