Skip,

 Your VSCAN server is definitely the primary bottleneck as you have clearly identified. Although the fact you are using CIFS for your backup communication/share connection probably isn't helping either.

 

 For every single file that you backup, a vscan is being performed. Thus during these backup periods I would not be surprised if you see some of those VSCAN timeouts you found in the filer syslog/messages. As far as I understand it, the CIFS style backup will not utilize a snapshot for the backup like direct attach or NDMP will do. (Someone please set me straight with this if I am wrong!)

 

 I think you said you were using trendmicro as the scanning server. If you are try setting your realtime scan to "incoming" only. I think this should improve your backup speed somewhat as the backup file read requests will no longer require a VSCAN before the file is handed over to the backup client. The problem here is that you need to be sure that all of the content currently on your filer is virus free. Because from now on, only incoming files will be scanned. Its not ideal. Would be nice if you could exclude your backup client from virus scans during file open requests. I don't know of trendmicro offering this.

 

 The 1 Gb connection MAY help if you have identified the network as a bottleneck. Have you ruled out CPU maxxing on the AV box? No point increasing bandwidth to the server if the server can't handle any more requests.

 

 Your best option, as you have alluded to, is move away from CIFS to direct attach scsi or NDMP. I like NDMP and use it widely. However you may not have the necessary infrastructure. I don't know if Backup exec supports NDMP, so you may need to go to an enterprise version. Check the veritas site for this. In your case, direct attach might be better, as long as you have some tape drives to spare for this filer.

 

 As for compatibility of you tape drive, I would check the NOW site for the hardware compatibility lists with R200.

 

 Files Backed up:            Incremental - 648,800 files, 300 GB

Full - 2,340,000 files, 970 GB

 These aren't a large amount of files or quantity of data. However you may want to check the drive utilization for your raid groups on the R200 during the CIFS backup. Those babies aren't built for speed.

 

Good luck, sounds like a fun upgrade.

 

Aaron

 

 

 

Hi all

 

I am backing up data on a R200 over a 1 gig connection. The hardware that I'm using is. When I enable VSCAN on the filer the mb/minute in the backup job start going down, when I turn off VSCAN the MB/ minute start going up. I have set vscan options mandatory_scan to off.  The VSCAN server and the filer are not connected via a gig speed its 100/mb im wondering if I make the connection from r200 to the   VSCAN server 1 gig that this might speed up my backup jobs

 

Skip

 

Tape Library:                 ADIC, Scalar 24, firmware version 109A, SCSI connected to ISGBKHA

Tapes Used:                  HP Ultrium 400 GB, LTO Media

Files Backed up:            Incremental - 648,800 files, 300 GB

Full - 2,340,000 files, 970 GB