STORE and TurboSTORE/iX Products Manual (B5151-90003)

Chapter 2 31
Managing Backups and Backup Media
Using Unlabeled vs Labeled Media
Selecting a Time for Backups
It is best to perform backups at a time when people are not normally using the system.
Often, system administrators choose to perform backups at the close of the workday or
later in the evening. It is also a good idea to schedule the backup for the same time every
day so users know when to expect it and can plan ahead.
Be sure to schedule enough time for each backup. Full backups take more time and more
media than partial backups. Performing a partial backup a day or so after a full backup
takes less time and less backup media than a partial backup performed almost a week
later.
As the week progresses, users will have modified or added more files since the last full
backup, and more new information must be duplicated. If you perform a full backup on
Friday, the first partial backup on Monday may take only one tape, for example, and not
much time. By Thursday, however, the day before the next scheduled full backup, a partial
backup requires several tapes, for example, and considerably more time, but still less than
a full backup.
The TurboSTORE/iX 7x24 True-Online Backup ONLINE option allows you to back up
critical data and applications that need to be available at all times. Using just the ONLINE
option allows users to access files
after a short period of inaccessibility at the beginning of
the backup. However, using the new ONLINE=START or ONLINE=END options, users can
continue to access files, uninterrupted, throughout the backup.
Refer to Chapter 6, "STORE and TurboSTORE Command Options," for information on
using the ONLINE option only, or Chapter 7, "TurboSTORE/iX 7x24 True-Online Backup,"
for information on using the new ONLINE=START and ONLINE=END options.
Using Unlabeled vs Labeled Media
STORE and RESTORE let you store and restore files using either labeled or unlabeled tapes.
All TurboSTORE options, except sequential, are supported for both formats and there is no
performance penalty for using either format.
The use of labeled tape offers the following advantages:
1. Tapes are self identifying.
2. Automatic Volume Recognition (AVR) will eliminate need for operator replies to media
requests.
3. TurboSTORE provides hooks for third party tape management systems.