Veritas NetBackup™ 53xx Appliance Initial Configuration Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): Appliances (3.0)
Platform: 5330,5340

Performing the initial configuration on NetBackup 53xx series appliances from the NetBackup Appliance Web Console

This topic describes how to configure NetBackup 53xx series appliances that are new or have been reset to the factory defaults (factory reset).

This method requires that you connect a laptop directly to appliance port NIC1 (eth0). A NetBackup 53xx appliance can only be configured as a media server.

Before you perform the initial configuration on this media server, verify that you have already performed the following tasks:

Caution:

The appliance comes configured with a known default password for the Maintenance user account. You should change this password either before or immediately after the initial configuration to prevent unauthorized access to the appliance maintenance mode. Note that you must provide the Maintenance user password to Veritas Technical Support in the event that the appliance requires troubleshooting services. Step 17 in the following procedure describes how to change the Maintenance user password.

To perform the initial configuration on a NetBackup 53xx media server appliance from the NetBackup Appliance Web Console

  1. Connect a laptop to appliance port NIC1. Next, navigate to the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box.

    On the General tab, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) so that it is highlighted, then click Properties.

    Local Area Connection Properties dialog box

    On the Alternate Configuration tab, perform the following tasks:

    Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box
    • Click User Configured.

    • For the IP address, enter 192.168.229.nnn, where nnn is any number from 2 through 254 except for 233.

    • For the Subnet mask, enter 255.255.255.0.

    • Click OK.

  2. On the laptop that is connected to the appliance, open a web browser to the following URL:

    http://192.168.229.233

    Make sure to confirm the security exception to proceed.

  3. Log on to the appliance with the default credentials as follows:
    • User Name: admin

    • Password: P@ssw0rd

  4. On the Welcome to Appliance Setup page, review the summary of information that you need to perform the initial configuration.
    • Download Configuration Checklist

      If you have not previously filled out the checklist in the NetBackup 53xx Initial Configuration Guide, click this link to access an electronic version. Veritas recommends that you first print this file, then fill it out for use as you perform the configuration. After you have completed the initial configuration, store the checklist in a secure location for future reference.

    • Setup Appliance

      After you have filled out the configuration checklist, click this item to start the configuration.

  5. On the Storage Overview page, check and verify the status of the connected hardware components.

    The diagrams use specific icons to indicate whether any component cable or disk drive problems exist. The following describes the general icons that may appear:

    Note:

    Click the help (?) icon at the top right of the page to see a complete list of icon descriptions.

    Check mark in a green circle indicates that storage connectivity is okay.

    OK

    Exclamation point in a yellow triangle  indicates a storage connectivity warning.

    Warning

    Indicates a problem that can be fixed later and lets you proceed with the initial configuration. However, such problems can prevent access to the affected devices. Click the icon to see a description of the problem.

    X  in a red circle indicates a storage connectivity error that must be fixed before you begin the configuration.

    Error

    Indicates a critical problem that requires immediate resolution before you can proceed with the initial configuration. Click the icon to see a description of the problem.

    Question mark in  dark gray circle is used to click for help and information.

    Information

    Click the icon to learn more about the specific area.

    If there are no problems identified, click Next to start the initial configuration. Otherwise, use the following guidelines to resolve any problems:

    • Click on the warning or the error icon to see a description of the problem.

    • Verify that all cables are connected correctly and secured.

    • Verify that all disk drives are installed and seated properly.

    • Verify that all units are turned on and have booted up completely.

    • Verify that you have checked all of the items on the hardware check list.

    • After you have verified the previous items or made any changes, click Refresh. Any warning or error icons that disappear indicate that the problem has been fixed.

      Veritas recommends that you resolve all problems before you start the initial configuration.

    Note:

    If you cannot resolve any error problems after verifying all of the previous items and refreshing, stop here and contact Veritas Technical Support.

  6. The Network Configuration page contains the following taskbars to complete specific tasks with the associated data entry fields to configure network connectivity:
    • Create Bond - Use to create a bond between two or more network interfaces.

    • Tag VLAN - Use to configure VLANs in your existing network environments.

    • Add Static Route - Use to add a route configuration to your network.

    Expand each taskbar to enter the relevant network configuration information. These functions are independent of each other and do not require configuration in the order in which they appear.

    Note:

    NetBackup appliances do not support configuring two IP addresses that belong to the same subnet. The appliance runs on the Linux operating system and this type of networking is a current limitation. Each bond that you create must use an IP address that belongs to a different subnet.

    Note:

    You cannot remove an IP address if the appliance host name resolves to that IP address.

    Enter the appropriate Create Bond information as follows:

    Create Bond data entry fields

    • Network Interface

      Click on the drop-down box and select the ethernet NIC port to use for a network connection.

    • Bond Mode

      Click on the drop-down box and select the bond mode to use for the NIC ports that you want to bond.

      Bonding lets you combine (aggregate) multiple network interfaces into a single logical "bonded" interface. The behavior of the bonded interfaces depends upon the mode. The default bond mode is balance-alb.

      The available bonding modes from the drop-down list are as follows:

      • balance-rr

      • active-backup

      • balance-xor

      • broadcast

      • 802.3ad

      • balance-tlb

      • balance-alb

      Some bond modes require additional configuration on the switch or the router. You should take additional care when you select a bond mode.

      For more information about bond modes, see the following documentation:

      http://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/networking/bonding.txt

      After you have entered the appropriate data into all fields, you must click + to add and immediately plumb the selected network interface. To configure bonding, you must select multiple interfaces from the Bond Mode drop-down box. For IPv6 addresses, enter 64 as the Subnet Mask.

    • IP Address

      Enter the IP address for this appliance server.

    • Subnet Mask

      Enter the network address that identifies the IP address for this appliance server.

    • After you have entered the appropriate data into all fields, click + to save and add the bond settings.

    If required for your environment, enter the appropriate Tag VLAN information as follows:

    Tag VLAN data entry fields

    • Select Interface

      Select the network interface or the device name to which you want to tag the VLAN.

    • Description

      Enter a description for the VLAN. For example, Finance or Human Resource.

    • VLAN Id

      Enter a numeric identifier from 1 to 4094 for the VLAN.

    • IP Address [IPv4 or IPv6]

      Enter the IPv4 or the IPv6 address to be used for this appliance.

    • Subnet Mask

      Enter the subnet mask value that corresponds to the IP address.

    • Click Add to add the configuration information for tagging VLAN into to your existing network environment.

      To enter information for tagging additional VLANs, click the + sign to add a row. To remove any of the rows, click the - sign that is adjacent to the Subnet Mask field.

    Enter the appropriate Add Static Route information as follows:

    Routing Configuration data entry fields

    • Destination IP

      Enter the network IP address of a destination network. The address can be either IPv4 or IPv6. Only global-scope and unique-local IPv6 addresses are allowed.

      See About IPv4-IPv6-based network support.

    • Destination Subnet Mask

      Enter the subnet value that corresponds to the Destination IP address.

      For the initial configuration, this field contains a default value that cannot be changed. When you configure another route, you must enter the appropriate value.

    • Gateway

      Enter the address of the network point that acts as an entrance to another network. The address can be either IPv4 or IPv6. Only global-scope and unique-local IPv6 addresses are allowed.

      See About IPv4-IPv6-based network support.

    • Network Interface

      Click on the drop-down box and select the ethernet NIC port to use for a network connection.

    • After you have entered the appropriate data into all fields, click + to save and add the routing configuration settings.

  7. On the Host Configuration page, you can enter the host resolution information as follows:
    • To edit the hosts file manually, click here

      Add the IP address, the fully qualified host name, and the short host name directly into the /etc/hosts file. Click here to open and edit the /etc/hosts file file.

    • Enter the appliance host name and the related host resolution information in the following fields:

    Host Name

    Enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of this appliance.

    Enter the short host name or the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of this appliance.

    The host name is applied to the entire appliance configuration with a few exceptions. The short name always appears in the following places:

    • NetBackup Appliance Shell Menu prompts

    • Deduplication pool catalog backup policy

    • Default storage unit and disk pool names

    If this appliance has been factory reset and you want to import any of its previous backup images, the appliance host name must meet one of the following rules:

    • The host name must be exactly the same as the one used before the factory reset.

    • If you want to change the host name to an FQDN, it must include the short name that was used before the factory reset. For example, if "myhost" was used before the factory reset, use "myhost.domainname.com" as the new FQDN.

    • If you want to change the host name to a short host name, it must be derived from the FQDN that was used before the factory reset. For example, if "myhost.domainname.com" was used before the factory reset, use "myhost" as the new short host name.

    Note:

    The Domain Name Suffix is appended to the host name and cannot be changed after the initial configuration is completed. If you need to change the suffix or move the appliance to a different domain at a later time, you must perform a factory reset first, and then perform the initial configuration again.

    For DNS systems:

    Enter the following Domain Name System information:

    • Domain Name Suffix

      Enter the suffix name of the DNS server.

    • DNS IP Address(es)

      Enter the IP address of a DNS server, then click the + icon to add the address. Repeat as necessary for the number of addresses that you want to add.

      The address can be either IPv4 or IPv6. For IPv6 addresses, only global-scope or unique-local addresses are allowed.

      See About IPv4-IPv6-based network support.

      To remove an address, select it from the list that appears below the data entry field and click the x icon.

    • Search Domain(s)

      If required for your environment, enter a search domain name, then click the + icon to add the name. Repeat as necessary for the number of search domains that you want to add.

      To remove a search domain, select it from the list that appears below the data entry field and click the x icon.

    After you have entered all of the necessary information, click Next.

    For the systems that do not use DNS:

    Enter the following Host name resolution information:

    • IP

      Enter the IP address of the appliance.

      The address can be either IPv4 or IPv6. For IPv6 addresses, only global-scope or unique-local addresses are allowed.

      See About IPv4-IPv6-based network support.

    • Fully qualified host name

      Enter the fully qualified host name (FQHN) of the appliance.

    • Short host name

      Enter the short name of the appliance.

      To enter two or more names, add a comma with no space between each name.

    After you have populated all fields, click the + icon. The added entries now appear below the fields.

    After you have entered all of the necessary information, click Next.

  8. On the Password change page, enter a new password to replace the default password as follows:

    Note:

    To continue with the initial configuration, you are not required to change the default password. However, to increase the security of your environment Veritas recommends that you change the password periodically. Make sure to keep a record of the current password in a secure location.

    Old admin password

    Enter the factory default password (P@ssw0rd)

    New admin password

    Enter the new password.

    Valid passwords must include the following:

    • Eight or more characters

    • At least one lowercase letter

    • At least one number (0-9)

    Uppercase letters and special characters can be included, but they are not required.

    The following describes password restrictions:

    • Dictionary words are considered weak passwords and are not accepted.

    • The last seven passwords cannot be reused, and the new password cannot be similar to previous passwords.

    Confirm new password

    Re-enter the new password for confirmation.

    After you have entered all of the necessary information, click Next.

  9. On the Date & Time page, enter the appropriate date and time for this appliance. The date and time for this media server must match the date and time of the associated master server.

    You can enter the information manually or use a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server to synchronize the appliance date and time over the network.

    Time zone

    To assign a time zone to the appliance, click on the Time zone drop-down box and select the appropriate region, country, and time zone.

    Specify date & time

    To enter the date and the time manually, select this option and enter the following information:

    • In the first field, enter the date by using the mm/dd/yyyy format. Or, click on the calendar icon and select the appropriate month, day, and year.

    • In the second field, enter the time by using the hh:mm:ss format. Entries must be in the 24 hour format (00:00:00 - 23:59:59).

    NTP

    To synchronize the appliance with an NTP server, select this option and enter the appropriate NTP Server IP address.

    After you have entered all of the necessary information, click Next.

  10. On the Alerting and Call Home page, enter the information for the appliance to send alerts or to upload status reports by email to a Veritas Call Home server.

    For alerts, enter the appropriate Alerting Configuration information as follows:

    Alerting Configuration data entry fields

    • Notification interval (in minutes)

      Enter the interval for the appliance to upload alerts to the Veritas Call Home server. Entries must be in increments of 15 minutes.

    • Enable SNMP Alert

      Click this check box and enter the following SNMP information:

      • SNMP server

        Enter either the SNMP server host name or its IP address to define this computer.

        The IP address can be either IPv4 or IPv6. For IPv6, only global-scope and unique-local addresses are allowed.

      • SNMP port

        Enter the port number of the SNMP server to allow communication with this appliance.

      • SNMP community

        Enter the community name where the alerts or traps are sent.

        For example, you can enter the same information that you used for the SNMP server. You can also enter a company name or another name like, admin_group, public, or private. If you do not enter anything, the default value is Public.

      • View SNMP MIB file

        To set up the appliance SNMP Manager to receive hardware monitoring related traps, click this link to view the content of the MIB file. Then, copy the file to another location and use the content to update the SNMP Manager.

        The appliance can only accept traps in the SNMPv2c format.

    • SMTP server

      Enter either the SMTP server host name or its IP address to define this computer.

    • Software administrator email address

      Enter the email address of your software administrator so that they can receive and notifications.

    • Hardware administrator email address

      Enter the email address of your hardware administrator so that they can receive and notifications.

    • Sender email address

      Enter the email address of the appliance so that recipients can identify the source of the report.

    • SMTP account

      Enter an account name for the SMTP server.

    • Password

      To increase security, enter a password for the SMTP server.

    You can configure this server to send email reports to a proxy server or to the Veritas Call Home server.

    The following describes the supported proxy servers:

    • Squid

    • Apache

    • TMG

    Note:

    NTLM authentication in the proxy configuration is also supported.

    For Call Home, enter the appropriate Call Home Configuration information as follows:

    Call Home Configuration data entry fields

    • Enable Call Home

      Click this check box to enable the appliance to send email reports to the Veritas Call Home server.

    • Enable proxy server

      Click this check box to use a proxy server for email notification and provide the proxy information that follows.

    • Enable proxy Tunneling

      To enable proxy tunneling, click this check box and provide the following proxy information:

      • Proxy server

        Enter the IP address of the server.

        The IP address can be either IPv4 or IPv6. For IPv6, only global-scope and unique-local addresses are allowed.

      • Proxy port

        Enter the port number of the proxy server to allow communication with this appliance.

      • Proxy username

        Enter the user name for the proxy server.

      • Proxy password

        Enter the password of the proxy server.

      • Test Call Home

        After you have entered all of the necessary information, Veritas recommends that you click Test Call Home to verify communication with the Veritas server.

        If the test fails, check that you have entered all names, IP addresses, and port numbers correctly. If the test fails again, contact Veritas Technical Support.

    After you have entered all of the necessary information, click Next.

  11. On the Registration page, click on the link to the MyAppliance portal at https://my.appliance.veritas.com to register the appliance and enter your contact information.
  12. On the Specify Master Server page, enter the name of the master server that you plan to use with this media server as follows:
    • For master servers with only one name and IP address:

      Enter the host name or the IP address of the master server and click Add.

    • For clustered master servers or master servers with multiple names and IP addresses:

      Enter the first host name or IP address in the field and click Add. If the master server is clustered, the first entry must be the virtual host name of the cluster.

      Enter each additional host name or IP address in the same manner (one at a time), and click Add after each entry.

      Note:

      If the host name of the master server is an FQDN, Veritas recommends that you use the FQDN to specify the master server for the media server.

    • After you have entered all of the necessary information, click Next.

    Note:

    After you complete the role configuration, the storage initialization starts. Depending on the number of disk drives in the system, the storage initialization can take up to 46 hours to complete. As a result, appliance backup and restore performance is degraded until the storage initialization process has completed.

  13. On the Storage Configuration page, create names for the storage units and the disk pools that you plan to use, and configure the size of the disk partitions.

    You can configure storage partitions for AdvancedDisk, for Deduplication (MSDP), or for both.

    Note:

    If you choose to configure MSDP storage, a policy is automatically created to protect the MSDP catalog. Veritas recommends reviewing this policy and activating it once your appliance is configured.

    AdvancedDisk

    Enter the following information:

    • Storage Unit Name

      Enter the name that you want to use to identify this storage unit. The name can contain any letters, numbers, or special characters. The name can include up to 256 characters.

      Note:

      The name should not start with the minus (-) character and spaces should not be used anywhere in the name.

    • Disk Pool Name

      Enter the name that you want to use to identify this disk pool. The name can contain any letters, numbers, or special characters. The name can include up to 256 characters.

      Note:

      The name should not start with the minus (-) character and spaces should not be used anywhere in the name.

    • Size

      Set the size for this partition by entering a precise number in the Size field, or click and drag the box on the gray slide bar to the desired size. The size can be set in GB or TB units, depending on the maximum available space.

    Deduplication Disk (MSDP)

    Enter the following information:

    • Storage Unit Name

      Enter the name that you want to use to identify this storage unit. The name can contain any letters, numbers, or special characters. The name can include up to 256 characters.

      Note:

      The name should not start with the minus (-) character and spaces should not be used anywhere in the name.

    • Disk Pool Name

      Enter the name that you want to use to identify this disk pool. The name can contain any letters, numbers, or special characters. The name can include up to 256 characters.

      Note:

      The name should not start with the minus (-) character and spaces should not be used anywhere in the name.

    • Size

      Set the size for this partition by entering a precise number in the Size field, or click and drag the box on the gray slide bar to the desired size. The size can be set in GB or TB units, depending on the maximum available space.

    After you have entered all of the necessary information, click Next.

  14. On the Configuration Progress page, you can monitor the progress of the appliance as it applies all of the data input from the configuration pages.

    The amount of time for the configuration to complete varies and depends on the complexity of your environment.

  15. On the Summary of Configuration page, review the results of the configuration. Examine the results to make sure that the configuration completed successfully.

    This page also identifies any errors that may have occurred. You may need to perform the initial configuration again if errors appear in the results.

  16. After the configuration has completed successfully, wait about 10 minutes for the NetBackup services to start. You must then use the fully qualified host name to reconnect and log into the appliance.
  17. Change the default Maintenance user password as follows:
    • Log on to the NetBackup Appliance Shell Menu and enter the Main_Menu > Support > Maintenance command.

    • At the password prompt, enter the default Maintenance user password (P@ssw0rd).

    • At the Maintenance shell prompt, enter the passwd command to change the password.

    • Type Exit to return to the NetBackup Appliance Shell Menu.

    For complete information about using the Support > Maintenance command, see the NetBackup Appliance Commands Reference Guide.

  18. After all appliances are configured and operational, you are ready to install client software on the computers that you want to back up.

    See Downloading NetBackup client packages to a client from a NetBackup Appliance.

    See Installing NetBackup client software through CIFS and NFS shares.