Question : Problem: What is a good backup procedure for a multi server network?

I have a network with 8 servers.  We have a Quantum SUPERLOADER 3 16 slot tape drive.  I would like to set up backup executive to backup all these servers and also have the ability to restore these servers from tape should they ever fail.  Most importantly, I need to know that the data is safe.  Can anyone recommend a good step by step procedure for Veritas to backup multiple servers.  I never quite got the concept of incremental backups or differential backups.  Thank you.

Answer : Problem: What is a good backup procedure for a multi server network?

First of all, let's be careful that we accomplish your goals. The one's you've articulated so far are:
 1) you want to fully back up our servers
 2) you want to store these backups at a central location
 3) you want to be able to do independent system restores from these backups

The questions/goals it sounds like we haven't covered include:
 a) do we need/allow for file-based restore functions (e.g.: recover just 1 file)
 b) do we need/allow for multiple, simultaneous server restore functions
 c) are our backups (media) protected (at least as much so as the original data)
 d) is the backup media of choice (tape) sufficient in capacity for all of the servers, including predicted storage growth.

Some things to think about on each of those questions:
 A) most data recovery operations are for files, not entire systems. This is especially true of most servers, because there is usually hardware redundancy built in to protect against most hardware failures (like RAID arrays for storage). If you're NOT planning to have a file-based restore capability, you may want to re-think.
 B) Since most tape-backup systems are mis-named, and are more aptly named archive and/or disaster recovery systems, you need to think about a real disaster -- what if ALL of your servers crashed (say, due to a network virus or massive power spike trough the UPS, or a nuclear blast as a result of global-nuclear warfare? OK, the last example is a little much (and the EMP would likely ruin your tapes in any case), but you get my point. If you can only restore one server at a time, and you've gotta get through 8 of 'em, you're in for a long week (or more) if you have to do them in sequence (vs. in parallel).
 C) are your tapes taken off-site? (Fire will melt your tapes BEFORE it gets hot enough to damage the hard drives in the servers!!) If so, are they kept in a secure facility? (The local Store-n-Go or Public Storage unit is NOT secure enough!) If I'm into corporate espionage, getting a copy of your backup tapes is even more valuable than breaking into your live servers! (because I'm much less likely to get caught!)
 D) One of the biggest problems with TAPE units is that they typically have a hard-limit on the amount of data they can store. Going above that limit usually means using a different technology (media technology). If your 16-slot tape drive is using LTO tapes, then we're talking about 10's of TB of capacity, so you're probably OK -- but only you can answer that.

Finally, the Quantum SUPERLOADER 3 only comes with the "starter" edition of Symantec's BackupExec. Contact Symantec to get the full version where one server can act as a "proxy" for the others, or a host of other configurations (depending upon your SCSI or Fibre configurations) are available

I hope this helps.... someone!

Dan