Introducing CA ARCserve Backup Agents and Options › Using Agents › Agent for Open Files › Understanding the Agent for Open Files › About the Agent for Open Files

About the Agent for Open Files

CA ARCserve Backup Agent for Open Files solves one of the most severe problems associated with backing up files on network servers - the open file dilemma. This is the inability of many backup programs to make backups of files that are open and in use by other applications. Even though some backup programs may be able to make copies under such conditions, the validity of the backups is not guaranteed. Problems can occur. For example, a transaction can apply updates to several parts of a file being backed up, or even to several files that are components of a database.

The agent allows your existing backup applications access to files, even if they are open and in use. It also preserves the contents of the files being backed up, so that transactions occurring while the backup program is doing its job do not invalidate the backup. The agent does all of this transparently, without the need to replace or reconfigure your backup system.

CA ARCserve Backup Agent for Open Files has two main components:

• The server-based component (a driver for Windows NT 4, 2000, XP, and 2003; and a permanently loaded NLM for NetWare)
• The agent Console, which is a Microsoft Windows-based console that allows you to choose between Microsoft VSS and the agent for open files backup, to configure the agent, check its operational status, and view the log files generated as the agent does its job.