This was an ASUG webcast that SAP provided earlier this year and I just found my notes from the session. While this is BI platform related, companies need to have a strategy for backup and disaster recovery.
The SAP speaker gave a story about disaster and recovery; need to test backups.
He said Murphy’s law happens, that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
Most consider disaster recovery to getting a root canal – best to be avoided.
Figure 1: Source: SAP
90% of companies will have significant data loss
Figure 2: Source: SAP
Why is a plan needed?
It is a precautionary measure in case of a full system failure – see figure above.
Figure 2 gives a real world example.
Figure 3: Source: SAP
BI is a key usage in decisional operational making
BI must be considered as part of Disaster Recovery plan
Figure 4: Source: SAP
Replication is the process of creating one or more copies of data
Example is mirrored drive
Replication offers real time data replication from data damage
Versioning creates multiple versions of a specific file of system; possible to revert to an earlier state – on the same host system
Figure 5: Source: SAP
Bare metal is preferred
Application back up backs up application
SAP does not provide application backup
Backup set includes CMS DB, BI file system, input and output FRS
CMS DB is key
Figure 6: Source: SAP
The hot backup solution allows customers to keep their existing backup tools and methodologies.
You have to perform it – it means online backup
You don’t interrupt user interaction with the system.
Certain rules apply
BI Platform supports both cold and hot backups.
This does not mean SAP will build a new backup tool.
Figure 7: Source: SAP
A cold backup is performed while the system is stopped (all nodes in your BI platform deployment) are unavailable to users.
For cold backups, the procedures can be performed in any order. You can do it in any order.
Use Cases for Backup and Restoring a BI Platform
You need to have a strategy
You need to find out the needs
Figure 8: Source: SAP
Use Cases for Backup and Restoring a BI Platform
Goal: Restore a System.
- BI platform system was corrupted you need to restore it to the working state it was in when it was last backed up.
- A machine hosting the BI platform was damaged. You need to replace it with a new machine.
The resources required are a target system with identical hardware to the source system and backups of the source system
Solution:
- Follow the instructions on system backup and restore workflow. Read the “BI 4.1 Admin guide” for more details.
2. Then recreate target system from source system backups
Figure 9: Source: SAP
To restore objects you want to recover a document or other object that was accidentally deleted.
You need backups of the source system databases and files detailed system information
Using backups, build a copy of the system on another machine, using the System Copy workflow. Then, use the promotion management tools to promote the deleted objects from that new system.
You can create your target system on a computer with an existing BI platform deployment of the same release, support package, and patch level, or a "clean“ computer with no BI platform installed.
Figure 10: Source: SAP
The goal is to back up objects which is used for when you want to back up a small number of objects such as documents, folders, users.
The resources required include a system where promotion management versioning is in use.
The solution is to use the promotion management application to back up BI content and then export the content to BI Archive (LCMBIAR) files. You can restore it later, without restoring the entire system. This depends directly on your goal for backup and restore. The speaker said this is not the best way to do this due to Promotion Management's primary purpose is to move content from dev to test and dev to prod.
Part 2 to follow soon.
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