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NetBackup™ Vault Administrator's Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup (11.1)
  1. About Vault
    1.  
      About Vault
    2.  
      About Vault and NetBackup functions
    3.  
      About accessing NetBackup Vault
    4.  
      About Vaulting original or duplicate images
    5. About the Vault process
      1.  
        About choosing backup images
      2.  
        About duplicating backup images
      3.  
        About backing up the NetBackup catalog
      4.  
        About ejecting media
      5.  
        About generating reports
    6.  
      About how Vault uses volume groups and pools
    7.  
      About NetBackup and Vault configuration
    8.  
      About Vault management procedures
  2. Installing Vault
    1.  
      About supported systems
    2.  
      About supported robots
    3. About installing and configuring Vault on UNIX and Linux systems
      1.  
        Adding a valid license and configuring Vault for UNIX and Linux systems
      2.  
        About upgrading NetBackup Vault on UNIX and Linux systems
    4. About installing and configuring Vault on Microsoft Windows systems
      1.  
        Adding a Vault license on a Windows system
      2.  
        About upgrading NetBackup Vault on a Windows system
    5.  
      Removing a Vault license
  3. Best Practices
    1.  
      About best practices
    2.  
      About vaulting paradigms
    3. About preferred vaulting strategies
      1.  
        About Vault original backups
      2.  
        About disk staging
    4. About how to ensure that data is vaulted
      1. About overlapping the time window in the profile
        1.  
          About the consequences of not overlapping the time window
      2.  
        About resolving multiple names for a single server
      3. About specifying a robotic volume group when configuring a Vault
        1.  
          About multiple volume groups (Multiple robots)
    5. About not Vaulting more than necessary
      1.  
        About sending only the intended backups off-site
      2.  
        About avoiding vaulting partial images
      3.  
        About vaulting original backups in a 24x7 environment
    6. About preparing for efficient recovery
      1.  
        About Vault NetBackup catalog requirements and guidelines
      2.  
        About naming conventions for volume pools and groups
      3.  
        About matching volume pools to data usage
      4.  
        About the primary copy
      5.  
        About suspending vaulted media
      6.  
        About revaulting unexpired media
    7.  
      About media ejection recommendations
    8. About avoiding resource contention during duplication
      1. About two processes trying to use the same drive
        1.  
          Alternative A: dedicated robot for Vault processing
        2.  
          Alternative B: each robot as a Vault robot
        3.  
          Alternative C: one robot as both a backup and Vault robot
      2.  
        About when the read drive is not in the Vault robot
      3.  
        About sharing resources with backup jobs
      4. About load balancing
        1.  
          About profiles for both originals and duplicates
        2.  
          About spreading the workload
      5.  
        About specifying different volume pools for source and destination
      6.  
        About using a separate volume pool for each Vault
    9. About how to avoid sending duplicates over the network
      1.  
        About creating originals concurrently
      2.  
        About using alternate read server
      3.  
        About using advanced duplication configuration
      4.  
        About using storage units that specify a media server
    10. About increasing duplication throughput
      1.  
        About basic multiple-drive configuration
      2.  
        About multiple-drive configuration that does not send data over network
    11.  
      About maximizing drive utilization during duplication
    12.  
      About scratch volume pools
    13. About organizing reports
      1.  
        About organizing reports by robot
      2.  
        About organizing reports by Vault
      3.  
        About organizing reports by profile
      4.  
        About the consequences of sharing an off-site volume group across multiple robots
    14.  
      About generating the lost media report regularly
  4. Configuring NetBackup Vault
    1.  
      About configuring NetBackup Vault
    2. About off-site volume pools
      1.  
        Creating a volume pool
    3. About creating catalog backup schedules for Vault
      1. Creating a Vault catalog backup schedule in an existing policy
        1.  
          Vault catalog backup schedule configuration options
    4. About setting primary server properties for Vault
      1.  
        Setting the maximum number of Vault jobs
  5. Configuring Vault
    1.  
      About configuring Vault
    2. About Vault configuration
      1.  
        Configuration information about primary servers, media servers, and storage units
      2.  
        Robot information
    3.  
      About configuration methods
    4. About configuring Vault Management Properties
      1. General tab (Vault Management Properties)
        1.  
          Configuring Vault Management Properties on the General tab
      2. Alternate Media Server Names tab (Vault Management Properties)
        1.  
          About alternative media server names
        2.  
          About alternate media server names considerations
        3.  
          Adding alternate media server names
      3. Retention Mappings tab (Vault Management Properties)
        1.  
          Configuring global retention mappings
        2.  
          About retention mapping
      4. Reports tab (Vault Management Properties)
        1.  
          Changing report properties
    5.  
      Configuring robots in Vault
    6.  
      Vault Robot dialog box options
    7. About creating a vault
      1.  
        Creating a Vault
      2. About configuring Vault dialog box attributes
        1.  
          Vault Attributes tab options (Vault dialog box)
    8.  
      Media access ports dialog box
    9.  
      Creating retention mappings
    10. About creating profiles
      1.  
        Profile dialog box
      2.  
        About the number of profiles required
    11.  
      Creating a profile
    12. Configuring a profile
      1.  
        About configuring a profile using the Choose Backups tab
      2.  
        Choose Backups tab configuration options
      3. Duplication tab
        1.  
          About the primary backup copy
        2.  
          About basic duplication
        3.  
          About advanced duplication
        4.  
          Duplication tab configuration options
        5.  
          Multiple Copies options
        6.  
          Duplication Rule configurations
        7.  
          About the treatment of images without a corresponding duplication rule
      4. Catalog backup tab (Profile dialog box)
        1.  
          About Vault catalog backups
        2.  
          Catalog backup policy settings
        3.  
          About critical policies
        4.  
          Catalog backup tab configuration options
      5. Eject tab (Profile dialog box)
        1.  
          About media ejection
        2.  
          About ACS MAP
        3.  
          About eject mode (immediate or deferred)
        4.  
          About media ejection timeout impact
        5.  
          Eject tab configuration options
      6. Reports tab (Profile dialog box)
        1.  
          About report mode (immediate or deferred)
        2.  
          Reports that depend on eject
        3.  
          Reports tab configuration options
        4.  
          Changing report properties
  6. Vaulting and managing media
    1. About Vault sessions
      1. About scheduling a Vault session
        1.  
          Creating a Vault policy
        2.  
          Vault policy configuration information
      2. About running a session manually
        1.  
          Running a Vault session from the NetBackup Administration Console
        2.  
          Running a session from a command line
      3.  
        About running multiple sessions simultaneously
    2.  
      About previewing a Vault session
    3.  
      Stopping a Vault session
    4.  
      About resuming a Vault session
    5. About monitoring a Vault session
      1.  
        About detailed Vault job status
      2.  
        About extended error codes
    6. About the list of images to be vaulted
      1.  
        About duplication exclusions
      2.  
        About ejection exclusions
      3.  
        About Vault resiliency
    7. About ejecting media
      1.  
        Previewing media to be ejected
      2.  
        Ejecting media by using the NetBackup Administration Console
      3.  
        Ejecting media by using the Vault operator menu
      4.  
        Ejecting media by using the vlteject command
      5.  
        Ejecting media by using a Vault policy
      6.  
        Consolidating ejects and reports
    8. About injecting media
      1.  
        Injecting media for libraries with and without barcode readers
      2.  
        Injecting media by using the Vault Operator Menu
      3.  
        Injecting media by using the vltinject command
    9. About using containers
      1. About vaulting media in containers
        1.  
          Vaulting container media by using the Vault operator menu
        2.  
          Vaulting container media by using the vltcontainers command
      2. About managing containers and media
        1.  
          Managing container media by using the Vault operator menu
        2.  
          Managing container media by using the vltcontainers command
      3.  
        Generating a Container Inventory Report
    10.  
      Assigning multiple retentions with one profile
    11. About vaulting additional volumes
      1.  
        Duplicating a volume manually
      2.  
        Duplicating a volume by using Vault
    12.  
      Revaulting unexpired media
    13.  
      About tracking volumes not ejected by Vault
    14.  
      Vaulting non-NetBackup media managed by Media Manager
    15.  
      About notifying a tape operator when an eject begins
    16. About using notify scripts
      1.  
        About notify script for a specific robot
      2.  
        About notify script for a specific Vault
      3.  
        About notify script for a specific profile
      4.  
        Notify script order of execution
    17.  
      About clearing the media description field
    18.  
      Restoring data from vaulted media
    19.  
      Replacing damaged media
  7. Creating originals or copies concurrently
    1.  
      About concurrent copies
    2. About the continue or fail for concurrent copies
      1.  
        About continue copies
      2.  
        About fail all copies
    3.  
      Creating multiple original images concurrently
    4. About creating duplicate images concurrently
      1.  
        Creating concurrent copies through the catalog node
      2.  
        Creating concurrent copies using the basic duplication tab
      3.  
        Creating concurrent multiple copies using the advanced duplication options
  8. Reporting
    1.  
      About reports
    2. About generating reports
      1.  
        Generating reports by using the Vault operator menu
      2.  
        Generating reports by using the vlteject command
      3.  
        Creating a Vault policy to generate reports
    3. About consolidating reports
      1.  
        About consolidated reports in previous Vault releases
    4.  
      Viewing Vault reports
    5. Vault report types
      1. Reports for media going off site
        1.  
          Picking List for Robot report
        2.  
          Distribution List for Vault report
        3.  
          Detailed Distribution List for Vault report
        4.  
          Summary Distribution List for Vault report
      2. Reports for media coming on-site
        1.  
          Picking List for Vault report
        2.  
          Distribution List for Robot report
      3. Inventory reports
        1.  
          Vault Inventory report
        2.  
          Off-site Inventory report
        3.  
          All Media Inventory report
        4.  
          Container Inventory report
        5.  
          Recovery Report for Vault report
      4.  
        Lost Media report
      5.  
        Non-vaulted Images Exception report
      6.  
        About the Iron Mountain FTP file
  9. Administering Vault
    1.  
      About setting up email
    2. About administering access to Vault
      1.  
        About the Vault Operator user group permissions
    3.  
      About printing Vault and profile information
    4.  
      Copying a profile
    5.  
      About moving a vault to a different robot
    6.  
      About changing volume pools and groups
    7. About NetBackup Vault session files
      1.  
        About setting up Vault session log files
      2.  
        Setting the duration of Vault session files
    8.  
      Operational issue with disk-only option on Duplication tab
    9.  
      Operational issues with the scope of the source volume group
  10. Using the menu user interface
    1.  
      About using the menu interfaces
    2.  
      About the Vault administration interface
    3.  
      Vault operator menu interface
    4.  
      Vault fields in bpdbjobs output
  11. Troubleshooting
    1.  
      About troubleshooting Vault
    2.  
      About printing problems
    3.  
      About errors returned by the Vault session
    4.  
      About media that are not ejected
    5.  
      About media that is missing in robot
    6.  
      Reduplicating a bad or missing duplicate tape
    7.  
      About the tape drive or robot offline
    8.  
      No duplicate progress message
    9.  
      About stopping bpvault
    10.  
      About ejecting tapes that are in use
    11.  
      About tapes not removed from the MAP
    12.  
      Revaulting unexpired tapes
    13. Debug logs
      1.  
        Setting the duration and level for log files
      2.  
        Logs to accompany problem reports
  12. Appendix A. Recovering from disasters
    1. About disaster recovery
      1.  
        About what defines a disaster
      2.  
        About the disaster recovery process
      3.  
        About disaster recovery plans
      4.  
        About recovery priorities
      5.  
        About developing disaster recovery plans
      6.  
        About testing disaster recovery plans
    2.  
      About disaster recovery in the NetBackup Vault context
    3.  
      About preparing for recovery
    4.  
      About recovering NetBackup
    5.  
      Recovering data and restoring backup images
    6.  
      Archiving and recovering from a specific point in time
  13. Appendix B. Vault file and directory structure
    1.  
      UNIX files and directories
    2.  
      Windows files and directories
  14.  
    Index

UNIX files and directories

Vault is installed in /usr/openv/netbackup on UNIX systems. The following table describes the files in each of the directories Vault creates and uses on UNIX systems. Also included are Vault files that reside in NetBackup directories. The files are either copied into the directories during the installation process or created as Vault sessions run. The paths are specified in relation to the NetBackup directory.

Table: Files and directories for Vault in UNIX lists the files and directories for Vault in UNIX.

Table: Files and directories for Vault in UNIX

Directory, Program, or File

Purpose

bin/nbvault

Vault daemon that manages Vault activity.

bin/vltadm

Curses-based utility to configure NetBackup Vault and monitor its operations. vltadm requires root (administrator) privileges.

bin/vltcontainers

Command used to add media logically to containers.

bin/vlteject

Command used to eject media from Vault sessions and run the reports that are selected in the profile.

bin/vltinject

Command used to inject media into a robot and update the database.

bin/vltoffsitemedia

Command that lets the user change the off-site parameters of a given piece of media.

bin/vltopmenu

Utility that lets the user initiate a menu screen containing the various options that an operator of the NetBackup Vault feature can use. It allows the user to eject or inject media, print various reports individually or collectively, and consolidate reports and ejects across sessions.

bin/vltrun

Process that runs all the NetBackup commands that are used during a Vault session.

bin/goodies/vlt_ejectlist_notify

Script called by the vault session just before vault tapes are ejected.

bin/goodies/vlt_end_notify

Script called by the vault session just before it exits.

bin/goodies/vlt_endeject_notify

Script called by the vault session at the end of eject processing.

bin/goodies/vlt_start_notify

Script called by the vault session after it starts.

bin/goodies/vlt_starteject_notify

Script called by the vault session when the eject process starts.

db/vault/vault.xml

Vault configuration file.

help/vltadm

Contains help files for the Vault Administration (vltadm) interface.

/logs/vault

Directory where the Vault commands log messages.

vault

Main directory for Vault. Contains session directories.

vault/sessions

A subdirectory that contains working session directories and log files. In a cluster environment, the sessions directory must reside on the shared disk.

vault/sessions/cntrDB

The database of information for media that is vaulted in containers.

vault/sessions/sidxxx

Subdirectory that contains working session subdirectories. Can be manually removed to reduce disk usage if necessary.

vault/sessions/vault_name/session.last

Counter to show current duplication session

allmedia_inventory.rpt

All Media Inventory Report. If a report name includes a timestamp, it is part of a consolidated report operation. If you configure the profile Reports tab to write reports to a folder, the file name of the report includes the session ID. Report file names that include _ff are for debug purposes only. They are created when the reports are generated.

container_inv.rpt

Container Inventory report. If a report name includes a timestamp, it is part of a consolidated report operation. If you configure the profile Reports tab to write reports to a folder, the file name of the report in that folder includes the session ID. Report file names that include _ff are for debug purposes only. They are created when the reports are generated.

vault/sessions/vault_name/sidxxx/logs/detail.log

Shows the output of every command that was run during the session.

detailed_distlist_vault.rpt

Detailed Distribution List for Vault report. If a report name includes a timestamp, it is part of a consolidated report operation. If you configure the profile Reports tab to write reports to a folder, the file name of the report includes the session ID. Report file names that include _ff are for debug purposes only. They are created when the reports are generated.

distlist_robot.rpt

Distribution List for Robot Report. If a report name includes a timestamp, it is part of a consolidated report operation. If you configure the profile Reports tab to write reports to a folder, the file name of the report includes the session ID. Report file names that include _ff are for debug purposes only. They are created when the reports are generated.

distlist_vault.rpt

Distribution List for Vault report. If a report name includes a timestamp, it is part of a consolidated report operation. If you configure the profile Reports tab to write reports to a folder, the file name of the report includes the session ID. Report file names that include _ff are for debug purposes only. They are created when the reports are generated.

vault/sessions/vault_name/sidxxx/logs/duped.images

List of images successfully duplicated during the session.

vault/sessions/vault_name/sidxxx/logs/duplicate.log.nn

Contains the output from bpduplicate.

vault/sessions/vault_name/sidxxx/eject.list

List of media to be ejected for the session.

lostmedia.rpt

Lost Media Report. If a report name includes a timestamp, it is part of a consolidated report operation. If you configure the profile Reports tab to write reports to a folder, the file name of the report will include the session ID. Report file names that include _ff are for debug purposes only. They are created when the reports are generated.

non_vaulted.rpt

Non-vaulted Images Report. If a report name includes a timestamp, it is part of a consolidated report operation. If you configure the profile Reports tab to write reports to a folder, the file name of the report includes the session ID. Report file names that include _ff are for debug purposes only. They are created when the reports are generated.

offsite_inventory.rpt

Off-site Inventory Report. If a report name includes a timestamp, it is part of a consolidated report operation. If you configure the profile Reports tab to write reports to a folder, the file name of the report includes the session ID. Report file names that include _ff are for debug purposes only. They are created when the reports are generated.

picklist_robot.rpt

Picking List for Robot report. If a report name includes a timestamp, it is part of a consolidated report operation. If you configure the profile Reports tab to write reports to a folder, the file name of the report includes the session ID. Report file names that include _ff are for debug purposes only. They are created when the reports are generated.

picklist_vault.rpt

Picking List for Vault report. If a report name includes a timestamp, it is part of a consolidated report operation. If you configure the profile Reports tab to write reports to a folder, the file name of the report includes the session ID. Report file names that include _ff are for debug purposes only. They are created when the reports are generated.

vault/sessions/vault_name/sidxxx/preview.list

A list of all images that to be considered for duplication or ejection by the current vault session.

recovery.rpt

Recovery Report. If a report name includes a timestamp, it is part of a consolidated report operation. If you configure the profile Reports tab to write reports to a folder, the file name of the report includes the session ID. Report file names that include _ff are for debug purposes only. They are created when the reports are generated.

vault/sessions/vault_name/sidxxx/logs/summary.log

This file provides a concise view of the critical session details that occurred during a session. For example, the file can contain the following pieces of information:

  • The duration of a session

  • The robot, vault, profile, session ID, and Job ID

  • A summary report that shows the primary server, start and stopped times, and the exist status. The exit status can show if an error occurred and which session step if occurred at.

This log is appended for email notification.

summary_distlist_vault.rpt

Summary Distribution List report. If a report name includes a timestamp, it is part of a consolidated report operation. If you configure the profile Reports tab to write reports to a folder, the file name of the report includes the session ID. Report file names that include _ff are for debug purposes only. They are created when the reports are generated.

vault_inventory.rpt

Vault Inventory Report. If a report name includes a timestamp, it is part of a consolidated report operation. If you configure the profile Reports tab to write reports to a folder, the file name of the report includes the session ID. Report file names that include _ff are for debug purposes only. They are created when the reports are generated.