Veritas NetBackup™ Administrator's Guide, Volume II

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup (8.0)
  1. NetBackup licensing models and the nbdeployutil utility
    1.  
      About ways to gather and analyze licensing reporting
    2. About NetBackup licensing models
      1.  
        About the traditional licensing model
      2. About the capacity licensing model
        1.  
          How capacity licensing uses Front-end Terabytes
    3. nbdeployutil utility options
      1.  
        Scheduling capacity licensing reports
      2.  
        Generating licensing reports manually
    4. Creating and viewing the licensing report
      1.  
        Report tab descriptions
    5. After creating a traditional licensing report
      1.  
        Verify the 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
    6. After creating a capacity licensing report
      1.  
        Verify the completeness of the inputs
      2.  
        Eliminate redundant data due to client aliases and multiple IP addresses
      3.  
        Examine the Itemization tab for flagged conditions in the Accuracy column
      4.  
        Verify correct grouping and summation of multistreamed backup images
    7. 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
  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.  
        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.  
        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. 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
      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.  
        CONNECT_OPTIONS entry in vm.conf
      19.  
        DAS_CLIENT entry in vm.conf
      20.  
        DAYS_TO_KEEP_LOGS entry in vm.conf
      21.  
        EMM_RETRY_COUNT entry in vm.conf
      22.  
        EMM_CONNECT_TIMOUT entry in vm.conf
      23.  
        EMM_REQUEST_TIMOUT entry in vm.conf
      24.  
        ENABLE_ROBOT_AUTH entry in vm.conf
      25.  
        INVENTORY_FILTER entry in vm.conf
      26.  
        MAP_ID entry in vm.conf
      27.  
        MAP_CONTINUE_TIMEOUT entry in vm.conf
      28.  
        MEDIA_ID_BARCODE_CHARS entry in vm.conf
      29.  
        MEDIA_ID_PREFIX entry in vm.conf
      30.  
        MM_SERVER_NAME entry in vm.conf
      31.  
        PREFERRED_GROUP entry in vm.conf
      32.  
        PREVENT_MEDIA_REMOVAL entry in vm.conf
      33.  
        RANDOM_PORTS entry in vm.conf
      34.  
        REQUIRED_INTERFACE entry in vm.conf
      35.  
        SERVER entry in vm.conf
      36.  
        SSO_DA_REREGISTER_INTERVAL entry in vm.conf
      37.  
        SSO_DA_RETRY_TIMEOUT entry in vm.conf
      38.  
        SSO_HOST_NAME entry in vm.conf
      39.  
        TLH_mediatype entry in vm.conf
      40.  
        TLM_mediatype entry in vm.conf
      41.  
        VERBOSE entry in vm.conf
      42.  
        Example vm.conf file
      43.  
        How to access media and devices on other hosts
      44.  
        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.  
        diskfull_notify script
      9.  
        drive_mount_notify script (on UNIX)
      10.  
        drive_unmount_notify script (on UNIX)
      11.  
        mail_dr_info script
      12.  
        media_deassign_notify script
      13.  
        nbmail.cmd script (on Windows)
      14.  
        parent_end_notify script
      15.  
        parent_start_notify script
      16.  
        pending_request_notify script
      17.  
        restore_notify script
      18.  
        session_notify script
      19.  
        session_start_notify script
      20.  
        shared_drive_notify script
      21.  
        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

Media formats

NetBackup writes media in a format that allows the position to be verified before NetBackup appends new backups.

The following table shows the symbols that are used in the media format descriptions.

Table: Media format symbols

Symbol

Description

MH

Media header (1024 bytes).

*

Tape mark.

BH

Backup header (1024 bytes).

BH1 ... BHn

Backup headers (1024 bytes). One for each job that is part of the set of the jobs that are multiplexed.

Image

Data from the backup.

EH

Empty backup header, which is used for position validation.

The following table provides more information about how the media formats are used in different situations.

Table: Media format descriptions

Format

Description

Standard tape format

For all tape media except quarter-inch cartridge (QIC) and WORM, the format for the backups that are not multiplexed is as follows:

MH * BH Image * BH Image * BH Image * EH *

When a new backup image is added, the tape is positioned to the EH and the position is verified. The EH is overwritten by a BH and the backup proceeds. When complete, a new EH is written for future position validation.

When NetBackup encounters the end of media during a write operation, it terminates the tape with two tape marks and does not write an EH.

QIC and WORM tape format

This format is used for quarter-inch cartridge (QIC) and WORM media. Unlike the standard tape format, NetBackup does not write empty backup headers (EH). The format is as follows:

MH * BH Image * BH Image * BH Image *

To append backup images to QIC media, NetBackup positions to the end of data (EOD) and then starts the next backup.

Fragmented backup format

For fragmented backups, the media format is similar to the standard tape format. The difference is that NetBackup breaks the backup image into fragments of the size that are specified when the storage unit is configured.

The following is an example:

MH * BH Image (frag 1)* BH Image (frag 2)* BH Image (frag n) * EH *

Fragmentation is intended primarily for storing large backup images on a disk type storage unit.

For multiplexed backups, image fragmentation results in faster restores because NetBackup can advance to the specific fragment before it begins a search for the file.

Note:

If an error occurs in a backup, the entire backup is discarded and the backup restarts from the beginning. It does not restart from the fragment where the error occurred. Exception: checkpoint and restart backups resume from the last checkpoint fragment.

Multiplexing format

The tape format for multiplexed backups is as follows:

MH * BH1 ... BHn Image ...

By default, the data image is in 64-kilobyte blocks. Each block also contains 512 bytes that are reserved for multiplexing control information and to identify the backup to which the block corresponds.

When a job ends or a new job is added to the multiplexing set, NetBackup writes a tape mark. NetBackup then starts multiplexing the revised set of jobs.

The following is an example:

MH * BH1 BH2 BH3 Image* BH2 BH3 Image* BH2 BH3 BH4 Image

Spanning tape format

By default, NetBackup spans a backup image to another tape if it encounters the end of media during a backup. The format is the same as described for fragmented backups. The first fragment on the next tape begins with the buffer of data where the end of media occurred.

The following is the first tape format (NetBackup does not write an EH and terminates the tape with two tape marks):

MH * ... *BHn Image (frag 1) * *

The following is the second tape format:

MH * BHn Image (frag2)* ... * EH *