Expert GuideHealth Check: Your "Backup Fit" for the IBM Spectrum Protect Server - Part 2 of the series.

IBM Spectrum Protect server infrastructure

The central component of a Spectrum Protect backup environment is the server infrastructure. This receives and manages the backup and archive data and should be designed to ensure that all data can be backed up and restored within the SLAs.

Behind the server infrastructure are several hardware components. This is the server with its backend storage itself and there may be external media such as tape libraries or cloud connected. From the Spectrum Protect data, conclusions can be drawn as to whether this infrastructure is sufficient under the given workload or whether bottlenecks are occurring.

DB2 database in Spectrum Protect

The heart of Spectrum Protect is the associated DB2 database.

This contains the knowledge about all backup and archive objects. Therefore, it is necessary for the operation that this database is available with sufficient performance or can be restored from a backup in case of a disaster.

We check whether this meets the requirements as part of the Health Check.

The recovery of a Spectrum Protect instance from a database backup may be necessary due to a crash of the backup environment as well as due to attacks on the integrity of the environment. Besides the protection by a suitable backup, the secure operation of the Spectrum Protect instance with its integrated security features is of course also an important component for the protection against such attacks. As part of the Health Check, we will introduce you to features that may not yet be in use and that can help you secure your backups against external threats.

Ensure performance

Server-side processes copy and move data daily. Certain time windows are available for this. Is the performance sufficient or do these represent a bottleneck?  The Health Check provides you with information on this. We also check whether the timing of the various server-side processes corresponds to best practice or whether there is potential for improvement here.

Tape backup as ransomware protection

Tape drives are an important means of data backup. They store a large amount of data inexpensively and by swapping them out, you can create a safeguard against ransomware attacks via air-gap. Attackers are not able to delete or encrypt this data.

Of course, an evaluation of the currently used Spectrum Protect Server release is also part of the health check. To what extent is an update of the environment useful or necessary?

We provide you with the appropriate decision-making aids to ensure that your environment is secure and up-to-date.

Blog article series Health Check

Do you have any questions about the Spectrum Protect Health Check? Please do not hesitate to contact us.