- * About: Backup service

Service overview

IT Services provides a backup service for either file level recovery, database recovery, or in the case of VMware VMs, full VM recovery.

The backup service offering provides the following 3 different types of backups:

Database weekly full backup: One (1) full hot database backup per week and incremental hot database backups other days of the week, and hourly log backups. All backups are retained for 5 weeks. Available only for supported versions of Oracle, MS SQL or mysql with backups performed in conjunction with the required database backup agent.
Weekly full backup: 1 full backup per week and differential incremental backups other days of the week. All backups are retained for 5 weeks. This is the default standard backup for VMware VM backups.
Monthly full backup: 1 full backup per month and differential incremental backups other days of the month. All backups are retained for 5 weeks. This is an optional backup type and typically used for backing up data over 1TB in size.

Clients need to have their own qualified System Administrator who needs to fully manage volumes and files on their server, which includes:
- The guest OS and all subsequent service packs or patches
- All installed applications, monitoring and upgrades
- Volume and file management within the OS
- Updating backup agents on the server upon request by IT Services personnel
- Updating system security and firewall rules to permit backups
Server(s) being backed up must
- reside in IT Services Data Centre
- have at least 1Gb network connectivity
- run an OS that IT Services qualifies for end-to-end vendor support. Note: current OS support includes Windows 2012/2016/2019/2022 (64-bit), Linux RHEL7/8/9 (64-bit), Solaris SPARC 11 (64-bit)
Server(s) being backed up must have a registered A record and reverse pointer record in the McGill DNS service
Windows MSCS, Veritas Cluster Server, and Oracle RAC cluster configurations are supported for backup via use of a DNS registered cluster or virtual server name.

36-month storage lease that includes:

Backup(s) as purchased
Any backup agent(s) required at no additional cost
File-level recovery – for OS-level backups
Data file and log recovery - for database-level backups of supported versions of Oracle, MS SQL or mysql, with the required backup agent configured
Oracle, MS SQL or mysql database recovery where recovery is done from a file-level backup of a database export
File level and full VM recovery – for VMware backups
NDMP file level backups - for clients that have purchased IT Services SAN File Storage
Onsite (McGill IT Services Data Center) and Offsite (external to McGill IT Services Data Centre) backups
Biannual updates to the backup infrastructure
Monitoring of backups
Augmentation to existing backup(s) previously purchased by a client
Availability of IT Services to:
- expand backups to meet the additional requirements of the client and will work with the client during the backup expansion
- work with the client in addressing any backup or restore issue that may arise
One-time configuration of backup agents if the client requesting it does not have an appointed, qualified System Administrator

32-bit OSes are not supported
IPv6 is not supported and must be disabled
Server recovery other than a VMware VM
Oracle, MS SQL or or mysql database recovery where a backup agent is used to back up the database
- It is the responsibility of the client’s Database Administrator in the recovery of the database from the backup set
Backup of a clients’ external or remote device(s) when connected to the server being backed up
Performance tuning
Data import or export assistance
Server capacity monitoring
- It is the client’s responsibility to monitor their server capacity to prevent file system corruption due to full capacity
Access to the backup infrastructure
Physical access to the IT Services Data Centre and any of the Backup System infrastructure components
System and/or Database Administrators

IT Services reserves the right to
- perform client backups using different media types (e.g. tape, disk)
- request a scheduled backup system downtime to upgrade the backup system infrastructure
- schedule client server downtime at a minimum of two (2) per year to update the server’s backup software
Backups are automatically expired by the system once they surpass their backup retention (e.g. 5 weeks) and cannot be recovered
IT Services will initiate all file level restores and coordinate the work with the client
The client is solely responsible for volume or file system management on the server
IT Services is not responsible for data corruption.
IT Services is solely responsible for vendor support with respect to the backup system infrastructure hardware and software
Provide a minimum of 1 year's notice to discontinue backups for the client due to client’s server running an unsupported OS

All McGill staff and affiliates are entitled to use this service.

Find more information on the Virtualization Server service description.

The Data Centre facilities operate 24 X 7 X 365.

None available.

None available.

None available.