Epoch Systems entered into a development agreement with DataTools to develop
an interface module between EpochBackup (their file system backup and recovery
product) and DataTools' SQL-BackTrack for Sybase (our database-aware backup
and recovery for Sybase databases).  The SQL-BackTrack EpochBackup Module will
allow customers to centralize the backup and recovery of file systems (via
EpochBackup) and Sybase databases (via SQL-BackTrack for Sybase).

The SQL-BackTrack EpochBackup Module simply passes the Sybase backup stream
from SQL-BackTrack for Sybase to EpochBackup to handle media management,
stacker/jukebox support (e.g. - Exabytes, HP Opticals or StorageTek Silos),
and to central the backup and recovery of the entire enterprise's data (file
systems and database).

The SQL-BackTrack EpochBackup Module is currently in beta, soyou won't be
able to currently get any commercial references.  The Sybase backup
functionality that it will provide is what SQL-BackTrack for Sybase has done
for close to a year at over 200 sites to date.

If so, what platform?
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Development was first on Sun SPARC platforms, with HP and RS/6000 being ported.

How was the data stored?  How did you find the logical backup operation?
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SQL-BackTrack stores data either in a physical or logical format.  Physical
dumps accept the data stream from the 'dump database' or 'dump transaction'
stream and append an object level header, allowing the extraction of a
particular object (table, stored procedure, trigger, view, userid, etc.).
SQL-BackTrack also allows true incremental backups, compression and encryption
for physical format dumps.

Logical backups are an object-by-object backup of the entire Sybase database,
or of just selected objects (such as tables with 'RI').  It is a hardware
(server and disk type) and software (O/S and Sybase version) independent
format.  This allows archiving, data migration, copying of tables directly
between databases, reloading of a datbase into a smaller partition, etc.

Netters can give you their feedback on their opinion of its functionality!

Our remote backup support, even on SybaseV4.0.1 through 4.9.2 EBF, makes it
easy to tailor into network-wide backups via Epoch.

Just getting a head's up.
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Just thought I would tell you what we can today.

I'm reading over some really slick material on Epoch's RDBMS backup.
Has anyone used this yet?  If so, what platform?  How was the data
stored?  How did you find the logical backup operation?

They also support Client/Server backups which we are evaluating.  

Just getting a head's up.

Melissa Marquis

Disclosure: "Mine O' Mine - ONLY"