Open File Manager (OFM) is a server-side software driver that solves
a notorious problem with backupbacking up open files. With OFM installed,
your backup software (or other file-oriented utilities) can access open files as
if they were closed.
The software comes on a single disk and is easy to install, but you must
reboot your server to activate OFM. You also need a separate license for each
server.
OFM is clearly a useful add-on. The overhead of the driver, at least on my
dual Pentium Pro 200 is negligible. You do not know that the driver is present
unless you open the OFM interface, which displays an embossed image of a Saint
Bernard and scrolls through credits as it loads.
Both St. Bernard Software and Computer Associates (CA) sell OFM. As sold by
CA, OFM supports only CA's ARCserve backup product. As sold by St. Bernard
Software, OFM supports numerous backup products, as shown in Screen A. Other
supported backup products not shown in Screen A are Syncsort Backup Express
V1.2.3, UltraBac for Windows NT, Unisys S3 for NT V2.1, and Workstation-based
Backup (in this case, OFM asks for a password to allow remote backup of a server
from a workstation). As you can see, OFM works with most backup applications.
Once you've installed it, setting up OFM is easy. The only strategic aspect
of setup is the formation of groups of files that you want to back up at the
same time (e.g., aspects of databases). OFM will cache the information in each
group during the backup process to prevent partial updates. Other than defining
groups, setup does not require much intervention.
Testing of OFM was straightforward. I opened documents in Word 97,
spreadsheets in Excel, and images and layouts in PageMaker 6.5. First, I invoked
Windows NT Backup and instructed it to back up my system with OFM disabled. As
expected, NT Backup skipped over all my open files. I then enabled OFM and
repeated the operationthis time all my open files were successfully backed
up. More impressively, OFM successfully backed up the major files for Systems
Management Server (SMS) and SQL. As you know, SQL database files are difficult
to back up without specific vendor-supplied agents, but OFM handled these files
easily.
OFM works and works well. It is available for both Intel and Alpha systems,
although remote use by a workstation is available only on the Intel platform. My
only complaint about OFM is that it does not conform to NT's uninstall
specification. To remove OFM, you must disable the driver and manually delete
its Registry entries. This inconvenience is relatively minor when you consider
what OFM has to offer. If you work in an environment where users leave files
open or where databases run around the clock, you need OFM.