Release 6.5
12308346
2
NetBackup 6.5
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Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction
Restores .........................................................................................................33
Restores .........................................................................................................80
Chapter 15
Using the Shared Storage Option
Using the Device Monitor with Shared Storage Option .............................. 127
Chapter 16
Shared Storage Option Reference
Terms and concepts .......................................................................................... 131
Chapter 17
Troubleshooting the Shared Storage Option
Hardware configuration guidelines ................................................................ 137
Section IV
SAN Client and Fibre Transport
Chapter 18
Introduction
Overview ............................................................................................................. 145
AIX ................................................................................................................166
HP-UX ..........................................................................................................166
Linux ............................................................................................................167
Solaris ..........................................................................................................167
Windows ......................................................................................................167
10
Index 185
Chapter 1
Introduction
This guide describes how to install, configure, and use shared storage and Fibre
Transport with NetBackup.
Shared storage
NetBackup provides several options that allow you to share storage among
multiple NetBackup media servers:
■ The OpenStorage disk option allows multiple NetBackup media servers to
share intelligent disk appliance storage.
For more information, see “OpenStorage disk option” on page 13.
■ The SharedDisk option allows multiple NetBackup media servers to share
disk array storage.
For more information, see “SharedDisk option” on page 53.
■ The Shared Storage Option allows multiple NetBackup media servers to
share individual tape drives (stand-alone drives or drives in a robotic
library).
For more information, see “Shared Storage Option” on page 111.
SAN Client and NetBackup Fibre Transport
NetBackup also provides a separately licensed option for high-speed data
transport. NetBackup Fibre Transport provides high-performance I/O backup
rates for NetBackup client systems by using a Storage Area Network (SAN) for
data transport. You can use NetBackup Fibre Transport with disk storage in
NetBackup.
For more information, see “SAN Client and Fibre Transport” on page 143.
12
Introduction
Section
I
OpenStorage disk option
■ “Introduction” on page 15
14
Chapter 2
Introduction
The NetBackup OpenStorage disk option provides an API between NetBackup
and disk storage. The API allows NetBackup to use disk appliances from
NetBackup aggregates the disk into pools of storage you can use for backups.
■ “Overview” on page 15
■ “Vendor controls the storage” on page 17
■ “NetBackup Release Notes” on page 17
Overview
OpenStorage is a NetBackup API that allows NetBackup to communicate with
intelligent disk appliances. Disk appliance vendors provide the storage, and they
provide a software plug-in that you install on NetBackup media servers. The
NetBackup media servers use the plug-in to communicate with the disk
appliance.
To determine a disk appliance’s capabilities, NetBackup uses the plug-in to
query the storage appliance. Capabilities can include single-instance storage,
optimized off-host duplication, and so on.
16 Introduction
Overview
Disk appliances typically are hardware and software solutions. The disk
appliance vendors participate in the Symantec OpenStorage Partner Program.
Symantec qualifies their storage solutions for the OpenStorage API.
OpenStorage provides the following capabilities:
■ Share disks. Multiple NetBackup media servers can access the same disk
volume concurrently.
■ Balance load and performance. NetBackup balances backup jobs and storage
usage among the media servers and disk pools. For each backup job,
NetBackup chooses the least full disk volume and least used media server.
■ NetBackup can use the disk appliance capabilities, which may include
optimized off-host duplication and single-instance storage capabilities.
If the disk appliance does not appear in the command output as an OpenStorage
storage server, create it.
Note: If the storage server does not require logon credentials, you must
enter dummy credentials so that NetBackup configures the media server as
a data mover.
■ Configures the media server as a data mover. A data mover is an entity that
moves data between the primary storage (the NetBackup client) and the
storage server (the disk appliance).
26 Configuring OpenStorage
Adding storage server credentials
NetBackup does not monitor connectivity between data movers and storage
servers. However, when you add the credentials on each media server,
NetBackup configures and maintains an access path between the media
server and the storage server.
The storage vendor’s plug-in installation process may create the logon
credentials on each NetBackup media server that connects to the storage server.
(See “To determine if the storage server credentials are configured already” on
page 26.) If that process does not create the logon credentials, you must add
them.
■ -stype server_type. A string that identifies the storage server type. The
storage vendor provides the string.
■ -sts_user_id user_id. The user name to use to log into the storage server.
If the storage server does not require logon credentials, enter dummy
credentials.
■ -password password. The password to use to log into the storage server. If
the storage server does not require logon credentials, enter dummy
credentials.
■ The -st storage_type is a numeric value that specifies the storage server
properties. The storage vendor provides the value. For OpenStorage, the
default is 9 (network attached, formatted disk).
The value is obtained by adding together the numeric values of the
following properties. Whether the disk is formatted and how it is attached
are mutually exclusive and complementary.
■ 1 - formatted disk. The disk is formatted as part of the vendor-specific
preparation; NetBackup does not format the disk.
■ 2 - raw disk. The disk is not formatted; NetBackup formats the disk.
■ 4 - direct attached. Direct attached means that the storage server and
media server are the same NetBackup host.
■ 8 - network attached. Network attached means the storage server is
physically distinct from the NetBackup media server. It does not imply
LAN data movement nor does it preclude Fibre Channel as the
transport for data movement.
The default value is valid for all participating OpenStorage vendors when
this document was published. If the vendor does not provide the value, use
9.
The tpconfig command resides in the following directory:
UNIX: /usr/openv/volmgr/bin
Windows: install_path\Program Files\VERITAS\Volmgr\bin
For more information, see NetBackup Commands for UNIX and Linux or
NetBackup Commands for Windows.
DP_Silver_OpenStorage
Create one or more storage units that reference the disk pool.
The Disk Pool Configuration Wizard lets you create a storage unit; therefore,
you may have created a storage unit when you created a disk pool. To determine
if storage units exist for the disk pool, see the NetBackup Management >
page 31.
describe the type of storage. The storage unit name is the name used to specify a
storage unit for policies and schedules. The storage unit name cannot be
Disk type
vendor or storage.
Disk pool
Select the disk pool that contains the storage for this storage unit.
All disk pools of the specified Disk type appear in the Disk pool list. If no disk
Media server
The Media server setting specifies the NetBackup media servers that can move
data to and from the storage server for this storage unit. (For OpenStorage,
Only the media servers that are configured as data movers for the OpenStorage
implementation appear in the media server list. If a media server does not
appear in the list, verify that the software plug-in is installed and that logon
■ To allow any server in the media server list to access the storage server
(default), select Use any available media server.
■ To restrict the media servers that can function as data movers for this
storage unit, select Only use the following media servers. Then, select the
media servers to allow.
NetBackup selects the media server to use when the policy runs.
Maximum concurrent jobs
The Maximum concurrent jobs setting specifies the maximum number of jobs
that NetBackup can send to a disk storage unit at one time. (Default: 1 job. The
job count can range from 0 to 256.) This setting corresponds to the Maximum
concurrent write drives setting for a Media Manager storage unit.
NetBackup queues jobs until the storage unit is available. If three backup jobs
are ready to be sent to the storage unit and Maximum concurrent jobs is set to
Configuring OpenStorage 31
Creating a storage unit
two, the first two jobs start and the third job waits. If a job contains multiple
copies, each copy applies toward the Maximum concurrent jobs count.
The number to enter depends on the available disk space and the server's ability
to run multiple backup processes.
You can use maximum concurrent jobs to balance the load between disk storage
units. A higher number of concurrent jobs means that the disk can be busier
than if the number is lower.
For information about how NetBackup balances storage unit and media server
load, see “Maximum concurrent jobs” in:
■ NetBackup Administrator’s Guide for UNIX and Linux, Volume I
■ NetBackup Administrator’s Guide for Windows, Volume I
Maximum fragment size
Specify the largest fragment size that NetBackup can create to store backups.
The default maximum fragment size for a disk storage unit is 524,287
megabytes. To specify a maximum fragment size other than the default, enter a
Backups to disk are usually fragmented to ensure that the backup does not
restarts from the beginning, not from the fragment where the error occurred.
(An exception is for backups for which checkpoint and restart is enabled. In that
case, fragments before and including the last checkpoint are retained; the
Usage recommendations
For usage recommendations, see the following:
■ Define a storage unit (such as STU-FT). Select the disk pool. Select Only use
the following media servers. Select the FT media servers that connect to the
SAN clients.
■ Create a backup policy for the SAN clients and select the STU-FT storage
unit.
■ Define another storage unit (such as STU-LAN). Select the same disk pool.
Select Only use the following media servers. Select the media servers with
LAN connectivity to the regular clients.
■ Create a backup policy for the regular clients and select the STU-LAN
storage unit.
This scenario assumes that the SAN clients are a small subset of your client
base. It also assumes that the media servers with LAN connectivity to the
regular clients also have SAN connectivity to the storage.
Example 2
Even without a SAN, you can separate your backup traffic similarly and still
write all of the data to the same disk pool. For example, you can send the
backups from your most important clients to a media server that is dedicated for
the most important backups:
■ Define a storage unit (such as STU-CRITICAL). Select the disk pool. Select
Only use the following media servers. Select one (or a subset) of the media
servers.
■ Create a backup policy for the critical clients and select the STU-CRITICAL
storage unit.
■ Define another storage unit (such as STU-NORMAL). Select the same disk
pool. Select Only use the following media servers. Select a different subset
of the media servers.
■ Create a backup policy for the regular clients and select the STU-NORMAL
storage unit.
Backup policies define the rules that NetBackup follows to back up clients.
units. That is, specify the appropriate storage unit in your backup policies.
UNIX and Linux, Volume I or the NetBackup Administrator’s Guide for Windows,
Volume I.
Monitor backup progress
To monitor backup progress, use the Detailed Status tab of the Job Details dialog
box. It shows the media server that functions as the data mover between the
client and the storage server.
If the media server cannot start or complete the job, NetBackup retries the job
after the job retry period elapses. (Configure the job retry interval by using the
master server Global Attributes Job retry delay host property.)
If you select more than one media server in the storage unit Media server field,
NetBackup may retry the job with a different media server.
Restores
Use normal NetBackup processes to restore data from backups.
To perform the restore, NetBackup chooses one of the media servers that can
34 Configuring OpenStorage
Optimized duplication
Optimized duplication
If an OpenStorage disk appliance has the capability to copy the data on one
appliance to another appliance of the same type, NetBackup can use that
capability. The following are the requirements for optimized duplication:
■ The vendor must expose the off-host data movement capability in their
plug-in.
■ Both the source and the destination disk pools must be the same
OpenStorage vendor type.
■ One or more NetBackup media servers must connect to the source appliance
and the destination appliance.
To configure optimized, off-host duplication:
■ Use a storage lifecycle policy. Configure the backup destination as a disk
pool on one appliance and configure the duplication destination as a disk
pool on another appliance. To create a lifecycle policy, see “Storage
Lifecycle Policies” in the NetBackup Administrator’s Guide for UNIX and
Linux or the NetBackup Administrator’s Guide for Windows.
■ Use a Vault policy for duplication between disk pools on the appliances. To
create a Vault policy, see the NetBackup Vault Administrator’s Guide.
■ Use the NetBackup bpduplicate command for duplication between disk
pools on the appliances. For more information about the bpduplicate
command, see NetBackup Commands for UNIX and Linux or the NetBackup
Commands for Windows.
A NetBackup media server initiates and manages the duplication between
appliances. If the media server has connectivity to the destination appliance, it
confirms the image copy occurred. NetBackup maintains records of the image
copies and their locations in the NetBackup catalog.
Some benefits of optimized, off-host duplication are:
■ Reduces the workload on the NetBackup media servers. More back ups can
be performed.
■ Faster duplication. Duplication can occur in the background, simultaneously
with ongoing backup jobs.
■ Reduced bandwidth. If the appliances support single instance store
capabilities, the copy process may send only changed blocks.
■ Capacity management can be based on the value of the data. Least
important data can be deleted from a primary disk pool, but only after
duplication of that data.
The following are limitations:
Configuring OpenStorage 35
Optimized duplication
■ The total raw, unformatted size of the storage in the disk pool. For
OpenStorage, the disk appliance may or may not expose the raw size of the
storage.
■ A comment that is associated with the disk pool.
■ The high water mark for the disk pool. (The default is 98%.)
The high water mark is a threshold that indicates the storage is full. It
applies to both the individual disk volumes in the pool and the disk pool, as
follows:
■ Individual volumes. When a disk volume reaches the high water mark,
NetBackup writes the data to another disk volume in the pool.
■ Disk pool. When all volumes are at the high water mark, the disk pool is
full. When a disk pool approaches the high water mark, NetBackup
reduces the number of jobs that are allowed to write to the pool.
NetBackup does not assign new jobs to a storage unit in which the disk
pool is full.
■ The low water mark for the disk pool. (The default is 80%.)
When the capacity of the disk pool returns to the low water mark,
NetBackup again assigns jobs to the storage unit. Capacity is regained as
backup images expire.
The low water mark setting cannot be greater than or equal to the high
water mark setting.
Note: Be careful when you add volumes to a disk pool. For data integrity,
NetBackup does not allow volumes to be deleted from a disk pool. Because
backup images may span disk volumes, a volume may contain valid image
fragments. To remove a disk volume, you must delete all valid backup images
and then delete the disk pool.
40 Managing OpenStorage
-state DOWN
For the OpenStorage server type (server_type), the storage vendor provides
the string that identifies the server type.
3 Merge the disk pools. The following is the command syntax. The primary
disk pool is the one you want to retain; nbdevconfig deletes the secondary
disk pool after the merge.
nbdevconfig –mergedps -primarydp disk_pool_name -secondarydp
disk_pool_name
4 Change the state of the primary disk pool to UP. The following is the
command syntax:
nbdevconfig -changestate -stype server_type -dp disk_pool_name
-state UP
or volume.
To change the state to DOWN, the disk pool must not be busy. If backup jobs are
assigned to the disk pool, the state change fails. Cancel the backup jobs or wait
Note: For data integrity, NetBackup does not allow volumes to be deleted from a
disk pool. Because backup images may span disk volumes, a volume may contain
valid image fragments. To remove a disk volume, you must delete all valid
backup images and then delete the disk pool.
-state state
For the storage server type (server_type), the storage vendor provides the
For the storage server type (server_type), the storage vendor provides the
string that identifies the server type.
2 Change the disk volume state; the following is the command syntax:
nbdevconfig -changestate -stype server_type -dp disk_pool_name
For the storage server type (server_type), the storage vendor provides the
state is UP or DOWN.
NetBackup jobs still read from and write to a disk pool that has a downed
NetBackup updates the catalog records to show the correct location of the
Prerequisites:
42 Managing OpenStorage
■ The volumes in the two disk pools must have unique names. OpenStorage
requires that vendors use unique names for disk volumes in a disk
appliance.
■ All volumes must be from the same storage server.
■ If the secondary disk pool is referenced by storage units, you must delete
those storage units.
-state DOWN
For the storage server type (server_type), the storage vendor provides the
If backup jobs are assigned to a disk pool, the state change fails. Cancel the
2 Merge the disk pools. The following is the command syntax. The primary
disk pool is the one you want to retain; nbdevconfig deletes the secondary
disk pool after the merge.
nbdevconfig –mergedps –stype server_type -primarydp
3 Change the state of the primary disk pool to UP. The following is the
command syntax:
nbdevconfig -changestate -stype server_type -dp disk_pool_name
-state UP
If a disk pool is the storage destination of a storage unit, you must first delete
Caution: Do not delete a disk pool that contains unexpired NetBackup images; if
you do, data loss may occur.
Managing OpenStorage 43
Managing disk pools
Option Description
-dv disk_volume Used with -listdv, it shows the properties of the specified disk
volume.
-l Produces the parsable output, one line of output per disk volume
with no headers. The first field indicates the version of the output
as an aid to create scripts. By default, nbdevquery uses the -l
option.
-stype server_type Use this option with the following two options:
■ With -listdp, shows all disk pools of the specified storage
type.
■ With -listdv, shows all disk pools of the specified storage
type and their disk volumes.
For OpenStorage, the storage vendor provides the string that
identifies the server type.
Option Description
The command lists the media servers for which the storage server credentials
are configured already for all OpenStorage servers.
For the OpenStorage server type (server_type), the storage vendor provides the
string that identifies the server type.
For the OpenStorage server type (server_type), the storage vendor provides the
Note: If the OpenStorage server logon credentials change, you must change the
credentials on every NetBackup media server that connects to the storage
server.
-sts_user_id user_id
For the OpenStorage server type (server_type), the storage vendor provides the
UNIX: /usr/openv/volmgr/bin
Managing OpenStorage 45
Managing storage servers
You can do the following to manage the storage servers that exist in your
environment:
To list only a specific OpenStorage server type, use the -stype server_type
option and argument. The storage vendor provides the string to use for
server_type.
nbdevquery -liststs
Option Description
Option Description
-stype server_type Use this option with the following two options:
■ With -liststs, shows all storage servers of the
specified storage type.
■ With -storage_server, shows all storage servers that
are at the specified host.
For OpenStorage, the storage vendor provides the string that
identifies the server type.
For more information about the nbdevquery command, see the NetBackup
Commands for UNIX and Linux or NetBackup Commands for Windows manual.
-sts_user_id user_id
■ The NetBackup License Keys dialog box. Open the dialog box by selecting
Help > License Keys in the NetBackup Administration Console. Display the
summary by clicking Summary of active capacity-based license features.
The summary displays the storage capacity for which you are licensed and
the capacity used. It does not display the amount of physical storage space.
The NetBackup Operations Manager also provides information about storage
capacity and usage. For more information, see the NetBackup Operations
Manager Guide.
Report Description
Images on Disk The Images on Disk report generates the image list present on the
disk storage units that are connected to the media server. The
report is a subset of the Images on Media report; it shows only
disk-specific columns.
The report provides a summary of the storage unit contents. If a
disk becomes bad or if a media server crashes, this report can let
you know what data is lost.
Disk Logs The Disk Logs report displays the media errors or the
informational messages that are recorded in the NetBackup error
catalog. The report is a subset of the Media Logs report; it shows
only disk-specific columns.
50 Managing OpenStorage
Report Description
Disk Storage Unit The Disk Storage Unit Status report displays the state of disk
storage units in the current NetBackup configuration.
For disk pool capacity, see Media and Device Management >
Devices > Disk Pools.
Multiple storage units can point to the same disk pool. When the
report query is by storage unit, the report counts the capacity of
disk pool storage multiple times.
Disk Pool Status The Disk Pool Status report displays the state of disk pool storage
units. This report displays only when an Enterprise Disk Option
license is installed.
Backups and N/A Messages appear in the log files for the following
restores processes:
■ bpbrm backup and restore manger
■ bpdbm database manager
■ bpdm disk manager
■ bptm for I/O operations
Device 178 The Disk Service Manager process that runs in the
configuration Enterprise Media Manager (EMM) process.
Device 202 The Storage Server Interface process that runs in the
configuration Remote Manager and Monitor Service. RMMS runs on
media servers.
If the Storage Server Interface logs indicate problems with
the Veritas Frozen Image (VxFI) service, examine the VxFI
log files for detailed trace information:
■ UNIX: /user/openv/netbackup/logs/bpfis
■ Windows: install_path\VERITAS\NetBackup\logs
\bpfis
Device 230 The Remote Disk Service Manager interface (RDSM) that
configuration runs in the Remote Manager and Monitor Service. RMMS
runs on media servers.
To view and manage VxUL log files, you must use NetBackup log commands. For
information about how to use and manage logs on NetBackup servers, see the
NetBackup Troubleshooting Guide.
Troubleshooting OpenStorage
To troubleshoot back up and restore problems, you must determine if a problem
resides in the vendor's plug-in, in the storage server, or in NetBackup. Examine
the bpdm and the bptm log files for the messages that contain a sts_ prefix,
which indicate a call to a plug-in.
For more help, see the following topics:
■ “Vendor plug-in errors” on page 51
■ “Vendor plug-in not installed” on page 52
■ “Unable to access storage” on page 52
server was created with the incorrect nbdevconfig -st value. For example, a
For information about the storage server values, see “Creating a storage server
nbdevquery -liststs –U
The following output shows the storage. The storage type is incorrect for
■ “Introduction” on page 55
54
Chapter 7
Introduction
NetBackup SharedDisk allows multiple NetBackup media servers to share disk
array storage. NetBackup aggregates the disk into pools of storage you can use
for backups. NetBackup manages the storage as a logical entity (a disk pool).
For more information about SharedDisk, see:
■ “Overview” on page 55
■ “NetBackup Release Notes” on page 56
Overview
NetBackup SharedDisk provides the following benefits:
■ Deploy and use easily. NetBackup discovers the storage and uses familiar
NetBackup storage units and backup policies to use the storage.
■ Increase storage unit capacity by adding disks. Only add what you need,
when you need it, and then update the NetBackup disk pools. Logical units
of storage span physical boundaries, so you do not have to create new
NetBackup storage units or change the backup policies.
■ Balance load and performance. NetBackup balances backup jobs and storage
usage among the media servers and disk pools. For each backup job,
NetBackup chooses the least full disk volume and least used media server.
56 Introduction
Note: When you bind the media server HBA ports to disk array volumes or
LUNs, you must use persistent bindings. If you do not, NetBackup access to
the array may fail, backups may not occur, and data may be lost. Exception:
Persistent bindings are not required for Leadville drivers.
Preparing the SAN and the array 59
Installing array software on media servers
Note: All media servers that are connected to the array must be the same
operating system type and use the same file system.
The TechNote also contains information about how to create host entries and
The Tech Note lets us update disk array information when support for new disk
NetBackup releases.
entries. In all cases, the host entries contain the following three key pieces of
information:
■ The name of the host (that is, the name of the NetBackup media server host).
The host name must be a valid IP host name. To be more specific, the name
or friendly name of the host entry on the array must match the DNS name
of the host. (A friendly name is a more human-readable name than a string
used to identify a device or a host.)
■ The World Wide Port Name (WWPN) of the HBA port on the media server.
The WWPN identifies the port through which you want the media server to
access the array.
■ The type of host operating system (such as Solaris).
You must create an entry for each NetBackup media server that shares the
array.
If you cluster the NetBackup media servers, the host entries must be configured
with the host names of the nodes (not the virtual names). NetBackup uses
gethostname to identify the row in the array masking table to enable exclusive
access to a LUN.
The TechNote also contains information about how to allocate LUNs for each
supported disk array and which version of the array vendor’s command line
interfaces to install on the NetBackup media servers.
The Tech Note lets us update disk array information when support for new disk
arrays is added and supported array software versions change between
NetBackup releases.
Use a meaningful suffix to complete each LUN name. For example, use the name
of the NetBackup disk pool and perhaps a number to make the name unique.
Preparing the SAN and the array 61
Configuring the disk array
Note: LUN names within an array must be unique; if they are not, you cannot
create a NetBackup disk pool from the storage on the array. Symantec
recommends that you use a unique name for each LUN that you allocate to
NetBackup, even if the LUNs are on different arrays. If you merge disk pools
later, each LUN name must be unique.
Some arrays do not allow specific name prefixes. By default, NetBackup uses all
of the LUNs for storage on those arrays. You can use only some of the LUNs for
NetBackup storage. However, to format those LUNs and to create a disk pool
from them is more difficult than for LUNs with the nbusd_ prefix.
The TechNote also contains information about how to create host entries and
which version of the array vendor’s command line interfaces to install on the
NetBackup media servers.
The Tech Note lets us update disk array information when support for new disk
arrays is added and supported software versions change between NetBackup
releases.
update the sd.conf file to allow additional LUN entries and then reboot the
If problems occur when you format LUNs, Symantec recommends that you open
LUNs 0-15 on all targets (0-15). Also open LUNs 0-15 if NetBackup device
Chapter 9
Licensing SharedDisk
No special installation is required for the SharedDisk storage option. However:
■ The NetBackup master server and all NetBackup media servers that use the
feature must be at NetBackup 6.5 or later.
■ You must activate the feature by entering the Flexible Disk Option license
key on the NetBackup master server.
You may have one license key that activates NetBackup and all of your add-on
products. Alternatively, you may have a separate license key for NetBackup and
for each add-on product such as SharedDisk.
When you choose the systems to use for the NetBackup master and media
servers, be aware of the following:
■ All NetBackup media servers that connect to the disk array must be the
same system type (such as all Solaris).
■ Do not include the master server or EMM server in the list of media servers
that use the array. Data transfer consumes system resources and severely
degrades EMM performance. (Normally, the EMM server runs on the master
server, but it can run on any NetBackup media server.)
If you remove the Flexible Disk Option license key or if it expires:
■ You cannot create the disk pools or the storage units that use the disk pools.
■ NetBackup jobs that attempt to use the disk pools or the storage units that
are based on the disk pools fail. The error message indicates that the feature
is not licensed.
■ NetBackup does not delete the disk pools or the storage units that are based
on the disk pools. You can use them if you enter a valid license key.
64 Licensing SharedDisk
Chapter 10
Configuring SharedDisk
The following are the tasks to configure NetBackup to use SharedDisk:
■ “Specifying the mount point directory” on page 65
If problems occur when you configure the SharedDisk storage option, see
“SharedDisk troubleshooting checklist” on page 98.
Disk array
Configuring SharedDisk 67
Creating a storage server in NetBackup
If the media server does not appear in the command output as a SharedDisk
storage server, configure the media server as a storage server.
5 In the Add Disk Array Host dialog box, add the credentials:
■ Credentials. Select the host type for the disk array.
■ Username. Enter the user name that NetBackup uses to log into the
array.
■ Password. Enter the password that NetBackup uses to log into the
array.
■ Confirm password. To confirm the password, re-enter the password
that NetBackup uses to log into the array.
■ (Windows systems.) Port number. For the port number, select (or enter)
the port number over which to communicate with the array. If no
specific port is required, select or enter 0.
■ (UNIX systems.) Connect using port number. To use a specific port
number to connect, select this option, then enter the port number over
which to communicate with the array. If no specific port is required,
select or enter 0.
6 After you add credentials, stop and then start the NetBackup services on:
the NetBackup master server and on each NetBackup media server that
accesses the disk array. You can use the NetBackup Administration Console
70 Configuring SharedDisk
Formatting the LUNs in a disk array
Activity Monitor to stop and start the services. Alternatively, you can use
the following commands in sequence:
■ UNIX:
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.kill_all
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.start_all
■ Windows:
install_path\VERITAS\Netbackup\bin\bpdown.exe
install_path\VERITAS\Netbackup\bin\bpup.exe
Caution: This procedure displays all LUNs on an array that are allocated to
NetBackup, even LUNs already in use by NetBackup. Do not format LUNs that
are already in use by NetBackup; if you do, data loss may occur.
To format LUNs
Invoke the nbshareddisk command on one of the storage servers that is
connected to the array.
1 Use the nbshareddisk command with the list option to determine the
arrays for which NetBackup has logon credentials. The output includes the
unique enclosure identifier (UEID), which identifies arrays. The UEID of the
array is used in step 2.
nbshareddisk list
Configuring SharedDisk 71
Formatting the LUNs in a disk array
Enclosure list:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
NETAPP ndmpfiler1 UEID##NETAPP##LUN##0a505b7c
HP HPEVA4000 UEID##HP##HSV##5000-1FE1-5007-0020
EMC 000182601092 UEID##EMC##SYMMETRIX##000182601092
EMC APM00044701641 UEID##EMC##CLARIION##APM00044701641
If the array does not appear in the list, see “6. Verify LAN connectivity to
the disk array” on page 101.
2 Use the nbshareddisk list command to write the unique device
identifiers (UDIDs) of the LUNs to a text file. The following is the command
syntax:
nbshareddisk list –ueid unique_enclosure_id > filename
The command writes only LUNs that have the nbusd_ prefix to the file. If
the array does not let you specify the nbusd_ LUN prefix, all LUNs appear
in the output file.
The UDIDs are used when you format the LUNs in step 5.
For example, the following command writes the UDID of the LUNs in the
formatlist.txt
3 To add UDIDs from more than one array to the output file, repeat step 2 for
each additional array. However, use the append operator (>>) rather than the
redirection operator to append the output to the end of the file.
4 Examine the text file to verify that the LUNs in the file are the ones you want
to format.
If you do not see all of the UDIDs you expected to, ensure that the LUNs on
the array use the nbusd_ prefix.
For arrays that do not allow the nbusd_ LUN prefix, delete the UDIDs that
you do not want to format. Only delete lines from the file, do not add lines to
the file.
Caution: Do not format LUNs that are in use by NetBackup already; if you
do, data loss may occur.
5 Use the nbshareddisk format command to format the LUNs on the array.
The following is the command syntax:
nbshareddisk format –udid_file filename
After you format the LUNs, you can create disk pools.
LUNs
Gold_SharedDisk_Pool
Disk array
Silver_SharedDisk_Pool
Note: If the array does net let you specify the nbusd_ LUN prefix for disk
volumes, NetBackup discovers all of the storage on the array. To use only
some of the storage on the array, you must use the volumes method to
create a disk pool.
Which process you use affects how you add volumes to that disk pool in the
future. Therefore, you should note which method you use for each disk pool you
create.
When you create a disk pool, you specify:
■ The NetBackup media servers that share the storage. The media servers
must be configured as storage servers. They also function as data movers.
■ The disk array that contains the storage (enclosure method) or the disk
volumes on the array(s) to include in the disk pool (volumes method)
■ The disk pool properties. Properties include the name, the high water mark,
the low water mark, and a comment that describes the disk pool.
For more information, see “Disk pool properties” on page 82.
Symantec recommends that disk volume names and disk pool names be unique
Before you create a SharedDisk disk pool, LUNs on the disk array must be
When NetBackup sends backup data to a disk pool, NetBackup selects disk
volumes based on available capacity and predicted size of the backup.
NetBackup tries to write backup data to a single volume. If necessary, backup
images span disk volumes in a disk pool. Backup images do not span across
multiple disk pools.
the nbusd_ prefix on the enclosure. A one-to-one mapping exists between the
array storage that is allocated to NetBackup and the disk pool. The enclosure
For the arrays that do not let you specify the nbusd_ prefix, NetBackup creates
Use the Disk Pool Configuration Wizard to create a disk pool from an enclosure.
2 From the list of wizards in the Details pane, click Configure Disk Pool and
follow the wizard instructions.
For help, see the Disk Pool Configuration Wizard online help.
Also, you can specify a name for the disk pool (unlike the enclosure disk pool
creation method). However, disk pool expansion is more difficult than with the
enclosure method.
If you cannot use the nbusd_ prefix to name LUNs, the volumes method lets you
specify only some of the storage on a disk array.
performs the operation. Use the same name as the storage server.
For example, the following command creates a file of volumes named
Gold_Volumes.txt from volumes detected by storage server A:
nbdevconfig –previewdv –storage_server A –stype SharedDisk
-media_server A > Gold_Volumes.txt
2 Edit the file of volume names; remove the volumes that you do not want in
the disk pool. Ensure that the volumes you want to use are formatted.
To create multiple disk pools, make a copy of the file for each disk pool you
want to create. Name each file so that it identifies each disk pool. Edit the
Configuring SharedDisk 75
Creating a storage unit
files so each one contains only those volumes you want in each disk pool.
Use those files as the inputs in step 3.
3 Create a disk pool from the volumes that are listed in the file. The following
is the command syntax:
nbdevconfig –createdp –dp disk_pool_name –storage_servers
filename
■ -M, the master server (the default is the current master server)
operation
4 To create multiple disk pools, repeat step 3 for each disk pool you want to
create. Each disk pool must have a separate input file. The disk pool volumes
must be unique; that is, a volume cannot appear in more than one input file.
The nbdevconfig command resides in the following directory:
UNIX: /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd
Windows: install_path\Program Files\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin\admincmd
For more information, see NetBackup Commands for UNIX and Linux or
NetBackup Commands for Windows.
The Disk Pool Configuration Wizard lets you create a storage unit; therefore,
you may have created a storage unit when you created a disk pool. To determine
76 Configuring SharedDisk
if storage units exist for the disk pool, see the NetBackup Management >
page 79.
The Media server setting specifies the NetBackup media servers that can move
data to and from the disk pool for this storage unit. Only the media servers that
The NetBackup media servers on which the disk array vendor’s software are
installed function as both storage servers and data movers. If a server does not
appear in the list, verify that the logon credentials are created.
■ To allow any server in the media server list to access the disk storage
(default), select Use any available media server.
78 Configuring SharedDisk
Creating a storage unit
■ To restrict the media servers that can access the disk storage, select Only
use the following media servers. Then, select the media servers to allow.
The selection list includes only the media servers that are configured as
storage servers for the disk pool.
NetBackup selects the media server to use when the policy runs.
Maximum concurrent jobs
The Maximum concurrent jobs setting specifies the maximum number of jobs
that NetBackup can send to a disk storage unit at one time. (Default: 1 job. The
job count can range from 0 to 256.) This setting corresponds to the Maximum
NetBackup queues jobs until the storage unit is available. If three backup jobs
are ready to be sent to the storage unit and Maximum concurrent jobs is set to
two, the first two jobs start and the third job waits. If a job contains multiple
copies, each copy applies toward the Maximum concurrent jobs count.
The number to enter depends on the available disk space and the server's ability
You can use maximum concurrent jobs to balance the load between disk storage
units. A higher number of concurrent jobs means that the disk can be busier
For information about how NetBackup balances storage unit and media server
load, see “Maximum concurrent jobs” in:
■ NetBackup Administrator’s Guide for UNIX and Linux, Volume I
■ NetBackup Administrator’s Guide for Windows, Volume I
Maximum fragment size
Specify the largest fragment size that NetBackup can create to store backups.
The default maximum fragment size for a disk storage unit is 524,287
megabytes. To specify a maximum fragment size other than the default, enter a
Backups to disk are usually fragmented to ensure that the backup does not
restarts from the beginning, not from the fragment where the error occurred.
(An exception is for backups for which checkpoint and restart is enabled. In that
case, fragments before and including the last checkpoint are retained; the
Configuring SharedDisk 79
Creating a storage unit
Usage recommendations
For usage recommendations, see the following:
■ Create a backup policy for the regular clients and select the STU-NORMAL
storage unit.
Restores
Use normal NetBackup processes to restore data from backups.
To perform the restore, NetBackup chooses one of the media servers that can
Chapter 11
Managing SharedDisk
The following are tasks to manage the SharedDisk storage option:
■ “Managing disk pools” on page 81
You also can add media servers that are allowed to access the disk pool.
82 Managing SharedDisk
Managing disk pools
Note: The volumes must be allocated for NetBackup and they must be formatted.
NetBackup does not allow volumes to be formatted after you add them to a disk
pool. Also, NetBackup does not let you delete volumes after you add them to a
disk pool. Therefore, if the volumes were not formatted, you cannot use them
and cannot delete them from the disk pool. You must then delete the entire disk
pool.
Note: Be careful when you add volumes to a disk pool. For data integrity,
NetBackup does not allow volumes to be deleted from a disk pool. Because
backup images may span disk volumes, a volume may contain valid image
fragments. To remove a disk volume, you must delete all valid backup images
and then delete the disk pool.
3 In the Inventory Disk Pool dialog box, select the disk pool and then click
Start Inventory.
The default selection is the disk pool that was selected in the
Administration Console.
4 To update the disk pool configuration with the new information, click
Update Configuration. Update Configuration is enabled only after the
inventory has completed.
If the results do not correctly show the actual configuration, do not update
the configuration. Do the following:
■ Verify that the new LUNs use the nbusd_ prefix.
■ Verify that the new LUNs are the size allocated by the storage
administrator.
■ Use the nbshareddisk command to determine on which array the
new LUNs reside.
86 Managing SharedDisk
Managing disk pools
filename
Managing SharedDisk 87
Managing disk pools
-state DOWN
If backup jobs are assigned to a disk pool, the state change fails. Cancel the
backup jobs or wait until the jobs complete.
5 Merge the disk pools. The following is the command syntax. The primary
disk pool is the one you want to retain; nbdevconfig deletes the secondary
disk pool after the merge.
nbdevconfig –mergedps –stype SharedDisk -primarydp
6 Change the state of the primary disk pool to UP. The following is the
command syntax:
nbdevconfig -changestate -stype SharedDisk -dp disk_pool_name
-state UP
or volume.
To change the state to DOWN, the disk pool must not be busy. If backup jobs are
assigned to the disk pool, the state change fails. Cancel the backup jobs or wait
Note: For data integrity, NetBackup does not allow volumes to be deleted from a
disk pool. Because backup images may span disk volumes, a volume may contain
valid image fragments. To remove a disk volume, you must delete all valid
backup images and then delete the disk pool.
88 Managing SharedDisk
Managing disk pools
-state state
2 Change the disk volume state; the following is the command syntax:
nbdevconfig -changestate -stype SharedDisk -dp disk_pool_name
state is UP or DOWN.
NetBackup jobs still read from and write to a disk pool that has a downed
NetBackup updates the catalog records to show the correct location of the
Note: After you merge SharedDisk disk pools, you must use the volumes method
to add volumes to the disk pool. This restriction also applies if you used the
enclosure method to create the disk pools.
Managing SharedDisk 89
Managing disk pools
Prerequisites:
■ The volumes in the two disk pools must have unique names.
■ Both disk pools must use the same set of NetBackup media servers to share
the storage.
■ If the secondary disk pool is referenced by storage units, you must delete
those storage units.
-state DOWN
If backup jobs are assigned to a disk pool, the state change fails. Cancel the
backup jobs or wait until the jobs complete.
2 Merge the disk pools. The following is the command syntax. The primary
disk pool is the one you want to retain; nbdevconfig deletes the secondary
disk pool after the merge.
nbdevconfig –mergedps –stype SharedDisk -primarydp
3 Change the state of the primary disk pool to UP. The following is the
command syntax:
nbdevconfig -changestate -stype SharedDisk -dp disk_pool_name
-state UP
If a disk pool is the storage destination of a storage unit, you must first delete
Caution: Do not delete a disk pool that contains unexpired NetBackup images; if
you do, data loss may occur.
90 Managing SharedDisk
Option Description
-dv disk_volume Used with -listdv, it shows the properties of the specified disk
volume.
-l Produces the parsable output, one line of output per disk volume
with no headers. The first field indicates the version of the output
as an aid to create scripts. By default, nbdevquery uses the -l
option.
-stype server_type Use this option with the following two options:
■ With -listdp, shows all disk pools of the specified storage
type.
■ With -listdv, shows all disk pools of the specified storage
type and their disk volumes.
Use SharedDisk for the server_type argument.
Option Description
For SharedDisk, NetBackup media servers function as both storage servers and
You can do the following to manage the storage servers that exist in your
environment:
To list only SharedDisk storage servers, use the -stype SharedDisk option
and argument.
nbdevquery -liststs
-state UP
6 Verify that the new media server appears in every storage unit that points to
a disk pool on that disk array. The storage unit dialog box includes a media
servers list.
7 For every SharedDisk storage unit that specifies Use one of the following
media servers, update the storage unit so it uses the correct media servers.
This step is not required if the storage unit is configured to use any
available media server.
The nbdevconfig command resides in the following directory:
UNIX: /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd
Windows: install_path\Program Files\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin\admincmd
For more information, see NetBackup Commands for UNIX and Linux or
NetBackup Commands for Windows.
Caution: If you remove the only storage server, data may be lost. NetBackup
cannot access the disk pool and the backup images on the disk pool.
-state DOWN
Option Description
-stype server_type Use this option with the following two options:
■ With -liststs, shows all storage servers of the
specified storage type.
■ With -storage_server, shows all storage servers that
are at the specified host.
For more information about the nbdevquery command, see the NetBackup
Commands for UNIX and Linux or NetBackup Commands for Windows manual.
Report Description
Images on Disk The Images on Disk report generates the image list present on the
disk storage units that are connected to the media server. The
report is a subset of the Images on Media report; it shows only
disk-specific columns.
The report provides a summary of the storage unit contents. If a
disk becomes bad or if a media server crashes, this report can let
you know what data is lost.
Disk Logs The Disk Logs report displays the media errors or the
informational messages that are recorded in the NetBackup error
catalog. The report is a subset of the Media Logs report; it shows
only disk-specific columns.
Disk Storage Unit The Disk Storage Unit Status report displays the state of disk
storage units in the current NetBackup configuration.
For disk pool capacity, see Media and Device Management >
Devices > Disk Pools.
Multiple storage units can point to the same disk pool. When the
report query is by storage unit, the report counts the capacity of
disk pool storage multiple times.
Managing SharedDisk 97
Viewing NetBackup logs
Report Description
Disk Pool Status The Disk Pool Status report displays the state of disk pool storage
units. This report displays only when an Enterprise Disk Option
license is installed.
Backups and N/A Messages appear in the log files for the following
restores processes:
■ bpbrm backup and restore manger
■ bpdbm database manager
■ bpdm disk manager
■ bptm for I/O operations
Device 178 The Disk Service Manager process that runs in the
configuration Enterprise Media Manager (EMM) process.
98 Managing SharedDisk
Troubleshooting SharedDisk
Device 202 The Storage Server Interface process that runs in the
configuration Remote Manager and Monitor Service. RMMS runs on
media servers.
If the Storage Server Interface logs indicate problems with
the Veritas Frozen Image (VxFI) service, examine the VxFI
log files for detailed trace information:
■ UNIX: /user/openv/netbackup/logs/bpfis
■ Windows: install_path\VERITAS\NetBackup\logs
\bpfis
Device 230 The Remote Disk Service Manager interface (RDSM) that
configuration runs in the Remote Manager and Monitor Service. RMMS
runs on media servers.
To view and manage VxUL log files, you must use NetBackup log commands. For
information about how to use and manage logs on NetBackup servers, see the
NetBackup Troubleshooting Guide.
Troubleshooting SharedDisk
■ “SharedDisk troubleshooting checklist” on page 98
■ “Determining masked LUNs” on page 107
■ “Checking out a SharedDisk disk volume” on page 107
■ “Disk failure” on page 108
Troubleshooting SharedDisk
master masterserver.symantecs.org
server masterserver.symantecs.org
disk_array oven3a
disk_array orach
disk_array cx5002
media mediaserver.symantecs.org
The command output shows which servers are registered with the NetBackup
EMM server. The master server and the EMM server are installed on the same
host, so the server appears twice.
If a media server does not appear, add it by using the nbemmcmd command. The
following is the syntax:
nbemmcmd -addhost -machinename hostname -machinetype media
■ UNIX: /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd
■ Windows: install_path\VERITAS\Netbackup\bin\admincmd
For command usage, see NetBackup Commands for UNIX and Linux or
NetBackup Commands for Windows.
Required Port: 0
==================================================================
Required Port: 0
==================================================================
Required Port: 0
If a disk array host does not appear, add the credentials. For procedures, see
“Adding disk array logon credentials” on page 68. (Alternatively, you can use the
tpconfig command.)
Note: This command verifies only that credentials are configured; it does not
verify that the credentials are correct.
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.start_all
■ Windows:
install_path\VERITAS\Netbackup\bin\bpdown.exe
install_path\VERITAS\Netbackup\bin\bpup.exe
Verify that each disk array (enclosure) appears in the command output. If all of
the disk arrays appear in the output, LAN connectivity to the disk arrays exists.
The following is example output:
Enclosure list:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
NETAPP oven3a UEID##NETAPP##LUN##1042386
HP HPEVA4000 UEID##HP##HSV##5000-1FE1-5007-0020
HP VRTS.EVA UEID##HP##HSV##5000-1FE1-5004-5660
Each NetBackup media server that accesses the array must in the host list. Host
names must be valid IP host names. For all array vendors, the host entries must
match the DNS hostname of the media server. The host list also is known as a
WWN map.
The following is example output:
Enclosure ID Host Name HBA WWPN
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1042386 MediaServerA 10000000c943c971
■ Verify that the SAN zone includes the HBA and array port WWPNs. The
array ports must be hard or soft zoned to the NetBackup media server and
NetBackup client HBA ports.
For more information, see “Zoning the SAN” on page 58.
■ Add the host entries.
For more information, see “Adding array host entries” on page 59.
■ Examine the array disk plug-in logs for messages about failures. The
following are the log file pathnames:
Windows: install_path\VERITAS\NetBackup\logs\adsts.log
UNIX: /usr/openv/netbackup/logs/adsts.log
To obtain useful information, you may have to increase the NetBackup
logging levels.
The nbshareddisk command resides in the following directories:
■ UNIX: /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd
■ Windows: install_path\VERITAS\Netbackup\bin\admincmd
For command usage, see NetBackup Commands for UNIX and Linux or
NetBackup Commands for Windows.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------
nbusd_winb5 5242880
UDID##DGC##CLARIION##APM00044701641##60:06:01:60:2C:96:12:00:D8:CD:C0:49:7D:4E:DB:11
nbusd_winb3 5242880
UDID##DGC##CLARIION##APM00044701641##60:06:01:60:2C:96:12:00:D6:CD:C0:49:7D:4E:DB:11
nbusd_winb4 5242880
UDID##DGC##CLARIION##APM00044701641##60:06:01:60:2C:96:12:00:D7:CD:C0:49:7D:4E:DB:11
nbusd_winb1 5242880
UDID##DGC##CLARIION##APM00044701641##60:06:01:60:2C:96:12:00:D4:CD:C0:49:7D:4E:DB:11
nbusd_winb2 5242880
UDID##DGC##CLARIION##APM00044701641##60:06:01:60:2C:96:12:00:D5:CD:C0:49:7D:4E:DB:11
If the array does not support LUN prefix names, all LUNs on the array should
If the correct UDIDs do not appear in the output, verify the array configuration
as follows:
■ Verify that the LUNs were allocated to NetBackup by using the nbusd_
prefix.
For more information, see “Allocating LUNs for NetBackup” on page 60.
■ Examine the array disk plug-in logs for messages about failures. The
following are the log file pathnames:
Windows: install_path\VERITAS\NetBackup\logs\adsts.log
UNIX: /usr/openv/netbackup/logs/adsts.log
To obtain useful information, you may have to increase the NetBackup
logging levels.
The nbshareddisk command resides in the following directories:
■ UNIX: /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd
■ Windows: install_path\VERITAS\Netbackup\bin\admincmd
For command usage, see NetBackup Commands for UNIX and Linux or
NetBackup Commands for Windows.
Format a LUN
If possible, format a small LUN on the array. The format operation can be a
time-consuming process.
Caution: If you format a LUN on which data exists, the format operation erases
that data.
For example, the following command formats two LUNs. The LUNs are listed in
the arrayudidlist.txt file:
nbshareddisk format -udid_file arrayudidlist.txt
Managing SharedDisk 105
Troubleshooting SharedDisk
UDID##DGC##CLARIION##APM00044701641##60:06:01:60:2C:96:12:00:E2:CD:
C0:49:7D:4E:DB:11
UDID##DGC##CLARIION##APM00044701641##60:06:01:60:2C:96:12:00:E0:CD:
C0:49:7D:4E:DB:11
Imported resource
[UDID##DGC##CLARIION##APM00044701641##60:06:01:60:2C:96:12:00:E2:CD
[UDID##DGC##CLARIION##APM00044701641##60:06:01:60:2C:96:12:00:E2:CD
:C0:49:7D:4E:DB:11].
Deported resource
[UDID##DGC##CLARIION##APM00044701641##60:06:01:60:2C:96:12:00:E2:CD
:C0:49:7D:4E:DB:11].
Imported resource
[UDID##DGC##CLARIION##APM00044701641##60:06:01:60:2C:96:12:00:E0:CD
[UDID##DGC##CLARIION##APM00044701641##60:06:01:60:2C:96:12:00:E0:CD
:C0:49:7D:4E:DB:11].
Deported resource
[UDID##DGC##CLARIION##APM00044701641##60:06:01:60:2C:96:12:00:E0:CD
:C0:49:7D:4E:DB:11].
The command to mount a LUN also performs other operations that help verify
connectivity.
UDID##DGC##CLARIION##APM00044701641##60:06:01:60:2C:96:12:00:E2:CD:C0:49:7D:4E:DB:11
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Udid Mount point
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UDID##DGC##CLARIION##APM00044701641##60:06:01:60:2C:96:12:00:E2:CD:C0:49:7D:4E:DB:11
/nbusd_b8fd784dd4df57e6
The command output shows which media servers are configured as SharedDisk
storage servers.
If a storage server does not appear, create the storage server. To do so, see
“Creating a storage server in NetBackup” on page 66.
The nbdevquery command resides in the following directory:
UNIX: /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd
Windows: install_path\Program Files\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin\admincmd
Managing SharedDisk 107
Troubleshooting SharedDisk
Ensure that you have read the NetBackup SharedDisk documentation and any
The Tech Note contents are updated when new information is available. The
Tech Note may contain more current information than this guide.
the results.
follows:
Troubleshooting SharedDisk
2 Change the disk volume state to DOWN so that NetBackup does not assign
jobs to it. The following is the command syntax:
nbdevconfig -changestate –stype SharedDisk -dp disk_pool_name
This command does not stop currently active jobs; they complete their I/O.
3 Wait for all active jobs that use that volume to complete. Use the NetBackup
Administration Console Activity Monitor to monitor the jobs.
4 Determine the UDID of the disk volume. The following is the command
syntax to display all of the disk volumes in an enclosure:
nbshareddisk list -ueid unique_enclosure_id
5 Expose (mask) the LUN to a media server and then mount it. The following is
the command syntax:
nbshareddisk online -udid UDID##nn#nn##nn
Ensure that you use the trailing back slash on the Windows command line.
8 Unmaske the LUN from the media server. The following is the command
syntax:
nbshareddisk mask -udid UDID##nn#nn##nn
9 Change the disk volume to UP so that NetBackup can use it. The following is
the command syntax:
nbdevconfig -changestate –stype SharedDisk -dp disk_pool_name
Disk failure
A disk failure in an array that is configured to provide redundancy should not
affect NetBackup disk pool operation.
If recovery mechanisms do not protect a disk that fails, the backup images on
that disk are lost. Operating system read and write errors may occur for the
volume that represents the disk. NetBackup cannot use that volume because of
the errors, and NetBackup jobs may fail.
To prevent NetBackup from trying to read from or write to the disk, you must
change the volume state to DOWN in NetBackup. If the volume represents other
Managing SharedDisk 109
Troubleshooting SharedDisk
disks that still function, those disks are not available because the volume state is
DOWN. You may be able to read from the volume by mounting it manually, in
which case you may be able to recover image fragments from any disks that did
not fail.
If you replace the failed disk, you can allocate that new disk to NetBackup, as
follows:
■ In NetBackup, expire backup images on the downed volume so the image
records are removed from the NetBackup catalog.
■ Use the array software utilities to delete the volume from the array.
■ Allocate the new disk and any other disks that were in the volume to
NetBackup. You must use a different name for the LUN than was used for the
original volume.
■ Add that LUN to an existing disk pool or create a new disk pool from that
LUN.
Because NetBackup does not let you delete volumes from a disk pool, the downed
volume remains in the disk pool. The downed volume does not affect disk pool
functionality.
110 Managing SharedDisk
Troubleshooting SharedDisk
Section
III
Shared Storage Option
112
Chapter 12
Introduction
The Shared Storage Option allows multiple NetBackup media servers to share
individual tape drives (stand-alone drives or drives in a robotic library).
NetBackup automatically allocates and unallocates the drives as backup and
restore operations require.
For more information about Shared Storage Option, see:
■ “Overview” on page 113
■ “NetBackup Release Notes” on page 115
For information about how to install, configure, and use Shared Storage Option,
see:
■ “Licensing the Shared Storage Option” on page 117
■ “Configuring the Shared Storage Option” on page 119
■ “Using the Shared Storage Option” on page 127
■ “Shared Storage Option Reference” on page 131
■ “Troubleshooting the Shared Storage Option” on page 137
Overview
The Shared Storage Option is a separately licensed and separately priced
NetBackup software option. This software option is the Shared Drives option,
and the license key is the Shared Storage Option key. The Shared Storage Option
is available with both NetBackup Server and NetBackup Enterprise Server.
Shared Storage Option is require only if multiple hosts share drives. For
example, multiple NDMP hosts may share one or more drives.
Shared Storage Option requires appropriate hardware connectivity, such as
Fibre Channel hubs or switches, SCSI multiplexors, or SCSI-to-fibre bridges. For
more information, see “Frequently asked questions about Shared Storage
Option” on page 140.
114 Introduction
Overview
Shared Storage Option can use a NetBackup SAN media server, which is a media
server that can back up its own data only. SAN media servers cannot back up
SCSI bridge
Host bus adapter Fibre Channel
SCSI
Media server with
Shared Storage Native Fibre
Channel robot
and drives * SCSI robot
(UNIX, Linux, or and drives
Windows Platform)
* Some robots have integrated bridges, but native Fibre Channel devices do not.
Configuration tasks
Some of the following tasks may be optional depending on your hardware:
■ Determine the physical location of each drive within the robot. Location
usually is shown on the connectors to the drives or in the vendor
documentation.
This task may not be required if NetBackup device discovery accurately
determines drive location within the robot.
■ Connect all drives and all robots.
■ Install SAN connecting hardware (for example, bridges, switches, or hubs).
■ If fibre is part of your configuration and you use a SCSI-to-fibre bridge,
determine the SCSI-to-Fibre Channel mapping for your tape devices.
120 Configuring the Shared Storage Option
Configuration tasks
Hard-wired SCSI IDs are converted to Fibre Channel logical unit numbers
(LUNs) that the hosts read. To ensure correct drive assignments, you should
know which LUNs map to which physical SCSI IDs. Use persistent LUN
mapping if possible.
Familiarity with the hardware and various vendor configuration tools help
you accomplish this task. See the vendor documentation for your bridge.
■ Record the physical configuration.
When you set up an Shared Storage Option configuration, record your
hardware information. Record the adapter, SCSI addresses, World Wide
Names (WWNs), and Fibre Channel LUNs to which you connected each
drive. Also, record the version levels of firmware and drivers.
■ Install and configure the appropriate drivers. See your vendor
documentation for instructions.
■ On UNIX or Linux servers, create any device files that are needed.
Depending on the operating system, these files may be created
automatically by using a reconfiguration boot (boot -r).
Create the device files for each drive; use the Fibre Channel LUNs of the
drives and adapters in the device file names. Add the names of the device
files to your notes to complete the correlation between device files and
physical drive location.
Use the NetBackup Device Configuration Guide and the man pages that are
available with the operating system.
■ On UNIX servers, customize the operating system by modifying the
appropriate system configuration files. This task requires knowledge of the
system files that use the Shared Storage Option environment and their
formats. For example, on Sun Solaris systems you may need to modify the
sg, st, and HBA driver files.
Modify the HBA driver files to bind Fibre Channel devices (WWN) to a
specific target ID. For procedures, see the operating system documentation.
■ For instructions on how to configure the HBA on Windows servers, see the
HBA documentation from the vendor.
■ Use any available hardware configuration interface to configure and ensure
that the configuration is what you expect. For example, on Windows servers
you can use the HyperTerminal interface to configure SCSI-to-fibre bridges.
Use the following order when you configure and verify the hardware:
■ Robot and shared drives
■ Bridges
■ Hub or switches
■ Hosts
Configuring the Shared Storage Option 121
Installing and configuring drivers
■ If errors occur and you suspect the operating system, refer to the operating
system logs as described in your operating system documentation.
Verifying connectivity
Test your hardware configuration before you configure Shared Storage Option
in NetBackup. This task is very important and is often overlooked. Note the
following points:
■ Verify that all of your servers (master and media) are able to communicate
with one another. Perform a ping from each server to every other server. Be
sure to ping by host name to verify that the name resolution methods
function properly.
■ Use the NetBackup bpclntcmd utility to resolve IP addresses into host
names. For more information, see the NetBackup Troubleshooting Guide and
the NetBackup Commands for UNIX and Linux or the NetBackup Commands
for Windows.
■ Use operating system and NetBackup commands and tools to verify that the
devices are configured correctly. Make sure that the operating system
detects the devices on the SAN before you configure the Shared Storage
Option. If the configuration does not work in the operating system, it does
not work for the Shared Storage Option.
For example, on Solaris systems you can use the mt -f tapename status
command to determine tape drive status.
■ For more information and examples, see the appropriate operating system
chapter in the NetBackup Device Configuration Guide.
Ensure that each shared drive has the same logical drive name and same drive
number ID on each media server that shares the drive.
124 Configuring the Shared Storage Option
Verifying your Shared Storage Option configuration
2 Execute the scan command. The scan output shows the robot and the drive
properties.
The following is example output:
************************************************************
************************************************************
WWN : ""
WWN Id Type : 0
Removable : Yes
Number of Drives : 6
Number of Slots : 50
Flags : 0x0
Reason: 0x0
------------------------------------------------------------
Device Name : "/dev/st/nh3c0t5l0"
WWN : ""
WWN Id Type : 0
Removable : Yes
Flags : 0x4
Reason: 0x0
------------------------------------------------------------
Device Name : "/dev/st/nh3c0t1l0"
WWN : ""
WWN Id Type : 0
Removable : Yes
Flags : 0x4
Reason: 0x0
Clean Now In the list of hosts that share the drive, you can choose
only one host on which the function applies.
Reset Mount Time In the list of hosts that share the drive, you can choose
any number of hosts on which the function applies.
Backup Exec Shared Storage The Veritas NetBackup Shared Storage Option is not
Option the same as the Veritas Backup Exec Shared Storage
Option. The Backup Exec SSO does not include
support for UNIX servers and uses a different method
for drive arbitration.
SAN media servers A NetBackup SAN media server backs up its own data
to shared drives. It cannot backup data on other
NetBackup hosts or clients. Symantec licenses
NetBackup SAN media servers.
To share robotic libraries without You can share robotic tape libraries among multiple
using the Shared Storage Option NetBackup media servers by using any of the
following methods. These capabilities are not related
to Shared Storage Option and should not be confused
with Shared Storage Option.
■ NetBackup allows different drives within the
same robotic library to be configured on
different media servers. This capability is
termed shared library support. Robot types that
support shared library are ACS, TL8, TLD, TLH,
TLM.
■ Some robot vendors also let you partition
libraries. One partitioned view of the robotic
library includes one set of drives, while the
other view has a different set of drives in the
library. Partitions lets two robotic control
daemons on different control hosts manage the
robotic library — possibly each for a different
NetBackup master and media server
environment.
■ Use multiple NetBackup master servers that
share a common media and device management
domain. This means that the master servers use
the same EMM server.
NetBackup EMM
To coordinate network-wide allocation of tape drives, EMM manages all shared
tape requests in a SAN. EMM responds to requests from multiple instances of
NetBackup master servers, media servers, NetBackup SAN media servers, or
Veritas Storage Migrator.
For shared drive configurations, the host that is configured as the EMM server is
also known as the device allocation host. For more information, see “Device
allocation host” on page 135.
Shared Storage Option Reference 133
Shared Storage Option components
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.
Host A Host B
Scan host EMM Server
Control (ltid)
(vmd)
Robot control (nbemm / DA)
Path
Host adapter
Host adapter
DRV1 DRV2
Hardware
connection
■ Controls the robotics. Except for ACS or TLM robot types, only one robot
control host exists for each robot.
■ Could be optionally configured as a Highly Available (HA) server.
Scan host
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.
Before NetBackup release 6.0, instances of ltid on the hosts that were not scan
hosts created remote device management interface (rdevmi) processes on the
scan hosts. These processes communicate with the other hosts that shared the
drive. They ran on the scan hosts as slave processes of the non-scan hosts’ ltid.
In NetBackup release 6.0 and later, instances of rdevmi that run on NetBackup
5.x servers communicate through a proxy with the EMM server. These processes
receive drive status information from the EMM server. This status information
is used to maintain the shared drive information centrally in the EMM database.
The EMM database contains the shared drive information; that information
includes the scan host. Media servers receive drive status information from the
EMM server. For NetBackup 5.x media servers, remote device management
interface processes (rdevmi) communicate through a proxy with the EMM
server.
EMM then chooses a new scan host. 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.
■ Try to duplicate SAN issues and problems using commands and utilities on
the host operating system.
■ Test both backup and restore capabilities. Backup jobs may complete
successfully, but the data may be corrupted. For example, incorrect switch
settings may cause problems.
■ Ensure your hardware and SAN configuration are operational and stable
before adding Shared Storage Option software.
Test backup and restore capabilities with dedicated tape drives before
configuring them as shared drives.
■ For large configurations, begin drive sharing with a few tape drives and two
or three media servers (or NetBackup SAN media servers).
■ Configuration and troubleshooting processes are easier on smaller
configurations. If possible, create multiple and independent Shared Storage
Option configurations with subsets of servers sharing subsets of
SAN-attached drives.
■ Use the correct boot order for your Fibre Channel hardware, as follows.
Some devices take a while to completely boot. Watch for any indicator lights
to become green.
■ Robots or drives
■ Bridges
■ Hubs or switches
■ Hosts
Configuration guidelines
Because of the potential for device identification problems in an Shared Storage
Option configuration, Symantec recommends the following:
■ Use the Device Configuration Wizard to configure Shared Storage Option.
■ With the Device Configuration wizard, you should configure all shared
drives from one host (usually the master server). Launch the wizard only
once with the current host set to the master server. You then indicate a list
of media servers or NetBackup SAN media servers (in the Device Hosts
screen). The wizard configures devices on all of the media servers you
selected, and these hosts read the shared configuration information.
Troubleshooting the Shared Storage Option 139
Operating system help
If errors occur during the installation or configuration of the shared devices and
you suspect problems with the operating system, refer to the following:
■ Operating system logs, as described in the operating system documents.
■ NetBackup logs.
■ Operating system man pages (UNIX or Linux servers only).
■ The NetBackup Device Configuration Guide.
■ Fibre Channel connections to the drives and the robots cause increased
complexity in a NetBackup device configuration. On some operating
systems, the use of SCSI-to-fibre bridges may result in inconsistencies in the
device paths when you reboot a host. After a reboot of the host, the device
configuration should be verified.
■ Inconsistent names across all systems that share the drives.
■ Did not test the drive paths on every media server.
■ Did not define NetBackup storage units for each media server or did not
define a storage unit that allows any media server.
■ If you interrupt the data path while backup data is transferred, the
NetBackup job fails. It can fail with media write errors or it may hang and
have to be terminated manually.
■ Did not use Berkeley-style close on the tape path (UNIX or Linux servers
only)
■ For more information on the following configuration tasks, see the Solaris
chapter of the NetBackup Device Configuration Guide.
Forgot to add tape configuration list entries in /kernel/drv/st.conf (if
needed).
Did not define configuration entries for expanded targets and LUNs in
sg.links and sg.conf files. If you see problems with the entries in the
/etc/devlink.tab file (created from sg.links). Check the following:
■ The first entry uses hexadecimal notation for the target and LUN. The
second entry uses decimal notation for the target and LUN.
■ Use a single tab character between the entries not a space or a space
and a tab character.
Did not configure the operating system to force load the sg/st/fcaw
drivers.
http://entsupport.symantec.com
Q. If NetBackup allocates four drives to a server and it finishes with two of the
drives, does NetBackup reallocate the two drives if another server requests
drives? Or does NetBackup wait until the backup schedule that uses the four
drives is completely finished before it reallocates the drives?
A. The two available drives are reallocated and used. NetBackup monitors drive
status and notifies the NetBackup scheduler of drive availability.
Q. Does NetBackup Shared Storage Option use IP protocol or SCSI protocol?
A. Both. IP protocol is used to provide coordination between servers. Shared
Storage Option uses SCSI protocol (SCSI reserve) as an added layer of protection.
142 Troubleshooting the Shared Storage Option
Frequently asked questions about Shared Storage Option
Section
IV
SAN Client and Fibre
Transport
144
Chapter 18
Introduction
NetBackup SAN Client and Fibre Transport provide a high-performance
transport mechanism between NetBackup clients and NetBackup media servers.
For more information, see:
■ “Overview” on page 145
■ “Clustering” on page 146
■ “NetBackup Release Notes” on page 147
For information about how to install and use SAN clients and Fibre Transport,
see:
■ “Preparing the SAN” on page 149
■ “Installing SAN clients and Fibre Transport” on page 153
■ “Configuring SAN clients and Fibre Transport” on page 157
■ “Managing SAN clients and Fibre Transport” on page 175
Overview
NetBackup Fibre Transport is a method of data transfer that uses Fibre Channel
and a subset of the SCSI command protocol for data movement over a SAN
rather than TCP/IP over a LAN. It supports multiple, concurrent logical
connections. The NetBackup systems that support Fibre Transport contain Fibre
Channel HBAs that are dedicated to FT communication. NetBackup server and
client administration occurs over the LAN not the SAN.
Throughout this documentation, Fibre Transport connections between
NetBackup clients and NetBackup servers are referred to as FT pipes.
146 Introduction
Clustering
SAN client
A NetBackup SAN client is a NetBackup client on which the Fibre Transport
service is activated. The SAN client is similar to the SAN media server that is
used for the Shared Storage Option. However, the SAN client is based on the
smaller NetBackup client installation package, so it has fewer administration
requirements and uses fewer system resources. Usually, a SAN client is a system
that has critical data that requires high bandwith for backups. A SAN client
backs up its own data.
The NetBackup SAN Client Fibre Transport Service manages the connectivity
and the data transfers for the FT pipe on the SAN clients. The SAN client FT
service also discovers FT target mode devices on the NetBackup media servers
and notifies the FT Service Manager about them.
A standard HBA initiator-mode driver resides on the SAN clients.
FT media servers
A NetBackup FT media server is a NetBackup media server on which the Fibre
Transport services are activated. NetBackup FT media servers accept
connections from SAN clients and send data to the disk storage.
On the FT media servers, the host bus adapters (HBAs) that accept connections
from the SAN clients use a special NetBackup target mode driver to process FT
traffic.
The media server FT service controls data flow, processes SCSI commands, and
manages data buffers for the server side of the FT pipe. It also manages the
target mode driver for the host bus adaptors.
FT Service Manager
The FT Service Manager (FSM) resides on the NetBackup server that hosts the
NetBackup Enterprise Media Manager service. FSM interacts with the FT
services that run on SAN clients and on FT media servers. FSM discovers,
configures, and monitors FT resources and events. FSM runs in the same
process as EMM.
Clustering
The SAN client can be in a cluster and can host clustered applications. The FT
client service and the Symantec PBX service must run on all failover nodes. The
SAN client OS on every node must detect the FT media server target mode
driver.
Introduction 147
NetBackup Release Notes
For information about supported HBAs, see the NetBackup Release Notes.
You must have adequate HBA ports in the FT media servers to support the FT
pipes from the SAN clients. If you also use SAN attached storage, the media
servers must have enough HBA ports to connect to the shared storage.
You must determine which ports to use for FT connections between the
NetBackup media servers and the SAN clients.
■ Determine which Fibre Channel HBAs you want to use for FT connections on
the systems on which the NetBackup media servers are installed.
■ Determine which Fibre Channel ports you want to use for FT connections on
each SAN client.
All ports on QLogic HBAs must be either in target mode or initiator mode. You
cannot connect one port on an HBA to a SAN client and another port to the
storage.
■ Do not use the host on which the NetBackup Enterprise Media Manager
server runs as a SAN-attached media server. Data transfer consumes system
resources and severely degrades EMM performance. Normally, the EMM
server runs on the NetBackup master server host, but it can run on any
NetBackup media server.
For NetBackup installation instructions, see:
■ NetBackup Installation Guide for UNIX and Linux
■ NetBackup Installation Guide for Windows
For information about upgrades and uninstalls, see:
■ “Upgrading SAN clients and Fibre Transport” on page 154
■ “Uninstalling SAN clients and Fibre Transport” on page 155
To install PBX
2 Mount the CD and run the installics program on the root directory of
the CD.
3 Choose the option to install PBX.
You can:
■ Disable the SAN client FT service. To do so, see “Disabling the SAN client
service” on page 155.
■ Convert a NetBackup FT media server to a NetBackup media server. To do so,
see “Removing the FT services and drivers” on page 155.
Windows:
install_path\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin\bpclntcmd.exe -sanclient 1
driver from an FT media server. The FT media server then does not support
To do so, use the nbftsrv_config -d command and option. The process also
After you run the nbftsrv_config -d command, verify that the following
■ Linux:
/etc/rc.d/rc2.d/S21nbftserver
/etc/rc.d/rc3.d/S21nbftserver
/etc/rc.d/rc5.d/S21nbftserver
/etc/rc.d/rc0.d/K03nbftserver
/etc/rc.d/rc6.d/K03nbftserver
/lib/modules/ 2.6.*smp/kernel/drivers/misc/ql2300_stub.ko
/lib/modules/ 2.6.*smp/kernel/drivers/misc/windrvr6.ko
■ Solaris:
/etc/rc2.d/S21nbftserver
/etc/rc0.d/K03nbftserver
/usr/kernel/drv/windrvr6.conf
/usr/kernel/drv/sparcv9/windrvr6
/usr/kernel/drv/sparcv9/ql2300_stub
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd
■ The HBA configuration installs a driver that lets NetBackup read and modify
the device ID in NVRAM of the QLogix 234x HBA ports. You must modify the
HBA ports that you want to operate in target mode. The ports must be on a
supported QLogic HBA. During this process, the computer is in nbhba mode.
For the procedures, see “Configuring the HBAs” on page 158.
■ The FT services configuration installs drivers, start-up scripts, and
configures the operating system to start the FT server. When the FT server
starts, the NetBackup target mode driver binds to the ports that are marked.
Also, the nbhba mode ends. For the procedures, see “Configuring the FT
services” on page 163.
Caution: Before you configure the HBAs, read the following subsections. They
provide information that may help you avoid serious problems.
Before you configure the HBAs, read the following important introductory
sections:
■ “FC attached devices” on page 158
■ “How to identify the HBA ports” on page 159
■ “The HBAs that connect to the storage” on page 160
FC attached devices
Caution: Do not configure HBAs on a computer that has a boot device that is
attached to a QLogic 234x HBA. If you do, the computer may become unbootable.
If any critical file systems are mounted on any devices that are attached to a
QLogic HBA, the computer also may become unbootable. Before you begin HBA
configuration, dismount any file systems that are attached to a QLogic HBA.
In nbhba mode, all devices that are attached to QLogic 234x HBA ports are
unavailable. If disk or tape devices are attached to QLogic HBAs, those devices
become unavailable. They remain unavailable until you exit nbhba mode on that
computer.
Configuring SAN clients and Fibre Transport 159
Configuring the FT media server
To determine if devices are attached to QLogic HBAs, you should examine your
devices and your mounted file systems.
You can configure the QLogic HBAs on a different NetBackup media server that
does not contain a QLogic HBA connected boot device. Then, you can install
them in the NetBackup FT media servers and configure the FT services. To
remove the nbhba driver from the media server on which you configured the
HBAs, see “Removing the FT services and drivers” on page 155. The process also
ends nbhba mode on that computer.
If you cannot mark ports in a computer that has only the QLogic HBAs that you
want to mark, the following may help:
■ The HBA may include the port WWNs on the card. Examine the HBA for the
WWNs.
■ The Fibre Channel switch may display WWNs for attached and operational
HBA ports.
■ The SAN utility software may provide the capability to list the WWNs of the
HBA ports.
■ Solaris 10 native drivers let you list WWNs by using the fcinfo hba-port
command.
■ The output of the NetBackup nbhba -l command may provide enough
information to determine different cards. (The computer must be in nbhba
mode.) For the QLA-234x series, the port WWNs on the same card differ in
the second byte and the sixth byte. The following example shows two,
two-port HBAs. Lines 1 and 2 are one HBA; lines 3 and 4 are the other HBA.
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/nbhba -l
This output also shows that the ports are in initiator mode: the second
rightmost column shows 0, and the rightmost column does not begin with 8.
The -L option provides verbose output, as in the following example:
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/nbhba -L
HBA Port #1
Device ID = 2312
Port = 0
HBA Port #2
Device ID = 2312
Port = 1
HBA Port #3
Device ID = 2312
Port = 0
HBA Port #4
Device ID = 2312
Port = 1
■ If the HBA contains LEDs on the metal mounting bracket, the color changes
to green after you mark a port (yellow is initiator mode). (The computer
must be in nbhba mode.) You can see if you marked the ports in the correct
card. If you did not, you can return those ports to initiator mode and then
mark other ports until you mark the correct ones.
Are you sure you want to unload QLogic driver: qla2300? [y,n]
(y)
qlc "pci1077,2312.1077.10a"
Would you like to run update_drv to remove these now? [y,n] (y)
To mark ports
1 Invoke the nbhba command with the -l option to display the QLogic HBA
ports on the server. The following is an example; output on your system may
differ:
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/nbhba -l
This output shows two, two-port HBAs in initiator mode: the second
rightmost column shows 0, and the rightmost column does not begin with 8.
2 Mark the ports by using the nbhba command. The following is the syntax:
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/nbhba -modify -wwn string
-mode target
For example, the following two commands change the two ports on one of
the HBAs from the example output in step 1:
nbhba -modify -wwn 21:00:00:E0:8B:83:9D:A1 -mode target
3 To verify the changes, display the list of the HBA cards on the server. The
following is an example; output on your system may differ:
Configuring SAN clients and Fibre Transport 163
Configuring the FT media server
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/nbhba -l
The rightmost two columns show that the ports are marked for target mode:
the second rightmost column shows 1, and the rightmost column begins
with 8. The other digits in the rightmost column are not significant.
4 If necessary, transfer the HBAs to the appropriate media servers.
5 If necessary, connect the HBAs to the SAN.
6 Go to “Configuring the FT services” on page 163.
/etc/rc.d/rc2.d/S21nbftserver
/etc/rc.d/rc3.d/S21nbftserver
/etc/rc.d/rc5.d/S21nbftserver
/etc/rc.d/rc0.d/K03nbftserver
/etc/rc.d/rc1.d/K03nbftserver
/etc/rc.d/rc6.d/K03nbftserver
reboot.
2 The Qlogic drivers must be unloaded temporarily so that the stub driver
(ql2300_stub) can bind to the marked HBA ports during this session.
If you answer y, you do not have to reboot the computer during this
configuration process. However, any critical devices that are attached to
QLogic HBAs in the computer may be unavailable during this session. To
ensure that the critical devices remain available, answer n. Then, you must
reboot when prompted. The stub driver binds to the marked ports during
the boot process, and the default QLogic drivers bind to the unmarked
ports. If you answer n, go to step 5.
If you answer y, you are prompted again to unload each QLogic driver, as
follows:
Are you sure you want to unload QLogic driver: qla2300? [y,n]
(y) y
Adding qla2300.
Adding qla2xxx.
(y) y
4 If the QLogic SANsurfer agent was loaded, the configuration process asks if
you want to start the agent. To start the QLogic SANsurfer agent, answer y.
The process continues as follows:
Starting qlremote agent service
Started SANsurfer agent.
/etc/udev/permissions.d/50-udev.permissions updated with Jungo
WinDriver permissions.
NetBackup Fibre Transport Server started.
[y,n] (y) y
5 To ensure that the FT server always starts after a computer reboot, answer
y. The process continues as follows:
Running mkinitrd. Previous initrd image is saved at
/boot/initrd-2.6.9-11.ELsmp.img.05-21-07.11:24:03.
If you answered y in step 2, the FT services are started, and the target mode
driver binds to the marked HBA ports.
6 If you answered n in step 2, reboot the computer when prompted.
The FT services are started, and the target mode driver binds to the marked
HBA ports.
/etc/rc2.d/S21nbftserver
/etc/rc0.d/K03nbftserver
Therefore, you must ensure that any firewall (software or hardware) allows the
clients to communicate with the NetBackup master server and the EMM server.
Normally, the NetBackup master server hosts the EMM server, so you may only
AIX
On AIX systems, NetBackup Fibre Transport uses the standard tape driver. It
should work without modification, and AIX should detect the target mode
drivers on the FT media servers.
HP-UX
HP-UX SAN client systems require the sctl pass-through driver and device files.
For information about how to configure HP-UX systems, see the NetBackup
Device Configuration Guide.
Configuring SAN clients and Fibre Transport 167
Configuring the SAN client FT service
Linux
Linux SAN clients require the SCSI Generic (sg) driver and pass-through device
files. For information about how to configure the pass-through driver on Linux
systems, see the NetBackup Device Configuration Guide.
Solaris
On Solaris SAN clients, you must configure the Solaris operating system so that
it recognizes the FT devices on the NetBackup media servers. For information
about how to do so, see the NetBackup Device Configuration Guide.
Windows
Symantec recommends that you install the Symantec Device Drivers for Veritas
If the Symantec device drivers are installed, the Windows SAN clients should
recognize the media server FT devices as ARCHIVE Python devices. If they are
not installed, the Windows SAN client may categorize the FT devices as
unknown. If the devices are unknown, the SAN client FT service writes to the
For information about how to install the Symantec drivers, see the NetBackup
Also, ensure that your HBAs use the correct driver revision level. For driver
■ On UNIX and Linux systems, run the bpps -x command and verify that
the pbx_exchange process is active.
168 Configuring SAN clients and Fibre Transport
Configuring the SAN client FT service
Windows:
install_path\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin\bpclntcmd.exe -sanclient 1
■ Windows: boot the system, which also begins operating system device
discovery.
4 On the systems that were not booted in step 3, perform the action that
forces the SAN client operating system to discover devices.
The operating system must discover two FT devices for each media server
HBA port that is in target mode.
The SAN Client Fibre Transport Service (nbftclnt) validates the driver
stack functionality during device discovery. If validation fails, Fibre
Transport is not enabled on the client. For more information, see “SAN
client FT service validation” on page 181.
After the client OS discovers the FT devices, the SAN client is registered
with NetBackup. You should not have to add the SAN client either manually
or by using the Device Configuration Wizard.
5 If the client system does not discover the FT devices, verify that the:
■ Fibre Channel driver is installed on the SAN client.
■ SAN client HBA port is active on the Fibre Channel switch.
■ Media server HBA port is active on the Fibre Channel switch.
■ SAN client is logged into the Fibre Channel switch name server.
■ FT media server is logged into the Fibre Channel switch name server.
■ FT media server port is zoned with the SAN client port.
■ Zone is included in the active configuration.
app_cluster
2 Add the virtual name to all clients in the node. For every client in the node,
run the following command.
nbemmcmd –updatehost –add_server_to_app_cluster –machinename
The SAN client service is not a clustered application. Therefore, SAN client
commands and user interface operations only apply to the physical node name
and not the virtual one.
The nbemmcmd resides in:
■ UNIX: /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd
■ Windows: install_path\Program
Files\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin\admincmd
Configuring FT properties
You can configure Fibre Transport properties for your NetBackup environment:
■ Global FT properties for SAN clients. See “Configuring global FT properties
for SAN clients” on page 170.
■ FT properties for media servers. See “Configuring FT properties for media
servers” on page 170.
■ FT properties for SAN clients. See “Configuring FT properties for SAN
clients” on page 171
Alternatively, you can configure FT properties for clients by following the
instructions in “Configuring SAN client FT usage preferences” on page 171.
170 Configuring SAN clients and Fibre Transport
Configuring FT properties
■ Whether to use the global FT properties for the SAN clients that are
specified on the master server. By default, the global properties are used.
The Fibre Transport media server property applies to the SAN clients for
The Fibre Transport client properties apply to the selected SAN clients. The
defaults for clients are the property settings of the master server.
pipe is the logical connection that carries backup and restore data between an
For more information about NetBackup Fibre Transport, see the NetBackup
Preferred
The Preferred property specifies to use an FT pipe if an FT device is available
within the configured wait period in minutes. If an FT device is not available
after the wait period elapses, NetBackup uses a LAN connection for the
operation.
If you select this option, also specify the wait period for backups and for
restores.
174 Configuring SAN clients and Fibre Transport
Configuring FT properties
For the global property that is specified on the master server, the default is
Preferred.
Always
The Always property specifies that NetBackup should always use an FT pipe
always for backups and restores of SAN clients. NetBackup waits until an FT
device is available before it begins the operation.
However, an FT device must be active and available. If no FT device exists,
NetBackup uses the LAN. An FT device may not exist because none is active,
none have been configured, or the SAN Client license expired.
Never
The Never property specifies that NetBackup should never use an FT pipe for
backups and restores of SAN clients. NetBackup uses a LAN connection for the
If you specify Never for the master server, Fibre Transport is disabled in the
per-client basis.
If you specify Never for a media server, Fibre Transport is disabled for the media
server.
If you specify Never for a SAN client, Fibre Transport is disabled for the client.
The default is four times the number of HBA target ports (maximum of 16).
Managing FT services
You can do the following to manage the Fibre Transport (FT) connections in
your NetBackup environment:
■ Enable or disable FT services on media servers
■ Rescan SAN clients to update connection information
The nbftsrvr service starts the nbfdrv64 service. If you stop one, the other
These services do not appear in the NetBackup Activity Monitor; they do appear
Caution: Do not use the UNIX kill -9 command and option to stop the
nbfdrv64 process. It does not allow the process to stop gracefully, and the SAN
clients cannot detect the FT devices when the nbfdrv64 process dies. You then
may have to reboot the client systems so they detect the FT devices again (after
you restart nbfdrv64).
The NetBackup Administration Console Activity Monitor Jobs tab displays all of
The Transport column in the Jobs tab window shows the type of transport
between the SAN client and the NetBackup media server: FT for Fibre Transport
The Detailed Status tab of the Job Details dialog shows more detailed
■ A Transport Type field in the header area shows the same information as the
Transport column in the Jobs tab.
■ Messages in the Status window show the status of jobs that use FT
transport:
■ Queuing for FT transport
■ Allocated FT transport
■ Opening FT connection
■ Closing FT connection
The Job Details dialog appears that contains detailed job information on a Job
NetBackup queries the client and adds it to the SAN Clients list in the
Administration Console window.
configuration.
The SAN client FT service must be inactive. To disable the FT service, see
■ nbftclnt
These services do not appear in the NetBackup Activity Monitor; they do appear
In normal operation, you should not have to start or stop the services. A
Symantec support engineer may direct you to stop and restart services for
troubleshooting purposes.
For information about how to stop and start services, see “Enabling or disabling
Alternatively, you can use the UNIX kill command without the -9 option to
Caution: Do not use the UNIX kill -9 command and option to stop the
nbfdrv64 process. It does not allow the process to stop gracefully, and the SAN
clients cannot detect the FT devices when the nbfdrv64 process dies. You then
may have to reboot the client systems so they detect the FT devices again (after
you restart nbfdrv64).
■ The physical connections between the SAN client and the SAN switch fail or
were changed.
■ SAN zoning changes removed either the media server or the SAN client
from the zone.
■ The SAN client failed the FT service validation. For an explanation of this
issue, see “SAN client FT service validation” on page 181.
If all media server FT devices for a client are offline, troubleshoot in the
following order:
■ Verify that the SAN client FT service validation passes.
■ Verify that the physical connections from the SAN client to the SAN switch
are correct.
■ Verify that the SAN zones are correct.
■ Verify that the nbfdrv64 service is active on each media server.
To determine if the nbfdrv64 service is down, use the operating system process
status command to examine the processes on the media server. Both nbftsrvr
To try to start the services, see “Stopping and starting FT services” on page 180.
If the services do not start, examine the log files for those services to determine
why they do not start. For information about how to view the log files, see
“Viewing FT logs” on page 183.
No FT devices discovered
If a “No FT devices discovered” message appears in the NetBackup logs on the
SAN clien, the pass-through driver may not be configured on the SAN client.
For information about how to configure pass-through drivers, see the
NetBackup Device Configuration Guide.
■ NetBackup sets the FT device status to offline for all FT devices in the
client’s SAN zone. (For other clients in the zone that pass the validation, the
FT devices are online.)
■ FT pipe transfers cannot occur.
To see the FT device status from the client, select the client in the Media and
Device Management > Devices > SAN Clients window in the NetBackup
Administration Console.
The check driver messages in the nbftclnt log file are similar to the
following:
VerifyCheckConditions:failed on <OS Device Name> - check driver
Message>
In the messages:
■ OS Device Name is the device name the SAN Client uses to open the OS
device driver.
■ System Error Message can be any OS-dependent system error message
for a failure that is associated with the request.
For information about the nbftclnt log file, see “Viewing FT logs” on page 183.
If validation fails, install the correct operating system version, operating system
patches, or driver version.
For supported kernel and driver levels, see the NetBackup Release Notes.
To work around this problem, add an alias for the FT media server to the EMM
-machinetype media
Viewing FT logs
You can monitor Fibre Transport activity and status by viewing the log
messages that the FT processes generate. Veritas unified log (VxUL) files use a
standardized name and file format for log files. An originator ID identifies the
process that writes the log messages.
The following are the VxUL originator IDs of the processes that log information
about FT activity:
To view and manage VxUL log files, you must use NetBackup log commands. For
information about how to use and manage VxUL logs on NetBackup servers, see
the NetBackup Troubleshooting Guide.
Configure the amount of information that is collected and its retention length
on the NetBackup master server in the Logging properties and Clean-up
properties. For more information, see the NetBackup Administrator’s Guide,
Volume I.
The Tech Note contents are updated when new information is available. The
Tech Note may contain more current information than this guide.
If you need to contact NetBackup Technical Support, the following is the address
http://entsupport.symantec.com
Never 174
activity
Preferred 173
configuration 174
properties 174
B G
get_license_key command 117
C H
HyperTerminal 120
configuring 157
devices 119
L
D license key
SSO for Tape 117
device
logging
files 120
examples
fibre channel
removing 155
hub 114
switch 114
properties 174
Fibre Transport
host properties
Always 174
186 Index
O U
OpenStorage storage unit 15
Use defaults from the master server configuration
overview of
properties 173
W
R wizard
rdevmi 134
device configuration 138
removing 155
shared drive configuration 122
robot
S
SAN media server 114, 131
SCSI-to-fibre
bridges 120
Servers
SSO
definition 113
terminology 131
supported
T
target mode driver 155, 157