WHITE PAPER: DELL MANAGEMENT CONSOLE TRIGGERS NETBACKUP 7 JOBS

Transcription

1 WHITE PAPER: DELL MANAGEMENT CONSOLE TRIGGERS NETBACKUP 7 JOBS White Paper: Dell Management Console Integrates with NetBackup 7 March 2010 Third-party information brought to you courtesy of Dell.

2 Revision History March 18, 2010 Last Updated Ed Casmer Author Page 2

3 Contents INTRODUCTION... 4 ENVIRONMENTAL PRE REQUISITES... 4 STEPS FOR INTEGRATING DMC AND NETBACKUP... 5 Build the Client bpbackup Task... 6 Build the Master Server bpbackup Task Build the Alert Rule for automated backup responses to hardware alerts IMPORTING THE PROVIDED PRE BUILT TASKS AND ALERT RULE Import the NetBackup Task Import the Alert Rule CONCLUSION Page 3

4 Introduction IT Administrators are often asked to wear many different hats within their organization. A server administrator can easily be responsible for all systems management functions as well as data protection needs and security concerns. Dell Management Console provides administrators the best possible management of their Dell hardware including such features as: warranty reporting, detailed hardware inventory, BIOS/firmware/driver updating, and hardware health & performance monitoring. Symantec s NetBackup 7 is a best in class solution for enterprise data protection. Given both of these applications popularity and diverse customer responsibilities, there have been many requests asking for some examples of integration between NetBackup and Dell Management Console (DMC). This paper demonstrates how organizations can utilize the strengths of DMC in conjunction with NetBackup. For example, DMC s robust hardware health monitoring and alerting can be used to trigger NetBackup functions. This allows for some interesting and helpful automation scenarios where the health of the physical server can be used to drive backup tasks. Protecting against hardware failure is one of the key reasons organizations backup their information, but predicting those failures can be difficult if not impossible. A backup schedule ensures data is protected at regular intervals but, depending on the size of the backup window, considerable amounts of data are still at risk. The chance that a server will fail immediately prior to a scheduled backup is low indeed. Using the hardware health monitoring and automation capabilities of DMC to trigger NetBackup jobs, customers can reduce the amount of data lost due to hardware failures. Environmental Pre-requisites For purposes of this paper we ll assume DMC and NetBackup are already installed and operational. The checklist below overviews the configuration details in place for our scenarios to work properly. DMC Checklist o DMC installed Other DMC plug ins such as Altiris Server Mgmt. Suite or Symantec Workflow Solution are not required to enable NetBackup integration (but they can be helpful to extend integration beyond the scope of this paper) o DMC agent pushed to NBU Master Server o DMC agent pushed to NBU Client machines Page 4

5 NetBackup Checklist o NetBackup (NBU) Master/Media Server installed o NetBackup Client Agent installed on protected machines o NBU Backup Policy created in which the protected machine is a member o User Backup Schedule defined in the specified Backup Policy This is mandatory if planning to execute the backup from the client This is optional if you only plan to execute the backup from the Master Server Steps for Integrating DMC and NetBackup NetBackup has an extensive Command line Interface (CLI) supported by a 669 page document that walks through all of the possible options this CLI provides. You can download this CLI reference here: While there are a number of integration possibilities, this white paper focuses on one particular command: bpbackup. This command enables DMC to trigger a backup process from the protected machine (client) or the Master Server (where the NBU software is installed). Many other commands are available for a similar type of implementation. Dell Management Console includes a Run Script task type as an available option for creating Tasks and Jobs. The Run Script task allows the system administrator to execute calls to 3 rd party CLIs via DOS command scripts, JavaScript, Perl, PowerShell, Python, UNIX Shell scripts, VBScript or AppletScript. These calls can be executed either on a managed device or on the DMC server itself. DMC has other task types and mechanisms to execute 3 rd party calls such as ability to call web services, run SQL queries, and remotely start/stop/change service configurations. Note: Consult the DMC Integration Options white paper for more information on DMC s many integration points (Download this paper at: groups/dell_management_console/media/p/ aspx) For our example, we ll use a DMC Run Script task to execute the NetBackup bpbackup command in response to a DMC hardware health alert. The next section will outline the steps to create each task. Page 5

6 Build the Client bpbackup Task As stated earlier, a backup of the protected machine can be triggered from either the Client or the Master Server. The main difference is in what parameters are required on the command line. We simply need to create a Run Script task that calls the proper command line for invoking a backup at the client machine. Step 1: From the DMC console navigate to the Jobs and Tasks portal by selecting Manage (top most menu) Jobs and Tasks This will open the Jobs and Tasks Portal as seen below. Page 6

7 Step 2: Create a NetBackup Tasks folder underneath the Jobs and Tasks folder so you have easy access to the new Tasks you are creating. Right click the Jobs and Tasks folder and select New Folder Specify NetBackup Tasks as the folder name and click the OK button. Page 7

8 You should now see your new folder in the tree structure. Step 3: Create the new Task by right clicking the NetBackup Tasks folder and selecting New Task Page 8

9 You will be presented with the Create New Task screen as seen here: Scroll down to the bottom of the left hand pane to see the Run Script task. Note that all the tasks listed on the left side are available for automating a response to a DMC alert. As you add plug ins to DMC even more options will be added to this list. Most tasks can be configured using simple checkboxes or other elements of the user interface. Our task is executing a custom command so we ll have to enter the text for calling that command. Page 9

10 When you select Run Script you should see the following: Step 4: Enter needed details into the right pane. Name: Name the task something useful to you such as: NetBackup bpbackup client command Script Type: Leave the Script Type as command script as we will be running this as a dos command. Tokens: Leave as is. We will not be using tokens for this particular task, but Tokens are a way for you to dynamically replace values with property information from the devices you are executing the task against. Command Line Setup: In the large text box enter your command line text as follows: The bpbackup command can be found in the c:\program files\veritas\netbackup\bin directory so the first thing we have to do is switch to that directory. Page 10

11 The bpbackup command can execute with a number of different parameters. We will explicitly specify the name of a pre defined NBU Policy in the command line. This is an optional parameter but if it is not provided the backup process will use the first NetBackup policy it finds (which may not be what we intend so we ll reference one we ve created). When executing this command from a client you will need to specify the target folders to be backed up. Even though our command call will reference a specific policy the folders that policy will reference must be defined. For additional details on calling this command please refer to the NBU documentation on Commands which can be found from this page: Enter the CLI call as follows: cd C:\Program Files\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin bpbackup -p <backup policy> s <user backup schedule> -S <master server> <some directory list> Call to NetBackup bpbackup command Step 5: Click the OK button to save your Task You are done! You have just created the first integration task with NetBackup. Page 11

12 Once created, the tasks will display in DMC as follows: Note your new Task shows up under the newly created NetBackup Tasks folder. Other tasks can also be created and saved there. Test Your Task Test your new task by clicking Quick Run in the lower Task Status section and selecting a client (which meets the pre reqs as specified above) and clicking Run Wait a minute for the task to complete. You will see the task status just below the Quick Run button. You may have to click the refresh icon for the status to be updated. Upon successful complete the Task Status area should look as follows: Page 12

13 The job status will also appear in the NetBackup console and can be seen in the Activity Monitor area as follows: The little blue man with his arms up in triumph shows the backup was performed successfully. Build the Master Server bpbackup Task The process for building the Master Server Task is exactly the same with the exception of the command line properties used. The properties are different when executing from the Master Server as opposed to the client. The easiest way to create this task is to clone our existing task and just change the pieces that we need to. Page 13

14 Step 1: Clone your bpbackup client command by right clicking the task and selecting Clone as seen here Step 2: Rename the task to bpbackup master server command and click the OK button You should now see the following under your NetBackup Tasks folder: Step 3: Modify the command line parameters Command Line Setup: When executing from the Master Server we no longer know which client we need to backup so we will have to add the h option to specify which client to backup. Page 14

15 We will also want to specify the i option to execute the backup immediately. Because we are executing the backup from the Master Server it will back up the client based on the Policy information and therefore we do not need to specify the folders to backup. We also need to add the t 13 option to specify we are doing a windows backup. That number could change depending on what type of backup you are performing. So the client command which looked as follows: cd C:\Program Files\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin bpbackup -p <backup policy> s <user backup schedule> -S <master server> <some directory list> Now looks as follows for the Master Server command: cd C:\Program Files\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin bpbackup -p <backup policy> -i -h <client machine> -S <master server> -t <backup type> Note: Everywhere there is a <>, one could use tokens. If you structure the Job properly you could set this task up to dynamically work across many machines at one time. Please look to your DMC and Symantec Management Platform documentation on how to use Tokens ( ) Step 4: Click the Save Changes button to ensure your work is saved (located middle of screen on the left hand side of the right panel) Step 5: Test your new task by clicking Quick Run in the lower Task Status section and selecting a Master Server and clicking Run as seen here Page 15

16 Wait a minute for the task to complete. You will see the task status just below the Quick Run button. You may have to click the refresh icon for the status to be updated. Upon successful complete the Task Status area should look as follows: The job status will also appear in the NetBackup console and can be seen in the Activity Monitor area as follows: Page 16

17 The little blue man with his arms up in triumph shows the backup was performed successfully. Build the Alert Rule for automated backup responses to hardware alerts Now that you have created functioning tasks, you need to link them with DMC s hardware alerting capabilities to create automated data protection rules. Follow these steps to create an alert rule that will trigger a NetBackup backup for any server that sends a critical hardware alert to DMC. Step 1: From the DMC console navigate to the Monitoring and Alerting portal by selecting Home (top most menu) Monitoring and Alerting as seen here This will open the Monitoring and Alerting portal as seen below. Page 17

18 Step 2: Open the Alert Rules area by selecting Event Console Alert Rule Settings from the left hand folder tree view Step 3: Open the Task Rules area by selecting the Task Rules tab in the right pane. Page 18

19 Step 4: Click the +Add button just below the tabs to start creating a new Alert Rule Note that the new rule will be highlighted and named Task Rule 1 and disabled by default. Step 5: Rename the rule simply by clicking on the name in the right panel and typing your new name into the field. Hit the Enter button to save the name Step 6: Enable the rule by clicking the red off button (looks like a stop light) and switching it to On. Note the Status bar should change colors to green. Step 7: Add the Rule condition based off of the Perc Predictive Failure Page 19

20 In the Rule sub section click the +Add button and select Alert Definition Set the Comparison value to Equals and the Value to percpredictivefailure (Note that all the values published in this dropdown box are pulled from Dell MIBs defined in the system. You can import 3 rd party MIBs too for working with non Dell hardware. Consult the DMC Integration Options white paper for more information on importing MIBs into to DMC: aspx) Step 8: Add the Task functionality that will be the response to receiving the alert In the Task sub section click the +Add Existing button to launch the Select Task window. Page 20

21 The Select Task window will display as follows: Note that if we were building a Task from scratch rather than selecting one of the tasks we previously created, we would click the *New button and complete similar steps to what we did in the previous sections. Expand the NetBackup Tasks folder and select the bpbackup client command task to see the following Page 21

22 Click the OK button to save your selection and the Task sub section should look as follows Note you could specify a Target to apply this rule to. Leave it as the default as this will apply it to all monitored devices. Step 9: Click the Save button to save your Alert Rule and the screen should look as follows Page 22

23 There are a number of tools you can use to test this Alert Rule. One option is to use a trap generator and send a percpredictivefailure trap from your protected machine to the DMC server and then verify the NetBackup job completed successfully in the NetBackup Administration Console. Importing the Provided Pre-Built Tasks and Alert Rule DMC Tasks, Alert Rules, Reports and other items can be exported in XML format so they can be shared between consoles. The Tasks and Alert Rules created in this paper can be downloaded here and imported into your test DMC console: NetBackup Tasks.zip. To import the provided files simply follow the steps below: Page 23

24 Import the NetBackup Task Step 1: From the DMC console navigate to the Jobs and Tasks portal by selecting Manage (top most menu) Jobs and Tasks This will open the Jobs and Tasks Portal as seen below. Step 2: Right click on the Jobs and Tasks root folder in the left panel and select Import Note that you do not need to create the NetBackup Tasks folder ahead of time as was done in the previous steps. The package was exported at that folder level and therefore will import with that folder structure intact. Step 3: Browse to the DMC NetBackup Tasks.xml file you downloaded and click Open Page 24

25 The import will occur and the NetBackup Tasks folder will appear as follows. You are now ready to use or modify the tasks as we did in the previous steps. Import the Alert Rule Step 1: From the DMC console navigate to the Monitoring and Alerting portal by selecting Home (top most menu) Monitoring and Alerting as seen here This will open the Monitoring and Alerting portal Page 25

26 Step 2: Open the Alert Rules area by selecting Event Console Alert Rule Settings from the left hand folder tree view Step 3: Open the Task Rules area by selecting the Task Rules tab in the right panel and you should see the following Step 4: Right click on any of the existing Task Rules and select Import Page 26

27 Step 5: Browse to the Trigger NetBackup from Perc Predictive Failure.xml file and click Open The import will occur and the Trigger NetBackup from Perc Predictive Failure Alert Rule will appear as follows. You are now ready to use or modify this Alert Rule as we did in the previous steps. Conclusion Integrating Dell Management Console and NetBackup 7 is a straightforward process. Our example focused on only one command (out of a possible 152). There are many other commands you can implement. Also note that the integration documented in this white paper is possible with the free Dell Management Console product. Additional options for NetBackup integration such as using a comprehensive NetBackup Monitor Pack, triggering NetBackup jobs based on MS Exchange or software level alerts, remotely distributing the NetBackup client software, etc. are available with the for charge Altiris Server Management plug in for DMC. More options are also available via custom content tiles and link and launch applications as described by the Dell Integration Options paper ( groups/dell_management_console/media/p/ aspx). You can easily plug in the Symantec OpsCenter Analytics application for viewing critical reports or launching the application itself within context of the Dell Management Console. The following report is an example of what could be pulled into the console in a content tile. Page 27

28 For more information on Symantec OpsCenter Analytics, an advanced reporting tool which provides enhanced visibility and control into your backup environment and operations, please visit analytics. Also note that while this paper has focused on integration between DMC and NetBackup, numerous integration points also exist between DMC and BackupExec, BackupExec System Recovery ( SymantecMS.pdf) and many other Symantec products (dell.symantec.com/dmc plugins) DMC & Symantec s integration points provide customers tremendous flexibility to wire together tools and business processes into single convenient location for managing an entire IT environment. It s one of many ways that Dell Management Console delivers on Dell s and Symantec s objective to simplify IT for our joint customers. The information contained in this document, including all instructions, cautions, and regulatory approvals and certifications, is provided by Symantec and has not been independently verified or tested by Dell. Dell cannot be responsible for damage caused as a result of either following or failing to follow these instructions. All statements or claims regarding the properties, capabilities, speeds or qualifications of the part referenced in this document are made by Symantec and not by Dell. Dell specifically disclaims knowledge of the accuracy, completeness or substantiation for any such statements. All questions or comments relating to such statements or claims should be directed to Symantec. Visit for more information. Page 28