Symantec NetBackup Blueprints

Transcription

1 Blueprint for Replication Director Symantec Backup and Recovery Technical Services 1

2 Preface/disclaimer Notice This NetBackup Blueprint presentation includes example diagrams that contain objects that represent applications and platforms from other companies such as Microsoft and VMware. These diagrams may or may not match or resemble actual implementations found in end user environments. Any likeness or similarity to actual end user environments is completely by coincidence. The goal of the diagrams included in this blueprint presentation is not to recommend specific ways in which to implement applications and platforms from other companies such as Microsoft and VMware; the purpose of these diagrams is to illustrate NetBackup best practices only. For guidelines and best practices on installing and configuring applications and platforms from other companies, please refer to best practice documentation and other resources provided by those companies. 2

3 How to use? These Blueprints are designed to show customer challenges and how NetBackup solves those. Each Blueprint consists of: Pain Points: Explain the current challenges a customer faces. Whiteboards & Example Diagrams: Describe the implementation of NetBackup solution. Best Practices: Present NetBackup best practices to avoid common pitfalls Use these Blueprints to present the NetBackup best practice implementation example 3

4 Pain Points 4

5 Today s Challenges Data growth is rapid and the traditional data protection schemes cannot cope up with the SLA s which are getting shorter. Adoption of snapshot technologies that provide near instant backup and recovery options is on the rise- however with these new technologies come challenges. As snapshots are managed using hardware outside of the control of backup software, this can decrease efficiency in the data protection environment by typically requiring two separate admin teams to manage data protection. Need to prevent silos and provide centralized monitoring and reporting for all data protection needs. Need the ability to provide tape outs for disaster recovery and compliance without involving tape shipping. 5

6 Today s Challenges Large number of snapshots and backups make it difficult to locate specific data copies from among the various storage tiers. Search for restore or difficulty finding WHICH snapshot(s) have the required file or to determine which is of the 1000 s of backups and snapshots have the file that needs to be restored is often a challenge. Recovering a specific file from snapshot often requires time intensive manual searching within each individual snapshot due to a lack of comprehensive catalog, index and search capabilities. 6

7 NetBackup Advantages 7

8 NetBackup Solution NetBackup Replication Director feature introduced in NetBackup 7.5 provides an end-to-end data protection management solution for NetApp storage. In NetBackup 7.6, with the addition of block device support, support for VMware systems by integration with VIP technology, protection for virtualized (VMware) Exchange instances and SQL databases on NAS datastores, protection for Oracle instances on physical machines with databases mounted on NAS, the Replication Director tool bag expands to cover more customers. Allowing NetBackup to initiate and catalog array-based snapshots means NetBackup customers can benefit from the RPO/RTO advantages of snapshots for data protection and disaster recovery. In addition, recovery options using OpsCenter s Operational Restore feature make restores and searching for files needed for single file recovery much easier. 8

9 NetBackup Solution Contd.. Through the collaboration the storage team can make sure the efficiencies of storage snapshots are used to satisfy the need for protection against data loss/corruption/failure but outsource the task of managing that particular backup workflow from taking the snapshot, create a replica copy, Index and copy to tape to the Backup team. The collaborative solution of two market leading vendors to bring Snapshots on primary storage into the data protection plan, making them fully integrated with the backup process. We avoid redundancies by allowing the storage and backup team to work together rather than both teams trying to protect data each on their own which usually leads to more data copies stored than needed. We streamline the data protection strategy for companies. 9

10 Whiteboards and Example Diagrams 10

11 How it Works? NetBackup Replication Director uses OpenStorage to access NetApp filers via a plug-in installed on the NetApp OnCommand Server. NetBackup instructs the OnCommand server to create a snapshot, then replicate that snapshot to secondary storage if desired. Additionally, the NetApp Snapshot copies can be replicated to multiple NetApp arrays or duplicated to any supported tertiary storage such as a deduplication target, cloud based storage or a tape drive. When backups from snapshot are sent to a tape/disk device Netbackup image metadata or the.f files are created. 11

12 How it Works? If you will never back up (send to disk or tape as tar image) or if backup will be delayed then you may optionally index the snapshot as a way to populate the catalog and enable search for restore Operational Restore using OpsCenter can be used to efficiently search and restore files from the millions of files and thousands of directories from the indexed data. 12

13 How NetBackup uses OST Partner storage 1. Storage is presented to NetBackup as volumes through OST APIs. 3. An SLP points to the snapshot capable storage units as snapshot and snapshot replication destinations 2. Use the storage configuration wizard to group volumes into disk pools and then storage units 4. A backup policy requests a snapshot of client data by pointing to the SLP as storage 13

14 Sequence of Backup Operations Media server NetBackup Client Master server 1 Policy + SLP Snapshot Primary Data Snapshot Snapshot Snapshot Filer/Array OnCommand NetApp DataFabric Manager domain Server 2 3 Replication Production Data Center Snapshot Snapshot Snapshot Snapshot Snapshot Filer/Array Media server 4 Replication Backup from snapshot Replica Snapshot Snapshot Snapshot Filer/Array Filer/Array DR Domain Sample RD sequence 1. Policy using SLP is initiated. 1 st SLP destination creates snapshot nd SLP destination replicates snapshot rd SLP destination replicates additional snapshot to DR site th SLP destination creates a backup from snapshot to tape or disk. 14

15 NetBackup OST and NetApp plugin Communication Replication Director uses an OpenStorage API on the media server to communicate with the disk array (through the storage server) using XML-based messaging SOAP protocol to make requests to move data. The OpenStorage partner also hosts a software plug-in (NetApp Plug-in for Symantec NetBackup or NBU Plug-in ) that allows communication between NetBackup and the disk array. Client Volume Mounted on Client Client Client SOAP Snapshot Replication NetBackup Media Server OST API NBU Plug-in Snapshot 15

16 RD Snapshot Process Flow for Unix Client From the NetBackup client, bpfis is the process responsible for creating, performing, and deleting snapshots. bpfis has access to Open Storage Frozen Image Method, also known as OST FIM. The OST FIM communicates with OST API which uses the SOAP protocol to communicate with the Storage Server. In NetBackup 7.5 OST FIM is needed to be configured during policy configuration. In NetBackup 7.6 this is no longer the case and is accomplished internally. RD snapshot process flow for Unix client: 1. From the Master server, Policy Manager sends a notification to bpbrm on the Media Server to create a snapshot. bpbrm then starts bpfis on the client. 2. bpfis first quiesces the file system 3. bpfis then communicates with STS Core library to create a snapshot. 4. The OST API sends a SOAP call request to NetApp Plug-in for Symantec NetBackup on the Storage Server to create a snapshot. 5. The Storage Server communicates with the file system to create a snapshot. 6. Once the snapshot is created then bpfis un-quiesces the file system. 16

17 RD Snapshot Process Flow for Unix Client Master server Policy Policy Manager SLP Client 1. Create snapshot 2. Quiesce Mounted bpfis Filesystem 6. Un-quiesce 3. Create snapshot STS Core Library OST API bpbrm Media server 4. Create snapshot NetApp Plugin for NetBackup Storage Server NetApp OnCommand Primary Data 5. Create snapshot Snapshot Array 1 Array 2 Array 3 17

18 RD Snapshot Process Flow for Windows Client In NetBackup 7.6 a new Frozen Image Method is introduced, VSS_OST. In NetBackup 7.5 the OST FIM needed to be configured during the policy configuration. In NetBackup 7.6 this is an internal implementation and the VSS_OST calls the VSS APIs for snapshot creations and the OST APIs to release the snapshot on the Storage Server. RD snapshot process flow for Windows client: 1. From the Master server, Policy Manager sends a notification to bpbrm on the Media Server to create a snapshot. bpbrm then starts bpfis on the client. 2. bpfis with the help of the Vendor VSS hardware provider creates the snapshot. This snapshot is created without the help of the Storage Server. However, the Storage Server needs to be aware that the snapshot exists. 3. Snapshot is registered with VSS 4. In order to update the Storage Server, a new API import_snap_by_name was created in NetBackup 7.6. bpfis notifies the Storage Server by communicating through the STS Core Library, OST API and the new API, import_snap_by_name. At this point the snapshot creation workflow is complete. 18

19 RD Snapshot Process Flow for Windows Client Master server Policy Policy Manager SLP Client 1. Create snapshot Media server Mounted Filesystem 2. Create snapshot bpfis Vendor VSS HW Provider 3. Register VSS snapshot STS Core Library OST API 4. Import_snap_by_name bpbrm NetApp Plugin for NetBackup Storage Server NetApp OnCommand Primary Data Snapshot Array 1 Array 2 Array 3 19

20 RD Snapshot Replication Process Flow The snapshot replication workflow is the same for both UNIX and Windows. 1. From the Master Server, the Duplication Manager communicates with bpdm on the Media Server to replicate a snapshot. 2. bpdm then invokes the STS Core Library to copy the image. 3. From the STS Core Library the Storage Server is contacted through the NetApp Plugin for Symantec NetBackup Plugin to replicate the snapshot. 4. Then the data is replicated from the snapshot on Array 1 to target Array 2. 20

21 RD Snapshot Replication Process Flow Policy Policy SLP Duplication Manager Manager Master server Client 1. Replicate snapshot Media server Mounted Filesystem bpdm 2. Copy image STS Core Library OST API 3. Copy image NetApp Plugin Storage Server NetApp OnCommand Primary Data 4. Replicate Snapshot Snapshot Replica Array 1 Array 2 21

22 NetApp Terminology- Software Components OnCommand (DFM) NetApp Management Console (NMC) Data ONTAP Netapp Plug-in for Symantec NetBackup (NBU Plug-in) OnCommand is the overall brand name for the NetApp management suite of products Provides a centralized tool to monitor NetApp storage systems Can be installed on Windows or Linux platforms Is a graphical interface used to configure and manage the OnCommand Server Is an operating system used on NetApp filers Is NetApp-provided, OST-compliant software Communicates between the NetBackup OST API and NetApp s OnCommand using the OnCommand server as a NetBackup storage server Is implemented as a Web service on the OnCommand server Note: For details on compatibility between Replication Director and NetApp NBU plug-in please refer the following article: 22

23 NetApp Terminology- Architecture Components Aggregate Volumes Resource pools Resource group Is a collection of one or more RAID groups May be divided into logical volumes Are file systems that store user data, shared for NFS or CIFS access, enabling users to have remote access to file system data Are collections of NetApp storage resources, such as hosts (filers) and aggregates, configured in OnCommand Is a collection of NetApp objects with common characteristics, such as location, and is configured and viewed in OnCommand QTree Is a subset of a volume, or can be the entire volume Can have a quota applied to it, to limit its size More flexible than a partition because its size can be changed at any time 23

24 NetApp Terminology- Snapshot Concepts Cascade A NetApp term for taking a snapshot and then replicating it. Instead of replicating data from a single source to each of the destinations, you can replicate data from one destination to another destination, in a series. This is referred to as cascading. Example: Primary data > Snapshot > Replication > Duplication SnapVault SnapMirror Backup from Snapshot SnapRestore A NetApp replication technology that is typically used for backup A backup of a snapshot to another snapshot A NetApp replication technology that is typically used for disaster recovery A snapshot of an exact replica of the original data A NetBackup backup (tar) image from a NetApp snapshot A NetApp technology to restore a Snapshot copy of a LUN and the volume that contains it to its state when the Snapshot copy was taken Used to restore an entire volume, a single LUN or individual files quickly and easily 24

25 NetApp-supported snapshot replication cascades Supported cascade examples: Data > Snapshot > SnapVault Data > Snapshot > SnapMirror Data > Snapshot > SnapMirror > SnapVault Data > Snapshot > SnapMirror > SnapMirror Data > Snapshot > SnapVault > SnapMirror Unsupported cascade examples: Data > Snapshot > SnapVault > SnapMirror > SnapMirror > SnapVault Data > Snapshot > SnapVault > SnapVault Replicate no more than three times in a cascade. SnapVault cannot be replicated to another SnapVault. 25

26 NetApp-supported snapshot and cascade fanouts > SnapVault > SnapMirror Data > Snapshot > SnapMirror > SnapVault > SnapMirror A fanout is a snapshot cascade in which multiple cascades are derived from a single snapshot source. There are too many permutations to list every example. Some cascades and fanouts are configurable, but not supported. Supported permutations change over time. Up to three cascades are allowed. Avoid SLP configurations that violate these rules. See the NetApp documentation and the Symantec NetBackup Replication Director Solutions Guide. 26

27 Snapshot Replication and Backup from Snapshot cascades Backup from snapshot is supported in NetApp cascades and in NetBackup SLPs. Backup from snapshot is used in SLPs to perform backups of snapshot(s) to disk or tape. Examples of cascades with backup from snapshot are: Data > Snapshot > Backup from Snapshot Data > Snapshot > SnapVault > Backup from Snapshot Data > Snapshot > SnapMirror > Backup from Snapshot 27

28 NetBackup Replication Director Readiness Checker Tools Symantec engineering has provided 3 tools listed below to make the Replication Director installation and configuration easier. These can be used for setting up, configuring, and verifying NetBackup Replication Director for use with NetApp storage systems. 1. NetBackup Replication Director Checklist for NetApp Storage This PDF is a pre-flight checklist that helps verify that the NetApp environment is ready for usage by Replication Director. 2. NetApp Readiness Checker (NARC.zip) This is a Perl script that is run on the OnCommand server (DFM) and helps to validate the environment for use by Replication Director. 3. Dry Run utility (Dryrun.zip) This is a Perl script that is run on the NetBackup master server. It helps to verify that the NetBackup environment is ready for use by Replication Director. For details on downloading and using these tools please refer the following article: 28

29 Whiteborads: Replication Director Licensing Requirements Replication Director is a separately licensed NetBackup feature in the traditional license model. It is included with a capacity model. NetApp requires a number of licenses for performing the various functions on the filer including: SnapMirror SnapVault ONTAP primary SnapVault ONTAP secondary SnapRestore FlexClone CIFS (For NAS Systems) NFS (For NAS Systems) iscsi and Fibre Channel Licenses (For SAN devices) NDMP SnapDrive for Windows Client license if using block storage on Windows Some licenses are optional depending on environment. For detailed information on licensing requirements please refer 29

30 Overview of Configuration Tasks in NetApp for RD Tasks in NetApp 1. Configure filers and storage. 2. Enable and turn on appropriate NetApp licenses as described in the previous slide. 3. Install the NetApp Plug-in for Symantec NetBackup (NBUPlugin) on the OnCommand server, which automatically creates the NetBackup resource group and policies within OnCommand. 4. Create resource pools in OnCommand for each replication target and add aggregates to the resource pools. 5. Add resource pools to the NetBackup resource group. NetBackup can now access the resource pools as disk volumes for replication targets during the NetBackup disk pool creation step. For more information refer the NetApp Documentation and the following Symantec articles: and 30

31 NBU Plug-in Installation on OnCommand Server The NetApp Plug-in for Symantec NetBackup is the piece that enables the communication between NetBackup and the OnCommand Server. Steps for installing the NBU Plug-in: 1. The Plug-in can be downloaded from the NetApp NOW site (requires an account). Review the Release Notes: 2. Install the NetBackup Plug-in on the OnCommand Server using a privileged user. NetApp Plug-in 1.1 for Symantec NetBackup supports NetBackup 7.6. Note: There is no configuration needed for the NBU Plug-in on the OnCommand server beyond installing it. For compatibility between NetBackup Replication Director and NetApp Plug-in please refer 31

32 NBU Plug-in Installation on OnCommand Server 3. Once the Plug-in is installed, one way to determine if it is installed is to use the NetApp Management Console on the OnCommand server. Under Data > Groups and look under Global for the NetBackup Resource Group. This group is created when the Plug-in is installed. Another way to check is by typing the following command line on the OnCommand Server: dfm group list m NetBackup 32

33 Creating Resource Pools in OnCommand 1. Logon to the NetApp Management Console which requires the root or administrator credentials to the OnCommand Server. 2. Once logged on, under Data on the left hand side,select Resource Pools and then click on Add which starts a wizard. 33

34 Creating Resource Pools in OnCommand for replication targets 3. On the Add Resource Pool wizard, click Next. 34

35 Creating Resource Pools in OnCommand for replication targets 4. Under Name type a name for the resource pool you want to use as a replication target. The rest of the information on the page may be filled as applicable or simply left to the default value. 35

36 Creating Resource Pools in OnCommand for replication targets 5. On the Physical Resources selection page, set the Resource Type to hosts, expand the NetApp filer that contains the Aggregate for the replication target. Select the desired aggregate and and click the > button to move it into the Resources in this resource pool box on the right. 36

37 Creating Resource Pools in OnCommand for replication targets 6. On the Labels page, leave the Resource Pool Label entry empty, verify the aggregate name that was added in the previous step and click Next. Note: To enable Dedupe on the resource pool add #dedupe# in the resource pool label. 37

38 Creating Resource Pools in OnCommand for replication targets 7. Depending on your environment, you can change the information on the Space Thresholds page or you can simply leave them at default and click Next. 38

39 Creating Resource Pools in OnCommand for replication targets 8. Verify the resource pool creation summary and click Finish to complete the resource pool configuration. Once the resource pool is created it can be added to the NetBackup Resource group as discussed on the subsequent slides. 39

40 Adding Resource Pools to the NetBackup Resource Group A data Resource Pool has now been created so it can be used by NetBackup however we still need to add this Resource Pool into the NetBackup Group that was created when the Plug-in was installed. Using NetApp Management Console on the OnCommand Server 1. Click on Groups on the left hand navigation bar (under the Data tab). 2. Select NetBackup under Global and click Edit. 40

41 Adding Resource Pools to the NetBackup Resource Group 3. Click the Members tab. 4. Change the Category to Resource Pools 41

42 Adding Resource Pools to the NetBackup Resource Group 5. Find the Resource Pool that was created earlier and use the > button to move it to Selected Resources on the right. Then click OK. Note: Any additional resource pools that will be used to hold SnapMirror/SnapVault copies for NetBackup Replication Director need to be added to the NetBackup Resource Group in the same manner. 42

43 Adding Resource Pools to the NetBackup Resource Group The Resource Pool(s) added to the NetBackup Resource Group are available as members under the NetBackup Resource Group. At this point, the NetApp configuration is complete. The remaining steps will be done on the NetBackup master. 43

44 Example NetApp Architecture Diagram for Replication Director OnCommand Server NBUPlugin (Web service) filer2pool NetBackup Resource Group filer3pool PrimarySnapshot (logical storage unit) Aggregate (filer1disks) RAID group Filer1 volume /vol1 Resource Pool (filer2pool) filer2disks Aggregate (filer2disks) RAID group Resource Pool (filer3pool) Filer2 filer3disks Aggregate (filer3disks) RAID group NetApp Management Console (NMC) Filer3 RAID group primary data RAID group RAID group 44

45 Overview of Configuration Tasks in NetBackup for RD Tasks in NetBackup 1. Verify NetBackup version and licensing. 2. Configure storage servers. 3. Configure disk pools. 4. Configure storage units. 5. Configure a storage lifecycle policy. 6. Configure a NetBackup policy 45

46 Verify NetBackup version and Licensing The NetBackup 7.x Hardware Compatibility List provides details of supported environments for NetBackup Replication Director The Dryrun.zip and NetApp Readiness Checker (NARC.zip) utilities mentioned in the previous slides are a great way of checking all licenses, settings, software versions, etc. For compatibility between Replication Director and NetApp Plugin please refer 46

47 Storage Server Configuration in NetBackup 1. To create a storage server, click Configure Disk Storage Servers in the NetBackup Administration Console main window. 2. Select OpenStorage as the disk storage type to be configured in this wizard and click Next. 47

48 Storage Server Configuration - 3. Chose NetApp OnCommand Server from the storage server type drop-down and provide the full qualified or the short name of the storage server which is the name of the OnCommand server. 4. Select a media server from the media server drop-down to query the storage server. Also the user credentials provided must have administrator or root privileges on the OnCommand server. 48

49 Storage Server Configuration 5. On the Configure Additional Media Servers panel select any media servers that are to be used to access the storage server for snapshots, snapshot replication, or restores. The master server must be selected if it appears in the list. 49

50 Storage Server Configuration 6. Review the configuration summary for the selections and click next to create the storage server. The wizard declares that the storage server was successfully created. Click Next to launch the Disk Pool Configuration Wizard. A disk pool is necessary for snapshots and snapshot replication. 50

51 Storage Server Configuration 7. The wizard declares that the storage server was successfully created. Click Next to launch the Disk Pool Configuration Wizard. A disk pool is necessary for snapshots and snapshot replication. 51

52 Configuring Disk Pool & Storage Units 8. In the Disk Pool Configuration Wizard welcome panel, click Next. Note: When the initial snapshot is performed it will be created on the primary filer where the client data resides. You must configure a Disk Pool and a storage unit for it even though you have not created resource pools for it in the NetApp environment. Secondary replication will be on the target resource pool(s) that was created earlier in the NetApp environment. 52

53 Configuring Disk Pool & Storage Units 9. To configure a disk pool for NetApp, select OpenStorage (Network_NTAP). 53

54 Configuring Disk Pool & Storage Units 10. On the Select Storage Server panel, select the storage server that was created earlier in the wizard. 54

55 Configuring Disk Pool & Storage Units 11. Select the Primary and the Replication Source checkbox to configure this first disk pool for snapshots. Select a primary volume in the table to be part of this first disk pool. This step tells the filer to create the Primary Snapshot on the Primary filer. No storage was configured for this step in OnCommand; however a Disk Pool still needs to be created so NetBackup can use it as a step in the SLP. 55

56 Configuring Disk Pool & Storage Units 12. In the Additional Disk Pool Information panel, name the disk pool and add any comments regarding the disk pool. 13. After the disk pool creation completes, on the Storage Unit Creation panel select the checkbox to create a storage unit that uses the new disk pool. A storage unit that uses this disk pool is necessary for snapshots. 56

57 Configuring Disk Pool & Storage Units 14. In the Storage Unit Creation panel, name the storage unit. Select the media server(s) that can use the storage unit. For a media server to communicate with and have access to a storage server, it must be added to the Replication Director environment. 57

58 Configuring Disk Pool & Storage Units After creating a disk pool and storage unit to contain the primary snapshots, a disk pool and storage unit to be used as the target for replication needs to be created. Select Replication target and Replication Source and select the volume(s) to be part of this disk pool. Click Next to create a disk pool and storage unit using the selected volume(s). 58

59 About Storage Units for Snapshots and Replication Snapshot storage units can have one of following properties: Primary Storage units that can contain the initial snapshot of primary data. Replication source Storage units that can serve as a source for a replicated snapshot. Replication target Storage units that can receive replicated snapshots from a replication source. Mirror (Optional Attribute) Storage units that can serve as a mirrored replication target. (For example, NetApp SnapMirror.) Independent (Optional Attribute) Storage units that can act as either a Mirror replication target (SnapMirror) or a non-mirror replication target (SnapVault). 59

60 Determining Replication Topology using bpstsinfo For a replication operation to succeed, a volume which is a source of replication must have a replication partner which is the target of replication. The replication relationship between volumes is provided to NetBackup by the storage device using the OST APIs. To understand the replication topology of the storage server, run the bpstsinfo command, specifying the storage server name and the OpenStorage server type. For example: bpstsinfo -lsuinfo -storage_server storage_server_name -stype storage_type 60

61 Storage Lifecycle Policy Configuration The Storage Lifecycle Policy (SLP) is used to create steps for performing tasks. For example, the first step creates the Snapshot, the second step creates the Replication of this snapshot and the third step creates a copy to tape, disk, dedupe disk, etc. This is all done automatically based on the SLP configuration. In NetBackup 7.6 SLP Windows can be used to schedule these steps. Configuring the SLP will be the last step before Policy configuration. By this time, all other configuration besides the Policy should be complete and the checklist should be finished. The SLP does a validation step and if the rest of the configuration is not complete it will fail. 61

62 Configuring SLPs for Snapshot and Replication An Example SLP that contains a snapshot operation, a replication operation, a backup from snapshot operation, and a duplication operation. Corresponding SLP operations are shown in next slide. Snapshot Operation Replication Operation Backup from Snapshot Operation Duplication Operation Snapshot STU Snapshot STU Backup STU Backup STU Snapshot Snapshot tar tar Replication Backup Duplication 62

63 Configuring SLP(s) for Snapshot and Replication 1. Snapshot Operation 2. Replication from Snapshot 3. Backup from Snapshot 4. Duplication from Backup 63

64 Data Retention Options for Snapshots and Replication in SLP Snapshot and replication retention options are chosen in the SLP. Following retention types are supported for different SLP operations for Replication Director: 1. Expire after copy- Valid for all RD supported SLP operations. Expire after copy will delete the replicated copy when the data has been sent to tertiary storage such as disk or tape. 2. Fixed Valid for all RD supported SLP operations. Fixed allows a time based retention to be configured and a Retention Period option will be available. NOTE: Using the fixed retention can cause the primary filer disk to fill up thus causing failures. Use this setting with caution. 64

65 Data Retention Options for Snapshots and Replication in SLP 3. Maximum snapshot limit Only valid for Snapshot operation. The Maximum snapshot limit determines the maximum number of snapshots that can be stored for a particular policy and client pair. When the maximum is reached, the next snapshot causes the oldest job-complete snapshot to be deleted. A snapshot job is considered to be complete once all of its configured dependent copies are complete. (Dependent copies are created as a result of Backup From Snapshot, Index From Snapshot, or Replication operations.) The practice is referred to as rotation. This retention type applies only to snapshots, and not to backups. 4. Mirror - Only valid for Replication and Duplication operations. (valid for duplication to snapshot type storage only) Mirror will make the replicated copy expire when the primary copy expires. 65

66 Data Retention Options for Snapshots and Replication in SLP 5. Target retention - Valid for Replication if the first operation in the SLP is an Import and if the storage unit is of the backup type and valid for Duplication if the first operation in the SLP is an Import. This setting is used in Auto Image Replication in an Import storage lifecycle policy. Target retention indicates that the data at the target master shall use the expiration date that was imported with the image. The date is fixed because the copy must have a fixed retention. 6. Capacity Managed- Valid for Backup and Duplication operations if Advanced Disk storage type is set on storage server. 66

67 Choosing between SnapMirror and SnapVault One of the frequently asked questions with regards to Replication Director is how do you choose between SnapMirror and SnapVault and why are both licenses required. This choice is based on the replication retention option chosen in the SLP. When Mirror is chosen, SnapMirror is used and the replicated copy expires when the snapshot expires. When Fixed or Expire After Copy is selected, SnapVault is used and the replicated copy expires independent of the snapshot. Note that the maximum number of snapshots on a NetApp volume is

68 About Index from Snapshot SLP Operation Index from Snapshot step will create the NetBackup Catalog entries so that Operational Restore from OpsCenter can find single files. The reason you index a snapshot is to create the file catalog that allows you to search for a file, determine which snapshots and backups have the file, and specify which recovery point you want to use. The file catalog is created either when one does a backup or when one configures the index from snapshot step in SLP If you can wait for the backup to happen, you might not need to index from snapshot (unless you never back it up or the backup is delayed by a long time. Eg: Backups happen after a month); if you need to search for restore with no backup, then index from snapshot can help. 68

69 Setting up indexing Operation in SLP for Replication Director The Index From Snapshot operation is supported only in a Replication Director configuration. Some examples for placing an indexing operation in a SLP are shown here. For more details on the correct placement of an indexing operation in a SLP for Replication Director please refer the section Determining where and when the Index From Snapshot operation occurs on Page 108 of the NetBackup 7.6 Solution Guide for Replication Director. 69

70 About NetBackup Policy Configuration for RD A backup policy must be configured and run in order to create and replicate snapshots as prescribed in a storage lifecycle policy. Various NetBackup policy configurations can use Replication Director: 1. Standard, MS-Windows, NDMP, Oracle and VMware VIP policies can use Replication Director for backup. 2. Backup Selections in the policy can point to the local mount point on the production clients where the NAS volumes are mapped. Alternately, the NDMP host can be added to the Clients tab to backup NAS volumes directly from the NDMP host. 3. In NetBackup 7.6, the ability to snapshot and replicate from a filer includes the addition of block device support. A Standard or MS- Windows policy can be used with Replication Director for file data protection from Fiber Attached Storage (FAS) volumes on NetApp. 70

71 NetBackup 7.6 policy setting for Replication Director There are some changes made to the Policy GUI in NetBackup 7.6 A checkbox for Use Replication Director makes this much more intuitive and, avoids the need to select the Advanced Options to choose which type of OST interface is needed. 71

72 Snapshot Option configuration in policy for RD Auto UNIX Windows Differential Plex Auto 72

73 NetBackup NDMP Policy with RD Configuring an NDMP policy to protect a NAS host using NDMP with Replication Director: By creating a snapshot of a NAS host, NetBackup can protect the client data directly on the NAS host and avoid mounting each client. NetBackup Policy Configuration details: Attribute tab: Policy type: Select NDMP. Policy storage: Select the SLP configured for snapshot replication Use Replication Director: Enable Use Replication Director checkbox Clients tab: Only the array/filer name is listed in the Clients tab of the NetBackup policy, not individual production clients. Backup Selections tab: The volume on the array/filer that the clients use is listed in the Backup Selections tab of the policy. 73

74 NetBackup NDMP Policy with RD NetApp Filer /vol/vol1a The volume contains client data 74

75 NetBackup Standard/MS-Windows Policy using NDMP with RD Configuring a Standard or MS-Windows policy to protect files and directories from clients using NDMP with Replication Director: This method requires that NetBackup mount each client to create the snapshot. NetBackup Policy Configuration details: Attribute Tab: Policy type: Select Standard for a policy containing UNIX clients or MS-Windows for a policy containing Windows clients. Policy storage: Select the SLP configured for snapshot replication Use Replication Director: Enable Use Replication Director Perform off-host backup: Enable, then select the following: Use Data Mover. NDMP as the Machine selection Clients Tab: Specify the Windows/Unix client to be backed up. Backup Selections Tab: Specify the files and directories from NFS or CIFS mount points to be backed up from each client. 75

76 NetBackup Standard/MS-Windows Policy using NDMP with RD NFS mount point from client added to back selections 76

77 NetBackup Standard/MS-Windows Policy to protect NAS Volumes Configuring a Standard or MS-Windows policy to use Replication Director to protect NAS volumes: NetBackup Policy Configuration details: Attribute Tab: Policy type: Select Standard for a policy containing UNIX clients or MS-Windows for a policy containing Windows clients. Policy storage: Select the SLP configured for snapshot replication Use Replication Director: Enable Use Replication Director Clients Tab: Specify the Windows/Unix client to be backed up. The client needs to run the same NetBackup version as the master server. Backup Selections Tab: Specify the backup selection from the client perspective. For example, specify /mnt2/home for Unix client or UNC path to the share for Windows client \\nas1\vol1 77

78 NetBackup Standard/MS-Windows Policy to protect NAS Volumes UNC path to the share for Windows client added to back selections 78

79 NetBackup Standard/MS-Windows Policy to protect SAN Volumes Configuring a Standard or MS-Windows policy to use Replication Director for SAN (block) device support: Attribute Tab: Policy type: Select Standard for a policy containing UNIX clients. Select MS-Windows for a policy containing Windows clients. Policy storage: Select the SLP configured for snapshot replication Use Replication Director: Enable Use Replication Director Clients Tab: Specify the Windows or Unix client name Backup Selections Tab: Selection list may contain any combination of the following: Drive letters Folder mounts A directory on a drive A single file on a drive or in a directory 79

80 NetBackup Standard/MS-Windows Policy to protect SAN Volumes This example for a Windows client shows E: drive added to the backup selections. This partition resides on a SAN mapped volume configured on the NetApp storage array. 80

81 NetBackup Policy for RD Validation In NetBackup 7.6 a new Validation Checkbox has been added that allows the backup administrator to validate if Replication Director has been configured correctly and that the Policy will run correctly. A complete or a basic topology check can be performed. Alternately, by using the None radio button, the check can be skipped which is not recommended. 81

82 Restoring from Snapshots: File Level Restore In NetBackup 7.6, you can do the following restore operations from an array-based snapshot: 1. File-level restore from the snapshot This can be done using the NetBackup BAR interface, bprestore command or the Symantec OpsCenter interface. 82

83 Restoring from Snapshots: Volume Level restore 2. Volume-level rollback restore from the snapshot (copy one). This also can be done from the NetBackup BAR interface. Only a system administrator can perform an array-based restore. Warning: Select this option only if you are sure that you want to replace all of the files in the original location with the snapshot. Rollback deletes all files that were created after the creation-date of the snapshot from which you restore. 83

84 About Replication Director for VMware data protection One of the enhancements in Replication Director 7.6 is the ability to provide hardware snapshots and replicate those snapshots under the control of Replication Director. This is done using the existing (and enhanced) VMware Intelligent Policy. All configuration steps are the same as when creating normal VIP backups for VMware, however the Use Replication Director button must then be checked. This assumes that the data that has been configured for backup using the VIP has been created in a NetApp NAS Datastore. Since we are taking a hardware snapshot of the NAS Datastore, this can protect applications such as Exchange and SQL if the virtual machines with these applications have been installed on the ESX\ESXi Datastore. 84

85 About Replication Director for Oracle Data Protection The new Oracle Intelligent Policy in NetBackup 7.6 can also make use of hardware snapshots using Replication Director. The Use Replication Director checkbox must be checked in the Oracle Intelligent Policy to use hardware snapshots. In this case, the Oracle machine must be a physical machine (not virtual) and the database must be NFS mounted on NetApp storage. All other options selected with the new Oracle Intelligent Policy are still valid, but instead of sending the data to a disk or tape as a streaming backup, a Snapshot will be created. 85

86 Life Preservers 86

87 Best Practices/known issues/limitations Installation/Upgrade/Compatibility Related Ensure compatibility and that the correct software and licenses have been installed in NetBackup and NetApp. Use the NARC and Dry Run utilities to ensure NetBackup and NetApp readiness for Replication Director. If upgrading the NetApp Plug-in for Symantec NetBackup on the OnCommand server, make sure that all SLP jobs that use the old plug-in are complete before upgrading. Mixed NetApp aggregate replications are not qualified or tested with Replication Director in NetBackup 7.6. For example, from a 32- bit aggregate to a 64-bit aggregate and vice versa. You must install NetApp Management Console (NMC) 3.3, which contains bug fixes found in the 3.2 version. The NMC is required to perform many of the physical storage tasks in OnCommand. 87

88 Best Practices/known issues/limitations NetApp Configuration Related If the root or the administrator password for the OnCommand server is changed it needs to be updated in NetBackup and the NBU plug-in must be restarted on the OnCommand server if OnCommand is setup on windows else a replication job run after the password has been changed may fail with a status 83 (media open error) or a policy validation error of Ensure that the NetBackup Client Service logon account has appropriate privileges to access the CIFS shares or the UNC paths and the disk array. Unicode must be turned on for all filers that will have Replication Director snapshots. The ucode setting must be configured to on for each volume that will be protected by Replication Director. 88

89 Best Practices/known issues/limitations NetApp Configuration Related When naming the aggregate for use as the Replication Director target it is a good idea to make the name descriptive enough that it indicates it is for use by NetBackup or Replication Director to prevent accidental deletions or configuration changes. A resource pool should not be named NetBackup or PrimarySnapshot to avoid potential issues. The resource pool name should not contain non-ascii characters. In a volume or qtree, file names protected by NetBackup should not contain non-alphanumeric (special) characters such as the at sign (@), asterisk (*), and number sign (#). Use the same language settings for root volume on source and destination storage systems. 89

90 Best Practices/known issues/limitations NetBackup Policy Configuration Related Backup selections for both SAN devices and NAS volumes are not supported in a single backup policy. To back up a qtree, mount the qtree only and do not include the volume in the backup selection path. If the volume is mounted and a qtree from the same is used as a backup selection, the NetApp Plug-in for Symantec NetBackup (NBUPlugin) considers it to be a volume only and performs only volume-specific operations. When a volume is specified as backup selection in NetBackup, the name of the volume should not end in a forward slash. The volume name is listed in the Backup Selections tab of a NetBackup policy. For example, /vol/vola is correct; however, /vol/vola/ or /vol/vola// is incorrect. 90

91 Best Practices/known issues/limitations SLP Configuration Related The Index From Snapshot SLP operation is not supported for any policy that uses NDMP. A destination storage must be chosen for indexing. Typically it is a recommendation that the Secondary Storage Unit (where the Target has been produced) is the best source for indexing. This determines which copy is used (mounted) for creating the Index step. There is some overhead on the system while Indexing takes place, therefore it should be done from the replicated copy vs. the Primary copy. This can be achieved by choosing the Storage Unit used to create the secondary copy. If there is no secondary copy (a single filer in the environment) then there is no choice but to choose the primary copy. 91

92 Best Practices/known issues/limitations SLP Configuration Related The Index From Snapshot operation differs from other operations in that it does not create a copy of a snapshot or backup. Even though this operation does not create a copy, the existence of this operation in the SLP counts toward the number indicated by the Maximum backup copies set up in Master server host properties. In NetBackup, SLP operations should be configured as per the supported NetApp cascades (which were discussed earlier). 92

93 Best Practices/known issues/limitations SAN-connected storage limitations These items are limitations to consider when using SAN-connected NetApp storage with Replication Director: The following are not supported: Windows boot file system on SAN. RAW disks (on both Windows and UNIX). Dynamic disks on Windows. Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) protocol. Point-in-time rollback restores are not supported when using SANconnected devices. Using the volume GUID to indicate the backup selection. Fibre Channel LUNs on vfiler. Per the SnapDrive limit, a maximum of 168 LUNs per client is allowed, including LUN and volume clones. 93

94 Communication Issues and Solutions Communication issues Master server, OnCommand Server, and clients must be able to communicate over the network Multiple NICs Check for the most recent NBUPlugin from NetApp Set preferred IP address in OnCommand: SnapMirror SnapVault Use dfm host set hostid hostpreferredaddr1=ipaddr Use the ndmpd.preferred_interface file option Ensure Unicode is turned on for each filer using these commands: vol options volume convert_ucode on vol options volume create_ucode on 94

95 Common Replication Director backup job status codes Status code Error message 84 media write error , 1541 snapshot error encountered snapshot error encountered, snapshot creation failed Description Unsupported Replication Director topology is used Examine the logs of the NetApp Plug-in A NetBackup client (mount host) was unable to contact the NetApp storage using the DNS name The NetBackup Client Service (nbcs) is using a Local system account login instead of Administrator A live browse restore from the mirror copy fails (convert_ucode is not set to on) Inconsistencies caused by starting multiple, manual snapshot jobs at high frequency (for example, a snapshot every 5 seconds) Does not occur for scheduled snapshot jobs, as NetBackup controls job execution 95

96 Replication Director policy validation issues and solutions The filers are not part of the NetBackup group. Ensure a valid resource pool is added to the NetBackup group, and add OnCommand server details to the filer Volume that was created on the filer is not visible on the OnCommand server Enable SSH on filer, restart the OnCommand server or refresh the connection, and ensure the volume is visible in OnCommand The filer and the OnCommand server are in different domains The host credentials that are required to access a CIFS share are not set for bpcd Policy validation fails with status 223 Policy validation fails due to a problem with a specified volume Ensure the hosts file on both the filer and the OnCommand server have entries for each other, and the filer is in the same domain Set the credentials that are required and restart the service Ensure the data volume on the filer to backup is mounted on the client listed in the policy Make sure that a volume or qtree in the backup selection of the policy is not offline 96

97 Debug Logging Make sure that the bpfis directory has been created for logging under the default NetBackup log directory. The bpfis directory contains both the bpfis log and the OSTPlugin logs for OpenStorage partners. To configure logging for OST_FIM, the logging level must be set to 9 using the command line. Additional configuration is also required. Also check the logs of the OpenStorage partner for more information. For further details on enabling debug logging for Replication Director please refer Lesson 14: Troubleshooting Page 193 NetBackup 7.6 Solution Guide for Replication Director. 97

98 Replication Director Replication Issues and Solutions OnCommand licenses are not installed Entries for backup volumes exist in OnCommand server which have been deleted from filer SnapVault and SnapMirror options are not configured to access the vault and mirror from the target filer Incorrect OnCommand server configuration Install appropriate licenses on the OnCommand server Delete the stale entries from the OnCommand server Configure the SnapVault and SnapMirror options on the source filer to access the vault and mirror from the target filer Check and set the OnCommand server configuration $ dfm option list pmusesducompatiblesnapshotnames (Value should be Yes) $ dfm option list pmcustomnameuseqtreelist (Value should be No) $ dfm option list pmcustomnameuseretentiontype (Value should be No) $ dfm option set pmcustomnameuseretentiontype=no pmcustomnameuseqtreelist=no pmusesducompatiblesnapshotnames=yes 98

99 Replication Director duplication issues and Solutions The snapshot import has failed. The NetApp Plug-in for Symantec NetBackup failed to export the snapshot volume. The credentials that are required to access a CIFS share are not set for bpcd A space character ( ) appears in one of the backup selections Perform the following steps on the source volume: 1. Create the volume and enable convert_ucode on and create_ucode on using vol options commands. 2. Begin to use the volume using CIFS or NFS and create snapshots. Set the credentials that are required to access a CIFS share in the NetBackup Client Service (bpcd) and restart the service Rename the backup selection, omitting the space 99

100 Enabling NetBackup Plugin Trace logs in OnCommand The following steps are performed on the OnCommand server to enable NBU Plugin trace logging; 1. Edit the NetBackup NetApp plug-in configuration file: Windows UNIX 2. Add the following 3. Restart the services: install_path\netapp\nbuplugin\config\configure.cfg /usr/netapp/nbuplugin/config/configure.cfg Trace: TraceToFile Value = TRUE install_path\netapp\nbuplugin\process_manager shutdown install_path\netapp\nbuplugin\process_manager startup 100

101 Examining NetBackup Plug-in trace logs On the OnCommand server view the nadaptortimestamp.log file in: Windows C:\Program Files\NetApp\NAdaptor\trace UNIX /usr/netapp/nadaptor/trace Example log file entries describing an invalid topology: 2 REPLICAT: /03/30 17:22:30 check_topology : BEGIN 0 REPLICAT: /03/30 17:22:30 ntap_dfm_replicate_snapshot : Unable to find the topology 1 STRWIDE : LFB: Need 39 chars to store wide copy of UTF8 'Invalid topology in replicate snapshot 1 NALOG : /03/30 17:22:30 Logging message to NT System Event Viewer 0 REPLICAT: /03/30 17:22:30 ntap_dfm_replicate_snapshot : END 101

102 Enabling OST_FIM logging Typically OST_FIM logs are not needed Occasionally NetBackup Support may request them To enable the OST_FIM logs: 1. Increase NetBackup Global Logging level to 5 (maximum) in the host properties 2. Create the file ostfi.conf in the following directory: Windows UNIX C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\VxFI\ /usr/openv/lib/vxfi/configfiles/ 3. Add the following lines to the file: [DEBUG_TRACE_INFO] "TRACERUNTIMEUPDATE"=dword: "TRACEFILE"="ostfi.log" "TRACESTDOUT"=dword: "TRACEDIR"="/usr/openv/netbackup/logs/bpfis/" "TRACELEVEL"=dword: View the ostfi.log file in the bpfis log directory 102