Backup

The RRZ offers a central backup service for securing data from servers and other IT services. This is primarily operated using a large, scalable backup environment based on IBM Storage Protect (TSM). The data is stored at two UHH locations in Hamburg to ensure that it remains protected even in the event of a disaster at one location.

Data backup usually takes place daily between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., but other backup times can be arranged as needed.

Terms of use

By applying for/using access to the RRZ's central backup system, you automatically accept the applicable terms of use.

Requesting access to the backup system

To add new servers to the backup system, please use the RRZ Service Portal. There you will find the application form in the catalog under “Servers” (direct link to the form, only in the UHH network).

If you cannot find the entry in the RRZ ServicePortal, e.g., because you do not belong to an IT team and do not yet operate any servers in our backup, please contact us directly at rrz-serviceline(at)uni-hamburg.de - RRZ#SRQ-Backup(rrz-serviceline"AT"uni-hamburg.de?subject=Anfrage Backup (RRZ#SRQ-Backup)). The same applies to IT service providers who require a special backup procedure for their service (e.g., backup of virtualization environments, large database environments, mail systems).

Test the restore!

Any data backup is only as good as its restoration. Therefore, test at regular intervals that you can restore your important data.

How is the backup monitored?

The RRZ supports the monitoring of backup processes with an automatic e-mail system that immediately notifies users of errors and, in the case of failed backups, after a waiting period of one day for servers (nightly backup).

What to do if you encounter problems?

The FAQ on using the TSM backup client may be able to help you.

If you are still having problems operating the TSM client or the system detects problems with your backup on its own (for example, you receive a warning email), please first follow the instructions in this email.

Once you have followed all the recommendations and checked the settings, it is best to reply to one of these warning emails and attach the following files (preferably as a zip archive) to your email:

dsm.opt
dsm.sys (Linux/Unix only)
dsmsched.log
dsmerror.log
dsmwebcl.log

These files are located in the directory “C:\Program Files\Tivoli\TSM\baclient” in Windows and in “/var/log” (the log files) or in /opt/tivoli/tsm/client/ba/bin (the configuration files) in Linux/Unix.

You are also welcome to address basic questions directly to the RRZ.

How does ISP back up data?

The backup software “IBM Storage Protect” generally backs up according to the “incremental forever” principle. At the beginning of the backup, a full backup is performed once, followed by incremental backups (i.e., only data that has changed since the last backup is backed up). This significantly reduces the amount of data to be backed up, but has no effect on the recoverability of the computer.

All modified versions of a file from the last 90 days are always retained. After that, the surplus versions are deleted from the ISP server, while the current version is retained indefinitely.

If a file is deleted on the local computer, it is retained by the ISP server for 90 days (as an inactive file); after this period, the file is also deleted.

How does ISP restore data?

When restoring data, IBM Storage Protect first creates the folder structure, if necessary, and then restores the files to their original directories.

The order does not follow the alphabet, file size, or date, but solely the ISP internal structure. It is therefore impossible to predict or influence how the directories and files will be restored.

Please be patient, especially immediately after starting a restore, until you can access the first directories or files.