IBM Tivoli Storage Manager for Mail, Data Protection for IBM Domino, Version 7.1

NSF backup strategy

Implement NSF backup strategies that are based on your requirements such as network traffic, backup window, and acceptable restore times. Information about backup strategies, and sample strategies are provided.

Your choice of NSF backup strategy includes selecting the type of backup commands to use and the type of transaction logging to be done on the Domino® server. Data Protection for IBM® Domino can back up transaction logs from a Domino server that has archival logging enabled. Transaction logs cannot be backed up from a Domino server that has circular or linear loop logging in effect.

Archival logging allows transaction log data to be archived on the Tivoli® Storage Manager server so that changes to logged databases can be stored on the Tivoli Storage Manager server without having to run a full backup. Less frequent full database backups result because changes to logged databases are available for restore in the archived transaction log files.

The archivelog command backs up Domino transaction log files when archival logging is in effect on the Domino server. The command queries the Domino server to determine whether any log extents are ready for archiving. If so, the log files are backed up to Tivoli Storage Manager server storage, and the Domino server is notified of their availability for reuse.

High and low threshold values can be specified as a percentage of the log capacity to control whether log files can be archived. These values allow the command to be scheduled regularly to protect against a log full condition. The log files are archived only if the log is getting close to being full.

Consider the following information when you are choosing a backup strategy:

Sample strategies

Some strategies that you can employ are described here.
Full backups only
The following backup option can be implemented if your network capacity and backup window support regular full database backups:
  • Perform regular Selective backups.
  • Perform occasional Incremental backups to deactivate backup copies of databases that no longer exist on the Domino server.
Each backup takes longer to run, but the restore process is most efficient because only the most recent full backup is restored.
Note: You can apply updates to the restored database from the transaction log if the log is not wrapped since the backup was run. If the log is wrapped, the attempt to apply logs fails.
Full backup plus transaction log archives
It is often not practical to back up entire databases with each regular backup for large Domino installations. Archival logging captures changes to all logged databases in the archived transaction log files. Full database backups are run less frequently, reducing burdens on network and storage resources. To implement this strategy:
  • Run regular log archives by running the archivelog command. The log file does not fill and it captures changes to logged databases.
  • Run regular Incremental backups, which back up logged databases with unchanged DBIIDs.
  • Run occasional Selective backups of all logged databases. The number of transaction log files to be processed during a restore is reduced.
  • Issue the inarchivelog command (following Selective backups) to allow nonessential transaction log files to expire.
The archivelog command captures changes to all logged databases in between full backups of selected databases. To restore a database to its most recent state, restore the most recent database backup and specify /applylogs. All the necessary archived transaction log files are restored so that updates for the database can be applied.


Feedback