BackBox H4.00 User Manual

Configuration
49 BackBox H4.00 User Manual
Windows Files Data Stores
In this kind of Data Store, a virtual volume is implemented in two disk files stored in
a Windows compatible file-system.
Several storage technologies are supported, such as HP StoreOnce NAS, with specific
BackBox code to maximize the storage features such as the de-duplication.
File servers / NAS considerations
Hardware requirements
To write/read virtual tape images on a remote file server requires high performance
network and file servers. It is recommended to use gigabit Ethernet and dedicated
network.
NAS de-duplication vs. BackBox compression
For regular setup with a de-duplication engine such as StoreOnce, the BackBox
internal compression should be deactivated in the Volume Groups associated to a
Data Domain Data Store, except for the TMF AUDIT dumps where local compression
is suggested.
Warnings
- It might be very difficult to change the choice after backups have run for a
while. At this stage, enabling or disabling the BackBox compression will
produce entirely new data for StoreOnce. Consequently, the required Data
Domain internal storage could logically be doubled, until all data received
before the change has expired and has been removed.
- The optional BackBox tape encryption described in a separate manual totally
voids the StoreOnce de-duplication.
As the encryption is enabled per BackBox Volume Group, the encryption can
be enabled only for a dedicated Volume Group and associated DSM/TC pool.
Details on the disk file-system usage
The complete image of a tape volume is stored in two files:
• An index file containing META-DATA information. The file name has the form
LB
<volume–name>.IND for labeled virtual volumes,
NL
<volume-name>.IND for non-labeled virtual volumes.
• A variable length data file containing the NonStop tape application output.
The file name has the form
LB
<volume–name>.DAT for labeled virtual volumes
NL
<volume-name>.DAT for non-labeled virtual volumes.
These files will be accessed in one of the paths defined in the Data Store’s pool(s):
• Storage Pool: pool of paths for regular files operations.