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The latest release is a major release of FDR/UPSTREAM that launches several
very powerful features and enhancements to the UPSTREAM family of products.
- The S/390 Linux Rescuer
- Windows Server 2003
- Event Notification
- Director WEB Browser and other Director Enhancements
- Windows NET IIS metabase support
- UPSTREAM/SOS Local Transfer Volumes
- Single File System Support
- Multi Channel Netware
- Local client Database INCRDBS/390 LINUX RESCUER
 S/390
LINUX RESCUER
FDR/UPSTREAM is the industry’s first complete backup
and restore solution with Disaster Recovery for S/390 LINUX.
FDR/UPSTREAM 3.2.1 introduces the S/390
LINUX Rescuer, a Stand Alone System Recovery facility for SuSE S/390 LINUX
systems. The UPSTREAM Rescuer also supports Sun Solaris systems.
The Rescuer uses the single user or emergency boot facilities provided by the
UNIX or Linux vendor. Then, with the operating system loaded and running on
a RAM or other disk not being recovered, the disk to be recovered is created
and mounted and the restore done. An initial FDR/UPSTREAM panel is then brought
up , displaying file systems available for recovery, the administrator simply
and easily can start the restore of all of the files in the file system by
hitting the start button, restoring everything including the file system, device
drives, and applications.
FDR/UPSTREAM is able to achieve this as the 3.2.1 release has been enhanced
to now include in the file-level backup all file types in the system. This
involved adding FIFOs and device files to complement UPSTREAM's existing
support for all other UNIX file types (hard links, symbolic links). UPSTREAM
will also now incorporate in the backup with no special setup or consideration,
knowledge of file system demarcation points and some general information
about each of these file systems. It’s easy and simple to use since
all of this information is incorporated transparently in the backup and does
not negatively affect backup performance. A file specification /* is all
that is required to backup the entire system with the system fully online.
FDR/UPSTREAM will also take all the performance advantage of HiperSockets
The power of the UPSTREAM Rescuer is extended to also support Sun Solaris systems
with more system support planned.
 EVENT
NOTIFICATION
UPSTREAM expands its extensive support
for the Windows family of operating systems with it’s support of
Windows Server 2003 and the Active Directory, system state
and disaster recovery.
FDR/UPSTREAM now has yet another valuable tool to its data management capability,
the ability of sending Email and SNMP Trap notifications that can contain logs
or reports when backups or restores fail. To take advantage of this new feature,
a set of rules to govern the notification must be established that enable recipients
to receive the notifications and also to denote the type of specific events.
Notification is simple and the setup is easy.
1) First you define the notification type (Email or SNMP) and the administrator’s
destination in a notification target file.
2) Then the types of possible actions or specific events are specified, such
as backup or restore.
3) Lastly a rule needs to be created for when the notification is to be sent.
For example the success or failure of any UPSTREAM operation, in addition to
what type of informational attachments, UPSTREAM log, UPSTREAM report file,
or any user defined file, to be sent.
Once setup is completed the results will be immediate and automated. The information
is extremely helpful in helping to determine why something failed or be assured
that the action worked successfully. The system can send information about
a successful backup such as the backup report. Another helpful example would
be a report of what files were skipped in the backup so an administrator can
easily take actions to ensure the file will not be at that state at the next
backup.
RUNNING
THE DIRECTOR IN A WEB BROWSER
You can now run the UPSTREAM Director in a web browser (such a Microsoft's
Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator) when served from a file server, or
your existing web server. For security concerns, Innovation Data Processing
has supplied a certificate or "digital signature" to protect unauthorized
execution or mishandling of the code. This was procured by Verisign Corporation
and is embedded in the software. This feature has been successfully tested
and used on Microsoft's Windows NT 4.0, 2000 and XP using Microsoft's Internet
Explorer Version 6.x and Netscape Corp.'s Netscape Version 7.x., and will be
expanding and testing with more platforms and browsers.
The DIRECTOR has a number of new enhancements in addition to the WEB browser,
and they include:
Parameter (.DAT) File Management For Targets
Previously, the parameter files could only be saved on the local PC running
the Director, but not on the server that the Director is performing the operation
for. Now they can be saved on the target server for which they where they are
intended to be used. This new method is better logistically because the Parameter
File Dialog now actually summarizes, displays and loads parameter files by
the servers target location. By isolating them in this fashion, better management
of parameter files can be achieved by an administrator.
Both the Parameter List window and the Parameter Save dialog
now have the option of loading/saving at a target PC. Two radio
buttons are supplied to choose
between viewing/loading/saving from your local PC or at a selected target.
Also, in both, the default directory (usually the Upstream install directory
on the PC target server) is displayed; in the title bar across the top of the
Parameter List window and next to the label "Current working directory" in
the Save dialog. The current directory is still always changed for ALL dialogs
by using the "Set Directory..." button of the Parameter List window.
The UPSTREAM Director now supports manually
restarting pending backups or restores.
The Restart Last Backup and Restart Last Restore buttons
allow you to restart the most recent backup or restore without
having to highlight the entry
in the list.
Setting a Target with the Director
We have introduced a new and more convenient way with the Director
to select the target server to be set for any action such as
Backup or Restore. The "Set
Target..." button on each action panel has now been replaced with a drop
down list of targets to select right there in an action panel. You no longer
need to bring up the "Target System List" to choose and set the target
for your action - although this still remains a valid way to set the target.
Also, previously you were required to "activate" the target system
entry in the Target System List by getting it's status with the "Status" button
in order to set a target in the first place - this restriction has been removed.
You may now select and set a target regardless of it's status of "Up" or "Down".
The Director will do this automatically upon performing the intended action.
Target File Browsing
The Director now contains a "File Viewer" for a target server. This
is most often needed when setting up a backup action. The browser can show
drives, shares, directories and files for selection. There is a new "Browse" button
next to the file specification field of the backup action panel and another
one in the "Target System List" window to use.
For Novell target file systems, Target Service
Agents and Target Service Providers can also be displayed
in the "My Network" -> "Novell
Information" drill down. This can be helpful in setting up Novell
profiles in a SMS cluster server environment.
The frequently used and powerful feature of the run job action of UPSTREAM
is now supported from the Director. Run jobs are used extensively for many
of the maintenance functions and database operations by the UPSTREAM online
database agents. All of the features of the traditional client are available
from the Director Run Job tab
Windows NET IIS metabase support
Starting in version 3.2.0B UPSTREAM added support for Windows .NET IIS metabase
files to be backed up as part of the system state. You should upgrade to the
latest client release in order to support these files.
UPSTREAM/SOS local Transfer volumes
You can specify for the LOCALBACKUPDIR parameter a ‘*’ and have
UPSTREAM use the first local backup disk found, or a ‘!’ to have
UPSTREAM use the first empty disk. This method (the Hunter Option) is easy
to set up and is easy to use. For example you would use the ‘*’ in
cases where you don’t want to have to be aware of the local backup disk
name, for the simplest use of UPSTREAM/SOS. Use the ‘!’ in cases
where you are running multiple simultaneous backups or restores, are not preserving
backups on the disk and wish to have each backup or restore use a separate
local backup disk.
Single File System Support
You can now easily restore those files from a given file system by specifying
any path in the file system and the parameter SINGLEFS Y. The file spec will
be used as specified, but those files in subdirectories, lower in the path
from other file systems will be automatically excluded. To support this feature,
UPSTREAM now includes in the backup details stored on the mainframe, separate
file specs which indicate the highest level of each file system included in
the backup. So to use the SINGLEFS restore feature you must have performed
at least one backup using this new version.
Multi Channel Netware
The Novell NLM version of UPSTREAM now supports multiple simultaneous executing
instances of UPSTREAM. Workpath, restarts, multiple host and Director requests
and a number of other issues are automatically handled. This feature was previously
available with the Windows and UNIX versions and is now available in the NLM
version. To use it, you must have NetWare 5 or higher or NetWare 4.x with the
Winsock extensions and the LONG name space loaded.
Local Client Database INCRDB
UPSTREAM introduces an alternative method for determining and selecting files
to include for incremental backup. This method uses a client side database
that contains information on the files UPSTREAM has backed up and therefore
can be used to determine the files to be included in an incremental backup
or phase 1 of a merge backup. This was developed specifically and is most useful
for UNIX systems where there is no archive bit for incremental determination.
The UPSTREAM database contains the fully qualified file name
for each file, along with a file’s modification date, size and attributes. For UNIX
the file’s attributes contain the file’s permissions. Thus when
a file changes either in content or attributes it will be included in the next
UPSTREAM backup.
This facility is also available in PC operating systems. Since there is already
an archive bit and since there is some overhead we recommend the continued
use of the archive bit for most customers. However, for situations where you
are backing up data where the archive bit is not available for update (BCVs,
Volume Shadow Service, etc.), this method is highly recommended.
Training Class
The next training class held in Little Falls, NJ for FDR/UPSTREAM, FDRSOS & UPSTREAM/SOS
is scheduled for October 7-9, 2003. This will be a three-day course for both
new and established users of Innovation Data Processing's FDR/UPSTREAM, FDRSOS
and UPSTREAM/SOS.
Registration: You may register by phone by calling Innovation Data Processing
at 973-890-7300, fax to 973-890-7147 or email to sales@fdrinnovation.com.
UPSTREAM nibbles and tips
It is normally a good practice to separate your file system backups from your
database backups and make sure that they not be in the same job. While UPSTREAM
can still be and should be used to backup both of them it is not good to have
them executed in the same job. By using separate jobs in that way you are better
able to perform problem determination with greater accuracy, and you can explicitly
exclude the database files from your file system backup.
Merge Backup setting for High Capacity Tape Drives
To get the best efficiency of your high capacity tapes that you have made a
large investment in you should consider how UPSTREAM’s merge backup
uses these tapes.
The Upstream "Full Merge Backup" facility drastically reduces the
elapsed time of full backups, by utilizing already existing mainframe backups
of files that have not changed, instead of transmitting them from the file
server. To get the best tape utilization for STK 9840 or 9940 and IBM Magstars
you should set the NEWTAPEF and NEWTAPEI to NO. Choose option number 5 from
the ISPF menu to update or configure a new profile and then see the screen
grab below for an example of where and what options to choose.
And don't forget to issue the REFRESH command in order for these changes to
take effect immediately.
These definitions will allow UPSTREAM to append the backups and stack the incrementals
and full merge on the same tape set..disp=mod. Please note on the next backup
after a full merge backup the system will call for a new scratch tape to prevent
continuous moding.
Merge Backup setting for Virtual Tape
Systems
To get the best tape utilization for whatever virtual tape hardware or software
tape virtualization products system you have you should set the NEWTAPEF and
NEWTAPEI to YES. This is the most efficient setting so that the virtual tape
system does not call for a tape to be recalled every time.
Please contact us if you'd like to discuss any of these issues or features
by calling:
(973) 890-7300 or email support@fdrinnovation.com
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