Finding your save window

 

When you run save procedures, how you run save procedures and what you save depend on the size of your save window.

A save window is the amount of time that your system cannot be available to users while you perform the save operations. To simplify your recovery, you need to save when your system is at a known point and your data is not changing.

When you select a save strategy, you should balance what your users think is an acceptable save window with the value of the data that you might lose and the amount of time that it might take to recover.

If your system is so critical to your business that you do not have a manageable save window, you probably cannot afford an unscheduled outage either. You should seriously evaluate all the availability options of the system, including clusters.

Based on the size of your save window, choose one of the following save strategies: simple, medium, or complex save strategy. Then reevaluate your decision based on how your save strategy positions you for a recovery.

• Simple save strategy
  You have a long save window, which means that you have an 8-hour to a 12-hour block of time available daily with no system activity (including batch work). The simplest save strategy is to save everything every night or during off-shift hours.

• Medium save strategy
  You have a medium save window, which means that you have a 4-hour to 6-hour block of time available daily with no system activity. Use this strategy if you find that you do not have a long-enough save window to use a simple save strategy.

• Complex save strategy
  You have a short save window, which means that there is little or no time when your system is not being used for interactive or batch work. A very short save window requires a complex strategy for saving and for recovery.

 

Parent topic:

Planning a backup and recovery strategy

Related concepts
Availability roadmap