March 2008
Features
- Tech Talk 01 Get ready for a new release of GroupWise. Wanna busy search a client's calendar? Go for it. Want more panels on your home view? Track a couple of Web sites in your home view too. Take your pick of these and many more new features in the next release of GroupWise.
- Tech Talk 02 Upgrading from NetWare to the next generation of technology doesn't have to be painful—or costly. Take advantage of all the benefits Open Enterprise Server 2 offers for less and without the pain of retraining your staff. See how this migration path stacks up against moving to the big unknown—Windows Server 2008.
- Tech Talk 03 Try it just once and it'll be the last time you'll want to call support. It's faster, cheaper and unlimited. See how this new support option is going to change the way you want support from Novell.
- Tech Talk 04 Does your enterprise have legacy systems that won't talk to other computers? The hotel industry had that problem-until Novell stepped in. Now, using code that Novell open sourced, the hotel industry can use identity management solutions-on their legacy systems! See how you can teach your old systems to talk.
- Tech Talk 05 The word spin can have a negative connotation—unless it's PlateSpin. Read how Novell's acquisition of Toronto-based PlateSpin is going to give your data center several positive benefits. If you want your data center tasks to manage themselves, welcome to the new Novell technology from PlateSpin.
- Tech Talk 06 For beginners, databases can be frightening. But with a little help in building effective forms, you'll be on your way to populating a database that can almost take care of itself. See how here in our OpenOffice.org series cover the database application included in the free office suite.
- Tech Talk 07 If you're like most companies, your end users' teams are comprised of people across the globe. Yet they want to feel like their teammates are just down the hall. Enter Sitescape. It's now a part of Novell and provides the engine to the new Novell Teaming + Conferencing products. Find out how this recent acquisition benefits you.
Connection Magazine March full .pdf
Departments
- Proof Point Toll Brothers, the leading builder of luxury homes in the U.S., had issues. One was managing desktops across 300 locations, including construction site trailers across 22 states. Keeping them in standard, working order was quite a problem. See how Novell automated that, increased the security of sensitive financial data, and much more.
- Trend Talk Are you up on your backups? Are you a synthetic backer upper? What about your recovery objectives? How will you recover after the crisis strikes? Learn what types of backup and recovery procedures are available, so when the crisis strikes, you'll be up on your backups and know just how to recover.
- Laura Chappell Analysis Session: TCP Connection Loss
Backup
and Recovery
Trend Talk by Amin Marts
Although special agents, such as open file agents and database agents, are installed directly on the systems that require them, all file version tracking is bound to the media server. The media server can also serve as the conduit between the backup targets and the offline storage repository in both disk-to-disk and disk-to-disk-to-tape environments. In enterprises with robust data stores, positioning the media server in-line with the tape autoloader can be a bottleneck, especially if there are numerous Network-Attached Storage devices specified as targets. Backup vendors savvy to this issue enable their enterprise solutions with Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) capabilities.
The beauty of NDMP is that it allows a media server to control/manage a backup device without being physically attached to it. Removing the physical attachment allows data from backup targets to flow directly to the device. Providing a direct path to the device creates an environment where multiple (or large) backup jobs can take place simultaneously. The result is a great reduction in backup times.
Because of the lack of interoperability among backup and recovery software vendors, mixing and matching components would necessitate multiple media servers. Because it's best to avoid this, you'll likely want to stay in the same vendor family as you take advantage of new technologies; however, adopting backup and recovery technologies is far from an all-or-nothing proposition. For the most part, vendors have built their solutions to allow you to adopt the appropriate technology at the appropriate time. The policy of choice is paramount above all else. In a similar way, Open Enterprise Server provides you with ability to introduce not only Linux, but a number of back-end technologies, at your own pace. The point is that the ability to choose is critical and a growing number of software vendors are responding to that. A community of Novell representatives, partners and other customers are here to provide real-world knowledge to help you make your choice.
Introducing a CDP solution simultaneously with a data deduplication technology is possible, but it can be a challenging undertaking. Identifying the need is the first step in determining the appropriate technology. Simply put, what issue are you attempting to address?
- Are backups running through the weekend into Monday morning?
- Are backups failing because your media server is low on available resources?
- Are you spending too much money on tape media?
- Does your current backup solution support the file system where your data lives?
- Do you need to improve Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) in databases?
- Has your storage architecture changed to accommodate additional storage or a more reliable solution?
Traditionally, the adoption is staged, with metrics being taken along the way to evaluate progress. Beginning with a deduplication appliance will significantly reduce the amount of tape media required for “offsite-ing.” Additionally, because deduplication employs a disk-to-disk-to-tape methodology, you'll likely see a positive change in your RTOs. The migration of disk to a primary backup medium can also open the door to more aggressive and flexible backup policies. This flexibility is augmented by technologies like CDP. When implemented correctly, CDP can significantly enhance the protection of data.
As you plan your own backup and data recovery strategy, remember that no one technology or feature set can do it all. Carefully assessing your organization's business objectives, regulatory compliance needs and technology infrastructure will help you hone in on the technologies that will bring the greatest return on investment. It's also important to understand, a backup solution is a living system that must evolve alongside an organization's growth plan. It is not something that can be tacked on at the last minute and then expected to provide a high level of insurance when the need arises.
Whatever backup and data recovery solutions you choose, rest assured that market-leading vendors and their latest technologies are fully supported on Open Enterprise Server 2. This ecosystem is critical when introducing Open Enterprise Server 2 to your data center. The ability to recover lost data is not optional in a highly competitive, global market. Disaster recovery, collaboration, business continuity and anti-virus solutions take center-stage in the agile 24x7 business model.
