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Backup Express achieves superior performance through a three-tiered architecture, concurrent processing, strategic distribution of work, and sophisticated I/O techniques. Simply put: It is built for speed.
- Optimizes catalog searches and minimizes disk space usage through scheduled catalog maintenance. High-performance catalog condense dramatically speeds condense operations and reduces space required for the catalog.
- Maximizes network throughput and minimizes data transmission and network congestion by backing up and restoring data intelligently via the optimal network path.
- Provides high-performance image-based volume-level snapshot backup with volume or file/directory restore.
- Uses DAR (Direct Access Recovery) with NDMP to directly access specific files. This eliminates multiple tape loading and streaming, reducing restore times by 98%.
- Writes data concurrently to an unlimited number of tape drives anywhere on the network.
- Splits large files and partitions across multiple devices concurrently to reduce both backup and restore times.
- Reduces server I/O bottlenecks by distributing backup processing.
- Backs up and restores concurrently between a single node and multiple devices, multiple nodes and multiple devices.
Backup Express's three-tiered architecture makes use of open interfaces and is ready to support new and developing technologies. It uses the same device drivers that the native operating system uses, allowing you to leverage the newest hardware and firmware. Fully compatible with all leading tape formats including SDLT-x, LTO-3, and AIT-4, Backup Express also supports the leading tape libraries, VTLs and Silo.
Backup Express architecture includes three main components:
- Master Server: The computer that contains the Backup Express catalog as well as the programs that control distributed processing, including media management, scheduling, and other backup/restore functions. There is typically one master server per environment, and it can have one or more storage devices attached.
- Device Servers: Computers that have one or more storage devices attached. Storage devices can be individual tape drives, automated tape libraries, disk-based destinations, and VTLs. Storage devices are always associated to a device server and/or master server. An XRServer machine is a computer that manages D2D snapshots and recovery, while providing the flexibility to utilize many types of disk storage.
- Clients (Basic, XRS, and APM): Computers that are backed up to a storage device attached to the master server or a device server. XRS and APM clients can be protected using both file and image block-level technology.
Note that the terms "client" and "server" as defined above, refer in context to Backup Express, not necessarily to your network.
With Backup Express you can quickly and easily configure your backups and restores as you want them. The distributed architecture gives Backup Express the flexibility to exploit advanced data management technologies, including SAN, iSCSI, Clustering, NDMP, NAS, Image and Snapshot.
Some configurations you can make include:
- For advanced disk-based protection strategies use direct-, SAN-, SCSI-, iSCSI-attached storage.
- Combine iSCSI attached devices with SCSI and FAS.
- Cluster tape drives at a single NT server.
- Directly connect an autoloader to a UNIX, Linux, NetWare OES, or Windows server running critical applications, which keeps sensitive data off your network.
- Send data for a large database server to a SCSI- or Fibre-Channel-attached tape library, so you can back it up fast without bringing your network to a screeching halt.
- Share tape devices among multiple servers in order to integrate SAN technology.
- Use block-level image technology to protect remote site data without tape.
For more information:
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