Veritas NetBackup™ Appliance Troubleshooting Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): Appliances (3.0)
  1. About using the Troubleshooting Guide
    1.  
      About this guide
    2.  
      About the intended audience
    3.  
      About contacting Technical Support
    4.  
      About troubleshooting the NetBackup Appliance
  2. Best practices
    1.  
      About best practices
    2.  
      Determining the NetBackup Appliance serial number
    3.  
      About Fibre Channel HBA card configuration verification
    4.  
      About Notification settings
    5.  
      About IPMI configuration
    6.  
      About password management and recovery
    7.  
      About IPv4-IPv6-based network support
    8.  
      About enabling BMR options
    9.  
      About deleting users
  3. About troubleshooting tools
    1.  
      Tools for troubleshooting the NetBackup Appliance
    2.  
      About hardware monitoring
    3.  
      Troubleshooting and tuning appliance from the Appliance Diagnostics Center
    4. About NetBackup support utilities
      1.  
        NetBackup Domain Network Analyzer (NBDNA)
      2.  
        NetBackup Support Utility (NBSU)
  4. Working with log files
    1.  
      About NetBackup Appliance log files
    2.  
      About the Collect Log files wizard
    3.  
      Viewing log files using the Support command
    4.  
      Where to find NetBackup Appliance log files using the Browse command
    5.  
      Gathering device logs with the DataCollect command
    6.  
      About gathering information for NetBackup-Java applications
    7.  
      Enabling and disabling VxMS logging
  5. Disaster recovery
    1.  
      About disaster recovery
    2.  
      Disaster recovery best practices
    3. Disaster recovery scenarios
      1. Appliance sustained power interruption
        1.  
          Restoring operation to a NetBackup Appliance following a power outage
        2.  
          Restoring operation to a NetBackup Appliance with external storage following a power outage
      2. Appliance hardware failure
        1.  
          Removing and replacing hardware components
        2.  
          Setting a NetBackup 5330 storage shelf component to the Service Allowed mode
      3.  
        Complete loss of appliance with recoverable operating system drives and attached storage disks
      4. Complete loss of appliance with recoverable attached storage disks
        1.  
          Reimaging a NetBackup appliance from the USB drive
        2.  
          Reconfiguring a 52xx master server appliance using the NetBackup Appliance Shell Menu
        3.  
          Configuring a master server to communicate with an appliance media server
        4.  
          Reconfiguring a 52xx or 5330 media server appliance using the NetBackup Appliance Shell Menu
        5.  
          About NIC1 (eth0) port usage on NetBackup appliances
      5.  
        Complete loss of appliance and attached storage disks
      6.  
        NetBackup Appliance software corruption
      7. NetBackup Appliance database corruption
        1.  
          Rollback to an appliance checkpoint from the appliance shell menu
        2.  
          About appliance rollback validation
      8. NetBackup Appliance catalog corruption
        1.  
          Starting a factory reset from the appliance shell menu
      9.  
        NetBackup Appliance operating system corruption
  6. NetBackup Appliance error messages
    1.  
      About NetBackup Appliance error messages
    2.  
      Error messages displayed during initial configuration
    3.  
      Error messages displayed on the NetBackup Appliance Web Console
    4.  
      Error messages displayed on the NetBackup Appliance Shell Menu
    5.  
      NetBackup status codes applicable for NetBackup Appliance

Setting a NetBackup 5330 storage shelf component to the Service Allowed mode

Before service or replacement can be performed on a Primary Storage Shelf or an Expansion Storage Shelf, the specific component of the unit must be set to the Service Allowed mode.

Typically, a failure automatically sets the component of the affected unit to the Service Allowed mode. When a warning of an impending failure occurs, the component is not automatically set to the Service Allowed mode. For this situation, you must set the component to the Service Allowed mode manually, by using the NetBackup Appliance Shell Menu.

In the Main_Menu > Support view, two main commands are available:

  • ServiceAllowed Set PrimaryShelf

    This command is used with options to set the appropriate Primary Storage Shelf component to the Service Allowed mode.

  • ServiceAllowed Set ExpansionShelf

    This command is used with options to set the appropriate Expansion Storage Shelf component to the Service Allowed mode.

The following describes the available command options for setting a Primary Storage Shelf component or an Expansion Storage Shelf component to the Service Allowed mode.

Table: Service Allowed command options

Storage unit

Command options

Primary Storage Shelf

  • Controller

    Set the Service Allowed flag for a Primary Shelf Controller. When you enter this option, you must also identify the controller location (A/B). The following shows the complete command:

    ServiceAllowed Set PrimaryShelf Controller A/B On/Off

  • FanCanister

    Set the Service Allowed flag for a Primary Shelf fan canister. When you enter this option, you must also identify the fan canister location (Left/Right).The following shows the complete command:

    ServiceAllowed Set PrimaryShelf FanCanister Left/Right On/Off

  • HDD

    Set the Service Allowed flag for a Primary Shelf hard disk drive. When you enter this option, you must also identify the drawer location (DrawerID) and the disk drive location (SlotNo). The following shows the complete command:

    ServiceAllowed Set PrimaryShelf HDD DrawerID SlotNo On/Off

    Note:

    Before you run this command, first run the Monitor > Hardware ShowHealth PrimaryShelf RAID command. Refer to the "Precautions and guidelines" section for more information.

  • PowerCanister

    Set the Service Allowed flag for a Primary Shelf power canister. When you enter this option, you must also identify the power canister location (Top/Bottom). The following shows the complete command:

    ServiceAllowed Set PrimaryShelf PowerCanister Top/Bottom On/Off

Expansion Storage Shelf

  • ExpansionCanister

    Set the Service Allowed flag for an Expansion Shelf canister. When you enter this option, you must also identify the canister location (Top/Bottom). The following shows the complete command:

    ServiceAllowed Set ExpansionShelf ExpansionCanister Top/Bottom On/Off

  • FanCanister

    Set the Service Allowed flag for a Primary Shelf fan canister. When you enter this option, you must also identify the fan canister location (Left/Right).The following shows the complete command:

    ServiceAllowed Set ExpansionShelf FanCanister Left/Right On/Off

  • HDD

    Set the Service Allowed flag for an Expansion Shelf hard disk drive. When you enter this option, you must also identify the exanpsion shelf ID (ExpansionShelfID), the drawer location (DrawerID), and the disk drive location (SlotNo). The following shows the complete command:

    ServiceAllowed Set ExpansionShelf HDD ExpansionShelfID DrawerID SlotNo On/Off

    Note:

    Before you run this command, first run the Monitor > Hardware ShowHealth PrimaryShelf RAID command. Refer to the "Precautions and guidelines" section for more information.

  • PowerCanister

    Set the Service Allowed flag for a Primary Shelf power canister. When you enter this option, you must also identify the power canister location (Top/Bottom). The following shows the complete command:

    ServiceAllowed Set ExpansionShelf PowerCanister Top/Bottom On/Off

Precautions and guidelines

Veritas requires that you perform this procedure only with assistance from Veritas Technical Support. It is important to understand that certain situations can adversely affect system operation. Care must be taken when you run the Service Allowed command options.

To keep your system at peak performance, fix each problem as it occurs and do not let problems accumulate. Multiple problems can degrade system performance and make servicing the system more difficult. Multiple problems can also increase the potential for a situation that may cause data loss.

The following describes how the Service Allowed mode may affect the system:

  • Degraded performance

    In some situations, setting a component to the Service Allowed mode can cause degraded performance. A message appears to alert you of this possibility before you proceed. For example, when you use the Controller option for the Primary Shelf, the following message appears:

    Support> ServiceAllowed Set PrimaryShelf Controller A on
    Service allowed flag is used for component replacement. Setting
    this flag may cause performance degradation due to write cache
    being turned off.
    >> Do you want to continue? (yes, no):
  • RAID volume status in Degraded state

    When you use the HDD option to set a hard disk drive to the Service Allowed mode, the following message appears:

    Support> ServiceAllowed Set PrimaryShelf HDD 1 2 on
    Service allowed flag is used for component replacement. Before
    you set this flag, run the
    'Monitor->Hardware ShowHealth PrimaryShelf RAID' command to
    make sure that this Hard Disk Drive (HDD) is in a RAID volume
    with a status of Optimal. If the RAID volume status is not Optimal,
    executing this command creates a RISK OF POTENTIAL DATA LOSS.
    >> Do you want to continue? (yes, no): no

    In this situation, the best practice is to enter no. Then you must resolve the current RAID volume issue to return it to Optimal status. Only then can you proceed with setting the affected hard disk drive to the Service Allowed mode.

    Veritas recommends that before you attempt to set any hard disk drive to the Service Allowed mode, first run the Monitor > Hardware ShowHealth PrimaryShelf RAID command. Check to make sure that the hard disk drive that you want to set to the Service Allowed mode is in a RAID volume with Optimal status.

    Warning:

    Make sure that you contact and work with Veritas Technical Support for guidance to avoid any situation that may cause the potential for data loss.

The following procedure describes how to set a Primary Storage Shelf or an Expansion Storage Shelf component to the Service Allowed mode.

To set a Primary Storage Shelf or an Expansion Storage Shelf component to the Service Allowed mode

  1. Contact Veritas Technical Support and inform the representative that you need to set a storage shelf component to the Service Allowed mode.

    Allow the representative to assist you with the remaining steps that follow.

  2. Log in to the NetBackup Appliance Shell Menu.
  3. Enter Main_Menu > Support.
  4. From the list of commands in Table: Service Allowed command options, enter the appropriate command.

    Note:

    Before you attempt to set a hard disk drive to the Service Allowed mode, first run the Monitor > Hardware ShowHealth PrimaryShelf RAID command. Refer to the "Precautions and guidelines" section for more information.

  5. Verify that the component is in the Service Allowed mode by checking that the blue Service Action Allowed LED on the affected storage shelf is on.
  6. Perform the necessary work on the affected unit.

    After the work has been completed and the unit has been restored to normal operation, the Service Allowed mode is cleared automatically.