Yes, it is possible, but hot backups are best done when few or no updates are being performed. I run a scheduled batch job in the middle of the night:
C:\Centura\sqltalk.exe BAT INPUT=C:\CENTURA\BACKUP.SQL
The SQLTalk script, BACKUP.SQL, looks like this:
set server {server}/{password}
/
backup snapshot from {database} to vol1:\backup\{database} on server
/
My databases reside on Novell servers with 2 seperate hard drives. The first drive is volume "sys" and contains the installed SQLBase server software. The second drive is "vol1" and is designed to hold the backup database as well as become a "sys" volume should the original die.
Hope this helps!