Symantec Backup Exec 15

Tuning and Performance

Guide
Documentation version: 15

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 Contents

Technical Support ............................................................................................... 4

Chapter 1 Analyzing the backup environment .................................. 9
How to analyze your backup requirements .......................................... 9
Factors to consider about disk or tape .............................................. 14
About designing a backup environment ............................................. 15
Calculate the required data transfer rate for backups ........................... 16
Calculate how long it takes to back up to tape .................................... 18
Why faster tape drives are not always better ...................................... 19
Calculate how many tape drives are needed ...................................... 19
Calculate how long it takes to back up to disk ..................................... 21
Calculate the required data transfer rate over a network ....................... 21
Calculate the size of the Backup Exec catalog .................................... 23
About sizing the Backup Exec catalog .............................................. 25
Calculate the number of tapes needed for full and incremental
backups ............................................................................... 25
Calculate the size of the tape library needed to store backups ............... 28

Chapter 2 Measuring performance .................................................... 29

About measuring Backup Exec performance ...................................... 29
Controlling system variables for consistent testing conditions ................ 30
Running a performance test ........................................................... 30
Controlling network variables during performance testing ...................... 30
Controlling Agent for Windows variables during performance
testing .................................................................................. 31
Controlling data variables during performance testing .......................... 31
Evaluating performance through the job history .................................. 32
Evaluating Windows system components .......................................... 33
Monitoring the Windows CPU load .................................................. 34
Monitoring memory use ................................................................. 34
Monitoring disk load ...................................................................... 35
 Contents 8

Chapter 3 Tuning the Backup Exec server ........................................ 36

Tips for backing up many small files ................................................. 36
Use disk storage .......................................................................... 37
Use the Deduplication Option .......................................................... 37
Tips for including and excluding selections ........................................ 38
Limit the backup frequency ............................................................. 38
Run verify operations outside of the backup window ............................ 38
Keep Backup Exec servers upgraded .............................................. 39
Increase disk performance ............................................................. 39

Chapter 4 Tuning the Backup Exec data transfer path .................. 40

About tuning the data transfer path .................................................. 40
Tuning suggestions for the data path ................................................ 41
Agent for Windows performance ...................................................... 42
Network performance .................................................................... 43
Backup Exec server performance .................................................... 45
About the Windows data buffer size ................................................. 49
Tape drive performance ................................................................. 49

Appendix A Additional Resources ......................................................... 51

Additional Resources .................................................................... 51

 Chapter 1
Analyzing the backup
environment
This chapter includes the following topics:

How to analyze your backup requirements

Factors to consider about disk or tape

About designing a backup environment

Calculate the required data transfer rate for backups

Calculate how long it takes to back up to tape

Why faster tape drives are not always better

Calculate how many tape drives are needed

Calculate how long it takes to back up to disk

Calculate the required data transfer rate over a network

Calculate the size of the Backup Exec catalog

About sizing the Backup Exec catalog

Calculate the number of tapes needed for full and incremental backups

Calculate the size of the tape library needed to store backups

How to analyze your backup requirements

To estimate your backup requirements, you must consider your environment. Many
performance issues are linked to hardware or environmental issues. An
 Analyzing the backup environment 10
How to analyze your backup requirements

understanding of the entire backup data path is important to determine the maximum
performance that you can expect from your installation.
Every backup environment has a bottleneck. It may be a fast bottleneck, but it still
determines the maximum performance that you can obtain.
How can you configure Backup Exec or the environment to increase backup
performance? Many elements influence your backup strategy. Analyze these
elements and then make backup decisions according to your sites priorities.

Table 1-1 How to analyze backup requirements

Decisions Considerations

Which computers do you have to back up? Identify all computers that you want to back
up, and list the following information for each
computer:

Name
Operating system
Database types and versions
Network technology, such as 1000BaseT
Any attached disk drives, tape drives, or
robotic libraries
Model type of each drive or library
Any applications that you want to back up,
such as Oracle or Exchange
 Analyzing the backup environment 11
How to analyze your backup requirements

Table 1-1 How to analyze backup requirements (continued)

Decisions Considerations

How much data do you have to back up? Calculate how much data you need to back
up. Include the total disk space on each
individual computer, including the space that
the databases use. Remember to add the
space on mirrored disks only once.

If you plan to back up databases, identify the

database engines, their version numbers, and
the method to back them up. Backup Exec
can back up several database engines and
raw file systems, and databases can be
backed up while they are online or offline. To
back up any database while it is online, you
need a Backup Exec database agent.

With a snapshot backup of databases using

raw partitions, you back up as much data as
the total size of the raw partition. Remember
to add the size of the database backups to
the final calculations when calculating how
much data must be backed up.

If you plan to back up application servers

such as Exchange or Lotus Notes you must
identify their types and application release
numbers. You may need a Backup Exec
agent to properly back up an application
server.

What types of backups do you need and how To properly size your backup environment,
often do you need them? you must decide on the type and frequency
of your backups. Will you perform daily
incremental and weekly full backups? Monthly
or bi-weekly full backups?
The frequency of the backups has a direct
effect on the following items:

Disk or tape requirements

Data transfer rate considerations
Restore opportunities

See Factors to consider about disk or tape

on page 14.
 Analyzing the backup environment 12
How to analyze your backup requirements

Table 1-1 How to analyze backup requirements (continued)

Decisions Considerations

How much time is available to run each The length of the backup window dictates
backup? several aspects of your backup strategy. For
example, you may want a larger window to
back up multiple, high-capacity servers. Or
you may consider the use of advanced
Backup Exec features such as deduplication,
or a local snapshot method.

How long should you retain backups? The amount of time a backup is kept is known
as the retention period.

The length of the retention period depends

on your business needs. However, the length
of the retention period is directly proportional
to the amount of disk space and the number
of tapes that you need, and the size of the
Backup Exec catalog database. The Backup
Exec catalog database keeps track of all the
information on all your disk drives and tapes.
The catalog size is relative to the retention
periods and to the frequency of your backups.

The default retention period for full backup

jobs that are sent to disk and cloud storage
is 14 days; the default for incremental and
differential is 7 days. After this amount of
time, Backup Exec automatically expires the
data and reclaims the disk space. However,
the data from a full backup is kept as long as
the data from its associated incremental
backups. Backup Exec does not delete
backup sets from a job that has dependent
sets from another job within the same
definition until all of the associated backup
sets expire.

The default retention period for the backup

jobs that are sent to tape is four weeks.

Also, database management services may

become bottlenecks.
 Analyzing the backup environment 13
How to analyze your backup requirements

Table 1-1 How to analyze backup requirements (continued)

Decisions Considerations

If backups are sent off site, how long must If you plan to send backup data off site,
they remain off site? identify which storage devices to send off site
and how long they remain off site. You might
decide to duplicate all full backups, or only a
select few. You might also decide to duplicate
certain computers and exclude others. As
storage devices are sent off site, you must
buy new devices to replace them until they
are recycled back from off site storage. If you
forget this detail, you may run out of storage
devices when you most need them.

What is your network technology? If you plan to back up any computers over a
network, note the network types.

Based on the amount of data that you want

to back up and the frequency of those
backups, consider installing a private network
for backups.

What new computers do you expect to add Plan for future growth when you design your
in the next six months? backup environment. Analyze the potential
growth of your environment to ensure that
your current backup solution can
accommodate future requirements. Add any
resulting growth factor that you incur to your
total backup solution.

What are the types of data that you want to Consider the data types that you want to back
back up? up, such as text, graphics, or databases. How
compressible is the data? How many files are
involved? Will the data be encrypted? Note
that encrypted backups may run slower.

Is the data local or remote? Consider the characteristics of the storage

subsystem. What is the exact data path? How
busy is the storage subsystem?

Are you prepared to test component Because hardware and software infrastructure
changes? change over time, create an independent
test-backup environment to ensure your
production environment works with the
changed components.

See About designing a backup environment on page 15.

 Analyzing the backup environment 14
Factors to consider about disk or tape

Factors to consider about disk or tape

Disk is now a common backup medium. Backup data that is on disk generally
provides faster restores.
You can tune disk-based storage for performance the same way that you can tune
tape-based storage. The optimal buffer settings for a site can vary according to its
configuration. It takes thorough testing to determine these settings.
Disk-based storage can be useful if you have a lot of incremental backups and the
percentage of data change is small. If the volume of data is insufficient in incremental
copies to ensure efficient writing to tape, consider disk storage. After writing the
data to disk, you can use a duplicate backup data job to copy the data to tape. This
arrangement can produce faster backups and prevent wear and tear on your tape
drives.
Consider the following factors when backing up data to disk or tape:
Will you use short or long retention periods?
Disk is well suited for short retention periods; tape is better suited for longer
retention periods.
Will you use intermediate staging or long-term storage?
Disk is suited for staging; tape for long-term storage.
Do you plan to run incremental or full backups?
Disk is better suited to low volume incremental backups.
Is data recovery time important?
Restore from disk is usually faster than from tape.
What is the speed of the backups?
If backups are too slow to keep the tape in motion, send the backups to disk,
and then duplicate the backup to tape.
What are the sizes of the backups?
If the backups are too small to keep the tape in motion, send the backups to
disk, and then duplicate the backup to tape. Small backups may include
incrementals and frequent backups of small database log files.
The following are some benefits of backing up to disk rather than tape:
Faster access to data
Most tape drives have a "time to data" of close to two minutes. Time is required
to move the tape from its slot, load it into the drive, and seek to an appropriate
place on the tape. Disk has an effective time to data of 0 seconds. Restoring a
large file system from 15 different tapes can add almost one hour to the restore:
a two-minute delay per tape for load and seek, and a possible two-minute delay
per tape for rewind and unload.
 Analyzing the backup environment 15
About designing a backup environment

Fewer full backups

With tape-based systems, full backups must be done regularly because of the
"time to data" issue. If full backups are not done regularly, a restore may require
too many tapes from incremental backups. As a result, the time to restore
increases, as does the chance that a single tape may cause the restore to fail.
Use of the Granular Recovery Technology (GRT) feature without having to stage
the data from tape to disk
You can use GRT to restore certain individual items from backup sets. For
example, you can restore an email message from a backup without having to
restore the entire mailbox. If you send the GRT-enabled backup to a disk storage
device rather than to tape, only 1 GB of disk space is required for the staging
location. If you have to restore an item from a GRT-enabled backup on tape,
the staging location must have enough disk space to copy the entire backup to
disk.
Use of the Deduplication Option
You can back up to a disk-based deduplication storage folder or an OpenStorage
device on the Backup Exec server. Deduplication reduces storage requirements
and network traffic.

About designing a backup environment

After an analysis of your backup requirements, you can begin designing your backup
environment.

Table 1-2 About designing a backup environment

Step Description More information

1. Calculate the rate of transfer See Calculate the required

that Backup Exec must data transfer rate for backups
achieve to complete a backup on page 16.
of all your data in the allowed
time window.

2. Decide what kind of tape See Calculate how long it

drive technology meets your takes to back up to tape
needs by calculating how long on page 18.
it takes to back up to tape.

3. Calculate how many tape See Calculate how many

drives are needed. tape drives are needed
on page 19.
 Analyzing the backup environment 16
Calculate the required data transfer rate for backups

Table 1-2 About designing a backup environment (continued)

Step Description More information

4. Calculate how long it takes to See Calculate how long it

back up to disk. takes to back up to disk
on page 21.

5 Calculate how long it takes to See Calculate the required

move data over the network, data transfer rate over a
if necessary. You must move network on page 21.
data from the remote
computer to the Backup Exec
server fast enough to finish
backups within your backup
window.

6 Calculate how much disk See About sizing the Backup

space is needed to store the Exec catalog on page 25.
Backup Exec catalog.

7. Calculate how many tapes See Calculate the number of

are needed to store and tapes needed for full and
retrieve your backups. incremental backups
on page 25.

8. Calculate how many robotic See Calculate the size of the

library tape slots are needed tape library needed to store
to store all your backups. backups on page 28.

Calculate the required data transfer rate for backups

You can calculate the rate of transfer that Backup Exec must achieve to complete
a backup of all your data in the allowed time window. Use the following formula to
calculate the minimum average data transfer rate for full and incremental backups:
Minimum average data transfer rate = (Amount of data to back up) / (Backup window)
On average, the daily change in data for many systems is between 10 and 20
percent. Calculate a change of 20% in the amount of data to back up. Then divide
it by the backup window for the backup rate for incremental backups.
If you run incremental backups, account for data that undergoes changes. For
example, if the same 20% of the data changes daily, your incremental backup is
smaller than if a different 20% changes every day.
For example, assume that you back up 500 GB during a full backup and that the
daily backup window is eight hours. The minimum average data transfer rate for
 Analyzing the backup environment 17
Calculate the required data transfer rate for backups

500 GB per eight hours is 62.5 GB per hour. Assume that you back up 100 GB
during an incremental backup with the daily backup window. The minimum average
transfer rate for 100 GB per eight hours is 12.5 GB per hour.
For your minimum average weekend transfer rate, divide the amount of data that
you must back up by the length of the weekend backup window.
For example, assume that the amount of data to back up during a full backup is
1000 gigabytes. Assume also that the daily backup window is eight hours.
The formula for the minimum average transfer rate is as follows:
(Data/(Backup window)) = 1000 gigabytes per eight hours = 125 gigabytes per hour

Table 1-3 Examples for calculating the required data transfer rate for backups

Example Factors Solution

Example 1 One LTO-4 tape drive Actual data transfer

with a drive transfer rate = 1000 GB/((one
rate of 432 GB per drive) * (432 GB per
hour: hour)) = 2.31 hours

With a data transfer

rate of 432 GB per
hour, a single LTO-4
tape drive takes 2.31
hours to perform a
1000-GB backup.

Example 2 One LTO-5 tape drive Actual data transfer

with a drive transfer rate = 1000
rate of 504 GB per gigabytes/((one drive)
hour: * (504 GB per hour))
= 1.98 hours

With a data transfer

rate of 504 GB per
hour, a single LTO-5
tape drive takes 1.98
hours to perform a
1000-GB backup.

Depending on the several factors that can influence the transfer rates of your tape
drives, you can obtain higher or lower transfer rates. These example solutions are
approximations of what you can expect. A backup of encrypted data may take more
time.
 Analyzing the backup environment 18
Calculate how long it takes to back up to tape

Calculate how long it takes to back up to tape

When you know your ideal data transfer rates for backups, you can calculate what
kind of tape drive technology meets your needs. With the length of the backup
windows and the amount of data to back up, you can calculate the number of
required tape drives.

Table 1-4 Tape drive data transfer rates

Drive GB per hour GB per hour Native MB per Native MB per

(no (2:1 second minute
compression) compression)

LTO-1 54 108 15 900

LTO-2 105 216 40 2400

LTO-3 288 576 80 4800

LTO-4 432 864 120 7200

LTO-5 504 1008 140 8400

LTO-6 570 1140 160 9600

SDLT 320 57 115 16 960

SDLT 600 129 259 36 2160

STK T10000 422 844 120 7200

DAT 320 43 86 12 720

DAT 160 24 49 6.9 414

The values are those published by their individual manufacturers and observed in
real-life situations. Keep in mind that device manufacturers list optimum rates for
their devices.
In reality, it is rare to achieve those values when a computer has to deal with the
following issues:
The overhead of the operating system
CPU loads
Bus architecture
Data types
Other hardware and software issues
 Analyzing the backup environment 19
Why faster tape drives are not always better

File system directory overhead

Average file sizes (big files stream faster)
The GB per hour values in the table above represent transfer rates for several
devices, with and without compression. When you design your backup system,
consider the nature of both your data and your environment. Estimate on the
conservative side when planning capacity.
To calculate the length of your backups using a particular tape drive, use the
following formula:
Actual data transfer rate = (Amount of data to back up)/((Number of drives) * (Tape
drive transfer rate))
See Calculate how many tape drives are needed on page 19.

Why faster tape drives are not always better

The fastest tape technology may not be the most appropriate for your site. Tape
drives also have a minimum speed below which they start to operate inefficiently.
This figure is known as the minimum streaming speed and is usually around 40%
of the native (no compression) speed of the device. If the drive receives data at
less than minimum streaming speed, it operates in a stop-and-start mode (shoe
shining). In this mode the drive empties the data buffers faster than they can be
filled and has to stop while the buffers fill up again. When the buffers are full the
drive must start and then reposition the tape before it writes the next data block.
This stop-and-start behavior can cause excessive wear to both the tape and the
drive and also results in a further slowing down of the backup. For this reason, the
fastest tape technology may not always be the most appropriate one to use.
Unlike tape drives, disk devices (including VTLs) do not have a minimum streaming
speed. A good strategy may be to stage slower backups to disk before you duplicate
them to tape. The duplication of the backup image from disk runs faster than the
original slow backup.

Calculate how many tape drives are needed

The formula to calculate how many tape drives are needed is as follows:
Number of drives = (Amount of data to back up) /((Backup window) * (Tape drive
transfer rate))
For example, assume that the amount of data to back up is 1000 gigabytes, and
that the backup window is eight hours.
 Analyzing the backup environment 20
Calculate how many tape drives are needed

Table 1-5 Examples for calculating how many tape drives are needed

Example Factors Solution

Example 1 This example uses an LTO-2 Number of drives = 1000

tape drive with a drive gigabytes/ ((Eight hours) *
transfer rate of 105 gigabytes (105 gigabytes per hour)) =
per hour. .1.19 = 2 drives

Example 2 This example uses an LTO-4 Number of drives = 1000

tape drive with a drive gigabytes/((Eight hours) *
transfer rate of 432 gigabytes (432 gigabytes per hour)) =
per hour. 0.29 = 1 drive

You can calculate the number of drives that are needed to perform a backup. The
difficulty is the ability to spread the data streams evenly across all drives. To spread
the data streams, you can experiment with various backup schedules and your
hardware configuration.
To calculate how many tape devices you need, calculate how many tape devices
you can attach to a drive controller.
To calculate the maximum number of drives that you can attach to a controller, you
need the manufacturers maximum transfer rates for drives and controllers. Failure
to use maximum transfer rates for your calculations can result in saturated controllers
and unpredictable results.
In practice, your transfer rates might be slower because of the inherent overhead
of several variables. Variables include the file system layout, system CPU load,
and memory usage.

Table 1-6 Drive controller data transfer rates

Drive Controller Theoretical MB per Theoretical MB Theoretical GB per

second per minute hour

iSCSI (on a 1-gigabit 100 6000 360

network)

Ultra-3 SCSI 160 9600 576

Ultra320 SCSI 320 19200 1152

3 gigabit SAS 375 22500 1350

4 gigabit Fibre Channel 400 24000 1440

6 gigabit SAS 750 45000 2700

8 gigabit Fibre Channel 850 51000 3060

 Analyzing the backup environment 21
Calculate how long it takes to back up to disk

Table 1-6 Drive controller data transfer rates (continued)

Drive Controller Theoretical MB per Theoretical MB Theoretical GB per

second per minute hour

iSCSI (on a 10-gigabit 1250 75000 4500

network)

Fibre Channel over 10240 614400 36000

Ethernet

16 gigabit Fibre 1600 96000 5625

Channel

Calculate how long it takes to back up to disk

Disk performance is more difficult to predict than data transfer rates for tapes.
Backup speed depends on the type of disk and on the disk layout. In general, the
speed of the backup depends on the speed of the disks and disk controllers that
the backup is written to.

Calculate the required data transfer rate over a

network
To back up over a network, you must move data from the remote computer to the
Backup Exec server fast enough to finish backups within your backup window.
Calculate the data transfer rates for your networks to help you identify potential
bottlenecks. Several solutions are available for dealing with multiple networks and
bottlenecks.
To calculate the required data transfer rate, use the following formula:
Required network data transfer rate = (Amount of data to back up) / (Backup window)
The following table shows the typical transfer rates of some common network
technologies.

Table 1-7 Network data transfer rates

Network Technology Theoretical GB per hour Typical GB per hour

100BaseT (switched) 36 25

1000BaseT (switched) 360 250

10000BaseT (switched) 3600 2500

 Analyzing the backup environment 22
Calculate the required data transfer rate over a network

For example, to calculate network transfer rates, assume that the amount of data
to back up is 500 gigabytes with a backup window of eight hours.
The formula is as follows:
Required network transfer rate = 500 GB/8 hours = 62.5 GB per hour

Table 1-8 Examples for calculating the required data transfer rate over a
network

Example Factors Solution

Example 1 This example uses the A single 100BaseT network

100BaseT (switched) network has a transfer rate of 25 GB
technology with a typical per hour. This network cannot
transfer rate of 25 GB per handle your required data
hour. transfer rate of 62.5 GB per
hour.
In this situation, you may want
to review other options, such
as the following:

Back up your data over a

faster network
(1000BaseT).
Back up large servers to
dedicated tape drives.
Perform off-host backups
to present a snapshot
directly to a Backup Exec
server.
Perform your backups
during a longer time
window.
Perform your backups
over faster dedicated
networks.

Example 2 This example uses the A single 1000BaseT network

1000BaseT (switched) has a transfer rate of 250 GB
network technology with a per hour. This network
typical transfer rate = 250 GB technology can handle your
per hour. backups with room to spare.
 Analyzing the backup environment 23
Calculate the size of the Backup Exec catalog

Calculate the size of the Backup Exec catalog

When you design your backup environment, calculate how much disk space is
needed to store the Backup Exec catalog. The catalog tracks all of the files that are
backed up.
The catalog's size depends on the following variables, for both full backups and
incremental backups:
The number of files being backed up
The frequency of the backups
The amount of time that the backup data is retained
You can use either of two methods to calculate the Backup Exec catalog size. In
both cases, since data volumes grow over time, you should factor in expected
growth when calculating total disk space used.
To use the first method, you must know the following details:
The number of files that are held online.
The number of full and incremental backups that are retained at any time.
To calculate the size in GB for a particular backup, use the following formula:
Catalog size = (182 * Number of files in all backups)/ 1 GB
The number 182 is based on the average file name length of 30 characters.
Determine the approximate number of copies of each file that is held in backups
and the typical file size.
Use the following formula to estimate the number of copies:
Number of copies of each file that is held in backups = Number of full backups +
10% of the number of incremental backups held
The second method for calculating the catalog size is to multiply the total amount
of data in the production environment by a small percentage (such as 2%). The
total amount of data in the production environment is not the total size of all backups.
Also, note that 2% is only an example; the following formulas help you calculate a
percentage that is appropriate for your environment.
Use this method only in environments in which it is easy to determine the typical
file size, typical retention periods, and typical incremental change rates. In some
cases, the catalog size that is obtained using this method may vary significantly
from the eventual catalog size.
To use this method, you must determine the approximate number of copies of each
file that is held in backups and the typical file size. Use the following formula to
estimate the number of copies:
 Analyzing the backup environment 24
Calculate the size of the Backup Exec catalog

Number of copies of each file that is held in backups = Number of full backups +
10% of the number of incremental backups held
To calculate the multiplying percentage, use the following formula:
Multiplying percentage = (182 * Number of files that are held in backups / Average
file size) * 100%
Then, you can estimate the size of the catalog by using the following formula:
Size of the catalog = Total disk space used * Multiplying percentage

Table 1-9 Examples for calculating the size of the Backup Exec catalog

Example Factors Solution

Method 1 Assume the following: Number of copies of each file

retained: 24 + (25 * 10%) =
Number of full backups
26.5
per month: four
Retention period for full Catalog size for each file
backups: six months retained:(182 * 26.5 copies)
Total number of full = 3180 bytes
backups retained: 24 Total catalog space
Number of incremental required:(3180 * 17,500,000
backups per month: 25 files) /1GB = 54 GB
Total number of the files
that are held online (total
number of files in a full
backup): 17,500.000

Method 2 Assume the following: Number of copies of each file

retained: 24 + (25 * 10%) =
Number of full backups
26.5
per month: four
Total number of full Backup Exec catalog size for
backups retained: 24 each file retained:
Retention period for full (182 * 26.5 copies) = 3180
backups: six months bytes
Number of incremental
(182 * 26.5 copies) = 3180
backups per month: 25
bytes
Average file size: 70 KB
Total disk space that is Multiplying percentage:
used on all servers in the (3180/70000) * 100% = 4.5%
domain: 1.4 TB
(3498/70000) * 100% = 5%

Total catalog space required:

(1,400 GB * 4.5%) = 63 GB
 Analyzing the backup environment 25
About sizing the Backup Exec catalog

About sizing the Backup Exec catalog

The size of the catalog depends on the number of files in the backups and the
number of copies of the backups that are retained. As a result, the catalog has the
potential to grow quite large. When you estimate the ultimate size of the catalog,
consider if it can be backed up in an acceptable time window, and if the general
housekeeping activities can complete within their execution windows.
In general, Symantec recommends that you plan your environment to meet the
following criteria:
The amount of data that is held in the online catalog should not exceed 750 GB.
Use catalog archiving to keep the online portion of the catalog under 750 GB.
The total number of catalog files should not exceed 200,000. This number equals
the total of all retained copies of all backups from all clients held both online and
in the catalog archive.
The speed of the storage and the power of the server influence the actual limits of
acceptable catalog performance. Your catalog's performance may vary significantly
from the guidelines that are provided in this section.
If you expect that your catalog may exceed these limits, consider deploying multiple
Backup Exec domains in your environment.

Calculate the number of tapes needed for full and

incremental backups
Calculate how many tapes that you need to store and retrieve your backups.
The number of tapes depends on the following:
The amount of data that you back up.
The frequency of your backups.
The planned retention periods.
The capacity of the media that is used to store your backups.
If you expect your site's workload to increase over time, you can ease the pain of
future upgrades by planning for expansion. Design your initial backup architecture
so it can evolve to support more clients and servers. Invest in the faster,
higher-capacity components that can serve your needs beyond the present.
A formula for calculating your tape needs is as follows:
Number of tapes = (Amount of data to back up) / (Tape capacity)
 Analyzing the backup environment 26
Calculate the number of tapes needed for full and incremental backups

To calculate how many tapes are needed based on all your requirements, the
previous formula can be expanded to the following:
Number of tapes = ((Amount of data to back up) * (Frequency of backups) *
(Retention period)) / (Tape capacity)

Table 1-10 Tape capacities

Drive Theoretical GB (no Theoretical GB (2:1

compression) compression)

LTO-1 100 200

LTO-2 200 400

LTO-3 400 800

LTO-4 800 1600

LTO-5 1600 3200

LTO-6 6400 12800

SDLT 320 160 320

SDLT 600 300 600

STK T10000 500 1000

STK T10000A 500 1000

STK T10000B 1000 2000

STK T10000C 5000 10000

For the examples in the next table, assume the following:

Size of full backups = 500 gigabytes * 4 (per month) * 6 months = 12 terabytes
Size of incremental backups = (20% of 500 gigabytes) * 30 * 1 month = 3 terabytes
Total data tracked = 12 terabytes + 3 terabytes = 15 terabytes
 Analyzing the backup environment 27
Calculate the number of tapes needed for full and incremental backups

Table 1-11 Examples for calculating the number of tapes needed for full and
incremental backups

Example Factors Solution

Example 1 This example uses an LTO- Tapes that are needed for full
2 tape drive without backups = 12 terabytes/200
compression (200-GB GB = 60
capacity
Tapes that are needed for
incremental backups = 3
terabytes/200 GB = 15

Total tapes needed = 60 + 15

= 75 tapes

Example 2 This example uses an LTO-2 Tapes that are needed for full
tape drive with 2:1 backups = 12 terabytes/400
compression (400-GB GB = 30
capacity )
Tapes that are needed for
incremental backups = 3
terabytes/400 GB = 7.5

Total tapes needed = 30 + 7.5

= 37.5 tapes

Example 3 This example uses an LTO-3 Tapes that are needed for full
tape drive without backups = 12 terabytes/400
compression (400-GB GB = 30
capacity )
Tapes that are needed for
incremental backups = 3
terabytes/400 gigabytes = 7.5
~= 8

Total tapes needed = 30 + 8

= 38 tapes

Tape capacity with 2:1

compression = 800 gigabytes:

Example 4 This example uses an LTO-3 Tapes that are needed for full
tape drive with 2:1 backups = 12 terabytes/800
compression (800-GB GB = 15
capacity )
Tapes that are needed for
incremental backups = 3
terabytes/800 GB = 3.75 ~=
4

Total tapes needed = 15 + 4

= 19 tapes
 Analyzing the backup environment 28
Calculate the size of the tape library needed to store backups

Calculate the size of the tape library needed to store

backups
To calculate how many robotic library tape slots are needed to store all your backups,
use the number of backup tapes that you calculated in a previous section. Then,
add tapes for catalog backup and for cleaning.
The formula is the following:
Tape slots needed = (Number of tapes that are needed for backups) + (Number of
tapes that are needed for catalog backups) + 1 (for a cleaning tape)
For tapes for catalog backup, a typical example is 2.
Additional tapes may be needed for the following situations:
If you plan to duplicate tapes or to reserve some media for special (non-backup)
use, add those tapes to the formula.
Add the tapes that are needed for future data growth. Make sure that your system
has a viable upgrade path as new tape drives become available.
 Chapter 2
Measuring performance
This chapter includes the following topics:

About measuring Backup Exec performance

Controlling system variables for consistent testing conditions

Running a performance test

Controlling network variables during performance testing

Controlling Agent for Windows variables during performance testing

Controlling data variables during performance testing

Evaluating performance through the job history

Evaluating Windows system components

Monitoring the Windows CPU load

Monitoring memory use

Monitoring disk load

About measuring Backup Exec performance

You can measure Backup Exec performance by one of the following criteria:
The length of time in your environment that you can allow for backup operations
to complete without affecting the performances of the server, end users, or the
network. This length of time is known as the backup window.
The length of time that is required for a critical restore operation to complete.
You need to use the performance metrics that are more reliable and reproducible
than using wall clock time. After establishing accurate metrics, you can measure
 Measuring performance 30
Controlling system variables for consistent testing conditions

the current performance of Backup Exec and your system components to compile
a baseline performance benchmark. With a baseline, you can apply changes in a
controlled way. By measuring performance after each change, you can accurately
measure the effect of each change on Backup Exec performance.

Controlling system variables for consistent testing

conditions
For reliable performance evaluation, eliminate as many unpredictable variables as
possible to create a consistent backup environment. Only a consistent environment
can produce reliable and reproducible performance measurements. This section
explains some of the variables to consider as they relate to the Backup Exec server,
the network, the Agent for Windows, or the data itself.
Eliminate all other Backup Exec activity from your environment when you measure
the performance of a particular Backup Exec operation.

Running a performance test

Use the following procedure to run a test. This procedure helps prevent the Backup
Exec scheduler from running other backups during the test.
To run a performance test
1 Ensure that there are no Backup Exec jobs in progress.
2 Submit the job to run now.
3 During the performance test, check for non-Backup Exec activity on the server
and try to reduce or eliminate it.
4 After the performance test, check for any unexpected activity that may have
occurred during the test, such as a restore job.

Controlling network variables during performance

testing
Network performance is key to optimum performance with Backup Exec. Ideally,
you should use an isolated and controlled network for testing to prevent unrelated
network activity from skewing the results.
In many cases, a separate network is not available. If not, ensure that non-Backup
Exec activity is kept to a minimum during the test. If possible, schedule the test
when backups are not active. Even occasional bursts of network activity may be
 Measuring performance 31
Controlling Agent for Windows variables during performance testing

enough to skew the test results. If you share the network with production backups
occurring for other systems, you must account for this activity during the test.
Another network variable is host name resolution. Backup Exec depends heavily
upon a timely resolution of host names to operate correctly. If you have any delays
in host name resolution, try to eliminate that delay by ensuring that the DNS is
properly configured. An example of such a delay is a reverse name lookup to identify
a server name from an incoming connection from an IP address. You can use the
Windows HOSTS command or the UNIX command/etc/hosts for host name
resolution on systems in your test environment.

Controlling Agent for Windows variables during

performance testing
Make sure that the Agent for Windows is relatively quiescent during performance
testing. A lot of activity, especially disk-intensive activity such as Windows virus
scanning, can limit the data transfer rate and skew the test results.
Do not allow another Backup Exec server to access the Agent for Windows during
the test. Backup Exec may attempt to back up the same Agent for Windows to two
different servers at the same time. The results of a performance test that is in
progress can be severely affected.
Different file systems have different performance characteristics. It may not be valid
to compare data throughput on UNIX VxFS or Windows FAT file systems to UNIX
NFS or Windows NTFS systems. For such a comparison, factor the difference
between the file systems into your performance tests and into any conclusions.

Controlling data variables during performance testing

Monitoring the data that is backed up improves the repeatability of performance
testing.
A large set of data generates a more reliable, reproducible test than a small set of
data. Startup and shutdown overhead within the Backup Exec operation may skew
a performance test that uses a small data set. These variables are difficult to keep
consistent between test runs and are therefore likely to produce inconsistent test
results. A large set of data minimizes the effect of startup and shutdown times.
Design the data set to represent the makeup of the data in the intended production
environment. If the data set in the production environment contains many small
files, the data set for the tests should also contain many small files. A representative
data set can more accurately predict the Backup Exec performance that can be
expected in a production environment.
 Measuring performance 32
Evaluating performance through the job history

The type of data can help reveal bottlenecks in the system. Files that contain
non-compressible (random) data cause the tape drive to run at its lower rated speed.
As long as the other components of the data transfer path can keep up, you can
identify the tape drive as the bottleneck. On the other hand, files containing
highly-compressible data can be processed at higher rates by the tape drive when
hardware compression is enabled. The result may be a higher overall throughput
and may expose the network as the bottleneck.
Some values in Backup Exec provide data amounts in kilobytes and rates in kilobytes
per second. For greater accuracy, divide by 1024 rather than rounding off to 1000
when you convert from kilobytes to megabytes or kilobytes per second to megabytes
per second.
For best results with controlling data variables, consider the following tips:
If possible, move the data you use for testing to its own drive or logical partition
(not a mirrored drive).
Defragment the drive before you begin performance testing.
To test restores, start with an empty disk drive or a recently defragmented disk
drive with ample empty space.
When you test backups to tape, always start each test with an empty piece of
media.
When you test restores from tape, always restore from the same backup image
on the tape to achieve consistent results between tests.

Evaluating performance through the job history

You can obtain statistics for backup or restore operations from the Job Monitor.
Wait until all the individual backup operations are complete. The statistics that
display in the Job Monitor are for each of the individual backup operations. The
statistics do not reflect the total data throughput to the tape drive.
 Measuring performance 33
Evaluating Windows system components

To evaluate performance through the Job Monitor

1 Run the backup or restore job.
2 On the Job Monitor tab, right-click the job, and then click View Job Activity.
3 Obtain the Backup Exec performance statistics from the following fields in the
job history:

Start Time/End Time Displays the time window during which the
backup or restore job took place.

Elapsed Time Displays the total elapsed time from when

the job was initiated to job completion. It
can be used as an indication of total wall
clock time for the operation.

Job Rate Displays the amount of data that was

backed up per minute for the entire job.

Byte Count Displays the number of bytes that were

processed. Compare this value to the job
rate.

Deduplication Ratio Displays the ratio of the amount of data

before deduplication to the amount of data
after deduplication.

Evaluating Windows system components

In addition to your evaluation of Backup Execs performance, you should also verify
that common system resources are in adequate supply. You may want to use the
Windows Performance Monitor utility. For information about using the Performance
Monitor, refer to your Microsoft documentation.
The Performance Monitor organizes information by object, counter, and instance.
An object is a system resource category, such as a processor or physical disk.
Properties of an object are counters. Counters for the Processor object include
%Processor Time, which is the default counter, and Interrupts/sec. Duplicate
counters are handled by instances. For example, to monitor the %Processor Time
of a specific CPU on a multiple CPU system, the Processor object is selected.
Then the %Processor Time counter for that object is selected, followed by the
specific CPU instance for the counter.
 Measuring performance 34
Monitoring the Windows CPU load

In the Performance Monitor, you can view data in real-time format or collect the
data in a log for future analysis. Specific components to evaluate include CPU load,
memory use, and disk load.
You should use a remote host for monitoring of the test host to reduce the load that
might otherwise skew results.

Monitoring the Windows CPU load

To determine if the system has enough power to accomplish the requested tasks,
monitor the % Processor Time counter for the Processor object to determine how
hard the CPU works. Also monitor the Process Queue Length counter for the
System object to determine how many processes actively wait for the processor.
For % Processor Time, values of 0 to 80 percent are generally safe. The system
is heavily loaded if the values are from 80 percent to 90 percent. Consistent values
over 90 percent indicate that the CPU is a bottleneck.
Spikes close to 100 percent are normal and do not necessarily indicate a bottleneck.
However, if sustained loads close to 100 percent are observed, consider tuning the
system to decrease process load, or upgrade to a faster processor.
Sustained Processor Queue Lengths greater than 2 indicate that too many threads
wait to be executed. To correctly monitor the Processor Queue Length counter,
the Performance Monitor must track a thread-related counter. If you consistently
see a queue length of 0, verify that a non-zero value can be displayed.
The default scale for the Processor Queue Length may not be equal to 1. Be sure
to read the data correctly. For example, if the default scale is 10x, then a reading
of 40 means that only four processes must wait.

Monitoring memory use

Memory is a critical resource for increasing the performance of backup operations.
When you examine memory usage, view information on the following items:
Committed Bytes
Committed Bytes displays the size of virtual memory that has been committed,
as opposed to reserved. Committed memory must have disk storage available
or must not require the disk storage because the main memory is large enough.
If the number of Committed Bytes approaches or exceeds the amount of physical
memory, you may encounter issues with page swapping.
Page Faults/sec
 Measuring performance 35
Monitoring disk load

Page Faults/secs is a count of the page faults in the processor. A page fault
occurs when a process refers to a virtual memory page that is not in its working
set in main memory. A high Page Fault rate may indicate insufficient memory.

Monitoring disk load

To use counters to monitor the disk performance in Performance Monitor, you may
need to enable the counters on Windows 2000 computers.
To get more information about disk performance counters
Enter the following:
diskperf -?

To start all disk performance counters and allow disk monitoring

1 Enter the following:
diskperf -y

2 Restart the computer.

To disable the counters and cancel disk monitoring
1 Enter the following:
diskperf -n

2 Restart the computer.

To monitor disk performance
1 Use the %Disk Time counter for the PhysicalDisk object.
Track the percentage of elapsed time that the selected disk drive services read
or write requests.
2 Monitor the Avg. Disk Queue Length counter and watch for values greater than
1 that last for more than one second.
Values greater than 1 for more than a second indicate that multiple processes
are waiting for the disk to service their requests.
 Chapter 3
Tuning the Backup Exec
server
This chapter includes the following topics:

Tips for backing up many small files

Use disk storage

Use the Deduplication Option

Tips for including and excluding selections

Limit the backup frequency

Run verify operations outside of the backup window

Keep Backup Exec servers upgraded

Increase disk performance

Tips for backing up many small files

Backup Exec may take longer to back up many small files than a single large file.
The following tips may improve performance when backing up many small files:
On Windows, make sure that virus scans are turned off (turning off scans may
double performance).
Turn off or reduce logging.
The Backup Exec logging utilities have the potential to affect the performance
of backup and recovery processing. Logging is usually enabled temporarily, to
troubleshoot a Backup Exec problem. The amount of logging and its verbosity
level can affect performance.
 Tuning the Backup Exec server 37
Use disk storage

Consider upgrading NIC drivers as new releases appear.

When initially configuring the Windows server, optimize TCP/IP throughput as
opposed to shared file access.
Always boost background performance on Windows versus foreground
performance.
Regularly review the patch announcements for every server operating system.
Install the patches that affect TCP/IP functions, such as the correction of
out-of-sequence delivery of packets.

Use disk storage

You do not need to manage media when you keep backup data on disk storage.
Backup Exec uses data lifecycle management (DLM) to automatically delete expired
backup sets on disk storage, disk cartridge media, deduplication storage, storage
arrays, and virtual disks. You specify how long to keep backup data when you create
a backup job that is sent to a disk-based storage device. When the amount of time
to keep the backup data expires, the data lifecycle management feature deletes
the backup sets and reclaims the disk space unless there are dependent backup
sets such as incrementals.
You can send backups to disk storage devices, and then duplicate the data to tape.
This process leverages the advantages of disk-based backups in the near term,
and preserves the advantages of tape-based backups for long term. Symantec
recommends that if you need to keep data longer than four weeks, you should
create a backup definition that includes a stage to duplicate to tape. The backup
data is copied from the disk storage device to tape, which you can then send for
long-term or off-site storage.
Experiment with the options for disk storage on the Backup Exec server. Enabling
these options may increase backup performance.

Use the Deduplication Option

Instead of always running full backups, sending differential and/or incremental
backups to a deduplication storage folder can improve performance. For full backups,
Backup Exec compares each block with the deduplication database to determine
if the data needs to be backed up. With a differential backup for example, Backup
Exec can usually determine more quickly if a file needs to be backed up by checking
the timestamp or the archive bit.
 Tuning the Backup Exec server 38
Tips for including and excluding selections

Tips for including and excluding selections

Consider the following when you create backups
Do not use excessive wild cards in file lists.
When wildcards are used, Backup Exec compares every file name against the
wild cards, which decreases Backup Exec performance. Instead of placing
C:\Temp\* in an include or exclude list, use /tmp/ or C:\Temp.

Use exclude lists to exclude large, useless files.

Reduce the size of your backups by using exclude lists for the files that you do
not need to preserve. For instance, you may decide to exclude temporary files.
Use absolute paths for your exclude list entries, so that valuable files are not
inadvertently excluded. Before adding files to the exclude list, confirm with the
affected users that their files can be safely excluded. In a disaster, not being
able to recover files costs much more than backing up extra data.

Limit the backup frequency

Minimize how often you back up the files that have not changed, and minimize your
consumption of bandwidth, media, disk space, and other resources. To do so, limit
full backups to monthly or quarterly, followed by weekly incremental backups and
daily incremental backups.

Run verify operations outside of the backup window

The verify operation ensures the integrity of the backup data after the backup is
completed. You can schedule the verify operation to run at any convenient time
outside of the backup window.
Running the verify operation outside of your backup window is helpful if your network
resources are scarce. If you have difficulty completing backups within the allotted
time window, you can schedule the verify operation to run at a more convenient
time.
If you use the Backup Exec Deduplication Option, and you run client-side
deduplication, ensure that you do not select the option to verify the data on the
client. By default, the verify is run on the Backup Exec server. Verifying data on the
client can be time consuming depending on the amount of data that you are verifying
and on your network configuration.
 Tuning the Backup Exec server 39
Keep Backup Exec servers upgraded

Keep Backup Exec servers upgraded

To ensure the best possible performance, you should upgrade the Backup Exec
server to the latest Backup Exec release. Symantec LiveUpdate, which provides
updates, upgrades, and new versions of Backup Exec is installed automatically
with Backup Exec. For more information about LiveUpdate, see the Symantec
Backup Exec 15 Administrator's Guide.

Increase disk performance

You can use the following techniques to increase disk performance:
Check the fragmentation level of the data.
A highly fragmented disk limits throughput levels. Use a disk maintenance utility
to defragment the disk.
Consider adding additional disks to the system to increase performance.
If multiple processes attempt to log data simultaneously, divide the data among
multiple physical disks.
Determine if the data transfer involves a compressed disk.
Windows drive compression adds overhead to disk read or write operations,
with adverse effects on Backup Exec performance. Use Windows compression
only if it is needed to avoid a disk full condition.
Consider converting to a system with a redundant array of independent disks
(RAID).
Though more expensive, RAID devices offer greater throughput and (depending
on the RAID level) improved reliability.
Determine what type of controller technology drives the disk.
A different system might yield better results.
Disable antivirus scans for deduplication volumes.
 Chapter 4
Tuning the Backup Exec
data transfer path
This chapter includes the following topics:

About tuning the data transfer path

Tuning suggestions for the data path

Agent for Windows performance

Network performance

Backup Exec server performance

About the Windows data buffer size

Tape drive performance

About tuning the data transfer path

What limits the overall performance of Backup Exec is the slowest component in
the backup environment. For example, a fast tape drive that is combined with an
overloaded server yields poor performance. A fast tape drive on a slow network
also yields poor performance.
The backup system is referred to as the data transfer path. The path usually starts
at the data on the disk and ends with a backup copy on tape or disk.
The standard Backup Exec data transfer path consists of four components:
The remote computer
The network
The Backup Exec server
 Tuning the Backup Exec data transfer path 41
Tuning suggestions for the data path

The storage device

Ensure that your system meets Backup Execs recommended minimum
requirements. Refer to the Symantec Backup Exec Administrator's Guide for
information about these requirements. Additionally, Symantec recommends that
you have the most recent Backup Exec software patches installed.
Many performance issues can be traced to hardware or other environmental issues.
You must understand the entire data transfer path to determine the maximum
obtainable performance in your environment. Poor performance is often the result
of poor planning, which results from unrealistic expectations of components of the
transfer path
The requirements for database backups may not be the same as for file system
backups. This information applies to file system backups unless otherwise noted.
If you want help fine-tuning a specific Backup Exec installation, please contact
Symantec Consulting Services.

Tuning suggestions for the data path

In every backup environment, there is always room for improvement. To obtain the
best performance from a backup infrastructure is not complex, but it requires careful
review of the many factors that can affect processing. The first step is to gain an
accurate assessment of each hardware, software, and networking component in
the backup data path. Many performance problems are resolved before you change
Backup Exec parameters. It is essential to thoroughly test both backup and restore
processes after you make any changes to the Backup Exec configuration
parameters.
Consider the following tips to improve backup environment performance and to
avoid bottlenecks:
Stripe a disk volume across drives.
A striped set of disks can pull data from all drives concurrently, to allow faster
data transfers between disk drives and tape drives.
Maximize the use of your backup windows.
You can configure all your incremental backups to happen at the same time
every day. You can also stagger the execution of your full backups across
multiple days. Large systems can be backed up over the weekend while smaller
systems are spread over the week. You can start full backups earlier than the
incremental backups. They might finish before the incremental backups and
return all or most of your backup window to finish the incremental backups.
Use local backup networks to decrease backup times and network traffic.
 Tuning the Backup Exec data transfer path 42
Agent for Windows performance

Specify a local backup network for operations between the Backup Exec server
and the remote computer to reduce backup time and reduce or eliminate network
traffic on your enterprise networks. In addition, you can convert to faster
technologies and back up your systems at any time without affecting the
enterprise networks performance. This approach assumes that end users do
not mind the system loads while backups take place.
Avoid a concentration of servers on one network.
If many large data servers back up over the same network, install Backup Exec
on some of them or attach them to private backup networks. Either approach
decreases backup times and reduces network traffic for your other backups.
Use dedicated backup servers to perform your backups.
For a Backup Exec server, use a dedicated server for backups only. Using a
server that also runs several applications unrelated to backups can severely
affect the performance window and maintenance window.
Consider the requirements of backing up your catalog.
Remember that the Backup Exec catalog needs to be backed up. To facilitate
Backup Exec catalog recovery, the Backup Exec server should have access to
a dedicated disk storage device, or to a dedicated tape drive, either stand-alone
or within a robotic library.
Try to level the backup load.
You can use multiple drives to reduce backup times. To spread the load across
multiple drives, you may need to reconfigure the streams.

Agent for Windows performance

To improve the overall performance of Backup Exec, consider the components and
factors in the table below.

Table 4-1 Agent for Windows performance

Item Description

Disk fragmentation Fragmentation severely affects the data

transfer rate from the disk. Repair
fragmentation by using disk management
utility software.

Number of disks Add disks to the system to increase

performance. If multiple processes attempt
to log data simultaneously, divide the data
among multiple physical disks.
 Tuning the Backup Exec data transfer path 43
Network performance

Table 4-1 Agent for Windows performance (continued)

Item Description

Disk arrays Convert to a system that is based on a

Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks
(RAID). RAID devices generally offer greater
throughput and (depending on the RAID level)
improved reliability.

Controller technology Consider if a different type of controller

technology that is used to drive the disk can
yield better results.

Backup Exec software location If the data that is backed up is on the same
physical disk as the Backup Exec installation,
performance may be adversely affected,
especially if Backup Exec debug log files are
generated. If debug logs are used, the extent
of the degradation is greatly influenced by the
verbose setting for the logs. If possible, install
Backup Exec on a separate physical disk to
avoid disk drive contention.

Hardware or software snapshots If snapshots are taken before the backup of

data, the time that is needed to take the
snapshot can affect the performance.

Network performance
To improve the overall performance of Backup Exec, consider the network
components and factors in the table below.
 Tuning the Backup Exec data transfer path 44
Network performance

Table 4-2 Network performance

Item Description

Network interface settings Use the following settings for the network
interface:

Set the network interface cards (NICs) to

full-duplex.
Set both ends of each network cable (the
NIC card and the switch) identically for
speed and mode. Set both the NIC and
the switch to full duplex, or errors may
occur.
If auto-negotiate is used, set both ends of
the connection to the same mode and
speed. The higher the speed, the better.
Set all routers to full duplex.

Note: Using AUTOSENSE may cause

network problems and performance issues.

Consult the operating system documentation

for instructions on how to determine and
change the NIC settings.

For more information about troubleshooting

advanced network performance features, see
the following URL from Microsoft:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2643970

Network load To evaluate remote backup performance,

consider the following:

The amount of network traffic.

The amount of time that network traffic is
high.
Small bursts of high network traffic for
short durations can decrease data
throughput rate. However, if the network
traffic remains high, the network is
probably the bottleneck. Try to schedule
backups when network traffic is low. If
your network is loaded, you may want to
implement a secondary network that is
dedicated to back up and restore traffic.
 Tuning the Backup Exec data transfer path 45
Backup Exec server performance

Table 4-2 Network performance (continued)

Item Description

Using multiple network interfaces If you have the Central Admin Server Option
installed, you can distribute jobs over several
network interfaces to improve performance.
Managed Backup Exec servers can use
alternate network interfaces to run backup
jobs.

Deduplication decryption If you are taking advantage of deduplication,

consider the following:

If you have excess network bandwidth and

server-side CPU power, set the
RESTORE_DECRYPT_LOCAL setting in
the pd.conf file to 0, which will perform
decryption and decompression on the
media server.
If you have limited bandwidth on the
network or a low processing power on the
server CPU, set the
RESTORE_DECRYPT_LOCAL setting in
the pd.conf file to 1, which will perform
decryption and decompression on the
local client.

Backup Exec server performance

To improve the overall performance of Backup Exec, consider the components and
factors in the table below.
 Tuning the Backup Exec data transfer path 46
Backup Exec server performance

Table 4-3 Backup Exec server performance

Item Description

Hardware The following hardware conditions may cause slow

throughput performance:

The speed of the disk controller.

Errors that are caused by the disk drive, the tape
drive, the disk controller, or the SCSI bus.
Improper cabling and termination.

Confirm that the controller is rated for the tape

hardware and that the HBA settings are set properly.
Refer to the hardware manufacturer's documentation
for details.

Ensure that tape drives are not connected to a SCSI

Raid Controller.

System The capacity and speed of the Backup Exec server

performing the backup, or the remote computer being
backed up significantly affects performance. System
activity during backup also affects performance.

Fragmented disks take a longer time to back up.

Heavily fragmented hard disks affect the rate at which
data is written to tape and also affect the overall
system performance. Fragmented files take longer
to back up because each segment of data is located
at a different location on the disk. As a result, the
disk takes longer to access the data. Make sure that
you defragment disks on a regular basis.

Memory The amount of available memory affects backup

speed. Insufficient memory, improper page file
settings, and a lack of free hard disk space can cause
excessive paging and slow performance.
 Tuning the Backup Exec data transfer path 47
Backup Exec server performance

Table 4-3 Backup Exec server performance (continued)

Item Description

Compression Successful compression can increase the tape drive's

data transfer rate up to twice the native rate.
Compression can be highly variable depending on
your input data. Compression algorithms look for the
repeatable data patterns that can be compacted.

Higher and lower compression occur depending on

the type of files being backed up. Image and picture
files are fully compressed on disks. Therefore, no
hardware compression takes place during the
backup, allowing the tape drive to operate at its
native (non-compression) rate of speed. Image files
from a graphical program like Microsoft Paint may
compress at 4.5:1 or more, while binary files may
compress at 1.5:1. Data that has already been
compressed or data such as encrypted data or
MPEG files may expand by about five percent if you
attempt further compression. This expansion can
reduce drive throughput.

Files The total number of files on a disk and the relative

size of each file affects backup performance. Fastest
backups occur when the disk contains fewer
large-size files. Slowest backups occur when the
disk contains thousands of small files. A large
number of files that are located in the same directory
path back up more efficiently than backing them up
from multiple directory locations.

See Tips for backing up many small files

on page 36.
 Tuning the Backup Exec data transfer path 48
Backup Exec server performance

Table 4-3 Backup Exec server performance (continued)

Item Description

Block Size Larger block sizes improve the compression ratio,

which helps the drive to achieve better throughput
and more tape capacity. Make sure that the block
size and the buffer size are set properly. The
throughput increases in proportion to the
compression achieved, until the drive's maximum
throughput is reached.

Some devices such as LTO devices can provide

better performance when larger block sizes are used.
If you use a device that supports larger block sizes,
you can change the devices block size in the
device's properties dialog box.

You can use the Backup Exec Discover tool to

determine the maximum allowable block size for a
tape drive.

For more information about using the Discover tool,

see the following URL:

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH69559

You should also see the device manufacturers

documentation for help to configure the device.

Network The speed of the physical connection limits the

backup speed for a remote disk.
The rate at which a remote computer's hard disks
can be backed up depends on the following:

The make and model of network cards.

The network card driver.
The mode or the frame type configuration for the
adapter.
The connectivity equipment (hubs, switches,
routers, and so on).
The settings for Microsoft Windows.

Local disk drives on the Backup Exec server can

usually be backed up at a higher rate of speed than
backing up remote computers across a network.
Software compression can increase performance by
reducing the amount of data that is transmitted
across the network for a remote computer backup.

See Network performance on page 43.

 Tuning the Backup Exec data transfer path 49
About the Windows data buffer size

About the Windows data buffer size

The size limit for data buffers on Windows is 1024 KB. This size is calculated as a
multiple of operating system pages (one page = 4 KB). Therefore, the maximum is
256 OS pages, from 0 to 255 (the hex value 0xFF). A larger setting defaults to 64
KB, which is the default size for the scatter/gather list. Normally, no additional
changes are necessary: This setting typically results in the best overall performance.

Tape drive performance

To improve the overall performance of tape drives with Backup Exec, consider the
components and factors in the table below.

Table 4-4 Tape drive performance

Item Description

Tape drive capacity Tape drive wear is much less, and efficiency
is greater, if the data stream matches the tape
drive capacity and is sustained. Match the
number of drives and the throughput per drive
to the speed of the SCSI/FC/SAS connection,
and follow the hardware vendors
recommendations.

Media positioning When a backup or restore is performed, the

storage device must position the tape so that
the data is over the read and write head. The
positioning can take a significant amount of
time. When you conduct performance
analysis with media that contains multiple
images, allow for the time lag that occurs
before the data transfer starts.

Tape streaming If a tape device is used at its most efficient

speed, it is "streaming" the data onto the tape.
If a tape device is streaming, the media rarely
has to stop and restart. Instead, the media
constantly spins within the tape drive. If the
tape device is not used at its most efficient
speed, it may continually start and stop the
media from spinning. This behavior is the
opposite of tape streaming and usually results
in a poor data throughput.
 Tuning the Backup Exec data transfer path 50
Tape drive performance

Table 4-4 Tape drive performance (continued)

Item Description

Data compression Most tape devices support some form of data

compression within the tape device itself.
Compressible data (such as text files) yields
a higher data throughput rate than
non-compressible data, if the tape device
supports hardware data compression.
Tape devices typically come with two
performance rates:

Maximum throughput
Maximum throughput is based on how fast
compressible data can be written to the
tape drive when hardware compression
is enabled in the drive.
Nominal throughput
Nominal throughput refers to rates
achievable with non-compressible data.

Backup Exec cannot set the tape drive data

compression ratio. Backup Exec can only
enable and disable the compression
functionality. Follow the instructions that are
provided with your operating system and tape
drive. In general, tape drive data compression
is preferable to software compression.
Software compression may be desirable for
reducing the amount of data that is
transmitted across the network for a remote
computer backup.
Note: Hardware compression should not be
used in tandem with software encryption
because compression does not work
effectively on data that is randomized.
 Appendix A
Additional Resources
This appendix includes the following topics:

Additional Resources

Additional Resources
More information about Backup Exec tuning and performance is available from the
following sources:
Checking system performance by using Service Performance Monitor:
http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH124254
Using Rsync to test disk I/O performance issues when using the Remote Agent
for Macintosh Servers:
http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH87857
Performance considerations for deduplication:
http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO74446
Correcting slow backup performance and agent initialization problems on
fragmented Windows Server hard disk partitions:
http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH11562
Deduplication Option performance tuning:
http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH216320
Calculator to determine the maximum number of storage devices allowable in
your Backup Exec environment:
http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH205843