Veritas NetBackup™ 53xx Appliance High Availability Reference Guide

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Product(s): Appliances (3.1)

Introduction to a NetBackup 53xx high availability configuration

A complete NetBackup 53xx high availability (HA) configuration consists of the following components:

  • Master server

    The NetBackup 52xx Appliance works as the master server in the HA configuration. It must use appliance software version 3.1 or later.

    If you use a traditional (non-appliance) NetBackup master server, it must use NetBackup version 8.1 or later.

    Before you set up the HA configuration, make sure that the compute node you use for the setup procedure can communicate with the master server. For detailed instructions, refer to NetBackup 53xx Appliance Initial Configuration Guide.

  • Media servers

    The two NetBackup 53xx compute nodes, a node and the partner node, work as the media servers in the HA configuration. Both nodes must be identical with regard to the appliance software version (3.1 or later), the model number, and the I/O hardware configurations. For example, use two NetBackup 5330 compute nodes with the I/O configuration D. You cannot use a NetBackup 5330 compute node with the I/O configuration D and a NetBackup 5340 compute node with the I/O configuration D.

    The supported storage firmware version of the NetBackup 53xx compute node is 08.20.20.00 or higher.

    The two nodes work as a pair and share the workload of the NetBackup operations for different services as follows:

    Note:

    Currently, NetBackup 53xx HA solution only supports the following storage types. For other storage types, such as the OST devices and the tape device, you need to set the same configurations on both nodes. Otherwise, the functions cannot work after a switchover operation is performed.

    AdvancedDisk services

    Both nodes directly handle the transaction data of the NetBackup processes.

    MSDP service

    Only the node where the MSDP service is running directly handles the transaction data of the NetBackup processes. The other node makes the fingerprint calculation of the transaction data.

  • NetBackup 53xx Primary Storage Shelf

  • NetBackup 53xx expansion shelves

    Necessary amount of the shelves (maximum of three)

In an HA configuration, a dedicated host name and a matching IP address must be assigned to each node. The host name should resolve to the corresponding IP address in the same subnet. For example, the host name c.example.com is the host name of one node, and the host name b.example.com is the host name of the partner node.

While setting up an HA configuration, the host name and the IP address of the node that you use for the setup procedure are elevated. The elevated host name and IP address work as the virtual host name and the virtual IP address of the HA configuration. In the example, the c.example.com is the virtual host name of the HA configuration once the setup is complete.

The virtual host name works as a pointer that points to the HA configuration. It floats between the two nodes when both nodes work correctly. If one node is not running properly or is occupied for an upgrade or maintenance, the virtual host name automatically points to the node that is still operational. The virtual IP address also works as the pointer for the HA configuration.

Because of the elevation, you need to assign a new host name and a new IP address to the node that you use for the setup procedure. After the setup procedure, the newly assigned network information is automatically added to the additional server list on the master server.

After the HA configuration is complete, the network information of the partner node is automatically added to the additional server list. The email notification settings are synchronized between the two nodes automatically. You can check the email notifications of HA configuration through your registered Hardware Administrator Email account.

To guarantee that the NetBackup replication procedures work correctly in a complete HA configuration, you need to set the virtual host name as the target storage server.

Setting the virtual host name of the HA configuration as the target storage server

  1. In the Java-based NetBackup Administration Console, expand Media and Device Management > Credentials > Storage Server in the left pane.
  2. In the right pane, double click the desired storage server.
  3. In the Change Storage Sever dialog box, select the Replication tab.

    If you find the existing entry of the target storage server, and the value is the virtual host name, ignore this procedure. Otherwise, click Add.

  4. In the Add a Replication Target in a Different NetBackup domain dialog box, click the drop-down list of the Target master server, and select <Add a new Trusted Master Server>.
  5. In the Add Trusted Master Server dialog box, enter the host name of the master server and click OK.
  6. In the Add a Replication Target in a Different NetBackup domain dialog box, fill in the information as follows:
    • Select the trusted master server you added.

    • Select the target storage server type as media.

    • Enter the virtual host name of the HA configuration in the text box of Target Storage Server type.

    • Enter the user name and the password of the authorized replication account, and click OK.

      If you do not have the password of the authorized replication account, run the command: Main > Appliance > ShowDedupPassword.