BRU LE Frequently Asked Questions

What is BRU LE for MAC OS X?

BRU LE for Mac OS X is a native data backup and recovery tool that supports standalone systems. BRU LE can be operated from an intuitive graphical interface or from the command line.

Unix users worldwide over the past 18 years have been enjoying backup peace-of-mind knowing their data is safely protected by BRU™. This peace-of-mind is now available to Macintosh users.

Is BRU Server supported on Intel Macs?

Yes!  BRU Server, BRU LE, and TOLIS Tape Tools all work with Intel based Mac's without issues.

Why is BRU different from other products that support Mac OS X?

BRU LE for Mac OS X is based on the proven BRU™ engine, the core of all TOLIS Group solutions that was developed from a "data recovery" perspective, versus a "backup" perspective. The difference in design philosophy is profound, and defines the specific checks and balances necessary to assure the ultimate recoverability of data. DETAILS

How does BRU LE for Mac OS X work differently from other tools during a backup?

If a backup isn't accurate, the data cannot be accurately restored. Unlike other tools, BRU LE for Mac OS X accounts for each and every bit backed up and recovered by segmenting the backup data stream into buffer blocks and calculating 32-bit checksums on the metadata and user data within each buffer block.

Upon completion of the backup, the BRU logical data format allows each backup to be 100% verified for accuracy, even without access to the system disk/s. This approach allows the system to resume its normal activity while the backup is being fully verified - effectively reducing the backup window by 50% or more. Since access to the system disk/s is not needed, the backups can even be verified on a different system! If a problem occurs during the actual backup operation, BRU LE for Mac OS X reports the error and its specific location in detail.

You will always know the status of a backup when using BRU for Mac OS X.

How does BRU LE FOR MAC OS X handle restore errors should they occur?

The BRU LE for Mac OS X data format, which incorporates the buffer blocks and calculates checksums during the backup, is important during the restore as well. If corrupt data is experienced during a restore, BRU LE for Mac OS X makes multiple attempts to read the bad area. If it cannot, the media is advanced until a valid file header "signature" is read and the recovery continues. BRU returns the most data possible during a restore, whereas competitive products will simply abort the recovery and data that has not yet been recovered is permanently lost.

Does BRU LE for Mac OS X deliver 100% accurate restores?

No backup software provider, not even TOLIS Group, can justify the claim of "100% accurate restores." It is simply impossible to substantiate the claim.

Even after a good (fully verified) backup has been created, data can become corrupt (physical damage, magnetic degradation, etc.). It happens. BRU LE for Mac OS X employs the advanced technology necessary to circumvent corrupt data experienced during a restore to continue without aborting. Using BRU, only the corrupt data will be unrecoverable and the remaining good data will be fully recovered.

How is BRU LE for MAC OS X installed?

Installation is simple. BRU LE for Mac OS X is a standard OS X package, and is installed from the Finder™.

Do you have to be a Unix guru to use BRU LE?

No. The Aqua graphical interface provides Mac OS X users with a familiar look and feel user interface to access the robust feature set of BRU LE for Mac OS X. Advanced users can customize operation to suit specific system and business needs by using the standard Unix scripting tools from the BRU LE for Mac OS X command line.

What type of devices does BRU LE for MAC OS X support?

BRU LE for Mac OS X works with all tape formats, all removable disk technology, "disk-files," MO (Magneto Optical) devices, Zip™, and more. Autoloader tape support is limited to a single drive and up to 10 tape slots. Support of Apple's SuperDrive will be added, and will be available at no additional charge. BRU LE does not support DVD or CD writing from the GUI, however, these are command line scriptable.

What are the archive limitations for BRU LE for MAC OS X back up?

BRU LE for Mac OS X supports 64-bit filesystems and will accurately back up and restore files in full compatibility with Apple's HFS+ filesystems up to its design limit of 250GB per archive. Backups larger than 250GB may cause the BRU LE catalogs to become too large for BRU LE to properly handle.  As such, if BRU LE is implemented in an evironment that will require backing up drives that are larger than the 250GB limitation, it is strongly urged that BRU Server be used instead of BRU LE.

Does BRU LE for Mac OS X always back up everything?

BRU LE for Mac OS X supports "full," "incremental," and "differential" backups. Initially it's advisable to do a full backup of all system disk/s contents and continue the practice periodically, dictated by the businesses' data protection policies. In between, incremental or differential backups can be performed. Incremental backups save time and backup media by backing up only the files that have been added or changed since the last backup. Differential backups back up information that has changed since the last full backup. BRU LE for Mac OS X provides options that additionally let you specify select classes of files (i.e. by file owner or type of file).

Can I restore just one file?

Yes, the QFA (Quick File Access) capability quickly finds the file you want to restore, eliminating the need to search through the potentially voluminous backup media for the particular file.

Does BRU LE for Mac OS X use the "Storage Set" concept?

No. There is no dependency on any special files contained on the system's hard disk, therefore BRU LE for Mac OS X will restore files accurately regardless of the state of the files on the system.

Does BRU LE for Mac OS X back up "open files?"

Backing up "open files" was a Mac OS 9 and earlier concern. Mac OS X is a Unix core operating system, and the issue does not exist under Unix.

How does BRU LE for MAC OS X support tape backup?

TOLIS Group's unique tapectl™ and libctl™ tools are transparently integrated into BRU LE for Mac OS X and manage the function of tape drives and tape libraries working under Mac OS X.

BRU will recognize and work beautifully with tape devices via the SCSI, Fibre-Channel, USB, and Firewire interfaces. In networked environments, Mac OS X systems can even be backed up to tape drives remotely located on other Unix systems.

View a sampling of tape drives and libraries supported by BRU for Mac OS X.

How fast is BRU LE for Mac OS X?

The weak links of backup systems in the past have been either the network and/or the tape devices. The performance of modern tape technology has evolved to the point that inefficient backup software can now be the gating factor to the performance of the backup system. BRU LE for Mac OS X can stream the fastest tape technology and does not impede overall backup system performance. The optimal performance of each tape technology (LTO, AIT, VXA, etc) is achieved using specific, different block size transfers. BRU LE for Mac OS X can be tuned to optimize the performance of these tape technologies.

Additionally, BRU LE for Mac OS X can write multiple simultaneous data streams to multiple tape devices (without interleaving data) to deliver even greater real-world backup system throughput.

What about the resource forks?

BRU LE for Mac OS X reliably and transparently backs up and recovers both bundle and single file binary files. No special operations or considerations are required.

Does BRU LE for MAC OS X provide network system support?

BRU LE is designed to support a single, standalone system. However, remote volumes using the NFS, SMB and AFP protocols can be mounted - but performance will be very slow and inefficient. When the backing-up of networked systems is required, BRU Server for Mac OS X is available to cost-effectively provide backup across the network.

Are BRU for OS X backups compatible with other BRU versions?

Tapes created with BRU for Mac are fully compatible with all current versions of BRU across all platforms. BRU LE for Mac OS X provides backward compatibility with archives created by previous versions of BRU all the way back to BRU 6.1, released in 1987.

Does BRU LE back up raw data partitions?

Yes, the raw data partitions often used by database programs such as Sybase and Oracle are accurately backed-up and restored.

Does BRU LE support data compression?

Hardware compression should always be used when available. When a device does not provide hardware compression, BRU LE will compress the files. BRU's software compression is usually in the 10% to 90% range, depending on the type of data. BRU LE will not try to compress files that are already hardware-compressed.