Veritas NetBackup™ Virtual Appliance Getting Started Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): Appliances (4.0)
Platform: NetBackup Virtual Appliance
  1. Product overview
    1. NetBackup Virtual Appliance product description
      1.  
        About the NetBackup Virtual Appliance master server role
      2.  
        About the NetBackup Virtual Appliance combined master and media server role
      3.  
        About the NetBackup Virtual Appliance media server role
    2.  
      NetBackup Virtual Appliance supported features
    3.  
      About the NetBackup Virtual Appliance documentation
    4.  
      NetBackup Virtual Appliance 4.0 new features, enhancements, and changes
    5.  
      Known limitations of the NetBackup Virtual Appliance 4.0 release
    6.  
      Operational Notes for the NetBackup Virtual Appliance 4.0 release
  2. Preparing the initial deployment
    1.  
      NetBackup Virtual Appliance product files (OVF templates)
    2.  
      NetBackup Virtual Appliance deployment methods
    3. NetBackup Virtual Appliance deployment guidelines
      1.  
        Configuration overview for NetBackup Virtual Appliance MSDP cloud applications
      2.  
        NetBackup Virtual Appliance initial deployment checklist
  3. Deploying and configuring the appliance
    1. How to deploy and configure a NetBackup Virtual Appliance combined master and media server
      1.  
        Using the vSphere Client to deploy a combined master and media server appliance
      2.  
        Using the OVF Tool to deploy a combined master and media server appliance
      3.  
        Performing the initial configuration on a NetBackup Virtual Appliance combined master and media server
      4.  
        Completing the initial configuration of the NetBackup Virtual Appliance combined master and media server
    2. How to deploy and configure a NetBackup Virtual Appliance media server
      1.  
        Using the vSphere Client to deploy a media server appliance
      2.  
        Using the OVF Tool to deploy a media server appliance
      3.  
        Configuring a master server to communicate with an appliance media server
      4.  
        Performing the initial configuration on a NetBackup Virtual Appliance media server
    3. How to deploy and configure a NetBackup Virtual Appliance master server
      1.  
        Using the vSphere Client to deploy a NetBackup Virtual Appliance master server
      2.  
        Using the OVF Tool to deploy a master server
      3.  
        Performing the initial configuration on a NetBackup Virtual Appliance master server
    4.  
      Troubleshooting NetBackup Virtual Appliance initial deployment issues
  4. Post initial configuration procedures
    1.  
      About modifying the NetBackup Virtual Appliance settings
    2.  
      Adding a permanent license key if an evaluation license key expires
    3.  
      Managing license keys on the NetBackup Virtual Appliance
  5. Introduction to the NetBackup Virtual Appliance Shell Menu
    1.  
      Using the NetBackup Virtual Appliance Shell Menu
    2.  
      About the NetBackup Virtual Appliance Shell Menu command views

NetBackup Virtual Appliance 4.0 new features, enhancements, and changes

The following list describes the new features, enhancements, and changes in the NetBackup Virtual Appliance 4.0 release:

  • Requirement to change all factory default passwords

    Starting with this release, you are required to change the default passwords for the primary appliance user accounts. For new version 4.0 appliances, the initial deployment and configuration process prompts you to change the following passwords:

    • admin

    • maintenance

    For upgrades to version 4.0, the upgrade RPM preflight check and the Appliance Upgrade Readiness Analyzer both check for existing default passwords for these user accounts and recommend that you to change them.

  • vSphere 6.0 no longer supported

    VMware vSphere version 6.0 is no longer supported.

  • Cloud Catalyst no longer supported

    The NetBackup Virtual Appliance Cloud Catalyst is no longer supported because it has been replaced by MSDP cloud. For more information about MSDP cloud, refer to the NetBackup Deduplication Guide.

  • Virtual machine hardware upgraded

    The virtual machine hardware has been upgraded to version 13.

  • Smart Meter name replaced with Veritas Usage Insights

    Starting with this release (and NetBackup 9.0), the Smart Meter name has been changed to Veritas Usage Insights. All requirements regarding registration keys remain the same, and there is no impact to appliances with an existing Smart Meter key. You can access Veritas Usage Insights from the Veritas NetInsights Console, a SaaS-based unified platform with Veritas products and features. For more information, connect to the Veritas NetInsights Console at https://netInsights.veritas.com.

  • New NDMP Log partition

    You can now create an NDMP Log partition to hold the logs that are generated when NDMP is enabled during the backup operation. The NDMP logs are saved to the system disk by default and have limited storage space. If you need additional space, you can create the NDMP log partition and move the current NDMP log data to that partition.

  • Resize or move NetBackup VxUpdate repository partition

    Starting with this release, you can resize the NetBackup VxUpdate repository partition upward from its minimum size of 10 GB. The maximum size of the partition is dependent on the amount of all unallocated storage. You can resize this partition using the NetBackup Virtual Appliance Shell Menu. You can also move the NetBackup VxUpdate repository partition to any other disk volumes using the shell menu.

  • New data encryption option for MSDP partition

    Starting with this release, you can select to enable or disable encryption for the data that is stored on the MSDP partition with the following command:

    Main > Settings > Deduplication > Tune MSDP_ENCRYPTION

  • Universal Shares support

    This release introduces support of Universal Shares. The Universal Share feature provides data ingest into NetBackup Virtual Appliance using an NFS or a CIFS (SMB) share. Space efficiency is achieved by storing this data directly into an existing NetBackup-based deduplication pool. You can configure and manage the Universal Share from NetBackup.

  • New shell menu location for PasswordExpiry command

    Starting with this release, the PasswordExpiry command option has been moved from the Main > Manage > NetBackupCLI menu to the Main > Settings > Security > Authentication > LocalUser menu. This change provides for one location to configure the PasswordExpiry for all local users, including NetBackupCLI users.

  • New DataCollect commands

    Starting with this release, the DataCollect command set has been expanded to gather more information and to help you manage all of the collected logs. The new commands include options that let you do the following:

    • Delete all previous appliance datacollect logs and gather a new datacollect log.

    • Check the progress for any current datacollect process.

    • Upload datacollect logs to a specific location/path or to the Veritas server.

  • NFSv4 support

    Starting with this release, NetBackup Virtual Appliance supports NFSv4 from the appliance server side. All shares exported by the appliance can be mounted using NFSv4, including system shares and backup shares such as Universal shares and Copilot shares.

  • New command to manage access to general CIFS shares

    NetBackup Virtual Appliance uses general CIFS shares for some of its internal operations such as storing patches and installation files, uploading logs to support, forwarding logs to an external server, and uploading OST plug-ins.

    Starting with this release, you must manage access to the general CIFS shares for all local users and Active Directory users and user groups (except the admin user). Use the Settings > Security > Authentication > CIFSShare command to manage access to the general CIFS shares.

  • Guest and local user access to Universal Shares

    Starting with this release, after the upgrade has completed, Guest users and existing local users cannot access a Universal Share or CIFS shares. After the upgrade, you can grant access to these shares as follows:

    • Guest users: Replace a Guest user by creating a new local user.

    • Existing local users: Change the passwords for these users.

  • New commands for setting appliance security level

    Starting with this release, you can set the security level on NetBackup Virtual Appliance to restrict user access to the appliance operating system (VxOS). When the security level is set to High, the following restrictions are enforced in the appliance shell menu:

    • Users can no longer access the Maintenance user account to troubleshoot or manage underlying operating system tasks (the Support > Maintenance menu is not available from the shell menu).

    • Users can no longer create and delete NetBackupCLI users (the Manage > NetBackupCLI menu is not available from the shell menu).

    • Users can no longer grant or revoke the NetBackupCLI role (the Authorization > Grant NetBackupCLI menu is not available from the shell menu).

    • Users with the NetBackupCLI role cannot log in to the appliance.

    Note:

    After you change the security level to High, you must exit the current shell session and log back in to see the changes.

  • New command to download upgrade analyzer tool

    Starting with this release, you can use the following command in the appliance shell menu to download the Appliance Upgrade Readiness Analyzer:

    Main > Manage > Software > DownloadAnalyzer

  • SNMP V3 support

    Starting with this release, NetBackup Virtual Appliance supports SNMP V3, which provides the ability to enable authentication and encryption security features for SNMP users.

  • Restriction for retaining data when performing a factory reset

    If you upgrade to version 4.0 from versions 3.1 through 3.3.0.1, you cannot perform a factory reset (Main > Support > FactoryReset) and retain the backup data. The backup data cannot be retained because the data format was updated during a previous upgrade. The new data format cannot be reverted and the older software versions cannot recognize the new data format. Therefore, the software version still reverts back to an older version, but all of the data will be removed.

  • New command to view certificate used on appliance

    Starting with this release, you can use the following command to view the Certificate Authority (CA) that is currently in use on an appliance:

    Main > Settings > NetBackup > CertificateUsage Show

  • Command option name change for STIG

    Starting with this release, the Show option for the Main > Settings > Security > STIG command has been changed to Status (Main > Settings > Security > STIG Status).

  • New commands for Instant Access

    Starting with the 3.3.0.1 release, you can decrease or restore the operational level of Instant Access and check its current status. You should decrease the operational level only if necessary to help reduce the amount of time to upgrade appliance software. The commands are located in the Main > Support > InstantAccess view.