NetVault Backup 10 Database (4033791)

Determining the database location

The NetVault Database stores system information, configuration files, job details, and backup indexes. It is created on the NetVault Backup Server.
The database continues to grow in size as various data protection operations are performed within the NetVault Backup system.
NetVault Backup operations can halt if the database cannot be updated due to lack of disk space.

NOTE: The NetVault Database cannot reside on a network mount point (for example, network share, mapped drive, NFS, or JFS mounted device).
For installing the NetVault Database, you must select a directory on a local drive or volume.

Database sub-directories

The database directory contains the following sub-directories:

• install – This directory contains the modules file which includes the list of NetVault Backup modules installed on the server and client machines. The install directory is very small in size.

• bkl – This directory contains the license key files for the NetVault Backup products. The bkl directory is very small in size.

• pgsql – This directory stores the NetVault Database tables. It grows to be rather large as you use the NetVault Backup system.

Database size calculation

To allocate adequate disk space for database growth, consider the following:

• Approximate number of files and directories to be backed up on the NetVault Backup Server and Clients – Each file or directory that is included in a backup requires an average number of bytes for an index entry in the NetVault Database. This average is based on a formula of 71 bytes plus the average number of characters contained in the file names of the files that make up a target file system.

• Number of generations of each file to be kept – Each generation is a separate instance of a file or directory backup. For example, if the same file is backed up seven times using the default backup settings, there are seven generations of the file stored on the media and indexed in the NetVault Database.

By default, backups have an infinite life. Most systems cannot handle this amount of storage requirement, so the NetVault Backup Administrator must ensure that a suitable retirement is set for each backup. For more information about backup retirement, refer to the NetVault Backup Administrator’s Guide.

Database size calculation formula:

Approximate number of files and       Multiplied      Approximate number         Multiplied      Number of                    Multiplied      (71 bytes +
directories backed up per machine   by                 of generations to be kept   by                 machines backed up   by                  average filename length)

Example:
With an average file or directory name of eight characters for a target file system, if 200,000 files and 15,000 directories are backed up once, approximately 17.5MB would be required for indexing.
If the same files and directories are backed up three times, 52.5MB would be required for indexing. If backed up 5 times, 87.5MB would be required for indexing, and so on.