Veritas NetBackup™ 8.0 Troubleshooting Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup (8.0)
  1. Introduction
    1.  
      Recent changes to this guide
    2.  
      Troubleshooting a problem
    3.  
      Problem report for Technical Support
    4.  
      About gathering information for NetBackup-Java applications
  2. Troubleshooting procedures
    1.  
      About troubleshooting procedures
    2. Troubleshooting NetBackup problems
      1.  
        Verifying that all processes are running on UNIX servers
      2.  
        Verifying that all processes are running on Windows servers
    3.  
      Troubleshooting installation problems
    4.  
      Troubleshooting configuration problems
    5.  
      Device configuration problem resolution
    6.  
      Testing the master server and clients
    7.  
      Testing the media server and clients
    8.  
      Resolving network communication problems with UNIX clients
    9.  
      Resolving network communication problems with Windows clients
    10.  
      About troubleshooting networks and host names
    11. Verifying host name and service entries in NetBackup
      1.  
        Example of host name and service entries on UNIX master server and client
      2.  
        Example of host name and service entries on UNIX master server and media server
      3.  
        Example of host name and service entries on UNIX PC clients
      4.  
        Example of host name and service entries on UNIX server that connects to multiple networks
    12.  
      About the bpclntcmd utility
    13.  
      Using the Host Properties window to access configuration settings
    14.  
      Resolving full disk problems
    15. Frozen media troubleshooting considerations
      1.  
        Logs for troubleshooting frozen media
      2.  
        About the conditions that cause media to freeze
    16. Troubleshooting problems with the NetBackup web services
      1.  
        Viewing NetBackup web services logs
    17.  
      Troubleshooting problems with the NetBackup web server certificate
    18. Resolving PBX problems
      1.  
        Checking PBX installation
      2.  
        Checking that PBX is running
      3.  
        Checking that PBX is set correctly
      4.  
        Accessing the PBX logs
      5.  
        Troubleshooting PBX security
      6.  
        Determining if the PBX daemon or service is available
    19. About troubleshooting Auto Image Replication
      1.  
        Troubleshooting Auto Image Replication
      2.  
        About troubleshooting automatic import jobs
    20.  
      Troubleshooting network interface card performance
    21.  
      About SERVER entries in the bp.conf file
    22.  
      About unavailable storage unit problems
    23.  
      Resolving a NetBackup Administration operations failure on Windows
    24.  
      Resolving garbled text displayed in NetBackup Administration Console on a UNIX computer
  3. Using NetBackup utilities
    1.  
      About NetBackup troubleshooting utilities
    2.  
      About the analysis utilities for NetBackup debug logs
    3.  
      About network troubleshooting utilities
    4. About the NetBackup support utility (nbsu)
      1.  
        Output from the NetBackup support utility (nbsu)
      2.  
        Status code information gathered by the NetBackup support utility (nbsu)
      3.  
        Example of a progress display for the NetBackup support utility (nbsu)
    5. About the NetBackup consistency check utility (NBCC)
      1.  
        Output from the NetBackup consistency check utility (NBCC)
      2.  
        Example of an NBCC progress display
    6.  
      About the NetBackup consistency check repair (NBCCR) utility
    7.  
      About the nbcplogs utility
    8. About the robotic test utilities
      1.  
        Robotic tests on UNIX
      2.  
        Robotic tests on Windows
  4. Disaster recovery
    1.  
      About disaster recovery
    2.  
      Recommended backup practices
    3. About disk recovery procedures for UNIX and Linux
      1. About recovering the master server disk for UNIX and Linux
        1.  
          Recovering the master server when root is intact
        2.  
          Recovering the master server when the root partition is lost
      2.  
        About recovering the NetBackup media server disk for UNIX
      3.  
        Recovering the system disk on a UNIX client workstation
    4. About clustered NetBackup server recovery for UNIX and Linux
      1.  
        Replacing a failed node on a UNIX or Linux cluster
      2.  
        Recovering the entire UNIX or Linux cluster
    5. About disk recovery procedures for Windows
      1. About recovering the master server disk for Windows
        1.  
          Recovering the master server with Windows intact
        2.  
          Recovering the master server and Windows
      2.  
        About recovering the NetBackup media server disk for Windows
      3.  
        Recovering a Windows client disk
    6. About clustered NetBackup server recovery for Windows
      1.  
        Replacing a failed node on a Windows VCS cluster
      2.  
        Recovering the shared disk on a Windows VCS cluster
      3.  
        Recovering the entire Windows VCS cluster
    7. About recovering the NetBackup catalog
      1.  
        About NetBackup catalog recovery on Windows computers
      2.  
        About NetBackup catalog recovery from disk devices
      3.  
        About NetBackup catalog recovery and symbolic links
      4. About NetBackup catalog recovery and OpsCenter
        1.  
          Specifying the NetBackup job ID number after a catalog recovery
      5.  
        NetBackup disaster recovery email example
      6. About recovering the entire NetBackup catalog
        1.  
          Recovering the entire NetBackup catalog using the Catalog Recovery Wizard
        2.  
          Recovering the entire NetBackup catalog using bprecover -wizard
      7. About recovering the NetBackup catalog image files
        1.  
          Recovering the NetBackup catalog image files using the Catalog Recovery Wizard
        2.  
          Recovering the NetBackup catalog image files using bprecover -wizard
      8. About recovering the NetBackup relational database
        1.  
          Recovering NetBackup relational database files from a backup
        2.  
          Recovering the NetBackup relational database files from staging
        3.  
          About processing the relational database in staging
      9.  
        Recovering the NetBackup catalog when NetBackup Access Control is configured
      10.  
        Recovering the NetBackup catalog from a nonprimary copy of a catalog backup
      11.  
        Recovering the NetBackup catalog without the disaster recovery file
      12.  
        Recovering a NetBackup user-directed online catalog backup from the command line
      13.  
        Restoring files from a NetBackup online catalog backup
      14.  
        Unfreezing the NetBackup online catalog recovery media

About the conditions that cause media to freeze

The following conditions can cause media to freeze:

  • The same media has excessive errors during backup. An example of the log entry is as follows:

    FREEZING media id E00109, it has had at least 3 errors in the last 
    12 hour(s)

    The causes and the resolutions for this problem include:

    Dirty drives

    Clean the drives that are freezing the media according to the manufacturer's suggestions. Frozen media is one of the first symptoms of a dirty drive.

    The drive itself

    Check for the tape device errors that the operating system logs or the device driver reports. If any are found, follow the hardware manufacturer's recommendations for this type of error.

    Communication issues at the SCSI or host bus adapter (HBA) level

    Check for SCSI or HBA device errors the operating system logs or the device driver reports. If any are found, follow the hardware manufacturer's recommendations for this type of error.

    Drive not supported

    Ensure that the tape drives appear on the hardware compatibility list as supported for NetBackup. This list is located on the following Veritas Support website:

    www.veritas.com/docs/TECH59978

    Media not supported

    Ensure that the media is supported for use with the tape drive by the tape drive vendor.

  • An unexpected media is found in the drive. An example of the log entry is as follows:

    Incorrect media found in drive index 2, expected 30349,     \ 
    found 20244, FREEZING 30349

    The following conditions can cause this error:

    • NetBackup requests a media ID to be mounted in a drive. If the media ID that is physically recorded on the tape is different than the NetBackup media ID, the media freezes. This error occurs if the robot needs to be inventoried, or if barcodes have been physically changed on the media.

    • Another NetBackup installation previously wrote to the media with different barcode rules.

    • The drives in the robot are not configured in order within NetBackup, or they are configured with the wrong tape paths. The correct robot drive number is important to the proper mounting and use of media. The robot drive number is normally based on the relationship of the drive serial number with the drive serial number information from the robotic library. Validate this number before you consider that the device configuration is complete.

  • The media contain a non-NetBackup format. An example of the log entry is as follows:

    FREEZING media id 000438, it contains MTF1-format data and cannot 
    be used for backups
    FREEZING media id 000414, it contains tar-format data and cannot 
    be used for backups
    FREEZING media id 000199, it contains ANSI-format data and cannot 
    be used for backups

    These library tapes may have been written outside of NetBackup. By default, NetBackup only writes to a blank media or other NetBackup media. Other media types (DBR, TAR, CPIO, ANSI, MTF1, and recycled Backup Exec BE-MTF1 media) are frozen as a safety measure. Change this behavior by using the following procedure:

    On UNIX

    To allow NetBackup to overwrite foreign media, add the following to the bp.conf file that is located at /usr/openv/netbackup/bp.conf for the related media server:

    ALLOW_MEDIA_OVERWRITE = DBR 
    ALLOW_MEDIA_OVERWRITE = TAR
    ALLOW_MEDIA_OVERWRITE = CPIO
    ALLOW_MEDIA_OVERWRITE = ANSI
    ALLOW_MEDIA_OVERWRITE = MTF1
    ALLOW_MEDIA_OVERWRITE = BE-MTF1

    Stop and restart the NetBackup daemons for the changes to take effect.

    On Windows

    On the NetBackup Administration Console, proceed to Host Properties > Media Server

    Open the properties for the media server in question.

    Select the Media tab.

    The Allow Media Overwrite property overrides the NetBackup overwrite protection for specific media types. To disable the overwrite protection, select one or more of the listed media formats. Then stop and restart the NetBackup services for the changes to take effect.

    Do not select a foreign media type for overwriting unless you are sure that you want to overwrite this media type.

    For more details about each media type, see the NetBackup Device Configuration Guide.

  • The media is a tape formerly used for the NetBackup catalog backup. For example, the log entry may be the following:

    FREEZING media id 000067: it contains Veritas NetBackup (tm) 
    database backup data and cannot be used for backups. 

    The media is frozen because it is an old catalog backup tape which NetBackup does not overwrite by default. The bplabel command must label the media to reset the media header.

  • The media is intentionally frozen. You can use the bpmedia command to manually freeze media for a variety of administrative reasons. If no record exists of a specific job freezing the media, the media may have been frozen manually.

  • The media is physically write protected. If the media has a write-protect notch that is set for write protection, NetBackup freezes the media.

To unfreeze frozen media, enter the following bpmedia command:

# bpmedia -unfreeze -m mediaID -h media_server

The media_server variable is the one that froze the media. If this item is unknown, run the bpmedialist command and note the "Server Host:" listed in the output. The following example shows that media server denton froze media div008:

# bpmedialist -m div008

Server Host = denton

ID    rl images  allocated      last updated    density  kbytes restores
         vimages expiration      last read      <------- STATUS ------->
------------------------------------------------------------------------

DIV08  1    1    04/22/2014 10:12 04/22/2014 10:12  hcart     35     5
            1    05/06/2014 10:12 04/22/2014 10:25  FROZEN