When selecting Data Domain as the backup location, compression and encryption are set to "None" by default. This configuration allows the Database Domain to manage those functions, as recommended by Dell EMC, to get the most benefit from deduplication.

SQL Safe does not support Data Domain Boost (DDBoost) client-side deduplication.

What are the best practices around targeting a Data Domain? 

CIFS should be enabled and a share created for the SQL Safe agent to use.
The Data Domain input fields in the Backup Wizard should be the same as the Single File location type. However, when Data Domain is selected, compression and encryption options (on the next tab) are both get set to “None” automatically.
Restore processes will also not change. Data Domain backups can be located in the same way as other network backups, using the Repository or File System tab.

• Assume SMB to dedicated mtree; are there any tunings to consider on the host/DB/target?
  No additional configuration is necessary after creating the share.
  
  
• Relatedly, I saw some early documentation about mirror backups with a DD, what’s the decision tree look like for deciding on sending an app aware backup to a second DD vs using native DD replication to another DD?
  SQL Safe supports mirror archives to up to two different locations. Any of these can be configured to use a DD share.
  If a mirror archive is chosen a single backup process is started and the resulting archive is written to multiple locations. Any failure to write to a mirrored location is caught by SQL Safe and reported in the console.
  The decision on which application should manage the mirror\replication process is only dependent on where you want the mirroring step to be monitored. SQL Safe can send email notifications on a failure if the mirror responsibility lies with the DBA.

What actions can you take with the location types?

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.

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

Select Enable network resiliency and 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.

What do you do if you have an existing archive?

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

What do you do if you do not 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.

How do you specify a UNC path?

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

How do you mirror your backups?

Click Mirror Archives, and 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.

If you want to stop the backup operation when the mirror location is unavailable, select Abort backup if a mirror location reports a failure.

What do you 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.
• Management Class (optional).
• The location of the TSM Client options file that enables generating passwords for authorization.

You can change the TSM connection 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.

Can you 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 you 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.

What do you specify when backing up to Amazon S3 Cloud?

When the Amazon S3 Cloud location is selected, you must specify the following settings:

• Access Key.
• Secret Key.
• Region.
• Bucket Name.
• Subfolder(s) (Optional).
• Filename.
• Storage Class.
• Part Size.

For more information, go to Amazon Settings.

What do you specify when backing up to an S3 Compatible Storage?

When the S3 Compatible Storage location is selected, you must specify the following settings:

• Access Key.
• Secret Key.
• REST Endpoint (IP: Port).
• Signature.
• Bucket Name.
• Subfolder(s) (Optional).
• Filename.
• Storage
• Part Size.

For more information, go to S3 Compatible Settings.

What do you specify when backing up to Microsoft Azure Cloud?

When the Microsoft Azure location is selected, you must specify the following settings:

• Authentication Method.
• Azure Storage Account Name.
• Azure Access Key.
• Sector Type.
• Container Name.
• Subfolder(s) (Optional).
• Filename.
• Part Size.

For more information, go to Azure Settings.

Once you select the location of your backup files, click NEXT to configure options for your backup.