Maximum Jobs per Client

The Maximum Jobs per Client property specifies the maximum number of backup and archive jobs that NetBackup clients can perform concurrently. Default: 1 job.

NetBackup can process concurrent backup jobs from different policies on the same client only if:

• There is more than one storage unit available, or,
• one of the available storage units can perform more than one backup at a time.

You can specify any number of concurrent jobs within the following constraints. Default: 1 job:

• Number of storage devices. NetBackup can perform concurrent backups to separate storage units or to drives within a storage unit. For example, a single Media Manager storage unit supports as many concurrent backups as it has drives. A disk storage unit is a directory on disk so the maximum number of jobs depends on system capabilities.
• Server and client speed. Too many concurrent backups on an individual client interfere with the performance of the client. The actual number that you can use depends on the hardware, operating system, and applications that are running.

Because Maximum Jobs per Client applies to all clients in all policies, set it to accommodate the client that can handle the lowest number of concurrent jobs.

• Network loading. The available bandwidth of the network affects how many backups can occur concurrently. For example, two exabyte 8500, 8 mm tape drives can create up to a 900-kilobyte-per-second network load. Depending on other factors, this can be too much for a single Ethernet. If you encounter loading problems, consider backing up over multiple networks or using compression.

A special case exists when backing up a client that is on the same machine as the server. Here, network loading is not a factor because you do not use the network. Client and server loading, however, is still a factor.