ARCServe

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ARCServe is a Windows 2000 and NetWare backup/restore solution from Computer Associates. Originally from Cheyenne, ARCServe has been used in Windows NT and NetWare environments, with support for UNIX clients also available. ARCServe is a product that suits backup/recovery needs typically seen in smaller organizations.

ARCServe uses system resources well while returning excellent performance figures. However, with the ARCServe architecture, only one backup can be written to a single tape at a given time. Therefore, to use more than one drive (for example, DLT7000 tape drives), you must have sufficient processor and memory resources.

Sites that have implemented ARCServe 6.6 on backup/restore servers configured with 512 MB or more of memory have recorded between 6 MB and 7 MB sustained throughput to a single DLT7000 drive. Backup and restore times across a switched 100 MB network have also produced 4-5 MB/sec. This is achievable with ARCServe only when using large amounts of physical memory.

Server Recommendations

When configuring an ARCServe version 6.6 backup/restore server in Windows 2000, be sure to configure the amount of physical memory to meet backup performance expectations. Minimum server specifications should be 512 MB of RAM and 300 MHz or faster processors.