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Location of SQL data files

  • July 3, 2007 at 3:48 am

    #716809

    Hi William,

    It sounds like the server vendor's backing the databases up to tape, which isn't a bad thing.  What happens if the disk/s were to fail etc etc?  Are the backup tapes being held off-site?  We're now talking about DR and you're clients approach to it.

    We were big users of Backup Exec from 8.6 to 10d but have now moved away to san storage & emc's networker... anyway I digress.  We would carryout daily maintenance plans to backup the db's and have Backup Exec backup these flat files afterwards, bit of an overkill? perhaps but we were never unable to restore a database from either tape or flat file.

    If you're clients db's are being backed up to tape then there's certainly no harm in introducing daily 'backup' maintenance plans in addition.  I assume you're clients 'RMS' apps is pretty much in use 24x7?  This would explain why the server vendor opted to purchase the SQL Agent so 'quiet time' can be obtained in order to get a full db backup.

    Cheers,

    Mark

  • July 3, 2007 at 6:16 am

    #716847

    Bill,

    If YOU didn't know about the backups being taken, who does?  Who's changing the tapes?

    --Jeff Moden

    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • July 3, 2007 at 6:28 am

    #716853

    lol, very true!

  • July 3, 2007 at 7:51 am

    #716881

    Mark, from what I read at the Symantec site they are probably using 11d, I think that's the 2005-compatible version.

    But tell me, why did you move away from Backup Exec? And if you are backing up to a SAN isn't that just another disk?

    And no, the tapes go into a fireproof safe in the server room. There are two individuals on staff who are changing the tapes, neither is an IT person.

  • July 3, 2007 at 9:08 am

    #716913

    But tell me, why did you move away from Backup Exec?

    Consolidation!  As simple as that.  We now have a VMware environment with EMC SAN storage which is backed up by an Adic tape library hardware solution using EMC's Networker software.  The odd windows server we have dotted around will still run an old version of Backup Exec no doubt.

    And if you are backing up to a SAN isn't that just another disk?

    Yep, some might say a very expensive one! We keep 2 days worth of native sql backups before they are pruned by the maintenance cleanup task and have mon - fri tape backups as well.

    What happens if you're clients building collapses and you can't get to the fireproof safe?  Only kidding...

    Mark

  • July 3, 2007 at 9:33 am

    #716937

    When you said "What happens if you're clients building collapses and you can't get to the fireproof safe?" I had to laugh. Not the feel-good kind, but the kind that ties your stomach in knots.

    Phoenix is in the middle of a light-rail construction project, and the tracks will be going down the street right in front of their building. All the utility companies have been digging up the street, moving their pipes and wires etc. away from the right-of-way and there are guys with the orange vests and huge earth-movers everywhere you look.

    Last week we got a notice that the electric would be disconnected for one day, for a couple hours from 2 to 6 AM. We scrambled to check if the UPS's were operational & the Power Chute software was installed - guess what, the main application server was never set up for that. Oops.

    At least I have a backup of the database on my thumb drive

  • July 4, 2007 at 2:34 am

    #717085

    Let's hope William that doesn't happen!

  • July 4, 2007 at 12:18 pm

    #717226

    One thing to check would be the settings for default database location... if someone has changed those that might explain why your database got created where it did - if the default has been changed and a create database is executed without specifying file locations it will get created wherever the default is "pointed" - the alternative being that somebody explicitly created the database right where it is.

    As for maintenence plans, you may or may not need them, in many the system including databases is backed up by an agent (e.g. veritas, tivoli) in which case maintenance plans may or may not be needed - if you're comfortable with the frequency/type of backup... of course I've also seen where such an agent can be failing in the background every night and nobody realizes it until it's too late. 

     

  • July 6, 2007 at 10:14 am

    #717740

    Thanks everybody for your help.

    I had a conversation with the server vendor yesterday, they are in fact using Backup Exec 11d & I'm satisified that backups are being done to tape on a timely basis. Apparently there was a "statement of work" that described that, but I was not privy to that document.

    The good news is that I can continue to take my periodic local disk Full backups for my off-site dev work without interfering with the Backup Exec.

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