Disk I/O Throttling

• This feature is present in x360Recover Agent 2.23 and newer.
• Agent 2.27 now supports a new configuration file option NETWORK_MBPS=xx.x. 

The x360Recover agent now includes a simple mechanism for limiting storage disk I/O throughput in order to prevent the agent from adversely affecting performance of the protected system.

This feature can be especially useful when backing up a protected system using low-end storage or running within heavily populated virtual infrastructure. 

Disk I/O Throttling Settings

Disk throttling can be enabled by modifying the agent configuration file on the protected system.

• For additional details on how to set agent throttling options for Direct-to-Cloud, see How to set agent throttling options.

If your protected system performance is being adversely affected by backups, try setting these flags in aristos.cfg.  Adjust throttling values to find a happy medium between backup time and user experience.

Two new feature control flags are configurable within the aristos.cfg configuration file:

• MAX_READ_MB_PER_VOLUME: Set the maximum disk read speed (per volume) in MB/sec for incremental backups.  The default value is 0 (zero) meaning unlimited.
• (5-10MB/sec is a reasonable setting for this value in most cases.)
• MAX_READ_MB_PER_VOLUME_FOR_FULL: Set the maximum disk read speed (per volume) in MB/sec for full backups.  The default value is 0 (Zero) meaning unlimited.
• (25-25MB/sec is a reasonable setting for this value in most cases.)

It is recommended to set MAX_READ_MB_PER_VOLUME_FOR_FULL to a value high enough to ensure full backups complete in a reasonable timeframe.  (e.g. 25-35MB/sec or more depending on volume size)

To determine the baseline performance for a given protected system, open Resource Monitor and observe the active disk activity during an incremental backup.  Limit the disk I/O to no more than 50-75% of the average transfer speed observed without throttling enabled to ensure that your users are not impacted by agent disk activity.

Note:  The value for both features must be an integer.  (For example:  5, not 5.5)

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