Netting Out NetBackup

The SAN client was introduced in NetBackup 6.5 to allow large amounts of data to backed up rapidly over SAN connections rather than using LANs. The SAN client has distinct advantages over both the LAN client and the SAN media server . The SAN client is much easier to administer and operate the a SAN media server as no devices are presented directly to the server being backed up. It also offers significantly faster transfer rates that Gbit LAN connections allow (testing with 4 Gbit HBAs has shown transfer speeds of the order of 500 Mbytes/sec). In the initial 6.5 GA release the SAN client was limited to 2 Gbit fibre connections and could only back up to disk on the media server.

Both of these restrictions were removed in NetBackup 6.5.2 when backup direct to tape and support for 4Gbit HBAs was introduced. The platform coverage for FT Media Servers to support the SAN client was also extended. The SAN client can be used with most standard NetBackup clients and...