Backup Testing and Monitoring
Problem:
Manually going through the logs and counting the total number of backups and replications to ensure everything is being handled correctly was tedious and prone to errors. More time was spent manually counting that should have been spent looking for clues that something may be amiss, such as unusually large backup sizes or unusually long backup times.
As time went on, some backups were taking noticeably longer. Needed to document and establish clear patterns for the vendor to take action.
Solution:
- Parsed the logs and uploaded to a database via a PowerShell script.
- Wrote SQL queries to mine the database for totals and other relevant data so as to compare against previous averages.
- Designed PHP web interface that’s easy to access and navigate
- Having everything presented neatly drastically cut man-hours required, was more accurate, and made it easier to identify issues
Skills needed:
- Export log files from backup servers to a spreadsheet
- Powershell scripts to convert and upload the data to the database
- SQL to build the database and craft useful queries
- PHP to design the interface