About multistream backups

About multistream backups

The NetVault Backup Plug‑in for FileSystem can be configured to perform multistream operations when you are backing up large amounts of data. Multistream backups improve backup performance by using parallel streams to transfer data.

During multistream backups, the plug-in splits the Backup Selection Set is into smaller selection groups and uses separate child processes to perform parallel backups of these selection groups.

You can use the multistream options to do the following:

•	Back up multiple volumes, network shares, and mount points simultaneously

•	Back up a single volume using multiple parallel streams

You can specify the maximum number of parallel data streams that the plug-in can use for each job. The plug-in allows up to eight parallel streams.

Backup and recovery strategy

A well-designed backup strategy helps you to recover from the damages caused by failure and resume normal operations as quickly as possible. Before you start backing up your data, ensure that a good strategy is in place that safeguards your data against various failure modes, such as media failure, data corruption, user error, and complete loss of a data center.

Typically, your backup plan should define what backup methods are used, when and at what intervals the backups are performed, how the backups are stored, how long the backups are retained, and how the backup media are re-used.

The following are some example backup sequences to offer you guidelines:

•	Full Backups only: You can choose to perform only Full Backups if the backup size is small, backup window is not an issue, or storage media is not a constraint. In such scenarios, you can schedule Full Backups every night or every N hours depending on the frequency of updates.

•	Windows System State Backups: For System State backups on Windows, you can choose either of the following strategies:

•	Back up only the System State data

•	Back up the C Drive and System State data

Backing up the System State data with C drive has the following advantages:

•	It eliminates duplication of the system files in a saveset. If you run two separate jobs, the system files are included in both savesets.

The VSS method is recommended for a consistent backup of the System State data.

•	Policy-based backups: At the enterprise-level, you can create a policy to back up the root directory on Linux and UNIX clients and all fixed drives and System State on Windows clients. For more information about backup policies, see the Quest NetVault Backup Administrator’s Guide.