Backup parameters for legato backup

Hi All,
We are doing SAP Migration for 4.6C on HP-UX 11 v2 64bit with oracle 9. We are having Tivoli backup system in our exisiting landscape. We want to take the offline backup of our PRD system in readable format. We will not have Tivoli backup storage in our new landscape. Will you please let us know what parameter we need to change in INIT<SID>.SAP file to make the offline backup in DLT format for our new landscape. Also please let me know any process we need to follow up to take the offline back up in DLT format. We will have the Legato backup process in our new landscape. Currently all online and offline backup is running on Tivoli client format in our old landscape.
If you have any documents for defining new backup stratergy then please send me on [email protected]
Thanks for your support.
Thanks and regards,
Ripal

Backup job for User databases is failing.
I found below errors
View job history
Step 0:
The job failed. The job was invoked by schedule 4(DBMP_User). The last step to run was step 1(subplan)
Step 1:
Message: Executed as user Servername\System. The package execution failed. The step failed
Appln-event log:
SQL server scheduled job DBMP_User failed. Invoked on 2007-12-24 , the job was failed.
Sql server error log
Database backed up. DBname creation,date()time……paged dumped 8434659,first LSN: 21126:101410:48,last LSN :21128:933:1, number of dump devices:1, device information: file=1,type=disk (E:\MSSQL\BACKUP\  )
This is an informational message only. No user action is required
Error log:
Date:
Log: SQL Agent (current …)
Message:
(396) An idle CPU condition has not been defined-OnIdle job schedules will have no effect.
If we look at the error message "An idle CPU condition has not been defined", it seem like that while taking backup the CPU goes on idle for a long period of time. Probably more than 10 min. We can try setting the properties of SQL Server Agent by right
clicking and select "Advanced" option or extend the time for Idle CPU condition. For more details refer
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms189065(v=sql.90).aspx
One reason for going CPU idle when the job is running can be due to space issue in the server. Here we have a solution where the user cleanup some backup files and the issue got resolved. Refer
http://www.sqlteam.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=94668
Regards, RSingh

Similar Messages

  • I am trying to confirm the time at which a particular backup occurred using an external hard drive that I have since misplaced. Although time machine lists the backup times for some backups, it does not list them for all. Can someone help?

    I am trying to confirm the time at which a particular backup occurred using an external hard drive that I have since misplaced. Although time machine lists the backup times for some backups, it does not list them for all, including the one in question. Can someone help?

    Okay, I've sussed it.  I saw a link to another discussion that hadn't turned up in any of my searches before I posted the question above.
    My Tosh HDD was formatted to FAT 32 and therefore would not be backed up by Time Machine.  I removed all data from it - nightmare as I hadn't enough space to put it on the macbook HDD, but, after trawling through numerous photos and deleting rubbish for hours, I finally made enough space and copied all data across.  Then, after clearing the data from the Tosh HDD, I used disk utilitity to reformat it to Mackintosh OS Extended.  Chose the option without kournalling because I'm not baking up onto this disk and so don't need it - according to some other discussions I found.
    When it was done I check on time machine in system prefs and once I selected options, I was able to remove it from the excluded from backups list.  Hey presto.  Now I'm moving my photo library and my music library onto the Tosh HDD and my macbook should start to breath again.  Hurray.

  • Incremental backup program for monthly backup

    I would like to purchase a program that does not run constantly like Time Machine (which I use) but which I can start myself for an off-site incremental backup of a very large iPhoto library on a monthly basis. Anyone use anything like that?

    Still another app that will make incremental backups is Synk Standard. Give them all a try and see which you're more comfortable with.
    It will let you set a schedule for automatic backups including mounting and logging into another Mac or HD that requires a password and username.
    OT
    TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier versions) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
    I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. There are versions that are compatible with iPhoto 5, 6, 7 and 8 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.
    NOTE: The new rebuild option in iPhoto 09 (v. 8.0.2), Rebuild the iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup" makes this tip obsolete.

  • Estimated backup time for first backup?

    i was curious about how long Time Machine will take to backup 107 gigs on the first backup... since its a MacBook i cant leave it on all night or it'll die and if i plug it in it'll reduce battery life

    it can take a long time (several hours) so plug it into AC and set the power settings to power adapter and sleep to never. this will not affect your battery and in any even you'll have to live with it.

  • Best option for testing the Restore of an Backup Online with Legato

    In my company is needed to test of Restore of an Backup Online with Legato of my Production System in a server available for test with the same operating system Windows 2000 Server, the same version of SAP R/3 4.6B and database Oracle 8.1.7.4.1, but the SID is different.
    My question as is the best way to make this procedure? It will need to return to install sap with the same SID of production ??? or a way exists to change the SID and next to restore the backup online.
    I like to know me the best one practice that they can recommend to me for these cases.
    Thanks to all
    dcardena

    Hi,
    /people/sap.user72/blog/2006/03/04/complete-xi-backup-restore-in-an-hour How u feel abt this.
    The R3COPY (for releases 4.X) is a supported database-specific (backup/restore) procedure to perform faster Homogeneous System Copies.
    Regards
    vinod

  • Can legato be compatible for taking backups with RMAN

    can legato software be compatible for taking backups with RMAN
    oracle 10g
    Message was edited by:
    user531314

    Rman is so feature rich and yiou can integrate your third party backup software with rman to take backups, there is nothing to worry in your case, this is very much in the reach.
    hare krishna
    Alok

  • RMAN script for hot backup (looking for code critic) code attached.

    Hello Guru's,
    I have been having soem trouble running a successful hot full rman backup nightly.
    We max our CPU load whenever our RMAN takes too long and conflicts with a Legato tape backup. I have a development server that I attempted to get a consistent backup time duration that is rock solid as to not conflict with the Legato backup time.
    I just found out about duration with RMAN scripts here is my code:
    #!/bin/bash
    #rman backup script for daily hot whole database backup
    at -f /hd1/rman_scripts/rman_backup 0600 tomorrow
    rman target/
    run {
    allocate channel d1 device type disk format '/path/%U';
    backup duration 1:00 partial minimize load database filesperset 1;
    backup as BACKUPSET tag '%TAG' database;
    backup as BACKUPSET tag '%TAG' archivelog all delete all input;
    delete noprompt obsolete;
    release channel d1;
    exit
    It completes the backup, but does not use the 1 hour allocated- it only uses 15 minutes on average and creates many files instead of normally three backup files.
    Here is the results from querying the v$rman_status table for operation,status,start_time:
    RMAN,FAILED, 17-OCT-06 0600
    BACKUP,FAILED,17-OCT-06 0600
    RMAN,FAILED,17-OCT-06 0606
    BACKUP,COMPLETED,17-OCT-06 0606
    BACKUP,COMPLETED,17-OCT-06 0606
    BACKUP,FAILED,17-OCT-06 0615
    RMAN,COMPLETED,17-OCT-06 1513
    REPORT,COMPLETED,17-OCT-06 1513
    DELETE,COMPLETED,17-OCT-06 1513
    However, the timestamps of the backupset files it creates is:
    06:15 and not 1513?????????????
    RMAN appears to have only taken 15 minutes to create the files, why do I have a completed timestamp from v$rman_status of 1513???
    Please advise and comment, I am just learning RMAN.

    Try to remove the DURATION option in your script.
    Here more details about that part.
    http://download-east.oracle.com/docs/cd/B19306_01/backup.102/b14194/rcmsynta009.htm#i1010261
    Bye, Aron

  • CONFIGURE DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE

    How to clear this ? It should auto see to DISK not to tape, i posted 2 show all below, 1st one is giving me error, & the 2nd one is working fine for another db.....
    How to clear
    CONFIGURE DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE 'SBT_TAPE' TO 1;
    CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE SBT_TAPE TO 1; # default
    RMAN> restore database preview;
    Starting restore at 27-JUN-12
    allocated channel: ORA_DISK_1
    channel ORA_DISK_1: sid=125 devtype=DISK
    released channel: ORA_DISK_1
    RMAN-00571: ===========================================================
    RMAN-00569: =============== ERROR MESSAGE STACK FOLLOWS ===============
    RMAN-00571: ===========================================================
    RMAN-03002: failure of restore command at 06/27/2012 11:45:25
    ORA-19554: error allocating device, device type: SBT_TAPE, device name:
    ORA-27211: Failed to load Media Management Library
    RMAN> show all;
    RMAN configuration parameters are:
    CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY TO RECOVERY WINDOW OF 7 DAYS;
    CONFIGURE BACKUP OPTIMIZATION OFF; # default
    CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO DISK; # default
    CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP ON;
    CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP FORMAT FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 'J:\Cognoscm\%F';
    CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP FORMAT FOR DEVICE TYPE SBT_TAPE TO '%F'; # default
    CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE DISK BACKUP TYPE TO COMPRESSED BACKUPSET PARALLELISM 1;
    CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE 'SBT_TAPE' BACKUP TYPE TO COMPRESSED BACKUPSET PARALLELISM 1;
    CONFIGURE DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE 'SBT_TAPE' TO 1;
    CONFIGURE DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 1;
    CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 1;
    CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE SBT_TAPE TO 1; # default
    CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE DISK FORMAT 'J:\COGNOSCM\%U';
    CONFIGURE MAXSETSIZE TO UNLIMITED; # default
    CONFIGURE ENCRYPTION FOR DATABASE OFF; # default
    CONFIGURE ENCRYPTION ALGORITHM 'AES128'; # default
    CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG DELETION POLICY TO NONE; # default
    CONFIGURE SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE NAME TO 'C:\ORACLE\10\DATABASE\SNCFCOGNOSCM.ORA'; # default
    RMAN> show all;
    RMAN configuration parameters are:
    CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY TO RECOVERY WINDOW OF 7 DAYS;
    CONFIGURE BACKUP OPTIMIZATION OFF; # default
    CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO DISK; # default
    CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP ON;
    CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP FORMAT FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 'J:\DELTEKCP\%F';
    CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE DISK BACKUP TYPE TO COMPRESSED BACKUPSET PARALLELISM 1;
    CONFIGURE DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 1; # default
    CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 1; # default
    CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE DISK FORMAT 'J:\DELTEKCP\%U';
    CONFIGURE MAXSETSIZE TO UNLIMITED; # default
    CONFIGURE ENCRYPTION FOR DATABASE OFF; # default
    CONFIGURE ENCRYPTION ALGORITHM 'AES128'; # default
    CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG DELETION POLICY TO NONE; # default
    CONFIGURE SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE NAME TO 'C:\ORACLE\10\DATABASE\SNCFDELTEKCP.ORA'; # default

    RMAN> show all;
    using target database control file instead of recovery catalog
    RMAN configuration parameters are:
    CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY TO RECOVERY WINDOW OF 7 DAYS;
    CONFIGURE BACKUP OPTIMIZATION OFF; # default
    CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO DISK; # default
    CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP ON;
    CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP FORMAT FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 'J:\Cognoscm\%F';
    CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP FORMAT FOR DEVICE TYPE SBT_TAPE TO '%F'; # default
    CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE DISK BACKUP TYPE TO COMPRESSED BACKUPSET PARALLELISM 1;
    CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE 'SBT_TAPE' BACKUP TYPE TO COMPRESSED BACKUPSET PARALLELISM 1;
    CONFIGURE DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE 'SBT_TAPE' TO 1;
    CONFIGURE DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 1;
    CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 1;
    CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE SBT_TAPE TO 1; # default
    CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE DISK FORMAT 'J:\COGNOSCM\%U';
    CONFIGURE MAXSETSIZE TO UNLIMITED; # default
    CONFIGURE ENCRYPTION FOR DATABASE OFF; # default
    CONFIGURE ENCRYPTION ALGORITHM 'AES128'; # default
    CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG DELETION POLICY TO NONE; # default
    CONFIGURE SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE NAME TO 'C:\ORACLE\10\DATABASE\SNCFCOGNOSCM.ORA'; # default
    RMAN> restore database preview;
    Starting restore at 27-JUN-12
    allocated channel: ORA_DISK_1
    channel ORA_DISK_1: sid=124 devtype=DISK
    RMAN-06908: WARNING: operation will not run in parallel on the allocated channels
    RMAN-06909: WARNING: parallelism require Enterprise Edition
    released channel: ORA_DISK_1
    RMAN-00571: ===========================================================
    RMAN-00569: =============== ERROR MESSAGE STACK FOLLOWS ===============
    RMAN-00571: ===========================================================
    RMAN-03002: failure of restore command at 06/27/2012 13:22:40
    ORA-19554: error allocating device, device type: SBT_TAPE, device name:
    ORA-27211: Failed to load Media Management Library

  • Script for cold backup using RMAN

    Dear all,
    db_version:-10.2.0.4
    os_version:- Windows 2003 server
    I wish to schedule a script that will take cold backup of my database using RMAN.
    Any help is appreciated ..
    Edited by: user12000301 on May 18, 2011 5:02 AM

    Dear All,
    Thanks a lot for your valuable time :
    However i have managed to do it as follows :
    1. First i have configure the parameter of RMAN ( Since it is my UAT in Noarchive log mode), I have never tried RMAN cold backup on the same.
    Following is the out put of SHOW ALL;
    RMAN> show all;
    using target database control file instead of recovery catalog
    RMAN configuration parameters are:
    CONFIGURE RETENTION POLICY TO RECOVERY WINDOW OF 2 DAYS;
    CONFIGURE BACKUP OPTIMIZATION OFF;
    CONFIGURE DEFAULT DEVICE TYPE TO DISK;
    CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP ON;
    CONFIGURE CONTROLFILE AUTOBACKUP FORMAT FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 'D:\DB\RMAN_BKP\BACKUPS%F';
    CONFIGURE DEVICE TYPE DISK PARALLELISM 2 BACKUP TYPE TO COMPRESSED BACKUPSET;
    CONFIGURE DATAFILE BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 1;
    CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG BACKUP COPIES FOR DEVICE TYPE DISK TO 1;
    CONFIGURE CHANNEL DEVICE TYPE DISK FORMAT 'D:\DB\RMAN_BKP\BACKUPS\DB_%U.%r';
    CONFIGURE MAXSETSIZE TO UNLIMITED;
    CONFIGURE ENCRYPTION FOR DATABASE OFF;
    CONFIGURE ENCRYPTION ALGORITHM 'AES128';
    CONFIGURE ARCHIVELOG DELETION POLICY TO APPLIED ON STANDBY;
    CONFIGURE SNAPSHOT CONTROLFILE NAME TO 'D:\DB\RMAN_BKP\BACKUPS\SNCFDB.ORA';
    2. I have created a rman_cold_bkp.bat file which has following entry :
    cd c:\oracle10g\bin
    set oracle_sid=DB
    rman target system/*** @D:\DB\RMAN_BKP\SCRIPT\rman_cold_bkp.rcv log=D:\DB\RMAN_BKP\SCRIPT\rman_cold_bkp.log
    exit
    3. Whereas rman_cold_bkp.rcv file contains following contents:
    run
    allocate channel C1 device type disk;
    shutdown immediate;
    startup mount;
    backup database;
    alter database open;
    release channel C1;
    exit
    I did checked it and it;s working fine for me :-)
    Regards,
    Girish

  • How to setup a user account for brtools backup

    Dear Sir,
    We have SAP running on Unix (AIX) and ORACLE Database . For the backup , we take the backup using brtools . At present , I am able to take the backup from the  dba user account .
    DBA user account (at os level) is oradv and group name is sapsys .
    For taking the routine backup using brtools , I want to create a seperate user account . For this I created a user , named bkup . For this user , I have defined primery group as sapsys .
    During execution of brtools command , I am getting following error :
    BR0252E Function stat() failed for '/usr/sap/DEV/SYS/exe/run/brarchive' at location BrFileStatGet-1
    BR0253E errno 13: Permission denied
    BR0273E Determination of file status for /usr/sap/DEV/SYS/exe/run/brarchive failed
    Kindly guide us , as what parameters / authorization etc need to be changed for user account bkup , so that brtools command can work without any error .
    With Thanks and Rgds
    Sonia Agarwal

    do lsuser oradv, check it's authorizations and give same auths to new user bkup

  • RMAN and Legato Backup

    I am trying to setup the Oracle Agent for Legato to backup an oracle database. I keep getting insufficient privelages when trying to:
    rman nocatalog
    connect target userid/password@database
    I have been trying the system id and password but it doesn't work.

    Hi
    Are you trying to duplicate a database?
    Did you read the restriction of the SET DBID command?
    http://download-west.oracle.com/docs/cd/B10501_01/server.920/a96565/rcmsynta50.htm#98274
    Restrictions and Usage Notes for the SET DBID Command
    You should only run the SET DBID command in the following specialized circumstances:
    * You are not connected to a recovery catalog and want to restore the control file or server parameter file.
    * You are connected to a recovery catalog want to restore the control file, but the database name is not unique in the recovery catalog.
    * The server parameter file is lost and you want to restore it.
    Is the 3rd point your case?
    Other good Metalink note:
    How to restore an Spfile File from autobackup older than 7 days https://metalink.oracle.com/metalink/plsql/ml2_documents.showDocument?p_database_id=NOT&p_id=292835.1
    restore controlfile from autobackup maxdays <number>;
    Bye, Aron

  • Environment configuration for Hot Backups

    Hi all,
    1. I am trying to create a hot backup tool based on the read-only Environment strategy ([discussed in a previous thread|http://forums.oracle.com/forums/message.jspa?messageID=3674008#3674008] ).
    Now, leaving aside the EnvironmentConfig.setReadOnly(true), I have found quite a few possible other configuration options in the EnvironmentParams class and I'm wondering if there are some that I should be using.
    Here are a couple of examples:
    - ENV_RECOVERY
    - ENV_RUN_INCOMPRESSOR
    - ENV_RUN_CHECKPOINTER
    - ENV_RUN_CLEANER
    Would it make sense to configure any of these?
    2. After creating a hot backup I have tried to test its state. Basically, the approach was quite simple:
    - open a read-only env on the backup
    - try to access the databases in the env
    My idea is that if the above 2 ops are succeeding then there is a very good chance that the backup is correct.
    Now, while playing with the above configuration options I have noticed that if I'm setting ENV_RECOVERY to false in this test environment, then any attempt to access the databases within results in a DatabaseNotFoundException.
    Can someone help me understand what is happening? (basically, I cannot make a connection between recovery and access to the DBs in the environment)
    Many thanks in advance,
    ./alex
    PS: I've forgot to mention that I'm running a quite old version: 2.1.30
    Edited by: Alex Popescu on Aug 13, 2009 5:50 AM

    ENV_RECOVERY - suppresses running recovery at Environment creation. Internal parameter.
    ENV_RUN_INCOMPRESSOR, ENV_RUN_CHECKPOINTER, ENV_RUN_CLEANER - disable the INCompressor, Checkpointer, and Cleaner Daemon threads.
    You should not need to adjust any of these parameters for your DbBackup utility. In fact, ENV_RECOVERY is an "internal use only" parameter.
    PS: I've forgot to mention that I'm running a quite old version: 2.1.30
    I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but as my colleague Mark Hayes stressed in a previous post, you really need to upgrade from 2.1.30 to 3.3.latest. It is highly probable that you will eventually run into bugs with 2.x and we are unlikely to (1) be willing to diagnose them, and (2) fix them. As Mark pointed out, 2.1 is 3.5 years old and the product has had a lot of improvements in that time. We are happy to answer questions on this forum relating to the latest major release, but dealing with old and crusty code is certainly going to be well below our allowable priority level.
    Charles Lamb

  • Changing backup parameters

    Hi,
    Iam new to this area /field, so want to know how /where I can change Backup
    parameters like Device Type i.e Tape => Disk  and  Backup Directory path ( in SAP + Oracle10g+ Window server 2003 ).
    Regards,

    Hello Marej,
    Navigate to:
    1) /oracle/<DBSID>/920_64/database
    2) Open the file init<SID>.sap using text editor
    3) make required changes, save and exit.
    Regards,
    Ammey Kesarkar
    <i>'Award points for useful info'</i>

  • Is the iCloud a backup tool for your computer?  How do I get my data back -- off the iCloud?

    Is the iCloud a backup tool for your computer?  ---- Apple care suggested using iCloud for a backup to my documents.  I do not have an iphone, ipad or laptop.  Just an iMac.  Nothing to share the data with.
    Now I am unable to access some of my documents on my computer and saving documents is cumbersome because it always wants to save it in iCloud, not my computer.  The documents I am unable to open are my old MS-Word.  One is a macro enabled word doc.   I am using os x mountain lion.
    After over an hour chat with apple care, the issue is not resolved.  I did not have more time to resolve the issue today and it will be continued next week.  Per apple care, I do not have any documents in the iCloud however I am almost at the free capacity with  contacts and documents.
    My question is -- If I purchase backup from a clould provider - other than apple, back up my files in documents in their cloud (make sure I can open them) and then delete the link to iCloud.  Would I preserve my data? Has anyone tried this?  I am open to suggestions.
    Thanks,
    Phyllis

    Is the iCloud a backup tool for your computer?  ---- Apple care suggested using iCloud for a backup to my documents.
    Not really. You can store "Documents in the Cloud" but this applies only to documents created by Pages, Numbers, Preview, Keynote, and Microsoft Office documents created on your computer stored in iCloud's "iWork". Within that limited purpose, iCloud works very well.
    My question is -- If I purchase backup from a clould provider - other than apple, back up my files in documents in their cloud (make sure I can open them) and then delete the link to iCloud.  Would I preserve my data?
    I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean by "purchase backup from a cloud provider" but if you're considering a service such as Carbonite, I don't advocate any of them. To back up your Mac, use your own backup device - Time Capsule or an external hard disk. It's inexpensive and reliable: two elements essential for a backup strategy, that no subscription service can offer.

  • Recently backing up my ipad onto my macbook, which is the backup server for all of my gadgets.  This includes all my photos and tons of music.  The macbook said it could not backup the ipad because there was insufficient disc space to do so. What now?

    I have a macbook operating OSX10.6.7.  Recently backing up my ipad which had lots of photos from a recent vacation.  I use this laptop as the backup server for all of my gadgets so it has thousands of photos and tons of music.  It just told me that it couldn't back up the ipad bc there wasn't enough disc space.  I was afraid that this would happen eventually.  What next?  Newer laptop with more space?  I'm not sure what files I could sacrifice to free up more space as most of these are important.

    What size hard drive do you have in your MacBook? The cheapest options are, a larger internal hard drive, or an external drive. Or you could get a cheap desktop PC and network to it for storage. I've got one that lives in the hall with 3 Terabytes (That's 3000gb) of storage.

Maybe you are looking for