Title: Very slow filesystem backups
Date: Jun 07
NV Version: All
OS Version: All
Application version: N/A
Plugin version: N/A
Description: This FAQ discusses some of the causes for slow filesystem backups.
Symptoms:
Filesystem backups are very slow, maybe 1 MByte/sec compared to a more normal speed of around 15 MByte/sec or higher. Backups of other clients run at acceptable speeds. Device performance statistics show significant amount of time is spent waiting for the client to supply data.
If the version of Netvault:Backup is not the latest then always upgrade to this first. This includes upgrading to the latest filesystem plugin available for the Netvault:Backup version and platform it is running on.
This may help to alleviate the poor performance. If not then check the following:
Q1. Are there disk intensive processes running on the client at the time of the backup? Other disk intensive applications such as Oracle, VMWare (to name but two) can vastly increase the time taken for data to be read from the disk as the applications only get a percentage of disk activity.
A1. Try disabling / stopping any applications such as Oracle or VMWare on the client and run the backup again.
Q2. Is the disk very fragmented (this generally only applies to Windows platforms). A fragmented disk can cause large reading overheads as the disk head has to jump around all over the disk in order to read data.
A2. Perform a defragmentation on the disk and try the backup again.
Q3. Is the disk very full? This can cause reads and writes to be slow if the available space is scattered over a disk.
A3. Increase the available capacity and perform a defragmentation and try the backup again.
Q4. Is the disk beginning to fail and hence having problems reading the data?
A4. Run disk diagnostics to determine if the drive is having problems seeking / reading the data and perform remedial action if necessary.
SFDC solution number:
English version available ID 2318
Version française disponible ID
Deutsche Version verfügbar ID
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