ARCserve 2000 Advanced Edition 7.0
ARCserve 2000's installation CD-ROM arrived in a box that also contained a Getting Started manual. The autorun-enabled CD-ROM launched the ARCserve 2000 Product Explorer, which let me browse and select the ARCserve 2000 components that I needed for my environment. I selected and installed ARCserve 2000, the Tape Library Option, the Client Agent for Windows NT/2000, and the Backup Agent for Microsoft SQL Server. During the ARCserve 2000 installation, the software prompted me to use either the ARCserve Standard Database or a SQL Server database. I chose the ARCserve Standard Database, which I could later transfer to a SQL Server database if necessary. Immediately after I installed these components, I installed the recommended Service Pack 2 (SP2) for ARCserve upgrade, as well as a device-support service pack.
During the Tape Library Option installation, the software led me through a three-step process of assigning drives, specifying a cleaning slot, and setting media-initialization options. In the first step, I let the software automatically detect and assign devices; in the second step, I specified that I had a barcode reader and assigned a cleaning-tape slot; and in the third step, I selected the Library Quick Initialization check box. I clicked Finish and started the Tape Engine from the Server Admin tool, then watched the Device Manager interface as the software enumerated the library's contents.
You can install ARCserve 2000 Client Agents locally or remotely through the ARCserve 2000 Product Explorer. I chose the remote method for my Windows computers. Within the Product Explorer, I drilled down to the appropriate selection and clicked Remote Setup. I entered the names of the destination computers, and the software prompted me to supply credentials for each machine. I completed the installations quickly, and ARCserve 2000 informed me of their successful completion. You must install the Backup Agent for Microsoft SQL Server locally on the target server. I ran the installation of the Backup Agent for Microsoft SQL Server from the CD-ROM drive on each SQL Server machine that I wanted to back up. The installation prompted me to specify the type of authentication I wanted to use for connecting to the SQL Server database, as well as the protocol I wanted to use (e.g., Named Pipes or TCP/IP).
ARCserve Manager
ARCserve Manager is the UI that you use for all backup, restore, and management operations. From ARCserve Manager's home page, you choose the Manager component (i.e., Backup Manager, Restore Manager, Report Manager) that you need for a given job. The UI, which in Figure 1, page 50, shows the Job Status screen active, is easy to navigate. Built-in wizards let you quickly accomplish foundational tasks.
Tape Library and Media Control
ARCserve 2000 uses groups to organize slots in a tape library. You assign one or more slots to a group, then specify one or more groups as the target for a backup job. ARCserve 2000 accomplishes parallel streaming and automated media spanning by targeting multiple groups. The software uses media pools, in conjunction with retention periods, to protect the data on your tapes against overwriting. You can use mirrored (i.e., RAID 1) tape backup or the product's command-line Tape Copy utility to obtain tape copies.
Backup
To configure backups, you can use the Backup Manager interface or the Wizard menu's Backup Wizard. I used Backup Manager to configure my backups. The interface, which contains three tabs—Source, Destination, and Schedule—is simple and easy to use. You tag objects that you want to back up, specify what group to back up to, and set an appropriate schedule for the job. After you set the parameters, you click Run/Schedule to launch or schedule the job and save the job parameters. I had no problems running any of my backup jobs.
Data Recovery
The Restore Manager interface is similar to the Backup Manager interface, so diving right in to a restore is easy. The Options screen lets you tailor restore jobs to exactly suit your needs. ARCserve 2000 supports individual table restores for SQL Server 6.5, filegroup-level restores for SQL Server 2000 and 7.0, and point-in-time restores. My test restores required little effort, and I was able to complete each operation quickly.
Performance
Graph 1 and Graph 2 show that backup and restore throughput was impressive for both local and network-based jobs. Other than a brief mention of tape RAID, the product offered little documentation about performance tuning. A CA representative pointed me to the installation CD-ROM for a few utilities that I could use to test and tune performance; however, for my tests, I used the default configuration.
A Solid Product
ARCserve 2000's ease of use and performance impressed me. The interface let me quickly define and run tasks. Additionally, the Report Manager let me easily track backup and restore jobs. Besides a small documented problem involving shared directory permissions during the installation process, I didn't encounter any significant difficulties with the product. CA's support Web site is well organized, and the company's support personnel are knowledgeable. The product's high price per client might exclude ARCserve 2000 from environments that contain large numbers of clients.
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