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Hello, I'm considering DR options for my SQL Anywhere 11.0.0.2405 database server (which acts as a backend for BMC ProactiveNet). What I understand from the documentation, log shipping is not the option for this edition. I've seen suggestions to use run dbbackup -l at a remote location. However, does that prevent me from taking regular, local backups? Any suggestions with regard to possible options to implement a good DR here? Thanks much, Maciej |
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Where did you read that disaster recovery is different for the authenticated version? The term "log shipping" is not commonly used with SQL Anywhere, but in essence that is what both live backup using dbbackup -l and "High Availability" database mirroring do in version 11. FYI live backup has been around for a long time, and HA was added in V10. Live backup is continuous copying of transaction log data to a remote location. It will continue running OK if you have another separate live backup running to a different location, and it doesn't prevent you from taking local backups... however, actions you take locally can have a dramatic effect on the live backup; e.g., if you backup and restart the active transaction log locally, the live backup file will be restarted from scratch as well: http://dcx.sybase.com/1101/en/dbadmin_en11/da-backup-dbs-4977640.html The Help file is rather sparse when it comes to live backups and disaster recovery, but there are a lot of separate articles on the subject; see http://sqlanywhere.blogspot.ca/2012/03/tales-from-doc-face.html There are also some articles about backup, recovery and HA on this blog: sqlanywhere.blogspot.com I wasn't saying that DR is different for an Authenticated version. It was more of a general question. Thanks much for the answer. As you said, the documentation for DR is rather sparse and thus I wanted to confirm with someone who implemented such a solution what my options are. Thanks a lot!
(28 May '12, 13:41)
Maciej
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To remove any ambiguity, we should clarify that High Availability (HA) / Disaster Recovery (DR) is not the same concept as backups. Even in HA situations, you still need to perform regular database backups. Since this is an OEM (authenticated) installation, you should really speak to your OEM vendor (BMC) about your options for HA and Backups. BMC would know best what configurations would work best with their product architecture and how to accomplish that configuration within their software (there may also be additional software restrictions on what you as an end-user can set up on your own, depending on the terms of BMC's software license). The official SQL Anywhere HA component is an additionally licensed component that may not be available in the BMC ProactiveNet product. It should also be noted that setting up additional live backups of the SQL Anywhere database may interfere with scheduled maintenance actions BMC has already set up in the database - this potential configuration needs to be clarified with BMC directly. Finally, it may also be possible to switch to an OS-managed high-availability solution such as Microsoft Windows 2008 Fail-Over Clustering - these configuration options again need to be clarified with BMC. |
FWIW, 11.0.1.2405 is a rather old build IMHO - particularly in case you are going to use HA, I would recommend a current build (for Windows 11.0.1.2808 is the newest one) - cf. this blog article...
While Volker's advice here is generally good advice, we would actually not recommend that you upgrade your version of SQL Anywhere directly. (You will not be able to apply the EBF to your particular installation anyway).
Any updates to the SQL Anywhere database engine should be done as part of an update to the BMC ProactiveNet application. Please speak to your BMC support representative for more details on patches for your ProactiveNet product (which will update SQL Anywhere as required).
Thanks for the clarification - yes, my former comment had missed the OEM situation altogether...