A common variation to the basic SnapVault backup deployment is a tape backup of the SnapVault secondary storage system.
This deployment can serve two purposes:
- It enables you to store an unlimited number of network backups offline while keeping the most recent backups available online in secondary storage. This can help in the quick restoration of data. If you run a single tape backup off the SnapVault secondary storage system, the storage platforms are not subject to the performance degradation, system unavailability, and complexity of direct tape backup of multiple systems.
- It can be used to restore data to a SnapVault secondary storage system in case of data loss or corruption on that system.
Note: Some UNIX attributes are not preserved using this method; notably, UNIX access control lists (ACLs).
The following figure shows basic SnapVault deployment and tape backup.
Figure 1. Basic SnapVault deployment with tape backup
