Comparison of ON-Bar, ON-Archive, and ontape for Data Recovery (SAP Library - SAP Database Guide: Informix (BC-DB-INF-DBA))

Comparison of ON-Bar, ON-Archive, and ontape for Data Recovery

Use

This section compares the different tools for data recovery with Informix databases for the SAP System. The following tools are available from Informix:

ON-Bar

ON-Bar is the most recent data recovery tool. It is easy to use with powerful functionality. SAP recommends ON-Bar particularly for larger databases where you want to use third party storage manager and storage devices. If you are starting data recovery for the first time, SAP recommends you to use ON-Bar .

ON-Archive

ON-Archive is complex to operate but has powerful functionality. With ON-Archive , you can use the DBA Planning Calendar in the Computing Center Management System (CCMS) of the SAP System to automatically schedule your database archives and backups.

ontape

ontape is the oldest of the Informix tools. It is easy to use but the most restricted.

Note

In certain circumstances you must use a particular tool:

ontape if your operating system is NT

ON-Archive or ON-Bar if you want to use the DBA Planning Calendar

Integration

The following table compares the available tools:

Caution

The archives and backups written by ON-Bar , ON-Archive , and ontape are not compatible with each other. You cannot mix archives and backups from different tools. Therefore, you must decide which tool you want to use and stay with the chosen tool. Never use one tool to back up the logical log and another one to create archives or database backups.

Comparison of Data Recovery with ON-Bar, ON-Archive, and ontape

Feature	ON-Bar	ON-Archive	ontape
General functionality Limited Extensive Easy to use	No Yes Yes	No Yes No	Yes No Yes
Informix version availability 6.0 7.x 7.23UC3 and higher	No No Yes	Yes Yes Yes	Yes Yes Yes
Platform availability NT UNIX	Yes Yes	No Yes	Yes Yes
Initializing tape volumes	No	Yes	No
Archive (ON-Archive and ontape and Database Backup (ON-Bar) Levels 0,1, 2 Sequential Parallel Of specified dbspaces With CCMS	Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes	Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes	Yes Yes No No No
Logical-Log Backup With CCMS Emergency backup with SAPDBA	Yes Not relevant	Yes Yes (2)	No No
Storage Media Tape Disk Advanced backup media	Yes Yes Yes	Yes Yes No	Yes No No
Restore Point-in-time: (ON-Archive) and ON-Bar Specified dbspaces Recovery report with SAPDBA Prompt for specific tapes	Yes Yes No Yes	Yes (2) Yes Yes Yes	No Yes No No
Scheduling Archive and backup with CCMS	Yes	Yes	No
SAPDBA Emergency logical-log backup Recovery report	Not relevant No	Yes (1) Yes	No No
Tape volume administration Integrated software Third party software Recognize end of tape	No (3) Yes Not relevant	Yes No Yes	No No No
Other features Software data compression Unattended operations Access control for storage and operations Standard interface for third party software	No (3) No (3) No (3) Yes	Yes Yes Yes No	No No No No

Note

(1) Emergency log backup with SAPDBA is only available for Informix version 6.0. If you are using version 7.x, see Emergency Logical-Log Backup.

(2) Point-in-time restore has been available since Informix version 7.2.

(3) Functionality for these and other features with ON-Bar is located in the Informix Storage Manager (ISM, released with Informix version 7.3) or a third-party storage manager.

See also:

Informix documentation at http://www.informix.com