When trying to back up mapped network drives on Windows, the backup fails with Status Code 71: none of the files in the file list exist

Mapped drives exist in the context of the current user. The NetBackup processes run in their own user context. If the drives are not mapped in the NetBackup process context, the backup will fail with Status Code 71.

Example:

Drive K: mapped on server A to a share on server B and backup launched with K: in the file list on server A (NetBackup client), the backup fails and this error is seen in the bpbkar log:

10:46:49.467: [3296.3196]<2> tar_base::V_vTarMsgW: INF - EXIT STATUS 71: none of the files in thefile list exist

Solution:
A simple solution is to back up the data on the source server, where the data is on a local disk.

However, if this is not possible, in order to back up mapped drives, they need to be mapped into the user context of the NetBackup processes. The way to do this is to use the bpstart_notify script on the NetBackup client, where the backup is run:

Create   bpstart_notify.bat in the (default) path C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\bin directory. In the . bat file, add the following line to map a drive before backup starts:

net use K: \\server_name\share password /USER:domain_name\user_name

(For help with the net use command, type net use /? at a Windows command prompt)

 

To delete the mapped drive after the backup has finished, create bpend_notify.bat in the (default) path C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\bin directory. In the bat file, add the following line to delete the mapped drive, after the backup is completed:

 

net use /DELETE K:

Check "Backup Network Drives" in the Policy attribute, as per Figure 1:

Figure1
 

In the Backup Selections, specify the drive that was mapped in the bpstart_notify script, as per Figure 2:

Figure2
 


Note 1: Prior to backup NetBackup will check for  bpstart_notify.bat in the bin directory and if exists, will launch the script

Note 2: After backup NetBackup will check for  bpend_notify.bat in the bin directory and if exists, will launch the script

Note 3: The bat files can be named such as  bpstart_notify.policy_name.bat to be executed only for a specific policy. It can also be named bpstart_notify.policy_name.schedule_name.bat to be executed only for a specific schedule in a specific policy.