Veritas NetBackup™ Vault™ Administrator's Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup (8.0)
  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 key and configuring Vault for UNIX and Linux systems
      2.  
        About upgrading NetBackup Vault on UNIX and Linux systems
      3.  
        Deleting a Vault license key from UNIX and Linux systems
    4. About installing and configuring Vault on Microsoft Windows systems
      1.  
        Adding a Vault license key on a Windows system
      2.  
        About upgrading NetBackup Vault on a Windows system
      3.  
        Deleting the Vault license key from a Windows system
  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 for Vault
    1.  
      About configuring NetBackup for 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 master 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 master 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 VSM media
    15.  
      Vaulting non-NetBackup media managed by media Manager
    16.  
      About notifying a tape operator when an eject begins
    17. 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
    18.  
      About clearing the media description field
    19.  
      Restoring data from vaulted media
    20.  
      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 issues with Vaulting Storage migrator files
    9.  
      Operational issue with disk-only option on Duplication tab
    10.  
      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

Duplication Rule configurations

The Duplication Rule dialog box appears if you select New or Change on the Advanced Configuration options of the Duplication tab. If you selected Alternate Read Server on the Duplication tab, an Alternate Read Server option appears on the dialog box.

Use the Duplication Rule dialog box to create multiple copies of an image and to select different media servers and read servers for the copies.

Table: Duplication Rule dialog box configuration options describes configuration options for the Duplication Rule dialog box.

Table: Duplication Rule dialog box configuration options

Property

Description

Alternate Read Server

The name of an alternate read server. (This option applies to NetBackup Enterprise Server only.)

If robots (or drives) are shared by more than one media server, you can designate a different media server to read the original backups. Using an alternate read server may transfer data over your network, affecting your site's computing environment. The Media Server and Alternate Read Server may be the same.

To configure an alternate read server, select a media server from the drop-down menu.

Backup Server

Appears if Alternate Read Server was not selected on the Duplication tab. (Applies to NetBackup Enterprise Server only.)

The name of the media server on which the backup images reside.

Copies

The number of copies to create concurrently. You can create up to four or the number of copies specified in the Maximum Backup Copies field for the NetBackup master server (if less than four). (Configured in NetBackup Management > Host Properties > Master Server > server_name > Global NetBackup Attributes.) By default, the value is two: one original backup and one copy.

For Each Image, If This Copy Fails

The action to perform if a copy fails: Continue or Fail All Copies.

In Vault, if you choose Fail All Copies, all copies of that image fail, independent of the success or failure of other image copy operations.

The next time the Vault profile runs, Vault again tries to duplicate the image if the following conditions are true:

  • The image is selected.

  • The Vault profile did not eject the primary backup.

By default, the option is configured to Fail All Copies in Vault.

If you choose Continue for all copies, Vault considers the duplication job successful if any of the copies succeed. However, it is possible that a copy of the image may never get vaulted.

It is probable that at least one copy will succeed, but it may not be the copy assigned to the off-site volume pool.

See About the continue or fail for concurrent copies.

Media Owner

The name of the owner of the media onto which you are duplicating images.

Specify the media owner from the drop-down list box, as follows:

  • The media owner option Any lets NetBackup choose the media owner. NetBackup chooses a media server or a server group (if one is configured).

  • The media owner option None specifies that the media server that writes the image to the media owns the media. No media server is specified explicitly, but you want a media server to own the media.

  • The media owner option Server Group allows only those servers in the group to write to the media on which backup images for this policy are written. All server groups that are configured in the NetBackup environment appear in the drop-down list.

Media Server

Appears only if Alternate Read Server was selected on the Duplication tab. (Applies to NetBackup Enterprise Server only.)

The name of the media server on which the backup images reside. The Media Server and Alternate Read Server may be the same.

Number of Read Drives

The number of drives to use for reading backup images. When you enter a number of read drives, the same number is entered into the Destination Write Drives field. You must have an equivalent number of read and write drives available.

Note:

Vault does not let you create multiple duplication rules per media server.

Primary

Whether the copy should be designated the primary backup. Only designate a duplicate as the primary if the primary backup is ejected and transferred off site.

NetBackup restores from the primary backup, and Vault duplicates from the primary backup. By default, the original backup image that is created during a NetBackup policy job is the primary copy. If the copy that you indicate as primary fails, and you configured continue as the fail option, the first successful copy is the primary copy.

Retention

The retention level for the copy. Each copy has a separate expiration date. If a retention level is not specified, the expiration date is the same as the original. If you specify a numeric retention level, the expiration date for the duplicate media is calculated by adding the specified retention period to the date the original backup was created. If you specify Use Mappings for the retention level, the retention period is based on the retention period of backup image copy 1.

See Assigning multiple retentions with one profile.

When the retention period expires, information about the expired backup is deleted from the NetBackup and Media Manager catalog, the volume is recalled from off-site storage, and the backup image is unavailable for a restore.

Source Backups Reside On

The location of the backup images: disk or removable media or both. Vault duplicates images from the primary backup images on removable media or from backup images on disk.

Storage Unit

The name of a storage unit that contains the resources to which the copies of the backup images are written.

Storage units can be Media Manager storage units, disk storage units, disk staging storage units, or Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) storage units.

If the Media Manager or NDMP storage unit has more than one drive, the source storage unit and destination storage unit can be the same. NDMP storage units are supported only when one copy is created per duplication rule. Because of potential NDMP performance limitations, Veritas suggests that you duplicate between drives that are directly attached to the same NDMP host.

If the duplicated backup images are to be vaulted, the media in the destination storage unit must be in the Robotic Volume Group.

All storage units must be connected to the same media server.

Volume Pool

The name of the off-site volume pool to which Vault assigns the duplicate media. Images on media in the off-site volume pool are ejected for transfer off-site. Do not use the volume pool that was used for the original backup. NetBackup does not verify in advance that the media ID selected for the duplicate copy is different than the media that contains the original backup. To ensure that two processes do not try to use the same volume at the same time, specify a different volume pool.

Write Drives

The number of write drives. This value is the same as the number of read drives.