Surestore Tape Autoloader 1/8 + Arcserve 2000 - very, very slow backup rate.

[BR701784]

Hmmm...

Server = Proliant DL320
SCSI Card = Adaptec 29160 (fitted in 64-bit slot).
Negotiated speed = 20MB/sec.
OS = Windows 2000 Server SP2.
Latest Service Pack applied to Arcserve.
Latest Driver for Adaptec card applied.

Tried 2 different cables, one terminated on the cable, one using a seperate terminator...

I'm only acheving approx. 1GB per hour backup speed...


This is an area, i don't profess to be expert in - Am I missing something obvious ?

What kind of speed should i expect ?

(SCSI card detected and installed fine...Autoloader shows up in device manager as unconfigured..ie no driver...however, i think i read that Arcserve likes no driver installed in the OS..ie talks direct...)

Any ideas ??

[Rothery Harris]

Dear Darren,
You are correct in assuming that ARCServe does not require a driver. ARCServer works directly to the drive via its own software. Performance problems are often not related to the tape drive but to the source of the data. (ie the hard disk subsystem). Many small files cause poor backup performance.
The drive should negotiate a transfer rate of 40MB/s. Check the SCSI BIOS to see if the limit is not set to 20. The maximum native backup you could see is 3MB/s without compression which is nearly 11GB/hr.
Download the performance assessment tool from the HP website and assess your disk i/o.

Rothery

[Curtis Ballard]

Some people have reported performance improvements when the Compaq services are stopped. In particular I've hear of cases where the Compaq Storage Service was somehow causing slow performance.

You might try stopping the Compaq services and see if it helps. If you try, please report results here as I would be interested to see if the rumors are true or not.

[LEE JACKSON]

I have exactly the same problem, except im using backup exec 8.6 with the driver for the 1/8!. My hardware is this

Server = Proliant DL320
SCSI Card = Adaptec 29160 (fitted in 64-bit slot).
OS = Windows 2000 Server SP2.

My 1st problem is getting the scsi card to even detect the drive without hanging. I had to turn wide negotiation OFF then the max speed it would detect is 10mb/sec. When i did a backup i got a max of 67mb/min.

I have a 818 autoloader
on another machine with a adaptec 2940. This storms at 300mb/min. I tried the 1/8 on this machine and i got 300mb/min as well.
I put it back on dl320 and swapped the cables and terminator and still its flaky.
So, its either the PC or the card. I do actually have another 29160 which is attached to a "homebrew" server i plugged the 1/8 into this and its flaky again.(818 was good)
It lookes to me like its the adaptec 29160 i cant try the 2940 in the dl320 as its a 32bit card and the dl320 only has a 64bit slot.

I think the 29160 is quite fussy about the devices that are attached as ive had problems with disks etc. All the hardware i buy is branded but Im currently looking for a cheap 64bit scsi card that works.

Im now going to see if adaptec are going to own up!!!
And suggest something thats works robustly

[CA735458]

Do you have a virus scanner ?

Stop it completely and try again.

[BR659932]

Hi.

A couple of things to try:

1. Disable Domain Validation in 29160 BIOS
2. Set the backup blocksize. This has a dramatic effect on bu performance. Correct BU blocksize for ARCServe is 64K, see http://www.hp.com/cposupport/information_storage/support_doc/lpg50167.html or ARCServe support on how to set it.

HTH,
~A~

[BR659932]

Also try to disable Removable Storage Service in W2K.

~A~

[BR711705]

Hi,

try to revert your 29160 drivers to the original drivers provided by W2K.

Look in Adaptec Support Knowledgebase (AnswerID 2078) how to revert back.

I've found this hint about "some" incompatibility deep in HP and/or Adaptec's knowledgebases but I don't have the url or any IDs anymore.

With these changes I've increased the backup speed from nearly 3000 KB/sec to over 6000 KB/sec on a Surestore 718 with Netbackup BS

Greetings >8)

[BR712281]

Hi,

I having the same problem. i got somthing likes
50M/Min or less

I am using
SCSI card -- adaptec 2940UW (also tried a few scsi card.
Windows 2000 with sp2
Arcserve 2000 had tried both sp3 & Sp4
Backup device Autolader 1/8

I have tried using the PAT (Performance Assessment Tool) from HP support to test the average transfer rate, and i got 6.5M/Sec, which is supposed to be more than 300M/Min.


Any help??

Thks
ONG TH