Veritas NetBackup™ Replication Director Solutions Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup (8.3.0.1, 8.3, 8.2, 8.1)
  1. Introduction
    1.  
      About NetBackup Replication Director
    2.  
      About the roles of the Replication Director plug-ins
    3.  
      Software required to use Replication Director
    4.  
      NetBackup configuration for Replication Director
    5.  
      Tools for troubleshooting Replication Director
  2. Additional configuration topics
    1.  
      Configuring the NetBackup Client Service
    2.  
      NetBackup naming conventions
    3.  
      How to configure a multi-NIC environment
  3. Creating a NetBackup storage server for snapshot replication
    1.  
      Creating a NetBackup storage server for snapshot replication
    2.  
      Updating an OpenStorage storage server to reflect plug-in updates
    3.  
      Adding the storage server credentials to a NetBackup server
  4. Configuring disk pools for snapshot and replication
    1. About disk pools for snapshots and snapshot replication
      1.  
        About disk volumes for snapshots and snapshot replication
    2.  
      Creating disk pools for snapshot replication
    3.  
      Updating disk pools after volumes are added, are deleted, or are changed
    4.  
      Updating an OpenStorage disk pool to reflect plug-in updates
    5.  
      How to resolve snapshot disk volume changes
    6. Using bpstsinfo to view the replication topology of a device
      1.  
        NetApp storage server sample bpstsinfo output
  5. Configuring storage units and storage unit groups for snapshots and snapshot replication
    1.  
      Creating storage units for a Replication Director configuration
    2.  
      Creating storage unit groups for snapshots
  6. Configuring storage lifecycle policies for snapshots and snapshot replication
    1.  
      About configuring storage lifecycle policies for snapshots and snapshot replication
    2.  
      Creating a storage lifecycle policy for snapshots and snapshot replication
    3. Operation types in a storage lifecycle policy
      1. Snapshot operation in an SLP
        1.  
          Primary snapshot storage unit
        2.  
          Primary + Replication source snapshot storage unit
        3.  
          Replication source + Replication target snapshot storage unit
        4.  
          Replication target snapshot storage unit
        5.  
          Replication source + Replication target + Mirror snapshot storage unit
        6.  
          Replication target + Mirror snapshot storage unit
      2.  
        Replication operation in an SLP
      3. Index From Snapshot operation in an SLP
        1.  
          Determining where and when the Index From Snapshot operation occurs
        2.  
          Pre-requisites for indexing for an NDMP policy
        3.  
          Configuring indexing for an NDMP policy
      4.  
        Backup From Snapshot operation in an SLP
      5.  
        Duplication operation in an SLP
    4. Retention types for storage lifecycle policy operations
      1.  
        Expire after copy retention type for SLP operations
      2.  
        Fixed retention type for SLP operations
      3.  
        Maximum snapshot limit retention type for SLP operations
      4.  
        Mirror retention type for SLP operations
      5.  
        Target retention type for SLP operations
  7. Configuring backup policies for snapshots and snapshot replication
    1.  
      About configuring a backup policy for Replication Director
    2.  
      Configuring an NDMP policy to protect a NAS host
    3.  
      Configuring a Standard or MS-Windows policy to protect clients using NDMP with Data Mover
    4.  
      Configuring a Standard or MS-Windows policy to protect NAS volumes or SAN-connected devices
    5. About NDMP support for Replication Director
      1.  
        Limitations of Replication Director with NDMP
      2.  
        Authorizing NetBackup access to a NAS (NDMP) host
      3.  
        ALL_FILESYSTEMS and VOLUME_EXCLUDE_LIST directives
      4.  
        Configuring an NDMP policy in a multi-network environment
  8. Restoring from a snapshot
    1.  
      About restores from array-based snapshots
    2.  
      Restoring files and folders from an array-based snapshot
    3. About restores from array-based snapshots of virtual machines
      1.  
        Restoring files from array-based snapshots of virtual machines
    4.  
      Using OpsCenter to restore from array-based snapshots
    5.  
      How NetApp performs a volume-level rollback restore
    6.  
      Restoring (rolling back) from an array-based snapshot
  9. OpsCenter reporting
    1.  
      Veritas OpsCenter reporting
    2.  
      Configuring an alert for OpenStorage events
    3.  
      Storage lifecycle policy reporting
    4.  
      Disk pool monitoring
    5.  
      Monitoring snapshot replication jobs
    6.  
      Reporting on storage units, storage unit groups, and storage lifecycle policies
  10. Using NetApp disk arrays with Replication Director
    1.  
      Using NetApp disk arrays with Replication Director
    2. Supported NetApp topologies
      1.  
        NetApp topologies that Replication Director does not support
    3. Using NetApp Data ONTAP 7-mode with Replication Director
      1.  
        Configuration overview: NetApp 7-Mode with Replication Director
      2.  
        Licenses required for NetApp Data ONTAP 7-Mode with Replication Director
      3.  
        Software required to use NetApp Data ONTAP 7-Mode with Replication Director
      4. About using NetApp SAN-connected storage with Replication Director
        1.  
          Using SnapDrive for iSCSI setup on Windows
        2.  
          SAN-connected storage limitations
      5.  
        If the OnCommand Unified Manager root or administrator password has changed
      6.  
        Considerations when configuring an OnCommand Unified Manager as a NetBackup storage server
      7.  
        Importing existing NetApp relationships for NetBackup control
      8.  
        Enabling Unicode and language settings on NetApp disk arrays
    4. Using NetApp Clustered Data ONTAP with Replication Director
      1.  
        Configuration overview: NetApp Clustered Data ONTAP with Replication Director
      2.  
        Licenses required for NetApp Clustered Data ONTAP with Replication Director
      3.  
        Software required to use NetApp Clustered Data ONTAP with Replication Director
      4.  
        Configuring Replication Director to work with Clustered Data ONTAP
      5.  
        About creating backup policies for Clustered Data ONTAP with Replication Director
      6.  
        Protecting volumes with nested junctions for Clustered Data ONTAP
      7.  
        Limitations to using Clustered Data ONTAP with Replication Director
  11. Using Oracle with Replication Director
    1.  
      Requirements for Oracle support
    2. About Oracle support for Replication Director
      1.  
        Configuring an Oracle Intelligent Policy
      2.  
        Configuring a script- or template-based Oracle policy
  12. Using Virtual Machines with Replication Director
    1.  
      Requirements for virtual machine support
    2. About virtual machines and Replication Director
      1.  
        Notes on Replication Director for virtual machines
      2.  
        Configuring a policy for virtual machines to use Replication Director
      3.  
        About jobs in the Activity Monitor that use Replication Director for virtual machines
  13. Terminology
    1.  
      Replication terminology

About virtual machines and Replication Director

Replication Director for NetBackup for VMware includes the following features for protecting the virtual machine snapshots and replicated copies:

  • Creates an instantaneous hardware snapshot of virtual machines.

  • Backs up the virtual machines from the snapshots at primary locations and from replicated snapshots at remote locations.

  • Supports browsing of virtual machine snapshots.

  • Restores a virtual machine from its vmdk files that are in a snapshot.

  • Restores the individual files from the vmdk files in a snapshot.

  • Supports the storage lifecycle policies.

Table: Examples of virtual machine protection with Replication Director describes the scenarios for virtual machine protection with Replication Director.

Table: Examples of virtual machine protection with Replication Director

Operation

Description and notes

Make array-based snapshots of virtual machines on NFS datastores

Configure a storage lifecycle policy (SLP) and a backup policy to create array snapshots of virtual machines. The snapshots remain on the array or filer (NetBackup storage server) and are not backed up to a NetBackup media server storage unit. This type of backup is the foundation for the other Replication Director operations.

Note the following:

  • The snapshots are created on NFS datastores only.

  • The virtual machine or its individual files can be restored directly from the snapshots on the storage server. The snapshots can also be replicated to other locations.

  • For faster browsing of files to restore, include the Index From Snapshot option in the SLP. This option catalogs the metadata of the virtual machine.

Back up quiesced virtual machines from a snapshot (or snapshot replica) that is on an NFS datastore

Configure an SLP and a backup policy to make a backup image from the virtual machine snapshot. NetBackup backs up only the virtual machines that were quiesced before the snapshot occurred.

The backup image is written to a NetBackup storage unit. The image is retained according to the policy's retention period.

Note:

The Application consistent snapshot option in the policy must be enabled (under Options > Snapshot Client Options).

Restore a virtual machine from a snapshot (or snapshot replica) that is on an NFS datastore

Use the Backup, Archive, and Restore interface to restore the virtual machine.

Supported restore destinations are the original (NFS) datastore or an alternate datastore (NFS or non-NFS).

Restore individual files from a snapshot (or snapshot replica) that is on an NFS datastore

Use the Backup, Archive, and Restore interface to restore the files.

Note the following:

  • To restore files from a replica of the snapshot, the replica must exist in the same NetBackup domain as the snapshot.

  • To restore files to the original virtual machine, a NetBackup client must be installed on the original virtual machine.

  • As an alternative, you can use an alternate client to restore to a shared UNC location. You must manually copy the files back to the original location.

    See the topic on restoring individual files in the NetBackup for VMware Guide.

  • To restore multiple directories that have named streams, the Windows NetBackup client on the destination virtual machine must be at 7.6 or later.

For setting up Replication Director for virtual machines, the initial steps are the same as Replication Director for physical computers as follows:

  • Verify that your backup environment contains the necessary hardware and software to configure and run Replication Director. Make sure you can successfully back up a physical computer with Replication Director.

    Note:

    NDMP is not required for Replication Director and virtual machines.

  • Install or upgrade NetBackup.

  • Configure the following:

    • The disk array storage of the OpenStorage partner.

    • The NetBackup storage server.

    • The disk pool(s).

    • The NetBackup storage lifecycle policy (SLP).

      Create a new operation in the SLP for each task that the SLP is to perform. For example, create a snapshot operation to perform the snapshot and a replication operation to copy the snapshot.

    • The NetBackup Client Service.

      See Configuring the NetBackup Client Service.

    More information is available on all the procedures for configuring a NetBackup environment that uses Replication Director:

    See Configuration overview: NetApp 7-Mode with Replication Director.

The following table lists the additional steps that are required for Replication Director and virtual machines.

Table: Replication Director for virtual machines: Configuration tasks overview

Step

Description

Reference topic

1

Configure the virtual machine NFS datastores on the OpenStorage storage server. Replication Director makes the snapshots on these NFS datastores.

See the NetBackup for VMware Guide.

2

Add the VMware backup host to your NetBackup configuration.

See the topic on adding the VMware backup host to NetBackup, in the NetBackup for VMware Guide.

3

Configure NetBackup access credentials for the VMware vCenter server or ESX server.

See the topic on adding NetBackup credentials for VMware, in the NetBackup for VMware Guide.

4

Configure a NetBackup policy (VMware policy type) to perform the operations that are specified in the SLP.

See Configuring a policy for virtual machines to use Replication Director.