Example 1 - File Systems

Using Backup Sets to Define Subclient Groups - Example 1

File Systems (Windows, Unix, NetWare, Mac OS X)

Assume that there is a File System client computer called onyx. This system has one drive, c:\ (or a volume, Sys:, in the case of a NetWare Server) which has the following areas of interest:
\international\forecasts
\international\hr
\domestic\hr

Note that \international\hr is common to both perspectives.

Depending on your perspective, there may be two ways to view the noted areas: as data pertaining to international operations or as data pertaining to Human Resources (hr). Using backup sets, you can establish different subclient groups, which in this example would enable you to back up and restore all of the data relating only to international operations or all of the data relating only to hr. A possible backup set configuration for this example might be:

Client	Backup Sets	Subclient	Subclient Path	Storage Policy
onyx	BK1	default	C:\	Storage Policy A
		International	\international	Storage Policy B
	BK2	default	C:\	Storage Policy C
		HR	\domestic\hr \international\hr	Storage Policy D

In this configuration:

Backup set BK1 comprises the default subclient and a subclient called international which contains all data in the \international directory.
Backup set BK2 comprises the default subclient and a subclient called hr which contains all data in the \domestic\hr and \international\hr directories.

Note that while the default subclients in BK1 and BK2 have the same name (i.e., default), they back up different data subsets. This is because the data that is backed up by any default subclient is the complement of the data that is backed up by its sibling subclients. In effect, the data associated with a default subclient is implicitly determined by the user defined subclients within the same backup set.

As a result of this subclient partitioning, you can establish separate backup series for the hr data and the international data. Note that the partitioning does not mean that one backup set is any more complete than the other. A full backup of all subclients in either backup set yields the same basic results - a full backup of the entire client file system. The difference between one backup set and another is simply how the backed up data is organized. If you have no need to back up different views of the same client, then there is no need to use backup sets in this manner.