Backup Wizard

Use this wizard to configure and to schedule backups of the storage spaces for the database server.

When you configure backups in OAT, the storage spaces are backed up automatically based on the schedule that you set.

Backup Utility

The database server provides two utilities for backing up and restoring data: ontape and ON-Bar. You can use OAT to back up storage spaces with ontape or with ON-Bar. To use ON-Bar, you must first set up a storage manager and the IBM Informix database server must be version 12.10.

Configuration Parameters for ON-Bar

• Click Basic to automatically set the configuration parameters based on the backup speed:

  Backup speed

  Move the slider between Slow and Fast to change the backup speed. The estimated backup memory used changes based on the backup speed.

• Click Advanced to manually set the configuration parameters. The estimated backup memory used changes depending on the values that you enter.

  Parallel backup streams

  This setting is for the BAR_MAX_BACKUP configuration parameter. It specifies the maximum number of backup processes per ON-Bar command.

  Buffer size

  This setting is for the BAR_XFER_BUF_SIZE configuration parameter. It specifies the size of each transfer buffer.

  Number of buffers per backup stream

  This setting is for the BAR_NB_XPORT_COUNT configuration parameter. It specifies the number of shared-memory data buffers for each backup process.

Backup generations to retain

Choose the latest number of backup generations to retain. Earlier backup generations will be expired. Or select Keep all backup generations.

Reset to original values

Reset all the configuration parameters to the values that were in place before you changed them.

Configuration Parameters for ontape

These configuration parameters affect the ontape utility. They are stored in the ph_threshold table in the sysadmin database for the database server.

Storage device

The type of storage device: tape, disk file, or disk directory. OAT uses the selection to verify the path that you enter.

If you select tape, you must use rewindable tape devices. Before reading from or writing to a tape, the database server performs a series of checks that require a rewind.

Path (TAPEDEV)

The absolute path name of the storage device where the data is backed up. The backup files are named depending on the specified storage device:

• If a directory is specified, backup files are created with the names generated by the system, following this format: host_servernumber_date_time_level. For example, xmach3_91_20110201_181931_L0.
• If a disk file that has read and write permission for user informix and group informix is specified, the file is overwritten with the new backup. If the file exists, but does not have the correct permission, an error is returned. If the file does not exist, but the directory exists, the file is created with _L0, _L1, or _L2 appended to indicate the backup level.

Block size (TAPEBLK)

The block size of the device where the data is backed up. The storage device is not checked for the block size that you specify. Verify that the storage device can read the block size to ensure that you can restore the data from the storage device if necessary.

Device size (TAPESIZE)

The maximum amount of data to write to each storage device. The field is set to unlimited to use the device to its full physical capacity by writing to the end of the medium. This value cannot be changed in OAT.

Schedule

Use these options to enable and schedule the backup tasks by level. For a backup to run, it must be scheduled for at least one day of the week. To run a backup daily, select the check boxes for every day of the week.

Propagate changes across all cloud servers or apply to the local server only:

The local server or the name of the grid that the configuration is propagated across.