Windows Server 2012 Deduplication and Backup Exec
Created: 16 Sep 2012 | 6 comments
We have upgraded our file server to Windows Server 2012 and enabled the integrated Deduplication feature, which reduced disk consumption by 50 %. Now, with Backup Exec 2012 R2 (that has Windows Server 2012 support), will there also be less data to backup? Or does Backup Exec always backup all files (and backup files that actually share the same disk space multiple times)?
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... clearly refers to "Backup Exec 2012 R2 (that has Windows Server 2012 support)". Of course this is still in Beta, but at least Symantec should already know how it handles this feature.
Hello Stephan,
The Beta program is starting soon and will allow you to test new features and customer-recommended improvements in Backup Exec.
Please check the following link:
https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/blogs/new-beta-program-backup-exec-2012-r2
Thanks,
-Sush...
Hope this piece of Information Helps you... and if it does then mark this response as Solution....!!!
If you read on technet or various blogs on how the new Win2012 dedupe feature works, you'll understand that when data is stored, it's optimized. When data is access/read/etc; it's reconstituted to it's original size in real-time.
Thus a user accesses a file, it's inflated to original size. If it's backed up with a backup application, it'll be inflated to it's original size.
There is an online portal, save yourself the long hold times. Create ticket online, then call in with ticket # in hand :-) http://mysupport.symantec.com "We backup data to restore, we don't backup data just to back it up."
you'll understand that when data is stored, it's optimized. When data is access/read/etc; it's reconstituted to it's original size in real-time.
Yes. But the Backup Exec agent does not READ the data. It does BACKUP the data using a volume snapshot. And snapshots are optimized by default. So, Backup Exec 2010 R3 (which is not aware of deduplication) creates an optimized snapshot. It is possible that restoring the whole volume would work, but restoring single files definitely does not. Restoring a single file in BE 2010 RE creates the reparse point but does not create or restore the actual chunks that it refers to.
I wonder how Backup Exec 2012 R2 will handle this. I hope that it will perform an optimized snapshot and then be able to restore it correctly (that is, restore the reparse points and their chunks).
Snapshots and VSS integrate with various API's for backup. The data will be backed up in it's original format and not optimized. Again, this is covered in technet and MS's various blogs.
There is an online portal, save yourself the long hold times. Create ticket online, then call in with ticket # in hand :-) http://mysupport.symantec.com "We backup data to restore, we don't backup data just to back it up."
Are you sure? I read in MS blogs that optimized and non-optimized backups can be done.
Right now, with BE 2010 R3, it does an optimized backup. My 2012 server has 3 TB of data, which is deduplicated to 1.3 TB. If I do a backup with BE 2012 R3, the backup is 1.3 TB.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/hh769304(v=vs.85).aspx
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