Veritas NetBackup™ Administrator's Guide, Volume II

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup (9.1)
  1. NetBackup licensing models and usage reporting
    1.  
      About NetBackup licensing models
    2.  
      Tools for creating and viewing licensing reports
    3.  
      Setting the licensing type for scheduled reports
    4. How capacity licensing works
      1.  
        How capacity licensing detects overlap when multiple policies protect data
      2.  
        Backup policies and agents that support accurate licensing
      3.  
        Requirements before gathering data for multiple master servers in capacity licensing
    5.  
      How NEVC licensing works
    6.  
      Scheduling reports for capacity licensing
    7.  
      Scheduling reports for traditional licensing
    8.  
      Scheduling reports for NetBackup Enterprise Virtual Client (NEVC) licensing
    9.  
      Other configuration for incremental reporting
    10.  
      Troubleshooting failures for usage reporting and incremental reporting
    11.  
      Manually generating licensing reports
    12. Creating and viewing the licensing report
      1.  
        Report tab descriptions
    13. Reviewing a capacity licensing report
      1.  
        Summary tab
      2.  
        Client aliases and multiple IP addresses
      3.  
        Itemization tab
      4.  
        Clients backed up with multiple streams
      5.  
        Data backed up by multiple policies
      6.  
        BigData plug-ins for NetBackup
      7.  
        NetBackup for Exchange agent
      8.  
        NetBackup for NDMP agent
      9.  
        NetBackup for Oracle server agent
      10.  
        NetBackup for SQL Server agent
      11.  
        NetBackup for VMware agent
      12.  
        NetBackup for Hyper-V agent
      13.  
        NetBackup for RHV agent
      14.  
        NetBackup for Nutanix-AHV agent
      15.  
        NAS-Data-Protection policy
      16.  
        Cloud policy
      17.  
        NetBackup for Kubernetes
      18.  
        Windows file system backups
      19.  
        UNIX file system backups
    14. Reconciling the capacity licensing report results
      1.  
        Locate full backups for clients
      2.  
        Review compressed image information
      3.  
        Eliminate redundant counting of clients
      4.  
        Determine the effect of multistreamed backups
      5.  
        Confirm the accuracy of any database backups
      6.  
        Locate full backups for snapshot images
    15. Reviewing a traditional licensing report
      1.  
        Summary tab
      2.  
        Complete the Hosts tab
      3.  
        Resolve the NDMP tab
      4.  
        Update the Virtual Servers tab
      5.  
        Confirm the Drives tab
      6.  
        Final steps
    16. Reviewing an NEVC licensing report
      1.  
        Summary tab
      2.  
        Hosts tab
    17.  
      Using the NetBackup Storage API to get the total backup size information
  2. Additional configuration
    1.  
      About multiple NetBackup master servers
    2.  
      About multiple media servers with one master server
    3.  
      About direct I/O for backups on Windows
    4. About dynamic host name and IP addressing
      1.  
        About setting up dynamic IP addresses and host names
      2.  
        Configuring the NetBackup master server
      3.  
        bpclient commands that control client entries
      4.  
        Configuring dynamic NetBackup clients
    5. About busy file processing on UNIX clients
      1.  
        Configuring busy file processing on UNIX
      2.  
        Modifying bp.conf to configure busy file processing on UNIX
      3.  
        bp.conf file entries on UNIX
      4.  
        How NetBackup creates and uses action files on UNIX
      5.  
        About the logs directory on UNIX
      6.  
        Recommended changes for modifying bpend_notify_busy on UNIX
    6.  
      About specifying the locale of the NetBackup installation
    7. About the Shared Storage Option
      1.  
        About Shared Storage Option components
      2.  
        DELETE About reserving or releasing shared devices
      3.  
        How to share robotic libraries without using the Shared Storage Option
      4.  
        Shared Storage Option terms and concepts
      5.  
        DELETE About the Shared Storage Option license
      6.  
        About Shared Storage Option prerequisites
      7.  
        About hardware configuration guidelines
      8.  
        About installing and configuring drivers
      9.  
        Verifying the connectivity
      10. DELETE About configuring the Shared Storage Option in NetBackup
        1.  
          About configuring SSO in NetBackup
        2.  
          Configuring Shared Storage Option devices in NetBackup
        3.  
          About adding Shared Storage Option configuration options
        4.  
          About configuring NetBackup storage units and backup policies
      11.  
        Verifying your Shared Storage Option configuration
      12.  
        Device Monitor and Shared Storage Option
      13. Viewing SSO summary reports
        1.  
          Shared Storage Option summary reports
      14.  
        Operating system assistance
      15.  
        Common configuration issues with Shared Storage Option
      16.  
        Frequently asked questions about Shared Storage Option
    8. About the vm.conf configuration file
      1.  
        ACS_mediatype entry in vm.conf
      2.  
        ACS_SEL_SOCKET entry in vm.conf
      3.  
        ACS_CSI_HOSTPORT entry in vm.conf (on UNIX)
      4.  
        ACS_SSI_HOSTNAME entry in vm.conf
      5.  
        ACS_SSI_INET_PORT entry in vm.conf (on UNIX)
      6.  
        ACS_SSI_SOCKET entry in vm.conf
      7.  
        ACS_TCP_RPCSERVICE / ACS_UDP_RPCSERVICE entry in vm.conf (on UNIX)
      8.  
        ADJ_LSM entry in vm.conf
      9.  
        API_BARCODE_RULES entry in vm.conf
      10.  
        AUTHORIZATION_REQUIRED entry in vm.conf in NetBackup versions 8.0 and earlier
      11.  
        AUTO_PATH_CORRECTION entry in vm.conf
      12.  
        AUTO_UPDATE_ROBOT entry in vm.conf
      13.  
        AVRD_PEND_DELAY entry in vm.conf
      14.  
        AVRD_SCAN_DELAY entry in vm.conf
      15.  
        CLEAN_REQUEST_TIMEOUT entry in vm.conf
      16.  
        CLIENT_PORT_WINDOW entry in vm.conf
      17.  
        CLUSTER_NAME entry in vm.conf
      18.  
        DAYS_TO_KEEP_LOGS entry in vm.conf
      19.  
        EMM_RETRY_COUNT entry in vm.conf
      20.  
        EMM_CONNECT_TIMOUT entry in vm.conf
      21.  
        EMM_REQUEST_TIMOUT entry in vm.conf
      22.  
        ENABLE_ROBOT_AUTH entry in vm.conf
      23.  
        INVENTORY_FILTER entry in vm.conf
      24.  
        MAP_ID entry in vm.conf
      25.  
        MAP_CONTINUE_TIMEOUT entry in vm.conf
      26.  
        MEDIA_ID_BARCODE_CHARS entry in vm.conf
      27.  
        MEDIA_ID_PREFIX entry in vm.conf
      28.  
        MM_SERVER_NAME entry in vm.conf
      29.  
        PREFERRED_GROUP entry in vm.conf
      30.  
        RANDOM_PORTS entry in vm.conf
      31.  
        REQUIRED_INTERFACE entry in vm.conf
      32.  
        SERVER entry in vm.conf in NetBackup versions 8.0 and earlier
      33.  
        SSO_DA_REREGISTER_INTERVAL entry in vm.conf
      34.  
        SSO_DA_RETRY_TIMEOUT entry in vm.conf
      35.  
        SSO_HOST_NAME entry in vm.conf
      36.  
        VERBOSE entry in vm.conf
      37.  
        Example vm.conf file
      38.  
        How to access media and devices on other hosts
      39.  
        Host name precedence in the vm.conf file
  3. Holds Management
    1.  
      About Holds Management
    2.  
      Creating a hold
    3.  
      Viewing hold details
    4.  
      Adding a backup image to an existing hold
    5.  
      Releasing a hold
  4. Menu user interfaces on UNIX
    1.  
      About menu user interfaces
    2. About the tpconfig device configuration utility
      1.  
        About the tpconfig utility menu
      2.  
        Starting the tpconfig device configuration utility
      3.  
        Adding robots
      4.  
        Adding drives
      5.  
        Updating a robot configuration
      6.  
        Updating a drive configuration
      7.  
        Deleting a robot
      8.  
        Deleting a drive
      9.  
        Configuring drive paths
      10.  
        Configuring host credentials
      11.  
        Displaying and writing the device configuration
    3. About the NetBackup Disk Configuration Utility
      1.  
        Managing OpenStorage servers and disk pools
      2.  
        Managing global disk attributes
  5. Reference topics
    1. Host name rules
      1.  
        How NetBackup uses host names
      2.  
        Updating NetBackup after changing the host name
      3.  
        Special considerations for Domain Name Service (DNS)
    2. About reading backup images with nbtar or tar32.exe
      1.  
        Restoring files with non-NetBackup restore utilities (on UNIX)
      2.  
        Considerations for file restoration with non-NetBackup restore utilities (on UNIX)
      3.  
        About the files that restores generate
    3. Factors that affect backup time
      1.  
        Total amount of data to back up
      2.  
        Transfer rate
    4.  
      Methods for determining the NetBackup transfer rate
    5. NetBackup notify scripts
      1.  
        backup_notify script
      2.  
        backup_exit_notify script
      3.  
        bpstart_notify script (UNIX clients)
      4.  
        bpstart_notify.bat script (Windows clients)
      5.  
        bpend_notify script (UNIX clients)
      6.  
        bpend_notify.bat script (Windows clients)
      7.  
        bpend_notify_busy script (UNIX clients)
      8.  
        child_end_deployment_notify
      9.  
        child_start_deployment_notify
      10.  
        diskfull_notify script
      11.  
        drive_mount_notify script (on UNIX)
      12.  
        drive_unmount_notify script (on UNIX)
      13.  
        mail_dr_info script
      14.  
        media_deassign_notify script
      15.  
        nbmail.cmd script (on Windows)
      16.  
        parent_end_deployment_notify
      17.  
        parent_end_notify script
      18.  
        parent_start_deployment_notify
      19.  
        parent_start_notify script
      20.  
        pending_request_notify script
      21.  
        restore_notify script
      22.  
        session_notify script
      23.  
        session_start_notify script
      24.  
        shared_drive_notify script
      25.  
        userreq_notify script
    6. Media and device management best practices
      1.  
        Media management best practices
      2.  
        Device management best practices
      3.  
        Media and device performance and troubleshooting
    7. About TapeAlert
      1.  
        About TapeAlert cleaning (reactive cleaning)
      2.  
        About TapeAlert and frequency-based cleaning
      3.  
        About TapeAlert requirements
      4.  
        TapeAlert logs and codes
    8. About tape drive cleaning
      1.  
        About library-based cleaning
      2.  
        About frequency-based cleaning
      3.  
        About operator-initiated cleaning
      4.  
        About using a cleaning tape
    9.  
      How NetBackup selects drives
    10. How NetBackup reserves drives
      1. About SCSI persistent reserve
        1.  
          About SCSI persistent reserve commands
        2.  
          About SCSI persistent reserve conflicts
      2. About the SPC-2 SCSI reserve process
        1.  
          About SPC-2 SCSI reserve commands
        2.  
          About SCSI reservation conflicts
        3.  
          About forcing a release of an unavailable HBA's SPC-2 reservation
        4.  
          Breaking a reservation
      3.  
        About SCSI reserve requirements
      4.  
        About SCSI reserve limitations
      5.  
        About SCSI reservation logging
      6.  
        About SCSI reserve operating system limitations on Windows
      7. About checking for data loss
        1.  
          About possible data loss causes
      8. About checking for tape and driver configuration errors
        1.  
          About common configuration problems
      9.  
        About configuring SCSI reserve
    11. How NetBackup selects media
      1. About selecting media in robots
        1.  
          About spanning media with automatic media selection
      2. About selecting media in standalone drives
        1.  
          About selecting media by using standalone drive extensions
        2.  
          About disabling standalone drive extensions
        3.  
          About spanning media
        4.  
          About leaving standalone drives in the ready state
    12.  
      Volume pool and volume group examples
    13.  
      Media formats
    14.  
      Media and device management processes
    15. About Tape I/O commands on UNIX
      1.  
        About requesting tapes
      2.  
        About reading and writing tape files
      3.  
        About removing tape files
  6.  
    Index

About Shared Storage Option components

The NetBackup Enterprise Media Manager (EMM) service manages media information. The Enterprise Media Manager also is the device allocator (DA) for shared drives.

Figure: Shared Storage Option example shows an example of a shared drive configuration.

Figure: Shared Storage Option example

Shared Storage Option example

The following items describe the NetBackup components for the Shared Storage Option example in Figure: Shared Storage Option example.

  • The master server hosts the Enterprise Media Manager (EMM) service. It's the device allocation host.

    See About the device allocation host.

  • Host A:

    • Is a NetBackup media server that runs the Automatic Volume Recognition (avrd) process, the NetBackup Device Manager service (ltid), and the NetBackup Volume Manager (vmd) service.

    • Is connected to drives DRV1 and DRV2 through SAN hardware.

    • Is the first host in the environment to come online with a non-zero scan ability factor. Therefore, it's the initial scan host for its drives.

      See About scan hosts.

  • Host B:

    • Is a NetBackup media server that runs the Automatic Volume Recognition (avrd) process, the NetBackup Device Manager service (ltid), and the NetBackup Volume Manager (vmd) service.

    • Is connected to drives DRV1 and DRV2 through SAN hardware.

    • Controls the robotics. Except for ACS robot types, only one robot control host exists for each robot.

For a process flow diagram of Shared Storage Option components, see the NetBackup Logging Reference Guide:

http://www.veritas.com/docs/DOC5332

About the device allocation host

The NetBackup Enterprise Media Manager (EMM) service allocates devices for Shared Storage Option jobs and tasks. The EMM service runs on the NetBackup master server. The host that allocates devices is also known as the device allocation host.

About SSO and the NetBackup EMM service

To coordinate network-wide allocation of tape drives, the NetBackup Enterprise Media Manager (EMM) service manages all shared tape requests in a shared drive environment. EMM responds to requests from a single NetBackup master server for its corresponding media servers, and NetBackup SAN media servers within a single NetBackup domain.

EMM maintains shared drive and host information. Information includes a list of hosts that are online and available to share a drive and which host currently has the drive reserved. The Media Manager device service (ltid) requests shared drive information changes.

About scan hosts

Scan hosts are a component of the NetBackup Shared Storage Option.

Each shared drive has a host that is identified as the scan host. A scan host is the host from which the automatic volume recognition process (avrd) scans unassigned drives. (The robotic daemons scan assigned drives.) A scan host must have data path access to the drive.

The EMM database contains the shared drive information; that information includes the scan host. Media servers receive drive status information from the EMM service.

How the scan host is determined

EMM determines scan hosts; a scan host may be different for each shared drive. The first host in the environment to come online with a non-zero scan ability factor is the initial scan host for its drives.

To configure the scan ability factor of media servers, use the nbemmcmd command. For more information, see the NetBackup Commands Reference Guide.

http://www.veritas.com/docs/DOC5332

The scan host can change

A scan host is assigned for a shared drive until some interruption occurs.

For example, if one of the following occurs, EMM chooses a new scan host:

  • The socket connection, the host, the drive, the drive path, or the network goes down.

  • The drive is logically placed in the Down mode.

The scan host temporarily changes to hosts that request tape mounts while the mount is in progress. Scan host changes occur so only one host at a time has access to the drive path.

Drive paths for the scan host

If a drive has multiple paths that are configured on the selected scan host, EMM selects a scan path as follows:

  • The first local device path it finds in its database in the UP state.

  • The first NDMP-attached drive path it finds in its database in the UP state.

Shared tape drive polling

For shared tape drives, only the scan host polls drives until a mount request is received from NetBackup. During a mount request, NetBackup uses the host that requests the mount to poll the shared drive.

This design enables NetBackup to support Dynamic Loop Switching or SAN zones. Each tape drive needs to be detected only from a single host. Each tape drive can potentially have its own scan host that switches dynamically to process errors and continue availability. A central device arbitrating component manages scan host assignments for shared drives. The arbitrating component also provides a network drive reservation system so that multiple NetBackup media servers can share a drive.

Polling a shared tape drive allows dynamic loop switching and reduces the number of device accesses and reduces CPU time. However, it cannot detect connectivity breaks (for example, discontinuity in the Fibre Channel fabric) until I/O occurs.

About SAN media servers

SAN media servers are NetBackup media servers that back up their own data. SAN media servers cannot back up the data that resides on other clients.

SAN media servers are useful for certain situations. For example, a SAN media server is useful if the data volume consumes so much network bandwidth that it affects your network negatively.

When you define a backup policy for a SAN media server, add only the SAN media server as the client.

The NetBackup Shared Storage Option can use NetBackup SAN media servers.