Simplified License Entry with Predefined Product Group
Automatic Barcode Inventory
PresSTORE Server for Windows
Jukebox-Manager for Backup-to-Disk
ACL Support
Delete when Archiving Can Maintain the Directory Structure
Print and Export of Resources
Index Referenced Backup
The Challenge In general, an incremental backup is implemented by the software by scanning a the file system to determine which files have changed since the last full or an incremental backup was completed, and then adding these files to the existing backup and index.
Most backup systems utilise this model, although it is no longer appropriate for contemporary systems. For example, where a file location has simply changed in the file system, the backup will not be detected nor marked as a change. Consequently, these files will also be restored in their previous location. Furthermore, files that were deleted between increments, will also be restored, since the index is always appended to, but never pruned.
The Solution PresSTORE 2.0 opens new dimensions for data security and data availability by implementing Index Referenced Backup. Each incremental backup utilises the index as the reference for all changes that were made in the file system, to determine which files need to be saved, which were moved and which were deleted. The restore will recover the files at their correct positions and will not trash the files system with files that were deleted between increments, provided that the footprint/snapshot after their deletion was chosen to be restored.
Employing the method of Index Referenced Backup, PresSTORE 2.0 offers a true adaptive backup, which learns about and adapts to all the changes in the file system and can recover in a single step the real structure of the data for any point in time.
Application Examples The new Index Referenced Backup holds the entire footprint of the file system and all the changes through time in the index, and is the basis for many possible applications.
With its Smart Backup, PresSTORE 2.0 offers a unique and unsurpassed ability to differentially back up portables computers, such as lap tops, against the index, even when they are only connected to the company's network for short periods at a time. The moment the laptop registers to the network, the backup can commence. The first time around, the result will be a full backup, since the index is still empty and must be created. Since PresSTORE 2.0 will check the file system against the index every time, the user does not have to wait until the backup has completed, but can disconnect from the network at any time. Any other backup software would regard such a backup as interrupted and faulty and would recreate the next backup from scratch. Laptops, which are frequently only sporadically connected to the network, can thus never be fully backed up. With PresSTORE 2.0 this is not the case.
PresSTORE 2.0 will utilise the index it built to the time it was disconnected from the network and reformat the backup taking in to account any changes that took place in the file system. Those files and parts of the file system that could not be backed up in the previous runs, will be identified in consequent runs. Hence, PresSTORE 2.0 offers an interruptible backup. No backup of this type is regarded as broken and no longer has to be recreated.
This opens a whole new world of unique backup possibilities. For example, if a backup cannot be completed overnight due to large data volumes that would interfere with the daily production, it can be stopped/interrupted and started again on the following evening. For the first time, users can deliberately interrupt a backup session without affecting the final result.
Furthermore, snapshot restores, can now be completed to recover a file systems exact structure at any particular point in time, whilst considering how the data may of migrated or been deleted from the file system.
Handling From a technical point of view, full backups, which used to be periodically administered in the past, have now become obsolete. After an initial full backup, increments alone suffice to maintain the state of the file system. Nevertheless, it is recommended that from time to time to a classic or a synthetic full backup is performed. This creates a new, compact and efficient index without which later restores, due to the index's size, could only sub-optimally be completed.
Synthetic Full Backup In addition to these advantages, PresSTORE's Index Referenced Backup enables an efficient, time and resource saving full backup solution: the Synthetic Backup.
PresSTORE 2.0 opens new dimensions for data security and data availability by implementing Synthetic Full Backup. This unique feature enables a full backup to be created from any point in time employing previous backups, regardless of which media they may be, simply by referencing the index.
Synthetic Full Backup does not require data from the servers and workstations. It employs the data already backed up from the existing backup media. Utilising this data and the corresponding index, on a new set of media, PresSTORE creates a new full backup without penalizing the system's resources, imposing load on the network or impacting the day-to-day business on the machines. In this process, PresSTORE's superior Media Management autonomously identifies and manages both the media to read from, as well as the new media to be written to, provided these are available within a library/media-changing device.
With PresSTORE 2.0, even companies where the sheer volume of data would require up to several days to complete a full backup, have a viable and efficient solution to periodically perform a full backup without impacting the performance of their systems, networks or affecting any of the other resources, such as the servers and workstations to be backed up. Especially in time critical phases of a production process, data availability and security can still be maintained without impacting the company's business.
New Block Cloning Paradigm Before PresSTORE 2.0, plan cloning was implemented to create an extra copy of the data on two independent sets of media. The advantage of this method is that duplicates can be created even if only one drive is available. Furthermore, the types and capacities of the two media sets can also vary. The disadvantages however lay beforehand. Since two independent jobs are spawned to handle each of the media sets, the two resulting backups can never be identically the same.
In a case where one of the storage media in one of the sets falls out and its data cannot be recovered, the costs involved in recovering the data completely and recreating the broken media overweigh the advantages. This method of cloning cannot guarantee that the data will be found at the same place on the other set of media. In a worst-case scenario, it may happen that the broken medium cannot be fully recovered and recreated.
For this reason, PresSTORE 2.0 introduces block cloning as a further option. Block cloning guarantees absolutely identical copies, where the files on both of the media are located at the same absolute block positions. When the media of one set is broken, data can be easily recovered from it's true clone and the broken media can be fully recreated.
Block Cloning, therefore, creates identical copies of the backup. To do so, the backup job has to run in parallel on one or several pairs of media drives/devices, preferably on the same type of media.
Since PresSTORE 2.0 allows both cloning methods, it can be individually decided which of the methods best fits the company's needs and safety requirements, considering also the size of the installation and optimising the costs.
Safari Support With the addition of Safari to the already supported Mozilla family and MS Internet Explorer, PresSTORE 2.0 further extends its support of Apples Mac OS X platform in its native mode.
New Layout of the GUI Front-End The startup pages of PresSTORE's GUI have been completely revamped to offer a new, more appealing and user-friendly layout. The toolbar at the left hand side of each window now enables quick access to the entire PresSTORE feature set and can be customised by the individual user to his/her particular workflow needs.
PresSTORE's entry page/splash-screen can be customised to meet a company's corporate identity by adding the company's logo at a particular place in the file system.
The redesigned toolbar can be minimised to show only icons or it can be set up to display icons and text, thereby offering shorter user instructions. The toolbar gives the user shortcuts to all the functions of the application. The user does not tediously have to navigate through the login area into the particular place of the application. Furthermore, the toolbar, through the arrangement of its icons, also directs the novice user to the sequence of steps that need to be taken for a particular operation. It makes PresSTORE more intuitive to use and reduces training time and thus necessity for formal training.
ARCHIWARE’s consistent commitment to service is displayed also in the GUI startup pages. The new layout guides the novice user through the “First Steps“ and thereby maximizes the intuitive approach of his learning to use PresSTORE. With a hands-on approach, he is guided through routine tasks while learning to use the application, providing an integrated Demo Tour along with the administration.
Another of PresSTORE’s user-friendly features allows users to submit support requests or to obtain updates. By providing direct full access to the most current version and to support, guarantees shortest possible response times and allows the most current versions to be deployed ensuring additional security and reliability of the application.
Customized per User Login Area Another new, handy and easily configurable feature of PresSTORE 2.0 allows a user to be automatically directed to the appropriate part of the application after their login and the authorisation procedure. For users who, compared to administrators, employ PresSTORE less frequently, this eliminates the necessity to tediously navigate to the desired place in the application. Usually, such users always perform the same or similar tasks, such as file recovery from the archive. This additional functionality in PresSTORE 2.0 targets such infrequent users and to make their life and the administrator’s life easier and handling more comfortable.
Through the "Additional Options" in the user setup page, administrators can define for each user what the application should do following the user's logging in. By choosing "Default", PresSTORE will proceed to the Login Areas page, just as it did in the previous versions. With the second option, after logging in, the user is provided with a list of all available application areas that they can switch to, to undertake their task. The third option allows administrators the option to define the application area where the user will automatically be taken to after they have logged in. This option is useful in cases where the user commonly executes well-defined tasks. For example, a user who is allowed to only restore files from a specific place in the archive, PresSTORE can be configured to automatically present the given place within the archive index.
File Dialog In versions of PresSTORE prior to 2.0, the paths into the file system, where a restore should save the files for example, had to be entered manually. PresSTORE 2.0 allows the user to open a file dialog and simply and quickly pick the desired file or directory.
In the given example, the directory where the restore is performed can be chosen or a new directory can be created.
The File Dialog in PresSTORE 2.0 is context sensitive. Within the dialog, only those functions that are meaningful for the specific task are offered. In the given example, all the online systems are where a directory can be chosen for a restore are offered. In case of an archive, the choice of the position in the archive index will be offer. The online systems will be omitted.
Context sensitive also means that the privileges of a particular user are taken into account. The user cannot choose to archive data from an online system to which he/she is not allowed access. PresSTORE 2.0 offers users a new and comfortable feature for choosing directories or creating them.
Context Menus PresSTORE 2.0 supports context sensitive menus, which can be accessed via the right mouse button. This simplifies handling since all relevant functions of the highlighted resource are available at a mouse click. Prior to PresSTORE 2.0, the user had to select the function from the menu bar. The following tasks demonstrate simplified handling:
Direct Archiving, Restoring and Downloading In previous versions, archiving, restoring and downloading were only possible by collecting the required data into baskets and invoking execution from within the corresponding basket. By introducing context sensitive menus, several steps to invoke the desired function have been reduced into a single click.
After highlighting one or more files to archive, the user can chose to directly archive the selected files from the context menu. He is offered a list of the configured Archiving Plans. The step to fill the archive basket is no longer necessary, but is still included in the application for cases where larger amounts of data have to be collected from different directories, before they are submitted for archiving.
In PresSTORE 2.0, the context menu also gives the user a direct and simplified means to download data, whereby the user can still use the download basket as usual.
Finally, restoring data both from the archive as well as the backup is available directly through the context menu, eliminating the step restore via the basket. This is another feature where PresSTORE reduces the downtime and simplifies restore handling.
User Settings are Maintained Between Sessions PresSTORE 2.0 notes the settings the user chooses during a session. This allows PresSTORE to maintain the settings of an individual users session and allow these to be presented when the user returns to PresSTORE. This refers both to opened and closed working areas and to the layout setup for the new toolbar.
Extended Functionality for Managing a Big Number of Resources
Resource Duplication, Simultaneous Amending of Multiple Resources and Deleting Multiple Resources PresSTORE 2.0 offers new and extended functionality, to simplify and accelerate the configuration of a large number of clients. Client configurations often differ only in a few details, e.g. the name and the IP address. For this reason, PresSTORE 2.0 can now duplicated resources already configured, amend multiple resources, and also their deletion.
A defined ‘client’ configuration can now be duplicated as often as required. This simplifies and improves the time taken to configure clients. Multiple clients can be selected for amending as well. After highlighting the desired client resources, a window pops up, in which all the parameters common to the selected clients are displayed and where the relevant setting can be modified.
Changed Backup-Plan to Client Relationship To enable the multiple client features previously described, the relationship between the Backup Plan and the Client resources was modified. This resulted in changes in the backup plan. The information relating to which backup plan handles which clients can now be entered when configuring a plan. A new, implicit Backup Task resource connects in PresSTORE 2.0 the other two relating resources.
Each client can relate with several backup plans, depending on the data and the directories to be backed up and on the filters to be applied in the process.
Users can determine the clients to be backed up by attaching one or more clients to the plan.
Through the Backup Task resource, users determine how the backup plan manages the process for a given client device by defining the parameters of that given client, for example, which directories to backup and the filters to apply.
Regenerate Volume and Volume Migration PresSTORE 2.0 comes with a new option that allows users to recreate a medium of a backup set or to migrate a volume.
A new application is to regenerate a volume of a backup set. In this case both the first (primary, first pool) and the second (cloned, second pool) set of media must be available. This option is intended to reconstruct a medium of a set where a complete restore of the data is no longer possible due to a defect on the medium. This option can be used for both block-cloned as well as plan-cloned media.
Additionally the user can migrate data. The question is often raised how to migrate data from older generation to newer generation media. Through the Volume Migration function, for example, PresSTORE 2.0 provides the user a tool to move the data from previously employed DAT tapes to the newest LTO generation. Thus, there is no longer an obstacle to purchase new hardware since the data can be seamlessly migrated.
Slot-Range, Slot-List Input Prior to PresSTORE 2.0, a user could only choose a single range of slots in the jukebox for a particular operation. PresSTORE 2.0 allows the user to enter a list of ranges and single slots on which the operation is to be applied, e.g. 2-8,10,12,15-18.
Simplified License Entry with Predefined Product Groups When entering a license, the user is offered a choice of all the possible combined licenses - reducing the license type entry to a single click.
This is in contrast to the previous PresSTORE versions, where the user had to enter each licensed resource type of a combined license separately.
Automatic Barcode Inventory Where an inexperienced user fills the role of the System Administrator, the following problem often arises. A user may replace a set of media on which a full backup has been completed in a jukebox, with an alternate set for the next backup. For PresSTORE's Media Management to function properly, the user had to invoke an inventory of the corresponding jukebox in order for PresSTORE to recognise the change. If the user forgets to complete the inventory, the next backup would break because PresSTORE would encounter unexpected media in the slots it assigns to the task. PresSTORE 2.0 automatically invokes a barcode inventory in case it determines that an unexpected medium was encountered and thus supports the interruptible backup concept. PresSTORE 2.0 recovers autonomously and automatically from possible user errors and omissions and is thus adaptive and fault tolerant.
PresSTORE Server for Windows Starting with PresSTORE 2.0, the Windows server (2k/XP) can be employed as a PresSTORE server. In the first step, disk-based Synchronise, Backup and Archive to a Windows PresSTORE Server will be possible. The full support of media changers and drive units will be offered in a subsequent version. Previously, PresSTORE supported Windows only in form of Client and Thin-Client license. PresSTORE 2.0 extends the palette of server products with the introduction of the Windows PresSTORE Server.
With the supported platforms Mac OS X, Sun Solaris, Linux (RedHat & SuSe and Windows, PresSTORE covers the majority of the contemporary systems on the market. To extend the palette of supported clients, HP Unix, HP AIX, IBM Power PC, IBM AIX will shortly follow.
Jukebox-Manager for Backup-to-Disk Beginning with PresSTORE 1.5, Backup-to-Disk was enabled by introducing a Virtual Disk Drive. This enabled file-based volumes to be created in the file system into which data from backup and archive operations was written. However, a fully managed automatic operation as in a tape changer was not possible. In PresSTORE 2.0, in addition to the virtual drive, a virtual jukebox is introduced. This opens the full functionality of jukebox-managed volumes. PresSTORE 2.0 can now handle the automatic management of disk-based volumes on a disk or a RAID system, just like a hardware jukebox does with tapes. Hence, recycling of disk-based volumes is now also possible. With the Virtual Jukebox technology, PresSTORE 2.0 enables the same functionality to the user as with tape-based library devices.
ACL Support Access Control Lists (ACL) are employed by the operating systems to fine control the access of users to data. ACLs are finer grained than the usual user/group/other paradigm and enable administrators to specify access, execution and deletion rights on a file for any particular user. Today, ACLs are natively supported by all the contemporary operating systems, e.g. Linux, Solaris, Windows and Mac OS X (Tiger and up). PresSTORE 2.0 supports ACLs in all its operations. ACLs are stored together with the payload data and are recovered and set when the data is restored. This guarantees that the same access rights for a given file are applicable when the file is restored.
Delete when Archiving Can Maintain the Directory Structure PresSTORE 2.0 introduces a further useful option for the archiving and the consequent removal of archived data from the file system. In addition to the current option to remove the files and the directory structure after the data had successfully been archived, in PresSTORE 2.0, users can choose to maintain the directory structure and only remove the files. In some companies, the directory structure is standardised, used as a template or to manage the workflow and must therefore not be removed together with the files. The new option of PresSTORE 2.0 allows the user to leave the directory structure intact.
Print and Export of Resources To improve documenting and management processes, PresSTORE 2.0 allows users to print out all the resources. These include clients, backup, archive and synchronisation plan resources. Additionally, the resources can be exported as XML files.
