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Source: Own illustration

Trust is good, backup is better! If you can rely on a good backup of data and systems, you are already on the safe side. We know that this time it took a little longer than planned, but we would like to take this opportunity to thank all at RWTH Aachen University backup admins for their patience and trust. Of course, we would also like to thank our Friendly User Group, which has accompanied us since February ’22. Therefore we are even more happy to announce: We are ready to go! To the clients, install, register and assign server plan! You can read more about it in this article.

Good things come to those who wait!

For the changeover from the previous TSM/IBM backup system, the basis has to be in place, of course – and in this case that is the new backup infrastructure. Since it took longer this time, we have also extended the maintenance of the existing system accordingly. What was supposed to be finished by June 30, 2022, we have thus initially extended until the end of September to enable a safe and orderly transition to the new backup infrastructure.

Based on hardware from Hitachi Vantara, the software solution from Commvault is now being used. The Commvault backup and recovery product provides server-driven “point in time” based backup that operates with a distributed data organization throughout the system. Specifically, this means that we back up data at a total of six sites across the citywide campus to remain operational even if individual sites fail.

One for all, all for one

Back in March, we already reported that Commvault’s software solution would be used for all of NRW’s state universities. In the DH-NRW project “Datensicherung.nrw“, the necessary technical, organizational and procedural prerequisites were created precisely for this use. The operating concept developed in the preliminary project is now also being used in the changeover at RWTH Aachen University.

On your marks, get set, switch over!

With the web-based backup solution, the changeover to the new infrastructure is extremely convenient. The B in Backup stands for convenient. The changeover to the new system is initiated in just a few simple steps. The prerequisites for use are the same as before: one brings the role “Backup-Admin”, which at the same time corresponds to the role “Dasi_Local_Admin”, and accesses the new backup system from the RWTH network.

Step 1: The installation of the software on the to be backed up client is the basis. Here it is important to make a note of the system name (FQDN) and then proceed with the registration (Installation of Windows on Client  or Installation of Linux on Client).

Step 2: The client registration in Commvault is done comfortably via a web form. You can do this for single clients individually or already in mass. For this, please choose the workflow “Bulk Regsitration”. Important here is the information to which organizational unit you belong. This context is also the group name in Commvault. In our tutorial (Client registration in Commvault ) we have important tips in step 2, where you can read the context ID.

Step 3: After successful registration the registered clients appear in the overview. Here you can select the system and assign the corresponding server plan. This assignment also triggers the initial full backup. We recommend not to start the initial full backup manually, because we have optimized the performance for the automatic full backups.

The best comes at the end

With the full backup of a system (initial Full), the incremental backup follows. This means that only what has changed since the last full backup is backed up here.  After the full backup and the first incrementals, users can also say goodbye to their TSM client, if the stored versions are no longer needed.

That’s it for now. In the coming weeks, we’ll be posting more articles here on the IT Center Blog about the backup transition, the Datensicherung.nrw project, and the great features that the new system brings with it. It will be especially interesting when we introduce you to the support services we are offering for this changeover.

Until then, we wish you a great and successful transition.

Please let us know how well you get along with the new backup system.

Responsible for the content of this article is Nicole Filla.

Kategorie: Announcements, IT-Security, IT-Managers, Employees, Support, Services & Updates, Students
Schlagworte: backup, Commvault, Datensicherung.nrw, DH.NRW, Hitachi Vantara, Installation, System, Umstellung, Wartung
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