Choosing a Backup Method

This page provides data backup methods to help you select the most effective solution for your needs.

At the top of the Configuration form, pick one:

  • ON-Bar — the modern, recommended backup method for most environments.

  • Ontape — an older backup method that writes to a tape drive, a single file, or a folder on disk.

Note: The form changes dynamically depending on what you select.
Table 1. ON-Bar Backup Method
Field Description
Backup Speed (simple slider) Controls how many backup jobs can run at once. Higher = faster backups, but more load on the server.
Parallel Backup Streams (advanced) The exact number of backup jobs to run at the same time. Choose 1–1000 (default 4).
Use maximum allowed by the system Check this to let the server automatically use as many parallel jobs as it can, instead of a fixed number.
Buffers per Stream How many memory buffers each backup job uses. Choose 1–1000 (default 3). More buffers can speed up backups at the cost of memory.
Buffer Size The size of each memory buffer. Choose 1–1000 (default 3).
Estimated Memory Used A read-only estimate of total memory your settings above will use — goes up as you increase streams, buffers, or buffer size.
Backup Generations to Retain How many old full backups to keep before older ones are deleted. Choose 1–15 (default 3).
Keep all backup generations Check this to never delete old backups automatically (overrides the above setting).
Table 2. Ontape Backup Method
Field Description
Device Type Where the backup goes: a tape drive, a single disk file, or a disk folder.
Path (TAPEDEV) The location (file path or device) where backups will be saved.
Block Size (TAPEBLK) How much data is written at a time, in KB. Choose a value between 16 and 1024 (Default 16) — your storage vendor may recommend a specific size.
Device Size (TAPESIZE) Always shown as "Unlimited" — nothing to set here.