Veritas NetBackup™ Replication Director Solutions Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup (8.0)
  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

Configuring an NDMP policy to protect a NAS host

By creating a snapshot of a NAS host, NetBackup can protect the client data directly on the NAS host and avoid mounting each client.

Figure: Create a snapshot of the volume on the array to avoid mounting each client shows a disk array that many clients access to store data. Only the array name is listed in the Clients tab of the NetBackup policy, not individual production clients. The volume on the array that the clients use is listed in the Backup Selections tab of the policy.

Note:

The figure below illustrates an example using NetApp Data ONTAP 7-mode.

Figure: Create a snapshot of the volume on the array to avoid mounting each client

Create a snapshot of the volume on the array to avoid mounting each client

The following procedure describes how to configure an NDMP backup policy to create a snapshot of a NAS host using NDMP with Replication Director.

To create an NDMP policy to use NDMP with Replication Director

  1. Before NetBackup can perform NDMP backups:
  2. In the NetBackup Administration Console, create a backup policy.

    Do not use the Policy Configuration Wizard to configure a policy for Replication Director.

  3. Configure the options on the policy Attributes tab. The following items are specific to creating a policy for Replication Director:
    • Policy type: Select NDMP.

    • Policy storage: Select the SLP that you want to use that has been configured for snapshot replication.

      See Creating a storage lifecycle policy for snapshots and snapshot replication.

    • Use Replication Director: Enable Use Replication Director to automatically select other options that Replication Director requires.

    • Click the Options button to see the Replication Director Options dialog box and the default Configuration Parameters as follows:

      Snapshot Type

      • Auto (default): The OpenStorage partner uses the best snapshot technology available to that partner to create the snapshot.

      • Differential: The OpenStorage partner creates a snapshot that is completely dependent on the source. This parameter is based on copy-on-write technology. The device creates a cache object to maintain the original blocks of the snapshot when the blocks are modified.

      • Plex: The OpenStorage Partner creates a snapshot that is completely independent of the source snapshot. This option is based on mirror-break-off technology. When a mirror device is attached to the source, the contents of the mirror device is exactly the same as the source device. When the relationship is broken between the two, the mirror device is separated from the source. The mirror device acts as a point-in-time copy.

      • Clone: The OpenStorage Partner creates an independent copy of the volume. The copy process can take some time as the entire copy must be complete. The snapshot that is created is independent of the source.

      Maximum Snapshots

      Sets the maximum number of snapshots to be retained at one time.

      The default setting is one. Choose the number of snapshots that is appropriate for your environment. Note that the maximum number of snapshots on a NetApp volume is 255.

      When the maximum is reached, snapshot rotation occurs: The next snapshot causes the oldest to be deleted.

      See Maximum snapshot limit retention type for SLP operations.

      Managed by SLP retention is automatically selected if the Fixed or the Expire after Copy retention is currently selected in the SLP.

  4. Select the Schedules tab and configure the schedules as you would for any other policy.
  5. Select the Clients tab. Specify the name of the disk array (the NAS host) for 7-mode.

    For Clustered Data ONTAP, specify the name of the SVM that will act as the NAS host.

    The following figure pertains to NetApp Data ONTAP 7-Mode and shows the name of a NetApp storage system in the Clients tab:

    It may be helpful to refer to Figure: Create a snapshot of the volume on the array to avoid mounting each client.

  6. Select the Backup Selections tab to indicate the path to the volume on the disk array.

    The following figure pertains to NetApp Data ONTAP 7-Mode and shows the Backup Selections tab and the volume that is to be backed up:

    Note:

    Backup selections for both SAN devices and NAS volumes are not supported in a single backup policy.

  7. When the policy configuration is complete, click OK.
  8. NetBackup checks the policy to ensure that it can run successfully. Select Complete to perform the most comprehensive policy validation.

Figure: NDMP policy configuration to back up a NAS host

NDMP policy configuration to back up a NAS host

See the NetBackup for NDMP Administrator's Guide for more specific information about configuring NDMP policies.

Only those policy options that are necessary to configure Replication Director are listed in the following procedure. For descriptions of all policy options, see the NetBackup Administrator's Guide, Volume I or the online Help.