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NetWorker 19.1 Administration Guide

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The document discusses Dell EMC NetWorker administration including components, interfaces, tasks and other concepts.

The document is a Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide that provides an overview of the NetWorker environment and components.

Some of the NetWorker components discussed include the NetWorker Server, Client, Storage Node, NMC Server, and interfaces like the NMC user interface and NetWorker Administration window.

Dell EMC NetWorker

Version 19.1

Administration Guide
302-005-688
REV 02
June, 2019
Copyright © 1990-2019 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved.

Dell believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice.

THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION IS PROVIDED “AS-IS.” DELL MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND
WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PUBLICATION, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. USE, COPYING, AND DISTRIBUTION OF ANY DELL SOFTWARE DESCRIBED
IN THIS PUBLICATION REQUIRES AN APPLICABLE SOFTWARE LICENSE.

Dell Technologies, Dell, EMC, Dell EMC and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other trademarks may be the property
of their respective owners. Published in the USA.

Dell EMC
Hopkinton, Massachusetts 01748-9103
1-508-435-1000 In North America 1-866-464-7381
www.DellEMC.com

2 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


CONTENTS

Figures 17

Tables 19

Preface 23

Chapter 1 Overview 29
The NetWorker environment...................................................................... 30
NetWorker Components................................................................30
NetWorker services.................................................................................... 32
Processes on NetWorker hosts .....................................................33
Stop and start the NMC Server..................................................... 36
Stop and start a NetWorker Server, Client, or Storage Node........ 38
NetWorker user interfaces.......................................................................... 41
NMC user interface........................................................................41
NetWorker Administration window................................................ 42
NetWorker client interface............................................................ 42
NetWorker character-based interface........................................... 43
NetWorker command-line interface...............................................43
Introduction to the NetWorker Management Web UI.................... 43

Chapter 2 Getting Started 45


NetWorker Management Console interface................................................46
Connecting to the Console window............................................... 46
Connecting to the Administration window...................................................51
Opening the Administration window............................................... 51
Administration window................................................................... 51
Editing multiple resources..............................................................53
Drag-and-drop functionality.......................................................... 53
Multiple library devices and slots................................................... 55
Setting user interaction preferences............................................. 55
Monitoring NetWorker Server activities in the Administration
window.......................................................................................... 55
Getting started with a new installation....................................................... 66
Common NetWorker tasks............................................................ 66

Chapter 3 Backup Target 75


Label templates.......................................................................................... 76
Using label templates.....................................................................76
How the NetWorker server uses volume labels.............................. 76
Preconfigured label templates........................................................77
Guidelines for completing Label Template attributes..................... 77
Naming label templates..................................................................79
Working with label templates.........................................................80
Setting up a label template to identify volumes............................. 82

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Media pools................................................................................................ 83
Using media pools..........................................................................83
Storage nodes............................................................................................ 98
Requirements................................................................................ 98
Licensing....................................................................................... 98
Storage node configuration........................................................... 99
Storage Node Options..................................................................105
Configuring a dedicated storage node..........................................106
Troubleshooting storage nodes.................................................... 106
Disk storage devices..................................................................................107
Example environment................................................................... 108
Considerations for Client Direct clients........................................ 109
Differences between FTDs, AFTDs, and DD Boost devices............111
Device target and max sessions default values and ranges............113
Advanced file type devices............................................................114
DD Boost and Cloud Tier devices..................................................128
Libraries and silos......................................................................................130
Overview of tape device storage.................................................. 130
Support for LTO-4 hardware-based encryption........................... 130
Linux device considerations..........................................................130
Solaris device considerations........................................................132
HP-UX device considerations....................................................... 132
AIX device considerations............................................................ 135
SCSI and VTL libraries..................................................................135
Silo libraries.................................................................................. 173
NDMP libraries............................................................................. 182
NetWorker hosts with shared libraries..........................................182
Dynamic drive sharing.................................................................. 185
File type devices....................................................................................... 190
FTD capacity issues..................................................................... 190
Full FTD prevention.......................................................................191
Stand-alone devices.................................................................................. 191
Autodetecting and configuring a stand-alone tape drive............... 191
Adding a stand-alone device manually.......................................... 192
Auto Media Management for stand-alone devices........................193
Mounting or unmounting a volume in a stand-alone tape drive..... 193
Labeling and mounting a volume in one operation (stand-alone tape
drive)........................................................................................... 194
Labeling volumes without mounting............................................. 195
Mounting uninventoried volumes..................................................195
Labeling volumes.......................................................................................196
Labeling or re-labeling library volumes..........................................196
Verifying the label when a volume is unloaded.............................. 197
Troubleshooting devices and autochangers...............................................197
Additional attributes in the Autochanger resource........................197
Maintenance commands...............................................................198
Autodetected SCSI jukebox option causes server to stop
responding................................................................................... 198
Autochanger inventory problems..................................................198
Destination component full messages.......................................... 198
Tapes do not fill to capacity......................................................... 199
Tapes get stuck in drive when labeling tapes on Linux Red Hat
platform....................................................................................... 199
Increasing the value of Save Mount Time-out for label operations....
200
Server cannot access autochanger control port.......................... 200

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Changing the sleep times required for TZ89 drive types.............. 201
Message displayed when CDI enabled on NDMP or file type device..
202
Verify firmware for switches and routers.....................................202
Commands issued with nsrjb on a multi-NIC host fail.................. 202
SCSI reserve/release with dynamic drive sharing........................ 202
Recovering save sets from a VTL on a different NetWorker server...
203

Chapter 4 Data Protection Policies 205


Overview of protection policies................................................................ 206
Designing data protection policies............................................................ 207
Default data protection policies in NMC's NetWorker Administration
window........................................................................................ 208
Overview of configuring a new data protection policy................. 209
NetWorker resource considerations............................................. 210
Strategies for traditional backups................................................ 210
Strategies for server backup and maintenance............................ 235
Strategies for cloning.................................................................. 240
Policy Notifications.................................................................................. 262
Monitoring policy activity......................................................................... 263
Monitoring cloning.......................................................................264
Policy log files.......................................................................................... 264
Starting, stopping, and restarting policies................................................ 266
Protection period.........................................................................267
Starting actions in a workflow for an individual client............................... 269
Modifying data protection Policy resources..............................................270
Policies........................................................................................ 270
Workflows.................................................................................... 271
Protection groups........................................................................ 279
Actions........................................................................................ 280
Configuring NSR Protection Policies from nsradmin ................................283
Commands...................................................................................284
Managing NSR Data Protection Policy........................................ 284
Managing Workflows................................................................... 285
Managing Actions........................................................................ 286
Configuring Filters for Clone and Index Actions .......................... 288
Deleting multiple actions from multiple workflows and policies ... 289
Querying NSR protection policy workflow and NSR protection
policy action resources without specifying RAP resource types . 290
Managing policies from the command prompt.......................................... 290
Creating Data Protection Policy resources from a command prompt
.....................................................................................................291
Creating Action resources from a command prompt....................292
Starting, stopping, and restarting workflows from a command
prompt.........................................................................................293
Displaying Data Protection Policy resource configurations.......... 295
Identifying clients that missed the workflow schedule..............................298
Managing policies using the NetWorker Management Web UI..................299
Policies, workflows, and actions in NetWorker Management Web UI
.................................................................................................... 299
Create a policy using the NetWorker Management Web UI......... 299
Create a workflow using the NetWorker Management Web UI.... 301
Protection groups........................................................................303
Create an action using the NetWorker Management Web UI.......308

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Create a rule using the NetWorker Management Web UI.............348


Troubleshooting policies........................................................................... 350

Chapter 5 Backup Options 353


Overview of resources that support backups........................................... 354
Save sets..................................................................................................354
The ALL save set......................................................................... 355
Backup levels............................................................................................357
Comparing backup levels............................................................. 358
Backup levels and data recovery requirements............................ 359
Backup levels for the online indexes............................................ 360
Synthetic full backups................................................................. 360
Virtual synthetic full backups....................................................... 367
Backup scheduling.................................................................................... 370
Scheduling backup cycles............................................................ 370
Considerations for scheduling backups.........................................371
Methods for scheduling backups................................................. 373
Backup retention...................................................................................... 378
Methods for setting retention......................................................379
Assigning a retention policy to a Client resource......................... 380
Editing retention for a save set.................................................... 381
General backup considerations................................................................. 382
Renamed directories....................................................................382
Raw partitions............................................................................. 382
Access control lists......................................................................383
Client parallelism and parallel save streams..................................383
Maximum path and save set length.............................................. 387
Open files.....................................................................................387
Data deduplication....................................................................... 388
Directives................................................................................................. 388
Types of directives...................................................................... 388
Format of directive statements................................................... 389
Order of Execution in the Directive..............................................393
Global directives.......................................................................... 394
NetWorker User local directives.................................................. 398
Creating local directives.............................................................. 399

Chapter 6 Backing Up Data 401


Configuring a Client resource for backups on Windows hosts ................. 402
Windows backup considerations.................................................. 402
Windows file system backups....................................................... 413
Windows Bare Metal Recovery.....................................................419
Creating a Client resource with the Client Backup Configuration
wizard..........................................................................................438
Mapped drives............................................................................. 443
Configuring a Client resource for backups on UNIX hosts ....................... 444
UNIX/Linux backup considerations.............................................. 444
Creating a Client resource with the Client Backup Configuration
wizard..........................................................................................445
Supported save set configurations for UNIX hosts...................... 449
Configuring a Client resource for backups on Mac OS X hosts ................ 451
Mac OS X backup considerations................................................. 451
Creating a Client resource with the Client Backup Configuration
wizard..........................................................................................452

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Assigning directives to Mac OS X clients.....................................455


Configuring Open Directory database backups............................ 455
Sending client data to AFTD or Data Domain devices only........................456
Non-ASCII files and directories.................................................................457
Configuring checkpoint restart backups................................................... 457
About partial save sets................................................................ 458
Partial saveset cloning and scanning........................................... 458
Checkpoint restart requirements................................................. 458
Configuring checkpoint restart.................................................... 459
Restarting checkpoint-enabled backups...................................... 460
Recovering data from partial save sets.........................................461
Probe-based backups............................................................................... 462
Encryption................................................................................................463
AES Encryption........................................................................... 463
In-flight encryption......................................................................465
Compression............................................................................................ 466
Configuring compression for scheduled backups......................... 466
Configuring compression for manual backups..............................466
Configuring Client Direct backups............................................................ 467
Requirements for Client Direct backups.......................................467
Configuring Client Direct backups............................................... 468
Backup command customization.............................................................. 469
Creating a custom backup script................................................. 469
Customizing backups with the pre and post commands...............475
Client resources........................................................................................475
Create a Client resource with the Client Properties dialog box.... 476
Editing a Client resource.............................................................. 477
Copying a Client resource............................................................ 478
Changing the hostname of a client...............................................479
Deleting a Client resource............................................................480
Manual backups........................................................................................480
Performing a manual backup on Windows................................... 480
Performing a manual backup from the command prompt............. 481
Performing a manual backup on Mac OS X.................................. 482
Troubleshooting manual backups................................................. 482
Verifying backup data............................................................................... 483

Chapter 7 Cloning, Staging, and Archiving 485


Cloning, staging, and archiving................................................................. 486
Benefits of cloning and staging.................................................................486
Cloning save sets and volumes................................................................. 487
Deciding when to clone................................................................487
Clone retention............................................................................ 487
Cloning requirements and considerations.................................... 488
Cloning example.......................................................................... 490
Cloning with tape devices............................................................490
Cloning with file type and AFTD devices...................................... 492
Cloning with Avamar....................................................................492
Cloning with Data Domain (DD Boost)......................................... 493
Controlling storage node selection for cloning............................. 493
Recover Pipe to Save ..................................................................497
Cloning save sets from the command prompt.............................. 497
Updates to group, policy, workflow, and action fields in mediadb for
a cloned save set .........................................................................501
Staging save sets...................................................................................... 501

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Staging bootstrap backups.......................................................... 502


Creating a staging resource.........................................................503
Editing staging configurations..................................................... 505
Copying a Staging resource.........................................................506
Deleting a staging policy..............................................................506
Manual staging from the command prompt................................. 506
Common NetWorker staging commands and issues.....................507
Archiving data.......................................................................................... 508
Storage of archived data............................................................. 509
Enabling archiving........................................................................ 510
Archiving data from Windows....................................................... 511
Archiving data from UNIX............................................................. 511
Recovering archived data.............................................................512
Troubleshooting NetWorker archiving and retrieval..................... 514

Chapter 8 Backup Data Management 517


Overview of backup data management..................................................... 518
Viewing volume and save set details..........................................................518
Viewing disk volume details.......................................................... 518
Viewing tape volume details.........................................................520
Viewing save set details for a volume........................................... 521
Viewing save set details from a search........................................ 525
Managing volumes....................................................................................529
Changing the volume mode......................................................... 529
Changing the volume recycle policy.............................................530
Marking a tape volume as full for offsite storage......................... 530
Removing volumes from the media database and online indexes.. 531
Changing save set status..........................................................................532
Changing the save set retention time....................................................... 532
Removing expired save sets..................................................................... 533
Save set management on tape devices........................................ 534

Chapter 9 Recovery 535


Recovering data....................................................................................... 536
Recovery roadmap................................................................................... 536
Planning and preparing to recovering data................................................537
Gathering key information........................................................... 537
Prerequisites for recovering a NetWorker client or storage node 538
Downloading the NetWorker software and documentation..........538
Reinstalling the NetWorker storage node.................................... 538
Optional, resetting the autochanger............................................ 539
NetWorker recovery overview..................................................................539
Recovery types........................................................................................ 540
Directed recoveries..................................................................... 540
Local recoveries...........................................................................544
Recover programs.................................................................................... 544
Using the NetWorker User program............................................ 545
Using the NetWorker Recovery program.....................................545
Using the Recovery Wizard......................................................... 545
Using the recover command........................................................550
Scanner recovery......................................................................... 551
Recovering the data..................................................................................551
Determining the volume for recovering cloned data..................... 551
Recovering access control list files..............................................552

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Browsable recovery..................................................................... 553


Save set recovery........................................................................565
Using the scanner program to recover data.................................570
VSS File Level Recovery.............................................................. 572
Recovering deduplication data..................................................................572
vProxy recovery in NMC...........................................................................572
Entering management credentials for the Data Domain resource
(instant recovery and User mode file-level restore only)............. 573
File-level restore as an Active Directory user...............................574
Recovering a virtual machine using the NMC Recovery wizard....576
NMC function to collect vProxy log bundle information........................... 594
Recovering file system data on Windows................................................. 595
Recovering Windows volume mount points................................. 595
Recovering Windows DHCP and WINS databases....................... 595
Recovering DFS...........................................................................596
Recovering data on OS-X clients.............................................................. 597
Recovering files and directories from the command prompt........597
Recovering files and directories by using the NetWorker Recover
GUI.............................................................................................. 598
Recovering client files on a different NetWorker server........................... 604
Recovering as NMC User with Non-Admin Privileges ..............................606
Preparing the NMC Sever for Recovery................................................... 606
Creating an NMC Group for Recovery......................................... 607
Creating an NMC User with recovery privileges.......................... 607
Creating a NetWorker User Group for recovery.......................... 608
Recover the NMC Server database.......................................................... 608
Prepare for an NMC Server recovery.......................................... 609
Recovering the NMC Server........................................................609

Chapter 10 Special recoveries on Windows hosts 613


Special windows recoveries Restoring a Windows Domain Controller host....
614
Active Directory restore information............................................ 614
Selecting a restore method.......................................................... 614
Performing a non-authoritative AD restore on Windows Server
2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, and 2019.....615
Performing an authoritative AD restore on Windows Server 2008
R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, and 2019..............615
Performing a Windows BMR to physical or virtual computers................... 616
Prerequisites to performing a Windows BMR............................... 616
Gathering configuration information required by a Windows BMR....
616
Obtaining the Windows BMR image............................................. 616
Creating a Windows BMR bootable image.................................... 617
Perform the BMR.........................................................................618
Troubleshooting Windows BMR................................................... 627
Additional recovery options.......................................................... 631
Restart required after recovery operation................................... 632
Online recovery of Active Directory, DFSR, or Cluster services................632

Chapter 11 Reporting NetWorker Datazone Activities 635


Enterprise data reporting......................................................................... 636
Enabling or disabling the gathering of report data....................... 636
Data retention and expiration policies.......................................... 637

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Restricted report views............................................................... 638


Report categories........................................................................ 639
Legacy report categories.............................................................639
Report modes and types..............................................................640
Preconfigured reports..................................................................647
Customizing and displaying report output....................................673
Customizing and saving reports................................................... 676
Sharing a report........................................................................... 677
Command line reporting...............................................................678
Reporting policy status and backup job status..........................................679
Policy completion and failure notifications...................................680
Querying the job status................................................................ 681
Reporting recover job status.................................................................... 699
Using nsrrecomp..........................................................................700
Checkpoint-enabled backup reporting...................................................... 700
View the policy reports for checkpoint-enabled client backups... 700
Determine the status of a checkpoint-enabled backup................. 701
SNMP traps.............................................................................................. 701
Receive SNMP traps on Linux..................................................... 703
Receive SNMP traps on Windows............................................... 704
Configuring NetWorker SNMP notifications................................ 704
SNMP v2c trap support for NetWorker Modules..........................710
NetWorker Notifications............................................................................ 711
Preconfigured notifications...........................................................711
Customizing notifications............................................................. 716
Creating a custom notification.....................................................720
Editing a notification....................................................................720
Copying a notification.................................................................. 720
Deleting a custom notification...................................................... 721
Configuring owner notifications....................................................721
Logging event notifications..........................................................722
Breakthrough logging ..................................................................722
Front-end Capacity Estimation................................................................. 723
Configuring EMC Secure Remote Services (ESRS).....................723
Troubleshooting ESRS.................................................................725

Chapter 12 NetWorker Server Monitoring 727


Enterprise events monitoring....................................................................728
Polling interval for system events................................................ 728
Enabling or disabling event capture for a host............................. 729
Event viewing.............................................................................. 729
Dismissing an event...................................................................... 731
Monitoring NetWorker Server activities in the Administration window......731
About the Monitoring window...................................................... 732
Customizing the Monitoring window............................................734
Policies/Actions pane.................................................................. 735
Sessions window..........................................................................738
Alerts pane...................................................................................739
Devices pane................................................................................739
Operations window...................................................................... 740
Log window..................................................................................742
Recover window.......................................................................... 743
Monitoring changes to the NetWorker and NMC Server resources.......... 746
Disabling or enabling the Monitor RAP Attribute.......................... 747
Monitoring user access to the NMC server...............................................747

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Monitoring NetWorker server activities in the log files............................. 747

Chapter 13 NMC Server Management 749


Enterprise.................................................................................................750
Enterprise components................................................................750
Organizing NetWorker servers.................................................... 750
Viewing the enterprise..................................................................751
Managing various servers in the Enterprise.................................. 751
Managing folders in the enterprise...............................................753
Adding or deleting multiple servers by using a hostname file....... 755
Customizing the Console window and views............................................. 757
Using the NMC filters............................................................................... 758
Connecting to the NMC GUI using an ssh connection.............................. 760
Backing up the NetWorker environment................................................... 760
Configuring an NMC server database backup...............................761
Performing a manual backup of the NMC server database.......... 762
Using the NMC Configuration Wizard.......................................................762
NMC server authentication.......................................................................763
Configuring the NMC server to manage additional NetWorker
servers.........................................................................................763
Changing the NetWorker Authentication Service hostname and port
number........................................................................................ 764
Modifying user groups for new NetWorker Authentication Service
users............................................................................................766
Adding the NMC service account to the Users user group....................... 768
Enabling two factor authentication for AD and LDAP users...................... 769
Moving the NMC Server........................................................................... 770
Migrating NMC users to the authentication service database................... 771
Updating the NetWorker User Group resources for migrated NMC
users............................................................................................ 772
Resetting the administrator password...................................................... 773
Changing the service port used by the NMC database............................. 775
Changing the service port used by the NMC database on Linux.. 775
Changing the service port used by the NMC database on Windows..
776
Changing database connection credentials............................................... 777
Updating the NMC server IP address/hostname.......................................777
Setting system options to improve NMC server performance...................778
Individual User Authentication..................................................... 780
Displaying international fonts in non-US locale environments....................781
NetWorker License Manager.....................................................................781
Entering an enabler code.............................................................. 781
Deleting an enabler code.............................................................. 781
Entering an authorization code.................................................... 782
Changing the License Manager server......................................... 782
NMC error messages and corrective actions............................................ 782
Console troubleshooting notes and tips.................................................... 787
Troubleshooting an NMC server that is not responding............... 787
Unable to connect to host: Please check Security setting and
daemon logs on the NetWorker client and Console server for more
information.................................................................................. 788
Username/password validation fails when you use the NMC New
Device wizard to configure an AFTD if storage node is UNIX....... 789
Querying large numbers of save sets in the NetWorker user
interface may cause a Java heap space error...............................789

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NMC user interface exits unexpectedly....................................... 790


Label and Mount devices page is not displayed in NMC device
configuration wizard.................................................................... 790

Chapter 14 NetWorker Server Management 791


Setting up the server................................................................................ 792
License the NetWorker Server.....................................................792
Setting the Job inactivity timeout................................................792
Modifying the retention period for jobs in the jobs database........792
Viewing the migration log file....................................................................793
Hostname changes................................................................................... 793
Managing the NSR task resource for nsrclientfix .....................................794
Parallelism and multiplexing...................................................................... 795
Parallelism................................................................................... 795
Multiplexing................................................................................. 798
Managing server access........................................................................... 799
Resource databases ................................................................................ 800
Viewing resources in the resource database................................ 800
Repairing resource database corruption...................................... 800
Indexes......................................................................................................801
Characteristics of the online indexes............................................801
Automated index activities...........................................................802
Checking online indexes...............................................................802
Viewing information about the indexes........................................ 802
Index save sets............................................................................ 803
Querying the media database...................................................... 804
Cross-checking client file indexes................................................804
Refreshing index information.......................................................804
Client file index locations............................................................. 805
Managing the size of the online indexes...................................... 806
Internationalization................................................................................... 810
Log file viewer..............................................................................810
Display issues............................................................................... 810
Creating a Server Backup action................................................................811
Creating an expire action.......................................................................... 814

Chapter 15 NetWorker Host Management 817


Controlling access to a NetWorker client.................................................. 818
NetWorker host management................................................................... 818
Windows client interface.......................................................................... 820
Starting the NetWorker User program on Windows..................... 821
Toolbar buttons........................................................................... 822
Browse window........................................................................... 822
Connecting to a NetWorker server.............................................. 823
Editing a client NSRLA database.............................................................. 823

Chapter 16 Restricted Datazones 825


Restricted Datazones overview................................................................ 826
Administrators and users of RDZ.............................................................. 826
Using multiple instances of an RDZ..............................................827
Setting up the RDZ...................................................................................827
Setting up RDZ Users.................................................................. 828
Setting up an RDZ resource.........................................................829
Removing a resource association..............................................................833

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Backward compatibility............................................................................ 833

Chapter 17 Block Based Backup and Recovery 835


Overview.................................................................................................. 836
Supported operating systems and configurations........................ 837
Limitations................................................................................... 839
Block based backups................................................................................ 840
Devices for block based backups................................................. 840
Installing the lgtobbb package on Linux....................................... 840
Configuring block based backups................................................. 841
Performing block based backups................................................. 842
Verifying block based backups.....................................................845
Cloning block based backups....................................................... 845
Block based recoveries............................................................................. 845
Preparing for block based recoveries...........................................845
Performing block based recoveries..............................................846
Performing block based clone recoveries.....................................849
Troubleshooting block based backup and recovery issues........................ 852

Chapter 18 Networking and Connectivity 855


Name resolution and connectivity............................................................ 856
Troubleshooting name resolution and connectivity errors.........................857
Verifying basic connectivity.........................................................858
Verifying name resolution............................................................ 860
Verifying the NetWorker configuration........................................ 864
Using multihomed systems....................................................................... 865
Multihomed system requirements................................................865
Configuring multihomed hosts in a datazone............................... 866
NIC Teaming............................................................................................. 871
Using DHCP clients.................................................................................. 872
NetWorker TCP/IP keep-alive parameters .............................................. 872
Modifying the NetWorker TCP/IP parameters in Linux platform 873
Modifying the NetWorker TCP/IP parameters in Windows platform
.................................................................................................... 873

Chapter 19 Cloud Supportability 875


CloudBoost appliance as the back up target............................................. 876
Support for Azure Stack...........................................................................876
Cloud service provider support matrix for NetWorker...............................877

Chapter 20 Troubleshooting 879


Before you contact technical support.......................................................880
Determining the version of NetWorker software running on a client..
880
Displaying diagnostic mode attributes.......................................... 881
NetWorker log files................................................................................... 881
NetWorker Server log files........................................................... 881
NMC server log files.................................................................... 884
NetWorker Client log files............................................................885
View log files................................................................................888
Raw log file management.............................................................892
Configuring logging levels............................................................895
NetWorker Authentication Service logs....................................................904

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NetWorker Authentication Service log files................................. 904


NetWorker Authentication Service server log file management...905
CLI log file management.............................................................. 906
NetWorker functionality issues.................................................................907
Backup and recovery................................................................... 907
Backups fail to start when the daylight savings time change occurs..
910
Shut down NetWorker services prior to any significant changes to
system date................................................................................. 910
Clone ID timestamp does not reflect the time the clone was created
.....................................................................................................910
Memory usage when browsing large save sets............................. 910
Memory usage and nsrjobd.......................................................... 910
Media position errors encountered when auto media verify is
enabled......................................................................................... 911
The scanner program marks a volume read-only........................... 911
The scanner program requests an entry for record size................ 911
Limitations for groups containing a bootstrap............................... 911
Index recovery to a different location fails................................... 912
Illegal characters in configurations............................................... 912
Inaccessible object exception error when launching NMC with Java
9...................................................................................................912
Error backing up large number of clients...................................... 912
Hostname aliases..........................................................................913
Directory pathname restrictions................................................... 913
Backup of a new client defaults to level full..................................913
Non-full backup of Solaris files with modified extended attributes....
914
Client file index errors.................................................................. 914
Aborting a recovery......................................................................915
xdr of win32 attributes failed for directory...................................915
Cannot create directory directory................................................ 915
The All save set and duplicate drive serial numbers...................... 915
No disk label errors.......................................................................916
Resolving copy violation errors.....................................................916
Converting sparse files to fully allocated files...............................916
Backing up large sparse files.........................................................917
Queries using the mminfo -N command are case-sensitive...........917
Renamed directories and incremental backups.............................917
Resolving names for multiple network interface cards................. 918
Libraries entering ready state.......................................................918
Successful save sets listed as failed in the Group Backup Details
window.........................................................................................918
The NetWorker Server window does not appear on HP-UX......... 919
Backup fails with Win32 error 0x2................................................919
Error displaying workflow details..................................................919
Back up of All Save Sets takes a long time to complete..............920
GSS-API authentication error .....................................................920
NetWorker locale and code set support....................................................920
Enabling service mode for NetWorker.......................................................921
No privileges to view NetWorker server from NMC.................................. 921
Network and server communication errors................................................921
Unapproved server error..............................................................922
Unapproved server error during client setup................................922
Server copy violation................................................................... 922
Remote recover access rights..................................................... 922

14 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Contents

NetWorker server takes a long time to restart.............................923


Changing the NetWorker server address..................................... 923
Binding to server errors............................................................... 923
Identifying connection lost to device........................................... 924
Device Connectivity Check Configurations .................................925
New.Net and NetWorker software are incompatible....................927

Glossary 929

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 15


Contents

16 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


FIGURES

1 NetWorker components............................................................................................. 30
2 Stopping the NetWorker Remote Exec Service.......................................................... 39
3 NMC GUI window........................................................................................................41
4 Welcome to the NMC Server Configuration Wizard page........................................... 48
5 Set authentication server service account for the NMC Server page......................... 49
6 Specify a list of managed NetWorker servers page.................................................... 50
7 Administration window............................................................................................... 52
8 Monitoring window.....................................................................................................56
9 Recover window......................................................................................................... 63
10 Labeling a volume by using a label template................................................................76
11 Identifying WORM tapes in the NetWorker Console...................................................95
12 Example NetWorker disk backup configuration in a mixed backup environment........109
13 Paths for CIFS AFTD................................................................................................. 110
14 How library sharing works......................................................................................... 183
15 Dynamic Drive Sharing.............................................................................................. 186
16 Data Protection Policy..............................................................................................207
17 Platinum policy configuration................................................................................... 208
18 Data protection policy example................................................................................. 210
19 Workflow path from a traditional backup action........................................................ 217
20 Visual representation of a workflow.......................................................................... 234
21 Workflow path from a server database backup action.............................................. 239
22 Workflow path from an NMC server backup action.................................................. 239
23 Visual representation of the Server Protection workflows........................................239
24 Replication using AMS.............................................................................................. 241
25 Workflow path from a clone action........................................................................... 249
26 Visual representation of a clone workflow................................................................ 254
27 Example of a policy with separate workflows for backup and cloning....................... 255
28 Creating a new policy............................................................................................... 268
29 Policy properties...................................................................................................... 269
30 Workflow path from a snapshot backup action..........................................................271
31 Workflow path from a probe action........................................................................... 271
32 Workflow path from a server backup action..............................................................272
33 Workflow path from a check connectivity action...................................................... 272
34 Workflow path from a clone action........................................................................... 272
35 Workflow path from a discover action...................................................................... 272
36 Workflow path from a generate index action............................................................ 272
37 Workflow path from a VBA checkpoint discover action............................................ 273
38 Traditional backup workflow..................................................................................... 273
39 Incremental and cumulative incremental backup levels.............................................360
40 Synthetic full backups............................................................................................... 361
41 Default weekly backup schedule................................................................................371
42 Staggered weekly backup schedule for multiple groups of clients............................. 371
43 Default weekly schedule for a traditional backup action............................................373
44 The Force Backup Level attribute............................................................................. 375
45 VSS backup process..................................................................................................414
46 Paths for CIFS AFTD................................................................................................ 469
47 Cloning example....................................................................................................... 490
48 Overview of archive operation..................................................................................509
49 Volume Save Sets window........................................................................................524
50 Change Expiration window....................................................................................... 533
51 Recovery roadmap................................................................................................... 536
52 A directed recovery from a remote client ................................................................. 541
53 NSR Data Domain Properties....................................................................................573

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 17


Figures

54 Virtual machine recovery in the NMC Recovery wizard............................................ 577


55 Select the Virtual Machine to Recover..................................................................... 578
56 Select the Target Backup (individual virtual machine).............................................. 579
57 Select the Target Backup (multiple virtual machines)...............................................579
58 Select the Virtual Machine Recovery method........................................................... 579
59 Choose Disks to Revert.............................................................................................581
60 Select Alternate Recovery Sources.......................................................................... 582
61 Configure the Instant Recovery................................................................................583
62 Configure the virtual machine recovery....................................................................585
63 Configure the Virtual Disk Recovery.........................................................................586
64 Configure the Emergency Recovery......................................................................... 588
65 Select Alternate Recovery Sources for file level recovery........................................ 590
66 Mount the save set for file level recovery................................................................. 591
67 Select the files and folders to recover...................................................................... 592
68 Connect to Server ................................................................................................... 599
69 NetWorker Recover window.....................................................................................600
70 List of clients available for a NetWorker server......................................................... 601
71 Search browse view................................................................................................. 602
72 Versions side bar...................................................................................................... 603
73 Group Summary in table view....................................................................................641
74 Group Summary in Bar Chart view............................................................................642
75 Sample log output.....................................................................................................708
76 SNMP trap output.................................................................................................... 709
77 ESRS Properties....................................................................................................... 724
78 Monitoring window................................................................................................... 732
79 Recover window....................................................................................................... 744
80 NetWorker servers worldwide................................................................................... 751
81 Using filters to search and view policies................................................................... 758
82 Copying the group DN.............................................................................................. 767
83 Copying the group DN.............................................................................................. 767
84 Add Distinguished Names window............................................................................ 769
85 Hosts window............................................................................................................819
86 NetWorker User program.......................................................................................... 821
87 Example of the browse window................................................................................ 823
88 Restricted Data Zones in NMC................................................................................. 828
89 Restricted Datazone User Configuration.................................................................. 829
90 Create Restricted Data Zone in the NetWorker Administration Server window........ 830
91 Restricted Data Zone Client Properties .................................................................... 831
92 Restricted Data Zones in Device Properties window................................................. 831
93 Restricted Data Zones in Create Policy window....................................................... 832
94 New workflow associated with RDZ group............................................................... 832
95 Multihomed environment..........................................................................................868
96 Configuring the Aliases attribute for NetWorker Server Client resource.................. 869
97 Configuring the Aliases attribute for NetWorker Storage Node Client resource....... 869
98 Storage Nodes attribute for clients in VLAN1........................................................... 870
99 Aliases and Server network interface attributes for VLAN1 clients........................... 870
100 Storage Nodes attribute for clients in VLAN2............................................................871
101 Aliases and Server network interface attributes for VLAN2 clients........................... 871
102 Azure stack backup and disaster recovery................................................................ 876
103 WinPE registry key to troubleshoot recoveries.........................................................903
104 Settings on Server CLI............................................................................................. 925
105 Settings on Storage Node CLI.................................................................................. 926
106 NMC Server settings................................................................................................926
107 NMC Storage Node Settings.................................................................................... 926

18 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


TABLES

1 Revision history.......................................................................................................... 23
2 Style conventions....................................................................................................... 25
3 NetWorker Server processes......................................................................................33
4 NetWorker Storage Node processes.......................................................................... 35
5 NMC Server processes...............................................................................................36
6 NetWorker startup commands ...................................................................................40
7 Windows opened from the NMC GUI..........................................................................42
8 Supported operations in the NetWorker Management Web UI................................... 43
9 Windows that are launched from the Administration window..................................... 52
10 Monitoring window panel ........................................................................................... 57
11 Alerts window icons....................................................................................................58
12 Devices status icons .................................................................................................. 59
13 Operations window icons............................................................................................60
14 Icons in the Log pane..................................................................................................62
15 Recovery toolbar options ...........................................................................................63
16 Save recover configuration job status........................................................................ 64
17 Find options................................................................................................................65
18 Key label template attributes...................................................................................... 77
19 Examples of number sequences for volume labels...................................................... 79
20 Using label template components............................................................................... 79
21 Preconfigured media pools......................................................................................... 83
22 Determining which pool receives backup data............................................................ 86
23 NetWorker hierarchy for resolving media pool conflicts ............................................ 89
24 WORM supported devices ......................................................................................... 93
25 WORM/DLTWORM attributes .................................................................................. 95
26 Differences between disk devices ..............................................................................111
27 Default values and ranges for target and max sessions attributes ............................. 113
28 Determining the major number value......................................................................... 133
29 ioscan output when driver is configured.................................................................... 133
30 ioscan output when driver is not configured..............................................................134
31 Tape alert severity.................................................................................................... 162
32 Common jbedit options............................................................................................. 164
33 Device settings and environment variables ............................................................... 170
34 StorageTek environment variables ............................................................................177
35 Library resource sleep attributes .............................................................................. 183
36 Shared Devices attributes......................................................................................... 189
37 Schedule icons.......................................................................................................... 218
38 Schedule icons.......................................................................................................... 221
39 Schedule icons......................................................................................................... 225
40 Schedule icons......................................................................................................... 230
41 nsrcloneconfig file details.......................................................................................... 241
42 Save set criteria........................................................................................................244
43 Schedule icons......................................................................................................... 250
44 Schedule icons......................................................................................................... 258
45 Policy status icons....................................................................................................263
46 Methods to create an action..................................................................................... 281
47 Methods to open the Policy Action wizard............................................................... 282
48 Command descriptions............................................................................................. 284
49 Commands to manage NSR Protection Policy resources..........................................285
50 Commands to manage NSR Protection Policy Workflow resources..........................285
51 Commands to manage NSR Protection Policy Action resources...............................286
52 Filter values for clone and index actions................................................................... 289
53 Resource overview................................................................................................... 354

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 19


Tables

54 Data in the ALL save set .......................................................................................... 355


55 File systems excluded from the ALL save set........................................................... 356
56 Special ALL save sets .............................................................................................. 357
57 Backup levels ...........................................................................................................358
58 Advantages and disadvantages of backup levels ......................................................358
59 mminfo commands for synthetic full backup validation ............................................366
60 Comparison of traditional synthetic full and virtual synthetic full backups................ 367
61 Requirements for virtual synthetic full backups........................................................ 367
62 mminfo commands for VSF backup validation ..........................................................370
63 Scheduled backup level icons....................................................................................373
64 Preconfigured NetWorker schedules ....................................................................... 375
65 Log files for PSS troubleshooting............................................................................. 386
66 Supported wildcards in directives..............................................................................391
67 Preconfigured directives.......................................................................................... 394
68 Backup considerations for Windows features........................................................... 403
69 VSS Save operation attribute values ........................................................................ 418
70 DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ components in an incremental backup.............................422
71 Save set configuration for a specific host ................................................................430
72 Special ALL save sets .............................................................................................. 443
73 File systems excluded from the ALL save set............................................................449
74 Special ALL save sets .............................................................................................. 450
75 NetWorker software requirements for checkpoint restart........................................458
76 Example backup script on Windows...........................................................................471
77 NetWorker Server Versions...................................................................................... 473
78 Job control attribute selections................................................................................ 474
79 List of nsrclone options and their descriptions......................................................... 500
80 Staging criteria options............................................................................................ 503
81 Disk volumes window................................................................................................ 518
82 Volume details.......................................................................................................... 520
83 Save Set details........................................................................................................522
84 Query criteria........................................................................................................... 525
85 Save set search results view.....................................................................................527
86 Query criteria............................................................................................................527
87 VBA save set search results window.........................................................................528
88 General recover requirements .................................................................................. 541
89 Volume selection by recovery method.......................................................................551
90 Query criteria........................................................................................................... 554
91 Save set status.........................................................................................................556
92 Optional browsable recovery options .......................................................................560
93 Save set information................................................................................................ 563
94 Optional save set recovery options ..........................................................................566
95 Save set information................................................................................................ 569
96 Additional recovery options....................................................................................... 631
97 Data retention policies.............................................................................................. 637
98 Report categories .................................................................................................... 639
99 Legacy report categories .........................................................................................639
100 Report icons............................................................................................................. 640
101 Report chart formats................................................................................................644
102 NetWorker recovery statistics parameters ...............................................................661
103 Event parameters .................................................................................................... 664
104 Host reports ............................................................................................................ 665
105 NetWorker backup statistics parameters .................................................................666
106 NetWorker backup status parameters ..................................................................... 669
107 Clone report parameters .......................................................................................... 671
108 Date and time input formats for common locales......................................................675
109 Workflow-specific job record attributes................................................................... 685

20 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Tables

110 Action job record attributes......................................................................................688


111 Job details for a Workflow ....................................................................................... 696
112 Job details for a Workflow continued........................................................................697
113 SNMP attributes and descriptions............................................................................ 702
114 Command-line options for nsrtrap ........................................................................... 705
115 Preconfigured notifications .......................................................................................711
116 Actions ..................................................................................................................... 717
117 Priorities ...................................................................................................................719
118 Event Viewer messages ........................................................................................... 722
119 ESRS fields and descriptions.................................................................................... 724
120 NMC event information............................................................................................ 729
121 Event priorities ........................................................................................................ 730
122 Monitoring window panel ......................................................................................... 733
123 Policy status icons.................................................................................................... 735
124 Alerts window icons.................................................................................................. 739
125 Devices status icons ................................................................................................ 740
126 Operations window icons...........................................................................................741
127 Icons in the Log pane................................................................................................ 742
128 Recovery toolbar options ......................................................................................... 744
129 Save recover configuration job status.......................................................................745
130 Find options.............................................................................................................. 746
131 Viewing the enterprise...............................................................................................751
132 NMC windows with filtering capability......................................................................758
133 NMC server system options .....................................................................................778
134 Error messages or symptoms ...................................................................................782
135 Indexes window information..................................................................................... 802
136 Index save sets dialog box information..................................................................... 803
137 Schedule icons for the expire action ........................................................................ 815
138 When to modify the servers file................................................................................ 818
139 Summary pane.......................................................................................................... 819
140 NetWorker User Groups requirements...................................................................... 821
141 NetWorker User toolbar functions ........................................................................... 822
142 Supported backup and recovery scenarios............................................................... 837
143 Key options for the block based recover.exe command............................................ 849
144 Troubleshooting block based backup and recovery issues........................................ 852
145 Configuring multihomed hosts in NetWorker (continued).........................................866
146 TCP/IP parameters.................................................................................................. 872
147 Cloud service provider support matrix...................................................................... 877
148 NetWorker Server log files........................................................................................ 881
149 NMC server log files................................................................................................. 884
150 Client log files...........................................................................................................885
151 Message types ........................................................................................................ 890
152 Raw log file attributes that manage log file size........................................................892
153 Raw log file attributes that manage the log file trimming mechanism....................... 893
154 NetWorker Authentication Service log files.............................................................. 904
155 NetWorker Startup commands................................................................................. 924
156 Enabling and Disabling DCC based on Server and Storage node settings................. 926

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 21


Tables

22 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Preface

As part of an effort to improve product lines, periodic revisions of software and


hardware are released. Therefore, all versions of the software or hardware currently in
use might not support some functions that are described in this document. The
product release notes provide the most up-to-date information on product features.
If a product does not function correctly or does not function as described in this
document, contact a technical support professional.
Note: This document was accurate at publication time. To ensure that you are
using the latest version of this document, go to the Support website https://
www.dell.com/support.
Purpose
This document describes how to configure and use NetWorker.
Audience
This guide is part of the NetWorker documentation set, and is intended for use by
system administrators who are responsible for setting up and maintaining backups on
a network. Operators who monitor daily backups will also find this guide useful.
Revision history
The following table presents the revision history of this document.

Table 1 Revision history

Revision Date Description


02 June 12, 2019 Technical errors were fixed.

01 May 20, 2019 First release of the document for NetWorker 19.1.

Related documentation
The NetWorker documentation set includes the following publications, available on the
Support website:
l NetWorker E-LAB Navigator
Provides compatibility information, including specific software and hardware
configurations that NetWorker supports. To access E-LAB Navigator, go to
https://elabnavigator.emc.com/eln/elnhome.
l NetWorker Administration Guide
Describes how to configure and maintain the NetWorker software.
l NetWorker Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) User Guide
Describes how to use the NetWorker software to provide data protection for
NDMP filers.
l NetWorker Cluster Integration Guide
Contains information related to configuring NetWorker software on cluster servers
and clients.
l NetWorker Installation Guide

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 23


Preface

Provides information on how to install, uninstall, and update the NetWorker


software for clients, storage nodes, and servers on all supported operating
systems.
l NetWorker Updating from a Previous Release Guide
Describes how to update the NetWorker software from a previously installed
release.
l NetWorker Release Notes
Contains information on new features and changes, fixed problems, known
limitations, environment and system requirements for the latest NetWorker
software release.
l NetWorker Command Reference Guide
Provides reference information for NetWorker commands and options.
l NetWorker Data Domain Boost Integration Guide
Provides planning and configuration information on the use of Data Domain
devices for data deduplication backup and storage in a NetWorker environment.
l NetWorker Performance Optimization Planning Guide
Contains basic performance tuning information for NetWorker.
l NetWorker Server Disaster Recovery and Availability Best Practices Guide
Describes how to design, plan for, and perform a step-by-step NetWorker disaster
recovery.
l NetWorker Snapshot Management Integration Guide
Describes the ability to catalog and manage snapshot copies of production data
that are created by using mirror technologies on storage arrays.
l NetWorkerSnapshot Management for NAS Devices Integration Guide
Describes how to catalog and manage snapshot copies of production data that are
created by using replication technologies on NAS devices.
l NetWorker Security Configuration Guide
Provides an overview of security configuration settings available in NetWorker,
secure deployment, and physical security controls needed to ensure the secure
operation of the product.
l NetWorker VMware Integration Guide
Provides planning and configuration information on the use of VMware in a
NetWorker environment.
l NetWorker Error Message Guide
Provides information on common NetWorker error messages.
l NetWorker Licensing Guide
Provides information about licensing NetWorker products and features.
l NetWorker REST API Getting Started Guide
Describes how to configure and use the NetWorker REST API to create
programmatic interfaces to the NetWorker server.
l NetWorker REST API Reference Guide
Provides the NetWorker REST API specification used to create programmatic
interfaces to the NetWorker server.
l NetWorker 19.1 with CloudBoost 19.1 Integration Guide
Describes the integration of NetWorker with CloudBoost.
l NetWorker 19.1 with CloudBoost 19.1 Security Configuration Guide
Provides an overview of security configuration settings available in NetWorker and
Cloud Boost, secure deployment, and physical security controls needed to ensure
the secure operation of the product.

24 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Preface

l NetWorker Management Console Online Help


Describes the day-to-day administration tasks performed in the NetWorker
Management Console and the NetWorker Administration window. To view the
online help, click Help in the main menu.
l NetWorker User Online Help
Describes how to use the NetWorker User program, which is the Windows client
interface, to connect to a NetWorker server to back up, recover, archive, and
retrieve files over a network.
Special notice conventions that are used in this document
The following conventions are used for special notices:
NOTICE Identifies content that warns of potential business or data loss.

Note: Contains information that is incidental, but not essential, to the topic.

Typographical conventions
The following type style conventions are used in this document:

Table 2 Style conventions

Bold Used for interface elements that a user specifically selects or clicks,
for example, names of buttons, fields, tab names, and menu paths.
Also used for the name of a dialog box, page, pane, screen area with
title, table label, and window.

Italic Used for full titles of publications that are referenced in text.
Monospace Used for:
l System code
l System output, such as an error message or script
l Pathnames, file names, file name extensions, prompts, and
syntax
l Commands and options

Monospace italic Used for variables.


Monospace bold Used for user input.

[] Square brackets enclose optional values.

| Vertical line indicates alternate selections. The vertical line means or


for the alternate selections.

{} Braces enclose content that the user must specify, such as x, y, or z.

... Ellipses indicate non-essential information that is omitted from the


example.

You can use the following resources to find more information about this product,
obtain support, and provide feedback.
Where to find product documentation
l https://www.dell.com/support
l https://community.emc.com

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 25


Preface

Where to get support


The Support website https://www.dell.com/support provides access to product
licensing, documentation, advisories, downloads, and how-to and troubleshooting
information. The information can enable you to resolve a product issue before you
contact Support.
To access a product-specific page:
1. Go to https://www.dell.com/support.
2. In the search box, type a product name, and then from the list that appears, select
the product.
Knowledgebase
The Knowledgebase contains applicable solutions that you can search for either by
solution number (for example, KB000xxxxxx) or by keyword.
To search the Knowledgebase:
1. Go to https://www.dell.com/support.
2. On the Support tab, click Knowledge Base.
3. In the search box, type either the solution number or keywords. Optionally, you
can limit the search to specific products by typing a product name in the search
box, and then selecting the product from the list that appears.
Live chat
To participate in a live interactive chat with a support agent:
1. Go to https://www.dell.com/support.
2. On the Support tab, click Contact Support.
3. On the Contact Information page, click the relevant support, and then proceed.
Service requests
To obtain in-depth help from Licensing, submit a service request. To submit a service
request:
1. Go to https://www.dell.com/support.
2. On the Support tab, click Service Requests.
Note: To create a service request, you must have a valid support agreement. For
details about either an account or obtaining a valid support agreement, contact a
sales representative. To get the details of a service request, in the Service
Request Number field, type the service request number, and then click the right
arrow.
To review an open service request:
1. Go to https://www.dell.com/support.
2. On the Support tab, click Service Requests.
3. On the Service Requests page, under Manage Your Service Requests, click
View All Dell Service Requests.
Online communities
For peer contacts, conversations, and content on product support and solutions, go to
the Community Network https://community.emc.com. Interactively engage with
customers, partners, and certified professionals online.

26 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Preface

How to provide feedback


Feedback helps to improve the accuracy, organization, and overall quality of
publications. You can send feedback to DPAD.Doc.Feedback@emc.com.

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 27


Preface

28 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


CHAPTER 1
Overview

This chapter contains the following topics:

l The NetWorker environment..............................................................................30


l NetWorker services........................................................................................... 32
l NetWorker user interfaces..................................................................................41

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 29


Overview

The NetWorker environment


The NetWorker® environment provides the ability to protect an enterprise against
data loss. As the enterprise grows, so does the complexity and importance of
protecting data. The NetWorker software provides the power and flexibility to meet
these challenges.
The NetWorker software is a cross-platform, client/server application that provides
the ability to remotely manage all NetWorker Servers from a web-enabled, graphical
interface.

NetWorker Components
Several components make up the NetWorker environment and provide the ability to
protect against data loss.
The following figure illustrates the main components in a NetWorker environment.
Figure 1 NetWorker components

NMC Server
The NetWorker Management Console (NMC) server or Console server is a Java-based
application and database server. The NMC Server manages all NetWorker Servers and

30 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Overview

Clients. The NMC Server provides reporting and monitoring capabilities for all
NetWorker Servers and Clients in the environment. The NMC Server relies on the
NetWorker Authentication Service for user account authentication.

Datazone
A NetWorker datazone is composed of a single NetWorker Server, its clients, and
storage nodes. You can add additional datazones as backup requirements increase.

NetWorker Authentication Service


The NetWorker Authentication Service provides centralized token-based
authentication to components in a NetWorker 19.1 environment. You can configure the
NetWorker Authentication Service to use a local user database or external identity
providers (LDAP, LDAPS, and AD) for authentication.

NetWorker Server
The NetWorker Server is a collection of processes and programs that are installed on
a host that performs NetWorker services. The NetWorker Server also acts as a
storage node and can control multiple remote storage nodes.

NetWorker client
A NetWorker client is a physical or virtual computer on which you install the
NetWorker client software on. The NetWorker client computer can be any computer
in a datazone that contains data you want to back up. The NMC server, NetWorker
server, and NetWorker storage node hosts are also NetWorker clients.

NetWorker client resource overview


A NetWorker client resource defines the data that you want to back up on a host. You
can create multiple client resources for a NetWorker host, and each resource defines
a different dataset.
The NetWorker client software is available for a variety of operating system platforms.
Any NetWorker server can backup a NetWorker client, regardless of the platform the
client resides on. For example, you can back up a NetWorker client on a Microsoft
Windows computer to a NetWorker server on a Linux computer.

NetWorker Storage Node


NetWorker can back up data to local devices on a NetWorker Server or remote
devices on a storage node. A storage node controls storage devices such as tape
drives, disk devices, autochangers, and silos.
The NetWorker Server is a local storage node. Use a remote storage node to offload
most of the data movement in a backup or a recovery operation from the NetWorker
Server. A remote storage node improves performance, but it requires high I/O
bandwidth to manage data transfer from local clients or network clients to target
devices. The operating system of a remote storage node can differ from the
NetWorker Server.

NetWorker REST API


The NetWorker REST API is an interface that allows customer to access the
NetWorker data protection service and to build client applications that automate
NetWorker operations. The NetWorker REST API Getting Started Guide describes how

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 31


Overview

to use NetWorker REST API, and the NetWorker REST API Reference Guide provides a
full description of the API resources.

Dell EMC Licensing Solution


NetWorker 9.0.x and later servers use the Dell EMC Licensing Solution.
The Dell EMC Licensing Solution is a licensing standard that stores all licensing
information for the environment in one license file, which is stored on both the
NetWorker server and, if using a served license, the License Server.
All new installations of NetWorker use the Dell EMC Licensing Solution. The chapter
"Dell EMC Licensing Solution" in the NetWorker Licensing Guide provides information
on how to implement the Dell EMC Licensing Solution for new and upgraded
installations of the NetWorker software. The "Dell EMC Licensing Solution" chapter
also describes the Dell EMC Licensing Server and the use of the license file.

Restricted datazones
Restricted datazones provide NetWorker administrators with the ability to organize a
NetWorker environment into a multi-tenancy configuration.
In a multi-tenancy configuration, each restricted datazone contains one NetWorker
server and other associated NetWorker resources. Global administrators oversee the
setup and management of several restricted data zones and assign tenant
administrators with access to a restricted datazone. A tenant administrator can only
manage NetWorker resources within an assigned restricted datazone.

Deduplication storage systems


The NetWorker software supports backup data deduplication on Data Domain®
storage systems.
The NetWorker Data Domain Boost Integration Guide provides detailed information
about setting up DD Boost deduplication devices to work with NetWorker.

Virtual environments
The NetWorker Vmware Integration Guide provides more information on the virtual
environment solutions from Networker.

NetWorker services
The main services and programs for the NetWorker Server are the NetWorker Storage
Node, NetWorker Client, and the NetWorker Management Console (NMC) server.
This section includes information on the NetWorker services, and how to start and
stop the services.
For more information about:
l Main NetWorker services—The NetWorker Command Reference Guide or the UNIX
man pages provides more information.
l Service port requirements when configuring a firewall—The NetWorker Security
Configuration Guide provides more information.

32 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Overview

Processes on NetWorker hosts


Each NetWorker host requires processes to provide configuration and management
support of the NetWorker software.
NetWorker Authentication Service
To support the NetWorker Authentication Service feature, one or more tomcat
processes start on the NetWorker Server. The tomcat process provides the
authentication service with a database server instance, which enables the
authentication service to manage tokens and supports user database management.
NetWorker REST API
The NetWorker REST API service is deployed in the same Apache Tomcat container
as NetWorker Authentication Service. The NetWorker REST API uses the same set of
Tomcat processes to deliver its service.
NetWorker Client
The nsrexecd process runs on a NetWorker Client. This process authenticates and
manages NetWorker Server remote execution requests and starts the save and
savefs processes on the client to support backup requests.
NetWorker Server
The following table summarizes the processes that support the NetWorker Server
software.

Table 3 NetWorker Server processes

Process Function
nsrctld The top-level NetWorker Server process that
monitors, stops, and starts all NetWorker
Server processes.

nsrd l NetWorker save and recovery daemon.


l The master service that controls other
services on the NetWorker Server,
clients, and storage nodes.
l Monitors active save or recover program
sessions.
l In response to a recover session, nsrd
spawns an agent process, ansrd.

nsrmmdbd l NetWorker save and recover media


management database service daemon.
l Provides media database management
services to the local nsrd and nsrmmd
services and records entries in the media
database.

nsrjobd Monitors NetWorker activity during a backup


or recovery operation.

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 33


Overview

Table 3 NetWorker Server processes (continued)

Process Function
nsrindexd
Provides an indexing service to read, write,
and remove index entries.

The nsrd service starts one nsrindexd


process on the NetWorker server. The
nsrindexd process spawns an additional
helper
nsrindexd process for each index session.
NetWorker uses index sessions to read, write,
or delete index entries, for example, when
NetWorker saves an index, or when a user
performs a file-level or browsable recover.
When the read or write operation completes,
the helper nsrindexd process closes.

nsrmmgd l Manages tape library operations.


l Provides an RPC-based service that
manages all jukebox operations on behalf
of the nsrd service.
l The nsrd service starts only one instance
of nsrmmgd on the NetWorker Server as
needed.

nsrlogd Supports the NetWorker audit log service,


which is configured to run on the NetWorker
Server by default.

nsrcpd l Starts automatically when a user


accesses the Hosts Task window in the
NetWorker Administration interface.
l Allows users to distribute and upgrade
NetWorker and module software from a
centralized software repository across a
network.

nsrdispd Handles RPC-based calls for the nsrd


process, from remote third party processes.

nsrdisp_nwbg Started by nsrdispd to handle NMC Server


requests for information from the RAP and
media databases on the NetWorker Server.

nsrlmc l Supports licensing requests.


l For the traditional licensing model,
nsrlmc requests a license from the
lgtolmd process.
l For the CLP/ELMS licensing model,
nsrlmc requests capacity and update
licenses from the ELMS server.

34 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Overview

Table 3 NetWorker Server processes (continued)

Process Function
nsrvmwsd Provides a web service to manage VMware
VM backups that are part of the NetWorker
VMware protection feature.

tomcat7 (Windows), tomcat (UNIX) Tomcat web server instance for the
NetWorker Authentication Service.

nsrexecd Authenticates and processes the NetWorker


Server remote execution requests and runs
the save and savefs programs on the client.

NetWorker Storage Node


The following table summarizes the services that support the NetWorker Storage
Node software.

Table 4 NetWorker Storage Node processes

Process Function
nsrmmd l Provides device support, generates
mount requests, multiplexes save set data
during a multi client backup, and de-
multiplexes recover data. It writes the
data sent by save to storage media.
l Forwards storage information to the
nsrmmdbd process on the NetWorker
Server, which the NetWorker Server adds
to the media database.

nsrsnmd l Provides an RPC-based service to


manage all the device operations that the
nsrmmd process handles on behalf of the
nsrd process on the NetWorker Server.
l Ensures that the necessary device
operations are actually performed when
needed by nsrd.
l Automatically run by nsrd as required.
l Only one nsrsnmd runs on each storage
node that has configured and enabled
devices.

nsrlcpd l Provides a uniform library interface to the


NetWorker media management daemon,
nsrmmgd.
l Manages the library subsystem media,
slot, drive, and port resources providing
control to move and access the resources
within the library subsystems.

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 35


Overview

Table 4 NetWorker Storage Node processes (continued)

Process Function

l One nsrlcpd starts for each configured


tape library.

nsrexecd Authenticates and processes the NetWorker


Server remote execution requests and runs
the save and savefs programs on the client.

NMC Server
The following table summarizes the processes that support the NMC Server software.

Table 5 NMC Server processes

Process Function
nsrexecd Authenticates and processes the NetWorker Server remote
execution requests and runs the save and savefs programs
on the client.

gstd Known as the Generic Services Toolkit (GST), controls other


services that are provided by the NMC Server.

httpd Starts the NMC Console GUI on the client through a web
browser.

postgres A database server that manages information pertaining to


NMC Server management. For example, Console reports.

gstsnmptrapd l Monitors SNMP Traps on a managed Data Domain


system.
l Provides the ability to report SNMP Trap events in the
NMC Events task.
l Started only when SNMP Trap monitoring is configured
for the Data Domain system.

Stop and start the NMC Server


To complete some tasks in the NetWorker software, first stop the NetWorker Console
service and then start the NetWorker Console service.

Stopping the NMC Server on Windows


Perform the following steps as a Windows administrator to stop the NMC Server
service, which also stops the postgres and httpd processes.
Procedure
1. Right-click My Computer, and then select Manage.
2. Expand Services and Applications, and then select Services.
3. Right-click EMC GST Service and select Stop.

36 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Overview

Note: The EMC GST Service stops the EMC GST Database Service and the
EMC GST Web Service.

Starting the NMC Server on Windows


Perform the following steps as a Windows administrator to start the NMC Server
service, which also starts the postgres and httpd processes.
Procedure
1. Right-click My Computer, and then select Manage.
2. Expand Services and Applications, and then select Services.
3. Verify that the NetWorker Client service is running.
The NetWorker Remote Exec Service should have a status of Started. If the
service has not started:

a. Right-click NetWorker Remote Exec Service.


b. Select Start.
4. Right-click EMC GST Service, then select Start.
Note: The EMC GST Service starts the EMC GST Database Service and the
EMC GST Web Service.

Stopping the NMC Server on Linux


Perform the following steps as root on the NMC Server to stop the NMC Server
process, which also stops the postgres and httpd processes.
Procedure
1. To stop the NMC Server processes:
a. On sysVinit enabled Linux machines, type /etc/init.d/gst stop
b. On systemd enabled Linux machines, type systemctl stop gst
2. To confirm that the gstd, httpd, and postgres process are not running, type
ps -ef | grep lgtonmc

Starting the NMC Server processes on Linux


Perform the following steps as root on the NMC Server to start the NMC process,
which also starts the postgres and httpd processes.
Procedure
1. To verify that the NetWorker Client process, nsrexecd is running, type ps -
ef | grep /usr/sbin/nsr .

When the client process is running, a message similar to the following appears:
root 240 1 0 ? 0:04 /usr/sbin/nsrexecd -s mysrvr
If nsrexecd is not running, type /etc/init.d/networker start to start the
process.

2. To start the NMC Server daemon, postgres, and httpd processes.,


type /etc/init.d/gst start
3. To confirm that the gstd, postgres, and httpd processes have started, type
ps -ef | grep lgtonmc

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 37


Overview

When the processes have started, output similar to the following appears:
nsrnmc 7190 1 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:06 /opt/lgtonmc/bin/gstd
nsrnmc 7196 1 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 /opt/lgtonmc/apache/bin/
httpd -f /opt/lgtonmc/apache/conf/httpd.conf
nsrnmc 7197 7196 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 /opt/lgtonmc/
apache/bin/httpd -f /opt/lgtonmc/apache/conf/httpd.conf
nsrnmc 7212 1 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 /opt/lgtonmc/
postgres/bin/postgres -D /nsr/nmc/nmcdb/pgdata
root 18176 18141 0 02:47 pts/0 00:00:00 grep lgtonmc

Stop and start a NetWorker Server, Client, or Storage Node


This section describes how to manually stop and start the services for a NetWorker
Server, client, or storage node. Attributes exist that allow you to configure a
NetWorker Server to not accept any new backup or recover sessions in preparation of
a NetWorker daemon shutdown or server restart.
NetWorker Security Configuration Guide provides more information around how to
prevent the NetWorker Server from accepting new backup and recover sessions.

Stopping a NetWorker host on Windows


Perform the following steps as a Windows administrator to stop the services on a
NetWorker Server, Storage Node, and Client.
Procedure
1. Right-click My Computer, and then select Manage.
2. Expand Services and Applications, and then select Services.
3. Right-click NetWorker Remote Exec Service, and then select Stop.
Note: On a NetWorker Server, the NetWorker Remote Exec Service stops
the NetWorker Backup and Recovery and the NetWorker Message
Queue Adaptor services. On an NMC Server, the NetWorker Remote
Exec Service also stops the EMC GST Service.
The following figure shows how to stop the NetWorker Remote Exec Service
service.

38 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Overview

Figure 2 Stopping the NetWorker Remote Exec Service

Starting a NetWorker host on Windows


Perform the following steps as a Windows administrator to start the services on a
NetWorker server, storage node, and client.
Procedure
1. Right-click My Computer, and then select Manage.
2. Expand Services and Applications, and then select Services.
3. Start the appropriate service:
l NetWorker server: Right-click the NetWorker Backup and Recover Server
service and select Start.
Note: The NetWorker Backup and Recover Server service also starts the
NetWorker Remote Exec Service and the NetWorker Message Queue
Adaptor service.
l NetWorker client or storage node: Right-click the NetWorker Remote Exec
Service and select Start.

Stopping a NetWorker host on UNIX


Perform the following steps as the root user to stop the NetWorker processes on a
NetWorker server, storage node, or client.
Procedure
1. To stop the NetWorker processes:
a. On sysVinit enabled Linux machines, type /etc/init.d/networker stop
b. On systemd enabled Linux machines, type systemctl stop networker
2. To confirm that the NetWorker processes are not running, type the following
command from a prompt:
ps -ef | grep /usr/sbin/nsr

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 39


Overview

Starting a NetWorker host on UNIX


Perform the following steps as the root user to start the NetWorker processes on a
NetWorker server, storage node, or client.
Procedure
1. Type the appropriate startup command for the operating system, as
summarized in the following table.

Table 6 NetWorker startup commands

Operating system Startup command


Solaris, Linux /etc/init.d/networker start
For systemd enabled Linux machines -
systemctl start networker

HP-UX /sbin/init.d/networker start

AIX /etc/rc.nsr

2. Type /etc/init.d/networker status to confirm that the NetWorker


processes that are appropriate to the NetWorker installation type have started.
Processes on NetWorker hosts on page 33 provides more information.

Stopping the NetWorker processes on Mac OS X


Perform the following steps as a Mac Administrator to stop the NetWorker processes
on a Mac OS X host.
Procedure
1. Open the Mac OS-X Terminal application utility.
2. To stop the NetWorker processes, type the following command:
sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/
com.xyz.NetWorker.plist
Note: The launchd daemon/agent manager controls the NetWorker
processes, and NetWorker configures the processes to run continuously on
the host in the background. It is not recommended that you manually stop
and start NetWorker processes under normal operating conditions.

Starting the NetWorker process on Mac OS X


Perform the following steps as a Mac Administrator to start the NetWorker processes
on a Mac OS X host.
Procedure
1. Open the Mac OS X Terminal application utility.
2. Type launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/
com.emc.NetWorker.plist to start the NetWorker client process.

40 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Overview

NetWorker user interfaces


The NetWorker application consists of several user interfaces that provide the ability
to configure and use NetWorker features and functionality.

NMC user interface


The NMC server uses httpd to provide administrators with a graphical user interface
to connect to an NMC server and managed NetWorker servers. The NMC UI can be
accessed from any computer in the environment with a supported web browser and
Java Runtime Environment (JRE).
The NetWorker Installation Guide provides more information about the web browser
and JRE requirements for a host that runs the NMC UI. Multiple users can use
different browser sessions on different hosts to access the NMC UI simultaneously.

NMC GUI
Use the NMC GUI to manage an NMC server and NetWorker servers.
The following figure illustrates the NMC GUI.
Figure 3 NMC GUI window

The NMC window is the first point of access for NMC and NetWorker tasks. The
following table lists the task-based windows that can be opened from the NMC
window taskbar.

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 41


Overview

Table 7 Windows opened from the NMC GUI

Button Window Description


Enterprise Select a NetWorker server to
manage and monitor the
server and its backup clients.
The Enterprise window
provides the ability to open
the Administration window
for a NetWorker server.

Reports Configure and view NMC


reports.

Setup Control administrative


functions:
l User management —
Add, edit, and delete
NMC user accounts,
restrict user views of
servers. The NetWorker
Security Configuration
Guide provides
information about user
management.
l License management —
Manage NetWorker
licenses. The NetWorker
Licensing Guide provides
information about license
management.

NetWorker Administration window


The NetWorker Administration window provides you with the ability to manage and
configure NetWorker server resources in a GUI. The NMC UI provides you with the
ability to open up a NetWorker Administration window for each managed NetWorker
server.

NetWorker client interface


Manual back up, recovery, and archive operations can be performed from a client.
Manual operations are not scheduled. They are client-initiated tasks that are
performed when a user wants to back up, recover, or archive one or more files on the
NetWorker host immediately. You can schedule backup, recovery, and archive
operations in the NMC GUI.
On Windows hosts only, you can use the NetWorker User GUI to perform manual back
up, recovery, and archive operations.
On UNIX and Windows hosts, you can use command line utilities to perform manual
operations:

42 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Overview

l Use the save command to perform a manual backup.


l Use the recover command to perform a manual recovery.
l Use the nsarchive command to perform a manual archive.
The NetWorker Command Reference Guide or the UNIX man pages provide more
information about these commands.

NetWorker character-based interface


Use the NetWorker character-based interface (nsradmin) to perform configuration
and management tasks in the NetWorker server resource database (resdb) and the
NetWorker client resource database (nsrexec).
You can start the nsradmin interface by typing this command:

nsradmin

For more information about nsradmin, the NetWorker Command Reference Guide or
the UNIX man pages provides more information.

NetWorker command-line interface


Perform client and server tasks by typing commands at the prompt. The NetWorker
Command Reference Guide or the UNIX man pages provides information about these
commands.

Introduction to the NetWorker Management Web UI


The NetWorker Management Web UI is a web-based management interface that
provides support for the following NetWorker operations:
l Managing VMware vCenter servers
l Managing VMware Proxies
l Installing the vCenter Plugin
l Recovering virtual machines
l Monitoring recovery operations
l Creating and updating policies, workflows, and actions
l Creating and updating groups
l Creating and updating rules
The following table provides more information on the functionality available in the
NetWorker Management Web UI.

Table 8 Supported operations in the NetWorker Management Web UI

Operation Description
Protection VMware vCenter servers
l Manage vCenter servers.
l Refresh and view the vCenter inventory.
l View properties of entities in the vCenter
Inventory tree.
Groups

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 43


Overview

Table 8 Supported operations in the NetWorker Management Web UI (continued)

Operation Description

l Add, edit, and delete groups


l Refresh and view groups
Policies
l Add, edit, and delete policies, workflows,
and actions
l Refresh and view policies, workflows, and
actions
Rules
l Add, edit, and delete rules
l Refresh and view rules

VMware vProxies
l Manage vproxies.
l Monitor progress of vProxy registration.

Recovery Recover virtual machines. Supports both


image-level and file-level recovery.

Monitoring l View and monitor the progress of virtual


machine recovery; includes the list of
completed and currently running recover
jobs.
l View recover logs.

You can log in to the NetWorker Management Web UI by using the NetWorker
credentials for authentication.
The NetWorker VMware Integration Guide and the NetWorker Administration Guide
provides more information on how to use the NetWorker Management Web UI to
perform the supported tasks.
The NetWorker Installation Guide provides more information on how to install the
NetWorker Management Web UI.
Note: NetWorker Management Web UI is not backward-compatible with the
earlier versions of NetWorker.
Supported browsers
The NetWorker Management Web UI supports the latest versions of the following
browsers:
l Microsoft Internet Explorer 11
l Google Chrome
l Microsoft Edge
l Mozilla Firefox
l Safari

44 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


CHAPTER 2
Getting Started

This chapter contains the following topics:

l NetWorker Management Console interface....................................................... 46


l Connecting to the Administration window.......................................................... 51
l Getting started with a new installation...............................................................66

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 45


Getting Started

NetWorker Management Console interface


The interface for NetWorker Management Console (NMC), also called the NetWorker
Console, consists of both the Console window, and the Administration window.
Note: To start NMC, you must use 64-bit Java. NMC will fail to start if Java 32-bit
is used.

Connecting to the Console window


The following sections describe how to connect to the Console window:

Before you connect


Ensure that you configure the NetWorker datazone correctly, and that the required
daemons are running on the NetWorker Server and the NMC Server.
l Linux NetWorker Server—Confirm that the NetWorker daemons have started, by
typing the command below, based on the initialization system running on your
Linux machine : /etc/init.d/networker status. For a NetWorker server, the
nsrctld daemon starts. The nsrctld daemon starts other processes that the
NetWorker server requires. Output similar to the following example appears when
the daemons are started:

+--o nsrctld (29021)


+--o epmd (29029)
+--o rabbitmq-server (29034)
+--o beam (29038)
+--o inet_gethost (29144)
+--o inet_gethost (29145)
+--o jsvc (29108)
+--o jsvc (29114)
+--o nsrd (29123)
+--o java (29135)
+--o nsrmmdbd (29828)
+--o nsrindexd (29842)
+--o nsrdispd (29853)
+--o nsrjobd (29860)
+--o nsrvmwsd (29968)
+--o eventservice.ru (29154)
+--o jsvc (29158)
+--o jsvc (29159)
+--o java (29838)
+--o node-linux-x64- (29885)
+--o nsrexecd (29004)
+--o nsrlogd (29899)
+--o nsrsnmd (30038)

l Linux NMC Server:


1. Type ps -ef | /usr/sbin/nsrexecd. Output similar to the following
example should appear:
root 24959 1 1 13:29 ? 00:00:00 /usr/sbin/nsrexecd

If you do not see this output, type /etc/init.d/networker start.


2. Type ps -ef | grep lgtonmc Output similar to the following should appear:

46 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Getting Started

nsrnmc 7190 1 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:06 /opt/lgtonmc/bin/gstd


nsrnmc 7196 1 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 /opt/lgtonmc/apache/bin/
httpd -f /opt/lgtonmc/apache/conf/httpd.conf
nsrnmc 7197 7196 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 /opt/lgtonmc/
apache/bin/httpd -f /opt/lgtonmc/apache/conf/httpd.conf
nsrnmc 7212 1 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 /opt/lgtonmc/
postgres/bin/postgres -D /nsr/nmc/nmcdb/pgdata
root 18176 18141 0 02:47 pts/0 00:00:00 grep lgtonmc
l Windows NetWorker Server:
1. Confirm that the following services are started: NetWorker Backup and
Recover Server, NetWorker Message Queue Adaptor, and NetWorker Remote
Exec Service.
2. If these services are not started, start the NetWorker Backup and Recover
Server Service.
l Windows NMC Server:
1. Confirm that the following services are started: EMC GST Database Service,
NetWorker Server Service, and NetWorker Server Web Service.
2. If these services are not started, start the NetWorker Server service.

Connecting to the NMC server GUI


About this task
Complete the following procedure to connect to the NMC Server GUI from an NMC
client. By default, the NetWorker Authentication Service uses the local user database
for user authentication. Specify the NetWorker Authentication Service administrator
account to log in to the NMC Server. The NetWorker Security Configuration Guide
describes how to configure the NetWorker Authentication Service to use LDAP or AD
for user authentication.
Procedure
1. From a supported web browser session, type the URL of the NMC Server:
https://server_name:https_service_port
where:

l server_name is the name of the NMC Server.


l https_service_port is the port for the embedded HTTP server. The default
https port is 9000.
For example: https://houston:9000
The gconsole.jnlp file downloads to the host. When the download
completes, open the file.
2. Optional, associate the jnlp file with a program.
When you use Mozilla Firefox on Windows, and the jnlp extension is not
associated with Java, you are prompted to choose the program that opens the
jnlp file. In the dialog box that appears, select Open with, and then select
Java (TM) Web Start Launcher. If this application does not appear,
browse to the Java folder and select the javaws.exe file.
3. On the Welcome page, click Start.

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 47


Getting Started

Note: If the Start button does not appear but you see a warning message
that states that Java Runtime Environment cannot be detected, click the
here hyperlink.

4. For Internet Explorer only, if a security warning appears, select I accept the
risks and want to run this application, and then click Run.
5. On the Log in page, specify the NetWorker Authentication Service
administrator username and password, and then click OK.
6. On the Licensing Agreement page, select Accept.
7. On the Welcome to the NMC Server Configuration Wizard page, click Next.
The following figures shows the Welcome to the NMC Server Configuration
Wizard page.
Figure 4 Welcome to the NMC Server Configuration Wizard page

8. On the Set authentication server service account for the NMC server page,
review the setting and click Next.
The following figure shows the Set authentication server service account for
the NMC server page.

48 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Getting Started

Figure 5 Set authentication server service account for the NMC Server page

9. On the Specify a list of managed NetWorker Servers page:


a. Specify the names of the NetWorker Servers that the NMC Server will
manage, one name per line.
Note: If the NMC Server is also the NetWorker Server, specify the name
of the NetWorker Server.

b. Leave the default Capture Events and Gather Reporting Data options
enabled.
Consider the following options:

l To allow the NMC Server to monitor and record alerts for events that occur
on the NetWorker Server, select Capture Events.
l To allow the NMC Server to collect data about the NetWorker Server and
generate reports, select Gather Reporting Data.
The following figure shows the Specify a list of managed NetWorker servers
page.

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 49


Getting Started

Figure 6 Specify a list of managed NetWorker servers page

10. Click Finish. The installation starts the default web browser and connects to
the NMC server. The NetWorker Management Console and Getting Started
windows appear.
11. In the Enterprise window, right-click the NetWorker Server, and then select
Launch Application.
Note: If you do not specify any NetWorker Servers in the Specify a list of
managed NetWorker servers page, the NMC Enterprise window does not
display any NetWorker Servers. To add a host, in the left navigation pane,
right-click Enterprise, and then click New > Host. The Add New Host
wizard appears.

Connecting to the NMC server after the first time


Use one of the following methods to connect to the NMC server after the initial
connection.
l Point the browser to the same URL.
l Double-click the NMC product name in the Java Web Start Application Manager.
l

Double-click the desktop button , if one was configured by using the Java Web
Start Application Manager.

Connecting to the NMC GUI using an ssh connection


You can use ssh port forwarding to connect to the NMC server and generate reports,
from the NMC client.
About this task
Perform the following steps on the NMC client.
Procedure
1. Open an ssh connection from the NMC client to the NMC server with ssh
tunnels for ports 9000 and 9001.

50 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Getting Started

For example:

ssh -L9000:localhost:9000 -L9001:localhost:9001 -


L5432:localhost:5432 Console_servername -N

Note: If you changed the default NMC server ports, specify the correct port
numbers.

2. Use javaws to connect to the NMC server.


For example:
javaws https://localhost:9000/gconsole.jnlp

Connecting to the Administration window


The following sections describe how to connect to the Administration window and
browse through the interface.

Opening the Administration window


You can add and select a NetWorker server and open the Administration window.
About this task
Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Enterprise.
2. Add one or more NetWorker servers:
a. Highlight Enterprise in the navigation tree.
b. From the File menu, select New>Host.
c. Type the name of the host on which the NetWorker server is running, and
click Next.
d. Select NetWorker for the type of application to be managed.
e. Click Finish.
f. Repeat for all NetWorker servers in the network.
3. From the left pane, click a host in the Enterprise list.
4. From the right pane, click the application and select Enterprise > Launch
Application, or double-click the application. The Administration window opens
as a separate application.

Administration window
NetWorker Servers are managed through the Administration window.
The following figure illustrates the NetWorker Administration window.

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 51


Getting Started

Figure 7 Administration window

You can toggle between the Administration window and the NMC UI.
The following table lists the windows that can be launched from the Administration
window taskbar.

Table 9 Windows that are launched from the Administration window

Butt Window Description


on
Monitoring Monitor various activities that are related to the NetWorker Server.
For example, you can monitor the progress of a policy and view any
alerts. A portion of the Monitoring window always appears at the
bottom of the Administration window, providing information on Log
messages and Alerts.

Protection Manage NetWorker Server resources such as clients, groups, policies,


probes, and schedules. Provide the ability to monitor, start, stop, and
restart data protection policies.

Recover Manage recover configurations and schedule recover jobs for


NetWorker hosts from a centralized location on the NMC Server.

Devices Add, configure, and operate single or multiple devices, libraries, and
silos for the NetWorker Server.

Media Manage the activities and the resources that are related to backup
volumes. For example, you can mount a backup volume or create a
label template for backup volumes.

Hosts View information about known NetWorker hosts such as the


NetWorker version, CPU type, and operating system. Manage the
NetWorker Client resource database. Perform software upgrades on
NetWorker hosts by using Package Manager.

52 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Getting Started

Table 9 Windows that are launched from the Administration window (continued)

Butt Window Description


on
Server Manage NetWorker Server resources such as licenses, notifications,
user groups, directives, and restricted datazones.

Editing multiple resources


In the NMC Protection window, you can edit an attribute for multiple resources at the
same time.
About this task
For example, if you want the schedule for all clients within a group to change from the
default to “Full Every Friday”, perform the following steps:
Procedure
1. Select each client resource row in the window.
2. Place the cursor in the column you want to change (in this case, the Schedule
column).
The color of the column changes when the cursor is in the column.

3. Right-click in that column and select from the list of available options. The
options include Edit, Add to, and Remove from, depending on the column
selected.
Only the columns that appear in the window can be selected for multiple
resource editing. To add a column that is not currently in view:

a. Right-click a table header and select Add Column from the drop-down.
b. Select from the list of available attributes.

Drag-and-drop functionality
Drag-and-drop functionality is available in the Console and Administration interfaces
for many tasks.

Drag-and-drop between resource types in the Console window


The drag-and-drop functionality allows multiple resources to be selected and moved
from one resource type to another.
In the Enterprise window from the Console interface, you can drag-and-drop to
perform the following actions:
l Copy an individual folder in the enterprise hierarchy by selecting the folder, press
and holding the Ctrl key, and dragging the folder to a new location.
l Move an individual folder in the enterprise hierarchy to a new location by selecting
and dragging a folder to a new location.
l Copy an individual host node in the enterprise hierarchy by selecting and dragging
the host to a new parent folder.

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 53


Getting Started

l Move an individual host node in the enterprise hierarchy by selecting and dragging
the host to a new parent folder.
l Copy a selected number of objects in a folder to a new folder in the hierarchy tree
or folder contents table. Select an individual folder in the navigation tree to display
the contents of the folder, select the contents, while pressing Ctrl, drag the
contents to a new folder. Select a collection of folders or hosts and drag them to a
new folder by creating a copy of the selected contents in a new location.
l Move a selected number of objects in a folder to a new folder in the hierarchy tree
or folder contents table. Select an individual folder in the navigation tree to display
the contents of the folder, select the contents, and drag the contents to a new
folder. Select a collection of folders and or hosts and drag them to a new folder by
moving the selected contents to a new location.
Note: Only one object may be selected for drag-and-drop in the navigation
tree.

Client and group management in the Administration window


The drag-and-drop functionality allows multiple clients or groups to be selected and
moved from one location to another. You can use drag-and-drop functionality in the
Protection window to do the following:
l Copy selected clients to a new NetWorker group:
1. In the left navigation pane, expand the server resource, and then expand the
Groups resource.
2. Select Clients in the directory tree.
3. Drag-and-drop the client objects from the Client Summary table to a group in
the directory tree.
l Move selected clients from one NetWorker group to another group:
1. Select a group in the directory tree.
2. Move clients from the Client Summary table to another NetWorker group.

Library operations in the Devices window


The drag-and-drop functionality allows multiple slots or devices to be managed in the
Devices window.
You can use drag-and-drop functionality to manage media from the Library window
from the Devices task, for instance:
l Mount an individual volume onto a device by selecting a slot in the Slots table and
dragging it to a device in the Devices table.
l Mount multiple volumes to available devices as assigned by the NetWorker server.
To mount multiple volumes, select multiple slots in the Slots table and drag them
anywhere in the Devices table.
l Unmount a volume from a selected device and deposit it back in its designated slot
by selecting an individual device from the Devices table and dragging it anywhere
in the Slots table. The volume image displays in the corresponding slot.
l Unmount multiple volumes from a selected device and deposit them back in their
designated slot by selecting the devices from the Devices table and dragging them
anywhere in the Slots table. The volumes display in the corresponding slots.

Copy and paste tabular information to operating system clipboard


Tabular information can be selected and moved to an operating system clipboard by
using drag-and-drop functionality. All tables support selection of multiple rows in a

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table and the ability to copy and paste the data in the selected rows to the system
clipboard. Subsequently, the data in the operating system clipboard can be moved to a
target application.
Note: Drag-and-drop operations from the operating system clipboard to a table
are not supported.

Multiple library devices and slots


A single operation can be performed on multiple library devices and slots. Multiple
rows can be selected in both the Devices and Slots tables simultaneously.
In the Devices table for a library, multiple devices can be selected to perform the
following operations:
l Unmount
l Release device (STL only)
l Enable/Disable
In the Slots table for a device, multiple volume operations can be performed for the
following operations:
l Mount
l Load without mount
l Withdraw
l Label
l Inventory
l Remove (STL only)

Setting user interaction preferences


Depending on the window button that was selected from the Console window, you can
set various user preferences such as the user interface font, font size, parallel
windows, and table settings. For the Reports window, there are ways you can enhance
the viewing of displayed reports.
About this task
Procedure
1. On the main menu, select View.
2. Set the various options available under the selected window button. You may
need to click OK, depending on the option selection.

Monitoring NetWorker Server activities in the Administration window


The Monitoring window in the NetWorker Administration application enables you to
monitor the activities of an individual NetWorker Server.
About this task
The Monitoring window provides the following types of activity and status
information:
l Data protection policies, workflows, and individual actions.
l Cloning, recovering, synthetic full backups, and browsing of client file indexes.
l Operations that are related to devices and jukeboxes.

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l Alerts and log messages.


You can also perform some management operations from the Monitoring window, for
example, starting, stopping, or restarting a data protection policy.
Procedure
1. From the NMC Console window, click Enterprise.
2. In the Enterprise view, right-click the NetWorker Server, and then select
Launch Application.
The Administration window appears.
3. To view the Monitoring window, click Monitoring.
Figure 8 Monitoring window

About the Monitoring window


On the Administration window taskbar, select Monitoring to view the details of
current NetWorker server activities and status, such as:
l Policies and actions.
l Cloning, recovering, synthetic backups, checkpoint restart backups, and browsing
of client file indexes.
l Alerts and log messages, and operations that are related to devices and jukeboxes.
While the Monitoring window is used primarily to monitor NetWorker server activities,
it can also be used to perform certain operations. These operations include starting,
stopping, or restarting a workflow.
The Monitoring window includes a docking panel that displays specific types of
information. Select the types of information you want to view from the docking panel.
A portion of the Monitoring window, which is known as the task monitoring area, is
always visible across all windows. A splitter separates the task monitoring area from

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the rest of the window. You can click and move the splitter to resize the task
monitoring area. The arrow icon in the upper right corner of the Monitoring window
allows you to select which tasks you want to appear in this view.
Smaller windows appear within the Monitoring window for each window. Each smaller
window, once undocked, is a floating window and can be moved around the page to
customize the view. You can select multiple types from the panel to create multiple
floating windows that can be viewed simultaneously. The following table describes the
various types of information available in the docking panel, and the details each one
provides.

Table 10 Monitoring window panel

Window Information provided


Policies/Actions The Policies tab provides you with status information about all
configure policies and the associated workflows and actions. The
Actions tab provides you with status information for all actions.
Policies/Actions pane on page 735 provides more information.

Sessions Allows you to customize whether to display all session types, or only
certain session types. The information that is provided depends on
which session type you select. For example, if you select Save
Sessions, the window lists clients, save sets, groups, backup level,
backup start time, duration of the backup, devices, rate, and size.
Sessions window on page 57 provides more information.

Alerts Lists the priority, category, time, and message of any alerts. Alerts
pane on page 58 provides more information.

Devices Lists devices, device status, storage nodes, libraries, volumes, pools,
and related messages. Devices pane on page 59 provides more
information.

Operations Lists the status of all library and silo operations, including nsrjb
operations that are run from the command prompt. Also lists user
input, libraries, origin, operation data, operation start time, duration of
the operation, progress messages, and error messages.

When displaying Show Details from the Operations window, the


length of time that the window is
displayed depends on the value that is typed in the Operation
Lifespan attribute on the Timers tab of
the Properties dialog box for the corresponding library. To access
library properties, click Devices in the taskbar. By default, this pane is
hidden.

Log Lists messages that are generated by the NetWorker server, including
the priority of each message, the time the message was generated,
the source of the message, and the category. Log window on page
62 provides more information.

Sessions window
Use the Sessions window to view the sessions that are running on a NetWorker
server. You can change the view of this window to display these sessions:
The Sessions pane below the Policies/Actions pane provides details on individual
save, recover, clone, and synthetic full sessions by client.

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To view all sessions or to limit the list of sessions by the session type, click the tabs at
the bottom of the Sessions pane. Session types include:
l Save
l Recover
l Clone
l Browse
l Synthetic Full/Rehydrated Sessions
l All
To change the displayed session types go to View > Show, and select the type of
sessions to display. To display all sessions currently running on the NetWorker Server,
regardless of type, select All Sessions.
You can stop a session (backup, synthetic full backup, clone, and recovery sessions)
from the Monitoring window, even if the session was started by running the
nsrworkflow command.
To stop a session, right-click the workflow in the pane, and select Stop from the list
box.

Alerts pane
The Alerts pane displays alerts that are generated by a particular NetWorker server or
Data Domain system that has devices that are configured on the NetWorker server.
The Alerts pane includes priority, category, time, and message information.
An icon represents the priority of the alert. The following table lists and describes
each icon.

Table 11 Alerts window icons

Icon Label Description


Alert Error condition detected by the NetWorker server that
should be fixed by a qualified operator.

Critical Severe error condition that demands immediate


attention.

Emergency Condition exists that could cause NetWorker software


to fail unless corrected immediately. This icon
represents the highest priority.

Information Information about the current state of the server. This


icon represents the lowest priority.

Notification Important information.

Waiting The NetWorker server is waiting for an operator to


perform a task, such as mounting a tape.

Warning A non-fatal error has occurred.

When items on the Alerts pane are sorted by the Priority column, they are sorted in
alphabetical order based on the label of the icon.

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Removing alerts
Remove individual alert messages from the Events tables by removing them from the
Events table. To delete a message in the Events table, right-click the message, and
select Dismiss.
About this task
Note: The alert message remains in the Log window in the NetWorker
Administration program.

Devices pane
The Devices pane allows you to monitor the status of all devices, including NDMP
devices. If the NetWorker server uses shared and logical devices, the window is
adjusted dynamically to present a set of columns appropriate for the current
configuration.
The Devices pane provides the following information:
l Status of the operation.
l Name of the device.
l Name of the storage node that contains the device.
l For tape devices, the name of the library that contains the device.
l Name of the volume in the device.
l Name of the pool that is associated with the volume.
l Last message generated for the device.
l Whether the operation requires user input.

For example, a labeling operation may want the user to acknowledge whether the
system should overwrite the label on a tape.
Entering user input on page 61 provides instructions on how to deal with a user
input notification.
If the current server configuration includes a shared device, a Shared Device Name
column appears on the Devices pane. The name of the shared device appears in the
Shared Device Name column. If other devices for that configuration are not shared
devices, then the Shared Device Name column is blank for those devices. Only a
single device per hardware ID can be active at any particular moment. The information
for inactive shared devices is filtered out, and as a result, only one device per
hardware ID is presented on the window at any time.
An icon represents the device status. The following table lists and describes each icon.

Table 12 Devices status icons

Icon Label Description


Library device active The library device is active.

Library device disabled The library device is disabled.

Library device idle The library device is idle.

Stand-alone device active The stand-alone device is


active.

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Table 12 Devices status icons (continued)

Icon Label Description


Stand-alone device disabled The stand-alone device is
disabled.

Stand-alone device idle The stand-alone device is idle.

When you sort items in the Devices pane by the Status column, NetWorker sorts the
devices in alphabetical order based on the label name of the icon.

Operations window
The Operations window displays information about device operations. It provides the
following information:
l Status of the operation.
l Name of the library.
l Whether the operation requires user input.
For example, a labeling operation may want the user to acknowledge whether the
system should overwrite the label on a tape. Entering user input on page 61
provides instructions on how to deal with a user input notification.
l The origin, or source, of the operation.
For example, the interface, nsrjb or the NetWorker server.
l Time the operation started.
l Type of operation.
l Duration of the operation.
l Status messages from the operation.
l Any error messages.
NOTICE Only the last error message of the operation appears in the Error
Messages column. Move the mouse pointer over the cell containing the last
error message to display the entire list of error messages.
The operation status is represented by an icon. The following table lists and describes
each of the icons.

Table 13 Operations window icons

Icon Label Description


Failed The operation failed.

Queued The operation is waiting in the queue to run.

Retry The operation failed, but may work if you try


again.

Running The operation is running.

Successful The operation completed successfully.

User Input The operation requires user input.

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When items on the Operations window are sorted by the Status column, they are
sorted in alphabetical order based on the label of the icon.

Viewing operation details


The Operation Details dialog box opens, providing information about the completion
of the operation. The Completion Time displays the time that the operation finished.
The time that it took to complete the operation is the difference between the
completion and start times of the operation.
About this task
To save operation details to a file, click Save in the Operation Details dialog box.
When prompted, identify a name and location for the file.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Monitoring.
2. Click Operations in the docking panel.
3. Right-click the operation, then select Show Details.

Stopping an operation
Certain operations can be stopped from the Operations window.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Monitoring.
2. Click Operations in the docking panel.
3. Right-click the operation to stop, then select Stop.
4. Click Yes to confirm the stop.
Note: Operations that were started from a command line program, such as
the nsrjb command, cannot be stopped from the Operations window. To
stop these operations, press Ctrl-c from the window where the command
was started.

Entering user input


If the system requires user input, select the labeling operation in slow/verbose mode
and the Supply User Input icon appears.
Procedure
1. Right-click the operation, then select Supply Input.
2. Confirm the requirement to supply input.
l If Yes, and input is supplied, the icon in the User Input column disappears.
Note: If two users try to respond to the same user input prompt, the
input of the first user takes precedence, and the second user receives an
error message.
l If No, and input is not supplied, the operation will time out and fail.

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Log window
To view the most recent notification logs, click the Log window from the docking
panel in the Monitoring window. The Log window provides the priority, time, source,
category, and message for each log.
Note: If a particular log file is no longer available, check the log file on the
NetWorker server. The log files are located in NetWorker_install_path
\logs directory.
An icon represents the priority of the log entry. The following table lists and describes
each icon.

Table 14 Icons in the Log pane

Icon Label Description


Alert Error condition that is detected by the NetWorker
server that should be fixed by a qualified operator.

Critical Severe error condition that demands immediate


attention.

Emergency Condition exists that could cause NetWorker software


to fail unless corrected immediately. This icon
represents the highest priority.

Information Information about the current state of the server. This


icon represents the lowest priority.

Notification Important information.

Waiting The NetWorker server is waiting for an operator to


perform a task, such as mounting a tape.

Warning Non-fatal error has occurred.

When you sort items on the Log pane by using the Priority column, NetWorker sorts
the icons in alphabetical order based on the name of the label.

Recover window
The Recover window displays information about recover configurations that are
created with the NetWorker Management Console (NMC) Recovery wizard.
You can use this window to:
l Start the NMC Recovery wizard to create recover configurations or modify saved
recover configurations.
l Identify the status of a recover configuration that is created with the NMC
Recovery wizard.
l Start and stop a recover job.
The Recover window is divided into five sections:
l Toolbar—The toolbar is hidden by default. To display the recovery toolbar, select
View > Show toolbar
l Summary

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l Configured Recovers
l Currently Running
A splitter separates the Configured Recovers section from Currently running
window. You can click and move the splitter to resize these two windows.
The following table shows an example of the Recover window.
Figure 9 Recover window

Recover toolbar
The Recover toolbar provides you with the ability to quickly perform common recover
operations. The following table summarizes the function of each toolbar button.

Table 15 Recovery toolbar options

Button Function
Starts the NMC Recover wizard to create recover configurations.

Displays the Properties window for the saved recover configuration that you
selected in the Configured Recover window.

Deletes the saved recover configuration that you selected in the Configured
Recover window.

Displays online help for the Recover window.

Displays the Find window at the bottom of the Recover window. The Find
window allows you to perform keyword searches for messages that appear in
the Logs window.

Start the recover operation for a selected saved recover configuration. This
option is only available for a recover configuration that has a Never run, or
Failed status.

Stop in-progress recover operation that you selected in the Currently


Running window.

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Note: The Recover toolbar does not appear by default. To display the Recover
toolbar, select View > Show toolbar.

Recover Summary
The Recover Summary section displays a high-level overview of recover jobs.
This section includes the following information:
l Total Recovers—The total number of successful recover jobs.
l Since—The number of successful recover jobs since this date.

Configured Recovers
The Configured Recovers window displays a list of saved recover configurations in a
tabular format. You can sort the information by column. The Configured Recovers
table displays the following information for each saved recover configuration:
l Status—The job status of a saved recover configuration.
l Name
l Source client
l Destination client
l Recovery list
l Recover type—For example, file system or BBB.
l Comment
l OS—The operating system of the source host.
l Recover requestor—The Windows or UNIX account used to create the recover
configuration.
l Start Time
l End Time
l Start date

Table 16 Save recover configuration job status

Icon Description
The last recover attempt failed.

The last recover attempt completed successfully.

The recover job has never run.

The recover job is scheduled to run in the future.

The recover job has expired.

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Currently running
The Currently Running window displays a list of in progress recover jobs in a tabular
format. You can sort the information by column. The Currently Running table displays
the following information for each job:
l Status
l Name
l Source client
l Destination client
l Recovery list
l Recover type—For example, file system or BBB
l Volume
l Comment
l Device
l Size
l Total size
l % complete
l Rate (KB/s)
l Start time
l Duration
l Currently running

Find
The Find section appears along the bottom of the Recover window, after you select
the Find button on the Recover toolbar. Find allows you to search for keywords in the
Configured Recovers window. The following table summarizes the available find
options.

Table 17 Find options

Find option Description


Find Highlight the first saved recover configuration that contains the
specified keyword.

Prev Highlight the previous saved recover configuration that contains the
specified keyword.

Highlight All Highlights each saved recover configuration that contains the
specified keyword.

Sort Selected Sorts each highlighted recover configuration in the Configured


Recover table so that they appear at the top of the Configured
Recover table.

Match case Make the keyword search case sensitive.

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Getting started with a new installation


The following section provides basic information on how to get started with a new
installation by configuring the NetWorker datazone and starting the NetWorker
Management Console (NMC) Enterprise window and Administration window.

Common NetWorker tasks


There are several common tasks available in the NetWorker Console.

Adding a new host


You can add hosts by using the NetWorker Console.
About this task
Procedure
1. Log in to Console as a NetWorker Administrator.
2. Click the Enterprise button on the taskbar.
3. Right-click Enterprise in the navigation tree.
4. Select New > Host.
5. In the Host Name field, specify the IP address or DNS name of the NetWorker
server and click Next.
6. On the Select Host Type window, select NetWorker and click Next.
7. On the Manage NetWorker window, leave the default options Capture Events
and Gather Reporting Data enabled.
l Enable the Capture Events option to allow the NMC server to monitor and
record alerts for events that occur on the NetWorker server.
l Enable the Gather Reporting Data option to allow the NMC server to
automatically collect data about the NetWorker server and generate reports
on the NMC server.
8. Click Finish.

Device configuration
You can configure devices to test the NetWorker software.

Configuring a stand-alone tape device


Procedure
1. Log in to the NMC GUI as an administrator of the NetWorker server.
2. On the taskbar, click the Enterprise icon .
3. In the navigation tree, highlight a host:
a. Right-click NetWorker.
b. Select Launch Application. The NetWorker Administration window
appears.
4. On the taskbar, click the Devices button .

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5. In the navigation tree view, right-click a host and select Scan for Devices.
The Scan for Devices window appears.
6. On the Select Target Storage Nodes window, perform either of the following
steps:
l Select the storage node for the library.
l Click Create a new Storage Node.
7. Select Start scan.
NetWorker scans for new devices. The Log pane provides the status of the
scan operation.
8. On the left pane, select Devices and then from the right pane, select the new
device.
9. From the Devices menu, select Devices > Device Operations > Label.
10. In the Label window, verify the information and click OK.

Configuring a stand-alone advanced file type device


Create a device that is local to the NetWorker server to receive the backup data.
Procedure
1. Log in to the NMC GUI as an administrator of the NetWorker server.
2. On the taskbar, click the Enterprise icon .
3. In the navigation tree, highlight a host:
a. Right-click NetWorker.
b. Select Launch Application. The NetWorker Administration window
appears.
4. On the taskbar, click the Devices button .
5. From the File menu, select New Device Wizard.
6. On the Select the Device Type window, select Advanced File Type Device
(AFTD), then click Next.
7. On the Select Storage Node window, leave the default values, and click Next.
8. On the Select the Device Path window, select an empty folder or create a new
folder on the NetWorker server, then click Next.
9. On the Configure Device Attributes window, specify a name for the new
device in the NetWorker Device Name field, for example: myaftd, and click
Next.
10. On the Label and Mount Devices window, leave the default values and click
Next.
11. In the Review the Device Configuration Settings window, review the
configuration information, and click Configure.
12. Click Finish.

Configuring an autochanger or silo


You can configure a new library resource.
About this task

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Procedure
1. Log in to the NMC GUI as an administrator of the NetWorker server.
2. On the taskbar, click the Enterprise icon .
3. In the navigation tree, highlight a host:
a. Right-click NetWorker.
b. Select Launch Application. The NetWorker Administration window
appears.
4. On the taskbar, click the Devices button .
5. From the left pane, select Storage Nodes.
6. Right-click the storage node for the device and select Configure All Libraries.
7. On the Provide General Configuration Information window, leave SCSI/
NDMP selected and click Next.
8. On the Select Target Storage Nodes window, perform either of the following
steps:
l Select the storage node for the library.
l Click Create a new Storage Node.
9. Click Start Configuration.
10. Click Finish.

Labeling media
You can label tapes from the NMC GUI.
About this task
Procedure
1. Log in to the NMC GUI as an administrator of the NetWorker server.
2. On the taskbar, click the Enterprise icon .
3. In the navigation tree, highlight a host:
a. Right-click NetWorker.
b. Select Launch Application. The NetWorker Administration window
appears.
4. On the taskbar, click the Devices button .
5. In the navigation tree view, expand Libraries and highlight a library, or select
Devices.
6. In the Device list, right-click a device and select Label.

Scheduling backups
Perform scheduled backups to automatically backup client data on an ongoing basis.
Data protection policies enable you to define the client resources, schedule, and other
settings for the backup. The client resources and backup storage resources must also
be configured.
Procedure
1. Configure the backup storage resources:

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a. Configure the storage node that will own the backup storage devices.
b. Configure the backup storage device.
c. Create a label template for labeling volumes, or use one of the preconfigured
label templates.
d. Create media pools for sorting and storing backup data.
Backup Target on page 75 provides more information on configuring backup
storage resources.
2. Configure one or more client resources for each client computer by using either
the Client Backup Configuration Wizard or the Client Properties dialog box.
When you configure a client resource, you specify backup settings for the
client, including:
l The save sets for the client, which define the data to back up on the client.
l Whether to automatically restart failed backups from a known good point,
which is called checkpoint restart.
l Whether to bypass the storage node and send backup data directly to AFTD
or DD Boost storage devices, which is called Client Direct.
l Directives that control how the NetWorker server processes files and
directories during the backup.
l Probe resources for probe-based backups, where the NetWorker server
probes the client for a user-defined script before the backup starts.
l Whether to back up each save set for the client by using multiple parallel
save streams.
l Backup command customizations.
Client resources on page 475 provides more information on configuring client
resources.

3. Configure a data protection policy for scheduled backups:


a. Create a group to define the client resources to back up.
The type of group that you create depends on the type of backup that you
are performing:
l Create a client group or dynamic client group for a traditional backup or a
server backup.
l Create a VMware group to back up virtual machines or VMDKs.
l Create a NAS device group to perform snapshot backups on NAS
devices.

b. Create a policy.
Policies provide a container for the workflows, actions, and groups that
support and define the backup.

c. Within the policy, create a workflow.


Workflows define the start time for a series of actions, the order of actions
in a sequence, and the group of client resources to back up.

d. Create a backup action.


When you create a backup action, you define the following settings:

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l The type of backup to perform each day.


l The destination storage node and media pool.
l The retention setting for the backup, which specifies how long to retain
the backup data.

e. (Optional) Create other actions for the workflow.


Actions that you may want to include in a backup workflow include:
l Check connectivity to verify connectivity between the NetWorker server
and the client computer.
l Probe to probe a NetWorker client for a user-defined script before the
backup starts.
l Clone to automatically clone the save sets that result from the backup.

Data Protection Policies on page 205 provides more information on configuring


groups, policies, workflows, and actions.

Viewing failed backups


You can view the details for failed NetWorker backups.
Procedure
1. Log in to the NMC GUI as an administrator of the NetWorker server.
2. On the taskbar, click the Enterprise icon .
3. In the navigation tree, highlight a host:
a. Right-click NetWorker.
b. Select Launch Application. The NetWorker Administration window
appears.
4.
Click Monitoring .
The Monitoring window displays four windows panes. The Log pane provides a
summary of NetWorker server events. The Policies pane displays all configured
policies on the NetWorker server. To view details information about the status
of the actions in a workflow, expand the policy, right-click the workflow, and
select Show Details.

Using nsrlogin for authentication and authorization


When you configure the NetWorker Authentication Service to use LDAP/AD
authentication, you modify the External Roles attribute in the User Group resource
to assign privileges to LDAP and AD users. As a result, NetWorker command line
operations and NetWorker module operations might fail due to insufficient privileges.
To resolve this issue, use the nsrlogin command to contact the NetWorker
Authentication Service and authenticate a user. When user authentication succeeds,
the NetWorker Authentication Service issues a token to the NetWorker host for the
user, which provides CLI operations with token-based authentication until the token
expires.
Before you begin
Ensure that the user that the NetWorker Authentication Service validates has the
appropriate User Group privileges to run the CLI commands.

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About this task


Perform the following steps on a NetWorker Client on which you initiate the CLI
commands, or the requesting host.
Procedure
1. To validate a user and generate a token for the user, use the nsrlogin
command:

nsrlogin [-s NetWorker_server] [-H authentication_host] [-P


port] [-t tenant] [-d logindomain] -u username [-p "password"]

where:
l -s NetWorker_server—Specifies the name of the NetWorker Server. Use
this option when you use the nsrlogin command on a NetWorker host that
is not the NetWorker Server.
l -H authentication_host—Specifies the name of the NetWorker
Authentication Service host. Use this option when you use the nsrlogin
command on a NetWorker host that is not the NetWorker Server. This
option is only required when you do not use the -s option.
l -P port—Specifies the NetWorker Authentication Service port number.
Use this option when you do not use the -s option and when the NetWorker
Authentication Service does not use the default port number 9090 for
communications.
l -t tenant— Specifies the tenant name that the NetWorker Authentication
Service should use to verify the username and password. When you omit this
option, NetWorker Authentication Service uses the Default tenant to verify
the user credentials.
l -d logindomain—Specifies the domain name that the NetWorker
Authentication Service should use to verify the username and password with
an external authentication authority. When you omit this option, the
NetWorker Authentication Service uses the local user database to verify the
user credentials.
l -u username—Specifies the username that the NetWorker Authentication
Service should validate to generate a token.
l -p "password"—Specifies the password that the NetWorker
Authentication Service should use to verify the username. If you do not
specify the password, the nsrlogin command prompts you to provide the
password.
For example, to generate a token for user Konstantin in the idddomain domain
and the idd tenant, type the following command:

nsrlogin -s bu-idd-nwserver2 -d idddomain -u Konstantin -p


"1.Password"

Authentication succeeded.

When the NetWorker Authentication Service successfully validates the user,


the service issues an authentication token to the requesting host.
2. At the command prompt, type the NetWorker command.
If the validated user does not have the appropriate privileges to run the
command, an error message appears or the command does not return the
expected result. For example, when you try to perform an operation with a user

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Getting Started

account that does not have the required privilege, a message similar to the
following appears:
Permission denied, user must have the 'Operate NetWorker'
privilege'.

Results
The CLI command uses the authenticated token, until the token expires. By default
the token expiration period is 480 minutes or 8 hours. When the token expires and the
user tries to run a CLI command, the command fails with a permissions error and a
message similar to the following appears to indicate that the token has expired:
Security token has expired

To resolve this issue, run the nsrlogin command again to generate a new
authenticated token.
Note: To revoke the user token and enable the CLI commands to use the Users
attribute in the Usergroups resources to authenticate users, use the nsrlogout
command. The nsrlogout UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command
Reference Guide provides detailed information about the nsrlogout command.

Performing a manual backup


Perform a manual backup of a file or folder, to test the NetWorker installation. The
procedure to perform a manual backup is different on Windows and UNIX.

Performing a manual backup on Windows


Use the NetWorker User program to perform a manual backup Windows. The
NetWorker User program provides a graphical interface to perform manual backups.
About this task
Procedure
1. On a NetWorker client, start the NetWorker User program.
2. In the Change server window, select or type the name of the NetWorker
server.
3. In the Source and Destination client windows, select the current NetWorker
client.
4. Click Backup.
5. In the left pane of the Backup window, click the appropriate directory folder.
6. Select a file or directory file to back up in one of the following methods:
l Select the directory or file and click Mark. To clear an item, click Unmark.
l Right-click the directory or file.
When you mark a directory or file for backup, a check mark appears next to
that item.
7. Click Start.
The Backup Status window displays the progress of the backup. When the
NetWorker server has successfully finished the backup, this message
appears:
Backup completion time: 2-15-07 3:27p

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If the backup fails, then:

l Review the NetWorker daemon.raw log file on both the NetWorker server
and client hosts. Use the nsr_render_log program to review the log file in a
readable format. The NetWorker Command Reference Guide describes how to
use the nsr_render_log program.
The location of the daemon.raw file is different on Windows and UNIX:
n On Windows, the log file appears in the C:\Program Files\EMC
NetWorker\nsr\logs directory.
n On UNIX, the log file appears in the /nsr/logs directory.
l To determine the cause, refer to the Troubleshooting chapter.
l Review the operating system log files (Application event log on a Windows
client) for more information.

Performing a manual backup on UNIX


Use the save program to perform a manual backup from the command prompt.
For example, to back up /tmp/myfile.txt to a server called jupiter, type:

save -s jupiter /tmp/myfile.txt

The UNIX man pages describe how to use the save program.

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74 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


CHAPTER 3
Backup Target

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Label templates.................................................................................................. 76
l Media pools........................................................................................................83
l Storage nodes....................................................................................................98
l Disk storage devices......................................................................................... 107
l Libraries and silos............................................................................................. 130
l File type devices............................................................................................... 190
l Stand-alone devices.......................................................................................... 191
l Labeling volumes.............................................................................................. 196
l Troubleshooting devices and autochangers...................................................... 197

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Label templates
The NetWorker server creates a unique label for each volume by applying a label
template. This section describes how label templates and media pools are used to sort,
store, and track data on media volumes.

Using label templates


The NetWorker server selects the media pool to which a given set of data is written. A
volume is associated with a media pool by its volume label.
The contents of the volume label follow rules that are defined in a specific label
template. You then associate a label template with a specific media pool in the Media
Pool resource. If you do not associate data with a specific media pool, the NetWorker
server uses the preconfigured Default media pool and corresponding Default label
template.
The following figure illustrates how a media pool configuration uses its associated label
template to label a volume. For the label template name to appear as a choice in the
Media Pool resource, you must configure a label template before configuring the
associated media pool.
Figure 10 Labeling a volume by using a label template

How the NetWorker server uses volume labels


A volume label is a unique internal code, applied by the NetWorker server, that
initializes the volume for the server to use and identifies a storage volume as part of a
specific pool. Using media pools on page 83 provides more information about pools.
Labeling a volume provides a unique name for tracking and recognizing the media, as
well as references to volume labels in the records stored in the media database. The
NetWorker server uses the media database records to determine which volumes are
needed for backing up or recovering data.
When NetWorker labels a volume, the label operation performs the following actions:
1. Verifies that the volume is unlabeled.

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2. Labels the volume with the name specified in the Volume Name attribute by using
one of the following:
l The next sequential label from the label template that is associated with the
chosen pool.
If a recyclable volume from the same pool is relabeled, the volume label name
and sequence number remain the same, but access to the original data on the
volume is destroyed. The volume becomes available for new data.
l An override volume name that was entered by the user.

Preconfigured label templates


The NetWorker server contains these preconfigured label templates, which
correspond to the preconfigured media pools:
l Archive
l Archive clone
l Data Domain Default
l Data Domain Default Clone
l DD Cloud Tier Default Clone
l Default
l Default clone
l Full
l Indexed archive
l Indexed archive clone
l NonFull
l Offsite
l PC archive
l PC archive clone
l Two Sided
Label templates have multiple fields separated by periods. The first field represents
the name of the NetWorker server and the final field contains a number to allow for
expansion of the media pool. The number range from 001 to 999. For example:
mars.001
jupiter.054
jupiter.archive.197

Guidelines for completing Label Template attributes


There are certain guidelines to keep in mind when completing the attributes for a Label
Template resource. The following table describes how to complete the key attributes
for this resource.

Table 18 Key label template attributes

Attribute Guidelines
Name Keep the label name consistent with the media pool name, so that the label
name reflects how the data is organized. For example, a label template

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Table 18 Key label template attributes (continued)

Attribute Guidelines
named "AcctFull" would identify volumes that belong to a media pool called
"Accounting Full."

Do not use these characters in label template names:

/\*?[]()$!^;’"’~<>&|{}:-._

Fields A label template is made up of one or more fields. Each field, or component,
provides a layer of specificity to your organizational structure. There can
be any number of components, but it is best to keep the template simple
with as few as necessary. The label cannot exceed 64 characters.

You can use four types of components:

l Range of numbers (for example, 001-999)


l Range of lowercase letters (for example, aa-zz)
l Range of uppercase letters (for example, AA-ZZ)
l Character string (for example, Accounting)

Each range includes a start value, a dash (-), and an end value. The
start value and the end value must have the same number of
characters. For example, use 01-99 (not 1-99) or aaa-zzz (not aa-zzz).

The order in which you enter each component of the Field attribute is
important.
The NetWorker Server applies each component in a left-to-right order,
starting with the first one entered.

Separator Choose the symbol to appear between component entries. Use the period,
dash, colon, or underscore to separate each component of the label
template. If label components do not have separators (for example,
AA00aa), the labels can be difficult to read.

Next Choose the next sequence number to write on the label that the
NetWorker Server places on a volume (according to the template).
l To force a label to start the label scheme at a particular point, type a
start label value. The server continues to generate labels from that
point on, according to the rules of the template.
l To have the NetWorker Server generate the first label, leave this
attribute blank.

When the NetWorker Server recycles a storage volume, the volume


label does not
change as long as the volume remains in the same media pool. That is,
if a storage
volume labeled "Dev.006" is recycled, it retains the volume label
"Dev.006" and does not
receive a new label with the next sequence number.

The following table lists examples of number sequences for volume labels.

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Table 19 Examples of number sequences for volume labels

Type of Fields Number sequence Total number of


components result labels
Range of numbers 001-100 001, 002, 003,...100 100

Character string SalesFull SalesFull.001,...SalesF 100


ull.100
Range of numbers 001-100

Range of lowercase aa-zz aa.00,...aa.99, 67,600 (262 times


letters 102)
00-99 ab.00,...ab.99,
Range of numbers
ac.00,...ac.99,

az.00...az.99,

ba.00,...ba.99

zz.00,...zz.99

The label template should allow for expansion of the backup media storage system.
For example, it is better to create a template for 100 tapes and not use all of them,
than it is to create a template for only 10 tapes and run out of labels. When the server
reaches the end of the template numbering sequence, it wraps to the starting value.
For example, after zz.99 (used for the 67,600th label), the next label the server uses
is aa.00 for label 67,601.
Note: When the NetWorker server recycles a volume, the volume label does not
change if the volume remains in the same media pool. That is, if a volume labeled
Dev.006 is recycled, it will retain the volume label Dev.006 and will not receive a
new label with the next sequence number. The original data on the volume,
however, will be overwritten by the new data.

Naming label templates


The NetWorker server is packaged with preconfigured label templates that correspond
to the preconfigured media pools. If you choose to create the templates, you can
include any number of components in the Fields attribute. However, it is best to keep
the template simple with as few components as necessary for your organization.
For example, if you create a label template for an accounting department, you can
customize the label template in several ways, depending on the size of the storage
system and media device capabilities.
The following table illustrates several ways you can use components to organize
labels.

Table 20 Using label template components

Type of Components Separator Resulting volume


organizational labels
structure
Sequential AcctFull period AcctFull.001

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Table 20 Using label template components (continued)

Type of Components Separator Resulting volume


organizational labels
structure

‘001-100 (100 total labels)

Storage oriented (for 1-3 dash 1-1-001


example, 3 storage
1-5 This label is for the
racks with 5 shelves
first tape in
each, each shelf 001-100
rack 1 on shelf 1.
holding 100 tapes)
(1,500 total labels)

Two-sided media (for AcctFull underscore AcctFull_000_a (side


example, optical 1)
000-999
devices)
AcctFull_000_b (side
a-b
2)

(2,000 total labels)

Tips for labelling


Naming schemes vary from site to site. One way is to name the volumes with the
name of the NetWorker server followed by a three-digit number, for example:

jupiter.001

Consider that the simpler a convention is, the easier it can be understood by operators
and administrators.
The maximum length for a volume name is 63 characters. With advanced file type
devices (adv_file), the maximum length is 60 characters.
Each volume should have a physical (adhesive) label attached to it. Since the
NetWorker server keeps track of the backups and which volumes they are on, you can
name the volumes with any convenient name. For example, you can label your volumes
1, 2, 3, or Monday.1, Tuesday.1, Wednesday.1. You can assign a volume any name as
long as each one is unique.
The adhesive label on the volume should match the name generated by NetWorker.
For example, if you physically label a volume mars.1, its NetWorker name should also
be mars.1.

Working with label templates


This section explains how to create, edit, copy, and delete label templates.

Creating a label template


When creating a label template, consider the labeling guidelines for the Name, Fields,
Separator, and Next components.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.

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2. In the expanded left pane, select Label Templates.


3. From the File menu, select New.
4. Enter the components for the label template:
l Name: The name of the new label template.
l Comment: Any user-defined description or explanatory remarks about the
label.
l Fields: A list of label components.
l Separator: The character to be inserted between label components. If no
symbol is selected, the components will have no separators, such as
hostarchive[001-999].
l Next: (Optional) Enter the next label to be generated by the template.
5. Click OK.

Editing a label template


You cannot change the name of a label template. However, to change an individual
label name, delete the existing name in the Next text box, and type a new name.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Label Templates.
3. In the right pane, perform one of the following tasks:
l To modify multiple attributes in a single configuration resource by using the
Label Template Properties window, right-click the staging configuration
and select Properties.
l To modify a specific attribute that appears in the resource window, place
the mouse in the cell that contains the attribute that you want to change,
then right-click. The menu displays an option to edit the attribute. For
example, to modify the Comment attribute, right-click the resource in the
Comment cell and select Edit Comment.
Note: To modify a specific attribute for multiple resources, press and
hold the Ctrl key, select each resource, and then right-click in the cell
that contains the attribute that you want to change. The menu displays
an option to edit the attribute.
4. Make any required changes, then click OK.

Copying a label template


Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Label Templates.
3. In the right pane, select the label template to copy.
4. From the Edit menu, select Copy. The Create Label Template dialog box
appears, containing the same information as the label template that was copied,
except Name attribute.
5. In the Name attribute, type the name for the new label template.
6. Edit any other attributes as appropriate, and click OK.

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Deleting a label template


You cannot delete a preconfigured label template or a label template that is in use.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Label Templates.
3. In the right pane, select the label template to delete.
4. From the File menu, select Delete.
5. When prompted, click Yes to confirm the deletion.

Setting up a label template to identify volumes


If you are not using tapes with barcode labels, and the Match Bar Code Labels
attribute is not enabled for the Library resource, then every backup volume requires a
unique label for identification. The NetWorker server creates a unique label for each
volume by applying a label template.
About this task
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Label Templates.
3. From the File menu, select New.
4. In the Name attribute, type a name for the label template.
5. In the Comment attribute, type a description for the label template.
6. In the Fields attribute, type the label’s components. Place each label
component on a separate line. The template can use any or all of these
components, although at least one range component must be added:
l Range of numbers—For example, 001-999
l Range of lowercase letters—For example, aa-zz
l Range of uppercase letters—For example, AA-ZZ
l Character string—For example, Accounting
l Ranges of numbers or letters change incrementally with each new label. For
example:
n First label: Accounting.001
n Second label: Accounting.002
n Third label: Accounting.003
7. Select a Separator and click OK. If no symbol is selected, the components will
have no separators (for example, Accounting001).
8. Click OK.

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Media pools
NetWorker uses media pools and volume labels to sort backup and clone data on
media.
Media is a specific collection of volumes to which the NetWorker server writes data.
For example, a tape volume or a Data Domain device. A volume is identified with a
unique label based on user configurable label templates.
Media pools act as filters that tell the NetWorker server which backup volumes should
receive specific data. The NetWorker server uses media pools along with label
templates to track what data is on which specific volume. When you use a barcode-
enabled tape library, the NetWorker server uses media pools along with the volume
barcode Labels to track which data is on a specific volume.
Note: NetWorker does not use media pools for backup and clone operations to
deduplication devices.

Using media pools


Action resources contain an attribute that defines the media pool to which NetWorker
should send the backup or clone data.
When a backup or clone action starts, the NetWorker server then checks if a correctly
labeled volume for that media pool is mounted on a storage device. If a correctly
labeled volume is mounted on a storage device, the NetWorker server writes data to
the volume. If there is no correctly labeled volume mounted on a storage device, the
NetWorker server generates a request to mount a volume that is labeled for the pool,
and waits until an operator or an autochanger mounts an appropriate volume.

Preconfigured media pools


NetWorker provides you with the following preconfigured media pools.

Table 21 Preconfigured media pools

Pool name Description


Archive Receives archived backup data when you use
the nsrarchive command and use -b
option to specify the pool name. NetWorker
does not assign a retention policy to an
archived save set, and the save set never
expires. When you enable Archive Services on
a client resource and you configure the
backup action to send data to the Archive
pool, NetWorker does not write information
about the archive save set to the client file
index for the client.

Archive Clone Receives the clone copy of archived backup


data. when you use the nsrclone command
with -b option to specify the pool name.
NetWorker does not assign an expiration date
to the clone copy of an archive save set.
NetWorker does not write information about

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Table 21 Preconfigured media pools (continued)

Pool name Description


the clone save set to the client file index for
the client.

Default Receives backup data in the following


configurations:
l When you select the Default pool in the
Pool attribute of a backup action
resource.
l When you use save command to run a
manual backup and do not use the -b
option to specify a specific backup pool.
l When NetWorker performs an action on a
client and you define the following
configuration attributes:
n In the Action resource, the option
Client Override Behavior is set to
Client Can Override.
n In the Client resource, you select the
Default pool in the Pool attribute.

Data Domain Default Receives backup data to DD Boost devices


only. NetWorker Data Domain Boost Integration
Guide provides more information about how to
use NetWorker with DD Boost devices.

Data Domain Default Clone Receives clone data to DD Boost devices only.
NetWorker Data Domain Boost Integration Guide
provides more information about how to use
NetWorker with DD Boost devices.

DD Cloud Tier Default Clone Receives clone data on DD Cloud Tier devices
only. NetWorker Data Domain Boost Integration
Guide provides more information about how to
use NetWorker with DD Cloud Tier devices.

Default Clone Receives clone data in the following


configurations:
l When you select the Default Clone pool in
the Pool attribute of a clone action
resource.
l When you use nsrclone command to
run a manual backup and do not use the -
b option to specify a specific backup pool.

Indexed Archive Receives archived backup data. NetWorker


does not assign a retention policy to an
archived save set, and the save set never
expires. When you enable Archive Services on
a client resource and you configure the
backup action to send data to the Indexed

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Table 21 Preconfigured media pools (continued)

Pool name Description


Archive pool, NetWorker writes information
about the archive save set to the client file
index for the client.

Indexed Archive Clone Receives the clone copy of an indexed


archive. NetWorker does not assign an
expiration date to the clone copy of an
archive save set. NetWorker does not write
information about the clone save set to the
client file index for the client.

Changes to the Client and Pool resources after migration


NetWorker uses a number of attributes that are defined in multiple resources to
determine which pool receives the data that is generated by an action task, and how
NetWorker backs up the data. The migration process preserves the values that are
defined for the attributes and introduces new attributes in the Action resource.
NetWorker provides the following attributes, which work together to determine how
NetWorker manages a backup and determines which device to use to receive the
backup data:
l Client resource—Pools, Retention, Save set, and Level attributes on the General
tab of the Client Properties window. The migration process retains the values in
these legacy attributes.
Note: The Modify Client wizard does not display the Pools, Retention, Save
set, and Level attributes.
l Action resource—Destination Pool and Retention attributes on the Specify the
Backup Options and Specify the Clone Options wizard windows. The backup
levels are defined for the action schedule on the Specify the Action Information
wizard window.
l Pool resource—Clients, Save sets, and Retention policy attributes on the
Legacy tab. The values that appear in these attributes were defined in NetWorker
8.1.x and 8.2.x. After the migration completes, the NetWorker 19.1 server retains
the values and these legacy attributes become read-only. You cannot modify the
values in these fields after migration.
The Action resource includes an attribute that is called Client Override Behavior. The
value that is selected for this attribute determines which resource attribute has
precedence over the attributes in other resources that determine the same behavior.
By default, the migration process enables Legacy Backup Rules on an Action
resource. Legacy Backup Rules allow NetWorker to use the values during the pool
selection criteria process.
Note: By default, the NetWorker Administration window does not show the
legacy attributes. To view the legacy attributes in the Client Properties window,
go to the View menu and select Diagnostic Mode.

Pool selection criteria


It is recommended that you use the configuration settings in an Action resource to
determine which pool received backup data. NetWorker provides you with the ability
to configure a Pool attribute in the client resource, which can override the value

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defined in the Action resource. Additionally, the Pool resource contains 8.2.x legacy
attributes that provide you with the ability to define backup data criteria for the pool.
How and when NetWorker uses the attributes values defined in the Pool, Action, and
Client resources to determine which backup pool will receive data depends on the
value that you select in the Client Override Behavior attribute of the Action resource:
l Client Can Override—The value in Pool attribute of the client resource takes
precedence over the Destination pool value that is defined in the Action resource.
NetWorker does not use the values that are defined in the Client, Save set, and
Levels attributes of the Pool resources when deciding which pool receives backup
data for a client.
l Client Can Not Override—The value defined Destination Pool attribute in the
Action resource takes precedence over the value that is defined in the Pool
attribute of the Client resource. NetWorker does not use the values that are
defined in the Client, Save set, and Levels attributes of the Pool resources when
deciding which pool receives backup data for a client.
l Legacy Backup Rules—Enabled for migrations only. NetWorker uses the values
that are defined in the Client, Save set, and Levels attributes of the pool resource
to determine which pool receives backup data from a client. The values that are
defined in the Client, Save set, and Levels of the pool resource take precedence
over the Destination Pool value that is defined in the Action resource, and the
Pool value that is defined in the Client resource.
Note: You cannot modify the legacy attributes in the migrated Pool resources.

The following table summarizes how NetWorker determines which pool receives the
backup data, which is based on the configuration of the Action, Client, and Pool
resource attributes.

Table 22 Determining which pool receives backup data

Client Override Destination Pool Legacy criteria Pool that


Behavior pool (Client) attributes (Pool) receives the
(Action) (Action) data
Client Can Override Defined Defined Defined and criteria Pool defined in
matches Client resource

Client Can Override Defined Undefined Defined and criteria Pool defined in
matches Action resource

Client Cannot Defined Defined Defined and criteria Pool defined in


Override matches Action resource

Legacy Backup Defined Undefined Defined and criteria Pool that matches
Rules matches legacy criteria

Legacy Backup Defined Defined Defined and criteria Pool that matches
Rules matches legacy criteria

Legacy Backup Defined Undefined Undefined or no Default


Rules matches

Example 1 Client Can Override is enabled

A Protection group contains two clients, SQL_clnt and Exchange_clnt. The workflow
that is associated with the protection group contains a backup action.

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Example 1 Client Can Override is enabled (continued)

l Backup action configuration:


n Destination Pool=App_backups
n Schedule=Daily full backup
n Client Override Behavior=Client Can Override
l The Pool attribute that is defined for the SQL_clnt client resource is
SQL_backups.
l The Pool attribute for Exchange_clnt is Exchange_backups.
l The Full level is enabled in the Levels attribute of a pool resource named Backups.

In this example, NetWorker sends the backup data for Exchange_clnt to


Exchange_backups, the pool that is defined in the backup action. NetWorker sends
the backup data for SQL_clnt to the pool defined in the client resource,
SQL_backups.

Example 2 Example: Client Can Override is enabled

A Protection group contains two clients, SQL_clnt and Exchange_clnt. The workflow
that is associated with the protection group contains a backup action.

l Backup action configuration:


n Destination Pool=App_backups
n Schedule=Daily full backup
n Client Override Behavior=Client Can Override
l The Pool attribute that is defined for the SQL_clnt client resource is
SQL_backups.
l The Pool attribute for Exchange_clnt is not defined.
l The Full level is enabled in the Levels attribute of a pool resource named Backups.

In this example, NetWorker sends the backup data for Exchange_clnt to


App_backups, the pool that is defined in the backup action. NetWorker sends the
backup data for SQL_clnt to the pool defined in the client resource, SQL_backups.

Example 3 Client Cannot Override is enabled

A Protection group contains two clients, SQL_clnt and Exchange_clnt. The workflow
that is associated with the protection group contains a backup action.

l Backup action configuration:


n Destination Pool=App_backups
n Schedule=daily full backup
n Client Override Behavior=Client Cannot Override
l The Pool attribute that is defined for the SQL_clnt client resource is
SQL_backups.
l The Pool attribute for Exchange_clnt is Exchange_backups.

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Example 3 Client Cannot Override is enabled (continued)


l The Full level is enabled in the Levels attribute of a pool resource named Backups.

In this example, NetWorker sends the backup data for SQL_clnt and Exchange_clnt to
App_backups, the pool that is defined in the backup action.

Example 4 Legacy Backup Rules is enabled

A Protection group contains two clients, SQL_clnt and Exchange_clnt. The workflow
that is associated with the protection group contains a backup action.

l Backup action configuration:


n Destination Pool=App_backups
n Schedule=daily full backup
n Client Override Behavior= Legacy Backup Rules
l The Pool attribute that is defined for the SQL_clnt client resource is
SQL_backups.
l The Pool attribute for Exchange_clnt is not defined.
l The Full level is enabled in the Levels attribute of a pool resource named Backups.

In this example, NetWorker sends the backup data for SQL_clnt and Exchange_clnt to
Backups, the pool that matches the level Full backup criteria.

Example 5 Legacy Backup Rules is enabled

A Protection group contains two clients, SQL_clnt and Exchange_clnt. The workflow
that is associated with the protection group contains a backup action.

l Backup action configuration:


n Destination Pool= App_backups
n Schedule=daily full backup
n Client Override Behavior= Legacy Backup Rules
l The Pool attribute that is defined for the SQL_clnt client resource is
SQL_backups.
l The Pool attribute for Exchange_clnt is not defined.
l The manual level is enabled in the Levels attribute of a pool resource named
Backups.

In this example, NetWorker sends the backup data for SQL_clnt and Exchange_clnt to
the Default pool because a pool does not exist with legacy attributes that match the
configuration for the backup data.

Matching the pool criteria with Legacy Backup Rules enabled


After a migration and configuring media pools, data generated by an action might
match the criteria for more than one media pool configuration. For example, if you
configure one media pool to accept data from a client that is called mnd.corp.com, and
you configure another media pool to accept data from all full backups, NetWorker uses

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other criteria to determine which pool of volumes receives the data from a full backup
of the mnd.corp.com client.
The NetWorker Server uses the following media pool selection criteria:
1. Groups attribute (highest precedence)
2. Clients attribute
3. Save sets attribute
4. Levels attribute (lowest precedence)
When data matches the attributes for two media pools, for example, Client and Level,
the data is written to the media pool specified in the Client attribute. For example, in
the case where the data from the client matched the criteria for two different media
pools, the data is routed to the media pool that accepts data from the mnd.corp.com
client.
The following table details the hierarchy that the NetWorker Server uses to determine
media pool selection when a conflict arises. For example, the media pool criteria for
Groups takes precedence over the media pool criteria for Clients, Save sets, and
Levels. If data does not meet the criteria for any customized pool, NetWorker writes
the data to the Default media pool.

Table 23 NetWorker hierarchy for resolving media pool conflicts

Precedence Groups Clients Save sets Levels


attribute attribute attribute attribute
Highest x x x x

x x x

x x x

x x

x x x

x x

x x

x x x

x x

x x

x x

Lowest x

Working with media pools


This section explains how to edit, copy, delete, and create media pools.

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Creating a media pool


Perform the following steps to create a new media pool.
Before you begin
Perform either of the following:
l If the Match Bar Code Labels attribute is not used for the Library resource, create
a label template for the media pool.
l Determine a preconfigured label template to use for the media pool.
About this task
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the left pane, select Media Pools.
3. From the File menu, select New.
4. In the Name attribute, type a name for the media pool.
A media pool is associated with a label template. Use a name that clearly
associates the media pool with the corresponding label template.

5. In the Comment attribute, type a description of the media pool.


6. Leave the Enabled attribute selected.
7. For the Pool Type attribute, select the media pool type.
l Backup—Select this type to configure the pool to receive backup data.
l Backup clone—Select this option to configure the pool to receive a clone
copy of backup data.
l Archive—Select this type to configure the pool to receive archive data.
l Archive clone—Select this option to configure the pool to receive a clone
copy of archive data.

8. In the Label Template attribute, select the matching label template.


9. In the Data Source attribute, select the backup groups that are eligible to back
up to this media pool.
10. (Optional), on the Selection Criteria tab, configure the following options:
l Devices—Select the devices on which NetWorker can mount volumes for
this pool.
l Media type required—Select which device type NetWorker can use to label
volumes for this pool. You cannot use this attribute when you select an
option in the Media type preferred attribute.
l Media type preferred—Select the device type that NetWorker should use
first to label a volume for this pool. You cannot use this attribute when you
select an option in the Media type required attribute.
Note: When you do not configure the Media type required or Media type
preferred attribute, you can write data across several volumes of different
media types (for example, magnetic disk and tapes), if the volumes
mounted on the storage devices have the appropriate label associated with
the media pool.

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11. On Configuration tab, configure the following options:

Attribute Definition
Auto Media Select this attribute to perform automated media verification
Verify while data is written to a volume labeled for this media pool.
Auto media verification provides more information.
Max parallelism Increase the value to define the maximum number of
simultaneous save streams that NetWorker writes to each
device in the pool. The default value for this attribute is 0,
which means that the attribute has no effect on other
parallelism settings. When you set the Max parallelism
attribute to 1, a prolonged delay might occur between the
backup of save sets. To resolve this issue, increase the Max
parallelism attribute for the pool resource. However, when
you increase the pool parallelism value, the time to recover
data on the volume increases.
Note: For AFTD and DD Boost devices, the Max nsrmmd
count attribute value for a device affects the Max
parallelism attribute. For example, consider an AFTD
device (AFTD_1) that has a Max sessions attribute value
of 20 and a Max nsrmmd value of 4. Now suppose a
backup pool with a Pool parallelism attribute of 1 selects
AFTD_1 . The total number of save sessions that
NetWorker can start for AFTD_1 is 4, one for each
nsrmmd process. Tape and FTD devices can only spawn
one nsrmmd process at a time, so if the previous
example used a tape device, then the total number of
save sessions would be 1.

Recycle from Select this option to enable NetWorker to use expired


other pools volumes that are labeled for other media pools in this pool
that have the Recycle to other pools attribute enabled,
when the NetWorker server does not have access to blank
volumes or volumes eligible for reuse and assigned to this
pool.
Recycle to Select this option to enable NetWorker to use expired
other pools volumes that are labeled for this media pool in other pools
that have the Recycle from other pools attribute enabled,
when the NetWorker server does not have access to blank
volumes or volumes eligible for reuse and assigned to the
other pool.
Recycle start Defines the time to start the automatic relabel process each
day. By default this attribute is empty and the automatic
relabeling of recyclable volumes is not done. Use the format
HH:MM. Automatically relabeling volumes in a media pool
provides more information.
Recycle Defines the interval between two starts of the automatic
interval relabel processes. The default value is 24:00. Use the format
HH:MM.

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Attribute Definition
Max volumes Defines the maximum number of recyclable volumes that
to recycle NetWorker can relabel during each automatic relabel
process. The default value is 200.
Recycle start Select this attribute to start the automatic relabel process of
now recyclable volumes for this pool immediately after you create
the pool. The default value is No.
Store index For archive pools only. Select this attribute to configure an
entries archive pool that creates client file index entries for the
archive save sets. Clear this option to configure an archive
pool that will not create client file index entries for the
archive save sets.
Worm pool/ Supported WORM and DLTWORM tape drives provides more
Create information about how to create Worm pools.
DLTWORM

12. Optionally, on the Restricted Data Zones tab, from the restricted datazone list,
select the restricted datazone in which to add the pool.
13. Click OK
If any of the settings for a new media pool match an existing media pool, this
message appears:

Pool(s) pool_name has overlapping selection criteria.

If this message appears, review the media pool configuration and modify any
overlapping criteria.

14. If you did not select a label template when you create the media pool, a
message appears that tells you that NetWorker creates a label template for the
media pool, click OK.
Auto media verification
If the Auto Media Verify attribute is enabled, the NetWorker server verifies data
written to tape volumes from this media pool. This attribute does not apply to AFTD,
file type and Data Domain devices.
Data is verified by repositioning the tape volume to read a portion of the data
previously written to the media. The data read is compared to the original data
written. This feature does not verify the entire length of the tape.
If the data read matches the data written, verification succeeds.
Media is verified when the following occurs:
l A volume becomes full while saving and it becomes necessary to continue on to
another volume.
l A volume goes idle because all save sets being written to the volume are complete.
When a volume fails verification, it is marked full so that the server will not select that
volume for future saves. The volume remains full until it is recycled or a user marks it
not full. If a volume fails verification while the server is attempting to switch volumes,
all save sets writing to the volume are terminated.

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Auto media verification should not be used to verify the integrity of the data written to
the entire tape. To fully verify the data written to the tape, either restore the tape
contents or clone the data.
Automatically relabeling volumes in a media pool
About this task
Automatically relabeling a recyclable volume provides the following benefits:
l You can relabel volumes outside of the backup window without the need for a
scripted solution.
l NetWorker has access to appendable volumes at the time of a backup or clone,
which results in faster backup and clone completion times.
Eligible volumes will not be relabeled if the volume is loaded in a device that is:
l Disabled
l In use by an nsrmmd process (for example, during a restore operation)
l In read-only mode
l Busy
When NetWorker automatically relabels a volume, message to the following appears in
the daemon.raw file on the NetWorker server:

"num_of_volumes volumes will be recycled for pool pool_name in


jukebox jukebox_name."

Supported WORM and DLTWORM tape drives


NetWorker supports write-once, read-many (WORM) tape drives and media. It is able
to recognize the WORM abilities of tape drives and the presence of WORM media in
those drives. It also supports the creation of DLTWORM (formerly DLTIce) tapes in
drives that are DLTWORM capable.
The following table describes the WORM devices that are supported by the
NetWorker software. For a complete listing of supported devices, refer to the
NetWorker Hardware Compatibility Guide.

Table 24 WORM supported devices

Device Description
HP LTO Ultrium 3 and higher Unique to HP Ultrium-3 and higher:
l Inquiry VPD page 0xb0, byte 4 bit 0 indicates WORM
capable
l Read attribute # 0x0408 bit 7 to indicate WORM media
present

Quantum SDLT600, DLT-S4, Any drive with product inquiry data of “*DLT*” tape drive
and DLT-V4 (SCSI and SATA) that reports WORM capability the way these drives do
(“Quantum” not required in the vendor inquiry data):
l Inquiry data VPD page 0xc0, byte 2, bit 0 to indicate
WORM capable
l Read attribute # 0x0408 bit 7 to indicate WORM media
present

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Table 24 WORM supported devices (continued)

Device Description
Sony AIT-2, AIT-3, AIT-4, and Any drive with “Sony” in the vendor inquiry data that reports
SAIT WORM capability like these drives do:
l Mode sense page 0x31, byte 5 bit 0 indicates WORM
capable
l Mode sense byte 4 bit 6 indicates WORM tape present

IBM 3592 Unique to IBM 03592:


l Mode sense page 0x24, byte 7 bit 4 indicates WORM
capable
l Mode sense page 0x23, byte 20 bit 4 indicates WORM
tape present

STK 9840A/B/C, 9940B, Any drive with STK as the vendor data that reports WORM
T10000 capability like these:
l Standard inquiry data byte 55 bit 2 indicates WORM
capable
l Request sense data byte 24 bit 1 indicates WORM tape
present

IBM LTO Ultrium 3 and These drives use the SCSI-3 method to report WORM
higher, and Quantum LTO capabilities, so there is not a match against any of the inquiry
Ultrium 3 and higher data. Any drive that does not match the inquiry data patterns
listed above will have the SCSI-3 method applied to them:
l Inquiry data VPD page
0xb0, byte 4, bit 0 indicates WORM capable
l Mode sense page
0x1d, byte 2 bit 0 indicates WORM tape present
Byte 4, bits 0,1: label restrictions include
- 00 indicates no overwriting allowed
- 01 indicates some labels can be overwritten
l Byte 5, bits 0,1: filemark overwrite restrictions
- 0x02: any filemark at EOD can be overwritten except for
the one closest to the beginning of the tape
- 0x03: any filemark at EOD can be overwritten

The WORM and DLTWORM attributes determine whether or not the NetWorker
software will back up to a write once-read many (WORM) tape. You can apply these
tape attributes to any pool.
Note: Various Quantum drive models (SDLT600, DLT-S4, and DLT-V4) have the
ability to create WORM tapes from ordinary blank DLT tapes supported by that
particular drive. You cannot recycle an existing NetWorker tape to create a
DLTWORM volume without first having bulk-erased the tape. When the
DLTWORM attribute is set, labeling one of these drives into a WORM pool causes
the Quantum drive to make the current tape a WORM tape.

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Savegroups that belong to pools that have either the WORM or DLTWORM attribute
set, are considered to be WORM savegroups.
How to identify WORM media
Since WORM media cannot be reused, the tapes are uniquely identified as such so
that they are only used when required. As shown in this figure, a (W) is appended to
the volume names displayed in the Volumes window. If a volume is both read-only and
WORM, an (R) is appended to the volume name.
Figure 11 Identifying WORM tapes in the NetWorker Console

Note: Since WORM tapes can only be used once, attempting to relabel a WORM
tape always results in a write protection error. With the exception of pool
selection and relabeling, the NetWorker software treats WORM tapes exactly the
same as all other types of tape.

Determining WORM and DLTWORM capability


Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. Select the drive, right-click, and select Properties.
3. Click the Information tab and observe the WORM capable and DLTWORM
capable attribute settings. NetWorker automatically sets these attributes and,
consequently, they are read-only and cannot be changed.
Note: The WORM capable and DLTWORM capable attributes are dimmed
out when the device in use is WORM capable but does not support
DLTWORM (not a Quantum DTL-type drive).

Configuring WORM and DLTWORM support


The following table describes WORM and DLTWORM attributes.
About this task

Table 25 WORM/DLTWORM attributes

Attribute Description
WORM pools only hold WORM tape By default, the NetWorker software only
allows WORM tapes into WORM pools.
Deselecting this option lets you add new

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Table 25 WORM/DLTWORM attributes (continued)

Attribute Description
(non-WORM) tapes to a WORM pool. This is
useful when you need WORM functionality
but do not have WORM tapes available.

WORM tapes only in WORM pools By default, NetWorker only lets you label
WORM tapes into WORM pools. Clear this
option when:

You do not want to segregate WORM tapes


within WORM pools.

A volume is needed to complete a group and a


non-WORM tape is
unavailable.

WORM capable This attribute indicates that this drive


supports the use of WORM media.

DLTWORM capable This attribute indicates that this drive can


create DLTWORM tapes from a blank tape.

WORM pool This pool should hold WORM tapes


(depending on the setting of “WORM pools
only hold WORM tape” in the server).

create DLTWORM If selected, before the NetWorker software


labels a tape in a drive capable of creating
DLTWORM volumes, NetWorker will try to
convert the tape into a DLTWORM tape. If
that conversion fails, the labeling for that tape
will fail. If a tape drive in a pool where this
attribute is set cannot create DLTWORM
tapes, (that is, the tape drive is not a
Quantum SDLT600, DLT-S4 or DLT-V4 tape
drive, this attribute is simply ignored.

Refer to the Quantum web site for


information on which tapes can be
converted to DLTWORM tapes. Not all
firmware revisions for all of these
devices support WORM operation. Check the
tape drives website to make
sure that your drive has up-to-date firmware.

Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the left pane, select Media Pools.
3. In the right pane, select the appropriate pool.
4. Right-click and select Properties.
5. Click the Configuration tab and select one of these WORM tape handling
attributes:

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l WORM pools only hold WORM tapes


l WORM tapes only in WORM pools
6. Click OK when finished making the necessary selections.
Note: If you attempt to assign a non-WORM capable drive to a WORM pool
an error message is generated.

Editing a media pool


Perform these steps to edit an existing media pool.
About this task
Note: You cannot change the name of a media pool. Preconfigured media pools
cannot be modified.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the left pane, select Media Pools.
3. In the right pane, perform one of the following tasks:
l To modify multiple attributes in a single configuration resource by using the
Media Pool Properties window, right-click the staging configuration and
select Properties.
l To modify a specific attribute that appears in the resource window, place
the mouse in the cell that contains the attribute that you want to change,
then right-click. The menu displays an option to edit the attribute. For
example, to modify the Comment attribute, right-click the resource in the
Comment cell and select Edit Comment.
Note: To modify a specific attribute for multiple resources, press and
hold the Ctrl key, select each resource, and then right-click in the cell
that contains the attribute that you want to change. The menu displays
an option to edit the attribute.
4. Make any required changes, then click OK.

Copying a media pool


Perform these steps to create a copy of a pool resource.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the left pane, select Media Pools.
3. In the right pane, select the media pool.
4. From the Edit menu, select Copy. The Create Media Pool dialog box appears,
containing the same information as the media pool that was copied, except for
the Name attribute.
5. In the Name attribute, type a name for the new media pool.
6. Edit any other attributes as appropriate, and click OK.

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Deleting a media pool


About this task
You can delete a media pool only if the media database does not contain information
about active volumes that are labeled for the media pool. You cannot delete a
preconfigured media pool.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the left pane, select Media Pools.
3. In the right pane, select the media pool.
4. From the File menu, select Delete.
5. When prompted, click Yes to confirm the deletion.

Storage nodes
Storage nodes (including the NetWorker server) are host computers with attached
storage devices. A storage node has the physical connection and ownership of the
attached devices, but the NetWorker server maintains the client file index and media
database. With the NetWorker software, client data can be routed directly to a
storage node’s storage devices without the data first going to the NetWorker server.
A storage node may be a client of the NetWorker server, although this is not a
requirement. However, the storage node must have the NetWorker client software
installed.
From the NetWorker server, typical storage tasks can be performed, such as:
l Mounting and labeling volumes for the storage node devices.
l Configuring NetWorker resources associated with the storage nodes.
Only users who have the Configure NetWorker privilege can add to or change the
configuration of the NetWorker server, media devices, and libraries. The NetWorker
Security Configuration Guide provides more information.

Requirements
To operate the NetWorker software with storage nodes, certain requirements must be
met.
l On UNIX systems, this software must be installed on the storage nodes. The
packages must be installed in the following order:
1. NetWorker client software
2. NetWorker storage node software
l On Windows systems, the Storage Node Option must be installed. The Storage
Node Option installs both the NetWorker client and storage node software.

Licensing
The NetWorker Licensing Guide provides information on NetWorker licensing support
for storage nodes.

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Storage node configuration


The following sections provide the procedures for configuring a NetWorker storage
node.

Configuring the Linux host as a storage node


Configure a storage node host to manage the data protection activities on a host that
is not the NetWorker server.
Procedure
1. Ensure that the storage node software and required enabler codes have been
installed on the host.
2. In the NetWorker server Administration interface, click the Devices view.
3. From the navigation tree, right-click Storage Nodes, and select New.
The Create Storage Node window appears, with the General tab displayed.

4. Set the Identity attributes:


a. In Name, specify the hostname of the NetWorker storage node.
b. In Type of Storage Node, select SCSI.
5. In the Status attributes, review or set the storage node status:
a. Storage node is configured indicates whether a device has already been
configured on this storage node.
b. Enabled indicates whether the storage node is available for use:
l Yes indicates available state.
l No indicates service or disabled state. New device operations cannot
begin and existing device operations may be canceled.

c. Ready indicates whether the storage node is ready to accept device


operations.
6. Set the Device Management attributes:
a. In Max active devices, set the maximum number of devices that NetWorker
may use from this storage node in a DDS environment.
b. In AFTD allowed directories, for AFTD devices, type the pathnames of
directories on the storage host where AFTDs are allowed to be created.
c. In mmds for disabled devices, select the nsrmmd (data mover) option:
l To start nsrmmd processes for disabled devices, select Yes.
l To not start nsrmmd processes for disabled devices, select No.

d. In Dynamic nsrmmds, for AFTD or DD Boost devices, select whether


nsrmmd processes on the storage node devices are started dynamically.
l Selected (Dynamic mode): NetWorker starts one nsrmmd process per
device and adds more only on demand, for example, when a device's
Target sessions is reached.
l Unselected (Static mode): NetWorker runs all available nsrmmd
processes.
In environments where unattended firewall ports must be restricted for
security reasons, the storage node settings for mmds for disabled

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devices and Dynamic nsrmmds unselected (static mode) offer more


control. These storage node settings cause all available nsrmmd firewall
ports to be attended by running nsrmmd processes.

7. Select the Configuration tab.


8. In Scanning, set the attributes for SCSI library target devices on this storage
node:
a. In Device Sharing Mode, select an option:
l Server Default uses the NetWorker server setting for device sharing.
l Maximal Sharing allows sharing of all devices.
l No Sharing disables device sharing.

b. In Search all LUNs, select an option:


l For NetWorker to detect all LUNs (Iogical unit numbers), select Yes.
Detection can be time consuming.
l For NetWorker to stop searching at the first available LUN, select No,
the default setting.

c. In Use persistent names, choose whether NetWorker uses persistent


device names specific to the storage host operating system when
performing device discovery and autoconfiguration operations.
d. In Skip SCSI targets field:
l If the storage node type is set to SCSI, list any SCSI targets to exclude
from backup operations, one per line.
l The format is bus.target.lun where the target and LUN fields are optional.
l You can exclude a maximum of 63 targets.

9. For AFTD or DD Boost devices, configure the following settings in Advanced


Devices:
l In Server network interface, type the unique network interface hostname
of the NetWorker server to be used by the storage nodes.
l In Clone storage nodes, list by priority the hostnames of the storage nodes
to be used for the save or “write source” side of clone operations originating
from this storage node as the “read source.” The clone operation selects the
first storage node in this list that has an enabled device and a functional
nsrmmd process.
n If the Clone storage nodes attribute does not contain a value, then the
device operations use the value that is defined in the Clone storage
nodes attribute for the Storage Node resource that was created for the
NetWorker server.
n If the Clone storage nodes attribute for the storage node resource is
empty, then device operations use the values that are defined in Storage
nodes attribute for the client resource that was created for the
NetWorker server.
In backup-to-disk environments, it is possible for a single backup volume to
be shared by multiple storage devices on different storage nodes. This can
result in an ambiguous clone write source.
10. Click OK.

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Modifying the timeout attribute for storage node operations


An attribute named nsrmmd Control Timeout, which is set during NetWorker server
configuration, configures the amount of time a NetWorker server waits for a storage
node request to be completed. If the timeout value is reached without completion of
the request, the operation stops and an error message is logged. The default value
assigned to Nsrmmd Control Timeout is five minutes.
Procedure
1. In the server’s Administration interface, click the Configuration button.
2. Select View > Diagnostic Node.
3. Right-click the NetWorker server in the left pane and select Properties.
4. Select the Media tab.
5. Modify the attributes as appropriate and click OK.

Configuring timeouts for storage node remote devices


Timeouts that determine how long to wait for mount requests on a storage node
remote device before the save is redirected to another storage node are set in the
Properties window of a device.
About this task
The Storage Node Devices area of the tab includes these attributes related to storage
node timeouts:
l Save Mount Timeout
l Save Lockout
Save Mount Timeout and Save Lockout attributes change the timeout of a save mount
request on a remote device.
If the mount request is not satisfied within the time frame specified by the Save
Mount Timeout attribute, the storage node is locked out from receiving saved data for
the time specified by the Save Lockout attribute.
The default value for Save Mount Timeout is 30 minutes. The default value for Save
Lockout is zero, which means the device in the storage node continues to receive
mount requests for the saved data.
Note: The Save Mount Timeout applies only to the initial volume of a save request.

To modify the Save Mount Timeout and Save Lockout attributes, perform the
following steps.
Procedure
1. In the server’s Administration interface, click the Devices button.
2. Select View > Diagnostic Node.
3. Right-click the remote device and select Properties.
4. Select the Advanced tab.
5. Modify the attributes as appropriate and click OK.

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Balancing the load on the storage node


The Save Session Distribution feature allows you to configure how NetWorker
distributes save sessions between the storage nodes.
Note: This feature is not available for clone and recover operations.

You can apply this feature to all NetWorker clients or to selected clients. This feature
has two options:
l Max sessions—Distributes save sessions that are based on the setting in the Max
sessions option in the storage node device resource. This is the default
distribution method. The Max sessions option is more likely to concentrate the
backup load on fewer storage nodes.
l Target sessions—Distributes save sessions that are based on the setting defined
in the Target sessions option in each storage node device resource. The Target
sessions option is more likely to spread the backup across multiple storage nodes.
When you select the Max sessions option, the NetWorker server distributes the save
sessions for a client among eligible storage nodes as follows:
1. Identifies the available storage nodes in the NetWorker client’s storage node
affinity list.
2. Uses an available device on the first storage node in the list that is working below
its Target sessions level.
3. When all devices on the first storage node are running at their target sessions level
but some are running below their max sessions level, then NetWorker uses the
least loaded device.
4. Continues until all available devices on all storage nodes in the client’s storage
node affinity list are in use.
When you select the Target sessions option, the NetWorker server distributes save
sessions among eligible storage nodes as follows:
1. Identifies the available storage nodes in the storage node affinity list for the client.
2. Uses an available device on the first storage node in the list that is working below
its Target sessions level.
3. When all devices on the first storage node are running at their target sessions
levels, continue to the next storage node even if some devices are running below
their max sessions level.
4. When all devices on all eligible storage nodes are running at their target sessions
level, use the least loaded device that is running below its max session value.
5. Continues to send data to the least loaded device that is running below the max
session value, until all devices on all available storage nodes are running at their
max session levels.
Note the following performance considerations for storage node load balancing:
l Depending on the configuration of the backup environment, there is a potential to
shorten the backup times by using the device Target sessions option rather than
the device Max sessions option. However, using the device Target sessions
option with the checkpoint restart feature can result in slower recovery times
because a single save set is more likely to be spread across multiple storage nodes.
l It is recommended to use the default values for Max sessions as lowering these
values can impact performance.

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l Each NetWorker client has a storage node affinity list. The Save sessions
distribution feature can only distribute a backup session for a client to multiple
storage nodes when the client resource has two or more storage nodes in its
storage node affinity list. The storage node affinity list is specified on the Globals
(2 of 2) tab in the NetWorker Client Properties window.

Configuring the storage node affinity list for a client


Storage node affinity is a feature that determines which NetWorker servers and
storage nodes receive the data from a client. Define the storage node affinity list in
the Storage Nodes attribute of the Client resource.
About this task
For most Client resources, the default setting for the Storage Nodes attribute is
nsrserverhost, which represents NetWorker server host. To configure the NetWorker
server to direct the data for a client to a storage node device, modify the Storage
Nodes attribute and specify the name of the storage node in the Storage Nodes
attribute of the Client resource on a line above the default nsrserverhost entry.
If you create the Client resource for a storage node after you create the remote
device on the storage node, the default setting of the Storage Nodes attribute is the
storage node and the NetWorker server.
To modify the Storage Nodes attribute for a client, perform the following steps:
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In left navigation pane, expand Clients, right-click the appropriate client, and
select Properties.
3. On the Globals (2 of 2) tab in the Storage Nodes attribute, specify the
hostname of the storage node, and then click OK.
Results
The NetWorker software directs the client data to the first storage node in the affinity
list with an enabled device, capable of receiving the data. The NetWorker software
sends additional saves to the next storage node in the storage node affinity list that is
based on criteria that are specified in Balancing the load on the storage node on page
102.

Specifying storage node load balancing


By default, NetWorker balances client backups across storage nodes that are based
on the Max sessions attribute for each device on the storage node. If you choose to
balance storage node loads by Max sessions, you can override this setting for selected
clients.
About this task
Procedure
1. On the Administration window, click the Server button.
2. From the View menu, select Diagnostic Mode.
3. Right-click the NetWorker server in the left pane, and select Properties.
4. On the General tab, select a value from the Save session distribution list:
l If you select Target sessions, then the NetWorker server balances the
backups for all NetWorker clients across the storage nodes, based on device
target session value. The NetWorker server ignores the value that is defined
in Save session distribution attribute for each NetWorker client.

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l If you select Max sessions, then you can still override this value for selected
NetWorker client resources by setting the Save session distribution attribute
in the client resource.

5. Click OK.

Overriding the save session distribution method for selected clients


If you selected Max sessions as the Save session distribution method for the
NetWorker server, you can use the following procedure to override the setting for
selected clients.
Procedure
1. On the Administration window, click the Protection button.
2. In the left navigation pane, expand Clients.
3. Right-click the appropriate client and select Properties.
4. On the Globals (1 of 2) tab, select Target sessions from the Save session
distribution list.
5. Click OK.

Multiplexing
Multiplexing is the ability to write multiple data streams simultaneously to the same
storage device. It is often more efficient for the NetWorker server to multiplex
multiple save sets to the same device. There are also times when limiting the number
of data streams to a particular device improves performance of the NetWorker
environment.
Use the Target sessions, Max sessions, and Pool parallelism attributes to increase or
limit the number of data streams that NetWorker writes to a device.
Target sessions
Use the Target sessions attribute on the Configuration tab of the Device resource to
define the optimal number of backup sessions to assign to an active device.
Target sessions is not a hard limit; to set a hard limit for the number of sessions that a
particular device can accept, use the Max sessions attribute.
The Target sessions attribute aids in load balancing devices by determining when the
NetWorker software should write save streams to a device.
When a save session starts, the following actions occur:
l If a device is already receiving the number of backup sessions determined by the
target sessions value, the NetWorker server uses the next underutilized device for
the backups.
l If all available devices are receiving the number of backup sessions determined by
their target sessions value, the NetWorker server overrides the set value and uses
the device with the least activity for the next backup session.
Because it is often more efficient for the NetWorker server to multiplex multiple save
sets to the same device, rather than write each save set to a separate device, the
NetWorker server attempts to assign to each device a number of save sets, up to the
value of target sessions, before assigning a save set to another device.
NOTICE When the NetWorker software assesses how many devices need to be
involved in multiple save streams assignments with the same storage node, the
device with the lowest target session value is used as a reference.
Max sessions
The Max sessions attribute on the Configuration tab of the Device resource defines
the maximum number of save sessions for a device. The max sessions value is never

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less than the target sessions value. It is recommended to use the default values for
Max sessions as lowering these values can impact performance.

Bootstrap backup on a storage node


When the NetWorker server backup action performs a backup of the bootstrap save
set, the data writes to a device that is local to the NetWorker server. You cannot back
up bootstrap data to a remote device, but you can clone or stage the bootstrap to a
remote device. When you recover a bootstrap save set, you must recover the data
from a local device.

Staging bootstrap backups


You can direct bootstrap backups to a disk device such as an AFTD or FTD device.
However, if you stage a bootstrap backup to a volume on another device, NetWorker
reports the staging operation as complete although the “recover space” operation has
not started, and the bootstrap remains on the original device. Therefore, if the staged
bootstrap is accidentally deleted, you can recover the bootstrap from the original disk.
The NetWorker Server Disaster Recovery and Availability Best Practices Guide describes
how to recover a bootstrap from the original disk.
Also, if the bootstrap data is not staged from the original disk, the data on the original
disk is subject to the same retention policies as any other save set backup and is,
therefore, deleted after the retention policy has expired.

Troubleshooting storage node affinity issues


If a backup fails because of a problem related to the storage node affinity, a message
similar to the following might appear:

no matching devices; check storage nodes, devices or pools

Possible causes for this error message include:


l No enabled devices are on the storage nodes.
l The devices do not have volumes that match the pool required by the backup
request.
l All devices are set to read-only or are disabled.
For example, if the client has only one storage node in its Storage Node list, and all
devices on that storage node are disabled, fix the problem and then restart the
backup.
Complete one of the following actions to fix the problem:
l Enable devices on one of the storage nodes in the storage node list for the client.
l Correct the pool restrictions for the devices in the storage node list.
l Configure an additional storage node that has enabled devices that meet the pool
restrictions.
l Set one of the devices to read/write.

Storage Node Options


Storage node options secures the environment by restricting unattended firewall
ports.
If Dynamic nsrmmds is selected, then the NetWorker adds devices only on demand.
Dynamic mode can improve bandwidth and performance, but the firewall ports may be

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left unattended by running processes. If Dynamic nsrmmds is set to No, then the
NetWorker starts all available nsrmmd processes. Static mode along with the “mmds
for disabled devices” option provides greater control on the nsrmmd firewall ports.
They ports are attended by running processes.

MMDS for Dynamic Functionality


Disabled Devices nsrmmds
No No This is a static configuration. The number of ports
that are to be open is equal to the number of disk
devices on the storage node, that is, the “max
nsrmmd count”.

Yes No This is a “static” configuration. The number of


ports that are to be open is equal to the number of
disk devices on the storage node, that is, the
number of nsrmmds. In this configuration, the ports
are not utilized efficiently. A few of them remain
unused. When the disabled devices are re-enabled,
then all the open ports might be used.

Yes/No Yes This is a “dynamic” configuration. This


configuration ensures that the nsrmmds are started
on demand by the server.

Note: You must ensure that the sum of storage node devices nsrmmds count
should not exceed 655.

Configuring a dedicated storage node


All devices created on storage nodes, except the devices for the NetWorker server
include the Dedicated Storage Node attribute. A dedicated storage node can only back
up data that originates from the storage node host. When you configure a storage
node as a dedicated storage node, you require a Dedicated Storage Node license.
About this task
After you create a storage node, perform the following steps to configure the storage
node as dedicated.
Procedure
1. On the Administration window, click Devices.
2. In the left navigation pane, expand Storage Nodes, right-click the storage
node, and then select Properties.
3. On the Configuration tab, in the Dedicated Storage Node option, select Yes.
4. Click OK.

Troubleshooting storage nodes


This section provides troubleshooting information about storage nodes.

Storage node affinity errors


A storage node affinity problem may exist when a backup fails with an error message
similar to the following:
No matching devices; check storage nodes, devices or pools

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This error message can appear for the following reasons:


l All the devices in the storage node are disabled.
l Each device in the storage node contains a volume that does not match the pool
that the backup request requires.
l All the devices in the storage node are set to read-only.
To resolve this error:
l Enable devices on one of the storage nodes.
l Correct the pool restrictions for the devices that are listed in the Storage Nodes
attribute of the Pool resource.
l Add another storage node that has enabled devices and meets the pool
restrictions to the Storage Nodes attribute of the Pool resource.
l Write-enable one of the devices.
l Adjust the Save Mount Timeout and Save Lockout attributes for in the Device
resource for the storage node.

Storage node timeout errors


If the nsrd process starts on the NetWorker server and detects that a setting for the
NSR_MMDCONTROL variable exists, a message similar to the following appears:
NSR_MMDCONTROL env variable is being ignored
use nsrmmd control timeout attribute instead

If you receive this message, perform the following steps.


1. Shut down the NetWorker services.
2. Remove the environment variable setting for NSR_MMDCONTROL.
3. Restart the NetWorker services.
4. Use NMC to connect to the NetWorker server.
5. Adjust the value of the nsrmmd Control Timeout attribute in the Storage Node
resource to the value that was assigned to the NSR_MMDCONTROL variable, or
to a value that best meets the current requirements. Modifying the timeout
attribute for storage node operations on page 101 provides more information.

Disk storage devices


NetWorker software supports a variety of different backup to disk (B2D) methods.
These methods all use disk files that NetWorker creates and manages as storage
devices. These devices can reside on a computer’s local disk or a network-attached
disk. NetWorker supports FTD, AFTD, and DD Boost device types. This section does
not cover disk-based devices that emulate other device types, such as virtual tape
libraries (VTLs).
FTD
A file type device (FTD) is a basic disk device type that has been available for many
years. FTDs have limited use and support and this chapter describes them for legacy
purposes only.

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AFTD
Advanced file type devices (AFTDs) support concurrent backup and restore
operations and require the NetWorker DiskBackup Option (DBO) license. AFTDs are
supported for the following configurations:
l A local disk on a NetWorker storage node.
l A network-attached disk device that is NFS-mountable to a NetWorker storage
node running a Linux or UNIX operating system.
l A network-attached disk device that is CIFS-mountable to a NetWorker storage
node running on Windows.
The Client Direct feature enables NetWorker clients to back up directly to AFTDs over
a CIFS or NFS network, bypassing the storage node. For Client Direct backups, the
storage node manages the devices but does not handle the backup data unless the
Client Direct workflow is not available.
DD Boost devices
DD Boost devices reside on Data Domain storage systems that have the DD Boost
features enabled. These devices are similar to AFTDs except they store backup data in
a highly compressed and deduplicated format. The DD Boost API accesses the DD
Boost devices over a network. NetWorker can perform DD Boost backups through
either the NetWorker storage node workflow or the Client Direct file access workflow.
The Client Direct workflow enables NetWorker clients with distributed segment
processing (DSP) and network access to deduplicate their own backup data and send
the data directly to the DD Boost devices. This method bypasses the storage node and
frees up network bandwidth. The storage node manages the devices but does not
handle the backup data workflow if the Client Direct workflow is available.
If Client Direct backup is not available, NetWorker automatically routes the backup
through the storage node where it is deduplicated and sent to the DD Boost devices
for storage. Restore operations work similarly. If Client Direct is not available for a
restore, then NetWorker performs a traditional storage node recovery.
This guide does not cover DD Boost operations. The NetWorker Data Domain Boost
Integration Guide provides details on DD Boost devices

Example environment
The following figure shows various backup-to-disk options deployed in a mixed
operating system environment.
l Linux/UNIX Storage Node A writes its backups to either of the following:
n The AFTD through an NFS connection to Disk Device 1.
n The AFTD on Local Disk 1.
l Windows Storage Node B uses a CIFS connection to back up to the NAS AFTD on
Disk Device 2.
l Data Domain system C writes its backups to a DD Boost device on Local Disk 2.

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Figure 12 Example NetWorker disk backup configuration in a mixed backup environment.

Considerations for Client Direct clients


Client Direct backups enable clients to bypass the storage node and back up directly
to storage devices. The storage node manages the devices but does not handle the
backup data. Device configuration for Client Direct clients depends on the type of
storage device and how it is connected to the storage nodes.
A Client Direct backup reduces bandwidth usage and bottlenecks at the storage node,
and provides highly efficient backup data transmission.
If a Client Direct backup is not available, a traditional storage node backup occurs
instead.

Requirements for Client Direct backups


Ensure that the environment meets the following requirements to perform Client
Direct backups:
l NetWorker clients on UNIX/Linux or Microsoft Windows can perform non-root
and cross-platform Client Direct backups to AFTDs. The AFTD can be managed by
either a UNIX/Linux or a Windows storage node, and can be either local or
mountable on the storage node.
To perform non-root and cross-platform Client Direct backups to AFTDs, the
NetWorker server and the storage node software must be version 8.1 or later.
l If an NFS server provides the AFTD storage for Client Direct backups, then the
NFS server must permit access by using the NFSv3 protocol with AUTH_SYS
(AUTH_UNIX) authentication. The NFS server also must not restrict access to
clients by using only privileged ports.
l If you enable checkpoint restart for a client, then Client Direct backups are
supported only to AFTDs, and not to DD Boost devices. If a client is enabled for
checkpoint restart and a Client Direct backup is tried to a DD Boost device, then
the backup reverts to a traditional storage node backup instead.
For Client Direct backups to AFTDs, checkpoint restart points are made at least 15
seconds apart. Checkpoints are always made after larger files that require more
than 15 seconds to back up.

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l Archive operations are not currently supported for Client Direct backups.

Configuring Client Direct backups


Procedure
1. Ensure that the clients that perform Client Direct backups have a network
connection and a remote network protocol to reach the storage device.
Windows clients can use a CIFS or NFS path, although a CIFS path generally
yields better performance. UNIX clients must use an NFS path.
2. Specify the complete path for the destination device in the Device access
information attribute on the General tab of the Device Properties dialog box
for the destination device.
Keep in mind the following points when you specify the path:
l If the storage device is directly attached to a Windows storage node, then
the storage node uses a different path than the Client Direct clients. If the
storage device is not directly attached to any storage node, then the path is
the same for all storage nodes and Client Direct clients.
l The device access information path should include multiple access paths to
cover local and remote use cases.
l To specify an NFS path, use the NFS_host:/path format regardless of
whether the AFTD is local to the storage node or mountable on the storage
node. Non-root UNIX/Linux NetWorker clients require this NFS format for
Client Direct access.
l For Windows Client Direct backups, specify a CIFS path instead of an NFS
path. A CIFS path generally yields better performance.
l If you are setting up an AFTD on a Windows storage node, specify the CIFS
path first. For example:

\\fileserver\aftd1
fileserver:/aftd1
l If you are setting up a UNIX/Linux storage node, specify the NFS path first.
For example:

fileserver:/aftd1
\\fileserver\aftd1
The following figure shows an example set of paths for a CIFS AFTD.
Figure 13 Paths for CIFS AFTD

3. If an NFS server provides the AFTD storage for Client Direct backups, then
specify the username and password that is required to access the NFS server

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for the AFTD in the Remote user and Password attributes on the
Configuration tab of the Device Properties dialog box for the device.
4. Ensure that the Client direct attribute is enabled on the General tab of the
Client Properties dialog box for each Client Direct client.
Client Direct backups are enabled by default.
Select View > Diagnostic Mode in the Administration interface to access the
Client direct attribute in the Client Properties dialog box.

Differences between FTDs, AFTDs, and DD Boost devices


The following table lists the functional differences between traditional file type
devices (FTDs), AFTDs, and DD Boost devices.
The NetWorker Data Domain Boost Integration Guide provides details on DD Boost
devices.

Table 26 Differences between disk devices

Function or operation File type device (FTD) Advanced file type device DD Boost device
(AFTD)
Create a device l Device Property Window l Device Configuration l Device Configuration
Wizard Wizard
Select the media type:
file. l Device Property Window l Device Property Window

UNIX/Linux storage node: Select media type: Select media type:


local or NFS only. adv_file. Data Domain

Windows storage node: UNIX/Linux storage node:


local local
path only. CIFS is not or NFS only.
supported for
Windows storage node:
FTDs.
local or
CIFS using UNC path or
using NFS:
Remote user, Password.

Storage location l Specified in the Name l Specified in the Device l Specified in the Device
attribute. Access Information Access Information
attribute. attribute.

Concurrent save set l No. l Yes. l Yes.


operations

Concurrent AFTD recovery


operation limitations on page
127 provides
more information about
performing
concurrent recovery
operations from an
AFTD.

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Table 26 Differences between disk devices (continued)

Function or operation File type device (FTD) Advanced file type device DD Boost device
(AFTD)
Reclaiming or recovering l The nsrim program l Aborted save sets l Reclaims only data that is
space removes both aborted immediately removed. unique, not required by
and expired save sets, other existing backups.
l The nsrim program
once every 24 hours, by NetWorker does not
removes expired save l
the Expiration action, at immediately remove
sets from the media
the time defined in the aborted save sets, but
database once every 24
Server backup workflow marks them recyclable. A
hours, by the Expiration
(if you have set volume restarted save can be
action, at the time
recycle to Auto). deduplicated. Otherwise,
defined in the Server
. backup workflow (if you NetWorker removes the
have set volume recycle aborted save set during
to Auto). NetWorker the next Recover Space
removes space on the operation.
AFTD as specified in the
Reclaim Space Interval of
the staging policy.

Volume default capacity for l If the file type device was l Does not apply. l Does not apply.
devices used before setting the
Volume Default Capacity
attribute, the data for
that file type device must
be staged or cloned to
another device.

AFTD Percentage Capacity l Does not apply. l A setting determines the l Does not apply.
capacity that NetWorker
software should stop
writing to an AFTD: spans
from 1% to 100%.

When file system or volume is l Waiting message is l Message is displayed l Backup to a DD Boost
full displayed if no writable stating file system device fails and stops
volume available or until requires more space. when full.
volume becomes l The nsrim program
available.
invoked to reclaim space
l Volume marked full and is for expired save set on
no longer available for AFTD.
backups until the volume
l Notification is sent by
becomes appendable.
email stating device is
full.
l Device waits until space
become available. The
volume is never marked
as full.

Save set continuation l Yes. l No. Save sets that start l No. Save sets that start
on an AFTD must be on a DD Boost device

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Table 26 Differences between disk devices (continued)

Function or operation File type device (FTD) Advanced file type device DD Boost device
(AFTD)

completed on the same must be completed on the


device. same device.

Data format in device l Open Tape Format l Save stream (uasm) l Deduplicated
(OTF). format (uses less space).

Client Direct backup: l No. l Yes. l Yes.


the storage node manages
the devices for the Clients send their own Clients use DD Boost
NetWorker clients, but the backup data DSP functionality to
clients send their backup data directly to the storage deduplicate
directly to the devices via devices. If Client their own backup data
network access, bypassing Direct backup is not before
the storage node. available, a traditional sending it directly to the
storage node backup is storage
performed. devices. If Client Direct
backup is not
NetWorker archive
available, a traditional
operations are
storage
not supported for Client
node backup is
Direct backup.
performed.

NetWorker archive
operations are not
supported for
Client Direct backup.

Device target and max sessions default values and ranges


There are default values and ranges for device target and max sessions in the NMC
NetWorker Administration window.
The following table lists the default values for target and max sessions values.

Table 27 Default values and ranges for target and max sessions attributes

Device type Default target Default max Recommende Range


sessions sessions d sessions*
AFTD (traditional 4 32 1 - 32 1 - 1024
storage)

AFTD (including 4 32 1 - 10 1 - 1024


Data Domain
CIFS/NFS)

CloudBoost 10 80 1 - 10 1 - 200

Data Domain (DD 20 120 1 - 10 1 - 120


Boost)

DD Cloud Tier 20 60 1 - 10 1 - 120

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Table 27 Default values and ranges for target and max sessions attributes (continued)

Device type Default target Default max Recommende Range


sessions sessions d sessions*
NDMP 4 512 1 - 32 1 - 1024

FTD (traditional) 4 32 1 - 16 1 - 1024

ProtectPoint 20 120 1 - 10 1 - 1024

VTL/Tape 4 32 1 - 16 1 - 512
(traditional)

VTL/Tape (Data 4 32 1-1 1 - 512


Domain /
Deduplicated)

* The
recommended
session values
are guidelines
only and are
subject to
bandwidth, data
type, and device
capabilities.

Advanced file type devices


Advanced file type devices (AFTDs) overcome the main restrictions of traditional file
type device (FTD) storage. AFTD storage is designed for large disk storage systems
that use a volume manager to dynamically extend available disk space if the disk runs
out of space during backup.
The NetWorker E-LAB Navigator provides a list of supported volume managers.

Memory requirements for AFTD backups


The physical memory requirements for a NetWorker storage node and Client Direct
client depends on the peak AFTD usage.
The following is the list of physical memory requirements for AFTD:
l Allowing for other types of devices and services on a typical storage node, a
storage node should have a minimum of 8 GB of RAM to host AFTDs.
l AFTD clients require a minimum of 4 GB of RAM at the time of backup to ensure
optimum performance for Client Direct backups. Client Direct backups require
client access to the AFTDs on either a CIFS or NFS network.
l Each AFTD requires an initial 24 MB of RAM on the storage node and Client Direct
client. Each AFTD save session requires an additional 24 MB. To run 10 sessions
requires 24 + 240 MB. The default max sessions of 60 sessions per AFTD requires
24 + 1440 MB.

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Required AFTD DFA device settings for Hyper-V environments


For Hyper-V environments, when creating a NetWorker AFTD DFA device on an NTFS
or ReFS volume, Microsoft requires certain settings.
If the NetWorker AFTD DFA device is created on an NTFS volume, virtual hard disk
(VHD/VHDx) files must be uncompressed and unencrypted. If the NetWorker AFTD
DFA device is created on an ReFS volume, virtual hard disk (VHD/VHDx) files must
not have the integrity bit set.

Create and configure an AFTD


You can create an AFTD by using either the Device Wizard or the device properties
window.

Creating an AFTD by using the Device Wizard


About this task
If you are creating an AFTD to use the client direct feature, see Considerations for
Client Direct clients on page 109 for information about specifying network path
information when creating the AFTD.
Procedure
1. In the NMC Enterprise view, double-click the NetWorker managed application
to launch its window.
2. In the NetWorker Administration window, select the Devices view.
3. Verify that the path to the storage directory that will contain the AFTDs is
allowed.
a. In the navigation tree, select Storage Nodes.
b. Right-click the storage node that you will use, and select Properties.
c. In the AFTD allowed directories list, verify or type the path of the storage
directory that will contain the AFTDs.
AFTDs can be created and accessed only by these listed paths. If this list is
left empty, there are few restrictions as to where a device path can be
created.

d. Click OK.
4. In the navigation tree, right-click Devices, and select New Device Wizard.
5. In the Select the Device Type window, select AFTD and click Next.
6. In the Select Storage Node window, specify the path to the storage directory
that will contain the AFTDs.
a. In the Storage Node list, select the storage node that you will use.
b. If the directory for the intended AFTDs is on a different storage node or a
remote storage system, select Device storage is remote from this Storage
Node and type the Network Path of the remote host directory that will
contain the devices.
For example, if the storage node is a Microsoft Windows system and you use
a CIFS AFTD on a remote storage system host, this path could be something
like the following:
\\dzone1_storhost2.lss.corp.com\share-1

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This storage path is not a device. It is the directory location in which the
shared devices are to be created.

7. In Browse or Manual, select which option you will use to specify the pathnames
of the devices:
l Browse Storage Node or network path. The next wizard step will prompt
you to browse and add the devices.
l Manually enter local or remote device paths. Select this to skip the
browse step and manually type unique names for the devices you want to
add:
n For remote devices, type the device paths relative to the Network Path
that you specified for the storage directory. For example:
cifsaftd-1
cifsaftd-2
n For local devices, type the absolute paths to these devices. For example:
C:\cifsaftd-1
C:\cifsaftd-2
Multiple devices for a single volume configuration on page 122 provides
details for shared volumes.
8. If the storage host is remote from the storage node, in the Authentication
area, type the appropriate Username and Password to access the storage
directory.
9. Click Next.
10. If you selected the Browse option in the previous window:
a. In the Select the Device Path window, verify that the storage node shows
the path of a storage directory.
b. Add devices to the storage directory by clicking New Folder and typing
unique device names. For example:
cifsaftd-1
cifsaftd-2

c. Select the new devices to add and click Next.


11. In the Configure Device Attributes window, specify the attributes. If you
added multiple devices in the previous window, select each device individually
and specify its attributes:
a. In NetWorker Device Name, type a unique name for the AFTD device.
For example, for a device on the NetWorker server host storage node:
aftd-1
If you configure the device on a storage node host that is not the NetWorker
server host, it is a “remote device” and this attribute must be specified with
rd= and a colon (:) in the following format (for Microsoft Windows):
rd=remote_storagenode_hostname:device_name
For example:
rd=dzone1_storhost2:aftd-1

b. (Optional) Add a comment in the Comment field.

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c. If Client Direct backup will be used, follow the details in Considerations for
Client Direct clients on page 109.
d. In Target Sessions specify the number of sessions that a nsrmmd data
mover process on the device will handle before another device on the host
will take the additional sessions. Use this setting to balance the sessions
among nsrmmd processes.
If another device is not available, then another nsrmmd process on the same
device will take the additional sessions.
Typically, set this attribute to a low value. The default value is 4 for AFTDs.
It may not be set to a value greater than 60.

e. In Max Sessions specify the maximum number sessions the device may
handle. If no additional devices are available on the host, then another
available storage host takes the additional sessions, or retries are tried until
sessions become available.
The default value is 32 for AFTDs, which typically provides best
performance. It cannot be set to a value greater than 60.
Note: The Max Sessions setting does not apply to concurrent recover
sessions.

f. Click Next.
12. In the Label and Mount device window, if you select the Label and Mount
option, specify the attributes for:
l Pool Type.
l Pool to use.

13. On the Review the Device Configuration page:


a. Review the settings.
b. Click Configure.
14. On the Check results page:
a. Review whether the devices were successfully configured or if any
messages appeared.
b. Click Finish.
c. To change any of the settings, click Back to the correct wizard page.

Creating an AFTD by using the Properties window (Linux and UNIX)


Procedure
1. Create one directory for each disk (or partition) to be used for an AFTD.
AFTDs require a directory (folder) to be created in the disk file system that the
NetWorker server or storage node recognizes as the device name (and the
destination for the data).
NOTICE Do not use a temporary directory for AFTDs. The data could be
overwritten.

2. In the NetWorker Administration window, click the Devices view.


3. Verify that the path to the storage directory that will contain the AFTDs is
allowed.

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a. In the navigation tree, select Storage Nodes.


b. Right-click the storage node that you will use, and select Properties.
c. In the AFTD allowed directories list, verify or type the path of the storage
directory that will contain the AFTDs.
AFTDs can be created and accessed only by these listed paths. If this list is
left empty, there are few restrictions as to where a device path can be
created.

d. Click OK.
4. In the navigation tree, right-click Devices and select New.
The Create Device window opens, with the General tab selected. The Identity
area might show a default device name in the Name field.

5. In the Identity area, set the following attributes:


a. In the Name attribute, type the name of the directory that you created for
the AFTD.
For example:
aftd-1
If you configure the device on a separate storage node host that is not the
NetWorker server host, it is a remote device and this Name attribute must
be specified with rd= in the following format:

rd=remote_snode_hostname:device_name

For example:
rd=snode-1:aftd-1

b. (Optional) Add a comment in the Comment field.


c. In the Device Access Information attribute, provide complete paths to the
device directory. You can provide alternate paths for the storage node and
for Client Direct clients, for example:
For non-root or cross-platform Client Direct access:
For non-root or cross-platform Client Direct access to an AFTD, do not
specify an automounter path or a mounted path. Instead, specify the path in
the host:/path format, even if the AFTD is local to the storage node.
For example:

NFS_host:/path

where:
l NFS_host is the hostname of the NFS file server
l path is the NFS-mountable path that is exported by the file server
This format is required to allow Client Direct access for Windows or non-
root UNIX clients.
Note: Non-root Client Direct access to an NFS AFTD is supported
only with the NFSv3 protocol and AUTH_SYS authentication on the
NFS host. For Client Direct access to an AFTD when the backup
client is able to run as root on the AFTD host, provide a mount point
or automounter path.

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Note: For example, for an NFS-mounted device:

/mnt/aftd-1
/net/storho-1/snode-1/aftd-1
where:
n aftd-1 is the storage device directory name
n storho-1 is the storage system hostname
n snode-1 is the storage node hostname
The first path enables the storage node to access the device via its
defined mount point. The second path enables Client Direct clients to
use the automounter path to directly access the device, bypassing the
storage node.

d. In the Media Type field, select adv_file, for the AFTD.


Considerations for Client Direct clients on page 109 provides additional
details for Client Direct configurations.
Multiple devices for a single volume configuration on page 122 provides
additional details for shared volumes.

6. In the Status area, ensure that the Auto Media Management tape feature is
not enabled.
7. In the Cleaning area, leave the options for cleaning at their default (disabled)
settings, so that automatic cleaning is not invoked.
8. Select the Configuration tab.
9. In the Save Sessions area, set the number of concurrent save sessions
(streams) and the number of nsrmmd (data mover) processes the device may
handle:
l Target Sessions is the number of sessions that a nsrmmd process on the
device will handle before another device on the host will take the additional
sessions. Use this setting to balance the sessions among nsrmmd processes.
If another device is not available, then another nsrmmd process on the same
device will take the additional sessions.
Typically, set this attribute to a low value. The default values are 4 for
AFTDs and 6 for DD Boost devices. It may not be set to a value greater than
60.
Multiple devices for a single volume configuration on page 122 provides
details on volume sharing.
l Max Sessions is the maximum number sessions the device may handle. If no
additional devices are available on the host, then another available storage
host takes the additional sessions, or retries are attempted until sessions
become available.
The default values are 32 for AFTDs and 60 for DD Boost devices, which
typically provides best performance. It cannot be set to a value greater than
60.
The Max Sessions setting does not apply to concurrent recover sessions.
l Max nsrmmd count limits the number of nsrmmd processes that can run on
the device. Use this setting to balance the nsrmmd load among devices. The
default value is 4.

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To modify this value, first adjust the sessions attributes, apply, and monitor
the effects, then update max nsrmmd count.
At least one nsrmmd process is reserved for restore or clone operations.
10. In the Local Backup area, leave Dedicated Storage Node at No (the default).
11. In the Remote Host area, if an NFS path is specified in the Device Access
Information, then type a Remote User name and Password.
The remote username is the name of the user on the NFS server. It is
recommended that you also specify the numeric user id (UID) of that user. Do
this by appending a colon (:) and the UID after the username, for example,
user_name:4242.
Note: If the device username is changed after labeling, manual action may
be required to change the owner of all files and directories in the AFTD.
NetWorker will try to perform this automatically during the next operation,
however the ability to do so depends on the security configuration of the
file server where the AFTD storage resides.

12. Click OK when the configuration is complete.


13. If a new password for an AFTD is provided, unmount and re-mount the device to
ensure that the change takes effect.

Creating an AFTD by using the Properties window (Windows)


You can configure an AFTD on a storage node running Microsoft Windows.
About this task
Procedure
1. Create one directory for each disk (or partition) to be used for an AFTD.
AFTDs require a directory (folder) to be created in the disk file system that the
NetWorker server or storage node recognizes as the device name (and the
destination for the data).
NOTICE Do not use a temporary directory for AFTDs. The data could be
overwritten.

2. In the NetWorker Administration window, click the Devices view.


3. Verify that the path to the storage directory that will contain the AFTDs is
allowed.
a. In the navigation tree, select Storage Nodes.
b. Right-click the storage node that you will use, and select Properties.
c. In the AFTD allowed directories list, verify or type the path of the storage
directory that will contain the AFTDs.
AFTDs can be created and accessed only by these listed paths. If this list is
left empty, there are few restrictions as to where a device path can be
created.

d. Click OK.
4. In the navigation tree, right-click Devices and select New.
The Create Device window opens, with the General tab selected. The Identity
area might show a default device name in the Name field.

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5. In the Identity area, set the following attributes:


a. In the Name attribute, type the name of the directory that you created for
the AFTD.
For example:
aftd-1
If you configure the device on a separate storage node host that is not the
NetWorker server host, it is a remote device and this Name attribute must
be specified with rd= in the following format:

rd=remote_snode_hostname:device_name

For example:
rd=snode-1:aftd-1

b. (Optional) Add a comment in the Comment field.


c. In the Device Access Information attribute, provide complete paths to the
device directory. You can provide alternate paths for the storage node and
for Client Direct clients, for example:
l For an AFTD on the storage node’s local disk, which it shares via CIFS:

E:\aftd-1
\\snode-1\aftd-1

The first path enables the storage node to access the device via its local
drive. The second path enables Client Direct clients to access the device
directly, bypassing the storage node.
l For a CIFS-mounted AFTD, specify the complete paths of the directory
that is created by using the Universal Naming Convention (UNC), for
example:
\\CIFS_host\share-point-name\path

d. In the Media Type field, select adv_file, for the AFTD.


Considerations for Client Direct clients on page 109 provides additional
details for Client Direct configurations.
Multiple devices for a single volume configuration on page 122 provides
additional details for shared volumes.

6. In the Status area, ensure that the Auto Media Management tape feature is
not enabled.
7. In the Cleaning area, leave the options for cleaning at their default (disabled)
settings, so that automatic cleaning is not invoked.
8. Select the Configuration tab.
9. In the Save Sessions area, set the number of concurrent save sessions
(streams) and the number of nsrmmd (data mover) processes the device may
handle:
l Target Sessions is the number of sessions that a nsrmmd process on the
device will handle before another device on the host will take the additional
sessions. Use this setting to balance the sessions among nsrmmd processes.
If another device is not available, then another nsrmmd process on the same
device will take the additional sessions.

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Typically, set this attribute to a low value. The default values are 4 for
AFTDs and 6 for DD Boost devices. It may not be set to a value greater than
60.
Multiple devices for a single volume configuration on page 122 provides
details on volume sharing.
l Max Sessions is the maximum number sessions the device may handle. If no
additional devices are available on the host, then another available storage
host takes the additional sessions, or retries are attempted until sessions
become available.
The default values are 32 for AFTDs and 60 for DD Boost devices, which
typically provides best performance. It cannot be set to a value greater than
60.
The Max Sessions setting does not apply to concurrent recover sessions.
l Max nsrmmd count limits the number of nsrmmd processes that can run on
the device. Use this setting to balance the nsrmmd load among devices. The
default value is 4.
To modify this value, first adjust the sessions attributes, apply, and monitor
the effects, then update max nsrmmd count.
At least one nsrmmd process is reserved for restore or clone operations.
10. In the Local Backup area, leave Dedicated Storage Node at No (the default).
11. In the Remote Host area, if a network path is specified in the Device Access
Information, then type a Remote User name and Password.
12. Click OK when the configuration is complete.
13. If a new password for an AFTD is provided, unmount and re-mount the device to
ensure that the change takes effect.

AFTD device target and max sessions


The default settings for AFTD target sessions and max device sessions typically
provide optimal values for AFTD performance:
l Device target sessions is 1
l Device max sessions is 32 to avoid disk thrashing
If required, both device target, and max session attributes can be modified to reflect
values appropriate for the environment.
Note: The Max Sessions setting does not apply to concurrent recover sessions.

Multiple devices for a single volume configuration


In some environments, a configuration of multiple devices that share a single
NetWorker storage volume can result in performance gains. For example, a read or
write request can be sent to the storage node that is closest to the requestor.
However, for some use cases and environments concurrent read/write operations to a
single volume from many storage nodes could result in disk thrashing that impacts
performance.
Multiple devices can be created on separate storage nodes or on the same storage
node. Each device must be created separately, have a different name, and must
correctly specify the path to the storage volume location.
For example, if you create three devices, one on the NetWorker server host named
“dzone1” (that uses the server’s local storage node) and two remote devices (rd) on

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remote storage nodes, the Name attributes for the three devices, each created
separately, might be specified by different aliases as follows:
aftd-1a
rd=dzone1-sn2:aftd-1b
rd=dzone1-sn3:aftd-1c
The Device Access Information for each of these aliases would specify a single
directory that must be specified as a valid complete path. For example, if a directory is
named “aftd-1” on the storage host named “storho1,” the path might be specified as
follows:
l If the storage node uses an automounter:
/net/storho1/dzone1/aftd-1
l If the storage node uses an explicit system mountpoint, you might specify one of
the following paths:
n /mnt/storho1/dzone1/aftd-1
n /mnt/dzone1/aftd-1
n storho1:/dzone/aftd-1

AFTD concurrent operations and device formats


The following operations can be performed concurrently on a single storage node with
an AFTD:
l Multiple backups and multiple recover operations
l Multiple backups and one manual clone operation
l Multiple backups and one automatic or manual staging operation
It might be required to increase the server parallelism value to complete the
concurrent operations with an AFTD device when the number of simultaneous save
sessions reaches the maximum value for server parallelism.
For example, if server parallelism is set to 4, and there are 4 simultaneous saves going
to an AFTD, set the server parallelism to 5 to complete a concurrent clone/stage
operation from this AFTD while the four saves are in progress.
Note: Starting with NetWorker 8.0, multiple clone sessions can be run from a
single AFTD or DD Boost device if each clone is written to a dedicated tape
device. However, the number of clone sessions that can be run is limited by the
value in the device’s max nsrmmd count attribute. Create and configure an AFTD
on page 115 provides more information.

Labeling and mounting an AFTD


If there are multiple volumes in the pool, you can select an available volume to
associate with the device.
Procedure
1. Right-click the AFTD storage device and then select Label.
The Label dialog box appears.

2. In the Pools field, select the media pool to be used for the device.
A label for the storage device is generated and displays in the Volume Label
field. The label name is based on the label template for the selected pool.
It is recommended to use a pool that is dedicated to AFTD backup devices only.

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NOTICE If an existing volume is re-labeled, a warning is issued. The data


that is previously stored on the volume is lost and this action cannot be
undone. Mounting the volume without labeling provides access to previous
data.

3. Select Mount after labeling and then click OK.

Insufficient AFTD disk space


When an AFTD runs out of disk space, the current backup is interrupted and the
following message displays:

Waiting for more available space on filesystem device-name

Immediately following the message, the action that is associated with the "Filesystem
Full — Recover adv_file Space" notification occurs. By default, the action for this
notification uses the nsrim command to delete expired save sets. If enough space is
cleared, the backup continues. If the recycle setting for the volume is manual, then the
expired save sets are not removed from the volume.
The AFTD deletes expired save sets depending on the retention policy and the recycle
setting. If sufficient storage space is not available after 10 minutes from when the
expired savesets begin deletion, the associated "Filesystem Full—Waiting for adv_file
Space" notification action occurs. By default, an email notification is sent to the root
user on the NetWorker server on UNIX and Linux, and a message is logged in the
media log file in NetWorker_install_path\logs on Windows.
When the notification is sent, and the message is logged in the media log file, the
backup stops until space is available for the backup to continue. You can create
customized notifications to change and expand how the NetWorker software behaves
when an "AFTD Filesystem Full" notification occurs. Custom notifications can also run
custom scripts and other programs to expand the capacity of existing AFTDs.
The chapter "Reporting NetWorker Datazone Activities" provides more information
about how to configure notifications.

Creating a custom notification to extend disk space


While the NetWorker default Filesystem Full — Recover adv_file Space notification
works by removing its expired save sets, a custom notification could be configured to
expand disk or file system space in other ways.
Procedure
1. In the server’s Administration interface, click Server.
2. Right-click Notifications and select New.
3. In the Name field, type a unique name for this custom notification.
For example: First adv_full notice.
4. In the Event field, clear all choices except adv_file.
5. In the Priority field, clear all choices except Waiting.
6. In the Action field, type the full path of the custom script that is configured to
expand disk space.
For example: /mybin/my_first_custom_script.
7. Click OK.

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Creating a custom notification for insufficient disk space


The NetWorker default Filesystem Full — Waiting for adv_file Space notification
works by sending an email notification. A custom notification could be configured to
do whatever the user indicates. The wait time after the default notification is
approximately 10 minutes.
Procedure
1. In the server’s Administration interface, click Server.
2. Right-click Notifications and select New.
3. In the Name field, type a unique name for this second custom notification.
For example: Second adv_full Notice.
4. In theEvent field, clear all choices except adv_file.
5. In the Priority field, clear all choices except Critical, Emergency, and Alert.
6. In theAction field, type the full path of the custom script to be run.
For example: /mybin/my_second_custom_script.
7. Click OK.

AFTD load balancing


You can adjust the target and max sessions attributes per device to balance the data
load for simultaneous sessions more evenly across available devices. These parameters
specify the maximum number of save sessions to be established before the NetWorker
server attempts to assign save sessions to another device.
For AFTDs, all volumes, depending on the selection criteria (pool settings), choose the
AFTD with the least amount of data written to it, and join sessions based on the
device's target and max sessions. If the number of sessions being written to the first
device exceeds the target sessions setting, another AFTD is considered for new
backup sessions and is selected from the remaining suitable AFTDs. The AFTD that is
selected will be the AFTD with the least amount of NetWorker data written to it. The
least amount of data written is calculated in bytes (not by percentage of disk space
used) and only bytes that were written by NetWorker are counted.
To ensure that a new session always writes to the AFTD with the least amount of data
written to it, you can set each AFTD device's max sessions attribute to 1. However,
setting the max sessions attribute to 1 may not be practical. Alternatively, set the
target sessions attribute to 1. In this way, load balancing will occur on a best efforts
basis.

Space management for AFTD


A configurable setting for determining at what capacity the NetWorker software
should stop writing to an AFTD spans from 1 to 100%. Setting the value to 0 or leaving
the attribute empty in the AFTD Percentage Capacity attribute is equivalent to a
setting of 100%. This means that the entire capacity of the file system can be used for
the AFTD volume.
When set, the AFTD Percentage Capacity attribute is used to declare the volume full
and to calculate high/low watermarks. When the percentage capacity attribute is
modified, mount and re-mount the volume for the new settings to take effect.
The level watermark is calculated based on the percentage of restricted capacity, not
on the full capacity of the file system.

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In the Console Administration interface, the AFTD Percentage Capacity displays in the
Configuration tab of the Properties window of a device, when Diagnostic Mode is
enabled.
To enable Diagnostic Mode, select View > Diagnostic Mode.
NOTICE If your device uses compression or deduplication, you can still use the
AFTD Percentage Capacity attribute however, the device will be marked as having
reached its threshold prematurely. In this case, there will be more unused space
on the disk than expected. This is because the threshold limit is based on the
amount of data being protected without accounting for the effect of compression
or deduplication.

AFTD operation verification


The AFTD can be deployed in varying environments with local disks, and with NFS-
mounted or CIFS-mapped disks. The configuration of this feature affects its
operation. Ensure that the AFTD is fully operational in the production environment
before deploying it as part of regularly scheduled operations.
As part of the validation process, test these operations:
l Backup
l Recover
l Staging
l Cloning
l Maximum file size compatibility between the operating system and a disk device
l Use of a volume manager to increase the file system size while the file system is in
use
l File system behavior when the disk is full
Some versions of NFS and CIFS drop data when a file system becomes full. Be sure to
use versions of NFS, CIFS, and operating systems that fully support full file systems.
On some disk devices, the volume labeling process can take longer than expected.
Labeling time depends on the type of disk device used and does not indicate a
limitation of the NetWorker software. The upper limits of save set size depend on
either the upper limits supported by the operating system or the file size specified by
the disk device’s vendor.
NOTICE Do not edit device files and directories. This can cause unpredictable
behavior and make it impossible to recover data.

Deactivate and erase an AFTD


You can deactivate an AFTD device so it does not interfere with normal backup
operations.

Converting a device to read-only


Conversion of a device to read-only prevents the use of the device for backup
operations. The device can still be used for read operations, such as restore and clone.
Procedure
1. In the NMC window for the NetWorker server, click the Devices view and
select the Devices folder in the navigation tree.
2. In the Devices table, right-click the device to be converted to read-only, and
select Unmount.

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3. Right-click this unmounted device and select Properties.


4. In the Device Properties window, select Read only, and click OK.
5. Right-click the device and select Mount.

Disabling a device
Disabling a device prevents further operation of the device. The device may be re-
enabled to restore old data, which is retained but not active.
Procedure
1. In the NMC window for your NetWorker server, click the Devices view and
select the Devices folder in the navigation tree.
2. In the Devices table, right-click the device to be disabled and select Unmount.
3. Right-click this unmounted device and select Enable/Disable to disable.
4. Inspect the Enabled column of the table to verify that the device is disabled.

Deleting a device
The procedure for deleting a device includes an option for also erasing the volume
(access path) that stores the device’s data. The volume can be erased only if no other
device in the system shares the volume.
About this task
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker server Device view, click Devices in the navigation tree.
2. In the Devices table, right-click the device to be removed and select Delete.
A confirmation window appears.

3. In the confirmation window:


l To delete the device from the NetWorker configuration only, without erasing
the device’s data, click Yes.
l To delete the device and erase the device’s data and volume access path,
select the Permanently erase all data and remove media and index
information for any selected AFTDs or Data Domain devices option, and
click Yes.
Note: If the volume that you want to erase is shared by another device,
then an error message displays the name of the other device. You must
delete all other devices that share the volume until the last one
remaining before you can erase the volume.
4. If the device is mounted or the device is a member of a pool, then a second
confirmation window displays the details of the device and pool. To confirm the
device unmount, the removal of the device from the pool, and the deletion of
the device, click Yes.

Concurrent AFTD recovery operation limitations


AFTD concurrent recovery currently has the following limitations:
l Not available to the Windows recover interface (winworkr). Use the recover
command. The NetWorker Command Reference Guide or the recover man page
provides more information.
l Not available to nonfile recoveries, such as NDMP and NetWorker database
modules.

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l Perform concurrent recoveries from the command line by using the recover
command, either by using multiple -S options to identify multiple save sets, or
running multiple recover commands concurrently.
When you recover data from an AFTD, NetWorker recovers the save sets
concurrently. You can recover multiple save sets to multiple clients simultaneously and
you can clone save sets from an AFTD to two different volumes simultaneously.

Changing the AFTD block size


The maximum potential block size for backups to an AFTD device can be adjusted.
Larger block sizes for backups can improve backup speed under certain conditions.
This is especially noticeable on remote AFTD devices that are not local to the storage
node, for example, AFTDs that are connected with CIFS or NFS.
About this task
Changes to the maximum potential block size value for an AFTD device take effect
only after the AFTD device is labelled. The minimum allowable block size is 128
kilobytes and the maximum block size is 256 kilobytes.
If you have an AFTD device that is performing backups slowly, try marking the device
as read-only and create a new AFTD device with a block size between 128-256
kilobytes.
NOTICE Changing the block size and re-labeling an existing AFTD has the
potential to destroy data if the data is not staged to another location.
Procedure
1. In the server’s Administration interface, click Devices.
2. Select View > Diagnostic Mode.
3. Select Devices in the navigation tree. The Devices detail table appears.
4. Double-click the device in the devices table and select the Advanced tab.
5. In the Device block size attribute, select a value from 128 to 256.
6. Click OK.
7. Relabel the AFTD device for the new setting take effect.

DD Boost and Cloud Tier devices


DD Boost and Cloud Tier devices are covered separately in the NetWorker Data Domain
Boost Integration Guide

Creating a DD Boost device


Procedure
1. In NMC, click Devices.
2. In the left panel, right-click Devices and select New Device Wizard.
3. On the Select the Device page, select Data Domain and click Next.
4. On the Data Domain Preconfiguration Checklist page, click Next.
5. On the Specify the Data Domain Configuration Options page:
a. Under Data Domain System Name:
l Select Create a New Data Domain System.
l In the text box, type the IP address of the Data Domain system.

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b. In the Data Domain DDBoost Username field, type the username of the
Data Domain user.
c. In the Data Domain DDBoost Password field, type the password of the
Data Domain user.
In DDOS 6 and later, the default password expires in 90 days. To receive
system alert reminders for password change, run the command user
password aging set <boost_user> max-days-between-change 99999.

d. Specify the required values in the other fields.


e. Click Next.
6. On the Select the Folder to Use as Devices page:
a. Click New Folder to create a folder for the device.
b. Select the newly created folder.
c. Specify the required values in the other fields.
d. Click Next.
7. On the Configure Pool Information page:
a. Under Pool Type, select one of the following pool types:
l Backup
l Backup Clone

b. Under Pool, perform one of the following tasks to select the pool:
l Select Create and use a new pool, and type the pool number in the text
box.
l Select Use an existing pool, and select the pool from the drop-down list
box.

c. Specify the required values in the other fields.


d. Click Next.
8. On the Select Storage Nodes and Fibre Channel Options page:
a. Select the storage node.
b. Specify the required values in the other fields.
c. Click Next.
9. On the Select SNMP Monitoring Options page, specify the required field
values, and click Next.
10. On the Review the Device Configuration Settings page, review the
configuration settings, and click Configure.
11. On the Device Configuration Results page, click Finish.

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Libraries and silos


NetWorker supports SCSI libraries, NDMP libraries, and ACSLS silos. In a fibre
channel environment you can configure library and device sharing between storage
node hosts.

Overview of tape device storage


This chapter contains information on the creation, configuration, and management of
tape devices. Tape devices may be configured as stand-alone devices or configured as
part of a traditional tape library or virtual tape library (VTL) storage system.
The libraries and devices available to a NetWorker server are listed in the Devices view
of the NetWorker Administrator window. The details and settings of a particular
device can be viewed by right-clicking the device and selecting Properties. The full
range of property attributes can be viewed by selecting View > Diagnostic Mode. A
description of the various attributes is provided by the Field Help button.
As with other Console functions, you can view and work with only those NetWorker
servers for which you have access permission.
NetWorker software supports many different types of tape libraries, also called
autochangers or jukeboxes. The general categories of libraries are SCSI, NDMP, and
silo.

Support for LTO-4 hardware-based encryption


NetWorker supports the use of LTO-4 hardware-based encryption, when controlled by
management utilities that are provided with the LTO-4 hardware, or by third-party key
management software. EMC does not test or certify these key management utilities.
The NetWorker application can read from and write to LTO-4 devices that use
hardware-based encryption. The use of this encryption is transparent to NetWorker.
The NetWorker application does not perform encryption or manage the key
management process. For example, NetWorker does not provide the ability to turn
encryption on or off or manage the encryption keys.

Linux device considerations


Review this section for information about using devices on Linux hosts.

Configure Linux operating system to detect SCSI devices


Proper configuration of the SCSI subsystem is required to get full use of SCSI devices
and allow the operating system to detect SCSI devices that are attached to the
computer. If the device is configured with multiple LUNs, set the kernel parameter
Probe all LUNs of each SCSI Device to Yes.
The Linux Documentation Project website provides more information on configuring
the Linux SCSI subsystem. For information on the SCSI device, contact the
manufacturer.

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The inquire command and the Scan for Devices operation do not detect more than 128 tape
devices
By default, the Linux st kernel module only configures up to 128 SCSI tape devices
(/dev/nst).
When the number of SCSI tape devices exceeds the kernel value ST_MAX_TAPES, the
following error may appear in the /var/log/messages operating system log file:
st:Too many tape devices (max. 128)
The inquire command or the Scan for Devices option in NMC only displays the
maximum number of st devices (/dev/nst) defined by the ST_MAX_TAPES value.
To resolve this issue, edit and recompile the st module of the Linux kernel to increase
the maximum number of allowable st devices that are created by the OS to exceed the
default value. The Linux documentation provides details on how to reconfigure,
rebuild, and install the kernel.

Configuration requirements for the inquire command


Depending on the specific OS requirements and the configuration of the NetWorker
server or storage node, you may need to create device files so that the inquire
command can detect all devices.
For example, on a NetWorker server with Red Hat Linux, if devices sg0 through sg15
exist, create device file sg16 by using the mknod program as follows:
mknod /dev/sg16 c 21 17
The operating system vendor documentation provides more information on creating
devices.

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Solaris device considerations


Review this section for information about using devices on Solaris hosts.

Support for tape devices not supported by Solaris


If Sun Microsystems does not directly support a device for use with the operating
system on the storage node, obtain a st.conf file from the device manufacturer.

The inquire command and Solaris 10


On Solaris 10, the inquire command does not show library information after you
configure the library for NetWorker.

HP-UX device considerations


Review this section for information about using devices on HP-UX hosts.

Autochanger installation on an HP-UX system


The following sections explain how to install and configure Hewlett-Packard drivers.

Selecting SCSI addresses for the autochanger


Determine which SCSI address is assigned to each SCSI bus, and select the SCSI
addresses to be allocated to the autochanger drives and controller.
About this task
To select unused SCSI addresses for an autochanger, log in as root on the NetWorker
server or storage node, and type the ioscan -f command.
Use a SCSI address within the range of 0 to 6. The primary hard disk is usually on
SCSI address 6.
NOTICE For some devices, such as the HP Model 48AL autochanger, select one
SCSI address for the entire autochanger. The 48AL uses a different SCSI logical
unit number (LUN) for the device (LUN 0) and robotics (LUN 1). The SCSI LUN
appears as the last digit of the H/W Path field in the ioscan output.

Installing the SCSI pass-through driver


The following procedure describes how to use SAM terminal mode to install a GSC,
HSC, or PCI pass-through driver.
Procedure
1. Select Kernel Config and press Enter.
2. Select Drivers and press Enter.
3. Select the SCSI_ctl driver by selecting SCTL from the list.
If the current state is in, go to step 9. Otherwise, select any unreserved name
for the device. For example, do not select a name such as /dev/null.
4. From the Actions menu, select Add Drivers to Kernel, and press Enter.
5. From the Actions menu, select Create a New Kernel, and press Enter.
A confirmation message appears.
6. Specify Yes, and press Enter.
The Creating Kernel message appears, followed by the Move Kernel message.

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7. Select OK, and press Enter.


The system reboots.
8. Verify that the spt was successfully installed by typing the following command:
ioscan -kfn

9. Verify that the driver has claimed the autochanger.


If the autochanger has been claimed, CLAIMED should appear under the S/W
State header. If not, verify that the installation completed correctly.
10. If the device entry was defined by the operating system, use the OS-defined
entry and continue to verify the installation.

Determining the major number


To determine the value for majornum, type lsdev -d sctl.
About this task
The output should resemble the following example output, although the assigned
number may differ from the values in this example:

Table 28 Determining the major number value

Character Block Driver Class


HP-PB 75 -1 spt spt
HSC or PCI 203 -1 sctl ctl

The value for majornum is the number in the Character column.

Determining the minor number


To determine the value for minornum, use the ioscan command.
About this task
The relevant lines in the ioscan output are those:
l For the controller itself, which contains HP C6280-7000 in the Description
column.
l For the adapter to which the controller is connected, which is the second line
above the line for the controller and contains ext_bus in the Class column.
If the schgr driver is configured on the system, it appears associated with the library.
The ioscan output line resembles:

Table 29 ioscan output when driver is configured

Class I H/W Path Driver S/W State H/W Type Description


spt 0 10/4/4.6.0 schgr CLAIMED DEVICE HP
C6280-7000

If the schgr driver is not configured on the system, no driver appears to be


associated with the library. The ioscan output line resembles:

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Table 30 ioscan output when driver is not configured

Class I H/W Path Driver S/W State H/W Type Description


unknown -1 10/4/4.6.0 schgr UNCLAIMED DEVICE HP
C6280-7000

Testing the device driver and device file installation


After the device driver is installed and the device file is created, run the inquire
command to list available SCSI devices.
About this task
NOTICE Use the inquire command with caution. Running inquire sends the
SCSI inquiry command to all devices detected on the SCSI bus. Using the
inquire command during normal operations may cause unforeseen errors and
possible data loss may result.
An example of the output from this command (with the -s option) is as follows:

scsidev@0.1.0:HP C1194F 0.14 Autochanger (Jukebox), /dev/rac/


c0t1d0
scsidev@0.2.0:Quantum DLT4000 CC37 Tape, /dev/rmt/c0t2d0BESTnb
scsidev@0.3.0:Quantum DLT4000 CC37 Tape, /dev/rmt/c0t3d0BESTnb
scsidev@0.4.0:Quantum DLT4000 CC37 Tape, /dev/rmt/c0t4d0BESTnb
scsidev@0.5.0:Quantum DLT4000 CC37 Tape, /dev/rmt/c0t5d0BESTnb

As of HP-UX 11iv3, two different addressing modes are supported: LEGACY and
AGILE. The inquire program lists devices using the B.T.L. notation for the LEGACY
addressing mode, for example:
scsidev@B.T.L.
For the AGILE addressing mode, it lists devices using the DSF notation, for example:
/dev/rtape/tape106_BESTnb

Inquire command does not detect tape drive


When a tape drive is attached to the HP-UX 11i V2 64-bit host and the inquire
command is run, the tape drive is not detected, even if the device is configured,
labeled, and mounted and a save was successful.
To work around this issue, identify the drive path in the /dev/rmt folder, and
configure the device with this path.
Whenever a new device is attached to the system, ensure that the cached file /tmp/
lgto_scsi_devlist is updated. Remove this temp file and then run the inquire
command, which rebuilds the file.

Errors from unsupported media in HP tape drives


Certain HP tape drives can only read 4-mm tapes of a specific length. Some, for
example, read only 60-meter tapes. To determine the type of tape that is supported,
refer to the drive’s hardware manual.
If unsupported media is used, the following error message may appear when you use
the nsrmm or nsrjb command to label the tape:
nsrmm: error, label write, No more processes (5)

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The following error message may appear when you use the scanner -i command to
label the tape when unsupported media is used:
scanner: error, tape label read, No more processes (11)
scanning for valid records …
read: 0 bytes
read: 0 bytes
read: 0 bytes

Unloading tape drives on an HP-UX server or storage node


When the nsrjb -u -S command is used to unload a tape drive in an autochanger
that is attached to an HP-UX server or storage node, the unload operation ejects all
tape volumes inside the autochanger devices, and into their respective slots.
To unload a single drive to its corresponding slot, use the nsrjb -u -f device_name
command instead.

SCSI pass-through driver required for HP-UX autochangers


Review the required procedures in the before you run the jbconfig program to
configure an autochanger with a NetWorker server on HP-UX.
Follow the procedures to rebuild the kernel even if the SCSI pass-through driver is
installed. Then run the jbconfig program to configure the NetWorker Installation
Guide autochanger.

AIX device considerations


Review this section for information about using devices on AIX hosts.

STK-9840 drives attached to AIX


If you attach an STK-9840 drive to an AIX server, use SMIT to modify the IBM tape
drive definition field to set the value of Use Extended File Mark to Yes.

LUS driver operation on AIX


When a library comes online, NetWorker obtains an exclusive lock on the library due to
the operation of the LUS driver on AIX. This lock is maintained if the library is enabled.
As a result, you cannot use diagnostic tools such as inquire and the sji utilities to
access the library during this time. To access the library using these tools, you must
first take the library offline.

SCSI and VTL libraries


SCSI libraries have automated robotic mechanisms to move tape media from a fixed
number of library slots to devices for read or write operations. The number of slots
can typically vary between 2 to 10,000 and the number of devices can be between 1 to
100 or more.
Traditionally, libraries are physical units with mechanical robotics, however the same
functionality can also be provided by virtual tape libraries (VTLs) that emulate this
functionality. VTLs can also be configured and used as Autochangers.
The robotic controller and associated tape devices are always all controlled through a
SCSI interface which is available on one or more storage hosts.

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Selecting a volume for the NetWorker server


When a backup takes place, the NetWorker server searches for a volume from the
appropriate pool to accept the data for backup.
About this task
The available volumes are as follows:
l Mounted on stand-alone devices.
l Available for labeling and accessible to the NetWorker server through Auto Media
Management or a library.
l Labeled for the appropriate pool and already mounted in a device, or are available
for mounting, if a library is being used.
If two or more volumes from the appropriate pool are available, the server uses this
hierarchy to select a volume.
l A volume in a jukebox device has priority over volume in a disk or tape device.
l A volume in a local disk device has priority over a volume in a local tape device.
l If two local disk are available, then the device less data sessions will have priority.
l if two local tapes devices have available volumes, then NetWorker will use the
volume with the earliest label date.
l If two jukebox are available, then NetWorker will select the volume with the
earliest label date..

Data recovery and volume selection


The NetWorker server determines which volumes are required for recovery. If the
appropriate volume is currently mounted, the recovery begins. If the volume is not
mounted and a library is used, the server attempts to locate and mount the volume in
an eligible device for appropriate media pool. Preference is given to mount the volume
in a read-only device, if one is available.
If a stand-alone device is used, or if the server cannot locate and mount the volume,
the server sends a mount request notification.
If more than one volume is needed to recover the data, the NetWorker server displays
all the volumes, in the order needed. During the recovery process, the server requests
the volumes, one at a time.
NOTICE NetWorker will automatically unload volumes that have been placed in a
jukebox device but have never been mounted (for example, nsrjb -l -n <volume>).
Any command, such as the scanner command, that operates on volumes that have
never been mounted will be affected by this behavior. To prevent NetWorker from
unloading the volume, the device should be set to service mode while the
command is being run.

Automatic volume relabeling


NetWorker has the ability to automatically relabel recyclable volumes when needed or
when scheduled.
When you enable Auto Media Management, the NetWorker server will automatically
relabel a volume when the mode is recyclable. A volume is automatically set to
recyclable when all save sets on the volume, including partial save sets that span other
volumes, are marked as recyclable. Auto Media Management on page 146 provides
more information on Auto Media Management.

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Note: You can manually change the mode of a volume to recyclable. Changing the
volume mode on page 529 provides information about changing the mode of a
volume.
You can configure a media pool to automatically relabel recyclable volume at a user
defined time and interval. Automatically relabeling volumes in a media pool on page 93
provides more information about configuring the automatic relabel process for
recyclable volumes in a media pool.

Virtual tape library (VTL) configuration


During library configuration, the NetWorker software automatically attempts to detect
if a library is a VTL, and updates the read-only Virtual Jukebox attribute to Yes, or if
not, to No. VTLs that are mistakenly identified as autochangers can indicate what type
of license should be used, either autochanger or VTL.

VTL licensing
The NetWorker Licensing Guide provides information about NetWorker licensing
support for a Virtual Tape Library.

Multiplex backups to Data Domain VTL devices


You can configure multiplexed backups to Data Domain VTL devices on remote, non-
dedicated NetWorker storage nodes. Multiplexing is the use of multiple parallel save
streams or concurrent sessions to each device. Each additional save stream (max
sessions value) to a VTL device reduces the number of devices needed by somewhat
less than one because deduplication efficiency decreases slightly.
The following prerequisites, restrictions, and considerations apply:
l NetWorker dedicated storage nodes (DSNs) and NetWorker backup to local VTLs
cannot use this configuration.
l Multiplexing decreases deduplication efficiency on the VTLs by 4% to 8% per
additional save stream. For example, given a sufficiently large device block size, 4
parallel streams (max sessions=4) results in deduplication ratios that are 12%-24%
below the non-multiplexed rate (max sessions=1).
l Deduplication ratios may be initially low when you increase max sessions due to
extra processing, following which efficiency improves.
l Heavily used Data Domain systems, with 75% or more disk space already used, can
suffer impaired performance when used with multiplexing.
l As a best practice, do not use client-side or server-side encryption during backup
to the Data Domain system.
Multiplex to Data Domain VTL prerequisites and considerations
Ensure the following prerequisites and practices.
l If currently using DD OS 5.0.x, upgrade to DD OS 5.7 or later.
l The recommended settings for VTL are: max sessions=4; target sessions=4; and
device block size=512 KB.
l Best max sessions and device block size values depend on the environment. For
example, max sessions=2 might provide better stability and deduplication while still
meeting the backup window.
l Deduplication efficiency on the VTLs is reduced by 4% to 8% per additional save
stream. For example, given a sufficiently large device block size, 4 parallel streams

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(max sessions=4) results in deduplication ratios that are 12%-24% below the non-
multiplexed rate (max sessions=1).
l Typically, deduplication ratios are initially low when you increase max sessions and
device block size due to re-priming and re-analysis overhead, following which
efficiency improves.
l Heavily used Data Domain systems, with 75% or more disk space that is already
used, can suffer impaired performance when used with multiple sessions.
l As a best practice, do not use client-side or server-side encryption during backup
to the Data Domain system.

Configuring multiplex backup to Data Domain VTL devices


Configure Data Domain VTL devices for multiple session backups as follows.
Procedure
1. Shut down backup service on the NetWorker VTL storage node, or shut down
the NetWorker server if that is possible, and verify that there is no backup
activity on the storage node.
2. Use NMC or the nsradmin command to set the sessions values for each VTL
device. The recommended values are as follows:
l Max sessions=4 (32 maximum)
l Target sessions=4
l Device block size=512KB
Optimal max sessions and device block size values depend on the environment.
For example, max sessions=2 might provide better stability and deduplication
while still meeting the backup window.

Note: If you shut down the NetWorker server in step 1, you can run the
nsradmin command with the -d resdir option. This option uses the
NetWorker resource database, resdir, without opening a network
connection.
For example, on UNIX/Linux or Microsoft Windows systems, run the following
command:

nsradmin -i input_file.txt

where input_file.txt is a text file that contains the following lines that you can
customize to the own environment:

option regexp: on
. type: nsr device; media type: LTO Ultrium-3; media family:
tape; name: /dev/rmt*
update max sessions: 4; target sessions: 4; device block size:
512KB

3. Create a no intra-block multiplexing (nibmp) tag file in the NetWorker debug


folder on the NetWorker storage node.
For example, you can use the standard NetWorker installation paths for the tag
file. You can limit the tag file path to a specific pool by adding the _poolname
variable as a suffix to the tag file. The _poolname can include spaces, for
example, _My Pool. On Microsoft Windows systems, ensure that the specified
pathname is enclosed in quotes.
Unix/Linux system examples.

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touch /nsr/debug/nibmp
touch /nsr/debug/nibmp_My Pool

Microsoft Windows system examples.

echo > "NetWorker_install_path\nsr\debug\nibmp"


echo > "NetWorker_install_path\nsr\debug\nibmp_My Pool"

4. Restart the NetWorker services to enable the multiplexing functionality.


The technical note that is named , available on the Online Support website,
provides more details.

Non-rewinding tape device usage (UNIX/Linux only)


Tape drives used as storage devices must be accessed by non-rewinding device files.
The NetWorker server assumes that a tape is in the same position in which it was the
last time it was accessed. If the operating system’s device driver rewinds the tape,
then the position is lost, and previously written data will be overwritten by the next
backup.
The NetWorker configuration software automatically chooses the correct device
pathname for tape devices. If the user specifies the pathname, then it must be non-
rewinding, and it must follow the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) semantic rules.
For example, /dev/rmt/0mbn, where:
l The b satisfies the BSD semantics requirement on Solaris and HP-UX.
l The n specifies non-rewinding behavior on Solaris, HP-UX, Linux, and HP-Tru64.
On AIX, the number following the decimal selects the BSD and non-rewinding behavior
and must be either 1 or 5 for NetWorker software (for example /dev/rmt2.1).
Note: Never change a device pathname from non-rewinding (/dev/rmt/0cbn)
to rewinding (/dev/rmt/0cb). When the pathname is changed to rewinding, the
data could only be saved, but never recovered. All but the last save are
overwritten by later saves.

Pools with libraries


If the backup strategy includes both full and nonfull backups, estimate the number of
volumes needed for the full backups and assign them to the Full pool. This ensures
that the full backups are located in a consecutive range of slots in the library. This
allows all of the volumes to be removed at the same time.

Persistent binding and naming


Some operating systems provide the persistent binding option to permanently bind
logical and physical addressing so that the associations are retained. This guarantees
that the operating system always uses and creates the same symbolic path for a
device is known as persistent naming.
Proper configuration of the operating system to use persistent binding and persistent
naming resolves issues related to device ordering by forcing the operating system to
always assign the same device filename regardless of external events.

Persistent binding
Persistent binding guarantees that the operating system always uses the same SCSI
target ID for SAN devices, regardless of reboots or other events, by statically mapping
a target's WWN address to a desired SCSI address. On some operating systems, this

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is done by default, while on others it has to be set manually. The operating system
documentation provides further information.
In most cases, persistent binding should also be set on the Host Bus Adapter (HBA) by
using the configuration utility that comes with the Fibre Channel HBA. The HBA
device driver documentation provides details.
Persistent binding is required for consistent library operations within NetWorker,
because the NetWorker server communicates with the library controller over a SCSI
address that is chosen during initial library configuration. If the SCSI address changes,
the library will become unavailable. In this case, disable the library and change the
“control port” address to reflect the new SCSI address of the library controller.
If devices have already been configured in NetWorker prior to enabling persistent
binding on the host, delete existing devices from the library resource and perform a
re-scan of devices followed by a reconfiguration of the tape library.

Persistent naming
Persistent naming is used to ensure that the operating system or device driver of a
server always creates and uses the same symbolic path for a device (referred to as
device file).
After you create persistently named device files and they are present on the host,
enable the Use persistent names option when scanning for tape devices from the
NetWorker Management Console.
If devices have already been configured in NetWorker prior to enabling persistent
naming on the host, delete existing devices from the library resource and perform a
re-scan of devices followed by a reconfiguration of the tape library.

Whether to add or recycle volumes


The NetWorker server saves files on volumes marked appen (appendable). If the
volumes are marked full, they cannot receive backups. There are situations best suited
to either adding a new volume, or recycling an existing volume.
If volumes are marked full, you can:
l Remove the full volumes and replace them with new media if the volumes are
being kept for long-term storage.
l Change the volume mode to recyc (recyclable) if the data on the full volumes is
not needed. The NetWorker server overwrites the data with new backups, but
maintains the existing labels. Changing the volume mode on page 529 provides
information about changing the volume mode.
When all of the save sets on the volume have passed the time period specified by the
retention policy, the mode of the volume automatically changes to recyclable.
There are advantages both to recycling media and adding more media to a pool. With
recycling, the same volumes are used repeatedly, and there is no need to add new
volumes to the pool. The volumes can, however, wear out over time and exhibit a
higher failure rate.
On the other hand, if backups are to be stored for some time, then it might be
necessary to add more media to the pool instead of recycling. For example, a library
might need new volumes every three months if the company policy is to maintain the
backups for a year. In this case, new media must be added to the pool until the
volumes that contain expired or old backups can be recycled.

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Configure libraries
A library resource must be created on a storage node for each library, including silos,
that you want to use with NetWorker. Because the NetWorker server is also a storage
node, this procedure applies to a NetWorker server and all storage nodes. You can
configure a library either automatically with the Configure All Libraries wizard or
manually with the user interface.
Before you create devices, you must create the storage node that will manage the
devices. Storage nodes on page 98 provides details. When you create the new
devices, you can use NetWorker to perform a device scan, which searches for new
devices across multiple storage nodes.
NetWorker can only automatically create tape devices that have serial numbers. Use
the inquire or sn commands to determine if a device returns a serial number. UNIX
man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed information
about how to use the inquire and sn commands.
NetWorker can automatically configure the following library types:
l SCSI
l NDMP
l ACSLS Silo
Use the jbconfig command to configure a library that contains tape devices or a
robotic arm that does not have serial numbers. Use the jbconfig command to
configure IBM tape libraries that are controlled through the use of the IBMs tape
driver. This is because the device autodetection code uses the internal lus driver to
control libraries.
Note: Before you create devices on a storage node, update the devices to the
most recent firmware and driver versions.

Autodetection of libraries and tape devices


Autodetection is a scanning process that applies only to physical tape libraries and
virtual tape libraries (VTLs). The NetWorker software automatically discovers libraries
and devices that are being used for backups and recoveries.
The maximum number of configured devices for any NetWorker server and storage
node combination is 750. The maximum number, including non-configured devices,
can vary depending on the specific server that is being administered.
The following options are available from many of the menus throughout the Devices
task:
l Configure all Libraries
l Scan for Devices
If you start these options from the server folder instead of from the storage node
folder, then all storage nodes on the NetWorker server are automatically selected for
configuration in the wizard, or for scanning, respectively.
As with other Console functions, you can view and work with only those NetWorker
servers for which you have access permission.
NOTICE Autodetection should not be used for devices on a Storage Area Network
(SAN) while any of the devices are in use, because this may cause the device in
use to become unresponsive. To avoid this situation, do not configure a device in
multiple NetWorker datazones.

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Adding a library resource


Procedure
1. In the server’s Administration interface, click Devices.
2. Open the Storage Nodes folder in the navigation tree.
3. Right-click the storage node to which the device is to be configured, and select
Configure All Libraries (which is available from many of the menus throughout
the Devices task). This opens a wizard that can configure all detected libraries,
except those explicitly excluded in the library exclusion list during configuration.
NOTICE If Configure All Libraries is started from the server folder instead of
from the Storage Node folder, then all storage nodes on the NetWorker
server are automatically selected for configuration in the wizard.
The Configure All Libraries wizard appears. This lets you step through library
configuration, including this input (some of which is filled in by default):

l Library type (select SCSI/NDMP).


l An NDMP remote username and a password are required for an NDMP
device that acts as a storage node.
l Adjust the Enable New Device option, if necessary.
l Current server sharing policy. Use maximal sharing with Dynamic Drive
Sharing (DDS). By default, the sharing policy is displayed as “server
default,” which is maximal sharing.
l Storage nodes to which libraries can be configured (select a storage node to
see its details). If the appropriate storage node is not listed, click Create a
New Storage Node.
l When creating a new storage node, replace the default value in the Name
field with the fully-qualified domain name or short name of the new storage
node.
l Update storage node properties, if required.
4. After specifying the required information, click Start Configuration. The
configuration window displays a message that the Configure All Libraries
process has started. The status of the configuration activity can be viewed by
the Monitoring > Log screen.
5. When the configuration is complete, click Finish to close the configuration
wizard. If problems occur during configuration, you can click the Back button
on the configuration window to adjust the settings.
Scanning for libraries and devices
Devices already known to the NetWorker server can be seen in the enterprise
hierarchy in the navigation tree. Use the Scan for Devices option described here to
find devices that are not yet known to the NetWorker server. Be aware that:
About this task
l A storage node must be added to the hierarchy before its devices can be scanned.
l The Scan for Devices option does not detect file type or advanced file type
devices.
l By default, the Linux kernel configures a maximum of 128 st devices by default.
Refer to The inquire command and the Scan for Devices operation do not detect
more than 128 tape devices on page 131 if the Scan for Devices option does not
detect more than 128 tape devices on Linux operating systems.

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l A specific network interface can be used between the NetWorker server and the
storage node when scanning for devices. Identifying a specific network interface
for device scan operations on page 145 provides more information.
Procedure
1. In the Console window, click Enterprise.
2. In the navigation tree, select a NetWorker server.
3. In the Name column of the Host detail table, double-click NetWorker. The
NetWorker Administration window for the selected server opens. Note that
while multiple NetWorker Administration windows can be open
simultaneously, each one displays information about only one host or server.
4. In the Administration window, click Devices.
5. In the navigation tree:
a. Right-click the server name, and select Scan for Devices.
b. Click the storage node to be scanned.
c. If the appropriate storage node is not listed, click Create a New Storage
Node.
d. When creating a new storage node, replace the default value in the Name
field with the fully-qualified domain name or short name of the new storage
node.
e. Fill in any required information, such as whether to scan for SCSI or NDMP
devices and whether to search all LUNs.
f. Click Start Scan. To monitor the scan activity, click Monitoring, then select
the Log tab. Any relevant status information is displayed there.
6. Return to the Devices navigation tree to view the refreshed device information
(configured and unconfigured):
l To display SCSI and NDMP libraries available to the NetWorker server,
select Libraries in the navigation tree. Any available library or silo appears in
the Libraries detail table.
l To display stand-alone devices available to the NetWorker server, select
Devices in the navigation tree. Any available stand-alone device appears in
the Devices detail table, along with devices available in libraries.
l To display the libraries and devices that are available to a storage node,
select the storage node in the navigation tree. Available storage nodes
appear in the table. Double-click a storage node to see its details, along with
the devices that are available in the storage node.

Barcode labeling tips


The NetWorker server uses volume labels and barcode labels to identify volumes. Both
label types are recorded in the media database. The volume label is also recorded
internally on the media (internal volume label). The NetWorker server uses barcode
labels to inventory volumes, and uses volume labels to identify the volumes needed for
backup and recovery. A requirement to match the volume label with the barcode label
can be set in the library’s Properties window.
Follow these guidelines when using barcode labels with the NetWorker software:
l When NetWorker software relabels volumes automatically, it reuses the original
volume label name. A label name can be changed only if the volume is relabeled

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manually. The NetWorker software scans the barcode label during the labeling
process and updates the media database with the new volume name and its
associated barcode label.
l Do not use identical barcode labels for any of the NetWorker volumes. The use of
identical labels defeats the purpose of using barcode labels, which is to facilitate
the inventory process and ensure label accuracy.
l Volume names must be unique on the NetWorker server. Give each volume a
unique volume label. If a second volume is labeled with an existing barcode label
and the Match Barcode Labels attribute in the library’s properties is enabled, the
NetWorker server displays an error message and does not allow the second
volume to be labeled. The error message identifies the library slots containing the
two volumes with identical labels and the barcode label.
To correct this problem, either apply a different label to one of the volumes and
restart the labeling process, or disable the Match Barcode Labels attribute in the
library’s properties while labeling the second volume.
l It is not necessary to label existing volumes with barcode labels if they are stored
in a vault or offsite for long periods. These volumes are rarely, if ever, inventoried.
l Before using barcode labels on existing volumes, affix the barcode labels to them.
Then, load and mount each volume individually, so that the NetWorker server can
match the barcode label with the existing volume label.
l Record the volume label on the tape.
l A variety of barcode labels can be purchased from third-party vendors. Choose
from among numeric labels, alphanumeric labels, or a special combination of
numbers and characters. Furthermore, barcode labels can be ordered to match a
current volume labeling scheme.
l Use a consistent labeling scheme. If volumes are labeled with the server name and
an extension such as “001,” order a range of labels starting with
“server_name.001” and ending with “server_name.100”, or as wide a range as
necessary. Instructions for barcode labels should be provided with the library
hardware documentation. Contact the hardware manufacturer with questions
about barcode labels. A consistent labeling scheme helps better organize and track
volumes. It also facilitates the inventory process if all of the volumes, use barcode
labels.

Configuring a library to use volumes with barcodes


About this task
Barcode labeling tips on page 143 provides more information.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. Open the Libraries folder. The Libraries detail table appears.
3. Right-click the appropriate library, and select Properties. The Properties
window appears.
4. Select the Configuration tab.
5. In the Media Management area of the Configuration tab, select:
l Bar Code Reader
l Match Bar Code Labels
6. Click OK.

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Using unmatched volume and barcode labels


About this task
Note: If unmatched volume and barcode labels are to be used, ensure that labels
are attached to the outside of the volumes.
Procedure
1. Apply barcode labels to the volumes.
2. Place the volumes with the barcode labels in the library.
3. In the Administration window, click Devices.
4. Open the Libraries folder. The Libraries detail table appears.
5. Right-click the appropriate library, and select Properties. The Properties
window appears.
6. Select the Configuration tab.
7. In the Media Management area of the Configuration tab:
l Select Bar Code Reader.
l Ensure that Match Bar Code Labels is not selected.
8. Click OK. The NetWorker server uses the next available label from the label
template for the volume name. It labels the volumes and records both labels in
the media database.
9. Inventory the volumes to ensure that the NetWorker server has the most
current volume information.
10. Use Media > Volumes to match the correct volume labels to the barcode labels.
Consider making a list of the name correlations.
Note: If the barcode function is enabled, but no barcode label is affixed to
the volume, an error message indicates that a barcode label does not exist.

Identifying a specific network interface for device scan operations


If the NetWorker server has multiple network interfaces, you can specify that a
specific network interface be used for scan operations. In this case, the dvdetect
(device scan) program will use the specified network address or hostname to
communicate with the NetWorker server.
Procedure
1. In the server’s Administration interface, click the Devices button.
2. Select View > Diagnostic Mode.
3. In the left pane, click on the Storage Nodes folder.
4. In the right pane, select a storage node.
5. Right-click the storage node and select Properties.
6. Select the Configuration tab.
7. In the Server network interface field, type the network address or the unique
hostname of the network interface on the NetWorker server that is to be used.
8. Click OK.

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Media Library parallelism


To define the media library parallelism, use the Max parallelism attribute on the
Configuration tab of the Library resource .
Media library parallelism allows you to define the maximum number of available
devices for inventory and label operations.
It is recommended that you set the Max parallelism attribute of the Library resource
to one less than the number of devices within the library, which allows you to reserve
on device for recovery operations.
To improve the efficiency of library operations that operate on multiple volumes, use
multiple devices in parallel for these operations. However, you may want to restrict
the number of devices that NetWorker uses for inventorying and labeling operations,
to ensure that some devices are available for other library operations.

Managing the library configuration


This section provides detailed information about managing a tape library in the
NetWorker environment.

Auto Media Management


Auto Media Management gives the NetWorker server automatic control over media
that are loaded in the storage device.
When you enable the Auto Media Management feature during device configuration,
the NetWorker server automatically:
l Labels the volume (recognizes EDM labels and does not overwrite them).
NOTICE If the Auto Media Management feature is enabled, the NetWorker
server considers volumes that were labeled by a different application to be
valid re-label candidates. Once the NetWorker server re-labels the volume, the
previously stored data is lost.
l Mounts the volume.
l Overwrites volumes that are consider to be unlabeled. The NetWorker server
considers a volume to be unlabeled under the following conditions:
n Has no internal label.
n Is labeled with information other than a NetWorker label.
n Is labeled with a NetWorker label, but the density that is indicated on the
internal label differs from that of the device where the volume is mounted.
l Recycles volumes eligible for reuse that are loaded into the device.
When you do not enable the Auto Media Management feature, the NetWorker server
ignores unlabeled volumes and does not use the volume for backup.
The Auto Media Management feature can re-label a volume that has a different
density, it is possible, inadvertently, to overwrite data that still has value. For this
reason, be careful if NetWorker volumes are shared among devices with different
densities.
Existing tapes with NetWorker labels
When Auto Media Management is used with tapes that have NetWorker labels that
have not been recycled, the volumes must be removed from the media database
before a utility such as tar is used to overwrite the labels. Also ensure that the tapes
have been fully rewound before overwriting the labels. Auto Media Management can
then properly relabel the tapes.

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Auto Media Management for stand-alone devices


The Auto Media Management feature can be enabled for stand-alone devices during
manual device configuration, or from the Properties window after configuration.
When Auto Media Management is enabled for a stand-alone device, the following
processes occur when a volume becomes full during a backup:
l A notification is sent that indicates that the server or storage node is waiting for a
writable volume. Simultaneously, the NetWorker server waits for the full, verified
volume to be unmounted.
l The device is monitored and the software waits for another volume to be inserted
into the device.
l After a volume is detected, a check is performed to determine whether the volume
is labeled. If so:
n The volume is mounted into the device.
n The NetWorker server checks to see whether the newly mounted volume is a
candidate to receive data:
1. If yes, the write operation continues.
2. If no, the NetWorker server continues to wait for a writable volume to
continue the backup.
l If the volume is recyclable and is a member of the required pool, it is recycled the
next time a writable volume is needed.
l If the volume is unlabeled, it is labeled when the next writable volume is needed for
a save. Note that Auto media management does not label disk type devices such
as AFTD and Data Domain.
NOTICE If a partially full volume is unmounted, the NetWorker server
automatically ejects the volume after a few seconds. If a stand-alone device is
shared between storage nodes, then Auto Media Management should not be
enabled for more than one instance of the device. Enabling Auto Media
Management for more than one instance of the stand-alone device will tie up
the device indefinitely. No data is sent to the device and no pending message
is sent.
Enabling Auto Media Management for libraries
Auto Media Management is not enabled for libraries during autoconfiguration. Auto
Media Management for a library can be set by changing the library’s properties after
configuration.
Procedure
1. In the server’s Administration window, click Devices.
2. Select the Libraries folder in the navigation tree. The Libraries detail table
appears.
3. Right-click the library, and select Properties. The Properties window appears.
4. Select the Configuration tab.
5. In the Media Management area, select Auto Media Management.
6. Click OK.

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Labeling volumes
The NetWorker software applies a label template to create a unique internal label for
each volume. The label corresponds to a pool and identifies the pool for the volume
during backup and other operations.
Several preconfigured label templates are supplied with the NetWorker software. You
cannot delete these preconfigured label templates. Naming label templates on page 79
provides more information.
When you label a volume, the labeling process:
l Writes a label on the volume.
l Adds the volume label to the media database.
l Prepares tape media to have data written to it.
When you re-label tape, the data on the tape is effectively gone.
During data recovery, the server requests the volume that contains the required data,
identifying the required volume by the name with which it was labeled.
Label templates
Several preconfigured label templates are supplied with the NetWorker software.
These preconfigured label templates cannot be deleted. Naming label templates on
page 79 provides more information about label templates and preconfigured label
template.
Labeling or re-labeling library volumes
Labeling volumes in a library is time-consuming, so consider labeling volumes before it
is time to back up or recover files. When a volume is re-labeled, that volume is
initialized and becomes available for writing again.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. In the left pane, select Libraries.
A list of libraries appears in the right pane.
3. Right-click the library and select Label.
Details for the selected library appear, including divided tables for devices and
slots. The Label Library Media dialog box also appears.
4. From the Target Media Pool list, select the pool for the volume.
The pool determines the label template that is used to label the volume.
5. To require manual recycling of the volume, select Allow > Manual Recycle.
With manual recycling, the volume is not automatically marked as recyclable
when all save sets expire. You must manually mark the volume as recyclable.
NOTICE A volume that has been set to manual recycle retains that setting,
even after the volume is re-labeled. You must explicitly reset the volume to
automatic recycle by right-clicking the volume in the Media window,
selecting Recycle, and then selecting the Auto option.

6. To be prompted before the existing label is overwritten, select Prompt to


overwrite label.
7. Click OK.
The Library Operation dialog box appears, stating that the library operation has
started.

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8. To track the status of the label operation, click Monitoring in the


Administration window.
9. If you selected Prompt to overwrite label, confirm the overwrite of the
existing volume label with a new label:
a. Right-click the label operation in the Monitoring window and select Supply
Input.
A confirmation message appears.
b. Click Yes.
Verifying the label when a volume is unloaded
If a SCSI reset is issued during a backup, the volume rewinds and NetWorker may
overwrite the volume label.
To detect if the label is overwritten in this circumstance, select the Verify label on
eject checkbox in the Device resource, or set the Verify label on unload setting in the
Jukebox resource to Yes. With these settings, NetWorker verifies that a volume label
exists before ejecting the volume. If the volume label cannot be read, all save sets on
the volume are marked as suspect and the volume is marked as full.

Empty slots in label operations


Slots that have been intentionally left empty (such as bad slots) are skipped during
labeling operations. The NetWorker software logs a message similar to: “Slot 5 empty,
skipping.”
Barcode labels
The option to label a library volume with a barcode is available during automatic device
configuration. This option can be set in the library’s Properties tab after configuration.
Barcode labels make volume inventory fast and efficient. They eliminate the need to
mount the volumes in a device. The library scans the external barcode labels with an
infrared light while the volumes remain in their slots. Inventorying with barcode labels
greatly reduces the time needed to locate a volume or determine the contents of a
library.
Barcode labels also provide greater labeling accuracy. The labels are placed on the
volumes before the volumes are loaded and scanned in the library. Once the library has
scanned the barcode, the NetWorker server records and tracks the label in the media
database. The NetWorker server uses barcode labels only to inventory volumes. A
volume must have a label, but it need not have a barcode label.
Note: Libraries include hardware that reads barcode labels. The barcode
information is then forwarded to the NetWorker server. Problems reading barcode
labels indicate hardware problems. In the event of a barcode-related problem,
consult the library’s documentation or the hardware vendor.
Requirements for performing an inventory with barcodes
To perform an inventory by using barcodes, the following requirements must be met:
l The library must have a barcode reader.
l A barcode label must be present on the tape.
l The location field within the NetWorker media database must be correct or null. To
view the location field, use the mmlocate command.

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Device Service mode


Use the service mode setting to take a device offline temporarily. Service mode differs
from the disabled state in that the nsrmmd process is not stopped.
While a device is in service mode, save or recover sessions that are either in process
or pending are completed. No new sessions are assigned to the device while it is in
service mode.
Although a drive in service mode is taken out of the collection of drives that the
NetWorker software can select for automated operations, the drive is available for
some manual operations that use the nsrjb or nsrmm command with the -f option.
For more information, refer to the NetWorker Command Reference Guideor the UNIX
man pages.
The device might also go into service mode, rather than become disabled, if
consecutive errors occur in excess of the maximum consecutive error count specified
for the device. This means that if there are no hardware issues, the tape can be
ejected and used in other drives. Media handling errors on page 172 provides more
information about how to set the maximum consecutive error count.
Note: The drive must be manually reset to Enabled for the NetWorker software to
use the device again.
Setting the Service mode for a device
Procedure
1. Open the device’s Properties window.
2. On the General tab, set Status Enabled to Service.

Reconfiguring a library
Use this procedure to reconfigure a tape library.
Before you begin
To reconfigure a library or to add or remove access paths to the devices in a library,
use an account with the Configure NetWorker privilege. This includes access paths
that allow libraries to be shared.
About this task
Note: The following procedure does not support adding NDMP devices to a non-
NDMP library if both the NDMP server and the NetWorker storage node are on
the same host. Instead, use the jbedit command.
Procedure
1. Run Scan for Devices, in case a device path has been added to, or removed
from, the library since the latest scan.
2. In the server’s Administration window, click Devices.
3. Select Libraries in the navigation tree. The Libraries detail table appears.
4. In the navigation tree, right-click the entry for the library to be reconfigured, or
open the Storage Nodes folder, open the library folder, and then right-click the
library entry there.
5. Select Reconfigure Library. The Reconfigure Library window appears. Note
that the storage node name and library name cannot be changed in this window.
6. Make appropriate changes in the Configure devices on various storage nodes
using existing drive connectivity area, selecting or clearing checkboxes as

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necessary, or using the buttons at the right side of the area (Check All, Clear
All, Reset).
Drives that are already configured to be used by the library display check marks
in the boxes that are adjacent to their names:

l Selecting a box adds the drive to the library.


l Clearing a box removes the drive from the library.
l The Reset button returns the checkboxes to the condition they had when
the Reconfigure Library window was opened.
7. Click Start Configuration to reconfigure, or Cancel to leave the window.
8. Run Scan for Devices to refresh the navigation tree and show the
reconfiguration results.

Specifying library slots


The available slots feature controls which volumes the NetWorker server uses for
backup. The server uses all volumes in a library to perform recoveries, but the volumes
that are automatically selected for backups can be controlled by designating a range
of available slots in the library.
About this task
Perform the following steps to define the available slots in a tape library.
Procedure
1. Ensure that volumes have been placed in all the available slots of the library so
that the NetWorker server can continue uninterrupted with an automatic
backup.
With two-sided media, the number of available slots is effectively doubled. For
example, with 32 optical disks labeled “jupiter.001.a” to “jupiter.032.b,” there
are a total of 64 sides, and therefore, there are 64 slots from which to choose.

2. In the server’s NetWorker Administration interface, select View > Diagnostic


Mode from the menu bar.
3. Click Devices.
4. Open the Libraries folder in the navigation tree. The Libraries detail table
appears.
5. In either the navigation tree or in the Libraries detail table, right-click the
library on which the slots are to be designated, and select Properties.
6. Select the Advanced tab of the Properties window.
7. In the Media Management Area, in the Available slots field, type a range of
contiguous slots, then click + to add the range of slots.
For example (assuming that no slots have already been configured), to
designate slots 1 through 3 as available, then skip a defective slot 4, and
designate slots 5 through 7 as available, type this information in the Available
Slots field:

a. Type 1-3, then click + to add these slots.


b. Type 5-7, then click + to add these slots.
c. Click OK. Slot 4 will be skipped when tapes are loaded.

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Reset a library
A library must be reset each time the library and the NetWorker software become out
of sync. A library reset can be done using either the Administration interface or the
command prompt.
Resetting a library in the Administration interface
To reset a library in the Administration interface:
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. Open the Libraries folder in the navigation tree. The Libraries detail table
appears.
3. Select a library in the navigation tree or double-click a library in the Libraries
detail table to open the double-paned Library Operations view.
The library’s drives are listed in the pane on the left in the Device column. The
library’s slots are listed in the pane on the right.

4. Right-click a library in the Device column, and select Reset. You are prompted
to reset the library.
5. Click Yes. The Library Operation window appears and displays this message:

The library operation has started.


Please see the Monitoring->Operations screen for its status.

6. Click OK.

Resetting a library from the command prompt


Use the nsrjb -HE command to reset a library from the command prompt. For
example, the library inventory must be correct after adding drives to an SJI-compliant
library, such as adding DLT7000 drives to an ETL 7/3500 device.
About this task
To make the NetWorker software aware of these new drives, run nsrjb -HE to reset
the library. The -E option reinitializes the library’s element status. Some libraries can
track whether there is media in a component in the library. This feature is known as an
element status capability.
A series of commands exists that allow direct interaction with libraries (sji commands)
and tape drives (cdi commands). These commands should only be used by the most
knowledgeable of NetWorker users, as the consequences of using them can be
unknown. For information about these commands, refer to the NetWorker Command
Reference Guide or the UNIX man pages.

Deleting libraries
The library's devices remain, and can still respond to NetWorker operations (such as
monitoring, labeling, deletion, and so on) after the library definition is deleted. A
deletion of a library deletes the library, not its devices.
About this task
Procedure
1. In the server’s Administration interface, click Devices.
2. Select Libraries in the navigation tree. The Libraries detail table appears.

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3. In either the navigation tree or in the Libraries detail table, right-click the entry
for the library to be deleted, and select Delete.
4. When prompted, click Yes.
This message appears:

"Are you sure you want to delete this jukebox? If so, please
re-attempt
deletion within a minute."

5. Click OK to confirm the deletion.

Library notifications
The NetWorker server uses notifications to send messages about NetWorker events.
Several preconfigured notifications, such as the following, provide information about
various situations:
l Volumes in the library are 90% full
l Library needs more volumes to continue
l Library has a mechanical problem
l Library device needs cleaning
l Cleaning cartridge needs attention.
The NetWorker software automatically mounts a required volume as long as the
volume is loaded in the library. If a recovery operation requires a volume that is not
loaded in the library, the Tape mount request 1 notification sends an alert to
Monitoring > Alerts, with a request to do something with a specific volume.
After a library problem is corrected, it might be necessary to mount a volume so the
NetWorker server can continue to back up or recover files.

Refreshing enterprise library views on request


Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Libraries.
2. In the navigation pane, select a server to update, or select the top item in the
hierarchy to update library information for all NetWorker servers.
3. Right-click the server, and select Refresh.

Changing the polling interval for enterprise library views


Enterprise library views are updated periodically without user intervention.
About this task
Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Setup.
2. From the Setup menu, select System Options.
3. In the Polling Interval for NetWorker Libraries field, type the appropriate
time, in hours.
4. Click OK.

Adding and removing media by using the library front panel


Certain media libraries allow for media to be added and removed by using the front
panel display. This operation circumvents the NetWorker server's normal procedures

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for adding and removing volumes and may cause the server information to become out
of sync with the library. Normally, you should use the NetWorker server procedures
for adding and removing media, rather than the library's front panel display. This is
more efficient and guarantees that the server and the library will be in sync.
About this task
If it is necessary to use the library's front panel display to add and remove volumes.
Note: When a library is partitioned, the NetWorker software does not become
aware of the partitioning. This means that the entire physical library will be
disabled, not just one partition.
Procedure
1. In the Properties window for the Library, on the General tab, set Status
Enabled to Service.
Note: Putting the library in service mode will cancel all operations or wait
for operations to complete that cannot be canceled, and then put the library
into disabled mode.

2. Once the library is in disabled mode, use the library's front panel to add and
remove tapes.
3. In the Properties window for the Library, on the General tab, set Status
Enabled to Enabled.
4. Inventory the library. Inventorying library volumes on page 160 has information
about inventorying libraries.

Volume mounting and unmounting


A volume must be mounted before files can be backed up. If no volume is mounted at
the start of a backup, an error message appears and requests that a volume be
mounted.

Mounting or unmounting a volume in a library


Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. Open the Libraries folder in the navigation tree. The Libraries detail table
appears.
3. Select a library in the navigation tree or double-click a library in the Libraries
detail table to open the double-paned library operations view. The library’s
drives are listed in the Devices column, and its slots are listed in the Slot
column.
4. To mount a volume:
a. In the Devices column, select the appropriate drive.
b. In the Volume column, right-click a volume to mount, and select Mount.
l The Library Operation window displays this message:

The library operation has started.

l The Monitoring > Operations screen displays its status.

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c. Click OK.
5. To unmount the volume:
a. Right-click the device or the volume in the double-paned table view of the
library and select Unmount.
l The Library Operation window displays this message:

The library operation has started.

l The Monitoring > Operations screen displays its status.

6. Click OK.

Unmounting volumes automatically (idle device timeout)


At times, a volume that is mounted in one device might be needed by another device in
the same library. For example, data being recovered by one device could span more
than one volume, and the required volume could be mounted on another device. To
address this need, a value can be defined in the Idle Device Timeout attribute for that
particular library.
About this task
The Idle Device Timeout attribute specifies the number of minutes a mounted volume
can remain idle before it is automatically unmounted from the device and returned to
its slot, where it can then be accessed by another device. For libraries, this attribute
appears on the Timers tab of a library's Properties. The default value for a library is 10
minutes.
Procedure
1. In the server’s NetWorker Administration interface, click Devices.
2. Open the Libraries folder in the navigation tree.
3. Right-click the appropriate library in the detail table, and select Properties. The
Properties window appears.
4. Select the Timers tab.
5. Specify a value in the Idle Device Timeout attribute.
1. You can also override the library’s Idle Device Timeout attribute for a specific
device in the library.
To specify the Idle Device Timeout value for a specific device:
6. In the server’s Administration interface, click Devices.
7. Select View > Diagnostic Mode.
8. Select Devices in the navigation tree. The Devices detail table appears.
9. Right-click the device and select Properties.
10. Select the Advanced tab.
11. Specify a value in the Idle Device Timeout attribute.
The default value is 0 (zero) minutes, which means that the device never times
out and the tape must be ejected manually. However, when the value of this
attribute is set to 0, the value specified in the device library’s Idle Device
Timeout attribute will take precedence.

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Mounting or unmounting a volume in a stand-alone tape drive


Procedure
1. Manually insert a volume in the stand-alone drive, or ensure that a volume is
already loaded.
In a stand-alone device, a volume that has been loaded into the drive is not
considered to be mounted until it has been explicitly mounted in the user
interface or from the command prompt.

2. In the Administration window, click Devices.


3. Select Devices in the navigation tree. The Devices detail table appears.
4. Select the device. To mount the volume, in the Devices detail table, right-click
the device, and select Mount.
5. To unmount the volume, in the Devices > detail table, right-click the device,
and select Unmount.
l The Library Operation window displays this message:

The library operation has started.

l The Monitoring > Operations screen displays its status.


6. Click OK.

Labeling and mounting a volume in one operation (stand-alone tape


drive)
When multiple storage devices are connected to the NetWorker server, the device for
labeling must first be selected from the list of available devices. Remember that
labeling a volume makes it impossible for the NetWorker server to recover original
data from that volume.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. Manually insert an unlabeled or recyclable volume in the NetWorker server
storage device, or ensure that a volume of this type is already present for the
NetWorker server to access.
3. Select Devices in the navigation tree. The Devices detail table appears.
4. Right-click the stand-alone device in the detail table, and select Label. The
Label window appears:
a. Type a unique label name, or accept the default name that is associated with
the selected pool.
If the volume is unlabeled, the NetWorker server assigns the next sequential
label from the label template that is associated with the selected pool. If a
recyclable volume from the same pool is being re-labeled, then the volume
label name and sequence number remain the same. Access to the original
data on the volume is destroyed, and the volume becomes available.

b. Select a pool on the Pools menu. The NetWorker server automatically


applies the label template that is associated with the Default pool unless a
different pool is selected.

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c. Select the Manual Recycle attribute if the volume should be manually


recycled.
If the Manual Recycle attribute is enabled when the volume is labeled, the
volume cannot automatically be marked as recyclable according to the
retention policy. When a volume is marked as manual recycle, the NetWorker
server disregards the assigned browse and retention policies. Therefore, only
an administrator can mark the volume recyclable.
A volume that has been set to manual recycle retains that setting, even after
re-labeling. A Manual Recycle policy cannot be changed back to Auto
Recycle by clearing the Manual Recycle checkbox. The volume must be
explicitly reset to use auto recycle.

d. The Mount After Labeling attribute is selected by default. The NetWorker


server automatically labels the volume, and then mounts the volume into the
device.
5. Click OK.
6. If the volume is recyclable, a message warns that the named volume is about to
be recycled, and asks whether to continue. Click Yes to re-label and recycle the
volume.
7. After a volume is labeled and mounted in a device, the volume is available to
receive data. Since the NetWorker label is internal and machine-readable, place
an adhesive label on each volume that matches that internal volume label.
Configuring a library to use volumes with barcodes on page 144 provides
information on using barcode labels.
Note: If you are in the process of re-labeling a mounted volume and you
choose not to overwrite the existing label, the volume is left in an
unmounted state. To use this volume, mount it again.

Labeling volumes without mounting


Volumes can be prelabeled without being mounted.
To label a volume without mounting, follow the same procedures as for labeling and
mounting in one operation, but clear the Mount After Labeling attribute in the Label
window.

Mounting uninventoried volumes


You can mount volumes that are not included in the library inventory, but are valid
(properly labelled) NetWorker volumes.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. Select View > Diagnostic Mode on the toolbar.
3. Manually insert the volume in an empty library slot.
4. Open the Libraries folder in the navigation tree. The Libraries detail table
appears.
5. Select the library in the navigation tree in which the volume was manually
inserted, or double-click the same library in the Libraries detail table. The
Libraries detail table changes to the double-paned library operations view. The
library’s drives are listed in the Devices column, and its slots are listed in the
Slot column.

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6. In the Devices column, right-click the library in which the volume was manually
inserted, and select Inventory. The Inventory Library window appears.
7. Type the slot number of the volume in both the First and Last field of the Slot
Range.
8. Select Operation Type: either Slow/Verbose (the default) or Fast/Silent.
l When Slow/Verbose is selected, the Supply Input option and icon on the
Operations screen of the Monitoring window can be used to confirm the
choice to relabel a volume. The device path appears in the Device field.
l When Fast/Silent is selected, the Supply Input option and icon are not
available, and relabeling proceeds automatically, without user input. The
device path does not appear in the Device field. Entering user input on page
61 provides details.
9. Click OK.
l The Library Operation window displays this message:
The library operation has started.
l The Monitoring > Operations screen displays its status.
The NetWorker software then inventories the specified slot.
10. Mount the inventoried volume.
NOTICE Unlabeled tapes may not be mounted for inventorying. Unlabeled
tapes can only be mounted to be labeled. An attempt to mount an
uninventoried volume by using unlabeled media results in an I/O error. The
volume will also be ejected.

Libraries with volume import and export capability


The NetWorker software supports the use of the SCSI-II import/export feature found
in many brands of library. Depending on the library model, this feature is also known as
cartridge access port (CAP), mail slot, and loading port. The import/export feature
deposits and withdraws (ejects) volumes from slots in the library. This feature enables
the operator to deposit and withdraw cartridges without invalidating the device
inventory list. Normally, if the operator opens the door to load or unload media, the
element status of the autoloader is invalidated, which requires the reinitialization the
library. The NetWorker server does not, however, automatically inventory the volume
after a deposit and withdrawal.
The reinitialization usually consists of the following:
l An inventory of all slots
l A reset of the robotic arm
l A check to see whether each drive is working
The Deposit attribute causes a library to take the first available volume from the CAP
and place it in the first empty library slot. The Eject/Withdraw attribute moves a
volume from a slot (never from a drive) to the CAP.
Depositing a volume by using the import/export feature
Use these general instructions when working with a CAP. Specific instructions for
working with a CAP can vary, depending on the library manufacturer. For specific
instructions, refer to the library’s documentation.
Procedure
1. Ensure that volumes are available in the CAP for deposit.

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2. In the Administration window, click Devices.


3. Select Libraries in the navigation tree.
The Libraries detail table appears.
4. Double-click the library in which to deposit the volume.
The Libraries detail table changes to the double-paned library operations view.
5. Right-click either the device or the slot, and select Deposit.
You are prompted to deposit the volume.
6. Click Yes. The Library Operation window displays this message:

The library operation has started.

The Monitoring > Operations screen displays its status.


7. Click OK.
8. Click Monitoring to go to the Monitoring window, and then select the
Operations tab.
9. Right-click the User Input icon for the deposit job and select Supply Input.
You are prompted to load the cartridges into the ports and type Yes to
continue.
10. Click Yes.
11. Right-click the User Input icon for the deposit job and select Supply Input
again.
You are prompted to continue depositing volumes.
12. Click Yes to continue depositing volumes, or No when done.
Withdrawing a volume by using the import/export feature
About this task
Note: If the library is partitioned into logical libraries and the import/export slots
are shared between the partitions, you must withdraw volumes by using the
nsrjb -P command to specify the ports from which to withdraw thevolumes.
The nsrjb man page or NetWorker Command Reference Guide the for more
information.
Procedure
1. Ensure that the volume to be withdrawn is in a known slot, and that the CAP
has an empty port to hold the withdrawn volume.
2. In the Administration window, click Devices.
3. Select Libraries in the navigation tree. The Libraries detail table appears.
4. Double-click the library from which the volume is to be NetWorker Command
Reference Guide withdrawn. The Libraries detail table changes to the double-
paned library operations view.
5. Right-click the slot that contains the volume, and select Eject/Withdraw.
You are prompted to withdraw the volume.
6. Click Yes.
l The Library Operation window displays this message:
The library operation has started.

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l The Monitoring > Operations screen displays the status.


7. Click OK.
8. To review the result, select Monitoring > Log. A successful Eject/Withdraw
operation ends with a Succeeded comment in the log.

Inventorying library volumes


When the NetWorker software labels the contents of a library, the software registers
the location of the volumes in the library slots when it assigns the volume label. This
process is called taking inventory. When the volumes in the library are inventoried, the
NetWorker software reads the label of each volume and records its slot number. If the
volumes are not moved in the library after they have been labeled, then the
NetWorker server can access the volumes because each volume label is assigned to a
specific slot.
About this task
If, however, the contents of the library are changed without being labeled, or if
volumes are moved into new slots, the NetWorker software must be notified that the
library now holds a different set of labeled volumes or that the volumes are in a
different order. For example, if the library has more than one magazine, the volumes
must be inventoried each time that a magazine is removed, and another one is loaded
into the library.
When the volumes in a new magazine are labeled, there is no need to inventory them.
The NetWorker software automatically records the slot number in which each newly
labeled volume is located.
The NetWorker software can use barcode labels to speed up the inventory process. If
the library supports the use of barcode labels, consider using them if large numbers of
volumes, and/or if the library contents change often. Barcode labels on page 149
provides more information on using barcode labels.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. Open the Libraries folder in the navigation tree. The Libraries detail table
appears.
3. Select a library in the navigation tree or double-click a library in the Libraries
detail table. The Libraries detail table changes to the double-paned library
operations view.
4. Right-click anywhere within the Devices pane, and select Inventory. The
Inventory > Library window appears.
5. Type the numbers of the first and last slots to be inventoried in the Slot Range
area.
6. Select Operation Type: either Slow/Verbose (the default) or Fast/Silent.
7. Click OK.
l The Library Operation window displays this message:

The library operation has started.

l The Monitoring > Operations screen displays its status.


8. Click OK. If the volumes do not have barcode labels, the NetWorker software
must mount each volume, read its label, and unmount it. In this case, the
inventory process can take some time to complete.

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Library maintenance
Periodically clean a storage library to keep it working correctly. The NetWorker server
provides automatic cleaning of devices located in libraries. The server does not
support automatic cleaning for stand-alone devices. Cleaning is an option set during
configuration.
The service mode feature allows a library to be taken offline temporarily for cleaning
or other maintenance.

Automatic tape device cleaning


Tape device cleaning is an automated, self-contained operation. It is no longer part of
a media-loading operation. Tape device cleaning is automatically triggered if one of
these conditions exist:
l The last time the device was cleaned was a full cleaning interval ago.
l The Cleaning Required attribute for the device is set to Yes in one of the following
ways:
n Manually by the user.
n Automatically by the NetWorker server, after it receives a “device needs
cleaning” notification.
When one of these conditions is met for a device, cleaning begins as soon as the
device becomes available. Loaded devices are unloaded before a cleaning operation
begins. Loading a cleaning cartridge (with the nsrjb -l cleaning cartridge command) to
force a cleaning operation is no longer supported.

Selecting a tape device manually for cleaning


About this task
NOTICE Do not enable automated cleaning for silos in the NetWorker software.
The automated device cleaning feature cannot be used in a silo, because it
depends on fixed slot numbers. For information about how to clean devices in a
silo, refer to the silo manufacturer’s software documentation.
Procedure
1. In the server’s NetWorker Administration interface, click Devices.
2. Open the Libraries folder in the navigation tree and select the drive that
contains the mounted volume with the block size being checked. The drive’s
detail table appears.
3. Right-click the drive in the detail table, and select Properties. The Properties
window appears.
4. Select the General tab.
5. Set the Cleaning Required attribute to Yes.

Delaying tape device cleaning


Occasionally it is necessary to set the Cleaning Delay attribute in order to allow a tape
device to sleep before attempting to unload a cleaning cartridge.
Procedure
1. In the server’s NetWorker Administration interface, click Devices.
2. Select View > Diagnostic Mode.

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3. Open the Libraries folder in the navigation tree.


4. Right-click the appropriate library in the detail table, and select Properties. The
Properties window appears.
5. Select the Timers tab.
6. Select a value in seconds for the Cleaning Delay attribute.

Tape alert
The TapeAlert feature provides, among other things, diagnostic information for
devices for which hardware cleaning is enabled.
NetWorker provides the following attributes for tape device cleaning:
l Cleaning required
l Cleaning interval
l Date last cleaned
When the Common Device Interface (CDI) is enabled, TapeAlert attributes provide
tape drive status. SCSI Commands must be selected for the CDI attribute on the
Configuration tab of the relevant device’s Properties. If CDI cannot be enabled,
TapeAlert is not supported.
Devices that are capable of TapeAlert perform constant self-diagnostics and
communicate the diagnostic information via the nsrmmd program to logs that can be
viewed in the Monitoring task.
The following TapeAlert attributes are found in the device’s Properties, on the Volume
tab.
l TapeAlert Critical: Displays critical diagnostic information, such as for media or
drive failure, when user intervention is urgent and data is at risk.
l TapeAlert Warning: Displays a message when the media or device needs servicing.
l TapeAlert Information: Displays status information.
The following table describes the nature of the tape alert levels.

Table 31 Tape alert severity

Severity Urgently requires Risks data loss Explanatory


user intervention
Critical X X

Warning X X

Informative X

The messages indicate tape and drive states related to tape drive read/write
management, cleaning management, or drive hardware errors.
Informative messages
Informative messages indicate status information:
l A data or cleaning tape is nearing its end of life.
l A tape format that is not supported.
Note: When automatic cleaning is enabled, a diagnostic message to indicate
that a drive needs cleaning initiates NetWorker drive cleaning.

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Warning messages
Warning messages indicate the following types of drive errors:
l Recoverable read or write errors occurred.
l Media is at end of life.
l Read-only tape format is in the drive.
l Periodic cleaning is required.

Critical messages
Critical messages are warnings that a drive might be disabled and requires immediate
attention to avoid data loss:
l Unrecoverable read or write errors occurred.
l Tape is marked read-only.
l Drive require immediate cleaning.
l Drive is predicting hardware failure.
Informative and warning messages should clear automatically by nsrmmd once the
reported issue is handled.
Critical messages about hardware errors are not cleared by nsrmmd because they
might indicate intermittent hardware problems.

Troubleshooting libraries and devices


This section provides detailed information about how to troubleshoot issues with
libraries and devices, including how to correct drive ordering issues and block size
issues between UNIX and Windows devices.

Troubleshooting autoconfiguration failure


Common symptoms of library autoconfiguration failure include the following:
About this task
l The library is not listed in the Libraries folder in the Administration interface.
l The library is listed, but is listed as being unconfigured.
Common causes include:
l Device drivers are not properly installed.
l Autodetection fails to match a detected library with its devices due to:
n Out-of-date device firmware.
n Failure of the library to return its devices’ serial numbers.
l Autodetection failed to start on the storage nodes.
Procedure
1. Check Monitoring > Log for relevant messages.
2. From the command prompt, type the following command to verify that the
library returns the serial numbers of its devices:
sn -a b.t.l.
where b.t.l. refers to the bus target LUN of the library. If the bus target LUN is
not known, run the inquire command first, to obtain this information.

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Library configuration using the jbedit command


If the autoconfiguration program cannot be used, the jbedit (jukebox edit) program
can be used as a fallback means of editing library configurations. This command can be
run on a NetWorker server, storage node, or client (if the client is a storage node). It
operates without disrupting any backup or recovery operations on the library.
Running the jbedit program requires Configure NetWorker user privileges.
The jbedit program supports all direct-attached SCSI/SJI, SAN, and NDMP
libraries.
The jbedit program is not intended to be a full-fledged editor of the Library
resource. The editing of Library resource attributes should be done as described in
Reconfiguring a library on page 150. The jbedit options provide selection lists that
make it easy to find drives or devices to be added or deleted.
The following table lists the most commonly used jbedit program options.

Table 32 Common jbedit options

Option Description
-a Add a drive or device.

-d Deletes a drive or device.

-j Name of the autochanger to be edited.

-f Name of the device to be added or deleted.

-E Element address of the device to be added or


deleted.

The NetWorker Command Reference Guide or the UNIX man page provides a detailed
description of the jbedit command, its options, and associated diagnostic messages.

Device ordering
The NetWorker server uses logical device names assigned by the operating system
when communicating with devices. It is possible for the operating system to re-
associate logical device names with the physical addresses of the devices, generally
after rebooting the host or after plug-and-play events. This may cause device
reordering, where the physical device will have a different device filename. As a result,
tape devices configured in the NetWorker software no longer match the names of the
devices as recognized by the operating system.
If device reordering occurs, the NetWorker software is unable to use any affected
drives until the configuration is manually corrected.
The NetWorker server detects device reordering events by comparing the current
serial number of the device to the serial number of the device at configuration. If the
serial numbers do not match, the NetWorker server stops all operations on that device
and an error message will be posted, similar to the alert identified for device serial
number mismatch in the table Preconfigured notifications on page 711. CDI must be
enabled for this functionality. Setting the common device interface on page 172
provides more information about enabling CDI.
Detecting device ordering issues
To determine if there is a problem with device ordering in your environment, you first
determine if the device order that appears in nsrjb output matches the device order

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from the inquire and sjisn commands, then verify that the device configuration within
your NetWorker configuration conforms to this.
Procedure
1. Execute the inquire command with the -cl option to determine the device
path, scsi address, and serial number of the device.
2. Execute the sjisn command to determine the current order of the devices:

sjisn scsidev@bus.target.lun

where bus.target.lun is the SCSI address of the robotic arm returned by the
inquire command in step 1, for example, 1.2.0.

3. Match the serial numbers of the devices in the sjisn output to the device names
that correspond to these serial numbers in the inquire -cl output. This will give
you the current device order by device filename.
4. Execute the nsrjb command to determine the order of devices as configured
in NetWorker. Drive entries towards the end of the nsrjb output list the device
order as configured in NetWorker.
5. Compare the device ordering as determined in step 3 and step 4. If the device
ordering in these two steps do not match, the device ordering has changed and
the library will need to be reconfigured.
Drive ordering change corrections
After a drive ordering change has taken place and the NetWorker software is no
longer correctly communicating with devices, you can correct the problem within your
NetWorker configuration by using the NetWorker Console or the jbedit command line
program.
Using NetWorker Console to correct drive ordering changes
You can correct drive ordering changes by using the NetWorker Console.
Procedure
1. Ensure that you have a current backup of the resource database.
2. Delete the library resource in the NetWorker Console. Deleting libraries on page
152 provides details.
3. Rescan the library. Scanning for libraries and devices on page 142 provides more
information.
Using the jbedit command to correct drive ordering changes
You can correct drive ordering changes by using the jbedit command.
Procedure
1. Use the jbedit command with the -d option to delete devices from the
NetWorker configuration.
2. Use the jbedit command with the -a option to add the devices again.
Library configuration using the jbedit command on page 164, or the UNIX man
page for jbedit or the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides more
information about the jbedit command.

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Clearing device ordering/serial mismatch errors from the NetWorker Console


After a device ordering error has been detected, a message is displayed in the Alerts
and Notifications windows of the NetWorker Management Console, as well as the log
files. The error message is similar to the following:
About this task

“Check system device ordering. Moving device on %s to . To correct,


scan for devices in NMC and re-enable the device.”

An Event ID for the error is also created, which will be removed along with the alert
when the problem is resolved. You can resolve the problem and clear the error
message.
Procedure
1. Disable the drive.
2. Perform one of the above procedures to correct the problem.
3. Re-enable the drive, and retry the operation that was being performed prior to
receiving the error.
Results
The Alert will be removed and the event dismissed.
Tape drive number reordering (Microsoft Windows only)
If more than one tape drive is attached to the NetWorker server when both the server
and drives are shut down, restart all of the tape drives, either before or immediately
after the NetWorker server is restarted. If Windows does not locate all of its
previously configured tape drives at the time of startup, it automatically reassigns the
tape registry name.
For example, assume that these three tape drives are attached to the server:
l The first one, \\.\Tape0, is a 4 mm tape drive.
l The second, \\.\Tape1, is an 8 mm tape drive.
l The third, \\.\Tape2, is also an 8 mm tape drive.
If only the second and third tape drives are restarted, Windows reassigns the tape
registry numbers so that the second storage device becomes \\.\Tape0 and the third
storage device becomes \\.\Tape1. The tape registry numbers no longer match the
defined storage devices within the NetWorker software. As a result, the server
mishandles the drives and their volumes.
It might be easier to leave a nonoperational drive (device) attached to the server until
a replacement is available. If the drive is removed, the name must be deleted, and then
the new drive must be added.
To disable the drive, select No for the Enabled attribute in the device’s Properties.
Device calibration
For information about the frequency and method for calibrating the loading
mechanism for the device, refer to the library manufacturer’s documentation.

SCSI data block size issues between UNIX and Windows


Different SCSI hardware limitations exist between UNIX and Microsoft Windows
operating systems. This can lead to data block size compatibility problems (although
they are less likely to occur now than in the past, given larger Fibre-Channel
capacities). For example, with a device defined in UNIX that is physically attached to a
Windows HBA, it is possible to define a block size greater than that allowed by the

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Windows hardware. This could lead to I/O errors in both write and read states on the
device. In order to use both operating systems, it is necessary to determine a block
size that is acceptable to both.
NOTICE In NetWorker 8.0.1 and later, the default block size for an LTO device
increases from 128 KB to 256 KB. When NetWorker labels a new or used volume in
an LTO device and the Device block size attribute of the device is handler default,
the label operation uses a 256 KB block size.
Determining the allowable block size
You can determine the allowable block size by checking the Properties window of a
mounted volume while in Diagnostic Mode.
Procedure
1. In the server’s NetWorker Administration interface, click Devices.
2. Select View > Diagnostic Mode.
3. Open the Libraries folder in the navigation tree and select the drive that
contains the mounted volume with the block size being checked. The drive’s
detail table appears.
4. Right-click the drive in the detail table, and select Properties. The Properties
window appears.
5. Select the Volume tab. In the Loaded Volume area, one of the displayed
volume attributes is the Volume Block Size.
6. Click OK.
Solving block-size compatibility problems
About this task
Note: It is also possible to solve problems with block-size compatibility by
changing the block size for an entire device type. The change, however, must be
made on each storage node where it is to be available. Once the block size is
changed, it affects only those volumes that are labeled after the change. Volumes
can be relabeled to use the new block size, but if they contain data that should be
saved, be sure to clone the data beforehand to a volume that already uses the new
block size.
Procedure
1. In the server’s NetWorker Administration interface, click Devices.
2. Select View > Diagnostic Mode on the menu bar.
3. Open the Libraries folder in the navigation tree and select the drive that
contains the mounted volume with the block size being checked. The drive’s
detail table appears.
4. Right-click the drive in the detail table, and select Properties. The Properties
window appears.
5. Select the Advanced tab. In the Device Configuration area, the currently
configured Device Block Size value is displayed.
6. Select the appropriate Device Block Size value.
7. Click OK.
Setting the block size for a device type
Procedure
1. Change the block size:

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l On UNIX, change the block size by setting this environment variable to the
greatest common value for both systems. For example:

setenv NSR_DEV_BLOCK_SIZE_MEDIA_TYPE value

where:
n MEDIA_TYPE is the backup device type available to the NetWorker
server (also found in the Media Type attribute on the General tab of the
device’s properties). The media type syntax must be all uppercase, with
underscores (_) replacing blank spaces and hyphens. Therefore, a device
displayed in the NetWorker software as "8mm Mammoth-2" would be
listed as:
8MM_MAMMOTH_2
n value must be a multiple of 32 KB, with a minimum value of 32 KB.
l On Microsoft Windows only, install a later model HBA, or upgrade to drivers
that can support up to 128 KB blocks. Windows also accepts the same
environment variable format as UNIX to set block size.
2. Restart the NetWorker server in order for changed environment variables to
take effect.
Device block size for read and write operations
The block size for a volume is defined during the label operation. The label operation
uses the value defined in the Device block size attribute for the Device or the value
defined by the appropriate block size environment variable.
The block size for both read and write operations uses the block size defined in the
volume header during the label operation rather than the device block size.
Block-size mode (UNIX/Linux only)
Ensure that the block size mode for tape devices that are used with NetWorker
software is set to variable. Otherwise, data recovery might fail. The procedure for
setting the device block size varies depending on the operating system.
The operating system’s documentation provides information about setting the tape
device block size in the operating system.

Device parameter settings


Device parameter settings can be modified for the devices the NetWorker software
uses in two ways:
l Individually, through the NetWorker Administration interface.
l Globally, for all devices through operating system environment variables. The
adjustment of environment variables should only be done by users who know the
server environment and performance tuning requirements. For example, an
administrator who wants to fine-tune performance by changing a certain setting
for all LTO devices on a particular NetWorker server.
The variables (and their equivalent names in the Administration interface) are
described in the following sections.
Device setting environment variables
There are several device-related environment variables available to configure devices
for the NetWorker software.
Device-related environment variables include the following:
l NSR_DEV_BLOCK_SIZE_MEDIA_TYPE

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l NSR_DEV_TAPE_FILE_SIZE_MEDIA_TYPE
l NSR_DEV_LOAD_TIME_MEDIA_TYPE
l NSR_DEV_LOAD_POLL_INTERVAL_MEDIA_TYPE
l NSR_DEV_LOAD_TRY_LIMIT_MEDIA_TYPE
l NSR_DEV_DEFAULT_CAPACITY_MEDIA_TYPE
where:
MEDIA_TYPE is the backup device type available to the NetWorker server.
Note: The media type syntax must be all uppercase, with underscores (_)
replacing blank spaces and hyphens. For example, a device displayed in the
NetWorker software as “8mm Mammoth-2” would be listed as:
8MM_MAMMOTH_2
To determine the media type, right-click the device an select the General tab.
The Media Type attribute contains the media type that should be used in
these environment variables.
NSR_DEV_BLOCK_SIZE_MEDIA_TYPE
NSR_DEV_BLOCK_SIZE_MEDIA_TYPE is organized in units of kilobytes. This
environment variable will cause NetWorker to override the default block-size setting
defined for the tape drive in the operating system. The value set must be a multiple of
32, with a minimum value of 32. Maximums are determined by platform, SCSI driver,
and device.
For example:
NSR_DEV_BLOCK_SIZE_4MM_20GB=64
For information about using this environment variable to set block-size compatibility
between UNIX and Microsoft Windows. SCSI data block size issues between UNIX and
Windows on page 166 provides more information.
NSR_DEV_TAPE_FILE_SIZE_MEDIA_TYPE
NSR_DEV_TAPE_FILE_SIZE_MEDIA_TYPE is organized in units of
NSR_DEV_BLOCK_SIZE_MEDIA_TYPE and is the number of blocks written between
filemarks. These filemarks are used to locate a particular spot on the tape during
recovery, and more filemarks generally lead to faster positioning. For example:
NSR_DEV_TAPE_FILE_SIZE_TZ89=512
On UNIX and Linux platforms, the NetWorker software writes a filemark by closing
and reopening the tape device, which takes one or two seconds. If this value is too
small, throughput could be slowed and recoveries may take longer to complete.
On Microsoft Windows platforms, the NetWorker software writes asynchronous
filemarks. This setting has a minimal effect on performance.
NSR_DEV_LOAD_TIME_MEDIA_TYPE
NSR_DEV_LOAD_TIME_MEDIA_TYPE is the number of seconds that nsrmmd polls
and waits for a drive to become ready after the library inserts a tape into the device.
NSR_DEV_LOAD_POLL_INTERVAL_MEDIA_TYPE is used to set the number of
seconds nsrmmd waits between polls during load time.
If the value of NSR_DEV_LOAD_TIME_MEDIA_TYPE is too short, there could be
unnecessary load failures. If it is too long, then labeling new tapes takes longer than
necessary. The minimum allowable value is 10 seconds. The maximum value is 600
seconds. For example:
NSR_DEV_LOAD_TIME_DTL8000=300

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NSR_DEV_LOAD_POLL_INTERVAL_MEDIA_TYPE
NSR_DEV_LOAD_POLL_INTERVAL_MEDIA_TYPE is the number of seconds that
nsrmmd waits between each attempt to read a newly inserted tape. The minimum
allowable value is 1 second, the maximum value is 30 seconds. For example:
NSR_DEV_LOAD_POLL_INTERVAL_DLT=10
NSR_DEV_LOAD_TRY_LIMIT_MEDIA_TYPE
NSR_DEV_LOAD_TRY_LIMIT_MEDIA_TYPE is the number of times that nsrmmd will
attempt to open a drive. The nsrmmd program will poll the drive until the limit set in
NSR_DEV_LOAD_TIME_MEDIA_TYPE is reached. After the limit is reached, it will
retry until the NSR_DEV_LOAD_TRY_LIMIT_MEDIA_TYPE is reached. The default
value and minimum allowable value is 2, the maximum value is 120.
NSR_DEV_LOAD_TRY_LIMIT_DLT=4
NSR_DEV_DEFAULT_CAPACITY_MEDIA_TYPE
NSR_DEV_DEFAULT_CAPACITY_MEDIA_TYPE is the size of the particular tape used
to base the percent full calculation. This variable value has no effect on the actual tape
capacity. Any integer value is allowed, with a KB, MB or GB designation to indicate a
range of values. Any value less than 200 MB will be overridden by the normal default
capacity. There is no obvious maximum, with the only practical limitation being the
actual storage size. For example:
NSR_DEV_DEFAULT_CAPACITY_DTL7000=12GB
Setting device parameters in the NetWorker Administration interface
You can locate and change the device parameters in the Administration interface.
About this task
Procedure
1. In the server’s Administration interface, click Devices.
2. Select View > Diagnostic Mode.
3. Select Devices in the navigation tree. The Devices detail table appears.
4. Double-click the device in the devices table or right-click the device and select
Properties. The Properties window appears, with the General tab selected.
5. Select the Advanced tab. In the Device Configuration area, the device
settings are the first fields shown. The following table lists the fields and their
corresponding environment variables:
Results

Table 33 Device settings and environment variables

Device setting Corresponding environment variable


Device Block Size NSR_DEV_BLOCK_SIZE_MEDIA_TYPE

Device File Size NSR_DEV_TAPE_FILE_SIZE_MEDIA_TYPE

Device Load Time NSR_DEV_LOAD_TIME_MEDIA_TYPE

Device Eject Time None

Device Poll Interval NSR_DEV_LOAD_POLL_INTERVAL_MEDIA_


TYPE
Device Min Load Tries NSR_DEV_LOAD_TRY_LIMIT_MEDIA_TYPE

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Table 33 Device settings and environment variables (continued)

Device setting Corresponding environment variable


Device Default Capacity NSR_DEV_DEFAULT_CAPACITY_MEDIA_TY
PE
Device Tape Flags None

When device parameters are set in this interface, it is not necessary to stop and
restart the NetWorker server in order for the settings to take effect.
Setting device environment variables on Windows
Setting environment variables for the NetWorker software differs on Windows and
UNIX operating systems.
About this task
Environment variables on Microsoft Windows are set using the Control Panel System
applet on the NetWorker server.
Procedure
1. Browse to Control Panel > System and Security > System > Advanced
System Settings.
2. In the General tab click Environment Variables...
3. Click New.
4. Specify the environment variable name and value.
5. Stop and start the NetWorker Backup and Recover Server service in order for
the environment variables to take effect.
Setting device environment variables on UNIX
Setting environment variables for the NetWorker software differs on Windows and
UNIX operating systems.
About this task
On UNIX and Linux NetWorker sources the /nsr/nsrrc file before starting the
NetWorker processes.
Procedure
1. On the NetWorker server, modify the /nsr/nsrrc file. If this file does not
exist, create this file as a Bourne shell script file.
2. Add the environment variables in the following format:

ENV_VAR_NAME = value
export ENV_VAR_NAME

3. Stop and start the NetWorker server processes in order for the environment
variables to take effect.

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Setting the common device interface


Common device interface (CDI) allows the NetWorker server to send commands to
tape devices. The CDI feature is not supported within an NDMP environment. You can
set CDI support in the NetWorker Administration interface.
Procedure
1. In the server’s NetWorker Administration interface, click Devices.
2. Select View > Diagnostic Mode.
3. Select Devices in the navigation tree. The Devices detail table appears.
4. Double-click a device in the Devices table (or right-click the device and select
Properties). The Properties window appears, with the General tab selected.
5. Select the Advanced tab. In the Device Configuration area, locate the CDI
settings:
l Not Used: Disables the CDI feature and uses standard tape driver calls for
tape operations.
l SCSI Commands: Sends explicit SCSI commands to tape devices.
When enabled, the CDI feature:
l Provides clearer tape status messages.
l Informs when a tape is write protected.
l Enables Tape Alert, which provides diagnostic information for devices.
Although you can disable the CDI feature by selecting the Not Used option,
it can be time-consuming to disable CDI on a large number of devices.
In this situation, create an empty file named /nsr/debug directory and create
an empty file that is named cdidisable. Then restart the NetWorker server.
The presence of this file disables the use of CDI for that server and all the
storage nodes that are controlled by that server.
Note: Use of CDI does not change what is written to tape. A tape that is
written with CDI enabled can be read with CDI disabled. Conversely, a tape
that is written with CDI disabled can be read with CDI enabled. The CDI
feature enables NetWorker software to collect better diagnostic
information and facilitates tape usage when enabled. Only set or disable the
CDI feature on the advice of an Customer Service representative. If tape or
SCSI issues occur while the CDI feature is enabled, contact Customer
Service.

Media handling errors


The architecture of device drivers can produce media handling errors. The NetWorker
software automatically retries a failed operation such as a mount or read of a volume.
The number of times the NetWorker software retries the failed operation depends on
the value of the Max Consecutive Errors attribute, which is set in the Advanced tab of
the device’s Properties window. The default value is 20. When the device’s Max
Consecutive Errors value is reached, the device stops retrying the operation and
becomes disabled.
A mount or read operation might fail for several reasons, for example:
l Attempts to mount and read a damaged tape in a library can result in a loop of
failed actions: the device might repeatedly try to mount the tape, replace it in the
slot, and then retry the action with the same result. In this example, to bring the
drive back into use, remove the damaged tape, then reenable the device.

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l A drive that always reports a fixed number of failures before correctly mounting
and reading a tape, even if the tape is not damaged, can cause a failure loop. In
this example, ensure that the Max Consecutive Errors value is higher than the
number of times that particular drive fails before working correctly.
Re-enabling a device
Once the number of retries equals the Max Consecutive Errors value, the device
becomes disabled. After the problem that disabled the device has been fixed, the
device (drive) must be reenabled before it can be used again.
Procedure
1. When the NetWorker computer is idle, remove any volume from the disabled
drive and ensure that the drive is in good working order.
2. In the Administration window, click Devices. The Devices detail table appears.
3. Right-click the drive to be reenabled, and select Properties. The Properties
window appears.
4. In the Status area of the General tab, set Enabled to Yes.
5. Click OK.
1. If the disabled drive is part of a library, it might be necessary to reset the
device. To do this:
6. From the command prompt, change the path to the directory that contains the
NetWorker binaries.
7. Type this command:
nsrjb -HE
NOTICE A device retains it enabled or disabled status in the Properties
window and in the Devices detail table regardless of whether its storage
node is enabled or disabled. Therefore, it is possible that the storage node
Properties window is set to disabled while its devices appear to be enabled
in the GUI.

Silo libraries
This section describes silos and silo devices. Silos and libraries are managed similarly
by NetWorker software.
A silo tape library (STL) is a peripheral that usually contains many storage devices.
Silos libraries have a robotic controller that moves tape media between slots and
devices. Silos do not use a SCSI interface to access and control the media
movements. Media movements are controlled by a separate host that is called the silo
server. The silo server uses silo management software to manage media movement
requests over the network. The silo vendor provides the silo management software.
The silo server cannot be the same computer as the NetWorker server.
The silo can be shared among many applications, systems, and platforms. As with
libraries, silos make data and media operations more automatic. Silos can load, change,
and manage volumes, and clean the devices automatically.
NetWorker only supports silos that use the Automated Cartridge System Library
Software (ACSLS) Manager software.

NetWorker software interactions with a silo


A NetWorker server acts as a client of the silo management software, which resides
on the silo server. The NetWorker server communicates with the silo through the Silo

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Tape Library Interface (STLI), which must be installed on the NetWorker server that
uses the silo.
To access the volumes and devices in a silo, the NetWorker server sends a request to
the silo management software, in the form of an STLI call. For example, to mount a
volume in a silo device, the NetWorker media service sends a request to the silo
management software to mount the volume into a particular device in the silo. The silo
server responds to the request and mounts the volume in the requested device.
The silo management software controls many of the operations that NetWorker
software controls with a library. For example, the silo management software keeps
track of the slot where each silo volume resides, and might control the deposit and
withdrawal of volumes, as well as automated cleaning of silo devices.

Naming conventions for silo devices


The silo name of the storage devices is supplied during the configuration process. The
silo name is the name that the silo management software uses to refer to the storage
device. Depending on the type of silo, the device name can take several forms. This
section describes the naming conventions of the currently supported silos.

StorageTek device naming conventions


The StorageTek (STK) silo management software uses either a program that is called
ACSLS that runs on a UNIX system, or a program that is called Library Attach that
runs on a Multiple Virtual Storage (MVS) system. These programs name devices
according to a coordinate system based on the physical location of the devices in the
silo. When you configure the silo in NetWorker, you supply the name of the silo that
the silo management software uses to refer to the storage device.
For tape drives, the name consists of four digits that are separated by commas:
l The first digit refers to the automated cartridge system (ACS) with which the
drive is associated.
l The second digit refers to the library storage module (LSM) in which the drive is
located.
l The third and fourth digits refer to the panel and slot location in which the drive is
located.
A typical name for an STK drive is similar to: 1,0,1,0.
You cannot determine the drive names from the NetWorker software. Contact the silo
administrator for the drive names of the devices that the NetWorker server can use.
To connect to more than one drive, determine the SCSI IDs for each drive and
correctly match the IDs to the silo names. If the operating system device names and
silo names are accidentally swapped, NetWorker can only mount and unmount
volumes. NetWorker cannot read or write to the volumes after they are mounted. To
reconfigure the device names correctly, modify the Library resource in the
Administration window and change the order of the device names in the STL Device
Names attribute.

Installing a silo
Procedure
1. Install the silo management software on the silo server.
2. If required, install the STLI library on the NetWorker server. For more
information, refer to the documentation from the silo vendor.
For example, for a NetWorker server or storage node running Windows to
control an STK silo, the libattach program must be installed.

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On UNIX systems, do not install the STLI library because all the necessary
software is installed when the NetWorker software is installed.

3. Ensure that the NetWorker server is properly connected to the media devices in
the silo.
4. Add the silo. Configuring silo libraries on page 175 provides further details.

Configuring silo libraries


Procedure
1. In the server’s Administration interface, click Devices.
2. Open the Storage Nodes folder in the navigation tree.
3. Right-click the storage node to which the device is to be configured, and select
Configure All Libraries (which is available from many of the menus throughout
the Devices task). This action opens a wizard that can configure all detected
libraries, except those libraries that are explicitly excluded in the library
exclusion list during configuration.
Note: If Configure All Libraries is started from the server folder instead of
from the Storage Node folder, then all storage nodes on the NetWorker
server are automatically selected for configuration in the wizard.

The Configure All Libraries wizard appears, and allows the user to step
through library configuration, including the following input (some of which is
filled in by default):
l Library type (select STL Silo).
l Adjust the Enable New Device option, if required.
l Current server sharing policy (use maximal sharing with Dynamic Drive
Sharing [DDS]).
l Storage nodes on which the libraries should configure. You can select a
storage node to see its details that are displayed. If the appropriate storage
node is not listed, click Create a New Storage Node. When creating a
storage node, replace the default value in the Name field with the name of
the new storage node:
a. Update storage node properties, if required.
b. Type the Silo Controller count, which sets the number of silos to be
configured for the selected storage node. The default is 1. If a silo count
of greater than one is selected, then a library name and hostname must
be typed for each one.
c. Type the Hostname of the silo controller.
d. (Optional) Use the Test Silo Controller Connectivity button to see
whether the connection to a silo controller works. Use it once for each
silo. If the connection to a given silo fails, an error message appears.
4. Click Start Configuration after filling in the requested information. The
Configuration window displays a message that the Configure All Libraries
process has started, and that the configuration activity can be viewed by
checking the Monitoring > Log screen for status.
5. Click Finish on the Configuration window to close the configuration wizard. If
problems occur during configuration, then the Back button on the

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Configuration window becomes active, which allows the user to return to the
input screen to adjust input.

NetWorker software with ACSLS silos


In this section, the term “ACSLS server” refers to the name of the system that is
running any one of StorageTek's library manager programs.
The ssi program is used indirectly by the nsrjb program to communicate with an
ACSLS server. The nsrjb program loads libstlstk, which handles the TCP calls to
and from the ssi program. The ssi program then handles all of communication to
and from the ACSLS server. Starting with ACSLS version 5.3, it is possible to run
either a NetWorker server or storage node on the same host that is running ACSLS.
To configure a library, the ssi and mini_el programs must be running on the system
on which library configuration is performed. The ssi and mini_el programs are
generally run as background processes, and are usually started automatically by the
system.
In addition to the ssi and mini_el programs, a shared library file (usually called
libstlstk.xxx where xxx is an operating system-dependent extension) is also
required. An appropriate version of this library is installed as part of NetWorker
installation.
ACSLS silos and firewalls
With ssi version 2.0, communication with the ACSLS server on a specified port
number is supported, using the -a command line option. This is part of the STK firewall
enhancement. The ACSLS version 7 or later must be running on the ACSLS server to
use this functionality.
The UNIX man pages for these commands, or see the NetWorker Command Reference
Guide, which provides information on the ssi and mini_el programs.

Releasing a silo device


When a silo device is configured for use with a NetWorker server, it is possible to
restrict silo access only to the NetWorker server. These restrictions allow increased
availability to the silo for those with full access. These restrictions can be lifted by
using the Release Device feature.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. Open the Libraries folder in the navigation tree. The Libraries detail table
appears.
3. Select a silo in the navigation tree or double-click a silo in the Libraries detail
table to open the double-paned Library Operations view. The silo’s drives are
listed in the Device column. The slots are listed in the Slot column.
4. Right-click a silo in the Slot column, and select Release Device. A window
appears and asks whether to release devices.
5. Click Yes. The Library Operation window appears and displays this message:

The library operation has started.


Please see the Monitoring->Operations screen for its status.

6. Click OK.
7. Repeat all steps for each device to be released.

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Silo device cleaning


Do not enable automated cleaning for silos in the NetWorker software. The automated
device cleaning feature depends on fixed slot numbers, so it cannot be used in a silo,
which does not have fixed slot numbers. For information about how to clean devices in
a silo, refer to the ACSLS silo manufacturer’s software documentation.

Environment variables for StorageTek silos


Environment variables must be set for StorageTek silos. The following table lists the
environment variables to set.

Table 34 StorageTek environment variables

Silo model Environment variables


StorageTek For UNIX systems:
l CSI_HOSTNAME = name_of_ACSLS_system

The following commands should also be running on the


system and can be
in the NetWorker startup script:
l <binaries_path>/mini_el &
l <binaries_path>/ssi &

For Windows systems:

The LibAttach Configurator program is available from


StorageTek. It creates a
ssi process, and a link is available to start the mini_el process
from

Start > Programs > LibAttach menu tree.

Once installed and configured, it starts on restart.

Setting environment variables for UNIX systems


Procedure
1. Create a Bourne shell script file named/nsr/nsrrc on the NetWorker server if
it does not already exist.
2. Add the variables in this format:

ENV_VAR_NAME = value
export ENV_VAR_NAME

3. Stop and start the NetWorker server daemons in order for the environment
variables to take effect.

Media management in a silo


More than one software application can use a single silo. Therefore, media
management in a silo requires extra operations to prevent the NetWorker software
from overwriting volumes used by other programs.

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Silo slot numbering


In a library, the NetWorker software specifies many functions by slot number. A library
has a fixed number of slots, and NetWorker software uses the slot number to refer to
a volume’s physical location.
A silo works similarly, but a silo has a variable number of slots, starting at zero when it
is first configured, and limited by the silo license purchased. The fundamental identifier
of a silo volume is its barcode, or volser (volume serial number). The volser never
changes over the life of a particular volume.
When the nsrjb command lists the contents of a silo, it also lists a slot number. Use
the slot number to specify which volumes to mount, unmount, label, and inventory.
Volumes are not always assigned the same slot number in the silo. The slot numbers in
the silo are assigned dynamically, based on the sorted order of the barcodes that have
been allocated. If additional barcodes that fall earlier in the sort sequence are allocated
later, then the slot numbers change for all volumes that are later in the sequence.
The nsrjb UNIX man page or the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provide more
information.

Silo volume mounting and unmounting


The mount and unmount operations for silos are the same as for library volumes.
Consider the following when mounting and unmounting library volumes:
l A volume must be mounted before it can be labeled, read, or had data written on
it. The robotic mechanism mounts volumes in the devices of a silo.
l Volumes must be unmounted before they can be inventoried in a silo or removed
from a NetWorker pool.
Volume mounting and unmounting on page 154 provides more information.

Silo volume labeling


The NetWorker labels for volumes in a silo include both a regular NetWorker volume
label (written on the media of the volume) and a silo barcode identifier. The volume
label is usually based on the volume pool’s label template. The barcode identifier is
written on a physical label on the outside of the volume, which the barcode reader in
the silo can scan during inventory. Labeling volumes on page 148 and Barcode labels
on page 149 provide instructions on how to label silo volumes.
The use of barcodes with matching barcode labels and NetWorker volume labels, are
both available for a silo. The Barcode Reader attribute must be selected, however the
Match Barcode Labels attribute is optional. When both attributes are selected, the
internal volume label that NetWorker software writes on the media of each volume will
match the barcode label on the outside of the volume. When the labels match, it is
easier to track volumes. But the NetWorker software does not require the internal and
external labels to match.
With most silo management software, unlabeled volumes can be used. The silo
management software assigns a “virtual” barcode label to those volumes. Although
volumes can be used without barcodes, it is difficult to maintain integrity, since once
the volume has been removed from the silo, the information about the virtual barcode
is lost. Any volume without an actual barcode can be reinserted into the silo under a
virtual barcode that NetWorker software (or another application) associates with
some of the data.

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Using silos with volume import and export capability


NetWorker software supports the use of the import/export feature that is found in
many brands of silos. Depending on the silo model, this feature is also known as CAP,
mail slot, and loading port. The import/export feature deposits and withdraws volumes
from slots in the silo.
About this task
The import/export feature enables the operator to deposit and withdraw cartridges
without invalidating the device inventory list. If the operator opens the door to load or
unload volumes, the element status of the autoloader is invalidated, requiring the time-
consuming operation of reinitializing the silo. Note, however, that NetWorker software
does not automatically inventory the volume after a deposit.
Either the NetWorker software or the silo management software can be used to
control the import/export feature on the supported silos to deposit and withdraw
volumes in a silo. But it is often more efficient to use the silo management software,
especially to deposit or withdraw many volumes.
If the import/export feature is set to automatic mode, the silo management software
inserts volumes automatically and the NetWorker software cannot be used to insert
volumes.
To issue deposit and withdraw commands:
l To add and deposit volumes, type: nsrjb -a -T tags -d
l To remove and eject/withdraw volumes, type: nsrjb -x -T tags -w
where tags specifies the tags or barcodes of volumes in a remote silo.
NOTICE You cannot deposit a volume from the CAP (I/O Port) using the
nsrjb -d command. A silo volume deposit requires the -T and -a options in
sequence to add a volume in the media database.
The sequence of operations is:
n nsrjb -d -T Barcode
n Ignore the error message that appears.
n nsrjb -a -T Barcode

Barcode IDs
A list of available barcode-labeled volumes is available from the silo management
software. Refer to the silo manufacturer’s documentation for how to generate the list
of barcode IDs.
To specify a barcode identifier or template for the volumes from a command prompt,
use the -T option with the nsrjb command. The UNIX man page and the NetWorker
Command Reference Guide provides detailed information about the nsrjb command.
Silo volume allocation
When volumes are added, the NetWorker server is directed to the volumes it can use.
NOTICE Because silos can be used by more than one software application, it is
possible that a different application could read or write to volumes that belong to
the NetWorker software. To prevent this from happening, most silo management
software includes methods to limit access to volumes based on the hostname of
the computer on which various programs run. The NetWorker software does not

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provide a method for setting up this sort of protection. The silo management
software must configure it.
The addition of a volume causes the NetWorker software to query the silo
management software to verify that the requested volume exists.
If the volume exists, the volume is allocated to the NetWorker software.
Adding a silo volume
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. Open the Libraries folder in the navigation tree. The Libraries detail table
appears.
3. Double-click a silo in the Libraries detail table to open the double-paned library
operations view. The silo’s drives are listed in the Device column, and its slots
are listed in the Slot column.
4. Right-click a silo in the Device column, and select Add. The Add Library
Volumes window appears, with the option to select either Template or List for
barcode selection.
5. Select either Template or List to enter barcode volume identifiers.
l The Template option allows the use of wildcards in creating a list of barcode
IDs. Each entry should be on a separate line. For example, to name four
tapes A01B, A02B, A03B, and A04B, type:
A0
1-4
B
l The List option allows the entry of barcode IDs, separately. Each entry
should be on a separate line. For example, type the name for each tape:
A01B
A02B
A03B
A04B
6. Type the appropriate volume identifiers in the Barcodes field.
7. Click OK (or Cancel, to continue adding to the list).
l Click "+" to add an entry.
l Click "<-" to insert above a highlighted selection.
l Click "-" to delete an entry.
The Library Operation window displays this message:
The library operation has started.
The Monitoring > Operations > screen displays the status.
8. Click OK.
The Library detail table displays the added volumes.
Inventory silos
Taking inventory of the volumes in a silo ensures that the mapping between slot
number and volume name is correct, or reconciles the actual volumes in a silo with the
volumes listed in the NetWorker media database.
The slot number of a silo volume is not a numbered slot inside the silo, as it is in a
library. The slot number of a silo volume is the number of the volume’s position in the
list of volumes in a silo.

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The tasks for inventorying volumes in a silo are the same as those for a library.
Inventorying library volumes on page 160 provides information about inventorying a
library.
The NetWorker software examines all of the volumes in the silo and compares the new
list of volumes to the NetWorker media database. Then the NetWorker software
produces a message listing any volumes located in the silo that are not in the media
database.
When the NetWorker software inventories a silo, the silo’s barcode label reader reads
the barcode labels on the outside of each volume. When a barcode matches an entry
in the NetWorker media database, the volume does not need to be loaded. The
inventory proceeds rapidly. If, however, the NetWorker software reads a barcode that
does not match any of the entries in the media database, the volume must be mounted
and read in order for a proper inventory to be taken.
Troubleshooting a silo
If the particular silo model does not automatically deposit the volume, then place the
volumes in the insert area, right-click the volume, and select Deposit.
To perform the Deposit and Add operations from a command prompt:
l On silos that require manual depositing, type nsrjb -a -T tags -d
l On silos where the silo management software deposits volumes automatically,
such as StorageTek silos, type

nsrjb -a -T tags

where:
n tags specifies the tags or barcodes of volumes in a remote silo.
n -d performs the manual deposit.
NetWorker software interactions with a silo on page 173 provides more information on
STLIs.
Deallocating (removing) silo volumes
When an STL volume in a silo is no longer needed, the volume can be deallocated from
the silo. Deallocation is basically the same operation as removing a volume from a
library. Although the volume cannot be loaded by the robotic mechanism, the entries
in the NetWorker media database remain intact. If the volume is allocated again,
NetWorker software can retrieve the data from it later.
About this task
Use deallocation when the silo license limits the number of usable slots, or when data
is moved offsite for safer storage. When the license limits the number of slots, it might
be possible to leave the volumes in the silo, if it is certain that the volumes will not be
used by another application. That way, the volumes can easily be added again when
the data on them must be accessible.
The allocation operation is not automatic. The volumes must be manually allocated
again and reinventoried to let the NetWorker server access the data. If the volume is
to be removed from the silo for offsite storage, it must be removed with NetWorker
software and then ejected from the silo by using the silo management software.
Procedure
1. Unmount the volume from the device. Volume mounting and unmounting on
page 154 provides instructions on unmounting volumes.
2. In the Administration window, click Devices.

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3. Open the Libraries folder in the navigation tree. The Libraries detail table
appears.
4. Double-click a silo in the Libraries detail table to open the double-paned library
operations view. The silo’s drives are listed in the Device column.
5. Right-click a silo in the Device column, and select Remove.
The Remove Library Volumes window appears, with the option to select either
Template or List for barcode selection.

6. Select either Template or List to enter barcode volume identifiers.


l The Template option allows the use of wildcards in creating a list of barcode
IDs. For example, to name four tapes A01B, A02B, A03B, and A04B, type A0,
1-4, and B.
l The List option allows the entry of barcode IDs, separately. For example,
type the name for each tape: A01B, A02B, A03B, and A04B.
7. Type the appropriate volume identifiers in the Barcodes field.
8. Click OK.
l The Library Operation window displays this message:

The library operation has started.

l The Monitoring > Operations screen displays the silo’s status.


9. Click OK. Notice that on return to the Libraries detail table, the removed
volumes are no longer listed.
Results
NetWorker software interactions with a silo on page 173 provides information on STLs.

NDMP libraries
NDMP libraries or devices are accessed by using the NDMP protocol and are typically
used by network attached storage (NAS) systems. These devices do not allow direct
access to control from the host operating system. Control and data movement is
performed over the network by using the NDMP protocol.
The NDMP guide provides more information.

NetWorker hosts with shared libraries


The NetWorker software permits different NetWorker hosts (a NetWorker server or
storage node) within a datazone to control individual devices within a library. This is
known as library sharing.
The presence of a SAN within the datazone is not required for library sharing.
Dynamic Drive Sharing (DDS) does not support sharing libraries across datazones.

How library sharing works


Library sharing enables one NetWorker host to control the library’s robotic arm, while
other NetWorker hosts (as well as the host controlling the robotic arm) can each
control and use specific library devices. A specific device can be controlled only by a
single NetWorker host. The following figure shows how multiple NetWorker hosts can
share library devices.

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Figure 14 How library sharing works

Library task inactivity periods


Library resources include attributes that are used by older, slower libraries that specify
the number of seconds a library is inactive after certain operations (such as loading,
unloading, or ejecting a volume). For example, once a tape is loaded, the library must
read and, possibly, reposition the tape before the next operation can begin. This
period of delay is known as sleeping.
While sleeping, the library cannot receive or perform other operations. Without the
sleep period, the loading or unloading of volumes might fail.
The NetWorker software automatically configures default sleep periods. Change these
values only when troubleshooting a library’s performance, or if a NetWorker technical
support specialist requests it. Typically, the higher the sleep values specified in the
attributes, the longer it takes the library to perform the task. Be cautious when
changing these values.
The sleep attributes and their default values are shown in this table.

Table 35 Library resource sleep attributes

Attribute Description Default value


Load Sleep Number of seconds that the 15 seconds
NetWorker software waits for
a library to complete loading a
cartridge.

Unload Sleep Number of seconds that the 60 seconds


NetWorker software waits for
a library to complete
unloading a cartridge.

Eject Sleep Number of seconds that the 60 seconds


NetWorker software waits for
an eject operation to
complete.

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Table 35 Library resource sleep attributes (continued)

Attribute Description Default value


Deposit Timeout Number of seconds for a 15 seconds
library to wait for a tape to be
deposited in the mail slot
before it times out.

Withdraw Timeout Number of seconds for a 15 seconds


library to wait for a tape to be
withdrawn from the mail slot
before it times out.

Cleaning Delay Number of seconds that the 60 seconds


NetWorker software waits
between the completion of a
drive cleaning operation and
the ejection of the cleaning
cartridge from the drive.

Idle Device Timeout The number of minutes 10 minutes


NetWorker allows a device
with a volume to be idle
before automatically
unmounting it. For specific
devices, this value can be
overridden. Unmounting
volumes automatically (idle
device timeout) on page 155
provides more information.

Port Polling Period Number of seconds for a 3 seconds


library to wait before polling a
mail slot to check for the
updated status.

Server Network Interface attribute


The Server Network Interface attributes in the Device resource are used to determine
the network address or the hostname used by the nsrmmd program to communicate
with the NetWorker server. Similarly, the Server Network Interface attribute in the
Library resource is used to determine the network address or the hostname used by
the nsrlcpd program to communicate with the NetWorker server. These attributes
are displayed in the NetWorker Console in diagnostic mode only. The Server Network
Interface attributes are only relevant if the device or library is connected to a storage
node.
Note: For devices, the nsrmmd program will read the Server Network Interface
value for the first enabled device from the list of storage node devices, and each
subsequent nsrmmd started by the NetWorker server will use the same value.
Therefore, the NetWorker server will always use the same Server Network
Interface value for every nsrmmd it starts or restarts, regardless of whether or not
the Server Network Interface attribute is different for each device.

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Dynamic drive sharing


Dynamic Drive Sharing (DDS) is a feature that provides NetWorker software with the
ability to recognize shared physical tape drives. DDS enables NetWorker software to
perform the following operations:
l Skip the shared tape drives that are in use.
l Route the backups or recoveries to other available shared tape drives.

Introduction to DDS
DDS controls application requests for tape media and allows the NetWorker server
and all storage nodes to access and share all attached devices.
A system administrator can configure DDS by setting a sharing policy for devices that
are accessible from multiple storage nodes.
There are two terms that are central to the use of DDS are drive and device. Within
the context of DDS, these terms are defined as follows:
l Drive—The physical backup object, such as a tape drive, disk, or file.
l Device—The access path to the physical drive.
Note: NetWorker only supports DDS in a storage area network (SAN) Fibre
Channel environment and not in a direct-connect SCSI environment.

Benefits of DDS
Enabling DDS on a NetWorker system provides these benefits:
l Reduces storage costs—You can share a single tape drive among several storage
nodes. In fact, since NetWorker software uses the same open tape format for
UNIX, Windows, NetWare and Linux, you can share the same tape between
different platforms (assuming that respective save sets belong to the same pool).
l Reduces LAN traffic—You can configure clients as SAN storage nodes that can
send save sets over the SAN to shared drives.
l Provides fault tolerance—Within a SAN environment, you can configure hardware
to eliminate a single point of failure.
l Provides configuration over a greater distance—You can configure a system over
a greater distance than with SCSI connections.

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DDS configuration overview


The following figure illustrates the DDS process and potential device sharing
configurations. This basic configuration consists of a server, two storage nodes, and a
library with two tape drives.
Figure 15 Dynamic Drive Sharing

In this figure:
l Storage nodes sn_1 and sn_2 are attached to the library.
l Each storage node, on its own, has access to drive_1 and drive_2.
l With DDS enabled, both storage nodes have access to both drives and can
recognize when a shared drive is in use.
This configuration requires two DDS licenses, one for each drive.
Note: Ensure that all applicable devices can be seen from each storage node by
running the inquire -l command locally on each storage node.

DDS block-size compatibility between UNIX and Windows


With DDS enabled, drives can be shared between storage nodes on different
platforms, such as UNIX and Microsoft Windows. For NetWorker software operations
(such as backups and recoveries) to take place successfully, ensure that the block
size is compatible between different platforms or hardware.
To ensure compatibility, make sure one of the following conditions is met:
l The various storage nodes sharing a drive support the same block sizes.
l When a tape is labeled on a drive, it is labeled with the block size defined on the
storage nodes.

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Block-size incompatibility between UNIX and Windows


Incompatible block-size settings between UNIX and Microsoft Windows storage nodes
could result in any of these error scenarios:
l A backup taken on a UNIX node might not be recoverable on a Microsoft Windows
node if the Windows node does not support large block sizes.
l A UNIX process labels and saves data to a tape and leaves the tape mounted. A
Microsoft Windows process subsequently attempts to verify the label on this tape
and fails because the label verification is done by reading a header from the data
portion.
l A tape on a UNIX node is labeled with a large block size. The backup is started on a
Microsoft Windows node and the Windows node attempts to write the backup by
using the default block size. Internally, the backup on Windows is written by
breaking down the big buffer of data into smaller segments of writable block sizes.
Attempting to recover a specific file on Windows in this situation fails due to
positioning errors on the tape. The data is still recoverable from the Windows side,
since the NetWorker software will switch from using file and block positioning to
reading the tape from the beginning to reach the correct position. The data might
not, however, be recoverable from the UNIX side.

Unintended Access to DDS device prevention


The Reserve/Release attribute has been added to the Device resource for tape
devices to support Reserve/Release, including the Persistent Reserve commands.
Reserve/Release is a mechanism that uses SCSI commands to attempt to prevent
unintended access to tape drives that are connected by using a shared-access
technology, such as Fibre Channel, iSCSI, or SCSI multiplexers. It is a “cooperative”
and host-based mechanism, which means that all applications should respect the
reservations and not purposely break them. Access is granted based on the host
system that reserved the device. Other applications that run on that host cannot be
prevented from accessing a reserved device.
Reserve/Release cannot prevent a malicious or badly behaved application from
accessing a reserved device. It also cannot prevent all problems caused by hardware
issues (such as SCSI resets or FC LIPs) from interrupting data access.
The basic sequence requires that a host reserve a tape drive (using specific SCSI
commands) before attempting to access the tape drive. If this “reservation”
succeeds, then the host can use the drive. If the reservation fails (usually because the
device is reserved by someone else), then the host attempting the reservation should
not attempt to use the drive. When a host has finished using a reserved drive, that
host must release the drive by using the appropriate SCSI commands.
The reservation is maintained by the drive itself. With older (called “Simple” in
NetWorker software) Reserve/Release, the reservation is based on the SCSI ID of the
system that issued the reserve command. For tape drives connected to Fibre Channel
(FC) using FC-SCSI bridges, the mapping between FC host and reservation is done
inside the bridge, since the initiator on the SCSI side is always the bridge itself,
regardless which host actually issued the reserve command.
For Persistent Reserve, the reservation is associated with a 64-bit “key” that is
registered by the host. Several keys can be registered with a given drive at any given
time, but only one may hold the active reservation. NetWorker software uses the
“exclusive” reservation method for Persistent Reserve. Only the host that holds the
active reservation is allowed to access the drive.
The Reserve/Release attribute does not support file type or advanced file type
devices.

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The settings that relate to Reserve/Release and Persistent Reserve are found in a
device’s Properties window, on the Advanced tab. They are visible only when
diagnostic mode is turned on.
The default setting for Reserve/Release is None. Once any other Reserve/Release
setting is selected, it works automatically, without further user intervention. The
Reserve/Release attribute is supported only on Common Device Interface (CDI)
platforms, so if the CDI attribute in a device’s Properties is set to Not Used, then
Reserve/Release settings are ignored.
For newer hardware, once a Reserve/Release setting (other than None) has been
selected, the appropriate Persistent Reserve commands are automatically issued
before a device is opened for reading or writing, and before the device is closed. With
older hardware, a SCSI-2 Reserve command is issued before opening the device, and a
SCSI-2 Release command is issued after the device is closed.
Reserve/Release has these possible settings:
l None (the default)
l Simple
l Persistent Reserve
l Persistent Reserve + APTPL (Activate Persist Through Power Loss)
The Persistent Reserve Key attribute has also been added. It is used with Persistent
Reservation calls.

Restrictions for use of the SCSI Reserve/Release setting


There are restrictions for using the SCSI Reserve or Release setting.
Consider the following:
l It is available on CDI platforms only. Consequently, since CDI is not supported
within an NDMP environment, Reserve/Release is not supported with NDMP.
l Not all drives support persistent Reserve/Release. (All drives support at least
simple reserve release. The code automatically drops back from Persistent
+APTPL or Persistent to Simple on drives that do not support Persistent.)
l SCSI resets can clear Simple reservations at the device.
l Even with Reserve/Release, there is no guarantee against data loss.
l If the operating system has its own Reserve/Release feature, that feature must be
disabled in order for the NetWorker Reserve/Release feature to work.
l Even if all of the enterprise’s NetWorker storage nodes have this feature enabled,
then it is possible that, on the storage node where a backup operation is run, data
loss can be caused by the operating system’s utilities or by third-party programs.

DDS attributes in the device properties


Configure the attributes that DDS uses, in the Properties window for a device.
The attributes include:
l Hardware ID
l Shared Devices

Hardware ID attribute
The Hardware ID attribute tracks the drives that are shared between multiple hosts.
Device instances that share the same physical drive across multiple hosts have the
same hardware ID. The device autoconfiguration process automatically assigns the

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Hardware ID to a device, or it is added when manually configuring a device. Users


cannot edit the Hardware ID.
You can view the Hardware ID in the Properties window for a device, on the General
tab, in the Device Sharing area.
NetWorker generates the Hardware ID when a device is scanned or configured. The
Hardware ID consists of the following components:
l Hardware serial number
l Device type
l Worldwide part number (WWPN)
l Worldwide name (WWN)

Shared Devices attribute


The Shared Devices attribute appears on the Operations tab of a device’s Properties
window when in diagnostic mode. It features values that can be used to manipulate all
shared instances of a drive simultaneously. This attribute enables or disables all
devices that share the same Hardware ID with a single action. The following table lists
allowed values and descriptions for the attribute.

Table 36 Shared Devices attributes

Value Description
Enable All When selected, enables all devices with the same Hardware
ID.

Disable All When selected, disables all the devices with the same
Hardware ID.

Done This value is the default setting. After the server has enabled
or disabled all devices with the same Hardware ID, the
attribute value is reset to Done.

You cannot configure the Shared Devices attribute with the jbconfig program.

Idle Device Timeout attribute and DDS


A tape might remain mounted in a drive after a backup completes. Other requests for
the drive from another device path must wait during this timeout period. Use the Idle
Device Timeout attribute to adjust the timeout value.
The Idle Device Timeout attribute is not specifically a DDS attribute, but is useful in
configuring shared drives. This attribute appears on the device Properties window on
the Advanced tab when displayed in Diagnostic Mode. The default value is 0 (zero)
minutes, which means that the device never times out and you must manually eject
the tape.
If the device belongs to a library, you can also specify the Idle Device Timeout value
for all devices in the library. However, the library value will take effect only on those
devices whose Idle Device Timeout value is 0. The Idle Device Timeout value for a
library is located on the Timer tab of the library Properties window.

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Max active devices


In a DDS environment, use the Max active devices attribute, on the General tab of the
Storage Node resource to define the maximum number of active devices for a storage
node.
This attribute sets the maximum number of devices that NetWorker may use from the
storage node in a DDS configuration. In large environments with media libraries that
have a large number of devices, storage nodes might not have the ability to optimize
all the drives in the library. The Max active devices attribute allows you to limit the
number of devices that the storage node uses at a specified time, which allows the
storage node to have access to all the devices in the library, but does not limit the
storage node to the number of devices it can fully optimize.

File type devices


File type devices (FTDs) are legacy devices and their use is limited. Continued support
for legacy and test purposes is maintained, however you are encouraged to use AFTD
or DD Boost devices in preference to FTD. An FTD can be configured on the
NetWorker server by creating a new Device resource in the same manner as for other
storage devices.
The following conditions and restrictions apply to FTDs:
l The upper limit of save set size on an FTD may be either:
n The upper limits supported by the operating system
n The file size specified by the disk device vendor
l If multiple FTDs are configured on a system, each device must have a unique
name.
l To use multiple FTDs on the same disk, partition the disk and create only one FTD
per partition.
l Dynamic Drive Sharing is not supported.
l For FTDs created on a UNIX or Linux network file system (NFS):
n The file system used for the FTD must not be used for any other data.
n There must be one FTD per NFS system.
n The Volume Default Capacity attribute for the FTD must be set to a size that is
less than 100 percent of the total capacity of the file system.
NOTICE Data loss will result if a full FTD is made appendable while a
backup is pending completion and a save set is partially written to the full
FTD. In this case, the partial save set (currently in “incomplete” state) will
be overwritten.

FTD capacity issues


For FTDs, the Volume Default Capacity is a hard limit on the amount of data that can
be written to the device. The Volume Default Capacity value is an estimate of what
the volume capacity is likely to be. If the value is not set correctly, the NetWorker
percent-used calculation will be incorrect.
Note: By contrast, AFTDs ignore the Volume Default Capacity value to allow
dynamic expansion of disk space.
The Volume Default Capacity attribute displays on the Configuration tab of the Device
properties when Diagnostic Mode (View > Diagnostic Mode) is enabled:

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l To avoid accidentally filling an FTD, set the Volume Default Capacity attribute to
restrict the size of the device. For example, if a capacity of 100 MB is set, then the
device will be marked full when 100 MB is reached.
l Volume Default Capacity attribute must not be set to a value of more than 4 TB.
l If the Volume Default Capacity of a volume changes, the changes do not take
effect until the FTD is re-created, the directory contents are deleted, and the
volume is relabeled.
NOTICE If the FTD is used before the Volume Default Capacity attribute is set,
then the legacy data on that FTD must be staged or cloned to another device.
Otherwise, this data will be overwritten.

Full FTD prevention


To prevent the file system from becoming full when backing up data to FTDs, policies
can be used to move the data off the disk as soon as necessary. Save sets from FTDs
can be staged or cloned to an AFTD to take advantage of advanced file type device
features.
To make space for additional backups:
l Configure a save set staging policy. Staging save sets on page 501 provides
details.
l Review and, if required, modify the retention policy of the save sets.

Stand-alone devices
A Device resource must be created for each stand-alone tape device on a storage
node. Stand-alone drives must be configured individually.
Storage nodes must have been created before devices can be configured to be used
by them. Storage nodes on page 98 provides information about storage nodes and
how to create them. Note that all scanning for devices is done at the storage node
level, and can be done across multiple storage nodes. Only devices that have serial
numbers can be autoconfigured. Use the jbconfig command to configure devices
that do not have serial numbers.
Note: Devices must be updated to the most recent firmware and drivers.

Autodetecting and configuring a stand-alone tape drive


You can configure a new stand-alone tape drive, automatically by using Scan for
Devices.
Procedure
1. In the server’s NetWorker Administration interface, click Devices.
2. Right-click Devices in the navigation tree, and select Scan for Devices to
detect available devices. The Scan for Devices window appears.
3. Click Start Scan.
4. Check the scan status by clicking the Monitoring button and selecting the Log
tab. Then return to the Devices navigation tree.
5. Select either the Devices folder or the Storage Nodes folder in the navigation
tree. All detected drives are listed. Any still-unconfigured drives are preceded
by a circular icon that displays a wrench.

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6. Right-click the stand-alone drive to be configured, and select Configure Drive.


A Configuration dialog box appears.
7. Click Yes to confirm that the drive should be configured. The new drive is
automatically configured.

Adding a stand-alone device manually


Procedure
1. In the server’s NetWorker Administration interface, click Devices.
2. Right-click Devices in the navigation tree, and select New. The Create Device
window appears, with the General tab selected, and a default device path in the
Name field of the Identity area of the window.
3. Replace the default name with the path and name of the device:
a. If the device is configured on the server’s storage node, the name is the
simple device path, such as /tmp/d0 for a file type device. A tape device on
Windows would have a format similar to \\.\Tape0.
b. If the device is configured on a remote storage node, then the name must
indicate that the storage node is remote by including rd= and the name of
the remote storage node in the device path. For example, if the remote
storage node is neptune, then the device path might be
rd=neptune:/tmp/d0 or rd=neptune:\\.\Tape0.
File type devices on page 190 provides instructions and restrictions on
backing up to a file type device.

4. In the Identity area, configure the following:


a. In the Comment field, add an optional, descriptive comment.
b. In the Media Type field, select a media type.
5. In the Status area, configure the applicable checkboxes:
l Read Only
l Auto Media Management
6. In the Cleaning area, configure the applicable fields:
l Cleaning Required
l Cleaning Interval
The Date Last Cleaned is filled in automatically once a drive has been
cleaned.
7. Select the Configuration tab to set attributes, such as:
l Target Sessions
l Max Sessions
l Local Backup to a dedicated storage node
NDMP settings (NDMP remote username and password are required for an
NDMP device that acts as a storage node.)
8. Click OK when the configuration is complete.

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Auto Media Management for stand-alone devices


The Auto Media Management feature can be enabled for stand-alone devices during
manual device configuration, or from the Properties window after configuration.
When Auto Media Management is enabled for a stand-alone device, the following
processes occur when a volume becomes full during a backup:
l A notification is sent that indicates that the server or storage node is waiting for a
writable volume. Simultaneously, the NetWorker server waits for the full, verified
volume to be unmounted.
l The device is monitored and the software waits for another volume to be inserted
into the device.
l After a volume is detected, a check is performed to determine whether the volume
is labeled. If so:
n The volume is mounted into the device.
n The NetWorker server checks to see whether the newly mounted volume is a
candidate to receive data:
1. If yes, the write operation continues.
2. If no, the NetWorker server continues to wait for a writable volume to
continue the backup.
l If the volume is recyclable and is a member of the required pool, it is recycled the
next time a writable volume is needed.
l If the volume is unlabeled, it is labeled when the next writable volume is needed for
a save. Note that Auto media management does not label disk type devices such
as AFTD and Data Domain.
NOTICE If a partially full volume is unmounted, the NetWorker server
automatically ejects the volume after a few seconds. If a stand-alone device is
shared between storage nodes, then Auto Media Management should not be
enabled for more than one instance of the device. Enabling Auto Media
Management for more than one instance of the stand-alone device will tie up
the device indefinitely. No data is sent to the device and no pending message
is sent.

Mounting or unmounting a volume in a stand-alone tape drive


Procedure
1. Manually insert a volume in the stand-alone drive, or ensure that a volume is
already loaded.
In a stand-alone device, a volume that has been loaded into the drive is not
considered to be mounted until it has been explicitly mounted in the user
interface or from the command prompt.

2. In the Administration window, click Devices.


3. Select Devices in the navigation tree. The Devices detail table appears.
4. Select the device. To mount the volume, in the Devices detail table, right-click
the device, and select Mount.
5. To unmount the volume, in the Devices > detail table, right-click the device,
and select Unmount.

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l The Library Operation window displays this message:

The library operation has started.

l The Monitoring > Operations screen displays its status.


6. Click OK.

Labeling and mounting a volume in one operation (stand-alone tape drive)


When multiple storage devices are connected to the NetWorker server, the device for
labeling must first be selected from the list of available devices. Remember that
labeling a volume makes it impossible for the NetWorker server to recover original
data from that volume.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. Manually insert an unlabeled or recyclable volume in the NetWorker server
storage device, or ensure that a volume of this type is already present for the
NetWorker server to access.
3. Select Devices in the navigation tree. The Devices detail table appears.
4. Right-click the stand-alone device in the detail table, and select Label. The
Label window appears:
a. Type a unique label name, or accept the default name that is associated with
the selected pool.
If the volume is unlabeled, the NetWorker server assigns the next sequential
label from the label template that is associated with the selected pool. If a
recyclable volume from the same pool is being re-labeled, then the volume
label name and sequence number remain the same. Access to the original
data on the volume is destroyed, and the volume becomes available.

b. Select a pool on the Pools menu. The NetWorker server automatically


applies the label template that is associated with the Default pool unless a
different pool is selected.
c. Select the Manual Recycle attribute if the volume should be manually
recycled.
If the Manual Recycle attribute is enabled when the volume is labeled, the
volume cannot automatically be marked as recyclable according to the
retention policy. When a volume is marked as manual recycle, the NetWorker
server disregards the assigned browse and retention policies. Therefore, only
an administrator can mark the volume recyclable.
A volume that has been set to manual recycle retains that setting, even after
re-labeling. A Manual Recycle policy cannot be changed back to Auto
Recycle by clearing the Manual Recycle checkbox. The volume must be
explicitly reset to use auto recycle.

d. The Mount After Labeling attribute is selected by default. The NetWorker


server automatically labels the volume, and then mounts the volume into the
device.
5. Click OK.

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6. If the volume is recyclable, a message warns that the named volume is about to
be recycled, and asks whether to continue. Click Yes to re-label and recycle the
volume.
7. After a volume is labeled and mounted in a device, the volume is available to
receive data. Since the NetWorker label is internal and machine-readable, place
an adhesive label on each volume that matches that internal volume label.
Configuring a library to use volumes with barcodes on page 144 provides
information on using barcode labels.
Note: If you are in the process of re-labeling a mounted volume and you
choose not to overwrite the existing label, the volume is left in an
unmounted state. To use this volume, mount it again.

Labeling volumes without mounting


Volumes can be prelabeled without being mounted.
To label a volume without mounting, follow the same procedures as for labeling and
mounting in one operation, but clear the Mount After Labeling attribute in the Label
window.

Mounting uninventoried volumes


You can mount volumes that are not included in the library inventory, but are valid
(properly labelled) NetWorker volumes.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. Select View > Diagnostic Mode on the toolbar.
3. Manually insert the volume in an empty library slot.
4. Open the Libraries folder in the navigation tree. The Libraries detail table
appears.
5. Select the library in the navigation tree in which the volume was manually
inserted, or double-click the same library in the Libraries detail table. The
Libraries detail table changes to the double-paned library operations view. The
library’s drives are listed in the Devices column, and its slots are listed in the
Slot column.
6. In the Devices column, right-click the library in which the volume was manually
inserted, and select Inventory. The Inventory Library window appears.
7. Type the slot number of the volume in both the First and Last field of the Slot
Range.
8. Select Operation Type: either Slow/Verbose (the default) or Fast/Silent.
l When Slow/Verbose is selected, the Supply Input option and icon on the
Operations screen of the Monitoring window can be used to confirm the
choice to relabel a volume. The device path appears in the Device field.
l When Fast/Silent is selected, the Supply Input option and icon are not
available, and relabeling proceeds automatically, without user input. The
device path does not appear in the Device field. Entering user input on page
61 provides details.
9. Click OK.

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l The Library Operation window displays this message:


The library operation has started.
l The Monitoring > Operations screen displays its status.
The NetWorker software then inventories the specified slot.
10. Mount the inventoried volume.
NOTICE Unlabeled tapes may not be mounted for inventorying. Unlabeled
tapes can only be mounted to be labeled. An attempt to mount an
uninventoried volume by using unlabeled media results in an I/O error. The
volume will also be ejected.

Labeling volumes
The NetWorker software applies a label template to create a unique internal label for
each volume. The label corresponds to a pool and identifies the pool for the volume
during backup and other operations.
Several preconfigured label templates are supplied with the NetWorker software. You
cannot delete these preconfigured label templates. Naming label templates on page 79
provides more information.
When you label a volume, the labeling process:
l Writes a label on the volume.
l Adds the volume label to the media database.
l Prepares tape media to have data written to it.
When you re-label tape, the data on the tape is effectively gone.
During data recovery, the server requests the volume that contains the required data,
identifying the required volume by the name with which it was labeled.

Labeling or re-labeling library volumes


Labeling volumes in a library is time-consuming, so consider labeling volumes before it
is time to back up or recover files. When a volume is re-labeled, that volume is
initialized and becomes available for writing again.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. In the left pane, select Libraries.
A list of libraries appears in the right pane.
3. Right-click the library and select Label.
Details for the selected library appear, including divided tables for devices and
slots. The Label Library Media dialog box also appears.
4. From the Target Media Pool list, select the pool for the volume.
The pool determines the label template that is used to label the volume.
5. To require manual recycling of the volume, select Allow > Manual Recycle.
With manual recycling, the volume is not automatically marked as recyclable
when all save sets expire. You must manually mark the volume as recyclable.

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NOTICE A volume that has been set to manual recycle retains that setting,
even after the volume is re-labeled. You must explicitly reset the volume to
automatic recycle by right-clicking the volume in the Media window,
selecting Recycle, and then selecting the Auto option.

6. To be prompted before the existing label is overwritten, select Prompt to


overwrite label.
7. Click OK.
The Library Operation dialog box appears, stating that the library operation has
started.
8. To track the status of the label operation, click Monitoring in the
Administration window.
9. If you selected Prompt to overwrite label, confirm the overwrite of the
existing volume label with a new label:
a. Right-click the label operation in the Monitoring window and select Supply
Input.
A confirmation message appears.
b. Click Yes.

Verifying the label when a volume is unloaded


If a SCSI reset is issued during a backup, the volume rewinds and NetWorker may
overwrite the volume label.
To detect if the label is overwritten in this circumstance, select the Verify label on
eject checkbox in the Device resource, or set the Verify label on unload setting in the
Jukebox resource to Yes. With these settings, NetWorker verifies that a volume label
exists before ejecting the volume. If the volume label cannot be read, all save sets on
the volume are marked as suspect and the volume is marked as full.

Troubleshooting devices and autochangers


This section explains how to resolve problems with devices and autochangers.
NOTICE Do not edit device files and directories, this can result in unpredictable
behavior and make it impossible to recover data.

Additional attributes in the Autochanger resource


The Autochanger resource contains attributes that provide a detailed view of the
hidden options that the nsrjb program uses. Displaying diagnostic mode attributes
on page 881 provides information about how to display hidden attributes.
The UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about these attributes.
NOTICE Do not change time related attributes unless advised to do so by a
Technical Support representative.

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Maintenance commands
NetWorker device driver software provides maintenance commands, such as
lusbinfo and lusdebug, that you can use to diagnose problems on tape devices
and autochangers.
The UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about how to use these commands.

Autodetected SCSI jukebox option causes server to stop responding


If you use the jbconfig command to create an autodetected SCSI jukebox and the
server stops responding, perform the following steps.
1. Start the jbconfig program
2. Select the option that installs an SJI jukebox.
3. Type the number that corresponds to the type of jukebox you are installing.
4. Continue with jbconfig until this message appears:

Jukebox has been added successfully.

Autochanger inventory problems


This section provides an overview of the situations that can result in an outdated
autochanger inventory of volumes and how to update the inventory. When the jukebox
inventory becomes outdated, the NetWorker software cannot use the autochanger.
The autochanger inventory can become out of date when:
l You manually eject the media from the autochanger drive.
l You manually remove the media is from the autochanger.
l You open the autochanger door.
To update the inventory and enable the NetWorker software to use the autochanger
again, perform the following steps.
1. Verify that the volume is correctly installed in the autochanger and that the
autochanger door is closed.
2. Log in as root or administrator on the NetWorker server.
3. Reset the autochanger:

nsrjb -Hv
4. Inventory: the autochanger:

nsrjb -Iv
The UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about the nsrjb command.

Destination component full messages


When you perform a manual operation on an autochanger, for example when you use
the buttons on the autochanger to unload the tape drive instead of unloading the tape
drive by using NetWorker operations, a message similar to the following may appear:
Destination component full

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To resolve the problem, use the nsrjb -H command to reset the autochanger.

Tapes do not fill to capacity


The data stored on a tapes may not always fill the tape to capacity. For example, the
NetWorker server can mark a tape with an advertised capacity of 4,000 MB full, after
writing only 3,000 MB of data.
To enable NetWorker to use the maximum tape capacity, select the highest density
device driver for the device. Additional reasons that the server appears to fill tapes
prematurely include:
l Write errors occur during a backup. With any tape error, the NetWorker server
marks the tape as full. To prevent tape write errors, clean the tape drive regularly
and use only data-quality tapes. If cleaning the drive does not help, ensure that
you perform the following actions:
n Confirm the configuration of the device driver.
n Set any necessary switch settings on the tape drive, based on the
manufacturer specifications.
n Confirm that all cables are secure.
n Address other potential SCSI problems.
l Space requirements for NetWorker to create file marks. The NetWorker server
periodically writes file marks to facilitate rapid recovery of data. These file marks
consume varying amounts of tape space, depending on the type of tape drive. The
number of file marks the server writes to the tape depends on how many save sets
are on the tape. Many small save sets require more file marks than a few larger
ones.
l Tape capacity differences. Two apparently identical tapes from the same vendor
can vary significantly in capacity. This can cause problems when you copy one full
tape to another, especially if the destination tape holds less data than the source
tape.
l Data compression affects the tape capacity. If you use compression on the tape
drive, you cannot predict the effect on tape capacity. A compressing drive can
provide twice the capacity of a non-compressing drive. Tape capacity can vary
depending on the type of backup data. For example, if a non-compressing drive
writes 2 GB of data to a specific tape, the compressing drive could write 10 GB, 2
GB, 5 GB, or some other unpredictable amount of data.
l Tape length. Verify the tape lengths, for example, a 120-meter DAT tape holds
more data than a 90-meter DAT tape.

Tapes get stuck in drive when labeling tapes on Linux Red Hat platform
When you label a tape in a DDS configuration on an RHEL NetWorker server, the tape
may become stuck in the drive and display the following error message:
unload failure-retrying 30 seconds

To resolve this issue, set the auto_lock setting attribute to “0” (Off) in
the /etc/stinit.def file for the following drive types:
l Sony AIT-2 and AIT-3
l IBM LTO Gen1
l HP LTO Gen1

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l IBM LTO GEN2


l IBM 3580 drive LTO-1
l IBM 3592 J1A
l Quantum DLT 7000
By default the auto_lock setting is set to 1 (On).

Increasing the value of Save Mount Time-out for label operations


A label operation initiated by a backup operation may take more than 30 minutes
before it fails when the Auto media management option is enabled and the label
operation encounters a corrupted tape.
The NetWorker software keeps a record of the location of the corrupted tape only for
the current backup operation, and NetWorker can attempt to use a corrupted tape for
the other backup operation, unless an operator removes the volume.
To modify the time it takes the label operation timeout, modify the Save Mount Time-
out attribute for the storage node. Configuring timeouts for storage node remote
devices describes how to modify the attribute.

Server cannot access autochanger control port


The control port controls the autochanger loading mechanism. The autochanger
hardware installation manual contains information about how to verify that the control
port is correctly connected.
If you cannot determine that the control port is working, contact the autochanger
vendor for assistance.

Modifying the control port


When a change in the control port of the robotic arm of a library occurs, NetWorker
may not be able to perform library operations, such as labeling, mounting, and
unmounting, and inventorying. You may see the error no such file or
directory when NetWorker tries to perform library operations.
About this task
To update the NetWorker server or storage node to use the new control port, perform
the following steps.
Procedure
1. Run the inquire command to determine the SCSI device address of the
library arm and to confirm that a serial number is reported.
NOTICE Use the inquire command with caution. The inquire command
sends the SCSI inquiry command to all devices detected on the SCSI bus. If
you use inquire during normal operations, unforeseen errors and possible
data loss may result.

l If inquire reports the serial number of the arm, follow the procedure at
Scanning for libraries and devices on page 142 to scan the library for
devices, then enable the library in NMC:
a. In the Administration window, click Devices.
b. Expand the Libraries folder, then right-click the library and select
Enabled/Disable.

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l If inquire does not report the serial number or if the scan for devices
operation does not detect the control port change, use the nsradmin
command to change the control port:
a. Log in as root or as Windows administrator on the NetWorker host that
manages the control port.
b. At the command prompt, type nsradmin The nsradmin prompt
appears.
c. To disable the library, type the following commands:

type: NSR jukebox


update enabled: no
d. When nsradmin prompts you to update the resource, type yes.
e. To update the control port, type:

update control port: scsidev@b.t.l

where b.t.l is the bus.target.lun of the library’s robotic arm (as reported
by the inquire command).
f. When nsradmin prompts you to update the resource, type yes.
g. To re-enable the library, type:

update enabled: yes


h. When nsradmin prompts you to update the resource, type yes.
i. To verify that the control port was changed and the library is now
enabled, type print at the nsradmin prompt.

Changing the sleep times required for TZ89 drive types


When you unload a volume from a TZ89 tape device you may receive an error message
similar to the following and NetWorker will repeatedly try to unload the tape:
nsrd: media info: unload retry for jukebox `COMPAQTL895' failed
- will retry again.

To resolve this issue, changes the sleep attributes in the Autochanger resource.
1. Shut down NetWorker services.
2. Shut down and restart the autochanger that contains the TZ89 drives.
3. When the autochanger is back online, restart NetWorker services. NetWorker will
not try to unload the drive again.
4. Use NMC to edit the following autochanger sleep time attributes, and use the
following values:
l Eject Sleep: 18 secs
l Unload Sleep: 40 secs
l Load Sleep: 40 secs
Additional attributes in the Autochanger resource on page 197 provides
information about how to set the sleep attributes.
5. Try to unload the drive again. If the drive fails to unload, repeat this procedure and
increase the sleep times.

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Message displayed when CDI enabled on NDMP or file type device


If you enable the CDI feature for an NDMP tape device or file type device (FTD), a
message similar to the following appears:
nsrd: media notice: The CDI attribute for device "/dev/rmt/
3cbn" has been changed to "Not used".

To avoid this message, do not enable the CDI attribute for these device types.

Verify firmware for switches and routers


Ensure that the switches or routers firmware that you use on the network was
manufactured after August 1995. Most of the switch and router vendors have
significantly improved their handling of RPC traffic since August 1995.

Commands issued with nsrjb on a multi-NIC host fail


When you run nsrjb commands to manage a jukebox on a NetWorker server or
storage node that has multiple network interface cards (NIC), the commands may fail.
To prevent this failure, add the domain name of each additional NIC to the Aliases
attribute in the Client resource for the NetWorker server or storage node. Editing a
Client resource on page 477 describes how to edit a Client resource.

SCSI reserve/release with dynamic drive sharing


When the NetWorker software uses Dynamic Drive Sharing (DDS) the operating
system tape driver might use the SCSI reserve/release feature in a manner that
interferes with the proper operations of the NetWorker software. To resolve this
issue, disable the reserve/release feature.

Solaris
The st.conf file contains a setting for each device type in use that enables or
disables the SCSI reserve/release feature. The Tape Configuration section of the st
man page provides more information. Use the most up-to-date st driver that is
available for the version of Solaris.
Edit the st.conf file only if one of the following conditions apply:
l The NetWorker configuration includes DDS.
l Solaris st does not support a tape drive that is configured on a Solaris host.
To determine if the Solaris st tape driver supports a tape drive, perform the following
steps:
1. Use the mt command to load a tape in the drive. For example, with the tape device
file 0cbn, the type: mt -f /dev/rmt/0cbn status
l If the output of the mt command includes the line SCSI tape drive or appears
similar to the following, the st tape driver uses generic settings, which do not
support the tape drive:

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mt -f /dev/rmt/4cbn status
Vendor 'IBM ' Product 'ULT3580-TD2 ' tape drive:
sense key(0x6)= Unit Attention residual= 0
retries= 0 file no= 0 block no= 0

Tape operations may appear to work in NetWorker but you may run into
problems when you try to recover saved data.
l If the output of the mt command appears similar to the following, the st tape
driver recognizes the drive and uses the correct internal settings to manage
the drive:
mt -f /dev/rmt/0cbn status
HP Ultrium LTO tape drive:
sense key(0x0)= No Additional Sense residual= 0
retries= 0 file no= 0 block no= 0

In this configuration, you must only edit the st.conf file when you use the
drive in a DDS configuration.

AIX
To reset the reserve/release setting on an AIX operating system, use the SMIT
interface.
1. From the Devices menu, select Tapes.
2. Change the value for the RESERVE/RELEASE support attribute from No to Yes.

HP-UX
To reset the reserve/release setting on an HP-UX 11 operating system, perform the
following steps.
1. Change the st_ats_enable kernel variable to a value other than zero.
2. (Optional) Restart the computer to ensure that the operating system implements
the change.
Note: The reserve/release is a fixed setting in HP-UX 10.

Recovering save sets from a VTL on a different NetWorker server


The following procedure describes the steps that you need to perform before you can
load a tape that was in a VTL managed by one NetWorker server into a different
NetWorker server.
Before you begin
Ensure the destination VTL is the same model, has the same drive names and the same
number of drives as the original VTL.
Procedure
1. Confirm the inventory of the VTL in the destination NetWorker storage node
2. Run the inquire command to determine the Control port of the VTL on the
destination NetWorker storage node.
3. Run the sjimm command to load the tape into a drive on the destination
NetWorker server.
4. Use the mt command to ensure that the tape status is online. For example: mt -
f device_name status

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When the mt command reports that the tape drive is online, you can use the
scanner command to scan the save set information into the media database
and client file index of the destination NetWorker server.

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CHAPTER 4
Data Protection Policies

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Overview of protection policies........................................................................206


l Designing data protection policies....................................................................207
l Policy Notifications.......................................................................................... 262
l Monitoring policy activity.................................................................................263
l Policy log files.................................................................................................. 264
l Starting, stopping, and restarting policies........................................................266
l Starting actions in a workflow for an individual client.......................................269
l Modifying data protection Policy resources..................................................... 270
l Configuring NSR Protection Policies from nsradmin ....................................... 283
l Managing policies from the command prompt..................................................290
l Identifying clients that missed the workflow schedule..................................... 298
l Managing policies using the NetWorker Management Web UI......................... 299
l Troubleshooting policies.................................................................................. 350

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Overview of protection policies


A protection policy allows you to design a protection solution for your environment at
the data level instead of at the host level. With a data protection policy, each client in
the environment is a backup object and not simply a host.
Data protection policies enable you to back up and manage data in a variety of
environments, as well as to perform system maintenance tasks on the NetWorker
server. You can use either the NetWorker Management Web UI or the NMC
NetWorker Administration window to create your data protection policy solution.
A data protection policy solution encompasses the configuration of the following key
NetWorker resources:
Policies
Policies provide you with a service-catalog approach to the configuration of a
NetWorker datazone. Policies enable you to manage all data protection tasks and the
data protection lifecycle from a central location.
Policies provide an organizational container for the workflows, actions, and groups
that support and define the backup, clone, management, and system maintenance
actions that you want to perform.
Workflows
The policy workflow defines a list of actions to perform sequentially or concurrently, a
schedule window during which the workflow can run, and the protection group to
which the workflow applies. You can create a workflow when you create a new policy,
or you can create a workflow for an existing policy.
A workflow can be as simple as a single action that applies to a finite list of Client
resources, or a complex chain of actions that apply to a dynamically changing list of
resources. In a workflow, some actions can be set to occur sequentially, and others
can occur concurrently.
You can create multiple workflows in a single policy. However, each workflow can
belong to only one policy. When you add multiple workflows to the same policy, you
can logically group data protection activities with similar service level provisions
together, to provide easier configuration, access, and task execution.
Protection groups
Protection groups define a set of static or dynamic Client resources or save sets to
which a workflow applies. There are also dedicated protection groups for backups in a
VMware environment or for snapshot backups on a NAS device. Review the following
information about protection groups:
l Create one protection group for each workflow. Each group can be assigned to
only one workflow.
l You can add the same Client resources and save sets to more than one group at a
time.
l You can create the group before you create the workflow, or you can create the
group after you create the workflow and then assign the group to the workflow
later.
Actions
Actions are the key resources in a workflow for a data protection policy and define a
specific task (for example, a backup or clone) that occurs on the client resources in
the group assigned to the workflow. NetWorker uses a work list to define the task. A

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work list is composed of one or several work items. Work items include client
resources, virtual machines, save sets, or tags. You can chain multiple actions
together to occur sequentially or concurrently in a workflow. All chained actions use
the same work list.
When you configure an action, you define the days on which to perform the action, as
well as other settings specific to the action. For example, you can specify a destination
pool, a retention period, and a target storage node for the backup action, which can
differ from the subsequent action that clones the data.
When you create an action for a policy that is associated with the virtual machine
backup, you can select one of the following data protection action types:
l Backup — Performs a backup of virtual machines in vCenter to a Data Domain
system. You can only perform one VMware backup action per workflow. The
VMware backup action must occur before clone actions.
l Clone — Performs a clone of the VMware backup on a Data Domain system to any
clone device that NetWorker supports (including Data Domain system or tape
targets). You can specify multiple clone actions. Clone actions must occur after
the Backup action.
You can create multiple actions for a single workflow. However, each action applies to
a single workflow and policy.
The following figure provides a high level overview of the components that make up a
data protection policy in a datazone.
Figure 16 Data Protection Policy

Designing data protection policies


Designing and developing effective data protection policies requires thoughtful
analysis of the client resources from which to back up data, the actions to perform on
the data, and the order and timing of the actions.
Data protection policies can be grouped into six main strategies:
l Traditional backups—Includes file system backups, NDMP backups, NMDA
backups, NMM backups, and Block Based Backups. The NetWorker Network Data
Management Protocol (NDMP) User Guide provides detailed information about how
to backup, clone, and recover NDMP data. The NMM and NMDA documentation
provides information about how to backup, clone, and recover application data.
l NetWorker and NMC Server database backups and maintenance activities—
Performs NetWorker server bootstrap and NMC database backups.
l Snapshot backups—Includes snapshot backups of supported storage arrays or
appliances. You can clone snapshot data currently with the backup operation, or

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after the snapshot backup completes. The NetWorker Snapshot Management


Integration Guide describes how to configure data protection policies for EMC
storage arrays and appliances with the NetWorker Snapshot Management feature.
l NAS device backups—Includes file system snapshots, and NAS snapshots. You
can clone data after a snapshot backup job completes or concurrently. The
NetWorker Snapshot Management Integration Guide describes how to configure
data protection policies for snapshot backups.
l VMware backups—Includes NetWorker VMware Protection with the vProxy
appliance (NVP), VMware Backup Appliance (VBA) backups, VBA checkpoint
backups for disaster recovery, and virtual machine backups. The NetWorker
VMware Integration Guide describes how to configure data protection policies for
NVP, VBA, VBA checkpoint, and virtual machine backups and clones.
l Cloning- You can configure data protection policies that clone backup data by
querying the media database for a list of save sets that are based on user defined
criteria.
Note:
n You can also clone traditional, snapshot, bootstrap, and VMware backup
data concurrently with the backup operation, or after the backup operation
completes. The Integration Guides provide detailed information about how
to clone Snapshot and VMware backup data.
n The NetWorker data protection policy applies to scheduled backups only,
and it does not apply to manual backups. Some NetWorker module backups
might appear to be scheduled backups that are initiated by a policy backup
action, but they are manual backups because they are initiated or
converted by a database or application. The NetWorker Module for
Databases and Applications Administration Guide and the NetWorker Module
for SAP Administration Guide provides additional details.

Default data protection policies in NMC's NetWorker Administration window


The NMC NetWorker Administration window provides you with pre-configured data
protection policies that you can use immediately to protect the environment, modify
to suit the environment, or use as an example to create resources and configurations.
To use these pre-configured data protection policies, you must add clients to the
appropriate group resource.
Note: NMC also includes a pre-configured Server Protection policy to protect the
NetWorker and NMC server databases.
Platinum policy
The Platinum policy provides an example of a data protection policy for an
environment that contains supported storage arrays or storage appliances and
requires backup data redundancy. The policy contains one workflow with two actions,
a snapshot backup action, followed by a clone action.
Figure 17 Platinum policy configuration

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Gold policy
The Gold policy provides an example of a data protection policy for an environment
that contains virtual machines and requires backup data redundancy.
Silver policy
The Silver policy provides an example of a data protection policy for an environment
that contains machines where file systems or applications are running and requires
backup data redundancy.
Bronze policy
The Bronze policy provides an example of a data protection policy for an environment
that contains machines where file systems or applications are running.

Overview of configuring a new data protection policy


About this task
The following steps are an overview of the tasks to complete, to create and configure
a data protection policy.
Procedure
1. Create a policy resource.
When you create a policy, you specify the name and notification settings for the
policy.
2. Within the policy, create a workflow resource for each data type.
For example, create one workflow to protect file system data and one workflow
to protect application data. When you create a workflow, you specify the name
of the workflow, the time to start the workflow, notification settings for the
workflow, and the protection group to which the workflow applies.
3. Create a protection group resource.
The type of group that you create depends on the types of clients and data that
you want to protect. The actions that appear for a group depend on the group
type.
4. Create one or more action resources for the workflow resource.
5. Configure client resources, to define the backup data that you want to protect,
and then assign the client resources to a protection group.

Example 6 Example of a data protection policy with 2 workflows

The following figure illustrates a policy with two different workflows. Workflow 1
performs a probe action, then a backup of the client resources in Client group 1, and
then a clone of the save sets from the backups. Workflow 2 performs a backup of the
client resources in Dynamic client group 1, and then a clone of the save sets from the
backup.

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Example 6 Example of a data protection policy with 2 workflows (continued)

Figure 18 Data protection policy example

NetWorker resource considerations


When you create NetWorker workflow and action resources, consider the following
recommendation:
l The total number of clients in a single workflow should not exceed 100.
Note: Action parallelism defines the maximum number of simultaneous data
streams that can occur on all clients in a group that is associated with the
workflow that contains the action. Data streams include back up data streams,
savefs processes, and probe jobs. For a backup action, the default parallelism
value is 100 and maximum value is 1000. For all other action types, the default
value is 0, or unlimited.

Strategies for traditional backups


The primary considerations for a traditional backup strategy are the groups of Client
resources, the workflows that define the series of actions that are associated with the
backup, and the schedule for the backup.

Creating a policy
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, right-click Policies, and then select New.
The Create Policy dialog box appears.

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3. On the General tab, in the Name field, type a name for the policy.
The maximum number of characters for the policy name is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}
Note: After you create a policy, the Name attribute is read-only.

4. In the Comment field, type a description for the policy.


5. From the Send Notifications list, select whether to send notifications for the
policy:
l To avoid sending notifications, select Never.
l To send notifications with information about each successful and failed
workflow and action, after the policy completes all the actions, select On
Completion.
l To send a notification with information about each failed workflow and
action, after the policy completes all the actions, select On Failure.
6. In the Send notification attribute, when you select the On Completion option
or On failure option, the Command box appears. Use this box to configure how
NetWorker sends the notifications. You can use the nsrlog command to send
the notifications to a log file or you can send an email notification.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the
policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs directory on
Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs folder on
Windows.
To send email messages or the smtpmail application on Windows, use the
default mailer program on Linux:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:

nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:

mail -s subject recipient


l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:

/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"


l On Windows, to send a notification email, type the following command:

smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver


recipient2@mailserver...

where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to
relay the SMTP email message.

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n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the


notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

7. To specify the Restricted Data Zone (RDZ) for the policy, select the Restricted
Data Zones tab, and then select the RDZ from the list.
8. Click OK.

After you finish


Create the workflows and actions for the policy.

Create a workflow for a new policy in NetWorker Administration


Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the left pane, expand Policies, and then select the policy that you created.
3. In the right pane, select Create a new workflow.
4. In the Name field, type the name of the workflow.
The maximum number of allowed characters for the Name field is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

5. In the Comment box, type a description for the workflow.


The maximum number of allowed characters for the Comment field is 128.
6. From the Send Notifications list, select how to send notifications for the
workflow:
l To use the notification configuration that is defined in the policy resource to
specify when to send a notification, select Set at policy level.
l To send notifications with information about each successful and failed
workflow and action, after the workflow completes all the actions, select On
Completion.
l To send notifications with information about each failed workflow and
action, after the workflow completes all the actions, select On Failure.
7. In the Send notification attribute, when you select the On Completion option
or On failure option, the Command box appears. Use this box to configure how
NetWorker sends the notifications. You can use the nsrlog command to send
the notifications to a log file or you can send an email notification.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the
policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs directory on
Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs folder on
Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages, or use the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:

nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:

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mail -s subject recipient


l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:

/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"


l On Windows, type the following command:

smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver


recipient2@mailserver...

where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to
relay the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

8. In the Running section, perform the following steps to specify when and how
often the workflow runs:
a. To ensure that the actions that are contained in the workflow run when the
policy or workflow starts, in the Enabled box, leave the option selected. To
prevent the actions in the workflow from running when the policy or
workflow that contains the action starts, clear this option.
b. To start the workflow at the time that is specified in the Start time
attribute, on the days that are defined in the action resource, in the
AutoStart Enabled box, leave the option selected. To prevent the workflow
from starting at the time that is specified in the Start time attribute, clear
this option.
c. To specify the time to start the actions in the workflow, in the Start Time
attribute, use the spin boxes.
The default value is 9:00 PM.

d. To specify how frequently to run the actions that are defined in the
workflow over a 24-hour period, use the Interval attribute spin boxes. If you
are performing transaction log backup as part of application-consistent
protection, you must specify a value for this attribute in order for
incremental transaction log backup of SQL databases to occur.
The default Interval attribute value is 24 hours, or once a day. When you
select a value that is less than 24 hours, the Interval End attribute appears.
To specify the last start time in a defined interval period, use the spin boxes.

e. To specify the duration of time in which NetWorker can manually or


automatically restart a failed or canceled workflow, in the Restart Window
attribute, use the spin boxes.
If the restart window has elapsed, NetWorker considers the restart as a new
run of the workflow. NetWorker calculates the restart window from the start
of the last incomplete workflow. The default value is 24 hours.

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For example, if the Start Time is 7:00 PM, the Interval is 1 hour, and the
Interval End is 11:00 PM., then the workflow automatically starts every hour
beginning at 7:00 PM. and the last start time is 11:00 PM.

9. To create the workflow, click OK.


After you finish
Create the actions that will occur in the workflow, and then assign a group to the
workflow. If a workflow does not contain a group, a policy does not perform any
actions.

Protection groups for traditional backups


A protection groups for traditional backups identifies the client resources to back up.
Traditional backups support the following types of protection groups:
l Basic client group—A static list of client resources to back up.
l Dynamic client group—A dynamic list of client resources to back up. A dynamic
client group automatically generates a list of the client resources that use a client
tag which matches the client tag that is specified for the group.
Create multiple groups to perform different types of backups for different Client
resources, or to perform backups on different schedules. For example:
l Create one group for backups of clients in the Accounting department, and
another group for backups of clients in the Marketing department.
l Create one group for file system backups and one group for backups of Microsoft
Exchange data with the NetWorker Module for Microsoft.
l Create one group for a workflow with backups actions that start at 11 p.m., and
another group for a workflow with backup actions that start at 2 a.m.
Note: A Client resource can belong to more than one group.

Creating a basic client group


Use basic client groups to specify a static list of client resources for a traditional
backup, a check connectivity action, or a probe action.
Before you begin
Create the policy and workflow resources in which to add the protection group to.
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, right-click Groups and select New from the drop-
down, or right-click an existing group and select Edit from the drop-down.
The Create Group or Edit Group dialog box appears, with the General tab
selected.
3. In the Name attribute, type a name for the group.
The maximum number of characters for the group name is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

Note: After you create a group, the Name attribute is read-only.

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4. From the Group Type list, leave the default selection of Clients.
5. In the Comment field, type a description of the group.
6. From the Policy-Workflow list, select the workflow that you want to assign the
group to.
Note: You can also assign the group to a workflow when you create or edit a
workflow.

7. (Optional) To specify the Restricted Datazone (RDZ) for the group, on the
Restricted Datazones tab, select the RDZ from the list.
8. Click OK.
After you finish
Create Client resources. Assign clients to a protection group, by using the Client
Configuration wizard or the General tab on the Client Properties page.

Creating a dynamic client group


Dynamic client groups automatically include group settings when you add client
resources to the NetWorker datazone. You can configure a dynamic group to include
all the clients on the NetWorker server or you can configure the dynamic client group
to perform a query that generates a list of clients that is based on a matching tag
value.
About this task
A tag is a string attribute that you define in a Client resource. When an action starts in
a workflow that is a member of a tagged dynamic protection group, the policy engine
dynamically generates a list of client resources that match the tag value.
Use dynamic client groups to specify a dynamic list of Client resources for a traditional
backup, a probe action, a check connectivity action, or a server backup action.
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, right-click Groups and select New from the drop-
down, or right-click an existing group and select Edit from the drop-down.
The Create Group or Edit Group dialog box appears, with the General tab
selected.
3. In the Name attribute, type a name for the group.
The maximum number of characters for the group name is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

Note: After you create a group, the Name attribute is read-only.

4. From the Group Type list, select Dynamic Clients. For steps 5 to 8, follow the
instructions given in Creating a client group.

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Supported actions in traditional backup workflows


Traditional backup workflows can optionally include a probe or check connectivity
action before the backup, and a clone action either concurrently with or after the
backup.
Probe
A probe action runs a user-defined script on a NetWorker client before the start of a
backup. A user-defined script is any program that passes a return code. If the return
code is 0 (zero), then a client backup is required. If the return code is 1, then a client
backup is not required.
Only a backup action can follow a probe action.
Check connectivity
A check connectivity action tests the connectivity between the clients and the
NetWorker server before the start of a probe or backup action occurs. If the
connectivity test fails, then the probe action and backup action does not start for the
client.
Traditional backup
A traditional backup is a scheduled backup of the save sets defined for the Client
resources in the assigned group. You must specify the destination storage node,
destination pool, the schedule (period and activity), and the retention period for the
backup.
Clone
A clone action creates a copy of one or more save sets. Cloning enables secure offsite
storage, the transfer of data from one location to another, and the verification of
backups.
You can configure a clone action to occur after a backup in a single workflow, or
concurrently with a backup action in a single workflow. You can use save set and
query groups to define a specific list of save sets to clone, in a separate workflow.
Note: The clone action clones the scheduled backup save sets only, and it does
not clone the manual backup save sets. Some NetWorker module backups might
appear to be scheduled backups that are initiated by a policy backup action, but
they are manual backups because they are initiated or converted by a database or
application. The NetWorker Module for Databases and Applications Administration
Guide and the NetWorker Module for SAP Administration Guide provides more
details.

Actions sequences in traditional backup workflows


Workflows enable you to chain together multiple actions and run them sequentially or
concurrently.
A workflow for a traditional backup can optionally include a probe or check
connectivity action before the backup, and a clone action either concurrently with or
after the backup.
The following supported actions can follow the lead action and other actions in a
workflow.
Workflow path from a traditional backup action
The only action that can follow a traditional backup is a clone action.

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Figure 19 Workflow path from a traditional backup action

Creating a check connectivity action


A check connectivity action tests the connectivity between the clients and the
NetWorker server, usually before another action such as a backup occurs.
Before you begin
Create the policy and the workflow that contain the action. The check connectivity
action should be the first action in the workflow.
Procedure
1. In the expanded left pane, select the policy's workflow, and then perform one of
the following tasks in the right pane to start the Policy Action wizard:
l If the action is the first action in the workflow, select Create a new action.
l If the workflow has other actions, right-click an empty area of the Actions
pane, and then select New.
The Policy Action wizard opens on the Specify the Action Information page.
2. In the Name field, type the name of the action.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

3. In the Comment field, type a description for the action.


4. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, in the Enabled box, select the option. To prevent the action
from running when the policy or workflow that contains the action is started,
clear this option.
Note: When you clear the Enabled option, actions that occurs after a
disabled action do not start, even if the subsequent options are enabled.

5. From the Action Type list, select Check Connectivity.


6. If you create the action as part of the workflow configuration, the workflow
appears automatically in the Workflow box and the box is dimmed.
7. Specify the order of the action in relation to other actions in the workflow:
l If the action is part of a sequence of actions in a workflow path, in the
Previous box, select the action that should precede this action.
l If the action should run concurrently with an action, in the Previous box,
select the concurrent action, and then select the Concurrent checkbox.
8. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action:
l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly by day.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly by day.
9. Specify the days to check connectivity with the client:

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l To check connectivity on a specific day, click the Execute icon on the day.
l To skip a connectivity check on a specific day, click the Skip icon on the
day.
l To check connectivity every day, select Execute from the list, and then click
Make All.
The following table provides details about the icons.

Table 37 Schedule icons

Icon Label Description


Execute Check connectivity on this
day.

Skip Do not check connectivity on


this day.

10. Click Next.


The Specify the Connectivity Options page appears.
11. Select the success criteria for the action:
l To specify that the connectivity check is successful only if the connectivity
test is successful for all clients in the assigned group, select the Succeed
only after all clients succeed checkbox.
l To specify that the connectivity check is successful if the connectivity test
is successful for one or more clients in the assigned group, clear the
checkbox.
12. Click Next.
The Specify the Advanced Options page appears.
13. (Optional) Configure advanced options and schedule overrides.
Note: Although the Retries, Retry Delay, Inactivity Timeout, or the Send
Notification options appear, the Check Connectivity action does not
support these options and ignores the values.

14. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. This is applicable if multiple rollover is implemented at an action
level.
For Direct-NDMP backups, set the parallelism value to the number of available
NDMP drives.
If you set the parallelism attribute to a higher value, there will not be enough
drives to support all the queued backup save sets. Large save sets might fail
due to the inactivity timeout limit.
When NDMP groups back up simultaneously, divide the number of drives by the
number of groups. Use this value for each of the parallelism attributes.
Setting the parallelism value for the group overrides the parallelism value that is
defined for the NDMP clients.

15. From the Failure Impact list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.

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l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort action.
Note: The Abort action option applies to probe actions, and the backup
actions for the Traditional and Snapshot action types.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort workflow.

Note: If any of the actions fail in the workflow, the workflow status does
not appear as interrupted or cancelled. NetWorker reports the workflow
status as failed.

16. From the Soft Limit list, select the amount of time after the action starts to
stop the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no
amount of time.
17. From the Hard Limit list, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
18. (Optional) In Start Time specify the time to start the action.
Use the spin boxes to set the hour and minute values, and select one of the
following options from the drop-down list:
l Disabled—Do not enforce an action start time. The action will start at the
time defined by the workflow.
l Absolute—Start the action at the time specified by the values in the spin
boxes.
l Relative—Start the action after the period of time defined in the spin boxes
has elapsed after the start of the workflow.

19. (Optional) Configure overrides for the task that is scheduled on a specific day.
To specify the month, use the navigation buttons and the month list box. To
specify the year, use the spin boxes. You can set an override in the following
ways:
l Select the day in the calendar, which changes the action task for the
specific day.
l Use the action task list to select the task, and then perform one of the
following steps:
n To define an override that occurs on a specific day of the week, every
week, select Specified day, and then use the lists. Click Add Rules
based override.
n To define an override that occurs on the last day of the calendar month,
select Last day of the month. Click Add Rules based override.
Note:
n You can edit or add the rules in the Override field.
n To remove an override, delete the entry from the Override field.

20. Click Next.


The Action Configuration Summary page appears.
21. Review the settings that you specified for the action, and then click Configure.

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After you finish


(Optional) Create one of the following actions to automatically occur after the check
connectivity action:
l Probe
l Traditional backup
Note: This option is not available for NAS snapshot backups.

l Snapshot backup

Creating a probe action


A probe action runs a user-defined script on a NetWorker client before the start of a
backup. A user-defined script is any program that passes a return code. If the return
code is 0 (zero), then a client backup is required. If the return code is 1, then a client
backup is not required.
Before you begin
l Create the probe resource script on the NetWorker clients that use the probe.
Create a client probe resource on the NetWorker server. Associate the client
probe resource with the client resource on the NetWorker server.
l Create the policy and workflow that contain the action.
l Optional. Create a check connectivity action to precede the probe action in the
workflow. A check connectivity action is the only supported action that can
precede a probe action in a workflow.
Procedure
1. In the expanded left pane, select the policy's workflow, and then perform one of
the following tasks in the right pane to start the Policy Action wizard:
l If the action is the first action in the workflow, select Create a new action.
l If the workflow has other actions, right-click an empty area of the Actions
pane, and then select New.
The Policy Action wizard opens on the Specify the Action Information page.
2. In the Name field, type the name of the action.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

3. In the Comment field, type a description for the action.


4. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, in the Enabled box, select the option. To prevent the action
from running when the policy or workflow that contains the action is started,
clear this option.
Note: When you clear the Enabled option, actions that occurs after a
disabled action do not start, even if the subsequent options are enabled.

5. From the Action Type list, select Probe.

6. If you create the action as part of the workflow configuration, the workflow
appears automatically in the Workflow box and the box is dimmed.

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7. Specify the order of the action in relation to other actions in the workflow:
l If the action is part of a sequence of actions in a workflow path, in the
Previous box, select the action that should precede this action.
l If the action should run concurrently with an action, in the Previous box,
select the concurrent action, and then select the Concurrent checkbox.
8. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action:
l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly by day.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly by day.
9. Specify the days to probe the client:
l To perform a probe action on a specific day, click the Execute icon on the
day.
l To skip a probe action, click the Skip icon on the day.
l To perform a probe action every day, select Execute from the list, and then
click Make All.
The following table provides details on the icons.

Table 38 Schedule icons

Icon Label Description


Execute Perform the probe on this
day.

Skip Do not perform a probe on


this day.

10. Click Next.


The Specify the Probe Options page appears.
11. Specify when to start the subsequent backup action:
l To start the backup only if all the probes associated with client resources in
the assigned group succeed, select the Start backup only after all probes
succeed checkbox.
l To start the backup if any of the probes are associated with a client resource
in the assigned group succeed, clear the Start backup only after all probes
succeed checkbox.
12. Click Next.
The Specify the Advanced Options page appears.
13. In the Retries field, specify the number of times that NetWorker should retry a
failed probe or backup action, before NetWorker considers the action as failed.
When the Retries value is 0, NetWorker does not retry a failed probe or backup
action.
Note: The Retries option applies to probe actions, and the backup actions
for the Traditional and Snapshot action types. If you specify a value for this
option for other actions, NetWorker ignores the values.

14. In the Retry Delay field, specify a delay in seconds to wait before retrying a
failed probe or backup action. When the Retry Delay value is 0, NetWorker
retries the failed probe or backup action immediately.

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Note: The Retry Delay option applies to probe actions, and the backup
actions for the Traditional and Snapshot action types. When you specify a
value for this option in other actions, NetWorker ignores the values.

15. In the Inactivity Timeout field, specify the maximum number of minutes that a
job run by an action can try to respond to the server.
If the job does not respond within the specified time, the server considers the
job a failure and NetWorker retries the job immediately to ensures that no time
is lost due to failures.
Increase the timeout value if a backup consistently stops due to inactivity.
Inactivity might occur for backups of large save sets, backups of save sets with
large sparse files, and incremental backups of many small static files.
Note: The Inactivity Timeout option applies to probe actions, and the
backup actions for the Traditional and Snapshot action types. If you specify
a value for this option in other actions, NetWorker ignores the value.

16. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. This is applicable if multiple rollover is implemented at an action
level.
For Direct-NDMP backups, set the parallelism value to the number of available
NDMP drives.
If you set the parallelism attribute to a higher value, there will not be enough
drives to support all the queued backup save sets. Large save sets might fail
due to the inactivity timeout limit.
When NDMP groups back up simultaneously, divide the number of drives by the
number of groups. Use this value for each of the parallelism attributes.
Setting the parallelism value for the group overrides the parallelism value that is
defined for the NDMP clients.

17. From the Failure Impact list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort action.
Note: The Abort action option applies to probe actions, and the backup
actions for the Traditional and Snapshot action types.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort workflow.

Note: If any of the actions fail in the workflow, the workflow status does
not appear as interrupted or cancelled. NetWorker reports the workflow
status as failed.

18. Do not change the default selections for the Notification group box. NetWorker
does not support notifications for probe actions and ignores and specified
values.
19. From the Soft Limit list, select the amount of time after the action starts to
stop the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no
amount of time.

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20. From the Hard Limit list, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
21. (Optional) In Start Time specify the time to start the action.
Use the spin boxes to set the hour and minute values, and select one of the
following options from the drop-down list:
l Disabled—Do not enforce an action start time. The action will start at the
time defined by the workflow.
l Absolute—Start the action at the time specified by the values in the spin
boxes.
l Relative—Start the action after the period of time defined in the spin boxes
has elapsed after the start of the workflow.

22. (Optional) Configure overrides for the task that is scheduled on a specific day.
To specify the month, use the navigation buttons and the month list box. To
specify the year, use the spin boxes. You can set an override in the following
ways:
l Select the day in the calendar, which changes the action task for the
specific day.
l Use the action task list to select the task, and then perform one of the
following steps:
n To define an override that occurs on a specific day of the week, every
week, select Specified day, and then use the lists. Click Add Rules
based override.
n To define an override that occurs on the last day of the calendar month,
select Last day of the month. Click Add Rules based override.
Note:
n You can edit or add the rules in the Override field.
n To remove an override, delete the entry from the Override field.

23. Click Next.


The Action Configuration Summary page appears.
24. Review the settings that you specified for the action, and then click Configure.

Creating a traditional backup action


A traditional backup is a scheduled backup of the save sets defined for the Client
resources in the assigned group for the workflow.
Before you begin
l Create the policy and workflow that contain the action.
l (Optional) Create actions to precede the backup action in the workflow.
Supported actions that can precede a backup include:
n Probe
n Check connectivity
Procedure
1. In the expanded left pane, select the policy's workflow, and then perform one of
the following tasks in the right pane to start the Policy Action wizard:

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l If the action is the first action in the workflow, select Create a new action.
l If the workflow has other actions, right-click an empty area of the Actions
pane, and then select New.
The Policy Action wizard opens on the Specify the Action Information page.
2. In the Name field, type the name of the action.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

3. In the Comment field, type a description for the action.


4. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, in the Enabled box, select the option. To prevent the action
from running when the policy or workflow that contains the action is started,
clear this option.
Note: When you clear the Enabled option, actions that occurs after a
disabled action do not start, even if the subsequent options are enabled.

5. From the Action Type list, select Backup.


6. From the secondary action list, select the backup type, for example,
Traditional.
7. (Optional) From the Force Backup Level list select a backup level.
For workflows that have more than one scheduled backup within a 24-hour
period, use the Force Backup Level attribute to allow more than one backup to
occur at two different backup levels in a 24-hour period. When you select a
backup level in the Force Backup Level attribute, the first backup is performed
at the scheduled backup level. Each subsequent occurrence of the backup
action in the next 24 hours occurs at the level defined in the Force Backup
Level attribute. For example, if the level defined by the schedule is Full and the
Force Backup Level attribute is set to Incr, the first backup started by the
action occurs at a level full and subsequent backups, within 24 hours of the
start of the full backup are incremental. By default this option is cleared, which
means that if the action runs multiple backup operations in a 24 period, all the
backups occur at the scheduled backup level.

8. If you create the action as part of the workflow configuration, the workflow
appears automatically in the Workflow box and the box is dimmed.
9. Specify the order of the action in relation to other actions in the workflow:
l If the action is part of a sequence of actions in a workflow path, in the
Previous box, select the action that should precede this action.
l If the action should run concurrently with an action, in the Previous box,
select the concurrent action, and then select the Concurrent checkbox.
10. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action:
l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly by day.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly by day.
11. To specify the backup level to perform, click the icon on each day.
The following table provides details about the backup level that each icon
represents.

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Table 39 Schedule icons

Icon Label Description


Full Perform a full backup on this
day. Full backups include all
files, regardless of whether
the files changed.

Incr Perform an incremental


backup on this day.
Incremental backups include
files that have changed since
the last backup of any type
(full or incremental).

Cumulative Incr Perform a cumulative


incremental backup.
Cumulative incremental
backups include files that
have changed since the last
full backup.

Logs Only Perform a backup of only


database transaction logs.

Incremental Synthetic Full Perform an incremental


Note: Not supported for synthetic backup on this day.
NDMP. An incremental synthetic full
backup includes all data that
changed since the last full
backup and subsequent
incremental backups to create
a synthetic full backup.

Skip Do not perform a backup on


this day.

To perform the same type of backup on each day, select the backup type from
the list and click Make All.

NetWorker does not support the use of synthetic full backup levels for NDMP
data.
Celerra, Isilon, VNX, Unity, and NetApp filers with NDMP version 4 or later
support token-based backups (TBB) to perform NDMP full and incremental
backups. NetWorker supports the same number of incremental levels that the
NAS vendor supports. Celerra, Isilon, and NetApp documentation provide the
maximum number of incremental levels that the TBB incremental backup can
support.
When you configure TBB after you update the NetWorker server from 7.6 SP1
or earlier, the first incremental backup does not occur until after one complete
full backup.
Filers that do not support TBB, do not support incremental backups. If you
select the level Incr, the NetWorker server performs a full backup.
Verify that the NAS storage vendor supports NDMP incremental backups
before you use this feature.

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12. Click Next.


The Specify the Backup Options page appears.
13. From the Destination Storage Node box, select the storage node with the
devices on which to store the backup data.
14. From the Destination Pool box, select the media pool in which to store the
backup data.
15. From the Retention boxes, specify the amount of time to retain the backup
data.
After the retention period expires, the save set is removed from the client file
index and marked as recyclable in the media database during an expiration
server maintenance task.

When you define the retention policy an NDMP client, consider the amount of
disk space that is required for the client file index. NDMP clients with several
thousands of small files have significantly larger client file indexes on the
NetWorker server than a non-NDMP client. A long retention policy for an
NDMP client increases disk space requirements on the file system that contains
the client file indexes.

16. From the Client Override Behavior box, specify how NetWorker uses certain
client configuration attributes that perform the same function as attributes in
the Action resource:
l Client Can Override—The values in the Client resource for Schedule, Pool,
Retention policy, and the Storage Node attributes take precedence over
the values that are defined in the equivalent Action resource attributes.
Note: If the NetWorker policy action schedule is set to the Skip backup
level, the Client can Override option is not honored. For NetWorker to
consider the Client can Override option, change the action schedule to
a different level.
l Client Can Not Override—The values in the Action resource for the
Schedule, Destination Pool, Destination Storage Node, and the
Retention attributes take precedence over the values that are defined in the
equivalent Client resource attributes.
l Legacy Backup Rules—This value only appears in actions that are created
by the migration process. The updating process sets the Client Override
Behavior for the migrated backup actions to Legacy Backup Rules.

17. Click Next.


The Specify the Advanced Options page appears.
18. In the Retries field, specify the number of times that NetWorker should retry a
failed probe or backup action, before NetWorker considers the action as failed.
When the Retries value is 0, NetWorker does not retry a failed probe or backup
action.
Note: The Retries option applies to probe actions, and the backup actions
for the Traditional and Snapshot action types. If you specify a value for this
option for other actions, NetWorker ignores the values.

19. In the Retry Delay field, specify a delay in seconds to wait before retrying a
failed probe or backup action. When the Retry Delay value is 0, NetWorker
retries the failed probe or backup action immediately.

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Note: The Retry Delay option applies to probe actions, and the backup
actions for the Traditional and Snapshot action types. When you specify a
value for this option in other actions, NetWorker ignores the values.

20. In the Inactivity Timeout field, specify the maximum number of minutes that a
job run by an action can try to respond to the server.
If the job does not respond within the specified time, the server considers the
job a failure and NetWorker retries the job immediately to ensures that no time
is lost due to failures.
Increase the timeout value if a backup consistently stops due to inactivity.
Inactivity might occur for backups of large save sets, backups of save sets with
large sparse files, and incremental backups of many small static files.
Note: The Inactivity Timeout option applies to probe actions, and the
backup actions for the Traditional and Snapshot action types. If you specify
a value for this option in other actions, NetWorker ignores the value.

21. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. This is applicable if multiple rollover is implemented at an action
level.
For Direct-NDMP backups, set the parallelism value to the number of available
NDMP drives.
If you set the parallelism attribute to a higher value, there will not be enough
drives to support all the queued backup save sets. Large save sets might fail
due to the inactivity timeout limit.
When NDMP groups back up simultaneously, divide the number of drives by the
number of groups. Use this value for each of the parallelism attributes.
Setting the parallelism value for the group overrides the parallelism value that is
defined for the NDMP clients.

22. From the Failure Impact list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort action.
Note: The Abort action option applies to probe actions, and the backup
actions for the Traditional and Snapshot action types.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort workflow.

Note: If any of the actions fail in the workflow, the workflow status does
not appear as interrupted or cancelled. NetWorker reports the workflow
status as failed.

23. From the Soft Limit list, select the amount of time after the action starts to
stop the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no
amount of time.
24. From the Hard Limit list, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
25. (Optional) In Start Time specify the time to start the action.

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Use the spin boxes to set the hour and minute values, and select one of the
following options from the drop-down list:
l Disabled—Do not enforce an action start time. The action will start at the
time defined by the workflow.
l Absolute—Start the action at the time specified by the values in the spin
boxes.
l Relative—Start the action after the period of time defined in the spin boxes
has elapsed after the start of the workflow.

26. (Optional) Configure overrides for the task that is scheduled on a specific day.
To specify the month, use the navigation buttons and the month list box. To
specify the year, use the spin boxes. You can set an override in the following
ways:
l Select the day in the calendar, which changes the action task for the
specific day.
l Use the action task list to select the task, and then perform one of the
following steps:
n To define an override that occurs on a specific day of the week, every
week, select Specified day, and then use the lists. Click Add Rules
based override.
n To define an override that occurs on the last day of the calendar month,
select Last day of the month. Click Add Rules based override.
Note:
n You can edit or add the rules in the Override field.
n To remove an override, delete the entry from the Override field.

27. From the Send Notifications list box, select whether to send notifications for
the action:
l To use the notification configuration that is defined in the Policy resource to
send the notification, select Set at policy level.
l To send a notification on completion of the action, select On Completion.
l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.

28. In the Send notification attribute, when you select the On Completion option
or On failure option, the Command box appears. Use this box to configure how
NetWorker sends the notifications. You can use the nsrlog command to send
the notifications to a log file or you can send an email notification.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the
policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs directory on
Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs folder on
Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:

nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log

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l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:

mail -s subject recipient


l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:

/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"


l On Window, to send a notification email, type the following command:

smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver


recipient2@mailserver...

where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to
relay the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

29. Click Next.


The Action Configuration Summary page appears.
30. Review the settings that you specified for the action, and then click Configure.
After you finish
(Optional) Create a clone action to automatically clone the save sets after the backup.
A clone action is the only supported action after a backup action in a workflow.

Creating a clone action


A clone action creates a copy of one or more save sets. Cloning allows for secure
offsite storage, the transfer of data from one location to another, and the verification
of backups.
Procedure
1. In the expanded left pane, select the policy's workflow, and then perform one of
the following tasks in the right pane to start the Policy Action wizard:
l If the action is the first action in the workflow, select Create a new action.
l If the workflow has other actions, right-click an empty area of the Actions
pane, and then select New.
The Policy Action wizard opens on the Specify the Action Information page.
2. In the Name field, type the name of the action.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

3. In the Comment field, type a description for the action.


4. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, in the Enabled box, select the option. To prevent the action

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from running when the policy or workflow that contains the action is started,
clear this option.
Note: When you clear the Enabled option, actions that occurs after a
disabled action do not start, even if the subsequent options are enabled.

5. From the Action Type list, select Clone.


6. If you create the action as part of the workflow configuration, the workflow
appears automatically in the Workflow box and the box is dimmed.
7. Specify the order of the action in relation to other actions in the workflow:
l If the action is part of a sequence of actions in a workflow path, in the
Previous box, select the action that should precede this action.
l If the action should run concurrently with an action, in the Previous box,
select the concurrent action, and then select the Concurrent checkbox.
8. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action:
l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly by day.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly by day.
9. Specify the days to perform cloning:
l To clone on a specific day, click the Execute icon on the day.
l To skip a clone on a specific day, click the Skip icon on the day.
l To check connectivity every day, select Execute from the list, and then click
Make All.
The following table provides details on the icons.

Table 40 Schedule icons

Icon Label Description


Execute Perform cloning on this day.

Skip Do not perform cloning on


this day.

10. Click Next.


The Specify the Clone Options page appears.
11. In the Data Movement section, define the volumes and devices to which
NetWorker sends the cloned data:
a. From the Destination Storage Node list, select the storage node with the
devices on which to store the cloned save sets.
b. In the Delete source save sets after clone completes box, select the
option to instruct NetWorker to move the data from the source volume to
the destination volume after clone operation completes. This is equivalent to
staging the save sets.
c. From the Destination Pool list, select the target media pool for the cloned
save sets.
d. From the Retention list, specify the amount of time to retain the cloned
save sets.

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After the retention period expires, the save sets are marked as recyclable
during an expiration server maintenance task.
12. In the Filters section, define the criteria that NetWorker uses to create the list
of eligible save sets to clone. The eligible save sets must match the
requirements that are defined in each filter. NetWorker provides the following
filter options:
a. Time filter—In the Time section, specify the time range in which NetWorker
searches for eligible save sets to clone in the media database. Use the spin
boxes to specify the start time and the end time. The Time filter list includes
the following options to define how NetWorker determines save set
eligibility, based on the time criteria:
l Do Not Filter—NetWorker inspects the save sets in the media database
to create a clone save set list that meets the time filter criteria.
l Accept—The clone save set list includes save sets that are saved within
the time range and meet all the other defined filter criteria.
l Reject—The clone save set list does not include save sets that are saved
within the time range and meet all the other defined filter criteria.
b. Save Set filter—In the Save Set section, specify whether to include or
exclude ProtectPoint and Snapshot save sets, when NetWorker searches for
eligible save sets to clone in the media database. The Save Set filter list
includes to the following options define how NetWorker determines save set
eligibility, based on the save set filter criteria:
l Do Not Filter—NetWorker inspects the save sets in the media database
to create a clone save set list that meets the save set filter criteria.
l Accept—The clone save set list includes eligible ProtectPoint save sets
or Snapshot save sets, when you also enable the ProtectPoint checkbox
or Snapshot checkbox.
l Reject—The clone save set list does not include eligible ProtectPoint
save sets and Snapshot save sets when you also enable the ProtectPoint
checkbox or Snapshot checkbox.
Note: For NAS device, only Snapshot save set is applicable.

c. Clients filter—In the Client section, specify a list of clients to include or


exclude, when NetWorker searches for eligible save sets to clone in the
media database. The Client filter list includes the following options, which
define how NetWorker determines save set eligibility, based on the client
filter criteria:
l Do Not Filter—NetWorker inspects the save sets that are associated
with the clients in the media database, to create a clone save set list that
meets the client filter criteria.
l Accept—The clone save set list includes eligible save sets for the
selected clients.
l Reject—The clone save set list does not include eligible save sets for the
selected clients.
d. Levels filter—In the Levels section, specify a list of backup levels to include
or exclude, when NetWorker searches for eligible save sets to clone in the
media database. The Levels filter list includes the following options define
how NetWorker determines save set eligibility, based on the level filter
criteria:

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l Do Not Filter—NetWorker inspects the save sets regardless of the level


in the media database, to create a clone save set list that meets all the
level filter criteria.
l Accept—The clone save set list includes eligible save sets with the
selected backup levels.
l Reject—The clone save set list does not include eligible save sets with
the selected backup levels.
Note: For NAS device, only full backup level is applicable.

13. Click Next.


The Specify the Advanced Options page appears.
14. Configure advanced options, including notifications and schedule overrides.
Note: Although the Retries, Retry Delay, or the Inactivity Timeout options
appear, the clone action does not support these options and ignores the
values.

15. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. This is applicable if multiple rollover is implemented at an action
level.
For Direct-NDMP backups, set the parallelism value to the number of available
NDMP drives.
If you set the parallelism attribute to a higher value, there will not be enough
drives to support all the queued backup save sets. Large save sets might fail
due to the inactivity timeout limit.
When NDMP groups back up simultaneously, divide the number of drives by the
number of groups. Use this value for each of the parallelism attributes.
Setting the parallelism value for the group overrides the parallelism value that is
defined for the NDMP clients.

16. From the Failure Impact list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort action.
Note: The Abort action option applies to probe actions, and the backup
actions for the Traditional and Snapshot action types.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort workflow.

Note: If any of the actions fail in the workflow, the workflow status does
not appear as interrupted or cancelled. NetWorker reports the workflow
status as failed.

17. From the Send Notifications list box, select whether to send notifications for
the action:
l To use the notification configuration that is defined in the Policy resource to
send the notification, select Set at policy level.
l To send a notification on completion of the action, select On Completion.

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l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.

18. In the Send notification attribute, when you select the On Completion option
or On failure option, the Command box appears. Use this box to configure how
NetWorker sends the notifications. You can use the nsrlog command to send
the notifications to a log file or you can send an email notification.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the
policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs directory on
Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs folder on
Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:

nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:

mail -s subject recipient


l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:

/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"


l On Window, to send a notification email, type the following command:

smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver


recipient2@mailserver...

where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to
relay the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

19. From the Soft Limit list, select the amount of time after the action starts to
stop the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no
amount of time.
20. From the Hard Limit list, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
21. (Optional) In the Start Time option, specify the time to start the action.
Use the spin boxes to set the hour and minute values, and select one of the
following options from the list box:
l Disabled—Do not enforce an action start time. The action will start at the
time defined by the workflow.
l Absolute—Start the action at the time specified by the values in the spin
boxes.

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l Relative—Start the action after the period of time defined in the spin boxes
has elapsed after the start of the workflow.

22. (Optional) Configure overrides for the task that is scheduled on a specific day.
To specify the month, use the navigation buttons and the month list box. To
specify the year, use the spin boxes. You can set an override in the following
ways:
l Select the day in the calendar, which changes the action task for the
specific day.
l Use the action task list to select the task, and then perform one of the
following steps:
n To define an override that occurs on a specific day of the week, every
week, select Specified day, and then use the lists. Click Add Rules
based override.
n To define an override that occurs on the last day of the calendar month,
select Last day of the month. Click Add Rules based override.
Note:
n You can edit or add the rules in the Override field.
n To remove an override, delete the entry from the Override field.

23. Click Next.


The Action Configuration Summary page appears.
24. Review the settings that you specified for the action, and then click Configure.
After you finish
(Optional) Create a clone action to automatically clone the save sets again after this
clone action. Another clone action is the only supported action after a clone action in a
workflow.

Visual representation of workflows


After you create actions for a workflow, in the Administration interface, you can see a
map provides a visual representation of the actions on the right side of the Protection
window.
The following figure illustrates the visual representation of a sample workflow for a
traditional backup.
Figure 20 Visual representation of a workflow

The oval icon specifies the group to which the workflow applies. The rounded
rectangle icons identify actions. The parallelogram icons identify the destination pool
for the action.
l You can adjust the display of the visual representation by right-clicking and
selecting one of the following options:
n Zoom In—Increase the size of the visual representation.

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n Zoom Out—Decrease the size of the visual representation.


n Zoom Area—Limit the display to a single section of the visual representation.
n Fit Content—Fit the visual representation to the window area.
n Reset—Reset the visual representation to the default settings.
n Overview—View a separate dialog box with a high-level view of the visual
representation and a legend of the icons.
l You can view and edit the properties for the group, action, or destination pool by
right-clicking the icon for the item, and then select Properties.
l You can create a group, action, or destination pool by right-clicking the icon for
the item, and then select New.

Strategies for server backup and maintenance


When you install or upgrade the NetWorker server, the installation or upgrade process
creates a default Server Protection policy for server backup and maintenance
activities. You can edit the default policy, workflows, groups, and actions, or create a
set of policies for server backup and maintenance.
After you install or upgrade the NMC server and then connect to the NMC GUI for the
first time, the Console Configuration wizard prompts you to configure the
NetWorker server that will backup the NMC server database.
When you define the database backup server, the Console Configuration wizard:
l Creates a Client resource for the NMC Server database backup. The Save set
field for the client contains the path to the database staging directory. By default,
the staging directory is in C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\Management
\nmcdb_stage on Windows and /opt/lgtonmc/nmcdb_stage on Linux.
Note:
The file system that contains the staging directory must have free disk space
that is a least equal to the size of the current NMC database. The section
"Changing the staging directory for NMC database backups" describes how to
change the staging directory location.
cst folder is not listed as save set under Server Protection - NMC server
backup for linux servers. Only /nsr/nmc/nmcdb_stage is listed under
backed up save set. Backup of cst folder is taken internally, which can be
verified in Recovery Wizard after the Server Protection policy backup is
succeeded.
l Creates a group called NMC server.
l Adds the Client resource to the NMC server group.
l Creates a workflow that is called NMC server backup in the Server Protection
policy. The workflow contains the NMC server backup action, which performs a
full backup of the NMC server database every day at 2 P.M.
l Adds the NMC server group to the NMC server backup workflow.
Note: The NMC Server database backup only supports the full and skip backup
levels. If you edit the NMC Server backup action and change the levels in the
backup schedule to a different level, for example synthetic full, NetWorker
performs a full backup of the database.

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Scheduling server backup and maintenance


Server backup and maintenance activities are configured in the default workflows to
start at 9 p.m. To optimize performance, ensure that the workflows start at times of
minimal backup activity or other system activity.

Protection groups for NetWorker and NMC server backup and maintenance
When you install or upgrade the NetWorker server, the installation or upgrade process
creates a default protection group for the NetWorker server workflows in the Server
Protection policy.
Server Protection group
The Server Protection group is a default protection group to back up the NetWorker
server bootstrap and client file indexes. The Server Protection group is assigned to
the Server backup workflow in the default Server Protection policy. The Server
backup workflow performs a bootstrap backup, which includes the NetWorker server
resource files, media database, NetWorker Authentication Service database, and client
indexes for disaster recovery. The group is a dynamic client group that automatically
generates a list of Client resources for the NetWorker server.
NMC server group
The NMC server group is a default protection group to back up the NMC database,
which the Console Configuration wizard prompts you to create the first time you log
in to the NMC server. The group is a client group that contains the Client resource for
the NMC server and is created during the initial login and configuration of NMC
server. The NMC server group is assigned to the NMC server backup workflow in the
default Server Protection policy.
Note: If you create custom groups for server backup and maintenance, ensure
that they include both the NetWorker server and the NMC server.

Server Protection policy and workflows


When you install or upgrade the NetWorker server, the installation or upgrade process
creates a Server Protection policy with default workflows to support NetWorker and
NMC backup and maintenance activities.
The Server Protection policy includes the following default workflows:
Server backup
The workflow performs two actions:
l Expiration—An expire action to mark expired save sets as recyclable.
l Server database backup—A backup of the NetWorker server media database,
authentication service database, and the client file indexes. The data in this
backup, also called a bootstrap backup, enables you to perform a disaster recovery
of the NetWorker server.
The workflow is scheduled to start daily at 10 a.m. The workflow is assigned to the
default Server Protection group, which contains a dynamically generated list of the
Client resources for the NetWorker server.
NMC server backup
The workflow performs a traditional backup of the NMC database. The workflow is
scheduled to start a full backup daily at 2 p.m. The workflow is assigned to the default
NMC server group, which contains the NMC server.

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Supported actions in a server backup workflow


The NetWorker server backup workflow supports the following action types.
Server database backup
A server database backup action performs a bootstrap backup and can also include the
client file indexes.
A bootstrap backup contains the following NetWorker server components:
l Media database
l Server resource files. For example, the resource (res) database and the Package
Manager database (nsrcpd)
l NetWorker Authentication Service database
NetWorker automatically creates a server backup action in the Server Backup
workflow of the Server Protection policy. By default, a full backup of the media
database, resource files, and the NetWorker Authentication Service database occurs
daily. A full backup of the client file indexes occur on the first day of the month. An
incremental backup of the client file indexes occur on the remaining days of the
month. The default retention policy for the server database backup is one month.
Expiration
The expiration action expires save sets in the media database based on retention time
of the save set. When the retention time of the save set has been reached, NetWorker
uses the nsrim process to expire the save set. When a save set expires, the nsrim
process performs the following actions:
l Removes information about the save set from the client file index.
l If the save set data resides on an AFTD, removes the save set information from
the media database and removes the save set data from the AFTD.
l If the save set data resides on a tape device, the nsrim process marks the save
set as recyclable in the media database. When all save sets on a tape volume have
expired, the volume is eligible for reuse.
An expiration action is created automatically in the Server maintenance workflow of
the Server Protection policy. An expiration action only supports Execute and Skip
backup levels.
Clone
A clone action creates a copy of one or more save sets. Cloning enables secure offsite
storage, the transfer of data from one location to another, and the verification of
backups.
You can configure a clone action to occur after a backup in a single workflow, or
concurrently with a backup action in a single workflow. You can use save set and
query groups to define a specific list of save sets to clone, in a separate workflow.
Note: The clone action clones the scheduled backup save sets only, and it does
not clone the manual backup save sets. Some NetWorker module backups might
appear to be scheduled backups that are initiated by a policy backup action, but
they are manual backups because they are initiated or converted by a database or
application. The NetWorker Module for Databases and Applications Administration
Guide and the NetWorker Module for SAP Administration Guide provides more
details.

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Actions supported in an NMC server backup workflow


The NMC server backup workflow supports the following action types.
NMC server backup
An NMC server backup action performs a backup of the Postgres NMC database.
An NMC server backup action is created automatically in the NMC server backup
workflow of the Server Protection policy. The NMC server backup action only
supports the full and skip backup levels.
You can add the following action after the NMC server backup action:
Clone
A clone action creates a copy of one or more save sets. Cloning enables secure offsite
storage, the transfer of data from one location to another, and the verification of
backups.
You can configure a clone action to occur after a backup in a single workflow, or
concurrently with a backup action in a single workflow. You can use save set and
query groups to define a specific list of save sets to clone, in a separate workflow.
Note: The clone action clones the scheduled backup save sets only, and it does
not clone the manual backup save sets. Some NetWorker module backups might
appear to be scheduled backups that are initiated by a policy backup action, but
they are manual backups because they are initiated or converted by a database or
application. The NetWorker Module for Databases and Applications Administration
Guide and the NetWorker Module for SAP Administration Guide provides more
details.
You can add the following actions before the NMC server backup action:
Probe
A probe action runs a user-defined script on a NetWorker client before the start of a
backup. A user-defined script is any program that passes a return code. If the return
code is 0 (zero), then a client backup is required. If the return code is 1, then a client
backup is not required.
Only a backup action can follow a probe action.
Check connectivity
A check connectivity action tests the connectivity between the clients and the
NetWorker server before the start of a probe or backup action occurs. If the
connectivity test fails, then the probe action and backup action does not start for the
client.

Actions in the server database backup and NMC server backup workflows
Workflows enable you to chain together multiple actions and run them sequentially or
concurrently.
The following supported actions can follow the lead action and other actions in a
workflow.
Workflow path from a server database backup action
The Clone action is the only supported action after a server database backup action.
You cannot insert an action before a server database backup action.

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Figure 21 Workflow path from a server database backup action

Workflow path from an NMC server backup action


A clone action is the only supported action after an NMC server backup action. You
cannot insert an action before an NMC server backup action.
Figure 22 Workflow path from an NMC server backup action

Workflow path from an expiration action


The expiration action is an independent action, which means that you can add any
other action after the expiration action. It is recommended that you do not add actions
after an expiration action in the server maintenance workflow. To use the expiration
action with other actions, create or modify a workflow.

Visual representation of workflows


After you create actions for a workflow, in the Administration interface, you can see a
map provides a visual representation of the actions on the right side of the Protection
window.
The following figure illustrates the visual representation of the Server Protection
workflows.
Figure 23 Visual representation of the Server Protection workflows

The oval icon specifies the group to which the workflow applies. The rounded
rectangle icons identify actions. The parallelogram icons identify the destination pool
for the action.

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You can work directly in the visual representation of a workflow to perform the
following tasks:
l You can adjust the display of the visual representation by right-clicking and
selecting one of the following options:
n Zoom In—Increase the size of the visual representation.
n Zoom Out—Decrease the size of the visual representation.
n Zoom Area—Limit the display to a single section of the visual representation.
n Fit Content—Fit the visual representation to the window area.
n Reset—Reset the visual representation to the default settings.
n Overview—View a separate dialog box with a high-level view of the visual
representation and a legend of the icons.
l You can view and edit the properties for the group, action, or destination pool by
right-clicking the icon for the item, and then select Properties.
l You can create a group, action, or destination pool by right-clicking the icon for
the item, and then select New.

Strategies for cloning


You can use scheduled cloning or action based (automatic) cloning to manage your
data.
l Scheduled cloning—You can have a policy, and a workflow followed by a clone
action. The workflow is associated with a dynamic group. In other words, a Query
or Save set protection group.
l Action based (automatic) cloning—You can have a policy, and a workflow followed
by a backup and a clone action. The clone action can be configured as concurrent
or sequential.
n Sequential—When the backup action configured for a policy or workflow is
triggered, backup copies are created in the selected backup pool. However, the
clone action is triggered only after backup copies are created for all the
selected save sets. For example, If there are save sets numbered 1 to 100,
backup copies are created in order. The clone action is triggered only after the
backup copy is created for save set 100.
Note: Sequential cloning is the preferred cloning method.

n Concurrent—When the backup action configured for a policy or workflow is


triggered, backup copies are created in the selected backup pool. The clone
action is triggered even if only a single back up copy is created from the
selected save sets. For example, If there are save sets numbered 1 to 100,
backup copies are created in order. The clone action for save set 1 is triggered
as soon as the backup copy for save set 1 is created. However, for performance
optimization, clones for save sets are triggered in batches.
You can also use automated multi-streaming (AMS) when cloning your data to speed
up the replication process.
If you are replicating save sets between two Data Domain devices on different
machines, replication using NetWorker takes longer because each save set uses a
single stream. The use of automated multi-streaming (AMS) splits up large files (files
larger than 3.5 GiB) into multiple smaller 2 GiB slices, replicates those slices
individually, and recreates the original large file on the destination DDR using those
slices.
The following diagram illustrates replication using AMS.

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Figure 24 Replication using AMS

AMS is supported only if:


l Both the source and destination Data Domain systems support the virtual
synthetic capability (DDOS 5.5 and later). This can be validated through ddboost
option show command as shown below:
ddboost@localhost# ddboost option show
Option Value
---------------------- -------
distributed-segment-processing enabled
virtual-synthetics enabled
fc enabled
global-authentication-mode none
global-encryption-strength none
l The save set file being copied is large enough for the use of AMS to provide an
improvement over normal replication.
l All save set types other than VBA, vProxy, Hyper-V, BBB, and synthetic full. The
exception is for Microsoft NMM Exchange module save sets, where AMS is used
even though it uses BBB and synthetic full.
Enable AMS, if the underlying bandwidth between two DDRs is 10Gbps. Because the
use of AMS creates multiple streams, there must be enough bandwidth between the
two DDRs being used for the clone workflow.
The nsrcloneconfig file enables you to add debug flags, control cloning sessions,
and use the AMS functionality. It must be manually created under the /nsr/debug
folder.
By default, AMS is disabled. To enable AMS, ensure that the ams_enabled flag is set
to Yes.
The following table describes the nsrcloneconfig file details and their default
values.

Table 41 nsrcloneconfig file details

Settings Default Description


value
ams_enabled Yes Enables or disables AMS support. The value
can be Yes or No.

ams_slice_size_factor 31 Allows you to change the slice size factor


value. The slice size factor corresponds to
the size of the slices desired, specified by a
number of bits. For example, if the slice size
factor is 28, the desired slice size is 2^28, or

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Table 41 nsrcloneconfig file details (continued)

Settings Default Description


value
256 MiB. The default value is 31, meaning
the desired slice size is 2^31, or 2 GiB. The
default value of 31 provides the best
performance during chopping and joining.

ams_preferred_slice_count 0 Allows you to change the preferred slice


count. There is no maximum value.

ams_min_concurrent_slice_count 1 Allows you to increase the minimum number


of concurrent file copies. If the specified
value is less than the default minimum value,
the default value is used.

ams_max_concurrent_slice_count 20 Allows you to decrease the maximum


number of concurrent file copies. If the
specified value exceeds the default
maximum value, the default value is used.

ams_force_multithreaded No Force AMS to use threads even when the


DDRs support multi-file copies. Because the
multi-file workflow is faster, this is only
useful for explicitly testing the
multithreaded workflow. The value can be
Yes or No.

Debug 9

Note: The Backup Data Management chapter describes how you can clone save
sets manually by using the nsrclone command.

Road map for configuring a new cloning data protection policy


This road map provides a high level overview of how to configure a new policy for
clone operations.
Before you begin
Configure the backup policy to back up the data that is cloned.
Procedure
1. Create a group to define the data to clone.

2. Create a policy. When you create a policy, you specify the name and notification
settings for the policy.
3. Within the policy, create a workflow. When you create a workflow, you specify
the name of the workflow, the schedule for running the workflow, notification
settings for the workflow, and the protection group to which the workflow
applies.
4. Create one or more clone actions for the workflow.

Protection groups for a cloning workflow


You can use two types of protection groups to clone save sets in a workflow that are
separate from backup workflows. The type of protection group that you use depends
on the way that you plan to configure the workflow.

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Use a save set group or a query group to specify a list of save sets if cloning occurs as
the head action in a cloning workflow:
l Save set group—Use a save set group in clone-only workflows where you want to
clone a specific list of save sets. Save set groups are similar to the manual clone
operations in NetWorker 8.2.x and earlier.
l Query group—Use a query group in clone-only workflows where you want to clone
save sets on an ongoing basis, based on the save set criteria that you define.
Query groups are similar to the scheduled clone operations in NetWorker 8.2.x and
earlier.
Note: To clone save sets in a backup workflow, use basic client group or a dynamic
client group. Strategies for traditional backups provides detailed information about
how to create clone actions in a traditional backup workflow.
Create multiple protection groups to perform cloning in different ways as part of
separate workflows, or to perform cloning for different save sets on different
schedules. For example:
l Create a basic client group for a workflow that performs a traditional backup of
the a client file system followed by cloning of the save sets that result from the
backup. In this case, concurrent cloning can be enabled.
l Create a query group that identifies full save sets in the last two days to clone.
Creating a save set group
A save set group defines a static list of save sets for cloning or for snapshot index
generation.
Before you begin
Determine the save set ID or clone ID (ssid/clonid) of the save sets for the group by
using the Administration > Media user interface or the mminfo command.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, right-click Groups, and then select New.
The Create Group dialog box appears, starting with the General tab.
3. In the Name field, type a name for the group.
The maximum number of characters for the group name is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

Note: After you create a group, the Name attribute is read-only.

4. From the Group Type list, select Save Set ID List.


5. In the Comment field, type a description of the group.
6. (Optional) To associate the group with a workflow, from the Workflow (Policy)
list, select the workflow.
You can also assign the group to a workflow when you create or edit a
workflow.
7. In the Clone specific save sets (save set ID/clone ID) field, type the save set
ID/clone ID (ssid/clonid) identifiers.
To specify multiple entries, type each value on a separate line.

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8. To specify the Restricted Data Zone (RDZ) for the group, select the Restricted
Data Zones tab, and then select the RDZ from the list.
9. Click OK.
Creating a query group
A query group defines a list of save sets for cloning or snapshot index generation,
based on a list of save set criteria.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, right-click Groups, and then select New.
The Create Group dialog box appears, starting with the General tab.
3. In the Name field, type a name for the group.
The maximum number of characters for the group name is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

Note: After you create a group, the Name attribute is read-only.

4. From the Group Type list, select Save Set Query.


5. In the Comment field, type a description of the group.
6. (Optional) To associate the group with a workflow, from the Workflow (Policy)
list, select the workflow.
You can also assign the group to a workflow when you create or edit a
workflow.
7. Specify one or more of the save set criteria in the following table.
Note: When you specify more than one save set criteria, the list of save
sets only includes save sets that match all the specified criteria.

Table 42 Save set criteria

Criteria Description
Date and time range Specify the start date and time range for the save sets.

To specify the current date and time as the end date for the range,
select Up to now.

To specify a time period, select Up to.

Backup level In the Filter save sets by level section, next to the backup level for
the save set, select the full checkbox.
Note: Only the full backup level is applicable for network-attached
storage (NAS) devices.

Limit the number of Specify the number for the limit in the Limit number of clones list.
clones The clone limit is the maximum number of clone instances that can be
created for the save set. By default, the value is set to 1, and cannot
be changed for NAS or Block.

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Table 42 Save set criteria (continued)

Criteria Description
Note: When this criteria is set to 1, which is the default value, you
may experience volume outage issues with Data Domain and
advanced file type devices.

Client Next to one or more client resources that are associated with the save
set in the Client list, select the checkbox.

Policy Next to the policy used to generate the save set in the Policy list,
select the checkbox.

Workflow Next to the workflow used to generate the save set in the Workflow
list, select the checkbox.

Action Next to the action used to generate the save set in the Action list,
select the checkbox.

Group Next to the group associated with the save set in the Group list,
select the checkbox.

Pools Next to the media pool on which the save set is stored in the Pools
list, select the checkbox.
Note: You cannot select Pools for NAS.

Name In the Filter save sets by name field, specify the name of the save
set.
Note: You cannot use wildcards to specify the save set name.

If you specify multiple criteria, the save set must match all the criteria to belong
to the group.

8. To specify the Restricted Data Zone (RDZ) for the group, select the Restricted
Data Zones tab, and then select the RDZ from the list.
9. Click OK.

Creating a policy
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, right-click Policies, and then select New.
The Create Policy dialog box appears.
3. On the General tab, in the Name field, type a name for the policy.
The maximum number of characters for the policy name is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}
Note: After you create a policy, the Name attribute is read-only.

4. In the Comment field, type a description for the policy.


5. From the Send Notifications list, select whether to send notifications for the
policy:

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l To avoid sending notifications, select Never.


l To send notifications with information about each successful and failed
workflow and action, after the policy completes all the actions, select On
Completion.
l To send a notification with information about each failed workflow and
action, after the policy completes all the actions, select On Failure.
6. In the Send notification attribute, when you select the On Completion option
or On failure option, the Command box appears. Use this box to configure how
NetWorker sends the notifications. You can use the nsrlog command to send
the notifications to a log file or you can send an email notification.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the
policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs directory on
Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs folder on
Windows.
To send email messages or the smtpmail application on Windows, use the
default mailer program on Linux:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:

nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:

mail -s subject recipient


l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:

/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"


l On Windows, to send a notification email, type the following command:

smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver


recipient2@mailserver...

where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to
relay the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

7. To specify the Restricted Data Zone (RDZ) for the policy, select the Restricted
Data Zones tab, and then select the RDZ from the list.
8. Click OK.
After you finish
Create the workflows and actions for the policy.

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Create a workflow for a new policy in NetWorker Administration


Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the left pane, expand Policies, and then select the policy that you created.
3. In the right pane, select Create a new workflow.
4. In the Name field, type the name of the workflow.
The maximum number of allowed characters for the Name field is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

5. In the Comment box, type a description for the workflow.


The maximum number of allowed characters for the Comment field is 128.
6. From the Send Notifications list, select how to send notifications for the
workflow:
l To use the notification configuration that is defined in the policy resource to
specify when to send a notification, select Set at policy level.
l To send notifications with information about each successful and failed
workflow and action, after the workflow completes all the actions, select On
Completion.
l To send notifications with information about each failed workflow and
action, after the workflow completes all the actions, select On Failure.
7. In the Send notification attribute, when you select the On Completion option
or On failure option, the Command box appears. Use this box to configure how
NetWorker sends the notifications. You can use the nsrlog command to send
the notifications to a log file or you can send an email notification.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the
policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs directory on
Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs folder on
Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages, or use the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:

nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:

mail -s subject recipient


l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:

/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"


l On Windows, type the following command:

smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver


recipient2@mailserver...

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where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to
relay the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

8. In the Running section, perform the following steps to specify when and how
often the workflow runs:
a. To ensure that the actions that are contained in the workflow run when the
policy or workflow starts, in the Enabled box, leave the option selected. To
prevent the actions in the workflow from running when the policy or
workflow that contains the action starts, clear this option.
b. To start the workflow at the time that is specified in the Start time
attribute, on the days that are defined in the action resource, in the
AutoStart Enabled box, leave the option selected. To prevent the workflow
from starting at the time that is specified in the Start time attribute, clear
this option.
c. To specify the time to start the actions in the workflow, in the Start Time
attribute, use the spin boxes.
The default value is 9:00 PM.

d. To specify how frequently to run the actions that are defined in the
workflow over a 24-hour period, use the Interval attribute spin boxes. If you
are performing transaction log backup as part of application-consistent
protection, you must specify a value for this attribute in order for
incremental transaction log backup of SQL databases to occur.
The default Interval attribute value is 24 hours, or once a day. When you
select a value that is less than 24 hours, the Interval End attribute appears.
To specify the last start time in a defined interval period, use the spin boxes.

e. To specify the duration of time in which NetWorker can manually or


automatically restart a failed or canceled workflow, in the Restart Window
attribute, use the spin boxes.
If the restart window has elapsed, NetWorker considers the restart as a new
run of the workflow. NetWorker calculates the restart window from the start
of the last incomplete workflow. The default value is 24 hours.
For example, if the Start Time is 7:00 PM, the Interval is 1 hour, and the
Interval End is 11:00 PM., then the workflow automatically starts every hour
beginning at 7:00 PM. and the last start time is 11:00 PM.

9. To create the workflow, click OK.


After you finish
Create the actions that will occur in the workflow, and then assign a group to the
workflow. If a workflow does not contain a group, a policy does not perform any
actions.

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Workflows for scheduled cloning


A workflow can contain one or more clone actions.
Supported workflow path from a clone action
Another clone action is the only supported action after a clone action.
Figure 25 Workflow path from a clone action

Creating a clone action


A clone action creates a copy of one or more save sets. Cloning allows for secure
offsite storage, the transfer of data from one location to another, and the verification
of backups.
Procedure
1. In the expanded left pane, select the policy's workflow, and then perform one of
the following tasks in the right pane to start the Policy Action wizard:
l If the action is the first action in the workflow, select Create a new action.
l If the workflow has other actions, right-click an empty area of the Actions
pane, and then select New.
The Policy Action wizard opens on the Specify the Action Information page.
2. In the Name field, type the name of the action.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

3. In the Comment field, type a description for the action.


4. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, in the Enabled box, select the option. To prevent the action
from running when the policy or workflow that contains the action is started,
clear this option.
Note: When you clear the Enabled option, actions that occurs after a
disabled action do not start, even if the subsequent options are enabled.

5. From the Action Type list, select Clone.


6. If you create the action as part of the workflow configuration, the workflow
appears automatically in the Workflow box and the box is dimmed.
7. Specify the order of the action in relation to other actions in the workflow:
l If the action is part of a sequence of actions in a workflow path, in the
Previous box, select the action that should precede this action.
l If the action should run concurrently with an action, in the Previous box,
select the concurrent action, and then select the Concurrent checkbox.
8. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action:

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l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly by day.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly by day.
9. Specify the days to perform cloning:
l To clone on a specific day, click the Execute icon on the day.
l To skip a clone on a specific day, click the Skip icon on the day.
l To check connectivity every day, select Execute from the list, and then click
Make All.
The following table provides details on the icons.

Table 43 Schedule icons

Icon Label Description


Execute Perform cloning on this day.

Skip Do not perform cloning on


this day.

10. Click Next.


The Specify the Clone Options page appears.
11. In the Data Movement section, define the volumes and devices to which
NetWorker sends the cloned data:
a. From the Destination Storage Node list, select the storage node with the
devices on which to store the cloned save sets.
b. In the Delete source save sets after clone completes box, select the
option to instruct NetWorker to move the data from the source volume to
the destination volume after clone operation completes. This is equivalent to
staging the save sets.
c. From the Destination Pool list, select the target media pool for the cloned
save sets.
d. From the Retention list, specify the amount of time to retain the cloned
save sets.
After the retention period expires, the save sets are marked as recyclable
during an expiration server maintenance task.
12. In the Filters section, define the criteria that NetWorker uses to create the list
of eligible save sets to clone. The eligible save sets must match the
requirements that are defined in each filter. NetWorker provides the following
filter options:
a. Time filter—In the Time section, specify the time range in which NetWorker
searches for eligible save sets to clone in the media database. Use the spin
boxes to specify the start time and the end time. The Time filter list includes
the following options to define how NetWorker determines save set
eligibility, based on the time criteria:
l Do Not Filter—NetWorker inspects the save sets in the media database
to create a clone save set list that meets the time filter criteria.
l Accept—The clone save set list includes save sets that are saved within
the time range and meet all the other defined filter criteria.

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l Reject—The clone save set list does not include save sets that are saved
within the time range and meet all the other defined filter criteria.
b. Save Set filter—In the Save Set section, specify whether to include or
exclude ProtectPoint and Snapshot save sets, when NetWorker searches for
eligible save sets to clone in the media database. The Save Set filter list
includes to the following options define how NetWorker determines save set
eligibility, based on the save set filter criteria:
l Do Not Filter—NetWorker inspects the save sets in the media database
to create a clone save set list that meets the save set filter criteria.
l Accept—The clone save set list includes eligible ProtectPoint save sets
or Snapshot save sets, when you also enable the ProtectPoint checkbox
or Snapshot checkbox.
l Reject—The clone save set list does not include eligible ProtectPoint
save sets and Snapshot save sets when you also enable the ProtectPoint
checkbox or Snapshot checkbox.
Note: For NAS device, only Snapshot save set is applicable.

c. Clients filter—In the Client section, specify a list of clients to include or


exclude, when NetWorker searches for eligible save sets to clone in the
media database. The Client filter list includes the following options, which
define how NetWorker determines save set eligibility, based on the client
filter criteria:
l Do Not Filter—NetWorker inspects the save sets that are associated
with the clients in the media database, to create a clone save set list that
meets the client filter criteria.
l Accept—The clone save set list includes eligible save sets for the
selected clients.
l Reject—The clone save set list does not include eligible save sets for the
selected clients.
d. Levels filter—In the Levels section, specify a list of backup levels to include
or exclude, when NetWorker searches for eligible save sets to clone in the
media database. The Levels filter list includes the following options define
how NetWorker determines save set eligibility, based on the level filter
criteria:
l Do Not Filter—NetWorker inspects the save sets regardless of the level
in the media database, to create a clone save set list that meets all the
level filter criteria.
l Accept—The clone save set list includes eligible save sets with the
selected backup levels.
l Reject—The clone save set list does not include eligible save sets with
the selected backup levels.
Note: For NAS device, only full backup level is applicable.

13. Click Next.


The Specify the Advanced Options page appears.
14. Configure advanced options, including notifications and schedule overrides.

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Note: Although the Retries, Retry Delay, or the Inactivity Timeout options
appear, the clone action does not support these options and ignores the
values.

15. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. This is applicable if multiple rollover is implemented at an action
level.
For Direct-NDMP backups, set the parallelism value to the number of available
NDMP drives.
If you set the parallelism attribute to a higher value, there will not be enough
drives to support all the queued backup save sets. Large save sets might fail
due to the inactivity timeout limit.
When NDMP groups back up simultaneously, divide the number of drives by the
number of groups. Use this value for each of the parallelism attributes.
Setting the parallelism value for the group overrides the parallelism value that is
defined for the NDMP clients.

16. From the Failure Impact list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort action.
Note: The Abort action option applies to probe actions, and the backup
actions for the Traditional and Snapshot action types.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort workflow.

Note: If any of the actions fail in the workflow, the workflow status does
not appear as interrupted or cancelled. NetWorker reports the workflow
status as failed.

17. From the Send Notifications list box, select whether to send notifications for
the action:
l To use the notification configuration that is defined in the Policy resource to
send the notification, select Set at policy level.
l To send a notification on completion of the action, select On Completion.
l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.

18. In the Send notification attribute, when you select the On Completion option
or On failure option, the Command box appears. Use this box to configure how
NetWorker sends the notifications. You can use the nsrlog command to send
the notifications to a log file or you can send an email notification.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the
policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs directory on
Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs folder on
Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:

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nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:

mail -s subject recipient


l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:

/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"


l On Window, to send a notification email, type the following command:
smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver
recipient2@mailserver...

where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to
relay the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

19. From the Soft Limit list, select the amount of time after the action starts to
stop the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no
amount of time.
20. From the Hard Limit list, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
21. (Optional) In the Start Time option, specify the time to start the action.
Use the spin boxes to set the hour and minute values, and select one of the
following options from the list box:
l Disabled—Do not enforce an action start time. The action will start at the
time defined by the workflow.
l Absolute—Start the action at the time specified by the values in the spin
boxes.
l Relative—Start the action after the period of time defined in the spin boxes
has elapsed after the start of the workflow.

22. (Optional) Configure overrides for the task that is scheduled on a specific day.
To specify the month, use the navigation buttons and the month list box. To
specify the year, use the spin boxes. You can set an override in the following
ways:
l Select the day in the calendar, which changes the action task for the
specific day.
l Use the action task list to select the task, and then perform one of the
following steps:
n To define an override that occurs on a specific day of the week, every
week, select Specified day, and then use the lists. Click Add Rules
based override.

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n To define an override that occurs on the last day of the calendar month,
select Last day of the month. Click Add Rules based override.
Note:
n You can edit or add the rules in the Override field.
n To remove an override, delete the entry from the Override field.

23. Click Next.


The Action Configuration Summary page appears.
24. Review the settings that you specified for the action, and then click Configure.
After you finish
(Optional) Create a clone action to automatically clone the save sets again after this
clone action. Another clone action is the only supported action after a clone action in a
workflow.

Visual representation of a clone workflow


After you create actions for a workflow, in the Administration interface, you can see a
map provides a visual representation of the actions on the right side of the Protection
window.
The following figure illustrates the visual representation of a clone workflow.
Figure 26 Visual representation of a clone workflow

The oval icon specifies the group to which the workflow applies. The rounded
rectangle icons identify actions. The parallelogram icons identify the destination pool
for the action.
You can work directly in the visual representation of a workflow to perform the
following tasks:
l You can adjust the display of the visual representation by right-clicking and
selecting one of the following options:
n Zoom In—Increase the size of the visual representation.
n Zoom Out—Decrease the size of the visual representation.
n Zoom Area—Limit the display to a single section of the visual representation.
n Fit Content—Fit the visual representation to the window area.
n Reset—Reset the visual representation to the default settings.
n Overview—View a separate dialog box with a high-level view of the visual
representation and a legend of the icons.
l You can view and edit the properties for the group, action, or destination pool by
right-clicking the icon for the item, and then select Properties.
l You can create a group, action, or destination pool by right-clicking the icon for
the item, and then select New.

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Road map to add a clone workflow to an existing policy


This road map provides a high level overview of how to create a clone workflow and
add the workflow to an existing backup policy.
Before you begin
Configure the backup policy to back up the data that is cloned.
Procedure
1. Create a query or save set group to define the data to clone.
2. Add the new group to an existing policy.
3. Create a workflow in the existing policy.
4. Create one or more clone actions for the workflow.

Example: Creating a policy that has a separate workflow for cloning


The following figure provides a high level overview of the configuration of a policy that
contains two workflows, one for backups and one to clone a list of save sets.
Figure 27 Example of a policy with separate workflows for backup and cloning

Note: The amount of data and length of time that is required to complete the
backup can impact the ability to clone data when the backup and clone workflows
are in the same policy. For example, if the clone action starts before the backup
action completes, there might not be any data yet to clone, or in other cases, only
the save sets that completed at the start time of the workflow is taken into
account. In both cases, NetWorker marks the Clone Workflow as successful, but
there is no guarantee that all the data from the backup workflow was cloned.

Editing an existing policy to create a workflow and clone action


Use the Policies window to create a workflow and create the clone action.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.

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2. In the expanded left pane, expand Policies, and then select the existing policy.
3. In the right pane, right-click in the workflow section and select New, and select
Properties.
The New Workflow dialog box appears.
4. In the Name field, type the name of the workflow.
The maximum number of allowed characters for the Name field is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

5. In the Comment box, type a description for the workflow.


The maximum number of allowed characters for the Comment field is 128.
6. From the Send Notifications list, select how to send notifications for the
workflow:
l To use the notification configuration that is defined in the policy resource to
specify when to send a notification, select Set at policy level.
l To send notifications with information about each successful and failed
workflow and action, after the workflow completes all the actions, select On
Completion.
l To send notifications with information about each failed workflow and
action, after the workflow completes all the actions, select On Failure.
7. In the Send notification attribute, when you select the On Completion option
or On failure option, the Command box appears. Use this box to configure how
NetWorker sends the notifications. You can use the nsrlog command to send
the notifications to a log file or you can send an email notification.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the
policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs directory on
Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs folder on
Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:

nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:

mail -s subject recipient


l On Windows, to send a notification email, type the following command:

smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver


recipient2@mailserver...

where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.

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n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to


relay the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

8. In the Running section, perform the following steps to specify when and how
often the workflow runs:
a. To ensure that the actions that are contained in the workflow run when the
policy or workflow starts, in the Enabled box, leave the option selected. To
prevent the actions in the workflow from running when the policy or
workflow that contains the action starts, clear this option.
b. To start the workflow at the time that is specified in the Start time
attribute, on the days that are defined in the action resource, in the
AutoStart Enabled box, leave the option selected. To prevent the workflow
from starting at the time that is specified in the Start time attribute, clear
this option.
c. To specify the time to start the actions in the workflow, in the Start Time
attribute, use the spin boxes.
The default value is 9:00 PM.

d. To specify how frequently to run the actions that are defined in the
workflow over a 24-hour period, use the Interval attribute spin boxes. If you
are performing transaction log backup as part of application-consistent
protection, you must specify a value for this attribute in order for
incremental transaction log backup of SQL databases to occur.
The default Interval attribute value is 24 hours, or once a day. When you
select a value that is less than 24 hours, the Interval End attribute appears.
To specify the last start time in a defined interval period, use the spin boxes.

e. To specify the duration of time in which NetWorker can manually or


automatically restart a failed or canceled workflow, in the Restart Window
attribute, use the spin boxes.
If the restart window has elapsed, NetWorker considers the restart as a new
run of the workflow. NetWorker calculates the restart window from the start
of the last incomplete workflow. The default value is 24 hours.
For example, if the Start Time is 7:00 PM, the Interval is 1 hour, and the
Interval End is 11:00 PM., then the workflow automatically starts every hour
beginning at 7:00 PM. and the last start time is 11:00 PM.

9. In the Groups group box, specify the protection group to which the workflow
applies.
To use a group, select a protection group from the Groups list. To create a
protection group, click the + button that is located to the right of the Groups
list.
10. Click Add.
The Policy Action Wizard appears.
11. In the Name field, type the name of the action.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @

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l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

12. In the Comment field, type a description for the action.


13. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, in the Enabled box, select the option. To prevent the action
from running when the policy or workflow that contains the action is started,
clear this option.
Note: When you clear the Enabled option, actions that occurs after a
disabled action do not start, even if the subsequent options are enabled.

14. From the Action type list, select Clone.


15. Specify the order of the action in relation to other actions in the workflow:
l If the action is part of a sequence of actions in a workflow path, in the
Previous box, select the action that should precede this action.
l If the action should run concurrently with an action, in the Previous box,
select the concurrent action, and then select the Concurrent checkbox.
16. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action:
l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly by day.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly by day.
17. Specify the days to perform cloning:
l To clone on a specific day, click the Execute icon on the day.
l To skip a clone on a specific day, click the Skip icon on the day.
l To check connectivity every day, select Execute from the list, and then click
Make All.
The following table provides details on the icons.

Table 44 Schedule icons

Icon Label Description


Execute Perform cloning on this day.

Skip Do not perform cloning on


this day.

18. Click Next.


The Specify the Clone Options page appears.
19. In the Data Movement section, define the volumes and devices to which
NetWorker sends the cloned data:
a. From the Destination Storage Node list, select the storage node with the
devices on which to store the cloned save sets.
b. In the Delete source save sets after clone completes box, select the
option to instruct NetWorker to move the data from the source volume to
the destination volume after clone operation completes. This is equivalent to
staging the save sets.
c. From the Destination Pool list, select the target media pool for the cloned
save sets.

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d. From the Retention list, specify the amount of time to retain the cloned
save sets.
After the retention period expires, the save sets are marked as recyclable
during an expiration server maintenance task.
20. In the Filters section, define the criteria that NetWorker uses to create the list
of eligible save sets to clone. The eligible save sets must match the
requirements that are defined in each filter. NetWorker provides the following
filter options:
a. Time filter—In the Time section, specify the time range in which NetWorker
searches for eligible save sets to clone in the media database. Use the spin
boxes to specify the start time and the end time. The Time filter list includes
the following options to define how NetWorker determines save set
eligibility, based on the time criteria:
l Do Not Filter—NetWorker inspects the save sets in the media database
to create a clone save set list that meets the time filter criteria.
l Accept—The clone save set list includes save sets that are saved within
the time range and meet all the other defined filter criteria.
l Reject—The clone save set list does not include save sets that are saved
within the time range and meet all the other defined filter criteria.
b. Save Set filter—In the Save Set section, specify whether to include or
exclude ProtectPoint and Snapshot save sets, when NetWorker searches for
eligible save sets to clone in the media database. The Save Set filter list
includes to the following options define how NetWorker determines save set
eligibility, based on the save set filter criteria:
l Do Not Filter—NetWorker inspects the save sets in the media database
to create a clone save set list that meets the save set filter criteria.
l Accept—The clone save set list includes eligible ProtectPoint save sets
or Snapshot save sets, when you also enable the ProtectPoint checkbox
or Snapshot checkbox.
l Reject—The clone save set list does not include eligible ProtectPoint
save sets and Snapshot save sets when you also enable the ProtectPoint
checkbox or Snapshot checkbox.
Note: For NAS device, only Snapshot save set is applicable.

c. Clients filter—In the Client section, specify a list of clients to include or


exclude, when NetWorker searches for eligible save sets to clone in the
media database. The Client filter list includes the following options, which
define how NetWorker determines save set eligibility, based on the client
filter criteria:
l Do Not Filter—NetWorker inspects the save sets that are associated
with the clients in the media database, to create a clone save set list that
meets the client filter criteria.
l Accept—The clone save set list includes eligible save sets for the
selected clients.
l Reject—The clone save set list does not include eligible save sets for the
selected clients.
d. Levels filter—In the Levels section, specify a list of backup levels to include
or exclude, when NetWorker searches for eligible save sets to clone in the
media database. The Levels filter list includes the following options define

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how NetWorker determines save set eligibility, based on the level filter
criteria:
l Do Not Filter—NetWorker inspects the save sets regardless of the level
in the media database, to create a clone save set list that meets all the
level filter criteria.
l Accept—The clone save set list includes eligible save sets with the
selected backup levels.
l Reject—The clone save set list does not include eligible save sets with
the selected backup levels.
Note: For NAS device, only full backup level is applicable.

21. Click Next.


The Specify the Advanced Options page appears.
22. Configure advanced options, including notifications and schedule overrides.
Note: Although the Retries, Retry Delay, or the Inactivity Timeout options
appear, the clone action does not support these options, and ignores the
values.

23. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. This is applicable if multiple rollover is implemented at an action
level.
For Direct-NDMP backups, set the parallelism value to the number of available
NDMP drives.
If you set the parallelism attribute to a higher value, there will not be enough
drives to support all the queued backup save sets. Large save sets might fail
due to the inactivity timeout limit.
When NDMP groups back up simultaneously, divide the number of drives by the
number of groups. Use this value for each of the parallelism attributes.
Setting the parallelism value for the group overrides the parallelism value that is
defined for the NDMP clients.

24. From the Failure Impact list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort action.
Note: The Abort action option applies to probe actions, and the backup
actions for the Traditional and Snapshot action types.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort workflow.

Note: If any of the actions fail in the workflow, the workflow status does
not appear as interrupted or cancelled. NetWorker reports the workflow
status as failed.

25. From the Send Notifications list box, select whether to send notifications for
the action:
l To use the notification configuration that is defined in the Policy resource to
send the notification, select Set at policy level.

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l To send a notification on completion of the action, select On Completion.


l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.

26. In the Send notification attribute, when you select the On Completion option
or On failure option, the Command box appears. Use this box to configure how
NetWorker sends the notifications. You can use the nsrlog command to send
the notifications to a log file or you can send an email notification.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the
policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs directory on
Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs folder on
Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:

nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:

mail -s subject recipient


l On Window, to send a notification email, type the following command:

smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver


recipient2@mailserver...

where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to
relay the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

27. From the Soft Limit list, select the amount of time after the action starts to
stop the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no
amount of time.
28. From the Hard Limit list, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
29. (Optional) Configure overrides for the task that is scheduled on a specific day.
To specify the month, use the navigation buttons and the month list box. To
specify the year, use the spin boxes. You can set an override in the following
ways:
l Select the day in the calendar, which changes the action task for the
specific day.
l Use the action task list to select the task, and then perform one of the
following steps:

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n To define an override that occurs on a specific day of the week, every


week, select Specified day, and then use the lists. Click Add Rules
based override.
n To define an override that occurs on the last day of the calendar month,
select Last day of the month. Click Add Rules based override.
Note:
n You can edit or add the rules in the Override field.
n To remove an override, delete the entry from the Override field.

30. Click Next.


The Action Configuration Summary page appears.
31. Review the settings that you specified for the action, and then click Configure.

Policy Notifications
You can define how a Data Protection Policy sends notifications in the Policy,
Workflow, and Action resources.
The following table summarizes how the notification settings in each resource work
together.
In the Policy resource, the following notification choices are available:
l Never —Select this option when you do not want to send any notifications.
l On Completion—Select this option when you want to send a notification on
completion of the workflows and actions in the policy.
l On Failure—Select this option when you want to send a notification only if one or
more of the workflows in the policy fail.
When you configure a notification at the policy level, NetWorker applies the
notification to all workflows and actions in the policy that are not configured to send
out notifications.
In the Workflow resource, the following notification choices are available:
l To use the notification configuration that is defined in the policy resource to send
the notification, select Set a policy level.
l To send a workflow notification on completion of all the actions in the workflow,
select On Completion.
l To send a workflow notification only if an action fails to complete, select On
Failure.
When you configure a notification at the workflow level, the setting overrides what
you defined at the policy level.
In the Action resource, the following notification choices are available:
l To use the notification configuration that is defined in the policy resource to send
the notification, select Set a policy level.
l To send a notification on completion of the action, select On Completion.
l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.
When you configure a notification at the action level, the setting overrides what you
defined at the policy level. If you configured the Workflow resource to send out
notifications, you will receive workflow notifications in addition to action notifications.

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Monitoring policy activity


The Monitoring window in the NetWorker Administration window enables you to
monitor activities for specific policies, workflows, and actions.
Policies/Actions pane
The Policies/Actions pane at the top of the Monitoring window lists the policies on
the NetWorker server by default. Click the + (plus) sign next to a policy in the list to
view the workflows in the policy, and the + (plus) sign next to a workflow to view the
actions for a workflow.
The Policies pane provides the following information for each item (where applicable):
l Overall status
The following table provides details on the status icons that may appear in the
Policies pane.

Table 45 Policy status icons

Icon Status
Never run

Running

Succeeded

Failed

Probing

l Most recent start time


l Duration of the most recent run
l Next scheduled runtime
l Name of the assigned save set
l Device on which the save set is stored
l Backup level
l Data transfer rate
l Size of the save set
l Messages that resulted from an action
Right-click an action in the Policies pane, and select Show Details to view details on
currently running, successfully completed, and failed activities for the action.

When you sort the items on the Policy/Actions pane by using the Status column,
NetWorker sorts the items in alphabetical order that is based on the label of the icon.
Consider the following when a policy/action is in a probing state:
l A message is sent when the group starts and finishes the probe operation.
l The results of the probe operation (run backup/do not run backup) are also
logged.

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l Probes do not affect the final status of the group, and the group status does not
indicate the results of the probe.
l If probing indicates that a backup should not run, then the group status reverts to
its state before the group running.
l Check the results of the probe in the Log window to ensure that the probe
indicates that the backup can be taken.
Actions pane
To view a list of all actions, click the Actions tab at the bottom of the Policies pane.
The Policies pane becomes the Actions pane.
The Actions pane provides the following information for each action:
l Overall status
Note: The Actions pane displays the same status icons as the Policies pane.

l Name
l Assigned policy
l Assigned workflow
l Type
l Date and time of the most recent run
l Duration of the most recent run
l Percent complete, for actions that are in progress
l Next scheduled runtime
Right-click an action in the Actions pane, and select Show Details to view details on
currently running, completed, and failed activities for the action.

Monitoring cloning
You can view the status of scheduled clone jobs in the Monitoring window. Status
information includes the last start time of the policy, workflow, or clone action, the
duration of the action, the size of the save set, and the target device, pool, and
volume.
To determine whether a save set on a volume has been cloned, or is itself a clone,
check the search for the save set by using the Query Save Set tab when you select
Save Sets in the Media window.

Policy log files


The NetWorker server contains the log files for all data protection Policy resources.
Policy log directory structure
The policy-related resource log files are found in the following directory:
l Windows:
C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\policy_name
\workflow_name\action_name
l Linux:
/nsr/logs/policy_name/workflow_name/action_name
where:

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l Policy_name—is the name of the Policy resource. One folder per policy.
l Workflow_name—is the name of the workflow directory. One folder per action
sequence.
l Action_name—is the name of the action log file within the workflow.
Workflow log files
The policy subdirectory contains raw log files for each workflow and one subdirectory
for each action.
The location and format of the log file on Linux is:
/nsr/logs/policy/policy_name/workflow_name_jobid.raw
where name_jobid is the name of the workflow and the job id of the workflow. Job id is
a value that uniquely identifies a workflow job record in the jobdb.
For example, the log file for a workflow that is called server backup, with a job id of
0010072 appears as follows:
/nsr/logs/policy/server protection/workflow_server
backup_0010072.raw
Use the job id to perform queries of the jobdb with the jobquery command. A
workflow log file can be unrendered or rendered. An unrendered log file has the file
name extension .raw. A rendered log file's extension is .log. Unrendered log files
contain internationalized messages that can be rendered into the local language. The
content of rendered log files has been localized to a single country's language.
View log files provides more information about viewing rendered and unrendered log
files.
Action log files
NetWorker creates a workflow directory for each workflow within the policy directory.
The workflow directory contains log files for each action that is assigned to the
workflow.
The location of the workflow directory on Linux is:
/nsr/logs/policy/policy_name/workflow_name
where:
l policy_name—is the name of the policy that contains the workflow.
l workflow_name—is the name of the workflow.
The workflow directory contains log files for each action that is assigned to the
workflow. The file name appears in the following format:
action_name_job_id.raw
where:
l action_name—is the name of the action.
l job_id—is the job id of the action in the jobdb.
For example, the server backup workflow has three actions: Backup, Clone, and Clone
more. There are three log files in /nsr/logs/policy/server protection/
server backup directory with the following names:
Backup_ 1408063.raw
Clone_1408080.raw
Clone more_1408200.raw

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Child action log files


Some actions create child actions, for example a backup action creates a save job and
a savefs job. Each child action has a unique job record.
Each of these child jobs have a log file. When the parent action starts a child action,
NetWorker creates a directory for the action that contains the log file for child
activities.
The location of the action directory on Linux is:
/nsr/logs/policy/policy_name/workflow_name/
action_name_job_id_logs
where:
l policy_name— is the name of the policy that contains the workflow.
l workflow_name— is the name of the workflow.
l action_name—is the name of the action.
l job_id—is the job id of the action in the jobdb.
The action directory contains log files for each child action started by the action. The
file name appears in the following format:
job_id.log
where job_id is the job id of the child action in the jobdb.
For example, an action whose log file name is Backup_1408063.raw might have a
directory that is named Backup_1408063_logs, which contains three log files:
l 1408066.log
l 1408067.log
l 1408070.log
Note: The .log files are localized to a specific country or the language of the
region.
NetWorker clears the information about a job from the jobsdb and deletes the
associated log files at the interval that is defined by the Jobsdb retention in hours
attribute in the properties of the NetWorker Server resource. In NetWorker 9.0.1, the
default jobsdb retention is 72 hours.

Starting, stopping, and restarting policies


The workflows in a policy can run automatically, based on a schedule. You can also
manually start, stop, and restart specific workflows by using the the NMC NetWorker
Administration Monitoring window.
About this task
You can restart any failed or canceled workflow. Note, however, that the restart must
occur within the restart window that you specified for the workflow. Additionally, for a
VMware backup, if you cancel a workflow from NetWorker Administration and then
want to restart the backup, ensure that you restart the workflow from the NetWorker
Administration window. If a workflow that was started from NetWorker
Administration is restarted from the vSphere Web Client, the backup fails.
Procedure
1. In the Monitoring window, select the workflow or actions.
2. Right-click and then select Start, Stop, or Restart.
A confirmation message appears.

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Note: You cannot stop, restart, or start individual actions.

3. Click Yes.

Protection period
You can use protection period to retain the last valid copy of a saveset for a specified
period of time even after it expires and the protection period is more than the
retention policy. This is a nsr data protection attribute and disabled by default.
Protection period is disabled by default. In order to enable this feature, you can check
the enable check box in the policy configuration tab.
Note: The protection period applies to scheduled backup save sets only, and it
does not apply to manual backup save sets. Some NetWorker module backups
might appear to be scheduled backups that are initiated by a policy backup action
but they are manual backups because they are initiated or converted by a
database or application. The NetWorker Module for Databases and Applications
Administration Guide and the NetWorker Module for SAP Administration Guide
provides more details.

Enabling protection period in CLI


The following instructions describe how to enable protection period in CLI:
About this task
Use -P while creating or updating the data protection policy in CLI.

nsrpolicy create -p <policy_name> -q <yes> -P <protection_period>

Enabling protection period in NMC


The following instructions describe how to enable protection period in NMC:
Procedure
1. Create a new policy or open an already existing policy.

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Figure 28 Creating a new policy

2. Click Enable Protection Period from NMC.


3. Set the protection period at a policy level.

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Figure 29 Policy properties

Starting actions in a workflow for an individual client


When you start a workflow, NetWorker performs all the actions in the workflow for all
the clients that are defined in the groups that are associated with the workflow. You
can also start the actions for specific clients in a workflow.
About this task
Perform the following steps to start the actions for an individual client.
Note: You cannot start the actions for specific clients in the Server backup
workflow.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Monitoring.
2. In the Policies pane, expand the policy.
3. Right-click the workflow, and select Start Individual Client. The Start
Workflow dialog box appears.
4. Optionally, from the Workflow list, select a different workflow.
5. Select the checkbox next to the names of the clients on which you want to
perform all the actions in the workflow.
6. Click Start.

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Modifying data protection Policy resources


This section describes how to modify existing Policy, Workflow, Group, and Action
resources.

Policies
Policies enable you to manage all data protection tasks and the data protection
lifecycle from a central location.
A policy contains one or more workflows, which define the actions that should be
performed, the order for the actions to occur, and the group of Client resources or
save sets on which to perform the actions.
Actions include backups, cloning, client/server connectivity checks, and NetWorker
server maintenance activities.

Editing a policy
You can edit the description, notification setting, and RDZ for a policy.
About this task
You cannot edit the name of a policy. To rename a policy, first delete the policy, and
then re-create it with the new name.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Policies.
3. Right-click the policy, and select Properties.
The Policy Properties dialog box appears.
4. Edit the properties for the policy. The properties are the same properties that
you specified when you created the policy.
5. Click OK.

Deleting a policy
When you delete a policy, the deletion process also deletes all workflows and actions
for the policy.
About this task
Groups that are assigned to the workflows in the policy are not deleted, however. The
workflow assignment for the group is removed from the group properties. You can
assign the group to a workflow in a different policy, or delete the group.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Policies.
3. Right-click the policy, and select Delete.
A confirmation message appears.
4. Click Yes.

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Note: The Policy resource remains in the Monitoring window until all the
information about the workflows and actions within the policy expire in the
jobs database. The default job expiration time is 72 hours. Modifying the
retention period for jobs in the jobs database describes how to change the
default job expiration time.

Workflows
Workflows define a list of actions to perform sequentially or concurrently, a schedule
window during which the workflow can run, and the protection group to which the
workflow applies.
A workflow can be as simple as a single action that applies to a finite list of Client
resources, or it can be a complex chain of actions that apply to a dynamically changing
list of resources, with some actions occurring sequentially and others occurring
concurrently.
You can also define notification settings for a workflow.

Supported workflow paths


Workflows enable you to chain together multiple actions and run them either
sequentially or concurrently. However, the sequence of actions in a workflow is limited
by certain logical constraints.
The following sections provide details on supported actions that can follow the lead
action in a workflow.
Workflow path from a snapshot backup action
You can perform a generate index action (to generate an index of the snapshot) or a
clone action after a snapshot backup action.
Figure 30 Workflow path from a snapshot backup action

Workflow path from a probe action


You can perform either a traditional backup or a snapshot backup after a probe action.
Figure 31 Workflow path from a probe action

Workflow path from a server backup action


A clone action is the only supported action after a server backup action.

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Figure 32 Workflow path from a server backup action

Workflow path from a check connectivity action


You can perform a traditional backup, snapshot backup, or probe action after a check
connectivity action.
Figure 33 Workflow path from a check connectivity action

Workflow path from a clone action


Another clone action is the only supported action after a clone action.
Figure 34 Workflow path from a clone action

Workflow path from an expire action


The expire action must be the only action in a workflow. No other actions are
supported either before or after an expire action.
Workflow path from a discover action
You can perform a generate index or clone action after a discover action.
Figure 35 Workflow path from a discover action

Workflow path from a generate index action


The only supported action after a generate index action is a clone action.
Figure 36 Workflow path from a generate index action

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Workflow path from a VBA checkpoint discover action


The only supported action after a VBA checkpoint discover action is a VBA checkpoint
backup action.
Figure 37 Workflow path from a VBA checkpoint discover action

Workflow path from a VBA checkpoint backup action


VBA checkpoint backup cannot be the lead action in a workflow. You must precede
the VBA checkpoint backup action with a VBA checkpoint discover action.

Visual representation of traditional backup workflows


Figure 38 Traditional backup workflow

After you create actions for a workflow, in the Administration interface, you can see a
map provides a visual representation of the actions on the right side of the Protection
window.
The oval icon specifies the group to which the workflow applies. The rounded
rectangle icons identify actions. The parallelogram icons identify the destination pool
for the action.
You can work directly in the visual representation of a workflow to perform the
following tasks:
l You can adjust the display of the visual representation by right-clicking and
selecting one of the following options:
n Zoom In—Increase the size of the visual representation.
n Zoom Out—Decrease the size of the visual representation.
n Zoom Area—Limit the display to a single section of the visual representation.
n Fit Content—Fit the visual representation to the window area.
n Reset—Reset the visual representation to the default settings.
n Overview—View a separate dialog box with a high-level view of the visual
representation and a legend of the icons.
l You can view and edit the properties for the group, action, or destination pool by
right-clicking the icon for the item, and then select Properties.
l You can create a group, action, or destination pool by right-clicking the icon for
the item, and then select New.

Create a workflow for an existing policy in NetWorker Administration


A policy can contain one or more unique workflows.
Before you begin
l Create a policy for the workflow.
l (Optional but recommended) Create a group of client resources or save sets to
assign to the workflow.

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Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Policies.
3. Select the policy for the workflow.
4. In the right pane of the window, select the Workflows tab.
5. Right-click an empty area of the Workflows tab and select New.
The New Workflow dialog box appears.
6. In the Name field, type the name of the workflow.
The maximum number of allowed characters for the Name field is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

7. In the Comment box, type a description for the workflow.


The maximum number of allowed characters for the Comment field is 128.
8. From the Send Notifications list, select how to send notifications for the
workflow:
l To use the notification configuration that is defined in the policy resource to
specify when to send a notification, select Set at policy level.
l To send notifications with information about each successful and failed
workflow and action, after the workflow completes all the actions, select On
Completion.
l To send notifications with information about each failed workflow and
action, after the workflow completes all the actions, select On Failure.
9. In the Send notification attribute, when you select the On Completion option
or On failure option, the Command box appears. Use this box to configure how
NetWorker sends the notifications. You can use the nsrlog command to send
the notifications to a log file or you can send an email notification.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the
policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs directory on
Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs folder on
Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:

nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:

mail -s subject recipient


l On Windows, type the following command: smtpmail -s subject -h
mailserver recipient1@mailserver recipient2@mailserver...
where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the

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smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly


formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to
relay the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

10. In the Running section, perform the following steps to specify when and how
often the workflow runs:
a. To ensure that the actions that are contained in the workflow run when the
policy or workflow starts, in the Enabled box, leave the option selected. To
prevent the actions in the workflow from running when the policy or
workflow that contains the action starts, clear this option.
b. To start the workflow at the time that is specified in the Start time
attribute, on the days that are defined in the action resource, in the
AutoStart Enabled box, leave the option selected. To prevent the workflow
from starting at the time that is specified in the Start time attribute, clear
this option.
c. To specify the time to start the actions in the workflow, in the Start Time
attribute, use the spin boxes.
The default value is 9:00 PM.

d. To specify how frequently to run the actions that are defined in the
workflow over a 24-hour period, use the Interval attribute spin boxes. If you
are performing transaction log backup as part of application-consistent
protection, you must specify a value for this attribute in order for
incremental transaction log backup of SQL databases to occur.
The default Interval attribute value is 24 hours, or once a day. When you
select a value that is less than 24 hours, the Interval End attribute appears.
To specify the last start time in a defined interval period, use the spin boxes.

e. To specify the duration of time in which NetWorker can manually or


automatically restart a failed or canceled workflow, in the Restart Window
attribute, use the spin boxes.
If the restart window has elapsed, NetWorker considers the restart as a new
run of the workflow. NetWorker calculates the restart window from the start
of the last incomplete workflow. The default value is 24 hours.
For example, if the Start Time is 7:00 PM, the Interval is 1 hour, and the
Interval End is 11:00 PM., then the workflow automatically starts every hour
beginning at 7:00 PM. and the last start time is 11:00 PM.

11. In the Groups group box, specify the protection group to which the workflow
applies.
To use a group, select a protection group from the Groups list. To create a
protection group, click the + button that is located to the right of the Groups
list.
12. The Actions table displays a list of actions in the workflow. To edit or delete an
action in the workflow, select the action and click Edit or Delete. To create one
or more actions for the workflow, click Add.
The Actions table organizes the information in sortable columns. Right-click in
the table to customize the attributes that appear.

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13. To create the workflow, click OK.

Create a workflow for a new policy in NetWorker Administration


Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the left pane, expand Policies, and then select the policy that you created.
3. In the right pane, select Create a new workflow.
4. In the Name field, type the name of the workflow.
The maximum number of allowed characters for the Name field is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

5. In the Comment box, type a description for the workflow.


The maximum number of allowed characters for the Comment field is 128.
6. From the Send Notifications list, select how to send notifications for the
workflow:
l To use the notification configuration that is defined in the policy resource to
specify when to send a notification, select Set at policy level.
l To send notifications with information about each successful and failed
workflow and action, after the workflow completes all the actions, select On
Completion.
l To send notifications with information about each failed workflow and
action, after the workflow completes all the actions, select On Failure.
7. In the Send notification attribute, when you select the On Completion option
or On failure option, the Command box appears. Use this box to configure how
NetWorker sends the notifications. You can use the nsrlog command to send
the notifications to a log file or you can send an email notification.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the
policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs directory on
Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs folder on
Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages, or use the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:

nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:

mail -s subject recipient


l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:

/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"


l On Windows, type the following command:

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smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver


recipient2@mailserver...

where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to
relay the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

8. In the Running section, perform the following steps to specify when and how
often the workflow runs:
a. To ensure that the actions that are contained in the workflow run when the
policy or workflow starts, in the Enabled box, leave the option selected. To
prevent the actions in the workflow from running when the policy or
workflow that contains the action starts, clear this option.
b. To start the workflow at the time that is specified in the Start time
attribute, on the days that are defined in the action resource, in the
AutoStart Enabled box, leave the option selected. To prevent the workflow
from starting at the time that is specified in the Start time attribute, clear
this option.
c. To specify the time to start the actions in the workflow, in the Start Time
attribute, use the spin boxes.
The default value is 9:00 PM.

d. To specify how frequently to run the actions that are defined in the
workflow over a 24-hour period, use the Interval attribute spin boxes. If you
are performing transaction log backup as part of application-consistent
protection, you must specify a value for this attribute in order for
incremental transaction log backup of SQL databases to occur.
The default Interval attribute value is 24 hours, or once a day. When you
select a value that is less than 24 hours, the Interval End attribute appears.
To specify the last start time in a defined interval period, use the spin boxes.

e. To specify the duration of time in which NetWorker can manually or


automatically restart a failed or canceled workflow, in the Restart Window
attribute, use the spin boxes.
If the restart window has elapsed, NetWorker considers the restart as a new
run of the workflow. NetWorker calculates the restart window from the start
of the last incomplete workflow. The default value is 24 hours.
For example, if the Start Time is 7:00 PM, the Interval is 1 hour, and the
Interval End is 11:00 PM., then the workflow automatically starts every hour
beginning at 7:00 PM. and the last start time is 11:00 PM.

9. To create the workflow, click OK.

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After you finish


Create the actions that will occur in the workflow, and then assign a group to the
workflow. If a workflow does not contain a group, a policy does not perform any
actions.

Editing a workflow
You can edit all the properties for a workflow, including the name, description,
schedule, notification settings, group, and actions.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Policies.
3. Select the policy for the workflow.
4. In the right pane of the window, select the Workflows tab.
5. In the right pane, perform one of the following tasks:
l To modify multiple attributes in a single configuration resource by using the
Workflow Properties window, right-click the staging configuration and
select Properties.
l To modify a specific attribute that appears in the resource window, place
the mouse in the cell that contains the attribute that you want to change,
then right-click. The menu displays an option to edit the attribute. For
example, to modify the Comment attribute, right-click the resource in the
Comment cell and select Edit Comment.
Note: To modify a specific attribute for multiple resources, press and
hold the Ctrl key, select each resource, and then right-click in the cell
that contains the attribute that you want to change. The menu displays
an option to edit the attribute.
6. Edit the properties for the workflow. The properties are the same properties
that you specified when you created the workflow.
Note: When you add actions to an existing workflow that is associated with
a group, you only see the action types that are allowed in the action
sequence.

7. Click OK.

Deleting a workflow
When you delete a workflow, the deletion process also deletes all actions for the
workflow.
About this task
The group that is assigned to the workflow is not deleted, however. The workflow
assignment for the group is removed from the group properties. You can assign the
group to a different workflow or delete the group.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Policies.
3. Select the policy for the workflow.
4. In the right pane of the window, select the Workflows tab.

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5. Right-click the workflow, and select Delete.


A confirmation message appears.
6. Click Yes.

Protection groups
Protection groups enable you to define a set of Client resources or save sets.

Assigning a protection group to a workflow


You can assign a protection group to a workflow either when you create or edit the
group, or when you create or edit the workflow.
About this task
Each workflow applies to only one protection group, and each protection group can be
assigned to only one workflow.
Procedure
l To assign a protection group to a workflow when you create or edit the group,
select the workflow from the Workflow(Policy) list in the Create Group or Edit
Group dialog box.
l To assign a protection group to a workflow when you create or edit the workflow,
select the group from the Groups list in the New Workflow or Workflow
Properties dialog box.

Editing a protection group


You can edit all properties for a protection group except for the group name and group
type.
About this task
To rename a protection group, first delete the group, and then re-create it with the
new name.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Groups.
3. Right-click the group, and select Properties.
The Edit Group dialog box appears.
4. Edit the properties for the protection group.
The properties are the same properties that you specified when you created the
group. To modify the clients in a protection group, perform on of the follow
tasks:
l To modify the clients in a dynamic group, in the Dynamic clients table,
specify the criteria that NetWorker uses to select clients for the group:
n To back up all the Client resources that are configured on the NetWorker
server and have the Scheduled backup attribute enabled, select Choose
all clients.
n To generate a list of clients that is based on the value that is defined in
the Tag attribute of the Client resource, select the Clients with these
tags option. Specify the matching tag value in the Tags field and specify
one tag on each line.

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Note: When you specify multiple tag values, the query uses an OR
operation to match the tags. For example, if you specify Sales and
Support tag values, then the query builds a list of clients that contain
the tag Sales or Support.
l To modify the clients in a Client group, from the Clients table, perform one
of the following actions in the Selected Clients column:
n To add a Client resource to the group, select the checkbox beside the
name of the Client resource.
n To remove Client resources from the group, clear the checkbox next to
the name of the Client resource.

5. Click OK.

Deleting a protection group


Before you begin
Delete the workflow that is assigned to the protection group, or assign the workflow
to a different protection group. You cannot delete a protection group if it is assigned
to a workflow.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Groups.
3. Right-click the group, and select Delete.
A confirmation message appears.
4. Click Yes.

Actions
Actions are the key resources in a workflow for a data protection policy. An action is a
task that occurs on a work list. A work list is a list of pending work items, such a group
of Client resources or save sets.
You can chain multiple actions together to occur sequentially or concurrently in a
workflow.

Creating an action
The Policy Action wizard walks you through the steps to create an action. You can
create an action either when you are creating or editing a workflow, or as a separate
process from the workflow configuration.
Before you begin
Create the policy and workflow that contains the action.
Procedure
1. Open the Policy Action wizard by using one of the methods in the following
table.

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Table 46 Methods to create an action

Method Steps
To create an action during the workflow Click Add in either the New Workflow dialog
configuration box or the Workflow Properties dialog box.

To add additional actions after the last action a. In the Administration window, click
in an existing workflow Protection.
b. In the expanded left pane select Policies.
c. Select the policy.
d. Select the workflow.
e. In the right pane, select the Actions tab.
f. Right-click an empty area of the Actions
tab and select New.
Note: When you add actions to an existing
workflow that is associated with a group,
you only see the action types that are
allowed in the action sequence.

To create the first action in a workflow a. In the Administration window, click


Protection.
b. In the expanded left pane select Policies.
c. Select the policy.
d. Select the workflow.
e. In the right pane, select Create a new
action.

To add an action before an action in an a. In the Administration window, click


existing workflow Protection.
b. In the expanded left pane select Policies.
c. Select the policy.
d. Select the workflow.
e. In the right pane, select the action that
you want the new action to precede and
select Insert before.
Note: When you add actions to an existing
workflow that is associated with a group,
you only see the action types that are
allowed in the action sequence.

2. In the Name field, type the name of the action.


The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

3. In the Comment field, type a description for the action.

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4. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, in the Enabled box, select the option. To prevent the action
from running when the policy or workflow that contains the action is started,
clear this option.
Note: When you clear the Enabled option, actions that occurs after a
disabled action do not start, even if the subsequent options are enabled.

5. From the Action Type list, select the action.


6. If you create the action as part of the workflow configuration, the workflow
appears automatically in the Workflow box and the box is dimmed.
7. Specify the order of the action in relation to other actions in the workflow:
l If the action is part of a sequence of actions in a workflow path, in the
Previous box, select the action that should precede this action.
l If the action should run concurrently with an action, in the Previous box,
select the concurrent action, and then select the Concurrent checkbox.
8. The steps to go through the wizard depend on the action type that you select.

Editing an action
You can edit all the properties of an existing action.
About this task
Perform one of the following tasks to edit an action.
Procedure
l Open the Policy Action wizard for the action by using one of the methods in the
following table.

Table 47 Methods to open the Policy Action wizard

Method Steps
During workflow configuration Select the action and then click Edit in either the New
Workflow dialog box or the Workflow Properties
dialog box.

From the Actions tab of the 1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
workflow
2. In the expanded left pane select Policies.
3. Select the policy.
4. Select the workflow.
5. In the right pane, select the Actions tab.
6. Right-click the action, and select Properties.

From the visual representation of Right-click the action in the visual representation of the
the workflow workflow, and select Properties.
Edit the properties for the action, then click Configure.

l Use the quick edit option in the Actions window of a Workflow resource. To modify
a specific attribute that appears in the resource window, place the mouse in the
cell that contains the attribute that you want to change, then right-click. The
menu displays an option to edit the attribute. For example, to modify the

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Comment attribute, right-click the resource in the Comment cell and select Edit
Comment.
Note: To modify a specific attribute for multiple resources, press and hold the
Ctrl key, select each resource, and then right-click in the cell that contains the
attribute that you want to change. The menu displays an option to edit the
attribute.

Deleting an action
You can delete an action in a workflow either when you are creating or editing a
workflow, or as a separate process from the workflow configuration.
About this task
If the action that you delete is part of a sequence of actions in a workflow, then you
can only delete the action if the removal of the action from the sequence would still
result in a valid workflow. The properties for other actions in a sequence are updated
to reflect the new sequence of actions after the deletion.
Procedure
l To delete an action when you are creating or editing a workflow:
a. Select the action in either the New Workflow dialog box or the Workflow
Properties dialog box.
b. Click Delete.
A confirmation message appears.
c. Click Yes.
l To delete an action as a separate process from workflow configuration:
a. In the Administration window, click Protection.
b. In the expanded left pane, select Policies.
c. Select the policy.
d. Select the workflow.
e. In the right pane, select the Actions tab.
f. Right-click the action and select Delete.
A confirmation message appears.
g. Click Yes.

Configuring NSR Protection Policies from nsradmin


The nsradmin command is a command-line based administrative program for the
NetWorker. Normally nsradmin monitors and modifies NetWorker resources over the
network. Commands are entered on standard input, and output is produced on
standard output.
If nsradmin command is started without a query argument, it uses a default query.
By default, if the daemon being administered is nsrd, then all resources will be
selected, but for all other daemons, no resources will be selected.
Create, Retrieve, Update, and Delete operations are supported through nsradmin for
following resources:

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l NSR protection policy


l NSR protection policy workflow
l NSR protection policy action
The NSR Protection Policy resource contains all related (nested) Workflows and
Actions. CRUD operations can be carried out through directly executing on nsradmin
prompt or specifying in an input file.
l nsradmin
l nsradmin -i input_file.txt
Note: nsradmin visual mode is not supported for Create, Retrieve, Update, and
Delete operations for NSR data protection policy, workflow, and action.

Commands
At each input prompt, nsradmin command expects a command name and some
optional arguments. Command names can be shortened to the smallest unique string
(for example, p for print). Command arguments are always specified in the form of an
attribute list.
Table 48 Command descriptions

Command Description
create or c Create a resource with the given attributes. One of the
attributes must be type to specify a NetWorker Type resource
that can be created. The types command can be used to find
out which NetWorker resource types a server supports.

delete or d Delete the resources that match the current query.

print or p Print the resources that match the current query. If a query is
specified, it becomes the current query. If a name has been
specified for the current show list, only the attributes for the
specified name in the show list is displayed.

update or up Update the resources given by the current query to match


attributes. Set current query for print, update, or delete actions.

Note: Comma separated inputs for resource names are supported for print,
update, and delete operations only.
The number of characters allowed for policy, action, and workflow are 64.
l Legal Characters:_ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

Managing NSR Data Protection Policy


A NSR Data protection policy is a container for workflows. Each policy has one or
more workflows. A workflow contains a set of actions and a list of data sources to run
those actions.
The following table lists nsradmin commands to manage NSR Protection Policy
resources:

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Table 49 Commands to manage NSR Protection Policy resources

Actions Example Commands


To create policy with nsradmin> create type: NSR Protection Policy; name:
default settings Policy1

To create policy with nsradmin> create type: NSR Protection Policy; name:
specific settings Policy1; Notification execute on: completion;
Notification action:"nsrlog -f
policy_notifications_latest.log"; policy protection
period:3 Months

To print (display) a nsradmin> print type: NSR Protection Policy; NSR


policy Protection Policy Workflow; NSR Protection Policy
Action; name: Policy1

To print (display) all nsradmin> . type: NSR Protection Policy;


policies with specific Notification action: "nsrlog -f
attribute value policy_notifications_updated.log" nsradmin> print

To update a policy nsradmin> . type: NSR Protection Policy; name:


Policy1
nsradmin> update Notification action: "nsrlog -f
policy_notifications_updated.log"

To update all policies nsradmin> . type: NSR Protection Policy; comment:


that match specific Gold policy
comment value nsradmin> update Notification action:"nsrlog -f
policy_notifications_updated.log"

To delete a policy nsradmin> delete type: NSR Protection Policy; name:


Policy1

To delete multiple nsradmin> delete type: NSR Protection Policy; name:


policies with comma Policy1, Policy3, Policy3
separated names

To set current query nsradmin>. type: NSR Protection Policy; comment:


to all policies with Backup
specific comment
attribute value

Managing Workflows
The following table lists the nsradmin commands to manage NSR Protection Policy
Workflow resources:

Table 50 Commands to manage NSR Protection Policy Workflow resources

Actions Example Commands


To create workflow nsradmin> create type: NSR Protection Policy
with default settings Workflow; name: Policy1-Workflow1; policy name:
Policy1

To create workflow nsradmin> create type: NSR Protection Policy


with specific settings Workflow; name: Policy1-Workflow1; policy name:

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Table 50 Commands to manage NSR Protection Policy Workflow resources (continued)

Actions Example Commands


Policy1; Auto Start enabled: yes; Start
time:"08:00"

To print (display) nsradmin> . type: NSR Protection Policy Workflow;


workflow with query name: Policy1-Workflow1
name nsradmin> print

To print all workflows nsradmin> print type: NSR Protection Policy


Workflow

To update query set nsradmin> . type: NSR Protection Policy Workflow;


workflow policy name: Policy1; name: Policy1-Workflow1
nsradmin> update Notification action: "nsrlog -f
workflow_notifications_SAP.log"

To delete workflow nsradmin> delete type: NSR Protection Policy


Workflow; policy name: Policy1; name: Policy1-
Workflow1

To delete all workflows nsradmin> delete type: NSR Protection Policy


with query set as name Workflow; name: Policy1-Workflow1

To delete multiple nsradmin> delete type: NSR Protection Policy


workflows Workflow; name: policy1-Workflow1; name: Policy1-
Workflow2; name: Policy1-Workflow3

To delete all workflows nsradmin> delete type: NSR Protection Policy


from multiple policies, Workflow; policy name: policy1, Policy3, Policy3
policy names given as
comma separated

To delete all workflows nsradmin> delete type: NSR Protection Policy


from query set policy Workflow; name: Policy1-Workflow1, Policy1-
Workflow2, Policy1-Workflow3

To set current query to nsradmin> . type: NSR Protection Policy Workflow;


a workflow policy name: Policy1; name: Policy1-Workflow1

Managing Actions
The following table lists nsradmin commands that manage NSR Protection Policy
Action resources:

Table 51 Commands to manage NSR Protection Policy Action resources

Actions Example Commands


To create action nsradmin> create type: NSR Protection Policy Action;
with default settings policy name: Policy1; Workflow name: Policy1-
Workflow1; name: BackupAction1

To create action nsradmin> create type: NSR Protection Policy Action;


with specific policy name: Policy1; Workflow name: Policy1-
settings Workflow1; name: BackupAction1; action type:backup;
backup subtype:traditional; period:week;

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Table 51 Commands to manage NSR Protection Policy Action resources (continued)

Actions Example Commands


actions:"full,full,full,incr,incr,incr,incr";
destination storage node:"nsrserverhost";
destination pool: Data Domain Default;apply dd
retention lock:yes; dd retention lock time:"16
Days"; client can override:no; overrides:"full third
wednesday every month"; action retries:3; retry
delay:10; action inactivity timeout:44; action
parallelism:50; failure impact:"abort action"; soft
limit:"21:23"; hard limit:"18:14"; start
time:"14:14"

To create a clone create type:NSR Protection Policy


action Action;name:clone1;policy name:Policy1;workflow
name:Policy1-Workflow1;driven by:
BackupAction1;action type:clone;retention:"12
days";destination storage node:"StorageNode";source
storage node:"nsrserverhost";destination
pool:"default clone";exclude level:yes;filter
level:"full";exclude client:yes;filter
client:"client1";exclude saveset type:no;filter save
set type:snapshot;exclude time range:yes;Filter time
range start:"12:00";Filter time range end:"23:00"

To create action nsradmin> create type: NSR Protection Policy Action;


with subtype name: Snaphot1 ; policy name: Policy1; workflow
snapshot name: Policy1-Workflow1; action type: backup; backup
subtype: snapshot

To create a create type:NSR Protection Policy Action;


VMWARE action name:VMAction1;policy name:Policy1;workflow
name:Policy1-Workflow1; action type:backup;backup
subtype:vmware; destination storage
node:"StorageNode";retention:"12 days";vproxy
name:"vproxy"
Note: The following operations are supported only via the NMC and
NWUI for VMware backup action subtype:
l Addition of the VMs to the NSR protection group
l Creation of dynamic tags and policies
l Update VMware action attributes to non-default values

To create action nsradmin> create type: NSR Protection Policy Action;


with type clone policy name: Policy1; workflow name: Policy1-
following action type Workflow1; action type: clone; driven by:
backup BackupAction1; name: Clone1; Retention: 1 Years;
destination pool: Data Domain Default Clone

To create a nsradmin> create type: NSR Protection Policy Action;


dependent clone policy name: Policy1; workflow name: Policy1-
action driven by Workflow1; action type: clone; driven by: Clone1;
earlier clone action name: Clone2; Retention: 5 Years; destination pool:
Data Domain Default Clone

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Table 51 Commands to manage NSR Protection Policy Action resources (continued)

Actions Example Commands


To print (display) nsradmin> print type: NSR Protection Policy Action;
query set action policy name: Policy1; workflow name: Policy1-
Workflow1; name: BackupAction1

To update a query nsradmin> . type: NSR Protection Policy Action;


set action policy name: Policy1; workflow name: Policy1-
Workflow1; name: BackupAction1
nsradmin> update retention: 6 Months; dd retention
lock time:3 Months; destination storage node:
networker; client can override: yes; comment "This
is special action with 3 Months Retention Lock!"
nsradmin> update period: month; actions:
"full,incr,full,incr,full,incr,full,full,incr,full,i
ncr,full,incr,full,full,incr,full,incr,full,incr,ful
l,full,incr,full,incr,full,incr,full,incr,full,incr"

To delete a query set nsradmin> delete type: NSR Protection Policy Action;
action policy name: Policy1; workflow name: Policy1-
Workflow1; name: BackupAction1

To delete all actions nsradmin> delete type: NSR Protection Policy Action;
with query set name name: Snaphot1
from all workflows

To delete multiple nsradmin> delete type: NSR Protection Policy Action;


actions from single policy name: Policy1; workflow name: Policy1-
workflow specifying Workflow1; name: Clone1; name: Clone2; name:
action names BackupAction1

To delete multiple nsradmin> delete type: NSR Protection Policy Action;


actions with comma name: BackupAction1, Clone1, Clone2
separated names

To delete all actions nsradmin> delete type: NSR Protection Policy Action;
from query set policy name: Policy1; workflow name: Policy1-
workflow Workflow1

To set current query nsradmin> . type: NSR Protection Policy Action;


to an action policy name: Policy1; workflow name: Policy1-
Workflow1; name: BackupAction1

Configuring Filters for Clone and Index Actions


The following filters can be applied on clone and index action from nsradmin:
l Time Range filter
l Saveset filter
l Client filter
l Level filter
Filters can be applied using Exclude option for each filter.
l Exclude - Do not filter (default value for attribute). No savesets are filtered based
on the filter type (Time, Client, Saveset, Level).

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l Exclude - Yes. The filter is applied and this option is equivalent to Reject option on
NMC.
l Exclude - No. The filter is applied and this option is equivalent to Accept option on
NMC.

Table 52 Filter values for clone and index actions

Filters Values
Time Range Filter Exclude Time Range: Yes/No/Do Not Filter(Default Value of
the Attribute)
Specify the time range in which NetWorker searches for
eligible save sets to clone in the media database.
Filter Time Range Start: Start time of the saveset in 24-hours
format
Filter Time Range End: End time of saveset in 24-hours format

Save set Filter Exclude saveset type: Yes/No/Do not filter (Default value for
attribute)
Filter Save set type: Protectpoint, Snapshot

Client Filter Exclude client: Yes/No/Do not filter (Default value for
attribute)
Filter Client: Comma separated list of clients

Level Filter Exclude level: Yes/No/Do not filter (Default value for attribute)
Filter level: full, incr, 1, txnlog

When the value for Exclude is set to Do not Filter, filters (Time, Saveset, Client, Level)
attribute values are not applied. Any changes to filters do not take effect unless
exclude level is set to Yes or No. When Exclude is updated to Do not filter, all filters
attribute values are set to Null. When Exclude is set to Do not filter, filter values are
not updated and processed and no error messages are printed.

Deleting multiple actions from multiple workflows and policies


The order in which action is deleted applies when all actions are specified or when all
actions inside a policy or all actions inside a workflow are selected. The order of
deletion is reverse of the order of “Driven By” chain.
l Deletion of actions when action name is not specified- The nsradmin command
iterates through all the actions in a workflow in reverse order. When you specify a
particular query, based on matching criteria, it displays all actions that have to be
deleted. If the action is independent then it is automatically deleted. If an action
becomes independent depending upon the previous delete and it matches the
query, then it is deleted. Different attributes can behave differently among
actions. Therefore, deletion differs. For example, destination pool differs for
backup and clone and action is fetched accordingly. Random deletion of
dependent actions fails when no action name is specified. It is recommended that
you specify the action name in order to match the query criteria.
l Deletion of actions when action name is specified- The nsradmin command
deletes the random dependent actions if it matches the query. When a random
action is deleted in a workflow containing a set of actions, then the “driven by”
attribute of the deleted action is updated in the“driven” attribute of the action
succeeding it.

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Note: If the head action has more than one action dependent on it, then the head
action cannot be deleted.

Querying NSR protection policy workflow and NSR protection policy action
resources without specifying RAP resource types
NSR Protection Policy Workflow and NSR Protection Policy Action are pseudo RAP
resources and encapsulated under NSR Protection Policy RAP resource. Querying
these pseudo RAP resources in nsradmin requires resource type. The nsradmin
command displays the following warning message for these pseudo resources, if
queried without resource type:

nsradmin> . comment:”This is Backup.”


Current query set
nsradmin> p
RAP resource type is required for print operation of NSR protection
policy Workflow and NSR protection policy Action resources.
type: NSR client;
name: mars;
comment: “This is Backup.”;

type: NSR Protection Policy;


name: Policy1;
comment: “This is Backup.”;

type: NSR pool;


name: Pool1;
comment: “This is Backup.”;

All other RAP resources including NSR Protection Policy resource can be queried
without specifying RAP resource Types.

Managing policies from the command prompt


The nsrpolicy command enables you to create, start, stop, and display the attribute
of policy, workflow, action, and group resources.
The nsrpolicy command requires specific privileges which are assigned based on
session authentication. NetWorker supports two types of session authentication.
Token-based authentication, which requires you to run the nsrlogin before you run
the command and authenticates the user that runs the command against entries that
are defined in the External Roles attribute of a User Group resource. Classic
authentication, which is based on user and host information and uses the user
attribute of a User Group resource to authenticate a user. Classic authentication does
not require an authentication token to run the command. For example, if you run the
command without first running nsrlogin, NetWorker assigns the privileges to the
user based on the entries that are specified in the Users attribute of the User Group
resource. When you use nsrlogin to log in as a NetWorker Authentication Service
user, NetWorker assigns the privileges to the user based on the entries that are
specified in the External Roles attributes of the user Group resource. The NetWorker
Security Configuration Guide provides more information about privileges
This section provides some examples of how to manage data protection policies from
a command prompt.

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The UNIX man pages and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provide detailed
information about how to use the nsrpolicy command.

Creating Data Protection Policy resources from a command prompt


Use the nsrpolicy command to create Policy, Protection Group, Workflow and
action resources.
Procedure
1. Optionally, use the nsrlogin command to authenticate a user and generate a
token for the nsrpolicy command.
Using nsrlogin for authentication and authorization provides more information.
2. Use the nsrpolicy command to create each Data Protection Policy resource.
a. To create the Policy resource, type: nsrpolicy policy create --
policy_name policy_name.

where policy_name is a unique name for the Policy resource.

b. To create a protection Group resource and add existing clients to the Group
resource, type: nsrpolicy group create client -g group_name -C
"client_name1,client_name2,client_name3..."

where:
l group_name is a unique name of the Group resource.
l client_name1,client_name2,client_name3... is a comma separated list of
client names to add to the group.

c. To create a workflow and associate the workflow with the new Policy and
Group resources, type: nsrpolicy workflow create --policy_name
policy_name --workflow_name workflow_name --group_name
group_name

where:
l policy_name is the name of the Policy resource.
l group_name is the name of the Group resource.
l workflow_name is a unique name for the Workflow resource.

l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

3. Use the nsrpolicy display command to display the attributes for the new
Data Protection Policy resource.
l To display a Policy resource, type: nsrpolicy action display --
policy_name policy_name
Where policy_name is the name of the Policy resource.
l To display a Workflow resource, type: nsrpolicy action display --
workflow_name workflow_name
Where workflow_name is the name of the Workflow resource.
l To display a Group resource, type: nsrpolicy action display --
group_name group_name

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Creating Action resources from a command prompt


Use the nsrpolicy action create command to create Action resources
Procedure
1. Optionally, use the nsrlogin command to authenticate a user and generate a
token for the nsrpolicy command.
2. Use the nsrpolicy action create command to create the Action
resource.
For example: nsrpolicy action create action_type --policy_name
policy_name --workflow_name workflow_name -A backup_action_name
[-M "start_time"] [-d preceding_action_name]
Where:
l action_types are one of the following: check-connectivity, probe, backup
traditional, backup snapshot, clone, discover-nas-snap, index-nas-snap,
server-backup, expire, vba-checkpoint-discover, vba-checkpoint-backup.
l policy_name is the name of an existing Policy resource that contains this
action.
l workflow_name is the name of an existing Workflow resource in the Policy
resource that contains the action.
l action_name is a unique name for the new Action resource.
n Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
n Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}
l start_time is the time to start the action, in one of the following formats:
n -M "hh:mm"—To start the action at a specific time. For example, to
create a new action in an existing workflow that starts at 11:15 PM, type
-M "23:15"
n -M "+hh:mm"—To start the action after period of time has elapsed since
the start of the workflow. For example, to create a new action that starts
3 hours after the start of a workflow, type -M "+3:00"
l preceding_action_name is the name of the Action that precedes the new
action in the Workflow.

For example:
l To create a traditional backup action and add this action to the SQL
workflow in the SQL_hosts policy resource, type: nsrpolicy action
create backup traditional --policy_name SQL_hosts --
workflow_name SQL -A SQL_backup.
l To create a clone action and insert the clone action immediately after a
backup action created in the SQL workflow, type: nsrpolicy action
create backup traditional --policy_name policy_name SQL_hosts
--workflow_name SQL -A SQL_clone -d SQL_backup.
l To create a new action in an existing workflow that starts at 11:15 PM, type
the following command:

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nsrpolicy action create backup traditional -p policy_name -w


workflow_name -A action_name -M "23:25"
l To create a new action that starts 3 hours after the start of a workflow,
type:

nsrpolicy action create backup traditional -p policy_name -w


workflow_name -A action_name -M "+3:00"

Starting, stopping, and restarting workflows from a command prompt


Use the nsrpolicy command to start, stop, and restart the actions in a workflow.
Starting a workflow from a command prompt
You can start all actions that are contained in one workflow in a policy, or start all
actions for one client in a workflow.
l To start all actions in a specific workflow in a Policy resource, type the following
command: nsrpolicy start --policy_name "policy_name" --
workflow_name "workflow_name"
Note: You cannot start another instance of a workflow that is already running.

l To start all actions for a specific client in a workflow, type the following command:
nsrpolicy start --policy_name "policy_name" --workflow_name
"workflow_name" --client_list client_list
Note: You can use this command to start actions for failed clients in a
workflow that is currently running.
where:
l "policy_name" is the name of the Policy resource that contains the workflow that
you want to start.
l "workflow_name" is the name of the Workflow resource that you want to start.
l client_list is a comma-separated list of host names for the clients in the workflow
whose actions you want to start.
Stopping all actions in a workflow from a command prompt
To stop all actions in a specific workflow in a policy, type the following command:
nsrpolicy stop --policy_name "policy_name" --workflow_name
"workflow_name"
where:
l "policy_name" is the name of the Policy resource that contains the workflow that
you want to stop.
l "workflow_name" is the name of the Workflow resource that you want to stop.
Restarting a workflow from a command prompt
To restart all actions in a workflows that a Policy resource contains, type the following
command: nsrpolicy restart --policy_name "policy_name" --workflow_name
"workflow_name"
where:
l "policy_name" is the name of the Policy resource that contains the workflow that
you want to restart.
l "workflow_name" is the name of the Workflow resource that you want to restart.

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Running a workflow with action overrides


Before an action starts NetWorker defines how to run the action by reviewing the
attributes values of the policy, workflow, and action resources. The nsrworkflow
command line option -A enables you to override attribute values that NetWorker uses
to run the action. Actions which support override values are: traditional and snapshot
backups, probe, and clone.
Specify the -A option in the format -A "action_name cmd_line_flags", where:
l action_name—Specifies the name of the action resource.
l cmd_line_flags—Defines a list of command line flags and the new parameter
value. For more options, refer to savegrp command.
Use escaped double quotes or single quotes for action names or parameters that
contain spaces or special characters. For example: -A "\"action name\" -l full" or -A
"'action name' -l full"
For example, to specify an override on the level of a backup action and the retention
time of the backup and clone actions in the workflow, type the following command:

nsrworkflow -p Backup -w workflow_name -A "action_name -l level -y


\"retention_period\"" -A "action_name -y \"retention_period\""

To specify a backup level override of 3 and a retention period of 3 years for the
backup and clone actions for a workflow named fs_backup_clone, an backup action
named backup and a clone action named clone, type the following command:

nsrworkflow -p Backup -w fs_backup_clone -A "backup -l 3 -y \"3 years


\"" -A "clone -y \"3 years\""

Running an adhoc workflow outside of the backup schedule


The nsrworkflow -a flag, which allows you to override a backup schedule and run
an adhoc backup.
The following list describes workflow changes in adhoc mode:
l The action start time setting for all actions in a workflow (if set) is ignored.
l The action schedule activity of 'skip' is converted to the default schedule activity
for the action. This conversion to the default action allows adhoc execution of
workflows on days where the schedule is configured to level 'skip'. You can use the
-A option to specify a different schedule activity if the action supports it. The
following list describes the default schedule activity for various actions:
n Database-level backup actions: 'incr'
n Server-level backup actions: '1' (cumulative incremental)
n All other actions: 'exec'
Note: There are different backup-level override flags for file-level backups and
virtual machine backups:
l For virtual machine backups, the backup-level override flag is -L.
l For file-level backups, the backup-level override flag is -l.
The following example commands use the nsrworkflow -a flag, the -A flag to
specify the schedule activity, and the backup-level override flag:
l Single saveset backup:

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nsrworkflow -p <Policy> -w <Workflow> -A "backup -l full -c


10.63.101.77:<file_path>" -a
l Virtual machine backup: /
nsrworkflow -p "VM Backup" -w "2-Weekly VMCluster1" -c
"vm:client1,vm:client2" -A "'backup' -L full" -a

Displaying Data Protection Policy resource configurations


NetWorker stores Data Protection Policy resource configuration information in a
JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) string. Displaying the contents of the JSON string
provides you with the ability to view the hierarchical relationship between the
resources.
Use the nsrpolicy policy display command to display the configuration
attributes for a Policy resource and all the Workflow and Action resources that are
associated with the Policy resource:
nsrpolicy policy display -p policy_name
where policy_name is the name of the Policy resource. Enclose Policy names that
contain spaces in quotation marks.
For example, to display the resources in the Server Protection Policy resource, type
the following command:
nsrpolicy policy display -p "Server Protection"
Output similar to the following appears

{
"policyName": "Server Protection",
"policyComment": "Default policy for server that includes
server backup and maintenance",
"policySummaryNotification": {
"policyCompletionNotificationAction": "nsrlog -f
policy_notifications.log",
"policyCompletionNotificationExecuteOn": "completion"
},
"policyWorkflows": [
{
"workflowName": "Server backup",
"synthesisRoot": [
"NSR group/Server backup",
"NSR Snapshot Policy/Server backup"
],
"workflowActions": [
{
"actionName": "Server db backup",
"actionSpecific": {
"actions": {
"actionType": "server backup",
"asbDestinationPool": "Default",
"asbDestinationStorageNode": "nsrserverhost",
"asbPerformBootstrap": true,
"asbPerformCFI": true,
"asbRetentionPeriod": "1 Months"
}
},
"actionSchedulePeriod": "month",

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"actionScheduleActivity": [
"full",
"1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1",
"1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1","1"
],
"actionComment": "Perform server database backup that is
required for disaster r
ecovery",
"actionCompletionNotification": {
"policyCompletionNotificationAction": "",
"policyCompletionNotificationExecuteOn": "ignore"
},
"actionConcurrent": false,
"actionDrivenBy": "",
"actionEnabled": true,
"actionFailureImpact": "continue",
"actionHardLimit": "00:00",
"actionInactivityTimeout": 30,
"actionParallelism": 0,
"actionRetries": 1,
"actionRetryDelay": 30,
"actionSoftLimit": "00:00"
},
{
"actionName": "Expiration",
"actionSpecific": {
"actions": {
"actionType": "expire"
}
},
"actionSchedulePeriod": "week",
"actionScheduleActivity": [
"exec","exec","exec","exec","exec","exec","exec"
],
"actionComment": "Expire the savesets",
"actionCompletionNotification": {
"policyCompletionNotificationAction": "",
"policyCompletionNotificationExecuteOn": "ignore"
},
"actionConcurrent": false,
"actionDrivenBy": "Server db backup",
"actionEnabled": true,
"actionFailureImpact": "continue",
"actionHardLimit": "00:00",
"actionInactivityTimeout": 30,
"actionParallelism": 0,
"actionRetries": 1,
"actionRetryDelay": 30,
"actionSoftLimit": "00:00"
}
],
"workflowAutostartEnabled": true,
"workflowComment": "Perform server backup",
"workflowCompletionNotification": {
"policyCompletionNotificationAction": "",
"policyCompletionNotificationExecuteOn": "ignore"

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},
"workflowDescription": "server backup action;expire action;",
"workflowEnabled": true,
"workflowGroups": [
"Server Protection"
],
"workflowInterval": "24:00",
"workflowNextstart": "2015-06-13T10:00:00-0400",
"workflowRestartWindow": "12:00",
"workflowStarttime": "10:00"
},
{
"workflowName": "NMC server backup",
"synthesisRoot": [
"NSR group/NMC server backup",
"NSR Snapshot Policy/NMC server backup"
],
"workflowActions": [
{
"actionName": "NMC server backup",
"actionSpecific": {
"actions": {
"actionType": "backup",
"actionBackupSubtypeSpecific": {
"backupSubtypes": {
"abBackupSubtype": "traditional",
"abtDestinationPool": "Default",
"abtEstimate": false,
"abtFileInactivityAlertThreshold": 0,
"abtFileInactivityThreshold": 0,
"abtRevertToFullWhenSyntheticFullFails": true,
"abtTimestampFormat": "none",
"abtVerifySyntheticFull": true
}
},
"abDestinationStorageNode": [
"nsrserverhost"
],
"abRetentionPeriod": "1 Months",
"abOverrideRetentionPeriod": false,
"abOverrideBackupSchedule": false,
"abClientOverridesBehavior": "clientCanOverride"
}
},
"actionSchedulePeriod": "week",
"actionScheduleActivity": [
"full","full","full","full","full","full","full"
],
"actionCompletionNotification": {
"policyCompletionNotificationAction": "",
"policyCompletionNotificationExecuteOn": "ignore"
},
"actionConcurrent": false,
"actionDrivenBy": "",
"actionEnabled": true,
"actionFailureImpact": "continue",

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"actionHardLimit": "00:00",
"actionInactivityTimeout": 30,
"actionParallelism": 100,
"actionRetries": 1,
"actionRetryDelay": 30,
"actionSoftLimit": "00:00"
}
],
"workflowAutostartEnabled": true,
"workflowComment": "Perform NMC database backup",
"workflowCompletionNotification": {
"policyCompletionNotificationAction": "",
"policyCompletionNotificationExecuteOn": "ignore"
},
"workflowDescription": "Traditional Backup to pool Default,
with expiration 1 Months;",
"workflowEnabled": true,
"workflowGroups": [
"NMC server"
],
"workflowInterval": "24:00",
"workflowNextstart": "2015-06-12T14:00:00-0400",
"workflowRestartWindow": "12:00",
"workflowStarttime": "14:00"
}
]
}

Identifying clients that missed the workflow schedule


When a client misses the workflow schedule, it logs a message in the workflow logs.
Therefore, job records are created so that DPA can easily identify them and inform the
end user about this. Clients can miss workflow schedule due to the following reasons:
l Disabled clients included in workflow- Clients that are disabled from NetWorker,
still remains part of a workflow. When a client is disabled, it is removed from that
workflow run. To identify this, disabled clients attribute is added to the workflow
job record that has the list of clients that were disabled.
l Workflow does not start at the scheduled time because the previous run still
remains active- If a previous workflow is still running at the time of the next
scheduled run, the scheduled run does not start. This long running workflow can
be due to a slow client, large data change rate, and L0 backups for large hosts.
When the workflow does not run, there is no indication in NetWorker and DPA fails
to report it. To identify this, a new utility type job record is created which
corresponds to the missed workflow. The new completion status displays missed
the schedule and the completion report displays previous instance is still
running.
l Workflow is not started since the server is down at the scheduled time- Workflow
is scheduled to run at a specific time and does not cover the need for a server
maintenance. If the server is down during that time, there is no indication once it
restarts that the workflow was not started on time. To identify this, a new utility
type job record is created which corresponds to the missed workflow. The new
completion status displays missed the schedule and the completion report
displays server was down.

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Note: The disabled clients attribute is populated irrespective of whether a


workflow is missed or not. If the workflow has only one action from the set (check
connectivity and clone) then the disabled clients attribute is not populated.

Managing policies using the NetWorker Management Web


UI
You can use the NetWorker Management Web UI to create your data protection policy
solution.
Setting up and configuring data protection policies involves the following tasks:
l Create a policy
l Create a workflow
l Create a protection group
l (Optional) Create rules
l Creating one or more action(s)

Policies, workflows, and actions in NetWorker Management Web UI


In NetWorker Management Web UI, you must use the Policy wizard to create policies,
workflows, and actions.
The following topics provide more information:
l Create a policy using the NetWorker Management Web UI
l Create a workflow using the NetWorker Management Web UI
l Create an action using the NetWorker Management Web UI

Create a policy using the NetWorker Management Web UI


You can use the NetWorker Management Web UI to create data protection policies.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears. The details of
the selected policy appear in the right pane.
2. Click ADD.
The Create Policy wizard appears.
3. Under Basic Configuration, in the Name field, type a name for the policy.
4. In the Description box, type a description for the policy.
5. Select Enable Protection Period to specify the protection period.
6. Enter the protection period value in minutes, hours, days, months, or years.
7. Click NEXT.
8. Under Notifications, from the Notify list, select an appropriate notification
option.
l To avoid sending notifications, select Ignore.

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l To send notifications with information about each successful and failed


workflow and action after all the actions in the policy complete, select On
Completion.
l To send a notification with information about each failed workflow and
action after all the actions in the policy complete, select On Failure.
9. Under Notify, when you select the On Completion option or On failure option,
the Command box appears. Use this box to configure how NetWorker sends
the notifications. You can use the nsrlog command to send the notifications
to a log file.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the Protecting virtual
machines policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs
directory on Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs folder on Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:
nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:
mail -s subject recipient
l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:
/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"
l On Windows, to send a notification email, type the following command:
smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver
recipient2@mailserver...
where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to relay
the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

10. Click FINISH.


After you finish
You can now create the workflow, group, and actions for the policy.

Edit a policy using the NetWorker Management Web UI


To edit a policy using the NetWorker Management Web UI, perform the following:
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears.
2. Select the policy that you want to modify, and click EDIT.

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l Under Basic Configuration, make the required changes.


l Under Notification, make the required changes.
3. Click Save.
Note: If you want to delete a policy, select the policy that you want to
delete, and click Delete.

Create a workflow using the NetWorker Management Web UI


You can create a workflow after you create a new policy, or you can create a workflow
for an existing policy.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears.
2. Click on an existing policy or the policy that you created.
The details of the selected policy appear in the right pane.
3. Click ADD.
4. Under Basic Configuration, in the Name field, type a name for the workflow,
or use the default name.
The maximum number of allowed characters for the Name field is 64. This name
cannot contain spaces or special characters such as + or %.
5. In the Description box, type a description for the workflow.
6. Under Schedule, do the following:
a. Select AutoStart to start the workflow at the time that is specified in the
Start time attribute.
b. Use the Start Time spin boxes to specify the time to start the actions in the
workflow.
c. Use the Interval attribute spin boxes to specify how frequently to run the
actions that are defined in the workflow over a 24-hour period. The default
Interval attribute value is 24 hours, or once a day. When you select a value
that is less than 24 hours, the Interval End attribute appears. To specify the
last start time in a defined interval period, use the spin boxes.
d. Use the Restart Window attribute spin boxes to specify the duration of time
in which NetWorker can manually or automatically restart a failed or
canceled workflow.
7. Under Notifications, from the Notify list, select an appropriate notification
option.
l To use the notification configuration that is defined in the policy resource to
specify when to send a notification, select Set at policy level.
l To send notifications with information about each successful and failed
workflow and action after all the actions in the policy complete, select On
Completion.
l To send a notification with information about each failed workflow and
action after all the actions in the policy complete, select On Failure.
8. Under Notify, when you select the On Completion option or On failure option,
the Command field appears. Use this field to configure how NetWorker sends

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the notifications. You can use the nsrlog command to send the notifications
to a log file.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the Protecting virtual
machines policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs
directory on Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs folder on Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:
nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:
mail -s subject recipient
l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:
/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"
l On Windows, to send a notification email, type the following command:
smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver
recipient2@mailserver...
where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to relay
the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

9. Click NEXT.
10. Under Associate Group, do one of the following to assign the workflow to a
group:
l Select an existing group, and click FINISH to create a workflow.
l Click ADD to create a group. The section Create a VMware group using the
NetWorker Management Web UI provides more information on creating
groups.
After you finish
Create the actions that will occur in the workflow.

Edit a workflow using the NetWorker Management Web UI


To edit a workflow using the NetWorker Management Web UI, perform the following:
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears.
2. Click on an existing policy to view the workflows associated with the policy.

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3. Select the workflow that you want to modify, and click EDIT.
l Under Basic Configuration, make the required changes.
l Under Notification, make the required changes.
l Under Associate Group, make the required changes.
4. Click Save.
Note: If you want to delete a workflow, select the workflow that you want
to delete, and click Delete.

Start a workflow using the NetWorker Management Web UI


When you start a workflow, NetWorker performs all the actions in the workflow for all
the clients that are defined in the groups that are associated with the workflow.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears.
2. Click on an existing policy to view the workflows associated with the policy.
3. Select the workflow that you want to start, and click START.
Note: The Start button is disabled when the workflow has no association
with a group or has no action, or both. When the workflow starts, you see a
notification that the workflow has started successfully. When you click on a
workflow which is in running state, a notification stating that the workflow
failed to start because the workflow has already started appears.

4. When prompted to confirm, click START.


The selected workflow is started.

Protection groups
Use the NetWorker Management Web UI to create the following protection groups:
l VMware
l Save Set
l NAS Device
l Client

Create a VMware group using the NetWorker Management Web UI


A VMware group allows you to define the virtual machines or virtual disk files to back
up within the policy/workflow.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Groups.
Groups that have already been created appears. The details of the selected
group appears in the right pane.
2. Click ADD.
The Create Group wizard appears.
3. In the Name field, type a name for the group.

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4. (Optional) In the Description box, type a description of the group.


5. From the Type list, select VMware.
6. (Optional) From the Policy list, select a policy that you want to assign the
group to.
7. (Optional) From the Workflow list, select a workflow that you want to assign
the group to.
Note: The applicable workflows corresponding to the selected policy are
only available for selection.

8. Select a backup optimization mode.


l Capacity - Use for variable segment sizing.
l Performance - Use for fixed segment sizing.
9. (Optional) Select the Dynamic Association checkbox if you plan to apply rules
that will determine which virtual machines and containers are dynamically
included in the group based upon the rule criteria.
10. Click NEXT.
11. From the vCenter list, select a vCenter server that contains the VMware
objects that you want to protect, or click ADD VCENTER to add a vCenter
server. The section Add the vCenter server using the NetWorker Management
Web UI of the NetWorker VMware Integration Guide provides instructions to
add a vCenter server.
12. Select a pre-defined rule that you want to apply for any VMware objects that
are dynamically included in the group based upon the rule criteria, or click ADD
RULE to create a new rule and click EDIT RULE to modify an existing rule. The
section Create or edit a rule using the NetWorker Management Web UI provides
more information on creating and editing rules.
13. Under Include/Exclude Resources, select the objects (Datacenter, ESXi host,
virtual machine, resource pool, vApp, or disk) to include in the group and to
view a consolidated list of virtual machines selected statically and evaluated by
a rule. You can also exclude virtual machines or disks.
14. Click Preview to view a list of the static and dynamic virtual machines and
objects that have been added to the group.
15. Click Finish.

Create a save set group using the NetWorker Management Web UI


A save set group defines a static list of save sets for cloning or for snapshot index
generation.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Groups.
Groups that have already been created appears. The details of the selected
group appears in the right pane.
2. Click ADD.
The Create Group wizard appears.
3. In the Name field, type a name for the group.
4. (Optional) In the Description box, type a description of the group.
5. From the Type list, select Save Set.

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6. (Optional) From the Policy list, select a policy that you want to assign the
group to.
7. (Optional) From the Workflow list, select a workflow that you want to assign
the group to.
Note: The applicable workflows corresponding to the selected policy are
only available for selection.

8. Specify a Filter Type.


l Static- Represents the save set ID list.
l Dynamic - Represents the save set query.
If the filter type is Static:

a. Click NEXT.
b. Enter a list of comma separated save set IDs, and click ADD.
Note: You can also use the search function to filter the save set IDs from
the Selected Saveset ID List.

c. Click FINISH.
If the filter type is Dynamic:

a. Use the Maximum number of Clones spin boxes to specify the number of
clones that can be created for the save set.
b. Click NEXT.
c. (Optional) Specify one or more of the basic save set criteria.

Filter criteria Description


Time Specify the start date and time range for
the save sets.
To specify the current date and time as
the end date for the range, select Up To
Now.
To specify a time period, select Up to.

Levels Specify a backup level.

Name Specify a list of comma separated save


set names.

d. Click the + icon to add a filter, and click the - icon to remove a filter.
e. Click NEXT.
f. (Optional) Select the save set resource filter.

Resource filter Description


Clients Select client resources associated with
the save set.

Workflows Select the workflow used to generate


the save set.

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Resource filter Description


Policies Select the policy used to generate the
save set.

Actions Select the action used to generate the


save set.

Groups Select the group associated with the


save set.

SourcePools Select the pool on which the save set is


stored.

g. Click FINISH.

Create a NAS device group using the NetWorker Management Web UI


A NAS device group defines a list of NAS devices for discovery.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Groups.
Groups that have already been created appears. The details of the selected
group appears in the right pane.
2. Click ADD.
The Create Group wizard appears.
3. In the Name field, type a name for the group.
4. (Optional) In the Description box, type a description of the group.
5. From the Type list, select NAS Device.
6. (Optional) From the Policy list, select a policy that you want to assign the
group to.
7. (Optional) From the Workflow list, select a workflow that you want to assign
the group to.
Note: The applicable workflows corresponding to the selected policy are
only available for selection.

8. Click NEXT.
9. In the NAS Devices section, add or remove NAS devices.
10. Click Finish.

Create a client group using the NetWorker Management Web UI


You can create a static client group or a dynamic client group for a traditional backup
or a server backup.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Groups.
Groups that have already been created appears. The details of the selected
group appears in the right pane.
2. Click ADD.
The Create Group wizard appears.

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3. In the Name field, type a name for the group.


4. (Optional) In the Description box, type a description of the group.
5. From the Type list, select Client.
6. (Optional) From the Policy list, select a policy that you want to assign the
group to.
7. (Optional) From the Workflow list, select a workflow that you want to assign
the group to.
Note: The applicable workflows corresponding to the selected policy are
only available for selection.

8. Specify the Filter Type:


l Static - Specify a static list of client resources for a traditional backup, a
check connectivity action, or a probe action.
l Dynamic - Specify a dynamic list of client resources for a traditional backup,
a probe action, a check connectivity action, or a server backup action.
9. If the filter type is Static:
a. Click NEXT.
b. In the Client Resources section, select the clients from the list to add it to
the group. The Client Resources section displays a list of configured clients
on the NetWorker server.
c. Click FINISH.
10. If the filter type is Dynamic:
a. Click NEXT.
b. In the Client Resources section, do one of the following:
l To include all the clients on the NetWorker server, select All Clients, and
clickFINISH.
l To define a tag, select Client with these tags and specify a tag
attribute, and then click ADD.
Note: You can also use the search function to filter the tags from the
Selected Client Tags.

c. Click FINISH.

Edit a group using the NetWorker Management Web UI


To edit a group using the NetWorker Management Web UI, perform the following:
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Groups.
Groups that have already been created appears.
2. Select the group that you want to modify.
The details of the group such as the type, sub type, the backup optimization
mode, and the VMware resources appears in the right pane.

Note: You cannot change the name of the group.

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3. Click EDIT, and make the required changes.


4. Click Save.
Note: If you want to delete a group, select the group that you want to
delete, and click Delete.

Create an action using the NetWorker Management Web UI


Actions are the key resources in a workflow for a data protection policy and define a
specific task, for example, a backup or a clone. An action is the task that occurs on the
client resources in the group assigned to the workflow. You can chain multiple actions
together to occur sequentially or concurrently in a workflow.
Before you begin
Create the required policy and workflow.
About this task
To create an action:
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears. The details of
the selected policy appear in the right pane.
2. Click on an available policy to create a new workflow or view existing
workflows.
3. Click on an existing workflow to create an action. The action type can be one of
the following:
l Backup:
n Traditional— Is a scheduled backup of the save sets defined for the
Client resources in the assigned group.
n VMware (vProxy)—Performs a backup of virtual machines in vCenter to
a Data Domain system. You can only perform one VMware backup action
per workflow. The VMware backup action must occur before clone
actions.
n Snapshot—Creates snapshot backups of supported storage arrays or
appliances.
n Server—Performs NetWorker server bootstrap and database backups.
l Clone—Performs a clone of the VMware backup on a Data Domain system
to any clone device that NetWorker supports (including Data Domain system
or tape targets). You can specify multiple clone actions. Clone actions must
occur after the Backup action.
l Probe—Runs a user-defined script on a NetWorker client before the start of
a backup.
l Check Connectivity—Verifies the connectivity between the clients and the
NetWorker server before the start of a probe or backup action. If the
connectivity test fails, then the probe action and backup action does not
start for the client.
l Expire—Marks the expired save sets as recyclable.

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l Discover—Discovers snapshots on a NAS device that the current


NetWorker server did not create. NetWorker then creates save set entries
for the discovered snapshots on a NAS client in the media database.
l Generate Index—Creates entries in the client file indexes for snapshot
backups and discovered snapshots.
Note:
l If you have a VMware group associated with the workflow, the first
action that you can create is always a backup action, followed by any
number of clone actions.
l If you have a Saveset group associated with the workflow, you can
create clone or generate index actions.
l If you have a NAS device group associated with the workflow, you can
create a discover action.
l If you have a client group type associated with the workflow, you can
create a traditional backup, snapshot backup, server backup, probe, and
check connectivity actions.
l If you do not have any groups associated with the workflow, you can
create any of the supported actions.
l For the expire action to be the first action in a workflow, there must not
any group associated with the workflow.

l The section Create a traditional backup action using the NetWorker


Management Web UI provides more information on creating traditional
backup actions
l The section Create a VMware backup action using the NetWorker
Management Web UI provides more information on creating VMware backup
actions.
l The section Create a snapshot backup action using the NetWorker
Management Web UI provides more information on creating snapshot
backup actions
l The section Create a server backup action using the NetWorker
Management Web UI provides more information on creating server backup
actions.
l The section Create a clone action using the NetWorker Management Web UI
provides more information on creating clone actions.
l The section Create a probe action using the NetWorker Management Web
UI provides more information on creating probe actions.
l The section Create a check connectivity action using the NetWorker
Management Web UI provides more information on creating check
connectivity actions.
l The section Create an expire action using the NetWorker Management Web
UI provides more information on creating expire actions.
l The section Create a discover action using the NetWorker Management
Web UI provides more information on creating discover actions.
l The section Create a generate index action using the NetWorker
Management Web UI provides more information on creating generate index
actions.

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Create a traditional backup action using the NetWorker Management Web UI


You can use the NetWorker Management Web UI to create a traditional backup action.
Before you begin
Create the required policy and workflow.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears. The details of
the selected policy appear in the right pane.
2. Click on an available policy to create a new workflow or view existing
workflows.
3. Click on an existing workflow with the appropriate group association, or create
a new workflow, and click ACTION.
4. From the ACTION list, select Backup > Traditional to create a traditional
backup action.
The Create Action page appears.
5. Under Basic Configuration, in the Name field, type the name of the action, or
use the default name.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
6. In the Description field, type a description for the action.
7. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, select Enabled. To prevent the action from running when the
policy or workflow that contains the action is started, clear this option. By
default, this option is selected.
8. (Optional) From the Force Backup Level list, select a backup level.
For workflows that have more than one scheduled backup within a 24-hour
period, use the Force Backup Level attribute to allow more than one backup to
occur at two different backup levels in a 24-hour period. When you select a
backup level in the Force Backup Level attribute, the first backup is performed
at the scheduled backup level. Each subsequent occurrence of the backup
action in the next 24 hours occurs at the level defined in the Force Backup
Level attribute. For example, if the level defined by the schedule is Full and the
Force Backup Level attribute is set to Incr, the first backup started by the
action occurs at a level full and subsequent backups, within 24 hours of the
start of the full backup are incremental. By default, this option is cleared, which
means that if the action runs multiple backup operations in a 24 period, all the
backups occur at the scheduled backup level.

9. Click NEXT.
10. Under Destination Storage Node, add or remove storage nodes. The server
storage node is selected by default. You can also order the storage nodes.
11. From the Destination Pool, select the media pool in which to store the backup
data.
12. Specify the Retention Period value.
After the retention period expires, the save set is removed from the client file
index and marked as recyclable in the media database during an expiration
server maintenance task.

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13. From the Client Override Behavior list, specify how NetWorker uses certain
client configuration attributes that perform the same function as attributes in
the Action resource:
l Client Can Override—The values in the Client resource for Schedule, Pool,
Retention policy, and the Storage Node attributes take precedence over the
values that are defined in the equivalent Action resource attributes.
Note: If the NetWorker policy action schedule is set to the Skip backup
level, the Client can Override option is not honored. For NetWorker to
consider the Client can Override option, change the action schedule to
a different level.
l Client Cannot Override—The values in the Action resource for the
Schedule, Destination Pool, Destination Storage Node, and the Retention
attributes take precedence over the values that are defined in the equivalent
Client resource attributes.
l Legacy Backup Rules—This value only appears in actions that are created
by the migration process. The updating process sets the Client Override
Behavior for the migrated backup actions to Legacy Backup Rules.
14. From the Success Threshold list, select one of the following to define the
success threshold for a save session:
l Warning—Save sets that complete with warnings are reported as success
with warnings.
l Success—Save sets that complete with warnings are reported as failed.
This is the default value. The number of times NetWorker retries a failed
save set is determined by the value defined in the Retries attribute.
15. Select Apply Lock under DD Retention Lock to enable retention lock for the
virtual machines included in this backup action. Note that the device used for
backing up these virtual machines must also have DD Retention lock enabled.
16. Use the Lock Period spin boxes to specify the duration the virtual machines will
remain on the Data Domain device before the retention lock expires.
17. Click NEXT.
18. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly.
19. Click on each day to specify the type of backup to perform.
The backup levels for NetWorker includes the following:
l Full—Perform a full backup on the specified day. Full backups include all
files, regardless of whether the files changed.
l Incr—Perform an incremental backup on the specified day. Incremental
backups include files that have changed since the last backup of any type
(full or incremental).
l Cumulative Incr—Perform a cumulative incremental backup. Cumulative
incremental backups include files that have changed since the last full
backup.
l Logs Only—Perform a backup of only database transaction logs.
l Incremental Synthetic Full—Perform an incremental synthetic backup on
the specified day. An incremental synthetic full backup includes all data that
changed since the last full backup and subsequent incremental backups to
create a synthetic full backup.

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l Skip—Do not perform a backup on the specified day.

To perform the same type of backup on each day, click , and select one of
the following:
l Make All Full
l Make All Incremental
l Make All Cumulative Incremental
l Make All Logs Only
l Make All Incremental Synthetic Full
l Make All Skip

20. (Optional) Select Override Options to configure overrides for the task that is
scheduled on a specific day.
Note: If you select this option, you must configure the overrides using
either fixed dates or recurring dates.

21. Click NEXT.


22. Under Schedule Overrides, do the following:
a. In the Recurring Pattern attribute, if the status is Not Available, click ADD.
Otherwise, click VIEW/EDIT to specify recurring patterns. Then, select the
backup level, and define the override schedule to occur on a specific day,
week, month, quarter, or year.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color and an asterisk (*).
b. To specify a fixed date pattern, select the month and year, and then click on
each day to specify the backup level.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color.

Note:
l You can select multiple override dates.
l In the case of a fixed date pattern, to clear an override schedule, click
on the day that you want to clear the override for and select Clear
Selection. The Clear Selection option is not applicable in the case of
a recurring pattern.
l If the fixed and the recurring pattern is on the same day, the fixed
pattern gets preference. However, if you clear the fixed override
schedule, the recurring pattern is displayed.
l When creating overrides, you cannot select the previous month and
year. You also cannot create fixed overrides for the days before the
current day because the option to change the level is disabled.
l When editing overrides, you can clear existing fixed overrides for the
days before the current day. However, you cannot set any new
overrides because the option to change the level is disabled.

23. Click NEXT.


24. Under Notifications, from the Notify list, select an appropriate notification
option.

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l To avoid sending notifications, select Ignore.


l To send notifications on completion of the action, select On Completion.
l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.
25. Specify the Command to configure how NetWorker sends the notifications.
You can use the nsrlog command to send the notifications to a log file.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the Protecting virtual
machines policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs
directory on Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs folder on Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:
nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:
mail -s subject recipient
l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:
/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"
l On Windows, to send a notification email, type the following command:
smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver
recipient2@mailserver...
where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to relay
the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

26. Click NEXT.


27. From the Start Time list, select one of the following options to specify the time
to start the action. Use the spin boxes to set the hour and minute values.
l Set at Workflow level—Do not enforce an action start time. The action will
start at the time defined by the workflow.
l Absolute—Start the action at the time specified by the values in the spin
boxes.
l Relative—Start the action after the period of time defined in the spin boxes
has elapsed after the start of the workflow.
28. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. The default value is 100.
29. From the On Failure list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort Action.

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l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort Workflow.
30. In the Retries field, specify the number of times that NetWorker must retry a
failed probe or backup action, before NetWorker considers the action as failed.
If the Retries value is 0, NetWorker does not retry a failed probe or backup
action. The default value is 1.
31. In the Retry Delay field, specify a delay in seconds to wait before retrying a
failed probe or backup action. When the Retry Delay value is 0, NetWorker
retries the failed probe or backup action immediately. The default is 1 second.
32. In the Inactivity Timeout field, specify the maximum number of minutes that a
job run by an action can try to respond to the server.
If the job does not respond within the specified time, the server considers the
job a failure and NetWorker retries the job immediately to ensures that no time
is lost due to failures. The default value is 30 minutes.
Increase the timeout value if a backup consistently stops due to inactivity.
Inactivity might occur for backups of large save sets, backups of save sets with
large sparse files, and incremental backups of many small static files.

33. In the Soft Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to stop
the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
34. In the Hard Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
35. Click NEXT.
The Action Configuration Summary appears.
36. Review the settings that you have configured, and then click FINISH.
After you finish
(Optional) Create a clone action to automatically clone the save sets after the backup.
A clone action is the only supported action after a backup action in a workflow.

Create a VMware backup action using the NetWorker Management Web UI


You can use the NetWorker Management Web UI to create a VMware backup action.
Before you begin
Create the required policy and workflow.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears. The details of
the selected policy appear in the right pane.
2. Click on an available policy to create a new workflow or view existing
workflows.
3. Click on an existing workflow with the appropriate group association, or create
a new workflow, and click ACTION.
4. From the ACTION list, select Backup > VMWare to create a VMware backup
action.
5. Under Basic Configuration, in the Name field, type the name of the action, or
use the default name.

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The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.


6. In the Description field, type a description for the action.
7. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, select Enabled. To prevent the action from running when the
policy or workflow that contains the action is started, clear this option. By
default, this option is selected.
8. Click NEXT.
9. From the Destination Storage Node list, select the storage node that contains
the devices where you want to store the backup data.
Note: When you deploy the vCenter server in the Cloud, a parameter
displays in the backup action logs that indicates HypervisorMode: VMC.
When not deployed in the Cloud, the parameter indicates HypervisorMode:
vSphere.

10. From the Destination Pool, select the media pool in which to store the backup
data.
11. Specify the NetWorker Retention Period value.
After the retention period expires, the save set is removed from the client file
index and marked as recyclable in the media database during an expiration
server maintenance task.
12. Select Apply Lock under DD Retention Lock to enable retention lock for the
virtual machines included in this backup action. Note that the device used for
backing up these virtual machines must also have DD Retention lock enabled.
13. Use the Lock Period spin boxes to specify the duration the virtual machines will
remain on the Data Domain device before the retention lock expires.
14. Click NEXT.
15. Under VMware-specific Configuration, select one of the following vProxy
options:
l Automatic—Select this option to allow NetWorker to choose the vProxy
host for backups.
l Manual—Specify this option to select the vProxy host that NetWorker
users for backups. Provide the name of the vProxy host in the vProxy Name
field.
16. Under Application Consistency, select Quiesce Application to enable
application-consistent protection as part of the policy backup action, which
includes protection of the Microsoft SQL Server. You can then select from the
Basic and Advanced options.
l Select the Basic option to create a backup copy for applications during
virtual machine quiescing. No additional processing is performed.
l Select the Advanced option to create an SQL server application-consistent
backup during virtual machine quiescing, and optionally create a transaction
log backup for all SQL Server instances.
When you select the Advanced option, the following additional options appear:
l Transaction Log Backup—Select this option, if you want to perform a
transaction log backup of SQL databases in the virtual machine as part of
the policy backup action.

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Note: During SQL Server configuration, the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM


login must be granted SQL login and SQL sysadmin role rights in order to
perform transaction log backups.
l Quiesce Timeout—Specify the amount of time, in minutes, to wait for the
quiesce operation on the virtual machine to time out before failing. If not
selected, the backup action proceeds even if quiescing was not performed,
unless a validation problem occurs. If an application-consistent backup
cannot complete due to a problem with validation, the backup action fails
even if this option is not selected.
l System Administrator Username and System Administrator Password—
Specify the virtual machine credentials for a user with administrative
privileges. All virtual machines in the workflow must use the same System
Administrator username/password.
Note: If you select the Advanced option, application-consistent processing
is applied for all virtual machines within the parent workflow. When
selecting this option, ensure that the policy's workflow and client groups
are provisioned specifically for virtual machines that require advanced
application-consistent protection. NetWorker will always attempt to
perform advanced application processing for virtual machines in a workflow
that contains a backup action with advanced application processing
enabled.

17. Click NEXT.


18. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly.
19. Click on each day to specify the type of backup to perform.
The backup levels for NetWorker includes the following:
l Full—Perform a full backup on the specified day. Full backups include all
files, regardless of whether the files changed.
l Incr—Perform an incremental backup on the specified day. Incremental
backups include files that have changed since the last backup of any type
(full or incremental).
l Logs Only—Perform a backup of only database transaction logs.
l Skip—Do not perform a backup on the specified day.
Note: For a VMware backup action, the valid and applicable levels are Full,
Incr, Logs only, and Skip. If you select other levels, you cannot create or
modify the action.

To perform the same type of backup on each day, click , and select one of
the following:
l Make All Full
l Make All Incremental
l Make All Logs Only
l Make All Skip

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20. (Optional) Select Override Options to configure overrides for the task that is
scheduled on a specific day.
Note: If you select this option, you must configure the overrides using
either fixed dates or recurring dates.

21. Click NEXT.


22. Under Schedule Overrides, do the following:
a. In the Recurring Pattern attribute, if the status is Not Available, click ADD.
Otherwise, click VIEW/EDIT to specify recurring patterns. Then, select the
backup level, and define the override schedule to occur on a specific day,
week, month, quarter, or year.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color and an asterisk (*).

b. To specify a fixed date pattern, select the month and year, and then click on
each day to specify the backup level.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color.

Note:
l You can select multiple override dates.
l In the case of a fixed date pattern, to clear an override schedule, click
on the day that you want to clear the override for and select Clear
Selection. The Clear Selection option is not applicable in the case of
a recurring pattern.
l If the fixed and the recurring pattern is on the same day, the fixed
pattern gets preference. However, if you clear the fixed override
schedule, the recurring pattern is displayed.
l When creating overrides, you cannot select the previous month and
year. You also cannot create fixed overrides for the days before the
current day because the option to change the level is disabled.
l When editing overrides, you can clear existing fixed overrides for the
days before the current day. However, you cannot set any new
overrides because the option to change the level is disabled.

23. Click NEXT.


24. Under Notifications, from the Notify list, select an appropriate notification
option.
l To avoid sending notifications, select Ignore.
l To send notifications on completion of the action, select On Completion.
l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.
25. Specify the Command to configure how NetWorker sends the notifications.
You can use the nsrlog command to send the notifications to a log file.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the Protecting virtual
machines policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs
directory on Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs folder on Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:

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l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where


policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:
nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:
mail -s subject recipient
l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:
/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"
l On Windows, to send a notification email, type the following command:
smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver
recipient2@mailserver...
where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to relay
the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

26. Click NEXT.


27. From the Start Time list, select one of the following options to specify the time
to start the action. Use the spin boxes to set the hour and minute values.
l Set at Workflow level—Do not enforce an action start time. The action will
start at the time defined by the workflow.
l Absolute—Start the action at the time specified by the values in the spin
boxes.
l Relative—Start the action after the period of time defined in the spin boxes
has elapsed after the start of the workflow.
28. Although the Retries, Retry Delay, and the Inactivity Timeout options appear,
this action does not support these options and you can ignore these values.
29. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. The default value is 100.
30. From the On Failure list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort Action.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort Workflow.
31. In the Soft Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to stop
the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
32. In the Hard Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
33. Click NEXT.
The Action Configuration Summary appears.

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34. Review the settings that you have configured, and then click FINISH.
After you finish
(Optional) Create a clone action to automatically clone the save sets after the backup.
A clone action is the only supported action after a backup action in a workflow.

Create a snapshot backup action using the NetWorker Management Web UI


You can use the NetWorker Management Web UI to create a snapshot backup action.
Before you begin
Create the required policy and workflow.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears. The details of
the selected policy appear in the right pane.
2. Click on an available policy to create a new workflow or view existing
workflows.
3. Click on an existing workflow with the appropriate group association, or create
a new workflow, and click ACTION.
4. From the ACTION list, select Backup > Snapshot to create a snapshot backup
action.
The Create Action page appears.
5. Under Basic Configuration, in the Name field, type the name of the action, or
use the default name.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
6. In the Description field, type a description for the action.
7. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, select Enabled. To prevent the action from running when the
policy or workflow that contains the action is started, clear this option. By
default, this option is selected.
8. (Optional) From the Force Backup Level list, select a backup level.
For workflows that have more than one scheduled backup within a 24-hour
period, use the Force Backup Level attribute to allow more than one backup to
occur at two different backup levels in a 24-hour period. When you select a
backup level in the Force Backup Level attribute, the first backup is performed
at the scheduled backup level. Each subsequent occurrence of the backup
action in the next 24 hours occurs at the level defined in the Force Backup
Level attribute. For example, if the level defined by the schedule is Full and the
Force Backup Level attribute is set to Incr, the first backup started by the
action occurs at a level full and subsequent backups, within 24 hours of the
start of the full backup are incremental. By default, this option is cleared, which
means that if the action runs multiple backup operations in a 24 period, all the
backups occur at the scheduled backup level.

9. Click NEXT.
10. Under Destination Storage Node, add or remove storage nodes. The server
storage node is selected by default. You can also order the storage nodes.
11. From the Destination Pool, select the media pool in which to store the backup
data.

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12. Specify the Retention Period value.


After the retention period expires, the save set is removed from the client file
index and marked as recyclable in the media database during an expiration
server maintenance task.
13. From the Client Override Behavior list, specify how NetWorker uses certain
client configuration attributes that perform the same function as attributes in
the Action resource:
l Client Can Override—The values in the Client resource for Schedule, Pool,
Retention policy, and the Storage Node attributes take precedence over the
values that are defined in the equivalent Action resource attributes.
Note: If the NetWorker policy action schedule is set to the Skip backup
level, the Client can Override option is not honored. For NetWorker to
consider the Client can Override option, change the action schedule to
a different level.
l Client Cannot Override—The values in the Action resource for the
Schedule, Destination Pool, Destination Storage Node, and the Retention
attributes take precedence over the values that are defined in the equivalent
Client resource attributes.
l Legacy Backup Rules—This value only appears in actions that are created
by the migration process. The updating process sets the Client Override
Behavior for the migrated backup actions to Legacy Backup Rules.
14. Use the Minimum Retention Time spin boxes to specify the minimum amount
of time to retain the backup data.
When the minimum retention time passes, a snapshot action that is in progress
can remove the snapshot from the storage device to ensure that there is
sufficient disk space for the new snapshot.
15. Click NEXT.
16. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly.
17. Click on each day to specify the type of backup to perform.
The backup levels for NetWorker includes the following:
l Full—Perform a full backup on the specified day. Full backups include all
files, regardless of whether the files changed.
l Incr—Perform an incremental backup on the specified day. Incremental
backups include files that have changed since the last backup of any type
(full or incremental).
l Cumulative Incr—Perform a cumulative incremental backup. Cumulative
incremental backups include files that have changed since the last full
backup.
l Logs Only—Perform a backup of only database transaction logs.
l Incremental Synthetic Full—Perform an incremental synthetic backup on
the specified day. An incremental synthetic full backup includes all data that
changed since the last full backup and subsequent incremental backups to
create a synthetic full backup.
l Skip—Do not perform a backup on the specified day.

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To perform the same type of backup on each day, click , and select one of
the following:
l Make All Full
l Make All Incremental
l Make All Cumulative Incremental
l Make All Logs Only
l Make All Incremental Synthetic Full
l Make All Skip

18. (Optional) Select Override Options to configure overrides for the task that is
scheduled on a specific day.
Note: If you select this option, you must configure the overrides using
either fixed dates or recurring dates.

19. Click NEXT.


20. Under Schedule Overrides, do the following:
a. In the Recurring Pattern attribute, if the status is Not Available, click ADD.
Otherwise, click VIEW/EDIT to specify recurring patterns. Then, select the
backup level, and define the override schedule to occur on a specific day,
week, month, quarter, or year.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color and an asterisk (*).

b. To specify a fixed date pattern, select the month and year, and then click on
each day to specify the backup level.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color.

Note:
l You can select multiple override dates.
l In the case of a fixed date pattern, to clear an override schedule, click
on the day that you want to clear the override for and select Clear
Selection. The Clear Selection option is not applicable in the case of
a recurring pattern.
l If the fixed and the recurring pattern is on the same day, the fixed
pattern gets preference. However, if you clear the fixed override
schedule, the recurring pattern is displayed.
l When creating overrides, you cannot select the previous month and
year. You also cannot create fixed overrides for the days before the
current day because the option to change the level is disabled.
l When editing overrides, you can clear existing fixed overrides for the
days before the current day. However, you cannot set any new
overrides because the option to change the level is disabled.

21. Click NEXT.


22. Under Notifications, from the Notify list, select an appropriate notification
option.

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l To avoid sending notifications, select Ignore.


l To send notifications on completion of the action, select On Completion.
l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.
23. Specify the Command to configure how NetWorker sends the notifications.
You can use the nsrlog command to send the notifications to a log file.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the Protecting virtual
machines policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs
directory on Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs folder on Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:
nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:
mail -s subject recipient
l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:
/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"
l On Windows, to send a notification email, type the following command:
smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver
recipient2@mailserver...
where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to relay
the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

24. Click NEXT.


25. From the Start Time list, select one of the following options to specify the time
to start the action. Use the spin boxes to set the hour and minute values.
l Set at Workflow level—Do not enforce an action start time. The action will
start at the time defined by the workflow.
l Absolute—Start the action at the time specified by the values in the spin
boxes.
l Relative—Start the action after the period of time defined in the spin boxes
has elapsed after the start of the workflow.
26. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. The default value is 100.
27. From the On Failure list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort Action.

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l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort Workflow.
28. In the Retries field, specify the number of times that NetWorker must retry a
failed probe or backup action, before NetWorker considers the action as failed.
If the Retries value is 0, NetWorker does not retry a failed probe or backup
action. The default value is 1.
29. In the Retry Delay field, specify a delay in seconds to wait before retrying a
failed probe or backup action. When the Retry Delay value is 0, NetWorker
retries the failed probe or backup action immediately. The default is 1 second.
30. In the Inactivity Timeout field, specify the maximum number of minutes that a
job run by an action can try to respond to the server.
If the job does not respond within the specified time, the server considers the
job a failure and NetWorker retries the job immediately to ensures that no time
is lost due to failures. The default value is 30 minutes.
Increase the timeout value if a backup consistently stops due to inactivity.
Inactivity might occur for backups of large save sets, backups of save sets with
large sparse files, and incremental backups of many small static files.

31. In the Soft Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to stop
the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
32. In the Hard Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
33. Click NEXT.
The Action Configuration Summary appears.
34. Review the settings that you have configured, and then click FINISH.

Create a server backup action using the NetWorker Management Web UI


You can use the NetWorker Management Web UI to create a server backup action.
Before you begin
Create the required policy and workflow.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears. The details of
the selected policy appear in the right pane.
2. Click on an available policy to create a new workflow or view existing
workflows.
3. Click on an existing workflow with the appropriate group association, or create
a new workflow, and click ACTION.
4. From the ACTION list, select Backup > Server to create a server backup
action.
The Create Action page appears.
5. Under Basic Configuration, in the Name field, type the name of the action, or
use the default name.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.

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6. In the Description field, type a description for the action.


7. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, select Enabled. To prevent the action from running when the
policy or workflow that contains the action is started, clear this option. By
default, this option is selected.
8. Click NEXT.
9. From the Destination Storage Node list, select the storage node that contains
the devices where you want to store the backup data.
10. From the Destination Pool, select the media pool in which to store the backup
data.
11. Specify the Retention Period value.
After the retention period expires, the save set is removed from the client file
index and marked as recyclable in the media database during an expiration
server maintenance task.
12. Select the Backup Options.
l Client File Index —Select this option to backup client file indexes residing
on the NetWorker Server of NetWorker Clients selected as part of the
group.
l Bootstrap — Select this option to backup media and authentication
databases of the NetWorker Server .
Note: NetWorker requires that the bootstrap backup write to a device
that is local to the NetWorker server. If you enable bootstrap, ensure
that you select the NetWorker server in the Destination Storage Node
attribute.
13. Select Apply Lock under DD Retention Lock to enable retention lock for the
virtual machines included in this backup action. Note that the device used for
backing up these virtual machines must also have DD Retention lock enabled.
14. Use the Lock Period spin boxes to specify the duration the virtual machines will
remain on the Data Domain device before the retention lock expires.
15. Click NEXT.
16. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly.
17. Click on each day to specify the type of backup to perform.
The backup levels for NetWorker includes the following:
l Full—Perform a full backup on the specified day. Full backups include all
files, regardless of whether the files changed.
l Incr—Perform an incremental backup on the specified day. Incremental
backups include files that have changed since the last backup of any type
(full or incremental).
l Cumulative Incr—Perform a cumulative incremental backup. Cumulative
incremental backups include files that have changed since the last full
backup.
l Skip—Do not perform a backup on the specified day.

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To perform the same type of backup on each day, click , and select one of
the following:
l Make All Full
l Make All Incremental
l Make All Cumulative Incremental
l Make All Skip

18. (Optional) Select Override Options to configure overrides for the task that is
scheduled on a specific day.
Note: If you select this option, you must configure the overrides using
either fixed dates or recurring dates.

19. Click NEXT.


20. Under Schedule Overrides, do the following:
a. In the Recurring Pattern attribute, if the status is Not Available, click ADD.
Otherwise, click VIEW/EDIT to specify recurring patterns. Then, select the
backup level, and define the override schedule to occur on a specific day,
week, month, quarter, or year.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color and an asterisk (*).

b. To specify a fixed date pattern, select the month and year, and then click on
each day to specify the backup level.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color.

Note:
l You can select multiple override dates.
l In the case of a fixed date pattern, to clear an override schedule, click
on the day that you want to clear the override for and select Clear
Selection. The Clear Selection option is not applicable in the case of
a recurring pattern.
l If the fixed and the recurring pattern is on the same day, the fixed
pattern gets preference. However, if you clear the fixed override
schedule, the recurring pattern is displayed.
l When creating overrides, you cannot select the previous month and
year. You also cannot create fixed overrides for the days before the
current day because the option to change the level is disabled.
l When editing overrides, you can clear existing fixed overrides for the
days before the current day. However, you cannot set any new
overrides because the option to change the level is disabled.

21. Click NEXT.


22. Under Notifications, from the Notify list, select an appropriate notification
option.
l To avoid sending notifications, select Ignore.
l To send notifications on completion of the action, select On Completion.

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l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.


23. Specify the Command to configure how NetWorker sends the notifications.
You can use the nsrlog command to send the notifications to a log file.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the Protecting virtual
machines policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs
directory on Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs folder on Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:
nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:
mail -s subject recipient
l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:
/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"
l On Windows, to send a notification email, type the following command:
smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver
recipient2@mailserver...
where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to relay
the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

24. Click NEXT.


25. From the Start Time list, select one of the following options to specify the time
to start the action. Use the spin boxes to set the hour and minute values.
l Set at Workflow level—Do not enforce an action start time. The action will
start at the time defined by the workflow.
l Absolute—Start the action at the time specified by the values in the spin
boxes.
l Relative—Start the action after the period of time defined in the spin boxes
has elapsed after the start of the workflow.
26. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. The default value is 100.
27. From the On Failure list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort Action.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort Workflow.

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28. In the Soft Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to stop
the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
29. In the Hard Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
30. Click NEXT.
The Action Configuration Summary appears.
31. Review the settings that you have configured, and then click FINISH.
After you finish
(Optional) Create a clone or an expire action after the server backup action.

Create a clone action using the NetWorker Management Web UI


You can use the NetWorker Management Web UI to create a clone action.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears. The details of
the selected policy appear in the right pane.
2. Click on an available policy to create a new workflow or view existing
workflows.
3. Click on an existing workflow with the appropriate group association, or create
a new workflow, and click ACTION.
4. From the ACTION list, select Clone to create a clone action.
5. Under Basic Configuration, in the Name field, type the name of the action, or
use the default name.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
6. In the Description box, type a description for the action.
7. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, select Enabled. To prevent the action from running when the
policy or workflow that contains the action is started, clear this option. By
default, this option is selected.
8. If the action is part of a sequence of actions in a workflow path, from the
Driven By list, select the action that should precede this action.
9. Click NEXT.
10. Select the Delete source save sets after clone completes option to instruct
NetWorker to delete the data from the source volume after cloning to the
destination volume completes. This is equivalent to staging the save sets.
11. Under Devices and Volumes, define the volumes and devices to which
NetWorker sends the cloned data:
a. From the Source Storage Node list, select the source storage node for a
clone action, that is, the storage node from which clone data is read.
b. From the Destination Storage Node list, select the storage node with the
devices on which to store the cloned save sets.
c. From the Destination Pool list, select the target media pool for the cloned
save sets.

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12. Specify the NetWorker Retention Period value.


After the retention period expires, the save set is removed from the client file
index and marked as recyclable in the media database during an expiration
server maintenance task.
13. If you want to have the same retention period as that of the backup action,
select Keep Retention Same as Backup.
Note: If you select this option, you cannot configure the NetWorker
retention period.

14. Select Apply Lock under DD Retention Lock to enable retention lock for the
virtual machines included in this clone action.
15. Use the Lock Period spin boxes to specify the duration the virtual machines will
remain on the Data Domain device before the retention lock expires.
16. Click NEXT.
17. (Applicable only for a second clone action) In the Filter Savesets section, you
can do the following:
a. To define the criteria that NetWorker uses to create the list of eligible save
sets to clone, select Define Filters. The eligible save sets must match the
requirements that are defined in each filter. NetWorker provides the
following filter options:
l Time —In the Time section, specify the time range in which NetWorker
searches for eligible save sets to clone in the media database. Use the
spin boxes to specify the start time and the end time. The Time filter list
includes the following options to define how NetWorker determines save
set eligibility, based on the time criteria:
n Accept—The clone save set list includes save sets that are saved
within the time range and meet all the other defined filter criteria.
n Reject—The clone save set list does not include save sets that are
saved within the time range and meet all the other defined filter
criteria.
l Backup Levels —In the Backup Levels section, specify the backup levels
that you want to include or exclude, when NetWorker searches for
eligible save sets to clone in the media database. The Levels filter list
includes the following options, which define how NetWorker determines
save set eligibility, based on the backup level filter criteria:
n Accept—The clone save set list includes eligible save sets with the
selected backup levels.
n Reject—The clone save set list does not include eligible save sets
with the selected backup levels.
l Save Sets —In the Save Sets section, specify whether to include or
exclude ProtectPoint and Snapshot save sets, when NetWorker searches
for eligible save sets to clone in the media database. The Save Set filter
list includes the following options, which define how NetWorker
determines save set eligibility, based on the save set filter criteria:
n Accept—The clone save set list includes eligible ProtectPoint save
sets or Snapshot save sets, when you enable the ProtectPoint
checkbox or Snapshot checkbox.

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n Reject—The clone save set list does not include eligible ProtectPoint
save sets and Snapshot save sets when you enable the ProtectPoint
checkbox or Snapshot checkbox.
l Clients —In the Client section, specify a list of clients to include or
exclude, when NetWorker searches for eligible save sets to clone in the
media database. The Client filter list includes the following options, which
define how NetWorker determines save set eligibility, based on the client
filter criteria:
n Accept—The clone save set list includes eligible save sets for the
selected clients.
n Reject—The clone save set list does not include eligible save sets for
the selected clients.

18. If you do not want to define a filter criteria, select Do Not Filter, and click
NEXT.
Note: The Filter Savesets feature is available only in the case of a second
clone action.

19. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action.


l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly.
20. Click on each day to specify the type of backup to perform.
l Execute—Perform a clone action on the specified day.
l Skip—Do not perform a clone action on the specified day.

To perform the same type of backup on each day, click , and select one of
the following:
l Make All Execute
l Make All Skip

21. (Optional) Select Override Options to configure overrides for the task that is
scheduled on a specific day.
Note: If you select this option, you must configure the overrides using
either fixed dates or recurring dates.

22. Click NEXT.


23. Under Schedule Overrides, do the following:
a. In the Recurring Pattern attribute, if the status is Not Available, click ADD.
Otherwise, click VIEW/EDIT to specify recurring patterns. Then, select the
backup level, and define the override schedule to occur on a specific day,
week, month, quarter, or year.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color and an asterisk (*).

b. To specify a fixed date pattern, select the month and year, and then click on
each day to specify the backup level.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color.

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Note:
l You can select multiple override dates.
l In the case of a fixed date pattern, to clear an override schedule, click
on the day that you want to clear the override for and select Clear
Selection. The Clear Selection option is not applicable in the case of
a recurring pattern.
l If the fixed and the recurring pattern is on the same day, the fixed
pattern gets preference. However, if you clear the fixed override
schedule, the recurring pattern is displayed.
l When creating overrides, you cannot select the previous month and
year. You also cannot create fixed overrides for the days before the
current day because the option to change the level is disabled.
l When editing overrides, you can clear existing fixed overrides for the
days before the current day. However, you cannot set any new
overrides because the option to change the level is disabled.

24. Click NEXT.


25. Under Notifications, from the Notify list, select an appropriate notification
option.
l To avoid sending notifications, select Ignore.
l To send notifications on completion of the action, select On Completion.
l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.
26. Specify the Command to configure how NetWorker sends the notifications.
You can use the nsrlog command to send the notifications to a log file.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the Protecting virtual
machines policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs
directory on Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs folder on Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:
nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:
mail -s subject recipient
l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:
/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"
l On Windows, to send a notification email, type the following command:
smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver
recipient2@mailserver...
where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.

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n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to relay


the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

27. Click NEXT.


28. From the Start Time list, select one of the following options to specify the time
to start the action. Use the spin boxes to set the hour and minute values.
l Set at Workflow level—Do not enforce an action start time. The action will
start at the time defined by the workflow.
l Absolute—Start the action at the time specified by the values in the spin
boxes.
l Relative—Start the action after the period of time defined in the spin boxes
has elapsed after the start of the workflow.
29. (Optional) Select Concurrent to enable concurrent operations for the action.
30. From the On Failure list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort Action.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort Workflow.
31. In the Soft Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to stop
the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
32. In the Hard Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
33. Click NEXT.
The Action Configuration Summary appears.
34. Review the settings that you have configured, and then click FINISH.
After you finish
(Optional) Create a clone action to automatically clone the save sets again after this
clone action.

Create a probe action using the NetWorker Management Web UI


A probe action runs a user-defined script on a NetWorker client before the start of a
backup. A user-defined script is any program that passes a return code. If the return
code is 0 (zero), then a client backup is required. If the return code is 1, then a client
backup is not required.
Before you begin
Create the required policy and workflow.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears. The details of
the selected policy appear in the right pane.

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2. Click on an available policy to create a new workflow or view existing


workflows.
3. Click on an existing workflow with the appropriate group association, or create
a new workflow, and click ACTION.
4. From the ACTION list, select Probe to create a probe action.
The Create Action page appears.
5. Under Basic Configuration, in the Name field, type the name of the action, or
use the default name.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
6. In the Description field, type a description for the action.
7. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, select Enabled. To prevent the action from running when the
policy or workflow that contains the action is started, clear this option. By
default, this option is selected.
8. To start the backup only if all the probes associated with client resources in the
assigned group succeed, select Start backup after all probes succeed. By
default, this option is selected.
9. Click NEXT.
10. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly.
11. Click on each day to specify the type of backup to perform.
The backup levels includes the following:
l Execute—Execute the action on the specified day.
l Skip—Skip the action on the specified day.

To perform the same type of backup on each day, click , and select one of
the following:
l Make All Execute
l Make All Skip

12. (Optional) Select Override Options to configure overrides for the task that is
scheduled on a specific day.
Note: If you select this option, you must configure the overrides using
either fixed dates or recurring dates.

13. Click NEXT.


14. Under Schedule Overrides, do the following:
a. In the Recurring Pattern attribute, if the status is Not Available, click ADD.
Otherwise, click VIEW/EDIT to specify recurring patterns. Then, select the
backup level, and define the override schedule to occur on a specific day,
week, month, quarter, or year.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color and an asterisk (*).

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b. To specify a fixed date pattern, select the month and year, and then click on
each day to specify the backup level.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color.

Note:
l You can select multiple override dates.
l In the case of a fixed date pattern, to clear an override schedule, click
on the day that you want to clear the override for and select Clear
Selection. The Clear Selection option is not applicable in the case of
a recurring pattern.
l If the fixed and the recurring pattern is on the same day, the fixed
pattern gets preference. However, if you clear the fixed override
schedule, the recurring pattern is displayed.
l When creating overrides, you cannot select the previous month and
year. You also cannot create fixed overrides for the days before the
current day because the option to change the level is disabled.
l When editing overrides, you can clear existing fixed overrides for the
days before the current day. However, you cannot set any new
overrides because the option to change the level is disabled.

15. Click NEXT.


16. Under Notifications, from the Notify list, select an appropriate notification
option.
l To avoid sending notifications, select Ignore.
l To send notifications on completion of the action, select On Completion.
l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.
17. Specify the Command to configure how NetWorker sends the notifications.
You can use the nsrlog command to send the notifications to a log file.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the Protecting virtual
machines policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs
directory on Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs folder on Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:
nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:
mail -s subject recipient
l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:
/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"
l On Windows, to send a notification email, type the following command:
smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver
recipient2@mailserver...
where:

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n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and


specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to relay
the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

18. Click NEXT.


19. From the Start Time list, select one of the following options to specify the time
to start the action. Use the spin boxes to set the hour and minute values.
l Set at Workflow level—Do not enforce an action start time. The action will
start at the time defined by the workflow.
l Absolute—Start the action at the time specified by the values in the spin
boxes.
l Relative—Start the action after the period of time defined in the spin boxes
has elapsed after the start of the workflow.
20. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. The default value is 0.
21. From the On Failure list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort Action.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort Workflow.
22. In the Retries field, specify the number of times that NetWorker must retry a
failed probe or backup action, before NetWorker considers the action as failed.
If the Retries value is 0, NetWorker does not retry a failed probe or backup
action. The default value is 1.
23. In the Retry Delay field, specify a delay in seconds to wait before retrying a
failed probe or backup action. When the Retry Delay value is 0, NetWorker
retries the failed probe or backup action immediately. The default is 1 second.
24. In the Inactivity Timeout field, specify the maximum number of minutes that a
job run by an action can try to respond to the server.
If the job does not respond within the specified time, the server considers the
job a failure and NetWorker retries the job immediately to ensures that no time
is lost due to failures. The default is 30 minutes.
Increase the timeout value if a backup consistently stops due to inactivity.
Inactivity might occur for backups of large save sets, backups of save sets with
large sparse files, and incremental backups of many small static files.

25. In the Soft Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to stop
the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
26. In the Hard Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.

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27. Click NEXT.


The Action Configuration Summary appears.
28. Review the settings that you have configured, and then click FINISH.
After you finish
(Optional) Create a traditional or snapshot backup action.

Create a check connectivity action using the NetWorker Management Web UI


A check connectivity action tests the connectivity between the clients and the
NetWorker server, usually before another action such as a backup occurs.
Before you begin
Create the required policy and workflow.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears. The details of
the selected policy appear in the right pane.
2. Click on an available policy to create a new workflow or view existing
workflows.
3. Click on an existing workflow with the appropriate group association, or create
a new workflow, and click ACTION.
4. From the ACTION list, select Check Connectivity to create a check
connectivity action.
The Create Action page appears.
5. Under Basic Configuration, in the Name field, type the name of the action, or
use the default name.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
6. In the Description field, type a description for the action.
7. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, select Enabled. To prevent the action from running when the
policy or workflow that contains the action is started, clear this option. By
default, this option is selected.
8. To specify that the connectivity check is successful only if the connectivity test
is successful for all clients in the assigned group, select Succeed only after all
clients succeed. To specify that the connectivity check is successful if the
connectivity test is successful for one or more clients in the assigned group,
clear this option.
9. Click NEXT.
10. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly.
11. Click on each day to specify the type of backup to perform.
The backup levels include the following:
l Execute—Execute the action on the specified day.
l Skip—Skip the action on the specified day.

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To perform the same type of backup on each day, click , and select one of
the following:
l Make All Execute
l Make All Skip

12. (Optional) Select Override Options to configure overrides for the task that is
scheduled on a specific day.
Note: If you select this option, you must configure the overrides using
either fixed dates or recurring dates.

13. Click NEXT.


14. Under Schedule Overrides, do the following:
a. In the Recurring Pattern attribute, if the status is Not Available, click ADD.
Otherwise, click VIEW/EDIT to specify recurring patterns. Then, select the
backup level, and define the override schedule to occur on a specific day,
week, month, quarter, or year.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color and an asterisk (*).

b. To specify a fixed date pattern, select the month and year, and then click on
each day to specify the backup level.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color.

Note:
l You can select multiple override dates.
l In the case of a fixed date pattern, to clear an override schedule, click
on the day that you want to clear the override for and select Clear
Selection. The Clear Selection option is not applicable in the case of
a recurring pattern.
l If the fixed and the recurring pattern is on the same day, the fixed
pattern gets preference. However, if you clear the fixed override
schedule, the recurring pattern is displayed.
l When creating overrides, you cannot select the previous month and
year. You also cannot create fixed overrides for the days before the
current day because the option to change the level is disabled.
l When editing overrides, you can clear existing fixed overrides for the
days before the current day. However, you cannot set any new
overrides because the option to change the level is disabled.

15. Click NEXT.


16. Under Notifications, from the Notify list, select an appropriate notification
option.
l To avoid sending notifications, select Ignore.
l To send notifications on completion of the action, select On Completion.
l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.
17. Specify the Command to configure how NetWorker sends the notifications.
You can use the nsrlog command to send the notifications to a log file.

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The default notification action is to send the information to the


policy_notifications.log file. By default, the Protecting virtual
machines policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs
directory on Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs folder on Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:
nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:
mail -s subject recipient
l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:
/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"
l On Windows, to send a notification email, type the following command:
smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver
recipient2@mailserver...
where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to relay
the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

18. Click NEXT.


19. From the Start Time list, select one of the following options to specify the time
to start the action. Use the spin boxes to set the hour and minute values.
l Set at Workflow level—Do not enforce an action start time. The action will
start at the time defined by the workflow.
l Absolute—Start the action at the time specified by the values in the spin
boxes.
l Relative—Start the action after the period of time defined in the spin boxes
has elapsed after the start of the workflow.
20. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. The default value is 8.
21. From the On Failure list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort Action.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort Workflow.
22. In the Retries field, specify the number of times that NetWorker must retry a
failed probe or backup action, before NetWorker considers the action as failed.
The default value is 3.

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23. In the Retry Delay field, specify a delay in seconds to wait before retrying a
failed probe or backup action. When the Retry Delay value is 0, NetWorker
retries the failed probe or backup action immediately. The default is 1 second.
24. In the Soft Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to stop
the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
25. In the Hard Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
26. Click NEXT.
The Action Configuration Summary appears.
27. Review the settings that you have configured, and then click FINISH.
After you finish
(Optional) Create one of the following actions after the check connectivity action:
l Probe
l Traditional backup
l Snapshot backup

Create an expire action using the NetWorker Management Web UI


The expire action removes all expired save sets from the client file index and marks the
save sets as recyclable in the media database. Save sets expire when the retention
period for the save set is exceeded. You can create an expiration action in an existing
workgroup only after a server backup action.
Before you begin
Create the required policy and workflow. The expire action must be the first action in
the workflow or you can create the expire action after a server backup action.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears. The details of
the selected policy appear in the right pane.
2. Click on an available policy to create a new workflow or view existing
workflows.
3. Click on an existing workflow that does not have any group associated with it,
or create a new workflow, and click ACTION.
4. From the ACTION list, select Expire to create an expire action.
The Create Action page appears.
5. Under Basic Configuration, in the Name field, type the name of the action, or
use the default name.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
6. In the Description field, type a description for the action.
7. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, select Enabled. To prevent the action from running when the
policy or workflow that contains the action is started, clear this option. By
default, this option is selected.

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8. Click NEXT.
9. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly.
10. Click on each day to specify the type of backup to perform.
The backup levels include the following:
l Execute—Execute the action on the specified day.
l Skip—Skip the action on the specified day.

To perform the same type of backup on each day, click , and select one of
the following:
l Make All Execute
l Make All Skip

11. (Optional) Select Override Options to configure overrides for the task that is
scheduled on a specific day.
Note: If you select this option, you must configure the overrides using
either fixed dates or recurring dates.

12. Click NEXT.


13. Under Schedule Overrides, do the following:
a. In the Recurring Pattern attribute, if the status is Not Available, click ADD.
Otherwise, click VIEW/EDIT to specify recurring patterns. Then, select the
backup level, and define the override schedule to occur on a specific day,
week, month, quarter, or year.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color and an asterisk (*).

b. To specify a fixed date pattern, select the month and year, and then click on
each day to specify the backup level.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color.

Note:
l You can select multiple override dates.
l In the case of a fixed date pattern, to clear an override schedule, click
on the day that you want to clear the override for and select Clear
Selection. The Clear Selection option is not applicable in the case of
a recurring pattern.
l If the fixed and the recurring pattern is on the same day, the fixed
pattern gets preference. However, if you clear the fixed override
schedule, the recurring pattern is displayed.
l When creating overrides, you cannot select the previous month and
year. You also cannot create fixed overrides for the days before the
current day because the option to change the level is disabled.

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l When editing overrides, you can clear existing fixed overrides for the
days before the current day. However, you cannot set any new
overrides because the option to change the level is disabled.

14. Click NEXT.


15. Under Notifications, from the Notify list, select an appropriate notification
option.
l To avoid sending notifications, select Ignore.
l To send notifications on completion of the action, select On Completion.
l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.
16. Specify the Command to configure how NetWorker sends the notifications.
You can use the nsrlog command to send the notifications to a log file.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the Protecting virtual
machines policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs
directory on Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs folder on Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:
nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:
mail -s subject recipient
l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:
/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"
l On Windows, to send a notification email, type the following command:
smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver
recipient2@mailserver...
where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to relay
the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

17. Click NEXT.


18. From the Start Time list, select one of the following options to specify the time
to start the action. Use the spin boxes to set the hour and minute values.
l Set at Workflow level—Do not enforce an action start time. The action will
start at the time defined by the workflow.
l Absolute—Start the action at the time specified by the values in the spin
boxes.

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l Relative—Start the action after the period of time defined in the spin boxes
has elapsed after the start of the workflow.
19. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. The default value is 0.
20. From the On Failure list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort Action.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort Workflow.
21. In the Soft Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to stop
the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
22. In the Hard Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
23. Click NEXT.
The Action Configuration Summary appears.
24. Review the settings that you have configured, and then click FINISH.

Create a discover action using the NetWorker Management Web UI


A discover action discovers snapshots on a NAS device that the current NetWorker
server did not create. NetWorker then creates save set entries for the discovered
snapshots on a NAS client in the media database. The discover action also compares
the save sets in the media database for the NAS client against the actual snapshots
stored on the client. If the media database entry does not have a corresponding
snapshot on the NAS client, then the media database entry is removed.
Before you begin
Create the required policy and workflow. Ensure that the group assigned to the
workflow contains only NAS devices.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears. The details of
the selected policy appear in the right pane.
2. Click on an available policy to create a new workflow or view existing
workflows.
3. Click on an existing workflow with the appropriate group association, or create
a new workflow, and click ACTION.
4. From the ACTION list, select Discover to create a discover action.
The Create Action page appears.
5. Under Basic Configuration, in the Name field, type the name of the action, or
use the default name.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
6. In the Description field, type a description for the action.
7. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, select Enabled. To prevent the action from running when the

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policy or workflow that contains the action is started, clear this option. By
default, this option is selected.
8. By default, in the Discover Type list, NAS Snapshot is selected.
9. Click NEXT.
10. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly.
11. Click on each day to specify the type of backup to perform.
The backup levels include the following:
l Execute—Execute the action on the specified day.
l Skip—Skip the action on the specified day.

To perform the same type of backup on each day, click , and select one of
the following:
l Make All Execute
l Make All Skip

12. (Optional) Select Override Options to configure overrides for the task that is
scheduled on a specific day.
Note: If you select this option, you must configure the overrides using
either fixed dates or recurring dates.

13. Click NEXT.


14. Under Schedule Overrides, do the following:
a. In the Recurring Pattern attribute, if the status is Not Available, click ADD.
Otherwise, click VIEW/EDIT to specify recurring patterns. Then, select the
backup level, and define the override schedule to occur on a specific day,
week, month, quarter, or year.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color and an asterisk (*).

b. To specify a fixed date pattern, select the month and year, and then click on
each day to specify the backup level.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color.

Note:
l You can select multiple override dates.
l In the case of a fixed date pattern, to clear an override schedule, click
on the day that you want to clear the override for and select Clear
Selection. The Clear Selection option is not applicable in the case of
a recurring pattern.
l If the fixed and the recurring pattern is on the same day, the fixed
pattern gets preference. However, if you clear the fixed override
schedule, the recurring pattern is displayed.

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l When creating overrides, you cannot select the previous month and
year. You also cannot create fixed overrides for the days before the
current day because the option to change the level is disabled.
l When editing overrides, you can clear existing fixed overrides for the
days before the current day. However, you cannot set any new
overrides because the option to change the level is disabled.

15. Click NEXT.


16. Under Notifications, from the Notify list, select an appropriate notification
option.
l To avoid sending notifications, select Ignore.
l To send notifications on completion of the action, select On Completion.
l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.
17. Specify the Command to configure how NetWorker sends the notifications.
You can use the nsrlog command to send the notifications to a log file.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the Protecting virtual
machines policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs
directory on Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs folder on Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:
nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:
mail -s subject recipient
l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:
/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"
l On Windows, to send a notification email, type the following command:
smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver
recipient2@mailserver...
where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to relay
the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

18. Click NEXT.


19. From the Start Time list, select one of the following options to specify the time
to start the action. Use the spin boxes to set the hour and minute values.
l Set at Workflow level—Do not enforce an action start time. The action will
start at the time defined by the workflow.

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l Absolute—Start the action at the time specified by the values in the spin
boxes.
l Relative—Start the action after the period of time defined in the spin boxes
has elapsed after the start of the workflow.
20. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. The default value is 0.
21. From the On Failure list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort Action.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort Workflow.
22. In the Soft Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to stop
the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
23. In the Hard Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
24. Click NEXT.
The Action Configuration Summary appears.
25. Review the settings that you have configured, and then click FINISH.
After you finish
(Optional) Create a generate index action to create entries in the client file indexes for
the snapshot save sets, or a clone action to automatically clone the save sets after the
discover action.

Create a generate index action using the NetWorker Management Web UI


You can use the NetWorker Management Web UI to create a generate index action.
Before you begin
Create the required policy and workflow.
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears. The details of
the selected policy appear in the right pane.
2. Click on an available policy to create a new workflow or view existing
workflows.
3. Click on an existing workflow with the appropriate group association, or create
a new workflow, and click ACTION.
4. From the ACTION list, select Generate Index to create a generate index action.
The Create Action page appears.
5. Under Basic Configuration, in the Name field, type the name of the action, or
use the default name.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
6. In the Description field, type a description for the action.

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7. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, select Enabled. To prevent the action from running when the
policy or workflow that contains the action is started, clear this option. By
default, this option is selected.
8. Select the Saveset type. The NAS Snapshot backup is the only supported type.
9. Click NEXT.
10. In the Filter Savesets section, you can do the following:
a. To define the criteria that NetWorker uses to create the list of eligible save
sets to clone, select Define Filters. The eligible save sets must match the
requirements that are defined in each filter. NetWorker provides the
following filter options:
l Time —In the Time section, specify the time range in which NetWorker
searches for eligible save sets to clone in the media database. Use the
spin boxes to specify the start time and the end time. The Time filter list
includes the following options to define how NetWorker determines save
set eligibility, based on the time criteria:
n Accept—The clone save set list includes save sets that are saved
within the time range and meet all the other defined filter criteria.
n Reject—The clone save set list does not include save sets that are
saved within the time range and meet all the other defined filter
criteria.
l Backup Levels —In the Backup Levels section, specify the backup levels
that you want to include or exclude, when NetWorker searches for
eligible save sets to clone in the media database. The Levels filter list
includes the following options, which define how NetWorker determines
save set eligibility, based on the backup level filter criteria:
n Accept—The clone save set list includes eligible save sets with the
selected backup levels.
n Reject—The clone save set list does not include eligible save sets
with the selected backup levels.
l Save Sets —In the Save Sets section, specify whether to include or
exclude ProtectPoint and Snapshot save sets, when NetWorker searches
for eligible save sets to clone in the media database. The Save Set filter
list includes the following options, which define how NetWorker
determines save set eligibility, based on the save set filter criteria:
n Accept—The clone save set list includes eligible ProtectPoint save
sets or Snapshot save sets, when you enable the ProtectPoint
checkbox or Snapshot checkbox.
n Reject—The clone save set list does not include eligible ProtectPoint
save sets and Snapshot save sets when you enable the ProtectPoint
checkbox or Snapshot checkbox.
l Clients —In the Client section, specify a list of clients to include or
exclude, when NetWorker searches for eligible save sets to clone in the
media database. The Client filter list includes the following options, which
define how NetWorker determines save set eligibility, based on the client
filter criteria:
n Accept—The clone save set list includes eligible save sets for the
selected clients.
n Reject—The clone save set list does not include eligible save sets for
the selected clients.

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11. If you do not want to define a filter criteria, select Do Not Filter, and click
NEXT.
12. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly.
13. Click on each day to specify the type of backup to perform.
The backup levels include the following:
l Execute—Execute the action on the specified day.
l Skip—Skip the action on the specified day.

To perform the same type of backup on each day, click , and select one of
the following:
l Make All Execute
l Make All Skip

14. (Optional) Select Override Options to configure overrides for the task that is
scheduled on a specific day.
Note: If you select this option, you must configure the overrides using
either fixed dates or recurring dates.

15. Click NEXT.


16. Under Schedule Overrides, do the following:
a. In the Recurring Pattern attribute, if the status is Not Available, click ADD.
Otherwise, click VIEW/EDIT to specify recurring patterns. Then, select the
backup level, and define the override schedule to occur on a specific day,
week, month, quarter, or year.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color and an asterisk (*).

b. To specify a fixed date pattern, select the month and year, and then click on
each day to specify the backup level.
The selected date is highlighted with a different color.

Note:
l You can select multiple override dates.
l In the case of a fixed date pattern, to clear an override schedule, click
on the day that you want to clear the override for and select Clear
Selection. The Clear Selection option is not applicable in the case of
a recurring pattern.
l If the fixed and the recurring pattern is on the same day, the fixed
pattern gets preference. However, if you clear the fixed override
schedule, the recurring pattern is displayed.
l When creating overrides, you cannot select the previous month and
year. You also cannot create fixed overrides for the days before the
current day because the option to change the level is disabled.

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l When editing overrides, you can clear existing fixed overrides for the
days before the current day. However, you cannot set any new
overrides because the option to change the level is disabled.

17. Click NEXT.


18. Under Notifications, from the Notify list, select an appropriate notification
option.
l To avoid sending notifications, select Ignore.
l To send notifications on completion of the action, select On Completion.
l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.
19. Specify the Command to configure how NetWorker sends the notifications.
You can use the nsrlog command to send the notifications to a log file.
The default notification action is to send the information to the
policy_notifications.log file. By default, the Protecting virtual
machines policy_notifications.log file is located in the /nsr/logs
directory on Linux and in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs folder on Windows.
Use the default mailer program on Linux to send email messages or the
smtpmail application on Windows:
l To send notifications to a file, type the following command, where
policy_notifications.log is the name of the file:
nsrlog -f policy_notifications.log
l On Linux, to send an email notification, type the following command:
mail -s subject recipient
l For NetWorker Virtual Edition (NVE), to send an email notification, type the
following command:
/usr/sbin/sendmail -v recipient_email "subject_text"
l On Windows, to send a notification email, type the following command:
smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver
recipient2@mailserver...
where:
n -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and
specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
n -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to relay
the SMTP email message.
n recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.

20. Click NEXT.


21. From the Start Time list, select one of the following options to specify the time
to start the action. Use the spin boxes to set the hour and minute values.
l Set at Workflow level—Do not enforce an action start time. The action will
start at the time defined by the workflow.
l Absolute—Start the action at the time specified by the values in the spin
boxes.

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l Relative—Start the action after the period of time defined in the spin boxes
has elapsed after the start of the workflow.
22. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. The default value is 0.
23. From the On Failure list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort Action.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort Workflow.
24. In the Soft Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to stop
the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
25. In the Hard Limit field, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
26. Click NEXT.
The Action Configuration Summary appears.
27. Review the settings that you have configured, and then click FINISH.
After you finish
(Optional) Create a clone action.

Edit an action using the NetWorker Management Web UI


To modify an action, perform the following:
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Policies.
The available data protection policies that you can use appears. The details of
the selected policy appear in the right pane.
2. Click on an available policy to view existing workflows.
3. Click on an existing workflow to view the actions associated with the workflow.
4. Select the action that you want to modify, and click EDIT.
5. Make the required changes, and click SAVE.
The action is successfully updated.

Create a rule using the NetWorker Management Web UI


You can use the NetWorker Management Web UI to create a rule.
About this task
To create a rule, perform the following:
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Rules.
Rules that have already been created appears. The details of the rule such as
the datasource type, condition, and usage also appears in the right pane.

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2. Click ADD.
The Add Rules wizard appears.
3. In the Name field, type a name for the rule.
4. Select the Datasource Type from the drop-down. The default Datasource Type
is VMware.
5. (Optional) In the Description box, you can specify more information about the
rule.
6. Specify a matching condition. You can select All as the match type, if the item
has to meet all of the rules criteria or select Any to include the item, if the item
meets any of the criteria.
a. Specify the VMWare object type. You can select one of the following:
l Virtual Machine
l ESXi Host/Cluster
l Virtual App
l Virtual Machine Folder
l Datacenter
l Resource Pool

b. Specify the object type properties that the rule uses to determine a match.
It can be the object's name, path, or tag. The available properties depend on
the object type.
l Virtual Machine - name, vSphere tag
l ESXi Host/Cluster - path, vSphere tag
l Virtual App - name, vSphere tag
l Virtual Machine Folder - name, path, vSphere tag
l Datacenter - name, path, vSphere tag
l Resource Pool - path, vSphere tag

c. Select an operator to further define how a match is made based on the


selected object type property. The operator value can be one of the
following:
l equals
l not equals
l contains
l not contains
l starts with
l does not start with
l ends with
l does not end with
l regular expression

d. Click the Browse icon to select the vCenter server and vSphere tag and
click OK to exit the dialog.

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Note: This option is available only if you select the vSphere tag property
type in the definition.

e. Click the + icon to add a rule definition, and click the - icon to remove a rule
definition.
7. Click Create.
The Rule is successfully created.
8. Repeat steps 1 through 7 for any additional rules that you want to create.
Note: You can associate a rule to a group, if dynamic selection is enabled
when creating groups. The section Create a VMware group using the
NetWorker Management Web UI provides more information on creating
groups.

Edit a rule using the NetWorker Management Web UI


To edit a rule, perform the following:
Procedure
1. Select Protection > Rules.
Rules that have already been created appears. The details of the rule such as
the datasource type, condition, and usage also appears in the right pane.
2. Select the rule that you want to modify, and click EDIT.
3. Make the required changes, and click SAVE.
The rule is successfully updated.

Note:
l You cannot change the name of a rule.
l If you want to delete a rule, select the rule that you want to delete, and
click Delete. However, a rule cannot be deleted, if it is associated with a
group.

Troubleshooting policies
This section provides information about issues related to the configuration and
management of policy resources.
Remote system error - Cannot assign requested address
This message appears intermittently when a single workflow has more 2000 save sets
and the backup and clone operations occur concurrently. In this scenario the number
RPC connections that the configuration requires exceeds the available number of RPC
ports. To resolve this issue, split the workflow with a large number of save sets into
multiple workflows, up to a maximum of 2000 save sets in each workflow and stagger
the workgroup start times by 30 minutes.
Unable to start because the Group for this workflow is empty
This message appears when you use the Start Individual Client option to start actions
for specific clients in the Server backup workflow. NetWorker does not support the

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Start Individual Client option for the Server backup workflow. To resolve this issue,
start all actions for all the clients in the workflow.
Running actions from the command line
NetWorker 19.1 and later provide you with the ability to run actions from a command
line for debugging purposes only.
To debug an action, use the action binary, for example, nsrworkflow, nsrpolicy,
savegrp, or nsrnassnap_index with the following options:
l --policy_name—Specifies the name of the policy that contains the action. This
option is required.
l --workflow_name—Specifies the name of the workflow that contains the action.
This option is not required when a policy only contains one workflow.
l --action_name—Specifies the name of the action. This option is not required
when a workflow only contains one action.
l -Z action_type—Required for the savegrp binary. Specifies the action type of
the action. Supported values are backup:traditional, backup:snapshot and probe. If
you do not specify this option, savegrp defaults to the backup:traditional action
type.
l --driven_by_action—Specifies the source of the input work items for an action,
for example a list of backup save set. Sources include one of the following options:
n jobid—Specifies the jobid of the driving action.
n stdin—Instructs the action binary to read the items from stdin.
n file:absolute_path_to_file—Instructs the action binary to read the items from a
file.
Note: This option is only required when the action is not the first action in a
workflow.

Example 7 Debugging an action by using stdin

In the following example, a backup of the save set /baz failed for host foo.com. The
name of traditional backup action for the save set is backup. A workflow named
traditional1, which is in a policy named Backup contains the action.

To troubleshoot the backup action, perform the following steps:

1. Connect to the NetWorker Server with an administrator account.


2. From a command prompt, start the nsradmin program:

nsradmin
3. From the nsradmin prompt, define the attributes that nsradmin will display for
a resource, for example, the resource name and the save set value, by typing the
following command:

show name; save set


4. Enable nsradmin to display the hidden resource ID attribute for the NetWorker
resources:

option resource id
5. Display a list of client resources, by typing the following command:

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Example 7 Debugging an action by using stdin (continued)


p type: nsr client
6. From the output, record the resource identifier that appears for the client
resource that contains the save set associated with the action that you want to
debug. For example, output similar to the following appears:

name:foo.com;
saveset:/baz;
resourceidentifier:70.0.77.10.0.0.0.0.208.36.124.87.128.222.
109.22(1);

name:foo.com;
saveset:/foo,/bar;
resourceidentifier:93.0.89.114.0.0.0.0.55.25.124.87.128.222.
109.22;(9)

Note: The resource ID does not include the brackets or the number contained
within the brackets.
7. Use the savegrp command and the resource ID to start the action:

echo resource_ID|savegrp --policy_name=policy_name --


workflow_name=workflow_name --action_name=action_name -v --
driven_by_action=stdin

For example:

echo 93.0.89.114.0.0.0.0.55.25.124.87.128.222.109.22|savegrp --
policy_name=Backup --
workflow_name=traditional1 --action_name=backup -v --
driven_by_action=stdin

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CHAPTER 5
Backup Options

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Overview of resources that support backups................................................... 354


l Save sets......................................................................................................... 354
l Backup levels................................................................................................... 357
l Backup scheduling........................................................................................... 370
l Backup retention.............................................................................................. 378
l General backup considerations.........................................................................382
l Directives.........................................................................................................388

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Overview of resources that support backups


NetWorker provides you with resources that enable you to customize what data is in
the backup, when the backup occurs, and how the backup occurs.
The following table summarizes each supporting resource. Many of the resources
require planning and configuration on the NetWorker server or on the client itself
before the backup occurs.

Table 53 Resource overview

Resource Description Example


Backup levels Defines whether to back up all Perform a full backup to back
data on the client, or only up all files, regardless of
data that has changed. whether they have changed,
or an incremental backup to
back up only files that
changed since the last
backup.

Schedules Defines the backup level to Perform a full backup on


perform on each day. Sunday, and an incremental
backup on all other days of
the week.

Time policies Defines time periods. Use Backups for a client are
time policies to define save maintained in the database,
set retention. Save set and can be browsed for
retention is how long the save recovery for a month.
set entries are maintained in
the media database and client
file indexes.

Directives Specifies resources that A directive specifies that the


contain special instructions backup should skip files with
that control how the a .tmp extension.
NetWorker server processes
files and directories during
backup and recovery. For
example, encryption and
compression.

Save sets
The collection of data items that are backed up during a backup session between the
NetWorker server and a Client resource is called a save set.
A save set can consist of the following:
l A group of files or entire file systems.
l Application data, such as a database, or operating system settings.
You can use the predefined save sets for scheduled backups, or specify a list of save
sets to back up for a client resource in the Save set attribute on the General tab of
the Client Properties dialog box.

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Predefined save sets include the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set and the ALL save
set.
When you specify a list of save sets for a client resource, the following guidelines
apply:
l For Windows operating systems, use the same pathname case that the Windows
file system uses. Although most file systems are case-independent, the NetWorker
software cross-platform indexing system is case-sensitive. Always specify the
Windows drive letter in uppercase.
l Place multiple entries on separate lines. For example, to back up a log file directory
that is named C:\Docs\CustomerLogs, and all data that is contained in a
directory that is named D:\accounting, type the following entries:

C:\Docs\CustomerLogs
D:\accounting
l For clients that use non-ASCII locales on UNIX platforms, or for Windows clients
that are configured from a UNIX host that uses non-ASCII locales, special
considerations apply when you type a path or file name in the Save set attribute:
n Type the path or file name in the locale that was used when you created the
path or file. If using a different locale when you type a path or file name,
backups fail with a No such file or directory error message.
n Either use the ALL save set in this situation, or log in to the client by using the
correct locale and then configure the client from that computer.
l To back up a UNIX or Linux host that contains path or file names with multiple
locales, create a separate Client resource for each locale. For example, to
configure a multi-locale UNIX host with data in both Japanese and French, create
two different Client resources. One Client resource to define the save sets for the
Japanese data, and one Client resource to define the save sets for the French
data.

The ALL save set


The ALL save set is the default save set when you create a Client resource.
Save sets included in the ALL save set
The following table provides a list of the save sets that are in the ALL save set for
supported operating systems.

Table 54 Data in the ALL save set

Operating system Files


Windows l DISASTER_RECOVERY:\
l Noncritical volumes

Mac OS X All local and mounted volumes

UNIX l When the backup starts, the savefs process reads the
contents of the /etc/vfstab file on Solaris clients,
the /etc/fstab file on HP-UX and Linux clients, or
the /etc/filesystems file on AIX clients. The
contents of the file are compared to the currently
mounted file systems and BTRFS sub-volumes. Only

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Table 54 Data in the ALL save set (continued)

Operating system Files

currently mounted file systems and BTRFS sub-volumes


that are configured in these files are backed up. When
NetWorker encounters a sub-directory that has a sub-
volume ID that differs from the parent sub-volume ID,
NetWorker will not backup the contents of the
subdirectory, unless you specify the save -x in the Backup
command field in the properties of the Client resource.
l For a Solaris sparse or whole root zone client, all mounted
file systems in the sparse or whole root zone that are not
normally skipped, such as NFS, are backed up.
l ZFS file systems are backed up.
l If the save set name includes a symbolic link, a save set
recovery is not supported.

Save sets excluded from the ALL save set


The following directories, file systems, and files are excluded from the ALL save set:

Table 55 File systems excluded from the ALL save set

l hsfs l sharefs l dfs l binfmt_mi l nucam


sc
l proc l nfs2 l autofs l fdfs
l usbfs
l fd l nfs3 l iso9060 l xx
l devpts
l cachefs l nfs3perf l udf l none
l smbfs
l lofs l profs l sysfs
l swap
l mntfs l nfs4 l debugfs
l tmp
l ctfs l nfs l subfs
l tmpfs
l objfs l brfs l usbdevfs
l nucfs

NOTICE When you use the ALL save set for a backup, the NetWorker software
creates a temporary file similar to a directive under each drive. The file name uses
the format drive guid.txt and lists the files that are excluded from the
backup. The file is temporary and is automatically deleted when the backup
completes.
Keywords for scheduled file system backups
You can use special keywords with the ALL save set to define the file systems to
include in a backup. The following table provides a list of the special ALL save sets and
the backup behavior.

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Table 56 Special ALL save sets

Special ALL save set syntax Backup behavior


all-file_system l Only back up locally mounted file systems
of a particular type, where file_system is
zfs, ntfs, btrfs, or ext3. For
example:
n all-zfs backs up all locally mounted
ZFS file systems on a Solaris host.
n all-btrfs backs up all mounted
BTRFS sub-volumes that appear in
the /etc/fstab file.
l File systems such as NFS that are
normally skipped are still skipped.
l The NetWorker E-LAB Navigator provides a
list of the supported file system for each
operating system.

all-mounts l On UNIX clients, back up all currently


mounted file systems.
l On Windows clients, the all-mounts
save set is equivalent to the ALL save set.
l File systems such as NFS that are
normally skipped are still skipped.

all-local l For a global zone client, the file systems


in the sparse or whole root zone on the
physical host are backed up. File systems
in the global zone are skipped.
l For a sparse or whole root zone client, the
all-local save set is equivalent to the
ALL save set.

all-global l For a global zone client, all file systems in


the global zone are backed up. All sparse
and whole root zone file systems on the
physical host are skipped.
l For a Solaris sparse or whole root zone
client, the all-global save set is
equivalent to the ALL save set.

Backup levels
You can specify the level of the backup to be performed during scheduled backups.
When you limit the frequency of full backups, you help maintain server efficiency while
still ensuring that data is protected. Different backup levels enable you to balance the

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amount of time that is required to complete a backup with the number of volumes that
are required to recover from a disk failure.
The following table describes the available backup levels.

Table 57 Backup levels

Backup level Function


Full Results in a back up of all files, regardless of whether the files
have changed.

Incremental Results in the back up of the files that have changed since the
last backup, regardless of the level of the last backup.

Cumulative incremental Results in the back up of all files that have changed since the
last full backup.

Logs only Results in the back up of the transaction log for databases
that are created by a NetWorker module. For example, the
NetWorker Module for Databases and Applications, the
NetWorker Module for Microsoft, or the NetWorker Module
for SAP.

Synthetic full Results in the back up of all data that has changed since the
last full backup and subsequent incremental backups, to
create a synthetic full backup.

Skip Skips the scheduled backup. For example, you can skip a
backup on a holiday if no one is available to change or add
more media volumes.

Comparing backup levels


Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each backup level to develop the
backup strategy for an environment.
The following table lists key advantages and disadvantages of each backup level.

Table 58 Advantages and disadvantages of backup levels

Backup level Advantages Disadvantages


Full l Faster recovery l Slower backups
l High server load
l High load on the client
and network
l Uses more volume space

Incremental l Faster than a full backup l Slow recovery


l Low server load l Data can spread across
multiple volumes
l Uses less volume space
than a full backup

Cumulative incremental l Faster than a full backup l Slow recovery


l Low server load

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Table 58 Advantages and disadvantages of backup levels (continued)

Backup level Advantages Disadvantages

l Uses the least amount of l Data can spread across


volume space multiple volumes

Logs only l Faster than a full or l Slow recovery


incremental backup l Data can spread across
l Low server load multiple volumes

Synthetic full l Faster than a full backup l High load on the storage
node
l Faster recovery
l Requires at least two
l Low load on the server,
volume drives
client, and network
l Uses the most volume
l Requires fewer volumes
space
for recovery

Review the following additional considerations when selecting backup levels:


l If you have only one stand-alone storage device and the full backup does not fit on
a single piece of media, an operator must be available to monitor the backup, and
change the media.
l Full backups cause the online indexes to grow more rapidly than incremental or
cumulative incremental backups.
l Cumulative incremental backups serve as checkpoints in schedules because they
collect all the files that have changed over several days, or even weeks, into a
single backup session.
l Synthetic full backups provide the same benefits at the same cost as full backups.
The difference is that synthetic full backups are less taxing on the network and
client because a new full backup is created from a previously created full or
synthetic full backup and subsequent incremental backups.

Backup levels and data recovery requirements


The schedule and configuration of backup levels directly affects how long a recovery
from a disk failure takes and how many backup volumes are needed for the recovery.
Plan the backup levels to minimize the number of volumes or the amount of disk space
that is used to store the data. The fewer the number of volumes that are required to
recover from a disk failure, the less the time that you require to restore the data.
Note: You can also reduce the size and the time it takes to back up data by using
directives. For example, use a directive to skip certain files or file systems when
performing a backup.
The following example illustrates how the backup levels affect the requirements for
data recovery.
In the following figure:
l Day 1—A full backup is run.
l Day 2— An incremental backup saves all files that have changed since the full
backup.
l Day 3—Another incremental backup saves all files that have changed since Day 2.

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l Day 4—A cumulative incremental backup saves all files that have changed since
the full backup on Day 1.
Figure 39 Incremental and cumulative incremental backup levels

To recover all data from a disk failure on Day 4, you need the data from the full backup
from September 30 and the cumulative incremental backup on Day 4. You no longer
need the data from Day 1, 2, and 3, because the volume with the cumulative
incremental backup includes that information.

Backup levels for the online indexes


The backup of the NetWorker server online indexes (client file index and media
database) occur in a separate policy.
NetWorker automatically creates a server backup action in the Server Backup
workflow of the Server Protection policy. By default, a full backup of the media
database, resource files, and the NetWorker Authentication Service database occurs
daily. A full backup of the client file indexes occur on the first day of the month. An
incremental backup of the client file indexes occur on the remaining days of the
month.

Synthetic full backups


A synthetic full backup combines a full backup and subsequent incremental backups to
form a new full backup. A synthetic full is equivalent to a traditional full backup and
can be used in all the same ways as a traditional full backup.
A synthetic full save set includes data that was backed up between the full backup and
the last incremental backup. After a synthetic full backup occurs, the next synthetic
full backup includes data that was backed up between the previous synthetic full
backup, and subsequent incremental backups.
During a traditional full backup, client data is sent over the network to the NetWorker
storage nodes, which can have a negative effect on client network performance. For
synthetic full backups, however, the NetWorker software analyzes the full backup and
subsequent incremental backups, extracts the most current versions of files, and then
streams the data into a new full backup. Synthesizing the new full backup does not
include the client machines and localizes the network traffic to the NetWorker server
and storage nodes.

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Performing synthetic full backups also reduces recovery time because the data is
restored from the single synthetic full backup instead of from the last full backup and
the incremental backups that follow it.
Synthetic full backups do not eliminate the requirement for full backups. It is
recommended to perform full backups on a monthly or quarterly basis, and limit the
number of incremental backups.

How a synthetic full backup is created


When a synthetic full backup operation starts, the NetWorker software performs an
incremental backup of the save set and then adds that to the full and incremental
backups that are already in place for the synthetic full process. Then the synthetic full
backup occurs.
The following figure illustrates how a synthetic full backup is created.
Figure 40 Synthetic full backups

In this example, the synthetic full backup operation creates the incremental backup at
T4. Then a synthetic full backup is created by combining the full backup at T1 with the
subsequent incremental backups at T2, T3, and T4 to form a synthetic full backup at
T4 + Delta. The save set at T4 + Delta is equivalent to a full backup that is taken at T4.
The T4 + Delta represents a small time change of one or two seconds from the time of
T4, since two separate save sets cannot be assigned the exact same save set time.
For example, if T4 is created at 1334389404, then T4+Delta is created at 1334389405,
with a difference of one second.
The synthetic full save set includes only files that are covered by save sets up to T4 at
1334389404. The incremental backup after the synthetic full backup at 1334389405
includes all changes since 1334389404. Note that the synthetic full backup does not
include the changes since T4, since only one save set can exist at any particular time.
After a synthetic full backup is performed, the next synthetic full backup combines the
previous synthetic full backup and subsequent incremental backups.

When to use synthetic full backups


Synthetic full backups are supported only for backups of file system data with
NetWorker 8.0 and later.
Synthetic full backups provide the most benefit in the following environments:
l The backup window is less than the amount of time it takes to perform a full
backup.
l A client is at a remote location, and data transfer over the network to the server is
a performance issue for either the network or the client.
l Network bandwidth is limited.
l Large backups over the network are cost-prohibitive.

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Synthetic full backups include only the NetWorker server and storage node. If all the
data is on a few storage nodes, then the network overhead for creating the synthetic
full backup can be drastically reduced when compared to a traditional full backup of
the same save sets.
NOTICE Under most conditions, synthetic full backups can free network
bandwidth and client resources. However, a synthetic full backup might take
longer to run on the storage node than a full backup because incremental backups
are combined into a synthetic full backup. Without proper planning, synthetic full
backups might affect the performance of the storage node.

To manage resource usage, perform synthetic full operations outside of the


normal backup window. Also, synthetic full backups do not eliminate the
requirement for full backups. It is best practice to schedule and perform full
backups on a monthly or quarterly basis and limit the number of incremental
backups.

Requirements for synthetic full backups


Ensure that the environment meets the requirements for synthetic full backups.

Save set requirements for synthetic full backups


All save sets participating in the construction of a synthetic full save set must meet
the following requirements:
l Be file system save sets.
l Retain the same client name and save set name during the incremental and full
backups that combine to form the synthetic full backup.
l Be browsable in the online index.
l Be created with NetWorker 8.0 or later.
Do not perform synthetic full backups with the following types of save sets:
l NDMP, SCSI, VCB, or snapshot save sets.
l Save sets that contain backups of raw disk file partitions.
l Save sets that contain database systems such as Microsoft Exchange and Oracle.
l Save sets where the backup command with save is not used.
l The Save set attribute for the client resource contains the DISASTER
RECOVERY:\ save set or the ALL save set on Windows.
When you use the ALL save set with synthetic full and virtual synthetic full
backups, the noncritical volumes save successfully. However, critical volumes
including DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ are not backed up. The nsrconsolidate()
command is unable to process the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set. The client
then runs a traditional full backup for the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set.
Backups that are performed during a checkpoint restart might be in a synthetic full
backup, if the other requirements for synthetic full backups are met.
For UNIX clients, include the forward slash to designate root (/) when specifying a
save set name for the client resource. Otherwise, the synthetic full backup fails. For
example, specify /tmp instead of tmp.
For Windows clients, include the backslash (\) when specifying a drive letter in a save
set name for the client resource. Otherwise, the synthetic full backup fails. For
example, specify D:\ instead of D:.

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Client resource configuration requirements for synthetic full


backups
Ensure that the Backup renamed directories attribute is enabled on the General tab
of the Client Properties dialog box for the Client resource. Select View Diagnostic
Mode in the Administration interface to access the Backup renamed directories
attribute in the Client Properties dialog box.
If you configure multiple policy workflows to run concurrently, set the Parallelism
attribute to 40 for the Client resource for the NetWorker server. The Parallelism
attribute is available on the Globals (1 of 2) tab of the Client Properties dialog box.
Setting the attribute to 20 limits the number of concurrent synthetic full operations to
20. Divide the parallelism setting by two to control the number of concurrently running
synthetic full operations. The best number of concurrent synthetic full operations
depends on the following criteria:
l Configuration of the NetWorker server.
l Size of the save sets and number of clients.
l Number of nsrpolicy instances that are concurrently running.

Backup storage for synthetic full backups


Configure a Client resource for the NetWorker storage node that you use for the
synthetic full backup. A client connection license for this storage node is not used if
the storage node is not backed up.
There must be at least two available attached devices to perform a synthetic full
backup: one for reading the backup data, and one for writing the backup data to a
synthetic full backup.
You can store synthetic full backups on any device that can be used in a traditional full
backup. However, since synthetic full backups include concurrent recover and save
operations, it is strongly recommended that you direct synthetic full backups to
devices that can perform concurrent operations, such as Data Domain devices or
Advanced File Type Devices (AFTDs). Using these device types allows the NetWorker
software to automatically handle volume contention, where the same volume is
required for both reading and for writing simultaneously. These devices typically offer
better performance.
You can use other devices such as tape drives, VTLs, and basic file devices as the
destination for synthetic full backups, but careful preparation is required for the
backup to succeed. The backup must be configured so that the destination volume
does not contain any of the sources save sets that are used for the synthetic full
backup. Also, for tape media, ensure that there are enough available drives to allow for
concurrent recovery of the source data and for saving the synthetic full backup.
Without careful planning, synthetic full backups to tape, VTL, or basic file devices
might stall because of volume contention.
To direct a synthetic full backup to a dedicated pool, configure a separate backup
action for synthetic full backups in the data protection policy, and select the pool as
the destination pool in the backup action for the synthetic full backup.

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Scheduling considerations for synthetic full backups


A synthetic full backup is resource intensive because it concurrently performs both
recover and save operations. As a result, it is best to perform synthetic full operations
outside of the normal backup window.
You can do this by creating separate workflows in a data protection policy for
synthetic full backups. When using synthetic full backups, do not exceed the time
interval of one month between traditional full backups.
To maintain current resource usage, which is defined as the space usage in the backup
media and client file indexes, run synthetic full backups in place of traditional full
backups. Running synthetic full backups more frequently than traditional backups are
currently run results in the consumption of more space in the backup media and client
file indexes.
For example, if a full backup occurs once a week, you can replace the full backup with
an incremental backup followed by a synthetic full backup without increasing the
backup space usage.
If you perform a full backup on Sunday and then incremental backups on Monday
through Saturday, then consider changing to the following schedule:
l Full backup on the first Sunday of the month.
l Incremental backups on Monday through Saturday.
l Synthetic full backups on the second, third, fourth, and fifth Sunday of the month.

Support for directives with synthetic full backups


You can use the compressasm and aes (encryption) directives with synthetic full
backups.
When using directives with synthetic full backups, consider the following:
l If directives were applied to save sets during the full and incremental backups that
are part of the synthetic full backup, the synthetic full backup does not remove
those directives.
l Any directives, including the compressasm and aes directives, that were applied
to the full and incremental backups that are part of the synthetic full backup are
not applied again.
l Do not use directives for synthetic full backups that are stored on a Data Domain
device.
l Unsupported directives are ignored during a synthetic full backup.
The UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about the nsrconsolidate command.
NOTICE Directives do not apply to virtual synthetic full backups.

Recovery storage node selection for synthetic full backups


The storage node that is used for recovery depends on whether the required volume is
mounted.
If the required volume is already mounted, then the storage node where the volume is
mounted is used for recovering data.
If the required volume is not mounted, then the recovery storage node is selected
based on the value in the Recover storage node attribute on the Globals (2 of 2) tab
of the Client Properties dialog box for the Client resource. Select View Diagnostic

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Mode in the Administration interface to access the Recover storage node attribute in
the Client Properties dialog box.

Performing synthetic full backups


You can schedule synthetic full backups from the Administration window, or perform a
manual incremental synthetic full backup from the command prompt.

Performing scheduled synthetic full backups


Perform scheduled synthetic full backups by configuring a data protection policy with
a traditional backup action.
Procedure
1. Ensure that the environment meets the requirements that are provided in
Requirements for synthetic full backups on page 362.
2. Create a group to define the clients for the synthetic full backups:
l Create a basic client group to specify a static list of clients.
l Create a dynamic client group to specify a dynamic list of Client resources.
When the backup starts, the NetWorker policy engine dynamically generates
a list of Client resources that match the tags that are specified for the
group.
Create separate groups for Windows clients and UNIX clients. Do not mix
clients with different operating system types in the same group.
3. Create a policy.
Policies provide a container for the workflows, actions, and groups that support
and define the backup action.
4. Create a workflow.
Workflows define the start time for a series of actions, the order of actions in a
sequence, and the group of client resources for which the action occurs.
5. Use the Policy Action wizard to create a traditional backup action with the
following settings:
l In the schedule area of the Choose Action Type page, click the icon on each
day to specify the type of backup to perform. The following icon indicates
that a synthetic full backup will occur on the selected day:

l On the Options page, leave the Verify synthetic full option selected to
verify the integrity of the new index entries that are created in the client file
index for the synthetic full backup.
l On the Options page, leave the Revert to full when synthetic full fails
option selected to perform a full backup of the save set if the synthetic full
backup fails.

Performing manual synthetic full backups


Run the nsrconsolidate program from the command line of the NetWorker server
to perform a manual synthetic full backup of a save set for a client.
Use the –c option to specify the client name, and the –N option to specify the save
set name, with the nsrconsolidate command. You can also use the –C option to
specify both the client and save set name together, the –S option to specify the save

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set ID (instead of the save set name), and the –t and –e options to specify the start
time and end time for the save set, respectively.
The value that you specify for a save set name, client name, file name, or directory
name with nsrconsolidate for a Windows client is case-sensitive because the
NetWorker software cross-platform indexing system is case-sensitive. A best practice
is to always specify the Windows drive letter in uppercase.
When you run multiple nsrconsolidate commands, run fewer commands that
include many save sets instead of multiple commands with fewer save sets. This
strategy helps nsrconsolidate to manage the number of concurrent synthetic full
operations and reduce resource usage. The best number of concurrent synthetic full
operations depends on the following criteria:
l Configuration of the NetWorker server.
l Size of the save sets and number of clients.
l Number of nsrpolicy instances that are concurrently running.
The NetWorker Command Reference Guide or the UNIX man pages provide details on
nsrconsolidate.

Validating synthetic full backups


You can validate VSF backups by using the mminfo command, the Media window of
the Administration interface, and the savegrp logs.
Validating synthetic full backups with the mminfo command
The following table lists the mminfo commands with applicable switches for validating
synthetic full backups.

Table 59 mminfo commands for synthetic full backup validation

Command with switches Description


mminfo –aS Shows detailed information about synthetic
full backups, including information about the
save sets used to form the synthetic full
backup.

mminfo –q syntheticfull –c client -N Queries all synthetic full save sets for the
save_set specified client and save_set.

Validating synthetic full backups in the Media window of the Administration


interface
When you search for save sets in the Media window of the Administration interface,
you can limit the save set results to synthetic full save sets by selecting the Synthetic
Full checkbox on the Query Save Set tab. Searching for save sets on page 525
provides instructions.
Validating synthetic full backups in the backup action logs
The following excerpt from the backup action log file illustrates the type of messages
NetWorker displays when performing a synthetic full backup:
1707:97860:nsrconsolidate: Synthetic full save set hostname:/
sat-tree at savetime 1358188522 was created by using non-
virtual synthetic mode
95773:nsrrecopy: Virtual synthetic succeeded for hostname:/
test1

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Synthetic full backup reporting


The backup statistics and backup status reports provide details on synthetic full
backups. A value of Synthetic in the Type column for the Save Sets Details
report or the Save Sets Details by client report indicates that the backup is
a synthetic full backup. Enterprise data reporting on page 636 provides more
information.

Virtual synthetic full backups


A virtual synthetic full (VSF) backup is the same as a synthetic full backup, except
that it is performed on a single Data Domain system.
Similar to synthetic full, VSF uses full and partial backups to create a full backup.
However, since the backup occurs on a Data Domain system using DD Boost APIs, the
backup does not require save set data to be sent over the network. The result is
improved performance over synthetic full and traditional full backups.
The following table compares traditional synthetic full and virtual synthetic full
backups.

Table 60 Comparison of traditional synthetic full and virtual synthetic full backups

Traditional synthetic full Virtual synthetic full


Data is read from and written to volumes. Data movement is limited within the same
Data Domain system.

Read/write for all types of volumes is Only Data Domain devices are supported, and
supported. the source and destination volumes must
belong to the same Data Domain system.
However, the volumes can belong to different
MTrees in the same Data Domain system.

The client file index is created by nsrrecopy. The client file index is created by
nsrconsolidate.

Client Direct support is not required. Client Direct support is required.

Requirements for VSF backups


Ensure that the environment meets the requirements for virtual synthetic full (VSF)
backups.
The following table lists the requirements for VSF backups.

Table 61 Requirements for virtual synthetic full backups

Requirement Details
DDOS version Version 5.3 or later for both Data Domain
systems and Data Domain Archivers.

DD Boost version Version 2.6 or later.

Data Domain system configuration Enable the


virtual-synthetics option on the
Data Domain system. To verify that
virtual-synthetics is enabled, log in

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Table 61 Requirements for virtual synthetic full backups (continued)

Requirement Details

to the Data Domain system and type the


following command:

ddboost option show

Ensure that a value of


enabled appears next to the
virtual-synthetics option in the
output for the command.

NOTICE If virtual-synthetics is
disabled but all other requirements for
VSF are met, then the VSF backup fails
with errors. NetWorker does not perform
a traditional synthetic full backup in this
case.

Backup storage All constituent backups for the VSF backup


must be on the same Data Domain system.
The save sets can be distributed across
multiple storage nodes and located in
different MTrees on the Data Domain system.

Client resource configuration l Enable the Client direct attribute on the


General tab of the Client Properties
dialog box for the client resource.

You must select ViewDiagnostic Mode in


the Administration interface to access the
Client direct attribute in the
Client Properties dialog box.
l Enable the Data Domain backup
attribute on the Apps & Modules tab of
the Client Properties dialog box for the
client resource.
l To ensure optimal backup performance,
configure the client to backup 10 or fewer
save sets.

Device resource configuration Specify a value in the volume location


attribute for the device resource for the Data
Domain system. NetWorker updates the
volume location attribute during the device
mount operation.
NOTICE Before you update a storage
node that uses Data Domain devices,
unmount each device. Once the update
completes, mount each device.

NetWorker upgrade requirements If you upgrade the NetWorker client to


release 8.1 or later from a release before 8.1,
you must perform a full backup before you

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Table 61 Requirements for virtual synthetic full backups (continued)

Requirement Details
perform a VSF backup. Otherwise, file-by-file
recovery fails.

Cloning requirements The virtual-synthetics option must


be enabled for Data Domain systems being
used for cloning VSF backups. Otherwise,
cloning fails.

The NetWorker Data Domain Boost Integration Guide provides details on configuring the
NetWorker environment for use with a Data Domain system.
Support for directives
Directives do not apply to VSF backups because the VSF backup is created by the
Data Domain system.
Support for concurrent operations
The volume of concurrent VSF operations that a Data Domain system can handle
depends on the model of the Data Domain system and the capacity of the NetWorker
host. The following scenarios have been tested and verified to work:
l Concurrent VSF backups.
l A VSF backup concurrent with a cloning operation.
l A VSF backup concurrent with clone-controlled replication.

Performing VSF backups


Procedure
1. Ensure that the environment meets the requirements for virtual synthetic full
(VSF) backups.
If NetWorker detects that one or more of the requirements are not met, then a
traditional synthetic full backup occurs instead.
2. Perform the backup:
l For scheduled backups, select the synthetic full backup level for the backup
action in the data protection policy.
The procedure for scheduled VSF backups is the same as the procedure for
scheduled traditional synthetic full backups. Performing scheduled synthetic
full backups on page 365 provides more information on configuring a data
protection policy for a scheduled synthetic full backup.
l For manual backups at the command line, use the nsrconsolidate
command.
The procedure for manual VSF backups is the same as the procedure for
manual traditional synthetic full backups. Performing manual synthetic full
backups on page 365 provides more information.

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Validating VSF backups


You can validate VSF backups by using the mminfo command, the Media window of
the Administration interface, and the savegrp logs.
Validating VSF backups with the mminfo command
The following table lists the mminfo commands with applicable switches for validating
VSF backups.

Table 62 mminfo commands for VSF backup validation

Command with switches Description


mminfo –aS Shows detailed information about synthetic
full backups, including information about the
save sets used to form the synthetic full
backup.

mminfo –q syntheticfull –c client -N Queries all synthetic full save sets for the
save_set specified client and save_set.

Validating VSF backups in the Media window of the Administration interface


When you search for save sets in the Media window of the Administration interface,
you can limit the save set results to synthetic full and VSF save sets by selecting the
Synthetic Full checkbox on the Query Save Set tab. Searching for save sets on page
525 provides instructions.
Validating VSF backups in the savegrp logs
The following excerpt from the policy log file illustrates the type of messages
NetWorker displays when performing VSF backups or traditional synthetic full
backups, or when performing a traditional synthetic full backup because the VSF
backup requirements are not met:
1707:97860:nsrconsolidate: Synthetic full save set hostname:/
sat-tree at savetime 1358188522 was created by using non-
virtual synthetic mode
95773:nsrrecopy: Virtual synthetic succeeded for hostname:/
test1

Backup scheduling
When you schedule backups, you define the days on which backups occur and the
level of backup (full, incremental, and so on) that occurs each day.

Scheduling backup cycles


The period from one full backup to the next full backup is called a backup cycle.
For example, the default schedule for backups is a full backup on a client each Sunday,
and incremental backups on the other days of the week, as illustrated in the following
figure.

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Figure 41 Default weekly backup schedule

Depending on the size of a network, you could perform full backups for all clients
simultaneously. For example, if no one works over the weekend you could schedule full
backups during this time.
Alternatively, you may need to configure backups to balance the backup load on and
increase the efficiency of a NetWorker server. Since full backups transfer large
amounts of data and typically take longer than other backup levels, you might want to
stagger them throughout the week. For example, you could configure backups so that
full backups occur for one group of clients on Sunday, for a second group of clients on
Tuesday, and a third group of clients on Thursday, as illustrated in the following figure.
Figure 42 Staggered weekly backup schedule for multiple groups of clients

Note: Consider using a synthetic full backup in environments with a short backup
window period when you must create a full backup.

Considerations for scheduling backups


Planning schedules for backups in an environment requires careful consideration of
several factors.
For example:
l The amount of data you must back up.
l The number of backup media volumes to use.
l The amount of time available to complete a backup.
l The number of volumes that are required to recover from a disaster such as a disk
failure.
Recovery considerations
You must also determine the requirements for recovering files. For example, if users
expect to recover any version of a lost file that was backed up during a three-month

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period (that is, the retention setting is three months), then you must maintain all the
backup volumes for a three-month period. However, if users expect to be able to
recover data from only the last month, you do not need to maintain as many volumes.
Considerations for large client file systems
At a moderate backup rate of 400 KB per second, a full backup for a client with 10 GB
of data takes about seven hours to complete. Performing a scheduled full backup for
such large client save sets may not be convenient because of the amount of time
required.
For large client file systems, consider scheduling consider separate backups for each
of the client disk volumes. This strategy enables you to back up all the client files, but
not all at once, which is less time-consuming than a full backup of all local data at one
time.
To schedule separate backups of each client disk volume, configure multiple client
resources for the client, and explicitly list one disk volume as the save set for each
client resource. Add each client resource to a different group. Then configure
separate policy workflows to back up each group on a different schedule.
NOTICE When you create explicitly list save sets, any files or file systems not in
that list are omitted from the backup, including any new disk volumes that you add
to the system. Remember to configure backups for any new disk volumes after
you add them.

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Methods for scheduling backups


You can configure the backup schedule for a group of clients as part of data
protection policy settings, or you can configure schedule overrides.

Schedules and backup levels assigned to an action


You specify the schedule and backup level as part of the backup action. The following
figure illustrates the default weekly schedule for a traditional backup action, with a full
backup on Sunday, and incremental backups on the remaining days of the week.
Figure 43 Default weekly schedule for a traditional backup action

You can also configure the schedule for a backup action on a monthly basis instead of
on a weekly basis.
Click the icon in the schedule to change the backup level that is performed on that
day. The following table provides details about the backup level that each icon
represents.

Table 63 Scheduled backup level icons

Icon Label Description


Full Perform a full backup on this
day. Full backups include all
files, regardless of whether
the files changed.

Incr Perform an incremental


backup on this day.
Incremental backups include
files that have changed since

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Table 63 Scheduled backup level icons (continued)

Icon Label Description


the last backup of any type
(full or incremental).

Cumulative Incr Perform a cumulative


incremental backup.
Cumulative incremental
backups include files that
have changed since the last
full backup.

Logs Only Perform a backup of only


database transaction logs.

Synthetic Full Perform a synthetic full


backup on this day. A
synthetic full backup includes
all data that changed since
the last full backup and
subsequent incremental
backups to create a synthetic
full backup.

Skip Do not perform a backup on


this day.

Configuring multiple backup levels for frequently scheduled backups


Use the Force Backup Level attribute in the Specify the Action Information window
of the Action wizard to override the backup levels of a Traditional backup action that
occurs multiple times in a 24 hour period.
For workflows that have more than one scheduled backup within a 24-hour period, use
the Force Backup Level attribute to allow more than one backup to occur at two
different backup levels in a 24-hour period. When you select a backup level in the
Force Backup Level attribute, the first backup is performed at the scheduled backup
level. Each subsequent occurrence of the backup action in the next 24 hours occurs at
the level defined in the Force Backup Level attribute. For example, if the level defined
by the schedule is Full and the Force Backup Level attribute is set to Incr, the first
backup started by the action occurs at a level full and subsequent backups, within 24
hours of the start of the full backup are incremental. By default this option is cleared,
which means that if the action runs multiple backup operations in a 24 period, all the
backups occur at the scheduled backup level.
The following figure provides an example of the Force Backup Level attribute in the
Specify the Action Information window, with the Cumulative Incr option selected.

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Figure 44 The Force Backup Level attribute

Defining a schedule for a client


NetWorker allows you to override the backup level for a schedule traditional backup
action by configuring a schedule for a client.
NetWorker provides you with preconfigured schedules that you can assign to a client.
Review the following sections for information about preconfigured schedules, how to
modify a schedule, and how to assign a schedule to a client resource.

Preconfigured schedules
When you override the policy backup schedule for a client resource, you can select or
customize one of the preconfigured schedules that are available when you install or
upgrade the NetWorker software.
The following table describes the preconfigured schedules.

Table 64 Preconfigured NetWorker schedules

Schedule name NetWorker backup operation


Default Weekly schedule that performs a full backup
every Sunday and incremental backups on all
other days.

Forever Incremental Monthly schedule that performs a synthetic


full backup every day.

Full Every Day Weekly schedule that performs a full backup


every day.

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Table 64 Preconfigured NetWorker schedules (continued)

Schedule name NetWorker backup operation


Full Every Friday Weekly schedule that performs a full backup
every Friday and incremental backups on all
other days.

Full on 1st Friday of Month Monthly schedule that performs a full backup
on the first
Friday of the month and incremental backups
on all other days.

You cannot edit this schedule.

Full on 1st of Month Monthly schedule that performs a full backup


on the first calendar day of the month, and
incremental backups on all other days.

Quarterly Monthly schedule that performs a full backup


on the first day of a quarter, a cumulative
incremental backup once a week after the full
backup, and then incremental backups on all
other days.

Synthetic Full Monthly schedule that performs a synthetic


1st Friday of Month full backup on the first Friday of every month,
and incremental backups on all other days.

Synthetic Full Weekly schedule that performs a synthetic


Every Friday full backup on every Friday and incremental
backups on all other days.

Synthetic Full Monthly schedule that performs a synthetic


on 1st of Month full backup on the first calendar day of the
month, and incremental backups on all other
days.

Synthetic Full Monthly schedule that performs a synthetic


Quarterly full backup on the first day of each quarter, a
cumulative incremental backup once a week
after the synthetic full backup, and then
incremental backups on all other days.

You can edit all preconfigured schedules except for schedules that contain overrides,
which are indicated by an asterisk next to a backup level in the schedule calendar. You
cannot delete a preconfigured schedule.

Managing the schedule resource


Review this section for information about how to create, edit, copy, and delete
schedule resources.
Creating a backup schedule
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Schedules.
3. From the File menu, select New.
The Create Schedule dialog box appears.

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4. In the Name box, type a name for the schedule.


5. From the Period list, select Week or Month to control whether the schedule
repeats on a weekly or monthly basis.
6. Optional, specify a description of the schedule in the Comment box.
7. Set the backup level for each day by right-clicking the day, selecting Set Level
and then the backup level.
8. Optional, set the override backup level for a day by right-clicking the day,
selecting Override Level and then the backup level.
For example, to prevent a full backup from running on a holiday, override the
schedule so that the full backup runs on the day before or the day after the
holiday. An asterisk (*) next to a backup level indicates that an override has
been set for that day.
Note: If you override backup levels by using the nsradmin command line
program, you can also specify relative date values such as full first
friday every 2 week. The nsr_schedule UNIX man page and the
NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed information about
overriding backup levels.

9. Click OK.
Editing a schedule
You can edit all custom schedules, and all preconfigured schedules, except for
preconfigured schedules that contain overrides. Overrides are indicated by an asterisk
next to a backup level in the schedule calendar. You can edit all schedule settings
except for the name.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Schedules.
3. In the right pane, right-click the schedule and select Properties.
The Schedule Properties dialog box appears.
4. Edit the settings for the schedule and click OK.
Copying a schedule
You can create a new backup schedule by copying an existing schedule and then
editing the copy.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Schedules.
3. In the right pane, right-click the schedule to copy and select Copy.
The Create Schedule dialog box appears with the same information as the
copied schedule except for the name.
4. In the Name box, type a name for the new schedule.
5. Edit the settings for the schedule and click OK.

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Deleting a schedule
You can delete any custom schedules that you have created. You cannot delete
preconfigured schedules.
Before you begin
Ensure that the schedule has not been applied to any Client resources by verifying the
setting in the Schedule list on the General tab of the Client Properties dialog box for
each Client resource.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Schedules.
3. In the right pane, right-click the schedule and select Delete.
A confirmation message appears.
4. Click Yes.

Configuring a client to override the schedule assigned to an action


You can override the backup schedule that is specified in the data protection policies
that apply to a client resource by specifying a schedule for the Client resource itself.
Procedure
1. (Optional) Create or customize the schedule that you plan to assign to the
Client resource.
2. In the Administration window, select View > Diagnostic Mode to enable
diagnostic mode view.
A check mark next to Diagnostic Mode in the View menu indicates that
diagnostic mode view is enabled.
3. In the Administration window, click Protection.
4. In the expanded left pane, select Clients.
5. In the right pane, right-click the client resource and select Modify Client
Properties.
The Client Properties dialog box appears, starting with the General tab.
6. Ensure that the Scheduled Backup checkbox is selected.
When the checkbox is clear, scheduled backups do not occur for the client.
7. From the Schedule list, select the schedule to use instead of the schedule in
the data protection policies that apply to the Client resource.
8. Enable Client determines level.
9. Click OK.

Backup retention
The retention setting for a save set determines how long the NetWorker server
maintains save set entries in the media database and client file indexes. Until the
retention period expires, you can recover client backup data from backup storage
either by browsing the data or by recovering the entire save set.
Removing expired save sets on page 533 describes how to remove save sets from
backup storage after the retention period expires.

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Methods for setting retention


You can specify retention for backup save sets and clone save sets in a variety of
ways. If you specify retention by using multiple methods, then the retention setting
that applies depends on the scenario.
Note:
If you set a retention policy on February 29 of a leap year, the last day in which
the policy applied is 1 day earlier than you might expect. For example, if you set a
retention policy to 1 year on March 3, 2015, the save set will expire on March 3,
2016 as expected, which is 366 days. If you set a retention policy to 1 year on
February 29, 2016, you might expect that the policy will expire March 1, 2017.
However, the policy will actually expire on February 28, 2017, which is 365 days.
This behavior is only seen when a retention policy is set on February 29 for one or
more years.
Retention for data protection policies
You can specify retention for backup save sets and clone save sets as part of the
actions in a data protection policy. Retention settings are available for the traditional
backup, snapshot backup, VMware backup, server backup, VBA checkpoint backup,
and clone actions.
A single Client resource can belong to multiple groups. Therefore, you can assign
different retention settings for the same client and save set data by configuring
different workflows and actions. Consider the following example scenario:
l A client belongs to both Client Group A and Client Group B.
l Client Group A is assigned to Workflow 1, which performs a backup with a
retention setting of 1 month.
l Client Group B is assigned to Workflow 2, which performs a backup with a
retention setting of 1 year.
In this case, backups for the client that are performed with Workflow 1 are retained for
1 month, and backups for the client that are performed with Workflow 2 are retained
for 1 year.
Retention for Client resources
You can assign a retention policy to a client resource that overrides the retention
period that is specified in an Action resource, when you configure the Client Override
Behavior attribute value to Client Can Override in the Action resource. Assigning a
retention policy to a Client resource provides more information.
Retention for Pool resources
Previous versions of NetWorker allowed you to define a value in the Retention
attribute of a Pool resource. When you update a NetWorker 8.2.x or earlier server, the
update process retains the value that is defined in the Retention attribute of a Pool
resource as a read-only value.
Order of precedence for Retention resource attributes
It is recommended that you use the configuration settings in an Action resource to
determine which pool received backup data. NetWorker provides you with the ability
to configure a Pool attribute in the client resource, which can override the value
defined in the Action resource. Additionally, the Pool resource contains 8.2.x legacy
attributes that provide you with the ability to define backup data criteria for the pool.
How and when NetWorker uses the attributes values defined in the Pool, Action, and
Client resources to determine which backup pool will receive data depends on the
value that you select in the Client Override Behavior attribute of the Action resource:

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l Client Can Override—The value in Retention attribute of the Client resource


takes precedence over the Retention value that is defined in the Action resource.
l Client Can Not Override—The value defined Retention attribute in the Action
resource takes precedence over the value that is defined in Retention attribute of
the Client resource and the Retention attribute of the Pool resource.
l Legacy Backup Rules—Enabled for migrations only. NetWorker uses the values
that are defined in the Retention attribute of the Pool resource to determine
which the retention policy to assign to backup data from a client. The value that is
defined in the Retention attribute of the Pool resource take precedence over the
Retention value that is defined in the Action resource and the Retention value
that is defined in the Client resource.
Note: You cannot modify the legacy attributes in the migrated Pool resources.

Retention for manual backups


If you specify retention with a manual backup from the command prompt with save -
w, the retention setting applies to all the save sets that are in the manual backup.
Specify the retention setting by using the time and date formats that are accepted by
the nsr_getdate program. The save and nsr_getdate UNIX man page and the
NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed information about data
formats.
If you do not specify retention for a manual backup, then retention is applied based on
the retention setting of either the Client resource or the media pool for the backup,
whichever is longer. If there are multiple Client resources for the host, then the
longest retention setting applies.

Assigning a retention policy to a Client resource


You can override the retention setting specified in the data protection policies that
apply to a Client resource by specifying a retention setting for the Client resource
itself.
About this task
NetWorker provides one of the following default retention policies that you can assign
to the Client resource. Default retention policies include:
l Day
l Week
l Month
l Quarter
l Year
l Decade
You can also create a custom retention policy.
Procedure
1. (Optional) Create or customize the retention policy that you plan to assign to
the Client resource.
a. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Server.
b. In the expanded left pane, select Time Policies.
c. Create a policy or modify a retention Policy resource:
l To create a policy, from the File menu, select New.

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l To modify a policy, right-click the retention policy and select Properties.

d. For a new policy only, in the Name box, type a name for the retention policy.
e. Optionally, in the Comment box, type a description of the retention policy.
f. From the Number of periods and Period lists, specify the duration of the
retention period.
g. Click OK.
2. In the NetWorker Administration window, select View > Diagnostic Mode to
enable diagnostic mode view.
A check mark next to Diagnostic Mode in the View menu indicates that
diagnostic mode view is enabled.
3. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
4. In the expanded left pane, select Clients.
5. In the right pane, right-click the client resource and select Modify Client
Properties.
The Client Properties dialog box appears, starting with the General tab.
6. From the Retention policy list, select the retention policy to apply to all
backups of the client resource, regardless of the retention setting for any data
protection policies that apply to the client resource.
7. Click OK.

Editing retention for a save set


Use the nsrmm program with the -e option to edit the retention setting of a save set
after the backup has occurred.
Specify the save set ID with the -S option, and specify the updated time in quotation
marks with the -e option. The time and date format must use a format that is
accepted by the nsr_getdate program.
Use the mminfo command with the -p option to view a report on the retention times
for save sets.
The UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about the nsrmm, nsr_getdate, and mminfo commands.
Example commands to edit retention for a save set
The following command updates the retention time for save set ID 3315861249 to
midnight on January 1, 2016:

nsrmm -S 3315861249 -e "01/01/16 23:59:59"

The following command updates the retention time for save set ID 3315861249 to
two years from the current date and time:

nsrmm -S 3315861249 -e "2 years"

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General backup considerations


Before you configure Client resources to backup data on a host, review this section
for information that applies to Windows, UNIX, and Mac OS-X hosts.

Renamed directories
When you rename a directory, a full backup is performed on all subdirectories and files
of the renamed directory.
If you then rename the directory back to its original name, then files and
subdirectories of the directory are not eligible for backup until the files or
subdirectories are updated or the next full backup occurs.
You can change this default behavior by clearing the Backup renamed directories
checkbox on the General tab of the Client Properties dialog box for a Client
resource. You must select View > Diagnostic Mode in the Administration interface to
access the Backup renamed directories attribute in the Client Properties dialog
box.
When you clear the Backup renamed directories checkbox for a Client resource,
unchanged files and folders under the renamed directory are skipped during a non-full
backup. This behavior can cause unexpected results during a recovery operation. If
you try to recover data under a renamed directory from a date between the time that
the directory was renamed and the next full backup, it may appear that data is
missing. For that recovery period, any files or folders that were unchanged do not
appear under the renamed directory. Instead, they appear under the previous
directory name.
You must leave the Backup renamed directories checkbox selected for clients that
perform synthetic full backups.

Raw partitions
The NetWorker software must have exclusive access to a file system to perform a raw
backup. Close as many applications as possible before doing a raw disk backup. If the
raw partition contains data that are managed by an active database management
system (DBMS), ensure that the partition is offline and the database manager is shut
down. For greater flexibility when backing up partitions that contain DBMS data, use a
NetWorker Module application.
Raw partitions on Windows
Back up raw disk partitions on Windows by specifying the raw disk partition in a save
set with the save command. Identify the raw partition as a physical drive or logical
drive. For example:

save -s NetWorker_server_name -o VSS:*=off \\.\e:


save -s NetWorker_server_name -o VSS:*=off \\.\PhysicalDrive0

Raw partitions on UNIX


Back up raw disk partitions on UNIX by using the rawasm directive.
Raw partitions on Linux
NetWorker can only save an unbound Linux raw device. When you back up a Linux raw
disk partition, you must specify /dev/sd or /dev/hd in the Save set attribute on the

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General tab of the Client Properties dialog box for the Linux Client resource. The
backup fails if you use the /dev/raw device.

Access control lists


The NetWorker software supports backup and restore of Access Control Lists (ACLs)
and extended ACLs for Linux, HP-UX, AIX, DEC, Solaris, OS X, and Windows.
When a file with an associated ACL is backed up, the ACL is backed up along with the
file data. When the file is recovered, any associated ACL is also recovered.
The ACL passthrough checkbox on the Configuration tab of the NetWorker Server
Properties dialog box controls whether to recover files with associated ACLs. Select
the checkbox to recover files with associated ACLs.

Client parallelism and parallel save streams


Client parallelism defines the number of data streams that a client can use
simultaneously during backup.
Data streams include backup data streams, savefs processes, and probe jobs.
The default value is different for the NetWorker server than it is for all other client
resources:
l For the NetWorker server client resource, the default value is 12. This higher
default value enables the server to complete a larger number of index backups
during a Server backup action.
l For all other clients, the default value is 4.
To define client parallelism, use the Parallelism attribute of the Client resource. You
can find the parallelism attribute on the Globals(1 of 2) tab of the Client property
dialog box, in the NetWorker Administration window.
The NetWorker Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) User Guide provides more
information about recommended parallelism settings for NDMP clients.
To avoid disk contention for clients other than the NetWorker server, specify a value
that is the same as or fewer than the number of physical disks on the client that are
included in the backup.
For a Windows client with the ALL keyword save set attribute, the backup includes the
local disks, for example C: and D: drives as well as the System State and System DB.
In this example, you can keep the default parallelism setting of 4. If you define multiple
save sets on the same disk, for example, C:\users, C:\system, C:\docs and so
on , a higher client parallelism results in multiple save streams attempting to access
the disk at the same time.
The NetWorker Performance Optimization Planning Guide provides more information
about recommended client parallelism values and performance benefits.
Enabling the parallel save streams (PSS) feature for a Client resource allows you to
back up each save set for the client by using multiple parallel save streams to one or
more destination backup devices. You can use PSS to perform the scheduled file level
backup of file systems, and block based backups.
You can use PSS for clients with supported UNIX, Linux, and Windows operating
systems. Supported save sets for PSS include the Save Set ALL, and individual save
points including Disaster_Recovery, deduplicated, and CSV volumes (Windows
only). Checkpoint restart is not supported when you use PSS.
When you enable PSS, you can specify the maximum number of save streams that a
client can send simultaneously for one or more save set backups concurrently running

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by using the Parallelism attribute in the Client Properties dialog. The default value
for the Parallelism attribute is different for the NetWorker Server than it is for all
other Client resources:
l For the NetWorker Server Client resource, the default value is 12. This higher
default value enables the server to complete a larger number of index backups
during a file system backup of the server or other index backups.
l For all other clients, the default value is 4.
Enabling PSS results in significant performance improvements due to save set
aggregation, where the NetWorker Server starts a single save process per client with
all client save sets that are passed to the single process for various processing
optimizations, such as minimal Windows VSS snapshots and support for the following:
l Four parallel streams are started per save set, subject to any client parallelism
limitations that might prevent all save sets from starting simultaneously.
l The ability to modify the number of parallel streams per save set by defining the
new PSS:streams_per_ss environment variable save operations attribute in the
properties of a Client resource. For example, setting PSS:streams_per_ss=2,*
splits all save sets into two parallel save streams, whereas
PSS:streams_per_ss=3,/data1, 5,/data2 splits /data1 into three parallel save
streams and /data2 into five parallel save streams.
l Automatic stream reclaiming, which dynamically increases the number of active
streams for an already running save set backup to maximize utilization of limited
client parallelism conditions.
Note: It is recommended that you set the client parallelism value to be a multiple
of the PSS:streams_per_ss parameter default value 4 or its largest defined value
when configured. For example, a multiple of 4 is 8, 12, or 16.

If the client parallelism is less than the PSS:streams_per_ss default 4 or the


lowest configured value, the backup fails displaying an error message.

The PSS:streams_per_ss values range from 1 to 8. If you specify an invalid value,


the backup proceeds with the default value 4, and a warning message displays
stating that that the entire PSS:streams_per_ss parameter is ignored.
The NetWorker Performance Optimization Planning Guide provides complete details on
PSS requirements and performance benefits.

Configuring parallel save streams


Enable parallel save streams and specify the maximum number of save streams for a
client by using the Client Properties dialog box. Note that the value specified for
parallelism as part of an action in a policy is ignored for PSS backups.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Clients.
3. Right-click the Client resource and select Modify Client Properties.
The Client Properties dialog box appears, starting with the General tab.
4. In the Save set attribute, specify All or a list of paths, for example, on UNIX /X
and /Y or on Windows X:\ and Y:\.
5. Select the Globals (1 of 2) tab.
6. From the Parallelism list, specify the maximum number of save streams.

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7. Select the Parallel save streams per save set checkbox.


8. Click OK.

Configuring parallel save streams for virtual clients


If you are backing up virtual clients, you can base the client parallelism setting on the
underlying physical host. In this way, the total number of save streams for all virtual
clients that reside on a physical host are limited to the value specified for the physical
host.
About this task
For example, consider an environment with ten virtual machines running on the same
physical host. Each virtual machine is a NetWorker client, and each client has a client
parallelism setting of 4. This setting can result in a total of 40 save streams occurring
on the same physical host, which would significantly slow down that system. To avoid
this situation, you can specify that the client parallelism values are to be based on the
underlying physical host. In this example, that would result in no more than four save
streams occurring for the backup of the ten virtual clients.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, select View > Diagnostic Mode to enable
diagnostic mode view.
A check mark next to Diagnostic Mode in the View menu indicates that
diagnostic mode view is enabled.
2. Click Protection.
3. In the expanded left pane, select Clients.
4. Right-click the Client resource for the virtual client and select Modify Client
Properties.
The Client Properties dialog box appears, starting with the General tab.
5. Select the Virtual client checkbox.
6. Type the name of the underlying physical host in the Physical host box.
7. Select the Globals (1 of 2) tab.
8. From the Parallelism list, specify the maximum number of save streams.
9. Select the Physical client parallelism checkbox.
10. Select the Parallel save streams per save set checkbox.
11. Click OK.
12. Repeat these steps for all virtual NetWorker clients that share the same
physical host.
Ensure that the value in the Physical host attribute is the same for all virtual
NetWorker Client resources that share the same physical host.

Configuring backup retry and retry delay


This can be set in backup action.
The number of retries can be set maximum up to 5. The default retry value is 1. The
more the number of retries means that NetWorker will try to complete the backup in
successive attempts
The retry delay range can be set up from 1 to 720 seconds. The default retry delay
value is 30 seconds.

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Note: Starting with NetWorker 18.1 and later, the number of retries can be set
maximum up to 24 and retry delay can be set maximum up to 3600 seconds from
CLI only.

Troubleshooting PSS
About this task
It is recommended that you troubleshoot PSS with the guidance of Customer Service.
The NetWorker Performance Optimization Planning Guide provides complete details on
PSS requirements and performance benefits.
Procedure
1. Enable detailed logging for the client:
a. Specify the following value for the Backup command attribute on the Apps
& Modules tab of the Client Properties box:
save -v -D7 (or D9 for more detailed logging)

b. Type the following command at the command prompt on the client


computer:
touch /nsr/debug/mbsdfopen

2. In the Protection window of the Administration interface, enable the -v


verbose option for scheduled backups by selecting Policies > policy name >
workflow name.
3. Wait for the next backup to occur, or manually start a backup by using one of
the following methods:
l In the Protection window of the Administration interface, right-click the
workflow and select Start.
l Use the nsrpolicy command on NetWorker server:
nsrpolicy start -p "policy" -w "workflow"
where policy is the name of the policy and workflow is the name of the
workflow to start.
4. After the workflow finishes, collect the log files in the following table for
Customer Service.

Table 65 Log files for PSS troubleshooting

Log file Log files to collect


type
Client All log files in /nsr/tmp/save-mbs-*

NetWorker l /nsr/logs/daemon.raw
server
l All log files in /nsr/logs/policy/policy_name/ workflow_name/
action_name_sequence#_logs/*
For example, /nsr/logs/policy/Silver/Filesystem/
Backup_032334_logs/*
l /nsr/tmp/savegrp.log

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Maximum path and save set length


The maximum supported length in the NetWorker software for a pathname is 12 KB,
and the maximum length for a save set name is 1024 bytes. The number of characters
that are allowed by each of these limits depends on the locale.
All operating systems have an internal limit for path and file names. The limit depends
on the operating system and file system. Typically, the pathname component size is
256.
For UNIX, only the path component length is checked against the limit. As a result, it is
possible to create a path and file name that is greater than the limit supported by the
operating system, but an try to access this path fails.

Open files
Open files are a problem that all data backup applications must solve. Open files that
are not backed up correctly represent a potential data loss. They might be skipped,
improperly backed up, or locked.
NetWorker can open files that are owned by the operating system and files that are
owned by a specific application.
When you use VSS technology with NetWorker to create snapshot backups of
volumes and exact copies of files, the backup includes all open files and files that
change during the backup process.
Files owned by the operating system
Most open files that are owned by the operating system can be backed up. However,
some applications can apply operating system locks to open files. These locks prevent
other applications, such as NetWorker software, from writing to or reading from the
open file.
The NetWorker software normally skips locked files and returns the following
message:
save: filename cannot open
Also, the operating system might return a permission denied error.
To back up locked open files, close any open files if possible. To automate this
process, create a pre- and postprocessing backup command that shuts down specific
applications, backs up the open files, and then restarts any applications after the
backup finishes.
You can also use Open File Manager to back up open files.
Files owned by a specific application
The NetWorker software cannot normally back up an open file that belongs to a
specific application, like a database. To back up these open files, use a NetWorker
Module. For example, use the NetWorker Module for SAP to back up open files in an
Oracle database.
Files that change during the backup
If a file changes during a backup, the NetWorker software displays the following
message in the Monitoring window:
warning: filename changed during save
To ensure that the changed file is backed up, either rerun the scheduled backup or
perform a manual backup of the file.

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NetWorker Modules can back up these types of files correctly if they are files that are
related to the database that the module is backing up.

Data deduplication
Data deduplication is a type of data compression that removes duplicate information
to reduce the amount of backup data sent to storage devices and reduce the
bandwidth that is required for the data transport. You can implement data
deduplication of NetWorker backup data by storing backups on Data Domain Boost
deduplication devices.

Deduplication with DD Boost devices


The NetWorker client software includes the DD Boost library API and the distributed
segment processing (DSP) component to enable deduplication on the client. The API
enables the NetWorker software to communicate with the Data Domain system. The
DSP component reviews the data that is already stored on the Data Domain system,
and adds only unique data to storage.
DD Boost can run as many as 60 concurrent sessions (save streams) for a DD Boost
device for backup and recovery. This high throughput reduces the number of
necessary devices and the performance and maintenance impact on the Data Domain
system. The resulting performance gain provides an advantage over conventional
advanced file type device (AFTD) or virtual tape library (VTL) interfaces that do not
handle these high session rates.
To perform deduplication backups with a Data Domain system, perform the following
tasks:
l Configure the Data Domain system for use with NetWorker.
l Add the device in the NetWorker Administration interface.
l Select Data Domain backup options for Client resources.
The NetWorker Data Domain Boost Integration Guide provides details on system
requirements and configuration steps.

Deduplication with Avamar


The Avamar client software only provides support to NetWorker hosts that used an
Avamar system as a data protection target with a previous release of NetWorker. You
cannot configure new Avamar nodes in NetWorker 19.1

Directives
Directives are resources that contain special instructions that control how the
NetWorker server processes files and directories during backup and recovery.
Directives enable you to customize the NetWorker software, maximize the efficiency
of backups, and apply special handling to individual files or directories.

Types of directives
There are three types of directives.
l Global directives—Stored as resources on the NetWorker server and can be
selectively applied to individual clients by using the Directive attribute of the
Client resource.
l NetWorker User local directive—On Windows clients only, users with local
Windows Administrator or Backup Operator privileges can create a local directive

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in the NetWorker User program. A file that is named networkr.cfg on the client
file system contains the directive configuration information. NetWorker uses the
directive that is specified in the networkr.cfg during a scheduled backup, a
backup that is started with the NetWorker User application, and save operations
that do not include the -i option.
l Local directive files—User-created files named nsr.dir (Windows) or .nsr
(UNIX) anywhere on a client file system where they have permission to create
files. These directives apply only to the immediate data within the path where the
directive file is located.
If there is a conflict between directives, global directives are enforced over local
directives. Also, NetWorker User program local directives are enforced over local
directive files (nsr.dir files) on Windows hosts.
NOTICE If you use the Windows BMR feature, implement user-defined directives
with caution. Using such directives in directories with system state files can lead
to an incomplete BMR backup image and potentially render the BMR backup
image unusable. If you create user-defined directives, test the BMR backup image
to ensure that you can recover the Windows system state correctly.

Format of directive statements


Directive statements specify the files or directories and then the action to perform on
the files and directories.
A directive statement specifies the following items:
l The directory for a directive statement.
l The action to perform, specified using either of the following:
n An ASM specification with a pattern list of child file or directory names, which
could include wildcards.
n A save environment keyword specifies the action to perform.
A directive statement is written in the following format:

<< "directory_specification" >>


[+] ASM: pattern
save_environment_keyword
# comment

where:
l The directive statement does not contain blank lines.
l directory_specification is the absolute path to the highest-level directory for
which the ASM in the directive applies.
l [+] is optional. The presence of the plus (+) sign indicates that the directive
recursively applies to the directory defined by the absolute path and all
subdirectories.
l ASM is the ASM that specifies the action to take on one or more files in the
current directory.
l pattern is a list of file or directory names, in the current directory on which to
apply the ASM.
The pattern can include multiple names that are separated by spaces, and
wildcards. Wildcards can replace a single character or string of characters.
Directive statements support the use of standard shell command interpreter file
matching patterns. You cannot specify lower-level subdirectories in the pattern.

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That is, the pattern must not contain the Unix "/" or Windows "\" directory
separator.
Note: File names are case-insensitive for directives that are applied to
Windows clients.
l save_environment_keyword is a NetWorker keyword that controls how the
current ASM and subsequent ASMs that apply to the current directory and
subdirectories are applied in the directive statement.
l comment is a user-defined description of the directive statement. A hash (#)
character must precede the comment.
Note: If an ASM or pattern name includes a space, enclose the name or argument
in double quotation marks.
The UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about directives in the nsr and nsr_directive commands.

Defining directory specifications


A directory specification is the absolute path to the highest-level directory for which
the ASM in the directive applies.
Consider the following information before you define a directory specification.
Defining directory specifications using wildcards
You can use wildcards in the directory specification to avoid maintaining multiple
directives for specific directory paths in both the NetWorker server and the
NetWorker client directive files.
To use wildcards in a directory specification, you must type an asterisk before the
directory path. For example: This asterisk does not do any matching and only enables
the use of any following wildcards in the directory specification.
l UNIX: << */directory_specification/ >>
l Windows: << "*\directory_specification\" >>
Consider the following examples for using wildcards:
l The following UNIX directive skips backing up the tmp folder data for each user
whose name starts with letters A, B, C, or D:
<< */*/users/[A-D]*/tmp/ >> +skip: *
l The following Windows directive compresses the tmp folder data for each user
whose name starts with letters A, B, C, or D:
<< "*C:\*\users\[A-D]*\tmp\" >> +compressasm: *
Note:

l Networker does not support symbolic links in skip directives. Symbolic links are
considered as regular files.
For example, the symbolic link for the file example.dbf is .example.dbf.To
skip the file .example.dbf, you must use +skip: .*.dbf.
l Do not use wildcards in Windows VSS source volume directory mount names.
Defining multiple directory specifications
l Directives that follow a directory specification apply the ASM action to that
directory until the next directory specification.
l Directory specifications that do not contain wildcards take precedence over
directory specifications that contain wildcards. For example, when a directive
encounters a directory that matches a wildcard directory specification and a non-

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wildcard directory specification, the directive will only apply the action defined in
the ASM of the non-wildcard directory specification of the directory.
Defining mount points in the directory specification
Directory mount names of Windows VSS source volumes cannot contain wildcards.
For example, you cannot create a directory specification in the format << "*?:\data\*
\" >> . You must specify each drive letter, for example << "C:\data\*\" >>, and
create a separate directory specification for it.
Defining a directory specification for a Windows client system
l File and directory names are case-insensitive.
l If there is a colon (:) in the pathname, enclose the entire path in quotation marks.
Order of execution in the directive
The command that is listed first in the directive takes precedence over the rest of the
commands.
When the first command in the directive is compressasm, then all the files are
compressed. The skip command in the directive is ignored. Example

+compressasm -gzip -1: * .* *.*


+skip: *.LRG
+skip: *.CAT
+skip: *.TLB

When the compressasm is positioned at the end of the directive, the commands in
the directive work in the order that is mentioned. The files specified with +skip are
skipped and the rest are compressed. Example
+skip: zzz_DUMMY*
+skip: *.tmp
+skip: .db2diag.log.swp
skip: tmp_mnt
+compressasm -gzip -1: * .* *.*

Using wildcards in directive statements


NetWorker supports wildcards in directive statements.
In a directive statement, you can use wildcard characters in both the directory and
path list specifications.
The following table describes the supported wildcard characters and their
descriptions.

Table 66 Supported wildcards in directives

Wildcard Name Description


* Asterisk Matches any sequence of characters.

? Question mark Matches any single character.

[ and ] Square brackets Forms an expression. Represents any of the characters enclosed within the square
brackets. For example, the following directory specification includes all user folders
beginning with A or D:
<< */*/users/[AD]*/tmp/ >>

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Table 66 Supported wildcards in directives (continued)

Wildcard Name Description


You can use exclamation marks and hyphens within expressions.

! Exclamation Must be used directly after the opening square bracket in an expression, for
example, [!...]. Matches any single character except for the characters typed after
the !. For example, to match any single character except a, b, and c, type:
[!abc]

- Hyphen When a hyphen is used between two characters within square brackets, it indicates
a range inclusive of those two characters. For example, the following directory
specification includes all user folders beginning with A, B, C, or D:
<< */*/users/[A-D]*/tmp/ >>

Note: Wildcards directives are applied only by the save process in the scheduled
backup workflow. When you skip unwanted mount points using directory
specification wildcard directives with the save set keyword All, save processes
still run for the unwanted mount points. However, the save processes only log
messages that the contents of the mount points were skipped. For example: <<
*/TestFileSystem[5-9]?/ >> +skip: *.

Directive specification with ASMs and save environment keywords


A directive specification specifies the action to perform in a directive statement.
Save environment keywords
Save environment keywords control how the current ASM and subsequent ASMs
applied to the directory and subdirectories are applied in the directive statement.
NetWorker supports the following save_environment_keyword values:
l forget—Instructs the NetWorker Server to no longer apply inherited directives
(those directives that begin with a +). The forget keyword works only if the
corresponding directories are also explicitly specified in the NetWorker Client
resource Save Set attribute.
l ignore—Instructs the NetWorker Server to ignore all directives that are applied
to the subdirectories below the current directory.
l allow—Used in subdirectories that currently have the ignore keyword applied
to them, and overrides the ignore.
The UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about directives in the nsr and nsr_directive commands.
Review the following examples of directive specifications that include ASMs and save
environment keywords.
Using the skip directive for a Windows host
The following example directive statement skips the C:\Program Files folder on a
Windows host during a backup:

<< "C:\Program Files" >>


skip

Using the skip directive for a UNIX host


The following example directive statement skips all files in the /tmp directory on a
UNIX host, including hidden files:

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<< /tmp >>


+skip: * .?*

Note: A space appears after the first asterisk (*) in the pattern.

Using the skip ASM and forget save environment keyword


The following example directive statement skips all *.o files in the G:\SRC directory
except those *.o files in the G:\SRC\SYS directory:

<< "G:\SRC" >>


+skip: *.o
<< "G:\SRC\SYS" >>
forget

This example uses the skip ASM to instruct the NetWorker server to skip all files that
are named *.o in the SRC directory and all subdirectories. It then uses the forget
keyword to instruct the server to not apply the skip ASM to the SYS subdirectory.
Both the G:\SRC and the G:\SRC\SYS directories must be explicitly specified on
separate lines in the client resource Save Set attribute.
Using the ignore save environment keyword
The following example allows directives in the HOMEDOC directory to be applied to the
preceding example for the ignore keyword:

<< HOME >>


ignore
<< HOMEDOC >>
allow

Using the allow save environment keyword


The following example directive statement overrides any local directives set in user
home directories:

<< HOME >>


ignore

Order of Execution in the Directive


The command that is listed first in the directive takes precedence over the rest of the
commands.
When the first command in the directive is compressasm, then all the files are
compressed. The skip command in the directive is ignored. For example,

+compressasm -gzip -1: * .* *.*


+skip: *.LRG
+skip: *.CAT
+skip: *.TLB

When the compressasm is positioned at the end of the directive, the commands in the
directive work as expected. The files that are specified with +skip are skipped and the
rest are compressed. For example,

+skip: *.LRG
+skip: *.CAT
+skip: *.TLB
+compressasm -gzip -1: * .* *.*

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Global directives
Global directives are stored as resources on the NetWorker server and can be
selectively applied to individual clients by using the Directive attribute of the Client
resource.
Global directives are listed when you select Directives in the expanded left pane of
the Server window in the Administration interface. You can add, edit, copy, and delete
global directives.

Preconfigured global Directive resources


The NetWorker software includes a number of preconfigured global Directive
resources. All preconfigured Directive resources can be modified, but they cannot be
deleted.
The following table lists the preconfigured directives and their descriptions.

Table 67 Preconfigured directives

Directive resource Description


AES Encrypts backup data with the aes ASM,
which provides 256-bit data encryption.

Mac OS with compression Contains the same set of directives as the


Mac OS standard directive, along with
applying the compressasm ASM to specific
directories.

Mac OS standard Contains a set of directives that are used to


back up standard Mac OS clients. Applies
these ASMs:
l The skip ASM is applied to these files and
directories:

/Desktop DB

/Desktop DF

/cores

/VM_Storage

/TheVolumeSettingsFolder

/private/var/db/netinfo

/private/var/db/openldap

/private/tmp

/.Spotlight-V100

/.hotfiles.btree
l The allow save environment keyword is
applied to the /nsr directory to ensure
that local directives in /nsr and
subsequent subdirectories are applied.

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Table 67 Preconfigured directives (continued)

Directive resource Description

l The logasm ASM is applied to the /nsr/


logs and /var directories.
l The swapasm ASM is applied to the /
private/var/vm

NT standard Is used to back up Windows clients. By


default, this resource has no directives.

NT with compression Used to back up and compress Windows


clients. It applies the compressasm ASM to all
files.

UNIX standard Contains a set of directives that are used to


back up standard UNIX clients. Applies these
ASMs:
l The skip ASM is applied to the tmp_mnt
directory.
l The skip ASM is applied to core files on
the file system.
l The allow save environment keyword is
applied to the /nsr directory to ensure
that local directives in /nsr and
subsequent subdirectories are applied.
l The skip ASM is applied to the /tmp
directory.
l The swapasm ASM is applied to the /
export/swap directory. If swap files are
located in a different directory, modify
this directive to use the appropriate
directory.
l The logasm ASM is applied to the /nsr/
logs, /var, /usr/adm, and /usr/
spool directories. You can apply this
ASM to other directories as well.
l The mailasm ASM is applied to the /usr/
spool/mail and /usr/mail
directories. If email files are located in
different directories, modify these
directives to use the appropriate
locations.

UNIX with compression Contains the same set of directives as the


UNIX standard directive, along with applying
the compressasm ASM to all files.

This directive is only applied to save sets that


contain
directories. If the save set is defined by using

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Table 67 Preconfigured directives (continued)

Directive resource Description

a file name, this


directive is not applied.

VCB directives VCB directives are valid for backing up virtual


machines using the VCB methodology. This
directive is supported in the following
scenarios:
l When file level incremental backups are
performed instead of FULL image level
backups.
l When FULL file level or incremental file
level backups are performed when the
save set is ALLVMFS.

The vcb directive skips the following files


and folders:
l pagefile.sys
l hiberfil.sys (Hibernation file)
l WINDOWS\system folder
l WINDOWS\System32 folder

Creating a global Directive resource


Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Server.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Directives.
3. From the File menu, select New.
The Create Directive dialog box appears.
4. In the Name box on the General tab, type a name for the new directive.
5. In the Comment box, type a description of the directive.
6. In the Directive attribute, type one or more directive statements.
A directive statement specifies the files and directories for a directive
statement, and then an ASM specification or a save environment keywords
specifies the action to perform. You can also include comments in a directive
statement by preceding text with a hash (#) character.
For example, the following directive statement skips the C:\TEMP folder on a
Windows system during a backup:

<<"C:\TEMP">>
skip

NOTICE Do not leave blank lines in the directive statement.

Format of directive statements provides more information about how to create


a directive statement.

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7. To specify a restricted datazone (RDZ) for the directive, click the Restricted
Data Zones tab and then select the RDZ from the list.
8. Click OK.
After you finish
Apply the global directive to a Client resource by selecting the directive from the
Directive list on the General tab of the Client Properties dialog box for the Client
resource.

Editing a global Directive resource


You can edit the directive statement, description, or RDZ of a global Directive
resource. To rename a global directive, delete the global directive and create a global
directive with the new name.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Server.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Directives.
3. In the right pane, perform one of the following tasks:
l To modify multiple attributes in a single configuration resource by using the
Directive Properties window, right-click the staging configuration and
select Properties.
l To modify a specific attribute that appears in the resource window, place
the mouse in the cell that contains the attribute that you want to change,
then right-click. The menu displays an option to edit the attribute. For
example, to modify the Comment attribute, right-click the resource in the
Comment cell and select Edit Comment.
Note: To modify a specific attribute for multiple resources, press and
hold the Ctrl key, select each resource, and then right-click in the cell
that contains the attribute that you want to change. The menu displays
an option to edit the attribute.
4. Edit the settings for the global directive, then click OK.

Copying a global Directive resource


Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Server.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Directives.
3. In the right pane, right-click the directive and select Copy.
The Create Directive dialog box appears with the settings from the original
directive.
4. In the Name box, specify a name for the directive.
5. Edit the other settings for the directive as necessary.
6. Click OK.
After you finish
Apply the global directive to a Client resource by selecting the directive from the
Directive list on the General tab of the Client Properties dialog box for the Client
resource.

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Deleting a global Directive resource


Before you begin
l Ensure that the global Directive resource is not a default global Directive resource.
You cannot delete global Directive resources that are available by default when
you install the NetWorker server software.
l Ensure that the Directive resource is not selected for any Client resources.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Server.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Directives.
3. In the right pane, right-click the directive and select Delete.
A confirmation message appears.
4. Click Yes.

NetWorker User local directives


On Windows clients, users with local Windows Administrator or Backup Operator
privileges can create local directives by using the NetWorker User program. These
directives are stored on the client in a file named networkr.cfg.
About this task
When you perform a manual backup from the NetWorker User program, only local
directives that were created with the NetWorker User program are enforced. Global
directives and local directive files (nsr.dir files) are not enforced. However, all local
directives are enforced when the NetWorker save command without the -i option is
run at the command prompt.
NetWorker User program local directives are also enforced during scheduled backups
and archive operations.
Procedure
1. Log in to the client computer as a member of either the local Windows
Administrators or Backup Operators security group.
2. Start the NetWorker User Program.
3. From the Options menu, select Local Backup Directives.
4. Set the local directive for each data item. You can clear data items to exclude
them from scheduled backups, and select items for password protection,
encryption, and compression. This applies for both manual and scheduled saves.
Note: If password protection or encryption is selected, the password must
be specified first.

5. From the File menu, select Save Backup Directives to save changes.
Depending on user privileges and the operating system version, the
networkr.cfg file is created in one of the following locations:
l If you are logged in with local Windows Administrator or Backup Operator
privileges, networkr.cfg is created in the root of the system volume
(usually C:\).
l If you are not logged in with local Windows Administrator or Backup
Operator privileges, networkr.cfg is created in %SystemDrive%

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\Documents and Settings\User_name\Application Data\EMC


NetWorker.
Note: The Application Data directories are hidden by default. To
view these directories by using Windows Explorer, select Tools > Folder
Options. On the View tab of the View Options dialog box, select the
Show hidden files and folders option.

Creating local directives


Local directives are text files that are on the file system of the client. The directives
apply only to the immediate data within the path where the directive file is saved.
Procedure
1. Use a text editor to create the directive file in the directory that contains the
files to which you plan to apply the directive.

2. Create the directive statement.


A directive statement specifies the files and directories for a directive
statement, and then an ASM specification or a save environment keywords
specifies the action to perform. You can also include comments in a directive
statement by preceding text with a hash (#) character.

For example, the following directive statement skips the C:\TEMP folder on a
Windows system during a backup:

<<"C:\TEMP">>
skip

NOTICE Do not leave blank lines in the directive statement.

Format of directive statements provides more information about how to create


a directive statement.
3. Save the local directive file.
l On Windows, the file must be named nsr.dir. The user account that
creates the file must have the permissions to create files either within the
root of the volume or in a folder within the volume.
l On UNIX, the file must be named .nsr.

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CHAPTER 6
Backing Up Data

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Configuring a Client resource for backups on Windows hosts ......................... 402


l Configuring a Client resource for backups on UNIX hosts ............................... 444
l Configuring a Client resource for backups on Mac OS X hosts ........................ 451
l Sending client data to AFTD or Data Domain devices only............................... 456
l Non-ASCII files and directories........................................................................ 457
l Configuring checkpoint restart backups...........................................................457
l Probe-based backups.......................................................................................462
l Encryption....................................................................................................... 463
l Compression.................................................................................................... 466
l Configuring Client Direct backups.................................................................... 467
l Backup command customization......................................................................469
l Client resources............................................................................................... 475
l Manual backups............................................................................................... 480
l Verifying backup data.......................................................................................483

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Configuring a Client resource for backups on Windows


hosts
This section describes how to configure a Client resource to backup data on Windows
hosts.

Windows backup considerations


Use the NetWorker software to back up Window file systems. The NetWorker Module
for Microsoft (NMM) provides VSS-based backup and recovery of the Windows
operating system and Microsoft server applications such as Microsoft Exchange
Server, Microsoft SQL Server, and Microsoft SharePoint Services.
The NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide provides more information
about the NMM product.

Configuring how NetWorker determines when to back up a file


You can configure NetWorker to back up a file that is based on the setting of the
Archive file attribute in the properties of a Windows file or based on the modification
time.
The NetWorker software saves a file when the Archive attribute is enabled. After
NetWorker saves the file, the NetWorker software disables the Archive attribute. If
you restore the file from a backup, then the NetWorker software enables the Archive
attribute to ensure that the next backup includes the file.
To configure NetWorker to use the modification time of a file instead of the Archive
attribute, perform the following steps:
1. Browse to Control Panel > System > Advanced System Settings.
2. On the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables...
3. In the System Variables section, click New.
4. In the Variable name field, type NSR_AVOID_ARCHIVE.
5. In the Variable value field, type Yes.
6. Click OK to close the Environment Variables window, and then click OK to close
the System Properties window.
7. Log off or restart the client computer, or restart the NetWorker Remote Exec
Service to make Windows aware of the environment variable change.

Backup Operators group


The Windows Backup Operators local group provides its members the privileges
necessary to back up and recover data from a Windows computer.
Users who request backups must be in the Backup Operators or Administrators group
of the domain into which they are logged. The Backup Operators group is assigned on
a computer-by-computer basis, rather than globally by the domain. If you are having
trouble performing tasks on one NetWorker server but not another, check the Backup
Operators group on the problematic computer to ensure that you are correctly
assigned.

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Enabling NetWorker logging operations performed by backup


operator
By default, members of the Windows Backup Operators group do not have write
permission to the <NetWorker_install_path>\logs directory.
About this task
NetWorker log operations are performed by members of the Windows Backup
Operators group.
Enable NetWorker logging for Backup Operators by modifying the security settings on
the <NetWorker_install_path>\logs directory. For example:
Procedure
1. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the <NetWorker_install_path>\logs
directory.
2. Right-click the <NetWorker_install_path>\logs directory icon and
select Properties.
3. On the Security tab of the Properties dialog box, add the Backup Operators
group to the list of groups and users.
4. Select the Backup Operators group and click Allow Write.
5. Click OK.

Windows backup considerations


Use the NetWorker software to backup Windows file systems. NetWorker Module for
Microsoft (NMM) provides VSS-based backup and recovery of the Windows
operating system, and Microsoft server applications, for example, Microsoft Exchange
Server, Microsoft SQL Server, and Microsoft SharePoint Services. The NetWorker
Module for Microsoft Administration Guide provides more information about the NMM
product.

Table 68 Backup considerations for Windows features

Windows Feature Backup considerations


Event logs—Used for troubleshooting To back up event log files, configure a file
hardware problems as well as monitoring system
security conditions, and system and backup that includes the C:\Windows
application software problems. \system32\winevt
\logs folder.

The size of a recovered event log might be


smaller than
the backup size. This is a characteristic of
Windows event logs
and does not cause any data loss or change of
data. You can
use Microsoft Event Viewer to view the
recovered, smaller log
file. NetWorker backs up all event log files
when more than one
active event log is marked for backup (for
example,

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Table 68 Backup considerations for Windows features (continued)

Windows Feature Backup considerations

SecEvent.Evt and SysEvent.Evt). You can


recover event logs
to a location that differs from the location at
the time of the
backup. You cannot recover event logs files
that were on an
NTFS partition at the time of the backup to an
FAT16 or FAT32
partition.

Encrypted File System (EFS)—Allows NTFS NetWorker will not encrypt or compress a file
files to be stored in encrypted format. A user already encrypted by Windows. Do not use
without the private key to the file cannot AES encryption when you backup EFS
access the file. encrypted files.

Files can become unusable if the encryption


keys
change on the domain controller. For example,
when you move
the domain controller from one computer to
another or the
domain controller failures.

NetWorker does not backup the encryption


keys, or
keep a copy of the keys to ensure a
successful recovery of
EFS encrypted files to an EFS that you
reinstall after a disaster.

When recovering encrypted files to an


encrypted folder
that has been removed, consider the
following:

l If you recover the encrypted files and the


encrypted folder, the recovered folder
and files are all encrypted.
l If you recover only individual encrypted
files (but do not recover the encrypted
folder that contains them) the individual
recovered files are encrypted but the re-
created folder is not encrypted. Windows
documentation provides instructions on
encrypting the re-created folder.
l Windows EFS encrypted data is backed
up and recovered in its encrypted state.

Internet Information Server (IIS)— A web NetWorker uses the active metabase to back
server that enables the publication of up IIS and can restore the backup versions to
information on the Internet or a corporate the metabase location. NetWorker supports
intranet by using HTTP. the recover of the metabase to the default

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Table 68 Backup considerations for Windows features (continued)

Windows Feature Backup considerations


location %SystemRoot%
\system32\inetsrv\MetaBase.bin or in
a location that you specify in the registry. The
Microsoft documentation provides
information about how to create a registry
key that specifies an alternate metabase
location.

Sparse files— Enables a program to create NetWorker provides complete backup and
huge files without actually committing disk recovery support for sparse files.
space for every byte.

Windows Print Queues NetWorker backs up and recovers print


queues as a part of the file system backup.
During a recover operation, you may have to
restart the host depending on the status of
the print queue at the time of the backup.

Disk quota database The WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save


set contains the disk quota database. During a
backup operation, NetWorker creates
temporary files to store the disk quota
database settings in the root directory of each
drive on the client.
Note: To backup the disk quota database,
the local system account must have full
control permissions on the local drive,
otherwise a backup fails with an error
message similar to the following: Failed
to write to quota file,
0x80070005

POSIX compliance NetWorker performs case sensitive backup


and
recovery operations. During a recovery
operation on a Windows
host, NetWorker may create multiple files
with the same name
but different cases.

For example, you back up a file on a Windows


host that is named temp.txt. The file is later
deleted and created with a new file named
Temp.txt. When you select the temp.txt
file for recovery, NetWorker will not overwrite
the file that is named Temp.txt. You will
have two identical files in the directory, one
named temp.txt and the other named
Temp.txt. To configure NetWorker to ignore
the case of a file, you can set the system
environment variable

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Table 68 Backup considerations for Windows features (continued)

Windows Feature Backup considerations


NSR_DISABLE_POSIX_CREATE=YES, which
disables POSIX compliance.

Windows Dynamic Host Configuration The WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES


Protocol (DHCP) and Windows Internet component of the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\
Naming Service (WINS) databases save set contains the DHCP and WINS
databases. Use Windows BMR recovery to
perform an offline restore of these databases.

Native Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) volumes— The ALL save set does not include native VHD
Used as a mounted volume on designated volumes. Configure a separate client resource
hardware without any other parent operating to backup native VHD volumes. Do not use
system, virtual machine, or hypervisor. You VHD volumes as critical volumes if the volume
can use a VHD volume as a boot volume or as that contains the native VHD is also a critical
a data volume. volume. This situation creates a conflict
during a Windows BMR backup.

Windows Content Index Server (CIS) or The WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES
Windows Search Index— Index the full textual component of the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\
contents and property values of files and save set contains the CIS or Windows Search
documents that are stored on the local Index. The CIS or Windows Search is
computer. The information in the index can be automatically regenerated on system restart.
queried from the Windows search function,
NetWorker performs the following actions
the Indexing Server query form, or a web
when
browser.
performing a CIS or Windows Search backup:

l Pauses any CIS or Windows Search


catalogs. You can still query a paused
catalog, so the indexing functionality is no
lost during the CIS or Windows Search
backup.
l Backs up all catalog files.
l Turns on the catalogs when the backup
completes.
l CIS or Windows Search deletes the
catalog folder during a backup and
restores it as part of a recovery
operation.

DHCP and WINS databases


The WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES component of the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\
save set contains the Windows Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and
Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) databases. Use Windows BMR recovery to
perform an offline restore of these databases.
About this task
The ALL save set also includes the DHCP and WINS databases because the ALL save
set automatically includes the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set.

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If you do not specify the ALL save set or the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set in the
Save set attribute for the client, then include the databases as part of a file system
backup:
l To back up a DHCP database, include the %SystemRoot%\System32\dhcp
directory in the Save set attribute of the Client resource for the DHCP server.
l To back up a WINS database, use the Microsoft WINS administrative tools to
configure an automated backup of the WINS database to a local drive on the WINS
server. Then specify the path to the database backup on the local drive in the
Save set attribute of the Client resource for the WINS server.

Hard links
You can back up and recover files with hard links on a Windows client. However, the
hard links of files that are created by using a Portable Operating System Interface
(POSIX) application are not preserved during recovery.
Support for hard links is disabled by default to improve performance.
Backup and recovery of hard links is disabled by default to improve performance. To
enable backup and recovery of hard links on a client, select the Hard links checkbox
on the Globals (2 of 2) tab of the Client Properties dialog box for the Client
resource.
Enable diagnostic mode view by selecting View > Diagnostic Mode in the
Administration window to access the Hard links checkbox.

Microsoft DFS
You can back up and restore Microsoft Distributed File System (DFS) data.
Microsoft DFS is a Windows file system feature that enables you to create a
namespace of shared directories that are physically distributed across a network. With
DFS, you can organize a set of distributed directories logically, according to any
scheme you choose, to provide centralized access to files that reside in a variety of
locations.
DFS junctions
A DFS junction is a DFS root or link:
l A DFS root is a namespace for files and DFS links.
l A DFS link is a connection to a shared file or folder.
DFS junctions are file system objects, not files or directories. Therefore, the
NetWorker software does not treat DFS junctions the same as files or directories for
backup and recovery. However, DFS junctions appear as files and directories in the
NetWorker User program.
DFS backups with the ALL-DFSR save set
The All-DFSR save set includes all DFS related save sets for a backup. Unlike other
all-inclusive save set types, ALL-DFSR is not related to any particular file system.
ALL-DFSR backs up all components that are defined by DFS\FRS writers. Backups
fail if you specify ALL-DFSR for a system where DFS or FRS is not installed.
The syntax for this save set is ALL-DFSR. It is not case sensitive.
The ALL-DFSR save set does not support BBB. BBB only creates backups at the
volume level, and DFSR replication folders can be a subfolder, which creates a
conflict.
Synthetic full backup is not supported with ALL-DFSR.

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The ALL-DFSR save set registers the corresponding writer and writer component
nodes under WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES. All Replication folders are restored
through these nodes.
Configuring a scheduled DFS backup
About this task
To avoid inconsistencies among the various save sets, configure a scheduled backup
that includes the DFS topology information, junctions, and destination directories.
Alternatively, you can use the ALL-DFSR save set.
NOTICE When a DFS client resource is run for the first time, the save set sizes
should be verified to ensure that they are correct.
To configure a scheduled backup for a DFS:
Procedure
1. In the Administration screen, include the following clients in the NetWorker
group that will back up the DFS:
l The DFS host server
l Any computer where remote DFS destination directories reside
l A domain controller (domain-based DFS only)
For example, you could create a NetWorker group named DFS, then make
each of the preceding clients a member of the DFS group.
2. Enter the following save sets in the Save Set attribute of the DFS host server’s
client resource:
l The DFS root. For example, C:\MyDfsRoot.
l DFS destination directories that reside on the DFS host. For example,
D:\MyLocalDir
Note: DFS destination directories are also be backed up if you enter the
entire volume (for example, D:\) in the Save Set attribute.
3. For clients where remote DFS destination directories reside, enter the
destination directory paths in the Save Set attribute. For example:

E:\MyRemoteDir
E:\MyOtherRemoteDir
E:\

Windows Optimized Deduplication


NetWorker supports backup of optimized data deduplication volumes and files and can
restore optimized deduplication backups to a set of eligible restore targets. However,
due to recovery performance issues observed with optimized backup for Windows
deduplication volumes, it is recommended that you use non-optimized backup, which
is enabled by default.
When the backup is set to non-optimized, NetWorker will not deduplicate the backup.
Instead, the deduplicated files get rehydrated in memory before they are backed up.
This type of backup requires you to enable VSS. If you disabled VSS (for example, by
specifying VSS:*=off in the Save Operations attribute), the backup might back up
the chunk stores unnecessarily. To back up the deduplicated volume, it is
recommended to use block based backup (BBB) instead.
If you still require optimized backup, you can add VSS:NSR_DEDUP_NON_OPTIMIZED=no
to the Save Operations attribute to restore settings to the traditional (non-BBB)

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optimized backup. However, it is not recommended that you use this setting because
recovery performance issues might result in an unusable backup. Note also that even
when optimized deduplication backup is enabled, NetWorker will not perform an
optimized backup when the backup path is a subdirectory of the volume, or the non-
optimized deduplication save option is specified in the Save operations field of the
Client resource.
NetWorker supports the data deduplication feature on Windows Server 2012,
Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Storage Server 2012, and Windows Storage
Server 2012 R2. NetWorker does not support the feature on Windows 8 client
computers or computers that run the older versions of the Windows operating system.
On computers that run the Windows Server operating system, NetWorker supports
the feature on volumes that use the NTFS file system, which can be part of a fail over
cluster, including CSV volumes.
To back up and restore Windows Server deduplication volumes or files, you must use a
NetWorker 8.1 or later client. You can only restore deduplicated backups to computers
that run on supported versions of Windows Server that have the data deduplication
role enabled. The data deduplication role is a child role of File Services, which is a File
and Storage Services role.
Detecting deduplication in a backup
When a deduplication volume is backed up, you can verify the form of the data that
was backed up. This information is identified in the mminfo extended save set
attributes output. To show all extended save set attributes, use the mminfo output
flag -r attrs. Deduplication backups are indicated with
*MSFT_OPTIMIZED_DEDUP_ENABLED:yes.
The UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about the mminfo command.
Data Deduplication Backup and Restore
NetWorker supports two types of backup and four types of restores for data stored
on a deduplication volume.
Optimized full-volume backup
Optimized full-volume backups are the default backup type for Windows data
deduplication volumes. The backup type occurs when the non-optimized data
deduplication save option is not specified and the backup path is a mount point, drive
letter or full volume backup. NetWorker full, incremental, and synthetic full backups
are supported with Windows data deduplicated volumes.
The optimized data deduplication files that are part of the backup include:
l Windows data deduplication reparse points
l Chunk store containers and data deduplication meta data files
NetWorker backup does not differentiate whether a volume is configured for data
deduplication, except to add the media database attribute if the volume is
deduplicated. The media database attribute, *MSFT_OPTIMIZED_DEDUP_ENABLED,
is set to true and is saved as part of an optimized data deduplication volume save set.
For Windows BMR, the Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 data
deduplication writer is not part of the system state. Additionally, data deduplication
volumes can be critical volumes and are supported with Windows BMR.
Unoptimized full and incremental backup
NetWorker creates an unoptimized data deduplication backup under the following
conditions:
l When you specify in the save set attribute of the client resource, a backup path
that is a subdirectory of the volume, except in the case where the subdirectory is
the root of a mount point.

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l When you perform a manual backup of the client that does not make up the entire
volume.
l When you specify the string VSS:NSR_DEDUP_NON_OPTIMIZED=yes in the
Save Operations settings of the client resource. If the save operation flag is set to
yes the data deduplication backup is not optimized. If no string is present, or if the
attribute is set to no, a normal volume level backup is performed.
To add this string, perform the following steps:
1. From the NetWorker Administration window, select the Protection menu.
2. In the left navigation pane, select Clients, right-click the client, and then select
Modify Client Properties.
3. On the client Properties text box, select the Apps & Modules tab.
4. In the Save operations field, enter the string and attribute setting and then
click OK.
In an unoptimized data deduplication backup, all files are rehydrated before the
back up is performed. The deduplication chunk store directory is not backed
up.
Windows dedup backups, either optimized or unoptimized, will be corrupt if
they are backed up with VSS off.
Reasons to create an unoptimized data deduplication volume backup include:
l Support restores of a Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 backups
to an earlier version of Windows Server.
l Support restores of a Windows Server 2012 Windows Server 2012 R2 backups to a
non-Windows computer.

Full volume restore to original path on the original computer


NetWorker supports a restore to the original volume mount path on the original server.
All optimized files newer than the backup time of the restore save sets are rehydrated
to prevent data loss.
When a deduplicated CSV volume is restored, CSV ownership is moved to the cluster
node where the restore is being performed. This ensures that deduplication jobs and
data access can be disabled during the restore process. The CSV is assigned back to
original ownership when the restore is complete.
Full volume restore to original path on a different computer
NetWorker supports a restore of a data deduplication backup from one computer to
the same volume mount path on another compatible computer. Part of this type of
restore includes validation checks to ensure that Windows Server 2012 or Windows
Server 2012 R2 is installed on the target computer and that the deduplication role is
enabled.
You can manually reformat the volume, but this is not a requirement for NetWorker.
The restore can only take place if the volume does not have a pre-existing chunk
store. Additionally, the volume will be enabled for data deduplication after the restore
is complete.
Support for save set restore of level FULL backups
A save set restore of a FULL backup is identical to a full volume restore with the
following limitations:
l Limited to level Full backups in order to maintain chunk store integrity.
l Limited to volume level restores to the same path on the same computer where
the backup was performed.

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l No support for selective file restores due to insufficient information about the save
set’s restore context.
l No support for save set recovery of a Windows Optimized Deduplication volume
backup. If you see the following sample error message, perform either a complete
save set restore or select files to restore to an alternate location:
Failed to recover save sets: Unable to relocate a Windows
deduplication save set, so will not recover save set
123xxxxxxx. Either restore the whole save set to its
original location or select the files to restore to an
alternate location using the Recover operation.
In the preceding sample error message, "123xxxxxxx" represents the save set ID.

File level restore


File level restore is performed if the volume to be restored is a subset of the original
volume or if the restore is to a different volume. All files are restored in rehydrated
form. The data deduplication meta data and chunk stores are not restored. For file
level restores, the system account of the host where the restore is performed has to
be a member of the NetWorker server's NetWorker Operators User Group. For
example, if you are performing a dedup file level restore on host1, add system@host1
to the group.
NOTICE If an optimized deduplication restore is aborted, it is likely to have
mismatched reparse point and chunk store entries. This restored volume is not a
valid restore. You must restore the backup again and allow the restore process to
complete.
Windows Data Deduplication Volume Best Practices
Review the following information, which describes the recommended best practices
when you backup volumes that have Windows data deduplication enabled.
l A full backup should be performed immediately after deduplication has been
enabled on a volume.
l Windows performs garbage collection on the chunk store of each deduplicated
volume to remove no-longer-used chunks. By default, a garbage collection job is
scheduled weekly for data deduplicated volumes. A full backup should be
scheduled to run after garbage collection, because the garbage collection job may
result in many changes in the chunk store, as a result of file deletions since the last
garbage collection job.
l If there is significant chunk store container activity, control the size of incremental
backups by limiting the frequency of Windows deduplication optimization jobs.
l Avoid performing extremely large file level restores. If a large percentage of a
volume is restored, it is more time efficient to restore the entire volume. Because
file level restores recover files in rehydrated form, a file level restore that includes
many files might take up more space than is available on the volume.
l If a large file level restore is to be performed, first perform a full backup of the
volume in its current state.
l When you choose to unoptimize many files at once from an optimized
deduplication backup, the process can take a significant period of time. The
selected files restore feature is best used to restore a moderate number of files. If
most of a volume is to be restored, a full volume restore is a preferred solution. If a
small amount of data needs to be skipped, that data can be moved to a temporary
storage area, then back to its original location after the volume level restore is
completed.

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Recommended Deduplication Workloads


Based on recommendations by Microsoft, the ideal workloads for data deduplication
include:
l General file shares: Group content publication/sharing, user home folders and
profile redirection (offline files)
l Software deployment shares: Software binaries, images, and updates
l VHD libraries: VHD file storage for provisioning to hypervisors
For NetWorker, AFTD device directories are good candidates for deduplication. AFTD
directories contain a large number of redundant data blocks, which in general are
infrequently accessed.

Short filenames
You can back up and recover the short filenames that are automatically assigned by
the Windows filename mapping feature.
Windows filename mapping is an operating system feature in which each file or folder
with a name that does not conform to the MS-DOS 8.3 naming standard is
automatically assigned a second name that does. For example, a directory named
Microsoft Office might be assigned a second name of MICROS~2.
Backup and recovery of short filenames is disabled by default to improve performance.
To enable backup and recovery of short filenames on a client, select the Short
filenames checkbox on the Globals (2 of 2) tab of the Client Properties dialog box
for the client resource.
You must enable diagnostic mode view by selecting View > Diagnostic Mode in the
Administration window to access the Short filenames checkbox.

Volume mount points


You can back up and restore data available through a volume mount point (or mount
point) on a Windows client.
Assigning a drive letter to a mount point is optional. Many disk volumes can be linked
into a single directory tree, with a single drive letter assigned to the root of the host
volume.
To include mount points in scheduled backups for a client, specify the host volume and
each mount point in the Save set attribute on the General tab of the Client
Properties dialog box for the Client resource. For example, to back up a single mount
point on drive D:\ and all its data, type D:\mount_point_name in the Save set
attribute.
To include nested mount points in scheduled backups, either use the ALL save set or
specify the host volume and the full path to each mount point. For example, to back
up three nested mount points and their data on drive D:\, type the following values in
the Save set attribute:

D:\mount_point_name1
D:\mount_point_name1\mount_point_name2
D:\mount_point_name1\mount_point_name2\ mount_point_name3

To include mount points in a manual backup with the NetWorker User program, select
the checkbox next to the mount point name within the host volume entry in the
Backup window.
To perform a manual backup of nested mount points and their data, perform a
separate backup for each mount point. When you select a mount point in the Backup
window, all files, directories, and nested mount points beneath the mount point are

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selected by default. Before you start the backup, clear the checkboxes next to any
nested mount points. Then perform separate backups for the nested mount points.

Windows file system backups


You can configure NetWorker to use VSS technology to backup file systems on a
Windows host. You can recover individual file system objects from a VSS backup.

Overview of VSS
If the NetWorker Module for Microsoft is installed on the client computer, information
in this chapter might be superseded by information in the NetWorker Module for
Microsoft documentation. The NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide
provides more information about the NetWorker Module for Microsoft.
Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is a Microsoft technology that acts as a
coordinator among all the components that create, archive, modify, back up, and
restore data, including:
l The operating system
l Storage hardware
l Applications
l Utility or backup programs, such as NetWorker software
VSS allows for the creation of a point-in-time snapshot, or temporary copy, of a
volume. Instead of backing up data directly from the physical file system, data is
backed up from the snapshot. In addition, VSS allows for a single, point-in-time
capture of the system state.
NetWorker uses VSS technology to create snapshot backups of volumes and exact
copies of files, including all open files. Databases and files that are open due to
operator or system activity are backed up during a volume shadow copy. In this way,
files that have changed during the backup process are copied correctly.
Shadow copy (snapshot) backups ensure that:
l Applications can continue to write data to the volume during a backup.
l Open files are not omitted during a backup.
l Backups can be performed at any time, without locking out users.
Note: VSS backups do not use snapshot policies, which are required to perform
snapshot backups. The NetWorker Snapshot Management Integration Guide
documentation provides more information.

VSS and the backup process


In VSS terms, NetWorker software is a requestor — an application that needs data
from other applications or services. When a requestor needs data from an application
or service, this process occurs:
1. The requestor asks for this information from VSS.
2. VSS reviews the request for validity.
3. If the request is valid and the specified application has the requested data, the
request goes to the application-specific writer, which prepares the requested
data.
Each application and service that supports VSS has its own writer, which understands
how the application or service works:

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1. After the writer signals that it has prepared the data, VSS directs the writer to
freeze I/O to the selected volumes, queuing it for later processing.
2. VSS then calls a provider to capture the requested data.
3. The provider, which is either software-based or associated with particular
hardware (for example, a disk array), captures the prepared data, creating a
snapshot (or shadow copy) that exists side-by-side with the live volume. Provider
support on page 415 contains more information.
The process of creating a snapshot involves interaction with the operating system.
The amount of time it takes to create a snapshot depends on a number of factors,
including the writer activity taking place at the time. Once the snapshot is created, the
provider signals VSS, which tells the writer to resume activity. I/O is released to the
selected volumes and any queued writes that arrived during the provider's work are
processed.
The following figure provides a graphical representation of the VSS backup process.
Figure 45 VSS backup process

This figure provides a graphical representation of the VSS backup process:

1. NetWorker software (the requestor) asks VSS to enumerate writers and gather
their metadata.
2. Writers provide an XML description of backup components and define the recover
method.
3. VSS asks which providers can support a snapshot for each of the required
volumes.
4. Requestor asks VSS to createsnapshot.

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Figure 45 VSS backup process (continued)


5. VSS tells the writers to freeze activity.
6. VSS tells the providers to create the snapshot of the current state on disk.
VSS tells the writers to resume activity.
NetWorker software backs up data from the point-in-time snapshot that is created
during this process. Any subsequent data access is performed on the snapshot, not
the live (in-use) file system. The requestor has no direct contact with the provider;
the process of taking a snapshot is seamlessly handled by VSS. Once the backup is
complete, VSS deletes the snapshot.

Provider support
By default, the NetWorker client always chooses the Windows VSS system provider
for backups. If you want to use a hardware provider or a specific software provider for
a particular NetWorker client, enter the following command in the NetWorker client
resource Save Operations attribute:
VSS:VSS_ALLOW_DEFAULT_PROVIDER=yes
When the previous command is specified for a NetWorker client, a backup provider is
selected based on the following default criteria as specified by Microsoft:
1. If a hardware provider that supports the given volume on the NetWorker client is
available, it is selected.
2. If no hardware provider is available, then if any software provider specific to the
given NetWorker client volume is available, it is selected.
3. If no hardware provider and no software provider specific to the volumes is
available, the Microsoft VSS system provider is selected.
Controlling VSS from NetWorker software on page 416 provides more information
about specifying VSS commands for a NetWorker client. VSS commands on page
418 provides information about other VSS commands.
NOTICE Windows Bare Metal Recovery backups always use the Windows VSS
system provider even if the VSS:VSS_ALLOW_DEFAULT_PROVIDER=yes
command is specified for the NetWorker client resource.
Troubleshooting hardware providers
If you have specified the VSS:VSS_ALLOW_DEFAULT_PROVIDER=yes command as
described in Provider support on page 415 and the hardware provider and NetWorker
are incompatible, try one of the following workarounds:
l Uninstall the hardware provider.
l Migrate any data that is backed up by the NetWorker client to a disk LUN (Logical
Unit Number), such as C:\, that is not controlled by a hardware provider. In this
way, the NetWorker client will backup all data using the software provider.
Be aware that if the NetWorker Module for Microsoft is installed on the client host,
then the previously mentioned workarounds may not be required. Refer to the
NetWorker Module for Microsoft documentation for details.

The importance of writers


Writers play an important role in correctly backing up data. They provide metadata
information about what data to back up, and specific methods for correctly handling
components and applications during backup and restore. They also identify the type of

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application or service that is being backed up. Writers do not play a role in backing up
the file system.
Writers are currently only available for active services or applications. If a service or
application is present on a system but is not active, information from its writer is not
available. Consequently, a writer can appear or disappear from backup to backup.
Also, NetWorker software maintains a list of supported writers in the NSRLA database
of the client computer. When backing up data, the software checks to ensure that
these conditions exist:
l The writer that is associated with the application is present on the system and
active.
l The writer appears on the list of supported writers in the NSRLA database.
l A user has not disabled the writer.
If these conditions are all true for a particular writer, NetWorker software defaults to
backing up data by using VSS technology. If any of the conditions are false for a
particular writer, the data that is served by that writer is excluded from the backup
operation.
List of supported writers
During a VSS backup operation, NetWorker software validates each writer against a
list of supported writers. As part of a software release, or between releases, there may
be updates to the list of supported writers. The NetWorker E-LAB Navigator provides a
list of the currently supported writers.

Controlling VSS from NetWorker software


By default, NetWorker uses VSS technology to back up a client. For VSS SYSTEM
save sets, this means NetWorker software uses VSS for most save sets and writers.
For the file system, this means the software tries to take a snapshot of each drive, but
if it fails, then it saves the file system by using the legacy method (that is, no snapshot
is taken). During a particular backup for an individual client, either the VSS method or
the legacy method is used, but not both.
There may be times when you need finer control over how NetWorker software uses
VSS. For example, if you must disable VSS. You can control VSS from the
Administration window, the NetWorker User program, or the command prompt.
Controlling VSS from the Administration window
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Protection.
2. Click Clients.
3. Right-click the client for which you want to control VSS, then select
Properties. The Properties dialog box appears, with the General tab displayed.
4. Click the Apps & Modules tab.
5. In the Save Operations attribute, type the command, then click OK.
l Separate multiple commands with a semicolon (;).
l If the Save Operations attribute is left blank, NetWorker software backs up
data by using VSS.
Notes:
l The Save Operations attribute does not support NetWorker Module save sets. If a
NetWorker Module save set name is entered in the window, the backup fails.

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l If you enter a VSS command in the Save Operations attribute of the


Administration window, the command runs when the client backup is started as
part of a save set.
l Use the Save Operations attribute only for clients running NetWorker software
release 7.2 or later. If anything is entered in this attribute for a client that is
running an earlier NetWorker software release, the backup will fail.

Control VSS from the command-prompt


You can control VSS from the command-prompt on a NetWorker client or the NMC
server by using the -o option and the Save Operations commands, but only while
performing a save, savefs, or nsrarchive operation.
For example, to completely disable VSS while backing up C:\myfile to the server
jupiter, type:

save -s jupiter -o "vss:*=off" "C:\myfile"

Although the server name is not required in the preceding command example, include
the name to ensure that the save command finds the correct server. Separate multiple
Save Operations commands with a semicolon (;).
The NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides more information about the save,
savefs, and nsrarchive commands.
Note: If you change the VSS setting on a client by using the Local Save
Operations dialog box or the command prompt, it does not affect that client’s
VSS setting on the server. Likewise, if you change a client’s VSS setting on the
server, it does not affect the Local Save Operations setting or the command-
prompt VSS setting on the client.
Globally disabling VSS
Use the nsradmin program to disable VSS for all clients globally or only for clients with
a certain Windows operating system.
About this task
To disable VSS for all NetWorker clients, perform the following steps:
Procedure
1. Log in as root or as Windows Administrator on the NetWorker server.
2. Create an input file for the nsradmin command. The input file eliminates
interactive prompting as each client gets updated.
3. Run the nsradmin command and specify the input file.
4. Create an input text file. For example, create a file that is named disable-vss-
nt.txt and type the following into the file:

5. Type the following at the command prompt:


nsradmin -i <path>\disable-vss.txt nsradmin -i <path>\disable-
vss-nt.txt
where <path> is the directory location of the input file.

Example 8 Example: Disable VSS for all NetWorker clientsExample: Disable VSS for all Windows
NetWorker clients

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Example 8 Example: Disable VSS for all NetWorker clientsExample: Disable VSS for all Windows
NetWorker clients (continued)

1. Create a text file that is named disable-vss.txt , and then type the following
into the file:

show name; client OS type; Save operations


print type: NSR client
update Save operations: "VSS\:*=off"
print
2. Type the following command at the command prompt:

nsradmin -i <path>\disable-vss.txt

where <path> is the directory location of the input file.

1. Create a text file that is named disable-vss-nt.txt , and then type the
following into the file:

show name; client OS type; Save operations


print type: NSR client; client OS type: "Windows NT Server on
Intel"
update Save operations: "VSS\:*=off"
print
2. Type the following command at the command prompt:

nsradmin -i <path>\disable-vss-nt.txt

where <path> is the directory location of the input file.

VSS commands
This section lists the commands and syntax that are used to control VSS.

Table 69 VSS Save operation attribute values

Task Save operations attribute Behavior


To enable VSS. Blank Leaving the attribute empty
results in NetWorker software
automatically using VSS.

To completely disable VSS. VSS:*=off VSS backups will not occur


and backing up the following
save sets for a NetWorker
client resource yields these
results:
l DISASTER_RECOVERY:\
save set

Backup fails at the


beginning of
backup operation.
l All save set

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Table 69 VSS Save operation attribute values (continued)

Task Save operations attribute Behavior

Backups fail.

To use a hardware provider or VSS:VSS_ALLOW_DEFAULT A backup provider is selected


a specific software provider _PROVIDER=yes based on the following default
for a NetWorker client Microsoft criteria:
backup.
If a hardware provider that
supports
the particular volume on the
NetWorker
client is available, it is
selected.

If no hardware provider is
available,
then if any software provider
specific to
the particular NetWorker
client volume is
available, it is selected.

If no hardware provider and


no
software provider specific to
the volumes
is available, the Microsoft
VSS system
provider is selected.

Windows Bare Metal recovery


backups always use the
Windows VSS
system provider even if the
VSS:VSS_ALLOW_DEFAULT
_
PROVIDER=yes command is
specified
for the NetWorker client
resource. Windows Bare
Metal Recovery on page 419
provides more information
about Windows
Bare Metal recovery backups.

Windows Bare Metal Recovery


You can configure a Windows Bare Metal Recovery (BMR) backup on a Windows host.
NetWorker Windows BMR is an automated recovery solution that uses the Windows
ASR writer and other Microsoft VSS writers to identify critical volumes and perform a

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full recovery on a target host. You cannot recover individual file system objects from a
Windows BMR backup.

Terminology
The following list provides a description of typical Windows BMR backup and recovery
terminology. The road map indicates which steps you must perform before you try a
Windows BMR recovery.
This chapter uses the following terms to describe NetWorker support for Windows
BMR technology:
Bare Metal Recovery (BMR)
The operation that restores the operating system and data on a host after a
catastrophic failure, such as a hard disk failure or the corruption of critical
operating system components. A BMR is an automated process that does not
require the manual installation of an operating system. NetWorker provides an
automated BMR solution for Windows that uses the Windows ASR writer and
other Microsoft VSS writers to identify critical volumes and perform a full
recovery on a disabled computer.

Offline recovery
A restore operation that is performed from the NetWorker Windows BMR boot
image. A BMR recovery is an offline recovery. You cannot select specific files or
save sets to recover during an offline recovery. You must perform an offline
recover to the same or similar hardware.

Online recovery
A restore operation that is performed from the NetWorker User interface or
recover command. An online recovery requires you to start the computer from an
installed operating system and enables you to recover only specific files or save
sets. The topic Recovering file system data provides more information about
online recoveries.

Application data
User data that an application creates, such as log files or a database. For example,
the application data of a SQL server includes databases and log files. You cannot
use Windows BMR to recover the application data. You must back up and recover
application data with NetWorker Module for Microsoft (NMM).

ASR writer
The Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) writer that identifies the critical data
that NetWorker must back up to perform an offline recovery.

Boot Configuration Data (BCD)


A data store that contains a description of the boot applications and boot
application settings that start the Windows operating system. To perform an
offline recovery, you must back up this ASR writer component.

Critical volume
One of the following:
l Any volume that contains files for an installed service. The volume can be
mounted as an NTFS directory. Exchange 2010 is an example of an installed
service, but the Exchange database and log files are not considered critical.
l Any parent volume with a mounted critical volume.

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NOTICE NetWorker considers all volumes on all dynamic disks critical if at


least one of the volumes is critical.
A Windows BMR recovery requires a current backup of all critical volumes.

Recovery
The restoration of the operating system and data for a host after a catastrophic
failure, such as a hard disk failure or the corruption of critical operating system
components. The recovery operation might be an offline recovery (Windows
BMR) or an online recovery.

NetWorker Windows BMR image


A bootable image that contains the NetWorker binaries and a wizard to control
the Windows BMR recovery process.

Non-critical volume
A volume that contains user data and does not contain installed applications that
run as a service.

System State data


All the files that belong to VSS writers with a usage type of BootableSystemState
or SystemService. You require these files to perform an offline recovery.

User data
Data that users generate, typically for the purposes of a business function. For
example, a Microsoft Word document or an Excel spreadsheet. Windows BMR
does not back up or recover user data unless the data resides on a critical volume.
The simplest way to back up all user data is to specify the keyword All in the
backup save set of the client resource. You can recover user data online at any
time (on demand) or after a Windows BMR recovery operation.

WinPE
A bootable stripped-down version of the Windows operating system. The
NetWorker Windows BMR image contains a customized WinPE with NetWorker
binaries and a wizard to control the offline recovery process. WinPE does not
support writers, except for the ASR writer. Therefore, VSS writers are not
available with a NetWorker Windows BMR.

Overview of Windows Bare Metal Recovery (BMR)


Bare Metal Recovery (BMR) is data recovery and restoration where the backed up
data is available in a form that allows you to restore a system from bare metal, that is,
without any requirements as to previously installed software or operating system.
Typically, the backed up data includes the necessary operating system, applications,
and data components to rebuild or restore the backed up system to an entirely
separate piece of hardware. The hardware receiving the restore should have a similar
configuration as that of the hardware that was the source of the backup. The basic
BMR is the process of bringing up a server after a disaster and ensuring that the
system recovers with the operating system, the applications, and the data as they
were at the time of the failure.
NetWorker Windows BMR is an automated recovery solution that uses the Windows
ASR writer and other Microsoft VSS writers to identify critical volumes and perform a
full recovery on a target host.
NetWorker Windows BMR supports file system backup and recovery of critical
volumes. NetWorker Module for Microsoft (NMM) supports application data backup

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and recovery. Additional backup and recovery procedures are required to backup and
restore application data. The NMM documentation provides specific instructions on
how to backup and recover applications.
You can use Windows BMR to recover a backup from a physical host. You can also use
Windows BMR to recover a VMware virtual machine or VMware CD to a physical host,
VMware virtual machine, or a VMware CD.
NetWorker uses a special save set called DISASTER_RECOVERY:\, a subset of the
ALL save set, to backup all the data that is required to perform a Windows BMR.
NetWorker performs the BMR backup while the Windows operating system is active.
You can recover an offline BMR backup without first reinstalling the Windows
operating system. This action prevents problems that can occur when you restore
operating system files to a running version of Windows.
To support a NetWorker Windows BMR recovery, download the Windows BMR image
from Online Support website. This image enables you to create a bootable Windows
BMR ISO that contains NetWorker binaries and a wizard, which controls the recovery
process.
Note: The NetWorker E-LAB Navigator provides more information about operating
systems support for Windows BMR.
Components of the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set
The DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set contains a group of component save sets that
are required to perform a Windows BMR recovery. A full backup of the
DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set contains the following components:
l All critical volumes.
l WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES:\ (a subset of the DISASTER RECOVERY:\
and ALL save sets).
l System Reserved partition.
l UEFI partition (if available).
NetWorker supports full and incremental backup levels of the
DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set. Also, when the Windows BMR recovery operation
recovers data from an incremental backup, the recovery operation recovers all
incremental backups.
The first time NetWorker performs a backup of the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save
set, NetWorker performs a level Full backup, regardless of the level that is defined for
the backup.
When you configure a level Incremental backup of the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save
set, NetWorker backs up some components of the save set at a level Full, and other
components at an Incremental level.
The following table summarizes the backup level of each save set component of the
DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set, when you perform an incremental backup:

Table 70 DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ components in an incremental backup

Save set Backup level


Critical volumes Incremental

WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES:\ Incremental

UEFI partitions Full

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Table 70 DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ components in an incremental backup (continued)

Save set Backup level


System reserved partition Full

During an incremental backup, the backup operation checks both the modification
time and the archive bit to determine if a file must be backed up. The backup
operation ignores the archive bit when you assign the nsr_avoid_archive variable a
value of Yes on the client host. As a result, NetWorker only uses the modification time
to determine which files to back up.
Use the environment variable nsr_avoid_archive with caution. If you use the
environment variable nsr_avoid_archive, test the BMR backup image to ensure that
you can recover the Windows system state correctly. Performing a BMR recovery to a
physical computer provides more information on validating the BMR backup image.
A Windows BMR recovery requires a successful backup of each component save set in
the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set. If one component of the save set fails, then
the backup operation fails. For a scheduled backup, NetWorker retries the
DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ backup. The number of retries that NetWorker performs is
based on the value that is defined in the client retries attribute of the protection group
that the Client resource is assigned to.
Note: In NMC Administration GUI, the Log tab of the Monitoring window, or the
Save Set tab of the Media window displays each component save set of a
DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ backup.

Critical volumes
This topic describes critical volumes and the associated management tools.
NetWorker considers a volume as critical when it contains files for an installed
Windows service. NetWorker also considers the following volumes as critical and will
include the volumes in a DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ backup:
l A non-critical volume that has a critical volume mounted on it, or a non-critical
volume that serves as a parent to a critical volume.
l All volumes on a dynamic disk when one of the volumes critical. If one disk in a
dynamic disk pack is critical, then NetWorker must treat all disks in that pack as
critical. This can substantially increase the number of disks that NetWorker
includes in the BMR backup. It is recommended that you do not install services on
a dynamic disk.
Note: By default, the Windows 2012 System Writer does not report Win32 Service
Files as a part of systems components. As a result, the volumes that contain
Win32 Service Files are not considered critical and the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\
save set will not include a volume that contains files for an installed service. To
configure the Windows 2012 server to report Win32 Service Files as a part of
system components, set the ReportWin32ServicesNonSystemState registry sub
key to 0. Microsoft KB article 2792088 provides more information.
A Windows BMR backup does not back up the following files on a critical volume:
l Files listed in the FilesNotToBackup registry key.
l Files excluded by system writers.
l Files that an application VSS writer backs up. For example, Exchange databases.
Use NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications (NMM) to backup these files.

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Excluded critical volumes during a Windows BMR backup


A NetWorker Windows BMR backup excludes critical volumes based on the operating
system, disk types, configuration and installation of your computer.
Install applications with third-party services on the system disk, or a disk that already
has other services installed. To identify the disks that contain third-party services, use
the utility, list writers detailed command.
For Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, set the ExcludedBinaryPaths registry key to
exclude third-party services from the System Writer. This prevents the disk where the
service is installed from being classified as critical.
NetWorker excludes a volume from a backup when one of the following Windows
application service is installed on the host:
l Storage Spaces volume
l Cluster volume
l Cluster Shared Volume
NOTICE To ensure that you can recover all required files, perform a file
system backup of any excluded disk.
Displaying a list of the critical volumes
To view a list of the critical volumes for a NetWorker client, type the NetWorker
command save -o VSS:LCV=yes from the command line on the client host.
For example:

NetWorker_install_path\bin>save -o VSS:LCV=yes
Output similar to the following appears:
The following volumes are determined as critical by the system
state writers:
C:\ (disk num 0)
i:\mount\ (disk num 7)
The following volumes are critical because they are parents for
one or more mounted critical volumes:
i:\ (disk num 2)
The following volumes are critical because they are in the
same dynamic disk pack with one or more critical volumes:
H:\ (disk num 4,5)
i:\ (disk num 2)

WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save set


The WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save set was introduced in NetWorker 8.1 and
replaces the VSS SYSTEM BOOT, VSS SYSTEM FILESET and VSS SYSTEM
SERVICES save sets. The DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set contains the WINDOWS
ROLES AND FEATURES save set as a component save set.
The WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save set contains:
l Data that are associated with the roles and features that are installed on the
Windows server.
l Metadata that represents the volume data which the ALL or
DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set backs up.
Before backing up the WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save set, consider the
following:

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l Block Based Backups (BBB) do not support the WINDOWS ROLES AND
FEATURES save set.
l You cannot restore the WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save set
simultaneously with data from a file system backup. If you must recover data from
both the WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES backup and a file system backup,
restore the file system data first, and then restore the WINDOWS ROLES AND
FEATURES data.
l The NetWorker software automatically backs up AD as a component of the
WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save sets. An AD backup or restore includes
the AD log files, database, patch files, and expiry token.
l You can perform an online recovery of the WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES
save set to recover the Active Directory, DFSR, or Windows Server Failover
Cluster services. The topic Online recovery of Active Directory, DFSR, or Cluster
service provides more information.
l If you cancel a deduplication recovery, the state of the recovered data is not
reliable and may contain corrupted data. To ensure that the recovery is correct,
restart the deduplication recovery process.
l The backup operation only confirms that the VSS System Writer exists on the
target host. If the backup operation does not detect the writer, the backup of the
DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ or ALL save set fails. The backup operation does not
track and report any other missing VSS writers.
l You can perform a component level granular restore of the WINDOWS ROLES AND
FEATURES save set with a command line recover or the NetWorker User
application. For example, you can recover the system state and replication folders
separately. You cannot use the NMC Recovery UI to perform a component level
restore.
l Do not restore the WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES system state multiple times
in succession without restarting the computer as required. If you do not restart
the computer, you can put the system in an unreliable operational state.
Note: The NetWorker 8.2 and later clients can only recover WINDOWS ROLES
AND FEATURES save sets. If you try to recover a VSS System State save set that
was created with a NetWorker 8.0 SP1 client or earlier, then the Windows host will
not function correctly. To recover VSS system state save sets that are created
with a NetWorker 8.0 SP1 or earlier backup, use the NetWorker 8.0 SP1 or earlier
client to create a backup. It is recommended that you restore the WINDOWS
ROLES AND FEATURES save set from a NetWorker 8.1 or later backup.

The DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set


The DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set is available for Windows clients.
The DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set backs up critical volumes, UEFI, the system
reserved partition, and WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES.
The DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set does not include data for clusters, Active
Directory, DFS-R, and Windows Server Failover Cluster.
Checkpoint restart is not supported for backups of the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save
set. If you enable checkpoint restart for a client with the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\
save set, then the setting is quietly ignored for the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set.
The save set is marked with a cb flag instead of a k flag, indicating that the
checkpoint is not considered for DISASTER_RECOVERY:\.

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The DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set is also in the ALL save set.

UEFI Partition Support


NetWorker supports a backup and recovery of unmounted Unified Extensible
Firmware Interface () partitions on hosts that use a supported . The NetWorker E-LAB
Navigator provides more information about support operating systems.
The topic Performing a Windows BMR recovery to a physical computer describes how
to perform a Windows BMR of a computer that has UEFI partitions.
The following list summarizes the properties of a UEFI partition backup:
l NetWorker can backup an unmounted partition.
l NetWorker uses the following path pattern to backup the UEFI partitions:
\\<root>\Device\HarddiskVolume#
where # is the number of the volume.
l The DISASTER_RECOVERY \: save set contains a backup of the UEFI partitions.
l NetWorker always performs a level Full backup of UEFI partitions, regardless of
the backup level of the DISASTER_RECOVERY \: save set.
l NetWorker does not index the UEFI partitions or make the UEFI partitions
available for online recoveries.
After a successful BMR restore, a host that uses UEFI might fail to start. This can
occur when the UEFI boot manager does not have a valid Boot Order entry, for
example, when you delete the Boot Order entry or restore the Windows BMR backup
to different hardware. In these situations, the operating system recreates the Boot
Order entry during a restart operation but may not use the same path.
To resolve this issue, load Boot Manager and select Boot from the File menu to
correct the Boot Order entry.

Boot Configuration Data


In earlier versions of the Windows operating system, the BOOT directory was present
in the system drive. In Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2
SP1, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2, a hidden, unmounted
system-reserved partition can be present, and the Boot Configuration Data (BCD)
store is on this partition. The BCD store contains the boot configuration parameters
and controls the computer boot environment.
The NetWorker Windows client backs up the system reserved partition and the BCD
store only for Windows offline Bare Metal Recovery (BMR). During a Windows offline
BMR backup, NetWorker checks the type of operating system. If it is Windows 7,
Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012 or
Windows Server 2012 R2, NetWorker assigns a GUID to the partition and performs the
backup of the BCD. The BCD partition does not need to be mounted for the backup to
occur. If the BCD partition is not mounted, the backup is not indexed. The save set
name is GLOBALROOT/xxxxxx/.
The BCD can only be restored as part of offline BMR. Online recovery of the BCD is
not available. Consult Microsoft documentation for using the BCDEdit tool to save
copies of BCD before making Boot Configuration Data changes.

Windows Server 2012 Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV)


NetWorker does not support Windows Server 2012 Cluster Shared Volumes () as a
critical volume. If a CSV disk is marked as a NetWorker critical disk, then the Windows
BMR backup reports a warning, and continues to perform the backup operation as if

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the CSV is not on the critical list. NetWorker does not backup the CSV because a CSV
cannot reside in the same shadow copy set with a local volumes.
Applications such as SQL Server and Hyper-V in a Windows Continuous Availability
scenario using CSV are not supported.
The NetWorker Cluster Integration Guide provides more details.

Windows Server 2012 Storage Spaces


NetWorker Windows BMR does not support the backup and recovery of critical
System State data that are on virtual disks. A NetWorker BMR backup skips all critical
volume data that are on Storage Spaces and does not add the volume to the BMR
critical volume list.
A BMR recovery cannot recover critical volume data on Storage Spaces. If the
Storage Pool disks that compose a Storage Spaces virtual disk are not damaged, a
recovery operation to the original computer will mount the Storage Pool virtual disks
after the critical volume recovery operation completes.
NOTICE It is recommended that you detach the physical disks that Storage
Spaces use when you recover critical volumes, and then reattach the physical
disks after recovery. A Window BMR recovery operation can overwrite data on
attached Storage Spaces disks.
The topic Windows Storage Pools considerations describes how to perform a
Windows BMR recovery of Storage Spaces to a new computer.
NOTICE To backup and recover data on virtual hard disks and volumes that are
created by Storage Spaces, use NetWorker file system backup and recovery
operations.
A Windows BMR backup of a Windows 2012 host creates a file that is named
OSSR_sysinfo.xml. The file is located in the [root]\EMC NetWorker\nsr\tmp
directory. This file captures pertinent information about the configuration of the
backed up host. For example:
l Host information (name, boot drive, BIOS, or EFI).
l NIC cards and their parameters.
l Disk information.
l Storage Spaces information.
The purpose of this file is to support the manual recreation of the Storage Spaces
configuration following a BMR recovery.
Synthetic full backups
A synthetic full backup uses the most recent full and incremental backups to create a
full backup without transferring any data from the client. NetWorker performs all the
work to synthesize a full backup on the NetWorker server. A synthetic full backup
gives you the benefits of a full backup, such as a faster restore, without having to
perform a full backup.
The topic Synthetic full backups describes the synthetic full backup feature.
When a client backup includes the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set, NetWorker will
always backup volumes that are identified as critical, at a level full. NetWorker will not
create a synthetic full backup for critical volumes. The DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save
set is included during full backups when either the ALL or DISASTER_RECOVERY:\
save set is specified in the NetWorker Client resource.

Example 9 Synthetic full backups with save set ALL

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Example 9 Synthetic full backups with save set ALL

The save set attribute of the Client resource contains the ALL save set and the
backup schedule includes a synthetic full backup on Sundays. The NetWorker client
host has four volumes: two are critical, and two are non-critical.

l C:\ and E:\ are critical volumes.


l F:\ and G:\ are non-critical volumes.

On Sundays, NetWorker performs a backup of the following save sets:

l C:\ — At a true level full backup level.


l E:\ — At a true level full backup level.
l F:\ — At a synthetic full backup level.
l G:\ — At a synthetic full backup level.
l DISASTER_RECOVERY:\— At a true level full backup level.

Example 10 Synthetic full backups with file system save sets

The save set attribute of the Client resource contains a list of all volumes and the
backup schedule includes a synthetic full backup on Sundays. The save set attribute
does not contain the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set. The NetWorker client host
has four volumes: two are critical, and two are non-critical.

l C:\ and E:\ are critical volumes.


l F:\ and G:\ are non-critical volumes.

On Sundays, NetWorker performs a backup of the following save sets:

l C:\ — At a synthetic full backup level.


l E:\ — At a synthetic full backup level.
l F:\ — At a synthetic full backup level.
l G:\ — At a synthetic full backup level.

Online recovery of Active Directory, DFSR, or Cluster services


The DISASTER RECOVERY:\ save set includes the WINDOWS ROLES AND
FEATURES component save set. You can recover the WINDOWS ROLES AND
FEATURES backup in an online recovery operation, to a host that uses the same
Windows operating system instance. NetWorker 8.2 and higher support the online
recovery of the following Windows services, which the WINDOWS ROLES AND
FEATURES component contains:
Active Directory
SolVe Desktop provides procedures that describe how to recover this service.

Distributed File System Replication (DFSR)


The topic, Backing Up and Restoring a Microsoft DFS, provides more information.

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Cluster
SolVe Desktop provides procedures that describe how to recover this service.

NetWorker does not support the online recovery of any other Windows service that
the WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save set contains. Unsupported online
recovery of WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES components results in an inconsistent
state of the Windows server.
NOTICE When you perform an online recovery, you cannot mark the WINDOWS
ROLES AND FEATURES save set and use the Required Volumes option. To
determine the volume that contains the WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save
set that you want to restore, mark the DISASTER RECOVERY:\ save set, then
use the Required Volumes option. After you determine the required volumes,
unmark the DISASTER RECOVERY:\ save set and mark the WINDOWS ROLES
AND FEATURES save set.

Windows BMR Planning


This section provides guidelines on how to plan your Windows BMR backups.

Requirements for Windows BMR backup and restore


The BMR recovery process restores the operating system that was installed on the
source host. If you perform a BMR recovery to a different host with different
hardware, after the recovery operation and restart completes, Windows prompts you
to install the required drivers.
Before you perform a BMR recovery to a different host, ensure that you meet the
following requirements:
l The source and target hosts use the same processor architecture.
l The hardware on the target host is operational.
l The target host has a minimum of 512 MB of RAM.
l The target host startup hard disk capacity must be larger or the same size as on
the source host, regardless of the amount of space actually in use. If the disk is
smaller by a single byte, BMR fails.
Note: Verify whether the source critical volumes are part of a larger physical
disk. If critical volumes are on a larger physical disk, all target critical volumes
must be large enough to accommodate the entire underlying physical disk. Use
the Windows Disk Management utility to verify disk configuration and size.
l The number of disks on the target host is greater than or equal to the number of
disks there were on the source host. The disk LUN numbering on the target host
must match the disk LUN numbering on the source host.
l The RAID configuration on the target host should match the disk order of the hard
disks.
l The disk or RAID drivers that are used on the source system must be compatible
with the disk or RAID controllers in the target system. The recovery process
restores the backup to the same logical disk number that was used by the source
host. You cannot restore the operating system to another hard disk.
l Windows BMR supports IDE, SATA, or SCSI hard disks. You can make the backup
on one type of hard disk and recover on another type of hard disk. For example,
SAS to SATA is supported.

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l The target system can access the Windows BMR image as a bootable CD/DVD
volume or from a network start location.
l The target system has the NIC or storage device drivers installed that match the
NIC.
Note: All NIC or storage device drivers must not require a restart to complete
the driver installation process. If the drivers require a restart, then the BMR
recovery process fails and prompts you to install the drivers again.

Save set configuration by host type


This section describes the attributes of save sets that are used by Windows BMR. This
information helps you select the correct save set configuration for the computer and
operating system.
The following table lists the save sets to back up, depending on the Windows host to
be protected.

Table 71 Save set configuration for a specific host

To back up Specify these save sets in the Considerations


this host client resource Save Set
attribute
A host or file l Specify the save set All in the l WINDOWS ROLES AND
server that is not NetWorker Client resource. FEATURES must be backed up.
a Microsoft
Application
l By default, the save set All l WINDOWS ROLES AND
server includes the DISASTER FEATURES save sets are
RECOVERY:\ save set and all of recovered in a Windows BMR
the local physical drives. operation and are also available
for online recovery. WINDOWS
ROLES AND FEATURES save
sets should only be recovered
online as part of an Active
Directory, DFSR, or Windows
Server Failover Cluster online
recovery.

A host that is a l Specify the ALL save set in the l Use the Windows BMR Wizard
Microsoft Save set attribute in the to recover the data contained in
Application NetWorker Client resource. the DISASTER RECOVERY:\
server. For save set.
example, a l Use NMM to back up the
Microsoft application databases. The l Use NMM to recover the
Exchange NMM provides details. application databases.
Server,
Microsoft SQL
Server, Hyper-V,
or Microsoft
SharePoint
Server

Best Practices for Windows BMR


The following sections outline best practices for Windows BMR.

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Perform regular backups


Perform a full backup that contains the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set regularly
and after any you install, remove or update any system components. For example,
when you add, change, or remove Windows roles and features, or install Windows
updates and service packs.
NetWorker will automatically back up the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set when
you specify the ALL save set in the Save Set attribute of the NetWorker Client
resource.
Capture disk configuration changes for Windows BMR
The NetWorker BMR recovery operation uses the Microsoft ASR writer to reconstruct
a disk configuration. The ASR writer is sensitive to the disk numbers and disk
configuration of the original host. NetWorker saves this disk information during a
Windows BMR backup and uses the disk configuration information to perform the
recovery. After you reconfigure any disk on a host, reboot the host and then perform a
Windows BMR backup to ensure that NetWorker captures the new disk configuration.
Examples of a disk reconfiguration include the addition or removal of a disk or
partition.
Mixing critical and non-critical volumes on a physical disk
Windows allows you to partition a physical disk into multiple volumes. These volumes
can be either critical or non-critical, depending on the type of data that they contain.
During a Windows BMR recovery operation, the ASR writer can re-create and format
a partition, including non-critical partitions. If the ASR writer formats a non-critical
partition, the use of an online recovery is required to recover data on the non-critical
partitions. Recovering the Data describes how to perform an online recovery.
NOTICE Do not mix critical and non-critical volumes on the same physical disk.

Considerations for NetWorker user defined directives


Use user defined directives, such as nsr.dir, with caution. When you use directives in
directories where system state and installed services data resides, the backup creates
an incomplete BMR backup image and potentially render the BMR backup image
unusable. If you create user defined directives, test the BMR backup image to ensure
that you can successfully perform a BMR Recovery. Performing a Windows BMR
recovery to a physical computer provides more information about testing the BMR
backup image.
Critical volume recommendations
Use the following practices to minimize the size of Windows BMR backups.
l Do not store non-critical data, such as MPEG files, on critical volumes.
l Consolidate critical volumes. For example, install services on the same disk.
l Do not mount critical volumes on a non-critical volume.

Windows BMR limitations and considerations


Review the following Windows BMR limitations and special considerations before you
perform Windows BMR backup, clone and recovery operations.
Disk configuration limitations
This sections describes disk configuration limitations in Windows BMR.
Dynamic disks
A BMR recovery does not bring dynamic disk volumes online. After the BMR recovery
completes, use Windows Disk Manager to bring the dynamic disks back online.

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NTFS and ReFS


Only NTFS and ReFS file systems are recognized as critical volumes
Although the backup of the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set fails, NetWorker will
backup, the contents of the partition and the data is available for an online recovery
only.
To ensure a successful backup of the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set, install all
services or application on an NTFS or ReFS volume.
Critical volumes
Windows BMR only supports critical volumes on NTFS and ReFS partitions. This is a
Microsoft ASR limitation. If a critical volume is on a partition other than NTFS or
ReFS, the backup of the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set fails. A message similar to
the following appears in the policy.log file:
Disaster Recovery: critical volume volumename identified for
disaster recovery backup has a non-NTFS file system,
filesystemname. Backups of non-NTFS critical volumes are not
supported.
Note: Windows BMR does not support FAT and FAT32 file systems as critical
volumes.
HP ProLiant system considerations
You cannot recover from a Windows BMR backup on an HP ProLiant system when the
HP i Provisioning Tool (IPT) 1.4 or 1.5 was used to configure an entire disk as a critical
volume, such as the system partition.
To resolve this issue, shrink the logical volume before you perform the Windows BMR
restore. The HP website contains a customer advisory that describes the issue and the
impact to Windows Bare Metal Recovery with Windows Server Backup. This advisory
and the resolution also applies to NetWorker Windows BMR critical volumes.
Note: It is recommended that you test your BMR solution before a disaster
recovery is required.
Optimized deduplication backup considerations
Review this section before you configure backups that use optimized deduplication.
l You can recover a complete volume backup recovery to the original volume only if
the backup was performed at a level Full.
l You cannot recover specific files from a level FULL or INCREMENTAL save set.
l You cannot perform a full volume recovery of a non-full level save set.
l You cannot recover data from an optimized and unoptimized deduplication backup
when VSS is disabled. The backups that NetWorker created are corrupt.
l You cannot cancel the recovery of an optimized deduplication backup to a
deduplication volume. If the recovery process is interrupted or fails, the
destination volume becomes unusable. You must repeat the recovery process and
the recovery operation must complete successfully to prevent volume corruption.
l If the optimized deduplication recovery cannot successfully complete, you can
perform a selected files restore of directories from the optimized deduplication
backup. This restores the directories' files to a rehydrated state, but will take
significantly more time.

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Save set considerations


This topic describes limitations and considerations that relate to save sets.
Checkpoint restart backup for Windows DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set is not
supported
The NetWorker software does not support a checkpoint restart backup for the
Windows DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set. When you enable the Checkpoint restart
option for a Client resource that you configure to back up the
DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set, the backup fails.
Including DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ in multiple save sets
When you use specify multiple save sets with the save command, you must use the -N
option to specify the symbolic name of DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set, and
specify the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ as the last save set in the save set list.
For example:

save.exe -s server -N "DISASTER_RECOVERY:\\" save_set1 save_set2 ...


"DISASTER_RECOVERY:\\"

where:
save_set1 or save_set2 are unique save set names, such as a drive letter (f:\) or
mount point (n:\mountpoint).
Monitoring save operations
When you monitor Windows BMR save operations, for example, by using the
NetWorker Administration > Monitoring > Sessions window, you might notice that
the number of save sessions differ from the number of save sets that appear in the
Save set attribute of the Client resource. This is because NetWorker optimizes
Windows BMR backups to generate the correct number of Windows BMR backup
sessions and save sets.
Cloning considerations
To clone a Windows BMR backup, ensure that you clone all of the critical volumes,
DISASTER_RECOVERY:\, and WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save sets that
were created during the backup operation. While you can clone individual save sets,
you cannot perform a successful BMR recovery unless you recover each save set that
the backup operation created.
To ensure that you clone all of the BMR save sets, review the following information
before you start a clone operation:
l When you use the automatic clone, you enable the Clone attribute on the group
resource that contains the BMR client. The automatic clone operation will clone all
of the required save sets after the scheduled backup operation completes.
Note: Synchronize the NetWorker server and client host clocks before the
backup operation to ensure that all of the save sets are cloned.
l When you use the nsrclone command to perform a manual clone, ensure that
you include the ssid/cloneid for each save set. Use the mminfo or nsrinfo -v
command to report all save set backups that occurred for the Windows client
during the save session. The Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about using the mminfo and nsrinfo commands.
l When you use the schedule clone function, do not filter on other attributes such as
save set name. Filter only by client name. When you enable automatic cloning for a
backup group that contains the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set, synchronize

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the clocks on the NetWorker server and client host clocks across the network to
ensure that NetWorker clones all save sets.

Security considerations
This section describes security issues related to planning Windows BMR backup and
recovery.
NetWorker support for Windows Encrypting File System (EFS)
This topic describes the behavior of EFA and BitLocker after you complete a BMR
with NetWorker.
Windows BMR supports backup and recovery of files and folders encrypted with
Windows Encrypting File System (EFS), and volumes encrypted with BitLocker. After
BMR, the EFS or BitLocker services might be running but the EFS encryption
attributes on files or folders must be re-enabled and BitLocker volumes must be re-
encrypted. Consult Microsoft documentation for steps to encrypt with EFS and
BitLocker.
If a folder is encrypted in Windows, for example, by selecting Folder Properties >
Advanced > Encrypt contents to secure data, it is recovered as encrypted. However,
the encryption attribute is not be set on the folder. You can manually reset the
encryption attribute after the recovery operation. This is a Microsoft limitation.
Windows BMR and third-party encryption tools
This topic provides information on how to correctly validate Windows BMR when you
use a third-party encryption tool.
NetWorker Windows BMR has not been thoroughly tested with third-party drive
encryption products other than Microsoft's BitLocker. If you use a third-party drive
encryption product, then validate the backup and recovery procedures by performing
a Windows BMR backup and recovery to verify that the restored computer is fully
functional. Perform the test against the original hardware and new hardware to
confirm both scenarios. You must learn if any additional steps are required to
reencrypt the drivers after a successful restore.
NetWorker Strong Authentication and Windows BMR recoveries
This topic describes how to use NetWorker strong authentication.
Note: Starting with NetWorker 19.1, BMR can be performed for clients that uses
nsrauth as authentication method.
When you recover a Windows client that uses NetWorker strong authentication
(nsrauth) to communicate with other NetWorker hosts, communications with the
NetWorker server may fail during a Windows BMR recovery. When you perform a
Windows BMR recovery for a host that uses nsrauth authentication only, the Windows
PE image does not have the nsrauth credentials file that the original client used, and it
generates the new credentials. NetWorker server refuses to allow the recovery
operation to complete as it is not aware of the new credentials.
To resolve this issue, before you perform the BMR recovery perform the following
task:
l Delete the NSR Peer Information resource for the NetWorker Client from the
NSRLA database on the NetWorker Server. This will cause the NetWorker Server
to create a new NSR Peer Information resource for the client.

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Server role considerations


This section describes considerations for Windows Server Roles in Windows BMR.
Protecting Windows server roles
Several server role components of Windows host store the data in a database.
Examples of Windows server roles with databases include:
l Active Directory Rights Management Services (ADRMS).
l Windows System Resource Manager (WSRM).
l Universal Description, Discovery, and Integrations (UDDI) Services.
l Windows Server Update Services (WSUS).
When you install the Windows server role on a host, the installation process prompts
you to store data on either an existing SQL Server installation or in a Windows Internal
Database (WID).
NetWorker uses the VSS SQL Server writer to back up the role databases that are
stored in WID but does not protect role databases, which the server role component
stores in a SQL Server. Use NMM or a third-party SQL backup product to backup and
recovery the roles databases.
Backup and recovery workflows for server roles that use WID
These are the backup and recovery workflows are as follows:
l Perform a NetWorker Windows BMR backup, which includes all the SQL writer
components for WID. If required, backup user data on the client.
l Perform a NetWorker Windows BMR recovery operation, which recovers all the
WID components.
After the NetWorker Windows BMR system restart, the WID service is available and
Windows server roles have access to their databases.
Saving and recovering SQL Server components with Windows BMR and NMM:
1. Perform a NetWorker Windows BMR backup. If required, backup user data on the
SQL client.
2. Use NMM or a third-party backup application to back up the SQL Server
application.
3. Perform a NetWorker Windows BMR recovery operation.
After the recovery and restart operations complete, you cannot start the SQL
Server service. Also, any server roles that store data in SQL databases outside
WID will not work.
4. For non-clustered SQL servers only, ensure that the SQL group is offline.
5. Run the following setup.exe command from a command prompt with elevated
privileges, to rebuild the SQL Server:

C:\> setup /QUIET /ACTION=REBUILDDATABASE /


INSTANCENAME=Instance_name /SQLSYSADMINACCOUNTS=domain_name
\administrator

Note: The SQL Server installation media contains the Setup tool.

6. Bring the SQL server services online.


7. Use NMM or a third-party backup application to recover the SQL system
databases (master, model, msdb).

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8. Use NMM or a third-party backup application to recover the role databases.


9. Restart the services that require the role databases that you recovered.
NOTICE The NetWorkerModule for Microsoft Applications Application Guide
provides more information about using NMM to recover SQL databases.

Microsoft server application considerations


Use both the NMM and the NetWorker software to protect Microsoft server
applications, such as Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Hyper-V, and
Microsoft SharePoint. The NMM software protects the application data, such as
databases and log files and the NetWorker client software protects the user data and
critical disks on the host, for the purposes of Windows BMR.
Below is a high level overview of NetWorker and NMM backup and recovery workflow
for Microsoft server applications:
1. Use NetWorker to back up critical and non-critical disks as part of a regular file
system backup.
2. Use NMM to back up application data, such as Microsoft SQL Server.
3. Use NetWorker to perform a Windows BMR backup of the critical volumes on the
host.
4. Use the Windows BMR boot image to perform a BMR recovery.
5. Use the NetWorker User application to recover any non-critical disks.
6. Use NMM to recover the application data.
The NetWorker Module documentation provides more information about recovering
application data.
Online recovery of Windows services considerations
This section describes limitations and considerations that are related to Windows
services.
Active Directory considerations
A Windows BMR recovery of a Domain Controller is non-authoritative by default. If
you must perform an authoritative recovery, then you must start into DSRM mode
directly from the Windows BMR wizard. The topic Performing post-recovery tasks for
Active Directory services, provides more information.
DFSR considerations
DFSR namespaces are junction mount points. The DISASTER _RECOVERY:\ and
ALL save sets do not backup DFSR namespaces, even if the DFSR shares reside on a
critical volume. To backup DFSR Shares, either use the new save set ALL-DFSR or
provide the full DFSR Share path as the save set name. The ALL-DFSR save set
applies to all supported platforms. Unlike the ALL save set, which skips the DFSR
namespace because it is a junction point, the ALL-DFSR save set backs up every
namespace, along with the associated replication folders.
The topic Recovering Windows volume mount points, provides more information about
recovering volume mount points.
MSCS considerations
Review these considerations before you perform a Windows BMR recovery on a
clustered host.

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l Before you start the Windows BMR recovery operation, ensure that you detach
the shared disks. After the Windows BMR recovery operation and the restart
completes, attach the shared disks before you perform the online recovery.
l After an authoritative restore completes, the recovery operation does not bring
the cluster services online on the remote nodes. You must bring the services online
manually.

Windows Storage Pools considerations


When a system failure occurs which damages Storage Pools, perform the following
steps as recommended by Microsoft to perform a BMR recovery to a new host. In the
case of a complete system failure, a Storage Pool may not exist on the target host.
There can only be physical disks. Some of these disks are required to create Storage
Pools.
Before beginning Windows BMR wizard, physically remove from the target recovery
computer any physical disks reserved for storage pools. This manual step is required
because the Windows BMR wizard does not have any option to exclude the disks.
To recover Storage Spaces to a new host, perform the following steps:
1. Boot the host with the Windows BMR image.
2. Recover only the critical volumes.
3. Reboot the host.
4. Attach physical disks that are reserved for Storage Pools.
5. Use Windows Server Manager or Powershell Cmdlets to configure the Storage
Pools.
6. Perform a volume or file recovery of the Storage Spaces volumes.
7. Perform a volume or file recovery of other volumes on physical disks.

WinPE considerations for SAN boot devices


When you recover to a host that uses a SAN boot device, the WinPE environment
requires that you temporarily disable all but one path to the boot device. After the
BMR recovery and reboot completes you can re-enable the remaining paths.
VMware network interface card driver limitations
The Windows BMR image does not contain a driver for any of the VMware VMXNET,
VMXNET3, or the VMware Paravirtual SCSI NIC models. The Windows BMR image
does contain a driver for the e1000 NIC. When you perform a Windows BMR recovery,
ensure that the VM has at least one configured e1000 NIC, or add custom NIC drivers
when you run the NetWorker BMR wizard.
The VMware Tools installation media in the \Program Files\VMware\VMware
Tools\Drivers folder on the system drive of the VM contains the VMware NIC
drivers.
BCD partition limitations
NetWorker requires that the BCD partitions are online during a Windows BMR backup.
If a BCD partition is offline during a Windows BMR backup, the backup fails with an
messages similar to the following:

save: Unable to get volume information of file system.The device is


not ready. (Win32 error 0x15) with the volume offline

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Creating a Client resource with the Client Backup Configuration wizard


The Client Backup Configuration wizard enables you to quickly configure a client
resource with a limited set of key backup options. Follow these steps to configure a
file system backup and a BMR backup for a Windows host.
Before you begin
l Install the NetWorker client software on the client computer.
l Ensure that the NetWorker server host is listed in the servers file on the client
computer.
l Ensure that the communication between the NMC server, NetWorker client, and
NetWorker server uses nsrauth strong authentication.
l Ensure that the user who runs the wizard meets the following requirements:
n Root (UNIX) or Administrator (Windows) privileges.
n A member of a User Group on the NetWorker server that has Configure
NetWorker privileges.
l Ensure that multiple wizard hosts are not trying to access the same client
computer simultaneously.
l (Optional) Check for reverse entries in the DNS server. If the reverse entries are
not present, then do not use the IP address for creating the clients.
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left panel, right-click Clients, and then select New Client
Wizard.
The Client Backup Configuration wizard appears.
3. In the Client Name box, type either the hostname or the Fully Qualified Domain
Name (FQDN) of the client.
It is recommended that you specify the FQDN of the host. For OS cluster hosts,
type the FDQN of the virtual host.
For application cluster hosts, type the FQDN of the application cluster host. For
example:
l For an Oracle cluster, type the RAC hostname.
l For an Exchange IP DAG, type the DAG name.

The application module administrator guides provide more information.

Note: If the Client Configuration wizard cannot resolve the specified


hostname, an error message appears after you click Next.

4. Optionally, in the Comment box, type a description of the client.


If you are creating multiple client resources for the same NetWorker client host,
then use this attribute to differentiate the purpose of each resource.
5. In the Tag box, type one or more tags to identify this Client resource for the
creation of dynamic client groups for data protection policies.
Place each entry on a separate line.

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6. In the Type box, select Traditional NetWorker client.


7. Optionally, from the Group list, select a group for the Client resource.
The group to which the client belongs determines the workflow that is used to
back up the client.
Note: You can also assign the client to one or more groups after you create
the Client resource.

8. Click Next.
9. On the Specify the Backup Configuration Type window, select Filesystem,
and then click Next.
10. On the Select the NetWorker Client Properties window, configure the
following options:

Option Description
Priority Enables you to control the order in which the NetWorker server
contacts clients for backup. During a backup operation, the
NetWorker server contacts the client with the lowest priority
value first. If you do not specify a priority for the client
resources, then the backup order is random. The default value
is 500.
While the Priority attribute specifies the order of client contact,
many variables affect the order in which clients complete their
backups. For example:
l The backup operation on a client does not begin until the
worklists for each of the save sets on the client are
complete.
l The amount of work can vary greatly from one client to the
next.
l If a client stops responding and times out, then the backup
operation puts the client backup at the end of the backup
order list.
The only way to guarantee that the backup of one client occurs
before the backup of another client is to configure the
workflows for the clients to start at different times.

Parallelism Specifies the maximum number of data streams that a client


can send simultaneously during a backup action.
Data streams include backup data streams, savefs processes,
and probe jobs.
The default value is different for the NetWorker server than it
is for all other client resources:
l For the NetWorker server client resource, the default value
is 12. This higher default value enables the server to
complete a larger number of index backups during a Server
backup action.
l For all other clients, the default value is 4.
To avoid disk contention for clients other than the NetWorker
server, specify a value that is the same as or fewer than the

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Option Description
number of physical disks on the client that are included in the
backup.
The NetWorker Performance Optimization Planning Guide
provides more information about recommended client
parallelism values and performance benefits.

Remote Specifies a list of the users that have access to perform remote
Access access operations. For example, users that can perform a
directed recovery of backup data that originated on this host.

Data Domain Specifies the protocol to use if you send the backup data to a
Interface Data Domain Device. Available selections are IP, Fibre Channel,
or Both.
Note: Mac OS X clients only support the IP protocol.

Block Based Enables Block Based Backups for the host. When you select
Backup this option, you must also select the Client Direct.
(BBB) This option applies to Linux only.
Note: The Block Based Backup chapter provides complete
information about how to configure a host for BBB
backups.

Client Direct Allows the client to try to directly connect to the backup
storage device, instead of connecting to a NetWorker storage
node. If a direct connection is not possible, then the backup
operation connects to the NetWorker storage node that you
configure to accept data from the client.

Parallel Save Enables NetWorker to use multiple parallel save streams to


Streams backup each save set defined for the client, to one or more
(PSS) destination devices. PSS does not support Checkpoint Restart
backups.

11. Click Next.


12. On the Select the File System Objects window, select the file system objects
to backup.
Note: To avoid the over consumption of memory, NetWorker limits the
number of files that you can view when you browse a directory that contain
a large number of files, for example, 200,000 files. When NetWorker
determines that displaying the number of files will exhaust memory
resources, NetWorker will display a partial list of the files and a message
similar to the following appears: Expanding this directory has
stopped because the result has too many entries
CIFS, DFS, and msdos file systems do not appear as selectable file system
objects. Modifying_the save_sets defined for a Windows client describes how
to modify the save set attribute to define backup a remote file system.
Note: When you select all file system objects and the
DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set, the ALL value appears in the Save set
attribute for the client resource. When you select file system objects,
enables you to perform granular recoveries of files and directories. The

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DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set enables you to perform a BMR restore


of the Windows host. To backup Active Directory, DFSR, or Cluster
Services, ensure that you perform DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ backup.

13. On the Backup Configuration Summary window, click Create.


14. On the Client Configuration Results window, review the results of the client
configuration process, then click Finish.
Results
The Client resource appears in the Clients window pane.

Verifying a valid Windows BMR backup


After you perform a Windows BMR backup, verify that the backup exists. NetWorker
creates one save set for each critical volume backed up by the
DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set.
About this task
You can verify that the backup exists by using the NMC console, the NetWorker User
program, or the nsrinfo program.
NOTICE If any of the components of the Windows BMR backup fail, then
NetWorker does not create a DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set and you cannot
perform an offline recovery. The backup process may backup the WINDOWS
ROLES AND FEATURES save sets or critical volumes, which NetWorker makes
available for an online recovery.

Verifying that a valid backup exists by using the NMC console


Procedure
1. Use NMC to connect to the NetWorker server.
2. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Media.
3. In the left pane, click Save Sets.
4. On the right pane, on the Query Save Set tab, specify the search criteria such
as the NetWorker Client Name and a date range for the Save Time.
5. Select the Save Set List tab in the right pane to generate and display a list of
save sets that meet the search criteria.

Verifying that a valid DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set exists by


using the NetWorker User Program
By default, the Recovery window displays the most recent backup. To verify an older
backup select the View > Change Browse Time menu option, and then specify a
different backup date and time.
Procedure
1. Start the NetWorker User program by using the winworkr command with the -
s option to connect to the NetWorker server to which the source client data is
backed up:
winworkr -s server_name
If the -s option is not entered and there is only one server detected, that server
is connected automatically. If there are no servers detected, or if there is more
than one server available, the Change Server dialog box appears, enabling you
to choose the server.

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2. Click Recover.
The Source Client dialog box appears.
3. Select the source client of the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set, and then
click OK.
4. Select a destination client, and then click OK.
5. In the Recover window, browse and locate the save set named
DISASTER_RECOVERY:\.

Verifying that a valid DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set exists by


using the nsrinfo program
To query the client file index of the Windows host and display information about the
DISASTER_RECOVERY: save set, type the following command from a command
prompt.
About this task

nsrinfo -v -s server_name -N "DISASTER_RECOVERY:\\" client_name

where:
l server_name is the name of the NetWorker server.
l client_name is the name of the client that performed the Windows BMR backup.

Performing a NetWorker Bare Metal Recovery wizard test


Before you need to perform a Windows BMR, test the wizard to ensure that you can
complete a recovery and that you have the required drivers. This task is especially
important for 64-bit hosts that might require additional drivers. For both 64-bit and
32-bit hosts, the wizard must use drivers that do not require a reboot.
About this task
NOTICE After you test the wizard, you can safely exit the wizard before
completing the entire recovery process.
Procedure
1. Follow the procedures in Performing a Windows BMR to physical or virtual
computers on page 616.
Verify the following as you step through the BMR recovery wizard screens:

l If DNS is not available, that the host can resolve the NetWorker server name
by some method, such as a local hosts file.
l You can see the network interface that is required to communicate with the
NetWorker server. If you cannot see the network interface, use the wizard
to load the required NIC driver.
l You can see the critical and non-critical disks for the host that is to be
recovered. If you cannot see all of the disks, use the wizard to load the
required disk drivers.

2. Click Exit to safely exit the wizard.


3. Exit the command window.
The system automatically reboots.

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Modifying the save sets defined for a Windows client


You can modify an existing client to change the file system objects to backup on the
client.
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left panel, select Clients.
3. Right-click the client resource and select Modify Client Properties.
The Client Properties dialog box appears.
4. On the General tab, in the Save set attribute, specify the file system, directory
or path to a file. Specify one file system object on each line. You can also modify
specify a special ALL save set to backup a specific type of file system only. The
following table summarizes the available ALL save sets.

Table 72 Special ALL save sets

Special ALL save set syntax Backup behavior


all-file_system Only back up locally mounted file systems of a
particular type, where file_system is the name
of the file system, for example ntfs. The
NetWorker E-LAB Navigator provides a list of
the supported file system for each operating
system.

all-mounts On Windows clients, the all-mounts save


set is equivalent to the ALL save set. File
systems that are normally skipped are still
skipped.

Mapped drives
To back up mapped or CIFS drives on a Windows client for either a scheduled or a
manual backup, you must perform additional configuration steps in the Client
resource.
Before you begin
l Create a dedicated client resource for the backups of mapped drives. A common
user account must have access to each mapped drive.
l Create a separate Client resource for backups of local drives.
l Ensure that the Administration window is in Diagnostic Mode. To enable
Diagnostic Mode, from the View menu, select Diagnostic Mode.
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left panel, select Clients.
3. Right-click the client resource and select Modify Client Properties.
The Client Properties dialog box appears.
4. On the General tab, in the Save set attribute, specify the Universal Naming
Convention (UNC) path of the drive.

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Do not specify the drive letter. For example, to specify the accounts directory
on the jupiter server, type \\jupiter\accounts.
5. On the Apps & Modules tab, configure the following attributes:
a. In the Remote user and Password fields, specify a username and the
associated password for an account that has access to the UNC path.
b. In the Backup command box, type save -xL.
c. In the Save operations box, type VSS:*=off

Configuring a Client resource for backups on UNIX hosts


This section describes how to configure a Client resource to backup data on UNIX
hosts.

UNIX/Linux backup considerations


The following topics provide details on considerations for backing up client data on
Solaris, Linux, HP-UX, and AIX computers.

Linux
You can install the NetWorker client, server, storage node, and NetWorker
Management Console (NMC) server software on Linux.
Backup and recovery operations are supported on the following Linux journaled file
systems:
l ext3
l reiserfs
l jfs
l xfs
For ext3 file systems with the journal set to visible, do not back up or recover the
journal. Recovering the journal may cause the file system to become unstable. Use a
directive to ensure that the file system is excluded from a backup. Directives on page
388 provides information on directives.

Solaris
You can install NetWorker client, server, storage node, and NetWorker Management
Console (NMC) server software on the Solaris platform.
The NetWorker software supports local and global zones for a NetWorker client,
server, and a dedicated storage node. You can install and back up a NetWorker client,
server, or storage node on a computer running in a local zone. The NMC and
NetWorker License Manager can only be installed in a global zone.
Note: Extended file attribute data is in the calculation of the save set file size for
Solaris clients. As a result, the save set file size in NetWorker appears to slightly
larger than expected.
NetWorker executables not found for Solaris client
On Solaris client computers, NetWorker executables are installed by default in /usr/
sbin. The search path for root on the NetWorker server must include /usr/sbin.
Otherwise, scheduled backups fail on a client with NetWorker executables in /usr/
sbin because the savefs command is not in the search path.

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To solve this issue, edit the search path for root on the NetWorker server to
include /usr/sbin, even if the directory does not exist locally.
Alternatively, specify /usr/sbin in the Executable path attribute on the Globals (2
of 2) tab of the Client Properties dialog box for the Client resource.

HP-UX
You can install NetWorker client, server, storage node, and NetWorker Management
Console (NMC) server software on the HP-UX platform.
Customized backup scripts
On HP-UX, do not use the posix shell (/bin/sh) for customized backup scripts that
are meant to be automatically started by the backup. Use the korn shell (/bin/ksh)
instead.
Symbolic link entries in the fstab file
For HP-UX operating systems, do not use symbolic link entries in the /etc/fstab
file. If you use symbolic links in the fstab file, the backup does not include the file
system to which the symbolic link points.

AIX
You can install the NetWorker client, server, storage node, and NetWorker
Management Console (NMC) server software on the AIX platform.
Note: On AIX, non-root users who are performing a recovery cannot restore group
ownership (the set-group-id-on-execution or setuid permission bit) on
binaries or files. This behavior is to be expected.

Creating a Client resource with the Client Backup Configuration wizard


The Client Backup Configuration wizard enables you to quickly configure a Client
resource with a limited set of key backup options. Follow these steps to configure a
file system backup and a UNIX host.
Before you begin
l Install the NetWorker client software on the client computer.
l Ensure that the NetWorker server host is listed in the servers file on the client
computer.
l Ensure that the communication between the NMC server, NetWorker client, and
NetWorker server uses nsrauth strong authentication.
l Ensure that the user who runs the wizard meets the following requirements:
n Root (UNIX) or Administrator (Windows) privileges.
n A member of a User Group on the NetWorker server that has Configure
NetWorker privileges.
l Ensure that multiple wizard hosts are not trying to access the same client
computer simultaneously.
l (Optional) Check for reverse entries in the DNS server. If the reverse entries are
not present, then do not use the IP address for creating the clients.
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left panel, right-click Clients, and then select New Client
Wizard.

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The Client Backup Configuration wizard appears.


3. In the Client Name box, type either the hostname or the Fully Qualified Domain
Name (FQDN) of the client.
It is recommended that you specify the FQDN of the host. For OS cluster hosts,
type the FDQN of the virtual host.

For application cluster hosts, type the FQDN of the application cluster host. For
example:
l For an Oracle cluster, type the RAC hostname.
l For an Exchange IP DAG, type the DAG name.

The application module administrator guides provide more information.

Note: If the Client Configuration wizard cannot resolve the specified


hostname, an error message appears after you click Next.

4. Optionally, in the Comment box, type a description of the client.


If you are creating multiple client resources for the same NetWorker client host,
then use this attribute to differentiate the purpose of each resource.
5. In the Tag box, type one or more tags to identify this Client resource for the
creation of dynamic client groups for data protection policies.
Place each entry on a separate line.
6. In the Type box, select Traditional NetWorker client.
7. Optionally, from the Group list, select a group for the Client resource.
The group to which the client belongs determines the workflow that is used to
back up the client.
Note: You can also assign the client to one or more groups after you create
the Client resource.

8. Click Next.
9. On the Specify the Backup Configuration Type window, select Filesystem,
and then click Next.
10. On the Select the NetWorker Client Properties window, configure the
following options:

Option Description
Priority Enables you to control the order in which the NetWorker server
contacts clients for backup. During a backup operation, the
NetWorker server contacts the client with the lowest priority
value first. If you do not specify a priority for the client
resources, then the backup order is random. The default value
is 500.
While the Priority attribute specifies the order of client contact,
many variables affect the order in which clients complete their
backups. For example:
l The backup operation on a client does not begin until the
worklists for each of the save sets on the client are
complete.

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Option Description

l The amount of work can vary greatly from one client to the
next.
l If a client stops responding and times out, then the backup
operation puts the client backup at the end of the backup
order list.
The only way to guarantee that the backup of one client occurs
before the backup of another client is to configure the
workflows for the clients to start at different times.

Parallelism Specifies the maximum number of data streams that a client


can send simultaneously during a backup action.
Data streams include backup data streams, savefs processes,
and probe jobs.
The default value is different for the NetWorker server than it
is for all other client resources:
l For the NetWorker server client resource, the default value
is 12. This higher default value enables the server to
complete a larger number of index backups during a Server
backup action.
l For all other clients, the default value is 4.
To avoid disk contention for clients other than the NetWorker
server, specify a value that is the same as or fewer than the
number of physical disks on the client that are included in the
backup.
The NetWorker Performance Optimization Planning Guide
provides more information about recommended client
parallelism values and performance benefits.

Remote Specifies a list of the users that have access to perform remote
Access access operations. For example, users that can perform a
directed recovery of backup data that originated on this host.

Data Domain Specifies the protocol to use if you send the backup data to a
Interface Data Domain Device. Available selections are IP, Fibre Channel,
or Both.
Note: Mac OS X clients only support the IP protocol.

Block Based Enables Block Based Backups for the host. When you select
Backup this option, you must also select the Client Direct.
(BBB) This option applies to Linux only.
Note: The Block Based Backup chapter provides complete
information about how to configure a host for BBB
backups.

Client Direct Allows the client to try to directly connect to the backup
storage device, instead of connecting to a NetWorker storage
node. If a direct connection is not possible, then the backup
operation connects to the NetWorker storage node that you
configure to accept data from the client.

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Option Description
Parallel Save Enables NetWorker to use multiple parallel save streams to
Streams backup each save set defined for the client, to one or more
(PSS) destination devices. PSS does not support Checkpoint Restart
backups.

11. Click Next.


12. On the Select the File System Objects window, select the file system objects
to backup.
To avoid the over consumption of memory, NetWorker limits the number of files
that you can view when you browse a directory that contain a large number of
files, for example, 200,000 files. When NetWorker determines that displaying
the number of files will exhaust memory resources, NetWorker will display a
partial list of the files and a message similar to the following appears:
Expanding this directory has stopped because the result
has too many entries
Note: When you select all file system objects, the ALL value appears in the
Save set attribute for the client resource. When the backup starts, the
savefs process reads the contents of the /etc/vfstab file on Solaris
clients, the /etc/fstab file on HP-UX and Linux clients, or the /etc/
filesystems file on AIX clients. The contents of the file are compared to
the currently mounted file systems and BTRFS sub-volumes. Only currently
mounted file systems and BTRFS sub-volumes that are configured in these
files are backed up. When NetWorker encounters a sub-directory that has a
sub-volume ID that differs from the parent sub-volume ID, NetWorker will
not backup the contents of the subdirectory, unless you specify the save -x
in the Backup command field in the properties of the Client resource. After
you create the client configuration wizard, you can modify the client
resource or create a new client resource to include the excluded file
systems. Supported save set configurations for UNIX hosts provides more
information.
When you specify the ALL save set:
l For a Solaris sparse or whole root zone client, all mounted file systems in
the sparse or whole root zone that are not normally skipped, such as
NFS, are backed up.
l ZFS file systems are backed up.
l If the save set name includes a symbolic link, a save set recovery is not
supported.

13. On the Backup Configuration Summary window, click Create.


14. On the Client Configuration Results window, review the results of the client
configuration process, then click Finish.
Results
The Client resource appears in the Clients window pane.

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Supported save set configurations for UNIX hosts


The Client Configuration wizard does not display some types of file systems on UNIX
hosts and these save sets are not in the ALL save set.
When the backup starts, the savefs process reads the contents of the /etc/
vfstab file on Solaris clients, the /etc/fstab file on HP-UX and Linux clients, or
the /etc/filesystems file on AIX clients. The contents of the file are compared to
the currently mounted file systems and BTRFS sub-volumes. Only currently mounted
file systems and BTRFS sub-volumes that are configured in these files are backed up.
When NetWorker encounters a sub-directory that has a sub-volume ID that differs
from the parent sub-volume ID, NetWorker will not backup the contents of the
subdirectory, unless you specify the save -x in the Backup command field in the
properties of the Client resource.
If you edit a client resource and modify the Save set attribute to include file system
objects for file systems that are not in the OS file system file, NetWorker will not back
up the file system objects.

The following file systems are excluded from the ALL save set. If you manually define
the file system or directories and files for one of these file systems in the Save set
attribute of the Client resource, the backup operation excludes the object:

Table 73 File systems excluded from the ALL save set

l hsfs l sharefs l dfs l binfmt_mi l nucam


sc
l proc l nfs2 l autofs l fdfs
l usbfs
l fd l nfs3 l iso9060 l xx
l devpts
l cachefs l nfs3perf l udf l none
l smbfs
l lofs l profs l sysfs
l swap
l mntfs l nfs4 l debugfs
l tmp
l ctfs l nfs l subfs
l tmpfs
l objfs l brfs l usbdevfs
l nucfs

When you specify the ALL save set:

l For a Solaris sparse or whole root zone client, all mounted file systems in the
sparse or whole root zone that are not normally skipped, such as NFS, are backed
up.
l ZFS file systems are backed up.
l If the save set name includes a symbolic link, a save set recovery is not supported.

Use a customized ALL save set to backup files.

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Modifying the save sets defined for a UNIX client


You can modify a client to change the file system objects to backup on the client.
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left panel, select Clients.
3. Right-click the client resource and select Modify Client Properties.
The Client Properties dialog box appears.
4. On the General tab, in the Save set attribute, specify the file system, directory
or path to a file. Specify one file system object on each line. You can also modify
specify a special ALL save set to backup a specific type of file system only. The
following table summarizes the available ALL save sets.

Table 74 Special ALL save sets

Special ALL save set syntax Backup behavior


all-file_system Only back up locally mounted file systems of a
particular type, where file_system is the name
of the file system. For example, the all-zfs
save set backs up all locally mounted zfs file
systems on a Solaris host. File systems such
as NFS that are normally skipped are still
skipped. When the backup starts, the savefs
process reads the contents of the /etc/
vfstab file on Solaris clients, the /etc/
fstab file on HP-UX and Linux clients, or
the /etc/filesystems file on AIX clients.
The contents of the file are compared to the
currently mounted file systems and BTRFS
sub-volumes. Only currently mounted file
systems and BTRFS sub-volumes that are
configured in these files are backed up. When
NetWorker encounters a sub-directory that
has a sub-volume ID that differs from the
parent sub-volume ID, NetWorker will not
backup the contents of the subdirectory,
unless you specify the save -x in the Backup
command field in the properties of the Client
resource. The NetWorker E-LAB Navigator
provides a list of the supported file system for
each operating system.

all-mounts
Back up all the currently mounted file
systems. File
systems such as NFS that are normally
skipped are still
skipped.

all-local
For a global zone client, the file systems in the
sparse

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Table 74 Special ALL save sets (continued)

Special ALL save set syntax Backup behavior

or whole root zone on the physical host are


backed up. File
systems in the global zone are skipped.

For a sparse or whole root zone client, the


all-local
save set is equivalent to the ALL save set.

all-global
For a global zone client, all file systems in the
global
zone are backed up. All sparse and whole root
zone file systems
on the physical host are skipped.

For a Solaris sparse or whole root zone client,


the
all-global save set is equivalent to the
ALL save set.

Note: If you explicitly list a BTRFS sub-volume in the Save set field,
NetWorker will back up the files in the sub-volume, even if the sub-volume
does not appear in the /etc/fstab file. When NetWorker encounters a
sub-directory that has a sub-volume ID that differs from the parent sub-
volume ID, NetWorker will not backup the contents of the subdirectory,
unless you specify the save -x in the Backup command. To back up data
in the subdirectories, perform one of the following tasks:
l Specify save -x in the Backup command field in the client properties
window.
l Explicitly list the path of each sub-volume in the Save set field.
l Mount each sub-volume, include the mount point in the /etc/fstab
file, and then specify ALL or all-btrfs in the Save set field.

5. Click OK.

Configuring a Client resource for backups on Mac OS X


hosts
This section describes how to configure a Client resource to backup data on Mac OS X
hosts.

Mac OS X backup considerations


You can configure a Mac OS X host as a NetWorker client. You can use any supported
NetWorker server on UNIX, Linux, or Windows to back up and restore an OS X host.
You cannot configure an OS X host as a NetWorker server or an NMC server.
The NetWorker client for OS X supports the following file systems:
l HFS+ (including journaled)

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l HFS
l UFS
The NetWorker client for OS X also backs up and recovers all file system metadata,
including:
l Finder information
l Resource forks
l Extended attributes
l Access Control Lists (ACLs)

Creating a Client resource with the Client Backup Configuration wizard


The Client Backup Configuration wizard enables you to quickly configure a Client
resource with a limited set of key backup options. Follow these steps to configure a
file system backup and an OS-X host.
Before you begin
l Install the NetWorker client software on the client computer.
l Ensure that the NetWorker server host is listed in the servers file on the client
computer.
l Ensure that the communication between the NMC server, NetWorker client, and
NetWorker server uses nsrauth strong authentication.
l Ensure that the user who runs the wizard meets the following requirements:
n Root (UNIX) or Administrator (Windows) privileges.
n A member of a User Group on the NetWorker server that has Configure
NetWorker privileges.
l Ensure that multiple wizard hosts are not trying to access the same client
computer simultaneously.
l (Optional) Check for reverse entries in the DNS server. If the reverse entries are
not present, then do not use the IP address for creating the clients.
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left panel, right-click Clients, and then select New Client
Wizard.
The Client Backup Configuration wizard appears.
3. In the Client Name box, type either the hostname or the Fully Qualified Domain
Name (FQDN) of the client.
It is recommended that you specify the FQDN of the host. For OS cluster hosts,
type the FDQN of the virtual host.

For application cluster hosts, type the FQDN of the application cluster host. For
example:
l For an Oracle cluster, type the RAC hostname.
l For an Exchange IP DAG, type the DAG name.

The application module administrator guides provide more information.

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Note: If the Client Configuration wizard cannot resolve the specified


hostname, an error message appears after you click Next.

4. Optionally, in the Comment box, type a description of the client.


If you are creating multiple client resources for the same NetWorker client host,
then use this attribute to differentiate the purpose of each resource.
5. In the Tag box, type one or more tags to identify this Client resource for the
creation of dynamic client groups for data protection policies.
Place each entry on a separate line.
6. In the Type box, select Traditional NetWorker client.
7. Optionally, from the Group list, select a group for the Client resource.
The group to which the client belongs determines the workflow that is used to
back up the client.
Note: You can also assign the client to one or more groups after you create
the Client resource.

8. Click Next.
9. On the Specify the Backup Configuration Type window, select Filesystem,
and then click Next.
10. On the Select the NetWorker Client Properties window, configure the
following options:

Option Description
Priority Enables you to control the order in which the NetWorker server
contacts clients for backup. During a backup operation, the
NetWorker server contacts the client with the lowest priority
value first. If you do not specify a priority for the client
resources, then the backup order is random. The default value
is 500.
While the Priority attribute specifies the order of client contact,
many variables affect the order in which clients complete their
backups. For example:
l The backup operation on a client does not begin until the
worklists for each of the save sets on the client are
complete.
l The amount of work can vary greatly from one client to the
next.
l If a client stops responding and times out, then the backup
operation puts the client backup at the end of the backup
order list.
The only way to guarantee that the backup of one client occurs
before the backup of another client is to configure the
workflows for the clients to start at different times.

Parallelism Specifies the maximum number of data streams that a client


can send simultaneously during a backup action.
Data streams include backup data streams, savefs processes,
and probe jobs.

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Option Description
The default value is different for the NetWorker server than it
is for all other client resources:
l For the NetWorker server client resource, the default value
is 12. This higher default value enables the server to
complete a larger number of index backups during a Server
backup action.
l For all other clients, the default value is 4.
To avoid disk contention for clients other than the NetWorker
server, specify a value that is the same as or fewer than the
number of physical disks on the client that are included in the
backup.
The NetWorker Performance Optimization Planning Guide
provides more information about recommended client
parallelism values and performance benefits.

Remote Specifies a list of the users that have access to perform remote
Access access operations. For example, users that can perform a
directed recovery of backup data that originated on this host.

Data Domain Specifies the protocol to use if you send the backup data to a
Interface Data Domain Device. Available selections are IP, Fibre Channel,
or Both.
Note: Mac OS X clients only support the IP protocol.

Block Based Enables Block Based Backups for the host. When you select
Backup this option, you must also select the Client Direct.
(BBB) This option applies to Linux only.
Note: The Block Based Backup chapter provides complete
information about how to configure a host for BBB
backups.

Client Direct Allows the client to try to directly connect to the backup
storage device, instead of connecting to a NetWorker storage
node. If a direct connection is not possible, then the backup
operation connects to the NetWorker storage node that you
configure to accept data from the client.

Parallel Save Enables NetWorker to use multiple parallel save streams to


Streams backup each save set defined for the client, to one or more
(PSS) destination devices. PSS does not support Checkpoint Restart
backups.

11. Click Next.


12. On the Select the File System Objects window, select the file system objects
to backup.
To avoid the over consumption of memory, NetWorker limits the number of files
that you can view when you browse a directory that contain a large number of
files, for example, 200,000 files. When NetWorker determines that displaying
the number of files will exhaust memory resources, NetWorker will display a
partial list of the files and a message similar to the following appears:

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Expanding this directory has stopped because the result


has too many entries
Note: When you select all file system objects, the ALL value appears in the
Save set attribute for the Client resource. The ALL save set includes local
and mounted volumes.

13. On the Backup Configuration Summary window, click Create.


14. On the Client Configuration Results window, review the results of the client
configuration process, then click Finish.
Results
The Client resource appears in the Clients window pane.

Assigning directives to Mac OS X clients


After you create a client resource for an OS X client, select one of the Mac OS
directives to exclude certain files and directories from the backup, and ensure a
consistent state after a recovery operation.
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left panel, select Clients.
3. Right-click the client resource and select Modify Client Properties.
The Client Properties dialog box appears.
4. On the General tab, in the Directive box, select one of the following directives:
l Mac OS Standard Directives
l Mac OS with Compression Directives
Preconfigured global Directive resources on page 394 provides more
information about the Mac OS directives.

5. Click OK.

Configuring Open Directory database backups


The Mac OS directive does not back up Open Directory database files, which contain
system configuration information that is essential for disaster recovery. To ensure
complete protection of a Mac OS X computer if a catastrophic failure occurs, create a
script file and then modify the client resource for the Mac OS X host to include the
Open Directory database files.
About this task
Customizing backups with the pre and post commands on page 475 provides more
information about the script file and the how to modify the client resource to use the
command.
Procedure
1. On the OS X host, create the script file as an executable text file.
The name of the script file must start with nsr or save. For example
nsr_opendir_backup.sh
2. Add the commands to backup open files to the script file.

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Note: Open Directory database files remain available during the backup.

l To back up LDAP directory domain for the Open Directory, type:

#slapcat -l /var/backups/networker.ldif
l To back up Password Server database for the Open Directory when the OS-
X host uses LDAP over SSL, type:

# mkdir -p /var/backups/networker.odpdb
# mkpassdb -backupdb /var/backups/networker.odpdb
l To back up the local NetInfo directory domain, type:

# nidump -r / . > /var/backups/networker.nidump

The following script file provides an example of how to back up the LDAP
directory, Password Server, and NetInfo databases before each scheduled save:

"/usr/sbin/slapcat -l /var/backups/networker.ldif;
/bin/mkdir -p /var/backups/networker.odpdb;
/usr/sbin/mkpassdb -backupdb /var/backups/networker.odpdb;
/usr/bin/nidump -r / . > /var/backups/networker.nidump"

3. Connect to the NetWorker server by using NMC.


4. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
5. In the expanded left panel, select Clients.
6. Right-click the client resource and select Modify Client Properties.
The Client Properties dialog box appears.
7. On the Apps & Modules tab, in the Pre command attribute, specify the name
of the script file that you require NetWorker to run before a backup.
Note: Do not specify the path to the file.

8. Click OK.

Sending client data to AFTD or Data Domain devices only


Use the Backup target disks attribute of the client resource to define an ordered list
of AFTD and Data Domain disk devices that will receive data for this client. When you
specify a value in this attribute, NetWorker ignores the values that you specify in the
Storage nodes attribute. This attribute does not apply to the client resource of the
NetWorker server, and applies to each instance of the client resource. You can specify
devices that are local or remote to the NetWorker server.
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left panel, select Clients.
3. Right-click the client resource and select Modify Client Properties.
The Client Properties dialog box appears.
4. On the Globals (2 of 2) tab, in the Backup target disks attribute, specify the
name of the AFTD or Data Domain devices that NetWorker uses to store data
for this client.

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Specify each device name on a separate line.


5. Click OK.
Results
NetWorker does not use the values in the Storage nodes attribute of the client
resource when selecting the device to receive data for the client.

Non-ASCII files and directories


If you create a client resource by using the Client Properties dialog box and the Save
set field contains non-ASCII characters, you must edit the Save operations field on
the Apps & Modules tab for the client resource.
To access the Save operations field, in the NetWorker Administration window, click
View > Diagnostic Mode .
In the Client Properties dialog box, on the Apps & Modules tab, in the Save
operations field, specify I18N:mode=utf8path

Configuring checkpoint restart backups


The checkpoint restart feature allows a failed backup operation to restart at a known
good point, before the point of failure during the backup.
Note: Checkpoint restart is only supported on Linux and UNIX environments when
performing standard save operations; you cannot use checkpoint restart with
block-based backup or parallel save streams enabled. Checkpoint restart is not
supported on Windows platforms.
A known good point is defined as a point in the backup data stream where the data is
successfully written to the save set and that data can be located and accessed by
subsequent recovery operations. This feature allows client backups that are part of a
scheduled backup to be restarted, if they fail while running. This prevents the files and
directories that have already been backed up from being backed up again.
Backup failures occur for various reasons. The most common reasons include
hardware failures, loss of network connectivity, and primary storage software failures.
If a backup fails and checkpoint restart is enabled, then failed save sets are marked as
partial instead of as aborted. Partial save sets remain in the index, the media
databases, and media such as AFTD.
You can manually restart a failed backup, or you can configure the backup to restart
automatically. A restarted save set has a new SSID and savetime.
The NetWorker server and storage node components must remain running to manage
the client failure and to create a partial save set. If the NetWorker server or storage
node components fail during a backup, then partial save sets are not created. In this
case, the backup for the checkpoint-enabled client starts from the beginning.
If the checkpoint restart feature is not enabled, a failure that is encountered during a
scheduled backup operation might require a rerun of an entire backup tape set. This
can be costly when a limited backup window of time is available, as a significant
portion of the backup data might have been successfully transferred to tape, and the
NetWorker software cannot resume a save set from the point of interruption.
For example, when performing an 800 GB backup that requires approximately 10 hours
to complete and spans six tapes, if a failure occurs while writing to the last tape, the

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previous five tapes representing 9 hours of backup time may need to be rerun. As
datasets continue to increase in size, so does the impact of backup failures.

About partial save sets


The backup sequence of partial save sets is not the same as the backup sequence for
complete backups. Each partial save set provides protection for part of the file
system, but the completeness and consistency of the coverage of the whole file
system cannot be guaranteed.
The checkpoint restart window is user-defined and can be large. If restarted hours
apart, the partial backups might provide an image of the file system that is different
from the state of the file system at any fixed point in time. The resulting file system
backup is not guaranteed to be consistent.
NetWorker performs file and directory backups in alphabetical order. If a failure
occurs, and you restart the backup, the backup operation starts alphabetically with
the next file or folder that was not previously backed up. NetWorker does not review
files or folder that were previously backed up for changes. If a previously backed up
file or folder was edited or added after the backup failure, NetWorker does not back
up the file or directory again.
Consider the following example in which a backup is interrupted while it is saving a
directory and is restarted after the directory contents have changed:
1. A save set contains /disk1/dir with files file_a, file_c and file_d.
2. The backup of the save set is interrupted while file_d is backed up.
As a result, the first partial save set includes only file_a and file_c.
3. A user adds file_b to the file system.
4. The checkpoint restart is initiated for the save set.
The second partial save set contains file_d and /disk1/dir, which includes
file_a, file_b, file_c and file_d. However, file_b is not in the save set.

Partial saveset cloning and scanning


Partial save sets can be cloned and scanned individually. These operations must be
performed on every partial save set.
If legacy automatic cloning is enabled, all partial save sets are cloned because
automatic cloning is run as part of the scheduled backup.

Checkpoint restart requirements


Ensure that the environment meets the following requirements to support checkpoint
restart.
Server and client software requirements
Checkpoint restart requires the server and client software listed in the following table.

Table 75 NetWorker software requirements for checkpoint restart

Client NetWorker server and client software


requirements
Non-NDMP clients NetWorker 8.0 or later

NDMP NetApp clients NetWorker 8.0 or later

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Table 75 NetWorker software requirements for checkpoint restart (continued)

Client NetWorker server and client software


requirements
NDMP Isilon clients NetWorker 8.1 SP1 or later

Platform requirements
Checkpoint restart is only supported on Linux and UNIX environments when
performing standard save operations. You cannot use checkpoint restart with block-
based backup or parallel save streams enabled.
Checkpoint restart is not supported on Windows platforms.
Client hostname requirements
Use a consistent convention for all NetWorker client hostnames. Do not configure
client resources with both short and fully qualified domain names (FQDN).
Save set requirements
Backup of the Windows DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set is not supported. If a client
with a DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set is enabled for checkpoint restart, the
backup fails.
The checkpoint restart option is ignored for index and bootstrap save sets.
Client Direct requirements
Checkpoint restart supports Client Direct backups only to AFTD devices, and not to
DD Boost devices. If a client is enabled for checkpoint restart and a Client Direct
backup is attempted to a DD Boost device, then the backup reverts to a traditional
storage node backup instead.
For Client Direct backups to AFTDs, checkpoints are made at least 15 seconds apart.
Checkpoints are always made after larger files that require more than 15 seconds to
back up.
Performance requirements
Enabling checkpoint restart might impact backup speed, depending on the datazone
environment and configuration.
Checkpoint restart also might increase the size of the index because additional index
records are created for the valid recoverable data. These partial save sets should not
be manually removed from the index.

Configuring checkpoint restart


To allow a failed backup for a client to restart from a known good point, you must
enable checkpoint restart for the NetWorker Client resource and configure the
number of automatic retries for the backup action in the data protection policy.
About this task
When you enable checkpoint restart, you define whether to restart the backup at the
directory or file level from the point of failure.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. From the View menu, select Diagnostic Mode.

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3. In the expanded left pane, select Clients.


4. Right-click the client resource and select Properties.
The Client Properties dialog box appears.
5. On the General tab, select the Checkpoint enabled checkbox.
6. From the Checkpoint granularity list, select whether to restart the backup
from the point of failure at the directory or file level:
l Select Directory to restart the backup at the directory level. After each
directory is saved, the data is committed to the media and index database. If
a directory contains a large number of entries, intermediate checkpoints are
created.
l Select File to restart the backup at the file level. Use this option only for
save sets with a few large files. Committing every file to the index and the
media database is time consuming. Performance degradation may occur for
backups that contain many small files.
7. Click OK on the Client Properties dialog box.
8. Configure the number of times to retry a failed backup:
a. In the expanded left pane of the NetWorker Administration window, select
Policies.
b. Select the policy.
c. In the right pane, select the Actions tab.
d. Right-click the action and select Properties.
The Policy Action wizard appears.
e. On the Advanced Options page, perform the following tasks:
a. In the Retries box, specify the number of retries that should occur if the
backup fails.
b. In the Retry Delay box, specify a delay in seconds before a failed backup
is retried.
c. Click Next.

f. On the Action Wizard Summary page, review the settings for the backup
action, and then click Configure .

Restarting checkpoint-enabled backups


You can configure automatic restarts of checkpoint-enabled backups by specifying
the number of retries for the backup action in the data protection policy. You can also
manually restart a checkpoint-enabled backup.
NOTICE If you rename a save set, the checkpoint restart fails to find a match
against a previous run and the restart reverts to a complete backup. Also, do not
edit retention in between checkpoint restarts, as an expired partial save set may
leave gaps in the backup set.

Automatically restarting a checkpoint-enabled backup


If the NetWorker server fails to connect to a client for a backup, the Retries attribute
for the backup specifies the number of times that the server tries the connection to
the client before the backup is considered a failure.
The Retries attribute applies to a backup regardless of whether the checkpoint restart
is enabled for the client. However, a partial save set is created when there is a failure

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for a checkpoint-enabled client, and the backup is automatically restarted from the
checkpoint until the specified number of retries has been exceeded.
The automatic restart must occur within the restart window that you specify for the
workflow for the data protection policy.
Example 1
There are six clients in a group, each with three save sets. The Retries attribute for
the backup is 1. One save set fails and is checkpoint restarted immediately. The
remaining save sets in the group continue to back up. The save set fails a second time.
A checkpoint restart for the save set does not occur because the retry attempt would
exceed the value for the Retries attribute.
When all the save set backup attempts in the group complete, the backup completion
report:
l Provides a list of the successful save sets.
l Reports that the failed partial save set is unsuccessful.
l Reports that the backup failed.
Example 2
There are six clients in a group, each with three save sets. The Retries attribute for
the backup is 2. One save set fails and is checkpoint restarted immediately. The
remaining save sets continue to back up. The partial save set fails a second time and is
checkpoint restarted immediately. This time, the partial save set succeeds.
When all the save set backup attempts in the group are complete, the backup
completion report:
l Provides a list of the successful save sets.
l Reports that the two partial save sets are successful.
l Reports that the backup completed successfully.

Manually restarting a checkpoint-enabled backup


You can manually restart the data protection policy or workflow for a failed backup.
For checkpoint-enabled clients, the backup continues from the checkpoint. For other
clients, the incomplete save sets are backed up again in full.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Monitoring.
2. Right-click the policy or workflow for the failed backup, and select Restart.
A confirmation message appears.
3. Click Yes.

Recovering data from partial save sets


If there is a complete sequence of partial save sets that span the original save set,
then you can browse to and recover individual files and directories. If the sequence of
partial save sets is incomplete and does not make up the original save set, then you
must perform a save set recovery to recover the data from the partial save set.
To recover data from partial save sets that span the original save sets, perform a
query for all partial save sets, and then use either the NetWorker User program on
Windows or the recover program on UNIX to restore the data.

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The steps to recover data from a single partial save set are the same as save set
recovery from a complete save set. The partial save set contains only files that were
successfully backed up. You cannot browse partial save sets.
When you perform a save set recovery of a partial NDMP save set, the recovery
process recovers all partial save sets in the checkpoint sequence. You cannot recover
data in a partial save set separately from other partial save sets in the checkpoint
sequence.
Use the nsrinfo command to display the contents of a partial save set.

Probe-based backups
You can configure the NetWorker server to search or probe a NetWorker client for a
user-defined script before the start of a scheduled backup operation. A user-defined
script is any program that passes a return code.
About this task
When the NetWorker server detects the script, the NetWorker server runs the script
and interprets two return codes:
l Return code 0 indicates that a client backup is required.
l Return code 1 indicates that a client backup is not required.
NetWorker interprets all other return codes as an error and does not perform a
backup.
Procedure
1. Create the Probe resource script, and save the script in the same directory as
the NetWorker binaries on each client that uses the client probe.
The name of the probe script must begin with save or nsr.
Note: Users are responsible for creating and supporting user-defined
scripts.

2. Create the Probe resource on the NetWorker server:


a. In the Administration interface, click Protection.
b. In the expanded left pane, right-click Probes and select New.
The Create NSR probe dialog box appears.
c. In the Name box, specify the name of the probe.
d. (Optional) In the Comment box, specify details for the probe script.
e. In the Command box, type the name and path of the probe script.
Note: The Command options box applies to NetWorker Module probes
only.

f. Click OK.
3. Associate the probe with a Client resource:
a. In the expanded left pane of the Protection window, select Clients.
b. In the right pane, right-click the Client resource, and select Modify Client
Properties.
The Client Properties dialog box appears.

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c. Click the Apps & Modules tab.


d. Select the probe resource from the Probe resource name list.
e. Click OK.
4. Configure a data protection policy with a workflow that includes a probe action:
a. Create a group that includes the client with the assigned probe resource.
b. Create a policy.
c. Create a workflow.
d. Create a probe action and a backup action for the workflow.

Encryption
You can use either AES encryption or in-flight encryption to encrypt data.
The Advanced Encryption Standard feature (AES encryption) encrypts data both in
transit and at rest on the backup volume.
In-flight encryption secures data that is in transit.
Note: Do not use the in-flight encryption feature and the AES encryption feature
together. Combining the encryption types is redundant and could significantly
increase the duration of the backup.

AES Encryption
You can apply password protection and 256-bit data Advanced Encryption Standard
(AES) encryption to backup and archive data on UNIX and Windows hosts for
additional security.
Note: You can apply password protection alone, AES encryption alone, password
protection and encryption together, or compression alone. You cannot apply
password protection and compression together or encryption and compression
together. Do not apply AES encryption and in-flight encryption together.
When NetWorker uses aes to encrypt the backup data, backup times increase. The
process of encrypting the data increases CPU and memory usage on the backup
client. The impact to CPU and memory resources depends on a number of factors
including the load on the host, network speed, and the number of backup files. A
backup of a single large file requires less resources than a backup of a dense file
system, where NetWorker must access a large number of small-sized files.
Do not use the aes ASM for data encryption when backing up files that are encrypted
by using the Microsoft Windows Encrypting File System (EFS). The backup is
reported as successful, but recovery of the file fails and the following message is
written to the NetWorker log file:
recover: Error recovering
filename. The RPC call completed before all pipes were
processed.

When a backup includes EFS encrypted files, the files are transmitted and stored on
backup volumes in their encrypted format. When the files are recovered, they are also
recovered in their encrypted format.
Password protection
AES Encryption is supported through the use of the aes Application Specific Module
(ASM) based on the password that is defined on the UNIX or Windows host. If a

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password is not defined on the host, then data is encrypted with the default password
that is configured for the NetWorker server.
NOTICE You must specify the password to recover password-protected files. If
the password was configured or changed after the backup occurred, then you
must provide the password that was in effect when the file was originally backed
up. Keep password changes to a minimum.

Configuring encryption for scheduled backups


Procedure
1. Configure a password on the host.
To configure the password on a Windows host:
a. Select Options > Password in the NetWorker User program.
b. Type a password.

2. Configure the default password on the NetWorker server:


a. In the Administration window, click Protection.
b. In the left pane, right-click the NetWorker server, and select Properties.
The Server Properties dialog box appears, starting with the Setup tab.
c. Click the Configuration tab.
d. Type the password in the Datazone pass phrase attribute.
e. Click OK.
3. Configure a directive for the Client resource with the aes ASM for encryption.
You can use the Encryption global directive to apply encryption. You can also
configure a local directive on the client computer. Directives on page 388
provides more information.

Configuring AES encryption or password protection for manual backups


When you perform a manual backup on Windows with the NetWorker User program,
you can specify AES encryption or password protection.
Procedure
1. Configure a password on the Windows host:
a. Open the NetWorker User program.
b. Select Options > Password.
c. Type the password in the Password dialog box and click OK.
2. Open the NetWorker User program and click Backup.
3. Select the data to back up.
4. From the File menu, select Special Handling.
The Special Handling dialog box appears.
5. Select the handling method for the backup data:
l Password Protect
l Password Protect and Encrypt
6. Click OK.

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7. Click Start to start the backup.

In-flight encryption
In-flight encryption secures data that is in transit. By default, the in-flight encryption
feature is not enabled in NetWorker.
About this task
Backup times might be longer with in-flight encryption than with AES encryption.
Because in-flight decryption occurs on the target NetWorker storage node, CPU and
memory usage could significantly increase. The impact to CPU and memory resources
depends on a number of factors including the load on the host, network speed, and
the number of backup files.
You can enable in-flight encryption from the NMC or from nsradmin.
Note:
l Do not use the in-flight encryption feature and the AES encryption feature
together. Combining the encryption types is redundant and could significantly
increase the duration of the backup.
l Do not use in-flight encryption to backup and recover to Data Domain devices
(DDBoost). Refer to the Data Domain documentation set to configure
DDBoost encryption.
l In-flight encryption is not supported for a client direct backup and recovery
operation from a NetWorker client host over a network to a remote host's
AFTD. If in-flight encryption is enabled, data is not encrypted in-flight over the
network.
Use AES encryption for a client direct save operation from a NetWorker client
host over a network to a remote host's AFTD.

Using NMC to configure in-flight encryption for the NetWorker server


Procedure
1. Use NMC to connect to the NetWorker server.
2. On the NetWorker Administration window, select Hosts.
3. Right-click the hostname of the NetWorker server.
4. Select Configure Local Agent. The Local Agent Properties window appears.
5. Go to the Advanced tab and select Connection encrypted.
6. Click OK.

Using nsradmin to configure in-flight encryption for a NetWorker client


About this task
Use the following procedure to enable in-flight encryption for a NetWorker client's
save set data.
Procedure
1. Log in as root or as Windows Administrator on the NetWorker client.
2. Type the following at the command prompt:

nsradmin -p nsrexec

The nsradmin prompt appears.

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3. Edit the NSRLA resource by typing the following command:


print type:NSRLA

4. Change the value of the connection encrypted attribute in the NSRLA resource
to enabled.
Type the following line at the nsradmin prompt:

update connection encrypted:enabled;

5. Type Yes when prompted to confirm the change.


6. If the auth method attribute is not set, ensure that the peer certificate for the
NetWorker client matches the storage node.
Results
NOTICE When you modify an attribute with the nsradmin program, you must
specify the attribute name and value correctly. If you do not specify the attribute
name and value correctly, the nsradmin program does not update the attribute
and nsradmin does not provide an error message.
The EMC NetWorker Security Configuration Guide provides more information about the
nsrexec database and how to modify attributes in the nsrexec database.

Compression
You can compress backup data to reduce network traffic and backup storage
requirements.
Compressing data for a backup generates less network traffic. However, compression
uses computing resources, so its benefits may be limited on low-powered systems. If
the storage device also compresses data, the result may be that more data is actually
written to tape.
Note: You can apply password protection alone, encryption alone, password
protection and encryption together, or compression alone. You cannot apply
password protection and compression together or encryption and compression
together.

Configuring compression for scheduled backups


About this task
Configure a directive for the Client resource with the compressasm ASM for
compression.
You can use one of the global directives with compression or configure a local
directive on the client computer.

Configuring compression for manual backups


About this task
The methods of configuring compression for UNIX and Windows differ.
To compress data for a manual backup on UNIX, you must use the compressasm
ASM in a local directive file.
To configure data for a manual backup on Windows, use either thecompressasm
ASM in a local directive file, or use the following procedure.

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Procedure
1. Configure a password on the Windows host.
a. Open the NetWorker User program.
b. Select Options > Password.
c. Type the password in the Password dialog box and click OK.
2. Open the NetWorker User program and click Backup.
3. Select the data to back up.
4. From the File menu, select Special Handling.
The Special Handling dialog box appears.
5. Select Compress as the handling method for the backup data.
6. Click OK.
7. Click Start to start the backup.

Configuring Client Direct backups


NetWorker clients with network access to AFTD or DD Boost storage devices can
bypass the NetWorker storage node and send backup data directly to the devices.
This type of backup is called a Client Direct backup.
The storage node manages the devices for the NetWorker clients, but does not handle
the backup data.
A Client Direct backup reduces bandwidth usage and bottlenecks at the storage node,
and provides highly efficient backup data transmission.
If a Client Direct backup is not available, a traditional storage node backup occurs
instead.

Requirements for Client Direct backups


Ensure that the environment meets the following requirements to perform Client
Direct backups:
l NetWorker clients on UNIX/Linux or Microsoft Windows can perform non-root
and cross-platform Client Direct backups to AFTDs. The AFTD can be managed by
either a UNIX/Linux or a Windows storage node, and can be either local or
mountable on the storage node.
To perform non-root and cross-platform Client Direct backups to AFTDs, the
NetWorker server and the storage node software must be version 8.1 or later.
l If an NFS server provides the AFTD storage for Client Direct backups, then the
NFS server must permit access by using the NFSv3 protocol with AUTH_SYS
(AUTH_UNIX) authentication. The NFS server also must not restrict access to
clients by using only privileged ports.
l If you enable checkpoint restart for a client, then Client Direct backups are
supported only to AFTDs, and not to DD Boost devices. If a client is enabled for
checkpoint restart and a Client Direct backup is tried to a DD Boost device, then
the backup reverts to a traditional storage node backup instead.

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For Client Direct backups to AFTDs, checkpoint restart points are made at least 15
seconds apart. Checkpoints are always made after larger files that require more
than 15 seconds to back up.
l Archive operations are not currently supported for Client Direct backups.

Configuring Client Direct backups


Procedure
1. Ensure that the clients that perform Client Direct backups have a network
connection and a remote network protocol to reach the storage device.
Windows clients can use a CIFS or NFS path, although a CIFS path generally
yields better performance. UNIX clients must use an NFS path.
2. Specify the complete path for the destination device in the Device access
information attribute on the General tab of the Device Properties dialog box
for the destination device.
Keep in mind the following points when you specify the path:
l If the storage device is directly attached to a Windows storage node, then
the storage node uses a different path than the Client Direct clients. If the
storage device is not directly attached to any storage node, then the path is
the same for all storage nodes and Client Direct clients.
l The device access information path should include multiple access paths to
cover local and remote use cases.
l To specify an NFS path, use the NFS_host:/path format regardless of
whether the AFTD is local to the storage node or mountable on the storage
node. Non-root UNIX/Linux NetWorker clients require this NFS format for
Client Direct access.
l For Windows Client Direct backups, specify a CIFS path instead of an NFS
path. A CIFS path generally yields better performance.
l If you are setting up an AFTD on a Windows storage node, specify the CIFS
path first. For example:

\\fileserver\aftd1
fileserver:/aftd1
l If you are setting up a UNIX/Linux storage node, specify the NFS path first.
For example:

fileserver:/aftd1
\\fileserver\aftd1
The following figure shows an example set of paths for a CIFS AFTD.

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Figure 46 Paths for CIFS AFTD

3. If an NFS server provides the AFTD storage for Client Direct backups, then
specify the username and password that is required to access the NFS server
for the AFTD in the Remote user and Password attributes on the
Configuration tab of the Device Properties dialog box for the device.
4. Ensure that the Client direct attribute is enabled on the General tab of the
Client Properties dialog box for each Client Direct client.
Client Direct backups are enabled by default.
Select View > Diagnostic Mode in the Administration interface to access the
Client direct attribute in the Client Properties dialog box.

Backup command customization


You can customize client backups by creating additional programs (scripts) that affect
the way the NetWorker server will back up client file system data.
NetWorker provides you with the following features, which enable you to customize
scheduled backups for a client:
l Create a custom backup script that starts the save command.
l Create a script file that performs operations before the start of a backup.
l Create a script file that performs operations after the backup of all save sets for a
client completes.
For example, you can create a custom backup script that performs the following tasks:
1. Shuts down a mail server or database before the NetWorker server performs a
backup.
2. Prints a message such as Backup started at 3:33 A.M.
3. Starts the save command and performs a backup.
4. Prints a message such as Backup completed at 6:30 A.M.
5. Restarts the mail server or database after the backup completes.

Creating a custom backup script


Create a script that runs the save program as part of its instructions to customize
behavior of scheduled backups of a client. When NetWorker performs a back up of the

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client, NetWorker runs the customized program for each save set instead of the
standard save program.
Procedure
1. Use a text editor to create a script in the networker_installation_dir
\bin directory on Windows clients or the
networker_installation_dir/bin on LINUX or UNIX clients.
The script file must meet the following requirements:
l The name starts with save or nsr.
l The name contains a maximum of 64 characters.
l For Windows, the script file must end with a .bat extension.
l For UNIX, the script file must have executable file permissions.
For example, script file names that meet these criteria include
save_custom_script.bat and nsr_backup_script.bat for windows,
and save_custom_script.sh and nsr_backup_script.sh for Linux and
UNIX.

2. Add commands to the script in the following order:


a. Declare all required environment variables, for example the PATH variable.
b. (Optional) Run a preprocessing command before each save set backup.
c. (Required) Back up the data by using the NetWorker save command.
Always specify the full path of the save command in the script.
On UNIX and Linux hosts, run the NetWorker save command with the
arguments save “$@” to enable the save command to accept the
arguments that the NetWorker savefs program would run during a regular
backup.
d. (Optional) Run a postprocessing command after each save set backup.
Note: All commands within the script must complete successfully.
Otherwise, the NetWorker server cannot complete the remaining
instructions.

3. Save and close the script file.


4. Specify the name of the backup script in the Backup command attribute for
the Client resource:
a. In the Administration window, click Protection.
b. In the expanded left pane, select Clients.
c. Right-click the Client resource, and select Modify Client Properties.
The Client Properties dialog box appears, starting with the General tab.
d. Select the Apps & Modules tab.
e. Type the name of the backup script in the Backup command box.
f. Click OK.
5. Back up the client to ensure that the new backup command works.
Results
NetWorker logs information about the backup status in separate log files, and not in
the save output.

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Reporting policy status and backup job status on page 679 provides more information
about how to review backup job status.

Example backup script on Windows


In this example backup script for a Windows client computer, the customized backup
program runs pre-backup commands, the NetWorker save command, and then post-
backup commands.
Description of the example script
The following table provides details on each type of command in the example backup
script.

Table 76 Example backup script on Windows

Command type Description


Pre-backup Redirects the output of the net start DOS
command to create a netstart.txt file at
the root of the C:\ drive, and sends all
information about started services for the
current computer to this file.

save Runs NetWorker commands that are required


to start the backup process.

Post-backup Redirects the output of the set DOS


command to a set.txt file at the root of the
C:\ drive, and sends all computer system
environment information to this file.

The netstart.txt and set.txt files are placed in the C:\directory. New
information is appended to these files each time a backup is run.
Example script

@ECHO OFF
SETLOCAL
ECHO =======START BATCH FILE================
ECHO =====NetWorker PRE_BACKUP COMMAND======
ECHO =======NET START - creates netstart.txt file and
ECHO =======sends all Started Services information
ECHO =======to the file c:\netstart.txt

NET START >>C:\NETSTART.TXT

REM This command takes incoming arguments from


REM the savegrp command and handle them
REM to overcome batch file limitations:

REM PARSE ALL INCOMING ARGUMENTS


REM and pass single argument in case
REM more than 10 arguments are passed to this file
REM (ie %0-%9 is not enough).

ECHO =====NetWorker SAVE SET COMMAND=======


SHIFT
SET arg=%0

:loop
SHIFT

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IF %0.==. GOTO save


SET arg=%arg% %0
GOTO loop

REM These are the save commands that run the required
REM NetWorker backup commands.

:save

REM Note: Enter correct path to your NetWorker bin


REM directory (line below is default path)
C:\PROGRA~1\nsr\bin\save.exe %arg%

ECHO =====NetWorker POST_BACKUP COMMAND====


ECHO ====="SET" - creates set.txt file and sends all
ECHO =====computer system environment information to
ECHO =====C:\set.txt file========

SET >>C:\SET.TXT

ECHO ======END OF BATCH FILE====

ENDLOCAL

Monitoring details for the script


The following information appears in the Monitoring window of the Administration
interface and the backup action log file. After the backup process completes, review
the log output to verify the execution of the commands in the script.
--- Successful Save Sets ---
:* jupiter:c:\inetpub =======START BATCH FILE============
* jupiter:c:\inetpub ===NetWorker PRE_BACKUP COMMAND===
* jupiter:c:\inetpub=======NET START
* creates netstart.txt file and sends all started
* jupiter:c:\inetpub ======services information to
* that file c:\netstart.txt==

* jupiter:c:\inetpub ===NetWorker SAVE SET COMMAND====


* jupiter:c:\inetpub save: using `C:\Inetpub' for
* `c:\inetpub'
jupiter: c:\inetpub level=full,194 KB 00:00:02 37 files
* jupiter:c:\inetpub =====NetWorker POST_BACKUP COMMAND
* jupiter:c:\inetpub ====="SET" - creates set.txt
* file and sends all computer system
* jupiter:c:\inetpub ==== environment information
* to C:\set.txt file
* jupiter:c:\inetpub ======END OF BATCH FILE====

Example backup script on UNIX


This example script on UNIX locks a ClearCase version object base (VOB), performs
the backup, and then unlocks the VOB.

#!/bin/sh
# export the SHELL that we are going to use
SHELL=/bin/sh
export SHELL
# export the correct PATH so that all the required binaries can be
found

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case $0 in
/* ) PATH=/usr/atria/bin:/bin:/usr/bin:`/bin/dirname $0`
c=`/bin/basename $0`
;;
* )PATH=/usr/atria/bin:/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin
c=$0
;;
esac
export PATH

# These are the valid statuses that save reports upon completion of
the backup
statuses="
failed.
abandoned.
succeeded.
completed savetime=
"
# Perform the PRECMD (Lock VOB)
/usr/atria/bin/cleartool setview -exec "/usr/atria/bin/
cleartoollock -c \
‘VOB backups in progress’ -vob /cm_data/mis_dev" magic_view >
/tmp/voblock.log 2>&1
# Perform backup on client
save "$@" > /tmp/saveout$$ 2>&1
# cat out the save output
cat /tmp/saveout$$
# search for backup status in output reported by save
for i in ${statuses}; do
result=`grep "${i}" /tmp/saveout$$`
if [$? != 0]; then
echo ${result}
fi
done
# Perform the POSTCMD (Unlock VOB)
/usr/atria/bin/cleartool setview -exec "/usr/atria/bin/
cleartoolunlock -vob
/cm_data/mis_dev" \
magic_view > /tmp/vobunlock.log 2>&
# exit gracefully out of the shell script
exit 0

Table 77 NetWorker Server Versions

NetWorker Server NetWorker client version Client properties need to be updated


Versions configures with the
NetWorker Server

8.2.x 8.2.x backup command savepnpc

9.x 8.2.x backup command savepnpc

9.x 9.x pre command and post command

Controlling exit status reporting for a custom backup script


Use the Job control attribute on the Apps & Modules tab of the Client Properties
dialog box for a Client resource to control how end of job and exit status messages are
determined for a custom backup script.
To access the Job control attribute, select View > Diagnostic Mode in the
Administration interface to enable diagnostic mode view. A checkmark next to
Diagnostic Mode in the View menu indicates that diagnostic mode view is enabled.

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There are three check boxes for the Job control attribute:
l end on job end
l end on process exit
l use process exit code
The following table provides details on exit status reporting depending on the selection
of one or more of the checkboxes.

Table 78 Job control attribute selections

Selections Description
No selections The nsrpolicy and nsrjobd programs determine the success or
(default behavior) failure of a custom script based on the completion of the save
program (end of job). The following criteria apply:
l If the save job completion status is success, then nsrpolicy
and nsrjobd report that the custom backup job succeeded.
l If the save job completion status is failure, then nsrpolicy and
nsrjobd report that the custom backup job failed.
l If no completion status is received, the custom job output is
examined for completed savetime=savetime lines. If found
and the savetime is a value other than 0 (zero), then the
custom backup job is considered to have succeeded. If the value is
0, then the custom backup job is considered to have failed.

The exit code of the custom script process is not taken into
consideration.

end on job end only A backup job is considered to be ended as soon as an end job message
is received from the save command.

Select this option when you do not want to wait for the postprocessing
commands of the script to end.

end on process exit A backup job is considered to be ended as soon as the started process
only exits. Background processes started by the backup command could
still be running on the client.
Use this option when you want the custom script to start background
processes and you do not want savegrp or nsrjobd to wait for the
processes to complete.

use process exit Only the process exit code is used to determine the success or failure
code only of the job. An exit code of 0 indicates success. Otherwise, the job is
reported as failed.
Use this option when you want the script postprocessing command
status to have an impact on the status of the save backup command
without having to unset the NSR_STD_MSG_FD environment variable.
If the script invokes more than one NetWorker backup command such
as save, then you must still unset the NSR_STD_MSG_FD environment
variable.

Both end on job end Either event can trigger the end of a job.
and
end on process exit

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Table 78 Job control attribute selections (continued)

Selections Description
Both end on job end If an end job message is received before the process exits, then the
and exit status provided by the end job message is used to determine the
use process exit success or failure of the job.
code

Customizing backups with the pre and post commands


Customize backup behavior by running preprocessing and postprocessing commands
only once during the client backup, instead of once for each save set.
About this task
Preprocessing and postprocessing scripts can be useful if the client is running a
database or another program that should be stopped before the client is backed up,
and then restarted after the backup has completed.
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left panel, select Clients.
3. Right-click the client resource and select Modify Client Properties.
The Client Properties dialog box appears.
4. On the Apps & Modules tab, in the Pre command attribute, specify the name
of the script file that you require NetWorker to run before a backup.
Note: Do not specify the path to the file.

5. Optionally, in the Post command attribute, specify the name of the script file
that you require NetWorker to run after a backup of all the save sets for the
client completes.
Note: Do not specify the path to the file.

6. Click OK.
Results
The customized instructions are applied the next time that the client is backed up.

Client resources
A client is both a physical computer with NetWorker client software installed on it and
a NetWorker resource that specifies a set of files and directories to be in a scheduled
backup. A Client resource also controls backup settings for the client, such as the save
sets to back up for the client, the groups to which the client belongs, and whether to
automatically restart failed backups for the client.
You can configure multiple Client resources for a single NetWorker client computer,
although clients with the same save set cannot be in the same group. You might want
to create multiple Client resources for a single client computer in the following
scenarios:

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l To segregate different types of backup data, such as application data and


operating system files. For instance, to back up the accounting data on a
computer on a different schedule than the operating system files, create two
client resources for the computer: one for accounting data and another for
operating system data.
l To back up large client file systems more efficiently. For instance, you could create
separate client resources for each file system on a computer and back them up on
different schedules.
You can create a Client resource either by using the Client Backup Configuration
wizard or the Client Properties dialog box.
You can configure NetWorker clients to use a unique network interface on the
NetWorker server and storage node for backup and recovery operations. Using
multihomed systems on page 865 provides more information.

Create a Client resource with the Client Properties dialog box


The following procedure provides the basic steps to create a client resource for
scheduled backups. Additional configuration of the Client resource may be necessary
for clients such as VMware or NAS device clients, or to take advantage of product
features such as probe-based backups or archiving.
Before you begin
l Install the NetWorker Client software on the client computer.
l (Optional) Configure directives to control how the NetWorker Server processes
files and directories during backup and recovery. For example, you can create a
directive to skip certain directories or file types, to compress backup data, or to
encrypt backup data. Directives on page 388 provides more information.
l (Optional) To view advanced options in the Client Properties dialog box, select
View > Diagnostic Mode in the Administration window. Advanced options are not
discussed in this procedure.
l (Optional) Check for reverse entries in the DNS server. If the reverse entries are
not present, then do not use the IP address for creating the clients.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Clients.
3. From the File menu, select New.
The Client Properties dialog box appears, starting with the General tab.
4. In the Name box, type the hostname of the client computer.
Note: In NetWorker 19.1, users can configure NSM with NetApp ONTAP.
The NetWorker Snapshot Management for NAS Devices Integration Guide
provides more information on how to configure NSM with NetApp ONTAP
7-Mode and ONTAP Cluster Mode.

5. (Optional) In the Comment box, type a description of the client.


If multiple Client resources are being set up for the same host, type a comment
that distinguishes the Client resources.
6. In the Tag box, type one or more tags to identify this Client resource for the
creation of dynamic client groups for data protection policies.
Place each entry on a separate line.

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7. To allow a failed backup operation to restart at a known good point before the
point of failure during the backup, select the Checkpoint enabled checkbox.
Configuring checkpoint restart backups on page 457 provides more information
on the requirements for checkpoint restart.
8. From the Directive list, select a directive to control how the NetWorker Server
processes files and directories during backup and recovery.
9. In the Save set box, type the name of the files or directories to back up, or click
the Browse button to browse and select file system objects.
Note: To avoid the over consumption of memory, NetWorker limits the
number of files that you can view when you browse a directory that contain
a large number of files, for example, 200,000 files. When NetWorker
determines that displaying the number of files will exhaust memory
resources, NetWorker will display a partial list of the files and a message
similar to the following appears: Expanding this directory has
stopped because the result has too many entries
When you manually specify the save set value, place multiple entries on
separate lines. For example, to back up a log file directory that is named
C:\log and all the data under the directory that is named D:\accounting,
type the following entries:

C:\log
D:\accounting

Follow the guidelines in the section "Mapped drives" to back up mapped drives
on Windows systems.
To back up all client data, type ALL. For Windows operating systems, the ALL
save set includes the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set, which includes the
WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save set.
NOTICE Some operating systems contain files and directories that should
not be backed up. Use directives to ensure that these files and directories
are not backed up.
Save sets on page 354 provides more information on defining the save sets for
a Client resource.

10. Select the other tabs in the Client Properties dialog box and configure options
as necessary.
11. Click OK.
Results
Verify that the client is enabled for scheduled backups by ensuring that a check mark
appears next to the client in the Scheduled backup column in the right pane for the
client.

Editing a Client resource


Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Clients.
3. In the right pane, perform one of the following tasks:

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l To modify multiple attributes in a single configuration resource by using the


Client Properties window, right-click the staging configuration and select
Modify Client Properties.
l To modify a specific attribute that appears in the resource window, place
the mouse in the cell that contains the attribute that you want to change,
then right-click. The menu displays an option to edit the attribute. For
example, to modify the Comment attribute, right-click the resource in the
Comment cell and select Edit Comment.
Note: To modify a specific attribute for multiple resources, press and
hold the Ctrl key, select each resource, and then right-click in the cell
that contains the attribute that you want to change. The menu displays
an option to edit the attribute.
4. Edit the attributes of the Client resource.
5. Click OK.

Client priority
The Priority attribute on the Globals (1 of 2) tab of the Client Properties dialog box
for a Client resource enables you to control the order in which the NetWorker server
contacts clients for backup.
The attribute can contain a value between 1 and 1,000. The lower the value, the higher
the priority.
You must select View > Diagnostic Mode in the Administration interface to access the
Priority attribute in the Client Properties dialog box.
During a backup operation, the NetWorker server contacts the client with the lowest
priority value first. If you do not specify a priority for the Client resources, then the
backup order is random.
While the Priority attribute specifies the order of client contact, many variables affect
the order in which clients complete their backups. For example:
l The backup operation on a client does not begin until the worklists for each of the
save sets on the client are complete.
l The amount of work can vary greatly from one client to the next.
l If a client stops responding and times out, then the backup operation puts the
client backup at the end of the backup order list.
The only way to guarantee that the backup of one client occurs before the backup of
another client is to configure the data protection policies for the clients to start at
different times.

Copying a Client resource


Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, select Clients.
3. In the right pane, right-click the Client resource and select Copy.
The Create Client dialog box appears with the same attributes as the original
client except for the client name.
4. Type the hostname of the client in the Name box.
5. (Optional) Edit other attributes for the Client resource.

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6. Click OK.

Changing the hostname of a client


To change the hostname of a client, you must delete the Client resource, rename the
directory with the client file index for the client, and then create a Client resource with
the new hostname and the original client ID.
About this task
If you create the new Client resource but do not use the client ID of the original
NetWorker host:
l The NetWorker server considers the new hostname to be a new NetWorker host.
l The NetWorker server assigns the new hostname a new client ID.
l To recover data, you must perform a directed recovery from the original hostname
to the new hostname.
l You cannot perform a browsable recovery, only a save set recovery.
Use the nsrclientfix command to analyze the media database and identify client
ID inconsistencies. To resolve client ID issues, use the nsrclientfix command to
merge information about multiple clients in the media database and resource database
into one client resource with the original client ID. The following KB articles on the
Online Support website provide more information about using the nsrclientfix
command:
l For NetWorker Server client ID issues: 000185727
l For NetWorker Client client ID issues: 000193911
Procedure
1. Record the client ID of the original Client resource:
a. Enable diagnostic mode view by selecting View > Diagnostic Mode in the
Administration window.
b. In the Administration window, click Protection.
c. In the expanded left pane, select Clients.
d. In the right pane, right-click the Client resource and select Modify Client
Properties.
The Client Properties dialog box appears.
e. Select the Globals (1 of 2) tab.
f. Record the value in the Client ID attribute.
g. Click Cancel.
2. Delete the Client resource:
a. Right-click the resource, and select Delete.
A confirmation message appears.
b. Click Yes.
3. Stop all the NetWorker services on the NetWorker server.
4. On the NetWorker server, rename the client file index directory for this client
from old_client_name.domain.com to
new_client_name.domain.com.

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The default location for the client file index is NetWorker_install_path


\index\client_name.domain.com on Windows and /nsr/index/
client_name.domain.com on UNIX/Linux.
5. Restart the NetWorker services on the NetWorker server.
6. Create a Client resource with the new hostname and the original client ID.

Deleting a Client resource


When you delete a Client resource, the NetWorker server can no longer back up the
client computer. The backup history for the client remains in the client file index and
media database until the entries are removed. You can still access and recover backup
data for the client directly from the volume that contains the data by using the
scanner command.
About this task
If you create a Client resource to re-create the deleted client, specify the same
hostname for the client. The NetWorker server recalls and uses the original client ID
for the hostname.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, click Clients.
3. In the right pane, right-click the Client resource and select Delete.
A confirmation message appears.
4. Click Yes.

Manual backups
Manual backups enable users to make quick backups of a few files from the client
host.
When you perform a client-initiated or manual backup, by default NetWorker backs up
the data to a volume assigned to the Default pool on the NetWorker server. The
retention policy that is assigned to the data is one year, and the level is manual.
Perform manual backups on Windows by using the NetWorker User program. Perform
manual backups on UNIX and Linux only from the command line.

Performing a manual backup on Windows


Before you begin
Create a local directive on the client computer to exclude local file type devices from
manual backups with the NetWorker User program:
1. Start the NetWorker User program.
2. From the Options menu, select Local Backup Directives.
3. Clear the checkbox for the local file type device.
4. From the File menu, select Save Directive.
NetWorker User local directives on page 398 provides more information on local
directives.

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Note: You cannot perform data deduplication during backups with the NetWorker
User program. You must perform scheduled backups or manual backups from the
command line to perform data deduplication during the backup.
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker User program, click Backup.
The Backup window appears.
2. Select the data to back up.
To back up critical volumes, UEFI, the system reserved partition, and WINDOWS
ROLES AND FEATURES for disaster recovery purposes, select the
DISASTER_RECOVERY save set.
3. Click Start.
The Backup Status dialog box displays the progress of the backup. When the
backup finishes, a Backup completion time message appears.
If the backup fails due to a problem with VSS or a writer, an error message
appears. Use the Windows Event Viewer to examine the event logs for more
information. VSS backup error messages are also written to the NetWorker log
file.
The NetWorker log file in \install_path\logs\networkr.raw contains a
record of every file that was part of an attempted manual backup from the
NetWorker User program. This file is overwritten with the next manual backup.
To save the information in the file, rename the file or export the information by
using the nsr_render_log program.
NOTICE Certain types of corrupt files or errors on computer disk volumes
are not detected. NetWorker might back up this corrupt data. To avoid this
situation, run diagnostic programs regularly to correct disk volume errors.

Including Windows BMR in manual backups


When you use the NetWorker User program to back up a host, to ensure the backup
operation will backup all of the data on the host, select Computer in the Backup
window.
About this task
If you only select the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set, then the NetWorker User
program automatically selects the critical volumes and WINDOWS ROLES AND
FEATURES save sets.
Note: When you use the NetWorker User program or the save command to
perform a manual backup, NetWorker performs the backup operation as a single
backup stream. To multi-stream the backup operation, run a scheduled group
backup.
Backing Up Data on page 401 provides more information about manual backups.

Performing a manual backup from the command prompt


Perform a manual backup from the command prompt by using the save command.
For example, to back up myfile to the jupiterserver, type:
save -s jupiter myfile

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If you do not specify the -s option with the save command, the files are backed up to
the NetWorker server that is alphabetically listed first in the /nsr/res/servers file
on the client computer.
UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about the save command.

BTRFS backups
NetWorker support BTRFS volume backups. When you specify a BTRFS volume or
sub-volume save set, NetWorker performs a recursive back up of the directory tree
that you specified with the save command. When NetWorker encounters a sub-
directory that has a sub-volume ID that differs from the parent sub-volume ID,
NetWorker will not back up the contents of the subdirectory, unless you specify the -x
option with the save command.

Performing a manual backup on Mac OS X


To perform a manual backup on a Mac OS X client, use the save command in a
Terminal session.
About this task
For example:
$ save "file_or_directory_to_back_up" -s NetWorker_server
If you do not specify the -s NetWorker_server option, the save command contacts
the NetWorker server that is defined in the /nsr/res/servers file. The NetWorker
Command Reference Guide provides more information about the save command.

Troubleshooting manual backups


This section describes how to troubleshoot error messages that might appear during a
manual or client-initiated backup.
Could not create log file: Permission denied
This message appears when a non-root user performs a manual client direct-enabled
backup to a CloudBoost device but the user account does not have write access to
the /nsr/logs/cloudboost directory. To resolve this issue, configure the
following environment variables to define an alternate location for the log files, where
the non-root user has write access:

export CB_CACHE_LOCATION=cache_dir

export CB_LOG_DIR_LOCATION=log_dir

where:
l cache_dir is the directory that stores backup cache files.
l log_dir is the directory that stores for the backup log files.

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Verifying backup data


You can use the NetWorker User program on Windows clients to ensure that backup
data on the NetWorker server matches the data on the local disk. This verification
process enables you to test whether you can successfully recover the data.
About this task
During the verification, the file types, file change times, file sizes, and file contents are
compared. Other system attributes, such as read-only, archive, hidden, system,
compressed, and file access control list (ACL), are not part of the verification.
The NetWorker server alerts you to any changes that have occurred to the data since
the backup. Verification also determines whether a hardware failure kept the
NetWorker server from completing a successful backup.
NOTICE This feature is not available on UNIX clients.

Procedure
1. Log in as an administrator on the Windows client computer.
2. Open the NetWorker User program.
3. From the Operation menu, select Verify Files.
4. Select the data items to verify.
5. Click Start.
6. Monitor the data verification progress in the Verify Files Status dialog box.
After the verification is complete, the Verify Status dialog box shows any data
discrepancies.

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CHAPTER 7
Cloning, Staging, and Archiving

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Cloning, staging, and archiving.........................................................................486


l Benefits of cloning and staging........................................................................ 486
l Cloning save sets and volumes......................................................................... 487
l Staging save sets............................................................................................. 501
l Archiving data..................................................................................................508

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Cloning, staging, and archiving


The storage device that you use for the initial backup is often a compromise between
a number of factors, including location, availability, capacity, speed, and cost. As a
result, the backup data on the initial storage device is unlikely to be on the ideal or
best storage for the entire duration of the retention period.
NetWorker provides you with three ways to manage data for long term storage.
l Cloning—The clone process allows you to perform the following tasks:
n Create a duplicate copy of backup data securely offsite.
n Transfer data from one location to another.
n Verify backups.
You can clone volumes and save sets. The clone process copies existing save sets
from a volume in one device to a volume in a different device. The target volume
can be the same media type or a different media type than the original.
l Staging—The stage process uses the clone process to transfer backup data from
an AFTD or file type device to another medium, then removes the data from the
original location.
l Archiving—The archive process captures files or directories as they exist at a
specific time, and writes the data to archive storage volumes. NetWorker does not
automatically recycle the archive volumes. After the archive process completes,
you can delete or groom the original files from the disk to conserve space.
Note: Cloning of APP Consistent TLOG backup will fail when you use CloudBoost
19.1 embedded storage node. For cloning APP consistent full and Tlog backups to
CloudBoost 19.1, use the external storage node with NetWorker 19.1.

Benefits of cloning and staging


Cloning and staging enables you to use storage devices more effectively by moving
data between different types of devices. You can copy the data that is stored on local
tape devices to other devices in remote locations without an impact to the initial
backup performance. You can copy backups from disk devices to tape device to
facilitate offsite or long term storage. When you move data from disk to tape, you can
use the storage capacity more effectively. When you make use of a deduplicated disk,
NetWorker can reclaim the initial storage space for new backups.
NetWorker can only perform a clone operation after a successful backup, which
provides the following benefits:
l Allows the backup process to complete at maximum performance without any
impact to speed due to multiple write acknowledgments, delays, or retries on one
or more devices. A clone operation limits the performance impact on a client, while
providing data protection as quickly as possible.
l Ensures that a successful backup, that the data is valid, and that the clone
operation completes successfully.
l Ensures that the storage requirements have been determined, and that the
storage is made available.
l Allows you to schedule and rank the clone operation outside of the backup
window, when resources are less constrained.

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l Reduces the load on the backup infrastructure.


l Allows you to easily start recoveries because the backup operation has already
completed.
Note: You cannot use the NetWorker software to create an instant clone by
writing to two devices simultaneously. This operation is also referred to as parallel
cloning, twinning, or inline copy. Where parallel cloning or twinning is required,
consider using the NetWorker cloning feature. Using cloning helps ensure that the
initial backup completes successfully. Additional data protection can also be
implemented by using the best devices and bandwidth available for the backup
environment.

Cloning save sets and volumes


The cloning operation reads save sets from a volume within a backup or archive pool
and writes the data to a volume in a clone pool. You can clone save sets multiple times,
but NetWorker must write each clone to a separate volume.
When you clone backup data, the clone operation validate that NetWorker can read
the original backup data successfully in the media database and on the media volume,
which provides additional assurance that you can recover the data.
To schedule save set cloning, configure Data Protection Group, Data Protection
Policy, followed by a workflow having a clone action. The Data Protection Policies
chapter provides detailed information about creating a clone action. To manually clone
backup save sets or to clone the backup volume itself from the command prompt, use
the nsrclone command.

Deciding when to clone


The need to clone data is normally driven by a requirement for additional protection, or
the need to move data to a specific media type or location. In both cases, the priority
is to secure the data as quickly as possible.
There is a high probability that any restore request within the first 48 hours is due to
local failure or corruption and that the original backup copy is the most likely source
for that recovery. If there is a local disaster recovery or site loss, the recovery actions
and objectives are likely to be very different. Selected systems and services are
assigned specific priorities, recovery point objective (RPO) values, and recovery time
objective (RTO) values.

Clone retention
NetWorker supports the ability to define a retention time for a clone save set that
differs from the original save set.
The following attributes determine the retention time that NetWorker assigns to the
original save set and clone save set.
l Retention policy attribute that is defined for the Client resource.
l Retention policy attribute that is defined for the Action resource that created the
save set.
l Retention policy attribute that is defined for the Pool resource that contains the
save set.
Note: This read-only attribute appears on the Configuration tab of the Pool
resource, when Diagnostic mode is enabled in the NetWorker

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Administration window. This is a 8.2.x and earlier attribute, which you cannot
modify.
It is recommended that you define the retention policy for data in the Action resource.
If you define the retention policy for save sets in multiple resources, you might
experience unexpected save set expirations.

Cloning requirements and considerations


Review this section before you configure a clone action or perform a manual clone
operation.
Note: The Clone Data Domain must be running on an operating system version
that is similar to or later than that of Back up Data Domain operating system.
Device requirements
NetWorker requires two or more storage devices to perform a clone operation. One
device contains the volume with the original data and one device contains the volume
to which NetWorker writes the clone data. The clone data must reside on a volume
that differs from the original volume. Each clone volume can only contain one instance
of a cloned save set, even if the clone operation did not complete successfully. For
example, if you want to create three clone copies of a save set, NetWorker must write
each clone save set to a separate volume. As a result, you would need three separate
volumes.
When using a tape library with multiple devices, the NetWorker Server automatically
mounts the volumes that are required to complete the clone operation. When you use
standalone tape devices, you must manually mount the volumes. A message in the
Alert tab of the Monitoring window indicates which volumes to mount.
Often businesses choose devices for the initial backup that is based on speed or cost
requirements. NetWorker supports cloning or staging data to a device type that
differs from the source data volume. A common cloning or staging scenario includes
using an AFTD for the initial backup to gain speed and versatility benefits, then to
clone or stage the data to tape devices or dedpulication devices. This scenario allows
for an extended retention period without increasing disk space requirements. The use
of deduplication can also provide efficient use of storage. Cloning to or from
deduplication devices can ensure that these devices are used effectively. If the clone
operation includes save sets from different devices, and you want all the save sets to
be written to the same volume, include only one volume in the clone target pool.
Note: It is recommended that you do not write NDMP and non-NDMP data to the
same clone volume because the number of file marks and positioning on the device
differs for both data types.
Cloning multiplexed backups
You can clone multiplexed save sets. NetWorker writes the clone copies of multiplexed
save sets as a single contiguous data stream on the target media (demultiplexed).
When you recover from a multiplexed save set, read and recovery times increase as a
result of the time NetWorker spends reading and locating the data. The process of
demultiplexing save sets by the clone operation allowed you to read and recover data
faster from a clone save set than a backup save set.
When you clone multiplex save sets, you can only clone one save set to the same
target volume simultaneously. However, if the save sets have separate target volumes,
you can start multiple clone sessions simultaneously from the same source.

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Save set spanning


Some devices, for example Data Domain, support save set spanning across multiple
volumes. When NetWorker clones a save set, the clone copy might start on one
volume but continue on one or more additional volumes.
When using devices that support save set spanning, ensure that you:
l Identify save sets that span multiple volumes.
l Keep the number of continued save sets to a minimum.
l Use separate pools and larger or alternative devices.
l Use the Data Domain backup-to-disk and optimized cloning feature with Data
Domain devices.
l Plan ahead to ensure that the volumes are available and that they are read in the
best sequence.
Note: You can create a custom, scripted solution that uses the nsrclone
command to manage save set spanning.
Save set status
NetWorker does not clone save sets that are recyclable or eligible for recycling. If
NetWorker encounters a save set that is not browseable, the save set is skipped and is
not cloned. However, the clone status is successful.
Recovery scenarios
When you clone data, you provide the datazone with an alternative data recovery
source, which helps to protect against media loss or corruption. However, if the media
is located in one of the following locations, then the second copy of the data is still
vulnerable to major disasters that can affect the entire site:
l On the same tape library as the original data volume.
l On a deduplication device within the same data center, in a Data Domain
environment.
l In an onsite safe.
Sometimes, you may require more copies of a save set to ensure that all the recovery
scenarios are accommodated while maintaining the expected return on investment.
This requirement may not apply to all clients and all data, or be practical. However,
consider the reasons for cloning to ensure that the cloning strategy meets
requirements and expectations.
Changing the target device, or moving tapes to a second location after the cloning
operation completes, can provide additional protection.
Retention considerations
A Retention policy value applies to every type of save set. The retention policy value
determines the length of time that the data remains available for recovery in the
NetWorker media database and the client file index. You can specify a retention policy
value for the clone save set that differs from the value that is defined for the original
save set. When the retention policy differs for the original and clone save set, you can
expire the original save set and reclaim the space on the source volume but maintain
the data on a clone volume for future recoveries.
Note: The retention setting impacts the amount of disk space that is required by
the NetWorker Server. The recovery procedure is likely to be different if retention
has expired. The retention setting should be equal to or greater than the client or
data requirements, and allow for the expected recovery conditions.

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Cloning example
In this example, a backup of a client with three data drives creates three save sets.
These save sets are stored on a volume that is accessible through Storage Node A.
Once a cloning action occurs, the copies of these save sets are sent to eligible devices
in the clone pool on Storage Node B.
In this figure:
l A client performs a backup of three data drives to Storage Node A. NetWorker
creates three save sets, one save set for each data drive.
l A clone operation reads the data from the volumes on Storage Node A, and then
copies the save sets to Storage Node B.
Figure 47 Cloning example

Cloning with tape devices


There are a number of reasons why tape devices are used as part of the cloning
process:
l In cases where tape is used as a secondary storage tier where selected data is
cloned to tape for offsite storage or for extended data retention periods. This
allows disk devices to be used for the initial backup where their speed and
flexibility can be most effectively used for fast backup and recovery performance.
l In cases where tape is used as the primary backup media, there are still benefits in
creating clone copies, including:
n Secondary copy at different location or for offsite storage.

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n Data validation.
n Verification of the ability to read data from the media.
n Added protection of multiple copies across multiple volumes.
n De-multiplexing of multiplex backups for faster recovery.
Cloning with tape devices provides two benefits which should be considered for every
clone:
l Unlike disk-based devices, tape devices read data in a serial format. This means
that while multiplexing is beneficial from a backup streaming perspective, this is
not the case for recovery.
l If recovery speed is important, the use of clone copies as the source is likely to
result in faster recovery throughput.
Tape clone copies are often the preferred method to read data in a disaster recovery
situation. The ability to acquire, install, and configure a tape unit to read data is often
the first task on a disaster recovery plan.
By creating a copy of the backup on tape, you can eliminate the need for appliances
such as VTLs or disk systems to be in place. This often takes longer to acquire, install,
and configure. However, ensure that the tape copy is a full and complete copy,
without the dependence on other backups or deduplication appliances to complete the
restore operation.

Production storage node cloning of data to physical tape


This section outlines the advantages and disadvantages of cloning data to physical
tapes:
l The NetWorker software can clone from virtual tape in the disk library through a
production storage node to a SAN-attached tape library to produce copies of save
sets. This operation is a standard NetWorker cloning procedure.
l For the disk library, a virtual tape drive works in conjunction with a SAN-attached
target tape device to complete the cloning process.
l Cloning from a production storage node to a second storage node can also be
performed over IP.
Note: Do not use a production storage node to perform cloning operations
when the embedded storage node cloning capability is present.

Advantages
The advantages of cloning data to physical tapes include the following:
l Cloning can occur with the disk libraries under NetWorker control with standard
NetWorker policy support. You can use multiple retention policies for different
cloned copies of the data.
l Cloning can occur at the save set and volume level.
Note: NetWorker can clone a single save set, multiple save sets or all of the
save sets on a volume.
l Copying can occur from one tape type (virtual) to another tape type (target tape
library), also known as tape conversion.
l Copying can occur from multiple virtual tapes to a single tape, also known as tape
stacking.

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Disadvantages
The disadvantages of cloning data to physical tapes include the following:
l Requires storage node licenses.
l Requires maintenance of front-end SAN infrastructure to a target tape library as
well as the virtual tape library.
l Consumes SAN bandwidth as data must be from virtual tape over the SAN to a
target device on the SAN.

Cloning with file type and AFTD devices


Disk backup devices such as file type devices and advanced file type devices (AFTD)
are ideal for cloning operations because they provide high speed, random access, and
flexibility.
There are differences in the cloning process for file type devices and advanced file
type devices.
l For file type devices, scheduled and manual cloning begins only after all save sets
in a group have been backed up.
l For AFTDs, scheduled cloning begins only after all save sets in a group have been
backed up. However, you can begin manually cloning a save set when it has
finished its backup. For example, if there are three save sets (A, B, and C) in a
backup, you can begin manually cloning Save Set A after its backup is complete
and while the backups of Save Sets B and C are in progress. You can only manually
clone one save set at a time. AFTDs allow recoveries during cloning operations
(Read(source) or Write(target)). This assumes that the recover operation is not
from the active save set and that only one clone operation is running at a time.
Often, the disk devices are used as the initial target device for backups, especially in
situations where slower clients are unable to match the speeds that are expected for
modern tape devices. In these situations, the ability to clone or stage data to tape
often provides extended retention and data protection, while maximizing the disk use
and benefits.
Data can remain on the disk devices for short periods, typically 3 to 14 days, which
allows for:
l Adequate time for immediate and urgent restore operations to occur.
l Plenty of time to create further copies to tape or other disk-based devices for
longer term retention.

Cloning with Avamar


When you configure NetWorker with Avamar to deduplicate backup data, the backup
data is stored on an Avamar deduplication node on the Avamar server. The metadata
(hash information) is stored on a NetWorker storage node.
Note: NetWorker does not support the protection of new Avamar clients. You can
only protect Avamar 7.2 clients that were initially configured on a NetWorker 8.2.x
and earlier host.
To clone Avamar deduplication backups:
l Configure a clone action to clone the metadata. Cloning this hash metadata is
highly recommended.
l Configure replication of the backup data from the original Avamar deduplication
node to another Avamar deduplication node. The NetWorker software does not

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start replication. A replication host (an Avamar server) must be configured by


Customer Service before a deduplication backup can be replicated.
NOTICE For disaster recovery, you must replicate the client data to another
Avamar deduplication node and clone the metadata. Both the metadata and the
client data are required to recover client backup data.
You can also output the backup data of Avamar deduplication nodes to tape volumes.
Create a second Client resource for the client, but do not configure the second
instance as a deduplication client. Configure a data protection policy to back up the
second client instance as a normal NetWorker client and store the backups on tape.

Cloning with Data Domain (DD Boost)


As with other NetWorker devices, you can use Data Domain device types to perform
clone operations. You can clone single save sets or the entire Data Domain volume
from a Data Domain device. You can also use the Data Domain device as the target
device, to receive cloned data.
Cloning works differently for deduplication devices. You can perform clone-controlled
replication (CCR), or optimized cloning of data, from one Data Domain system to
another. Or you can clone data from a Data Domain device to tape or to any other
device type.
Note: To use Data Domain with NetWorker, the NetWorker server hostname
should be in lower case. Data Domain functions with lowercase and DD Cloud tier
operations fails if it is mixed case.

Controlling storage node selection for cloning


You can control the storage node from which clone data is read (read source) and the
storage node to which the clone data is written (write source). If you do not specify
the read and write source storage nodes, then the cloning operation uses the
nsrserverhost or NetWorker server as the storage node.
When you use data protection policies to clone, the selections that you make from
Source Storage Node and Destination Storage Node lists on the Clone Options
page for the clone action control the read source and write source. The "Creating a
clone action" topic provides more information about how to configure a clone action
and configure the filters that enable you to define the criteria that NetWorker uses to
create the list of eligible save sets to clone.
When you use the nsrclone command, Use the –J recover storage node option to
specify the read source host for the original volume and the –d save storage node
option to specify the write source for the clone volume. The NetWorker Command
Reference Guide or the UNIX man pages provide more information about the
nsrclone command.

Determining the storage node for reading clone data


When you do not specify the source storage node for a clone action in a data
protection policy or for the nsrclone command, the storage node from which clone
data is read (read source) depends on whether the source volume is mounted or
unmounted, as well as environment variable settings.
To control the storage node from which clone data is read, ensure that the source
volume is mounted on the device for the storage node, or list the storage node in the
Recover storage nodes attribute of the Client resource for the NetWorker server and
in the Read Hostname attribute for the Library resource, if the source volume is in a

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media library. Select View > Diagnostic Mode in the Administration interface to
access the Recover storage nodes and Read Hostname attributes in the Client
Properties dialog box.
NOTICE If the clone source volume is on a remote storage node and is unmounted,
a volume clone operation cannot complete successfully, even if the source volume
is mounted after the clone operation tries to start. The nsrclone program is
unavailable with a message that the server is busy. This issue does not occur when
the storage node is on the NetWorker server (or, not remote) or when you
perform a clone controlled replication (optimized clone) operation.
Cloning operation logic for selecting a read source storage node
The cloning operation uses the following logic to determine the read source storage
node:
1. If the source volume is mounted, then the storage node of the device on which the
volume is mounted is used as the read source except in the following scenarios:
l If the FORCE_REC_AFFINITY environment variable is set to Yes.
l If the volume resides in a Virtual Tape Library (VTL) environment such as a
CLARiiON Disk Library (CDL).
In these scenarios, the NetWorker software ignores whether the source volume is
mounted and behaves as though the volume is not mounted.
2. If the source volume is not mounted or the FORCE_REC_AFFINITY environment
variable is set to Yes, then the NetWorker software creates a list of eligible
storage nodes, based on the storage nodes that meet both of the following
criteria:
l The storage node is listed in the Recover storage nodes attribute of the Client
resource for the NetWorker server.
If there are no storage nodes in the list and the Autoselect storage node
checkbox in the NetWorker server Client resource is clear, then the clone
operation uses the value in the Storage Nodes attribute for the NetWorker
server Client resource.
If there are no storage nodes in the list and the Autoselect storage node
checkbox in the NetWorker server Client resource is selected, then the clone
operation uses autoselect logic to choose the storage node.
l If the requested volume is in a media library, then the storage node is listed in
the Read Hostname attribute for the Library resource is used.
If the Read Hostname attribute for the Library resource is not set, then all
storage nodes on which any device in the library is configured are added to the
list of eligible storage nodes.
Note: If the volume is not in a media library, then the list of storage nodes is
based only on the criterion for storage node settings in the NetWorker
server Client resource.
Example
Consider the following example for a volume that resides in a media library and is not
mounted:
l The Recover storage nodes attribute in the NetWorker server Client resource
lists the following storage nodes in order:
n Storage node F

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n Storage node E
n Storage node D
l The Read Hostname attribute for the Library resource is not set, but the following
devices in the media library are configured with storage nodes:
n Device A is configured on storage node D.
n Device B is configured on storage node E.
n Device C is configured on storage node B.
The list of eligible storage nodes is the intersection of the two previous lists (storage
nodes E and D). The order in which the storage node is selected depends on the order
of the storage nodes in the Recover storage node attribute list. In this example,
storage node E is selected first as the read source storage node. If storage node E is
not available, then storage node D is selected.
If no matching storage nodes are found in the intersecting list, then an error is written
to the daemon log file that indicates that no matching devices are available for the
operation. To correct the problem, ensure that at least one matching storage node
appears in both lists.

Determining the storage node for writing cloned data


When you do not specify the destination storage node for a clone action in a data
protection policy or for the nsrclone command, the storage node to which clone
data is written (write source) depends on the storage nodes listed in the Clone
storage nodes attribute for the read source storage node or the NetWorker server
storage node.
To control the storage node to which clone data is written, specify the hostname of
the write source storage node in the Clone storage nodes attribute for the read
source storage node.
To clone from many read source storage nodes to a single write source storage node,
specify the hostname for the write source storage node in the Clone storage nodes
attribute for the NetWorker server storage node.
In backup-to-disk environments, a single backup volume can be shared by multiple
storage devices on different storage nodes. To ensure unambiguous clone write
sources in this situation, specify the same write source storage node in the Clone
storage nodes attribute of all storage nodes that have access to the backup volume.
Regardless of where the cloned data is written, the client file index and media
database entries for the cloned save sets reside on the NetWorker server.
Cloning operation logic for selecting a write source storage node
The cloning operation uses the following logic to determine the storage node that
stores cloned backup data:
1. The write source storage node is listed in the Clone storage nodes attribute for
the read source storage node.
2. If the Clone storage nodes attribute for the read source storage node is blank,
then the write source storage node is listed in the Clone storage nodes attribute
for the NetWorker server storage node.
3. If the Clone storage nodes attribute for the NetWorker server storage node is
blank, then the write source storage node depends on whether the Autoselect
storage node checkbox is selected or clear in the Client resource for the
NetWorker server:

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l If the checkbox is clear, then the clone operation uses the value in the Storage
Nodes attribute of the Client resource for the NetWorker server.
l If the checkbox is selected, then the clone operation uses autoselect logic to
choose the storage node.
You must select View > Diagnostic Mode in the Administration interface to access
the Autoselect storage node attribute in the Client Properties dialog box.

Determining the storage node for recovering cloned data


The storage node from which clone data is recovered depends on whether the source
volume is mounted or unmounted, as well as environment variable settings.
To control the storage node from which cloned data is recovered, ensure that the
source volume is mounted on the device for the storage node. Alternatively, list the
storage node in the Recover storage nodes attribute of the Client resource that is
being recovered and in the Read Hostname attribute for the Library resource, if the
source volume is in a media library. You must select View > Diagnostic Mode in the
Administration interface to access the Recover storage nodes and Read Hostname
attributes in the Client Properties dialog box.
Recovery operation logic for selecting the storage node from which to recover
cloned data
The recovery operation uses the following logic to determine the storage node from
which to recover cloned data:
1. If the source volume is mounted, then the storage node of the device on which the
volume is mounted is used as the read source except in the following scenarios:
l If the FORCE_REC_AFFINITY environment variable is set to Yes.
l In a Virtual Tape Library (VTL) environment such as a CLARiiON Disk Library
(CDL).
In these scenarios, the NetWorker software ignores whether the source volume is
mounted and behaves as though the volume is not mounted.
2. If the source volume is not mounted, or the FORCE_REC_AFFINITY environment
variable is set to Yes, then the NetWorker software creates a list of eligible
storage nodes, based on the following criteria:
l The storage node is listed in the Recover storage nodes attribute of the
NetWorker Client resource that is being recovered.
If there are no storage nodes in the list and the Autoselect storage node
checkbox in the Client resource is clear, then the clone operation uses the
value in the Storage Nodes attribute for the Client resource.
If there are no storage nodes in the list and the Autoselect storage node
checkbox in the Client resource is selected, then the recovery operation uses
autoselect logic to choose the storage node.
l If the requested volume is in a media library, then the storage node is listed in
the Read Hostname attribute for the Library resource is used.
If the Read Hostname attribute for the Library resource is not set, then all
storage nodes on which any device in the library is configured are added to the
list of eligible storage nodes.

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Note: If the volume is not in a media library, then the list of storage nodes is
based only on the criterion for storage node settings in the NetWorker
server Client resource.

Recover Pipe to Save


Recover Pipe to Save (RPS) is a feature that improves performance by allowing clone,
backup, and recovery operations to access the same nsrmmd process concurrently.
About this task
To clear or select the Disable (RPS) Clone attribute, perform the following steps.
Procedure
1. On the Administration window, click Server.
2. In the left pane of the Server window, right-click the NetWorker server.
3. From the File menu, select Properties.
4. Select the Configuration tab.
5. Clear or select the Disable RPS Clone attribute, and then click OK.
Note:
l Cloning of saveset is not supported from a non-Data Domain device to a
DD Cloud Tier device. Cloning fails with the following error:

Failed to get mmd reservation with err: Clone saveset(s)


operation from a non-Data Domain device to a DD Cloud Tier device
is not supported.
l When you perform a fresh installation of NetWorker Server 19.1, RPS
cloning is disabled by default.
l If you have NetWorker 19.1 server installed, Dell EMC recommends that
you maintain parity with the NetWorker 19.1 storage node in both the
RPS Enabled and Disabled mode. However, if you have compatibility and
migration challenges and want to maintain earlier versions of the storage
node, that is, the N-2 version, then Dell EMC recommends that you use
the RPS Disabled mode for cloning. In cases where VMware vProxy save
sets are used for cloning, RPS Enabled mode is supported by default.
Therefore, Dell EMC recommends that you maintain NetWorker server
and storage node compatibility and configure clone actions with the
appropriate storage node based on the workloads.

Cloning save sets from the command prompt


Use the nsrclone command to clone save sets and volumes from a command
prompt, or to script clone operations.
Script clone operations for any of the following scenarios:
l To control the conditions before cloning occurs. For example, following a specific
event or test, or as part of a workflow.
l To control the actions after cloning has been successful. For example, deleting
files, or moving data as part of a workflow.
l To control the cloning as part of an enterprise management scheduler that is
independent of NetWorker scheduling or NMC.

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l To create multiple clones. For example, clone 1 on disk, clone 2 to tape, each with
specific dependencies, timing, and logic.
Note: When using the scripted cloning feature, use the latest versions of
NetWorker software. This minimizes the complexity of the logic in the cloning
script.
The nsrclone command requires specific privileges which are assigned based on
session authentication. NetWorker supports two types of session authentication.
Token-based authentication, which requires you to run the nsrlogin before you run
the command and authenticates the user that runs the command against entries that
are defined in the External Roles attribute of a User Group resource. Classic
authentication, which is based on user and host information and uses the user
attribute of a User Group resource to authenticate a user. Classic authentication does
not require an authentication token to run the command. For example, if you run the
command without first running nsrlogin, NetWorker assigns the privileges to the
user based on the entries that are specified in the Users attribute of the User Group
resource. When you use nsrlogin to log in as a NetWorker Authentication Service
user, NetWorker assigns the privileges to the user based on the entries that are
specified in the External Roles attributes of the user Group resource. The NetWorker
Security Configuration Guide provides more information about privileges Using nsrlogin
for authentication and authorization provides more information.

Mounting clone source volumes on remote storage nodes


When the volume that contains the original data resides on a storage node that is not
the NetWorker server, mount the source volume in a device on the storage node
before you try the clone operation.
NetWorker displays the following error message in the daemon.raw and the Logs
window in the NetWorker Administration window when the source volume is not
mounted before the clone operation:
Server server_name busy, wait 30 second and retry

Cloning volumes from the command prompt


Volume cloning is the process of reproducing complete save sets from a storage
volume to a clone volume. Use the nsrclone command to clone save set data from
backup or archive volumes.
Procedure
1. Optionally, use the nsrlogin command to authenticate a user and generate a
token for the
Using nsrlogin for authentication and authorization provides more information.
2. Use the mminfo command or the NetWorker Administration window to
determine the name of the volume that contains the save sets that you want to
clone.
l To use the NetWorker Administration window, perform the following steps:
a. Click Media.
b. In the expanded left pane, select either Disk Volumes or Tape Volumes.
c. In the right pane, record the name that appears in the Volume Name
column.
l To use the mminfo command to display volumes. For example, to display a
list of all the available volumes, type the following command:
mminfo -mv
state volume written (%) expires read mounts capacity

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volid next type


bu_iddnwserver2.iddlab.local.001 46 MB 100% 04/04/2015 0
KB 0 0 KB 16193908 0 adv_file
bu_iddnwserver2.iddlab.local_c.002 0 KB 0% undef 0 KB 0
0 KB 4294384030 0 adv_file
3. From a command prompt on the NetWorker server, use the nsrclone
command to clone the save sets on a volume. For example to clone save sets to
volume in the default clone pool, type:
nsrclone -v -b Default backup.001
where:
l backup.001 is the name of the volume that contains the source save sets.
l The clone pool that the clone operation uses to write the clone save sets is
the Default clone pool.

Cloning save sets from the command prompt with filters


You can use the nsrclone command on the NetWorker server to manually clone save
sets, based on user defined criteria or identifiers. Use the mminfo command to
determine which identifiers you want to use to define a list of save sets to clone.
Identifiers include the client name, the save set name, the backup level, and the
number of valid copies or clones not yet created in the target pool.
UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about the nsrclone and the mminfo commands.
The following examples illustrate the nsrclone command:
Note: Optionally, use the nsrlogin command to authenticate a user and
generate a token for the nsrclone and mminfo commands. Using nsrlogin for
authentication and authorization provides more information.
l To clone all save sets created in the last 24 hours for clients mars and jupiter with
save set names /data1 and /data2 for only backup level full, type:
nsrclone -S -e now -c mars -c jupiter -N /data1 -N /data2 -l full
l To clone all save sets that were not copied to the default clone pool in a previous
partially aborted nsrclone session, type:
nsrclone -S -e now -C 1
l To clone all save sets that were not copied to the default clone pool in a previous
partially aborted nsrclone session and then assign the save sets a retention
policy value that differs from the original save set, type:
nsrclone -S -e now -C 1 -y 12/12/2016

Using query filter (-q) to specify savesets


You can clone specific savesets that are a part of policy, workflow or action by using
filters to the nsrclone command. You can provide any combination of the 3 new query
options.
l Standalone query options:
nsrclone -q "policy=Gold" -S -t "1 month ago"
nsrclone -q "workflow=NMC server backup" -S -t "1 month ago"
nsrclone -q "action=backup" -S -t "1 month ago"

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l Combination of 2 options:
nsrclone -q "action=backup" -q "policy=Gold" -S -t "1 month ago"
nsrclone -q "workflow=NMC server backup" -q "policy=Gold" -S -t "1
month ago"
nsrclone -q "workflow=NMC server backup" -q "action=backup" -S -t
"1 month ago"
l Combination of 3 options:
nsrclone -q "action=backup" -q "policy=Gold" -q "workflow=NMC
server backup" -S -t "1 month ago"
User can add pre-existing group query options along with the newly added query
options . For example, -q group=<>
nsrclone -q "group=DPG" -q "action=backup" -q "policy=Gold" -q "workflow=NMC
server backup" -S -t "1 month ago"
The following table provides the descriptions of the options that are used in the
nsrclone command example.

Table 79 List of nsrclone options and their descriptions

Options Description
-S Specifies that the subsequent nsrclone
options are save set identifiers and not
volumes names.

-C less_than_clone_copies_value Specifies the upper non-inclusive integer limit


such that only save sets with a lesser number
of clone copies in the target clone pool are
considered when nsrclone searches for
save sets to clone. Use this option when you
retry an aborted clone operation.
Note: NetWorker does not consider the
following save sets when calculating the
copies value for a save set:
l Original save set.
l AFTD read-only mirror clone.
NetWorker counts the read or write
master clone only because there is
only one physical clone copy between
the related clone pair.
l Recyclable, aborted, incomplete, and
unusable clone save sets.

Requires the -t or -e option.

-l level_or_range_value Specifies the backup level to search for when


nsrclone determines which save sets to
clone:
l Manual—For ad-hoc or client-initiated
save sets.
l full—For level full save sets.
l incr—For level incremental save sets.

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Table 79 List of nsrclone options and their descriptions (continued)

Options Description

You can specify more than one level by using


multiple -l options.

Requires the -t or -e option.

-N save_set_name Specifies the save set name to search for


when nsrclone determines which save sets
to clone. Use multiple -N options to specify
more than one save set name.

Requires the -t or -e option.

-c client_name Specifies the name of the client to search for


when nsrclone determines which save sets
to clone. Use multiple -c options to specify
more than one client name.

Requires the -t or -e option.

-y date Specifies the retention policy date to assign


to the clone
save set.

Use a time and date format that is accepted


by the nsr_getdate program. UNIX man
page and the NetWorker Command Reference
Guide provides detailed information about
nsr_getdate.

Updates to group, policy, workflow, and action fields in mediadb for a cloned
save set
When a cloned save set is queried for group, policy, workflow or action fields in
mediadb, output of the query can be categorized based on how cloning was carried
out (whether it was run through action or command line).
Action or policy clones- For concurrent, sequential, and scheduled clone types, the
cloned copy displays group, policy, workflow, and action for policy tree under which
clone action is created. For concurrent and sequential clones these fields are same as
backup copy.
Command line clones- Policy, workflow, and action fields are empty and only the
group which is inherited from backup is populated.

Staging save sets


Staging is the process of transferring backup data from one storage device, usually an
AFTD to another device, and then removing the data from the original device. Staging

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save sets from the primary data device ensures that there is always sufficient disk
space available on the primary device to store data.
To manage the staging process, manually stage individual save sets from a command
prompt or you can configure a Staging resource that automatically stages the data.
The Staging resource defines the criteria that the stage process uses to determine
when the data device requires data staging and which save sets are eligible to stage
and in what order.
Based on the configuration of the Staging resource, the staging process performs the
following high level activities:
1. Performs file system checks at an interval that is defined in the File system check
interval attribute to determine:
l If the percentage of used disk space on the source device exceeds the value
that is defined in the High water mark attribute of the Staging resource.
l If the length of time that the save sets have resided on the disk exceeds the
value that is defined in the Max storage period attribute of the Staging
resource.
2. Creates a list of save sets on the source device that are eligible to move to a
destination device.
3. Clones the eligible save sets from the source device to the destination device, and
then updates the media database with information about the save sets on the
destination device. The save set on the destination device retain the same
attributes values, for example retention policy, as the original save set.
4. Removes the original save sets from the source device, recovers disk space on the
source volume for staged save sets, and then removes information about the
original save sets from the media database.
Note: When the staging process encounters an error after successfully cloning
some save sets, the staging process only removes successfully staged save
sets from the source volume before the process ends. Only a single set of save
sets will exist on either the source or destination volumes after staging.
Staging data allows you to accommodate multiple service levels. You can configure a
staging policy that keep the most recent backups on one storage device for fast
recovery and move other backups with less demanding recovery requirements to more
cost-effective slower storage. For example, you can store the initial backup data on a
high performance file type or advanced file type device to reduce backup time. At a
later time, outside of the normal backup period, you use the staging process to move
the data to a less expensive but more permanent storage medium, such as magnetic
tape. After the backup data moves to the other storage medium, NetWorker deletes
the backup data from the file or advanced file type device so that sufficient disk space
is available for the next backup. Staging does not affect the retention policy of backup
data and the staged data is still available for recovery on the destination device.
You can stage a save set from one disk to another as many times as required. For
example, you could stage a save set from disk 1 to disk 2 to disk 3, and finally to a
remote tape device. When the save set is staged to a tape, it cannot be staged again.
However, you could still clone the tape.

Staging bootstrap backups


You can direct bootstrap backups to a disk device such as an AFTD or FTD device.
However, if you stage a bootstrap backup to a volume on another device, NetWorker
reports the staging operation as complete although the “recover space” operation has
not started, and the bootstrap remains on the original device. Therefore, if the staged
bootstrap is accidentally deleted, you can recover the bootstrap from the original disk.

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The NetWorker Server Disaster Recovery and Availability Best Practices Guide describes
how to recover a bootstrap from the original disk.
Also, if the bootstrap data is not staged from the original disk, the data on the original
disk is subject to the same retention policies as any other save set backup and is,
therefore, deleted after the retention policy has expired.

Creating a staging resource


To prevent an AFTD from becoming full, configure a Staging resource to automatically
move save sets to another medium and make disk space available. The Staging
resource defines when NetWorker starts the stage or reclaim disk space operation on
the source device, and the criteria that NetWorker uses to determine which data to
stage.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. In the left navigation pane, select Staging.
3. From the File menu, select New.
The Create Staging dialog box appears, starting with the General tab.
4. In the Name box, type a name for the staging policy.
5. In the Comment attribute, type a description for the staging policy.
6. In the Enabled attribute, select Yes to enable the staging policy or No to
disable the staging policy.
When you select Yes, NetWorker automatically starts the staging policy, based
on the configuration settings that you define.
7. In the Devices attribute, select the check boxes next to each source device
from which you want to stage data.
You can assign multiple devices to a single staging policy. However, you cannot
assign a single device to multiple staging policies.
8. From the Destination Pool list, select the destination clone pool that contains
the volumes to which NetWorker stages the data.
If you select the clone pool that only uses remote storage node devices, you
must also modify Clone storage nodes setting on the Configuration tab of the
storage node resource for the NetWorker server to include the storage node
name. Determining the storage node for writing cloned data on page 495
Provides details.

9. In the Configuration group box, specify the criteria that starts the staging
policy.
The following table summarizes the available criteria that you can define for the
staging policy.

Table 80 Staging criteria options

Option Configuration steps


High water mark Use these options to start the stage policy based on the amount of
(%) used disk space on the file system partition on the source device. You
must define a value higher than the value defined in the Low water
Low water mark (%)
mark (%) attribute.

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Table 80 Staging criteria options (continued)

Option Configuration steps

High water mark (%)—Defines the upper used disk space limit. When
the percentage of used disk space reaches the value that is defined in
the High water
mark (%) attribute, NetWorker starts the stage operation to move
save sets from the source disk.

Low water mark (%)—Defines the lower used disk space limit. When
the
percentage of used disk space reaches the value that is defined in the
Lower water mark (%) attribute, NetWorker stops moving save
sets from the source disk.

Note: When staging and backup operations occur concurrently on


the source disk device, NetWorker does not accurately display the
disk volume usage total in the Written column in output of the
mminfo -mv command or in the Used column on the Media
window of the NetWorker Administration application.

Save set selection Use this option to rank the order in which NetWorker stages the save
sets, based on save set size or age. Available values include:
l largest save set—Stage the save sets in order of largest save set
size to smallest save set size.
l oldest save set —Stage the save sets in order of oldest save set
to most recent save set.
l smallest save set—Stage the save sets in order of smallest save
set size to largest save set size.
l youngest save set—Stage the save sets in order of most recent
save set to least recent save set.

Max storage period Use this option to start the stage operation based on the amount of
time that a save set has resided on the volume.
Max storage period
unit l Max storage period—Defines the number of hours or days that a
save set can reside on a volume before the stage process considers
the save eligible to move to a different volume.
l Max storage period unit—Defines the unit of measurement for
the value in the max storage period attribute. Available values are
Hours and Days.
The maximum storage period setting is used along with the file system
check interval. Once the maximum storage period is reached, staging
does not begin until the next file system check.

Recover space Use this option to determine when the stage operation removes the
interval successfully staged save set from the source volume.

Recover space unit l Recover space interval—Defines the frequency in which


NetWorker starts of the recover space operation, which removes
successfully stage data from the source volume.

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Table 80 Staging criteria options (continued)

Option Configuration steps

l Recover space unit—Defines the unit of measurement for the


value in the recover space interval attribute. Available values are
Hours and Days.

File system check Use this option to define when NetWorker automatically starts the
interval staging process.
l File System Check Interval—Defines the frequency in which
NetWorker starts the staging process. At every file system check
interval, if either the high water mark or the maximum storage
period has been reached, then staging begins.
l File system check unit—Defines the unit of measurement for the
value in the file system check interval attribute. Available values are
Hours and Days.

10. Optionally, to start the staging process immediately:


a. Select the Operations tab.
b. From the Start Now list, select the component of the staging process to
perform immediately, for all source devices that are assigned to the staging
policy:
l Recover space—To recover space for save sets with no entries in the
media database and to delete all recycled save sets.
l Select Check file system—To check the file system and stage eligible
sage set data to a destination volume.
l Select Stage all save sets—To stage all save sets to a volume in the
destination pool.
After the staging operation is complete, this option returns to the default
setting (blank).

11. Click OK.

Editing staging configurations


You can edit all settings for a Staging resource except for the name of the resource.
To edit the name of a resource, first delete the resource, and then re-create the
resource with the new name.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. In the right pane, perform one of the following tasks:
l To modify multiple attributes in a single configuration resource by using the
Staging window, right-click the staging configuration and select
Properties.
l To modify a specific attribute that appears in the resource window, place
the mouse in the cell that contains the attribute that you want to change,
then right-click. The menu displays an option to edit the attribute. For
example, to modify the Comment attribute, right-click the resource in the
Comment cell and select Edit Comment.

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Note: To modify a specific attribute for multiple resources, press and


hold the Ctrl key, select each resource, and then right-click in the cell
that contains the attribute that you want to change. The menu displays
an option to edit the attribute.
3. In the left pane, select Staging.
4. Click OK.

Copying a Staging resource


Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. In the left pane, select Staging.
3. In the right pane, right-click the staging policy, and select Copy.
The Create Staging dialog box appears with the same settings as the original
staging policy except for the name.
4. Type the name for the new staging policy in the Name box.
5. Select the checkboxes next to the source devices for the staging policy in the
Devices list.
You can assign multiple devices to a single staging policy. However, you cannot
assign a single device to multiple staging policies.
6. Edit other settings for the staging policy as necessary.
7. Click OK.

Deleting a staging policy


You can delete any staging policy except for the default staging policy. Disable the
default staging policy if you do not want to perform staging.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. In the left pane, select Staging.
3. Remove all devices from the staging policy:
a. In the right pane, right-click the staging policy, and select Properties.
b. Clear the checkboxes next to all the devices in the Devices list.
c. Click OK.
4. In the right pane, right-click the staging policy, and select Delete.
A confirmation message appears.
5. Click Yes.

Manual staging from the command prompt


Use the nsrstage command to stage individual save sets from a command prompt.
The nsrstage command requires specific privileges which are assigned based on
session authentication. NetWorker supports two types of session authentication.
Token-based authentication, which requires you to run the nsrlogin before you run
the command and authenticates the user that runs the command against entries that
are defined in the External Roles attribute of a User Group resource. Classic

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authentication, which is based on user and host information and uses the user
attribute of a User Group resource to authenticate a user. Classic authentication does
not require an authentication token to run the command. For example, if you run the
command without first running nsrlogin, NetWorker assigns the privileges to the
user based on the entries that are specified in the Users attribute of the User Group
resource. When you use nsrlogin to log in as a NetWorker Authentication Service
user, NetWorker assigns the privileges to the user based on the entries that are
specified in the External Roles attributes of the user Group resource. The NetWorker
Security Configuration Guide provides more information about privileges, and Using
nsrlogin for authentication and authorization provides more information.

Staging save sets from the command prompt


You can use the nsrstage command to stage save sets to another volume, based on
the ssid.
About this task
If the save set has been cloned and you stage the save set from the command prompt,
the cloned versions of the save set are removed when the original save set is removed.
To keep the cloned save sets after you remove the original save set, specify a clone ID
with the save set ID to indicate the source volume of the staging.
Procedure
1. Optionally, use the nsrlogin command to authenticate a user and generate a
token for the nsrstage and mminfo commands. Using nsrlogin for
authentication and authorization provides more information.
2. Use the mminfo command to determine the ssid and cloneid of a save set.
For example:

mminfo -avot -r "volume,ssid,cloneid,name"

3. Use the nsrstage command to migrate the save sets to another volume.
For example:

nsrstage -m -S ssid/cloneid

Note: When you do not use the -b option to specify a destination clone
pool, the nsrstage command migrates the save sets to a volume in the
Default Clone pool.
UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about the nsrstage and mminfo commands.

Common NetWorker staging commands and issues


This section describes how to run common staging ptasks from the command prompt
and how to resolve common staging issues.
How to migrate all save sets created by specific date
nsrstage -m -S 'mminfo -r ssid -q 'savetime>last saturday'

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How to use the -f and -d option in the nsrstage command


mminfo -r ssid -q 'savetime>last saturday' >inputfile.txt
nsrstage -m -d -f inputfile.txt

How to recover space from volume by using nsrstage command


For example, to recover space from volume volume.012:
nsrstage -C -V volume.012

How to remove incomplete or aborted save sets that the staging process does
not migrate
The stage operation does not move aborted or incomplete save sets to a tape device.
To remove the save sets from the source device, perform the following steps:
1. Manually delete the save set from the media database by typing: nsrmm -d -S
ssid
2. Remove the save sets from the source device by typing: nsrstage -C -V volume
How to resolve the 'nsrstage: device `(staging_volume)' is not enabled' error
Staging fails with this error when either the source or destination device is not ready.
The following error message might also appear:
Error: 'nsrd: media warning: (staging_volume) reading: Badfile
number'
When you see these errors, ensure the following:
l The source device is not in service mode.
l The destination tape device or jukebox is properly synchronized.

Archiving data
The archive process captures files or directories as they exist at a specific time, and
writes the data to archive storage volumes, which are not automatically recycled.
After the archive process completes, you can delete (groom) the original files from
the disk to conserve space.
The client archive program (nsrarchive) creates an archive. The client nsrexecd
service starts this archive.
The following figure illustrates how the NetWorker software archives data.

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Figure 48 Overview of archive operation

where:
1. Client file systems
2. Backup data tracking structures
3. Data
4. Media database information
5. File index information
Archive save sets
Archive save sets are similar to backup save sets. The main difference is that there is
no retention period for archive save sets, so the archive save sets never expire.
By default, the archive backup level is always set to full.
Licensing
You must purchase and license the archive feature separately from other NetWorker
software components. The NetWorker Licensing Guide provides more information on
licensing procedures.
Encryption of archive data
If the NetWorker client is set up for encryption with the aes ASM, then archive data is
also encrypted.
Limitations
The following limitations apply to the archive feature:
l You cannot archive the WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save set.
l The Client Direct feature does not support archiving.

Storage of archived data


To archive data, you must configure a device, either stand-alone or in an autochanger
or silo, that is connected to a NetWorker server or storage node. If you are cloning
archives, at least two devices must be available. Also, archive data must be written to
archive pools instead of backup or clone pools.
The archive volume must be loaded and mounted in the server device to complete an
archive operation.

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Information about archive data is tracked in the media database for the NetWorker
server.
Configuring pools to index archive data
The settings for the archive pool that is used to store archive data determine whether
you index archive data.
When you index archive data, information about individual files in the archive save set
is tracked in the client file index. The client file index entries that are generated during
an archive are backed up to volumes from the default pool during the next scheduled
backup. You can browse and recover individual files from indexed archive save sets.
However, indexed archive data can result in a large client file index that never expires.
When you perform nonindexed archiving, entries are not added to the client file index.
You must recover the entire save set instead of browsing to and recovering individual
files.
Default archive pools
The following default pools are available for archived data:
l Indexed Archive pool
l PC Archive pool
l Archive pool
The Indexed Archive pool and the PC Archive pool support indexed archiving. The
Archive pool supports nonindexed archiving.
You cannot change the settings for these default pools, although you can create
custom archive pools.
If you do not specify a pool to store archived data, the NetWorker software uses the
Indexed Archive pool by default.
Custom archive pools
You can create custom archive pools in the Media window of the Administration
interface. The Store index entries checkbox on the Configuration tab for the media
pool determines whether the archive data written to the volumes in the pool are
indexed. Select the checkbox to perform indexed archiving, or clear the checkbox to
perform nonindexed archiving.

Enabling archiving
After you license the archive service and type the enabler code in the NetWorker
server, all clients for that server are enabled for the NetWorker archive feature by
default. You can specify which clients and users have permission to archive data.
Before you begin
Ensure that the NetWorker Server is in diagnostic mode. To enable diagnostic mode,
from the View menu, select Diagnostic mode.
Procedure
1. To control whether a client can archive data, in the Client Properties window,
on the Globals (2 of 2) tab, perform one of the following actions on the
Archive services box.
l Clear the checkbox to disable archiving for the client.
l Select the checkbox to enable archiving for the client.
You must select or clear the Archive services checkbox for all Client resources
that are associated with the client. You might have multiple Client resources for

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a single client. For example, if both the NetWorker module software and the
NetWorker client software are installed on the same computer, there are
multiple Client resources.
2. Add users that should have permission to perform archiving to the Archive
Users user group in the Server window of the Administration interface.
The NetWorker Security Configuration Guide provides details.

Archiving data from Windows


You can manually archive data from a NetWorker client on Windows by using the
NetWorker User program.
About this task
Note: Manual archives from a Windows client do not enforce global or local file
(nsr.dir) directives. However, local directives (networkr.cfg) that are
created with the NetWorker User program are enforced.
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker User program (winworkr.exe), click Archive.
The Archive Options dialog box appears.
2. Type a comment in the Annotation attribute.
The annotation uniquely identifies the archive save set during retrieval.
Consider adopting a consistent naming convention so that you can easily
identify archives, based on the annotation name.
3. From the Archive Pool list, select the archive pool for the data.
4. To clone each archive save set, select the Clone checkbox, and then select the
destination archive clone pool from the Clone Pool list.
5. To check the integrity of the archive data on the storage volume, select the
Verify checkbox.
6. To remove the archived files from the disk after archiving completes, select the
Groom checkbox.
7. Click OK.
The Archive browse dialog box appears.
8. Select the checkbox next to the directories and files to archive, and clear the
checkbox next to the directories and files that you do not want to archive.
9. From the File menu, select Start Archive.
The Archive Status dialog box displays the status of the archive process. When
the archive process completes, a confirmation message appears if you selected
the Groom checkbox.
10. Click Yes to continue with deletion of archived files from the local disk.

Archiving data from UNIX


To perform a manual archive from a UNIX client, use the nsrarchive command. The
UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about the nsrarchive command.

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Recovering archived data


The steps to recover archived data depend on the client operating system and
whether the data is indexed.

Required permissions for archive recovery


To recover archive data, a user must be a member of the Archive Users user group
and must have read permissions for the archive data.
The Public archives checkbox on the Setup tab of the NetWorker Server
Properties dialog box controls whether all users with read permissions for the data
can recover the data, or if only the user who owns the data can perform recovery.
Select the checkbox to allow all users with read permissions to recover the data, or
clear the checkbox to require users to own data that they want to recover.
Note: The user that recovers archived data becomes the owner of the data. Some
operating systems allow you to change the ownership of archived data to the
original owner during the recovery.

Recovering indexed archive data from a Windows client


You can recover indexed archive data from a Windows client the same way that you
recover backup or clone data.
About this task
Indexed archive data must be stored on a volume in one of the following pools:
l Indexed Archive pool
l PC Archive pool
l Custom archive pool with the Store index entries checkbox selected in the pool
properties
Procedure
1. In the NetWorker User program (winworkr.exe), click Recover.
The Source Client dialog box appears.
2. Select the source client with the data to recover, and click OK.
The Destination Client dialog box appears.
3. Select the destination client for the recovered data, and click OK.
The Recover browse dialog box appears.
4. Select the checkbox next to the files and directories to recover.
5. Click Start.

Recovering nonindexed archive data from a Windows client


When you recover nonindexed archive data, you must recover the entire save set
instead of individual directories and files.
About this task
Nonindexed archive data must be stored in the default Archive pool or in a custom
archive pool with the Store index entries checkbox cleared in the pool properties.
You can recover nonindexed archive data either by using the Archive Retrieve feature
or the Save Set Recover feature in the NetWorker User program (winworkr.exe).

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Performing a save set recover with NetWorker User on page 566 provides details on
save set recovery.
Procedure
1. Mount the archive volume in the storage device.
2. In the NetWorker User program, select Operation > Archive Retrieve.
The Source Client dialog box appears.
3. Select the source client with the data to recover, and click OK.
The Archive Retrieve dialog box appears.
4. In the Annotation string box, type all or part of the annotation string that you
specified for the save set when it was archived.
Leave the box empty to view a list of all archived save sets for the client.
5. Click OK.
The Save Sets dialog box appears.
6. To view a list of volumes that are required to retrieve the data from this
archived save set, click Required Volumes.
7. To type a new path for the location of the recovered data and to indicate what
the NetWorker server should do when it encounters duplicate files, click
Recover Options.
8. Select the archived save set to recover and click OK.
The Retrieve Status dialog box displays the status of the recovery.

Recovering archive data from a UNIX client


Use the nsrretrieve program to retrieve archive data for a UNIX client. You must
specify the files or directories to recover, or recover the entire save set on a UNIX
client. You cannot browse archive data on UNIX.
Procedure
1. Mount the archive volume in the storage device.
2. Open a command prompt, and type the nsrretrieve command using the
following syntax:

nsrretrieve -s NetWorker_server -A annotation -S ssid/cloneid


-i{N|Y|R} path

where:
l NetWorker_server is the hostname of the NetWorker server.
l -A annotation specifies the annotation string for the archive save set. You
must specify at least one annotation or save set ID.
Consider an example where archive A is annotated with Accounting_Fed
and archive B is annotated with Accounting_Local. If you type
nsrretrieve -A Accounting, then no match is found and the archive data
is not recovered. If you type nsrretrieve -A ting_L, then the recovery
process recovers the data from Archive B.
l -S ssid/cloneid specifies the archive save set to recover. To recover a
cloned archive save set, specify both the save set ID and the clone ID. You
must specify at least one annotation or save set ID.

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l -i{N|Y|R} specifies how the NetWorker server should handle a naming


conflict between a recovered file and an existing file:
n iN does not recover the file when a conflict occurs.
n iY overwrites the existing file when a conflict occurs.
n iR renames the file when a conflict occurs. The recover process appends
a .R to each recovered file name.
l path specifies the file or directory to recover. When you do not specify a
path, NetWorker recovers all data in the archive save set.
The UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides
detailed information about additional options for the nsrretrieve command.

Troubleshooting NetWorker archiving and retrieval


This section explains how to troubleshoot issues with the Archive Module.

Remote archive request from server fails


If a remote archive request from the NetWorker server fails, ensure that the username
for the archive client (for example, root) appears in the Archive Users attribute of the
Client resource for the archive client.
You can also grant NetWorker administrator privileges for root@client_system in the
Administrator attribute in the Server resource. However, be aware that NetWorker
administrators can recover and retrieve data owned by other users on other clients.

Multiple save sets appear as a single archive save set


When you combine multiple save sets in an archive, such as /home and /usr,
NetWorker stores the archived data in a single archive save set. To retrieve archives
separately, archive the save sets separately.

Wrong archive pool is selected


If multiple archive pools exist in the NetWorker configuration, the archive operation
will write the archive data to a volume in the last archive pool that was created on the
NetWorker server .

Second archive request does not execute


If you create two archive requests with the same name, NetWorker will only perform
the first request.
To ensure that NetWorker performs all of the archive requests, do not create two
archive requests with the same name.

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The nsrarchive program does not start immediately


If you run the nsrarchive command from a command prompt, the archive operation
does not start immediately. Wait a short time until the archive starts. Do not press
[Ctrl]+[D] multiple times to stop the archive operation.

Archive request succeeds but generates error when nsrexecd is not running
If the nsrexecd process is not running on a remote client during an archive request
operation, NetWorker reports that the archive operations completed successfully, but
the following error message appears in the daemon.raw file and the archive fails:

Failed to get port range from local nsrexecd: Service not


available.

To resolve this issue, ensure that you start the nsrexecd daemon on a UNIX client or
the NetWorker Remote Exec service on a Windows client before you perform an
archive operation.

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CHAPTER 8
Backup Data Management

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Overview of backup data management............................................................. 518


l Viewing volume and save set details................................................................. 518
l Managing volumes........................................................................................... 529
l Changing save set status................................................................................. 532
l Changing the save set retention time...............................................................532
l Removing expired save sets............................................................................. 533

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Overview of backup data management


After a backup occurs, there are several options to manage the save sets and volumes
on backup storage.
The following backup data management features are available:
l View detailed status information about the save sets and volumes.
l Change the mode of a volume, for example, from Appendable to Read-only.
l Change the recycle policy for a volume to achieve greater control over the
recycling of the volume.
l Relabel a library volume after all the save sets for the volume expire.
l Mark a volume as full for offsite storage.
l Remove a volume from the media database and online indexes, for example, if the
volume is physically damaged.
l Change the status of a save set to Normal or Suspect.
l Clone save sets or volumes to create a copy of the backup data.
l Stage save sets to move data from one type of media to another.
l Archive data from a client, which copies the data to NetWorker storage and then
removes the data from the client.
l Remove expired save sets so that you can recycle volumes and reclaim backup
storage.

Viewing volume and save set details


The Media window of the NetWorker Administration interface provides details on
volumes and save sets, including both backup and archive volumes and save sets. You
can view save set details for a specific volume, or you can search for the save sets to
view.

Viewing disk volume details


Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the left pane, select Disk Volumes.
A list of disk volumes for the server appears in the right pane. The following
table lists the information that appears for each volume.

Table 81 Disk volumes window

Category Description
Volume Name Name of the volume, which is the same as the
name that appears on the volume label in the
NetWorker Administration interface.

At the end of the name, one of the following


designations might
appear:

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Table 81 Disk volumes window (continued)

Category Description

l (A) indicates an archive volume.


l (R) indicates a read-only volume.

Media Type The type of media for the volume.

Used The amount of space currently in use on the


volume, which is shown in KB, MB, or GB, as
appropriate.

The value of full indicates that there


is no more space on the volume or an error
has occurred.

Mode Whether the volume is appendable, read-only,


or recyclable:
l Appendable volumes contain empty space.
Data that meets the acceptance criteria
for the pool to which this volume belongs
can be appended.
l Read-only volumes contain read-only save
sets. No new data can be written to the
volume. However, the save sets are still
subject to retention settings, and the
volume is recycled when the retention
periods for all the save sets on the volume
expire.

When the mode is read-only, the Mode


field
appears blank. An (R) appears next to
the
volume name.
l Recyclable volumes contain save sets that
have all exceeded their retention periods.

Expiration The expiration date for the volume. If the


recycle policy is set to manual instead of
automatic, then manual appears in this
column.

To change the expiration date for the volume,


use the
nsrmm command from the command prompt,
or
right-click the volume, select Recycle, and
then select
Manual on the Recycle dialog box.

Pool Name of the pool to which the volume


belongs.

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Table 81 Disk volumes window (continued)

Category Description
Location An administrator-defined description of the
physical location of a volume.

Viewing tape volume details


Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the left pane, select Tape Volumes.
A list of tape volumes for the server appears in the right pane. The following
table lists the information that appears for each volume.

Table 82 Volume details

Category Description
Volume Name Name of the volume, which is the same as the name that appears on the
volume label in the NetWorker Administration interface.

At the end of the name, one of the following designations might appear:

l (A) indicates an archive volume.


l (R) indicates a read-only volume.
l (W) indicates that the volume is a write once, read many (WORM)
device.

Barcode Barcode label for the volume, if one exists.

Used The amount of space currently in use on the volume, which is shown in KB,
MB, or GB, as appropriate.

The value of full indicates that there is no more space on the volume and
the end-of-tape marker has been reached, or that an error has occurred.

% Used An estimate of the percentage that is used, based on the total capacity of
the volume, and on the Media type setting of the device resource.

A value of 100% indicates that the value is equal to or exceeds the estimate
for this volume.

A value of full indicates that the volume is full and you cannot write any
more data to the volume, regardless of the estimate of the volume capacity.

Mode Whether the volume is appendable, read-only, or recyclable:


l Appendable volumes contain empty space. Data that meets the
acceptance criteria for the pool to which this volume belongs can be
appended.
l Read-only volumes contain read-only save sets. No new data can be
written to the volume. However, the save sets are still subject to
retention settings, and the volume is recycled when the retention
periods for all the save sets on the volume expire.

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Table 82 Volume details (continued)

Category Description

When the mode is read-only, the Mode field


appears blank. An (R) appears next to the
volume name.
l Recyclable volumes contain save sets that have all exceeded their
retention periods.
You can also manually set the volume mode to full from the command
prompt by using the nsrjb command with the -o option for libraries, and
the nsrmm command with the -o option for stand-alone drives. When you
set the volume mode to full, there is no more space for data in the volume,
and the save sets have not yet exceeded the retention periods. The UNIX
man pages of those commands and the NetWorker Command Reference
Guide provide more information on the commands.

Expiration The expiration date for the volume. If the recycle policy is set to manual
instead of automatic, then manual appears in this column.

To change the expiration date for the volume, use the


nsrmm command from the command prompt, or
right-click the volume, select Recycle, and then select
Manual on the Recycle dialog box.

Pool Name of the pool to which the volume belongs.

Location An administrator-defined description of a physical location of the volume.

Viewing save set details for a volume


You display information about save sets on a volume.
About this task
Perform the following steps to view and print information about save sets on a
volume, export the data to an HTML, CSV, or Post Script file, and filter the save set
output for a particular time period.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the left navigation pane, select either Disk Volumes or Tape Volumes.
A list of volumes appears in the right pane.
3. To modify or save the information that appears in the window, perform one of
following tasks:
l To print the information that appears in the window, right-click the column
header, and select Print.
l To limit the output that appears in the window to a date range, right-click
the column header and select Show Filters. Use the From and To drop
downs to select the dates in the range. To remove the filters, click Clear All.
l To export the data to a file, right-click the column header, and then select
Export. From the menu, select the export format.

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l To remove a column and the column details from the details window, right-
click the column header that you want to remove, and then select Remove
This Column.
l To customize the columns that appear in the details window, right click in
the column header, and select Choose Table Columns. Perform the
following tasks:
n Check the columns that you want to appear, and clear the columns that
you want to hide.
n Select a column from the box to choose a column on which to sort the
save set details.
n Select a column, and then use the up and down buttons to change the
order in which the columns appear.
n Click Restore Defaults to reset the save set details table to the default
settings.
4. To view information about the save sets on a volume, right-click a volume, and
then select Show Save Sets.
The Volume Save Sets window appears.
The following table lists the information that appears for each save set.

Table 83 Save Set details

Column Description
Client Name of the NetWorker client computer that
created the save set.

Save Set Pathname of the file system that contains the


save set. This column also includes clone
information. If the save set has a clone, the
pathname is marked has clones and the
cloned save set is marked clone save set.

SSID Save set ID number.

Checkpoint ID Checkpoint ID number.

Save Time Date and time when the save set was created.

Clone Retention Time Date and time when the clone expires.

Level Level of backup that generated the save set.


This refers only to scheduled backups. For
manual backups, the level is blank.

Status Status of the save set, such as whether the


save set is browsable or recoverable.

Size Size of the save set.

Flags Flags that provide additional details about the


save set.

The first flag indicates which part of the save


set is on the volume:

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Table 83 Save Set details (continued)

Column Description

l c indicates that the save set is completely


contained on the volume.
l h indicates that the save set spans
volumes and the head is on this volume.
l m indicates that the save set spans
volumes and a middle section is on this
volume.
l t indicates that the save set spans
volumes and the tail section is on this
volume.

The second flag provides the save set status:

l b indicates that the save set is in the


online index and is browsable.
l r indicates that the save set is not in the
online index and is recoverable.
l E indicates that the save set is eligible for
recycling and may be overwritten at any
time.
l a indicates that the save set aborted
before completion.

Aborted save sets with targets of AFTD or


DD Boost devices
never appear in the Volume Save Sets
dialog box
or in mminfo reports because such save
set
entries are immediately removed from the
media database.
l i indicates that the save set is still in
progress.

The third flag is optional and provides the


following information for
the save set:

l N indicates that the save set is an NDMP


save set.
l R indicates that the save set is a raw
partition backup (such as for a supported
module).
l P indicates that the save set is a snapshot
backup.

The fourth flag is optional. If the fourth flag


appears, the value is
s to indicate that the save set is an NDMP

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Table 83 Save Set details (continued)

Column Description

save
set backed up by the nsrdsa_save
command to a
NetWorker storage node.

VBA Provides details about a VBA save set.

5. To modify the information that appears in the window, perform one of following
tasks:
l To print the information that appears in the window, right-click the column
header, and select Print.
l To limit the output that appears in the window to a date range, right-click
the column header and select Show Filters. Use the From and To drop
downs to select the dates in the range. To remove the filters, click Clear All.
l To export the data to a file, right-click the column header, and then select
Export. From the menu, select the export format.
l To add a new column of information, right click the column header, select
Add Column, and then select a column option.
l This remove a column and the column details from the details window, right-
click the column header that you want to remove, and then select Remove
This Column.
l To customize the columns that appear in the details window, right-click in
the column header, and select Choose Table Columns. Perform the
following tasks:
n Check the columns that you want to appear, and clear the columns that
you want to hide.
n Select a column from the box to choose a column on which to sort the
save set details.
n Select a column, and then use the up and down buttons to change the
order in which the columns appear.
n Click Restore Defaults to reset the save set details table to the default
settings.
The following figure provides an example of the Volume Save Sets window,
after you right-click on the column header.
Figure 49 Volume Save Sets window

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6. Click OK on the Volume Save Sets dialog box.

Viewing save set details from a search


You can search for save sets associated with a policy or workflow in the Media
window of the Administration interface. The search steps depend on whether you are
searching for a normal save set or a VMware Backup Appliance save set.
About this task
You can Print the save sets, Set the Filter to show details of particular time period.
Export to data to PDF, HTML,CSV and Post Script Add and remove column and
Choose Table Columns
Based on the requirement Column can be sorted on Ascending or Descending Order
Note: You cannot search for save sets that were created in releases prior to
NetWorker 9.0.x.

Searching for save sets


Procedure
1. On the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the left pane, select Save Sets.
3. In the right pane, select All Save Sets.
4. On the Query Save Set tab, specify one or more of the search criteria in the
following table.

Table 84 Query criteria

Criterion Description
Client Name Type the name of the client that is associated
with the save set.

Save Set Type the name of the save set.

Save Set ID Type the identifier of the save set.

Volume Select the volume on which the save set is


stored from the list.

Pool Select the media pool for the volume on which


the save set is stored from the list.

Checkpoint ID Type the identifier of the checkpoint for


partial save sets.

Copies To limit the save set results to the number of


copies of the save set:

a. From the Copies list, select whether the


number of copies is less than (>), equal to
(=), or greater than (<) a number that you
specify.
b. Specify the number in the second box.

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Table 84 Query criteria (continued)

Criterion Description
Save Time Select the start and end dates and times for
the save time of the save set.

Clone Retention Time Select the start and end dates and times for
the retention time of a cloned save set.

Status Select All to view save sets of any status.

Select Select from to view save sets of a


specific status, and then select the checkbox
next to one or more of the
following statuses:

l Browsable
l Recoverable
l Recyclable
l Scanned-in
l Suspect
l Aborted
l In-Progress
l Checkpoint Enabled

Type Select All to view save sets of any type.

Select Select from to view save sets of a


specific type, and then select the checkbox
next to one or more of the
following statuses:

l Normal
l Raw
l Data Domain
l Synthetic Full
l Rehydrated
l NDMP
l Snapshot
l ProtectPoint

Maximum Level Select the maximum level of the backup. Save


sets that meet the selected level and backups
of levels below the selected level appear in
the results.

5. Click the Save Set List tab.


A list of save sets that meet the search criteria appears with details for each
save set. The following table provides more information.

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Table 85 Save set search results view

Column Description
Client Name of the client.

Save Set Name of the save set.

SSID Save set identifier.

Clone ID Clone identifier if the save set is a cloned save


set.

Level Backup level.

Status Status of the save set, such as Recyclable or


Recoverable.

Type Type of backup, such as Normal or Synthetic


Full.

Media The media that contains the save set.

Volume Name Name of the volume on which the save set is


stored.

Pool Name of the media pool for the volume on


which the save set is stored.

Size Size of the save set.

Files Number of files in the save set

Save Time Date and time at which the save set was
saved to backup storage.

Clone Retention Time Retention period for a cloned save set.

Checkpoint ID Identifier of the checkpoint for a partial save


set.

Searching for VMware Backup Appliance save sets


Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the left pane, select Save Sets.
3. In the right pane, select VMware Backup Appliance Only.
4. On the Query Save Set tab, specify one or more of the search criteria in the
following table.

Table 86 Query criteria

Criterion Description
VBA Name Select the checkbox next to VBA Name
above the list, and then select the VBAs from
the list.

VM Name Type the name of the virtual machine.

vCenter Name Type the name of the vCenter for the VBA.

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Table 86 Query criteria (continued)

Criterion Description
Policy Select the policy that generated the VBA save
set.

Save Set ID Type the save set identifier.

Volume Select the volume on which the save set is


stored from the list.

Pool Select the media pool for the volume on which


the save set is stored from the list.

Copies To limit the save set results to the number of


copies of the save set:
a. From the Copies list, select whether the
number of copies is less than (>), equal to
(=), or greater than (<) a number that you
specify.
b. Specify the number in the second box.

Save Time Select the start and end dates and times for
the save time of the save set.

Status Select All to view VBA save sets with any


status.

Select Select from to view VBA save sets of


a specific status, and then select the
checkbox next to one or more of the
following statuses:

l Recyclable
l Recoverable
l Suspect
l Scanned-in
l In-Progress

5. Click the Save Set List tab.


A list of VBA save sets that meet the search criteria appears with details for
each save set. The following table provides more information.

Table 87 VBA save set search results window

Column Description
VBA Name Name of the VBA.

VM Name Name of the virtual machine.

vCenter Name of the vCenter for the VBA.

Policy Name of the policy that generated the save


set.

SSID Save set identifier.

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Table 87 VBA save set search results window (continued)

Column Description
Clone ID Clone identifier if the save set is a cloned save
set.

Status Status of the save set, such as Recyclable or


Recoverable.

Media Type of Media.

Volume Name Name of the volume on which the save set is


stored.

Pool Name of the media pool for the volume on


which the save set is stored.

Size Size of the save set.

Save Time Date and time at which the save set was
saved to backup storage.

Clone Retention Time Retention period for a cloned save set.

Managing volumes
A volume is a physical piece of media such as a tape cartridge or disk. On file type
devices, a volume is a directory on a file system. Volume management tasks include
changing the mode or recycle policy for the volume, relabeling the volume, removing
volumes from the media database and online indexes, and marking a volume as full for
offsite storage.
If a volume is not mounted when a backup is started, then one of three messages
appears, suggesting that one of these tasks be performed:
l Mount a volume.
l Relabel a volume (only when Auto Media Management is enabled).
l Label a new volume (only when Auto Media Management is enabled).
During file recovery, the NetWorker server requests the volume name. If multiple
volumes are needed to recover the files, the server lists all the volumes in the order of
which they are needed. During the recovery process, the server requests each volume,
one at a time. If a library is used, the server automatically mounts volumes that are
stored in the library.
To manage volumes, you must have the correct permissions that are associated with
the NetWorker server and its storage nodes.

Changing the volume mode


You can manually change the mode of a volume to a different mode such as read-only,
recyclable, or appendable.
About this task
When the volume mode is read-only, no new data can be written to the volume, but
the save sets are still subject to retention settings. However, a read-only volume is not
a write-protected volume. When the retention period for all the save sets on the
volume expire, the volume is recycled. Recyclable volumes contain save sets that have

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all exceeded their retention periods. Appendable volumes can receive additional
backup data.
Procedure
1. Unmount the volume by right-clicking the device in the Devices window and
selecting Unmount.
2. In the Administration window, click Media.
3. In the left pane, select either Disk Volumes or Tape Volumes.
A list of volumes appears in the right pane.
4. Right-click the volume and select Change Mode.
The Change Mode dialog box appears.
5. Select a mode and click OK.
The new volume mode appears in the Mode column.
6. (Optional) Mount the volume by right-clicking the device in the Devices
window, and selecting Mount.

Changing the volume recycle policy


You can override the retention policy for a volume by changing the recycle policy from
automatic to manual. You may want to set the recycle policy to manual to keep save
sets on a volume longer than the specified retention period. If you reset a volume to
the automatic recycle policy, then the original retention policy applies to the volume.
Before you begin
Unmount the volume by right-clicking the device in the Devices window, and selecting
Unmount.
About this task
NOTICE A volume that has been set to manual recycle retains that setting, even
after the volume is relabeled. You must explicitly reset the volume to automatic
recycle.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the left pane, select either Disk Volumes or Tape Volumes.
A list of volumes appears in the right pane.
3. Right-click the volume, and select Recycle.
The Recycle dialog box appears.
4. Select either the Auto or Manual recycle policy.
5. Click OK.
After you finish
Mount the volume by right-clicking the device in the Devices window, and selecting
Mount.

Marking a tape volume as full for offsite storage


When you remove a tape volume from a library to store the volume offsite, mark the
volume as full so that the NetWorker software does not request the volume. Marking
the volume as full also marks the volume as read-only. You can also specify the

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physical location of the volume for reference purposes in the NetWorker


Administration interface.
Procedure
1. Unmount the tape volume by right-clicking the volume in the Devices window,
and selecting Unmount.
2. Use the nsrjb command for libraries or the nsrmm command for stand-alone
drives from the command prompt to mark the volume as full:
l For libraries, type nsrjb -o full volid, where volid is the volume
identifier.
l For stand-alone drives, type nsrmm -o full volid, where volid is the
volume identifier.
3. Specify the physical location of the volume for reference purposes:
a. In the Administration window, click Media.
b. Select Tape Volumes.
A list of volumes appears in the right pane.
c. Right-click the volume in the right pane and select Set Location.
The Set Location dialog box appears.
d. Type a description for the physical location of the volume.
e. Click OK.

Removing volumes from the media database and online indexes


You may need to remove a volume from the media database and online indexes to
eliminate physically damaged or unusable volumes from the NetWorker server.
About this task
When you remove the volume from the media database and online indexes, you can
recover data from the volume by using the scanner program if the volume is
undamaged.
If there is a clone of the volume, you cannot delete the volume entry from the media
database. This is because the NetWorker server accesses the cloned volume rather
than the original volume. As a result, removing volume entries from the media
database is not an effective way to reduce index size, although it does reduce the size
of the online indexes by deleting index entries that are associated with specific
volumes.
The UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about the nsrmm and mminfocommands.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Devices.
2. In the left pane, select Libraries.
A list of libraries appears in the right pane.
3. Select the library in the left pane or double-click the library in the right pane.
The library drives and mounted volumes appear in the right pane, as well as the
library slots and volumes.
4. Right-click the volume, and select Unmount.
You can only delete unmounted volumes.

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5. Right-click the volume, and select Delete.


The Delete dialog box appears.
6. Specify the locations from which to remove the volume:
l Select File and Media Index Entries to remove the volume from both the
media database and the online indexes.
l Select File Index Entries Only to remove the volume only from the online
indexes.
Do not remove the indexes of save sets on bad volumes. In addition, do not
remove both the client file index and media database entries simultaneously
unless the volume is damaged or destroyed.
7. Click OK.

After you finish


After you remove a bad volume, perform an index consistency check by using the
nsrck command in the command prompt. The UNIX man page and the NetWorker
Command Reference Guide provides detailed information about the nsrck command.

Changing save set status


You can manually change the status of a save set to either suspect or normal. Change
the status to suspect if there may be a problem with the save set, for example, if a
recovery from the save set failed.
About this task
The status of a save set may change to suspect automatically if the volume label of
the volume for the save set cannot be read when the volume is ejected and the option
to verify that the label is selected for the device.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the left pane, select either Disk Volumes or Tape Volumes.
3. Right-click the volume for the save set and select Show Save Sets.
The Volume Save Sets dialog box appears.
4. Select the save set.
5. Click Change Status.
The Change Save Set Status dialog box appears.
6. Select either the normal or suspect status for the save set.
7. Click OK on the Change Save Set Status dialog box.
8. Click OK on the Volume Save Sets dialog box.

Changing the save set retention time


You can change the expiration of a save set, including a cloned save set in three ways.
About this task
l Extend the retention time to a new expiration date.
l Keep the selected save set indefinitely, which sets the retention time to forever.

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l Expire the save set immediately.


Perform the following steps to change the retention time on save sets:
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Media.
2. In the left navigation pane, select Disk Volumes or Tape Volumes.
3. Right-click the volume for the save set and select Show Save Sets.
The Volume Save Sets box appears.
4. Select the save set, and the click Change Expiration.
The Change Expiration window appears. The following figure provides an
example of the Change Expiration window.
Figure 50 Change Expiration window

5. Perform one of the following tasks:


l To define a new retention date, select New Retention Time, and then click
on the calender to select the date.
l To keep the save sets indefinitely, leave the default selection Keep the
selected save sets indefinitely.
l To expire the save sets immediately, select Expire the selected save sets
now.
6. Click OK.
The browse and retention attributes for the save set change.

Removing expired save sets


After the retention period for a save set expires (and the retention period for all the
save sets that depend on the save set expire), the expire action, which is a part of the
server maintenance workflow, marks the save set as recyclable in the media database.
The NetWorker server tracks save set dependencies regardless of whether the
dependent save sets are stored on the same or different volumes.
The activities that the expire action performs when a save set and all depend save sets
expire, differs for advanced file type devices (AFTD) or Data Domain devices and tape
volumes:
l Tape volume—Entries for save sets that are marked browsable are removed from
the client file indexes. The status of the save set changes to recyclable in the
media database. When all the save sets on the volume are recyclable, the mode of

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the volume changes to recyclable. You can relabel and overwrite a recyclable
volume to reclaim backup storage.
l AFTD or Data Domain devices—Entries for save sets that are marked browsable
are removed from the client file index and media database. Entries that are
recoverable are removed from the media database. The expire action removes the
data that are associated with the save sets from the disk volume and reclaims the
disk space.
The NetWorker server maintains one file index for each client computer (regardless of
the number of client resources for the client), and one media database that tracks
data from all clients and all save sets.
Note: For AFTD devices, there might be some instances where the save sets are
not removed. This might happen, if you have any incremental or level backup
dependency with previous backups. The save sets are removed only after all the
dependent incremental or level backup gets into the recyclable mode.

Save set management on tape devices


Review the following information about save set status management for tape volumes.
A volume can contain save sets from multiple backup sessions, all with different
retention policies. The mode of a tape volume might not change to recyclable in the
media database for a long time. All data on the volume remains available for recovery
by using either save set recovery or the scanner program. All entries for recyclable
save sets remain in the media database.
You can also manually delete save set entries from the media database. However, the
data on that volume is still available for recovery by using the scanner program. The
scanner program retrieves the information that is needed to re-create entries in
either the client file index, in the media database, or in both places:
l If you re-create the entries in the client file index, a user with the proper
permissions can recover data by using the NetWorker client computer.
l If you re-create the save set entries in the media database, a UNIX root user or a
member of the Windows Administrators group can recover data by using save set
recovery.
Entries for a save set are automatically removed from the media database when
NetWorker relabels the volume. You cannot recover data after NetWorker relabels a
volume.
NOTICE When NetWorker relabels a volume for reuse within the same pool, the
volume identification (the volume name as it appears on the volume label) remains
unchanged. Although the volume has the same label, information that is required
by the NetWorker server to locate and restore data on the volume is destroyed. All
existing data is inaccessible and is overwritten.
If a volume contains one or more deduplication save sets, the resource for the
deduplication node that was used to create the backup must exist when the save sets
pass their retention time. If the resource for the deduplication node has been deleted,
NetWorker cannot mark the volume as recyclable in the media database or relabel the
volume. Furthermore, when deduplication save sets pass their retention time, the
NetWorker server begins the process of deleting the deduplicated data from the
deduplication node. Therefore, deduplication data may not be recoverable by using the
scanner program when the deduplication save set has passed its retention time.

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CHAPTER 9
Recovery

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Recovering data............................................................................................... 536


l Recovery roadmap........................................................................................... 536
l Planning and preparing to recovering data....................................................... 537
l NetWorker recovery overview......................................................................... 539
l Recovery types................................................................................................ 540
l Recover programs............................................................................................544
l Recovering the data......................................................................................... 551
l Recovering deduplication data......................................................................... 572
l vProxy recovery in NMC.................................................................................. 572
l NMC function to collect vProxy log bundle information................................... 594
l Recovering file system data on Windows......................................................... 595
l Recovering data on OS-X clients..................................................................... 597
l Recovering client files on a different NetWorker server...................................604
l Recovering as NMC User with Non-Admin Privileges ..................................... 606
l Preparing the NMC Sever for Recovery.......................................................... 606
l Recover the NMC Server database..................................................................608

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Recovering data
You can recover NetWorker data by using the recover command, the NetWorker
User program on Windows, or the NMC Recovery wizard on the NMC server.

Recovery roadmap
The following figure provides a high-level roadmap of the recovery paths for a
NetWorker Client and Storage Node host.
Figure 51 Recovery roadmap

1. The "Special recoveries on Windows hosts" chapter describes how to perform a


Bare Metal Recovery (BMR) of a NetWorker Client or Storage Node. The
NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide describes how to perform a
BMR of an Microsoft application data.
2. The "Special recoveries on Windows hosts" chapter describes how to recover the
Active Directory Domain Service (AD DS) on a Windows domain controller.
3. The "Recovery" chapter describes how to recover file system data on Window,
Linux, UNIX, and OS X hosts.

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4. The NetWorker application documentation describes how to recover application


data. For example, the NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide
describes how to recover Microsoft application data that was backed up by using
the NetWorker Module for Microsoft.
Note: The NetWorker Server Disaster Recovery and Availability Best Practices Guide
describes how to perform a disaster recovery of a host.

Planning and preparing to recovering data


NetWorker enables you to recover backup data on hosts that use supported operating
systems. Unless you are performing a bare metal recovery (BMR), you can only use
NetWorker to recover data to a host that has a supported operating system and the
NetWorker software installed on it.
The following sections provide you with an overview of the information and steps that
you might need to perform before you can use the NetWorker software to recover
backup data.

Gathering key information


Maintain accurate records for each hardware, software, network, device, and media
component.

Hardware information
Maintain up-to-date information on computer hardware as follows:
l File system configuration
l Fully qualified domain names, IP addresses, and hostnames
l For Domain Name System (DNS) clients, maintain the DNS host's internet address
and hostname
l Hard drive configuration
l Media device names
l Hardware vendor
l Configuration information for each piece of hardware, both active and inactive,
within the organization or organizational site

Software information
Maintain up-to-date information on computer software as follows:
l Copies of the original operating system media and patches (and where they are
located)
l Software enabler and authorization codes
l Software vendor contact information and contract number
l The operating system version and patches installed
l Operating system configuration
l Emergency media that can be used to recover a computer if a disaster occurs
l NetWorker bootstrap information for each NetWorker server
l Kernel configuration and location

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l Device drivers
l List of any volume mount points

Prerequisites for recovering a NetWorker client or storage node


Before recovering a NetWorker client or storage node, perform the following steps.
Procedure
1. Verify that the same operating system as the source host is installed on the
target host.
2. Verify that the NetWorker server is functioning and available on the network.
3. Obtain the following information:
l NetWorker server hostname.
l NetWorker client or storage node software version and patch level on the
computer before the disaster occurred.
l Link names to the NetWorker directories you must recover. An example of a
typical link from a NetWorker directory to a user directory is /nsr to /var/
nsr.

Downloading the NetWorker software and documentation


To obtain the latest NetWorker software and documentation, perform the following
steps.
Procedure
1. Review the online NetWorker documentation, such as the NetWorker
Administration Guide, NetWorker Installation Guide, and NetWorker Release Notes,
for the latest information.
2. Obtain the required NetWorker cumulative hotfix media kits that provide
customers with the opportunity to install the latest version of NetWorker
including important hotfixes. Cumulative builds are released approximately once
a month and each build contain a rollup of the fixes in each previous build.
If additional hotfixes are required in an environment where a cumulative build is
installed, hotfixes can be generated for use with the latest cumulative version.
The cumulative releases for specific NetWorker versions are available at the
Online Support website.
3. Open the NetWorker Cumulative Hotfix document for details regarding fixes
that are in each build, knowledge base articles that are related to the fixes in
each build, and download instructions.

Reinstalling the NetWorker storage node


To reinstall the NetWorker storage node and client software, perform the following
steps.
Procedure
1. Reinstall the same version of the NetWorker storage node software into its
original location. Installation instructions are provided in the NetWorker
Installation Guide.

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Note: To upgrade the storage node software, first recover the storage node
to its original state and then perform the upgrade.

2. Reinstall any NetWorker backup patches that were installed before the disaster.
3. Re-create any links to NetWorker directories.
4. (Optional) To perform a test recovery to ensure that the recovery process is
functioning correctly, use the recover command.
Note: The NetWorker client software is also installed when you install the
storage node software.

Results
The storage node can now access volumes that contain backups for other computers
on the network. These volumes contain the application and user data that are required
to recover computers that were protected with the NetWorker client software.

Optional, resetting the autochanger


After you reinstall the NetWorker software on a storage node host that manages an
autochanger, reset the autochanger.
Before you begin
Ensure that the autochanger resource exists for the storage node in the Devices
window of the NetWorker Administration window.
Procedure
1. Reset the autochanger by using the nsrjb -vHE command.
This command resets the autochanger, ejects backup volumes, reinitializes the
element status, and checks each slot for a volume.
Note: If the autochanger does not support the -E option, initialize the
element status by using the ielem command.

2. Inventory the autochanger by using the nsrjb -I command.

NetWorker recovery overview


Use the recover command, the NetWorker User program on Windows, or the NMC
Recovery wizard on the NMC server to recover backup and clone data.
Note: NetWorker 9.0.x and later does not support the recovery of archive data.
Use an older version of the NetWorker client software to recover archive data.
Hosts in a NetWorker recovery operation
All recovery operations use three types NetWorker hosts to perform a recovery:
l Administering host—The NetWorker host that starts the recovery operation. The
administering host can be the source host, the destination host, or another
NetWorker host in the datazone.
l Source host—The NetWorker host from which the backup was run.

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l Destination host—The NetWorker host that receives the recover data. The
destination host can be the source host or another NetWorker host in the
datazone.

Recovery types
NetWorker provides you with two types of recoveries.
l Local recover—A single NetWorker host is the administering, source, and
destination host.
l Directed recover—The administering host is the source host or any other
NetWorker host in the datazone. The destination host is not the source host. Use
a directed recovery:
n To centralize the administration of data recoveries from a single host.
n To recover the data to a shared server, when the user cannot recover the data
themselves.
n To recover data to another host because the source host is inoperable or the
network does not recognize the source host.
n To transfer files between two NetWorker hosts.

Directed recoveries
A directed recovery enables a user to recover data to a NetWorker host that differs
from the source of the backup, while retaining the original file ownership and
permissions.
A directed recovery is a restricted NetWorker function available only to user accounts
that have the necessary privileges that are required to perform the directed recovery
operation.
A user with directed recovery privileges can:
l Browse the backup data of all NetWorker clients.
l Recover the data to any NetWorker client.
The following figure provides an example of a directed recovery.
In this figure:
l Saturn is the administering host.
l Neptune is the NetWorker server.
l Mars is the destination host.
l Pluto is the source host (not shown).
l The OS of destination host is the same as a source host.

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Figure 52 A directed recovery from a remote client

In this figure, the numbers represent the following:


1. A user on Saturn sends a request to the NetWorker server to browse backup data
from Pluto. If the user has the privileges that are required to perform a directed
recovery of data on Pluto, the user can select the data to recover, and then starts the
recovery operation.
2. The NetWorker server mounts the volume that contains the data in a local tape
device.
3. The NetWorker server recovers the requested backup data to Mars.

Directed recover requirements


The following table summarizes the requirements for each host in a directed recover
session.

Table 88 General recover requirements

Host Requirements
Destination Ensure that the destination host:
l Is the same platform as the source host, for example, Linux to Linux, AIX to AIX, or
Windows to Windows.
l Uses the same file system as the source host, for example, XFS to XFS, UFS to UFS,
or NTFS to NTFS.
l Contains an entry for the administering host in the servers file. The NetWorker
Security Configuration Guide provides more information about client-tasking rights and
how to modify the servers file.
l Is configured to accept directed recoveries from a remote host. Ensure that the
Disable Directed Recover attribute is set to the default value No, in the NSRLA

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Table 88 General recover requirements (continued)

Host Requirements

database. Editing a client NSRLA database on page 823 describes how to edit the
NSRLA database.
l Has the required access rights to receive data.
n If you run the nsrlogin command on the administering host to create an
authenticated recover session, ensure that the External Roles attribute of a user
group with Remote Access All Clients privileges contains one of the following
entries:

– User DN for the authenticated user


– Group DN for a group that contains the authenticated user
n If you do not run the nsrlogin command on the administering host to create an
authenticated session, the root user or the Administrator user on the destination
host must appear in one of the following configurations:

– A member of a NetWorker User Group with Remote Access All Clients


privileges. Add an entry to the User attributes for the Root or Admin account
in this format.
– Added to the Remote Access attribute of the source host.
For example:

The source client is mars. The destination client, venus, is a


Windows host. The Remote Access attribute for the client mars
contains:

Administrator@venus

Source Ensure that the source host:


l Is the same platform as the destination host, for example, Linux to Linux, AIX to AIX,
or Windows to Windows.
l Uses the same file system as the destination host, for example, XFS to XFS, UFS to
UFS, or NTFS to NTFS.
l Has the required access rights to enable the administering host to browse the data.
n If you run nsrlogin on the administering host to create an authenticated
recover session, ensure that the Remote access attribute on the source host
contains one of the following entries:

– User DN for the authenticated user


– Group DN for a group that contains the authenticated user
n If you do not perform a nsrlogin on the administering host to create an
authenticated session, ensure that Remote access attribute on the source host
contains the root user or the Administrator user of the administering host. For
example:

The source client is mars and the administering client is venus.


The Administrator account on venus starts the recover program. The
value in the Remote Access attribute for the client mars is:

Administrator@venus

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Table 88 General recover requirements (continued)

Host Requirements
Administering Ensure that the administering host:
l Is a client of the NetWorker server that contains the backup information. The
administering client can be a different platform from the source and destination
clients.
l Has the required access rights to perform the recover operation.
n If you run the nsrlogin command on the administering host to create an
authenticated recover session, ensure that the External Roles attribute of the
Operators, the Application Administrators, the Database Administrators, or the
Database Operators user group contains one of the following entries:

– User DN for the authenticated user


– Group DN for a group that contains the authenticated user
n If you do not perform a nsrlogin on the administering host to create an
authenticated session, ensure that Users attribute of the Operators, the
Application Administrators, the Database Administrators, or the Database
Operators user group contains the root user or the Administrator user of the
administering host in the Users attribute.
Note: If you do not use the Operators, the Application Administrators, the
Database Administrators, or the Database Operators user group, ensure that you
add the required user information to a user group that has the following
privileges:
n Remote Access All Clients
n Operate NetWorker
n Monitor NetWorker
n Operate Devices and Jukeboxes
n Backup Local Data
n Recover Local Data
n Recover Remote Data
You must have operator privileges in the Operators user group to perform a
selective file restore from a Microsoft Windows deduplication backup. Microsoft
provides complete documentation for working with the Windows deduplication
functionality.

Windows requirements
NetWorker enables you to perform directed recoveries of data to a local drive on
Windows destination host, when you enable Windows File and Print Sharing option on
the destination host . You cannot perform a directed recovery to a CIFS share.
When you use the recover command on a Windows destination host and the
NetWorker server is also a Windows host, change the account that starts the
NetWorker Backup and Recovery service on the NetWorker server:

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l When the NetWorker server and the destination host are in the same domain, start
service with a domain user that is a member of the local Administrators group.
l When the NetWorker server and destination host are not in a domain, or are not in
the same domain, start the service with a local user that meets the following
requirements:
n The same username exists as a local user on the destination host.
n The local user must have the same password on both hosts.
n The local user on the NetWorker server is a member of the local Administrators
group.

UNIX specific requirements


Review this information before you recover non-ASCII directories to a different
directory on UNIX hosts.
l If the remote directory is an existing non-ASCII directory, the locale of the
administering client must match the locale of the destination client.
l If the remote directory does not exist, NetWorker creates the relocation directory
on the destination file system, which is based on the locale of the administering
client.

Local recoveries
When you perform a local recovery, the administering host is also the source and
destination host. Local recoveries are the simplest way to recover NetWorker data.
Ensure that user account that performs the recovery operation meets the following
requirements:
l Belong to a NetWorker User Group that has the Recover Local Data privilege.
If you use nsrlogin, add the DN or the user or group to the External Roles. If you do
not use nsrlogin, add the account in user@host to the Users attribute. The
NetWorker Security Configuration Guide provides more information.
l Have operating system ownership of the recovered files. The root user on UNIX,
and a Windows Administrator have this privilege.
l Have write privileges to the local destination directories. The root user on UNIX,
and a Windows Administrator have this privilege.

Recover programs
NetWorker provides you with the following tools to recover data.
l NetWorker Recover program—Recover GUI for OS-X hosts.
l NMC Recovery wizard—Recover wizard that you start from the NMC server. The
NMC Recovery wizard provides a NetWorker datazone with a centralized
recovery method.
l The recover command—CLI tool available on Windows, UNIX, and OS-X. Use
the recover command to recover data from a command prompt. To perform
multiple recovery operations in parallel, use multiple recover commands.
l NetWorker User program—Recover GUI for Windows hosts. Use the NetWorker
User program to recover file system data when the administering client is
Windows.

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l The scanner command—CLI tool available on Windows, UNIX, and OS-X. Use
the scanner command to recover data from a volume by save set ID (SSID) to
the host that starts the program. To perform multiple recovery operations in
parallel, use multiple scanner commands.
Note: The NetWorker User, NetWorker Recover, and NMC Recovery wizard
programs only recover data sequentially.

Using the NetWorker User program


Use the NetWorker User program to recover file system data when the administering
client is Windows. To recover application data for Microsoft applications that are
protected with NMM (NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications) use the
NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications Client User program. The NetWorker
Module for Microsoft Administration Guide provides more information.
Note: The NetWorker log file in \install_path\logs\networkr.raw
contains a record of every file that was part of an attempted recovery from the
NetWorker User program. This file is overwritten with the next recovery. To save
the information in the file, rename the file or export the information by using the
nsr_render_log program.

Using the NetWorker Recovery program


Use the NetWorker Recovery program to recover file system data when the
administering client is Mac OS-X.

Using the Recovery Wizard


NetWorker includes a new Recovery Wizard that allows you to recover data to
NetWorker 8.1 and later clients from a centralized location, the NMC GUI. The
Recovery Wizard supports browsable, save set, and directed recoveries. The Recovery
Wizard does not support cross-platform recoveries.
Use the Recovery Wizard to configure scheduled and immediate recoveries of:
l File system backups.
l NDMP backups, when you use a NetWorker server 8.1.1 or later and NMC server
8.1.1 or later.
Note: When you use NetWorker server 8.1 and earlier, the Recovery Wizard
does not display NDMP clients in the Select Recovery Hosts window.
l Block Based Backups (BBB), when BBB is enabled for a client and BBB are
available for recovery.
l BBB that you cloned to tape.
You can also use the Recovery wizard to configure an immediate recover of a
Snapshot Management backup.
When you create a recover configuration by using the Recovery Wizard, NetWorker
saves the configuration information in an NSR recover resource in the resource
database of the NetWorker server. NetWorker uses the information in the NSR
recover resource to perform the recover job operation.
When a recover job operation starts, NetWorker stores:
l Details about the job in the nsrjobsd database. Using nsrrecomp on page 700
describes how to query and report on recovery status.

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l Output sent to stderr and stdout in a recover log file. NetWorker creates one log
file for each recover job. Troubleshooting the Recovery Wizard on page 547
provides more information.
NOTICE NetWorker removes the recover log file and the job information from
the job database based on value of the Jobsdb retention in hours attribute in
the properties of the NetWorker server resource. In NetWorker 9.0.1, the
default jobsdb retention is 72 hours.

Recovery Wizard requirements


Review this section before you use the Recovery Wizard.
Ensure that:
l The destination host is a client of the NetWorker Server.
l For a directed recover, the Remote Access attribute of the source client must
contain the hostname of the destination client.
l The source and destination clients are running the NetWorker 8.1 or later
software.
Note: You can recover data from a pre-8.1 backup after you update the source
host to NetWorker 8.1 or later.
l The account that you use to connect to the NMC Server has Configure NetWorker
privileges. The NetWorker Security Configuration Guide provides more information.
l The required configuration is in place to perform a directed recover. Directed
recoveries on page 540 provides more information.
Note: On Windows, scheduled recovery to CIFS shared folder fails as recovery is
spawned as system user and it does not have the required privileges to access the
shared folder.

Create a new recover configuration


The Recovery wizard allows you to create and save a configuration that you can reuse
or modify later.
Procedure
1. Use NMC to connect to the NetWorker server.
2. Click Protection from the left navigation pane, then select Clients.
3. Right-click the client from which you want to recover the data, then select
Recover.
The Recovery wizard appears.
4. Browse through the Recovery wizard screens and define the configuration for
the recover job.
Online help describes how to use the Recovery wizard.

Note: To avoid the over consumption of memory, NetWorker limits the


number of files that you can view when you browse a directory that contain
a large number of files, for example, 200,000 files. When NetWorker
determines that displaying the number of files will exhaust memory
resources, NetWorker will display a partial list of the files and a message
similar to the following appears: Expanding this directory has
stopped because the result has too many entries

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Modifying a saved recover configuration


The Recovery Wizard allows you to save partial recover configurations and complete
the configuration at a later time.
Procedure
1. Use NMC to the NetWorker server.
2. Click Recover on the Administration window toolbar. The Recover window
appears. Recover window on page 62 provides more information about the
Recover window.
3. In the Configured recovers window, right-click the saved recover
configuration, select Open Recover.

Reusing recover configurations


When you define a recover configuration, the Recovery Wizard provides you with the
option to save the recover configuration or delete the configuration after the recover
completes. When you save the configuration, you can reuse the configuration
information to perform a new recover job.
Before you begin
Connect to the NMC server from an NMC client. Ensure that the account you use to
connect to the NMC server has Configure NetWorker privileges. The NetWorker
Security Configuration Guide provides more information.
Procedure
1. Connect to the NetWorker server.
2. Click Recover on the Administration window toolbar. The Recover window
appears. Recover window on page 62 provides more information about the
Recover window.
3. In the Configured recovers window, right-click the saved recover
configuration, select Recover Again.
4. Change the configuration as required and save the configuration with a new
name.

Troubleshooting the Recovery Wizard


At the start time for a Recovery resource, nsrd uses an nsrtask process on the
NetWorker server to start the recover job. The nsrtask process requests that the
nsrjobd process on the NetWorker server run the recovery job on the destination
client, then nsrtask monitors the job.
Once the recover job starts:
l The log files on the NetWorker server contain stdout and stderr information for
the recover job. NetWorker stores the logs files in the following location, by
default:
n Windows: C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\recover
n UNIX: /nsr/logs/recover
Note: NetWorker names the log file according to the name of the recover
resource and the time of the recovery job:
recover_resource_name_YYYYMMDDHHMMSS
l The jobsdb contains job status information for the recover job.

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Debugging recover job failures from NMC


To troubleshoot a recovery issue by using NMC, configure the Recovery resource to
display greater detail in the log file, then retry the recover configuration in debug
mode:
Procedure
1. In the Recover window, right-click the recover configuration and select
Recover Again.
2. Click the Back button until you reach the Select the Recover Options window.
3. Select Advanced Options.
4. Increase the value in the Debug level attribute to enable debugging. The higher
the value, the more the debug output that appears in the recover log file.
5. Click Next until you reach the Perform the Recover window.
6. In the Recover name field, provide a new name for the recover configuration.
7. Click Run Recover.
8. Monitor the status of the recover job in the option in the Recover window.
9. When the recover completes, review the recover log file.

Debugging recovery failures from command line


To troubleshoot recovery issue from the command line, use the nsradmin and
nsrtask programs.
Procedure
1. From a command prompt on the NetWorker Server, type nsradmin.
2. From the nsradmin prompt:
a. Set the resource attribute to the Recover resource. For example:

. type: nsr recover

b. Display the attributes for the Recover resource that you want to
troubleshoot. For example:

print name: recover_resource_name

Where recover_resource_name is the name of the Recover resource.

c. Make note of the values in the recover, recovery options, and recover
stdin attributes. For example:

recover command: recover;


recover options: -a -s nw_server.corp.com -c mnd.corp.com -
I - -i R;
recover stdin:
“<xml>
<browsetime>
May 30, 2013 4:49:57 PM GMT -0400
</browsetime>
<recoverpath>
C:

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</recoverpath>
</xml>”;

where:
l nw_server.corp.com is the name of the NetWorker server.
l mnd.corp.com is the name of the source NetWorker client.

3. To confirm that the nsrd process can schedule the recover job:
a. To start the recover job, update the Recover resource:

update: name: recover_resource_name;start time: now

where recover_resource_name is the name of the Recover resource.

b. Exit the nsradmin application.


c. Confirm that the nsrtask process starts.
d. If the nsrtask process does not start, review the daemon.raw file on the
NetWorker server for errors.
4. To confirm that the NetWorker server can run the recover command on the
remote host, type the following command on the NetWorker server:

nsrtask -D3 -t ‘NSR Recover’ recover_resource_name

Where recover_resource_name is the name of the Recover resource.

5. When the nsrtask command completes, review the nsrtask output for errors.
6. To confirm that the Recovery UI sends the correct recovery arguments to the
recover process:
a. Open a command prompt on the destination client.
b. Run the recover command with the recover options that the Recover
resource uses. For example:

recover -a -s nw_server.corp.com -c mnd.corp.com -I - -i R

c. At the Recover prompt, specify the value in the recover stdin attribute.
Note: Do not include the “ ,”, or the ; that appears with the recover
stdin attribute.

d. If the recover command appears to stop responding, review the


daemon.raw file for errors.
e. When the recover command completes, review the recover output for
errors. If the recover command fails, then review the values that are
specified in the Recover resource for errors.
7. Use the jobquery command to review the details of the Recover job. From a
command prompt on the NetWorker server, type: jobquery.
8. From the jobquery prompt, perform one of the following steps:
a. To set the query to the Recovery resource and display the results of all
recovery jobs for a Recovery resource, type:

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print name: recover_resource_name


Where recover_resource_name is the name of the Recover resource.

b. To set the query to a particular jobid and display the results of the job, type:
print job id: jobid
Where jobid is the jobid of the Recover job that you want to review.
Note: Review the daemon.raw file on the NetWorker server to obtain
the jobid for the recovery operation.

Common recovery error messages


This section contains a summary of common recovery error messages and resolutions.
Unable to connect to the server. Remote system error - unknown error
This error appears in the Select the Recovery Hosts window when the Wizard cannot
contact the host that you selected as the source or destination host.
To resolve this issue, ensure that:
l The host is powered on.
l The NetWorker Remote Exec service (nsrexecd) is started.
l Name resolution for the host is working correctly.
Host destination_hostname is missing from the remote access list of
source_hostname. Press [Yes] to update the remote access list of
source_hostname with destination_hostname
This message appears in the Select the Recovery Hosts window when you select a
destination host that does not have the correct permissions to receive directed
recovery data.
To resolve this issue, click Yes. The Recovery Wizard will update the Remote access
attribute in the properties of the source host with the hostname of the destination
host.
If you click No, then you cannot proceed in the recovery wizard until you select a
destination host that is in the Remote access attribute of the source host.
This host is either improperly configured or does not support this operation
This message appears in the Select the Recovery Hosts window after you select a
source or destination host when the source or destination host is running NetWorker
8.0 or earlier.
Destination_host_name does not support recovery_type
This message appears in the Select the Recovery Hosts window after you select a
destination host and the destination host does not support the recovery type that you
selected. To resolve this issue, select a destination host that supports the recovery
type.

Using the recover command


Use the recover command to perform the data recovery from a command prompt.
There are two recovery methods:

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l Interactive mode—enables the user on the administering host to browse, and


select files and directories from the source backup.
l Non-interactive mode—enables the user on the administering host to recover a
directory or file immediately, without browsing the client file index for file
information. Use non-interactive mode when you know the path to recover and do
not need to browse through the backup data find it.

Scanner recovery
The scanner program enables you to recover data directly from a NetWorker volume.
Use the scanner program in the following scenarios:
l To perform a by-file-selection recovery, when the save set information is not in
the client file index.
l To recover data directly from a tape.
l To recover data from an incomplete save set.

Recovering the data


Use one of the recovery applications to recover data.
NetWorker provides you with a number of recovery methods:
l Browsable recovery—By selecting individual files and folders.
l Save set recovery—By recovering all data in a save set.
l Scanner recovery—By recovering the data directly from the media
l VSS File Level Recovery—By recovering Windows System State data with VSS
File Level Recovery (FLR).

Determining the volume for recovering cloned data


You can specify whether to use the original volume or a cloned volume to recover data
in some recovery scenarios. In other scenarios, NetWorker decides which volume to
use.
The following table provides details on when you can select the volume from which to
recover data and when NetWorker selects the volume.

Table 89 Volume selection by recovery method

Recovery method Volume selection


NMC Recovery wizard Choose whether to specify the volumes or to
allow NetWorker to select the volumes on the
Obtain the Volume Information page of the
wizard.

NetWorker User program You can select the volume when you perform
a save set recovery.

NetWorker selects the volume when you


perform a browsable
recovery.

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Table 89 Volume selection by recovery method (continued)

Recovery method Volume selection


recover command You can specify the clone pool for a browsable
recovery or the clone ID for a save set
recovery.

If you do not specify the clone pool or the


clone ID, then NetWorker
selects the volume.

When NetWorker selects the volume from which to recover data, the recovery
operation uses the following logic:
1. The highest priority is assigned to the volume (clone or original volume) that has a
complete, non-suspect save set status. A complete save set that is suspect has a
higher priority than an incomplete non-suspect save set.
2. If the volumes still have equal priority, then priority is assigned to the mounted
volume.
3. If the volumes are mounted, then priority is based on the media type. The media
types from highest to lowest priority are:
l Advanced file type device
l File type device
l Other (such as tape or optical)
4. If the volumes are not mounted, then priority is based on the media location. The
media locations from highest to lowest priority are:
l Volumes in a library.
l Volumes that are not in a library but are onsite (or, the offsite flag is not
set).
l Volumes that are offsite (or, the offsite flag is set).
To specify that a volume is offsite, use the nsrmm command. For example:

nsrmm -o offsite -V volume_id

where volume_id is the ID of the volume to mark offsite.


The volumes that are required for recovery appear in the Required Volumes window
of the NMC Recovery wizard and the NetWorker User (Windows) programs.

Recovering access control list files


NetWorker allows a user to browse and recover files with associated access control
lists (ACLs) in directories for which the user is not the primary owner. To recover files
with associated ACLs, enable the ACL passthrough attribute on the NetWorker server.
The feature is enabled by default.
About this task
When the ACL passthrough attribute is disabled, the following message appears when
a non-owner tries to browse ACL files in a directory: Permission denied (has
acl)
To enable ACL passthrough, perform the following steps:

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Procedure
1. On the Administration window, click Server.
2. In the left pane of the Server window, right-click the NetWorker server.
3. From the File menu, select Properties.
4. Select the Configuration tab.
5. In the Recover section, select ACL passthrough.

Browsable recovery
A file selection recovery method, or browsable recovery inspects the client file index
that NetWorker creates for the source host, to gather information about backups.
When the recovery process reviews entries in the client file index, you can browse the
backup data and select the files and directories to recover. The retention policy that
NetWorker applies to a backup determines the earliest versions of files and file
systems that are available for recovery. Backup retention on page 378 provides more
information about browse and retention policies.
Use a browsable recovery in the following scenarios:
l To recover a file or directory when you are not certain of its exact name or
location.
l To recover a small number of files or directories. When you select many files and
directories, the process of marking the files for recovery and the recovery process
can take some time to complete, particularly from the NetWorker User program.
l To perform a directed recovery.
l To recover only the files that you select in one or more directories, not all files in a
directory.

Adding information about recyclable save sets to the client file index
Each NetWorker client, including the NetWorker server, has a client file index (CFI).
The CFI is a database that contains information about the files that are in a save set.
When NetWorker adds save set information into the media database and CFI,
NetWorker assigns the save set a retention date, which is based on the retention
policy that is assigned to the backup, clone, or archive. Browsable information about
the save set remains in the CFI until the current date is equal to the retention date.
When the current date is equal to the retention date, NetWorker expires the save set
and identifies the save set as no longer required for recovery, or as eligible for
recycling. When the status of the save set is eligible for recycling, NetWorker removes
the information about the save set from the CFI, and you cannot perform a browsable
recovery of the save set data. Some applications, such as the NetWorker Module for
Databases and Applications, require that a save set is browsable to perform a
recovery.
You can make expired save set files browsable for recovery by adding the save set
information back into the client file index.

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Determining the status of a save set


Use the save set query feature in NetWorker Administration to determine the status
of a save set.
About this task
Perform the following steps to determine the status of a save set and record the
information that you require to add the save set information back into the client file
index (CFI) for an expired save set.
Procedure
1. Connect to the NetWorker server that contains the data in NMC.
2. On the Administration window, click Media.
3. In the left pane, select Save Sets.
4. In the right pane, select All Save Sets.
5. On the Query Save Set tab, specify one or more of the search criteria in the
following table.

Table 90 Query criteria

Criterion Description
Client Name Type the name of the client that is associated
with the save set.

Save Set Type the name of the save set.

Save Set ID Type the identifier of the save set.

Volume Select the volume on which the save set is


stored from the list.

Pool Select the media pool for the volume on which


the save set is stored from the list.

Checkpoint ID Type the identifier of the checkpoint for


partial save sets.

Copies To limit the save set results to the number of


copies of the save set:

a. From the Copies list, select whether the


number of copies is less than (>), equal to
(=), or greater than (<) a number that you
specify.
b. Specify the number in the second box.

Save Time Select the start and end dates and times for
the save time of the save set.

Clone Retention Time Select the start and end dates and times for
the retention time of a cloned save set.

Status Select All to view save sets of any status.

Select Select from to view save sets of a


specific status, and then select the checkbox

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Table 90 Query criteria (continued)

Criterion Description

next to one or more of the


following statuses:

l Browsable
l Recoverable
l Recyclable
l Scanned-in
l Suspect
l Aborted
l In-Progress
l Checkpoint Enabled

Type Select All to view save sets of any type.

Select Select from to view save sets of a


specific type, and then select the checkbox
next to one or more of the
following statuses:

l Normal
l Raw
l Data Domain
l Synthetic Full
l Rehydrated
l NDMP
l Snapshot
l ProtectPoint

Maximum Level Select the maximum level of the backup. Save


sets that meet the selected level and backups
of levels below the selected level appear in
the results.

6. Click the Save Set List tab.


Review the results of the query in the Save Set List window for the save set
that you want to recover. If the value in the status column is not browsable,
then record the values in the SSID, Clone ID, and level columns.
Note: When the level value is anything other than full, ensure that you
record the SSID and Clone ID for the previous full backup and all level
backups in between.
The following table summarizes some of the status attributes assigned to the
save set that are relevant to the process of adding save set information back
into a CFI.

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Table 91 Save set status

Status Definition
Browsable The save set is browsable. The save set has not exceeded the defined
retention policy.

Recoverable Information about the save set Information appears only in the media
database. NetWorker does not allow information about some save sets, for
example the bootstrap save set to appear in the CFI for browsing.

Recyclable The save set has expired is eligible for recycling. The save set has exceeded
the defined retention policy.

Incomplete The save set did not complete. NetWorker does not store save set
information about an incomplete save set in a CFI.

Using nsrmm to modify the save set properties


Modify the save set properties with the nsrmm command.
Procedure
1. When the save set is recyclable:
a. Modify the save set entry to make it recoverable with the nsrmm command:

nsrmm -e MM/DD/YYYY> -S ssid/cloneid

where:
l MM/DD/YYYY is the date that is chosen to make the save set browsable
from.
l ssid/cloneid is the save set ID/cloneid.
For example:

nsrmm -e "11/21/2009" -S 4294078835/1257402739

When more than one SSID was recorded, repeat this step for all SSIDs.

b. Modify the save set to the not recyclable status:

nsrmm -o notrecyclable -S ssid/cloneid -y

where ssid/cloneid is the save set ID/cloneid.


For example:

nsrmm -o notrecyclable -S 4294078835/1257402739 -y

When more than one SSID was recorded, repeat this step for all SSIDs.

c. Verify that the save set status is recoverable:


mminfo -q ssid=ssid -r sumflags
Recoverable save sets have an r, in addition to other values in the sumflags
output.
For example:

mminfo -q ssid=4294078835 -r sumflags cr

When more than one SSID was recorded, repeat this step for all SSIDs.

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2. Query the media database to confirm that the index save set for a client is
recoverable:

mminfo -avot -N index:client_name

where client_name is the name of the client to which this save set is located.

3. Confirm that the value in the fl column is cr for an index backup with the time
frame of the client save set to be restored.
NOTICE If the index save set is not recoverable, the save set expires when
the NetWorker software cross checks the indexes. For example, when the
NetWorker server runs the nsrim -X command.

4. Record the values in the date and time columns.

Repopulating the client file index


Use the nsrck or scanner command to repopulate the client file index with
information about files in a save set.
Repopulate the client file index by using the scanner program
Use the scanner program to repopulate the client file index with information about
files and directories for a specific save set.
About this task
The entries assume the browse policy of the original save set. For example, suppose a
save set originally had a browse time of one month and a retention time of three
months. However, the browse and retention times have expired. When you restore the
save set entry by using the scanner program, the save set then remains browsable for
one month and recoverable for three months.
To Repopulate the client file index by using the scanner program, perform the
following steps:
Procedure
1. Ensure the idle device timeout value of the device containing the volume is 0.
Refer to Unmounting volumes automatically (idle device timeout) on page 155
for details.
2. Query the media database using the mminfo program for save set information:
For example:

mminfo -avq ssid=ssid -r


volume,client,name,ssid,mediafile,mediarec

where ssid is the associated save set id for the data you want to recover.

3. Use the information from the mminfo command for the save set to run the
scanner program. When the save set spans more than one volume, scan the
volumes in the order in which in which they were written:

scanner -v -i -S ssid -f mediafile -r mediarec device

where:

l mediafile is the starting file number for the save set, obtained from the
mminfo output.

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l mediarec is the starting record number for the save set, obtained from the
mminfo output.
l device is the name of the device the volume is loaded in, for example /dev/
rmt0.1 or \\.\Tape0.
4. When the save set spans multiple volumes, the scanner program prompts for a
new volume as needed.
Repopulating the client file index by using the nsrck program
Use the nsrck program to repopulate the client file index with information about all
save sets for the client up to the date and time specified.
Procedure
1. Ensure that the volume containing the index backup is available.
2. Use the nsrck command to repopulate the client file index:
nsrck -L 7 -t MM/DD/YYYY client_name
where:

l where client_name is the name of the client with the data to be recovered.
l MM/DD/YYYY is the backup date of the save set.
For example:
<NetWorker_install_path>\nsr\bin>nsrck -L 7 -t
"11/21/2009" swift nsrck: checking index for 'swift'
9343:nsrck: The file index for client 'swift' will be
recovered.Requesting 1 rec over session(s) from server
Recover completion time: 11/20/2009 1:45:55 PM nsrck:
<NetWorker_install_path>\nsr\index\swift contains 12
records occupying 2 KB nsrck: Completed checking 1
client(s)
When you recover a client file index from a time and date in the past, nsrck
adds the full contents of the index from that time and date to a temporary
subdirectory of the client file index directory. When a time value is not
specified, everything for the specified date (up to 23:59) is included. After the
index has been read from the backup media, the required index data is
integrated fully into the client file indexes and the temporary subdirectory is
removed. The “required index data” includes the indexes from the date
specified to the first full backup that occurred prior to the date specified.
Be aware that if a save set from the specified date runs into the next day, which
would be Nov 22, 2009 in this example, then the index required to browse the
save set will not be recovered. To recover this index, you would have to specify
Nov 22, 2009 as the recovery date as shown in the following command:
nsrck -t "11/22/2009" -L7 swift

A check on the required index date may be necessary if index backups are set to
be taken once daily. When the back up of the index does not take place until the
following day, the date of the following day must be specified.
3. Confirm that the client save sets are now browsable:

mminfo -q ssid=ssid -r sumflags

Browsable save sets contain a b, in addition to other values in the sumflags


output.
For example:

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NetWorker_install_path\nsr\bin>mminfo -q ssid=4294078835 -r
sumflags
cb

4. Perform a file-by-file recovery by using the NetWorker User program


(Windows), the recover command or the NMC Recovery Wizard.

Adding information about a save set in the client file index and media database
When a volume contains a save set that does not appear in the media database or
client file index, use the scanner command to restore save set information into the
media database and client file indexes.
About this task
Procedure
1. Log in as root or a Windows Administrator.
2. Load the first volume that contains the save set information into an available
device. Ensure the Idle Device Timeout value for the device is 0. Refer to
Unmounting volumes automatically (idle device timeout) on page 155 for details.
3. At the command prompt, run the scanner and specify the name of the device
that contains the volume:
scanner device_name

4. Use the output from the scanner program to determine:


l If the volume contains the save set that you want to scan.
l If you want to scan the contents of the volume in the online indexes.
l If the save set spans multiple volumes.
5. Use the scanner command to add the save information into the media
database and CFIs:

l To repopulate media database and CFIs with the save set information for all
save sets on the volume, type scanner -i device_name
l To repopulate the media database and client file index with the save set
information for a specific save set , type scanner -i -S ssid
device_name
NOTICE When the volume contains data from an earlier version of
NetWorker, there may be no pool information on the volume. In this
case, the volume is considered to belong to the Default pool. To assign
the volume to another pool, use the -b pool_name option in this step.
When the volume already belongs to a pool, the -b option will have no
effect.

Performing a browsable recover with NetWorker User


Perform these steps on the administering host.
Procedure
1. Open the NetWorker User program.
To recover data that was encrypted with the current AES pass phrase, no
special action is required. However, to recover data that was encrypted with an
AES pass phrase that is different than the current pass phrase,start the

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recover command specify the -p pass_phrase. To enter multiple pass


phrases with the -p option, type: recover -p pass_phrase1 -p
pass_phrase2 -p pass_phrase3.
NOTICE When an incorrect pass phrase or no pass phrase is entered,
encrypted data is not recovered. Instead, the file names are created without
data. However, if unencrypted data is also selected for recovery, it is
recovered.

2. Select the NetWorker server when you are prompted.


3. From the Operations menu, select Recover/Directed. To perform a save set
recover, select Save Set Recover.
4. Select the source host that has the data you want to recover, then click OK.
5. Select the destination host for the recovered data, then click OK.
6. Mark the files and directories to recover, in the Recover window.
Note: When a drive letter is not present on the destination client, the drive
appears with a red question mark.

7. Select optional recover options. The following table summarizes the available
recovery options.

Table 92 Optional browsable recovery options

Recover option Details


Change the browse time The Recovery window appears with the latest
version of the backup files.

To change the browse date and time for all


files in the Recovery
window:

Select View > Change Browse Time.

On the Change Browse Time window, select


a
new day within the calendar. Select Previous
Month
or Next Month to change from the current
month.

In the Time field, change the time of day by


typing an hour, minute, and the letter a (for
a.m.) or p (for p.m.). Use the
12-hour format.

Click OK.

View all versions of a selected file or directory The Recovery window appears with the latest
version of the backup files. When you mark a
file system object for example, a file or
directory, you recover the last backup
version. To view earlier versions of file system
objects:

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Table 92 Optional browsable recovery options (continued)

Recover option Details

Highlight the file or directory that you want to


review.

Select View > Versions.

Select a previous version.

Select Change Browse Time.

When prompted to change the browse time,


click OK.

Mark the new version of the file system


object.

Search for file system objects To search for file system objects in the
defined browser time:

From the File menu, select Find.

Type the name of the file or directory. Use


wildcards to expand the
search. Without wildcards, partial file names
result in no match being found.

Relocate the recovered file system objects By default, NetWorker recovers file system
objects to their original location. To relocate
the files to a different location:

Select Options > Recover Options

In the Relocate Recovered Data To field,


type the path on the
destination host to recover the data, then
click OK.

For NDMP data restores, the target path is a


string and must match
the path as seen by the NAS filer in its native
OS. Otherwise, NetWorker
recovers the files to the original location and
overwrites the existing file host
with the same name. NetWorker Network Data
Management Protocol (NDMP) User Guide
provides details about NDMP recoveries.

View volumes required for recovery Before you start the recovery operation,
monitor which volumes NetWorker requires to
recover the selected file system objects.

To view the required volumes, select


View > Required Volumes.

Ensure that the listed volumes are available or


NetWorker to mount into an available device.

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Table 92 Optional browsable recovery options (continued)

Recover option Details


Resolve name conflicts By default, the Naming Conflict window
appears each time there is a file name conflict
during a recovery. To specify the method to
automatically resolve all name conflicts:

Select Options > Recover Options.

Select a conflict resolution option:

l Rename the recovered files. By default,


the recover operation appends a tilde (~)
to the beginning of the name of the
recovered file ~file name.When a file
named ~file name already exists, the
recovered file is renamed ~00_file name,
and so forth, to ~99_file name. When this
fails, the recover process does not
automatically rename the file and prompts
the user is to specify a name for the file.
l Discard recovered file: Discards the
recovered file and keeps the existing file.
l Overwrite existing file: Replaces the file
on the file system with the recovered
version.
l Overwrite and replace a reboot: Replaces
the file on the file system with the
recovered version after you restart the
destination host.

NDMP recoveries do not support resolving


name conflicts NDMP recoveries always
overwrite existing files. Relocate the
NDMP data to a different location to avoid
data loss.
NetWorker Network Data Management
Protocol (NDMP) User Guide describes
how to perform NDMP recoveries

8. Click Start to begin the recovery. It takes the NetWorker server a few
moments to recover the files, depending on file size, network traffic, server
load, and tape positioning. During this time, messages appear so that you can
monitor the progress of the recovery.
When the recovery is successful, a message similar to this appears:

Received 1 file(S) from NSR server server


Recover completion time: Tue Jan 21 08:33:04 2009

NOTICE When an error occurs while recovering Microsoft Exchange Server


or Microsoft SQL Server data by using VSS, you must restart the recovery
process. When the recovery fails due to a problem with VSS or a writer, an

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error message appears. Use the Windows Event Viewer to examine the
event logs for more information. VSS recovery error messages are also
written to the NetWorker log file.

Performing a browsable recover by using the recover command


Use the recover command in interactive mode to access the client file index of the
source client and recover individual files and folder from a command prompt.
Interactive mode enables you to browse and select files and directories from a save
set. NetWorker supports a local or directed browsable recovery from a command
prompt. You cannot recover the Windows DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set in
interactive mode.
Before you begin
The recover command requires specific privileges which are assigned based on
session authentication. NetWorker supports two types of session authentication.
Token-based authentication, which requires you to run the nsrlogin before you run
the command and authenticates the user that runs the command against entries that
are defined in the External Roles attribute of a User Group resource. Classic
authentication, which is based on user and host information and uses the user
attribute of a User Group resource to authenticate a user. Classic authentication does
not require an authentication token to run the command. For example, if you run the
command without first running nsrlogin, NetWorker assigns the privileges to the
user based on the entries that are specified in the Users attribute of the User Group
resource. When you use nsrlogin to log in as a NetWorker Authentication Service
user, NetWorker assigns the privileges to the user based on the entries that are
specified in the External Roles attributes of the user Group resource. The NetWorker
Security Configuration Guide provides more information about privileges provides more
information.
For Windows hosts only, to ensure that you use the NetWorker recover.exe
command and not the Windows OS recover command, perform one of the following
tasks:
l Ensure that NetWorker_install_path\bin appears before %SystemRoot%
\System32 in the $PATH environment variable.
l When you start the recover command include the path to the binary. For
example: NetWorker_install_path\bin\recover.exe.
About this task
Perform the following steps on the destination host in the data zone.
Procedure
1. Use the mminfo command to display information about the save set of the data
that you want to recover. For example, type:

mminfo -r volume,savetime,client,ssid,cloneid,name

Output similar to the following appears:

Table 93 Save set information

volume date client ssid pool name


backup.001 05/03/2015 bu_iddnwserve 3644194209 Default C:\ddlib
r

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Table 93 Save set information (continued)

clone.001 05/03/2015 bu_iddnwserve 3644194209 Default Clone C:\ddlib


r
The mminfo command provides you with information that you require to
recover the save set. For example, the name of the volume that contains the
save set, the date that the save set was created and the name of the pool that
contains the volume. NetWorker assigns each backup and clone save set the
same save set ID (SSID) and unique clone ID (cloneid). To recover from a clone
volume, the name of the clone pool is required.

2. Ensure that the volume which contains the save set is available for a device in
the datazone.
3. Use the recover command to select and then to recover the data from the
backup save set or the clone save set.
For example, type:

recover -t date -c source_host -R destination_host -b pool_name


- i_recover_option

where:
l date is the date that NetWorker created the save set.
Note: When you do not specify a date, the recover command displays
the latest version of each file in the save set.
l source_host is the original data host.
Note: When you do not specify source host, NetWorker assumes that
the source client is the host where you run the recover program.
l destination_host is the host on which to recover the data.
l pool_name is the name of the pool that contains the volume. Use this option
when you want to recover data from a clone volume.
l - i_recover_option specifies how NetWorker handles a naming conflict
between a recovered file and an existing file.
n iN does not recover the file when a conflict occurs.
n iY overwrites the existing file when a conflict occurs.
n iR renames the file when a conflict occurs. The recover process appends
a .R to each recovered file name.
Note: The recover command requires the -i option when you use the
-R option to perform a directed recovery.
For example, to recover the data from a clone volume from a clone operation
that was performed on July 20, 2015, type:

recover -t 07/20/2015 -b Default Clone

The Recover prompt appears.


4. Select the files or directories and perform the recover:
a. Specify the directory to browse:
recover> cd path

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For example: cd /var/adm


b. Select the file or directory for recovery:
recover> add file_name

For example: add system.log


Note: On Windows, to recover files or directories that begin with a dash
(-) such as -Accounting, try one of the following options:
l Type add ./-Accounting to recover the -Accounting file or
directory and its contents.
l Use the cd command to change directories to -Accounting. Type
add . to add the current directory and the directory contents for
recovery.
l When the current directory is /temp and -Accounting resides in
the /temp directory, type add /temp/Accounting. This input adds
-Accounting and the contents of the directory to the recovery list.

c. To view the files or directory that you marked for recovery, type:
recover> list

d. To view the list of the volumes that NetWorker requires to recover the data,
type:
recover> volumes

e. To recover the files to a location that differs from the original location, type:
recover> relocate path

5. To start the recovery operation, type:


recover> recover

When the recovery process completes, messages similar to the following


appear:
Received 1 file(s) from NSR server `bu-idd-nwserver2'
Recover completion time: Tue Aug 21 08:33:04 2015
recover>
6. To close the recover program, type Quit.

Save set recovery


The save set selection recovery method, or save set recover enables you to recover
data without browsing and selecting the files for recovery. Unlike a browsable
recovery, a save set recover does not inspect the client file index for information
about each selected file.
When you perform a save set recovery, NetWorker recovers the last full backup first,
then recovers incremental backups in the chronological backup order. Backup levels
on page 357 provides information about the relationship between each backup level.
Use a save set recovery in the following scenarios:

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l To recover many files or all the data in a save set, for example, if there is a total
disk failure. When you perform a save set recovery, you do not select individual
files or directories for recovery.
l To recover data from a recyclable save set. Backup retention on page 378 provides
more information about browse and retention policies. Adding information about
recyclable save sets to the client file index on page 553 describes how to
repopulate the client file index entries for recyclable (expired) save sets.
l To recover data on a host with limited memory resources. A save set recovery
requires less memory than a browsable recovery.

Performing a save set recover with NetWorker User


Perform the following steps on the administering host.
About this task
NOTICE Only members of the Windows Administrators group have permission to
perform a save set recovery.
Procedure
1. Open the NetWorker User program.
To recover data that was encrypted with the current AES pass phrase, no
special action is required. However, to recover data that was encrypted with an
AES pass phrase that is different than the current pass phrase,start the
recover command specify the -p pass_phrase. To enter multiple pass
phrases with the -p option, type: recover -p pass_phrase1 -p
pass_phrase2 -p pass_phrase3.
NOTICE When an incorrect pass phrase or no pass phrase is entered,
encrypted data is not recovered. Instead, the file names are created without
data. However, if unencrypted data is also selected for recovery, it is
recovered.

2. Select the NetWorker server when you are prompted.


3. Select Operation > Save Set Recover.
4. Select the source host that has the data that you want to recover, and then
click OK.
5. In the Save Sets window, select the name of the save set from the Save Set
Name list.
6. Select the version of the save set . Optionally, select the cloned version of a
save set.
7. Select optional recover options. The following table summarizes the recover
options that are available with a save set recovery.

Table 94 Optional save set recovery options

Recover option Description


Specify file system objects By default, NetWorker recovers all selected
files and directories.

To recover only certain file system objects in


a save set:

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Table 94 Optional save set recovery options (continued)

Recover option Description


Click Files...

Specify the files and directories to recover,


one full path per line.

Click OK.

View required volumes Before you start the recovery operation,


monitor which volumes NetWorker requires to
recover the selected file system objects.To
view the required volumes, select Required
Volumes.

Ensure the listed volumes are available for


NetWorker to mount into an
available device.

Relocate the recovered file system objects By default, NetWorker recovers file system
objects to their original location. To relocate
the files to a different location:Select
Recover Options.

In the Relocate Recovered Data To field,


type the full path of the
directory where the data should be relocated
and then click OK.

For NDMP data restores, the target path is a


string and must match the
path as seen by the NAS filer in its native OS.
Otherwise, the recover
process uses the original location and
overwrites existing files with the
same name. NetWorker Network Data
Management Protocol (NDMP) User Guide
provides details about NDMP recoveries.

Resolve name conflicts By default, the Naming Conflict window


appears each time there is a file name conflict
during a recovery. To specify the method to
automatically resolve all name conflicts:

Select Options > Recover Options.

Select a conflict resolution option:

l Rename the recovered files. By default, a


tilde (~) is appended to the beginning of
the name of the recovered file ~file
name.When a file named ~file name
already exists, the recovered file is
renamed ~00_file name, and so forth, to
~99_file name. When this fails, the
recover process does not automatically

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Table 94 Optional save set recovery options (continued)

Recover option Description

rename the file and prompts the user to


specify a name for the file.
l Discard recovered file: Discards the
recovered file and keeps the existing file.
l Overwrite existing file: Replaces the file
on the file system with the recovered
version.
l Overwrite and replace a reboot: Replaces
the file on the file system with the
recovered version after you restart the
destination host.

NDMP recoveries do not support resolving


name conflicts. NDMP recoveries always
overwrite existing files. Relocate the
NDMP data to a different location to avoid
data loss.
NetWorker Network Data Management
Protocol (NDMP) User Guide describes
how to perform NDMP recoveries

8. Click OK to begin the recovery. The NetWorker server takes a few moments to
start the file recovery, depending on file size, network traffic, server load, and
tape positioning. When NetWorker starts to recover the files, messages appear
that enable you to monitor the progress of the recovery.
When the recovery is successful, a message similar to the following appears:
Received 1 file(S) from NSR server server Recover
completion time: Tue Jan 21 08:33:04 2009

Performing a save set recover from the command prompt


Use the recover command in non-interactive mode to perform a save set recover
data from a command prompt. Non-interactive mode enables you to recover a
directory or file immediately, without browsing the client file index for file information.
Use non-interactive mode to recover data when you know the path to recover and you
do not need to browse through the directory contents of the save set. NetWorker only
supports a local save set recover. You cannot perform directed recover by using a
save set recover.
Before you begin
The recover command requires specific privileges which are assigned based on
session authentication. NetWorker supports two types of session authentication.
Token-based authentication, which requires you to run the nsrlogin before you run
the command and authenticates the user that runs the command against entries that
are defined in the External Roles attribute of a User Group resource. Classic
authentication, which is based on user and host information and uses the user
attribute of a User Group resource to authenticate a user. Classic authentication does
not require an authentication token to run the command. For example, if you run the
command without first running nsrlogin, NetWorker assigns the privileges to the
user based on the entries that are specified in the Users attribute of the User Group
resource. When you use nsrlogin to log in as a NetWorker Authentication Service

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user, NetWorker assigns the privileges to the user based on the entries that are
specified in the External Roles attributes of the user Group resource. The NetWorker
Security Configuration Guide provides more information about privileges
Procedure
1. Connect to the target host with the root account on UNIX or the Administrator
on Windows.
2. Use the mminfo command to display information about the save set of the data
that you want to recover.
For example, type: mminfo -av -r
volume,savetime,client,ssid,cloneid,name
Output similar to the following appears:

Table 95 Save set information

volume date client ssid clone id name


backup.001 05/03/2015 bu_iddnwserve 3644194209 1362492833 C:\ddlib
r
clone.001 05/03/2015 bu_iddnwserve 3644194209 1362493448 C:\ddlib
r

The mminfo command provides you with information that you require to
recover the save set. For example, the name of the volume that contains the
save set and the date that the save set was created. NetWorker assigns each
backup and clone save set the same save set ID (SSID) and unique clone ID
(cloneid).
3. Ensure that the volume which contains the save set is available for a device in
the datazone.
4. Use the recover command to recover the data from the backup save set or
the clone save set.
Note: To perform concurrent recoveries from an advanced file type by
either using multiple -S options to identify multiple save sets, or starting
multiple recover commands.

l To recover the all the data from a backup save set, type the following
command:

recover -S ssid - i_recover_option

where:
n ssid is the SSID of the backup save set.
n - i_recover_option specifies how NetWorker handles a naming
conflict between a recovered file and an existing file.
– iN does not recover the file when a conflict occurs.
– iY overwrites the existing file when a conflict occurs.
– iR renames the file when a conflict occurs. The recover process
appends a .R to each recovered file name.
For example:

recover -S 3644194209 -iR

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l To recover the all the data from a clone save set, type the following
command:

recover -S ssid/cloneid

where:
n ssid is the SSID of the backup save set.
n clonied is the cloneid of the clone save set.
For example:
recover -S 3644194209/1362493448
Note: When you do not specify the cloneid of the save set, the recover
command recovers the data from the backup save set.
l To recover a single directory from the clone save set and relocate the data
to a new directory location, type the following command:

recover -S ssid/cloneid -d destination_dir original_dir

where:
n ssid is the SSID of the backup save set.
n cloneid is the cloneid of the clone save set.
n destination_dir is the location to which you want to recover the data.
n original_dir is the directory that is contained in the save set that you
want to recover.
For example, to recover the directory /var/adm on the backup save set to
the /usr/mnd directory, type the following command:
recover -S 3644194209/1362493448 -d /usr/mnd /var/adm
l To recover data that was encrypted with the current AES pass phrase, no
special action is required. However, to recover data that was encrypted with
an AES pass phrase that is different than the current pass phrase,start the
recover command specify the -p pass_phrase. To enter multiple pass
phrases with the -p option, type: recover -p pass_phrase1 -p
pass_phrase2 -p pass_phrase3.
NOTICE When an incorrect pass phrase or no pass phrase is entered,
encrypted data is not recovered. Instead, the file names are created
without data. However, if unencrypted data is also selected for
recovery, it is recovered.

Using the scanner program to recover data


You can use the scanner command to recover data from a volume by save set ID
(SSID) to the host that starts the program. Ensure that the operating system of the
NetWorker host that runs the scanner command is the same operating system as
the source client.
Before you begin
The scanner command requires specific privileges which are assigned based on
session authentication. NetWorker supports two types of session authentication.
Token-based authentication, which requires you to run the nsrlogin before you run
the command and authenticates the user that runs the command against entries that
are defined in the External Roles attribute of a User Group resource. Classic
authentication, which is based on user and host information and uses the user
attribute of a User Group resource to authenticate a user. Classic authentication does

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not require an authentication token to run the command. For example, if you run the
command without first running nsrlogin, NetWorker assigns the privileges to the
user based on the entries that are specified in the Users attribute of the User Group
resource. When you use nsrlogin to log in as a NetWorker Authentication Service
user, NetWorker assigns the privileges to the user based on the entries that are
specified in the External Roles attributes of the user Group resource. The NetWorker
Security Configuration Guide provides more information about privileges
About this task
NOTICE You cannot use the scanner command recover data from a NetWorker
Module, NDMP or DSA save set.
Procedure
1. Optionally, use the nsrlogin command to authenticate a user and generate a
token for the
Using nsrlogin for authentication and authorization provides more information.
2. Ensure the value in the Idle device timeout attribute of the device that
contains the volume is 0. Unmounting volumes automatically (idle device
timeout) on page 155 provides more information.
3. Use the mminfo program to query the media database for save set information.
For example:

mminfo -avq ssid=ssid -r


volume,client,name,ssid,mediafile,mediarec

wheressid is the save set ID associated with the data.

4. Use the save set information from the mminfo command to run the scanner
program:
l To recover all files in a save set on Windows, type:

scanner -v -Sssid -f mediafile -r mediarec device | path\uasm


-rv

where:
n ssid specifies the save set ID value that you obtained from the mminfo
output.
n mediafile specifies the starting file number of the save set that you
obtained from the mminfo output.
n mediarec specifies the starting file record number of the save set that
you obtained from the mminfo output.
n device is the name of the device that contains the volume. is the name of
the device the volume is loaded in, for example /dev/rmt0.1 or \
\.\Tape0
n path is the path on the NetWorker host that contains the uasm binary.
For example, on Windows:
C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\bin

Scanner command examples


Recovering a single file to a different location on Windows
To recover a single file in the save set on Windows to a different location, type:

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scanner -v -S ssid -f mediafile -r mediarec device | path\uasm -rv -m


source_dir=dest_dir filename

where:
l source_dir is the directory where the data resided during the backup.
l dest_dir is the directory where the data is relocated during the recovery.
l filename is the name of the file or directory to recover.
Recover a complete save set on UNIX
To recover all files in a save set on UNIX, type:

scanner -v -S ssid -f mediafile -r mediarec device -x path/uasm -rv

Recovering a single file to a different location on UNIX


To recover a single file in the save set on UNIX and to a different location, type:

scanner -v -S ssid -f mediafile device -x path/uasm -rv -m


source_dir=dest_dir filename

The UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about the scanner program.

VSS File Level Recovery


VSS File Level Recovery (FLR) provides the ability to browse, select and restore any
System State file from the backup of the volume where it resides. There are changes
to how Windows VSS-based backups and restores behave. The major changes include:
l System state files are now backed up as part of the volumes where they reside.
l All file system backups require that all system writers affected by the backed up
volumes be included to ensure the backups are VSS consistent. You can use the
command line flag VSS:*=off, to remove this VSS requirement.
l The Exclude file list specified by system state writers, and directives specified by
unsupported application writers continue to work and are excluded from file
system backups.

Recovering deduplication data


The NetWorker Data Domain Boost Integration Guide provides more information on how
to recover deduplication data.

vProxy recovery in NMC


You can use the Recovery wizard in NMC to perform image level recovery, which
allows you to recover full virtual machines and VMDKs. You can also use the Recovery
wizard to perform file-level restore from a primary or cloned backup on a Data Domain
device, but only as an administrator.
In NMC's NetWorker Administration window, click Recover. From the Recover
window, launch the Recovery wizard by selecting Recover > New.

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Entering management credentials for the Data Domain resource (instant


recovery and User mode file-level restore only)
Before you perform an instant recovery of a virtual machine or file-level restore (User
mode), ensure that you provide the management credentials for the Data Domain
resource. For instant recovery, these credentials are required when performing the
recovery using the NMC Recover wizard or the VM Backup and Recovery interface
in the vSphere Web Client.
Procedure
1. In the NMC Administration window, click Devices.
The Devices window displays.
2. In the expanded left navigation pane, select Data Domain Systems.
3. In the right details pane, right-click the Data Domain system, and then select
Properties.
The NSR Data Domain Properties window displays.
Figure 53 NSR Data Domain Properties

4. In the Access pane, type the management credentials.


a. In the Management host field, specify the hostname of the Data Domain
system that is used for management commands.
b. In the Management user field, specify the username for a Data Domain user
that has admin access. For example, sysadmin. The Management user should
have Data Domain administrator privileges.
c. In the Management password field, specify the password of the
management user.

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d. In the Management port field, specify the management port. By default, the
port is 3009.
Note: The NetWorker Data Domain Boost Integration Guide provides
information about the Cloud unit field and use of the Cloud tier device.

5. If required, in the Configuration pane, update the export path. It is


recommended that you leave this field blank, which sets the export path to the
default path. The short name of the NetWorker server is the default path.
If you do type a path in this field, ensure that the path has NFS permissions.
When you log in to the Data Domain resource, browse to the NFS section and
add the Mtree device path (the path to the NetWorker backup device) as a
valid NFS path.
6. To save the changes, click OK.

File-level restore as an Active Directory user


In order to perform a file-level restore as an Active Directory (AD) user in the NMC
NetWorker Administration window's Recovery wizard or the Dell EMC Data
Protection Restore Client, you need to register a tenant user and provide the FLR
AD user required permissions.
About this task
Note: The following steps include high level information for running
authc_config. More detailed steps might be required if configuring AD
authentication in the NetWorker environment. The NetWorker Security
Configuration Guide provides more information.
Procedure
1. Log in to your AD server, and make note of objects related to this user (such as
the Organizational Units (OU) and Groups in the Active Directory server) that
will be added as a tenant user of NetWorker. You can use any third party AD
viewer/browser to obtain the required objects and their properties.
For example,

a. Create an OU proxy inside the domain.


b. Inside the OU proxy, create a group named vmware and another OU user.
c. Inside the OU user, create a user named ADuser and make this user a
member of the group vmware.
d. If you plan to use the command line to register the AD user to NetWorker, as
described in step two below, make note of the values for the following
variables as you will require these values for the registration commands:
l config-name
l config-server-address
l config-domain
l config-user-dn
l config-user-dn-password
l config-user-object-class
l config-user-search-path

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l config-user-id-attr
l config-group-search-path
l config-group-name-attr
l config-group-object-class
l config-group-member-attr
l config-active-directory

e. If you plan to use the NetWorker Management Console to register the AD


user to NetWorker, also described in step two below, make note of the
following values as you will require these values for the registration:
l Domain
l Port number
l Provider Server name
l User DN
l Group Object Class
l Group Search Path
l Group Name Attribute
l Group Member Attribute
l User Object Class
l User Search Path
l User ID Attribute

2. Register the AD domain user to NetWorker either using the command line or the
NetWorker Management Console user interface.
If using the command line:

a. Create a tenant user on NetWorker by running the authc_config


command, as in the following:
authc_config -u administrator -e add-tenant -D tenant-
name=your tenant name -D tenant-alias your selected aliases -p
password

For example, to create a tenant user ADuser with the alias FLR, run
authc_config -u administrator -e add-tenant -D tenant-
name=ADuser -D tenant-alias FLR -p password

b. Obtain the tenant ID by running the authc_config command using the


find-tenant parameter. For example:
authc_config -u administrator -e find-tenant -D
tenantname=ADuser -p password

c. Register the AD domain user to NetWorker by running the authc_config


command using the add-config parameter and using the values obtained
in Step1d, as in the following:
authc_config -u administrator -e add-config -D config-tenant-
id=tenant ID number -D config-name=your tenant name -D config-
server-address=ldap IPv4 addressOU=proxy,DC=domain name,DC=com
-D config-domain=domain name -D config-user-
dn=CN=Aduser,OU=user,OU=proxy,DC=domain name,DC=com -D config-

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user-dn-password=password -D config-user-object-
class=inetOrgPerson -D config-user-search-path=OU=user -D
config-user-id-attr=cn -D config-group-search-path=OU=user -D
config-group-name-attr=cn -D config-group-object-class=group -
D config-group-member-attr=member -D config-active-directory=y
-p password

If using the NetWorker Management Console:

a. Click the Setup tab.


b. On the left pane of the Setup window, expand Users and Roles, right-click
External Authority and select New from the drop-down. The Add External
Authentication Authority dialog displays.
c. Provide a name for the external authority (for example, Aduser), select
Active Directory from the Server Type drop-down, and then fill in the
required details with the values obtained from Step1e.
d. Click OK.
3. In the NetWorker Management Console, click the Server tab.
4. On the Server window, select User Groups.
5. Add a user group (for example, ADuser group) with the following permissions:
l View Security Settings
l View Application Settings
l Remote Access All Clients
l Operate NetWorker
l Monitor NetWorker
l Operate Devices and Jukeboxes
l Recover Local Data
l Recover Remote Data
l Backup Local Data
6. Edit the new user to add the required AD user and AD group in the External
Roles field. For example, for a user named ADuser with the domain rideblr, add
the following in the External Roles field:
CN=Aduser,OU=user,OU=proxy,DC=rideblr,DC=com
CN=vmware,OU=proxy,DC=rideblr,DC=com

7. Log in to the Dell EMC Data Protection Restore Client as the AD user, in the
format <tenant>\<domain>\<userid>. For example, default\rideblr.com
\ADuser.

Results
You can now perform file-level restore as an Active Directory user.

Recovering a virtual machine using the NMC Recovery wizard


About this task
When you click Recover in NMC's NetWorker Administration window and select
Recover > New from the menu, the Recovery wizard launches. Virtual Machine
Recovery is the second recovery type displayed.

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Figure 54 Virtual machine recovery in the NMC Recovery wizard

After selecting the Virtual Machine Recovery type, you can perform recovery of
individual virtual machines, or (for revert and virtual machine recovery options)
recovery from multiple virtual machines.
Procedure
1. In the Select the Recovery Type page, select Virtual Machine Recovery, and
then select a vCenter server to recover from using the Source vCenter server
drop-down. Click Next.
2. In the Select the Virtual Machine to Recover page, enter the name of the
source virtual machine(s) to recover from, or perform a search for the virtual
machine. Additionally, you can use the tabs on this page to choose a single
virtual machine or multiple virtual machines from a selected backup, or browse
the source vCenter to determine the required virtual machine source. When you
locate and choose the desired virtual machine(s), click Next.

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Figure 55 Select the Virtual Machine to Recover

3. In the Select the Target Backups page, select the virtual machine backup(s)
you want to restore from the Available Backups pane. This pane lists both
primary backups and, if available, clone copies. If you selected recovery from
multiple virtual machines, you can switch between virtual machines to browse
each machine's available backups by using the Virtual Machine Name drop-
down. Click Next.

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Figure 56 Select the Target Backup (individual virtual machine)

Figure 57 Select the Target Backup (multiple virtual machines)

4. In the Select the Virtual Machine Recovery method page, select from one of
the available recovery options:
l Revert (or rollback) a virtual machine
l Instant Recovery of a virtual machine (direct restore from a Data Domain
device)
l Virtual Machine recovery (recovery to a new virtual machine)
l Virtual Disk recovery (recover VMDKs to an existing virtual machine)
l Emergency recovery (recovery to an ESX host)
l File Level recovery (recover files from VMDKs to a file system, or as a
download).
Figure 58 Select the Virtual Machine Recovery method

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Results
Subsequent wizard options change based on the recovery option selected, as
described in the following sections.

Revert (or rollback) a virtual machine backup


The first virtual machine recovery option available in the NMC Recovery wizard is to
revert, or rollback, a virtual machine backup. With a Revert a virtual machine backup
recovery, you use an existing virtual machine to rollback the VMDKs as a virtual
machine.
About this task
Note: When you revert a virtual machine, the current virtual machine is removed in
the process. You cannot use the Revert a Virtual Machine recovery option when
the ESXi has been removed from the vCenter and then added back to the
vCenter. In this case, use the Virtual Machine recovery option instead.
To complete the Recovery wizard with the reverting a virtual machine method,
perform the following.
Procedure
1. In the Select the Virtual Machine Recovery Method page:
a. Select Revert a Virtual Machine.
b. Click Next.
The Select Options to Revert a Virtual Machine page displays
2. In the Revert Type pane of the Select Options to Revert a Virtual Machine
page:
a. Select Revert both VM configuration and data to revert both the
configuration information (such as operating system, virtual machine size)
and data for a virtual machine. When you select this revert type, the Delete
existing disk on disk configuration mismatch option appears in the Revert
Options pane to allow you to overwrite an existing disk if a configuration
mismatch occurs.
b. Select Revert VM Data Only to revert only the virtual machine data without
changing the virtual machine configuration.
3. In the Revert Options pane of the Select Options to Revert a Virtual
Machine page, choose from the following options
a. Select Revert all disks on this virtual machine to rollback all VMDKs, or
select Revert one or more disks only and then select a specific disk drive to
rollback only that disk.
b. Select the Power on virtual machine checkbox to power on the virtual
machine after the restore.
c. Select Delete existing disk on disk configuration mismatch if you want to
be presented with the option of deleting the existing disk if a disk
configuration mismatch is detected. Note that this option only appears when
you select the Revert both VM configuration and data revert type in step
two.
d. Click Next.

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Note: If the virtual machine is currently powered on, a dialog displays


requesting confirmation to power off the virtual machine. Additionally, if a
change has occurred in the virtual machine configuration since the backup,
a warning message displays.
Figure 59 Choose Disks to Revert

Note: The entire VMDK will be rolled back unless you have CBT enabled, in
which case only the changed blocks will be moved.

4. In the Select Alternate Recovery Sources page:


a. Select the original backup or a clone copy if one is available.
b. If recovering from a clone that is not on a Data Domain device, or recovering
from a Data Domain Cloud Tier device, specify the DD Boost clone pool.
c. Click Next.

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Figure 60 Select Alternate Recovery Sources

5. In the Perform the Recovery page:


a. Specify a name for the recovery and check the summary at the bottom of
the page to ensure all the details are correct.
b. Click Run Recovery.
Results
The Check the Recovery Results page will display the duration of the recovery, and a
log file entry when the reversion is complete.

Instant Recovery of a virtual machine


The next virtual machine recovery option available in the NMC Recovery wizard is
instant recovery of a virtual machine backup. With instant recovery, the virtual
machine backup is read directly from the Data Domain device and the VMDKs will be
restored directly on a Data Domain device. You can perform one instant recovery
session at a time.
Before you begin
Before you begin, make note of the following:
l For the Data Domain resource, ensure that you provide the management
credentials and, if required, enter the export path appropriately.
l Ensure that the free space on the Data Domain system is equal to or greater than
the total disk size of the virtual machine being restored, as the restore does not
take into account the actual space required after deduplication occurs. If there is
insufficient disk space, an error appears indicating "Insufficient disk space on
datastore," and creation of the target virtual machine fails.
l Ensure that you have at least one proxy that is not restricted to a specific
datastore. For the vProxy, select Properties and then select Configuration, and
verify that datastores is left blank.
l Do not perform an instant recovery of virtual machines in resource pools and other
similar containers that are part of a currently running protection group.
About this task
To complete the Recovery wizard with the instant recovery method, perform the
following steps:

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Procedure
1. In the Select the Virtual Machine Recovery Method page:
a. Select Instant Recovery.
b. Click Next.
2. In the Configure the Instant Recovery Options page:
a. Select the location where you want to restore the virtual machine in the
vCenter environment.
This does not have to be the original location, and can also be on a different
vCenter server.

b. Ensure that you select the Power on virtual machine and Reconnect to
network options.
c. Click Next.
Figure 61 Configure the Instant Recovery

3. In the Select Alternate Recovery Sources page:


a. Select the original backup, or a clone copy if one is available.
b. If recovering from a clone that is not on a Data Domain device, or recovering
from a Data Domain Cloud Tier device, specify the DD Boost clone pool.
c. Click Next.
4. In the Perform the Recovery page:
a. Specify a name for the recovery.
b. Check the summary at the bottom of the page to ensure all the details are
correct.
c. Click Run Recovery.
Results
The Check the Recovery Results page will display the duration of the recovery, and a
log file entry when the instant recovery is complete. When the instant recovery is
complete and ready for use, you can then storage vMotion the virtual machine to a
datastore, or perform a file level recovery to the target file system, and then stop the
completed instant recovery to free up those resources.
To stop an instant recovery in NMC:

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1. Navigate to the Recover window.


2. Right-click the entry for the recovery within the Recover sessions pane.
3. Select Stop from the drop-down.
Note: To optimize use of NetWorker and Data Domain resources, it is strongly
recommended that you stop the instant recovery session once you satisfy your
recovery objectives.

Virtual machine recovery


The next virtual machine recovery option available in the NMC Recovery wizard is to
perform a recovery of a virtual machine backed up with the vProxy Appliance to a new
virtual machine.
About this task
Note: Recoveries of virtual machines backed up with the VMware Backup
Appliance should still be performed with the EMC Backup and Recovery user
interface in the vSphere Web Client.
To complete the Recovery wizard with the virtual machine recovery method, perform
the following.
Procedure
1. In the Select the Virtual Machine Recovery Method page:
a. Select Virtual Machine Recovery.
b. Click Next.
2. In the Configure the Virtual Machine Recovery page, select the location
where you want to restore the virtual machine in the vCenter environment
a. In the Destination pane, select the option to recover the new virtual
machine to the original location, or browse to select a new location on the
same vCenter server or a different vCenter server.
b. In the Recovery Options pane, choose a vProxy for the virtual machine
recovery from the Select vProxy drop-down, specify the name of the new
virtual machine, and then optionally select the virtual machine file datastore
and folder where you want to recover the files. You can recover the virtual
machine to a Blue folder by using the VM Folder drop-down, as shown in the
following figure. The folder can be the default folder, or a new folder.

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Figure 62 Configure the virtual machine recovery

If you have a single disks, or multiple disks with multiple datastores, you can
perform the following:
l Choose to recover a collection of all the available hard drives.
l Select a different datastore than the original datastore.
l Select a different datatore for each disk you want to recover.
l Specify the datastore where the virtual machine configuration files reside.
Optionally, select the Power on virtual machine and Reconnect to network
options to power on and reconnect after the recovery, and then click Next.

3. In the Select Alternate Recovery Sources page:


a. Select the original virtual machine backup, or a clone copy if one is available.
b. If recovering from a clone that is not on a Data Domain device, or recovering
from a Data Domain Cloud Tier device, specify the staging pool.
c. Click Next.
Note: If selecting a clone from Select Alternate Recovery Sources,
additionally review the "Selecting alternate recovery sources" section.

4. In the Perform the Recovery page:


a. Specify a name for the recovery and check the summary at the bottom of
the page to ensure all the details are correct.
b. Click Run Recovery.

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Results
The Check the Recovery Results page will display the duration of the recovery, and a
log file entry when the virtual machine recovery is complete.

Virtual Disk Recovery


The next virtual machine recovery option available in the NMC Recovery wizard is to
perform a virtual disk, or VMDK, recovery. With VMDK recovery, the disks from the
virtual machine backup are recovered to an existing virtual machine.
About this task
To complete the Recovery wizard with the virtual disk recovery method, perform the
following.
Procedure
1. In the Select the Virtual Machine Recovery Method page:
a. Select Virtual Disk Recovery.
b. Click Next.
2. In the Configure the Virtual Disk Recovery page:
a. Select the virtual machine where you want to restore the VMDKs. This can
be the original virtual machine, or another existing virtual machine.
b. Select the desired disks from the Recovery Data pane, and select a
datastore.
c. Click Next.
Figure 63 Configure the Virtual Disk Recovery

3. In the Select Alternate Recovery Sources page:


a. Select the original virtual disk backup, or a clone copy if one is available.
b. If recovering from a clone that is not on a Data Domain device, or recovering
from a Data Domain Cloud Tier device, specify the staging pool.

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c. Click Next.
4. In the Perform the Recovery page:
a. Specify a name for the recovery.
b. Check the summary at the bottom of the page to ensure all the details are
correct.
c. Click Run Recovery.
Results
The Check the Recovery Results page will display the duration of the recovery, and a
log file entry when the disk recovery is complete.
Note: When you start a VMDK recovery, the virtual machine will be powered off
automatically without issuing a warning message.

Emergency Recovery
The next virtual machine recovery option available in the NMC Recovery wizard is an
Emergency Recovery. An Emergency Recovery is required when you need to restore
the virtual machine to an ESXi host.
Before you begin
Emergency Recovery requires a vProxy set up on the ESXi host prior to running the
recovery.
Additionally, ensure that you disconnect the ESXi host from the vCenter server.
About this task
Note: During an Emergency Recovery, the vProxy gets associated with the ESXi
host and is unavailable for other operations on the vCenter server. Wait until the
recovery completes before initiating any other operations on the vProxy.
To complete the Recovery wizard with the Emergency Recovery method, perform the
following:
Procedure
1. In the Select the Virtual Machine Recovery Method page:
a. Select Emergency Recovery.
b. Click Next.
2. In the Configure the Emergency Recovery page:
a. Specify the target ESXi server in the vCenter environment.
b. Click Connect.

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Figure 64 Configure the Emergency Recovery

The Proxy Selection and Recovery Data panes get populated with the ESXi
server details.
3. In the Proxy Selection pane, if a proxy is not discovered, add a new proxy
which is deployed in vCenter but not added to NetWorker.
4. For the disks in the Recovery Data pane:
a. Select a datastore.
b. Optionally, select the Power on virtual machine and Reconnect to
network options.
c. Click Next.
5. In the Select Alternate Recovery Sources page:
a. Select the original disk backup, or a clone copy if one is available.
b. If recovering from a clone that is not on a Data Domain device, or recovering
from a Data Domain Cloud Tier device, specify the staging pool.
6. In the Perform the Recovery page:
a. Specify a name for the recovery and check the summary at the bottom of
the page to ensure all the details are correct.
b. Click Run Recovery.
Results
The Check the Recovery Results page will display a progress bar with the duration of
the recovery, and a log file entry when the Emergency Recovery is complete.
Note: The progress bar may not update correctly when you perform an
Emergency Recovery directly to the ESXi host.

File Level recovery (Admin mode only)


The final virtual machine recovery option available in the NMC Recovery wizard is File
Level recovery. With file level recovery, you can recover individual files from backups

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of virtual machines or VMDKs to a primary or secondary vCenter server, and for


application-consistent backups, you can also restore the transaction log from Data
Domain to the SQL database.
Before you begin
NetWorker only supports file level recovery operations from a primary or cloned
backup if the save set is on a Data Domain device. If a cloned backup does not exist on
the Data Domain device, you must manually clone a save set from the tape device to
Data Domain before launching the Recovery wizard.
For the Data Domain resource, ensure that you provide the management credentials
and, if required, type the export path appropriately. The section Entering management
credentials for the Data Domain resource (instant recovery and User mode file-level
restore only) provides detailed steps.
Additionally, if recovering to a virtual machine on a secondary vCenter, ensure that a
vProxy appliance has been deployed on the secondary vCenter server and configured
with the NetWorker server.
About this task
File level recovery in the NMC Recovery wizard can only be performed by an
administrator.
Note: For file-level recovery of high-density file systems (more than few hundred
files/folders), it is recommended to use either the NetWorker Management Web
UI or the Dell EMC Data Protection Restore Client (User or Admin mode, as
applicable) instead of the NMC Recovery wizard.
To complete the Recovery wizard with the file level recovery method, perform the
following:
Procedure
1. In the Select the Virtual Machine Recovery Method page:
a. Select File Level recovery.
b. Click Next.
2. In the Select Alternate Recovery Sources page:
a. Select the primary backup to recover from, or select the Recover the
Virtual machine from a clone on a Data Domain device option.
b. Select the clone copy that you want to recover files from.
c. Click Next.
Note: If selecting a clone from Select Alternate Recovery Sources,
additionally review the section "Selecting alternate recovery sources".

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Figure 65 Select Alternate Recovery Sources for file level recovery

3. In the Select the target Virtual Machine page:


a. Select the virtual machine that you want to recover the files to.
By default, the virtual machine that you selected for recovery in the Select
the Virtual Machine to Recover page is displayed.

b. To recover to another virtual machine in the vCenter, or recover to a virtual


machine on a secondary vCenter, select Browse the vCenter server to
select a Virtual Machine to recover to, and choose a vCenter from the
drop-down to browse that vCenter's tree and select a different virtual
machine.
c. Click Next.
Note: Cross-platform recovery, for example from a Windows to a Linux
virtual machine, is not supported.

4. In the Mount The Saveset page:


a. Provide the username and password of the virtual machine where the files
will be restored to.
b. Click Start Mount.
c. If performing file level recovery as a domain user, provide the AD user details
—no operating system or local account is required if you have configured
the AD/domain user.

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Figure 66 Mount the save set for file level recovery

When the Mount Results pane shows that the mount has succeeded, click
Next.
Note: This user should have privileges to install the FLR Agent, which is
required to perform file level recovery. For Linux virtual machines, this
requires the root user account or an equivalent sudo local user account, as
described in the section "FLR Agent installation on Linux platforms" of FLR
Agent requirements.

5. In the Select the Files and Folders to Recover page:


a. Browse through the folder structure to select the files you want to recover.
b. Click Next.

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Figure 67 Select the files and folders to recover

6. In the Select the Restore Location page:


a. Select the folder that you want to recover the files to, or create a folder.
b. Click Next.
Note: NetWorker does not currently support creating folders with spaces in
the folder name.

7. In the Perform the Recovery page:


a. Specify a name for the recovery.
b. To ensure all the details are correct, check the summary at the bottom of
the page
c. Click Run Recovery.

Results
The Check the Recovery Results page displays the duration of the recovery, and a
log file entry when the file level recovery is complete.

Selecting alternate recovery sources in the NMC Recovery wizard


The NMC Recovery wizard contains a step for each virtual machine recovery method
where you can select an alternate source to recover from, for example, a clone copy
on a Data Domain or non-Data Domain device. If the primary source is present, it is
recommended that you recover from the primary source. However, if both the primary
source and clone copies are present and enabled and you want to recover from a clone
copy, perform the following.
Procedure
1. In the Select Alternative Recovery Sources page, select the clone you want to
recover from, either a clone on a Data Domain device or non-Data Domain
device.

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Additionally, make note of the name indicated in the Volume column for all of
the volumes you do not want to recover from, as you will require this
information in steps 5 and 6.
2. Click Close to display the Save Progress dialog, and then specify a name for
the recover and click Save to save your progress.
3. In the NMC Administration window, click Devices to display the Devices
window.
4. In the left navigation pane, select Devices. The list of devices displays in the
right pane.
5. For each volume you do not want to recover from that you made note of in step
1, locate the corresponding device, and make note of that device name.
6. For each device you identify as corresponding with those volumes, right-click
the device and select Unmount from the drop-down, and then also select
Disable from the drop-down.
Note: Ensure that no backups are currently running to these devices prior
to unmounting.

7. In the NMC Administration window, click Recover to display the Recover


window, and locate the saved recovery
8. Right-click the saved recovery and select Open Recover.
The Recovery wizard re-opens on the Select Alternative Recovery Sources
page.
9. In the Recovery Source pane of the Select Alternative Recovery Sources
page, select either Recover the virtual machine from a clone on a Data
Domain device, or Recover the virtual machine from a clone on a non-Data
Domain device. Click Next.
Note: If you want to recover from a clone on a non-Data Domain device,
manually change the staging pool to a different pool, and ensure that your
selected pool does not already contain copies for this backup. If the primary
source is present and you select a clone to recover from using the same
staging pool that contains the existing copy, the recovery may become
unresponsive.

10. In the Perform the Recovery page, specify a name for the recovery and check
the summary at the bottom of the page to ensure all the details are correct.
Click Run Recovery.
The Check the Recovery Results page will display the duration of the
recovery, and a log file entry when the recovery is complete.
11. In the NMC Administration window, click Devices to return to the Devices
window, and in the left navigation pane, select Devices to display the list of
devices in the right pane.
12. For each device that you unmounted and disabled in step 6, right-click the
device and select Enable from the drop-down, and then select Mount from the
drop-down.

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Monitoring and verifying Virtual Machine recoveries


After selecting Run Recovery to complete the Recovery wizard, there are multiple
ways you can monitor the progress of the virtual machine recovery, and then verify
when the recovery is complete.
NMC Recover and Monitoring windows
To monitor the progress of the virtual machine recovery, use the Recover sessions
pane in the Monitoring window, or the Currently Running pane of the Recover
window.
To verify that the virtual machine recovery is complete, use the Configured Recovers
pane in the Recover window.
Check the Recovery results in the NMC Recovery wizard
The final step of the Recovery wizard also allows you to check the recovery results.
Upon completion of the virtual machine recovery, an entry for the log file appears in
the Recovery log pane. Click Export log to save and view the log file.
Recovery configuration information storage
When you create a recover configuration by using the Recovery wizard, NetWorker
saves the configuration information in an NSR recover resource in the resource
database of the NetWorker server. NetWorker uses the information in the NSR
recover resource to perform the recover job operation.
When a recover job operation starts, NetWorker stores:
l Details about the job in the nsrjobsd database.
l Output sent to stderr and stdout in a recover log file. NetWorker creates one log
file for each recover job.
NOTICE NetWorker removes the recover log file and the job information from
the job database based on value of the Jobsdb retention in hours attribute in
the properties of the NetWorker server resource. The default jobsdb retention
is 72 hours.

NMC function to collect vProxy log bundle information


NetWorker 18.x features an NMC function to collect vProxy log bundle information
from a virtual machine. To collect log bundle information, perform the following steps
in NMC:
1. From NMC's NetWorker Administration, open the Devices window.
2. From the left pane, select VMware Proxies to display the virtual machine proxy
devices.
3. Right-click the virtual machine that you want to collect log bundle information
from, and then from the menu, click Log Bundle.
4. (Optional) Collect the recycled logs from the pop-up window selection.
Note: Since the temporary log bundle download occurs on the NetWorker server,
ensure that there is sufficient space on the drive where the Networker server is
installed.
Also, note that NMC cannot collect the log bundle when accessed from a remote
machine that cannot communicate with vProxy

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Recovering file system data on Windows


This section provides detailed information about how to recover Windows data
without using BMR.

Recovering Windows volume mount points


A volume mount point (or mount point) is a disk volume that is grafted into the
namespace of a host disk volume. This allows multiple disk volumes to be linked into a
single directory tree, similar to the way DFS links network shares into a unified
structure.
Assigning a drive letter to a mount point is optional. Many disk volumes can be linked
into a single directory tree, with a single drive letter assigned to the root of the host
volume.

Recovering mount points


Perform separate recovery operations to recover the mount point and the mounted
volume’s data.
About this task
NOTICE The NetWorker Save Set Recovery feature does not support recovery of
mount points. To recover mount points and their data, use these special
procedures.
Procedure
1. Manually create the mountpoint, if it does not exist already.
2. Start the NetWorker User program and recover the data under the mount point.
Using the NetWorker User program on page 545 provides more information
about performing data recoveries.

Recovering nested mount points


Procedure
1. When the mount points do not already exist, manually create the top-level
mount point, then work down the hierarchy and create each successive mount
point.
2. Start the NetWorker User program and recover the data under the mount
points.

Recovering Windows DHCP and WINS databases


Use the following procedures to perform an offline recovery of the DHCP and WINS
databases.
NOTICE When you recover from a save set ALL backup, the recovery operation
automatically recovers the DHCP and WINS, and these procedures are not
required.

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Recover a DHCP database


Procedure
1. Use the NetWorker User program to recover the %SystemRoot%
\System32\dhcp directory.
2. Use the Microsoft DHCP administrative tools to restore the DHCP database.
The Microsoft documentation provides detailed instructions about Microsoft
DHCP administrative tools.

Recovering a WINS database


About this task
NOTICE Microsoft documentation describes how to use the Microsoft WINS
administrative tools to recover the databases.
Procedure
1. Use the NetWorker User program to recover the backup configured in the
WINS backup procedure. DHCP and WINS databases on page 406 provides
more information.
2. Use Microsoft WINS administrative tools to restore the WINS database.

Recovering DFS
Review this section for information about how to recover DFS.

DFS topology information


Domain-based DFS topology information is backed up as part of AD, which is a
component of the WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save set on domain controllers.
Registry-based DFS topology information is backed up as part of the Windows
registry, which is a component of the DFS host server’s WINDOWS ROLES AND
FEATURES save set.

Restoring a DFS
About this task
Restore DFSR through the WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save set.
Procedure
1. Restore the DFS topology information:
l To restore a domain-based system, restore the WINDOWS ROLES AND
FEATURES save sets on the domain controller.
2. On the DFS host server:
a. Restore the DFS root.
Note: You cannot restore individual DFS links. If the DFS root has lost a
link, restore the entire DFS root in which that link resided.

b. If required, restore any local DFS destination directories.


3. If required, restore the remote DFS destination directories.

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Authoritative restores of DFS Replication writers


You must perform authoritative restores of the DFS Replication writers from the
command line. Restores from the NetWorker User program GUI are not authoritative.
To perform an authoritative restore of the DFS Replication writer, use the -U option
with the recover command.
The following examples assume that you have two DFSR shares, E:\Share1 and
E:\Share2.
l To restore all the DFSR shares (two shares in this example), type the following
command:

recover -s server -U -N "WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES:\DFS


Replication service writer"
l To restore just one DFSR share (Share1 in this example), type the following
command:

recover -s server -U -N "WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES:\DFS


Replication service writer:Share1"

Non-authoritative DFS Replication writer granular recovery


Windows Distributed File System Replication (DFSR) granular recovery is supported
on Windows 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2,
Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019.
DFSR Shared Directories supports granular DFSR folder and file recoveries on
computers that run Windows 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012 and later operating
systems. You do not have to recover the entire WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES
save sets to restore DFSR shared directories. If you perform a file level non-VSS
granular recovery, then the recovered file is treated as new version of the file by DFS.
You must use volume backup to correctly back up a DFSR namespace. Also,
namespaces are skipped when specifying the ALL save set. You must back up
namespaces directly by specifying the path of the namespaces as separate save sets
in the Save Set attribute.
For recovery of namespace data, use the NetWorker User program and select
individual files or folders of the NetWorker Client resource.

Recovering data on OS-X clients


Use the recover command or the NetWorker Recover application to recover files on
a OS-X host.

Recovering files and directories from the command prompt


Use the recover command to recover individual files and directories from the
command prompt on an OS-X client.
About this task
The UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about the recover command.
Procedure
1. From the Mac OS-X Terminal application, type:

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$ recover -s NetWorker_server

Note: If you do not specify the -s NetWorker_server option, the save


command contacts the NetWorker server that is defined in the /nsr/res/
servers file.

2. At the recover prompt:


a. To browse the files and directories, use common UNIX shell commands such
as cd and ls.
b. To specify the files and directories that you want to recover, use the add
command.
For example:

recover> add directory_name

c. Optionally, to automatically overwrite existing files, use the force option at


the recover prompt.
d. To start the recovery operation, type recover:

recover> recover

NOTICE Do not recover any OS-X operating system start files. For
example, do not recover the OS-X operating system kernel, /
mach_kernel.

Recovering files and directories by using the NetWorker Recover GUI


Use the NetWorker Recover application to recover data from a NetWorker server.

Connecting to the NetWorker server


Perform the following steps on the OS-X client.
Procedure
1. Start the NetWorker Recover application.
2. Use NMC to connect to the NetWorker server.
l When you start the NetWorker Recover GUI for the first time, the Connect
to Server dialog appears. Specify the NetWorker server that contains the
backup data for the client:
n In the Available Servers field, select the NetWorker server, and click
Connect.
The Available Servers field displays a list of host names that appear in
the /nsr/res/servers file on the Mac client. To query the network
for other NetWorker servers, click Update.
n In the Server Address field, specify the hostname or IP address of the
NetWorker server, and click Connect.
The following figure shows the Connect to Server dialog box.

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Results
Figure 68 Connect to Server

l When you close the NetWorker Recover GUI, subsequent recover operations will
connect to the last NetWorker server selected, by default. To change the
NetWorker server, perform one of the following steps:
n In the SERVERS section on the side bar, select the NetWorker server, then
click Connect.
n On the Go menu, select Connect to Server. The Connect to Server dialog box
appears.

After you successfully connect to a NetWorker server, the NetWorker Recover


window appears.

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Figure 69 NetWorker Recover window

Changing the source NetWorker Client


After you connect to the NetWorker server, the browse view displays a list of files and
folders that you can recover from the last local host backup.
About this task
NetWorker Recover provides you with the ability to recover of files from a host that is
not the local host. Directed recoveries on page 540 provides detailed information
about directed recovery requirements.
To change the source host, perform one of the following actions:
l From the Go menu, select Browse Client. A list of clients for the current
NetWorker server appear in a drop down. To establish a browse session with a new
host, select the source host from the drop down.
l On the side bar, in the SERVERS section, select the NetWorker server. The
browse view displays a list of clients. To establish a browse session with a new
host, double-click the source host. The following figure provides an example of
browse session window after you select a NetWorker server from the SERVERS
section.

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Figure 70 List of clients available for a NetWorker server

Note: The Clients filter bar, located above the list of client names, enables you to
filer the client list by operating system. For example, select All to show all clients
of the NetWorker server, or select OS-X Clients to display OS-X hosts.

Changing the browse time


By default, the browser view displays files and directories from the last backup. To
browse or recover files from an earlier backup, use one of the following methods to
change the browse time:
About this task
l On the tool bar, select Browse Time. The Browse Time view appears, which
displays the current browse time. Use the controls to specify a new date and time.
l From the Go menu, select Browse Time. Select one of the preconfigured options
from the drop down. To use a calendar and clock to choose the date and time,
select Other.

Selecting objects to recover and recovering the data


The NetWorker Recover feature support the ability to perform a browsable recovery
or a save set recovery.
Procedure
1. Display a list of file system objects in the browser view.
l To perform a browsable recovery, on the side bar in the Devices section,
select a file system. NetWorker Recover queries the client file index and
displays the objects that you can recover.
Note: To show hidden files, from the View menu, select Show Hidden
Files.
l To perform a save set recover, on the side bar in the SAVE SETS section,
select a save set. NetWorker Recover queries the media database and
displays each instance of the save set, including cloned save sets.

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Note: The Save Sets filter bar, located above the list of save sets
enables you to filer the save set list by save set type. For example, to
show all the original save set instance, select Save Sets s or to display
cloned save set instances, select Cloned Save Sets.
2. To search browser view for the files you want to recover:
a. Type the text string in the Search field in the upper right of the NetWorker
Recover window.
b. Use the Search Scope bar to narrow the scope of the search result. The
following figure displays some of the search criteria you can use.
Figure 71 Search browse view

When you select an object in the Search Result view, NetWorker Recovery displays
the path to the object in the Status bar at the bottom of the browser view.

3. To display information about an object, right-click the object, and select Get
Info.
4. To mark objects in the browser view for recovery, select the checkbox next to
each object that you want to recover. You can only mark one save set or clone
instance at a time.
NetWorker Recover adds each item that you mark to the RECOVERY SETS
section on the side bar. A number appears next to each recovery set in the
sidebar, which represents the total number of items that are selected for
recovery.

5. To view or select different versions of a marked file, perform the following


steps:
a. Right-click the file and select File Versions. The Versions side bar appears.
The following figure provides an example of the Versions side bar.

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Figure 72 Versions side bar

b. To recover a specific version of a file, perform one of the following actions:


l Drag and drop the file from the Versions side bar to the browser view.
l Drag the file to a folder for recovery.
l Right-click the file to select Mark for recovery.

6. To review a summary list of the marked files, in the RECOVERY SETS section
on the side bar, perform one of the following actions:
l Select Files to display a list of objects that you marked for a browsable
recovery.
l Select Save Sets to display a list of objects that you marked for a save set
recovery.
The Recover Files browse view displays a list of marked files and the list of
volumes that the recovery operation requires.
7. To view the status of the required volumes, click Volume Status. Ensure that
the status of the required volume indicates online, then close the dialog box.
8. To start the recover operation, click the Recover button in the toolbar. The
Recover window appears.
9. In the Recover window, select the recovery options.
l To recover the objects to a directory that differs from the original location,
perform one of the following actions:
n In the Relocate files to field, type the path on the destination host to
recover the data.
n Click Browse and select the target directory.
l Select a conflict resolution option:
n Rename the recovered file— By default, the recover operation appends a
tilde (~) to the beginning of the name of the recovered file ~file_name.
When a file named ~file_name already exists, the recovered file is
renamed ~00_file_name, and so forth, to ~99_file_name. When this fails,
the recover process does not automatically rename the file and prompts
the user is to specify a name for the file.
n Discard recovered file— Discards the recovered file and keeps the
existing file.
n Replace local file— Replaces the file on the file system with the
recovered version.

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n Prompt me for an action— Each time the recovery operation encounters


a file or folder with the same name in the destination location, the
recovery operation prompts you to select a conflict resolution method.
l To recover the files to a different host, select the hostname from the Direct
recover to drop down.
l Click OK. The recover status dialog box appears. At any time during the
recovery, you can click the Stop button to cancel the operation.
10. To monitor the recovery process, on the Recover progress, select Monitor
Server.
The NetWorker Monitor dialog box appears with the following tabs:

l Info— Displays general server information including name, IP, OS type,


NetWorker version, Save totals, and Recover totals.
l Messages— Displays server messages that are logged during the recovery,
for example, errors and warnings.
l Devices— Displays the status for all connected devices.
l Sessions— Displays Save sessions, Recover sessions, and Browse sessions.
l Settings— Allows you to adjust the polling interval for server updates.
11. To review the recover log, after the recovery operation completes, select
Recover Log. The Console application appears and displays the contents of the
~/Library/Logs/recover.log file.

Recovering client files on a different NetWorker server


You can use a NetWorker server, which differs from the original NetWorker server to
recover data for a client.
Before you begin
Determine the pool names that were used to write the client data to the media on the
original NetWorker server.
About this task
To use a different NetWorker server to recover client data, you must perform the
following tasks on the NetWorker server:
l Create a Client resource with the same client ID that the original NetWorker server
associated with the client name.
l Create each Pool resource that was used to write the client data to a volume.
l Use the scanner command to repopulate the media database and client file
indexes with save set information for the client.
Procedure
1. Determine the Client ID value of the NetWorker client on the original server:
a. On the Administration window, click Protection.
b. In the left pane, click Clients.
c. In the right pane, right-click the client, and then select Properties.
d. On the Globals (1 of 2) tab, make note of the value in Client ID attribute,
then click Cancel to close the Properties window.

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2. On the new NetWorker server, create a client:


a. In the Name attribute, type a name for the client.
You can use the same name that was used on the original server, but you
cannot use a name that exists for the new server. When a client with the
same name exists on the new server, use this format to specify the client
name:
~hostname-#
where hostname is the hostname of the client.
For example, if the client’s hostname is jupiter, and a client named jupiter
already exists on the new server, type:
~jupiter-1

3. On the new NetWorker server, create each Pool resource that was used to
write the client data on the original NetWorker server.
Note: Ensure that you create each Pool resource with the same name that
you used on the original NetWorker server.

4. Use the scanner command to import the save set information into the new
NetWorker server.
l To import the save set information into the client file index and media
database entries, type the following command:

scanner -i -c client_name device_name

where client_name is the name of the client that appears on the original
NetWorker server.
l To import the save set information into the media database only, type the
following command: scanner -m -c client_name device_name
where client_name is the name of the client that appears on the original
NetWorker server.
NOTICE When you use the scanner -i or scanner -m to import data
before you configure the Client resource on the new server:
l Only the media database contains the client ID and save set information
for the imported save sets.
l If the same hostname already exists on the NetWorker server,
NetWorker will not use the original hostname to store the save set
information because the client ID is different. NetWorker associates the
save set information with a hostname in the format clientname-#.
l You must create a Client resource with the name clientname-# and
specify the client ID that you recorded from the original NetWorker
server.
l Optionally, after you create the new Client resource, run the scanner
-i command to store the save set information into the client file index.
When you use the scanner command, specify the client name as it
appears on the original NetWorker server.

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Recovering as NMC User with Non-Admin Privileges


NMC user performs recovery operation without any admin or security privileges.
Recovery operation is performed with the following privileges:
l Recover remote data
l Recover local data
The NMC user performing the recovery through NMC, REST API and NWUI, does not
need to be granted Application administrator or Security administrator privileges. The
NMC non-admin user cannot delete the existing recovery tasks, however they can
reuse the same recovery task to perform the recovery operation without admin/semi
admin privileges. The NMC non-admin user cannot delete or add resources but they
can use existing resources. The following are the applications that are supported for
recovery operation as non-admin NMC user:
l Recovery through NMC
n Filesystem
n Oracle
n DB2
n MYSQL
n Lotus
n SYB (Skybase)
n SAPO (SAP-Oracle)
n VMware
l Recovery through REST API
n Filesystem
n VMware
l Recovery through NMUI
n VMware
Exception: As a non-admin NMC user, user cannot add or delete any resources.
Therefore the following recovery operation does not work:
l Creating new remote recovery job
l VMware emergency recovery

Preparing the NMC Sever for Recovery


The following sections outline how to prepare the NMC server to take recovery of the
data to the original host or a different host, from a point-in-time backup or the last

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backup time, through NMC, NWUI, REST-API with only recovery privileges to NMC
user.

Creating an NMC Group for Recovery


Use the NMC GUI to create NMC user group resources:
Procedure
1. Connect to the NMC server with a NetWorker Authentication Service
administrator account.
2. Click Setup.
The Users and Roles window appears.
3. In the left navigation pane, select Users and Roles > Groups .
4. In the Groups window, right-click the Groups, and then select New.
The Create Group window appears.
5. In the Name attribute, type a name for the NMC user group.
Note: You cannot modify the name of an existing NMC group.

6. Click OK.

Creating an NMC User with recovery privileges


Use the NMC GUI to create NMC user resources.
About this task
Perform the following steps to create an NMC user with recovery privileges:
Procedure
1. Connect to the NMC server with a NetWorker Authentication Service
administrator account.
2. Click Setup.
The Users and Roles window appears.
3. In the left navigation pane, select Users and Roles > Groups .
4. In the Users window, right click the Users, and then select New.
The Create User window appears.
5. In the User Name attribute, type a name for the user.
Note: You cannot modify the name of an existing user.

6. In the Groups attribute, select the group created for recovery.


7. Provide password.
8. Click OK.

Note: Perform recovery operation as NMC user through NMC GUI, REST API, and
NWUI.

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Creating a NetWorker User Group for recovery


Use the NMC GUI to create user group resources.
About this task
Perform the following steps to create a NetWorker user group for recovery:
Procedure
1. Connect to the NMC server with the NetWorker Authentication Service
administrator account.
2. Click Enterprise.
3. Right-click the NetWorker server and select Launch Application.
4. On the NetWorker Administration window, select Servers.
5. In the left navigation pane, select User Groups.
6. In the User Groups window, right-click and then select New.
The Create User Group window appears.
7. In the Name attribute, type a name for the user group.
Note: You can not modify the name of an existing user.

8. In the External Roles attribute, specify the users and groups.


9. In the Privileges attribute, select the following privileges to assign to the user
group:
l Recover remote data
l Recover local data
l Monitor NetWorker
Note: Privilege Monitor NetWorker is basic for NMC user.

10. Provide the password and click OK.

Recover the NMC Server database


The NMC Server database contains management data such as report information. You
can recover the NMC Server databases to the original NMC host or to a new NMC
host.
Before you can perform a NMC Server database recovery, you must have an NMC
Server database backup.
An NMC backup contains the following components:
l NMC database files
l NMC database credential file (gstd_db.conf)
l NMC lockbox files
l Legacy authentication configuration files
The "NMC Server management" chapter provides more information about NMC
Server database backups.

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Prepare for an NMC Server recovery


Before you recover an NMC Server, review the following information.
l If required, install the operating system on the target NMC Server.
Note: To recover an NMC Server from one host to another, both hosts must
run on the same operating system.
l If required, install the NetWorker and NMC Server software on the target host.
When you are prompted to specify the NetWorker Authentication Service host,
specify the NetWorker Authentication Service host that was used by the source
NMC Server.
l If you use a License Manager server, install and configure the License Manager
software first. If you use the License Manager software and the License Manager
server moves to a new host, specify the new License Manager hostname in the
Console window.
l By default, the recover process overwrites existing NMC files. To recover to the
original location, stop the NMC services by typing the following command from a
prompt:
On Windows:
net stop gstd
On Linux:
/etc/init.d gst stop

Recovering the NMC Server


Perform the following steps to recover the NMC Server to the original host or a
different host, from a point-in-time backup or the last backup time.
Procedure
1. Optional, to recover from an earlier backup, determine the nsavetime of the
save set.
For example, on the NetWorker Server, type the following command:

mminfo -avot -q client=NMC_Server,level=full -r


client,name,savetime,nsavetime

where NMC_Server is the hostname of the NMC Server.


Output similar to the following appears:
On Windows:

client name date save time


bu-iddnwserver C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\Management
\nmcdb_stage\pgdata 13/03/2017 1489431765

On Linux:

client name date save time


bu-iddnwserver /nsr/nmc/nmcdb_stage 13/03/2017 1489431765

The nsavetime value appears in the last column.

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2. On a target Linux NetWorker Authentication Service, set the


LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable to include the postgres library path.
For example:

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=NMC_Installation_dir/postgres/lib

where NMC_installation_path is /opt/lgtnmc by default.

3. Change the directory to the NMC bin directory:


On Windows the bin directory is :
C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\Management\GST\bin
On Linux the bin directory is:
/opt/lgtonmc
4. Follow step 1-9 of Moving the NMC Server topic of NetWorker Administration
Guide.
5. On the target NetWorker Authentication Service, restore the NetWorker
Authentication Service backup by typing the following command:

recoverpsm -s NetWorker_server -c source_NMC_server /nsr/nmc/


nmcdb_stage
or
recoverpsm -f -s NetWorker_server -c source_NMC_server -p
AES_Passphrase staging_dir -d dir_name

Note: If you had set datazone pass phrase during backup, then -p
AES_Passphrase is required.
where:
l -f instructs the recovery operation to delete the database files that currently
exist in the database directory. Do not use this option if you want to restore
the database files to a different location.
l NetWorker_server specifies the name of the NetWorker Server.
l source_NMC_server specifies the name of the source NetWorker
Authentication Service, when you recover the database to a different
NetWorker Authentication Service host.
l AES_Passphrase specifies the passphrase that was used during the NMC
database backup.
l staging_dir specifies the staging directory that was used during the backup
of the database on the source NetWorker Authentication Service.
l dir_name specifies the directory to relocate the recovered database files.
When you use this option, you must manually copy the database files from
the destination directory to the database directory defined for the
NetWorker Authentication Service. Ensure that you retain the same
ownership and permissions on the database files and the credential files
after the copy completes.

During a recovery of the NetWorker Authentication Service database, the


console GUI is unavailable. Consequently, messages such as mount requests
cannot be addressed from the console. Consider the following during a recovery
of the NetWorker Authentication Service database:

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l Monitor the daemon log files for messages. The use of the NetWorker
nsr_render_log command can make the daemon.raw file more user
friendly for interpretation.
l Use the nsrwatch command to view messages and use commands such as
nsrjb to address those messages.
The NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides more information about
nsr_render_log, nsrwatch, nsrjb and other NetWorker commands.
6. After the recovery completes, if you stopped the NMC services, start the NMC
services, by typing the following command from a prompt:
On Windows:
net start gstd
On Linux:
/etc/init.d gst start

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CHAPTER 10
Special recoveries on Windows hosts

This chapter contains the following sections:

l Special windows recoveries Restoring a Windows Domain Controller host....... 614


l Performing a Windows BMR to physical or virtual computers.......................... 616
l Online recovery of Active Directory, DFSR, or Cluster services....................... 632

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Special recoveries on Windows hosts

Special windows recoveries Restoring a Windows Domain


Controller host
After you recover the file system data on a Windows host, you can recover the AD DS
configuration. A Windows host that is assigned a Domain Controller role in a Windows
environment has the Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) software installed.
The Windows Roles and Features save set contains the AD DS backup. To recover the
AD DS configuration on a domain controller, perform an authoritative or non-
authoritative restore.

Active Directory restore information


Active Directory (AD) is the Windows directory service and the foundation for the
Windows Distributed file system (DFS). AD is a component of the Windows system
state on Windows 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2
domain controllers.
A domain controller is a computer that stores directory data and manages user
interactions with a domain, including login, authentication, directory searches, and
access to other shared resources.
AD, identified by its writer name NTDS, is backed up as part of the Windows Roles and
Features save set, a collection of system components that depend on each other.
These components are backed up together and usually restored together, through a
BMR.
Only three of these components lend themselves to being restored separately through
an online restore: Active Directory, DFSR, and Cluster Services (Cluster Database).

Selecting a restore method


Consider the following when selecting a restore method:
l The circumstances and characteristics of the failure and the two major categories
of failure from an AD perspective are AD data corruption and hardware failure. AD
data corruption occurs when the directory contains corrupt data that replicated to
all domain controllers. Also, when a large portion of the AD hierarchy that is
accidentally changed and this change was replicated to other domain controllers.
l The roles and functions of a failed NetWorker server.
l The types of restore for AD are non-authoritative restore and authoritative
restore.

Non-authoritative restore
A non-authoritative restore returns the domain controller to its state at the time of
backup, then allows normal replication to overwrite that state with any changes that
have occurred after the backup completed.
After restoring the system state, the domain controller queries its replication partners.
The replication partners replicate any changes to the restored domain controller,
ensuring that the domain controller has an accurate and updated copy of the AD
database.
Non-authoritative restore is the default method for restoring AD. This method is used
in most situations that result from AD data loss or corruption.

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Authoritative restore
An authoritative restore is an extension of the non-authoritative restore process that
allows an administrator to recover a domain controller to a specific point in time and
mark objects in the AD as authoritative. After you recover objects that are marked
authoritative the objects are replicated to all the other domain controllers in the
domain. Before you perform an authoritative restore, you must complete the steps for
a non-authoritative restore.

Performing a non-authoritative AD restore on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1,


Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, and 2019
About this task
To perform a non-authoritative restore of the AD on a Windows Server 2012 or 2012
R2, 2016, and 2019 complete the following tasks.
Procedure
1. Start the target domain controller in Directory Services Restore Mode.
2. Recover objects by using the NetWorker User application or the recover
command. For example, perform an online AD restore in one of the following
ways:
l ln the NetWorker User application or NMC, browse to and restore the
WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES\NTDS save set.
l From a command prompt, type the following recover command:

recover -s NetWorker_server -N "WINDOWS ROLES AND


FEATURES:\NTDS"

3. When the restore completes, verify that the operation was successful.
4. To complete the AD restore, restart the domain controller.

Performing an authoritative AD restore on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1,


Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, and 2019
Perform the following tasks for an authoritative restore of AD objects.
Procedure
1. Start the target domain controller in Directory Services Restore Mode.
2. To recover the WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES\NTDS save set, perform
the following step:
To use the command prompt for recovery, type the following command:

recover -s NetWorker_server -U -N "WINDOWS ROLES AND


FEATURES:\NTDS"

3. When the restore completes, verify that the operation was successful.
4. To complete the AD restore, restart the domain controller.

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Performing a Windows BMR to physical or virtual


computers
This section describes how to use the NetWorker Windows BMR image to perform a
Bare Metal Recovery on physical hosts and VMware virtual machines.
Before you perform a BMR, verify that the new host meets the Requirements for
Windows BMR backup and restore on page 429 and ensure that you complete the
tasks listed in this section. For more information on Windows Bare Metal Recovery,
refer to the section Windows Bare Metal Recovery.

Prerequisites to performing a Windows BMR


If you do not first add the recovering host to a group that has the Recover Local Data
privilege, BMR of a NetWorker server fails through the authc process. Before you
perform a BMR, add the following entries into the users list in NMC\Server\User
Groups.
For example, to add the recovering host in to the Application Administrators group,
add the following entries to the users list in NMC:

group=Administrators,host=<recovering_host>
user=administrator,host=<recovering_host>
user=system,host=<recovering_host>

where recovering_host is the name of the host that you are performing the BMR to.

Gathering configuration information required by a Windows BMR


Before you start a Windows BMR, ensure that you have the following configuration
information:
l The driver software for NICs or disk devices, if you perform the Windows BMR to
a host with hardware that differs from the source host.
l The network name and IP address of the target host.
l The network name and IP address of the NetWorker server.
l The network name and IP address of the NetWorker storage node, if the target
host uses a storage node that is not the NetWorker server.
l The default gateway and the name of the DNS server. If a DNS server is not
available, use a local hosts file to resolve hostname of the NetWorker server and
storage nodes to the IP address.
l The NetWorker media volumes that contain the backup save sets.

Obtaining the Windows BMR image


About this task
To perform a Windows BMR, use the Windows BMR image available from Online
Support website to create a bootable CD/DVD or deploy for a network boot operation.
The BMR image contains the Windows PE operating system. WinPE is only available in
English, localized versions of the Windows BMR wizard are not available. When you
use the image to boot the Windows host, the recovery process starts the NetWorker
BMR wizard, which guides you through the recovery process.

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You can use the 32-bit, or 64-bit Windows BMR image to recover either an x86, or
x64 operating system backup to an x86 or x64 computer.
Note: A BMR treats the AMD and Intel processors as equivalent if they follow the
same architecture. For example, you can recover the operating system from the
backup of AMD x64 computer to an Intel x64 computer.
Use the following procedure to download the recovery boot image.
Procedure
1. On the Online Support website, search for “NetWorker Wizard ISO”, and then
narrow the search results by selecting items that are associated with the
NetWorker release number.
2. On the NetWorker Software Downloads page:
a. Locate the section that is labeled NetWorker Y.Y - Build xxx.
b. Select the link to download a Windows BMR ISO recovery file.
where:
l Y.Y is the version number of the NetWorker release.
l xxx is the build number of the released version.

Creating a Windows BMR bootable image


Create a Windows BMR bootable CD/DVD or a network boot location from the
Windows BMR ISO image, which you downloaded from the Online Support website.

Creating a Windows BMR bootable CD/DVD


Use the ISO image to create a bootable CD/DVD, then configure the host to boot
from a CD/DVD.
Procedure
1. Open the CD/DVD creation software, and then select an option to burn an ISO
image.
2. Browse to the location of the downloaded NetWorker Windows BMR image,
and then complete the steps that are required to create a bootable CD/DVD
with the image.

Enabling a protected host to boot from a CD/DVD


Procedure
1. Start the host, and then start the BIOS setup program, by pressing F2.
NOTICE If you are restoring either from or to a virtual host such as a
VMware virtual machine, you can set up options such as the host boot
location within vSphere. The VMware documentation provides specific
steps.

2. Select the boot options menu, and then ensure that the CD/DVD boot option is
at the top of the list of locations from which to boot.
3. Save the changes, and then exit the BIOS program.

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Creating a Windows BMR recovery network boot location


About this task
Ensure that you meet the following requirements for using the network boot option:
l Ensure the NetWorker clients that you protect with a Windows BMR backup can
start from the network with a Pre-Boot Execution Environment (PXE).
l Configure and make available a Deployment Services server.
l Add the NetWorker Windows BMR boot image to the Deployment Services server
so that a client host on the network can start from it.

Enabling a host to boot from the network


About this task
The host should obtain an IP address from the WDS server, and then prompt you to
perform a network boot. Typically, a network boot is activated by pressing the F12
key.
Procedure
1. Start the host, and then start the BIOS setup program.
Typically, this action is performed by pressing the F2 key.
NOTICE If you are restoring to a virtual host such as a VMware virtual
machine, you can set up options such as the host boot location within
vSphere. The VMware documentation provides specific steps.

2. Select BIOS options necessary so that the network boot option is enabled.
The BIOS documentation provides more information.

3. Save the changes, and then exit the BIOS program.

Perform the BMR


Perform the BMR to a physical host or a virtual host:
l Performing a Windows BMR to a physical computer on page 618
l Performing a BMR from a Physical Computer to a Virtual Machine (P2V) on page
625

Performing a Windows BMR to a physical computer


About this task
To recover a BMR backup to a physical host, perform the following steps. If the target
host uses unified extensible firmware interface (UEFI) volumes, unmount the UEFI
volumes before you perform the recovery operation.
Review the following information before you perform a recovery operation to a host
that differs from the original:
l Ensure that the hardware configuration of the target host is similar to the original
host.
l Ensure that the NetWorker server has a client resource for both the source host
and the target host.

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l Ensure that the Remote Access attribute of the source client resource contains
the account SYSTEM@target_client. This attribute enables the recovery process
to perform a directed recovery.
l Add user=system,host=target_client to the Users attribute of Application
Administrators user group.
l Ensure that you have a writable volume available for the media pool being used.
After the recover operation recovers all the data, the wizard generates log files in
a save set named Offline Restore Logs. The recovery operation performs a backup
of the log files to a volume in the media pool.
l Ensure that you enable the NetWorker server to accept manual save operations
for the Recovery wizard log file backup.
Procedure
1. Start the target host from the Windows BMR image.
The NetWorker Windows BMR wizard appears.
2. On the Welcome screen, click Next.
3. If a DNS server is not available on the network, perform the following:
a. Exit the NetWorker Windows BMR wizard but do not restart the host.
The WinPE command line appears.
b. Edit the hosts file, for example, X:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc
\hosts.
c. Add the IP address and hostname for the NetWorker server and the
NetWorker storage node.
d. Restart the wizard from the X:\Program Files\EMC Networker\nsr
\wizard directory.
For example: X:\Program Files\EMC Networker\nsr\wizard>
javaw -jar WinPEWizard.jar

e. When the wizard appears, click Next.


4. On the Select Network Interface screen:
a. Select the NIC driver.
b. Click Next.
If the driver list does not contain the driver for the NIC on the target host,
select Load Driver, and then browse to the location that contains the required
driver.
NOTICE The selected driver cannot require a restart operation because the
recovery process loads the WinPE environment in memory only and
changes are not persistent after a restart operation.

5. On the Configure Hostname and Network screen, complete the fields:


a. In the Hostname field, type the hostname of the source host.
b. In the DNS domain field, type the name of the domain in which the host
resides.
If the host resides in a workgroup instead of a domain, you can leave this
field blank.

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c. In the Configure desired IP Settings field, choose the tab for the Network
Protocol deployed on the network, either IPv4 or IPv6.
d. In the TCP/IP Address settings section, select either Obtain an IP address
automatically (DHCP) or Use the following IP Address.
e. If you choose Use the following IP Address, type the IP address in the IP
address field.
If applicable, type the subnet mask in the Subnet mask field, and then type
the default gateway in Default gateway field.

f. In the DNS Server section, select either Obtain DNS server address
automatically or Use the following DNS server address:
l If you choose Use the following DNS server address, type the IP
address of the DNS server in the Preferred DNS server field.
l If applicable, type an alternate DNS server address in the Alternate DNS
server field.
NOTICE If you added the NetWorker server hostname and IP address to
the X:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts file, you can
ignore the DNS Server fields.

g. Click Next.
The Available Disks screen displays all detected local disks.
6. If the Windows BMR wizard fails to detect a disk, perform the following steps:
a. Select Load Driver.
b. Browse to the location that contains the disk driver, and then load the
required disk driver.
c. To update the list of detected disks, select Refresh.
d. Click Next.
7. On the Select NetWorker Server screen, complete the fields:
a. In the Server field, specify the NetWorker server that performed the
backup:
l Select the NetWorker server from the server list. To update the list of
NetWorker servers, click Search. The Search function locates only those
NetWorker servers on the local subnet.
l Type the fully qualified domain name (FQDN).
b. In the Client field, ensure that the client name matches the Client resource
name on the NetWorker server.
NetWorker automatically populates this field with the values that you
specified in the Hostname and DNS Domain fields on the Configure
Hostname and Network screen of the wizard. For example, if the client
resource on the NetWorker server uses an FQDN, then specify the FQDN of
the client in the Client field.
To recover the backup to a host that differs from the source host, modify
the Client field to specify the target hostname.
If you specify a different client, the recovered host uses the same hostname
and IP settings as the source computer. If the source computer is running on

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the same network, using the same hostname and IP settings can cause
hostname and IP address conflicts.

c. Click Next.
8. On the Select Bare Metal Recovery Backup screen, select the system backup
that you want to recover, and then click Next.
System backups appear in descending order from most recent to oldest.

9. Review the Save Sets to Restore screen, and then click Next.
The recovery process reformats critical volumes. The recovery process
reformats non-critical volumes only if the disk signature on the target disk
differs from the original disk.
For example, to perform a quick format instead of a full format operation if the
disk was replaced, select Perform a quick format of disks.
Note: A quick format is much faster than full format but does not verify
each sector on the volume.
The recovery process does not recover non-critical volume data. Recovering file
system data provides more information.

10. On the Bare Metal Recovery Summary screen, select Options to display the
Non-Default Recover Options screen.
11. On the Non-Default Recover Options screen:
a. In the Additional Options field, type any required non-default options with
their corresponding values.
Non-default options are primarily used for troubleshooting purposes.

b. To save and close the Non-Default Recover Options screen, and then
return to the Bare Metal Recovery Summary screen, click OK.
c. To begin the recovery process, click Restore.
12. On the Confirmation screen, select the I confirm that I want to format the
disks and restore the backup option, and then click OK.
NOTICE All data is lost on all volumes that the recovery process reformats.

After the data recovery completes, the wizard writes the recovery log files to
volumes in the backup media pool being used. If you do not have a volume
available, then the recovery operation appears to be unavailable until media for
the media pool becomes available.
Note: You can cancel the log file backup without affecting the recovery
operation.

13. After the wizard and log files complete, click either Reboot or Exit:
l To restart the system when any subsequent application data resources must
be performed, click Reboot. If you are recovering an Active Directory
domain controller, it is recovered in non-authoritative mode by default.
l If you must recover a domain controller in authoritative mode, click Exit. The
computer returns to the WinPE command prompt. Start into Directory
Services Restore Mode (DSRM). See Performing post recovery tasks for
active directory services for more information.

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Post-recovery tasks
The following sections provide information about recovering data that was not
recovered in the Windows BMR operation.
Using NMM for post-recovery tasks
If the recovered host has applications that are protected with NMM, all application-
recovery operations must be performed by using the NMM client interface. The NMM
documentation provides information on the post-recovery operations.
About this task
Before reviewing the NMM documentation, review the following information:
l After the recovery has completed and the system is rebooted, check the host’s
disk and volume configuration. All disks and volumes should appear as they did on
the original system. However, if disk signatures do not match the original disks,
non-critical disks might be offline or unmounted. Use Microsoft Disk Manager to
bring online or mount the disks. After the disks are online, a reboot operation
should result in disk drive letter reassignments. If these correct drive letter
assignments do not occur, manually assign drive letters to non-critical disks as
needed. Non-critical volumes that are accessed by mount points might have
similar issues.
l To recover the host, perform additional online recovery of any required user data
on non-critical volumes by using the NetWorker User program.
l If a folder is encrypted in Windows, for example, by selecting Folder Properties >
Advanced > Encrypt contents to secure data, it is recovered as encrypted.
However, the encryption attribute is not be set on the folder. You can manually
reset the encryption attribute after the recovery operation. This task is a
Microsoft limitation.
l Windows BMR supports backup and recovery of files and folders encrypted with
Windows Encrypting File System (EFS), and volumes encrypted with BitLocker.
After BMR, the EFS or BitLocker services might be running but the EFS
encryption attributes on files or folders must be re-enabled and BitLocker volumes
must be re-encrypted. For steps to encrypt with EFS and BitLocker, consult
Microsoft documentation.
NOTICE You cannot install the NetWorker software on volumes that are
encrypted with Microsoft BitLocker.

Using an application backup tool other than NMM


About this task
If you backed up a database application with an application backup tool other than
NMM, perform the following post-recovery operations:
l Recover any required file system data by completing the steps in the topic,
Recovering file system data.
l Recover the application data by using the application backup tool, such as
NetWorker User for SQL Server, NME, or any third-party application backup tool.
Refer to the documentation that your application backup tool includes.

Recovering file system data


About this task
Perform an online recovery of any required user data on non-critical volumes.
Sometimes, user data on non-critical volumes must be recovered, for instance, when
disk hardware was replaced due to a disaster before the Windows BMR operation.

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Procedure
1. Manually remount any non-critical volumes as needed.
2. To connect to the NetWorker server that backed up the source client data,
start the NetWorker User program by using the winworkr command with the -
s option.
For example: winworkr -s server_name
If the -s option is not used and there is only one server that is detected, that
server is connected automatically. If there are no servers that are detected or if
there is more than one server available, the Change Server dialog box appears,
allowing you to choose the server.

3. To open the Source Client dialog box, click Recover.


4. Select the source client, and then click OK.
5. Select the destination client for the recovered data, and then click OK.
6. In the Recover screen, select the files to recover.
7. To begin the directed recovery, click Start.
Performing post-recovery tasks for Active Directory services
About this task
Perform the offline recovery of the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ component save sets if
there is a non-authoritative domain controller. If a non-authoritative recovery is
wanted, then no additional steps are required. However, if you must perform an
authoritative recovery, follow these steps.
Procedure
1. To exit the wizard so that you can start into Directory Services Restore Mode
(DSRM), on the System Recovery Results screen of the NetWorker Bare
Metal Recovery wizard, select Exit.
NOTICE Do not select Reboot in the wizard. Failure to start into DSRM
mode results in a non-authoritative recovery. If you select Reboot, perform
one of the following:
l On restart, start the system in the WinPE operating system instead of
the restored operating system.
l Run the Windows BMR wizard again and ensure that you select Exit.

The WinPE command prompt appears.


2. At the WinPE command prompt, type the following bcdedit commands.
a. To force the system to start into DSRM, add a boot loader entry:
bcdedit /copy {default} /d “Directory Service Repair Mode”
A message similar to the following appears:
The entry was successfully copied to
{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}

The numbers and dashes in the previous message form a Globally Unique
Identifier (GUID) that identifies a new entry. In this example, the GUID is for
illustration purposes only. The actual GUID that is generated when you run
the command is unique.

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b. To set the safeboot option for the bootloader entry in the BCD store, type
the following command using the generated GUID:

bcdedit /set {GUID_value} safeboot dsrepair

where GUID_value is the GUID displayed by the previous bcdedit


command.

c. To restart the system, exit the WinPE command prompt.


Note: Failure to start into DSRM results in a non-authoritative recovery.

3. (Optional) If you have a WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES:\ Active Directory


subcomponent save set that is newer than the DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save
set used in the preceding BMR, you can recover the save set in DSRM through
the NetWorker User program.
4. From the WinPE command prompt, run the Windows ntdsutil utility.
The ntdsutil prompt appears. The ntdsutil utility is a command interface
similar to the NetWorker recover interface. For help with the ntdsutil utility,
type:
NTDSUTIL: ?

5. At the ntdsutil prompt, type:

NTDSUTIL: activate instance ntds


NTDSUTIL: authoritative restore

6. To perform an authoritative recovery of a subtree or individual object, type:

NTDSUTIL: restore subtree “distinguished_name”

For example:

NTDSUTIL: restore subtree


“OU=engineering,DC=Seattle,DC=jupiter,DC=com”
NTDSUTIL: restore subtree
“CN=mars,CN=users,DC=Seattle,DC=jupiter,DC=com”

The Microsoft Windows Server Resource Kit documentation on Active Directory


provides information.

7. Exit the ntdsutil utility by typing quit at each successive ntdsutil prompt
until the command prompt appears.
8. Type the following command at the WinPE command prompt so that the host
does not start into DSRM mode on restart.

bcdedit /deletevalue safeboot

9. Restart the domain controller in normal mode, log in, and then verify that the
authoritative changes are replicated to the Active Directory replication
partners.

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Performing post-recovery tasks for hosts with Windows server roles that use
SQL Server
Procedure
1. On the target host, rebuild the SQL server by running the following Setup
command:

Setup /QUIET /ACTION=REBUILDDATABASE /


INSTANCENAME=Instance_name /SQLSYSADMINACCOUNTS=domain_name
\administrator

The Setup tool is located on the SQL Server installation media and must be run
from the command prompt with Windows Administrator privileges. Before you
run this command, ensure that the SQL group is offline except for the shared
disks.

The following Microsoft article provides more information:

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms189302

2. Bring the SQL server services online.


3. Recover the SQL system databases (master, model, msdb) with NetWorker
User for SQL Server, or a third-party application.
Performing post-recovery tasks for a Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machine
Use NMM to restore the Hyper-V virtual machines.

Performing a BMR from a Physical Computer to a Virtual Machine (P2V)


This section describes the process of restoring a NetWorker backup of a physical
computer to a virtual machine (P2V).
About this task
P2V is supported for physical computers running the following operating systems:
l Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
l Windows Server 2012
l Windows Server 2012 R2
l Windows Server 2016
l Windows Server 2019
P2V is supported when restoring to virtual machines created with the following
hypervisors:
l Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
l Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012
l Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 R2
l VMware ESX 5.1
l VMware ESX 5.5
l VMware ESXi 5
Procedure
1. Perform a backup of the physical computer.
2. On the computer that runs the hypervisor, create a target virtual machine
(VM).

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a. Configure the VM to use a virtual network adapter.


b. On the VM configuration page:
a. Select the LSI Logic SAS SCSI controller.
b. Configure the disks on the VM to match the original physical computer
configuration.
c. Create the same number of physical disks.
Extra disks can be added after the P2V recovery.

c. Consider the following:


l The SCSI disk numbers must match the original disk numbers.
l The VM disk sizes must match, or exceed, the original disk sizes.

For VMware hypervisors, use either a Windows Server 2008 (32-bit or 64-bit),
2008 R2 (64-bit), or Windows Server 2012 (64-bit) templates as the guest
operating system when you create the VM.

3. On the VM, start the WinPE ISO which starts the BMR wizard.
4. On the VM, use the BMR wizard to configure the hostname and network
configuration:
a. On the Select NetWorker Server screen, specify the name of the physical
computer as the NetWorker client.
b. On the Save Sets to Restore screen, review the selected items to restore,
and then click Next.
c. On the Select Bare Metal Recovery Backup screen, select the backup to
restore. Backups are listed in chronological order with the most recent
backup first.
d. On the Summary screen, if the save set was created with NetWorker 8.1 or
earlier, select the Restore physical computer to virtual machine (P2V)
checkbox.
If the Restore physical computer to virtual machine (P2V) checkbox is not
marked, the VM might not start successfully after the restore is complete.

e. To start the restore, select Restore.


5. Restart the VM when the P2V BMR is complete.

Performing Post-P2V tasks


The following section provides information about additional tasks that are required
after a P2V recovery.
Procedure
1. If you are running VMware, install VMware tools.
2. To remove disabled NIC devices, use Device Manager:
a. From Device Manager, select the Show Hidden Devices option.
b. Select the hidden NIC device.
c. Select Uninstall.
This step is required because the original network adapter is no longer available.

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3. To restore network connectivity, configure the virtual network adapter.

Troubleshooting Windows BMR


The following topics provide information to help troubleshoot Windows BMR
operations.

Performing a manual uninstall and reconfigure of a NIC on Windows Server 2012 or Windows
Server 2012 R2
If the guest operating system is Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, the P2V BMR retains
the NIC settings.
About this task
If the guest operating system is Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2,
then Windows performs some Plug-N-Play configuration during the post-BMR restart.
This activity disables the original NIC and creates a NIC.
Procedure
1. In the Device Manager, select Display disabled devices > Uninstall the
disabled NIC.
2. Configure the new NIC with the wanted network settings.

Recovering and viewing Windows BMR log files


Windows BMR log files
To help troubleshoot an unsuccessful recovery, the following log files are generated
and backed up during the Windows BMR operation:
l daemon.raw—This log file is the same as daemon.log for monitoring services.
l Ossr_director.raw—Contains the recovery workflow of the
DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set. This log also contains any errors that are
related to recovering the save set files or Windows ASR writer errors.
l recover.log—Contains output from the NetWorker recover.exe program.
This information is generated during the recovery of each save set. This log also
contains messages about errors that are related to critical volume data recovery.
l WinPE_Wizard.log—Contains information about the workflow flow that is
related to the NetWorker Bare Metal Recovery wizard user interface.
l winpe_nw_support.raw—Contains output from the
winpe_nw_support.dll library. The output provides information about the
communication between the NetWorker Bare Metal Recovery wizard and the
NetWorker server.
l winpe_os_support.log—Contains output information that is related to
Microsoft native API calls.
If the Windows BMR fails, you can recover the log files using one of the following
options:
l By using FTP on the recovery host.
l By using a directed recovery.
l By copying the log files to a mapped drive.
If the Windows BMR was successful, you can recover the log files directly to the
recovered host.

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To view log files, you can use either a text editor or the nsr_render_log program,
depending on the log file format.
Viewing the log files
To view the following log files, use a text editor:
l recover.log
l WinPE_Wizard.log
To view the following log files, use the nsr_render_log program:
l Ossr_director.raw
l winpe_nw_support.raw
For example, to display the Ossr_director.raw file, type the following
command at a command prompt:

nsr_render_log "C:\logs\Client-bv1\Ossr_director.raw"

To direct the Ossr_director.raw file to a text file that can be viewed in a text
editor, type the following:

nsr_render_log "C:\logs\Client-bv1\Ossr_director.raw" > mylog.txt

Accessing the log files using FTP


Procedure
1. On the recovery host, access the WinPE command line.
You might have to exit the Windows Bare Metal Recovery wizard to access the
WinPE command line. If you exit the wizard, do not restart.

2. Disable the Windows firewall.


For example:

wpeutil DisableFirewall

By default, the Windows firewall is enabled on WinPE, and this action blocks the
FTP port from transferring files.

3. Change to the following directory that contains the log files:


X:\Program Files\EMC Networker\nsr\logs

4. To move the log files to another NetWorker host, use the FTP utility.

Accessing log files using a directed recovery operation


Procedure
1. To connect to the NetWorker server that backed up the source client data,
start the NetWorker User program by using the winworkr command with the -
s option:

winworkr -s server_name

If the -s option is not included, and there is only one server that is detected,
that server is connected automatically. If there are no servers that are detected
or if there is more than one server available, the Change Server dialog box
appears, enabling you to choose the server.

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2. To open the Source Client dialog box, click Recover.


3. Select the source client, which is the recovered client, and then click OK.
4. Select the destination client for the recovered data, and then click OK.
5. From the Options menu, select Options, specify a folder location in which to
relocate the recovered log files, and then click OK.
6. In the Recover window, select the log files to recover.
The log files are typically located in the following directory:
X:\Program Files\EMC Networker\nsr\logs

7. To begin the directed recovery, click Start.


Recovering file system data provides more information about the permissions
that are required for directed recoveries.

BMR backup fails when System Reserved Partition is offline


BMR backups may fail with the following error:
device is not ready

Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2
has 100 MB reserved as the System Reserved Partition. When backing up the system
state, VSS includes the System Reserved Partition (used for BitLocker and Boot
files), but the backup fails because the System Reserved Partition is offline. This can
occur if the Windows automount capability is disabled. Although there are
circumstances where the automount capability must be disabled, it can result in the
partition being offline after a restart. Automount must be enabled for a BMR backup
to succeed.
To work around this issue, use either of the following solutions:
Solution 1
From the command prompt, run DISKPART with the following commands:

DISKPART

List volume

Select volume <number of 100 MB system partition>

Online volume (if the volume is offline)

If automount is disabled while using third party storage software or if the user
manually disabled the automount for the volume, the volumes can go offline.
This Microsoft KB article 2419286, available at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/
2419286, provides details on preventing volumes from going offline by checking and
setting the system automount attribute.
Solution 2
From the Disk Management console:
1. Access Disk Management from the command prompt:
C:\>Diskmgmt.msc
2. To bring the disk online, assign the drive letter to the 100 MB partition:

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a. Right-click the 100 MB volume, and then select Change Drive Letter and
Paths.
b. Assign a new drive letter to the volume.
Assigning the drive letter ensures that the volume are online after a restart.

Wizard cannot locate the NetWorker server or DNS server


If the NetWorker Bare Metal Recovery wizard cannot locate the NetWorker server or
the DNS server (if one is being used), consider the following:
l If you are using a local hosts file instead of a DNS server, verify that the hostname
and IP address of the NetWorker server was typed correctly.
l If you are using a DNS server, verify that the values typed in the Configure
Hostname and Network screen were typed correctly.
l Verify that the NetWorker server was correctly specified in the Select NetWorker
Server screen.
To verify hostname and IP address values, use the ping utility that is in the WinPE
environment:
1. Exit the NetWorker Bare Metal Recovery wizard but do not restart the host.
You are returned to the WinPE command line.
2. To locate, and then verify hostnames and IP addresses, use the ping utility. For
example:

ping -a hostname
3. Restart the wizard. For example:

javaw -jar WinPEWizard.jar

Note: After the wizard has been restarted, you can switch between the wizard
and the WinPE command line without exiting the wizard.

Multiple NICs cause errors in locating the NetWorker server


An error message similar to the following might appear when you try to recover a host
with multiple NICs:
Error retrieving the list of Networker servers

This message is an indication that the NIC selected by the wizard is not the NIC that
was connected to the NetWorker server when the backup was performed and the NIC
might not have connectivity to the server. This applies when searching for an available
server or specifying a specific server. To resolve the issue, select another NIC.

Network configuration values might not be retained after reboot


Sometimes, a host does not retain its network configuration data after a Windows
BMR operation and after the host starts. If the recovered host is experiencing
network connectivity issues, confirm that network properties for the local connections
are correct. If required, manually update the network configuration data on the host.

VSS backups fail because a critical disk is offline


VSS backups fail if a critical volume is offline during the backup operation. You can
remedy the problem by following the steps that are outlined in the Microsoft
Knowledgebase (KB) article 980794, which can be found at:

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http://support.microsoft.com/kb/980794

The patch that is mentioned in this knowledgebase article is most likely on the
Windows system if it is up-to-date. In this case, you can create and populate the
Registry keys as described in the article.
This issue is most often encountered when backing up a passive node in an MSCS
cluster and a critical volume is not on the physical host of the passive node but is
instead on the physical host of the active node.

Jobquery fails to establish a connection with large scale jobs


When querying the number of save sets, jobquery fails to establish a connection with
the jobsDB when the jobsDB contains more than 3,00,000 records.
The workaround is to run nsradmin from the command line with the following
parameters:
nsradmin -S <jobsdatabse path>

8dot3name support disabled after recovery


In a WinPE 5.0 environment, 8dot3 file name support becomes disabled after
recovery. This is not an issue from block-based backups.
If you require 8dot3name support, run the following command:

fsutil 8dot3name set C: 0

The Microsoft knowledgebase article 121007, available at http://


support.microsoft.com/kb/121007, provides more information.

Additional recovery options


You can specify non-default recovery options on the WinPE command line or in the
Additional Options field in the NetWorker Bare Metal Recovery wizard.
The following table describes the additional recovery options that can be used with a
Windows BMR operation.

Table 96 Additional recovery options

Entry Result
-D x Additional troubleshoot information is in the Windows BMR
log files.
where x is a number from 1 to
9, with 9 providing the most
troubleshoot information and
1 providing the least.

-v Additional information on the progress of the recovery


displays in the wizard’s System Recovery Status window.

-p By default, the Windows BMR recovery skips the formatting


of non-critical disks.

By using the -p option, any existing partitions are deleted and


all disks are reformatted on the recovered computer to match
the layout of the system image. However, by Microsoft
specification, even if the -p option is selected, a non-critical

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Table 96 Additional recovery options (continued)

Entry Result

volume is not reformatted if the disk signature has not


changed since the backup.

This option might be useful in situations where a system fails


to recover because of disk mismatch errors. In this case, the -
p option might resolve those errors.

The recovery process does not recover non-critical volume


data even if the volume is reformatted. Non-critical volumes
can be recovered by using the NetWorker User program after
the wizard has completed and the host has been restarted.

recover -s <NetWorker When the restored data is meant to override the data on other
server> -U -N "WINDOWS nodes, it should be restored using the authoritative mode.
ROLES AND FEATURES Once this data is restored to one of the nodes, it is
\Cluster Database" propagated to the other nodes and overwrites any newer data
on those nodes. Perform Authoritative restore by using the
command on the left.

While the recovery is in progress, observe that the status of


the groups changes from Online to Pending to Offline in the
Failover Cluster Management application. Alternatively, check
the Event Viewer, under Application and Services Logs >
Failover Clustering > Operational on all nodes that the
Cluster Service has stopped and restarted.

Recover the shared drive data through winworkr on the


cluster node with its current active node. Select source client
as the virtual client, and destination client as the current
active node.

Restart required after recovery operation


Newly recovered NetWorker client computers running Windows Server 2012 R2 can
require an extra restart to restore access to application icons, previously viewable on
the desktop.

Online recovery of Active Directory, DFSR, or Cluster


services
The DISASTER RECOVERY:\ save set includes the WINDOWS ROLES AND
FEATURES component save set. You can recover the WINDOWS ROLES AND
FEATURES backup in an online recovery operation, to a host that uses the same
Windows operating system instance. NetWorker 8.2 and higher support the online
recovery of the following Windows services, which the WINDOWS ROLES AND
FEATURES component contains:
Active Directory
SolVe Desktop provides procedures that describe how to recover this service.

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Distributed File System Replication (DFSR)


The topic, Backing Up and Restoring a Microsoft DFS, provides more information.

Cluster
SolVe Desktop provides procedures that describe how to recover this service.

NetWorker does not support the online recovery of any other Windows service that
the WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save set contains. Unsupported online
recovery of WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES components results in an inconsistent
state of the Windows server.
NOTICE When you perform an online recovery, you cannot mark the WINDOWS
ROLES AND FEATURES save set and use the Required Volumes option. To
determine the volume that contains the WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES save
set that you want to restore, mark the DISASTER RECOVERY:\ save set, then
use the Required Volumes option. After you determine the required volumes,
unmark the DISASTER RECOVERY:\ save set and mark the WINDOWS ROLES
AND FEATURES save set.

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CHAPTER 11
Reporting NetWorker Datazone Activities

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Enterprise data reporting................................................................................. 636


l Reporting policy status and backup job status................................................. 679
l Reporting recover job status............................................................................699
l Checkpoint-enabled backup reporting............................................................. 700
l SNMP traps...................................................................................................... 701
l NetWorker Notifications....................................................................................711
l Front-end Capacity Estimation.........................................................................723

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Enterprise data reporting


NetWorker software automatically collects data on a continual basis from the
NetWorker enterprise to facilitate trend analysis, capacity planning, and problem
detection.
The NMC server stores the collected information in the Console database for a
specified number of days, as described in Data retention and expiration policies on
page 637.
The NetWorker software then integrates and processes this data to produce a number
of reports on backup status, backup statistics, events, inactive files, hosts, users, and
devices. Report categories on page 639 provides detailed information about the
various types of reports.
The following options are available through the NetWorker Console reporting feature:
l Data collection for the entire enterprise or for specific NetWorker servers.
l Creating of various types of reports.
l User preferences for report data, such as font, size, and whether to use bold. This
can be useful in I18N environments.
l Selection of columns to display when viewing reports in a table format, and the
order in which to display them.
l The ability to save customized reports for repeated use.
l The ability to determine how long collected data should be retained.
l Only NetWorker administrators can modify these time periods.
l The ability to share reports, or restrict the sharing of reports, with other users by
giving them access to the reports.
l The ability to hide shared reports of other users when listing reports.
l The ability to run reports from the command prompt.

Enabling or disabling the gathering of report data


About this task
When you add a host to the enterprise, the Configuration wizard enables the Gather
Reporting Data feature by default. To enable or disable the Gather Reporting Data
option after you add a host to the enterprise, perform the following steps.
Procedure
1. From the NMC GUI, click Enterprise.
2. In the left navigation pane, expand Enterprise, and then right-click the
NetWorker server on which to enable the collection of report information.
3. Select Properties.
4. In the Features section, select Gather Reporting Data to enable the feature or
clear the option to disable the feature, then click OK.

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Data retention and expiration policies


The NetWorker Console provides separate expiration polices for retaining different
types of data to meet the needs of the environment as described in this table. Only a
Console Application Administrator can modify these policies.

Table 97 Data retention policies

Retention policy Type of data to be retained Default


Statistical data—Affects all legacy Backup and cloning statistics. One year
Backup Statistics reports and Policy
Statistic reports.

The retention policy for statistics


data can affect multiple reports.

Recover Statistics — Affects Save Save set records. One year


Set Data in Recover Statistics
reports.

Audit Data— Affects User reports. Reports on all NetWorker tasks One year
(except License Manager tasks)
The retention policy for audit data
performed by specified users (but
affects only audit reports.
only when the NetWorker User
Auditing system option is activated).

Completion Data (legacy)— Affects Savegroup and save set completion One month
Backup Status reports, except in the data and drive data.
save set output.

Retention policy for completion data


can affect multiple reports.

Completion Message (legacy)— Messages, such as error messages Two weeks


Affects Backup Status reports, only for failed save sets.
in the save set output).

The retention policy for completion


messages can affect
multiple reports.

You can view the retention policies for data to which they have access by following
the first three steps in Setting expiration policies for data retention on page 638.
These different policies give administrators the flexibility to retain certain types of
information for less time than others, as showed in the following example.
Note: Reports not mentioned in the above table have no retention policies.

Example 11 Retention Flexibility

An administrator might want to set the completion message policy to a shorter period
than the completion data policy. The precise error messages about what caused a
save set backup to stop might not be relevant over a longer period. But it might be
useful to save the completion data for a somewhat longer period to help with load
balancing and trends.

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Example 11 Retention Flexibility (continued)

The longest period (one or more years) might be a suitable selection for save set data.
This data is used to generate the NetWorker Backup Statistics reports. These reports
can be used to determine historical trends about backups and to help guide capacity
planning.

Note: The expiration policies restrict the data that can be retrieved by NetWorker
Console. In other words, reports cannot include data that is older than the data
retention policy. If, for example, an administrator changed a policy expiration
period from 1 year to 1 month and soon afterwards reset it to 1 year, 11 months of
data would be lost. Once data is cleared because of the retention policy, you can
only retrieve the data by recovering the full database.

Setting expiration policies for data retention


Before you begin
Log in to the NMC server as a Console Security Administrator. The NetWorker
Authentication Service administrator account is a Console Security Administrator.
About this task
Perform the following steps to define how long the NMC server stores information
about NetWorker server activities in the NMC database.
Procedure
1. From the NMC GUI window, click Reports.
2. From the Reports menu, select Data Retention. The Data Retention dialog
box appears.
3. For each policy, type the number of periods and select a period of time (year,
month, week, day).
4. To save the configuration of the data retention policies, click OK.
Note: There must be adequate space in the NMC database to hold the data.
If the data retention policy settings cause the NMC database to run out of
storage space and the NMC processes to stop running. The NetWorker
Installation Guide provides information about estimating the size of the NMC
database.

Restricted report views


NMC users can only view report information about servers to which they have
permission to manage.
Since each user can have different access restrictions, different users may see
different report results. This applies to customized, private, and shared reports.
For example, a shared Group Summary report entitled “Building C Backups” will show
different data for different users if the access permissions for each user includes
different NetWorker servers. This applies even if the users run the report at the same
time.
On the Configuration tab of each report, the, configuration parameters will only
display to the user, the allowed NetWorker servers, groups, and clients as sources of
report information. The generated report will only contain data from allowed

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resources. Users may only run reports for servers to which they are allowed to
manage.
Note: If no data is available for a given server, that server will not appear in any
lists, regardless of the access permissions for the user.

Report categories
The following table describes the various report categories in the NetWorker
software. Each of these categories is discussed in detail in Preconfigured reports on
page 647.
Report categories appear as folders within the Reports folder in the Reports window.
You can run these reports from the NMC GUI or from a command prompt.

Table 98 Report categories

Category of report Purpose


Policy Statistics Provide statistical information about activities and resources
in the Data Protection Policies. Include information about the
Workflow resources, Client resources, Group resources, and
Action results.

Recover Statistics Provide the history of recovery operations that have been
performed by NetWorker servers.

Devices Provide information about the way devices are being used.

Events Provide summary and detailed information about NetWorker


events.

Hosts Provide a listing of NetWorker servers in the Enterprise,


including information about event and reporting features.

Users Provide lists of defined NetWorker Console users, logout and


login reports, audit reports, and users with restricted views.

Manual saves Provides save set information about backup operations that
are initiated by a user with the save command, and details
about clone operations that are initiated by a user with the
nsrclone command.

Legacy report categories


The following table describes the various report categories available in NMC, which
enables you to report information about activities that occurred on the NetWorker
server before an update to NetWorker 19.1, or for NetWorker 8.2.x and earlier servers
that the NMC server manages.
Report categories appear as folders within the Legacy Reports folder. You can run
these reports from the NMC GUI or from the command prompt.

Table 99 Legacy report categories

Category of report Purpose


NetWorker Backup Statistics Provide statistical information about save sets from the media
database. Include summaries of size, number of files, and
number of save sets that are backed up.

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Table 99 Legacy report categories (continued)

Category of report Purpose


NetWorker Backup Status Provide status information about group completion and save
set backups.

Inactive Files Manages inactive files on a client or group, and sets the
NetWorker software to automatically generate a list of
inactive files in an environment.

Data Domain Statistics Provides deduplication backup statistics for each selected
NetWorker client.
NetWorker Data Domain Boost Integration Guide provides more
information.

NetWorker Clones Provides the history of automatic and scheduled clone


operations.

NetWorker Data Protection Provides details and summaries for VMware Data Protection
Policy Policies. The NetWorker VMware Integration Guide provides
more information.

Snapshot Statistics Provides details and summaries for Snapshot backups.

Report modes and types


All of the reports are listed within the report category folders. These folders are seen
in the left pane of the Reports window. Each folder contains basic and drill-down
reports. Basic reports on page 646, and Drill-down reports on page 646 provide
detailed information.
Different icons represent the different types of reports:

Table 100 Report icons

Icon Description
Basic report

Shared basic report

Drill-down report

Shared drill-down report

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Interactive mode
Interactive mode displays a report with dynamic components, which allow you to
update the report and display the modified results in real time. The effect of the
dynamic components depends on whether a report is viewed as a table or as a chart.
Table view
The table view in interactive mode enables you to:
l Scroll through rows of the table.
l Sort, rearrange, or resize columns in the table, in the same way you sort data in
other NMC windows.
l Use the Choose Table Columns menu to choose the columns to display, and the
order in which to display them.
l Create and view drill-down reports.
The following images provides an example of the Group Summary report in table view.
Figure 73 Group Summary in table view

Chart view
The chart view in interactive mode displays data in a chart format. You can switch
back and forth between different chart formats by selecting a format from the Chart
Type list.
The following image provides an example of a Group Summary report in Bar Chart
view.

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Figure 74 Group Summary in Bar Chart view

Some legacy reports in chart view provide a Data Selector option that provides the
ability to control the information that appears in the chart. Use the Data Selector
section to display interesting and useful data groupings in chart format.
For example, in a Group Summary by Server report that is displayed in Bar Chart
format, the bar chart displays the amount of data in each group, and the Data Selector
lists the "Server" control column, making it possible to see—in one place—a summary
of groups across all servers, simply by moving through the list of servers in the Data
Selector. This could be useful for finding the group that backed up the most data, or
for balancing groups on servers.
You can limit the set of X and Y axes in the report by clearing one or more options
from the Chart Selector boxes. This does not apply to Drive Utilization reports.
l For Drive Utilization reports, hover over a chart in Save Set view or Drive view to
display a tool tip that includes this information:
n Drive (Drive view only)
n Save Set Name (Save Set view only)
n Start Time
n End Time
n Client Name
n Throughput (B/Sec)
Note: The tool tip feature for Drive Utilization reports is available only in
interactive mode.

Document mode
Document mode displays data in a static table or chart report that resembles the view
in Print Preview as shown by a PDF file viewer.
The following options are available with document mode:
l Orientation (portrait or landscape)
l Table or chart format

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l Size (zoom level)


Table view
Document mode reports displayed in a table view contains several columns of
information:
l One or more control columns represent qualitative information. For example,
server name, save set name, and backup type. The control columns topics
generally appear as X-axis data in charts.
l One or more data columns represent quantitative information. For example,
Amount of data, number of files, number of save sets, and duration. The data
columns topics generally appear as Y-axis data in charts. Each report gives
subtotals and totals of all the columns of quantitative data that are shown in the
report.
For example, a report on Save Set Details by Client provides a list of clients and
the following quantitative information:
n Subtotals of the data columns for each of that client’s save sets.
n Totals of all the data columns for each client.
n Totals of the data for all clients in the report.
The report allows you to easily parse the data, visually, on a per-client basis, on a save
set-per-client basis, and for all clients in the report.
Chart view
In document mode, NMC displays two graphs for any chart type that displays X-
Yaxes. If the top graph contains excessive Y-axis data, NMC may display truncated
data in both graphs.
You cannot sort, rearrange, or resize the columns of a tabular report. Also, you cannot
choose which columns to display, and the order in which to display the columns.
Likewise, you cannot change the chart format while viewing a report. NetWorker
software does not maintain any customized changes made while displaying a report in
interactive mode (such as sorting or rearranging the columns in a table), except for
charts (in Chart Type and Chart Selector). Instead, document mode displays the
report in a standard table or chart format, as specified by the internal report definition
within NetWorker software.
Unlike interactive mode, which provides you with a set of chart selection parameters
that limit the displayed data, a report in document mode displays all the data. As a
result, report views in document mode often consist of several screens. For this
reason, the viewing choices in document mode include these navigation options to
enable you to page through the output:
l First
l Previous
l Next
l Last

Interactive and document mode chart types


These chart types are available in both interactive and document mode:
l Bar chart
l Pie chart
l Plot chart

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l Stacking bar chart


l Gantt chart (for Drive Utilization reports only -- more information is provided in
the section Device reports on page 662)
When displaying reports in chart format, the size and appearance of the chart may
differ depending on the orientation (portrait or landscape), and the presentation
format—that is, whether viewing it in the Console window, or in other file formats,
such as PDF, HTML, or PostScript. When displaying reports as charts in document
mode, or when printing or exporting to HTML or PostScript, the charts are always
displayed on a single page, regardless of their size. As a result, some data and labels
may not display. To see full report details, view the chart in interactive mode.
The following table shows a simplified version of chart format options.

Table 101 Report chart formats

Format Example Description


Bar Uses bars to illustrate the different types of data.
For example, in a bar chart of a NetWorker Backup
Statistics Server Summary report, the vertical bars
show the amount of data that are backed up by
each server. The additional lines show the
corresponding numbers of files and save sets that
are backed up by each server.

The set of axes that are displayed in the report


depends on the type of report.

To select various elements for display, select or


clear the boxes in the Chart Selector.

Plot Displays data that are graphed as points along X


and Y axes.

To select various elements for display, select or


clear the boxes in the Chart Selector.

Pie Display data graphically as a percentage of a


circular “pie.” When specifying this chart type from
the Console window, the Chart Selector includes a
radio button that allows the display of only one
element, or axis, at a time. If an additional element
is selected, it replaces the first. This limitation does
not occur when this chart type is specified from
the command prompt:
l When this chart type is selected from the
Console window, all applicable data axes are
shown.
l When this chart type is specified from the
command prompt, only the requested
information is included.

Stacking Bar Displays data in a way that enables you to group


and measure the data according to more than one
category.

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Table 101 Report chart formats (continued)

Format Example Description

For example, use of a stacking bar chart to display


a report that measures data
according to only a single point of focus would
display just a simple bar chart. Stacking
bar chart reports generally include by in the name,
such as by date or by host.

Gantt When you view a Drive Utilization report as a chart,


NMC automatically displays the data as a Gantt
chart, and you cannot change the chart type. The
Drive Utilization report is the only report that
displays data as a Gantt chart.

In Save Set view, the x-axis displays the time, and


the y-axis displays save set data.
Hovering over the chart in Save Set view displays a
tool tip that provides this
information.

l Save set name


l Start time
l End time
l Client name
l Throughput value

In Drive view, the x-axis displays the time, and the


y-axis displays drive data.
Hovering over the chart in Drive View displays a
tool tip that provides the following
information:

l Drive
l Start time
l End time
l Throughput value

Chart axis selection

Note: Document mode can display more than one chart in the document. You can
insert any or all available Y axes into the report. When you change to document
mode, print or export a report, or save a configuration, NMC uses the axis
selection that is currently set in the Chart Selector section of the Configuration
tab. The exceptions to this are stacked bar and pie charts, which display all axes
when the gstclreport command is used to generate a report.

Stacking bar charts


In interactive mode, movement of the cursor over a section of stacked color causes a
pop-up legend to appear. The legend describes the data that are represented by that
color. This chart type is inappropriate for complicated data in document mode, since
the cursor does not display a legend describing the data that are represented by that

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color. Instead, in document mode, select a different chart type (bar, pie, or plot) if the
report data is complicated.
When specifying this chart type from the NMC GUI, the Chart Selector includes a
radio button that enables the display of only one element, or axis, at a time. If an
additional element is selected, it replaces the first. This limitation does not occur when
this chart type is specified from the command prompt.
l When you specify this chart type from the NMC GUI, all applicable data axes are
shown.
l When you specify this chart type from the command prompt, the gstclreport
command only displays the requested information.
To appreciate the different ways in which you can use a stacking bar chart, consider
these reports:
l NetWorker Backup Statistics Group Summary by Server — Shows statistics that
are broken down by savegroup for each server. Different blocks of color are used
for the amounts of data that are backed up by each group within the vertical bars
that represent the amount of data backed up by servers.
l NetWorker Backup Statistics Server Summary — Shows data from only one
focus, a server-centric point of view. If a stacking bar chart is selected to display a
NetWorker Backup Statistics Server Summary, the chart would display solid bars
of color to represent the servers. However, there would be no blocks of color
within the bars, because the report focuses only on the server level. The result
would therefore look like a simple bar chart.

Basic reports
The basic reports organize the collected data in a manner that focuses on a specific
datazone component, time span, or attribute. For example:
l A Server Summary of Backup Statistics provides backup statistics in a server-
centric manner.
l A Monthly Summary of Backup Statistics provides the backup statistics in a date-
centric manner.
Select the basic report that best provides the information you need.

Drill-down reports
Drill-down reports present report information in a preset sequence of basic reports.
You can save drill-down reports as customized reports in shared mode. You can only
use drill-down reports from the NMC GUI. You cannot use drill-down reports from a
command prompt.
Select a line of output in a report to generate information about the selected item in
the next report in the drill-down sequence.
For example, configure a Policy Summary Over Time category report, and then click
View report. From the generated Policy Summary report, double-click the output for
one of the policies. NMC generates a Monthly Summary report of data for the policy
that you selected in the Policy Summary report. In the Monthly Summary report,
double-click a month. NMC generates a Daily Summary report of data that is
generated on each day of the month that you selected in the Monthly Summary
report. In the Daily Summary report, double-click a day. NMC generates a Client
Summary report with information about clients for whom data was generated on the
day that you selected in the Daily Summary report. In the Client Summary report,
double-click one of the clients. NMC generates a Save Set Summary report of all save
sets associated with the client that you selected in the Client Summary report, on the

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day you selected in the Daily Summary report, in the month that you selected in the
Monthly Summary, for the policy you selected in the Policy Summary report.
Note: In document mode for drill-down reports, the print and export commands do
not print or export the entire drill-down report, just the basic report that is
displayed.

Customized reports
A report that is included with NetWorker software is known as a canned reports, and
includes several configuration parameters that allow the tailoring of report data. With
customized reports, report versions can be configured—a single time—to fit the
needs of the enterprise. These reports can then be saved and rerun whenever
necessary, without having to be configured again. This feature saves time, especially
with regularly run reports that include complex combinations of parameters.
Customized reports can be run either on demand, or according to a preset schedule.
The owner of a saved report can also allow it to be shared with all users.
The Hide Other Users Reports option toggles the view of reports between:
l The owner’s reports (private and shared).
l The owner’s reports, plus all shared custom reports.
Customizing and saving reports on page 676 and Sharing a report on page 677
provide more information.

Preconfigured reports
The Reports window contains two folders that contain preconfigured reports.
The Reports folder contains preconfigured reports that enable you to query for
information about data that is created with a NetWorker 19.1 server. The Legacy
Reports folder contains preconfigured reports that enable you to query for information
about that created with a NetWorker 8.2.x and earlier server.

Preconfigured reports
The Reports folder contains preconfigured reports that enable you to generate reports
about data that was created with a NetWorker 19.1 server :

Policy statistics
The Policy Statistics report category provides you with the ability to create reports
that contain details and summary information about Data Protection Policy resources
for each selected NetWorker server within the enterprise.
The Policy Statistics report category includes basic and drill-down reports.
Policy reports
NMC provides two types of reports that provide information about Policy resources:
Policy Summary reports, and Policy Summary over time reports.
Policy Summary
A basic report that provides information that is gathered from the media database and
client file indexes about data that are generated by backup and clone actions in all
workflows that are associated with a Policy resource. The reported Information
includes the following statistics:
l NetWorker server—Name of the NetWorker server.
l Policy—Name of the Policy resource.

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l File count—Total number of files.


l Save Sets Count—Total number of save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Amount of data—Total size of backup data that is stored on media.
l Target size— Size of the save set on the target backup or clone device. When the
target device is a Data Domain device, the value represents the size of the data
after deduplication. When the target device is an AFTD device, the value is the
same size as the original save set size.
l Deduplication ratio— Deduplication ratio for the data.
l Clone count—Total number of clone save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Clone size—Total size of cloned data that is stored on media.
Policy Summary over time
Drill-down reports that provide a point-in-time basic report about the data that are
generated by backup and clone actions in all workflows that are associated with a
Policy resource. You can generate the following types of drill-down reports:
l Policy Summary—A basic report that provides a summary of all policies that are
associated with the selected NetWorker servers.
l Monthly Summary—A summary of monthly activities for the policy that you
selected in the Policy Summary report.
l Daily Summary—A summary of daily activities for the month that you selected in
the Monthly Summary report
l Client Summary—A summary of client information for the day that you selected in
the Daily Summary report.
l Save Set Details—A summary of information for each save set generated for the
client that you selected in the Client Summary report.
Report parameters
The Parameters section allows you to define the selection criteria to generate a
customized report:
l NetWorker server—By default, the report generates information about all the
NetWorker servers that are managed by the NMC server. The Server Name
Selected field provides a list of NetWorker server on which to report information.
The Server Name Available field provides a list of NetWorker servers for which
you do not want to report information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and
Remove All buttons to modify the list of NetWorker servers on which to report.
l Policy— By default, the report generates information about all policies that are
configured on each NetWorker server. The Policy Name Selected field provides a
list of policies on which to report information. The Policy Name Available field
provides a list of policies for which you do not want to report information about.
Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to modify the list of
Policy resources on which to report.
l Workflow start and end times— By default the report generates information
about all workflows that started within one day of the current time. Use the From
and To arrows to select a new date range.

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Group reports
NMC provides three types of reports that provide information about Group resources:
Group Summary reports, Group Details reports, and Group Summary over time
reports.
Report parameters
The Parameters section allows you to define the selection criteria to generate a
customized report:
l NetWorker server—By default, the report generates information about all the
NetWorker servers that are managed by the NMC server. The Server Name
Selected field provides a list of NetWorker server on which to report information.
The Server Name Available field provides a list of NetWorker servers for which
you do not want to report information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and
Remove All buttons to modify the list of NetWorker servers on which to report.
l Policy— By default, the report generates information about all policies that are
configured on each NetWorker server. The Policy Name Selected field provides a
list of policies on which to report information. The Policy Name Available field
provides a list of policies for which you do not want to report information about.
Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to modify the list of
Policy resources on which to report.
l Group—By default, the report generates information about all groups that are
configured on each NetWorker server. The Group Name Selected field provides a
list of groups on which to report information. The Group Name Available field
provides a list of groups for which you do not want to report information about.
Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to modify the list of
Group resources on which to report.
l Workflow start and end times— By default the report generates information
about all workflows that started within one day of the current time. Use the From
and To arrows to select a new date range.
Group Summary
A basic report that provides a list of groups in each policy resource on NetWorker
servers that are managed by the NMC server. The report provides the following
information:
l NetWorker server—Name of the NetWorker server.
l Group—Name of the Group resource.
l Policy Name—Name of the Policy resource that is associated with the Group
resource.
l Workflow—Name of the workflow that is associated with the Group resource.
l File count—Total number of files.
l Save Sets Count—Total number of save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Amount of data—Total size of backup data that is stored on media.
l Target size— Size of the save set on the target backup or clone device. When the
target device is a Data Domain device, the value represents the size of the data
after deduplication. When the target device is an AFTD device, the value is the
same size as the original save set size.
l Deduplication ratio— Deduplication ratio for the data.
l Clone count—Total number of clone save sets that are stored in the media
database.

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l Clone size—Total size of cloned data that is stored on media.


Group Details
A basic report that provides details about all groups on all NetWorker servers that are
managed by the NMC server. The report provides the following information:
l NetWorker server—Name of the NetWorker server.
l Group—Name of the Group resource.
l Policy Name—Name of the Policy resource that is associated with the Group
resource.
l Workflow—Name of the workflow that is associated with the Group resource.
l File count—Total number of files.
l Save Sets Count—Total number of save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Successful save sets—Total number of backup or clone save sets that are created
successfully by the action task.
l Failed save sets—Total number of failed attempts to create backup or clone save
sets by the action task.
l Amount of data—Total size of backup data that is stored on media.
l Target size— Size of the save set on the target backup or clone device. When the
target device is a Data Domain device, the value represents the size of the data
after deduplication. When the target device is an AFTD device, the value is the
same size as the original save set size.
l Deduplication ratio— Deduplication ratio for the data.
l Clone count—Total number of clone save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Clone size—Total size of cloned data that is stored on media.
l Successful clones—Total number of clone save sets that are created successfully
Group resource.
l Failed Clones—Total number of failed attempts to create a clone save set Group
resource.
Group Summary Over Time
Drill-down reports that provides a point-in-time basic report about the data that are
generated by all groups that are associated with a Policy resource. You can generate
the following types of drill-down reports:
l Group Summary—A basic report that provides a summary of all groups that are
associated with the selected NetWorker servers.
l Monthly Summary—A summary of monthly activities for the group that you
selected in the Group Summary report.
l Daily Summary—A summary of daily activities for the month that you selected in
the Monthly Summary report
l Client Summary—A summary of client information for the day that you selected in
the Daily Summary report.
l Save Set Details—A summary of information for each save set generated for the
client that you selected in the Client Summary report.

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Workflow reports
NMC provides two types of reports that provide information about Workflow
resources: Workflow Summary reports, and Workflow Details reports.
Report parameters
The Parameters section allows you to define the selection criteria to generate a
customized report:
l NetWorker server—By default, the report generates information about all the
NetWorker servers that are managed by the NMC server. The Server Name
Selected field provides a list of NetWorker server on which to report information.
The Server Name Available field provides a list of NetWorker servers for which
you do not want to report information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and
Remove All buttons to modify the list of NetWorker servers on which to report.
l Policy— By default, the report generates information about all policies that are
configured on each NetWorker server. The Policy Name Selected field provides a
list of policies on which to report information. The Policy Name Available field
provides a list of policies for which you do not want to report information about.
Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to modify the list of
Policy resources on which to report.
l Workflow—By default, the report generates information about all workflows that
are configured on each NetWorker server. The Workflow Name Selected field
provides a list of workflows on which to report information. The Workflow Name
Available field provides a list of workflows for which you do not want to report
information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to
modify the list of Workflow resources on which to report.
l Workflow start and end times— By default the report generates information
about all workflows that started within one day of the current time. Use the From
and To arrows to select a new date range.
Workflow Summary
A basic report that provides a list of groups for the resources that you selected in the
Parameter section. The report includes the following Information:
l NetWorker server—Name of the NetWorker server.
l Policy Name—Name of the Policy resource that is associated with the Workflow
resource.
l Number of runs—Number of times that the Workflow resource has run.
l Successful—Number of times that the run of the actions in the workflow have
completed successfully.
l Failed—Number of times the run of the actions in the workflow run failed.
l Interrupted—Number of items that the run of the actions in the workflow were
interrupted.
l Total duration— Total amount of time that the actions in the workflow have run.
l File count—Total number of files.
l Save Sets Count—Total number of save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Amount of data—Total size of backup data that is stored on media.
l Target size— Size of the save set on the target backup or clone device. When the
target device is a Data Domain device, the value represents the size of the data
after deduplication. When the target device is an AFTD device, the value is the
same size as the original save set size.

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l Deduplication ratio— Deduplication ratio for the data.


l Clone count—Total number of clone save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Clone size—Total size of cloned data that is stored on media.
Workflow Details
A basic report that provides detailed information about the backup and clone data that
are generated by all actions that are associated with a Workflow resource. The report
includes the following Information:
l NetWorker server—Name of the NetWorker server.
l Policy Name—Name of the Policy resource that is associated with the Workflow
resource.
l Workflow start time—Start time of the workflow.
l Total duration—Total amount of time that the actions in the workflow have run.
l Workflow status—Status of the workflow. For example, successful or failed.
l Name of the Group that is associated to the workflow.
l Successful save sets—Total number of backup or clone save sets that are created
successfully by the action task.
l Failed save sets—Total number of failed attempts to create backup or clone save
sets by the action task.
l File count—Total number of files.
l Save Sets Count—Total number of save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Amount of data—Total size of backup data that is stored on media.
l Target size— Size of the save set on the target backup or clone device. When the
target device is a Data Domain device, the value represents the size of the data
after deduplication. When the target device is an AFTD device, the value is the
same size as the original save set size.
l Deduplication ratio— Deduplication ratio for the data.
l Clone count—Total number of clone save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Clone size—Total size of cloned data that is stored on media.
l Successful clones—Total number of clone save sets that are created successfully
by clone actions in the workflow.
l Failed Clones—Total number of failed attempts to create a clone save set by clone
actions in the workflow.

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Action reports
NMC provides four types of reports that provide information about Action resources:
Action Summary By Group reports, Action Summary By Policy and Workflow reports,
Action Details reports, and Action Details By workflow reports.
Action Summary reports
NMC provides two types of summary reports that provide information about Action
resources: Action Summary By Group reports, and Action Summary By Policy and
Workflow reports.
Action Summary By Group
A basic report that provides a list of actions that are associated with each Group
resource for a NetWorker server. The report provides the following information:
l NetWorker server—Name of the NetWorker server.
l Policy Name—Name of the Policy resource that is associated with the Group
resource.
l Group—Name of the Group that is associated with the Action resource
l Action—Name of the Action resource.
l File count—Total number of files.
l Save Sets Count—Total number of save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Amount of data—Total size of backup data that is stored on media.
l Target size— Size of the save set on the target backup or clone device. When the
target device is a Data Domain device, the value represents the size of the data
after deduplication. When the target device is an AFTD device, the value is the
same size as the original save set size.
l Deduplication ratio— Deduplication ratio for the data.
l Clone count—Total number of clone save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Clone size—Total size of cloned data that is stored on media.
Action Summary By Policy or Workflow
A basic report that provides a list of actions that are associated with each Group
resource for a NetWorker server. The report provides the following information:
l NetWorker server—Name of the NetWorker server.
l Policy Name—Name of the Policy resource that is associated with the Group
resource.
l Workflow—The name of the Workflow that is associated with the Action resource.
l Action—Name of the Action resource.
l File count—Total number of files.
l Save Sets Count—Total number of save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Amount of data—Total size of backup data that is stored on media.
l Target size— Size of the save set on the target backup or clone device. When the
target device is a Data Domain device, the value represents the size of the data
after deduplication. When the target device is an AFTD device, the value is the
same size as the original save set size.
l Deduplication ratio— Deduplication ratio for the data.

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l Clone count—Total number of clone save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Clone size—Total size of cloned data that is stored on media.
Report parameters
The Parameters section allows you to define the selection criteria to generate a
customized report:
l NetWorker server—By default, the report generates information about all the
NetWorker servers that are managed by the NMC server. The Server Name
Selected field provides a list of NetWorker server on which to report information.
The Server Name Available field provides a list of NetWorker servers for which
you do not want to report information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and
Remove All buttons to modify the list of NetWorker servers on which to report.
l Policy— By default, the report generates information about all policies that are
configured on each NetWorker server. The Policy Name Selected field provides a
list of policies on which to report information. The Policy Name Available field
provides a list of policies for which you do not want to report information about.
Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to modify the list of
Policy resources on which to report.
l Workflow—Action Summary By Policy or Workflow report only. By default, the
report generates information about all workflows that are configured on each
NetWorker server. The Workflow Name Selected field provides a list of
workflows on which to report information. The Workflow Name Available field
provides a list of workflows for which you do not want to report information about.
Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to modify the list of
Workflow resources on which to report.
l Group—Action Summary By Group report only. By default, the report generates
information about all groups that are configured on each NetWorker server. The
Group Name Selected field provides a list of groups on which to report
information. The Group Name Available field provides a list of groups for which
you do not want to report information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and
Remove All buttons to modify the list of Group resources on which to report.
l Workflow start and end times— By default the report generates information
about all workflows that started within one day of the current time. Use the From
and To arrows to select a new date range.

Action Detail reports


NMC provides two types of detail reports that provide information about Action
resources: Action Details reports, and the Action Details By Workflow reports.
Report parameters
The Parameters section allows you to define the selection criteria to generate a
customized report:
l NetWorker server—By default, the report generates information about all the
NetWorker servers that are managed by the NMC server. The Server Name
Selected field provides a list of NetWorker server on which to report information.
The Server Name Available field provides a list of NetWorker servers for which
you do not want to report information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and
Remove All buttons to modify the list of NetWorker servers on which to report.
l Policy— By default, the report generates information about all policies that are
configured on each NetWorker server. The Policy Name Selected field provides a
list of policies on which to report information. The Policy Name Available field
provides a list of policies for which you do not want to report information about.

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Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to modify the list of
Policy resources on which to report.
l Workflow—By default, the report generates information about all workflows that
are configured on each NetWorker server. The Workflow Name Selected field
provides a list of workflows on which to report information. The Workflow Name
Available field provides a list of workflows for which you do not want to report
information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to
modify the list of Workflow resources on which to report.
l Action—Action Details report only. By default, the report generates information
about all actions that are configured on each NetWorker server. The Action Name
Selected field provides a list of actions on which to report information. The Action
Name Available field provides a list of actions for which you do not want to report
information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to
modify the list of Action resources on which to report.
l Workflow start and end times— By default the report generates information
about all workflows that started within one day of the current time. Use the From
and To arrows to select a new date range.
Action Details
A basic report that provides detailed information about the backup and clone data
generated by the resources that are defined in the Parameters section. The report
includes the following Information:
l NetWorker server—Name of the NetWorker server.
l Policy Name—Name of the Policy resource that is associated with the Workflow
resource.
l Workflow—Name of the Workflow resource that contains the action.
l Action—Name of the Action resource.
l Action Type—The action type that is defined for the Action resource. For
example, Backup, Clone, or Check Connectivity.
l Action Start Time—The time that the task in the Action resource starts.
l Status—Status of the task that is performed by the Action resource. For example,
succeeded or failed.
l Group—Name of the group that is associated with the Action resource.
l File count—Total number of files.
l Save Sets Count—Total number of save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Successful save sets—Total number of backup or clone save sets that are created
successfully by the action task.
l Failed save sets—Total number of failed attempts to create backup or clone save
sets by the action task.
l Amount of data—Total size of backup data that is stored on media.
l Target size— Size of the save set on the target backup or clone device. When the
target device is a Data Domain device, the value represents the size of the data
after deduplication. When the target device is an AFTD device, the value is the
same size as the original save set size.
l Deduplication ratio— Deduplication ratio for the data.
l Clone count—Total number of clone save sets that are stored in the media
database.

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l Clone size—Total size of cloned data that is stored on media.


l Successful clones—Total number of clone save sets that are created successfully
Group resource.
l Failed Clones—Total number of failed attempts to create a clone save set Group
resource.
Action Details By Workflow
Drill-down reports that provide a point-in-time basic report about the data generated
by the resources that are defined in the Parameter section. You can generate the
following types of drill-down reports:
l Workflow Summary—A basic report that provides a summary of information about
all actions in all workflows that are associated with the selected NetWorker
servers.
l Workflow Details—A basic report that provides a summary of all actions in the
workflow that you selected in the Workflow Summary report.
l Action Details—A basic report that provides details about each action in the
Workflow that you selected in the Workflow Details report.
l Client Summary—A basic report that provides a summary of information about all
actions in the client that you selected in the Action Details report.

Client reports
NMC provides three types of reports that provide information about Client resources:
Client Summary reports, Client Details reports, and Client Summary by Group reports.
Report parameters
The Parameters section allows you to define the selection criteria to generate a
customized report:
l NetWorker server—By default, the report generates information about all the
NetWorker servers that are managed by the NMC server. The Server Name
Selected field provides a list of NetWorker server on which to report information.
The Server Name Available field provides a list of NetWorker servers for which
you do not want to report information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and
Remove All buttons to modify the list of NetWorker servers on which to report.
l Policy— By default, the report generates information about all policies that are
configured on each NetWorker server. The Policy Name Selected field provides a
list of policies on which to report information. The Policy Name Available field
provides a list of policies for which you do not want to report information about.
Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to modify the list of
Policy resources on which to report.
l Group—Client Summary by Group report only. By default, the report generates
information about all groups that are configured on each NetWorker server. The
Group Name Selected field provides a list of groups on which to report
information. The Group Name Available field provides a list of groups for which
you do not want to report information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and
Remove All buttons to modify the list of Group resources on which to report.
l Workflow—Client Summary report only. By default, the report generates
information about all workflows that are configured on each NetWorker server.
The Workflow Name Selected field provides a list of workflows on which to
report information. The Workflow Name Available field provides a list of
workflows for which you do not want to report information about. Use the Add,
Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to modify the list of Workflow
resources on which to report.

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l Workflow start and end times— By default the report generates information
about all workflows that started within one day of the current time. Use the From
and To arrows to select a new date range.
Client Summary
A basic report that provides a list of clients for the resources that you selected in the
Parameter section. The report includes the following Information:
l NetWorker server—Name of the NetWorker server.
l Client Name—Name of the Client resource.
l File count—Total number of files.
l Save Sets Count—Total number of save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Amount of data—Total size of backup data that is stored on media.
l Target size— Size of the save set on the target backup or clone device. When the
target device is a Data Domain device, the value represents the size of the data
after deduplication. When the target device is an AFTD device, the value is the
same size as the original save set size.
l Deduplication ratio— Deduplication ratio for the data.
l Clone count—Total number of clone save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Clone size—Total size of cloned data that is stored on media.
Client Details
A basic report that provides detailed information about the backup and clone data that
are generated for a Client resource. The report includes the following Information:
l NetWorker server—Name of the NetWorker server.
l Client Name—Name of the Client resource.
l Policy Name—Name of the Policy resource that is associated with the Workflow
resource.
l Workflow—Name of the Workflow that is associated with the Client resource.
l Group—Name of the Group resource.
l Workflow start time—Start time of the workflow.
l Status—Status of the save set in the media database. For example, succeeded or
failed.
l File count—Total number of files.
l Save set size—The original size of the save set, as recorded in the media
database.
l Target size— Size of the save set on the target backup or clone device. When the
target device is a Data Domain device, the value represents the size of the data
after deduplication. When the target device is an AFTD device, the value is the
same size as the original save set size.
l Deduplication ratio— Deduplication ratio for the data.
Client Summary By Group
Drill-down reports that provide a point-in-time basic report about the data generated
for client in the Group resources that are defined in the Parameter section. You can
generate the following types of drill -own reports:

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l Group Summary—A basic report that provides summary information about all
groups that are associated with the NetWorker servers selected in the
Parameters section.
l Client Summary—A basic report that provides summary information about all
clients that are associated with the group that you selected in the Group Summary
report.

Save set reports


NMC provides one basic report, the Save Set Details report. This report provides
detailed information about the save sets stored in the media database of a NetWorker
server.
Report Parameters
The Parameters section allows you to define the selection criteria to generate a
customized report:
l NetWorker server—By default, the report generates information about all the
NetWorker servers that are managed by the NMC server. The Server Name
Selected field provides a list of NetWorker server on which to report information.
The Server Name Available field provides a list of NetWorker servers for which
you do not want to report information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and
Remove All buttons to modify the list of NetWorker servers on which to report.
l Policy— By default, the report generates information about all policies that are
configured on each NetWorker server. The Policy Name Selected field provides a
list of policies on which to report information. The Policy Name Available field
provides a list of policies for which you do not want to report information about.
Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to modify the list of
Policy resources on which to report.
l Client—By default, the report generates information about all the save sets for
each client that is configured on the selected NetWorker servers. The Client
Name Selected field provides a list of clients on which to report information. The
Client Name Available field provides a list of clients for which you do not want to
report information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons
to modify the list of clients on which to report.
l Workflow—By default, the report generates information about all workflows that
are configured on each NetWorker server. The Workflow Name Selected field
provides a list of workflows on which to report information. The Workflow Name
Available field provides a list of workflows for which you do not want to report
information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to
modify the list of Workflow resources on which to report.
l Save set name—By default, the report generates information about all save sets
for the selected clients on the selected NetWorker servers. The Save Set Name
Selected field provides a list of save sets on which to report information. The
Save Set Name Available field provides a list of save sets for which you do not
want to report information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All
buttons to modify the list of save sets on which to report.
l Action type—By default, the report generates information about all action types
for the selected clients on the selected NetWorker servers. The Action Type
Selected field provides a list of action types on which to report information. The
Action Type Available field provides a list of action types for which you do not
want to report information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All
buttons to modify the list of action types on which to report.

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l Workflow start and end times— By default the report generates information
about all workflows that started within one day of the current time. Use the From
and To arrows to select a new date range.
Save Set Details report
A basic report that provides detailed information about the backup and clone save sets
that are stored on a NetWorker server. The report includes the following Information:
l NetWorker server—Name of the NetWorker server.
l Client Name—Name of the Client resource.
l Save Set Name—Name of the save set.
l Save Set ID—The SSID of the save set.
l Clone ID—The cloneid of the save set.
l Action Type—The action type that is defined for the Action resource. For
example, Backup, Clone, or Check Connectivity.
l Policy Name—Name of the Policy resource that is associated with the Workflow
resource.
l Workflow—Name of the workflow that is associated with the Group resource.
l Group—Name of the Group resource.
l Workflow start time—Start time of the workflow.
l Status—The status of the save set. For example, succeeded or failed.
l File count—Total number of files.
l Save set size—The size of the save set, as recorded in the media database.
l Target size— Size of the save set on the target backup or clone device. When the
target device is a Data Domain device, the value represents the size of the data
after deduplication. When the target device is an AFTD device, the value is the
same size as the original save set size.
l Deduplication ratio— Deduplication ratio for the data.

Manual saves
Users must run the following commands in order to view the save set reports.
l save -b Default "<C:\Program Files\Java>"
l mminfo -q "name=C:\Program Files\Java" -r
"volume,client,name,ssid,nfiles,savetime(24),sumsize"

Monthly and Daily Summary reports


NMC provides Monthly and Daily Summary reports that provide information backup
and clone data on a NetWorker server.
Report parameters
The Parameters section allows you to define the selection criteria to generate a
customized report:
l NetWorker server—By default, the report generates information about all the
NetWorker servers that are managed by the NMC server. The Server Name
Selected field provides a list of NetWorker server on which to report information.
The Server Name Available field provides a list of NetWorker servers for which
you do not want to report information about. Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and
Remove All buttons to modify the list of NetWorker servers on which to report.

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l Policy— By default, the report generates information about all policies that are
configured on each NetWorker server. The Policy Name Selected field provides a
list of policies on which to report information. The Policy Name Available field
provides a list of policies for which you do not want to report information about.
Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to modify the list of
Policy resources on which to report.
l Group—By default, the report generates information about all groups that are
configured on each NetWorker server. The Group Name Selected field provides a
list of groups on which to report information. The Group Name Available field
provides a list of groups for which you do not want to report information about.
Use the Add, Add All, Remove, and Remove All buttons to modify the list of
Group resources on which to report.
l Workflow start and end times— By default the report generates information
about all workflows that started within one day of the current time. Use the From
and To arrows to select a new date range.
Monthly and Daily Summary
The Monthly Summary report provides monthly summary information about groups in
the months that are within the range that is specified in the Workflow Start and
Workflow End Time attributes. The Daily Summary report provides daily summary
information about groups in the days that are within the range that is specified in the
Workflow Start and Workflow End Time attributes. The Summary reports provide the
following information:
l Month—Monthly Summary only. The month in which the report data was created.
l Date—Daily Summary only. The day in which the report data was created.
l File count—Total number of files.
l Save Sets Count—Total number of save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Amount of data—Total size of backup data that is stored on media.
l Target size— Size of the save set on the target backup or clone device. When the
target device is a Data Domain device, the value represents the size of the data
after deduplication. When the target device is an AFTD device, the value is the
same size as the original save set size.
l Deduplication ratio— Deduplication ratio for the data.
l Clone count—Total number of clone save sets that are stored in the media
database.
l Clone size—Total size of cloned data that is stored on media.

NetWorker recovery reports


The recovery reports, available from the Reports task pane in the NMC GUI, allow
you to view the history of recovery operations that have been performed by a
NetWorker Server. Also, the NMC Server checks for new recovery operations and
stores the recover statistics in the NMC database every 12 hours, and each time a
scheduled backup completes.
You can review reports in both chart and table modes. Table mode set is the default
mode. You can generate four different types of recover reports:
l Server Summary
l Client Summary

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l Recover Details
l Recover Summary Over Time
The NMC Server gathers recover job history every 12 hours and on completion of
every scheduled backup action. Recovery reports will not display information about
recovery history within 12 hours of when you run the report.
Types of NetWorker recovery reports and configuration
The NetWorker recovery report category includes basic and drill-down reports. The
different types of reports that are included within the NetWorker Recover Statistics
report category provide recover statistics for each selected NetWorker Server within
the enterprise.
The Configuration tab allows you to limit the scope of the report that was selected.
The parameters available within the NetWorker Recovery report category are
described in this table. The specific parameters available depend on which NetWorker
Recovery Statistics report is selected.

Table 102 NetWorker recovery statistics parameters

Parameter Description Options


NetWorker Server Managed hosts within the Selected server names.
enterprise.

Source Client Name One or more clients whose Selected client names.
data is being recovered.

Target Client The client where the data is Selected target client names.
being recovered to.

Initiating Client The client that started the n/a


recover.

User Name of the user who started Selected user names.


the recover.

Size The size of the recover. n/a

Number of files For file system recoveries, the n/a


number of files in the recover.

Start time/End time Limits the report to a Start time of recover/end


specified time range. time of recover.

The date/time format


available depends on the
language locale of the
operating system.

Completion Status Final status of the recover. l Successful


l Failed

The parameters available for each report type in the NetWorker Recovery Statistics
report category are listed in the user interface.
Recovery Statistics basic reports
Within the NetWorker Recovery Statistics report category, choose any of the basic
reports that are listed in the user interface. Once a report is chosen, the
Configuration tab displays boxes with lists of the selected parameters for that report.

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To exclude unwanted parameters from the report, delete them from the list.
Customizing and displaying report output on page 673 provides information on
selecting and removing parameters.
Recovery Statistics drill-down report
This drill-down report consists of multiple NetWorker Recovery Statistics basic
reports, which are connected in a predetermined sequence. Drill-down reports on
page 646 provides general information about drill-down reports.
The configuration parameters for a drill-down report are the same as the
parameters for the top-level report in the report sequence. Thus, if the top layer
of the drill-down report is a Server Summary report, the configuration parameters
are the same as they would be for the basic report, Server Summary.
When a report is chosen, the Configuration tab displays boxes that list the
selected parameters for the top-level report.
To exclude unwanted parameters from the report, delete them from the list.
Customizing and displaying report output on page 673 provides information on
selecting and removing parameters.

Recover Summary Over Time


Recover Summary Over Time is a drill-down report sequence that allows you to
explore the history of recover jobs that were performed by NetWorker Servers
over a period.

To generate the Recover Summary Over Time report, you must first specify the same
parameters as those in the Server Summary report, which is the first report that is
displayed in the sequence.
To drill-down to the client level, perform one of the following, depending on the
viewing mode:
l When in table mode, double-click any individual row referencing the desired
NetWorker Server.
l When in chart mode, click anywhere in the chart area of the desired NetWorker
Server.
The Client Summary report for the selected NetWorker Server appears. Return to the
Server Summary report to select another server to explore.
To drill-down to the Recover Details level, perform one of the following, depending on
the viewing mode:
l When in table mode, double-click any individual row referencing the desired
NetWorker Client.
l When in chart mode, click anywhere in the chart area of the desired NetWorker
Client.
The Recover Details report for the selected NetWorker Client appears. Return to the
Client Summary report to select another client to explore.
Recovery data retention policy and configuration
The retention policy for the recover statistics that are used to generate these reports
can be set with the other retention policies currently defined from the Data Retention
page in the Reports task pane. The default retention policy for these statistics is one
year.

Device reports
Device reports provide information about the way devices are being used. They show
scheduled and manual backup activity on one or more selected devices over time. You

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can identify periods of heavy activity or inactivity. Device reports aid NetWorker
administrators in performance tuning, and they help identify bottlenecks. For example,
if all drives are being used continuously for a long period, at maximum throughput,
backup speeds may improve by adding tape drives or moving clients to another backup
server.
Types of Device reports and configuration
The Devices report category includes only one report, the Drive Utilization report. This
report, which is a drill-down report, supports NetWorker servers running NetWorker
software release 7.3 or later. These versions are now unsupported. The report includes
backup activity data for all device types, including advanced file type devices and
digital data storage devices.
When viewing a Drive Utilization report as a chart, it is automatically displayed as a
Gantt chart, where the backup activity level of one or more devices is depicted in
relation to time. Unlike with other reports, you cannot choose an alternate chart type.
Placing the cursor over the chart in Save Set view displays a tool tip that provides this
information:
l Save set name
l Start time
l End time
l Client name
l Throughput value
Placing the cursor over the chart in Drive View displays a tool tip that provides this
information:
l Drive
l Start time
l End time
l Throughput value
Note: One of the activities in the Drive Utilization report is throughput. Since the
Drive Utilization Report provides data for backup activities only, throughput values
will normally be non-zero. However, zero (0) is considered a valid throughput
value.

Event reports
These reports provide summary information about current events on NetWorker and
Console servers within the Enterprise. Additional details about a particular event can
be displayed, including annotation contents. While the Events window within the
NetWorker Console displays the current events of the NetWorker servers, the Event
reports provide additional features. The reports enable you to organize, export, and
print the event data.
Event reports can include this information:
l Number of events
l Priority of events
l Category of events
l Server name
l Server type

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l Event time
l Notes and annotations
Note: When an event has been resolved, it does not remain in the records.

Types of event reports and configuration


The Events report category includes both basic and drill-down reports. The report’s
Configure tab allows you to limit the scope of the report.
The Event parameters are described in this table. The specific parameters available
depend on which Event report is being configured.
Note: Data retention policies do not have any impact on Event reports.

Table 103 Event parameters

Configuration parameter Description Options


Server Name Selects one or more managed Selected server names.
hosts.

Server Type Selects some or all server Console


types in the enterprise.
NetWorker
Only the names of servers
that have current events
are shown.

Priority Selects only priority events. Warning

Priority represents the Waiting


relative severity of the event.
Notice

Info

Emergency

Critical

Alert

Category Selects only category events, Database Backup


or all categories.
Registration
Category refers to the source
Savegroup
of the event.

Event Time Selects a time range. Event time (range)

This parameter applies only to


the Annotation
Details report.

Event basic reports


Within the Events report category, select any of the basic reports that are listed in the
user interface. When a report has been chosen, the Configuration tab displays boxes
listing the selected parameters for that report.

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To exclude unwanted parameters from the report, remove them from the list.
Customizing and displaying report output on page 673 provides information about
selecting and removing parameters.
Event drill-down reports
The drill-down reports consist of multiple Event basic reports, which are connected in
a predetermined sequence. Drill-down reports on page 646 provides general
information about drill-down reports.
The configuration parameters for a drill-down report are the same as the parameters
for the top-level report in the report sequence. Thus, if the top layer of the drill-down
report is a Server Summary report, the configuration parameters are the same as they
would be for the basic report, Server Summary. When a report has been chosen, the
Configuration tab displays boxes listing the selected parameters for the top-level
report. To exclude unwanted parameters from the report, remove them from the list.
Customizing and displaying report output on page 673 provides information on
selecting and removing parameters.

Host reports
The Hosts report category includes only basic reports. There are two basic reports, as
described in this table.

Table 104 Host reports

Report name Purpose Configuration Default


parameters
Host List Provides an overview None All servers
of servers in the
enterprise, including:
l Whether the
Capture Events
feature is enabled
for the server.
l Whether the
Gather Report
Data feature is
enabled for the
server.
l Where the server
is located in the
enterprise path.

Enterprise Inventory Allows movement Enterprise Path Start from Enterprise


through the folder
Enterprise. Limit the
report’s scope by first
viewing one of the
lower-level folders
within the Enterprise:
l Start from
Enterprise folder.

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Table 104 Host reports (continued)

Report name Purpose Configuration Default


parameters

l Start from
selected folder.

Enterprise on page 750 provides a description of the Enterprise and its folders.

User reports
The Users report category provides information on NetWorker Console user activity.
NMC Server Management provides information about NetWorker Console users and
creating user accounts.
The Users report category includes only basic reports, no drill-down reports. The Full
Name and Description information appears in the User reports only if this information
was specified when the user was created.

Preconfigured legacy reports


The Legacy Reports folder provides you with the ability to generate reports about
data that was created with a NetWorker 8.2.x and earlier server.

NetWorker backup statistics reports


The different types of reports that are included within the NetWorker Backup
Statistics report category provide backup statistics for each selected NetWorker
server within the enterprise.
NetWorker Backup Statistics reports may include this information:
l Amount of data that is backed up.
l Number of files that are backed up.
l Number of save sets that are backed up.
Types of NetWorker backup statistics reports and configuration
The NetWorker Backup Statistics report category includes basic and drill-down
reports.
The Configure tab allows you to limit the scope of the report that was selected.
The parameters available within the NetWorker Backup Statistics report category are
described in this table. The specific parameters available depend on which NetWorker
Backup Statistics report is selected.

Table 105 NetWorker backup statistics parameters

Parameter Description Options


Server Name Selects managed hosts within Selected server names
the enterprise.

Group Name Selects one or more groups. Selected group names

Client Name Selects one or more clients. Selected client names

Save Set Name Selects one or more save Selected save set names
sets.

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Table 105 NetWorker backup statistics parameters (continued)

Parameter Description Options


Backup Type Selects one or more file List of supported file types
types.

Level Select one or more backup List of backup levels such as,
levels. Full, Incremental, Skip,
synthetic full, or Level 1–9

Save Time Limits the report to a Save time (range)


specified time range. The
default range is one day for
save set details reports.

The date/time format


available depends on
the language locale of the
operating system.

The parameters available for each report type in the NetWorker Backup Statistics
report category are listed in the user interface.
Save set data retention policy and configuration
Settings for the save set retention policy impact the data that is available to the
NetWorker Backup Statistics reports. If a save set retention policy of six months is
specified, NetWorker software cannot query the database for a time range that
extends back more than six months. The report cannot display data that has expired
because that data has been removed from the database. Thus, even if a save time
parameter of one year is specified, the report can display only six months of data if the
limit of the save set retention policy is six months.
Backup statistics basic reports
Within the NetWorker Backup Statistics report category, choose any of the basic
reports that are listed in the user interface. Once a report is chosen, the Configuration
tab displays boxes with lists of the selected parameters for that report. To exclude
unwanted parameters from the report, delete them from the list. Customizing and
displaying report output on page 673 provides information on selecting and removing
parameters.
Note: These basic reports do not distinguish between regular and deduplication
clients.
Backup statistics drill-down reports
Drill-down reports consist of multiple NetWorker Backup Statistics basic reports,
which are connected in a predetermined sequence. Drill-down reports on page 646
provides general information about drill-down reports.
The configuration parameters for a drill-down report are the same as the parameters
for the top-level report in the report sequence. Thus, if the top layer of the drill-down
report is a Monthly Summary report, the configuration parameters are the same as
they would be for the basic report, Monthly Summary.
When a report is chosen, the Configuration tab displays boxes that list the selected
parameters for the top-level report. To exclude unwanted parameters from the report,
delete them from the list. Customizing and displaying report output on page 673
provides information on selecting and removing parameters.

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NetWorker backup status reports


The NetWorker Backup Status reports consolidate information about the success of
scheduled group backups. As with the NetWorker Backup Statistics reports, these
reports can provide either an enterprise-wide, or a more focused summary of activity
over a specified time range.
The NetWorker Backup Status reports provide the same basic function as selecting
Show Details for a group in the Monitoring window of the Administration window.
The NetWorker Backup Status reports, however, allow you to select the scope and
level of detail.
The report calculates the amount of time that is taken by each backup group
individually. Consequently, if several groups run in parallel, their total combined
backup time is greater than the time elapsed between the start of the first group and
the completion of the last group. For example:
l Group A starts at 13:00, and completes at 15:00.
l Group B starts at 13:30, and completes at 15:30.
Although the groups both completed within a 2.5-hour period, the total group runtime
is counted as 4 hours.
NetWorker Backup Status reports can include this information:
l Total group runs
l Totals of successful, failed, and interrupted group runs
l Success ratio
l Backup duration
l Backup level
l Backup type
l Save type
Backup type and save type information
Backup type is one of the configuration parameters for both NetWorker Backup
Statistics and NetWorker Backup Status reports, and it is one of the fields of
information that is included in these reports. The backup type indicates whether the
files backed up were regular files, bootstrap files, indexes, or a particular database file.
Specialized NetWorker modules (such as NetWorker Module for SAP) are used to
back up the various databases. Most of these modules apply a distinct prefix when
backing up a save set. This prefix enables NetWorker software to identify the backup
type and include it in the reports.
A couple of the Backup Status reports (Save Set Details and Save Set Details by
Client) include an additional field of information that is called save type. The save type
can be any one of the following:
l Bootstrap
l Index
l Save
l Save (backup command)
Types of NetWorker backup status reports and configuration
The NetWorker Backup Status Report category includes both basic and drill-down
reports. The report’s Configure tab allows you to limit the scope of the report

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selected. The choice of available parameters depends on which report is to be


generated.
The parameter options available within the NetWorker Backup Status Report category
are described in this table.

Table 106 NetWorker backup status parameters

Parameter Description Options


Server Name Selects one or more Selected server names.
NetWorker servers.

Group Name Selects one or more Selected group names.


savegroups.

Group Start Time Limits the report to a Start and end dates.
specified time range. The
default range is one day for
save set details reports.

Client Name Selects one or more clients. Selected client names.

Save Set Name Selects one or more save Selected save set names.
sets.

Backup Type Selects one or more file List of supported file types.
types.

Level Selects one or more backup l Full


levels.
l Incremental
l Skip
l Level 1–9
(Partial list of options)

Status Selects status. l Successful


l Failed
l Interrupted

The parameters available for each report type are listed in the user interface.
Completion data retention and NetWorker backup status
The settings for the completion data policy impact the data that is available to the
NetWorker Backup Status reports. The report cannot display data that has expired,
because it has been removed from the database.
Thus, even if a one-year time range is specified for the Group Start Time parameter,
the report displays only six months if the limit of the completion data policy is six
months.
Backup status basic reports
Within the NetWorker Backup Status report category, choose any of the basic reports
that are listed in the user interface. When a report has been chosen, the Configuration
tab displays boxes listing the selected parameters for that report. To exclude
unwanted parameters from the report, remove them from the list. Customizing and
displaying report output on page 673 provides information on selecting and removing
parameters.

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Backup status drill-down reports


The drill-down reports are composed of multiple NetWorker Backup Status basic
reports, which are connected in a predetermined sequence. Drill-down reports on
page 646 provides general information about drill-down reports. When a report has
been chosen, the Configuration tab displays boxes with lists of the selected
parameters for the top-level report. Thus, if the top layer of the drill-down report is a
Daily Summary report, the configuration parameters are the same as they would be for
the basic report, Daily Summary.
To exclude unwanted parameters from the report, remove them from the list.
Customizing and displaying report output on page 673 provides information on
selecting and removing parameters.

Inactive files
A NetWorker administrator can manage inactive files on a client or group and set the
NetWorker software to automatically generate a list of inactive files in an
environment. Inactive files are files that have not been accessed or modified other
than being backed up regularly. The period of time a file has been inactive is called the
Inactivity Threshold.
The inactivity files report is not supported on releases earlier than release 7.4 of the
NetWorker servers. These versions are now unsupported.
Client support for this feature will be enabled only on Windows platforms.
The Inactive files report is a drill-down report that lists the inactive files from the
latest scheduled backup. The report operates at both the client and group level.
The inactive files report can do the following:
l Generate a report on the percentage of inactive files backed up as part of a group.
l Set the threshold time periods per group so that the percentage of inactive files in
that group does not exceed the threshold time period.
l Set alerts so that the NetWorker software sends an alert when the threshold set
for a group is exceeded.
l Provide a report that details the percentage of inactive files backed up as part of a
group.
l Report the percentage of inactive files per client.
The range limit specification given to configure File Inactivity Threshold and File
Inactivity alert threshold attributes can be configured within the following ranges:
l File Inactivity Threshold attribute can be set between 0-365 days.
l File Inactivity Alert Threshold attribute can be set between 0-99.
Group File Details
The Group file Details report provides statistical information about inactive files that
are included in a scheduled backup. Data will be provided for every requested
NetWorker group at the time of the last backup. Chart mode is the default mode for
the report. The data can also be viewed in tabular mode for more detailed information.
When generating the Group Details report, you can specify the following parameters:
l One or more NetWorker servers. Only servers that have the Gather Reporting
Data attribute turned on will appear in the selection list.
l One or more NetWorker groups for the selected NetWorker servers.

Client File Details


The Client File Details report provides information about inactive files backed up for
selected NetWorker clients. Data will be provided for every requested NetWorker

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client at the time of the last backup. Chart mode is the default mode for the report.
The data can also be viewed in tabular mode for more detailed information.
When generating the Client File Details report, you can specify the following
parameters:
l One or more NetWorker servers. Only servers that have the Gather Reporting
Data attribute turned on will appear in the selection list.
l One or more NetWorker groups for the selected NetWorker servers.
l One or more NetWorker clients for the selected NetWorker servers.

Data Domain statistics reports


The Data Domain reports, available from the Reports task pane in the Console
window, provide Data Domain deduplication backup statistics for each selected
NetWorker client.
The NetWorker Data Domain Boost Integration Guide provides more Information.

NetWorker clone reports


The Clone reports, available from the Reports task pane in the Console window, allow
you to view the history of automatic and scheduled clone operations that have been
performed by NetWorker servers for any server version 7.6 Service Pack 2 and later.
These versions are unsupported.
Four different types of clone reports can be generated:
l Server Summary
l Clone Details
l Save Set Details
l Clone Summary Over Time
Be aware that clone reports may not be up-to-date because clone records are
gathered by the console server every 12 hours.
Types of NetWorker clone reports and configuration
The NetWorker clone report category includes basic and drill-down reports for each
selected NetWorker server within the enterprise. The Configuration tab allows you to
limit the scope of the report that was selected.
The parameters available for clone reports are described in this table. The specific
parameters available depend on which clone report is selected.

Table 107 Clone report parameters

Parameter Description Options


NetWorker Server Select one or more Selected server names.
NetWorker servers.

Client Name Name of the NetWorker client Selected client names.


whose save sets were cloned.

Clone Name Name of the scheduled clone Selected clone resource.


resource that is used for
cloning.

Save Set Cloned save set name. Selected save set names.

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Table 107 Clone report parameters (continued)

Parameter Description Options


Level Backup level of the clone. l Full
l Incremental
l Skip
l Level 1–9 (Partial list of
options)

Status Completion status of the l Successful


clone.
l Failed
l No save sets found

Type Type of clone operation. l Scheduled


l Manual

Start/End Time Limits the report to a Start time of clone


specified time range. The / End time of clone.
default range is one day for
save set details reports.

The date/time format


available depends on the
language locale of the
operating system.

Clone basic reports


Within the Clone report category, choose any of the basic reports that are listed in the
user interface. Once a report is chosen, the Configuration tab displays boxes with
lists of the selected parameters for that report. To exclude unwanted parameters from
the report, remove them from the list. Customizing and displaying report output on
page 673 provides information on selecting and removing parameters.
Clone drill-down reports
The Clone Summary over Time drill-down report consists of the basic clone reports,
which are connected in a predetermined sequence. Drill-down reports on page 646
provides general information about drill-down reports.
The configuration parameters for the drill-down report are the same as the
parameters for the Server Summary basic clone report.
To generate the Clone Summary Over Time report, first specify the same parameters
as those in the Server Summary clone report, which is the first report displayed in the
sequence.
To drill-down to the clone detail level, perform one of the following, depending on your
viewing mode:
l When in Table mode, double-click any individual row referencing the desired
NetWorker server.
l When in Chart mode, click anywhere in the chart area of the desired NetWorker
server.
The Clone Details report for the selected NetWorker server appears. Return to the
Server Summary report to select another server to explore.

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To drill-down to the Save Set Details level, perform one of the following, depending on
the viewing mode:
l When in Table mode, double-click any individual row referencing the desired clone
resource name.
l When in Chart mode, click anywhere in the chart area of the desired clone
resource name.
The Save Set Details report for the selected clone resource appears. Return to the
Clone Details report to select another client to explore.

Data Protection Policy reports


The Data Protection policy reports, available from the Reports task pane in the
Console window, provides details and summaries for Data Protection Policies.
The NetWorker VMware Integration Guide provides more information.

Customizing and displaying report output


NMC provides you with configuration parameters for each type of report.
Configuration parameters act as filters to limit criteria that are used to generate the
information that is provided in a report. By default, each report sets these parameters
to include all the information available in the report, the report does not filter any data.
About this task
When you accept the default configuration of the parameters results, NMC generates
a report that includes statistics for all backup and clone actions that are initiated in a
data protection policy resource within the last day, for all the servers in the enterprise.
The statistics reported for each server would include all backup types and levels, and
the time range would include all data available. Use the configuration parameters to
define the data that is displayed by a report.
Note: An administrative user can restrict the user that have access to certain
servers in the enterprise, which can limit the scope of the reports that the user
can create and view.
Procedure
1. From the NMC GUI, click Reports.
2. Expand a report category folder, and then select an available report type.
The report open on the Configuration tab. The possible parameters for that
report appear by default in the Selected boxes.
3. Define the report criteria:
l To limit the scope of the report, click any of the parameters in the Selected

box, then click Remove ( ).


l To remove all the parameters from the Selected box, click Remove All

( ).
Removed parameters appear in the Available boxes.
l To return a single parameter to the Selected box, select it from the

Available box, and then click Add ( ).


l
To return all available parameters to the Selected box, click Add All ( ).

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4. To display the report, select the View Report tab.


Note: If you receive the error com.sybase.jdbc3.jdbs.SybDriver
when you generate a report, close the NMC GUI, clear the Java Cache on
the NMC client, and then generate the report again. The NetWorker
Installation Guide describes how to clear the Java Cache.

5. Most reports display initially in interactive mode and table format, to modify the
report, right-click the View Report tab and select one of the following options:

Option Description
Table Display the data in Table view.
Chart Display the data in Chart view
Document Display the report in Document mode.
Interactive Display the report in Interactive mode.
Portrait Display the data in Portrait format.
Landscape Display the data in Landscape format.

6. To print the report, right-click the View Report tab, and select Print.
7. To export the report, right-click the View Report tab, and select Export. In the
Save dialog box, specify the file name and file location, and then click Save.
You can export the report to one of the following formats:

Option Description
Postscript For printing. Shows data totals.
PDF For printing or viewing with a PDF viewer such as Adobe Acrobat.
Shows data totals.
HTML For viewing in a browser. Shows data totals.
CSV For importing raw data into other programs, such as spreadsheets,
that accept the comma separated values (CSV) format. Does not
show data totals.

Start date and time formats


NMC includes Workflow Start Time and Workflow End Time parameters for Policy
reports, and Start Time and End Time parameters for other reports, including legacy
reports.
If a report includes a start date-and-time-range parameter, configure the time range in
the following way:
l Specify the end date and time in the To box.
l Specify the start date and time in the From box.
l Use the arrow beside the time input field to display a calendar and clock selector,
which includes adjustment arrows that enable you to set values.
All Policy reports and the Manual Save reports default to a one day time range, where
one day represents a 24 hour period before the time on the NMC client host. The
Legacy reports do not have a default time range and by default, the report displays
the available data in the NMC database at time you generate the report.

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Before modifying the time range, consider the following information:


l In US English locales, the default “From” hour is 12:00:00 (midnight/morning) on
the “From” date, and the default “To” hour is 11:59:59 (night) on the “To” date.
The US English locale is the only one that includes a box for an a.m. or p.m. value.
l In non-US English locales, the default “From” hour is 00:00:00 (midnight/
morning) on the “From” date, and the default “To” hour is 23:59:59 (night) on the
“To” date.
Note: The Regional and Language Settings on the system determines whether the
times appear in 12-hour or 24-hour formats.

Input formats
Date and time input formats in the NetWorker software vary. Some acceptable input
formats for a collection of common locales are shown in this table.

Table 108 Date and time input formats for common locales

Language Date formats Time formats


US English l EEEE, MMMM D, YYYY l h:mm:ss a z (11:27:30 P.M.
(Monday, March 8, 2009) PST)
l MMMM D, YYYY (March 8, l h:mm:ss a (11:27:30 P.M.)
2009) l h:mm a (11:27 A.M.)
l MMM D, YYYY (Mar 8, 2009)
l M/D/YY (3/8/07)

UK English l DD MMMM YYYY 08 March l HH:mm:ss z (23:27:30 PST)


2009) l HH:mm:ss (23:27:30)
l DD-MMM-YYYY (08-Mar-2009) l HH:mm (23:27)
l DD/MM/YY (08/03/07)

French l EEEE D MMMM YYYY (lundi 8 l HH:mm:ss z (23:27:30 PST)


mars 2009) l HH:mm:ss (23:27:30)
l D MMMM YYYY (8 mars 2009) l HH:mm (23:27)
l D MMM YYYY (8 mar. 2009)
l DD/MM/YY (08/03/07)

German l EEEE, D. MMMM YYYY l HH:mm:ss z (23:27:30 PST)


(Montag, 8. März 2009) l HH:mm:ss (23:27:30)
l D. MMMM YYYY (8. März l HH:mm (23:27)
2009)
l DD.MM.YYYY (08.03.2009DD)
l MM.YY (08.03.07)

Japanese l YYYY/MM/DD (2009/03/08) l HH:mm:ss z (23:27:30 JST)


l YY/MM/DD (07/03/08) l HH:mm:ss (23:27:30)
l HH:mm (23:27)

Simplified l YYYY-M-D (2009-3-8) l HH:mm:ss (23:27:30)


Chinese

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Table 108 Date and time input formats for common locales (continued)

Language Date formats Time formats

l YY-M-D (07-03-8)

Note that in the previous table:


l Formats shown as single digits (M, D, h) may also be entered as double digits. For
example, M could be either 7 or 07 for the seventh month.
l In the time-formats column:
n The a character denotes a 12-hour format.
n The absence of an a character denotes a 24-hour format.
n The z character indicates time zone. If the z is present, then the output time
will contain a time zone.
Relative times can also be entered in the From and To fields. A valid relative time
consists of an number followed by a unit of time, for example, 2 months. Time units
can include Hour, Day, Week, Month, and Year.
Remember that these reports are run by using dates that have already occurred.
Consequently, even the To date is always a past date. The relative time 4 months
would provide report data covering the past 4 months. A report specifying from 9
months to 1 monthincludes data from nine months ago up to one month ago.
Note: For Drive Utilization reports, the time range cannot exceed 8 days. That is,
the date entered in the To field cannot exceed 8 days from the date entered in the
From field. If typing a relative time in the To field, the value cannot exceed 8 days.

Background processing of reports


When you select the View Report tab, the NMC GUI queries the NMC server. This
process happens in the background and may take a while. You can access other areas
of the interface while the report data is being processed, the requested report appears
when you return to the View tab.
NOTICE Do not request multiple reports simultaneously. Reports run sequentially
in the background, and you can browse around in the user interface while a report
is running. If you start a new report before an earlier report completes, NMC stops
and deletes the earlier report. A report is either complete or deleted. The results
are never partial.

Customizing and saving reports


A customized report is a changed copy of a canned report. Canned reports can be
changed and then saved under different names. You can preserve the report
configuration parameters that are most useful for the enterprise. For NetWorker
reporting purposes, the terms customized report and saved report are synonymous.
A customized report can be rerun the same way at a later time, and even by another
user. This saves time if the same report information must be generated repeatedly.
Customized reports offer these additional options, available from the right-click menu
of a customized report:
l Delete—To delete the report.
l Rename—To rename the report.

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l Save—To save the report.


l Save As...—To resave the report by using a different name.
l Share—To add sharing to the report or to remove sharing from the report.
Note: Only the original owner of a customized report or the Console Application
Administrator can select these additional options. If the Console Application
Administrator removes sharing, the report becomes private again to the original
owner, the report’s creator.
Since it is a copy, a customized report can be changed again and resaved, or even
deleted. Reports can be saved either to preserve particular configurations (such as
which servers are polled) or to save the view type (such as pie or bar chart).
Customized reports appear alphabetically in the report hierarchy below the canned
report from which they were created. They are stored in the NMC database, which
means that users can access them from any host that they use to log in to the NMC
GUI and can use the report from a command prompt. Command line reporting on page
678 provides more information about running reports from the command line.
A customized report stores the following configuration information:
l All options from the report’s Configure tab.
l Column display preferences for tables.
l Orientation (portrait or landscape).
l Current view type (table or chart). For charts, NMC also saves the current chart
type (bar, pie, plot, or stacked bar) and the chart axis selection. Interactive and
document mode chart types on page 643 provides more information about chart
axis selection.

Naming reports
When naming a report to save, keep in mind that the set of usable characters is limited
in the same way as for hostnames and usernames. Report names may not contain:
l Characters having an ASCII representation number less than ASCII 32 (such as
carriage return, bell, newline, escape)
l Comma (,)
l Slash (/) or backslash (\)
l Double quote (“) or single quote (’)
Note: Report names are not case-sensitive. Also, canned reports cannot be
deleted or customized, and then saved under the same name as a report that
already exists under the same parent folder or directory.

Saved file ownership and deleted users


When a user saves a report by using the Save As command, that user becomes the
owner of the new report. When a Console Application Administrator deletes from the
system a user who owns reports, then the Console Application Administrator sees a
dialog box that shows all of the reports owned by that user, and can choose either to
delete the reports or reset the owner to a different user.

Sharing a report
By default, when you save a customized report, the report is private and appears only
in the report hierarchy. The report owner or an NMC user with the Console

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Application Administrator role can share the report with other NMC users. Perform
the following steps to share a customized report.
About this task
Any user viewing a sharable report may perform these operations on the report:
l Change any runtime parameter of the report (such as configuration or view type).
l Run the report, but not save changes to the report.
l Copy the report by using the Save As command. The user becomes the owner of
the new report, and by default, the report is not shared.
l Choose the Hide Other Users’ Reports option to toggle the view of reports
between only those reports owned by the user (both private and shared), and all
shared custom reports.
Perform the following steps to share a report.
Procedure
1. From the NMC GUI window, click Reports.
2. Expand the report folder that contains the customized report that you want to
share.
3. Right-click the customized report, then select Share.
The report is now shared, and is represented in the report hierarchy by a

shared-report icon or .
Results
Once you enable a report for sharing, all users can see the report in the report folder
hierarchy.
Note: The Share option is a toggle. To disable sharing, right-click the shared
report and select Share.

Command line reporting


Command line reporting offers the following features:
l Allows reports to be run offline, either as needed or by using scheduling software
that makes reports available at predetermined times.
l Uses both canned and customized reports, which can be exported in various
formats.
l Provides a more advanced feature that requires a fair amount of knowledge about
running and scripting from the command prompt of the Console server. This
feature should be reserved for advanced users.
Note: Command line reports may only be printed or run to generate exported
output. They cannot be saved or shared. Drill-down reports cannot be run from
the command line.

The command line reporting program


The command line reporting program is gstclreport. It uses the JRE to run.
Command line reports must be run on the NMC Console server host.
The options are typical command line options in the form of a hyphen (-) followed by
one or two letters and an argument, if applicable. The UNIX man page and the

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NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed information about the


gstclreport command.

System performance
Each time the gstclreport command is run, it starts a separate JVM, which can use
many system resources. The gstclreport command runs a database query and
generates report output by using the results. Since this uses both CPU and memory
resources on the host computer, it could affect performance of NetWorker software
and of the host. Consequently, depending on the system used, it is probably not wise
to run more than a few instances of the gstclreport command at the same time.

Security
The gstclreport command must contact the Console server in order to run a
report. The command requires a valid username and password. A user either uses the -
P option to type the password, or the command checks standard input to see whether
the password is there. If a password is not supplied, the program prompts for a
password.
On UNIX systems, use of the -P option is a security concern, because a user may type
the ps command and see the commands that were used to start any program that is
running.
To solve this problem, use scheduling software that can conceal password input.
Alternatively, ensure that the scheduling system sends the password as standard
input. For example:

echo password | gstclreport

A cron command can be used to schedule the report, or the command could be
placed in a secure script file that is invoked by the cron command.

Java runtime environment


Support of command line reporting requires JRE version 1.6 or later to run the
gstclreport command. The JRE must be installed before installing NetWorker
software.
You must also add an environment variable that is named JAVA_HOME to the
NetWorker server host. Open either the gstclreport.bat or gstclreport.sh
file and follow the instructions at the top of the file to set up the correct environment
for command line reporting.

Reporting policy status and backup job status


When you perform a backup, clone or archive actions, NetWorker records the status
of the action and job activities. There are three ways to report job activities:
l In the Monitoring window for the NetWorker server in NMC. Monitoring
NetWorker Server activities in the Administration window on page 55 describes
how to view the action completion status in the Monitoring window.
l Through predefined notifications, that you can define at the policy, workgroup, or
action level. Policy completion and failure notifications on page 680 provides more
information.

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l By querying the job status. Querying the job status on page 681 provides more
information.

Policy completion and failure notifications


You can configure NetWorker to generate a notification for each action that fails in a
policy, or an email that summarizes the status of a policy in which all actions succeed.
By default, a UNIX NetWorker server sends an email that provides information about
the status of completed actions to the root account of the NetWorker server. A
Windows NetWorker server writes information to the policy_notifications.log
file located in the NetWorker_install_dir\nsr\logs directory. Policy
Notifications on page 262 describes how to configure Policy notifications.

Format of the Policy Completion and Policy Failure notifications


Policy notifications are divided into two sections that describe the job activities for a
Policy.
This information also appear in the policy_notifications.log file.
l Summary notification report—Provides a summary of the status of the workflow
and actions that are associated with a Policy resource.
For example:
---Summary notification report---
Policy name:Server Protection
Workflow name:Server backup, Workflow status:failed,
Workflow start time:Thu Nov 20 21:00:01 GMT-0500 2014,
Duration:
Action name:Server db backup, Action status:failed, Action
start time:Thu Nov 20 21:00:01 GMT-0500 2014, Duration:0
hours 0 minutes 14 seconds
l Action report—Provides summary and status information about each action that is
associated with the Policy resource.
For example:
--- Traditional Backup Action report ---
Policy name:Server Protection
Workflow name:NMC server backup
Action name:NMC server backup
Action status:failed
Action start time:Thu Nov 20 21:00:02 GMT-0500 2014
Action duration:0 hours 4 minutes 13 seconds
Total 1 client(s), 0 Succeeded with warning(s), 0 Succeeded,
1 Failed.
---Successful backups---
none
---Failed backups---
bu-iddnwserver2.iddlab.local:C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker
\Management\nmcdb_stage, level=full, size 0.000 MB ,
Duration 0 hours 1 minutes 3 seconds, (null) files

Customizing the save sets status in the policy notifications


NetWorker reports the status of a save session that completes with warning based on
the value defined in Success threshold attribute for an action.
Events that might trigger a warning when they occur during a backup include the
following conditions:

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l The file size increases or decreases


l The mtime of the file changes
To define the success threshold for a save session, select one the following values in
the Specify the Backup Options screen of the Policy Action Wizard:
l Warning—Save sets that complete with warnings are reported as success with
warnings.
l Success—Save sets that complete with warnings are reported as failed. This is
the default value. The number of times NetWorker retries a failed save set is
determined by the value defined in the Retries attribute, which you specify in the
Specify the Advanced Options screen of the Policy Action Wizard.
The Success threshold attribute also applies to the save sets displayed in the
Monitoring window.

Querying the job status


When a workflow or action resource runs within a Policy resource, NetWorker stores
job information in policy log files and the jobs database (jobsdb) on the NetWorker
server host.
The NetWorker software provides two command line programs to query job
information in the jobsdb:
l jobquery —To locate and retrieve detailed information on a job, including the
child jobs of an action.
l nsrpolicy monitor—To retrieve summary information about a job.
The man pages or the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides more information
on the jobquery and nsrpolicy monitor commands.

Workflow and action job records


NetWorker represents each Workflow and Action resource with a job record in the
jobsdb. Some actions create child jobs to perform the tasks that are associated with
the action. NetWorker creates a unique job record for each child job and stores
session information about each child job. NetWorker associates each piece of
information about a job with an attribute. Each job record is composed of a group of
attributes, including the job id attribute. The job id attribute is a numeric value that
uniquely identifies the job record. NetWorker groups attributes together by type. A
type contains unique attributes and attributes that are common to all job types.
Job record types
To display information about a job record, build queries that are based on the job type.
The jobsdb contains the following policy-related job record types:
l Backup action job —Job that is created for a traditional or snapshot backup
action. A traditional backup action job starts child jobs, for example, the save job
and the savefs job to perform action tasks that NetWorker requires to complete an
action.
l Bootstrap save job — Job that is created for the server database backup action.
The bootstrap save job starts child jobs, for example, an index save.
l Check connectivity job action- Job that is created for the check connectivity
action.
l Clone job — Job that is created for a clone action. A clone action job starts child
jobs to perform action tasks that complete an action.

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l Discover job action —Job that is created for a NAS discover action.
l Generate index action job —Job that is created for a generate index action.
l Probe action job —Job that is created for a probe action.
l Utility job — Is an action that performs a maintenance task, for example, the
expire action, the vba-checkpoint-discover action, and the vba-checkpoint-backup
action. A job can start a child utility job to perform tasks that the parent job
requires to complete an action. For example, the server backup action job starts a
child job that runs the mminfo -B command.
l Vbasave job — Child job that is created by a VMware backup action job.
l Workflow job — Job that is created for a workflow.
NetWorker clears the information about a job from the jobsdb and deletes the
associated log files at the interval that is defined by the Jobsdb retention in hours
attribute in the properties of the NetWorker Server resource. In NetWorker 9.0.1, the
default jobsdb retention is 72 hours.

Using jobquery
The jobquery program provides a CLI similar to the nsradmin program. The
jobquery program contacts the nsrjobd process to query job information that is
stored in the jobsdb. A query is defined by an attribute list that is made up of one or
more attribute names with or without values.
About this task
In the query, the attribute name (for example, 'type') is preceded by a period ('.'), and
optionally followed by a colon (':') and a comma-separated list of values (for example,
"host: mars";"job state: STARTED, ACTIVE, SESSION ACTIVE"). When a query
consists of more than one attribute names, attributes are separated by a semi-colon
(';'). When an attribute name is specified without values, any resource descriptor that
contains this attribute is a match. If an attribute name is followed by one or more
values, a resource whose value list matches at least one of the values for the specified
attribute satisfies the criteria.
To launch the jobquery interface, type:

jobquery -s NetWorker_server

Where NetWorker_server is the hostname of the NetWorker Server. Use the -s


option when you run the jobquery command from a NetWorker host that is not the
NetWorker Server.
Note: When you do not use the -s option, jobquery tries to connect to
nsrjobd process on the local host. If the nsrjobd process is not running on the
specified server or the local host, an error is returned.
The jobquery -s<server> command connects to the specified NetWorker server
and returns jobquery prompt. The data in the job database is queried with the
following commands:
l types — a command that lists all job types currently known by nsrjobd that does
not take any argument (for example, types return a list indicating Known types:
save job, savegroup job, and so on).
l . — a command that sets the query criteria and is followed by one or more
attribute names, or lists current query criteria when not followed by any attribute.
Query criteria may contain several attributes, including job type, host, and job
state, with each attribute separated by a semi-colon and each value separated by
a comma, as in the following example:

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jobquery> . type: savegroup job; host: mars; job state: ACTIVE,


COMPLETED

This example would return information on all savegroup jobs from the host mars
that are either in progress or in completed state.
l show — restricts the list of attributes that are returned for each resource
descriptor that matches the query. For the above example, specifying the
following:

show name; job id; completion status; completion severity

returns the names, job ids, completion status, and completion severity for all
matched completed and active savegroups.
l print — runs the query and displays the results. If show list is in effect, each
resource descriptor in the result list is restricted to desired attributes.
l all — returns all resource descriptors in the jobs database. If show list is in
effect, result is restricted to desired attributes.
l help — displays help text.
l quit — exits jobquery.
Running jobquery -s NetWorker_server -i input_file reads input from
the file for non-interactive usage. The man pages or the NetWorker Command
Reference Guide provides detailed information about the jobquery program.

Querying the jobsdb for workflow job records


Each time that you start a workflow, NetWorker creates a single workflow job in the
jobsdb. Run the jobquery command to display information about the workflow job.
To query the jobsdb for information about workflows in a policy, type the following
command in the jobquery interface:

. type: workflow job; data protection policy name: policy_name;


workflow name: workflow_name

where policy_name is the name of the policy that contains the workflow and
workflow_name is the name of the workflow.
Note: The policy_name and workflow_name values are case sensitive.

For example, to query the jobsdb for a workflow named SQL Clients in a policy named
Backup, type the following commands at the jobquery prompt:

jobquery>. type: workflow job; data protection policy name: Backup;


workflow name: SQL Clients
jobquery>print

Output similar to the following appears:


type: workflow job;
activity progress: 1/0/1;
actual exit code: 1;
adhoc job: False;
authtype: ;
automatic: False;
Checkpoint restart ID: ;
Checkpoint restart sequence: ;
command: ;
completion severity: 50;

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completion status: failed;


data protection policy name: Backup;
dependent job id: 0;
end time: 1435107619;
exit code known: True;
host: bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local;
input flag: False;
job id: 832031;
job log file: \
"C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\nsr\\logs\\policy\\Backup\
\workflow_SQL clients_832031.raw";
job output: \
"133550 1435107602 1 0 0 3376 4996 0 bu-
iddnwserver.iddlab.local nsrworkflow NSR notice 31 Starting %s
'%s' workflow '%s'. 3 11 24 127405:Protection Policy \
0 6 Backup 0 11 SQL clients
123316 1435107602 1 0 0 3376 4996 0 bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local
nsrworkflow NSR notice 46 Starting action '%s/%s/%s' with
command: '%s'. 4 0 6 Backup 0 11 S\
QL clients 0 6 backup 0 32 savegrp -Z backup:traditional -v
123321 1435107602 1 0 0 3376 4996 0 bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local
nsrworkflow NSR notice 39 Action '%s/%s/%s's log will be in
'%s'. 4 0 6 Backup 0 11 SQL clie\
nts 0 6 backup 23 83 C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\nsr\
\logs\\policy\\Backup\\SQL clients\\backup_832032.raw
123325 1435107619 1 0 0 3376 4996 0 bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local
nsrworkflow NSR notice 21 Action '%s/%s/%s' %s. 4 0 6 Backup 0
11 SQL clients 0 6 backup 0 6\
failed
133555 1435107619 1 0 0 3376 4996 0 bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local
nsrworkflow NSR notice 24 Workflow '%s/%s' failed. 2 0 6 Backup
0 11 SQL clients";
job state: COMPLETED;
name: Backup;
ndmp flag: False;
NW Client name/id: ;
override parameters: ;
parent job id: 0;
policy definition changetime: 1434655597016534;
previous job id: 0;
protection groups: SQL clients;
Reason job was terminated: ;
redirect stdio: False;
remote password: ;
remote user: ;
restricted data zone: ;
root parent job id: 0;
savegrp spawned: False;
sibling job id: ;
SSID: ;
start time: 1435107602;
type attributes: ;
type classes: ;
type help: ;
type name: ;
type references: ;

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type table: ;
userid: ;
workflow name: SQL clients;

The following table summarizes some of the attributes that appear in workflow job
types.

Table 109 Workflow-specific job record attributes

Attribute Description
Job id A unique number value that identifies the job.

Parent job id The job id of the job that started this job. A
job may not have a parent job.

Job state The status of the job. Status values include:


CREATED, QUEUED, STARTED, ACTIVE,
SESSION ACTIVE, CANCELLED, and
COMPLETED.

Job log file The location and name of the log file that
contains detailed information about the job
activities.

Job output The information that is contained in the job


log file.
Note: Truncation of the content might
occur when the file is large, which results
in only displaying the last 2 KB of
information.

Start time The time the job started, in seconds since Jan
1, 1970.

End time The time the job ended, in seconds since Jan
1, 1970.

Completion status The completion status set by the job. Status


values include never started, did not run,
succeeded, failed, abandoned, canceled, and
communication lost between job and nsrjobd.

Completion severity The severity level of any error that caused the
job to end. Severity levels include:
EMERGENCY, ALERT, CRITICAL, SEVERE,
ERROR, INTERVENTION, WARNING,
NOTICE, and INFORMATION.

Data protection policy name The name of the policy that contains the
workflow.

Workflow name The name of the Workflow resource.

Override parameters A list of parameters that were configured in


the Workflow resource, when the workflow
started. Use override parameters to override
the value that is defined for an equivalent
action property.

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Table 109 Workflow-specific job record attributes (continued)

Attribute Description
Protection groups The protection groups that are assigned to
the workflow.

Restricted datazone The datazone to which the resource is


assigned.

Policy definition changetime The last change time of the policy that
contains the workflow.

Previous jobid The job id of the instance of a restarted


workflow.

Querying the jobdb for action records


Each time that an action starts, NetWorker creates a job record for the action in the
jobsdb. Some actions create child actions, for example a backup action creates a save
job and a savefs job. Each child action has a unique job record. Use the jobquery
command to display information about an action job.
To query the jobdb for information about an action job, type the following command in
the jobquery interface:

. type:action_name

where action_name is the name of the action.


For example, to query the jobdb for a bootstrap save job, type the following
commands at the jobquery prompt:

jobquery>. type: bootstrap save job


jobquery>print

Output similar to the following appears:


type: bootstrap save job;
actual exit code: 0;
adhoc job: False;
authtype: ;
automatic: False;
canceled input count: 0;
canceled input work items: ;
Checkpoint restart ID: ;
Checkpoint restart sequence: ;
command: nsrdbsave -l 1;
completed output count: 0;
completed output work items: ;
completion severity: 50;
completion status: failed;
data protection policy name: Server Protection;
data size: ;
dependent job id: 0;
end time: 1434895738;
exit code known: True;
failed input count: 2;
failed input work items: bu-iddsql.corp.com,

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bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local;
file count: ;
filtered input count: 0;
filtered input work items: ;
hard runtime limit: 0;
host: bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local;
input flag: True;
input job id: ;
job id: 800020;
job log file: \
"C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\nsr\\logs\\policy\\Server
Protection\\Serve\
r backup\\Server db backup_800020.raw";
job output: \
"suppressed 799 bytes of output.
140403 1434808808 1 5 0 2284 2280 0 bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local
nsrdbsave NSR notice 55 Started '%s' job with jobid [%u].
Backup command:\\n %s. 3 0 12 inde\
x backup 5 6 800022 0 367 save -q -e \"1 Months\" -b Default -J
bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local -a \"*policy name=Server Protection
\" -a \"*policy workflow name\
=Server backup\" -a \"*policy action name=Server db backup\" -g
\"Server Protection\" -l full -S -f - -LL -W 78 -N
index:2668af1d-00000004-54528c1a-5452a19b\
-00155000-7396bc56 -x \"C:\\\\Program Files\\\\EMC NetWorker\\\
\nsr\\\\index\\bu-iddsql.corp.com\"
140402 1434895685 1 5 0 2284 2280 0 bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local
nsrdbsave NSR notice 35 Completed '%s' job with jobid [%u]. 2 0
12 index backup 5 6 800022
140402 1434895738 1 5 0 2284 2280 0 bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local
nsrdbsave NSR notice 35 Completed '%s' job with jobid [%u]. 2 0
12 index backup 5 6 800021
112777 1434895738 5 3 13 2200 1572 0 bu-
iddnwserver.iddlab.local nsrd RAP critical 119 Permission
denied, application provided an expired session ticket; us\
er '%s' on '%s', cur time %s, expiration time %s . 4 13 6
SYSTEM 12 27 bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local 35 10 1434895738 35 10
1434812401
138211 1434895738 3 0 0 2284 2280 0 bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local
nsrdbsave NSR error 33 Verify that NetWorker is running. 0
140403 1434895738 1 5 0 2284 2280 0 bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local
nsrdbsave NSR notice 55 Started '%s' job with jobid [%u].
Backup command:\\n %s. 3 0 10 mmin\
fo_job 5 6 800040 0 9 mminfo -B 140402 1434895738 1 5 0 2284
2280 0 bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local nsrdbsave NSR \
notice 35 Completed '%s' job with jobid [%u]. 2 0 10 mminfo_job
5 6 800040 140407 1434895738 1 5 0 2284 2280 0 bu-
iddnwserver.iddlab.local nsrdbsave NSR \
notice 48 See the file '%s' for detail output of each job. 1 0
107 C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\nsr\\logs\\policy\\Server
Protection\\Server backup\\Se\
";er db backup_800020_logs
job state: COMPLETED;
level: ;
name: nsrdbsave;
ndmp flag: False;

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number of files: ;
NW Client name/id: ;
override parameters: ;
parallelism: 0;
parent job id: 800019;
policy action name: Server db backup;
previous job id: 0;
Reason job was terminated: ;
redirect stdio: True;
remote password: ;
remote user: SYSTEM;
restricted data zone: ;
root parent job id: 800019;
running input count: 0;
running input work items: ;
savegrp spawned: False;
saveset id: ;
sibling job id: ;
size: ;
soft runtime limit: 0;
SSID: ;
start time: 1434808802;
successful input count: 0;
successful input work items: ;
type attributes: ;
type classes: ;
type help: ;
type name: ;
type references: ;
type table: ;
userid: ;
waiting input count: 0;
waiting input work items: ;
workflow name: Server backup;

The following table summarizes some of the attributes that appear in action job types.

Table 110 Action job record attributes

Attribute Description
Job id A unique number value that identifies the job.

Parent job id The job id of the job that started this job. A
job may not have a parent job.

Job state The status of the job. Status values include:


CREATED, QUEUED, STARTED, ACTIVE,
SESSION ACTIVE, CANCELLED, and
COMPLETED.

Job log file The location and name of the log file that
contains detailed information about the job
activities.

Job output The information contained in the job log file.


Note: Truncation of the content might
occur when the file is large.

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Table 110 Action job record attributes (continued)

Attribute Description
Start time The time the job started, in seconds since Jan
1, 1970.

End time The time the job ended, in seconds since Jan
1, 1970.

Completion status The completion status set by the job. Status


values include never started, did not run,
succeeded, failed, abandoned, canceled, and
communication lost between job and nsrjobd.

Completion severity The severity level of any error that caused the
job to end. Severity levels include:
EMERGENCY, ALERT, CRITICAL, SEVERE,
ERROR, INTERVENTION, WARNING,
NOTICE, and INFORMATION.

Data protection policy name The name of the policy that contains the
action.

Workflow name The name of the Workflow resource that


contains the action.

Policy action name The name of the action.

Input job id The job id of the action that is controlling this


action.

Waiting input work items For the first or head action in a workflow, this
is a list of work items for the protection group
that is assigned to the workflow that contains
the head action. For subsequent actions, this
list displays the value in the completed output
work items attribute, for the action that
precedes this action. When an action starts a
work item, the work item value moves from
the waiting input work items attribute to the
running input work items attribute.
Waiting input count The number of work items in the waiting input
work items attribute.
Filtered input work items Contains work items that an action has
filtered out of the waiting input work items
attribute.

Filtered input count The number of work items in the filtered input
work items attribute.
Running input work items A list of in progress work items that were
previously in the waiting input work items
attribute. This list does not display in progress
work items that were previously in the filtered
input work items attribute.
Running input count The number of work items in the running input
work items attribute.

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Table 110 Action job record attributes (continued)

Attribute Description
Successful input work items A list of input work items that have completed
successfully. When an input work item
completes successfully, the value moves from
the running input work items to the successful
input work items attribute.
Successful input count The number of work items in the successful
input work items attribute.
Failed input work items A list of input work items that have not
completed successfully. When an input work
item does not complete successfully, the
value moves from the running input work
items to the failed input work items attribute.
Failed input count The number of work items in the failed input
work items attribute.
Canceled input work items A list of input work items that were canceled
and did not complete. When an input work
item is canceled, the value moves from the
running input work items to the cancelled
input work items attribute.
Canceled input count The number of work items in the cancelled
input work items attribute.
Completed output work items The list of work items that are produced by
this action.

Completed output count The number of work items in the completed


output work items attribute.

Querying session information


Some actions, for example, backup, clone, and expiration actions create child actions
to perform the tasks that are required to complete an action. NetWorker creates a
session information record for each task that the child job starts. Use the jobquery
command to view session information for the child action task. To view session
information about an action task, the job id of the child job that created the save set is
required.
To view session information for a child job, perform the following steps:
1. Review the logs directory to determine the job id of the workflow. Policy log files
provides more information about policy-related log files.
2. Query the jobsdb for the workflow that contains the action.
3. In the output, search for the parent action that started the child job and record the
job id of the parent.
4. In the output, search for the child action that contains the job id of the parent job
id attribute, and record the value in the job id attribute of the child action.
5. Query the jobsdb by using the child job id to display the session information that
relates to the child task.

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Example 12 Viewing session information

In this example, the server backup workflow failed for a host at 7:54 PM on June 26.
We want to review session information about the action tasks started by the server
database backup and expiration actions.

1. In the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs\policy\Server


Protection folder on Windows or the /nsr/logs/policy/Server
Protection directory on LINUX, the workflow_Server
backup_832001.raw file appears for the workflow. The job id of the server
backup workflow is 832049.
2. From a command prompt, start the jobquery program.
3. Display information about the actions started by the server backup workflow .
jobquery>print job id: 832049

In this example, two action jobs created child jobs. The server database backup
action created a child process for the nsrdbsave command and the expiration
action created a utility job. Output for the bootstrap save job appears, as follows.
The job id for the failed bootstrap backup action is 832050. The following example
displays some of the attributes that appear in the print output.
type: bootstrap save job;

canceled input count: 0;


canceled input work items: ;
command: nsrdbsave -l 1;
completed output count: 3;
completed output work items: 4253813558/1435241270,
4237036342/1435241270,
4220259140/1435241284;
completion severity: 10;
completion status: succeeded;
data protection policy name: Server Protection;
failed input count: 0;
failed input work items: ;
file count: ;
filtered input count: 0;
filtered input work items: ;
input flag: True;
input job id: ;
job id: 832050;
job log file: \
C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\nsr\\logs\\policy\\Server
Protection\\Serve\
backup\\Server db backup_832050.raw";
job output:
job state: COMPLETED;
level: ;
name: nsrdbsave;
override parameters: ;
parent job id: 832049;
policy action name: Server db backup;

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Example 12 Viewing session information (continued)


previous job id: 0;
root parent job id: 832049;
running input count: 0;
running input work items: ;
successful input count: 2;
successful input work items: bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local,
bu-iddsql.corp.com;
waiting input count: 0;
waiting input work items: ;
workflow name: Server backup;

type: utility job;


canceled input count: 0;
canceled input work items: ;
command: nsrim -MXq;
completed output count: 0;
completed output work items: ;
completion severity: 10;
completion status: succeeded;
data protection policy name: Server Protection;
failed input count: 0;
failed input work items: ;
filtered input count: 0;
filtered input work items: ;
input flag: True;
input job id: 832050;
job id: 832057;
job log file: \
C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\nsr\\logs\\policy\\Server
Protection\\Serve\
backup\\Expiration_832057.raw";
job output: \
88411 1435241295 1 5 0 4996 1560 0 bu-
iddnwserver.iddlab.local nsrim NSR noti\
e 28 Checking for invalid volumes 0
6069 1435241295 1 5 0 4996 1560 0 bu-
iddnwserver.iddlab.local nsrim NSR notic\
21 Processing %d clients 1 1 1 3
6067 1435241295 1 5 0 4996 1560 0 bu-
iddnwserver.iddlab.local nsrim NSR notic\
37 Crosschecking indexes for %d clients. 1 1 1 1
6068 1435241297 0 0 0 4996 1560 0 bu-
iddnwserver.iddlab.local nsrim NSR info \
0 Managing %d volumes. 1 1 1 4
6073 1435241298 0 0 0 4996 1560 0 bu-
iddnwserver.iddlab.local nsrim NSR info \
; Compressing media database. 0
job state: COMPLETED;
name: nsrim;
override parameters: ;
parallelism: 0;
parent job id: 832049;

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Example 12 Viewing session information (continued)


policy action name: Expiration;
previous job id: 0;
root parent job id: 832049;
running input count: 0;
running input work items: ;
successful input count: 0;
successful input work items: ;
waiting input count: 0;
waiting input work items: ;
workflow name: Server backup;
4. Display information about the failed bootstrap save job by specifying the job id,
obtained from the bootstrap save job output .
jobquery>print parent job id: 832050

The jobquery program displays detailed information about the save jobs that are
created by the job. The following example displays some of the attributes that
appear in the print output.
type: save job;
actual exit code: 0;
adhoc job: False;
authtype: ;
automatic: False;
backup_device: ;
Checkpoint restart ID: ;
Checkpoint restart sequence: ;
command: \
"save -q -e \"1 Months\" -b Default -J bu-
iddnwserver.iddlab.local -a \"*polic\
y name=Server Protection\" -a \"*policy workflow name=Server
backup\" -a \"*po\
licy action name=Server db backup\" -g \"Server Protection\"
-l full -LL -LL -\
S -f - -W 78 -N bootstrap \"C:\\\\Program Files\\\\EMC
NetWorker\\\\nsr\\\\res\
\" \"C:\\\\Program Files\\\\EMC NetWorker\\\\nsr\\\\mm\"
\"C:\\\\Program Files\
\\\\EMC NetWorker\\\\nsr\\\\authc-server\\\\tomcat\\\\data
\"";
completed savetime: 1435241284;
completion severity: 10;
completion status: succeeded;
data class: ;
Data set size: ;
data size: 255;
dedupe sent bytes: ;
dependent job id: 0;
end time: 1435241293;
estimated bytes: ;
exit code known: True;
file count: 185;
Files totals: 156, 114497;

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Example 12 Viewing session information (continued)


first_clone_id_for_ssid: ;
group name: ;
host: bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local;
Inactive files: 0, 0, 0;
input flag: False;
job id: 832055;
job log file: \
"C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\nsr\\logs\\policy\\Server
Protection\\Serve\
r backup\\Server db backup_832050_logs\\832055";
job output: ;
job state: COMPLETED;
level: ;
mmdb-avamar-backup-time: ;
mmdb-avamar-client-id: ;
mmdb-avamar-server: ;
name: bootstrap backup;
ndmp flag: False;
New data on De-Dup Node: ;
NW Client name/id: ;
parent job id: 832050;
policy action name: ;
policy name: ;
policy_action_name: ;
policy_name: ;
previous job id: 0;
primary_clone_id: ;
processed bytes: ;
proxy agent name: ;
proxy error code: ;
proxy_hostname: ;
Reason job was terminated: ;
redirect stdio: True;
remote password: ;
remote user: SYSTEM;
restricted data zone: ;
root parent job id: 832049;
savegrp spawned: False;
saveset name: ;
saveset time: 1435241284;
saveset_id: ;
sibling job id: ;
snap session id: ;
SSID: ;
start time: 1435241283;
type attributes: ;
type classes: ;
type help: ;
type name: ;
type references: ;
type table: ;
userid: ;

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Example 12 Viewing session information (continued)


vba_backup: ;
vba_name: ;
vcenter_hostname: ;
vm guest os: ;
vm_name: ;
vm_uuid: ;
5. Display session information for the save job by specifying the job id.

jobquery>print jobid from session info: 832055

The jobquery program displays detailed session information about the save job.
For example, output similar to the following appears:
type: session info;
client name: bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local;
completed: 1;
compression ratio: 0;
current pool: Default;
current read/write total: 254;
device family: disk;
Device path: aftd;
device type: adv_file;
extended information: ;
Jobid from session info: 832055;
number of volumes used: 0;
recover file count: 0;
recover file total: 0;
restricted data zone: ;
savegroup name: Server Protection;
saveset id: \
7d52bfb9-00000006-fb8c0b44-558c0b44-00065000-7396bc56;
saveset name: bootstrap;
Session end time: 1435241299;
session id: 18269;
Session mode: 0;
Session start time: 1435241284;
total amount to be read/written: 0;
total volumes needed: 0;
transfer rate: 0;
type attributes: ;
type classes: ;
type help: ;
type name: ;
type references: ;
type table: ;
volume name: bu_iddnwserver.iddlab.local.002;

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Using nsrpolicy monitor


Use the nsrpolicy monitor command to query the jobsdb for details and status
information about an active or inactive job started by a Data Protection Policy
resource.
The nsrpolicy monitor command allows you to view information about the last
active or inactive job that is associated with a Policy resource in a tabular or non-
tabular output. You can display output for all Data Protection Policy resources in a
policy, or limit the output by client name, workflow name, or protection group name.
nsrpolicy monitor -p policy_name -w workflow_name -c client_name -g
group_name -d -n -j job_id -s networker_server -D debug_level
where:
l -p policy_name —Specifies the name of the Policy resource. You cannot use this
option with -g group_name.
l -w workflow_name—Specifies the name of the Workflow resource. Requires the
-p policy_name option or the -j job_id option.
l -c client_name—Specifies the name of the Client resource. Requires the -g
group_name option.
l -g group_name—Specifies the name of the Protection Group. You cannot use
this option when you use the -p policy_name option.
l -d— Displays detailed information about the job.
l -n— Displays the output in non-tabular view.
l -j job_id— Displays detailed information about a specific job, which is identified
by the jobid. You cannot use this option when you use the -p policy_name option.
Displaying job details for a Workflow resource
To retrieve the details about the last active or inactive jobs in a Workflow resource,
type the following command:
nsrpolicy monitor -p policy_name [-w workflow_name]
For example, to provide information about a workflow that is called Default in the
Backup Policy, type the following command:
nsrpolicy monitor -p Backup -w Default
Table 111 Job details for a Workflow

Policy Workflow Action Job Name Job id Parent Job Type Job Completi Start Duration
Job id Status on Status Time

Backup Default Backup 32524 Workflow COMPLE succeede 5/26/15 00:01:22


TED d 16:59:43

Backup Default Backup savegrp 32525 32524 Backup COMPLE succeede 5/26/15 00:01:21
act TED d 16:59:43

For example, to provide detailed information about the last active or inactive jobs in a
workflow that is called Default in the Backup Policy, type:
nsrpolicy monitor -p Backup -w Default -d

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Table 112 Job details for a Workflow continued

Policy Workflow Action Job Name Job id Parent Job Type Job Completi Start Duration
Job id Status on Status Time

Backup Default Backup 32524 Workflow COMPLE succeede 5/26/15 00:01:22


TED d 16:59:43

Backup Default Backup savegrp 32525 32524 Backup COMPLE succeede 5/26/15 00:01:21
act TED d 16:59:43

pseudo_s 32527 32525 save job COMPLE succeede 5/26/15 00:01:14


av TED d 16:59:50

C:\Softw 32528 32527 save job COMPLE succeede 5/26/15 00:00:14


ar TED d 17:00:47
bu- 32526 32525 savefs job COMPLE succeede 5/26/15 00:00:01
iddnwse TED d 16:59:43

For example, to display detailed information about the last active or inactive job in a
Workflow resource, in a non-tabular format, type:
nsrpolicy monitor -p Backup -w Default -d -n

Workflow status:
data protection policy name:Backup
workflow name:Default
name:Backup
job id:32524
type:workflow job
job state:COMPLETED
completion status:succeeded
start time: 5/26/15 16:59:43
duration: 00:01:22
Action 1 status:
data protection policy name:Backup
workflow name:Default
policy action name:backup
name:savegrp
job id:32525
parent job id:32524
type:backup action job
job state:COMPLETED
completion status:succeeded
start time: 5/26/15 16:59:43
duration: 00:01:21

Displaying job details for a client in a group


To retrieve the information about the last job for a client in a group, type the following
command:
nsrpolicy monitor -c client_name -g group_name
For example:
nsrpolicy monitor -c bu-iddnwserver3.iddlab.local -g Default

Workflow status:
data protection policy name:Backup
workflow name:Default

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name:savegrp
job id:32525
type:backup action job
job state:ACTIVE
completion status:
start time: 5/26/15 16:59:43
duration: unknown

Displaying information about a workflow or backup action


To retrieve information about of a specific workflow or job action, type the following
command:
nsrpolicy monitor -j job_id
For example, to view an information about a job with jobid 32524, type the following
command:
nsrpolicy monitor -j 32524

activity progress: 1/1/0;


actual exit code: 0;
adhoc job: False;
authtype: ;
automatic: False;
Checkpoint restart ID: ;
Checkpoint restart sequence: ;
command: ;
completion severity: 10;
completion status: succeeded;
data protection policy name: Backup;
dependent job id: 0;
end time: 1432674065;
exit code known: True;
host: bu-iddnwserver3.iddlab.local;
input flag: False;
job id: 32524;
job log file: \
"C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\nsr\\logs\\policy\\Backup\
\workflow_Default\
_032524";
job output: \
"133550 1432673983 1 0 0 4100 3352 0 bu-
iddnwserver3.iddlab.local nsrworkflow \
NSR notice 31 Starting %s '%s' workflow '%s'. 3 11 24
127405:Protection Policy\
0 6 Backup 0 7 Default
123316 1432673983 1 0 0 4100 3352 0 bu-
iddnwserver3.iddlab.local nsrworkflow N\
SR notice 46 Starting action '%s/%s/%s' with command: '%s'. 4 0
6 Backup 0 7 D\
efault 0 6 backup 0 32 savegrp -Z backup:traditional -v
123321 1432673983 1 0 0 4100 3352 0 bu-
iddnwserver3.iddlab.local nsrworkflow N\
SR notice 39 Action '%s/%s/%s's log will be in '%s'. 4 0 6
Backup 0 7 Default \
0 6 backup 23 75 C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\nsr\\logs\
\policy\\Backup\\\

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Default\\backup_032525
123325 1432674065 1 0 0 4100 3352 0 bu-
iddnwserver3.iddlab.local nsrworkflow N\
SR notice 21 Action '%s/%s/%s' %s. 4 0 6 Backup 0 7 Default 0 6
backup 0 9 suc\
ceeded
133553 1432674065 1 0 0 4100 3352 0 bu-
iddnwserver3.iddlab.local nsrworkflow N\
SR notice 27 Workflow '%s/%s' succeeded. 2 0 6 Backup 0 7
Default";
job state: COMPLETED;
name: Backup;
ndmp flag: False;
NW Client name/id: ;
override parameters: ;
parent job id: 0;
policy definition changetime: 1431525315508563;
previous job id: 0;
protection groups: Default;
Reason job was terminated: ;
redirect stdio: False;
remote password: ;
remote user: ;
restricted data zone: ;
root parent job id: 0;
savegrp spawned: False;
sibling job id: ;
SSID: ;
start time: 1432673983;
type: workflow job;
type attributes: ;
type classes: ;
type help: ;
type name: ;
type references: ;
type table: ;
userid: ;
workflow name: Default;
resource identifier:
223.0.232.10.0.0.0.0.192.87.83.85.172.21.21.102(9);

Reporting recover job status


When you perform a recover by using the NMC Recovery wizard, NetWorker records
the status of the recover operation and job activities. There are two ways to report job
activities:
l In the Recover window for the NetWorker server in NMC. Monitoring NetWorker
Server activities in the Administration window on page 55 describes how to view
the recover status in the Recover window.
l By querying the job status by using nsrrecomp command on the NetWorker
server. Using nsrrecomp on page 700 provides more information.

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Using nsrrecomp
Use the nsrreccomp program to query the jobsdb for information about recover jobs
and to create a recover completion report. The name specified for the recover job is
the name of the saved recover configuration. The nsrreccomp program differs from
the jobquery program because it also queries recover log files and is limited to
recover job information only.
Example: Summary report of recover jobs
To generate a summary report of each recover job in the jobsdb, type:

nsrreccomp -L

Example: Recovery job completion report


To generate a completion report for recover job, type:

nsrreccomp -b -1 recover_job_name

where -b -1 is optional and used to override the default 2kb limit for job output.
Example: Summary report of the last recovery job
To generate a summary of last recovery job for a Recover resource, type:

nsrreccomp -H group_name

The UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about the nsrsreccomp program.

Checkpoint-enabled backup reporting


The daemon.raw file on the NetWorker Server contains details about groups that are
run with checkpoint-enabled clients. When a group backup is completed, policy
notifications also report the status of each client backup.

View the policy reports for checkpoint-enabled client backups


There are several things to consider when reviewing the summary notification report
and the action report for the backup status of a checkpoint-enabled client.
l When a checkpoint-enabled client backup attempt fails:
n The action is reported as a failure.
n The failed save sets are reported in the Unsuccessful Save Set status
section.
l When a checkpoint-enabled client backup succeeds:
n The action status is reported as a success.
n The total number of partial save sets that make up the checkpoint save sets is
displayed in the Save Set Summary section.
n The successful save sets are reported in the Successful Save Set status
section.

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Determine the status of a checkpoint-enabled backup


Review the daemon.raw file on the NetWorker server to determine the status of a
checkpoint-enabled client backup.
nsrd info, Savegroup Info: group_name:client_name checkpoint
enabled, mode: mode. (severity 0, message 71193)

This message is reported when a backup action starts. This message reports the
names of the clients that are checkpoint-enabled, and the mode that was selected at
the time of the backup.
savegrp test: checkpoint restartable saveset
client_name:save_set created in previous run(s) of the group.
It will be checkpoint restarted. Checkpoint ID cp_id.

This message reports that a partial save set is detected for a client in the group and a
checkpoint restart occurs for the save set.
savegrp group_name checkpoint restartable saveset
client_name:save_set failed and will not be restarted.

This message is reported when the backup of a checkpoint-enabled client fails and the
backup will not be retried.
Common reasons for this error message include:
l The restart window for the group has been exceeded.
l The maximum number of client retries has been reached.
NOTICE When this message is reported, the failed save set are removed from
an AFTD:
nsrd info, MeDia Info: save set save_set for client
client_name was aborted and removed from volume
volume_name (severity 0, message 71193)Recovering data.

savegrp group_name: checkpoint restartable saveset


client_name:save_set completed without interruption.

This message reports that the save set for a checkpoint-enabled client successfully
completed during the backup action.

SNMP traps
The NetWorker Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) Module allows
NetWorker servers to send notification messages to SNMP management agents.
You must configure SNMP-enabled network management software to accept traps
from the NetWorker server. For detailed information about SNMP management
operations refer to your network management documentation.
The NetWorker SNMP Module uses traps to communicate NetWorker event
notifications to SNMP management stations. A trap is an unsolicited notification sent
from the SNMP agent (the NetWorker server) to the SNMP event manager.
When you configure the SNMP notification in NetWorker, you can define the types of
traps that the NetWorker server sends to the SNMP event manager. Typical traps
include warnings, critical errors, and other messages from the NetWorker server.
NetWorker 18.2 and later includes the following SNMP trap enhancements:

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l SNMP v2c MIB support


l SNMP trap alert for NetWorker to comply with the MIB format
l SNMP MIB support for successful or failed notifications for backup, clone, and
restore
Note: SNMP v2c traps are not supported for client initiated RMAN triggered
backup in NMDA Oracle and for client initiated brbackup in NMSAP Oracle.
l File system save set with backup and clone workflows with the following payload
or attributes:
Table 113 SNMP attributes and descriptions

Attribute Description
Server FQDN, IP address, or the hostname of the
Networker server.

Job Type Save and Clone.

Job ID Root parent job ID (based on the action and


not on the client).

Status Completion status (Success or failure).

Client FQDN, IP address, or the hostname of the


client.

Severity Completion severity code.


n JOB_IND_DEBUG = 0
n JOB_IND_INFORMATION = 10
n JOB_IND_NOTICE = 20
n JOB_IND_WARNING = 30
n JOB_IND_INTERVENTION = 40
n JOB_IND_ERROR = 50
n JOB_IND_ERROR = 50
n JOB_IND_SEVERE = 60
n JOB_IND_CRITICAL = 70
n JOB_IND_ALERT = 80
n JOB_IND_EMERGENCY = 90
n JOB_IND_INVALID = -1

Exitcode The actual exit code.

StartTime The start time of the action in human readable


format.

EndTime The end time of the action in human readable


format.

Note: The NetWorker MIB file is available at the following location:


l On Windows: <C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\snmp>
l On Linux: /opt/nsr/snmp

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Receive SNMP traps on Linux


To receive SNMP traps on Linux, do the following:
Before you begin
Install the following packages:
l net-snmp-agent-libs
l net-snmp-libs
l net-snmp
Procedure
1. Copy the MIB file for NetWorker located at the following location to the Linux
trap receiver folder (/usr/share/snmp/mibs):
l Linux NetWorker server: /opt/nsr/snmp
l Windows NetWorker server: C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\snmp

2. Add the following to the snmptrapd.conf file:


authCommunity log,execute,net public
3. On the NetWorker server, specify the SNMP notification command at the
policy and action levels:
l For Linux: /usr/sbin/nsrtrap <IP address of the Linux Trap
Receiver>
l For Windows: “C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\bin
\nsrtrap.exe” <IP address of the Windows Trap Receiver>

4. On the Linux trap receiver, execute the following commands to receive SNMP
traps:
snmptrapd -f -C -c ./snmptrapd.conf -Le -M /usr/share/
snmp/mibs -m NETWORKER-MIB
5. Initiate the policy or workflow on the NetWorker server to view the traps.

Example 13 Using PuTTY to capture the session output for SNMP traps Saving SNMP traps log
file to a predefined location

If you are using PuTTY to capture the session output for SNMP traps, do the
following:
1. Launch PuTTY.exe.
2. Navigate to Session > Logging > All session output to capture the SNMP traps
in a log file.
3. Type the following command:
snmptrapd -f -C -c ./snmptrapd.conf -Le -M /usr/ share/snmp/
mibs -m NETWORKER-MIB

To save the SNMP traps log file to a predefined location, type the following command:

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Example 13 Using PuTTY to capture the session output for SNMP traps Saving SNMP traps log
file to a predefined location (continued)
nohup snmptrapd -f -C -c ./snmptrapd.conf -Lf /var/log/
snmptrap.log -M /usr/share/snmp/mibs -m NETWORKER-MIB &

The nohup option ensures that the command runs even after the session is
terminated. Use & to run the command in the background.

Receive SNMP traps on Windows


To receive SNMP traps on Linux, do the following:
Before you begin
For SNMP Trap receiver:
l Install the iReasoning MIB browser.
l In the Address field, specify the IP of the NetWorker server.
l Select Tools > Trap Receiver > Trap Receiver Settings.
l Select UDP and port 162.
Procedure
1. On the NetWorker server, specify the SNMP notification command at the
policy and action levels:
l For Windows: “C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\bin
\nsrtrap.exe” <IP address of the Windows Trap Receiver>
l For Linux: /usr/sbin/nsrtrap <IP address of the Linux Trap
Receiver>

2. Load the NetWorker MIB file located at the following location to the iReasoning
MIB Browser using the Load MIBs option on the iReasoning MIB Browser.
l Linux NetWorker server: /opt/nsr/snmp
l Windows NetWorker server: C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\snmp

3. Navigate to iReasoning MIB Browser > Trap Receiver.


4. Initiate the policy or workflow on the NetWorker server to view the traps.

Configuring NetWorker SNMP notifications


The NetWorker software provides notifications to a variety of resources about
NetWorker server events. The NetWorker SNMP module is one of those resources.
The module uses the nsrtrap program to forward notifications to the SNMP
management software. To configure nsrtrap to send SNMP notifications to the
SNMP server, you must configure a Notification resource on the NetWorker server
and the SNMP server to receive the SNMP notifications. When you configure the
SNMP notification, you include the IP address or hostname of the SNMP management
server, and other nsrtrap command line options, for example, the SNMP community
and the trap type.

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Configuring SNMP notifications in NetWorker


You can create an SNMP notification or modify a preconfigured SNMP notification.
Before you begin
Before you configure the NetWorker SNMP notification, you must first license the
NetWorker SNMP module. Contact Dell EMC Licensing for more information.
Procedure
1. On the NetWorker Administration window, click Server.
2. On the Server window, select Notifications, and perform one of the following
actions:
l Right-click SNMP notification request, and select Properties.
l Right-click Notifications, and select New.
3. In the Name attribute, specify the name of the notification.
Note: You cannot modify the Name attribute for an existing notification.

4. Optionally, in the Comment field, specify a description of the notification.


5. In the Event and Priority attributes, select the events and priorities that the
notification should communicate to the SNMP server.
Note: You cannot modify the Event and Priority attributes for an existing
notification.

6. In the Action attribute, specify the options for the nsrtrap command:

nsrtrap -c community_name -t trap_type -s specific_trap_type


SNMP_server_name
The following table summarizes the available nsrtrap options.

Table 114 Command-line options for nsrtrap

Option Description
-c community Specifies the SNMP community that is authorized to receive
traps from the NetWorker server. You configure SNMP
communities on the SNMP server. The default setting for this
option is Public, which means that the public community can
receive traps from the NetWorker server.

For security purposes, system administrators often customize


the SNMP server to limit the
communities that can accept traps. If the SNMP server
configuration specifies a community other
than Public, specify the community name.

-t trap_type Optional, sets the type of trap that the NetWorker SNMP
Module sends to the SNMP server. The default setting is six,
which sets the trap type to “enterprise-specific” and is the
correct type for the notifications (error messages) that the
NetWorker server sends to the SNMP server. Only modify the
trap type if you intend to send a specific trap to the SNMP
server and not a NetWorker notification.

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Table 114 Command-line options for nsrtrap (continued)

Option Description
-s specific_trap_type Optional, allows you to customize the identity of the type of
trap that the NetWorker server sends. Set this option to any
integer value. Use this option along with different SNMP
notifications to distinguish different traps from the
NetWorker server.

For example, you can create separate SNMP notifications for


critical messages, warnings, and events
or priorities then use the -s option with a unique number to
differentiate the various notifications.
The Action attribute for each notification appears as follows:

l Critical notification: nsrtrap -s 1


SNMP_server_host_name
l Warning notification: nsrstrap -s 2
SNMP_server_host_name
l Event or priorities notification: nsrtrap -s 3
SNMP_server_host_name
Configure the SNMP management software to recognize that
NetWorker traps with the specific trap type of 1 are critical
messages, trap type 2 are warning messages and trap type 3
are event or priority messages. Additional SNMP notifications
can have other settings for the -s option to further
differentiate various traps from the NetWorker server.

-v Sets the output mode to verbose. When you run nsrtrap


from the command line in verbose mode, the program displays
the community, trap type, specific trap type, and the
hostname or IP address.

7. Click OK.

Configuring SNMP notifications at the policy level


You can configure SNMP notifications at the policy level.
Before you begin
Before you configure the NetWorker SNMP notification, you must first license the
NetWorker SNMP module. Contact Dell EMC Licensing for more information.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, right-click Policies, and then select Properties.
The Policy Properties dialog box appears.
3. Under Notifications:
a. Select On Completion to send a notification on completion of the workflows
and actions in the policy.
b. Specify the following command to set notifications for Windows or Linux.
l For Linux: /usr/sbin/nsrtrap <IP address of the Trap
Receiver>

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l For Windows: "C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\bin


\nsrtrap.exe" <IP address of the Trap Receiver>

4. Click OK.

Configuring SNMP notifications at the action level


You can configure SNMP notifications at the action level.
Before you begin
Before you configure the NetWorker SNMP notification, you must first license the
NetWorker SNMP module. Contact Dell EMC Licensing for more information.
Procedure
1. In the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the expanded left pane, expand Policies, and then select an existing policy.
3. Select a workflow associated to the selected policy.
4. Select an action.
5. Right-click the action, and select Properties.
The Policy Action wizard appears.
6. On the Specify the Advanced Options window, under Notifications, do the
following:
a. Select On Completion to send a notification on completion of the workflows
and actions in the policy.
b. Specify the following command to set notifications for Windows or Linux.
l For Linux: /usr/sbin/nsrtrap <IP address of the Trap
Receiver>
l For Windows: "C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\bin
\nsrtrap.exe" <IP address of the Trap Receiver>

7. Click OK.

SNMP traps for restore


Use either NMC or the NetWorker CLI to perform a restore.
Procedure
1. On the NetWorker Administration window, click Server.
2. Under Notifications, select Create a new notification using the SNMP
notification command.
The Create Notification window appears.
3. In the Name attribute, type a name for the notification.
4. In the Event attribute, select Recover.
5. In the Priority attribute, select the priorities of the corresponding actions.
6. In the Action attribute, type a command to run in response to the selected
events and priorities.
l For Linux NetWorker server: /usr/sbin/nsrtrap <IP address of
the Linux Trap Receiver>

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l For Windows NetWorker server: “C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker


\nsr\bin\nsrtrap.exe” <IP address of the Windows Trap
Receiver>
7. Initiate restore using either NMC or the NetWorker CLI.
l NMC: Open NMC and navigate to Recover > New Recover.
l CLI: Go to the NetWorker client on which restore has to be performed and
execute the recover command.
For more information on receiving SNMP traps, see the following sections:
l Receive SNMP traps on Linux
l Receive SNMP traps on Windows

Note:
l Restore workflow configuration is applicable for all file systems as well
as NetWorker Modules.
l When recovering save sets of NMDA Oracle and NMSAP Oracle,
multiple SNMP v2c traps (one notification per save set) are sent.

View SNMP traps on Linux Trap Receiver


After you configure SNMP notifications at the policy or action level, you can view the
SNMP traps.
Procedure
1. Place the NETWORKER-MIB file in the /usr/share/snmp/mibs directory.
2. Execute the following command from the Linux machine, which is configured as
the Trap Receiver:
# snmptrapd -f -C -c ./snmptrapd.conf -Le -M /usr/share/
snmp/mibs -m NETWORKER-MIB

Figure 75 Sample log output

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View SNMP traps on Windows Trap Receiver


After you configure SNMP notifications at the policy or action level, you can view the
SNMP traps.
About this task
To view SNMP v2c traps, several third party MIB Browsers are available, such as
iReasoning, Power SNMP Manager, SNMP J Manager, and so on. To receive SNMP
traps using the iReasoning MIB Browser:
Procedure
1. On the iReasoning MIB Browser, select Tools > Trap Receiver.
2. Select Trap Receiver Settings, and set the port number as 162 and the
protocol as UDP.
3. In the Address field, type the NetWorker server IP address.
4. Select File > Load MIBs to load the NETWORKER-MIB file
Note: There will be two SNMP notifications captured, the first one is the
Legacy Notification and the second one is the OID based SNMP
notification, containing the fields: Server, client, jobtype, jobid, status,
severity, exitcode, starttime, and endtime.
Figure 76 SNMP trap output

Configuring SNMP management software


You must configure the SNMP management software to recognize and accept traps
sent by NetWorker servers.
For specific instructions that describe how to configure the types of acceptable traps
in the SNMP management software, refer to the SNMP management software
documentation.

NetWorker SMI Network Management Private Enterprise Code


When you configure the SNMP management software to accept traps, you must
indicate the specific trap type. Use the Structure of Management Information (SMI)
Network Management Private Enterprise Code that applies to the specific network

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application that will send traps to the software. The Private Enterprise Code for the
NetWorker server is 160. The complete code is .1.3.6.1.4.1.160.

Receiving traps in the SNMP network management software


After you configure the SNMP network management software to accept traps from
NetWorker servers, an icon for each NetWorker server appears on the network
management console.
You can configure the SNMP network management software in the following ways:
l To indicate that a trap was received. For example, the NetWorker server icon may
blink or change color.
l To track pending, alert, and other configured messages.
l To separate traps into event categories, such as Error Events, Status Events,
Threshold Events, Configuration Events, Application Alert Events, or All Events.
For information on how to set up SNMP trap templates, refer to the network
management software documentation.

SNMP v2c trap support for NetWorker Modules


The following table provides information on the SNMP v2c trap support for
NetWorker Modules.

Modules Backup Clone Restore


GUI CLI GUI CLI GUI CLI

File system 18.2 18.2 18.2 18.2 19.1 19.1

Virtualization 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1


(vProxy)

Oracle 19.1 19.1a 19.1 19.1b 19.1 c 19.1 d

SAP Oracle 19.1 19.1 e 19.1 19.1f 19.1 g 19.1 h

BBB 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1

SQL 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 Not


Applicable

NMDP 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1

BMR 19.1 19.1 Not Not 19.1 Not


Applicable Applicable Applicable

NSM 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1

NMMEDI 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1 19.1

a. SNMP v2c traps are not supported for client initiated RMAN scripts.
b. SNMP v2c traps are not supported for client initiated RMAN scripts.
c. Multiple notifications (one notification per save set) for a single restore.
d. Multiple notifications (one notification per save set) for a single restore.
e. SNMP v2c traps are not supported for client initiated RMAN scripts.
f. SNMP v2c traps are not supported for client initiated RMAN scripts.
g. Multiple notifications (one notification per save set) for a single restore.
h. Multiple notifications (one notification per save set) for a single restore.

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NetWorker Notifications
A notification provides information about events that occur in a NetWorker
environment. You can configure the events to be reported and how the NetWorker
server reports them to you. Specific programs can be run when an event occurs,
including third-party programs. By default, the NetWorker server sends notifications
to log files that are located in the NetWorker_install_dir\logs directory on
Windows and the /nsr/logs directory on UNIX.

Preconfigured notifications
NetWorker is preconfigured to provide most of the event notifications that are
required to monitor NetWorker events. The following table lists these preconfigured
notifications and the associated actions that are performed by the NetWorker server.

Table 115 Preconfigured notifications

Notification Default action


Bus/Device Reset Windows: Provides the syntax for the
smptmail command to send an email to the
administrator account stating that a bus or
device reset has been detected.

The action attribute must be modified to


replace mailserver with the actual
hostname of the mail server. Using smtpmail
to email notifications on page 718
describes how to customize the smtpmail
command.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account


stating that a bus or device reset has been
detected.

Cleaning cartridge expired Windows: Reports to the C:\Program


Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs
\media.log file that a cleaning cartridge has
expired.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account


stating that an expired cleaning
cartridge has been detected.

Cleaning cartridge required Windows: Reports to the C:\Program


Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logsmedia.log file that a device cleaning
is required.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account


stating that a cleaning cartridge is
required.

Client install Windows: Reports the hostname and


NetWorker client software version

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Table 115 Preconfigured notifications (continued)

Notification Default action


information to the C:\Program Files\EMC
NetWorker\nsr\logs\media.log file.

Linux: Sends an email to root account:


host
host_name installed
product_version.

Where host_name is the name of the


NetWorker host, and product_version is the
NetWorker client software release and build
number.

Device cleaned Windows: Reports that a device has been


cleaned to the C:\Program Files\EMC
NetWorker\nsr\logs\media.log file.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account


stating that a device cleaning
operation has completed.

Device cleaning required Windows: Reports that a device requires


cleaning to the C:\Program Files\EMC
NetWorker\nsr\logs\media.log file.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account


stating that a device requires
cleaning.

Device disabled Windows: Reports that a device has been


automatically disabled to the C:\Program
Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs
\media.log file.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account


stating that NetWorker automatically
disabled a device.

Device ordering issue detect Windows: Provides the syntax for the
smptmail command to send an email to the
administrator account with the message
Check system device ordering.
Moving device on
NetWorker_server to service
mode.

To correct this issue, scan for devices in NMC


and re-enable the device. The
action attribute must be modified to replace
mailserver with the actual hostname
of the mail server. Using smtpmail to email
notifications on page 718 describes how
to customize the smtpmail command.

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Table 115 Preconfigured notifications (continued)

Notification Default action


Linux: Sends an email to the root account with
the message Check system device
ordering. Moving device on
NetWorker_server to service
mode. To correct, scan for devices in NMC
and re-enable the device.

Event log Windows only. Logs notification events that


are triggered by events and priorities to the
Event Log.

File system full - recovering adv_file space Launches the nsrim program to remove
aborted and expired save sets. Used with
advanced file type devices only.

File system full - waiting for adv_file space Windows: Reports that the advanced file
volume is full to the C:\Program Files
\EMC NetWorker\logs\media.log file.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account


stating that an advanced file volume
is full.

Inactive Files Alert Windows: Reports that the space occupied by


inactive files exceeds configured threshold to
the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker
\nsr\logs\messages log file.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account


stating that the space occupied by
inactive files exceeds configured threshold.

Index size Windows: Reports a message that the size of


the index will soon exceed the space available
to the C:\Program Files\EMC
NetWorker\nsr\logs\index.log file.

Linux: Sends an email to root with the


message Check the size of the
client file index because it
will soon exceed the space
available.

Log default Windows: Sends data about NetWorker


events to the C:\Program Files\EMC
NetWorker\nsr\logs\messages log file.

Linux: Directs data about the NetWorker


events to logger. The logger utility
sends the event with a tag of daemon.notice
to the Operating system log file
defined in the system log configuration file,
for example syslog.conf.

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Table 115 Preconfigured notifications (continued)

Notification Default action


NetWorker Daemons Not Running Windows: Provides the syntax for the
smptmail program to send an email to the
administrator account stating that NetWorker
daemons are not running on the NetWorker
server. The action attribute must be modified
to replace mailserver with the actual
hostname of the mail server. Using smtpmail
to email notifications on page 718 describes
how to customize the smtpmail program.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account


stating that NetWorker
daemons are not running on the NetWorker
server.

New Virtual Machine Windows: Reports a message that new virtual


machines have been detected to the
C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker
\nsr\logs\messages log file.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account


stating that new virtual machines
have been detected.

Registration Windows: Sends messages about the


registration status of the NetWorker products
to the C:\Program Files\EMC
NetWorker\nsr\logs\messages log file.
Linux: Sends an email to root with this
message Check the registration
status.
Resource File Corruption Windows: Provides the syntax for the
smptmail program to send an email to the
administrator account stating that resource
file corruption has been detected on the
NetWorker server.

The action attribute must be modified to


replace mailserver with the actual
hostname of the mail server. Using smtpmail
to email notifications on page 718 describes
how to customize the smtpmail program.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account


stating that resource file corruption has been
detected on the NetWorker server.

Save set marked suspect Windows: Provides the syntax for the
smptmail program to send an email to the
administrator account when a save set has
been marked suspect.

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Table 115 Preconfigured notifications (continued)

Notification Default action

The action attribute must be modified to


replace maillserver with the actual
hostname of the mail server. Using smtpmail
to email notifications on page 718 describes
how to customize the smtpmail program.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account


when a save set has been marked suspect.

SNMP notification request Sends event notifications to a network


management console. This notification occurs
when the NetWorker SNMP module has been
purchased and enabled. Configuring
NetWorker SNMP notifications on page 704
provides details on SNMP notifications

Tape mount request 1 Windows: Requests that media be mounted in


a device and displays a pending message in
the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker
\nsr\logs\messages log file.

Linux: Sends a request message to the system


logger to mount a backup
volume, using a local0 facility and an alert
level.

Tape mount request 2 Windows: Requests that media be mounted in


a device and displays a critical message.

Linux: Sends a request message to the system


logger to mount a backup
volume, using a local0 facility and an alert
level.

Tape mount request 3 Windows: Sends a request to mount a backup


volume with a priority of Alert, to the
C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker
\nsr\logs\media.log file.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account


requesting that the tape be
mounted.

Tape mount request 4 Windows: Provides the syntax for the


smptmail program to send an email to the
administrator account that a Tape mount
request 4 event has occurred.

The action attribute must be modified to


replace mailserver with the actual
hostname of the mail server. Using smtpmail
to email notifications on page 718 describes
how to customize the smtpmail program.

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Table 115 Preconfigured notifications (continued)

Notification Default action


Linux: Sends an email to the root account
stating that a Tape mount request 4 event has
occurred.

Verify Label failed on unload Windows: Provides the syntax for the
smptmail program, to send an email to the
administrator account stating that a label
verification on unload operation has failed.

The action attribute must be modified to


replace mailserver with the actual
hostname of the mail server. Using smtpmail
to email notifications on page 718 describes
how to customize the smtpmail program.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account


stating that a label verification on unload
operation has failed.

Volume Marked full Windows: Provides the syntax for the


smptmail program to send an email to the
administrator account stating that a volume
has been marked full.

The action attribute must be modified to


replace mailserver with the actual
hostname of the mail server. Using smtpmail
to email notifications on page 718 describes
how to customize the smtpmail program.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account


stating that a volume has been marked full.

Volume Scan needed Windows: Sends an event notification to the


C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker
\nsr\logs\media.log file with a message
that a volume with the Scan needed flag is
detected.

Linux: Sends an email to the root account with


a message that a volume with
the Scan needed flag is detected.

Customizing notifications
Notifications require the following three elements:
l Events
l Actions
l Priorities

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About Events
An event signals that user intervention is required. For example, if a NetWorker server
needs a new tape, the server alerts users to the situation by posting an event to the
Console window.
NetWorker software generates an event that is based on various factors, including the
following scenarios:
l The software or hardware encounters an error that requires user intervention to
resolve.
l A NetWorker savegroup has failed.
l Drive ordering or serial number mismatch issues — a description of the problem is
provided, along with a corrective action to fix the problem.
l Capacity monitoring — for example, reaching the space threshold on the
deduplication node.
l NetWorker software is unable to poll a host it is monitoring for events or for
generating reports.
l A license or enabler code that is managed by the License Manager is about to
expire.
Some situations do not result in the generation of an event. For example, when a
license managed by the NetWorker Console (instead of by the License Manager)
approaches its expiration date. In this situation, a message is recorded in the
NetWorker logs, but an event is not generated until the expired license causes a
backup to fail. Check the Administration window from time to time for important
messages.

Actions
The Actions attribute defines the action that the NetWorker server takes after an
event notification occurs. The following table provides a summary of actions.

Table 116 Actions

Action Description
eventlog Windows only, logs the notification message to the event log.
Priority determines whether the notification is an error,
warning, or information-only message.

nsrlog Windows only, sends a message about an event to a file. Use


option -f to identify a specific file. For example:

nsrlog -f log file path

If no option is specified, then messages go to the /nsr/


logs/ messages file.

Note: The log file path must not include any space or
special characters, and must not be enclosed in quotes.

logger UNIX only, uses the UNIX syslog facility (/usr/bin/


logger) to log information or send messages.

lp UNIX only, prints the notification.

mail UNIX only, sends an email to the specified user.

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Table 116 Actions (continued)

Action Description
sendmail NetWorker Virtual Appliance (NVE), sends an email to a
specified user.

smtpmail Windows only, sends an email to the specified user.

nsrtrap Sends notifications to an SNMP management console. Use


with the following options:
l -c community (if not specified, then the default public is
used)
l -f file (reads message from a file and sends as snmp
trap.)
l -i version (if not specified, then the default version is
SNMPV2)
l -s specific (default is NetWorker enterprise assignment,
which is 1)
l -t trap (default trap is #6 which is the enterprise-specific
trap)
l -u snmp uptime
l -v verbose

Third-party programs can also be used for the action, if the programs support reading
from standard input.
For example:
l On UNIX systems, you can use a third-party email program rather than the mail
program.
l On Windows systems, you can use a third-party email program rather than the
smtpmail program to send the information to other locations, such as an email
address or pager system.
Only users who belong to the NetWorker server Administrators list, or a member of
the Application Administrators user group, can change the Action attribute of an
existing notification.

Using smtpmail to email notifications


Use the smtpmail program included with the NetWorker software on Windows
systems to email an event notification to a list of specified email addresses.
About this task
The smtpmail program requires:
l A mail server that allows SMTP relays.
l An active TCP/IP connection. This command does not have dialing capabilities.
The smtpmail command reads the message that is sent from standard input.
The message is terminated in one of the following ways:
l An EOF.
l CTRL-Z on console.

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l A line consisting of a single period (.).


To use the smtpmail program to email event notifications:
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Server.
2. Click Notifications.
3. Right-click the notification, then select Properties. The Properties dialog box
appears.
4. In the Action attribute, type the following command:
smtpmail -s subject -h mailserver recipient1@mailserver
recipient2@mailserver...

where:

l -s subject—Includes a standard email header with the message and


specifies the subject text for that header. Without this option, the
smtpmail program assumes that the message contains a correctly
formatted email header and nothing is added.
l -h mailserver—Specifies the hostname of the mail server to use to relay
the SMTP email message.
l recipient1@mailserver—Is the email address of the recipient of the
notification. Multiple email recipients are separated by a space.
5. Click Ok.

Priorities
Each NetWorker event has a series of associated messages, and each message has an
associated priority. The preconfigured notifications have selected priorities based on
the importance of the message being sent. For example, the first time the NetWorker
server sends a mount backup volume request, the priority that is assigned to the
message is Waiting. The priority of the second request is Alert. The priority of the
third request is Critical.
The following table lists the priorities on which notifications are based.

Table 117 Priorities

Priority Description
Information Information about the current state of the server.

Notice Important information.

Warning A non-fatal error has occurred.

Waiting The NetWorker server is waiting for an operator to perform a


routine task, such as mounting a backup volume.

Alert A severe condition exists that requires immediate attention.

Critical The server detected an error that should be fixed.

Emergency A condition exists that may cause NetWorker to fail unless


corrected immediately.

Note: Event priorities are sorted alphabetically, rather than by severity.

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Creating a custom notification


About this task
NetWorker also provides preconfigured notifications. Preconfigured notifications on
page 711 provides a complete list of preconfigured notifications.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Server.
2. Right-click Notifications, then select New. The Create Notification dialog box
appears.
3. In the Name attribute, type a name for the notification.
4. In the Event attribute, select the events to be acted on.
5. In the Priority attribute, select the priorities of the corresponding actions.
6. In the Action attribute, type a command to run in response to the selected
events and priorities.
7. Click Ok.

Editing a notification
About this task
Note: You cannot change the name of a notification.

Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Server.
2. Click Notifications.
3. In the right pane, perform one of the following tasks:
l To modify multiple attributes in a single configuration resource by using the
Notification Properties window, right-click the staging configuration and
select Properties.
l To modify a specific attribute that appears in the resource window, place
the mouse in the cell that contains the attribute that you want to change,
then right-click. The menu displays an option to edit the attribute. For
example, to modify the Comment attribute, right-click the resource in the
Comment cell and select Edit Comment.
Note: To modify a specific attribute for multiple resources, press and
hold the Ctrl key, select each resource, and then right-click in the cell
that contains the attribute that you want to change. The menu displays
an option to edit the attribute.
4. Make any required changes, then click OK.

Copying a notification
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Server.
2. Click Notifications.
3. Right-click the notification to copy, then select Copy. The Create Notification
dialog box appears, containing the same information as the notification that was
copied, for Name attribute.

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4. In the Name attribute, type a name for the new notification.


5. Edit any other attributes as appropriate, then click OK.

Deleting a custom notification


About this task
Note: You cannot delete preconfigured notifications.

Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Server.
2. Click Notifications.
3. Right-click the notification to delete, then select Delete.
4. When prompted, click Yes to confirm the deletion.

Configuring owner notifications


Owner notification is an attribute of the NetWorker Client resource. Use this attribute
to send an email to a user with the results of the backup of the individual client.
About this task
For Windows NetWorker servers, use the smtpmail program to send the owner
notification email. Using smtpmail to email notifications on page 718 describes how to
configure the smtpmail program.
For UNIX NetWorker servers, use the /usr/ucb/mail program or a third-party mail
application to send the owner notification.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Protection.
2. Select Clients in the left navigation pane.
3. Right-click the client, and select Properties.
4. Select Globals (2 of 2).
l For a Windows NetWorker server, use the smtpmail program to configure
email notifications. Using smtpmail to email notifications on page 718
describes how to configure smtpmail.
l For a UNIX NetWorker server, use the /usr/ucb/mail program:

/usr/ucb/mail -s "subject" recipient1@mailserver


recipient2@mailserver...
For example:

/usr/ucb/mail -s "Backup status for client xyz in group abc"


debbie@mymailhost.com
5. Click OK.
Results
When the group containing the client completes, the notification is sent to the
recipient email address defined in the Owner notification attribute.
For example:
-----Original Message-----
From: Super-User [mailto:root@NWserver.corp.com]

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Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2012 12:45 PM


To: debbie@mymailhost.com
Subject: Backup status for client xyz in group abc
cdcsdunndl1c, savefs, "succeeded:full:savefs"
* cdcsdunndl1c:savefs savefs cdcsdunndl1c: succeeded.
cdcsdunndl1c, C:\cmdcons\system32, "<NULL>:full:save"
* cdcsdunndl1c:C:\cmdcons\system32 cdcsdunndl1c:C:\cmdcons
\system32 aborted
* cdcsdunndl1c:C:\cmdcons\system32 Termination request was sent
to job 64006 as requested; Reason given: Aborted

Logging event notifications


NetWorker keeps two general notification log files. By default, these files are located
in <NetWorker_install_dir>\logs:
l The messages log file (Windows only) — The data in the messages log file is
generated by nsrlog, a program that is part of the NetWorker event notification
mechanism. The nsrlog program is triggered by a notification, and it prints the
message to the messages log file.
l The daemon.raw log file — The nsrd, nsrexecd, and their subordinate
processes redirect their output to the daemon.raw log file.
To better access and use these event logs in Windows systems, an Event Logging
mechanism enables applications to the application event log, and access them from
any computer that has the Windows Event Viewer. The Event Viewer enables you to
look selectively at the messages that interest you by filtering messages based on the
categories that are listed in this table.

Table 118 Event Viewer messages

Event Viewer category Displayed information


Source Events from NetWorker software always designate
NetWorker as the source.

Category Mapped from NetWorker notification event type (server,


registration, and so on).

Severity Mapped from NetWorker notification priority:


l Critical and Emergency are mapped to Error.
l Priorities between Alert and Warning are mapped to
Warning.
l Notification and Information are mapped to Information.

Event ID Events from NetWorker software always designate the


numeral 1 for the ID.

Breakthrough logging
Breakthrough logging feature in NetWorker helps you to understand the steps
involved in the various operations such as Save, Recover and Clone. Each step is
logged in the defined order to ensure successful completion of Save, Recover and
Clone operations. Breakthrough logging helps the user to review the log associated
with each step of operation and determine the step that failed during the execution of
that particular operation.

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You can check logs for clone and backup at/nsr/logs/Policy/<policy name> .
You can check logs for recovery at /nsr/logs/recover.

Front-end Capacity Estimation


NetWorker supports an automatic reporting mechanism that communicates with Dell
EMC's Usage Intelligence portal. You must install the EMC Secure Remote Services
(ESRS) appliance version 3.20.20.08 or later from the ESRS Virtual Edition Product
Page, and configure NetWorker to communicate with the appliance. Review the ESRS
v3 Installation Training video for details about how to install the ESRS appliance.
The ESRS RAP resource can be configured to send periodic license, configuration and
usage information to Dell EMC as well as track the liveness of NetWorker servers.
Several reports are sent, the details of the reports are extracted from command line
tools.
The command line tool nsrcapinfo, generates an estimate of the total data
protected in a NetWorker datazone. The capacity estimate uses a simple heuristic
where it measures the maximum full backup for each application type and each client
in the datazone, this is defined as the client's capacity. The sum of each individual
client's capacity provides a capacity estimate for the entire datazone. Configuration
information is extracted from the RAP database through the command line tool
nsrdump. The nsrdump tool automatically hides sensitive information like passwords,
but can also be configured to hide other information that customers may not wish to
share with Dell EMC.
The NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides more details on nsrcapinfo.

Configuring EMC Secure Remote Services (ESRS)


Procedure
1. Install the ESRS appliance v3.20.20.08 or later. You can access ESRS
documentation and downloads from the ESRS Virtual Edition Product Page.
Note: This download is separate and is not a part of the NetWorker
package.

2. Ensure that NetWorker can reach the host port 9443.


3. In the NetWorker Management Console (NMC) click Server, and then select
ESRS.

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Figure 77 ESRS Properties

4. In the Identity area, type information for the fields in the following table.

Table 119 ESRS fields and descriptions

Field Description
ESRS hostname or IP Hostname or IP of the ESRS.

ESRS port TCP port number for the ESRS service. The default port is
9443.

Username Username is your online support account email. Go to the


Support website at https://support.emc.com to check your
account. For more details on Support website, see the
Preface section of the NetWorker Administration Guide.

Password Password is your online support account password.

Comment (Optional) Description of this resource or other explanatory


remarks.

E-mail contact (Optional) Administrator's email address.


During the ESRS Provisioning process, after you use your online support
credentials to authenticate, you select your particular site ID from a list of site
IDs associated with your login. An email containing a code will be sent to the
associated email address. The code that is sent is used to complete the
provisioning. The EMC Secure Remote Services Installation Guide provides
information.

The following fields are populated by NetWorker.

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Field Description
Name Identifier for the ESRS resource.

Product key After a successful registration, ESRS returns the product key.
This key is used for authentication with the ESRS service.
(Hidden Attribute) The key automatically gets updated after
the ESRS host is successfully registered with the NetWorker
Server.

ESRS instance id The value that is returned from the ESRS host to identify this
NetWorker Server instance. The id automatically gets updated
after the ESRS host is successfully registered with the
NetWorker Server.

5. (Optional) In the Configuration area you can change the defaults.

Field Description
Send now To send the database immediately select the checkbox. Once
the database is sent, NetWorker by default clears the
checkbox.
Review daemon.raw for errors:
l On Windows—Reports are in the
<NW_installlocation>\nsr\applogs\rh folder.
l On UNIX—Reports are in the /nsr/applogs/rh folder.

Frequency in weeks Select the frequency in weeks that the local database is sent
to ESRS. 0 disables scheduled sends. The default frequency is
set to 4.

Day of the week Choose the day of the week that the local database is sent to
ESRS. The default day is set to Monday.

Hours Select the hour of the day that the local database is sent to
ESRS. The default hour is set to 8 for 8am.

Exclude attributes To prevent nsrdump from reporting certain attributes


through ESRS, type the list of comma-separated attributes.
Excluded attribute names apply to all resources across the
database. The default attributes are hostname, datazone pass
phrase, password, and user id.

Exclude resources To prevent nsrdump from reporting certain resources


through ESRS, type the list of comma-separated resources.
The default excluded resource is set to NSR lockbox.

6. Click OK.
If you want to cancel the information you entered click Reset.

Troubleshooting ESRS

EMC Secure Remote Services (ESRS) registration fails


Issue
The registration could fail due to:

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l Incorrect ESRS hostname, IP, or port


l Incorrect ESRS username or password
l Firewall blocks access to the ESRS port
Fix
Use the correct connection information and open the ESRS port on the firewall.
For incorrect ESRS username or password, go to the Support website at https://
support.emc.com to check your online support account and verify that you have
access to the NetWorker asset. If you still have issues, create a support ticket for
ESRS deployment issues that are caused due to username or password issues.
Note: For more details on Support website, see the Preface section of
theNetWorker Administration Guide.

EMC Secure Remote Services (ESRS) keepalive or file transfer fails


Issue
The failure could be due to invalid credentials:
l ESRS has not been configured and registered
l ESRS instance id has been edited manually
l ESRS product key has been modified
Fix
Configure ESRS and verify that the registration call obtained an ESRS instance id:
l Undo modification of ESRS instance id and/or the product key.
l Alternatively, force the ESRS re-registration by deleting the contents of the ESRS
instance id in the NSR ESRS resource.

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CHAPTER 12
NetWorker Server Monitoring

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Enterprise events monitoring........................................................................... 728


l Monitoring NetWorker Server activities in the Administration window............. 731
l Monitoring changes to the NetWorker and NMC Server resources..................746
l Monitoring user access to the NMC server...................................................... 747
l Monitoring NetWorker server activities in the log files..................................... 747

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Enterprise events monitoring


The NetWorker Management Console (NMC) makes the administration of servers
more efficient by providing a centralized means of monitoring activity throughout an
enterprise.
You can view details of current NetWorker and Data Domain systems. Managing
various servers in the Enterprise on page 751 provides details on adding hosts to be
monitored.
Information that can be monitored includes activities and operations that are related
to devices and libraries, and events that require user intervention.
An event signals that user intervention is required. For example, if a NetWorker server
needs a new tape, the server alerts users to the situation by posting an event to the
Console window.
NetWorker generates an event that is based on various factors, including the following
examples:
l Software or hardware errors that require user intervention to resolve.
l Failed backups.
l Drive ordering or serial number mismatch issues.
A description of the problem is provided, along with a corrective action to fix the
problem.
l Capacity monitoring, such as reaching the space threshold on the deduplication
node
l Inability to poll a host for event monitoring or report generation.
l Impending expiration of a license or enabler code that is managed by the License
Manager.
Some situations do not result in the generation of an event. For example, when a
license managed by the NetWorker Console (instead of by the License Manager)
approaches its expiration date. In this situation, a message is recorded in the
NetWorker logs, but an event is not generated until the expired license causes a
backup to fail. Check the Administration window from time to time for important
messages.

Polling interval for system events


You can set the polling interval for system-level events and activities in the System
Options dialog box.
Polling interval configuration is available for the following items:
l Events and reporting (in seconds).
l NetWorker activities (in seconds).
l Data Domain events (in seconds).
l NetWorker libraries (in hours).
Note: Event polling for NetWorker libraries can occur a maximum of once per
hour.
Setting system options to improve NMC server performance on page 778 provides
information on setting polling intervals.

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Enabling or disabling event capture for a host


Enable the Capture Events option for a host in the NMC to enable event monitoring
for the host. This option is selected by default when you add a host.
Procedure
1. From the NMC GUI, click Enterprise.
2. Right-click the host, and select Properties.
3. Enable or disable event capture for the host by selecting or clearing the
Capture Events checkbox.
4. If the host is a Data Domain system, select the Configure SNMP Monitoring
tab.
a. Type public in the SNMP Community String box.
b. Type the value of the SNMP process port that is used by all Data Domain
systems that are monitored by the NMC in the SNMP Process Port box.
The default port is 162.

c. In the SNMP Traps list, select the checkbox next to the Data Domain
system events that you want to monitor with NetWorker.
5. Click OK.

Event viewing
Events appear in the lower right pane of the Console window.
The following table describes the information that appears in the columns for each
event.

Table 120 NMC event information

Column Description
Priority Represents the relative severity of the problem by displaying
one of seven icons.

Server Name Identifies the host that caused the event to be generated.

Server Type Identifies the type of server to which the event belongs.
Server types include but are not limited to NetWorker and
Data Domain.

Time Indicates the day of the week and time that the Console
server discovered the problem. The time which an event is
reported is always based on the time zone of the Console
server. For example: If a backup fails at 11:00 A.M. in New
York, a Console server in Los Angeles reports the event as
occurring at 8:00 A.M.

The time format depends on the current locale setting. Start


date and time formats on page 674 provides more
information.

Category Classifies the source of the problem.

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Table 120 NMC event information (continued)

Column Description
Message Displays the text of the error message that generated the
event.

Annotation Displays an icon when an annotation has been made. An


annotation provides a place to record comments that are
associated with an event, and can accommodate more
information than the Note column.

Each annotation can be up to 12 KB. For example, use


annotations to log steps that are taken to resolve
an event.

You can add multiple annotations to a single event, but you


cannot edit or delete annotations.

To add or view annotations, right-click the event and select


Annotation.

Note Provides an editable field for making brief administrative


information that is associated with an event. For example:
l Name of the NetWorker administrator or operator that is
assigned to the event.
l Letters or numbers that allow the sorting of events into a
preferred order.

To add, edit, or delete a note, double-click the cell in the Note


column for the event. When you finish
adding, editing, or deleting the note, click outside the cell.

The maximum number of characters for a note is 30.

Event priorities
Each event is designated with one of seven possible priorities. When the Console
window sorts events by priority, it lists the events in alphabetical order, with
Emergency between Critical and Information.
The following table provides more information on each type of event priority.

Table 121 Event priorities

Icon Priority Description


Alert Error condition that is detected by the
NetWorker server that should be fixed by a
qualified operator.

Critical Severe error condition that demands


immediate attention.

Emergency Condition exists that may cause NetWorker


software to fail unless corrected immediately.
This icon represents the highest priority.

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Table 121 Event priorities (continued)

Icon Priority Description


Information Information about the current state of the
server. This icon represents the lowest
priority.

Notification Important information.

Waiting Indication that the NetWorker server is


waiting for an operator to perform a routine
task, such as mounting a tape.

Warning Non-fatal error has occurred.

Dismissing an event
After you view and act on an event, you can dismiss the event from the Console
window to prevent other users from acting unnecessarily on events that have already
been resolved.
About this task
Note: Dismissing an event makes it disappear from the Console window for all
NetWorker users.
Procedure
1. From the Console window, right-click the event and select Dismiss.
A confirmation message appears.
2. Click Yes.
Results
There are slight differences in how event dismissals are handled, depending on the
source:
l Events from NetWorker software are automatically dismissed in the Console
window when the problem that triggered the event is resolved.
l Events from device ordering or serial mismatch issues are automatically dismissed
in the Console window when the problem is resolved via the corrective action
provided.

Monitoring NetWorker Server activities in the


Administration window
The Monitoring window in the NetWorker Administration application enables you to
monitor the activities of an individual NetWorker Server.
About this task
The Monitoring window provides the following types of activity and status
information:
l Data protection policies, workflows, and individual actions.

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l Cloning, recovering, synthetic full backups, and browsing of client file indexes.
l Operations that are related to devices and jukeboxes.
l Alerts and log messages.
You can also perform some management operations from the Monitoring window, for
example, starting, stopping, or restarting a data protection policy.
Procedure
1. From the NMC Console window, click Enterprise.
2. In the Enterprise view, right-click the NetWorker Server, and then select
Launch Application.
The Administration window appears.
3. To view the Monitoring window, click Monitoring.
Figure 78 Monitoring window

About the Monitoring window


On the Administration window taskbar, select Monitoring to view the details of
current NetWorker server activities and status, such as:
l Policies and actions.
l Cloning, recovering, synthetic backups, checkpoint restart backups, and browsing
of client file indexes.
l Alerts and log messages, and operations that are related to devices and jukeboxes.
While the Monitoring window is used primarily to monitor NetWorker server activities,
it can also be used to perform certain operations. These operations include starting,
stopping, or restarting a workflow.

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The Monitoring window includes a docking panel that displays specific types of
information. Select the types of information you want to view from the docking panel.
A portion of the Monitoring window, which is known as the task monitoring area, is
always visible across all windows. A splitter separates the task monitoring area from
the rest of the window. You can click and move the splitter to resize the task
monitoring area. The arrow icon in the upper right corner of the Monitoring window
allows you to select which tasks you want to appear in this view.
Smaller windows appear within the Monitoring window for each window. Each smaller
window, once undocked, is a floating window and can be moved around the page to
customize the view. You can select multiple types from the panel to create multiple
floating windows that can be viewed simultaneously. The following table describes the
various types of information available in the docking panel, and the details each one
provides.

Table 122 Monitoring window panel

Window Information provided


Policies/Actions The Policies tab provides you with status information about all
configure policies and the associated workflows and actions. The
Actions tab provides you with status information for all actions.
Policies/Actions pane on page 735 provides more information.

Sessions Allows you to customize whether to display all session types, or only
certain session types. The information that is provided depends on
which session type you select. For example, if you select Save
Sessions, the window lists clients, save sets, groups, backup level,
backup start time, duration of the backup, devices, rate, and size.
Sessions window on page 57 provides more information.

Alerts Lists the priority, category, time, and message of any alerts. Alerts
pane on page 58 provides more information.

Devices Lists devices, device status, storage nodes, libraries, volumes, pools,
and related messages. Devices pane on page 59 provides more
information.

Operations Lists the status of all library and silo operations, including nsrjb
operations that are run from the command prompt. Also lists user
input, libraries, origin, operation data, operation start time, duration of
the operation, progress messages, and error messages.

When displaying Show Details from the Operations window, the


length of time that the window is
displayed depends on the value that is typed in the Operation
Lifespan attribute on the Timers tab of
the Properties dialog box for the corresponding library. To access
library properties, click Devices in the taskbar. By default, this pane is
hidden.

Log Lists messages that are generated by the NetWorker server, including
the priority of each message, the time the message was generated,
the source of the message, and the category. Log window on page 62
provides more information.

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Customizing the Monitoring window


This section describes how to customize the Monitoring window in the
Administration interface.

Customizing tables
You can customize the organization and display of tabular information in the
Monitoring window.
Sorting tables
You can change the display of tabular information that appears in the window. You can
sort Table grids by column heading, and then by alphabetic or numeric order within
those columns.
1. Drag and drop the column heading to its new position.
2. Click the column heading to sort the items into alphabetic and numeric order. An
arrow appears in the column heading to indicate the sort order.
Sorting selected rows in a table
Selected rows are sorted to the top of the table. This sorting is particularly useful
when you select Highlight All from the Find panel to select all rows matching the Find
criteria and then moving all selected rows to the top of the table to view the results.
1. From the Edit menu, select Find, or press Ctrl + F to view the Find panel.
2. To select the rows, click each row or use the Find criteria.
3. Select Sort Selected.
Sorting multiple columns in a table
You can select the column that you want to use as the tertiary sort key, the secondary
sort key, and the primary sort key.
1. Click the column that you want to use as the last sort key.
2. Click the column that you want to use as the next-to-last sort key, and so on, until
you select the primary column.
Displaying columns in a table
You can select which columns to display in a table.
1. From the View menu, select Choose Table Columns.
2. Click a column name to select or clear the column and then click OK. You can also
select the columns to display by right-clicking a table header and selecting Add
Column from the drop-down.

Displaying panes
You can choose to show or hide panes in the Monitoring window.
About this task
Perform the following steps to hide or show a pane in the Monitoring window.
Procedure
1. From the View menu, select Show. A check mark appears beside the panes that
appear in the Monitoring window.
2. To hide a pane, select a marked pane.

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A check mark does not appear beside the pane.


3. To show a pane, select an unmarked pane.
A check mark appears beside the pane.

Policies/Actions pane
The Policies/Actions pane provides you with the ability to review status information
about policies and actions.
This pane has two tabs:
l Policies—Provides a navigation tree that displays all configured policies on the
NetWorker Server. Expand each policy to display the workflows that are
associated with each policy. Expand each workflow to display each action that is
contained in the workflow.
l Actions—Provides a list of all Action resources.
Policies pane
The Monitoring window in the NetWorker Administration window enables you to
monitor activities for specific policies, workflows, and actions.
The Policies/Actions pane at the top of the Monitoring window lists the policies on
the NetWorker Server by default. Click the + (plus) sign next to a policy in the list to
view the workflows in the policy, and the + (plus) sign next to a workflow to view the
actions for a workflow.
The Policies pane provides the following information for each item (where applicable):
l Overall status
The following table provides details on the status icons that may appear in the
Policies pane.

Table 123 Policy status icons

Icon Status
Never run

Running

Succeeded

Failed

Probing

Interrupted

Queued

Cloning

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Table 123 Policy status icons (continued)

Icon Status
Consolidating (NetWorker Server 8.2.x and
lower only)

Note: When the schedule for an action is skip, the status of the action appears
as Never Run and the status of the Workflow is Succeeded.
l Most recent start time.
l Duration of the most recent run.
l Next scheduled runtime.
l Name of the assigned save set.
l Device on which the save set is stored.
l Backup level.
l Data transfer rate.
l Size of the save set.
l Messages that resulted from an action.
Right-click an action in the Policies pane and select Show Details to view details on
currently running, successfully completed, and failed activities for the action.
When you sort the items on the Policies/Actions pane by using the Status column,
NetWorker sorts the items in alphabetical order that is based on the label of the icon.
Consider the following when a policy/action is in a probing state:
l A message is sent when the group starts and finishes the probe operation.
l The results of the probe operation (run backup/do not run backup) are also
logged.
l Probes do not affect the final status of the group, and the group status does not
indicate the results of the probe.
l If probing indicates that a backup should not run, then the group status reverts to
its state before the group running.
l Check the results of the probe in the Log window to ensure that the probe
indicates that the backup can be taken.
Actions pane
To view a list of all actions, click the Actions tab at the bottom of the Policies pane.
The Policies pane becomes the Actions pane.
The Actions pane provides the following information for each action:
l Overall status
Note: The Actions pane displays the same status icons as the Policies pane.

l Name
l Assigned policy
l Assigned workflow
l Type
l Date and time of the most recent run

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l Duration of the most recent run


l Percent complete, for actions that are in progress
l Next scheduled runtime
Right-click an action in the Actions pane and select Show Details to view details on
currently running, successfully completed, and failed activities for the action.

Workflow operations
This section describes how to use the Monitoring window to start, stop, and restart
workflows.

Starting, stopping, and restarting policies


The workflows in a policy can run automatically, based on a schedule. You can also
manually start, stop, and restart specific workflows by using the the NMC NetWorker
Administration Monitoring window.
About this task
You can restart any failed or canceled workflow. Note, however, that the restart must
occur within the restart window that you specified for the workflow. Additionally, for a
VMware backup, if you cancel a workflow from NetWorker Administration and then
want to restart the backup, ensure that you restart the workflow from the NetWorker
Administration window. If a workflow that was started from NetWorker
Administration is restarted from the vSphere Web Client, the backup fails.
Procedure
1. In the Monitoring window, select the workflow or actions.
2. Right-click and then select Start, Stop, or Restart.
A confirmation message appears.
Note: You cannot stop, restart, or start individual actions.

3. Click Yes.

Viewing workflow backup details


Perform the following steps to view backup details for workflows.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Monitoring.
2. Click Policies in the docking panel, and expand the Policy that you want to
monitor.
3. Right-click the workflow, and then select Show Details. The Workflow
Summary window appears.
4. In the Workflow runs pane of the Workflow Summary window, select the
workflow.
5. Click Show Messages. In the Show Messages window, select one of the
following options:
l Get Full Log—To display all messages.
l Print—To print the log.
l Save—To save the log to a local file.
l OK—To close the Show Messages window.

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6. Click OK to close the Workflow Summary window.

Viewing action backup details


Perform the following steps to view backup details for actions.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Monitoring.
2. Click Actions in the docking panel.
3. In the Actions pane, right-click the action, and then select Show Details. The
details window for the action appears.
4. Review the information in the Actions Messages pane. To display detailed
information from the action log file, click Show Action Logs, and then select
one of the following options:
l Get Full Log—To display all messages.
l Print—To print the log.
l Save—To save the log to a local file.
l OK—To close the Show Messages window.

5. In one of the Actions detail panes, for example, the Completed successfully
pane, select the action that you want to review.
6. Click Show Messages. In the Show Messages window, select one of the
following options:
l Get Full Log—To display all messages.
l Print—To print the log.
l Save—To save the log to a local file.
l OK—To close the Show Messages window.

7. Click OK to close the Details window.

Sessions window
Use the Sessions window to view the sessions that are running on a NetWorker
server. You can change the view of this window to display these sessions:
The Sessions pane below the Policies/Actions pane provides details on individual
save, recover, clone, and synthetic full sessions by client.
To view all sessions or to limit the list of sessions by the session type, click the tabs at
the bottom of the Sessions pane. Session types include:
l Save
l Recover
l Clone
l Browse
l Synthetic Full/Rehydrated Sessions
l All
To change the displayed session types go to View > Show, and select the type of
sessions to display. To display all sessions currently running on the NetWorker Server,
regardless of type, select All Sessions.

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You can stop a session (backup, synthetic full backup, clone, and recovery sessions)
from the Monitoring window, even if the session was started by running the
nsrworkflow command.
To stop a session, right-click the workflow in the pane, and select Stop from the list
box.

Alerts pane
The Alerts pane displays alerts that are generated by a particular NetWorker server or
Data Domain system that has devices that are configured on the NetWorker server.
The Alerts pane includes priority, category, time, and message information.
An icon represents the priority of the alert. The following table lists and describes
each icon.

Table 124 Alerts window icons

Icon Label Description


Alert Error condition detected by the NetWorker server that
should be fixed by a qualified operator.

Critical Severe error condition that demands immediate


attention.

Emergency Condition exists that could cause NetWorker software


to fail unless corrected immediately. This icon
represents the highest priority.

Information Information about the current state of the server. This


icon represents the lowest priority.

Notification Important information.

Waiting The NetWorker server is waiting for an operator to


perform a task, such as mounting a tape.

Warning A non-fatal error has occurred.

When items on the Alerts pane are sorted by the Priority column, they are sorted in
alphabetical order based on the label of the icon.

Removing alerts
Remove individual alert messages from the Events tables by removing them from the
Events table. To delete a message in the Events table, right-click the message, and
select Dismiss.
About this task
Note: The alert message remains in the Log window in the NetWorker
Administration program.

Devices pane
The Devices pane allows you to monitor the status of all devices, including NDMP
devices. If the NetWorker server uses shared and logical devices, the window is

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adjusted dynamically to present a set of columns appropriate for the current


configuration.
The Devices pane provides the following information:
l Status of the operation.
l Name of the device.
l Name of the storage node that contains the device.
l For tape devices, the name of the library that contains the device.
l Name of the volume in the device.
l Name of the pool that is associated with the volume.
l Last message generated for the device.
l Whether the operation requires user input.

For example, a labeling operation may want the user to acknowledge whether the
system should overwrite the label on a tape.
Entering user input on page 61 provides instructions on how to deal with a user
input notification.
If the current server configuration includes a shared device, a Shared Device Name
column appears on the Devices pane. The name of the shared device appears in the
Shared Device Name column. If other devices for that configuration are not shared
devices, then the Shared Device Name column is blank for those devices. Only a
single device per hardware ID can be active at any particular moment. The information
for inactive shared devices is filtered out, and as a result, only one device per
hardware ID is presented on the window at any time.
An icon represents the device status. The following table lists and describes each icon.

Table 125 Devices status icons

Icon Label Description


Library device active The library device is active.

Library device disabled The library device is disabled.

Library device idle The library device is idle.

Stand-alone device active The stand-alone device is


active.

Stand-alone device disabled The stand-alone device is


disabled.

Stand-alone device idle The stand-alone device is idle.

When you sort items in the Devices pane by the Status column, NetWorker sorts the
devices in alphabetical order based on the label name of the icon.

Operations window
The Operations window displays information about device operations. It provides the
following information:
l Status of the operation.

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l Name of the library.


l Whether the operation requires user input.
For example, a labeling operation may want the user to acknowledge whether the
system should overwrite the label on a tape. Entering user input on page 61
provides instructions on how to deal with a user input notification.
l The origin, or source, of the operation.
For example, the interface, nsrjb or the NetWorker server.
l Time the operation started.
l Type of operation.
l Duration of the operation.
l Status messages from the operation.
l Any error messages.
NOTICE Only the last error message of the operation appears in the Error
Messages column. Move the mouse pointer over the cell containing the last
error message to display the entire list of error messages.
The operation status is represented by an icon. The following table lists and describes
each of the icons.

Table 126 Operations window icons

Icon Label Description


Failed The operation failed.

Queued The operation is waiting in the queue to run.

Retry The operation failed, but may work if you try


again.

Running The operation is running.

Successful The operation completed successfully.

User Input The operation requires user input.

When items on the Operations window are sorted by the Status column, they are
sorted in alphabetical order based on the label of the icon.

Viewing operation details


The Operation Details dialog box opens, providing information about the completion
of the operation. The Completion Time displays the time that the operation finished.
The time that it took to complete the operation is the difference between the
completion and start times of the operation.
About this task
To save operation details to a file, click Save in the Operation Details dialog box.
When prompted, identify a name and location for the file.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Monitoring.
2. Click Operations in the docking panel.

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3. Right-click the operation, then select Show Details.

Stopping an operation
Certain operations can be stopped from the Operations window.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Monitoring.
2. Click Operations in the docking panel.
3. Right-click the operation to stop, then select Stop.
4. Click Yes to confirm the stop.
Note: Operations that were started from a command line program, such as
the nsrjb command, cannot be stopped from the Operations window. To
stop these operations, press Ctrl-c from the window where the command
was started.

Entering user input


If the system requires user input, select the labeling operation in slow/verbose mode
and the Supply User Input icon appears.
Procedure
1. Right-click the operation, then select Supply Input.
2. Confirm the requirement to supply input.
l If Yes, and input is supplied, the icon in the User Input column disappears.
Note: If two users try to respond to the same user input prompt, the
input of the first user takes precedence, and the second user receives an
error message.
l If No, and input is not supplied, the operation will time out and fail.

Log window
To view the most recent notification logs, click the Log window from the docking
panel in the Monitoring window. The Log window provides the priority, time, source,
category, and message for each log.
Note: If a particular log file is no longer available, check the log file on the
NetWorker server. The log files are located in NetWorker_install_path
\logs directory.
An icon represents the priority of the log entry. The following table lists and describes
each icon.

Table 127 Icons in the Log pane

Icon Label Description


Alert Error condition that is detected by the NetWorker
server that should be fixed by a qualified operator.

Critical Severe error condition that demands immediate


attention.

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Table 127 Icons in the Log pane (continued)

Icon Label Description


Emergency Condition exists that could cause NetWorker software
to fail unless corrected immediately. This icon
represents the highest priority.

Information Information about the current state of the server. This


icon represents the lowest priority.

Notification Important information.

Waiting The NetWorker server is waiting for an operator to


perform a task, such as mounting a tape.

Warning Non-fatal error has occurred.

When you sort items on the Log pane by using the Priority column, NetWorker sorts
the icons in alphabetical order based on the name of the label.

Recover window
The Recover window displays information about recover configurations that are
created with the NetWorker Management Console (NMC) Recovery wizard.
You can use this window to:
l Start the NMC Recovery wizard to create recover configurations or modify saved
recover configurations.
l Identify the status of a recover configuration that is created with the NMC
Recovery wizard.
l Start and stop a recover job.
The Recover window is divided into five sections:
l Toolbar—The toolbar is hidden by default. To display the recovery toolbar, select
View > Show toolbar
l Summary
l Configured Recovers
l Currently Running
A splitter separates the Configured Recovers section from Currently running
window. You can click and move the splitter to resize these two windows.
The following table shows an example of the Recover window.

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Figure 79 Recover window

Recover toolbar
The Recover toolbar provides you with the ability to quickly perform common recover
operations. The following table summarizes the function of each toolbar button.

Table 128 Recovery toolbar options

Button Function
Starts the NMC Recover wizard to create recover configurations.

Displays the Properties window for the saved recover configuration that you
selected in the Configured Recover window.

Deletes the saved recover configuration that you selected in the Configured
Recover window.

Displays online help for the Recover window.

Displays the Find window at the bottom of the Recover window. The Find
window allows you to perform keyword searches for messages that appear in
the Logs window.

Start the recover operation for a selected saved recover configuration. This
option is only available for a recover configuration that has a Never run, or
Failed status.

Stop in-progress recover operation that you selected in the Currently


Running window.

Note: The Recover toolbar does not appear by default. To display the Recover
toolbar, select View > Show toolbar.

Recover Summary
The Recover Summary section displays a high-level overview of recover jobs.
This section includes the following information:

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l Total Recovers—The total number of successful recover jobs.


l Since—The number of successful recover jobs since this date.

Configured Recovers
The Configured Recovers window displays a list of saved recover configurations in a
tabular format. You can sort the information by column. The Configured Recovers
table displays the following information for each saved recover configuration:
l Status—The job status of a saved recover configuration.
l Name
l Source client
l Destination client
l Recovery list
l Recover type—For example, file system or BBB.
l Comment
l OS—The operating system of the source host.
l Recover requestor—The Windows or UNIX account used to create the recover
configuration.
l Start Time
l End Time
l Start date

Table 129 Save recover configuration job status

Icon Description
The last recover attempt failed.

The last recover attempt completed successfully.

The recover job has never run.

The recover job is scheduled to run in the future.

The recover job has expired.

Currently running
The Currently Running window displays a list of in progress recover jobs in a tabular
format. You can sort the information by column. The Currently Running table displays
the following information for each job:
l Status
l Name
l Source client
l Destination client

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l Recovery list
l Recover type—For example, file system or BBB
l Volume
l Comment
l Device
l Size
l Total size
l % complete
l Rate (KB/s)
l Start time
l Duration
l Currently running

Find
The Find section appears along the bottom of the Recover window, after you select
the Find button on the Recover toolbar. Find allows you to search for keywords in the
Configured Recovers window. The following table summarizes the available find
options.

Table 130 Find options

Find option Description


Find Highlight the first saved recover configuration that contains the
specified keyword.

Prev Highlight the previous saved recover configuration that contains the
specified keyword.

Highlight All Highlights each saved recover configuration that contains the
specified keyword.

Sort Selected Sorts each highlighted recover configuration in the Configured


Recover table so that they appear at the top of the Configured
Recover table.

Match case Make the keyword search case sensitive.

Monitoring changes to the NetWorker and NMC Server


resources
NetWorker provides two ways to monitor changes made in to the NetWorker and
NMC Server resources:
l Monitor RAP (resource allocation protocol) attribute in the NetWorker Server
resource — This feature tracks both before and after information related to
additions, deletions, or modifications to NetWorker Server resources and their
attributes.
l Security Audit Log feature — This feature provides the NetWorker Server and the
NMC Server with the ability to log specific security audit events related to their
operations.

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The NetWorker Security Configuration Guide describes how to use and configure the
Monitor RAP attribute and the Security Audit Log feature.

Disabling or enabling the Monitor RAP Attribute


The Monitor RAP attribute is enabled by default. To change the setting, perform the
following steps in the Console window.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, select View > Diagnostic Mode.
2. Right-click the NetWorker server name in the left pane and select Properties.
3. In the Setup tab of the NetWorker Server Properties dialog box, select the
Monitor RAP Enabled or the Disabled attribute as required.
4. Click OK.

Monitoring user access to the NMC server


NMC allows you to determine the last time that a user accessed the NMC user
interface, and when the user logged out of the NMC user interface.
Before you begin
Log in to the NMC server as a Console Security Administrator. The NetWorker
Authentication Service administrator account is a Console Security Administrator.
Procedure
1. On the toolbar, select Setup.
2. In the User and Roles navigation pane, select Users.
3. In the Users window pane, right-click click a column heading and select Add
columns.
l To monitor when a user last logged in to the NMC UI, select Login Time.
l To monitor when a user last logged out of the NMC UI, select Logout Time.

Monitoring NetWorker server activities in the log files


NetWorker provides plain text and unrendered log files that enable you to monitor
NetWorker server activities.
The Troubleshooting chapter provides a summary of the log files on each NetWorker
host and how to manage the log files.

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CHAPTER 13
NMC Server Management

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Enterprise........................................................................................................ 750
l Customizing the Console window and views.....................................................757
l Using the NMC filters...................................................................................... 758
l Connecting to the NMC GUI using an ssh connection...................................... 760
l Backing up the NetWorker environment.......................................................... 760
l Using the NMC Configuration Wizard.............................................................. 762
l NMC server authentication.............................................................................. 763
l Adding the NMC service account to the Users user group............................... 768
l Enabling two factor authentication for AD and LDAP users..............................769
l Moving the NMC Server...................................................................................770
l Migrating NMC users to the authentication service database........................... 771
l Resetting the administrator password.............................................................. 773
l Changing the service port used by the NMC database..................................... 775
l Changing database connection credentials.......................................................777
l Updating the NMC server IP address/hostname.............................................. 777
l Setting system options to improve NMC server performance.......................... 778
l Displaying international fonts in non-US locale environments........................... 781
l NetWorker License Manager............................................................................ 781
l NMC error messages and corrective actions....................................................782
l Console troubleshooting notes and tips............................................................787

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Enterprise
The Enterprise is a visual representation of the NetWorker Console control zone. You
can monitor various servers in the enterprise such as the NetWorker and Data Domain
servers for events. You can also generate various reports on events, backups, and user
activity.

Enterprise components
Enterprise components include hosts and folders.
Hosts
A host, also known as a managed node, is the NetWorker or Data Domain server
being monitored. A host terminates a branch in the Enterprise.

Folders
The purpose of folders is to enable the Enterprise to contain multiple levels. Each
folder can contain more folders, more hosts, or more of both.

Organizing NetWorker servers


Use the Enterprise to organize the NetWorker servers by some logical or functional
criteria.
Examples of organizational criteria include:
l By geography — For example, you can put all the hosts from the same city or
country in the same folder.
l By function — For example, you can have the servers that back up web servers in
one folder, and the servers that back up mail servers in another folder.
l By administrative divisions within the Enterprise — For example, you can use
separate folders for servers that back up Marketing, Sales, or Engineering hosts.
You can create and maintain multiple folders to organize multiple copies of a host in
the Enterprise. When you create each folder that is based on different organizational
criteria, you can view the organization in different, yet parallel, and complementary
ways.
Example: An enterprise that is arranged by geographic location
This figure provides an example of an Enterprise arranged by geographic location.
There are three folders, one for each country that manages NetWorker servers: USA,
France, and Australia. Each folder contains a number of hosts that correspond to the
location of the NetWorker servers. The Australia folder, for instance, contains three
host computers that are labeled perth1, perth2, and sydney.

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Figure 80 NetWorker servers worldwide

Viewing the enterprise


In the Console window, you can view the organization of the NetWorker servers in
much the same way as you use a file manager program to view the contents of a file
system.
Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Enterprise.
l The left pane displays folders and hosts in a tree-like arrangement to
illustrate the organization of the NetWorker servers.
l The right pane displays the contents of the selected folder or host.
2. Select a view option as described in the following table.

Table 131 Viewing the enterprise

To: Perform the following action:


Show or hide contents of the Enterprise. Click Enterprise.

Show or hide contents of a folder. Click the folder.

Show the managed applications that are Click the host.


installed on a host computer.

Managing various servers in the Enterprise


NetWorker Console enables centralized management of NetWorker or Data Domain
servers within the Enterprise. Use the Console window to add, delete, move, and copy
servers.
When you use the NetWorker software to manage many NetWorker servers, you can
use a single command gstmodconf from a command prompt to efficiently add or

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delete multiple hosts. Adding or deleting multiple servers by using a hostname file on
page 755 provides further information.
The server management activities include, but are not limited to, operations that are
related to devices and libraries, and events that require user intervention.

Adding a managed host


The Console window can display server events and to generate server activity-
reports.
About this task
Note: When you configure a Data Domain device with the New Device wizard, the
wizard adds Data Domain servers as a managed host. The NetWorker Data Domain
Boost Integration Guide provides more information about Data Domain as a
managed host.
Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Enterprise.
2. In the left pane, right-click Enterprise, then select New > Host. The Add New
Host wizard appears.
3. Type a hostname, IP address, DNS name, or WINS name in the Host Name
attribute, then click Next.
Note: Hostnames and aliases cannot exceed 80 characters.

4. Select the server type and click Next.


5. Follow the instructions for configuring selected host type, then click Finish.
Note: You can also use the Console Configuration wizard to add a host.

Deleting a host
You can delete a single host or multiple hosts within a folder.
Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Enterprise.
2. Right-click the host, then select Delete. The Deleting Host dialog box appears.
l To delete multiple hosts, select multiple hosts in the details pane and select
Delete.
l If additional copies of the host exist in the Enterprise, use the Delete all
existing copies of the host option to delete all instances of that same host
in a single operation.
3. Click Yes to confirm deletion of the host.

Copying a host
You can create multiple copies of a host for a single NetWorker server. For example,
you can create one copy of a host in the logical position of the host in the Enterprise,
while another copy of the host is in a Hosts-to-Watch folder where you can easily
monitor it. In this configuration, you can check the server without browsing through
the Enterprise.

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Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Enterprise.
2. Right-click the host, then select Copy.
3. Right-click a new location, then select Paste.
Note: You can also use the drag-and-drop feature while press and holding
the Ctrl key to copy hosts.

Moving a host
To move a host from one location to another in an Enterprise, perform the following
steps.
Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Enterprise.
2. Right-click the host to move, then select Move.
3. Right-click a new location, then select Paste.
Note: You can also use the drag-and-drop feature while holding down the
Ctrl key to move hosts.

Managing folders in the enterprise


The NetWorker software allows you to manage folders within the Enterprise. This
means that you can add, rename, delete, and move folders as needed.
You can add new folders directly beneath the Enterprise node or beneath other
folders.

Adding a folder
Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Enterprise.
2. Right-click the location within the Enterprise where you want the new folder to
appear, then select New > Folder.
A new folder appears in the Enterprise with the default name Untitled1.

3. Highlight the default name and type a new name to replace it. The name must
meet these criteria:
l Include at least one, but no more than 80 characters.
l Exclude forward slashes (/).
4. Press Enter.

Deleting a folder
Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Enterprise.
2. Right-click the folder to delete, then select Delete.
l If hosts exist in the folder, a dialog box prompts you to confirm the deletion
of each host. Select Yes to continue with the operation, or No to cancel it.

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l If hosts do not exist in the folder, the NMC server deletes the folder.
l If the folder contains any unique hosts (meaning hosts that do not have
copies anywhere else in the Enterprise), an additional dialog box appears to
confirm deletion of the unique host.
A separate dialog box with four options appears for each unique host in the
folder:
l To delete the specified host, click Yes.
l To delete all hosts and subfolders in the selected folder, without further
prompts, click Yes to All.
n To cancel the deletion, click No.
n To cancel any further deletion of hosts in the selected folder, and leave
the remaining contents intact, click Cancel.
The NMC server deletes non-unique hosts, and folders containing only
non-unique hosts without additional prompting.
NOTICE If there are user group restrictions in place that control
which hosts a user can view, the folder might appear empty.

Copying a folder
Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Enterprise.
2. Right-click the folder to copy, then select Copy.
3. Right-click a new location, then select Paste. A copy of the folder appears in its
new location.
NOTICE You can also use the drag-and-drop feature to copy folders while
holding down the Ctrl key.

4. A folder cannot be copied within the same Enterprise level.

Moving a folder
Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Enterprise.
2. Right-click the folder to move, then select Move.
3. Right-click a new location, then select Paste. The folder appears in its new
location.
NOTICE You can also use the drag-and-drop feature to move folders while
holding down the Ctrl key.

Renaming a folder
Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Enterprise.
2. Right-click the folder, then select Rename.
3. Highlight the folder name and type a new name to replace it. The name must
meet these criteria:
l Include at least one, but no more than 80 characters.

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l Exclude forward slashes (/).


4. Press Enter.

Adding or deleting multiple servers by using a hostname file


For larger enterprises, use the gstmodconf command and a hostname file to add or
delete multiple NetWorker servers to the Enterprise, with the features Capture Events
and Gather Reporting Data enabled. Using the gstmodconf command on page 755
provides more information about the gstmodconf command.

Restrictions
Before you use the gstmodconf command, review the following restrictions.
If a host already exists anywhere in the Enterprise, either at the base or within a
folder, you cannot use the gstmodconf command to add copies of the host.
You cannot use this command to add a host to a folder. You can only add a host to the
base level of the Enterprise. After you add the host to the Enterprise, use the Console
GUI to move the host to a folder. Moving a host on page 753 provides more
information.
When you use the gstmodconf command to delete a host, the command only deletes
hosts from the base level. The command does not delete hosts that are within folders.

Creating the hostname file


To use the gstmodconf command to add or delete multiple hosts simultaneously,
specify the hostnames in a hostname text file.
To create a hostname file, use these guidelines.
l Only list one hostname on each line of the file.
l A non-comment line that contains more than one space-separated or tab-
separated hostname generates an error.
l To include a comment in the file, start the line with a "#" character.
l Blank lines are treated as comments and ignored, as shown in the following
example.

Hostname file
#This is a hostname file for XYZ Corporation
apple
banana
grape
kiwi
mango
nectarine
pineapple
strawberry
tangerine

Using the gstmodconf command


The gstmodconf command has this syntax:
gstmodconf -i file -f function -s server -k -p port -l username -P password
The NetWorker Command Reference Guide or the UNIX man pages provide a complete
description of the command and its options.

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The following provides an example of how to use gstmodconf to add nodes from the
file, xyz_hostlist. In this example, the NMC server name is myconsole and the
xyz_hostlist file contains the following entries:

apple
banan
grape

Example: Adding multiple hosts with the gstmodconf command

gstmodconf -s myconsole -i xyz_hostlist -l Administrator

Trying 111.22.3.444... connected


processing file’xyz_hostlist’
adding host ’apple’
successfully added host ’apple’
adding host ’banana’
successfully added host ’banana’
adding host ’grape’
successfully added host ’grape’
//Closing connection

You can use the gstmodconf -s myconsole -i xyz_hostlist -f delete


command to delete multiple Networker hosts.
Note: The gstmodconf file on Windows is located in the following folder:
C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\Management\GST\bin. The
gstmodconf file on Linux is located in the following folder: /opt/lgtonmc/
bin/. The folder location is not in the default environment path.

Error messages generated by the gstmodconf command


This section describes two common error messages that can appear when you use the
gstdmodconf command.
The following provides an example of the error that appears when you use the
gstmodconf command to add a host that exists in the Enterprise:
Example: Trying to add a host that already exists
% gstmodconf -s myconsole -i xyz_hostlist
Trying 111.22.3.444... connected
processing file ’xyz_hostlist’
adding host ’apple’
///Error!
{
string object_type = "gterror";
int severity = 16;
int reason = 23;
list msg = {
int level = 1;
string text = ’Host name already exists";
};
// Closing connection...

The following output provides an example of the error that appears when you use the
gstmodconf command but you did not specify the administrator password when the
password is not the default value.

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Example: Trying to use gstmodconf without specifying the password

% gstmodconf -s myconsole -i xyz_hostlist


Trying 111.22.3.444... auth failed.
gt_session_connect: clnt_create: Remote system error-Connection
refused.

Customizing the Console window and views


This section describes how to customize the Console window.
Sorting tables
You can change the display of tabular information that appears in the window. You can
sort Table grids by column heading, and then by alphabetic or numeric order within
those columns.
1. Drag and drop the column heading to its new position.
2. Click the column heading to sort the items into alphabetic and numeric order. An
arrow appears in the column heading to indicate the sort order.
For example: to see all the managed events about servers that were unreachable by
the NMC server, perform the following steps.
1. From the Console window, select Events.
2. Drag the Message column until it is over the Priority column and drop it.
3. Click the Message column heading. A down-arrow appears.
Scan down the list of messages until you find all three servers with the message,
Unable to connect to server. You can also generate a Managed Event
Details report to get the same information, and then print, or export it for use in
another application.
Sorting selected rows in a table
Selected rows are sorted to the top of the table. This sorting is particularly useful
when you select Highlight All from the Find panel to select all rows matching the Find
criteria and then moving all selected rows to the top of the table to view the results.
1. From the Edit menu, select Find, or press Ctrl + F to view the Find panel.
2. To select the rows, click each row or use the Find criteria.
3. Select Sort Selected.
Sorting multiple columns in a table
You can select the column that you want to use as the tertiary sort key, the secondary
sort key, and the primary sort key.
1. Click the column that you want to use as the last sort key.
2. Click the column that you want to use as the next-to-last sort key, and so on, until
you select the primary column.
Displaying columns in a table
You can select which columns to display in a table.
1. From the View menu, select Choose Table Columns.

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2. Click a column name to select or clear the column and then click OK. You can also
select the columns to display by right-clicking a table header and selecting Add
Column from the drop-down.

Using the NMC filters


This section describes how to apply filters to view detailed information in the
Administration window.
From the Administration window, you can use filters to search and view details about
NetWorker server resources, recover configurations, devices, media, and hosts.
Search fields and list boxes display on all NMC windows with filtering capability.
The search fields and list boxes allow you to filter information that appears on a page.
By typing a value in the search fields or selecting an option from the list box, the
display changes based on the values that you specified in the fields.
For example, in the Protection > Policies window, you can search and view details for
a policy. By typing Bronze in the Search Name field, only the policies with the name
Bronze appear in the list.
Figure 81 Using filters to search and view policies

In this example, the policy with the name Bronze displays and the Send Notification
attribute is set to On Completion.
The following table describes how to use filters to search and view details in the
Administration window.

Table 132 NMC windows with filtering capability

Window Using filters to search and view details in the Administration


window
Protection To search and view detailed information about the following NetWorker
server resources, type a value in the search fields or select an option from the
list box, and then press Enter.
l Clients
l Groups
l Policies
l Probes
l Schedules
l VMware View

Recover To search and view detailed information about recover configurations, type a
value in the search fields or select an option from the list box, and then press
Enter.

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Table 132 NMC windows with filtering capability (continued)

Window Using filters to search and view details in the Administration


window
Devices To search and view detailed information about devices, type a value in the
search fields or select an option from the list box, and then press Enter.
Note: Filtering is not available for Staging, VMware Backup Appliances,
and VMware Proxies.

Media To search and view detailed information about the following activities and
resources, type a value in the search fields or select an option from the list
box, and then press Enter.
l Label Templates
l Media Pools
l Disk Volumes
l Tape Volumes
l Client Indexes
l Save Sets
Note: In the Save Sets window, filtering is not available on the Query
Save Set tab.

Hosts To search and view detailed information about hosts, type a value in the
search fields or select an option from the list box, and then press Enter.
Note: Filtering is not available on the Software Inventory or Software
Repository tabs.

Server To search and view detailed information about the following NetWorker
server resources, type a value in the search fields or select an option from the
list box, and then press Enter.
l Directives
l Notifications
l Time Policies
l User Groups

Toggle the display of items


l To show all available items, select Filtered: 0 of 0 items.
l To show only filtered items, select Showing: 0 of 0 items.
Hide or show filters
l To hide filters, right-click in the column header and select Hide Filters (CTRL-H).
l To show filters, right-click in the column header and select Show Filters (CTRL-
L).
Clear filters
To clear all filters, select Clear All. The display returns to the default view.

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Connecting to the NMC GUI using an ssh connection


You can use ssh port forwarding to connect to the NMC server and generate reports,
from the NMC client.
About this task
Perform the following steps on the NMC client.
Procedure
1. Open an ssh connection from the NMC client to the NMC server with ssh
tunnels for ports 9000 and 9001.
For example:
ssh -L9000:localhost:9000 -L9001:localhost:9001 -
L5432:localhost:5432 Console_servername -N

Note: If you changed the default NMC server ports, specify the correct port
numbers.

2. Use javaws to connect to the NMC server.


For example:

javaws https://localhost:9000/gconsole.jnlp

Backing up the NetWorker environment


When you install or upgrade the NetWorker Server, the installation or upgrade process
creates a default Server Protection policy that backs up the NetWorker Server and
the NMC Server database.
The Server Protection policy includes the following workflows for backing up the
NetWorker environment:
l The NMC Server backup workflow performs a backup of the NMC database,
which includes NMC Server management data such as report information. The
database remains available during the backup. The workflow is scheduled to start a
full backup daily at 2:00 p.m. The workflow is assigned to the default NMC Server
group, which contains the NMC Server if you specified a NetWorker Server when
you configured the NMC Server in the Console Configuration wizard.
l The server backup workflow performs a bootstrap backup of the NetWorker
Server for disaster recovery purposes. The workflow is scheduled to start at 10:00
a.m. A full backup occurs on the first day of the month, and incremental backups
occur the remaining days of the month. The workflow is assigned to the default
Server Protection group, which contains a dynamically generated list of the Client
resources for the NetWorker Server and the NMC Server.
Note: The Server Protection policy also includes the server maintenance
workflow, which performs an expire action to mark expired save sets as
recyclable.
You can edit the default policy, workflows, groups, and actions, or create a set of
policies for server backup and maintenance.

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Configuring an NMC server database backup


The first time that you connect to the NMC GUI, the Console Configuration wizard
prompts you to configure an NMC server database backup. If you did not configure
the NMC database backup or you want to configure a new NetWorker server to
backup the NMC server database, perform the following steps.
Before you begin
Connect to the NMC GUI with an account that has the Console Application
Administrators role.
Procedure
1. On the toolbar, select Setup.
2. From the Setup window, select Setup > Set Database Backup Server.
3. In the NetWorker server field, specify the hostname of the NetWorker server
that will backup the NMC server database.
4. Leave the Create Client resource and add to the 'Server protection policy'
checkbox selected.
5. In the Client name field, specify the hostname of the NMC server.
6. Click OK.
Results
When you define an NMC database backup, the wizard performs the following actions
on the NetWorker server:
l Creates a Client resource for the NMC server database backup. The Save set field
for the client contains the path to the database staging directory. By default, the
staging directory is in C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\Management
\nmcdb_stage on Windows and /nsr/nmc/nmcdb_stage on Linux.
Note: The file system that contains the staging directory must have free disk
space that is a least equal to the size of the current NMC database.
l Creates a group called NMC server.
l Adds the Client resource to the NMC server group.
l Creates a workflow that is called NMC server backup in the Server Protection
policy. The workflow contains the NMC server backup action, which performs a
full backup of the NMC server database every day at 2 P.M.
l Adds the NMC server group to the NMC server backup workflow.
Note: The NMC Server database backup only supports the full and skip backup
levels. If you edit the NMC Server backup action and change the levels in the
backup schedule to a different level, for example synthetic full, NetWorker
performs a full backup of the database.

Changing the staging directory for NMC database backups


To backup the NMC database, the savepsm process creates a copy of the NMC
database in a staging directory. After the backup operation completes, the savepsm
process deletes the contents of the staging directory. By default, when you configure
an NMC database backup, the configuration process sets the default staging directory
to the NetWorker_installation_directory\nsr\nmc\nmcdb_stage folder
on Windows and the /nsr/nmcdb_stage directory on Linux.

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Before you begin


Use NMC to connect to the NetWorker server with a user that is a member of the
Application Administrators or Database Administrators user group.
About this task
The size of staging database equals the size of the NMC database. Ensure that the file
system on which the savepsm process writes the staging database has sufficient free
disk space. To change the location of the staging directory, perform the following
steps:
Procedure
1. On the Protection window, in the left navigation pane, select Clients.
2. On the Client window, right-click the client resource for the NMC database
backup and select Modify Client Properties.
3. On the General tab, modify the Save set field and specify the path to the
nmcdb_stage directory on a file system that has sufficient disk space.
Note: If the path does not exist, the savepsm process creates the directory
at the time of the backup.

4. Click OK.

Performing a manual backup of the NMC server database


Use the savepsm command to perform a manual backup of the NMC server database.
About this task
UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed
information about the savepsm command.
Procedure
1. For Linux hosts, if you did not install NMC server software in the default
path /opt/lgtonmc, then add the NMC_install_dir/bin directory to the
LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable.
2. From a command prompt, use the savepsm command to backup the NMC
database

savepsm staging_directory

where staging_directory is the location that the backup uses to temporarily


store a copy of the NMC database for backup.
For example, on windows, type:

savepsm e:\nmcdb_stage

Using the NMC Configuration Wizard


You can use the NMC Configuration wizard to create the account that the NMC
server service account in the NetWorker Authentication Service local database,

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specify which NetWorker server will back up the NMC database, and add NetWorker
servers to the Enterprise.
Before you begin
Connect to the NMC server with a user that has the as Console Application
Administrator role.
Procedure
1. From the NMC GUI, click Setup.
2. From the Setup menu, select Configuration Wizard.

NMC server authentication


When you use a web browser on a host (NMC client) to connect to the NMC server,
the http daemon on the NMC server downloads the Java client to the NMC client.
The NMC server relies on the NetWorker Authentication Service to manage and
validate users. When you log in to the NMC server, the NMC server contacts the
NetWorker Authentication Service on the host that you specified during the NMC
installation process to verify the credentials of the user account. When the NetWorker
Authentication Service successfully verifies the user, the application issues a time-
based, signed, and encrypted SAML token to the requesting process. All the
operations that require authentication can use the token to verify the user, until the
token expires. The NetWorker Authentication Service maintains a local user database
for authentication. NetWorker Authentication Service also supports the use external
authentication authorities for authentication. For example, Lightweight Directory
Access Protocol (LDAP), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol over SSL (LDAPS),
and Microsoft Active Directory server (AD). You can configure the NMC server and
the managed NetWorker servers to use LDAP, AD, or the NetWorker Authentication
Service local user database to provide user authentication and authorization.
The NetWorker Security Configuration Guide describes how to perform the following
tasks:
l Manage the NetWorker Authentication Service.
l Configure user authentication on the NMC.
l Configure user authorization to the NMC and NetWorker servers.

Configuring the NMC server to manage additional NetWorker servers


The NMC Server can use only one NetWorker Authentication Service to provide
authentication services. When the NMC Server manages more than one NetWorker
Server, configure a trust between each NetWorker Server that the NMC Server will
manage and NetWorker Server that will provide authentications services to the NMC
Server. After you establish each trust, update the user groups on each NetWorker
Server to include the users and groups that require access to the NetWorker Server.
Procedure
1. To establish the trust, type the following command on each NetWorker Server
that is not local to the NetWorker Authentication Service that NMC uses for
authentication:

nsrauthtrust -H Authentication_service_host -P
Authentication_service_port_number

where:

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l The location of the nsrauthtrust command differs on Linux and


Windows:
n Linux—/usr/sbin
n Windows—C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
l Authentication_service_host is the hostname of the NetWorker Server that
authenticates the NMC Server host.
l Authentication_service_port_number is the port number used by the
NetWorker Authentication Service. The default port number is 9090.
For example:
nsrauthtrust -H nwserver.corp.com -P 9090

2. Grant the NetWorker Authentication Service user groups access to the


NetWorker Server, by typing the nsraddadmin command:

nsraddadmin -H Authentication_service_host -P
Authentication_service_port_number

For example:
nsraddadmin -H nwserver.corp.com -P 9090

The nsraddadmin command updates the following user groups:


l Application Administrator—Adds the distinguished name (DN) of the
NetWorker Authentication Service Administrators group.
l Security Administrator—Adds the DN of the NetWorker Authentication
Service Administrators group.
l Users—Adds the DN of the NetWorker Authentication Service Users group.
After you finish
Add additional users and groups to user groups on each NetWorker server. Modifying
user groups for new NetWorker Authentication Service users provides more
information.

Changing the NetWorker Authentication Service hostname and port number


When you install the NMC server software, you specified the hostname of the
NetWorker Authentication Service and the port number that the service uses for
communication. Perform the following steps to change the host that provides user
authentication to the NMC server.
Procedure
1. Connect to the NMC server with an Administrator account on Windows or the
root account on UNIX.
2. Stop the EMC gstd process:
l Linux—/etc/init.d/gstd stop
l Windows—Stop the EMC GST Database Service service.

3. From a command prompt, to change the NetWorker Authentication Service


host that is used by the NMC server, type the gstauthcfg command.
The location of the gstauthcfg command is not in the path by default and
differs on Linux and Windows:

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l Linux—/opt/lgtonmc/bin
l Windows—C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\Management\GST
\bin
For example:

gstauthcfg -c -t -h New_authentication_service_hostname -p
port_number

Note: The default port number is 9090.

4. Start the EMC gstd process:


l Linux: /etc/init.d/gstd start
l Windows: Start the EMC GST Database Service service.

5. To establish the trust, type the following command on each NetWorker Server
that is not local to the NetWorker Authentication Service that NMC uses for
authentication:

nsrauthtrust -H Authentication_service_host -P
Authentication_service_port_number

where:
l The location of the nsrauthtrust command differs on Linux and
Windows:
n Linux—/usr/sbin
n Windows—C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
l Authentication_service_host is the hostname of the NetWorker Server that
authenticates the NMC Server host.
l Authentication_service_port_number is the port number used by the
NetWorker Authentication Service. The default port number is 9090.
For example:
nsrauthtrust -H nwserver.corp.com -P 9090

6. Grant the NetWorker Authentication Service user groups access to the


NetWorker Server, by typing the nsraddadmin command:

nsraddadmin -H Authentication_service_host -P
Authentication_service_port_number

For example:
nsraddadmin -H nwserver.corp.com -P 9090

The nsraddadmin command updates the following user groups:


l Application Administrator—Adds the distinguished name (DN) of the
NetWorker Authentication Service Administrators group.
l Security Administrator—Adds the DN of the NetWorker Authentication
Service Administrators group.
l Users—Adds the DN of the NetWorker Authentication Service Users group.
7. Connect to the NMC server GUI with a user that has the NMC Console Security
Administrator role.

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8. When prompted to create a service account for the NMC server in the
NetWorker Authentication Service database, click OK.
Note: If you do not create the service account, the NMC server cannot
monitor events or gather reporting data from the managed NetWorker
servers.

Modifying user groups for new NetWorker Authentication Service users


Use NMC to add NetWorker Authentication Service users and groups to user groups
on a NetWorker server. If you configured the NetWorker Authentication Service to
use external LDAP or AD authorities, use NMC to add LDAP or AD users and groups to
User Groups on a NetWorker server.
The NetWorker Security Configuration Guide provides more information about user
groups and how to configure user authorization on a NetWorker server.

Modifying NetWorker user group membership for NMC


Use the External roles field in the User Group resource to manage local database,
LDAP, and AD user and group access to the NetWorker server.
Before you begin
Use NMC to connect to the NetWorker server with a user that is a member of the
Security Administrators user group on the NetWorker server.
Procedure
1. On the Administration window, click Server.
2. Click User Groups.
3. Right-click the user group, and then select Properties.
4. Modify the External roles attribute. To add NetWorker Authentication Service
local database users or groups, click the + sign, and then select the users or
groups. When you add an LDAP or AD user or group, specify the distinguished
name (DN).
The following sections provide more information about how to get the dn for
the user or group in an AD or LDAP external authentication authority, and how
to add the NMC service account.
Note: It is recommended that you specify usernames when your user
accounts are a member of a large number of groups.

Example: Adding AD group to the External roles attribute


The following example uses ADSI Edit, a Windows tool that allows you to view
information about users and groups in AD directory service. Microsoft TechNet
provides the most up to date information about how to use ADSI Edit.
1. To connect to the AD directory, use ADSI Edit.
2. Navigate to the AD group, right-click the group name, and then select Properties.
3. On the Attribute Editor window, select distinguishedName from the attribute
list, and then select View.
4. On the String Attribute Editor window, with the entire dn highlighted, right-click
in the value field, and then select Copy. The following figure provides an example
of copying the group DN in the ADSI Editor.

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Figure 82 Copying the group DN

5. Click Cancel, and then close ADSI Editor.


6. Paste the dn value for the group into the External roles attribute.

Example: Adding LDAP group to the External Roles attribute


The following example uses LDAP Admin, a third party tool that allows you to view
information about users and groups in the LDAP directory service.
1. To connect to the LDAP server, use LDAP Admin.
2. Navigate to the LDAP group, right-click on the group name, and then select Copy
dn to clipboard. The following figure provides an example of the LDAP Admin
window.
Figure 83 Copying the group DN

3. Close the LDAP Admin window.


4. Paste the dn value for the group into the External roles attribute.

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authc_mgmt -u administrator -p "Password1" -e query-ldap-users -D

"query-tenant=IDD" -D

"query-domain=ldapdomain"

Adding the NMC service account to the Users user group


When the NMC Server manages multiple NetWorker Servers, the nsraddadmin -H
command automatically adds a NetWorker Authentication Service group called
"Users" to the "Users" user group on each remote NetWorker Server. The NetWorker
Authentication Service Users group contains the NMC service account. To monitor
operations on a NetWorker Server that is remote to the NMC Server, the NMC
service account requires Monitor NetWorker privileges. If the NetWorker "Users" user
group does not specify a NetWorker Authentication Service group that contains the
NMC service account, NMC cannot monitor remote NetWorker Server operations.
About this task
To add the NMC service account to the "Users" user group on a NetWorker Server,
perform the following steps.
Procedure
1. Connect to the NMC server with the NetWorker Authentication Service
administrator account.
2. Click Enterprise.
3. Right-click the NetWorker Server and select Launch Application.
Note: Perform this step and each subsequent step on for each NetWorker
Server that is not local to the authentication service that the NMC Server
uses to authenticate users.

4. On the NetWorker Administration window, select Servers.


5. In the left navigation pane, select User Groups.
6. Right-click the Users user group, and then select Properties.
7. Click the plus sign (+) beside the External roles attribute.
The Add Distinguished Names window appears.
8. In the Authentication Service Hostname field, specify the name of the host
that the NMC Server uses to authenticate users, and then click Change.
9. In the user table, select the service account for the NMC Server and click OK.
The following figure provides an example of the Add Distinguished Names
window with the service account selected.

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Figure 84 Add Distinguished Names window

Add Distinguished Names window

The service account appears in the External roles attribute.


10. Click OK.

Enabling two factor authentication for AD and LDAP users


You can use NMC to enable two factor authentication for AD and LDAP users.
Procedure
1. On Linux, modify the /opt/nsr/admin/gst_linux.sh script and add the
following at the beginning of the script:

GST_LDAP_USING_2FA="true"
export GST_LDAP_USING_2FA

2. On Windows, do the following to set the environment variable:


a. Browse to Control Panel > System and Security > System > Advanced
Settings.
b. On the General tab, click Environment Variables.
c. In the System variables section, click New.
d. In the Variable name field, type: GST_LDAP_USING_2FA, and in the Variable
value field, type: True. Click OK.
3. Log in to NMC as an Administrator.
4. From the NMCConsole window, click Setup.
5. In the left pane, select Users.
a. Right-click the service account (for example, svc_nmc_*), and then select
Properties.
b. On the Groups window, select Administrators and click OK to add the
service account user as a part of this group.
6. Restart the EMC GST service:
l Linux: /etc/init.d/gstd start
l Windows: Start the EMC GST service

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7. Configure AD and LDAP users. The NetWorker Security Configuration Guide


provides information on configuring AD and LDAP users.
8. Connect to the NMC server with an LDAP or AD user.

Moving the NMC Server


You can move an NMC Server from one host to another only if both hosts use the
same operating system.
Before you begin
l Perform a level full backup of the NMC database on the source NMC Server.
Performing a manual backup of the NMC server database on page 762 provides
more details.
l On the target NMC host, install the NetWorker and NMC Server software. When
prompted to specify the NetWorker Authentication Service host, specify the same
NetWorker Authentication Service host as the source NMC Server. The
NetWorker Installation Guide provides more information.
l If you use a License Manager server, then install and configure the License
Manager software first. If you use the License Manager software and the License
Manager server moves to a new host, then specify the new License Manager
hostname in the Console window.
Procedure
1. Connect to the NMC GUI on the target NMC Server.
2. In the NMC GUI, connect to the NetWorker Server that performed the NMC
database backup.
3. On the Administration window, select Protection.
4. In the left navigation pane, select Clients.
5. Create a Client resource for the target NMC host. Create a Client resource with
the Client Properties dialog box on page 476 describes how to create a Client
resource.
6. Edit the Client resource for the source NMC Server. On the Globals (2 of 2)
tab in the Remote Access attribute specify the administrator account of the
target NMC Server.
For example, administrator@target_NMC_server
where target_NMC_server is the hostname of the target NMC Server.

7. Stop the NMC Server service on the source NMC Server.


8. Stop the NMC Server service on the target NMC Server.
9. For Linux hosts, if you did not install NMC Server software in the default
path /opt/lgtonmc, then add the NMC_install_dir/bin directory to the
LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable.
10. Run the recoverpsm command on the recovery host:

recoverpsm -f -s NetWorker_server -c source_NMC_server -p


AES_Passphrase staging_dir

where:
l NetWorker_server is the name of the NetWorker Server.

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l source_NMC_server is the name of the source NMC Server.


l AES_Passphrase is the passphrase that was specified for the NMC database
backup.
l staging_dir is the staging directory specified during the backup of the
database on the source NMC Server.
Note: When you perform an NMC database backup, the backup
operation performs a backup of the database from the staging directory.
As a result, the save set name is name of the staging directory. Use the
mminfo command on the NetWorker Server to determine the name of
the staging directory.
The NetWorker Command Reference Guide or the UNIX man pages provide a
complete description of the recoverpsm command line options.

11. If the source NMC Server managed NetWorker 8.2.x and earlier servers that
use LDAP authentication, then recover the LDAP configuration authority files.
Use the recover command, the NetWorker User program, or the NMC
Recovery wizard to recover all the files in the console_install_dir/cst
directory. Recover these files to the console_install_dir/cst directory
on the target NMC Server.
12. Start the NMC Server service on the target NMC Server and connect to the
NMC GUI.
After you finish
If the target NMC Server uses a different NetWorker Server to provide authentication
services than the NetWorker Server that the source NMC Server used, then you must
use the gstauthcfg command on the NMC Server to update the NetWorker
Authentication Service host, and then run the nsrauthtrust commands on each
NetWorker Server that is managed by the NMC Server.
When the source NMC Server uses a different NetWorker Server for authentication
and you do not establish a trust, the following behavior occurs:
l The NMC Events window displays Unable to connect to the server
error messages for each managed NetWorker Server.
l When you try to connect to the NetWorker Server, a message similar to the
following appears: Unable to connect to the server: Unable to set
user privileges based on user token for SYSTEM: Failed to
validate security token.
Changing the Authentication service hostname and port number provides more
information.

Migrating NMC users to the authentication service


database
If you did not migrate the NMC users to the authentication service database when the
login process prompted you to during the login process after the NMC server after an
update, you can perform the migration later.
Before you begin
Log in to the NMC server as a Console Security Administrator. The NetWorker
Authentication Service administrator account is a Console Security Administrator.

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Procedure
1. Click Setup.
2. From the Setup menu, select Migrate Users.
3. On the Migrate Users page, select the users that you want to migrate.
Note: By default all users are selected for migration. The migration deletes
unselected user accounts.

4. For each user, perform the following steps:


a. In the Password field, specify an initial password.
Ensure the password complies with the following minimum requirements:
l Nine characters long
l One uppercase letter
l One lowercase letter
l One special character
l One numeric character

b. Leave the default selection for Password Change Required, which ensures
that when the user connects to the NMC Server for the first time, that the
log in process prompts the user to change their password.
c. In the Groups field, if the user will manage user accounts, select the
Administrators group.

Updating the NetWorker User Group resources for migrated NMC users
The NetWorker server uses the membership in the External Roles field of the user
group resources to determine the privileges that are assigned to the NetWorker
Authentication Service local database users. After the log in process migrates NMC
users into the NetWorker Authentication Service local database, update the User
Group resources on each managed NetWorker server, to provide the migrated NMC
users with the privileges to each NetWorker server.
About this task
Perform the following steps while logged in to the NMC server with the Administrator
account.
Procedure
1. In the NMC GUI, create an NMC group that contains the local database users.
This group allows you to quickly add multiple users that require the same
privileges to one or more user groups:
a. On the NMC GUI, click Setup.
b. On the User and Roles navigation pane, right-click Groups and select New.
c. In the Name field, specify a unique name for the group.
In the Local Users section, select all the user accounts to add to this group,
and then click OK.
2. In the Administration window, perform the following steps:
a. On the toolbar, select Server.

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b. On the left navigation pane, expand User Groups.


c. Right-click the user group to which the NMC users require membership, and
select Properties.
d. In the Configuration section, click the Add (+) button beside the External
Roles attribute.
e. Select each local database user or group that requires the privileges that are
assigned to the user group, and then click OK.
To select multiple successive users or groups, hold the Ctrl key while you
select the first and last user or group. To select multiple individual users or
groups in any order, hold the Shift key while you select each user or group.

For more information on External Roles and User Groups, see NetWorker
Security Configuration Guide

Results
The distinguished name (dn) for each selected user and group appears in the External
Roles field.

Resetting the administrator password


To reset the administrator password, create a JSON file on the NetWorker server that
contains the new password in a Base64 encoded format.
Procedure
1. To determine the Base64 password value for the new password, use Base64
encoding utilities:
l On Windows, perform the following steps:
a. Create a text file and specify the password value in clear text, on one
line.
For example, create a password file that is called mypassword_in.txt with
the password value "1.Password".
b. To create a Base64 encoded password for the password value that is
defined in the mypassword_in.txt file, use the certutil.exe utility.
For example:

certutil.exe -encode mypassword_in.txt mypassword_out.txt

where mypassword_out.txt is the name of the output file that contains


the Base64 encoded password.
Output similar to the following appears:
Input Length = 10
Output Length = 74
CertUtil: -encode command completed successfully.

The contents of the mypassword_out.txt file contains the following


encoded text for the password value "1.Password":
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
MS5QYXNzd29yZA==
-----END CERTIFICATE-----

where the Base64 encoded password is MS5QYXNzd29yZA==.

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l To create the Base64 encoded password on Linux, use the base64 utility.
For example, to create the Base64 encoded password for a password value
of "1.Password", type:
echo -n "1.Password" | base64

The command displays the encoded text for the password value
"1.Password": MS5QYXNzd29yZA==

2. Use a text editor to open the authc-local-config.json.template file,


which is located in the C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\authc-
server\scripts folder on Windows and the /opt/nsr/authc-server/
scripts directory on Linux.
3. In the template file, perform the following steps:
a. Replace the your_username variable with the name of the administrator
account for which you want to reset the password.
b. Replace the your_encoded_password variable with the base64 encoded
password value.
For example, to reset the password for the user account administrator with a
password of "1.Password ", the modified file appears as follows:

{
"local_users": [
{
"user name": "administrator",
"password": "MS5QYXNzd29yZA=="
}]
}
4. Rename the authc-local-config.json.template file to authc-local-
config.json.
5. Copy the authc-local-config.json file to the Tomcat conf folder.
By default, the conf folder is/nsr/authc/conf on Linux and C:\Program
Files\EMC NetWorker\authc-server\tomcat\conf on Windows.

6. Change privileges on the authc-local-config.json file:


chmod 755 /nsr/authc/conf/authc-local-config.json

If you do not change the privileges, the authc-server.log displays an error


indicating that you do not have the necessary permissions to open the file.
7. On the NetWorker server, stop, and then start the services:
l For Windows, type the following commands from a command prompt:

net stop nsrexecd

net start nsrd

Note: If the NetWorker server is also the NMC server, start the NMC
server service. Type the following commands: net start gstd
l For Linux, type the following commands:

/etc/init.d/networker stop
/etc/init.d/networker start

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When the NetWorker Authentication Service starts, the startup process checks
for the authc-local-config.json. If the file exists and the password
adheres to the minimum password policy requirements defined for a password,
the NetWorker Authentication Service resets the password. Review the
authc-server.log file for errors.
By default, the authc-server.log file is located in /nsr/authc/logs on
Linux and C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\authc\tomcat\logs on
Windows.
Note: The startup process automatically deletes the authc-local-
config.json file to ensure that the password is not reset the next time
that you restart the NetWorker Authentication Service.
8. To confirm that you can connect to the NetWorker Authentication Service with
the new password, use the authc_mgmt command.
For example:

authc_mgmt -u administrator -p "1.Password" -e find-all-users

The query returns 2 records.


User Id User Name
1000 administrator
1001 svc_nmc_bu-iddnwserver2

Changing the service port used by the NMC database


The installation process prompts you to specify the NMC database port. By default,
the NetWorker Management Console database uses port 5432 for TCP/IP
communications. You can change the port after the installation process completes.

Changing the service port used by the NMC database on Linux


About this task
Perform the following steps to change the service port that is used by NMC.
Procedure
1. Stop the NMC daemons, by typing the command below, based on the
initialization system running on your Linux machine:
l sysvinit—/etc/init.d/gst stop
l systemd—systemctl stop gst

2. Edit the /opt/lgtonmc/etc/gstd.conf file to add or change the following


line:
db_svc_port=port_number
For example:
db_svc_port=2639

3. Run the /opt/lgtonmc/bin/gstconfig command to update the port value


in the NetWorker NMC server configuration file.
4. Edit the postgresql.conf file to add or change the following line:
port=port_number

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For example:
port=2639
Note: By default the postgresql.conf file is located in the /nsr/nmc/
nmcdb/pgdata directory.

5. Close the terminal or command prompt window.


6. Start the NMC daemons, by typing the command below, based on the
initialization system running on your Linux machine:
l sysvinit—/etc/init.d/gst start
l systemd—systemctl start gst

This action also starts the postgres and httpd processes.

NOTICE If /etc/init.d/gst file is missing for sysvinit systems or gst


file is not enabled for systemd systems, run the script - /opt/
lgtonmc/bin/nmc_config
Multiple Postgres processes appear. Two or more httpd processes appear. By
default, these httpd processes run as nsrnmc.

7. Confirm that the daemons have started, by typing the following command: ps
-ef | grep lgtonmc.
Output similar to the following appears when the daemons have started:
nsrnmc 7190 1 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:06 /opt/lgtonmc/bin/gstd
nsrnmc 7196 1 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 /opt/lgtonmc/apache/bin/
httpd -f /opt/lgtonmc/apache/conf/httpd.conf
nsrnmc 7197 7196 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 /opt/lgtonmc/
apache/bin/httpd -f /opt/lgtonmc/apache/conf/httpd.conf
nsrnmc 7212 1 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 /opt/lgtonmc/
postgres/bin/postgres -D /nsr/nmc/nmcdb/pgdata
root 18176 18141 0 02:47 pts/0 00:00:00 grep lgtonmc

Changing the service port used by the NMC database on Windows


About this task
Perform the following steps to change the service port that is used by NMC.
Procedure
1. Stop the EMC GSTD Service service.
2. Edit the gstd.conf file to add or change the following line:
db_svc_port=port_number
For example:
db_svc_port=2639
Note: By default the gstd.conf file is located in the C:\Program Files
\EMC NetWorker\Management\GST\etc directory.

3. Edit the postgresql.conf file to add or change the following line:


port=port_number

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For example:
port=2639
Note: By default the postgresql.conf file is located in the C:\Program
Files\EMC NetWorker\Management\nmcdb\pgdata directory.

4. Use the regedit command to update the port number in the registry.
a. Browse to \\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ODBC\ODBC.INI
\lgto_gst_pgsql.
b. Edit the Port registry key.
c. In the Value Data field, specify the new port number.
d. Click OK.
5. Start the EMC GST Service.

Changing database connection credentials


When the NMC server starts for the first time, it automatically generates the login
credentials that are used to log in to the NetWorker Console database. The NMC
server stores this information internally and the user does not need to know the
required credentials. However, it may be necessary to force the NMC server to
change the database connection credentials.
Procedure
1. Stop the GST Service.
2. Set the environment variable GST_RESET_DBPWD to any value.
For Windows system, set this value as a System Variable, then restart the
system after you set the variable.

3. Restart the GST Service.


4. Delete the GST_RESET_DBPWD environment variable. On Windows system,
restart the computer after you delete the variable.

Updating the NMC server IP address/hostname


If you modify the IP address or hostname of the NMC server or if you add or remove
protocols such as IPv6, you must update the NMC server configuration.
About this task
Perform the following steps with the root account on Linux hosts or the Administrator
account on Windows hosts.
Procedure
1. Stop the gstd service:
l On Linux:
n sysvinit—/etc/init.d/gst stop
n systemd—systemctl stop gst
l On Windows: Stop the EMC GSTD Service service.

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2. Edit the gstd.conf file and update the IP address that is defined for the line
string authssvc_hostname.
3. Browse to the NetWorker bin directory then run the platform-specific
commands:
l On Windows, run gstconfig in the NMC_install_dir\GST\bin folder.
l On Linux, as root, run the gstconfig command in the /opt/
lgtonmc/bin directory.
4. Start the gstd service:
l On Linux:
n sysvinit—/etc/init.d/gst start
n systemd—systemctl start gst
l On Windows: Start the EMC GST Service service.

5. For NMC server hostname changes only, delete the Client resource that you
created to perform NMC server database backups, then create a new client
resource.

Setting system options to improve NMC server


performance
The NMC server includes several options that enable users to fine-tune the
performance of the NMC server.
About this task
To set system options, log in to the NMC server as a Console administrator.
Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Setup.
2. From the Setup menu, select System Options.
3. Set a value, or enable or disable the appropriate system option. The following
table provides a description of the available system options.
NOTICE Do not adjust these system options without careful consideration.
A mistake in setting system options can seriously degrade performance.

Table 133 NMC server system options

System option Description


Log-on banner Default Value: Warning: Authorized user only

Defines the log-on banner displayed in the NMC server login


window.

Debug level Default value: 0

Range: 1-20

Defines the level of debug information to log in the gstd.raw


file. Increase this value to troubleshoot only.

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Table 133 NMC server system options (continued)

System option Description


Polling interval for events and Default value: 20
reporting (seconds)
Range: 2-unlimited

Defines how frequently the NMC server contacts the


managed NetWorker servers for event and report updates.

Polling interval for NetWorker Default value: 10


activities (seconds)
Range: 2-unlimited

Defines the frequency in which the NMC server contacts the


managed NetWorker servers for activity updates.

Polling thread factor Default value: 5

Range: 0-10

Defines how many server threads to create when polling the


NetWorker server for NetWorker activities, events, and
reporting. The higher the number the higher the number of
threads created. It is not a one-to-one relationship.

Maximum number of log Default value: 32


messages
Range: 32-512

Defines the number of log messages that display in the


Console Log window.

NetWorker user auditing Default value: enabled

When enabled, the NMC server collects auditing information.


For example, NetWorker server
configuration changes performed from the Console GUI. The
NMC server database stores the
auditing information. To view audit information browse to
Reports > Users > User Audit Report.

When disabled, the NMC server does not collect auditing


information.

User authentication for Default value: enabled


NetWorker
Defines how the Console user accesses a managed
NetWorker server.

l When enabled, the Console username determines the


Console user access. Individual User Authentication on
page 780 provides detailed information.
l When disabled, the user id of the gstd process owner
determines the Console user access.

RPC ping via UDP when Default value: disabled


connecting to NetWorker
Before the NMC server connects to a managed NetWorker
server, the NMC server confirms that
the NetWorker server daemons are running.

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Table 133 NMC server system options (continued)

System option Description

l When enabled, the NMC server uses the UDP protocol to


confirm that the NetWorker server is up and running.
l When disabled, the NMC server uses the TCP protocol to
confirm that the NetWorker server is up and running.

4. Click OK.

Individual User Authentication


Console security administrators restrict or grant Console user access to NetWorker
servers based on the Console username when you enable the User Authentication for
NetWorker system option, after a subsequent restart of the NMC server service. The
NMC server software enables this system option is by default.
Requests to NetWorker servers through the Administration window always come from
the NMC server, regardless of any system option settings.
When you enable the User Authentication for NetWorker system option:
l Access requests to a NetWorker server appear to be coming from users on the
NMC server, rather than from the gstd process owner on the NMC server.
l A NetWorker 8.2.x and earlier server allows requests only from users who belong
to the Administrators list of the NetWorker server. You must include the username
of the Console daemon process owner in the NetWorker Administrators list on
NetWorker 8.2.x and earlier servers to which the Console users have access. The
NetWorker Installation Guide describes how to add the Console daemon process
owner to the NetWorker Administrators list by using the nsraddadmin command.
NOTICE You must specify the username of the root or system user on the
NMC server, regardless of whether you use individual user authentication.

Impact on network connections


When you enable individual user authentication, the NMC Server software might
require more network connections. Additional network connections might firewall port
requirements. The NetWorker Security Configuration Guide provides information about
firewalls.
When you set the User Authentication for NetWorker system option, the NetWorker
Authentication Service software creates a separate network connection the
NetWorker Authentication Service to a NetWorker Server for each Console user that
has an Administration window open to that server.
When you do not set the user authentication for NetWorker system option, there is
only one network connection from the NetWorker Authentication Service to the
managed NetWorker Server.

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Displaying international fonts in non-US


locale environments
To use or view data from a localized NetWorker Server, ensure that the appropriate
font is available to the NMC Server.
The NetWorker Installation Guide describes how to display international fonts on an
NMC Server that operates in English mode.

NetWorker License Manager


The NetWorker License Manager (LLM) software provides centralized license
management, which enables you to maintain all licenses in the Enterprise from a single
host if using the traditional licensing model.
Note: NetWorker 19.1 requires the use of the Dell EMC Licensing Solution, which
deploys an Dell EMC Licensing Server. You do not require the NetWorker License
Manager and it is recommended that you skip the NetWorker License Manager
software installation during the NetWorker 19.1 install. When upgrading to
NetWorker 19.1, you can back up the NetWorker License Manager by following the
procedure outlined in the section "Backing up the NetWorker License Manager" in
the NetWorker Licensing Guide.
With the NetWorker License Manager, you can move NetWorker software from one
host to another, or change the IP address on an existing NetWorker Server without
having to reauthorize the software. You can install the NetWorker License Manager
program as an option during the NetWorker software installation.
The latest NetWorker License Manager server Installation and Administration Guide
provides more information on how to install and use the NetWorker License Manager.

Entering an enabler code


Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Setup.
2. Right-click Licensing, then select New. The Create dialog box appears.
3. In the Enabler Code attribute, type the enabler code and leave the other
attributes blank.
4. Click OK.

Deleting an enabler code


Procedure
1. From the Console window, click Setup and then click Licensing.
2. Right-click the license to delete, then select Delete.
3. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.

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Entering an authorization code


Procedure
1. Log in as a Console Application Administrator.
2. From the Console window, click Setup and then click Licensing.
3. Right-click the license to be authorized, then select Properties. The
Properties dialog box appears.
4. In the Auth Code attribute, enter the authorization code for the product (the
authorization code assigned to the specified permanent enabler or update
enabler code).
5. Click OK. The license is now permanently enabled.

Changing the License Manager server


You can change the License Manager server that manages NetWorker Console
licenses at any time.
About this task
Procedure
1. Log in as a Console Application Administrator.
2. From the Console window, click Setup.
3. Right-click Licensing, then select Change LLM Server. The Change LLM
Server dialog box appears.
4. In the LLM Server attribute, type the hostname of the appropriate server and
click OK.

NMC error messages and corrective actions


The following table provides a list of NMC error messages or symptoms and corrective
actions to take.

Table 134 Error messages or symptoms

Error message or Possible cause Corrective action


symptom
If the Console server fails to JavaScript is not enabled on In Internet Explorer, ensure that
load and instead displays a the host. The security level the security level is lower than
Save As... dialog box. in Internet Explorer is set to high, which disables JavaScipt,
High, which disables or enable Active Scripting.
JavaScript, which is needed
to launch the product, or
JavaScript has been
disabled by some other
means.

The NetWorker Server does A temporary enabler code Log out, then stop and restart
not accept the authorization has already expired. the NMC Server services.
code.

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Table 134 Error messages or symptoms (continued)

Error message or Possible cause Corrective action


symptom
An application window is Insufficient disk space on l Ensure that the NMC
unresponsive. the file system where the Server is running. If it is
NMC database is installed. not, close all application
windows and check the
gstd log file for errors.
l Back up and move the
Console database, if
required.
l On a Windows system, run
InstallShield with the Repair
option to move the
database to a different
drive.

Application ran out of Close all instances of the


memory. application and restart it.

Another dialog box is open Close any open dialog boxes or


in the NMC window or error messages.
Administration window.

Connection refused: no NMC Server is in the Check to see if the NMC Server
further information. process of crashing or has is running.
already crashed.
or l If it is running, stop and
restart the NMC server.
Problem contacting server
server_name: l If it is not, close all
application windows and
check the gstd log file for
errors.

Console server has been Wait a couple of minutes and


started within the previous retry.
few minutes.

Failed to bind to port Another process is using the Close any running NMC GUIs or
port_mumber message gstd service port (default any processes that may be
appears in the gstd.raw log 9001) or the port is in a using the gstd service port.
file. timeout (TIME_WAIT/ Wait until the timeout period
FIN_WAIT) state. passes so that the operating
system can free up the port.
The timeout period may differ
between operating systems.

Database fetch operation The NMC database is Recover the database.


failed messages appears in corrupt.
the gstd.raw log file.

Display problem: The gstd service is not Restart the NMC server.
running on the NMC server.
In Internet Explorer:

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Table 134 Error messages or symptoms (continued)

Error message or Possible cause Corrective action


symptom

The page cannot be displayed. Browser is not pointing to Check the install log file to
the correct URL. determine the HTTP port that is
used by the NMC Server.

Network connection is Ping the NMC Server to


down. confirm the network
connection. If it is available,
contact the system
administrator.

Enabler code not accepted. Temporary enabler code has Close the NMC Server and log
expired. in again.

Repeat the procedure of typing


the enabler code. If the
enabler code is still not
accepted, log out, then stop
and restart the NMC Server.

Database delete operation Another user has already None


failed: Reference object does deleted that user or folder.
not exist.

Database store operation l Another user is trying to l Wait a few moments and
failed: An object with add a folder to the same try again.
pathname location in the l Check whether there is an
“pathname” already exists. Enterprise
existing object with the
simultaneously.
same name.
l An object was added
with the same name as
an existing object.

Invalid Object ID. Another user deleted that None


host.

Could not contact License License Manager hostname If you are using the License
Manager on hostname. has not been assigned or Manager and a hostname has
License Manager is not not been assigned:
- or -
running or installed.
Select the Software
Program not registered.
Administration task.

Click Licensing.

Click Software Administration


on the menu bar.

Click Change LLM Server.

Type the new License Manager


hostname.

Click OK.

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Table 134 Error messages or symptoms (continued)

Error message or Possible cause Corrective action


symptom

If License Manager is installed,


but not running, start it.

The NetWorker License Manager


server Installation and
Administration Guide provides
details.

NetWorker Client was Stop the NetWorker software.


stopped, but the License
Stop License Manager, if it is
Manager was not stopped,
running.
and then the NetWorker
Client was restarted. Restart License Manager.
Although both services are Restart the NetWorker
now running, software.
NetWorker Client must be
started before License
Manager is started. If the
services are not
started in the correct order,
an error condition
occurs.

License allocation failed. Temporary license for Enter enabler codes and
NetWorker software is register the product.
expired.

License managed event License has been authorized None needed. To remove the
indicates that license is within the last 24 hours. managed event from the
expiring/expired even though display, dismiss the event or it
it has been authorized. is deleted within 24 hours.

Logging of troubleshoot Disk space on the /opt file Allocate more disk space.
messages has stopped. system is nearly full.

alloc /opt: File system full.

Event disappears from the Another user dismissed it, or None


Events window. the problem that was
causing the event no longer
exists.

Dialog box: "Java Web Start – Java Web Start preferences Check the Preference settings
Download Error" with the are set to something that is in the Java Web Start
message, "Unable to launch incompatible with the rest Application Manager for
NetWorker Console". of the environment. compatibility with the
environment. Change any
(For example, a proxy
settings that prohibit the
server has been set up
download of the Console client
that stops Java Web Start
software.
from downloading the
Console client software

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Table 134 Error messages or symptoms (continued)

Error message or Possible cause Corrective action


symptom

from the Console web In the proxy server example, go


server.) to the General tab of
the Preferences dialog box and
This error message may also
select None, for
occur if the
Proxies.
Console is being launched
on a localized If the Java Web Start cache
operating system and the path contains non-English
Java Web Start cache characters, change the path to
path contains non-English contain no non-English
characters. characters.

gstd.log file error: internal When you move the system None
error: could not end time ahead, the NMC
transaction Server starts a time out
event and closes database
client connection for the
gstd process.

GC overhead limit exceeds This error message appears Increase the Java heap size to
when you are performing 1400MB.
tasks in NMC and there is
1. Start the Java Control
insufficient Java memory, or
Panel application: javaws
heap.
-viewer.
2. Close the Java Cache
window.
3. On the Java tab, click
View.
4. On the Java Runtime
Environment Settings
window, double-click in the
Runtime Parameters cell
for the Java version that
you use with NMC.
5. In the Runtime Parameters
field, specify a heap size of
1400 MB: -Xms1400m
6. Click OK.
7. Click OK to close the Java
Control Panel.
8. Close the NMC and
NetWorker Administration
windows and reconnect to
the NetWorker.

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Console troubleshooting notes and tips


This section provides general troubleshooting tips for the NMC server.

Troubleshooting an NMC server that is not responding


If the NMC server is not responding, answer the following questions:
l Is a potentially long-running process such as a device operation (label or inventory,
for example) currently running?
Any process that you start on the Console server locks the user interface until that
process completes. To perform multiple, long-running operations simultaneously
(that is, to administer multiple NetWorker servers), open a separate web browser
instance of the NMC server to run each operation.
l Are the all of the following processes running?
n GST server (gstd)
n Database server dbsrv12)
n Web server (httpd)
l Is the ntpdate command synchronizing at midnight?
In some cases, when you have a cron job that perform an ntpdate
synchronization at exactly midnight, the NMC server may lose connection to the
database. To resolve this issue, modify the time that the cron job performs the
ntpdate synchronization or have ntp run as a service and synchronize
continuously.

Determining if the Console server is running on a Windows system


On a Windows computer:
1. From the Start menu, select Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.
2. Verify that EMC GST Service is running.

Determining if the Console server is running on a Linux system


Use the ps command to confirm that the process, which the NMC server requires, are
running.
l For the gst server process, type:

/usr/bin/ps -ef | grep gstd

If the gstd process is running, output similar to the following appears:

nsrnmc 7190 1 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:06 /opt/lgtonmc/bin/gstd


l For the database server process, type:

/usr/bin/ps -ef | grep postgres

If the database server is running, output similar to the following appears:


nsrnmc 7212 1 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 /opt/lgtonmc/postgres/bin/
postgres -D /nsr/nmc/nmcdb/pgdata
nsrnmc 7213 7212 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 postgres: logger process

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nsrnmc 7215 7212 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 postgres: checkpointer


process
nsrnmc 7216 7212 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 postgres: writer process
nsrnmc 7217 7212 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 postgres: wal writer
process
nsrnmc 7218 7212 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 postgres: autovacuum
launcher process
nsrnmc 7219 7212 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:03 postgres: stats
collector process
nsrnmc 7231 7212 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 postgres: lgtogst
lgto_gst 127.0.0.1(44296) idle
l For the web server process, type:

/usr/bin/ps -ef | grep httpd

If the web process is running, output similar to the following appears:


nsrnmc 7196 1 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 /opt/lgtonmc/apache/bin/
httpd -f /opt/lgtonmc/apache/conf/httpd.conf
nsrnmc 7197 7196 0 Nov23 ? 00:00:00 /opt/lgtonmc/apache/bin/
httpd -f /opt/lgtonmc/apache/conf/httpd.conf

Unable to connect to host: Please check Security setting and daemon logs on
the NetWorker client and Console server for more information
This message can appear when you perform Client Configuration wizard tasks,
Device Configuration wizard tasks, or when you browse save sets simultaneously
while you add or modify a Client resource.
Check for one of the following scenarios when you receive this error.
l Verify that the SSL key matches between the NMC Server and the NetWorker
client host. The SSL key is in the NSR Peer Information attribute, which is located
in each host’s nsrladb database. A mismatch can occur when the nsrladb on one
host is corrupted.
To resolve this issue, delete the Console Server’s NSR Peer Information from the
NetWorker Client’s nsrladb, and delete the NetWorker Client’s NSR Peer
Information from the Console Server’s nsrladb as following:
n To delete the Console Server’s NSR Peer Information from the NetWorker
Client’s nsrladb, on the client host, type:

nsradmin –p nsrexec
nsradmin> print type:NSR peer information

Note: Identify the Console Server’s NSR Peer Information, and delete it.

nsradmin> delete type: NSR peer information;name:<Console


Server name>
Delete? Yes
n To delete the NetWorker Client’s NSR Peer Information from the Console
Server’s nsrladb, on the Console Server host, type:

nsradmin –p nsrexec
nsradmin> print type:NSR peer information

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Note: Identify the NetWorker Client’s NSR Peer Information, and delete it.

nsradmin> delete type: NSR peer information;name:<Client


name>
Delete? Yes

After the deletion is complete, it is not mandatory to restart the NetWorker


or Console services.
l The Client cannot resolve hostname of NMC Server or NW Server. Sometimes,
NMC can resolve the client hostname, but, client cannot resolve the NMC or
NetWorker Server hostname.
To resolve this issue, ping the NetWorker Server and NMC server from the Client.
If the ping fails, DNS is not resolving the hostname issue and add the hostname to
the client hosts file.
l Ensure NetWorker users have at least the “Operate NetWorker” privilege to
launch the Client Wizard. To resolve this issue, add the user to the user_group
in the NetWorker Server.
l The NetWorker Server may not be present in the client's servers file. To resolve
this issue, add the NetWorker Server to the client's servers file.
l The NMC Server, NetWorker Server, and NetWorker client hosts must only use
nsrauth authentication.

Username/password validation fails when you use the NMC New Device
wizard to configure an AFTD if storage node is UNIX
When you use the NMC New Device wizard to configure an AFTD, the username/
password validation for browsing the file system may fail for a UNIX storage node .
This failure can occur in the following situations:
l The system is missing the Pluggable Authentication Modules (PAM) library.
l The rule in the pam.conf file (/etc/pam.conf) for OTHER service is set to deny.
The operating system documentation provides more information about how to install
the PAM library and how to modify the pam.conf file.

Querying large numbers of save sets in the NetWorker user interface may
cause a Java heap space error
When you query a large number of save sets in the NetWorker user interface, the
query may fail with a Java heap space error.
To resolve this issue, increase the Java heap size that the NMC application uses.
1. On the NMC server host, open the Console_install_dir\web
\gconsole.jnlp file in a text editor.
2. Increase the default max-heap-size value from 700MB to 1400MB.
For example:

<resources>
<j2se version="1.5+" initial-heap-size="64M"
max-heap-size="1400M"/>

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Note: To provide meaningful query results and to reduce the chance of


encountering this error, narrow the save set search criteria by specifying selection
parameters.

NMC user interface exits unexpectedly


If the NMC guided user interface (GUI) loses its connection to the gstd service
because the gstd service was shut down or failed, then the GUI displays a warning
and exits after 10 seconds. This is normal behavior. NMC error messages and
corrective actions on page 782 provides more troubleshooting information.

Label and Mount devices page is not displayed in NMC device configuration
wizard
The display of the pool selection page is toggled based on the below criteria:
l The page is displayed when the user selects new folders that do not contain any
volume information.
l The page is displayed when using existing folders containing volume information
for another device (on different datazone), but not a device in the current
NetWorker server.
l This page is not displayed when the user selects folders containing volume
information for another device (on the same datazone).

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CHAPTER 14
NetWorker Server Management

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Setting up the server........................................................................................792


l Viewing the migration log file........................................................................... 793
l Hostname changes...........................................................................................793
l Managing the NSR task resource for nsrclientfix ............................................ 794
l Parallelism and multiplexing..............................................................................795
l Managing server access................................................................................... 799
l Resource databases ........................................................................................ 800
l Indexes............................................................................................................. 801
l Internationalization........................................................................................... 810
l Creating a Server Backup action....................................................................... 811
l Creating an expire action.................................................................................. 814

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Setting up the server


When you set up the NetWorker server, enter the NetWorker product serial number
that appears on the Enabler Certificate that you received from Dell EMC Licensing.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Protection.
2. Select the server name.
3. From the File menu, select Properties.
4. In the Properties dialog box, configure the appropriate attributes.
5. Click the System Summary tab and enter the product serial number for the
server, as well as any other required information.
6. Click Ok.

License the NetWorker Server


The NetWorker Licensing Guide describes how to license the NetWorker Server.

Setting the Job inactivity timeout


Use the Job inactivity timeout attribute to specify the maximum time, in minutes that
the NetWorker server should wait for a response from a job before the server
considers the job inactive and terminates the job.
About this task
The job inactivity timeout applies to all actions defined in all workflows in a policy. The
inactivity timeout value assigned to an action, only applies to the action to which you
defined the timeout value.
Procedure
1. On the Administration window, click Server.
2. In the left pane of the Server window, right-click the NetWorker server.
3. From the File menu, select Properties.
4. Select the Configuration tab.
5. In the Job inactivity timeout attribute, specify the timeout value in minutes.
6. Click Ok.

Modifying the retention period for jobs in the jobs database


By default, the NetWorker server retains information about jobs in the Jobs database
for 72 hours. During this time, all details such as the status of workflows run will be
available for viewing.
About this task
if required, you can change the jobs database retention to a longer period. Note,
however, that as the retention period grows and data is preserved for a longer period
of time, performance impacts may be observed. Perform the following steps to modify
the amount of time NetWorker retains jobs information in the Jobs database:

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Procedure
1. On the Administration window, click Server.
2. In the left pane of the Server window, right-click the NetWorker server.
3. From the File menu, select Properties.
4. Select the Configuration tab.
5. In the Jobsdb retention in hours, specify a retention time value in hours.
Note: After the expiration of jobsdb, any expired workflows will display a
status of never run.

6. Click OK.

Viewing the migration log file


When you update the NetWorker Server from version 8.2.x and earlier to version 19.1,
the migration process creates log files that provide information about the resources
and attribute migration results.
About this task
When you connect to the NetWorker Server for the first time after an update, a
window appears that provides you with the option to view the main migration log
window. The NetWorker Server does not remove the log files. Perform the following
steps to view the main migration log file at a later time:
Procedure
1. Connect to the NetWorker Server from the NMC GUI.
2. From the File menu, select Open Migration Log File.

Hostname changes
NetWorker considers each unique client name as a separate client. NetWorker assigns
each unique client name in the datazone a unique identifier called client ID. NetWorker
stores the client ID for each client in the media database.
The NetWorker software has a built-in mechanism to prevent the nsrd daemon from
starting on the NetWorker server if the startup process detects a change in the name
of the NetWorker server. For example, when you change the hostname of the
NetWorker server or modify the aliases order in the hosts file.
A message similar to the following appears in the daemon.raw file:

NetWorker is unable to continue its startup sequence due to a server


hostname change to hostname. Please verify that the server's hostname
and its aliases are properly represented in the local host database
(eg. /etc/hosts) and DNS.

This mechanism prevents the NetWorker software from assigning a new client ID to
the NetWorker server, which is based on the new hostname. To resolve this issue,
verify the hostname resolution of the NetWorker server. The "Networking and
Connectivity" chapter provides more information.
If the startup process did not detect the hostname change, NetWorker assigns the
NetWorker server a new client ID, which can impact NetWorker operations. Use the
nsrclientfix command to analyze the media database and identify client ID
inconsistencies. To resolve client ID issues, use the nsrclientfix command to

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merge information about multiple clients in the media database and resource database
into one client resource with the original client ID. The following KB articles on the
Online Support website provide more information about using the nsrclientfix
command:
l For NetWorker Server client ID issues: 000185727
l For NetWorker Client client ID issues: 000193911
Note: KB article 000196727 describes how to rename a NetWorker server.

Managing the NSR task resource for nsrclientfix


By default NetWorker uses an NSR Task resource that is named
DefaultNsrclientfixTask. The resource runs the nsrtask command daily but
only runs the nsrclientfix command on the days defined by the resource
schedule. By default, NetWorker runs thensrclientfix command every Sunday at
7:00 P.M. and reports client ID issues in the daemon.raw file.
About this task
When the DefaultNsrclientfixTask task detects a client ID issue, an error
message similar to the following appears in the daemon.raw file:

nsrd NSR Index Warning: Detected error with client id(s): hostname

You can use the nsradmin program to modify the schedule of the scan.
Procedure
1. On the NetWorker server, start the nsradmin program from a command
prompt.
2. At the nsradmin prompt, set the current query to select the NSR task
resource named DefaultNsrclientfixTask:

print type:nsr task;name:DefaultNsrclientfixtask

Output similar to the following appears:


type: NSR task;
name: DefaultNsrclientfixTask;
comment: Periodic execution of nsrclientfix Task;
action: "NSR client fix:DefaultNsrclientfix";
autostart: Enabled;
start time: "7:00";
interval: "24:00";
period: Week;
plan: "
exec skip skip skip skip skip skip";
last start: "Thu Oct 30 15:13:04 2014";
last end: "Thu Oct 30 15:13:05 2014";
last message: Successful;
job id: ;
last job: 32086;
status: idle;
3. Use the update command to modify the following attributes:
l Autostart— Acceptable options are Start now, enabled and disabled.

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l Start time—Specify a new start time in the format "HH:MM".


l Period—Specifies when the plan cycle repeats. Acceptable options are week
and month.
l Interval—Specifies how often to run the task. Specify a 24 hour clock value
in the format "HH:MM".
l Plan—When you set the period to weekly, the plan attribute defines which
days of the week the NetWorker server runs the nsrclientfix command.
When you set the period to monthly, the plan attribute defines which days in
a 30 day period the NetWorker server runs the nsrclientfix command.
Acceptable values are exec and skip.
Note: The action attribute specifies the name of the NSR Client Fix
resource, which contains the nsrclientfix command.

For example, to specify that the task should run every day of the week at 1:00
P.M. except for Sunday, type the following command:

update: start time: "13:00"; plan: skip exec exec exec exec exec
exec

The Command Reference Guide provides more information about the nsrtask
and NSR client fix resources.

Parallelism and multiplexing


Parallelism is a general term within the NetWorker software for a number of
configurable options that allow you to adjust the volume of data that a system
processes, which can improve the performance of servers, storage nodes, and
devices. Multiplexing is the ability to write multiple save streams simultaneously to the
same storage device.
This section identifies attributes related to parallelism and multiplexing and describes
how they work together to optimize your NetWorker environment.

Parallelism
You can use several attributes in various NetWorker resources to adjust the volume of
data that a host processes to improve overall performance.
The following attributes are related to parallelism:
l Client parallelism
l Server parallelism
l Action parallelism
l Max active devices
l Media library parallelism
These attributes are described in detail in the following sections.

Client parallelism and parallel save streams


Client parallelism defines the number of data streams that a client can use
simultaneously during backup.
Data streams include backup data streams, savefs processes, and probe jobs.

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The default value is different for the NetWorker server than it is for all other client
resources:
l For the NetWorker server client resource, the default value is 12. This higher
default value enables the server to complete a larger number of index backups
during a Server backup action.
l For all other clients, the default value is 4.
To define client parallelism, use the Parallelism attribute of the Client resource. You
can find the parallelism attribute on the Globals(1 of 2) tab of the Client property
dialog box, in the NetWorker Administration window.
The NetWorker Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) User Guide provides more
information about recommended parallelism settings for NDMP clients.
To avoid disk contention for clients other than the NetWorker server, specify a value
that is the same as or fewer than the number of physical disks on the client that are
included in the backup.
For a Windows client with the ALL keyword save set attribute, the backup includes the
local disks, for example C: and D: drives as well as the System State and System DB.
In this example, you can keep the default parallelism setting of 4. If you define multiple
save sets on the same disk, for example, C:\users, C:\system, C:\docs and so
on , a higher client parallelism results in multiple save streams attempting to access
the disk at the same time.
The NetWorker Performance Optimization Planning Guide provides more information
about recommended client parallelism values and performance benefits.
Enabling the parallel save streams (PSS) feature for a Client resource allows you to
back up each save set for the client by using multiple parallel save streams to one or
more destination backup devices. You can use PSS to perform the scheduled file level
backup of file systems, and block based backups.
You can use PSS for clients with supported UNIX, Linux, and Windows operating
systems. Supported save sets for PSS include the Save Set ALL, and individual save
points including Disaster_Recovery, deduplicated, and CSV volumes (Windows
only). Checkpoint restart is not supported when you use PSS.
When you enable PSS, you can specify the maximum number of save streams that a
client can send simultaneously for one or more save set backups concurrently running
by using the Parallelism attribute in the Client Properties dialog. The default value
for the Parallelism attribute is different for the NetWorker Server than it is for all
other Client resources:
l For the NetWorker Server Client resource, the default value is 12. This higher
default value enables the server to complete a larger number of index backups
during a file system backup of the server or other index backups.
l For all other clients, the default value is 4.
Enabling PSS results in significant performance improvements due to save set
aggregation, where the NetWorker Server starts a single save process per client with
all client save sets that are passed to the single process for various processing
optimizations, such as minimal Windows VSS snapshots and support for the following:
l Four parallel streams are started per save set, subject to any client parallelism
limitations that might prevent all save sets from starting simultaneously.
l The ability to modify the number of parallel streams per save set by defining the
new PSS:streams_per_ss environment variable save operations attribute in the
properties of a Client resource. For example, setting PSS:streams_per_ss=2,*
splits all save sets into two parallel save streams, whereas

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PSS:streams_per_ss=3,/data1, 5,/data2 splits /data1 into three parallel save


streams and /data2 into five parallel save streams.
l Automatic stream reclaiming, which dynamically increases the number of active
streams for an already running save set backup to maximize utilization of limited
client parallelism conditions.
Note: It is recommended that you set the client parallelism value to be a multiple
of the PSS:streams_per_ss parameter default value 4 or its largest defined value
when configured. For example, a multiple of 4 is 8, 12, or 16.

If the client parallelism is less than the PSS:streams_per_ss default 4 or the


lowest configured value, the backup fails displaying an error message.

The PSS:streams_per_ss values range from 1 to 8. If you specify an invalid value,


the backup proceeds with the default value 4, and a warning message displays
stating that that the entire PSS:streams_per_ss parameter is ignored.
The NetWorker Performance Optimization Planning Guide provides complete details on
PSS requirements and performance benefits.

Server parallelism
To define the server parallelism for a NetWorker server, use the Parallelism attribute
of the Server resource. The Parallelism attribute appears in the NetWorker
Administrator window on the General tab of the Server property dialog box.
Server parallelism defines the number of simultaneous data streams that the
NetWorker server allows.
Data streams include backup data streams, savefs processes, and probe jobs.
The default and the maximum server parallelism values vary depending on the edition
of NetWorker software. Each storage node that you enable and connect to the
NetWorker server can increase the parallelism maximum value. The maximum
parallelism value for any NetWorker server and storage node combination can vary.
The NetWorker Release Notes provides more information.
Optimally, configure the NetWorker server to process enough data streams to keep all
the backup devices in the datazone writing at their maximum speed. When you tune
the server parallelism setting, along with other settings discussed in this section, you
can maximize the speed that NetWorker writes the data to backup devices.

Action parallelism
Action parallelism defines the maximum number of simultaneous data streams that can
occur on all clients in a group that is associated with the workflow that contains
action.
Data streams include backup data streams, savefs processes, and probe jobs.
To define the parallelism for an action, modify the Parallelism attribute on the Specify
the Advanced Options page in the Action wizard. For a Backup action, the default
parallelism value is 100 and maximum value is 1000. For a clone action, the default
parallelism value is 0. For all other action types, the default value is 0, or unlimited.

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Max active devices


In a DDS environment, use the Max active devices attribute, on the General tab of the
Storage Node resource to define the maximum number of active devices for a storage
node.
This attribute sets the maximum number of devices that NetWorker may use from the
storage node in a DDS configuration. In large environments with media libraries that
have a large number of devices, storage nodes might not have the ability to optimize
all the drives in the library. The Max active devices attribute allows you to limit the
number of devices that the storage node uses at a specified time, which allows the
storage node to have access to all the devices in the library, but does not limit the
storage node to the number of devices it can fully optimize.

Media Library parallelism


To define the media library parallelism, use the Max parallelism attribute on the
Configuration tab of the Library resource .
Media library parallelism allows you to define the maximum number of available
devices for inventory and label operations.
It is recommended that you set the Max parallelism attribute of the Library resource
to one less than the number of devices within the library, which allows you to reserve
on device for recovery operations.
To improve the efficiency of library operations that operate on multiple volumes, use
multiple devices in parallel for these operations. However, you may want to restrict
the number of devices that NetWorker uses for inventorying and labeling operations,
to ensure that some devices are available for other library operations.

Multiplexing
Multiplexing is the ability to write multiple data streams simultaneously to the same
storage device. It is often more efficient for the NetWorker server to multiplex
multiple save sets to the same device. There are also times when limiting the number
of data streams to a particular device improves performance of the NetWorker
environment.
Use the Target sessions, Max sessions, and Pool parallelism attributes to increase or
limit the number of data streams that NetWorker writes to a device.

Target sessions
Use the Target sessions attribute on the Configuration tab of the Device resource to
define the optimal number of backup sessions to assign to an active device.
Target sessions is not a hard limit; to set a hard limit for the number of sessions that a
particular device can accept, use the Max sessions attribute.
The Target sessions attribute aids in load balancing devices by determining when the
NetWorker software should write save streams to a device.
When a save session starts, the following actions occur:
l If a device is already receiving the number of backup sessions determined by the
target sessions value, the NetWorker server uses the next underutilized device for
the backups.
l If all available devices are receiving the number of backup sessions determined by
their target sessions value, the NetWorker server overrides the set value and uses
the device with the least activity for the next backup session.

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Because it is often more efficient for the NetWorker server to multiplex multiple save
sets to the same device, rather than write each save set to a separate device, the
NetWorker server attempts to assign to each device a number of save sets, up to the
value of target sessions, before assigning a save set to another device.
NOTICE When the NetWorker software assesses how many devices need to be
involved in multiple save streams assignments with the same storage node, the
device with the lowest target session value is used as a reference.

Max sessions
The Max sessions attribute on the Configuration tab of the Device resource defines
the maximum number of save sessions for a device. The max sessions value is never
less than the target sessions value. It is recommended to use the default values for
Max sessions as lowering these values can impact performance.

Pool parallelism
The Max parallelism attribute on the Configuration tab of the Pool resource defines
the parallelism for a pool.
Pool parallelism determines the maximum number of simultaneous save streams for
each device that belong to a NetWorker pool. The default value for this attribute is 0,
which means that the attribute has no effect on other parallelism settings.
You can use pool parallelism to increase recovery times. For example, you can create a
pool to back up business critical data and use this attribute to restrict the number of
save sets that NetWorker writes in parallel to the media in the pool. As a result,
recovery speed increases for data on that media.
However, when you set the Max parallelism attribute to 1,a prolonged delay between
the backup of save sets may occur. To resolve this issue, increase the Max parallelism
attribute for the pool resource.
Note: For AFTD and DD Boost devices, the Max nsrmmd count setting for a device
affects the Max parallelism attribute. For example, consider an AFTD device
(AFTD_1) that has a Max sessions attribute of 20 and a Max nsrmmd count of 4.
Now suppose a backup pool with a Pool parallelism attribute of 1 selects AFTD_1 .
The total number of save sessions that NetWorker can initiate for AFTD_1 is 4,
one for each nsrmmd process. Tape and FTD devices can only spawn one nsrmmd
process at a time, so if the previous example used a tape device, then the total
number of save sessions would be 1.

Managing server access


User privileges define the NetWorker operations and tasks that NMC, AD, and LDAP
users can perform on a NetWorker Server.
The NetWorker Security Configuration Guide describes how to restrict access to the
NetWorker Server and NetWorker operations, including the following information:
l How to restrict administrator access to the NetWorker Server.
l How to modify the privileges assigned to NMC, LDAP, and AD users and groups.
l How to Restrict server and client initiated backup and recover operations.

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Resource databases
Information about the NetWorker Server resides in series of files in the following
directories:

NetWorker_install_path\res\nsrdb\00
.
NetWorker_install_path\res\nsrdb\09

NetWorker stores each resource in a separate numbered file. As you create resources,
for example, a new Client, Group, or Pool resources, the NetWorker Server adds files
to the directories.
A Client resource database (nsrexec) also exists on each NetWorker host and
contains configuration information about each NetWorker host. The nsrexec
database resides in a series of files in the following directories:

NetWorker_install_path\res\nsrladb\00
.
NetWorker_install_path\res\nsrladb\09

The NetWorker Security Configuration Guide provides more information about the
Client resource database.

Viewing resources in the resource database


You can view and modify NetWorker resources through the NMC Administration
window.
NetWorker also provides a command line tool, nsradmin, to modify resource
databases.
For example:
l To access the NetWorker server resource database, type:

nsradmin -s server_name
l To access the client resource database, use the following command :

nsradmin -p nsrexec
l To access the Package Manager database, use the following command:

nsradmin -p nsrcpd

Repairing resource database corruption


A power outage, operating system failure, or manual edits the database with a text
editor can cause NetWorker resource database file corruption.
If the NetWorker server cannot read the resource files when the NetWorker services
start, a message similar to following appears in the daemon.raw file.

nsrd: WARNING: NSR configuration database detected invalid


resource ...\00019803aa14713c89456b41
nsrd: Invalid resource saved at ...\00019803aa14713c89456b41

The NetWorker server removes any corrupt resource files from the nsrdb directory
structure and places them in the dbg directory. NetWorker creates the dbg directory
only after resource database file corruption has occurred. To correct this issue, open

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the corrupt file with a text editor and review the file contents, then re-create the
resource. You can delete the corrupted resource file.
Note: If you do not know the cause of the resource file corruption, contact
Technical Support assistance.

Indexes
The NetWorker server tracks the files it backs up in two databases, which are stored
on the local file system of the server:
l The client file index tracks the files that belong to a save set. There is one client
file index for each client.
l The media database tracks:
n Volume name
n Backup dates of the save sets on the volume
n File systems in each save set
Unlike the client file indexes, there is only one media database per server.
The client file indexes and media database can grow to become prohibitively large over
time. Managing the size of the online indexes on page 806 provides information about
managing the size of these indexes.

Characteristics of the online indexes


The size of an index is proportional to the number of entries the index contains. The
media database is usually smaller than the client file index, because the media
database stores one entry for each volume, while the client file index stores one entry
for each file that NetWorker saves on a volume. The NetWorker server selects which
volume to mount to perform a recovery by mapping the saved files to their volumes.
Each entry in the client file index includes this information for a saved file:
l Filename
l Number of blocks
l Access privileges
l Number of links
l Owner
l Group
l Size
l Last modified time
l Backup time
The client file indexes grow with each backup, as entries are added for each newly
saved file and save set. As long as an index entry for a file remains in the client file
index, you can perform a browsable recovery of the file. Over time, the size of these
indexes can grow very large.
NOTICE If the file system that contains the indexes gets full, the NetWorker
server cannot access the media database and cannot recover data. Unless you use
browse and retention policies to control the size of the online indexes, the indexes
continue to grow until they exceed the capacity of the file system.

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NetWorker uses browse and retention policies to manage the lifecycle of the data, and
to automatically control the size of the client file index. Backup retention on page 378
provides information about policies.

Automated index activities


The NetWorker server performs these online index activities:
l Inserts entries in the client file index for each file saved during a backup. For each
new backup, the NetWorker server acquires more space from the file system for
the new entries.
l Removes entries and returns disk space to the operating system. The browse and
retention policies automatically determine when entries are removed from the
index.
You can also remove index entries manually by clicking Remove Oldest Cycle in the
Index Save Sets dialog box. Removing the oldest save set cycles on page 809
provides more information.

Checking online indexes


Each time the NetWorker server starts, the startup process uses nsrck -ML1 to
perform a level 1 consistency check on the client file indexes. In some circumstances,
this consistency check will not detect corruption in the client file indexes. If you
believe that an index may be corrupt, run a higher level check on the index, for
example:

nsrck -L5

If the index is still corrupt, recover the index by using the procedure that is outlined in
Adding information about recyclable save sets to the client file index on page 553.
It is recommended that you periodically run the nsrck -F and nsrim -X commands
to check the integrity of the client and media indexes. The NetWorker Command
Reference Guide or the UNIX man pages provide more information about these
commands.

Viewing information about the indexes


The following table identifies the index information displayed for each client.
About this task

Table 135 Indexes window information

Column Description
Client Name Names of the NetWorker clients that have
been backed up by the current server.

Size Amount of disk space currently allocated to


the client file index. As the index size
increases, the allocated disk space
automatically grows.

Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Media.

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2. In the left pane, click Indexes. The right pane displays index information for all
clients of the server.

Index save sets


The Index Save Sets dialog box displays the save sets assigned to a particular client,
along with detailed information about each save set. The dialog box also includes an
option to remove old save set cycles.

Viewing client save set information


The following table identifies the information in the Save Sets dialog box for each save
set.
About this task

Table 136 Index save sets dialog box information

Column Description
Save Set Name Name of the save set.

Size Estimated amount of the index space used by


the save set in the client file index.

Cycles Number of backup cycles available for


browsing. A cycle starts with a full backup and
ends with the next full backup, and includes
any incremental and level 1–9 backups that
occur between full backups.

SSID Unique identification number of the instance


of the save set.

Files Number of files backed up during that


instance.

Size Size of the backup.

Time Date and time of the backup.

Level Level of the backup (full, incr [incremental],


or 1-9)

Reduce the size of the client file index on page 806 provides information about
reducing the size of the client file indexes by using the Remove Oldest Cycle button.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Media.
2. Click Indexes.
3. Right-click the client whose save sets you want to view, then click Show Save
Sets. The Index Save Sets dialog box appears.
4. To view detailed information about a save set, click the save set name.

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Querying the media database


You can query the media database for information about save sets. Queries apply to all
complete, browsable save sets, not just those from the last 24 hours.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Media.
2. Click Save Sets.
3. On the Query Save Sets tab, indicate the appropriate query parameters, then
click the Save Set List tab to run the query and view the results.
NOTICE If the query is unsuccessful, an error dialog box appears, which
indicates that NetWorker could not find save sets that matched the
specified query. Click OK to close the dialog box.

Results
You can also use the mminfo -av command to query the media database. The
NetWorker Command Reference Guide or the UNIX man pages provides detailed
information about how to use the mminfo command.

Cross-checking client file indexes


Perform a cross-check to verify the consistency between the client file index and the
media database. If the NetWorker server finds entries in the client file index that do
not have corresponding entries in the media database, it removes the client file index
entries. This feature is useful, for example, if you perform an index operation and the
server fails before the NetWorker server has completely updated the indexes. Once
the server is running again, cross-check to accurately update the online indexes.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Media.
2. Click Indexes.
3. Right-click the client with the index to cross check, then select Cross Check
Index.
The following prompt appears:

Cross-checking may take considerable time. Would you like to


cross-check
client_name?

4. Click Yes to continue. The NetWorker server displays a status box until the
cross-checking is complete.

Refreshing index information


Occasionally refresh the information in the Indexes tab, particularly if you are
connected to a server for a long period of time.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Media.
2. Click Indexes.

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3. From the View menu, select Refresh.

Client file index locations


During the initial client setup, the NetWorker software normally designates a default
location for the client file index on the NetWorker server. This default location is:
l For UNIX: /nsr/index/client_name
l For Windows: NetWorker_install_path\index\client_name
However, you may need to designate a different index location when first configuring
a Client resource, or you might need to move the file index of an existing client. These
sections address these needs.

Designating the client file index location for a new client


Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Protection.
2. Right-click Clients, then select New. The Create Client dialog box appears.
3. Click the Globals (2 of 2) tab.
4. In the Index Path attribute, type the full path of the directory where the client
file index resides.
5. For the remaining tabs, type information as necessary to create the new client.
6. Click Ok.

Changing the client file index location for an existing client


To change the client file index location to a nondefault location for an existing client,
you must first move the index to its new location.

Moving a client file index


You can move a client file index from its current location to a new location. For
example, if the size of the client file index is too large, you can move it to a location
with more space.
Procedure
1. Ensure that backups and recovers are not occurring on the NetWorker server.
2. Log in to the NetWorker server root on UNIX or as an administrator on
Windows.
3. From the directory that contains the indexes, type:
uasm -s -i "client_index_directory_name" | (cd target_directory; uasm
-r)

Note: On Solaris and Linux platforms, uasm is installed in /usr/lib/nsr.


On all other platforms, uasm is installed in the same location as the
NetWorker binaries.

4. Use NMC to connect to the NetWorker server.


5. Click Protection, then click Clients in the left navigation pane.
6. Right-click the client that requires the client file index location update, and then
select Modify Client Properties.

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7. On the Globals (2 of 2) tab, in the Index Path attribute, specify the full path of
the directory where the client file index now resides.
8. Click OK.

Updating the index location for a client in NetWorker


Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Protection.
2. Click Clients.
3. Right-click the client with the client file index location to be changed, then
select Properties. The Properties dialog box appears.
4. Click the Globals (2 of 2) tab.
5. In the Index Path attribute, type the full path of the directory where the client
file index now resides.
6. Click OK.
7. (Optional) From a command prompt, run the nsrck or nsrls command and
check the output for any errors.
For example, to run nsrck on client jupiter, type:

nsrck -L6 jupiter

Output similar to the following appears:

nsrck: checking index for 'jupiter'


nsrck: nsrindexesjupiter contains 54 records occupying 7 KB
nsrck: Completed checking 1 client(s)

NOTICE Depending on the size of the client file index, running either nsrck
or nsrls can take a considerable amount of time. Running the nsrck -L6
command, as shown in the example, also checks the index for corruption.
If no problems are found, then all future client file index information is saved to
the new location.

Managing the size of the online indexes


Over time, the size of the online indexes on the NetWorker server can become
prohibitively large. Reduce the size of these indexes by using the solutions suggested
in these sections.

Reduce the size of the client file index


You can reduce the size of the client file indexes on the NetWorker server by using
one or more of these methods:
l Remove save sets that comprise the oldest backup cycle from the client file index.
Removing the oldest save set cycles on page 809 provides details.
l Delete volume-based entries from the client file index. Deleting volume-based
online index entries on page 808 provides details.
l Adjust the Browse Policy and Retention Policy attributes of clients backing up to
the NetWorker server to shorten the period of time that entries remain in the
client file indexes. This solution works only for client backups that occur after you
change these policy attributes.

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l Modify the Retention policy associated with a particular save set by using the
nsrmm -e command. Unless the associated save set contains a large number of
files, this method may not be a practical method to reduce the index size. Editing
retention for a save set on page 381 provides details.
If the size of the client file index for a client is still too large, consider moving the
location of the index. Moving a client file index on page 805 provides details.

Reduce the size of the media database size


Use one or more of the following methods to reduce the size of media database on the
NetWorker server.
l Remove volumes that contain recyclable save sets from the NetWorker inventory.
Removing volume-based entries from the online indexes on page 807 provides
details.
When you remove a volume from the media database, NetWorker removes the
entries associated with that volume from the media database and the client file
index for the client. If you select this option, you can use the scanner command
to recover the data on the volume, if NetWorker has not relabeled the volume.
NOTICE You will gain very little disk space from removing a media database
entry. Leaving index entries of a volume in the media database prevents the
accidental labeling of another volume with the same name.
l Recycle volumes that contain recyclable save sets. Changing the volume mode on
page 529 provides details.
When a volume mode changes to recyclable, the volume becomes eligible for reuse
and NetWorker can performs the following operations:
n Relabel the volume
n Remove information about the save sets on the volume from the media
database
n Reinitialize the volume
Once NetWorker relabels a volume, you cannot recover the contents.
To increase the number of currently recyclable save sets, modify the retention
policy associated with the current media database by using the nsrmm -e
command. Editing retention for a save set on page 381 provides details.
l Compress the media database.Compressing the media database on page 809
provides details.

Removing volume-based entries from the online indexes


The main purpose of removing volume-based entries from the online indexes is to
eliminate damaged or unusable volumes from the NetWorker server. You can also use
this feature to reduce the size of the online indexes by purging index entries
associated with specific volumes.

Removing client file index entries


Use the nsrmm command to remove information about save set from the client file
index. This changes the status of browsable save sets to recoverable.
Procedure
1. At the command prompt, type:
nsrmm -d -P -S ssid
where ssid is the save set ID for the save set.

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2. Use mminfo to determine the save set ID. At the command prompt, type:

mminfo -v -c client_name

The UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides
detailed information about the nsrmm and mminfo commands.

Results
When NetWorker marks a save set as recoverable, you cannot browse to recover
these files. Use the save set recover procedure to recover data from a recoverable
save set.

Removing client file index and media database entries


About this task
You can remove both the client file index and media database entries for a volume.
This action removes all traces of the volume from the NetWorker server. Remove a
volume from the media database only if the volume has been physically damaged and
is unusable. However, if you remove the database entries for a volume, the volume is
undamaged, and NetWorker has not relabeled the volume, you can use the scanner
command to recover the data. Adding information about recyclable save sets to the
client file index on page 553 provides details.
Typically, do not remove both the client file index and media database entries at the
same time unless the volume is damaged or destroyed.
NOTICE The presence of a clone of a particular volume prevents the deletion of
the volume entry in the media database. This is because the NetWorker server
accesses the cloned volume rather than the original volume as needed. NetWorker
does not purge the entry of the volume in the media database. Because of this
functionality, removing volume entries from the media database is not a
particularly effective way to reduce index size.

Deleting volume-based online index entries


You can use NMC or the nsrmm command to delete volumes from the media database
and client file indexes. The NetWorker server first cross-checks the indexes before it
clears a volume. As a result, the volume might still appear in the Volumes window in
NMC for a brief period.
About this task
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Media.
2. Click Volumes.
3. Right-click the volume with the entry to delete from the online indexes, then
select Delete.
4. Select one of these options to determine how volume entries are removed:
l File and Media Index Entries. Removing client file index entries on page
807 provides details about this option.
l File Index Entries Only. Removing client file index and media database
entries on page 808 provides details about this option.
5. Click OK.

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Deleting volumes from a command prompt


Use the nsrmm command to remove volume information from the media database and
client file indexes.
About this task
To remove both client file index and media database entries for a volume, type the
following command:

nsrmm -d -S ssid

To remove information about the volume from the client file index only, type the
following command:

nsrmm -d -P volume_name

Deleting volumes in NMC


Use NMC to remove volumes from the client file index or from both the media
database and client file index.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Media.
2. Click Volumes.
3. Right-click the volume with the entry to delete from the online indexes, then
select Delete.
4. Select one of these options to determine how volume entries will be removed:
l File and Media Index Entries to remove the volume information from the
media database and client file indexes.
l File Index Entries Only to remove the volume information from the client
file indexes only.

Compressing the media database


You can free up more space on the server by compressing the media database.
Procedure
1. Delete the appropriate file:
l On Windows:
NetWorker_install_dir\mm\cmprssd
l On UNIX:
/nsr/mm/.cmprssd
2. Type the following command at the command prompt:
nsrim

Removing the oldest save set cycles


Client file index entries for a full save set cycle include the last full backup and any
dependent incremental or level saves. When you remove the oldest cycle, you free up
disk space.
Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Media.
2. Click Indexes.

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3. Right-click the appropriate client, then select Show Save Sets.


4. Select the save set with the oldest cycle to remove, then click Remove Oldest
Cycle.
5. When prompted, click Yes to confirm the removal.
Results
After the Remove Oldest Cycle operation has finished, NetWorker updates the
statistics in the Index Save Sets dialog box to reflect the current state of the client file
index.

Internationalization
The NetWorker software supports language packs, which you can install as part of the
NetWorker installation, or you can install the language packs separately after you have
installed the NetWorker software. The NetWorker Installation Guide provides more
information.
Internationalization support in the NetWorker software depends on
internationalization support of the underlying operating system. If you plan to use non-
English data in the NetWorker software, ensure that you install and configure the
appropriate support for that language on the operating system.
The following sections describe a number of issues and limitations that relate to the
use of NetWorker software in a multi-language environment.

Log file viewer


To view NetWorker log files, use the nsr_render_log program.

Display issues
There are number of issues and limitations associated with displaying characters in
various locales.

Character display at the command line


From the command line, characters supported by the current locale display correctly.
Characters that the current locale of the user do not support will not appear correctly.
For Microsoft Windows systems, if the user and system locales do not match,
characters supported in the user locale but not the system locale may not appear
correctly.

Character display in graphical user interfaces


How character display from within the different NetWorker GUIs vary and depend on
the platform on which you run the GUI.
l On Microsoft Windows:
n All Unicode encoded data will display correctly.
n When you view UNIX path and filenames, path and filenames that you create
with a character set that the current locale or UTF-8 supports, will display
correctly. Paths that you create with another character set may not display
correctly. Because Microsoft Windows does not have native support for many

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of the character sets used on UNIX (for example, euc-jp, euc-cn and euc-tw),
if a non-ASCII character is encoded by using these character sets, characters
will not display correctly on Microsoft Windows.
l On Unix:
n Characters that the current locale does not support may not display correctly.
l On OS-X:
n Differences in Unicode support, non-ASCII paths, and filenames on OS-X
machines can result in characters not displaying correctly when you browse the
file system from a non-Mac platform.

Creating a Server Backup action


A Server Backup action performs a bootstrap backup of the NetWorker media and
resource databases, and can also include the client file indexes. By default, the
NetWorker server configuration contains a Server Protection policy that contains
NMC server backup and Server db backup workflows. The Server db backup workflow
contain a server backup action. This section describes how to create a new server db
backup action, if required.
Before you begin
Create the policy and workflow that contain the action. The Server Backup action
should be the first action in the workflow.
Procedure
1. In the expanded left pane, select the policy's workflow, and then perform one of
the following tasks in the right pane to start the Policy Action wizard:
l If the action is the first action in the workflow, select Create a new action.
l If the workflow has other actions, right-click an empty area of the Actions
pane, and then select New.
The Policy Action wizard opens on the Specify the Action Information page.
2. From the Action Type list, select Server Backup.
3. If you create the action as part of the workflow configuration, the workflow
appears automatically in the Workflow box and the box is dimmed.
4. Specify the order of the action in relation to other actions in the workflow:
l If the action is part of a sequence of actions in a workflow path, in the
Previous box, select the action that should precede this action.
l If the action should run concurrently with an action, in the Previous box,
select the concurrent action, and then select the Concurrent checkbox.
5. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action:
l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly by day.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly by day.
6. Click the icon on each day to specify the type of backup to perform.
To perform the same type of backup on each day, select the backup type from
the list and click Make All.

7. Click Next.
The Server Backup Options page appears.

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8. From the Destination Storage Node list, select the storage node with the
devices on which to store the backup data.
9. From the Destination Pool list, select the media pool in which to store the
backup data.
10. From the Retention lists, specify the amount of time to retain the backup data.
After the retention period expires, the save set is marked as recyclable during
an expiration server maintenance task.
11. Specify whether to include the client file indexes in the server backup by
selecting or clearing the Perform CFI checkbox.
When you clear this option, the action will only backup the bootstrap.
12. Specify whether to include a bootstrap backup in the server backup by
selecting or clearing the Perform Bootstrap checkbox.
When you clear this option, the action will only backup the client file indexes.
NOTICE You must select either the Perform CFI checkbox, the Perform
Bootstrap checkbox, or both checkboxes. Otherwise, the server backup
action does not back up any data.

13. Click Next.


The Specify the Advanced Options page appears.
14. In the Retries field, specify the number of times that NetWorker should retry a
failed probe or backup action, before NetWorker considers the action as failed.
When the Retries value is 0, NetWorker does not retry a failed probe or backup
action.
Note: The Retries option applies to probe actions, and the backup actions
for the Traditional and Snapshot action types. If you specify a value for this
option for other actions, NetWorker ignores the values.

15. In the Retry Delay field, specify a delay in seconds to wait before retrying a
failed probe or backup action. When the Retry Delay value is 0, NetWorker
retries the failed probe or backup action immediately.
Note: The Retry Delay option applies to probe actions, and the backup
actions for the Traditional and Snapshot action types. When you specify a
value for this option in other actions, NetWorker ignores the values.

16. In the Inactivity Timeout field, specify the maximum number of minutes that a
job run by an action can try to respond to the server.
If the job does not respond within the specified time, the server considers the
job a failure and NetWorker retries the job immediately to ensures that no time
is lost due to failures.
Increase the timeout value if a backup consistently stops due to inactivity.
Inactivity might occur for backups of large save sets, backups of save sets with
large sparse files, and incremental backups of many small static files.
Note: The Inactivity Timeout option applies to probe actions, and the
backup actions for the Traditional and Snapshot action types. If you specify
a value for this option in other actions, NetWorker ignores the value.

17. In the Parallelism field, specify the maximum number of concurrent operations
for the action. This is applicable if multiple rollover is implemented at an action
level.

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For Direct-NDMP backups, set the parallelism value to the number of available
NDMP drives.
If you set the parallelism attribute to a higher value, there will not be enough
drives to support all the queued backup save sets. Large save sets might fail
due to the inactivity timeout limit.
When NDMP groups back up simultaneously, divide the number of drives by the
number of groups. Use this value for each of the parallelism attributes.
Setting the parallelism value for the group overrides the parallelism value that is
defined for the NDMP clients.

18. From the Failure Impact list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort action.
Note: The Abort action option applies to probe actions, and the backup
actions for the Traditional and Snapshot action types.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort workflow.

Note: If any of the actions fail in the workflow, the workflow status does
not appear as interrupted or cancelled. NetWorker reports the workflow
status as failed.

19. From the Send Notifications list box, select whether to send notifications for
the action:
l To use the notification configuration that is defined in the Policy resource to
send the notification, select Set at policy level.
l To send a notification on completion of the action, select On Completion.
l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.

20. From the Soft Limit list, select the amount of time after the action starts to
stop the initiation of new activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no
amount of time.
21. From the Hard Limit list, select the amount of time after the action starts to
begin terminating activities. The default value of 0 (zero) indicates no amount
of time.
22. (Optional) Configure overrides for the task that is scheduled on a specific day.
To specify the month, use the navigation buttons and the month list box. To
specify the year, use the spin boxes. You can set an override in the following
ways:
l Select the day in the calendar, which changes the action task for the
specific day.
l Use the action task list to select the task, and then perform one of the
following steps:
n To define an override that occurs on a specific day of the week, every
week, select Specified day, and then use the lists. Click Add Rules
based override.
n To define an override that occurs on the last day of the calendar month,
select Last day of the month. Click Add Rules based override.

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Note:
n You can edit or add the rules in the Override field.
n To remove an override, delete the entry from the Override field.

23. Click Next.


The Action Configuration Summary page appears.
24. Review the settings that you specified for the action, and then click Configure.
After you finish
(Optional) Create a clone action to automatically clone the bootstrap backup when
the backup completes or create an expire action.
Note: NetWorker only supports one action after the server backup action.

Creating an expire action


The expire action removes all expired save sets from the client file index and marks the
save sets as recyclable in the media database. Save sets expire when the retention
period for the save set is exceeded. You can create an expiration action in an existing
workgroup only after a server backup action.
Before you begin
Create the policy and workflow that contain the action. The expire action should be
the first action in the workflow or you can create the expire action after a server
backup action.
Procedure
1. In the expanded left pane, select the policy's workflow, and then perform one of
the following tasks in the right pane to start the Policy Action wizard:
l If the action is the first action in the workflow, select Create a new action.
l If the workflow has other actions, right-click an empty area of the Actions
pane, and then select New.
The Policy Action wizard opens on the Specify the Action Information page.
2. In the Name field, type the name of the action.
The maximum number of characters for the action name is 64.
l Legal Characters: _ : - + = # , . % @
l Illegal Characters: /\*?[]()$!^;'"`~><&|{}

3. In the Comment field, type a description for the action.


4. To ensure that the action runs when the policy or workflow that contains the
action is started, in the Enabled box, select the option. To prevent the action
from running when the policy or workflow that contains the action is started,
clear this option.
Note: When you clear the Enabled option, actions that occurs after a
disabled action do not start, even if the subsequent options are enabled.

5. From the Action Type list, select Expire.


6. If you create the action as part of the workflow configuration, the workflow
appears automatically in the Workflow box and the box is dimmed.

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7. Specify a weekly or monthly schedule for the action:


l To specify a schedule for each day of the week, select Weekly by day.
l To specify a schedule for each day of the month, select Monthly by day.
8. Click the icon on each day to specify whether to perform expiration.
The following table provides details on the icons.

Table 137 Schedule icons for the expire action

Icon Label Description


Execute Perform expiration on this
day.

Skip Do not perform expiration on


this day.

To perform expiration every day, select Execute from the list, and click Make
All.

9. Click Next.
The Expiration Options page appears.
10. Click Next.
The Specify the Advanced Options page appears.
11. From the Failure Impact list, specify what to do when a job fails:
l To continue the workflow when there are job failures, select Continue.
l To abort the current action if there is a failure with one of the jobs, but
continue with subsequent actions in the workflow, select Abort action.
Note: The Abort action option applies to probe actions, and the backup
actions for the Traditional and Snapshot action types.
l To abort the entire workflow if there is a failure with one of the jobs in the
action, select Abort workflow.

Note: If any of the actions fail in the workflow, the workflow status does
not appear as interrupted or cancelled. NetWorker reports the workflow
status as failed.

12. From the Send Notifications list box, select whether to send notifications for
the action:
l To use the notification configuration that is defined in the Policy resource to
send the notification, select Set at policy level.
l To send a notification on completion of the action, select On Completion.
l To send a notification only if the action fails to complete, select On Failure.

13. (Optional) Configure overrides for the task that is scheduled on a specific day.
To specify the month, use the navigation buttons and the month list box. To
specify the year, use the spin boxes. You can set an override in the following
ways:
l Select the day in the calendar, which changes the action task for the
specific day.

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l Use the action task list to select the task, and then perform one of the
following steps:
n To define an override that occurs on a specific day of the week, every
week, select Specified day, and then use the lists. Click Add Rules
based override.
n To define an override that occurs on the last day of the calendar month,
select Last day of the month. Click Add Rules based override.
Note:
n You can edit or add the rules in the Override field.
n To remove an override, delete the entry from the Override field.

14. Click Next.


The Action Configuration Summary page appears.
15. Review the settings that you specified for the action, and then click Configure.

816 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


CHAPTER 15
NetWorker Host Management

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Controlling access to a NetWorker client..........................................................818


l NetWorker host management...........................................................................818
l Windows client interface..................................................................................820
l Editing a client NSRLA database...................................................................... 823

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NetWorker Host Management

Controlling access to a NetWorker client


NetWorker uses the contents of the /nsr/res/servers (UNIX), or the
NetWorker_install_path\res\servers (Windows) file on each NetWorker
client to control who has client-tasking rights. Client-tasking rights provide a host with
the right to request a program execution on another client. The following table
provides a list of tasks that require an update to the servers file.

Table 138 When to modify the servers file

Operations Update required on the NetWorker client’s servers


file
Archive request Add the FQDN or shortname of the NetWorker server.

Scheduled backup Add the FQDN or shortname of the NetWorker server.

For a clustered NetWorker server, add the FQDN and


shortname of the virtual NetWorker and all physical
nodes.

Remote Directed Restore Add the FQDN or shortname of the administering client to the
server file on the destination client.

NDMP DSA backups Add the FQDN or shortname of the NetWorker client that
starts the backup.
Note: For NDMP, the servers file resides in the
NetWorker Server.

Note: Before adding the FQDN or shortname to the NetWorker server file, ensure
that the host name resolution for FQDN or short name is working correctly.
The NetWorker Security Configuration Guide provides more information about client-
tasking rights and how to modify the servers file.

NetWorker host management


The Hosts window on the NetWorker Administration window provides you with the
ability to manage NetWorker hosts in the datazone.
The following figure provides an example of the Hosts window.

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Figure 85 Hosts window

The Hosts window contains a taskbar and two window panels, the summary panel and
a task monitoring panel.
The information that appears in summary panel changes based on the task option that
you select on the taskbar. The following table provides an overview of the information
that appears in the summary panel when you select a task on the taskbar.

Table 139 Summary pane

Selected Task Summary panel Summary panel column description


description
Known hosts Hosts pane— l Hostname—The name of the NetWorker host as
Displays a list of it appears in the Name attribute of the
NetWorker hosts in NetWorker Client resource.
the datazone that
have an associated
l OS—The operating system of the client as it
Client resource on appears in the OS attribute of the NetWorker
the NetWorker Client resource. The operating system attribute
server. appears blank until you have performed one
successful backup operation for the host or
performed an inventory operation.
l NetWorker version—The version of the
NetWorker software on the host. This attribute
appears blank until you have performed one
successful backup operation for the host.

Software Software pane— l Hostname—The name of the NetWorker host.


Inventory Displays
information about
l OS—The operating system of the host.
the NetWorker l OS Platform—The operating system
software that is architecture of the host.
installed on known
l Package name—The names of the NetWorker
hosts in datazone.
packages that are installed on the host that you
The information
can use Package Manager to upgrade.
that appears in this

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Table 139 Summary pane (continued)

Selected Task Summary panel Summary panel column description


description
view is based on l Version—The version of the detected
information that is NetWorker software.
gathered during
the last inventory
l Upgrade available—Displays Yes when the
operation. You can software repository contains a version of the
only run an NetWorker software that you can upgrade on the
inventory operation client.
after you add
software into the
software
repository.

Software Repository pane— l Software—The name of the NetWorker software


Repository Displays in the software repository.
information about
the NetWorker
l Version—The version of the NetWorker software
packages that are package.
contained in the l Package Name—The name of the NetWorker
NetWorker package.
software
l OS—The operating system for the package.
repository.
l OS Platform—The OS architecture for the
package.
l Size—The size of the NetWorker package.

The NetWorker Updating from a Previous Release Guide describes how to use the
Software Inventory and Software Repository panes to update the NetWorker
software on known hosts.
The task monitoring panel is always visible for each task option. A splitter separates
the task monitoring panel from the summary panel. You can click and move the splitter
to resize the task monitoring panel.
The task monitoring panel contains three window panes:
l Software Operations—Displays status information about operations that are
performed for each task option.
l Log—Displays the most recent notification logs for the NetWorker server.
l Alerts—Displays alerts that are generated by a NetWorker server.
Monitoring NetWorker Server activities in the Administration window on page 55
provides detailed information about the Log and Alerts window panes.

Windows client interface


The NetWorker User program provides the ability to manage clients in the NetWorker
environment.
The following figure illustrates the Windows client interface.

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Figure 86 NetWorker User program

Starting the NetWorker User program on Windows


There are two ways to start the NetWorker User program.
l Click the Windows Start button and select Programs > EMC NetWorker >
NetWorker User.
l From the Administration window, click Start on the main menu, and select
NetWorker User... If the NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications (NMM) is
installed on the client computer, this operation starts NMM instead.
The NetWorker client package must be installed on the host where you start the
NetWorker User program. Otherwise, you see an error message similar to the
following:

The user program you are trying to run (winworkr) is either


not installed on this computer, or is not in your path.
To start the NetWorker User program, you must belong to the appropriate Windows
groups. The following table lists the groups that you must belong to in order to run the
NetWorker User program.
The Backup Operators and Administrators groups are the local and remote Microsoft
security groups.

Table 140 NetWorker User Groups requirements

Logged in Workstation Server Server (domain


controller only)
Locally Backup Operators or Backup Operators or Not applicable

Administrators Administrators

To the domain Domain Domain Backup Operators or


Administrators Administrators
Administrators

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Toolbar buttons
The NetWorker User program has a toolbar with buttons for common User program
tasks. The following table describes the function of each button.

Table 141 NetWorker User toolbar functions

Button Name Function


Backup Starts a manual (unscheduled) backup of the
client's data to a NetWorker server.

Recover Starts a recovery operation to retrieve copies


of saved data back to the client computer.

Archive Starts an archive operation to save copies of


data to a server for storage on an archive
volume. Once the data is stored on the
archive volume, you have the option of
removing the data from the disk.

Verify Starts a verification operation to ensure that


the data items that were just backed up are
the same as the data items that are currently
on the disk.

Browse window
If you select menu items or buttons, a browse window opens in the NetWorker User
program .
A browse window opens if you select any of the following items:
l A toolbar button.
l A Backup, Recover, Archive, Verify, or Local Directive command from the
NetWorker User File menu.
The browse window, which is shown in the following figure, displays the directory tree
of the file system that is being browsed.

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Figure 87 Example of the browse window

NOTICE When you mark a disk volume or directory for an operation, all its nested
subdirectories and files are also marked.
A check mark beside an item name indicates that the item is selected for backup,
recovery, archiving, or verification.
The Attributes column indicates any special handling option that was applied:
l P — The item is marked for password-protection.
l E — The item is marked for password-protection and encryption, using the PW2
ASM.
l C — The item is marked for compression.

Connecting to a NetWorker server


A typical user that runs the NetWorker User program needs to connect to the
NetWorker server that performs scheduled backups. However, to perform a directed
recovery or to back up files to another server, you might need to connect to a
different NetWorker server.
About this task
Before the NetWorker User program can connect to a NetWorker server, the client
computer must be set up as a Client resource on that NetWorker server:
Procedure
1. From the Operation menu, select Change NetWorker Server.
2. In the Change Server dialog box, select a server from the list of available
NetWorker servers. If the server is not listed, do one of the following:
l Click Update List to search the network for available NetWorker servers.
l Type the server’s hostname.
3. Click OK.

Editing a client NSRLA database


The NetWorker Client database, nsrexec contains a NetWorker resource, called the
NSRLA resource. The NSRLA resource contains information about the client and

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attributes that you can modify. Use the character-based nsradmin program to
modify the NSRLA resource.
Procedure
1. Log in as root or as Windows Administrator on the NetWorker Client.
2. Type the following at the command prompt:

nsradmin -p nsrexec

The nsradmin prompt appears.

3. To determine the current settings for attributes in the NSRLA resource,


perform the following two steps:
a. To determine the current settings for any hidden attributes (such as the
Disable Directed Recover attribute), type the following at the nsradmin
prompt:

option Hidden

b. To display attributes, type the following:


print type:NSRLA

4. To change the value of attributes in the NSRLA resource, type the following line
at the nsradmin prompt:

update attribute:value;

For example, to update the Disable Directed Recover attribute, type the
following:

update disable directed recover:Yes

5. Type Yes when prompted to confirm the change.


Results
NOTICE When you modify an attribute with the nsradmin program, you must
specify the attribute name and value correctly. If you do not specify the attribute
name and value correctly, the nsradmin program does not update the attribute
and nsradmin does not provide an error message.
The NetWorker Security Configuration Guide provides more information about the
nsrexec database and how to modify attributes in the nsrexec database.

824 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


CHAPTER 16
Restricted Datazones

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Restricted Datazones overview........................................................................826


l Administrators and users of RDZ......................................................................826
l Setting up the RDZ.......................................................................................... 827
l Removing a resource association..................................................................... 833
l Backward compatibility.................................................................................... 833

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Restricted Datazones overview


Restricted Datazones (RDZ) allows NetWorker administrators to organize a
NetWorker environment into a multi-tenancy configuration, providing the ability to
add an extra layer of privilege control.
This additional layer of control allows you to isolate access to resources, and separate
these restricted resources into specific groups. RDZs also provide the ability to set up
communal, or shared, resources (resources that are not owned by a specific RDZ).
Restricted and shared resources
A restricted resource (a resource that is owned by an RDZ) can only be operated by
users within the RDZ who have the appropriate privileges, and by the global
administrator. Restricted resources can reference both other restricted resources
within the same RDZ, and shared resources.
A shared resource can be operated on by any RDZ, but only modified by global
administrators. Shared resources can only reference other shared resources (for
example, a shared client can only reference other shared directives).
Resource type associations
You can associate the following resources to an RDZ:
l Clients
l Protection policies
l Protection groups
l Directives
l Labels
l Pools
l Jukeboxes
l Status of operations (for example, jukebox actions)
l Devices
l Storage nodes
l Scheduled recovery

Administrators and users of RDZ


The following section identifies the administrator and user roles in relation to the RDZ
feature.
l Global Administrator—A full administrator that has access to all resources. This
user is equivalent to a traditional NetWorker administrator. Global administrators
oversee the setup and management of several RDZs and determine the access
tenant administrators have. A Global Administrator is the only user who can set up
the users and privileges of an RDZ. A full administrator may have access to all
datazones.
l Tenant/Restricted Administrator—An administrator that exists only in the RDZ to
which they are assigned, and therefore has a limited view and operation of
NetWorker. A tenant administrator can only manage NetWorker resources within
their assigned restricted datazone, although since this user has the Monitor
NetWorker privilege they can also view shared resources. You cannot associate a
tenant administrator with more than one RDZ, however you can associate with

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more than one instance of the same RDZ. By using multiple instances of an RDZ,
the global administrator can divide and assign specific tasks and privileges among
the tenant administrators and users of that RDZ.
l Tenant/Restricted User—A user that exists only within the RDZ to which they are
assigned, and who has no administrative privileges in that datazone. NetWorker
does not support a tenant user in two RDZs simultaneously.
Administrator roles
Management and use of RDZs is divided among global administrators and tenant
administrators. A global administrator creates and manages RDZs. The global
administrator can perform all the RDZ tasks, or associate specific tasks and privileges
within each RDZ to one or more RDZ users as tenant administrators.
Although there are many possibilities for the roles of administrators, most setups fall
into the following two approaches:
l Global administrator sets up the initial configuration, and also configures
everything, so there is no need for a tenant administrator. This approach may be
preferred for a customer with a very large environment, where one individual
controls the network and sets up RDZs for various divisions within their company.
l Global administrator sets up the initial configuration, and tenant Administrators
can configure and operate clients and create, view, operate, manage, and modify
the NetWorker resources that are associated with their own RDZ according to the
privileges assigned by the global administrator. Controls can be put in place to limit
a tenant administrator's impact on the server. The global administrator can restrict
the NetWorker resources that each RDZ can use, such as the maximum number of
clients, devices, jukeboxes, or storage nodes.

Using multiple instances of an RDZ


You can give different RDZ users different privileges or levels of access within the
same RDZ. This is done by creating multiple instances of an RDZ.
For example, you can create one RDZ instance for a tenant administrator to configure
the RDZ resources. You can then create a second instance of the same RDZ for a
tenant user to only monitor the RDZ resources, but not to modify the RDZ resources.
In this way, different NMC users are given different levels of access within the same
RDZ.
The global administrator can create multiple instances of an RDZ. They can create an
RDZ multiple times using the same RDZ name and the same restrictions (number of
clients, number of devices, and so on). NetWorker propagates all the information in
each instance (except for the tenant administrators, privileges, and comments) to all
the instances of the RDZ that have the same name.

Setting up the RDZ


A NetWorker administrator or global administrator can set up the RDZ in the Server
window of NMC.
An entry for Restricted Data Zones appears in the left navigation pane, as shown in
the following figure.

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Figure 88 Restricted Data Zones in NMC

Setting up RDZ Users


You can set up Users in the Restricted Datazone resource the same way as you would
in the User Group resource, with the same set of privileges to choose from.
If you do not use the External Roles attribute, these are normal users. Privileges for
the most part only apply to the resource they are associated to, excepting shared
resources, which can be seen if the user has Monitor NetWorker privileges.
Note that privileges are additive. If you have a privilege in a User Group resource, that
applies to everything, including users who are also simultaneously inside an RDZ. By
default, users can see all resources in the User Group resource. You must ensure you
modify the User Groups very carefully to make views more restrictive.
An NMC user account can only be assigned to one RDZ at a time. However,
NetWorker might not prevent this from happening. Therefore, be cautious when
setting up accounts, particularly when using External Roles, where an account might
potentially overlap two RDZs. Having the same NMC user account in multiple RDZs
results in unpredictable behavior and is not supported.
Adding a User
Add a user to the RDZ to allow them to do administrative tasks within the RDZ by
right-clicking Restricted Datazones in the Server window and selecting Properties.
In the User Configuration section of the window, click the + next to External roles to
add a group that contains a user, and check the privileges that this user has.

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Figure 89 Restricted Datazone User Configuration

Note: Wildcard characters such as an asterisk (*) are not permitted.

Setting up an RDZ resource


The following procedure shows RDZ resource setup for a client, but you can use this
procedure when setting up any type of RDZ resource.
Before you begin
Before you create an RDZ, you must first review the NMC User Groups.
l In the NMC Administration window, under Server, select User Groups.
l Review the properties of each existing User Group to check which External Roles
and Users are specified, along with the respective privileges.
l By default, the Users user group contains all users ("*@*"), and if left
unmodified, any RDZ user that you create inherits those privileges for all shared
resources.
l To prevent RDZ users from gaining unwanted access to shared resources, you
must either restrict the External Roles or Users for the Users Group (or any
others), or alternatively, uncheck some privileges.
Procedure
1. In the Server window, right-click Restricted Data Zones and select New .
The Create Restricted Data Zone window appears.

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Figure 90 Create Restricted Data Zone in the NetWorker Administration Server window

2. Create the RDZ (for example, RDZ1) by naming the RDZ and specifying any
restrictions.
Use the Restrictions subsection to set limits on the clients, devices, storage
nodes, and jukeboxes that can be owned by the restricted datazone to prevent
resource abuse and limit what the tenant administrator can create. Setting
restrictions can provide more control for major events that may impact the
server, licensing limitations, and so on. These restrictions are in place even if
using the RDZ as a global administrator.
Note: Setting a resource restriction to a value of 0 indicates that the user
cannot create this resource.
If you plan to have a tenant administrator or tenant user, do the following:
a. Specify the user using the External Roles or Users parameters.
b. Under Privileges, select the privileges that the user will have in the RDZ.
Typically, an RDZ tenant administrator will have all privileges, while a tenant
user will have limited privileges.
You can specify multiple users. However, they will each have the same
privileges. To set up separate users with different privileges within the same
RDZ, create a separate instance of the RDZ by repeating the above steps using
the same RDZ name and restrictions, but with different External Roles, Users,
and Privileges.
If the global administrator is going to administer the RDZ and if there are no
RDZ users, then the User Configuration section of the Create Restricted
Data Zone window can be ignored.

3. In the left navigation pane of the Protection window, right-click the desired
resource (for example, Client) and select Properties to configure the resource
with the RDZ. Note that in addition to using an existing resource, you can also
create the resource for the RDZ.

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Resources that you can associate to an RDZ displays a Restricted Datazone


tab in NMC (or the Restricted Datazone attribute in nsradmin).
4. Select the Restricted Datazone tab. Resources automatically get associated to
the Restricted Datazone a user belongs to when they create a resource.
Figure 91 Restricted Data Zone Client Properties

5. (Optional) In the left navigation pane of the Devices window, select a device if
you want to give this RDZ client access to a specific device by right-clicking the
device and selecting Properties. Give the RDZ client access to this device.
Figure 92 Restricted Data Zones in Device Properties window

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Note: The RDZ can access the shared devices without any further device
setup requirements for the shared resource if these devices are configured.
Note, however, that multiple RDZs cannot simultaneously access the same
device.

6. Create a policy. In the Protection window, right-click Policy in the left


navigation pane and select Create Policy.
7. In the General tab, specify a name for the policy (in this example, RDZ1). In the
Restricted Data Zone tab, select the RDZ from the drop-down, then click OK.
Figure 93 Restricted Data Zones in Create Policy window

8. Create a group. In the Protection window, right-click Group, and select New.
9. Name the group and select the desired client(s). In the Restricted Datazone
tab, select the RDZ from the drop-down, then click OK.
10. In the Protection window, highlight the new policy and create a workflow.
Associate this workflow with the new group.
Figure 94 New workflow associated with RDZ group

Note: You only must configure the policy and group resources for RDZ
when using policies. The workflows and actions that are created as a result
of it are kept within the policy feature and do not need any further RDZ
configuration.

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11. Return to the Server window and highlight Restricted Datazones. Right-click
and select Properties.
12. Browse to the Clients tab. This tab now shows the clients that are associated
with this RDZ. When a user belongs to an RDZ and creates a resource, this
resource is automatically set to being owned by that RDZ.

Removing a resource association


You can remove a resource association in two ways:
l By deleting the resource itself. This involves deleting multiple instances of a
resource if there are two or more resources with the same name.
l By unselecting the Restricted Datazone in the respective attribute.

Backward compatibility
RDZ is a feature of the server and storage node, so the client does not necessarily
have to be upgraded to match the server version. RDZ is backward compatible with
the NetWorker client if that client is supported with the NetWorker 19.1 server.

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834 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


CHAPTER 17
Block Based Backup and Recovery

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Overview..........................................................................................................836
l Block based backups........................................................................................840
l Block based recoveries.................................................................................... 845
l Troubleshooting block based backup and recovery issues................................852

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Block Based Backup and Recovery

Overview
The NetWorker block based backups are high-performance backups which are
supported on Windows and Linux.
During block based backups, the backup application scans a volume or a disk in a file
system, and backs up all the blocks that are in use in the file system. Block based
backups use the following technologies:
l The Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) snapshot capability on Windows and
Logical Volume Manager (LVM) and Veritas Volume Manager (VxVM) on Linux to
create consistent copies of the source volume for backups.
l The Virtual Hard Disk (VHDx), which is sparse, to back up data to the target
device.
Block based backups support only the following Client Direct enabled devices as
target devices:
l Advanced File Type Devices (AFTDs)
l Data Domain devices
l Cloud Boost devices
The block based incremental backups use the Change Block Tracking (CBT) driver to
identify the changed blocks, and back up only the changed blocks.
Block based full and incremental backups are fast backups with reduced backup times
because the backup process backs up only the occupied disk blocks and changed disk
blocks respectively. Block based backups can coexist with traditional backups.
Block based backups provide instant access to the backups. The block based backups
enable you to mount the backups by using the same file systems that you used to back
up the data.
Block based backups provide the following capabilities:
l Mounting of a backup as a file system
l Mounting of an incremental backup
l Sparse backup support
l Backups to disk-like devices
l Backups of operating system-deduplicated file systems as source volumes on
Windows
l Forever virtual full backups to Data Domain
l Data Domain retention lock
l 38 incremental backups to AFTD and Cloud Boost devices
l Synthetic full backups to AFTD and Cloud Boost devices
l Backups of volumes up to 63 TB each
l NetWorker-supported devices as secondary devices for backups
l Recoveries from Data Domain without using CIFS share
l Recovery of multiple save sets in a single operation
l Setting parallel save streams if the target or destination is Data Domain
The following table lists the backup scenarios and the recovery scenarios that block
based backups support.

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Table 142 Supported backup and recovery scenarios

Backup scenarios Recovery scenarios

l Full backups l File level recovery by mounting the


backup image on a target host
l Virtual full backups
l Image/destructive recovery at the block
l Synthetic full backups
level
l Incremental backups
l Image/destructive recovery from clones
l Full backups and incremental backups
l Windows Bare Metal Recovery (BMR) by
intermixed with built-in provisions to
using a WinPE image
anchor the incremental backups with an
appropriate backup type

Supported operating systems and configurations


NetWorker supports block based backup and recovery of the following operating
systems and configurations:
l Operating systems on x64:
n Windows:
– Windows client 8.1
– Windows client 8
– Windows Server 10
– Windows Server 2016
– Windows Server 2012 R2
– Windows Server 2012
– Windows Server 2016
– Windows Server 2019
n Linux:
– Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6.0
– RHEL 6.1
– RHEL 6.2
– RHEL 6.3
– RHEL 6.4
– RHEL 6.5
– RHEL 6.6
– RHEL 6.7
– RHEL 6.8
– RHEL 6.10
– RHEL 7.0
– RHEL 7.1

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– RHEL 7.2
– RHEL 7.3
– RHEL 7.4
– RHEL 7.5
– RHEL 7.6
– SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 11 SP4
– SLES 11 SP2
– SLES 11 SP3
– SLES 11 SP4
– SLES 12
– SLES 12 SP2
– SLES 12 SP3
– Community Enterprise Operating System (CentOS) 6.0
– CentOS 6.1
– CentOS 6.2
– CentOS 6.3
– CentOS 6.4
– CentOS 6.5
– CentOS 6.6
– CentOS 6.7
– CentOS 6.8
– CentOS 6.10
– CentOS 7.0
– CentOS 7.1
– CentOS 7.2
– CentOS 7.3
– CentOS 7.4
– CentOS 7.5
– Ubuntu 14.04 with kernel 3.13.0-24
– Ubuntu 16.04 with kernel 4.4.0-21
l Operating systems on x86:
n Windows client 8.1
n Windows client 8
l File systems:
n Windows:
– New Technology File System (NTFS)
– Resilient File System (ReFS)
n Linux:
– Third extended file system (ext3)

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– Fourth extended file system (ext4)


l Client Direct target devices
l Concurrent backups of multiple volumes
l Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 deduplicated volumes without
rehydrating the deduplicated data
l Windows Server core installation role
l Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) based systems
l GUID Partition Table (GPT) and Master Boot Record (MBR) volumes
l Data Domain systems in a Fibre Channel environment
l Full backup of Windows Server 2012 Cluster Shared Volumes on File Servers and
Windows Clusters
l LVM2 and VxVM managed volumes on Linux
Note: Each volume group on LVM2 and VxVM must have at least 10% free
space for a block based backup to succeed.

Limitations
NetWorker's block based backups and recoveries do not support the following
capabilities and configurations:
l FAT32 file system
In the case of the ALL save set backups, either unmount or remove the FAT32
volumes, and perform the backups.
l Live updates and service patches for Ubuntu 14.04 and 16.04
l Backup levels 1 through 9
l Backups of Microsoft 2012 clusters without Cluster Shared Volumes
l Incremental backups of Microsoft clusters
l Cloning of AFTD incremental backups
l Granular save sets at either the folder level or the file level, for example, D:\data
l Checkpoint restart
l Standard NetWorker directives
l The scanner command with the -i option for rebuilding indexes for block based
backups
l Staging and the nsrclone command with the -m option for migrating block based
backup save sets to other volumes
l Image recovery to a system volume
l Recoveries of ReFS volumes on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Windows 8
(x86 and x64)
l Recoveries of Windows deduplicated volumes to Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
and Windows 8 (x86 and x64)
l Troubleshoot kernel on RHEL, and Trace and Xen kernels on SLES

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Block based backups


This section provides information about block based backups (BBB).

Devices for block based backups


You must create a backup device and configure block based backups before you
perform block based backups and recoveries.
You can create the following types of devices that depend on the backup
requirements:
l AFTD
l Data Domain CIFS or NFS
l DD Boost
l Cloud Boost
Note:
For block based backups to succeed, ensure that you meet the following
requirements:
l Create a separate pool.
l The pool must contain only one backup device.
l Perform all backups of a client to the same backup device.
If you want to make a local AFTD a Client Direct enabled device, specify either the
CIFS path or the NFS path in the Device access information field of the Create
device properties dialog box.
The "Backup Target" chapter describes how to configure devices.

Installing the lgtobbb package on Linux


About this task
You must install the lgtobbb package, which is packaged along with NetWorker, for
block based incremental backups and recoveries to succeed on Linux. If you do not
install the package, block based full backups succeed, but incremental backups and
recoveries fail.
Procedure
1. Ensure that the NetWorker client is installed.
2. Install the lgtobbb package:
l On RHEL:
a. Ensure that the lsb package from the operating system installation
media is installed.
b. Run the following command:
rpm -ivh lgtobbb-18.0.0.0-1.x86_64.rpm
l On SLES:
a. Ensure that the lsb-release package from the operating system
installation media is installed.

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b. Run the following command:


rpm -ivh lgtobbb-18.0.0.0-1.x86_64.rpmm
l On Ubuntu:
a. Ensure that the following packages are installed:
n Shells: ksh and pdksh
n C++ library: libstdc++5
n gawk
b. Run the following command:
dpkg -i lgtoxtdclnt_99.0.99.8228_amd64.deb

Configuring block based backups


About this task
When you configure block based backups, consider the following notes:
l If you select the Block based backup option, and do not select the Parallel save
streams per save set option, block based backups without parallel save streams
are performed.
l If you select the Parallel save streams per save set option, and do not select the
Block based backup option, file level backups with parallel save streams are
performed.
l If you do not select the Block based backup and Parallel save streams per save
set options, file level backups without parallel save streams are performed.
Procedure
1. Enable the block based backup feature when you use one of the following
methods to configure the client:
l NetWorker Client Configuration wizard
l Client Properties window
l The nsradmin program
2. Select the following fields to enable the block based backup feature:
l Client direct (selected by default)
l Block based backup
3. [Optional] To set parallel save streams if the target or destination is Data
Domain:
a. In the NetWorker Client Properties dialog box, on the Globals (1 of 2) tab,
select Parallel save streams per save set.
b. On the Apps & Modules tab, in the Save operations field, type one of the
following values:
l PSS:streams_per_ss=2
l PSS:streams_per_ss=4
This is the default value.
Note: Parallel save streams is applicable only for full backup.

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Note: Consider the following notes about parallel save streams and save
sets:
l When a backup contains more than four save sets, the parallel save
streams value must be either greater than or equal to the number of
save sets.
l The parallel save streams per save set value is the same for all the save
sets of the client, that is, you cannot set the value of one save set to 2
and the value of another save set to 4 on the same client.

[Optional] Creating an AFTD CIFS share on Windows for block based recoveries
You must enable a CIFS share to access save sets on the device to recover data from
an AFTD. The access credentials are the same as the administrator’s credentials on
the host.
Procedure
1. Right-click the folder that you want to share, and select Share with > Specific
people....
2. In the File Sharing dialog box, select or add the people with whom who want to
share the folder, and click Share.

Performing block based backups


The procedure for performing a block based backup is the same as the procedure for
performing a NetWorker backup.
Backing Up Data on page 401 provides more information about how to back up data by
using NetWorker.
You can perform a block based backup as any of the following types of backup:
l Scheduled backups
l Incremental backups
l Virtual full backups
l Synthetic full backups
l Manual backups or client-initiated backups
l Save set backups
l Exclude list backups
l Windows deduplication volume backups
l CSV backups
l Windows BMR backups

Scheduled backups
NetWorker supports block based backups for all scheduled backups.
The scheduled backup process is transparent to you and does not require any
additional actions or considerations.

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Incremental backups
You must perform an incremental backup of a volume only to the same device, to
which a full backup of the volume was performed.
Note: Incremental backups can span across multiple storage units on the same
Data Domain device.
On AFTDs, selecting any backup level apart from full or incremental results in
performing an incremental backup.
An incremental backup shifts to a full backup when any of the following conditions
occur:
l You restart the client host for any reason when the backup is either in progress or
scheduled.
l The preceding incremental backup failed.
Note: This condition applies only to Windows. On Linux, an incremental backup
continues even if its preceding incremental backup failed.
l You already performed 38 incremental backups to AFTD.
Note: After you perform a full backup, you can perform a maximum of 38
incremental backups.
l You add a volume for the backup of the ALL save set.
l You change the size of the volume.
The incremental backup process is transparent to you and does not require any
additional actions or considerations.

Virtual full backups


Virtual full backups apply only to the Data Domain devices. When you perform an
incremental backup to a Data Domain device, you perform the backup as a virtual full
backup. However, the type of the backup that you have performed is displayed as full.
A virtual full backup backs up only the changed blocks from its previous full backup
while referencing the unchanged blocks to the corresponding blocks of the previous
full backup.
Note: On Data Domain devices, selecting any backup level apart from full results in
performing a virtual full backup.

Synthetic full backups


The synthetic full backups apply only to AFTDs. A synthetic full backup consolidates
data from all the existing full and incremental backups.
Note: When you perform a synthetic full backup to a non-Windows remote
storage node, you must create a client configuration for the storage node.

Manual backups or client-initiated backups


Use the save command with the -z option to perform a client-initiated block based
backup from the command line.
Ensure that you meet the following requirements for a client-initiated backup:
l The device must be Client Direct enabled.
You can provide a pool of Client Direct enabled devices by using the save
command with the -b option.

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l The client-initiated block based backup supports the full level save sets that you
define only at the volume level.
l Do not name a manual snapshot with the same name as the block based backup
snapshot.
If a block based backup snapshot and a manual snapshot have the same name,
performing the manual snapshot deletes the block based backup snapshot.

Save set backups


You can use a block based backup to back up the following save sets:
l Windows:
n ALL—This save set includes VSS volumes, critical volumes, and non-critical
volumes.
n DISASTER_RECOVERY:—This save set includes VSS volumes and critical
volumes.
n Volumes—Specify any type of volume drive letters as save sets. For example:
D:\
n Volume mount points—Specify volume mount points as save sets. For
example:
D:\mount_point_name (for a single mount point)
D:\mount_point_name1\mount_point_name2\mount_point_name3
(for nested mount points)
l Linux:
n ALL—All the mounted volumes that the /etc/fstab file lists.
Note: If the ALL save set contains block based backup supported and
unsupported volumes, and you specify parallel save streams for the save
set, the following types of backups will be performed:
– Block based backup of the supported volumes, each with random
parallel save streams, but not with the parallel save streams that you
specified
– NetWorker traditional backup of the unsupported volumes
n Volume mount points—Specify volume mount points as save sets. For
example:
/<mount_point_name> (for a single mount point)
/<mount_point_name1/mount_point_name2/mount_point_name3>
(for nested mount points)

Windows deduplication volume backups


The block based backups occur at the block level. The file system layout does not
affect the backup. The backup virtual hard disk is deduplication in nature. The block
based backups merge the blocks out of the deduplication volumes. In case the volume
changes from deduplication to non-deduplication, the block based backup detects
these events and forces the next backup to be a full backup.

CSV backups
You can simultaneously see Cluster Shared Volumes (CSVs) across all nodes. The
block based backups support only full backups of CSVs, even in the case of a failover.

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If you try to perform an incremental backup, the backup shifts to a full backup with a
warning message.

Windows BMR backups


The procedure for performing a block based backup as a Windows BMR backup is the
same as the procedure for performing a NetWorker Windows BMR backup. However,
you must select the block based backup option when you configure the client using
the NetWorker Client Configuration wizard, the Client Properties window, or the
nsradmin program.

Verifying block based backups


Procedure
1. To list the block based backup save sets, run the following command:
mminfo -avot -q "ssattr=*BlockBasedBackup"

To list the block based virtual full backup save sets, run the following command:

mminfo -avot -q "ssattr=*BlockBased Virtual Full"

To list the block based synthetic full backup save sets, run the following
command:

mminfo -avot -q "ssattr=*Synthetic full"

2. Verify whether all the selected save sets have been successfully backed up.

Cloning block based backups


The procedure for cloning a block based backup is the same as the procedure for
cloning a NetWorker backup.
You can configure the NetWorker clone operations according to the environment and
storage requirements. Block based backups support cloning of the full and incremental
backups .

Block based recoveries


This section provides information about block based recoveries.

Preparing for block based recoveries


You must be familiar with the recovery operations, workflows, and interfaces that
associate with the block based recovery. Use either NMC or the NetWorker
command-line interface (CLI) to perform a block based recovery.
You typically complete the following tasks to perform a recovery by using NMC:
1. Selecting the save set.
2. Performing either file level recovery or image/destructive recovery.
If you want to perform a recovery by using the CLI, you must run the recover.exe
command with the save set ID. Unlike a traditional backup, the block based backup
does not maintain any indexes in the NetWorker client file index database.
The recovery process mounts all the save sets on a device that supports the Client
Direct functionality.

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If you want to recover data from either an AFTD or a Data Domain device by using the
CIFS or NFS share, enable the CIFS or NFS share to access save sets on the device.

Performing block based recoveries


You can perform block based recoveries by using either NMC or the NetWorker CLI.

Using NMC to perform block based recoveries


Procedure
1. Open NMC.
2. Click Recover.
3. From the menu bar, select Recover > New Recover.
4. On the Recovery Hosts page:
a. Under Source Host, in the Name field, type the name of the host on which
the backed-up data exists.
b. Under Destination Host, specify the host to which you want to recover the
backed-up data.
c. Under Available Recovery Types, select Block Based Backup.
d. Click Next.
5. On the Select the Data to Recover page:
a. Select one of the following types of recovery that you want to perform:
l File level recovery
l Image level recovery

b. Select the timestamp of the backup that you want to recover.


c. Perform one of the following tasks that depend on the type of the recovery
that you have selected:
l For a file level recovery:
n In the left panel, select the save sets that you want to recover.
n In the right panel, select the relevant files that you want to recover.
l For an image level recovery, in the left panel, select the save set that you
want to recover.

d. Click Next.
6. On the Select the Recovery Options page, perform one of the following tasks
that depend on the type of the recovery that you have selected:
l For a file level recovery, select a file path for recovery and an appropriate
option for duplication, and click Next.
l For an image level recovery, select a file path for recovery, and click Next.
7. On the Obtain the Volume Information page, click Next.
8. On the Perform the Recovery page:
a. Under Identity, in the Recover name field, type a name for the recovery.
b. Select one of the following recovery start times:

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l Start recovery now—Immediately starts the recovery.


l Schedule recovery to start at—Schedules the recovery according to
the choice.

c. If you want to stop the recovery at a certain time, in the Specify a hard
stop time field, type the time.
d. Select the Recover Resource persistence option according to the choice.
e. Click Run Recovery.
The recovery log appears when the recovery progresses.
After the recovery succeeds, a successful completion message appears at
the bottom of the recovery log.
To export the log file, click Export Log File.

9. On the Check the Recovery Results page, click Finish.

Using the CLI to perform block based recoveries


Use the recover.exe command to perform a block based recovery. The command
applies only to local clients. However, you cannot use the command to perform a
remote or redirected recovery.

Performing file level recoveries


About this task
NOTICE For Windows hosts only, to ensure that you use the NetWorker
recover.exe command and not the Windows OS recover command, perform
one of the following tasks:
l Ensure that NetWorker_install_path\bin appears before
%SystemRoot%\System32 in the $PATH environment variable.
l When you start the recover command include the path to the binary. For
example: NetWorker_install_path\bin\recover.exe.
Procedure
1. On Windows:
a. Run the following command to mount the backup and start the command
prompt at the mount point:
recover.exe -w -S <save_set_ID>
Use the Windows copy option and paste option to recover the backup.
After you perform the recovery, close the command prompt to exit the
process.

b. Run the following command to mount the backup and copy specific files
from the input file to the destination:
recover.exe -w -S <save_set_ID> -I <input_file> -d
<destination>

2. On Linux:
Ensure that you meet the following prerequisites before you perform a file level
recovery:

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a. You have disabled Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) by running one of the


following relevant commands:
l setsebool -P nis_enabled 1, if you use either RHEL 7.x or CentOS
7.x
l setsebool -P allow_ypbind 1, if you use either RHEL 6.x or CentOS
6.x
b. You have installed the iscsiadm utility by installing one of the following
relevant packages on the Linux client:
l iscsi-initiator-utils<version_number>.rpm, if you use either
RHEL or CentOS
l open-iscsi<version_number>.rpm, if you use SLES
c. On SLES, if you want to start the iscsiadm utility for the first time, restart
the iSCSI services by running the following command:
service open-iscsi restart

Perform a file level recovery:

a. Run the following command to mount the backup:


recover.exe -w -S <save_set_ID>
Open a new terminal, and use Linux copy and paste commands to recover
the data.
After you perform the recovery, type quit to exit the process.

b. Run the following command to mount the backup and copy specific files
from the input file to the destination:
recover.exe -w -S <save_set_ID> -I <input_file> -d
<destination>
Note: For Windows, the command is recover.exe. For Linux, the
command is recover

Performing image and destructive recoveries


Ensure that you meet the following requirements to perform a recovery:
About this task
l The size of the target volume is either the same or more than the size of the
source volume.
l The cluster size of the source volume is the same or more than the cluster size of
the target volume.
l The target volume is not a system volume.
Run the following command to perform an image recovery:
recover.exe -S <save_set_ID> -r <target_volume>

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Command-line options for recover.exe


The following table describes the key options that you can use with the
recover.exe command to perform a block based recovery.

Table 143 Key options for the block based recover.exe command

Option Description
-r [volume GUID or mount point] Specifies the supported destinations for save
(On Windows) set recovery on Windows:

-r [raw device name or mount l Volume name


point] (On Linux) l Raw pathname
l Volume GUID
l Existing mount point

Specifies the supported destinations for save


set recovery on Linux:

l Mount point
l Raw device name

-S [save set ID or clone ID] Specifies the save set ID or the clone ID that
you want to recover.

-I [input file] Specifies a file that contains a list of files that


you want to recover. This is useful to perform
the disaster and remote recoveries.

-w Specifies the file level recovery of Block


Based backup.

Performing Windows BMR


The procedure to recover a block based backup through a Windows BMR is the same
as the procedure to perform a NetWorker Windows BMR. However, you must select
an appropriate block based backup on the Select System Recovery page of the
wizard when you perform the block based recovery.

Performing block based clone recoveries


You can recover cloned data from the Client Direct enabled devices and the Client
Direct disabled devices.

Recovering data from Client Direct enabled devices


Client Direct enabled devices include AFTD, DD Boost, and Data Domain CIFS devices.
About this task
Use one of the following methods to recover the data:
l NMC
Perform the steps that the Using NMC to perform block based recoveries on page
846 section describes.
l NetWorker CLI

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Run one of the following commands:


n recover.exe -w -S save_set_ID/clone_ID
for file level recoveries
n recover.exe -S save_set_ID/clone_ID -r target_volume
for image recoveries

Recovering data from Client Direct disabled devices


Client Direct disabled devices typically include tape devices.
The file level recovery process requires a Client Direct enabled device. The recovery
process first temporarily stages the data to a Client Direct enabled device that you
have selected and then recovers the data from the device. The retention period of the
staged data on the Client Direct enabled device is three days. You can delete the data
before the retention period lapses.
The image recovery process by using the GUI is the same as the process to perform a
file level recovery. However, you can perform image recoveries directly from the tape
devices without mounting the backup images by using the CLI.
NOTICE To perform either a file level recovery or an image recovery of data from
a CloudBoost device, first clone the data to a Client Direct enabled device and
then recover the data from the Client Direct enabled device.
Use either NMC or the recover.exe command to perform recoveries.

Using NMC to perform clone recoveries


Procedure
1. Open NMC.
2. Click Recover.
3. From the menu bar, select Recover > New Recover.
4. On the Select the Client to Recover page:
a. Under Source client, in the Name field, type the name of the client on
which the cloned data exists.
b. Under Destination client, specify the client to which you want to recover
the cloned data.
c. For the type of backup that you want to recover, select Block Based
Backup (cloned to tape).
d. Click Next.
5. On the Select a Block-Based Backup Clone page:
a. Under Found in, specify the period during which you performed the clone
and click Query.
The cloned save set groups appear in the Block-Based backups field.

b. Select the save set group.


c. Under Select the Save Sets, select either All save sets, or Subset of save
sets and appropriate save sets that belong to the selected save set group.
d. Under Recovery Type:
Select one of the following types of recovery that you want to perform:

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l File level recovery


If you have selected this option, from the Copy to Pool list, select the
pool that has the Client Direct enabled device to which you want to copy
the cloned data.
l Image level recovery

e. Click Next.
l If you have selected File level recovery in step d, the Copying the
Backup to Disk page appears.
After the cloning succeeds, click Next.
The Select the Data to Recover page appears.
l If you have selected Image level recovery in step d, the Select the Data
to Recover page appears.

6. On the Select the Data to Recover page:


a. Perform one of the following tasks that depend on the type of the recovery
that you have selected:
l For a file level recovery, select the save set to recover from the left
panes and select the files to recover from the right panes.
l For an image level recovery, select the save set that you want to recover
from the left pane.

b. Click Next.
7. On the Select the Recovery Options page, perform one of the following tasks
that depend on the type of the recovery you have selected:
l For a file level recovery, select the File path for Recovery and Duplicate
File Options, and click Next.
l For an image level recovery, select the File path for Recovery, and click
Next.
8. On the Perform the Recovery page:
a. Under Identity, in the Recover name field, type a name for the recovery.
b. Select one of the following recovery start times:
l Start recovery now—Immediately starts recovery.
l Schedule recovery to start at—Schedules the recovery according to
the choice.

c. If you want to stop the recovery at a certain time, in the Specify a hard
stop time field, type the time.
d. Select the Recover Resource persistence option according to the choice.
e. Click Run Recovery.
The recovery log appears when the recovery progresses.
After the recovery succeeds, a successful completion message appears at
the bottom of the recovery log.
To export the log file, click Export Log File.

9. On the Check the Recovery Results page, click Finish.

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Using the CLI to perform the clone recovery


Run one of the following commands to recover the data from the Client Direct
disabled devices:
About this task
l For file level recoveries:

recover.exe -w -S save_set_ID/clone_ID -b pool_name

Note: The pool that you select must have a Client Direct enabled device. The
pool must also be a backup clone type pool.
l For image recoveries:

recover -S save_set_ID/clone_ID -r target_volume

Troubleshooting block based backup and recovery issues


This section lists the common issues with the block based backups and recoveries and
provides workarounds for these issues.

Table 144 Troubleshooting block based backup and recovery issues

Error message or Issue Resolution


Block based backups are only supported with In the Client Properties dialog box, select
Client Direct. Client Direct.

VSS OTHER: ERROR: VSS failed to process Ensure that there is no recover session
snapshot: The shadow copy provider had an running on the client.
unexpected error while trying to process the
specified operation. (VSS error 0x8004230f)

90108:save: Unable to save the SYSTEM


STATE save sets: cannot create
the snapshot.

No save sets clone to clone device. Block based backups clone only full backup
save sets. Block based backups do not clone
incremental backup save sets.

Unable to construct the recover list from Perform an image recovery if applicable.
input file. Otherwise, select all the files except the
system files such as, System Volume
Information and Recycle Bin to perform a file
level recovery.

Failed to recover save set with error: To In the Client Properties dialog box, select
perform the recovery of a block based backup Client Direct.
save set, the device must be enabled for
Client Direct.

Though the size of a target volume is more To enable the target volume file system to use
than the size of a source volume, after its volume to the actual size, extend the file
performing an image recovery, the target system:
volume file system can use its volume only up

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Table 144 Troubleshooting block based backup and recovery issues (continued)

Error message or Issue Resolution


to the same size as the size of the source 1. In the command prompt, type diskpart
volume. and press <Enter>.
2. In the DISKPART command prompt,
select the target volume to extend the file
system by running the following
command:

select volume <target_volume>

For example, select volume G:


3. Extend the file system by running the
following command:

extend filesystem
4. Exit from the DISKPART command
prompt by running the following
command:

exit

Block based backup failed partially, when To perform parallel save streams enabled
parallel save streams is enabled: backups for block based backup volumes:

9904:nsrmmdbd: access denied to media 1. In NMC, under Server, select User


database, `SYSTEM' on Groups.
`hostname' must have 'Operate NetWorker' 2. Right click Application Administrators
or 'Change Application and select Properties.
Settings' privilege 90096:save: save of 'E:\'
to 'hostname' failed: 3. In the User Group Properties
access denied to media database, `SYSTEM' Application Administrators window,
on `hostname' must have under Users, add
'Operate NetWorker' or 'Change Application user=system,host='hostname'.
Settings' privilege

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CHAPTER 18
Networking and Connectivity

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Name resolution and connectivity.................................................................... 856


l Troubleshooting name resolution and connectivity errors................................ 857
l Using multihomed systems...............................................................................865
l NIC Teaming..................................................................................................... 871
l Using DHCP clients.......................................................................................... 872
l NetWorker TCP/IP keep-alive parameters ...................................................... 872

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Name resolution and connectivity


A NetWorker host must consistently and reliably connect to, and resolve, each
destination NetWorker host by fully qualified domain name (FQDN), shortname, and IP
address.
The NetWorker software requires consistent and predictable forward and reverse
name resolution to work correctly. From NetWorker version 18.1 and later, you must
enable nsrauth to work seamlessly in an environment where reverse DNS entries are
unavailable. All features of NetWorker and NetWorker modules are supported in this
environment. NetWorker performs name resolution checks during the following
operations:
l NetWorker daemon startup.
l Client and Device resource configuration.
l Backup, recovery, and device operations.
NetWorker relies on the operating system to perform the following tasks:
l Handle name resolution requests.
l Resolve hostnames to IP addresses (forward name resolution lookups).
l Resolve IP addresses to hostnames (reverse name resolution lookups).
NOTICE On Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, EDNS0 queries increase the size of
the DNS UDP packet and some firewalls block UDP packets larger than 512 bytes.
It is recommended that you disable EDNSprobes on hosts that operate in a firewall
environment, as a DNS Server or Domain Controller. To disable EDNSprobes, run
the following command:

dnscmd /config /EnableEDNSProbes 0

NetWorker supports the use of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in a dual stack or in
a pure IPv6 environment. NetWorker does not support NetWorker resource
configurations that use temporary or link-local IPv6 addresses.
When a NetWorker host uses IPv6 addressing, ensure that you add the IPv6 address
for the host in DNS Server or the hosts file and to the alias field in the client resource.
The NetWorker Installation Guide provides information about using NetWorker in an
IPv6 environment.
Note:
1. In a configuration without reverse DNS entries, NetWorker supports FQDN
only. For information on how to use IP address, see the troubleshooting
section.
2. Forward DNS entry is mandatory for every host present in the NetWorker
datazone.
3. NetWorker Client, NetWorker Server, NetWorker Storage Node and
NetWorker Management Console (NMC) must be using NetWorker 18.1 or
later.
4. NetWorker will not change the behavior of third party applications interacting
with NetWorker that mandates the requirement of reverse DNS lookups.

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5. If the IP address or the short name is used for any of the NetWorker
operations, then the /etc/hosts should be updated or ALIASES should be
defined.

Troubleshooting name resolution and connectivity errors


When NetWorker operations fail due to name resolution issues, the following types of
error conditions can appear in the daemon.raw file or in the savegroup completion
report:
l RPC errors
l Unknown host errors
l Failures in contacting the portmapper
l Connection failures or time outs
l Unexpected exits by programs
l Connection refused errors
l Failure of a remote command (rcmd() function) to an active client
l Failures in name-to-address translation
l Program not registered errors
l Failures of NetWorker services to start
l Failures of NetWorker services to remain active
l Invalid path errors
When NetWorker operations fail due to name resolution issues, the following error
messages can appear in the daemon.raw file or in the policy report:
l Host name for IP address IP_address could not be determined through DNS
l IP address for host 'hostname' could not be determined through DNS
l Warning, cannot resolve host hostname to IP_address, name server may be
misconfigured.
l 'Client_name': Couldn't look up the name of address:'NetWorker_server_IP':node
name or service name not known.
l nsrexec: nsrexecd on (client) is unavailable. Using rsh instead
l nsrexec: host hostname cannot request command execution permission denied
l Cannot connect to nsrexecd on client NetWorker_server .rhost permissions do not
allow rsh permission denied
Before you can troubleshoot name resolution and connectivity issues, you must
determine between which hosts the connection problems occurred. The problems can
occur between any two types of NetWorker hosts, for example, between the
NetWorker server and a client or between a client and a storage node.
Complete the following steps to troubleshoot name resolution and connectivity errors:
1. Document the steps you take and the results, especially error messages, in case
you need to contact Customer Service.
2. Use operating system tools to confirm that basic connectivity exists between the
source and destination hosts. For example, telnet, ping, and traceroute.
Verifying basic connectivity on page 858 provides more information.

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3. Check that the source and destination hosts consistently and correctly resolves all
names and IP addresses for each host. Verifying name resolution on page 860
provides more information.
4. Verify that the configuration of the source and destination host includes all
relevant information for each host in the Aliases attribute and the servers file.
Verifying the NetWorker configuration on page 864 provides more information.

Verifying basic connectivity


NetWorker requires reliable and consistent connectivity between the source and
destination hosts. Confirm that you can remotely connect to the host. When the
source and destination hosts reside on different networks, verify the network
connectivity between the hosts.

Verifying remote host connectivity


Try to connect to the host. If a backup fails for a NetWorker client, then try to
connect to the client by using other tools. For example, try to connect to the host by
using Remote Desktop Connection on Windows or the telnet command on UNIX. If
remote connections to the host fail, then investigate external host connectivity issues.

Verifying network connectivity


Use the ping command and the traceroute command on UNIX and Linux, or the
pathping command on Windows, to transmit packets between hosts and verify that
network connectivity exists between the source and the destination hosts. Run each
command from the source host and destination host and use each command with the
shortname, FQDN, and the IP address of the destination host.
About this task
In the following example, the source host mnd.corp.com is a Linux host with the IP
address 10.1.1.10. The destination host pwd.corp.com is a Windows host with the IP
address 10.1.1.20.
Procedure
1. On the pwd.emc.com host, run the following pathping commands:

pathping pwd.corp.com
pathping pwd
pathping 10.1.1.20
pathping mnd.corp.com
pathping mnd
pathping 10.1.1.10

A successful pathping command displays the following information:

C:>pathping mnd.corp.com
Tracing route to mnd.emc.com [10.1.1.10]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
0 pwd.corp.com [10.1.1.20]
1 mnd.corp.com [10.1.1.10]
Computing statistics for 25 seconds...
Source to Here This Node/Link
Hop RTT Lost/Sent = Pct Lost/Sent = Pct Address
0 pwd.corp.com [10.1.1.20]
0/ 100 = 0% |

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1 0ms 0/ 100 = 0% 0/ 100 = 0% mnd.corp.com [10.1.1.10]


Trace complete.

An unsuccessful pathping command displays the following information:

C:>pathping 10.1.1.10
Tracing route to 10.1.1.10 over a maximum of 30 hops
0 pwd.corp.com [10.10.10.20]
1 * * *
Computing statistics for 0 seconds...
Source to Here This Node/Link
Hop RTT Lost/Sent = Pct Lost/Sent = Pct Address
0 pwd.corp.com [10.10.10.20]
Trace complete.

2. Complete the following steps on the mnd.corp.com host:


a. Run the following ping commands:

ping pwd.corp.com
ping pwd
ping 10.1.1.20
ping mnd.corp.com
ping mnd
ping 10.1.1.10

b. Run the following traceroute commands:

traceroute pwd.corp.com
traceroute pwd
traceroute 10.1.1.20
traceroute mnd.corp.com
traceroute mnd
traceroute 10.1.1.10

Ensure that each ping and traceroute command succeeds. Lost packets
can indicate a slow connection between hosts. If any try to transmit a packet
fails with an error message, then verify the name resolution and ensure that
all routers between the source host and destination hosts are operational.

Using nsrrpcinfo to report the status of registered RPC services


Use the nsrrpcinfo command to verify that you can establish sessions to the
portmapper daemon on the source and destination host. The NetWorker Remote
Exec service on Windows and the nsrexecd daemon on UNIX, starts the portmapper
service that NetWorker uses.
Type the following commands on the source and destination host:

nsrrpcinfo -p hostame_of_NetWorker_server
nsrrpcinfo -p FQDN_of_NetWorker_server
nsrrpcinfo -p IP_address_of_NetWorker_server
nsrrpcinfo -p shortname_of_destination_host
nsrrpcinfo -p FQDN_of_destination_host
nsrrpcinfo -p IP_address of the destination host

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Note: On Windows, the NetWorker_installation_dir\nsr\bin contains


the nsrrpcinfo program.
When the nsrrpcinfo command runs successfully, the output displays a list of port
numbers and names. For example:

# nsrrpcinfo -p
program vers proto port
100000 2 tcp 7938 nsrportmapper
100000 2 udp 7938 nsrportmapper
390436 1 tcp 7943 nsrexecd
390435 1 tcp 9549 nsrexecd
390113 1 tcp 7937 nsrexecd

Ensure that the correct program number appears for each NetWorker process. If you
do not see the correct program number or the appropriate NetWorker ports, and a
personal or external firewall exists between the source and the destination hosts, then
review the NetWorker configuration port requirements.
The EMC NetWorker Security Configuration Guide provides more information about how
to configure NetWorker in a firewall environment and the correct program numbers
for each NetWorker daemon.

Verifying name resolution


When NetWorker performs name resolution lookups, NetWorker uses the first entry in
the name resolution resource that matches the request. Name resolution services
include: the resolver cache, DNS, LDAP/AD, and the hosts file. Name resolution
lookups check the resolver cache first. Entries that appear in the cache do not reflect
changes made to the host tables and on the DNS server until a cache flush occurs.
A cache flush occurs for the following hosts:
l All hosts in the cache at intervals defined by the operating system, by system-
specific commands, or by reinitialization of network components, including a
reboot.
l A specific host in the cache each time that you use the operating system
command nslookup to resolve the hostname.

Determining the IP name search order


NetWorker relies on the operating system to determine the order in which to check
name resolution services. Before troubleshooting a possible name resolution error,
determine the search order that is used by the operating system.
The name resolution search order differs for each operating system:
l Linux, Solaris, and HP-UX operating systems use the hosts database entry in
the /etc/nsswitch.conf file to define the name resolution search order.
For example, when the operating system checks the DNS Server and then the
hosts file, the nsswitch.conf entry appears as follows:

hosts: dns files


l AIX operating systems use one of three methods to select the name resolution
search order:
n The NSORDER environment variable.

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For example, when the operating system checks the hosts file first and then
DNS, the NSORDER environment variables appears as follows:
NSORDER=local,bind4
n The hosts database entry in the /etc/netsvc.conf file.
For example, when the operating system performs name resolution checks by
using the DNS Server and then the hosts file, the hosts entry in the
netsvc.conf file appears as follows:

hosts=local,bind4
n The /etc/irs.conf file.
For example, when the operating system checks the hosts file first and then
the DNS (IPv4 address), the hosts entries in irs.conf file appear as follows:

hosts local
hosts dns4

Note: The NSORDER environment variable setting overrides the settings in


the /etc/netsvc.conf file and the /etc/irs.conf file. The /etc/
netsvc.conf file setting overrides the /etc/irs.conf file setting.
n Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 operating systems use the following search
order: WINS, network broadcast, LMhosts file, hosts file, then DNS.
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and earlier operating systems use a similar
search order with the exception that the network broadcast occurs before the
WINS lookup.

Verifying correct hosts file resolution


The operating system provides NetWorker with the first entry in the hosts file that
matches the name resolution requirement. Additional instances of an IP address,
FQDN, or shortname that appear in the hosts file for a host are ignored when
NetWorker tries to resolve names.
When you create or modify the hosts file, ensure that you:
l Specify each hostname or IP address only once.
l Specify each FQDN and alias for a host on the same line as the IP address. For
example:

IP address Canonical name FQDN alias alias...


l Specify the IPv6 loopback interface (::1) with the localhost on Linux and UNIX,
when the operating system configures the IPv6 loopback interface. For example:

::1 localhost
127.0.0.1 localhost

Note: The IPv6 loopback entry must remain in the hosts file when the host
exists in a pure IPv4, pure IPv6, or dual stack configuration.

Using the nslookup command


Use the nslookup command to verify that each DNS Server used by the source and
destination hosts, correctly and consistently resolves both hosts by the short name,
FQDN, and IP address.
About this task
Perform the following steps on the source host and destination host.

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Procedure
1. Determine the Primary and Secondary DNS Servers that the host uses for name
resolution:
l On UNIX, review the /etc/resolv.conf file.
l On Windows, type the following command from a command prompt:
ipconfig /all
2. Use the nslookup command in interactive mode to validate forward name
resolution lookups with the Primary DNS Server:
a. From a command prompt, type: nslookup
b. At the nslookup command prompt, specify the following values:

Shortname_of_source_host
FQDN_of_source_host
IP_address_of_source_host
Shortname_of_destination_host
FQDN_of_destination_host
IP_address_of_destination_host

Note: It is recommended that you resolve every name and IP address for
each host three times to ensure that successive queries return correct
and consistent values.

3. Complete the following steps when the host uses multiple DNS Servers for
name resolution:
a. Change the DNS Server that nslookup uses for name resolution.
In this example, the ipconfig /all command on a Windows host returns
two DNS Servers, the Primary DNS Server 10.5.5.10, and secondary DNS
Server 10.5.5.11.
To configure nslookup to use the IP address 10.5.5.11, type the following
commands:

C:\>nslookup
Default Server: lad.corp.com
Address: 10.5.5.10
> server 10.5.5.11
Default Server: dmd.corp.com
Address: 10.5.5.11

b. At the nslookup command prompt, specify the following values:

Shortname_of_source_host
Shortname_of_source_host
Shortname_of_source_host
FQDN_of_source_host
FQDN_of_source_host
FQDN_of_source_host
IP_address_of_source_host
IP_address_of_source_host
IP_address_of_source_host
Shortname_of_destination_host

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Shortname_of_destination_host
Shortname_of_destination_host
FQDN_of_destination_host
FQDN_of_destination_host
FQDN_of_destination_host
IP_address_of_destination_host
IP_address_of_destination_host
IP_address_of_destination_host

Note: It is recommended that you resolve every name and IP address for
each host three times to ensure that successive queries return correct
and consistent values.

4. Use the nslookup command in interactive mode to validate reverse name


resolution lookups in the reverse lookup zone with the Primary DNS Server:
a. From a command prompt, type: nslookup.
b. In the nslookup command prompt, type:

set q=ptr

c. At the nslookup prompt, type:

IP_address_of_source_host
IP_address_of_destination_host

Clearing the resolver cache


Each operating system uses a local resolver cache. A local resolver cache removes the
reliance on checking name resolution services for each name resolution request, which
increases the hostname resolution speed. The operating system checks the cache first
to resolve the host, and if the host record exists, the operating system does not check
other name resolution services. The operating system adds an entry to the resolver
cache after the first successful hostname resolution, and the entry remains in the
cache for a predetermined time.
On Windows only, to display the contents of the resolver cache, type the following
command:

ipconfig /displaydns

Use the appropriate command to even the contents of the resolver cache:
l On AIX and HP-UX:
n For bind 9, type:

rndc flush
n For bind 8, type:

refresh -s named
l On Solaris and Linux, restart the nscd daemon.
l On Windows, type:

ipconfig /flushdns

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Verifying the NetWorker configuration


NetWorker contains two configurable options, the servers file that allows you to
control access to a host and the aliases attribute in the Client resource, which allows
you to define the names by which a host is known. When either option contains an
incorrect host name, NetWorker operations can fail despite correct host name
resolution and when an established connection exists between the source and
destination hosts.
Ensure that the name that NetWorker uses primarily for a host appears consistently in
all NetWorker resources. For example:
l Names of Client and Storage node resources. For example, if you specify the
FQDN in the Name attribute when you create the Client resource for a storage
node, ensure that you specify the FQDN in the Name attribute when you create
the Storage Node resource.
l Names of the index database directory.
l Names specified in the Remote Access and Administrator attributes.
l Hostname references in resource attributes such as the Storage Node and
Recover Storage Node attributes of a Client resource.
l Cached host certificates (NSR Peer information).

Verifying the validity of the servers file


The servers file defines a list of remote hosts that can ask the local nsrexecd
process to start a program. For example, the NetWorker Server requests that the
nsrexecd process on a client start the save process to begin a backup. The
NetWorker Server installation process on certain operating systems prompts you to
define remote hosts to add to the servers file. You can also manually modify the
servers file at any time.
The servers file on a NetWorker Server host resides in the res subdirectory of the
nsr directory. The location varies depending on the installation path.
When a host asks nsrexecd to start a process but the host does not appear in the
servers file, a message similar to the following appears:

Cannot request command execution, permission denied

If you receive this message but the requesting host requires access, then manually
edit the servers file on the destination host and add each short name and FQDN for
the requesting host, on a separate line.
NOTICE After you make changes to the servers file, stop and then restart the
NetWorker Server services on the host. The NetWorker Security Configuration
Guide provides more information about how to modify the servers file.

Confirming the validity of Aliases attribute


Each Client resource contains an Aliases attribute that defines a list of known names
that are associated with the client. The NetWorker server generates this list when you
create the Client resource.
You can also manually edit the Aliases attribute value to add or remove hostname
instances or IP addresses. Use the following guidelines when you modify the Aliases
attribute value:

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l Specify all short names and FQDNs for the host, including any retired hostnames.
l Specify each name on a separate line.
When the name returned by the operating system name lookup does not exist in any
Aliases attribute for any client, a message similar to the following appears in the
daemon.raw file:

hostname is not a registered client

Clearing the NetWorker name resolution cache


NetWorker processes maintain an internal name resolution cache of recent DNS
lookups.
The amount of time that NetWorker maintains a cached entry depends on the success
of the lookup:
l Successful lookup—30 minutes.
l Failed lookup—5 minutes.
When a NetWorker operation requires a name resolution lookup, NetWorker checks
the internal cache first. If NetWorker finds the name in the internal cache, then
NetWorker does not consult the operating system.
Use the dbgcommand command on the NetWorker server to send a list of cached
names to the daemon.raw file:

dbgcommand -p nsrd_pid PrintDnsCache=1

where nsrd_pid is the process id of the nsrd process.


Use the dbgcommand command on the NetWorker server to even the internal name
resolution cache:

dbgcommand -p nsrd_pid FlushDnsCache

where nsrd_pid is the process id of the nsrd process.

Using multihomed systems


When the NetWorker server, storage node, or client has more than one IP address,
you can specify the exact TCP/IP network path that NetWorker uses during a backup.
A multihomed system is a system that has any of the following types of NICs:
l More than one NIC, each having separate IP address.
l A single NIC with multiple IP addresses.
l Multiple NICs in a single bond that has multiple IP addresses.
Note: Dell EMC recommends that you set the FQDN as the hostname, instead of
short names.

Multihomed system requirements


Before you configure NetWorker in a multihomed environment, review these
requirements.
l Each IP address must always resolve to a unique primary hostname.

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l Each IP address bound to a separate physical NIC must reside in a separate


subnet.
l All the shortnames, FQDNs, and IP addresses for each NetWorker host must be
correctly and consistently resolvable.
l Specify all of the hostnames that belong to a NetWorker server, storage node, or
client in the Aliases attribute in the appropriate Client resource.
l Ensure that the servers file on each NetWorker client contains all the hostnames
that resolve to the NetWorker server.

Configuring multihomed hosts in a datazone


The following table summarizes how to configure the NetWorker environment to use a
multihomed NetWorker server, storage node, and client.

Table 145 Configuring multihomed hosts in NetWorker (continued)

Multihomed host Required behavior NetWorker configuration


requirements
NetWorker server The client sends metadata to The servers file on each
the NetWorker server by client must contain the
using a specific NetWorker shortname and FQDN for
server NIC. each NetWorker server NIC.

The metadata includes the The Server network interface


save set control session attribute of each
information and index Client resource must contain
database operations. the FQDN of the
NetWorker server NIC.

Each instance of the Client


resource must
have the same value for the
Server NetWorker
Interface attribute.

The Alias field for the


NetWorker server Client
resource must contain an
entry for the shortname and
FQDN of each NIC.

Each storage node device The Server network interface


sends metadata to the attribute of each Storage
NetWorker server by using a Node resource must contain
specific NetWorker server the FQDN of the NetWorker
NIC. server NIC.

Metadata includes the device The Aliases attribute of the


control session NetWorker server Client
information and the media resource must contain an
database operations entry for the shortname
that connect back to the and FQDN of each NIC.
nsrmmdbd process on the
NetWorker server.

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Table 145 Configuring multihomed hosts in NetWorker (continued) (continued)

Multihomed host Required behavior NetWorker configuration


requirements
Each storage node library The Server network interface
sends metadata to the attribute of Library resource
NetWorker server by using a must contain the FQDN of the
specific NIC on the NetWorker server NIC.
NetWorker server.
The Aliases attribute of the
The metadata includes SCSI NetWorker
commands for server Client resource must
the tape movements and the contain an entry for
library inventory the shortname and FQDN of
operations that connect back each NIC.
to nsrmmgd process.

Storage node The client sends backup data The Storage Nodes attribute
to a NetWorker storage node of each Client resource must
over a specific NIC. contain the FQDN of the
storage node NIC.

This also applies when the


NetWorker server
is the storage node.

The Aliases attribute in the


Client resource
for the storage node must
contain an entry for the
shortname and FQDN of each
NIC.

Client The NetWorker server When you create a Client


communicates with a client instance for the client, specify
over a specific NIC. a hostname for the client that
is only reachable over the
desired NIC.

Configuring NetWorker Server in a multihomed environment


This section provides an example of how to configure NetWorker in a multihomed
environment when the NetWorker Server and the storage node have 2 NICs that
communicate through different networks.
About this task
The following figure provides a graphical representation of the environment.

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Figure 95 Multihomed environment

Complete the following steps to configure the multihomed environment:


Procedure
1. Update the Aliases attribute in the Client resource for the NetWorker Server to
include the FQDN and the shortname for each NetWorker Server NIC. This
figure shows the values in the Aliases attribute.

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Figure 96 Configuring the Aliases attribute for NetWorker Server Client resource

2. Create a Client resource for the storage node. Update the Aliases attribute to
include the FQDN and the shortname for each storage node NIC. This figure
shows the values in the Aliases attribute.
Figure 97 Configuring the Aliases attribute for NetWorker Storage Node Client resource

3. Update the Storage Nodes attribute for each Client resource in VLAN1 to
contain the hostname of the NIC for the storage node to which the client
connects. For example, for NetWorker Client VLAN1_client, specify the storage
node hostname sn1. This figure shows the values in the Storage Nodes
attribute.

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Figure 98 Storage Nodes attribute for clients in VLAN1

4. Update the Aliases attribute for each Client resource in VLAN1 to contain the
FQDN and shortname of the client. The Server network Interface attribute
must contain the hostname of the NIC for the NetWorker Server to which the
client connects. This figure shows the values in the Aliases and Server
network interface attributes.
Figure 99 Aliases and Server network interface attributes for VLAN1 clients

5. Update the Storage Nodes attribute for each Client resource in VLAN2 to
contain the hostname of the NIC interface for the storage node to which the
client connects. For example, for NetWorker Client VLAN2_client, specify the
storage node hostname sn2. This figure shows the values in the Storage Nodes
attribute.

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Figure 100 Storage Nodes attribute for clients in VLAN2

6. Update the Aliases attribute for each Client resource in VLAN2 to contain the
FQDN and shortname of the client. The Server network Interface must
contain the hostname of the NIC interface for the NetWorker Server to which
the client connects. This figure shows the values in the Aliases and Server
network interface attributes.
Figure 101 Aliases and Server network interface attributes for VLAN2 clients

7. Create the Device resource on the remote storage node by specifying either
one of the hostnames for the storage node.

NIC Teaming
NIC Teaming is a term that describes the use of multiple network interfaces in parallel.
NIC teaming increases the link speed beyond the limits of any one cable or any one
port and increases redundancy for higher availability.
Other terms for NIC Teaming include link aggregation, Ethernet trunk, port channel,
port teaming, port trunking, link bundling, EtherChannel, Multi-Link Trunking (MLT),
and NIC bonding.

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NIC Teaming at the TCP level, regardless of the protocol or algorithm used, has no
effect on a single TCP session. When you combine multiple links into a single link, the
backup performance of a single session does not improve.
Depending on the algorithm used, starting parallel backup jobs with multiple NICs
produces load balancing and can improve backup performance. To achieve load
balancing, use a TCP session-based link aggregation algorithm and not a host-based
algorithm. For example, use the IEEE 803.3ad/802.1ax Link Aggregation Control
Protocol (LACP).
The use of trunked interfaces is transparent from a NetWorker point of view and the
configuration of trunked interfaces inside NetWorker does not differ from the
configuration of stand-alone interfaces. You can combine TCP trunking with
multihoming, for example, by trunking some NICs on the system and leaving other
NICs to work on separate subnets.

Using DHCP clients


NetWorker relies on forward and reverse hostname and IP address resolution for
communication between NetWorker hosts. When DHCP allocation changes an IP
address, NetWorker cannot correctly resolve the current client IP address back to a
valid hostname.
To back up DHCP clients, choose one of the following solutions:
l Configure the clients and the DNS Server to allow Dynamic DNS Registration. In
this configuration, each time a client receives a new IP address, the DHCP service
registers the hostname and IP address with the central DNS Server.
l Configure the DHCP server to always issue the same IP address to a host. In this
configuration, bind the MAC address of the host to an IP address. Register this IP
address in DNS Server or add the IP address to the servers file on the client and
the NetWorker server.
NOTICE It is recommended that you do not configure the NetWorker server as
a DHCP client. If the NetWorker server is a DHCP client, then the NetWorker
server must use a reserved address that the DHCP server synchronizes with
the DNS server.

NetWorker TCP/IP keep-alive parameters


In NetWorker, the TCP/IP keep-alive parameters are enabled by default for
connections in between “nsrjobd” and “nsrexecd”, and “nsrindexd” and save in case
of client direct save. You can modify the TCP IP keep-alive parameters to prevent any
potential connection failures.
The table lists the default TCP IP keep-alive parameters values in NetWorker. These
values override the default operating system keep-alive parameters.
Table 146 TCP/IP parameters

TCP Parameter Value in second


Keepalive time 300

Keepalive interval 30

Keepalive count 20

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Modifying the NetWorker TCP/IP parameters in Linux platform


You can modify the NetWorker TCP/IP parameters by changing the environment
variables in the “nsrrc” file for Linux based operating systems.
Procedure
1. Log in as root.
2. Create a file with a name as “nsrrc” in /nsr location
3. Enter the parameters and the values in seconds as per your network settings.

NW_TCP_KEEPIDLE_SECS=<value>
export NW_TCP_KEEPIDLE_SECS
NW_TCP_KEEPINTVL_SECS=<value>
export NW_TCP_KEEPINTVL_SECS
NW_TCP_KEEPCNT=<value>
export NW_TCP_KEEPCNT

A sample /nsr/nsrrc file.

NW_TCP_KEEPIDLE_SECS=200
export NW_TCP_KEEPIDLE_SECS
NW_TCP_KEEPINTVL_SECS=20
export NW_TCP_KEEPINTVL_SECS
NW_TCP_KEEPCNT=10
export NW_TCP_KEEPCNT

Note: You must restart the NetWorker services for the changes to take
effect.

Modifying the NetWorker TCP/IP parameters in Windows platform


You can modify the NetWorker TCP/IP parameters by changing the environment
variables in the system properties.
Procedure
1. Open System Properties and click on the Advanced tab.
2. Click on Environment variable.
3. In the section System Variables, click New and a pop up is displayed.
4. Type the variable name and value.
Note: You must restart the system for the changes to take effect.

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CHAPTER 19
Cloud Supportability

This chapter contains the following topics:

l CloudBoost appliance as the back up target.....................................................876


l Support for Azure Stack.................................................................................. 876
l Cloud service provider support matrix for NetWorker...................................... 877

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CloudBoost appliance as the back up target


The CloudBoost appliance provides an integrated solution for existing supported
backup environment by enabling the transfer of backups to public, hybrid, or private
cloud storage. The CloudBoost appliance supports the following use cases: long-term
retention to the cloud and backup to a private or public cloud.
CloudBoost decouples metadata from data. Encryption keys, metadata, and file
system information are housed separately from the data, which removes a common
bottleneck for cloud read/write operations. All advanced data services, such as
chunking, encryption, inline deduplication, compression, and bulk data transfers are
performed separately from metadata storage.
CloudBoost appliance can be configured on VMware ESXi and public clouds. For more
information on installation and configuration, see the NetWorker 19.1 with CloudBoost
19.1 Integration Guide.

Support for Azure Stack


You can install NetWorker client agent on Azure stack and protect the virtual
machines with guest level protection.
Figure 102 Azure stack backup and disaster recovery

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Cloud service provider support matrix for NetWorker


You can install NetWorker on both public and Hybrid cloud environment.

Table 147 Cloud service provider support matrix

Cloud Cloud AWS AWS US Azure Azure Azure Google


Platfor type Gov US Gov Stack Cloud
m Platform
NetWork Public Supporte Supporte Supporte Supporte Not Not
er Virtual d in d in d in d in available available
Edition NetWork NetWork NetWork NetWork
er 18.1 er 18.1 er 18.1 er 18.1
and later and later and later and later

NetWork Public Supporte Supporte Supporte Supporte Not Supported


er d in d in d in d in available in
Software NetWork NetWork NetWork NetWork NetWorker
Installatio er 9.2.1 er 9.2.1 er 9.2.1 er 9.2.1 18.2 and
n and later and later and later and later later

NetWork Hybrid Not Not Not Not Guest Not


er available available available available based available
Software backup
Installatio for Virtual
n Machines
running
inside
stack to
NetWork
er server
and DD
running
outside
stack.

For more information on deploying NetWorker Virtual Edition, see NetWorker Virtual
Edition Installation Guide.

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CHAPTER 20
Troubleshooting

This chapter contains the following topics:

l Before you contact technical support.............................................................. 880


l NetWorker log files...........................................................................................881
l NetWorker Authentication Service logs........................................................... 904
l NetWorker functionality issues........................................................................ 907
l NetWorker locale and code set support........................................................... 920
l Enabling service mode for NetWorker.............................................................. 921
l No privileges to view NetWorker server from NMC.......................................... 921
l Network and server communication errors....................................................... 921

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Before you contact technical support


If the solutions in this chapter do not solve the problem, go to the Online Support
website at https://support.emc.com for technical assistance.
Note: For more details on Support website, see the Preface section of the
NetWorker Administration Guide.
Provide the following information.
l Software version of the NetWorker component.
l Operating system version.
For example:
n For Solaris, at the command prompt type the uname -a command.
n For AIX, at the command prompt type the oslevel command.
l Hardware configuration.
l Information about devices and other SCSI IDs.
To determine this information, use the following commands:
n For AIX, Linux, and Solaris, type the /usr/sbin/inquire command.
n For HP-UX, type the /etc/ioscan command.
l If you are using an autochanger, then the type of connection (SCSI or RS-232).
Also, provide the version of the autochanger driver you are using:
n For Solaris, type the pkginfo -x command:
# pkginfo LGTOdrvr
n For AIX, type the lslpp -l | grep EMC command.
l Supply the following information:
n How to reproduce the problem.
n Exact error messages that you have encountered.
n Number of times that you have seen the problem.
n If the NetWorker operation was successful before you made any changes and,
if so, the changes that you made.

Determining the version of NetWorker software running on a client


To determine the version of the NetWorker software running on a client, use either
the client properties window in NMC, the NetWorker User program on Windows or the
nsradmin command.

Determining the software version by using NMC


Use NMC to connect to the NetWorker server with a user that is a member of the
Application Administrators user group on the NetWorker server.
1. On the Protection window, select Clients from the left navigation pane.
2. Right-click the client and select Modify client properties.
3. On the Info & Licensing tab, review the NetWorker version attribute.

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NOTICE When you do not use the Client Configuration wizard to create the
client, NMC updates the NetWorker version attribute after the first backup.
When you update the NetWorker software on a client, the NetWorker version
attribute does not reflect the new version until the first backup after the
update.

Determining the software version by using NetWorker User


On Windows hosts, use the NetWorker User application to determine the NetWorker
software version.
1. From the Help menu, select About NetWorker User. The NetWorker version
number appears in the About dialog box.
2. Click OK to close the dialog box.

Determining the client software version by using nsradmin


Use the nsradmin program on the NetWorker server to determine the version of the
NetWorker software that is installed on a host, from a command prompt.
1. At the command prompt, type:

nsradmin -p nsrexecd
2. At the nsradmin command prompt, type:

nsradmin> show NetWorker version


nsradmin> print type: NSRLA
The nsradmin output displays the version of NetWorker software running on each
client.

Displaying diagnostic mode attributes


NetWorker resources such as clients and devices contain diagnostic attributes that
are hidden by default from the Console server view.
1. Open the Administration window.
2. From the View menu, select Diagnostic Mode.
3. Right-click any resource and select Properties to see diagnostic attributes.

NetWorker log files


This section provides an overview of the log files that are available on NetWorker
hosts and the NMC server.

NetWorker Server log files


This section provides a summary of the log files available on a NetWorker Server and
log file management.

Table 148 NetWorker Server log files

Component File name and default location Description


NetWorker Server UNIX: /nsr/logs/daemon.raw Main NetWorker log file.
daemons

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Table 148 NetWorker Server log files (continued)

Component File name and default location Description


Windows: C:\Program Files\EMC Use the nsr_render_log program to view the
NetWorker\nsr\logs\daemon.raw
contents of the log file.

Client fix UNIX: Contains status information that is related to the


use of the nsr_client_fix command.
l /nsr/logs/client_fix
l /nsr/logs/client_fix.raw

Windows:

l C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker


\nsr\logs\client_fix
l C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker
\nsr\logs\client_fix.raw

NetWorker Server UNIX: Contains general NetWorker error messages.


generated syslog
OS log file that is defined by system log
messages and
daemon.notice configuration file.

Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr


\logs\messages

NetWorker Log file name and location that is defined by the UNIX only, OS log file.
Servergenerated syslog system log configuration file. Note: NetWorker does not modify the
syslog.conf file to configure
messages
local0.notice and local0.alert.
local0.notice and
Vendor specific documentation describes
local0.alert
how to configure local0.notice and
local0.alert

Disaster recovery UNIX: Contains detailed information about the internal


command line wizard, operations that are performed by the nsrdr
nsrdr program /nsr/logs/nsrdr.log program. NetWorker overwrites this file each
time you run the nsrdr program.
Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr


\logs\nsrdr.log

Index log UNIX: Contains warnings about the size of the client file
index and low disk space on the file system that
/nsr/logs/index.log contains the index files. By default, the Index
size notification on the NetWorker Server sends
Windows:
information to the log file.
C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs\index.log

Hypervisor UNIX: Contains status information about the Hyper-V


FLR interface.
/nsr/logs/Hypervisor/hyperv-flr-ui/
hyperv-flr-ui.log

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Table 148 NetWorker Server log files (continued)

Component File name and default location Description

Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr


\logs\hyperv-flr-ui\hyperv-flr-
ui.log

VMware protection UNIX: Contains status information about VMware


policies Protection Policy actions. NetWorker creates a
/nsr/logs/Policy/ separate log file for each action.
VMware_protection_policy_name

Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr


\logs\Policy
\VMware_protection_policy_name

Policies UNIX: Contains completion information about VMware


Protection Policies. By default, the VMware
/nsr/logs/policy.log Protection Policy Failure notification on the
NetWorker Server sends information to the log
Windows:
file.
C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs\policy.log

Snapshot management UNIX: Contains messages that are related to snapshot


management operations. For example, snapshot
/nsr/logs/nwsnap.raw creation, mounting, deletion, and rollover
operations. Use the nsr_render_log program
Windows:
to view the contents of the log file.
C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs\nwsnap.raw /nsr/logs/
nwsnap.raw

Migration UNIX: Contains log files that provide detailed


information about the migration of attributes in
/nsr/logs/migration an 8.2.x and earlier resources during an update of
the NetWorker Server. The NetWorker Installation
Windows:
Guide provides more information about all the
C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr migration log files.
\logs\migration

Media management UNIX: Contains device related messages. By default,


the device notifications on the NetWorker Server
/nsr/logs/media.log send device related messages to the media.log
file on the NetWorker Server and each Storage
Windows:
Node.
C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr
\logs\media.log

Recovery Wizard UNIX: Contains information that can assist you in


troubleshooting recovery failures. NetWorker
/nsr/logs/recover/ creates a log file on the NetWorker Server for
recover_config_name_YYYYMMDDHHMMSS each recover job.

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Table 148 NetWorker Server log files (continued)

Component File name and default location Description

Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr


\logs\recover
\recover_config_name_YYYYMMDDHHMMSS

Package Manager log UNIX: Contains information that is related to the


Package Manager and the nsrpush command.
/nsr/logs/nsrcpd.raw Use the nsr_render_log program to view the
contents of the log file.
Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\logs


\nsrcpd.raw

Rap log UNIX: Records configuration changes that are made to


the NetWorker Server resource database.
/nsr/logs/rap.log

Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\logs


\rap.log

Security Audit log UNIX: Contains security audit related messages.

/nsr/logs/
NetWorker_server_sec_audit.raw

Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\logs


\Networker_server_sec_audit.raw

NMC server log files


This section provides a summary of the log files available on an NMC server.

Table 149 NMC server log files

Component File name and default location Description


NMC server log Linux: Contains information that is related
files to NMC server operations and
/opt/lgtonmc/management/ management. Use the
logs/gstd.raw nsr_render_log program to view
the contents of the log file.
Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC
NetWorker\Management\logs
\gstd.raw

NMC server Linux: Contains the results of the NMC


database server database conversion that is
conversion

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Table 149 NMC server log files (continued)

Component File name and default location Description


/opt/lgtonmc/logs/ performed during an upgrade
gstdbupgrade.log operation.

Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC
NetWorker\Management\logs
\gstdbupgrade.log

NMC web server Linux: Contains messages for the


embedded Apache httpd web server
/opt/lgtonmc/management/ on the NMC server.
logs/web_output

Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC
NetWorker\Management\logs
\web_output

NMC server Linux: Contains messages for the


database log files embedded PostgreSQL database
/opt/lgtonmc/management/ server on the NMC server.
nmcdb/pgdata/db_output

Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC
NetWorker\Management\nmcdb
\pgdata\db_output

NetWorker Client log files


This section provides a summary of the log files available on a NetWorker Client.

Table 150 Client log files

Component File name and default Description


location
NetWorker Client daemons UNIX: Main NetWorker log file.

/nsr/logs/daemon.raw Use the nsr_render_log


program to view the
Windows: contents of the log file.
C:\Program Files\EMC
NetWorker\nsr\logs
\daemon.raw /nsr/logs/
daemon.raw

User log C:\Program Files\EMC For Windows only, contains a


NetWorker\logs record of every file that was
\networkr.raw part of an attempted manual
backup or recovery operation

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Table 150 Client log files (continued)

Component File name and default Description


location
that is started by the
NetWorker User program.
Subsequent manual backup or
recover operations overwrite
the file. Use the
nsr_render_log program
to view the contents of the
log file.

Windows Bare Metal The following files in the Contains the recovery
Recovery (BMR) X:\Program Files\EMC workflow of the
NetWorker\nsr\logs\ DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ and
directory: any errors that are related to
recovering the save set files
ossr_director.raw
or Windows ASR writer
errors. Use the
nsr_render_log program
to view the contents of the
log file.

recover.log Contains the output that is


generated by the NetWorker
recover.exe program and
error messages that are
related to critical volume data
recovery.

winPE_wizard.log Contains workflow


information that is related to
the NetWorker BMR wizard
user interface.

winpe_nw_support.raw Contains output from the


winpe_nw_support.dll
library. The output provides
information about
communications between the
NetWorker BMR wizard and
the NetWorker Server.

Use the nsr_render_log


program to view the
contents of the log file.

winpe_os_support.log Contains output information


that is related to Microsoft
native API calls.

CloudBoost - NetWorker The following log files in the These files appear on a client
Client direct-enabled NetWorker
/nsr/logs/cloudboost
Client and contain information
directory: about data stored on a
CloudBoost device. The

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Table 150 Client log files (continued)

Component File name and default Description


location

MagFS.log.ERROR.date- severity of the message


timestamp.pid.txt determines which log file that
error message is written to.
MagFS.log.FATAL.date-
timestamp.pid.txt The maximum size of the log
files are 100 MB.
MagFS.log.INFO.date- Before a client direct backup,
timestamp.pid.txt the save process
checks the size of the file.
When the maximum size
is reached, save starts an
automatic trimming
mechanism, which renames
and compresses the log file.
The maximum number of
versions for a file is 10. When
the number of renamed log
files reaches the maximum
version value, NetWorker
removes the oldest log when a
new version of the log file is
created.

Note: The
Troubleshooting manual
backups section of the
NetWorker Administration
Guide describes how to
use the
CB_LOG_DIR_LOCATION
environment variable to
change the default log file
location.

CloudBoost - CloudBoost The following log files in These files appear on the
Appliance the /nsr/logs/cloudboost CloudBoost appliance and
directory: contain information about
operations performed on a
MagFS.log.ERROR.date-
CloudBoost device. The
timestamp.pid.txt
severity of the message
MagFS.log.FATAL.date- determines which log file that
timestamp.pid.txt error message is written to.

MagFS.log.INFO.date- The maximum size of the log


timestamp.pid.txt files are 100 MB.
When the maximum size is
reached, the nsrmmd
process starts an automatic
trimming mechanism,
which renames and
compresses the log file. The

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Table 150 Client log files (continued)

Component File name and default Description


location

maximum number of versions


for a file is 10. When
the number of renamed log
files reaches the
maximum version value,
NetWorker removes the
oldest log when a new version
of the log file is
created.

View log files


NetWorker sends messages to two types of logs. Plain text log files that are saved
with the .log extension and unrendered log files that are saved with the .raw
extension.
The .log files and the messages that appear in NMC use the locale setting of the
service that generates the log message. To view the contents of .log files, use any
text editor. Before you can view .raw files in a text editor, render the .raw file into
the locale of the local computer. You can use the nsr_render_log command
manually render the raw log files or you can configure NetWorker to render the log
files at runtime.
The nsr_render_log command renders internationalized NetWorker log files in to
the current locale of the host that the user uses to run the program. All other log files,
as well as messages displayed in NMC, use the locale of the service that is generating
the log message. The nsr_render_log program is non-interactive. Use command
line options to specify the log file that you want to view and the format of the output.
The nsr_render_log program sends the results to stdout. You can redirect and
save the output to a file.

Rendering a raw file manually


The nsr_render_log program is non-interactive. When you use the
nsr_render_log program to render the contents of the .raw file to the locale of
the host where you run the command, nsr_render_log prints the output to
stdout. You can redirect this output to a file and view the output in a text editor.
Before you begin
The bin subdirectory in the NetWorker installation directory contains the
nsr_render_log program. If the bin directory is not in the search path of the host
where you run the command, include the full path when you use the
nsr_render_log program. If you do not run the nsr_render_log command from
the directory that contains the .raw file, include the path to the .raw file.
About this task
The nsr_render_log program supports a number of options that allow you to filter
the contents of a .raw file and render the contents into an easy to read format.

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Procedure
l To render a raw file into a format similar to a .log file and redirect the output to a
text file, type: nsr_render_log -c -empathy raw_filename
1>output_filename 2>&1

where:
n raw_filename is the name of the unrendered file. For example, daemon.raw
n output_filename is the name of the file to direct the output to
n -c suppresses the category
n -m suppresses the message ID
n -e suppresses the error number
n -a suppresses the activity ID
n -p suppresses the process ID
n -t suppresses the thread ID
n -h suppresses the hostname
n -y suppresses the message severity

l To render a .raw file from a remote machine, type: nsr_render_log -c -


empathy -R hostname raw_filename 1>output_filename 2>&1

where:
n hostname is the name of the host that contains the .raw file.
n raw_filename is the name of the unrendered file. For example, daemon.raw
n output_filename is the name of the file to direct the output to
n -c suppresses the category
n -e suppresses the error number
n -m suppresses the message ID
n -p suppresses the process ID
n -a suppresses the activity ID
n -t suppresses the thread ID
n -h suppresses the hostname
n -y suppresses the message severity

l To render a .raw file and only view log file messages for a specific device, type:
nsr_render_log -c -empathy -F devicename raw_filename
1>output_filename 2>&1

where devicename is the name of the device.


l To render only the most recently logged messages, type: nsr_render_log -c -
empathy -B number raw_filename 1>output_filename 2>&1

where number is the number of lines that you want to render.


The NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed information about the
nsr_render_log program and the available options.

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l To render a .raw file and only view certain messages severities, type:
nsr_render_log -c -empath -Y message_severity 1>output_filename
2>&1

where message_severity is one of the severity types listed in the following table.
Table 151 Message types

Type Description
Informational Information that may be useful, but does not require any specific action.

Warning A temporary problem that NetWorker software may resolve or prompt you to
resolve.

Notification An event has occurred that generated a message.

Error Errors that you are required to resolve.

Critical Errors that you are required to resolve, to ensure successful NetWorker
operations.

Severe Errors that cause NetWorker services to become disabled or dysfunctional.

The UNIX man page and the NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides
detailed information about the nsr_render_log program and the available
options.

Rendering raw log files at runtime


You can instruct the NetWorker software to render the daemon.raw and gstd.raw
files into the locale of the host at runtime, in addition to creating locale-independent
log files. This allows you to view the log file in a text editor without using the
nsr_render_log program to render the file first.
Before you begin
Log in to the NetWorker host with the root (UNIX) or Administrator (Windows) user
account.
About this task
To instruct the NetWorker software to render logs in the locale of the computer
hosting the file, set the runtime rendered log file attribute in the NSRLA database.
For backward compatibility with previous releases of the NetWorker software, runtime
rendered log files contain the following attributes:
l Message ID
l Date and time of message
l Rendered message
Procedure
1. To access the NSRLA database, from a command prompt, use the nsradmin
program:

nsradmin -p nsrexec

2. Set the resource type to NSR log:

. type: NSR log

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3. Display a list of all log file resources:

print

For example, on a Windows NMC server, output similar to the following


appears:
nsradmin> print
type: NSR log;
administrator: Administrators,
"group=Administrators,host=bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local";
owner: NMC Log File;
maximum size MB: 2;
maximum versions: 10;
runtime rendered log: ;
runtime rollover by size: Disabled;
runtime rollover by time: ;
name: gstd.raw;
log path: \
"C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\Management\\GST\\logs\
\gstd.raw";

type: NSR log;


administrator: Administrators,
"group=Administrators,host=bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local";
owner: NetWorker;
maximum size MB: 2;
maximum versions: 10;
runtime rendered log: ;
runtime rollover by size: Disabled;
runtime rollover by time: ;
name: daemon.raw;
log path: \
"C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\nsr\\logs\\daemon.raw";

4. Define the log resource that you want to edit:


. type: NSR log; name: log_file_name

For example, to select the daemon.raw file, type the following:

. type: NSR log; name: daemon.raw

5. To define the path and file name for the rendered log file, use the Runtime
rendered log attribute.
For example, to save rendered messages to the file rendered.log in the
default NetWorker logs directory on a Windows host, type:

update runtime rendered log: "C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\


\nsr\\logs\\rendered.log"

6. When prompted to confirm the update, type: y


7. Verify that the attribute value update succeeds:
nsradmin> print

type: NSR log;

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administrator: root, "user=administrator,host=bu-


iddnwserver.iddlab.local";
owner: NetWorker;
maximum size MB: 2;
maximum versions: 10;
runtime rendered log:C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\nsr
\\logs\\daemon.log ;
runtime rollover by size: Disabled;
runtime rollover by time:;
name: daemon.raw;
log path: C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\Management\
\GST\\logs\\daemon.raw;

8. Exit the nsradmin program.

Raw log file management


The NetWorker software manages the size and the rollover of the raw log files.
NetWorker automatically manages the nwsnap.raw and nsrcpd.raw files in the
following ways:
l nwsnap.raw: Before a process writes messages to the nwsnap.raw file, the
process checks the size of the .raw file. The process invokes the trimming
mechanism when the size of the log file is 100 MB or larger. Snapshot
management supports up to 10 .raw file versions.
l nsrcpd.raw: When the NetWorker daemons start on the machine, the startup
process checks the size of the raw file. The startup process runs the trimming
mechanism when the size of the log file is 2 MB or larger. Package Manager
supports 10 raw file versions.
NetWorker enables you to customize the maximum file size, maximum number of file
versions, and the runtime rollover of the daemon.raw, gstd.raw, networkr.raw,
and Networker_server_sec_audit.raw files. Use the nsradmin program to
access the NSRLA database, and modify the attributes that define how large the log
file becomes before NetWorker trims or renames the log file.
The following table describes the resource attributes that manage the log file sizes.

Table 152 Raw log file attributes that manage log file size

Attribute Information
Maximum size MB Defines the maximum size of the log files.

Default: 2 MB

Maximum versions Defines the maximum number of the saved log files.

When the number of copied log files reaches the maximum


version value,
NetWorker removes the oldest log when a new copy of the log
file is created.

Default: 10

Runtime rollover by size When set, this attribute invokes an automatic hourly check of
the log file size.

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Table 152 Raw log file attributes that manage log file size (continued)

Attribute Information

When you configure the runtime rendered log attribute,


NetWorker
trims the runtime rendered log file and the associated .raw
file simultaneously.

Default: disabled

Runtime rollover by time When set, this attribute runs an automatic trimming of the log
file at the
defined time, regardless of the size. The format of the variable
is
HH:MM (hour:minute).

When you configure the runtime rendered log attribute,


NetWorker trims the
runtime rendered log file and the associated .raw file
simultaneously.

Default: undefined

Note: After setting this attribute, restart NetWorker


services for the change to take effect.

How the trimming mechanism trims the log files differs depending on how you define
the log file size management attributes. The following table summarizes the trimming
behavior.

Table 153 Raw log file attributes that manage the log file trimming mechanism

Attribute configuration Trimming behavior


When you configure runtime rollover by time l NetWorker copies the contents of the
or runtime rollover by size existing log file to a new file with the
naming
convention:daemondate_time.raw
l NetWorker truncates the existing
daemon.raw to 0 MB.
Note: When this mechanism starts on a
NetWorker Server that is under a heavy
load, this process may take some time to
complete.

When you do not configure runtime rollover l NetWorker checks the log file size when
by time or runtime rollover by size the nsrexecd process starts on the
computer.
l When the log file size exceeds the size
that is defined by the maximum size MB
attribute, NetWorker renames the
existing log file to
log_file_name_date_time.raw then
creates a new empty log file.

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Table 153 Raw log file attributes that manage the log file trimming mechanism (continued)

Attribute configuration Trimming behavior


Note: When the nsrd daemon or
NetWorker Backup and Recover Server
service runs for a long time, the size of
the log file can become much larger than
the value defined by maximum size MB.

Managing raw log file size for the daemon.raw, networkr.raw, and gstd.raw files
To configure the NetWorker software to rollover the .raw file by time, perform the
following steps.
Procedure
1. Log in to the NetWorker host with root on UNIX or Administrator on Windows.
2. To access the NSRLA database, use the nsradmin program:

nsradmin -p nsrexec

3. Set the resource type to NSR log:

. type: NSR log

4. Display a list of all log file resources:

print

For example, on a Windows NMC server, output similar to the following


appears:
nsradmin> print
type: NSR log;
administrator: Administrators,
"group=Administrators,host=bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local";
owner: NMC Log File;
maximum size MB: 2;
maximum versions: 10;
runtime rendered log: ;
runtime rollover by size: Disabled;
runtime rollover by time: ;
name: gstd.raw;
log path: \
"C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\Management\\GST\\logs\
\gstd.raw";

type: NSR log;


administrator: Administrators,
"group=Administrators,host=bu-iddnwserver.iddlab.local";
owner: NetWorker;
maximum size MB: 2;
maximum versions: 10;
runtime rendered log: ;
runtime rollover by size: Disabled;
runtime rollover by time: ;

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name: daemon.raw;
log path: \
"C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\nsr\\logs\\daemon.raw";
5. Define the log resource that you want to edit:

. type: NSR log; name: log_file_name

For example, to select the gstd.raw file, type the following:

. type: NSR log; name: gstd.raw

6. Update the runtime rollover by time attribute with the time that you want to
rollover the log file.
For example, to configure the gstd.raw file to rollover at 12:34 AM, type:

update runtime rollover by time: "00:34"

7. When prompted to confirm the update, type: y


8. Verify that the attribute value update succeeds:
nsradmin> print

type: NSR log;


administrator: root, "user=administrator,host=bu-
iddnwserver.iddlab.local";
owner: NMC Log File;
maximum size MB: 2;
maximum versions: 10;
runtime rendered log: ;
runtime rollover by size: Disabled;
runtime rollover by time: "00:34";
name: gstd.raw;
log path: C:\\Program Files\\EMC NetWorker\\Management\
\GST\\logs\\gstd.raw;

9. Exit the nsradmin program.

Configuring logging levels


This section describes how to modify the logging levels of the NetWorker and NMC
processes to troubleshoot issues.

Setting the troubleshoot level for NetWorker daemons


How you configure the NetWorker daemons to run in troubleshoot mode depends on
the daemon.
On a NetWorker server, you can configure the nsrctld and nsrexecd to start in
troubleshoot mode. The nsrctld daemon starts other daemons, as required. To
capture troubleshoot output for the daemons that the nsrctld daemon starts use
the dbgcommand.
On an NMC server, you can start the gstd daemon in troubleshoot mode.

Starting nsrctld and nsrexecd daemons in troubleshoot mode on


UNIX
The nsrctld daemon is the main process for the NetWorker server. To troubleshoot
problems with the NetWorker server process, start the nsrctld process in

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troubleshoot mode. The nsrexecd process is the main process for NetWorker client
functions. To troubleshoot problems that are related to NetWorker client functions,
start the nsrexecd process in troubleshoot mode.
Procedure
1. Log in to the NetWorker host with the root account, and then stop the
NetWorker processes:
nsr_shutdown

2. From a command prompt , start the daemon, and then specify the troubleshoot
level.
For example:
l To start the nsrexecd daemon in troubleshoot mode, type:

nsrexecd -D9 1>filename2>&1


l To start the nsrctld daemon in troubleshoot mode, type the following
command:

source /opt/nsr/admin/networkerrc; source /opt/nsr/admin/


nsr_serverrc; nsrctld -D 9 1>filename.log 2>&1

Where filename is the name of the text file that NetWorker uses to store the
troubleshoot messages.
3. After you collect the necessary troubleshoot information, perform the following
steps:
a. Stop the NetWorker processes by using the nsr_shutdown command.
b. Restart the processes by using the NetWorker startup script:
l On Solaris and Linux, type:

/etc/init.d/networker start
l On HP-UX, type:

/sbin/init.d/networker start
l On AIX, type:

/etc/rc.nsr

Starting the NetWorker daemons in troubleshoot mode on Windows


The NetWorker Backup and Recovery service starts the nsrctld process, which is
the main process for a NetWorker server. To troubleshoot problems with the
NetWorker server process, start the nsrctld process in troubleshoot mode. The
NetWorker Remote Exec service starts the nsrexecd process which is the main
process for NetWorker client functions. To troubleshoot problems that are related to
NetWorker client functions, start the nsrexecd process in troubleshoot mode.
Procedure
1. Open the Services applet, services.msc.
2. Stop the NetWorker Remote Exec service.
On a NetWorker server, this also stops the NetWorker Backup and Recover
service.

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3. To put a nsrexecd process in troubleshoot mode:


a. Right-click the NetWorker Remote Exec service, and then select
Properties.
b. In the Startup Parameters field, type -D x.
where x is a number between 1 and 99.

c. Click Start.
4. To put the nsrd process in troubleshoot mode:
a. Right-click the NetWorker Backup and Recover service, and then select
Properties.
b. In the Startup Parameters field, type -D x.
where x is a number between 1 and 99.

c. Click Start.
Results
NetWorker stores the troubleshoot information in the daemon.raw file.
After you finish
After you capture the troubleshoot information, stop the NetWorker services, remove
the -D parameter, and then restart the services.

Starting the NMC server daemon in troubleshoot mode


When you can access the NMC GUI, use the Debug Level attribute in the System
Options window to start the gstd daemon in troubleshoot mode.
When you cannot access the NMC GUI, use environment variables to start the gstd
daemon in troubleshoot mode.
Starting the NMC server daemon in troubleshoot mode using NMC
The gstd daemon is the main NMC server process. To troubleshoot NMC GUI issues,
start the gstd daemon in troubleshoot mode.
Before you begin
Log in to the NMC server with an administrator account.
Procedure
1. In the NMC Console, select Setup.
2. On the Setup menu, select System Options.
3. In the Debug Level field, select a number between 1 and 20.
Results
NMC stores the troubleshoot information in the gstd.raw file.
After you finish
After you capture the troubleshoot information, stop the NetWorker services, set the
Debug Level to 0, and then restart the services.

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Starting the NMC server daemon in troubleshoot mode using environment


variables
Use environment variable to put the gstd daemon in troubleshoot mode when you
cannot access the NMC GUI.
Setting the GST debug environment variable on Windows
To set the GST troubleshoot environment variable on Windows, use the Control Panel
system applet on the NMC server.
Procedure
1. Browse to Control Panel > System and Security > System > Advanced
Settings.
2. On the General tab, click Environment Variables.
3. In the System variables section, click New.
4. In the Variable name field, type: GST_DEBUG
5. In the Variable value field, type a number between 1 and 20.
6. Stop, and then start the EMC gstd service.
Results
NMC stores the troubleshoot information in the gstd.raw file.
After you finish
After you capture the troubleshoot information, stop the EMC gstd service, remove
the environment variable from the startup file, and then restart the EMC gstd service.
Setting the GST troubleshoot environment variable on UNIX
Use a borne shell script to put the gstd daemon in troubleshoot mode.
Procedure
1. Modify the file permissions for the gst startup file. By default, the file is a read-
only file.
The file location varies depending on the operating system:
l Solaris and Linux: /etc/init.d/gst
l AIX: /etc/rc.gst

2. Edit the file and specify the following at beginning of the file:
GST_DEBUG=x
export GST_DEBUG

where x is a number between 1 and 20.


3. Stop, and then restart the gstd daemon:
l Solaris and Linux: Type:

/etc/init.d/gst stop

then

/etc/init.d/gst start
l AIX: Type:

/etc/rc.gst start

then

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/etc/rc.gst stop

Results
NMC stores the troubleshoot information in the gstd.raw file.
After you finish
After you capture the troubleshoot information, stop the gstd daemon, remove the
environment variable from the startup file, and then restart the gstd daemon.

Using the dbgcommand program to put NetWorker process in


troubleshoot mode
Use the dbgcommand program to generate troubleshoot messages for NetWorker
daemons and processes without the stopping and starting the NetWorker daemons.
You can also use the dbgcommand program to produce troubleshoot information for a
process that another process starts. For example, use the dbgcommand to put the
nsrmmd process in troubleshoot mode.
Procedure
1. From a command prompt on the NetWorker host, determine the process id
(PID) of the daemon or process that you want to troubleshoot.
l On Windows: To determine the PID, use the Task Manager.
Note: If you do not see the PID for each process on the Process tab,
browse to View > Select Columns, and then select PID (Process
Identifier)
l On UNIX, use the ps command. For example, to get a list of all the
NetWorker processes that start with nsr, type ps -ef | grep nsr.

2. From a command prompt, type:

dbgcommand -p PID -Debug=x

where:
l PID is the process id of the process.
l x is a number between 0 and 9.
Note: 0 turns off troubleshoot.

Results
NetWorker logs the process troubleshoot information in the daemon.raw file.
After you finish
To turn off troubleshoot, type:

dbgcommand -p PID -Debug=0

Running individual clients in a group in troubleshoot mode


Modify the backup command attribute for a Client resource to send verbose backup
information to the daemon.raw file, for individual clients in a group.
Before you begin
Use NMC to connect to the NetWorker server with a user that is a member of the
Application Administrators or Database Administrators user group.

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Procedure
1. From the Administration window, click Protection.
2. In the left navigation pane, click Clients.
3. Right-click the client, and then select Modify Client Properties.
4. On the Apps & Modules tab, in the Backup command attribute, type:
save -Dx

where x is a number between 1 and 99.


5. Click OK.
Results
At the scheduled time, NetWorker logs troubleshoot information for the client backup
in the daemon.raw.
After you finish
When the group backup operations complete, edit the properties of the client and
clear the Backup Command field.

Running client-initiated backups in troubleshoot mode from the command line


Use the save program to perform a client-initiated backup from the command line.
About this task
On the host you want to backup, type the following command:

save -Dx file_sytem_objects


1>filename 2>&1

where:
l x is a number between 1 and 99.
l file_sytem_objects is the name of the files or directory to backup.
l filename is the name of the file that stores the troubleshoot information.
Note: The NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed information
about all the available backup options and how to use the save command.

Running Recoveries in troubleshoot mode


You can configure NetWorker to log verbose output for recoveries when you Recovery
wizard, perform Windows disaster recoveries and by using the recover command.

Run Recovery wizard recover jobs in debug mode


You can run recover jobs that you created in the Recovery wizard by using the
Recovery wizard or by using the nsrtask program from the command line.
Running a recovery job in troubleshoot mode
To send verbose recovery information to the recovery log file, set the troubleshoot
level of a recovery job.
Before you begin
Use NMC to connect to the NetWorker server with a user that is a member of the
Application Administrators or Database Administrators user group.

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Procedure
1. On the Administration window, click Recover:
l To modify a scheduled recover job, select the job in the Configured
Recovers section, and then select Properties.
l To configure a new recover job, select New.
Note: You cannot modify an expired or failed to recover job.

2. To create or modify the recover job, use the Recovery wizard. On the Select
the Recovery Options window, select Advanced Options.
3. In the Debug level attribute, select a troubleshooting level between 0 and 9.
4. Complete the remaining steps in the Recovery Wizard.
Results
NetWorker logs the troubleshoot recovery information to the recover log file.
Running a recovery job in troubleshoot mode by using nsrtask
Use the nsrtask command to run a recovery job that is created by the Recovery
wizard, from a command prompt.
Procedure
1. On the NetWorker server, type: nsradmin.
2. From the nsradmin prompt:
a. Set the resource attribute to the Recover resource:
. type: nsr recover
b. Display the attributes for the Recover resource that you want to
troubleshoot:
print name:recover_resource_name

where recover_resource_name is the name of the Recover resource.

c. Make note of the values in the recover, recovery options, and recover
stdin attributes. For example:
recover command: recover;
recover options: -a -s nw_server.corp.com -c
mnd.corp.com -I - -i R;
recover stdin:
“<xml>
<browsetime>
May 30, 2013 4:49:57 PM GMT -0400
</browsetime>
<recoverpath>
C:
</recoverpath>
</xml>”;

where:
l nw_server.corp.com is the name of the NetWorker server.
l mnd.corp.com is the name of the source NetWorker client.

3. Confirm that the nsrd process can schedule the recover job:

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a. Update the Recover resource to start the recover job:


update: name: recover_resource_name;start time: now
where recover_resource_name is the name of the Recover resource.

b. Exit the nsradmin application


c. Confirm that the nsrtask process starts.
If the nsrtask process does not start, the review the daemon.raw file on
the NetWorker server for errors.
4. To confirm that the NetWorker server can run the recover command on the
remote host, on the NetWorker server type the following command:

nsrtask -D3 -t ‘NSR Recover’recover_resource_name

where recover_resource_name is the name of the Recover resource.


5. When the nsrtask command completes, review the nsrtask output for
errors.
6. To confirm that the Recovery UI sends the correct recovery arguments to the
recover process:
a. On the destination client, open a command prompt.
b. Run the recover command with the recover options that the Recover
resource uses.
For example:
recover -a -s nw_server.corp.com -c mnd_corp.com -I - -i
R
c. At the Recover prompt, specify the value in the recover stdin attribute.
Do not include the “ ,” or the ";" that appears with the recover stdin
attribute.
If the recover command appears to stop responding, then review the
daemon.raw file for errors.

d. When the recover command completes, review the recover output for
errors. If the recover command fails, then review the values that are
specified in the Recover resource for errors.
7. To review the details of the Recover job, use the jobquery command. From a
command prompt on the NetWorker server, type: jobquery
8. From the jobquery prompt, perform one of the following steps:
l Set the query to the Recovery resource and display the results of all
recovery jobs for a Recovery resource:

print name: recover_resource_name

where recover_resource_name is the name of the Recover resource.


l Set the query to a particular jobid and display the results of the job.

print job id: jobid

Where jobid is the jobid of the Recover job that you want to review.

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Note: Review the daemon.raw file on the NetWorker server to obtain the
jobid for the recovery operation.

Running Windows BMR recoveries in troubleshoot mode


Use the WinPE registry to troubleshoot recoveries that are performed with the BMR
Recovery wizard.
Procedure
1. From a command prompt, type: regedit
2. In the Registry Editor, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE
\JavaSoft\Prefs\com\networker\win/P/E/Wizard
Figure 103 WinPE registry key to troubleshoot recoveries

3. Change the Data value in the debug_mode attribute from 0 to 1.


4. Start the BMR Recovery wizard.
Results
The BMR Recovery Wizard logs the troubleshoot information that is related to the
following in the X:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\logs
\WinPE_Wizard.log file.
After you collect the troubleshoot information, to turn off troubleshoot mode, modify
the data value for the debug_mode attribute from 1 to 0.

Running client-initiated recoveries in troubleshoot mode from the


command line
To perform a client started backup from the command line, use the recover program
with the -D option.
About this task
For example, on the host you want to recover the data to, type the following
command:

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recover -Dx file_sytem_objects 1>filename 2>&1

where:
l x is a number between 1 and 99.
l file_sytem_objects is the name of the files or directory to recover.
l filename is the name of the file that stores the troubleshoot information.
Note: The NetWorker Command Reference Guide provides detailed information
about all the available recovery options and how to use the recover command.

NetWorker Authentication Service logs


This section provides an overview of the log files that are available for the NetWorker
Authentication Service.

NetWorker Authentication Service log files


This section provides a summary of the log files available for the NetWorker
Authentication Service.

Table 154 NetWorker Authentication Service log files

Component File name and default location Description


Installation log Linux: Contains information
about the installation
/opt/nsr/authc-server/logs/install.log of NetWorker
Authentication
Windows:
Service.
C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp
\NetWorker_date_seq_num_AuthC..log

authc_mgmt and Linux: Contains a list of


authc_config error messages that
$HOME/authc-cli.log appeared when a
user ran the
Where $HOME is the home folder for the currently logged in user. For
authc_mgmt and
example, when the root
authc_config
user runs the command, the file location is /root/authc-cli.log
tools.
Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\authc-server\logs


\authc-cli.log

Authentication server Linux: Main authentication


log service log file.
/nsr/authc/logs/authc-server.log

Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\authc\tomcat\logs


\authc-server.log

Audit log Linux: Contains security


audit messages for
/nsr/authc/logs/authc-server-audit.log the NetWorker

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Table 154 NetWorker Authentication Service log files (continued)

Component File name and default location Description

Windows: Authentication
Service.
C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\authc\tomcat\logs
\authc-server-audit.log

Tomcat Access logger Linux: Contains access


information for the
/nsr/authc/logs/localhost_access_log.date.txt embedded Apache
httpd web server.
Windows:

C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\authc-server\tomcat


\logs\localhost_access_log.date.txt

Apache Catalina log Linux: /nsr/authc/tomcat/logs/catalina.out Windows: Contain messages


C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\authc-server\tomcat for the Apache
\logs\catalina.date.log Tomcat core
component.

Refer to the Apache website for detailed information about the Apache Tomcat log
files.

NetWorker Authentication Service server log file management


NetWorker Authentication Services uses the Apache log4j API to manage log files. To
modify how NetWorker Authentication Services manage the authc-server.log log
file, edit the log4j.properties file:
l UNIX: The log4j.properties file is located in /nsr/authc/webapps/auth-
server/WEB-INF/classes.
l Windows: The file is located in C:\Program Files\EMC\authc-server
\tomcat\webapps\auth-server\WEB-INF\classes.
This section describes how to modify the commonly used log attributes in the
log4j.properties file. Apache documentation provides more detailed information
about each attribute in the log4j.properties file.
Note: After you make changes to the log4j.properties file, you must stop
and start the NetWorker Authentication Service daemon to reset the
configuration settings.
Modifying the logging level
The log4j.rootLogger= attribute defines the level of logging that the NetWorker
Authentication Service writes to the log files and where the messages appear. By
default, the NetWorker Authentication Service sets the logging level to warn and
messages appear in the log files, stdout, and in the Java application, There are
five standard log levels: debug, info, warn, error, and fatal.
To change the logging level to error, modify the log4j.rootLogger= attribute to
appear as follows: log4j.rootLogger=error, stdout, app

Modifying the maximum log file size


The log4j.appender.app.MaxFileSize attribute defines the maximum size of the
authc-server.log file. When the log file reaches the maximum size,
NetWorker Authentication Service renames the log file for archival purposes and

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creates log file. By default, NetWorker Authentication Service sets the maximum
size to 100 KB.
To increase the size of the log file to 2MB, modify the
log4j.appender.app.MaxFileSize attribute to appear as follows:
log4j.appender.app.MaxFileSize=2MB

Modifying the number of rollover log files


The log4j.appender.app.MaxBackupIndex attribute defines the number of authc-
server.log rollover log files that the NetWorker Authentication Service
maintains. When the size of the authc-server.log reaches the maximum file
size value, NetWorker Authentication Service copies the contents of the log file
to a new log file with the naming convention authc-serverdate.log. By
default, NetWorker Authentication Service maintains one rollover log file.
To increase the number of rollover log files to 4, modify the
log4j.appender.app.MaxBackupIndex attribute to appear as follows:
log4j.appender.app.MaxBackupIndex=4

CLI log file management


NetWorker Authentication Services uses the Apache log4j API to manage log files. To
modify how NetWorker Authentication Services manage the CLI log file, edit the
authc-cli-log4j.properties file. On UNIX, the authc-cli-
log4j.properties file is located in /opt/nsr/authc-server/conf. On
Windows, the file is located in C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\authc-
server\conf.
This section describes how to modify the commonly used log attributes in the
log4j.properties file. Apache documentation provides more detailed information
about each attribute in the log4j.properties file.
Note: After you make changes to the authc-cli-log4j.properties file, you
must stop and start the NetWorker Authentication Service daemon to reset the
configuration settings.
Modifying the logging level
The log4j.rootLogger= attribute defines the level of logging that the NetWorker
Authentication Service writes to the log files and where the messages appear. By
default, the NetWorker Authentication Service sets the logging level to warn and
messages appear in the log files, stdout, and in the Java application, There are
five standard log levels: debug, info, warn, error, and fatal.
To change the logging level to error, modify the log4j.rootLogger= attribute to
appear as follows: log4j.rootLogger=error, stdout, app

Modifying the maximum log file size


The log4j.appender.app.MaxFileSize attribute defines the maximum size of the
authc-cli.log file. When the log file reaches the maximum size, NetWorker
Authentication Service renames the log file for archival purposes and creates a
log file. By default, NetWorker Authentication Service sets the maximum size to
100 KB.
To increase the size of the log file to 2MB, modify the
log4j.appender.app.MaxFileSize attribute to appear as follows:
log4j.appender.app.MaxFileSize=2MB

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Modifying the number of rollover log files


The log4j.appender.app.MaxBackupIndex attribute defines the number of authc-
cli.log rollover log files that the NetWorker Authentication Service maintains.
When the size of the authc-cli.log reaches the maximum file size value,
NetWorker Authentication Service copies the contents of the log file to a new log
file with the naming convention authc-clidate.log. By default, NetWorker
Authentication Service maintains one rollover log file.
To increase the number of rollover log files to 4, modify the
log4j.appender.app.MaxBackupIndex attribute to appear as follows:
log4j.appender.app.MaxBackupIndex=4

NetWorker functionality issues


This section describes workarounds for NetWorker issues.

Backup and recovery


This section covers backup and recovery operations.

Checking the NetWorker services


If you have trouble starting NetWorker programs, the services might not be running
correctly. On Windows systems, determine if these processes are running.
If they are not, start them:
l On Windows systems, go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.
l On UNIX systems, type one of the following commands:

ps -ef | grep nsr


ps -ax | grep nsr

You should receive an output similar to the following:


12217 ? S 0:09 /usr/sbin/nsr/nsrexecd -s jupiter
12221 ? S 2:23 /usr/sbin/nsr/nsrd
12230 ? S 0:00 /usr/sbin/nsr/nsrmmdbd
12231 ? S 0:01 /usr/sbin/nsr/nsrindexd
12232 ? S 0:00 /usr/sbin/nsr/nsrmmd -n 1
12234 ? S 0:00 /usr/sbin/nsr/nsrmmd -n 2
12410 pts/8 S 0:00 grep nsr

If the NetWorker daemons do not appear, start the NetWorker daemons.

Improper font size for the Client wizard with Netscape on Solaris
When you use the Netscape browser on Solaris, the font size of the Client wizard may
appear too small.
To change the font type and size:
1. Open the /usr/bin/nwwiz script file in a text editor.
2. Edit the following line to change the font size:

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NSR_WIZARD_FONT_SIZE=size
3. Save and close the nwwiz file.

save: Unable to encrypt data


This message appears during a backup of a Windows host, when the host uses the
encryption directive.
The daemon.raw file on the Windows host displays the following error message:
nsrexecd GSS critical An authentication request from
NetWorker_server was denied. The 'NSR peer information'
provided did not match the one stored by Windows_host. To
accept this request, delete the 'NSR peer information' resource
with the following attributes from Windows_host's NSRLA
database: name: NetWorker_server; NW instance ID: instance_id;
peer hostname: NetWorker_server
To resolve this issue, delete the NSR Peer Information resource for the NetWorker
server on the Windows host.

Deleting the NSR Peer Information resource


When the local host credentials for a NetWorker host change, authentication attempts
from the host to other hosts fail because the credential information stored in the
target host does not match the local host credential information that is provided by
the initiating host.
Use the nsradmin program or the Local Host window in NMC to delete the NSR
Peer Information resource for the initiating host on the target host. The next time
the initiating host attempts to connect to the target host, the nsrauth authentication
process will use the current local host credentials to create a new NSR Peer
Information resource for the initiating host.
Deleting the NSR Peer Information resource by using NMC
Use NMC to connect to the NetWorker server and delete the NSR Peer Information
resource for a NetWorker host.
Before you begin
The account that you use to connect to the NetWorker server must have permission
to access the NSRLA database on the target host.
Note: You cannot use NMC to delete the NSR Peer Information resource for a
NetWorker host that does not have an existing client resource that is configured
on the NetWorker server.
Procedure
1. On the Administration window, select Hosts.
The Hosts Management window appears.
2. Right-click the NetWorker host with the NSR Peer Information resource that
you want to delete, and then select Host Details.
Note: The NetWorker host does not appear in the Local Hosts section
when a client resource does not exist on the NetWorker server.

The Certificate window displays a list of NSR Peer Information resources


stored in the nsrexec database on the host.
3. In the Certificate pane, right-click the certificate that you want to delete, and
then select Delete.

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4. When prompted to confirm the delete operation, select Yes.


If you receive the error, User username on machine hostname is not
on administrator list, you cannot modify the resource until you
configure the NSRLA access privileges on the target host. The section
"Configuring NSRLA access privileges" provides more information.

Results
The target host creates a new NSR Peer Information resource for the initiating host
the next time that the initiating host attempts to establish a connection with the
target host.
Deleting the NSR Peer Information resource by using nsradmin
To delete the NSR Peer Information resource for the initiating host, use the
nsradmin command on the target host.
Before you begin
Connect to the target host with an account that has administrator access to the
NSRLA database. You must configure access privileges to the NetWorker client
database.
Procedure
1. Connect to the nsrexec database:

nsradmin -p nsrexec

2. Set the query type to the NSR Peer Information resource of the initiating host:

. type: nsr peer information;name:initiating_host_name

For example, if the hostname of the initiating host is pwd.corp.com, type:

. type: nsr peer information;name: pwd.corp.com


3. Display all attributes for the NSR Peer Information resource:

show

4. Print the attributes for the NSR Peer Information resource and confirm that
the name and peer hostname attributes match the hostname of the initiating
host:

print

5. Delete the NSR Peer Information resource:

delete

6. When prompted to confirm the delete operation, type y.


7. Exit the nsradmin program:

quit

Results
The target host creates a new NSR Peer Information resource for the initiating host
the next time that the initiating host attempts to establish a connection with the
target host.

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 909


Troubleshooting

Backups fail to start when the daylight savings time change occurs
When you schedule backup operations to occur during the hour in which the operating
system moves the clock ahead or behind by one hour, NetWorker skips the backup
operation. For example, the operating system is configured to move the clock forward
one hour at precisely 2:00 A.M. and backups are scheduled to occur at 2:01 A.M. At
2:00 A.M., the operating system moves the clock forward to 3:00 A.M. NetWorker will
skip all backup operations that are scheduled to start between 2:01 to 2:59 and
NetWorker does not initiate the backup operation.
To avoid this situation, set the backup time to occur at least one minute before the
time change occurs.
Note: When you use the mminfo command to get a weekly save set usage
summary for the time period during the change to daylight savings time, mminfo
does not display any information for the day of the change.

Shut down NetWorker services prior to any significant changes to system


date
If you need to make a significant change to the system clock or date, for example, a
change of more than a day, then ensure that you shut down the NetWorker services
before you make the change. NetWorker services depend heavily on the system clock
for many operations such as active sessions, volume mount and unmount operations,
the expiration of save sets, and license enforcement.

Clone ID timestamp does not reflect the time the clone was created
To guarantee that the cloned save sets that NetWorker creates on different storage
nodes do not have the same timestamp, the NetWorker software assigns a timestamp
to cloned save sets that does not reflect the actual time that NetWorker creates the
clone.

Memory usage when browsing large save sets


When you use the NetWorker User program to browse or perform a browsable recover
from a large save set, such as a save set with one million or more files, the operation
may consume all the memory on the host.
The avoid this issue, perform on of the following options:
l Perform a save set recovery.
l Use the recover command, which enables you to directly browse the client file
index and select the files and directories that you want to recover. Use this option
to browse large save sets or when memory is limited on the host systems.

Memory usage and nsrjobd


The nsrjobd daemon runs on the NetWorker server and is responsible for monitoring
NetWorker activity during a backup or recovery operation. Depending on the size of
your backup environment, nsrjobd can require large amounts of RAM.

910 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Troubleshooting

Media position errors encountered when auto media verify is enabled


To verify media, the nsrmmd process must reposition the volume to read previously
written data.
The first try may not always succeed and the following warning messages appear in
the message window of the NetWorker Administration window:
media warning: /dev/rmt2.1 moving: fsr 15: I/O error
media emergency: could not position jupiter.007 to file 44,
record 16

If the server can find the correct position, media verification succeeds and a
successful completion message appears:
media info: verification of volume "jupiter.007" volid 30052
succeeded.

If the media verification fails, then perform the following tasks:


l Reset the device.
l Verify the device configuration.
l Verify that NetWorker can recognize the media.
l Verify that the device operations function correctly.

The scanner program marks a volume read-only


When you use the scanner program to rebuild the index of a backup volume, the
scanner program marks the volume as read-only.
This is a safety feature that prevents NetWorker from overwriting the last save set on
the backup volume.
Use the nsrmm command change the volume to write-enabled:

nsrmm -o notreadonly volume_name

The scanner program requests an entry for record size


If you use the scanner program with the -s option but without an -i or -m option, a
message similar to the following may appear:
Please enter record size for this volume ('q' to quit)

If this message appears, specify a block size that is greater than or equal to 32.

Limitations for groups containing a bootstrap


NetWorker only writes bootstrap backups to a local device. When a group backup
generates a bootstrap save set, ensure that device attached to the NetWorker server
has an available volume for the bootstrap backup.

Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide 911


Troubleshooting

Index recovery to a different location fails


If you try to recover indexes to a directory that differs from the original location, an
error message similar to the following appears:
WARNING: The on-line index for client_name was NOT fully
recovered. There may have been a media error. You can retry the
recover, or attempt to recover another version of the index.

To resolve this issue, ensure that you recover indexes to the original location then
move the indexes to another directory. Moving a client file index describes how to
move indexes to another directory.

Illegal characters in configurations


When you provide a name for label templates, directives, groups, policies, and
schedules, do not use the following characters:
/\*[]()$!^’"?;‘~<>&|{}

Inaccessible object exception error when launching NMC with Java 9


When you are running NMC with Java 9, your system displays a number of
InaccessibleObjectException errors for JButton and BasicSplitPaneUI
objects in Console logs. You need to add JVM option --illegal-access=permit in Java
Control Panel of Java 9 to avoid InaccessibleObjectException errors, when
launching NMC.

Error backing up large number of clients


When you use a Windows NetWorker server to back up many clients, a CMD.exe
application error window may appear with a message similar to the following:
The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000142).
Click on OK to terminate the application.
If this problem occurs, edit the Windows registry on the NetWorker server to increase
the desktop heap allocation.
1. In the regedt32 application, browse to the following registry entry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\
Session Manager\SubSystems\
2. Edit the Windows registry key.
3. Modify the third value of the SharedSection entry to increase the heap allocation
size.
In the following example, the desktop heap allocation has been changed from a
value of 512 KB to 1023 KB.
The original entry, with a desktop heap allocation of 512 KB appears as:
%SystemRoot%\system32\csrss.exe ObjectDirectory=\Windows
SharedSection=1024,3072,512 Windows=On SubSystemType=Windows
ServerDll=basesrv,1
ServerDll=winsrv:UserServerDllInitialization,3
ServerDll=winsrv:ConServerDllInitialization,2
ProfileControl=Off
MaxRequestThreads=16

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Troubleshooting

The updated entry, with a desktop heap allocation of 1024 KB appears as:
%SystemRoot%\system32\csrss.exe ObjectDirectory=\Windows
SharedSection=1024,3072,1024 Windows=On SubSystemType=Windows
ServerDll=basesrv,1
ServerDll=winsrv:UserServerDllInitialization,3
ServerDll=winsrv:ConServerDllInitialization,2
ProfileControl=Off
MaxRequestThreads=16
4. Restart the NetWorker server.
The Microsoft Knowledge Base article 18480 on the Microsoft website provides more
information.

Hostname aliases
When you incorrectly define an alias for a client, the backup fails. Under certain
conditions, such as improperly configured DNS servers or hosts files, the NetWorker
software does not create any aliases for a new client. If you use TCP/IP, ensure that
you specify the hostname and the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for a client in
Aliases field of the client properties window.
When the alias field is incorrectly defined you can see the following behavior:
l Backup operations for the client fail with the following error message:
No Client resource for client_name
l NetWorker always performs backups for a client at a level full, regardless of the
level of the scheduled backup.
l Automatic index management, as set up in the browse and retention policies, does
not work.
l The /nsr/index directory, which contains the indexes for all the clients that are
configured on the NetWorker server contains two directories for the same client,
but each directory uses a different client name.
You must update the alias field for a client to include all hosts names for the client in
the following situations:
l When a host have two or more network interfaces.
l When sites use a mixture of short and FQDNs for the same servers, for example,
mars and mars.jupiter.com.
l When the datazone uses both (Network Information Services (NIS) and DNS.
NOTICE Do not include aliases that are shared by other hosts in the datazone.

Directory pathname restrictions


A file manager (but not Windows Explorer) restriction causes errors when a pathname
contains too many characters.
To avoid these errors, use a pathname that has fewer than 128 characters.

Backup of a new client defaults to level full


The first time you back up a new client, a message similar to the following appears:
client: save: There are no save sets in the media database;
performing a full backup

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Troubleshooting

This message indicates that NetWorker has not previously performed a back up of the
specified save set. Before you can perform an incremental or level backup on a save
set, perform a full backup of the save set.
If a level full backup exists for this save set, this error message can appear in the
following situations:
l The clocks on the client and server are not synchronized.
l The savegrp session begins before midnight and ends after midnight.
l Multiple client ids exist for the client.

Non-full backup of Solaris files with modified extended attributes


When you change the extended attributes for a Solaris file, but you do not modify the
file, the action does not update the change time (ctime) for the file. As a result, the
NetWorker software does not know that the extended attributes for the file have
changed since the last incremental backup, and any non-full scheduled backup of the
file system will not back up the file.
To ensure the file is backed up, use the touch command or otherwise modify the file
so that the ctime is updated. Alternatively, perform a manual backup of the file.
Manual backups on page 480 provides more information.

Client file index errors


This section provides information about issues are related to client file indexes.

Renamed clients cannot recover old backups


The NetWorker server maintains a client file index for every client that has been
backed up. When you change the name of the client, NetWorker uses the new
hostname to create a new client file index, as a result you cannot recover files that
were backed up under the old client name.
To recover data that was backed up by using the old client name, perform a directed
recovery and specify the old client name as the source host and the new client name
as the destination host. Directed recoveries on page 540 provides information about
how to perform directed recoveries.

Missing client file indexes


Before you use the scanner program with the -i option, ensure that a client file
index exists for the client that is associated with each save set. If you try to recover a
client file index with the scanner -i command when the client file index does not
exist, a message similar to the following appears:

scanner: File index error, file index is missing.


Please contact your system administrator to recover or recreate
the index.
(severity 5, number 8)
scanner: write failed, Broken pipe
scanner: ssid 25312: scan complete
scanner: ssid 25312: 91 KB, 13 file(s)
scanner: done with file disk default.001

To resolve this issue, use the nsrck -L2 clientname to create a client file index for
the client, then try the scanner command again.

914 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Troubleshooting

Check failure of client file indexes


Each time the NetWorker server starts, the startup process uses a nsrck -ML1
command to perform a level 1 consistency check on the client file indexes. In some
circumstances, this consistency check does not detect corruption in the client file
indexes. If you believe that the NetWorker server may have a corrupted client file
index, run a higher level check on the index.
For example:

nsrck -L5

If the command does not resolve the index corruption, refer to Adding information
about recyclable save sets to the client file index on page 553 for more information.

No notification of client file index size growth


The NetWorker Server does not notify you when a client file index is getting too large.
Monitor the system regularly to check the size of client file indexes. Reduce the size
of the client file index on page 806 provides information about how to manage the
NetWorker client file indexes.
The NetWorker Command Reference Guide or the UNIX man pages provide more
information about how to use the nsrls, nsrck, and nsrim commands to monitor
and manage client file indexes.

Aborting a recovery
When you stop a recovery operation on a client, the following could occur:
l The recovery might stop immediately.
l The recover program will display a list of the files that were not recovered.
l Messages similar to the following appears, which indicates that the recovery
operation did not stop cleanly:
Recover: ***Canceled***
Recover: Unable to read checksum from save stream
Recover: error recovering C:\WINDOWS\CURSORS\APPSTART.ANI
Didn't recover requested file C:\WINDOWS\CURSORS
\APPSTART.ANI

xdr of win32 attributes failed for directory


This error appears when the backup operation cannot back up the directory path. The
rest of the save set completes successfully.
To resolve this problem, perform another backup of the directory.

Cannot create directory directory


This error message appears when you attempt to relocate data to a directory that
does not exist on the target host. You can ignore this message. The recovery process
creates the new directory and completes successfully.

The All save set and duplicate drive serial numbers


The All save set, which backs up all locally mounted drives and the VSS SYSTEM save
sets, uses the serial numbers assigned to drives as part of the backup logic that

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Troubleshooting

determines when the backup operation should include a drive. If more than one local
drive uses the same serial number, the All save set will only back up one of the drives.
To resolve this issue, perform one of the following solutions:
l Use the DiskProbe utility to set the serial numbers to unique numbers. The
DiskProbe utility is part of the Windows Support Tools and is available for all
versions of Windows supported by NetWorker software.
l Avoid using the All save set. Instead, specify each drive letter or the VSS SYSTEM
save set separately. The DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ save set on page 425 provides
more information about the All save set.

No disk label errors


This error message appears when you configure a non-optical device as an optical
device.
To resolve this issue, verify that the Media Type attribute in the Device resource
matches the expected media for the device, and correct if necessary.

Resolving copy violation errors


If you install the NetWorker server software on multiple hosts and more than one
server uses the same NetWorker enabler code, a message similar to the following
appears in the policy reports and notifications:

--- Unsuccessful Save Sets ---


* mars:/var save: error, copy violation - servers ‘jupiter’ and
‘pluto’ have the same software enabler code, ‘a1b2c3d4f5g6h7j8’
(13)
* mars:/var save: cannot start a backup for /var with NSR
server ‘jupiter’
* mars:index save: cannot start a backup for /usr/nsr/index/
mars with NSR server ‘jupiter’
* mars:index save: cannot start a backup for bootstrap with NSR
server ‘jupiter’
* mars:index save: bootstrap save of server’s index and volume
databases failed

To resolve this issue, perform one of the following actions:


l Remove the NetWorker server software from all hosts but one.
l Contact Dell EMC Licensing and request new licenses for each additional
NetWorker server.
Note: After you perform one of the resolutions, stop and then restart the
NetWorker services on the NetWorker server that performs the backups.

Converting sparse files to fully allocated files


The NetWorker server determines which files are sparse by comparing the allocated
blocks with the byte size. If the allocated blocks do not account for the size of the file,
NetWorker considers the file as sparse and the save operation replaces long strings of
zeros with “holes” in the recovered file.
A recovery operation may recover some files as sparse when the files were not sparse
at the time of the backup operation. Oracle databases are susceptible to this problem
because they are zero-filled, fully allocated files, but are not sparse.

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Troubleshooting

To workaround this issue, use the cp command to copy the file after recovery:

cp recovered_filename zero_filled_filename

This command converts a sparse file to a fully allocated file.


NOTICE Ensure that you have enough free disk space to accommodate a duplicate
of each copied sparse file.

Backing up large sparse files


To conserve backup media, NetWorker compresses sparse files before the save
operation writes the file to the backup media. While NetWorker compresses the file,
the backup job may stop and the following message appears:
savegrp: Aborting inactive job (633).

This can occur when the backup operation does not write any data to the backup
media during the compression operation and time the backup is idle reaches the time
that is specified by the group Inactivity Timeout attribute. To resolve this issue,
increase the Inactivity Timeout attribute for the backup group.
To help determine an adequate timeout limit:
1. Set the Inactivity Timeout value to zero. A value of zero results in no timeout
limit.
2. Determine the time that the backup requires to complete a full save of the file
system, and specify this time as the inactivity timeout limit.

Queries using the mminfo -N command are case-sensitive


When you use the mminfo command to query the media database, the -N name
option is case-sensitive. The save set name the -N option references must match the
case of the save set name that you specify in the save set attribute of the client
resource.
However, when NetWorker performs a back up of drive partitions on Windows (for
example, C:\), the NetWorker server stores the save set name in uppercase in the
media database.
For example, if the save set name that represents the drive partition was typed in the
client resource is lowercase c, you must use uppercase C to query the media database:

mminfo -N C:\

Renamed directories and incremental backups


By default, if the name of a directory changes after a full backup, but no files or
subfolders in the directory change, NetWorker will not include the renamed directory
in subsequent incremental backups.
To include renamed directories in an incremental backup, select the Backup renamed
directories attribute in the Client resource.
Note: NetWorker will only backup renamed directories with unchanged files and
subfolders only when you explicitly list directory names in the save set attribute of
the Client resource.
For example, if the save set field contains E:\ and you rename the E:\test
directory to E:\test1, NetWorker does not back up the E:\test1 directory
when you enable Backup renamed directories. When the save set field contains

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Troubleshooting

E:\test and you rename the E:\test directory to E:\test1, NetWorker


performs a backup of the E:\test1 directory when you enable Backup renamed
directories.

Resolving names for multiple network interface cards


If any NetWorker host (client, storage node, server) has multiple network interface
cards (NICs) with unique IPs and host names, you must configure all NICs and ensure
that the host names are resolvable, even if the host does not use one or more of the
NICs. Failure to have all NICs resolvable may cause problems with host connectivity to
the NetWorker server.
Follow these steps to ensure that NetWorker uses the appropriate hostname for an IP
address, and to ensure that you properly configure the hosts file and routing table on
the host:
l Set up DNS to associate each IP address with a separate name.
l Configure the hosts file and routing table on each host that has multiple NICs with
the appropriate IP address.
l Configure NetWorker to use the names that you configured in the DNS and hosts
file.

Configuring multiple NICs


In the following example, a dual-interface client connects to the NetWorker Server
and Storage Node over interface1 which has an IP address of 1.1.1.1 and has a
dedicated connection to the Storage Node over interface2 with an IP address of
2.2.2.1. The user wants to send all data to the Storage Node over interface2 instead of
the default interface1.
1. Configure DNS with unique host names for IP addresses 1.1.1.1 and 2.2.2.1. For
example, client-1 maps to 1.1.1.1 and client-2 maps to 2.2.2.1. DNS should also be
configured with unique host names for the IPs on the Storage Node. For example,
node-1 maps to 1.1.1.2 and node-2 maps to 2.2.2.2.
2. Configure the routing table on the client to route the traffic through the correct
interface, and then add the two IP addresses to the local hosts file.
3. On the NetWorker server, enter node-2 in the Storage Node Affinity List of the
client. Configuring the client's storage node affinity list provides more information.
The section on Configuring NetWorker in a multihomed environment provides more
details.

Libraries entering ready state


When you start the NetWorker service or after you configure a tape library, the library
does not immediately enter the Ready state within NetWorker. This is normal
behavior.

Successful save sets listed as failed in the Group Backup Details window
Certain backup operations, such as on some NetWorker modules, create multiple
sessions to perform a single backup job. If one of these sessions fails, the Console
reports that the entire backup job has failed.
To determine the status of each session, click the Show Messages button in the
Failed table of the Savegroup Completion dialog box. This information also appear in
the Logs tab, under monitoring, and in the savegroup completion report.

918 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Troubleshooting

The NetWorker Server window does not appear on HP-UX


On HP-UX, the following error message appears after you log in to the NMC server
and attempt to connect to a NetWorker server:
Unable to connect to server: Failed to contact using UDP ping

To resolve this issue:


1. In the NetWorker Console, select Setup.
2. Select Setup > System Options.
3. Unselect the RPC ping via UDP when connecting to NetWorker checkbox.

Backup fails with Win32 error 0x2


The scheduled backup of a physical node fails, if the backup start time of the virtual
server and the physical node is the same. The following error is displayed:
WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES: ERROR: Failed to save Backup Comp
Doc, C:\Program Files\EMC NetWorker\nsr\tmp\backcomp.xml
90110:save: save of 'WINDOWS ROLES AND FEATURES:\' to server
'<server_name>' failed: The system cannot find the file
specified.(Win32 error 0x2)

To resolve the issue, ensure that the backup start time of the virtual server and the
physical node is different.

Error displaying workflow details


From the NMC GUI, when you right-click a workflow and select Show Details, the
following error message appears:

Unable to obtain root job list: Unable to accept message bus block,
while expecting basic-consume method, received another method.:
Message bus encountered library exception: (unknown error)

In addition, the gstd.raw file had messages indicating that there is an error with the
RabbitMQ server.

gstd NSR warning nsm: Initial jobs info RPC failed for server:
<NetworkerServer> - Check if RabbitMQ server is running!

This can occur if RPC communication with the RabbitMQ server fails because of
missing exchanges such as amq.direct, amq.fanout, amq.headers, amq.match, and so
on.
To resolve the issue, do the following:
1. Shutdown NetWorker.
2. From the command prompt, type the following command to go to the directory
that contains the RabbitMQ files:
l Windows: cd C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile\AppData
\Roaming
l Linux: /opt/nsr/rabbitmq-server-3.2.4/var
3. Type ren RabbitMQ RabbitMQ.v01 to save the existing RabbitMQ directory.

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Troubleshooting

4. Start NetWorker.
After NetWorker starts, new RabbitMQ files are created.
l Windows: C:\Windows\system32\config\systemprofile\AppData
\Roaming\RabbitMQ
l Linux: /opt/nsr/rabbitmq-server-3.2.4/var
To verify if the missing exchanges are present, run the following commands:
Windows:

% set ERLANG_HOME=C:\PROGRA~1\EMCNET~1\nsr\rabbitmq-server-3.2.4
% set HOMEPATH=\Windows
% rabbitmqctl report

Linux:

# HOME=/nsr/rabbitmq /opt/nsr/rabbitmq-server-3.2.4/sbin/
rabbitmqctl report

Back up of All Save Sets takes a long time to complete


Back up of All Save Sets might be very slow and can take a significant amount of time
to complete.
This can be because of your antivirus software configurations. Check your antivirus
configuration settings.

GSS-API authentication error


If there is a change in the IP address of the server, storage node, or the client, you
might encounter the following authentication error:

Authentication error; why = GSS-API credential problem

This error is resolved automatically after about an hour. There is no action required
from the user.

NetWorker locale and code set support


The NetWorker software does not support locales that are defined by the operating
system or code sets that remap characters, which have a special meaning for file
systems. Depending on the file system, the special characters may include the slash
(/), the backslash(\), the colon (:), or the period(.). De_DE.646 is an example of one
unsupported locale.
The NetWorker software might not function normally after you change the locale to
an unsupported locale. Client file indexes that were created in a supported locale can
become inaccessible.

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Troubleshooting

Enabling service mode for NetWorker


To enable and disable access to the NetWorker Server, use the Accept new sessions
and Accept new recover sessions attributes in NMC. When you unselect these
attributes, the server does not accept new backup and recovery sessions.
The NetWorker Security Configuration Guide provides more information about these
attributes.
When you restrict NetWorker Server access, NetWorker takes all storage nodes
offline, effectively putting NetWorker into a service mode operational state. In this
state, you can stop any external client backup and recovery requests and prevent the
start of scheduled group backups. Service mode provides you with a maintenance
period where you can diagnose and troubleshoot issues before you return the server
to normal operation.
You can also enable/disable specific storage nodes or devices to prevent use and allow
for service operations. Storage node configuration on page 99 describes how to
enable/disable specific storage nodes. Re-enabling a device on page 173 describes
how to enable/disable a specific device.

No privileges to view NetWorker server from NMC


The NetWorker administrator will not have the privilege to view the NetWorker
resources if there is a mismatch in the external roles in the NetWorker user group and
the external role displayed in NMC. The user should ensure that there is no mismatch
in the external roles attribute which is displayed in NMC and the NetWorker user
group attribute. When the NetWorker server resolves to more than one hostname,
(when it has more than one alias), there are chances that the NetWorker server has
created an external role with one of the hostname. Ensure that the NetWorker server
is resolved to only one hostname and hosts entry for the NetWorker server is same in
NMC and NetWorker server hosts.

Network and server communication errors


This section provides general, UNIX and Windows network and communication issues
that you may encounter in a NetWorker environment.
The errors that are encountered during registering a new client are as follows:
l The NetWorker sever and client running on the same box- During the registration
of the client, register for the client hostname and not for the client IP address. If
the Client IP is registered, then during recovery, based on client IP address,
recovery doesn't display the backed up save set list in the browse tab.
l Networker server and client running on different box- Client IP address can be
registered and recovery also proceeds without any issues.
To help ensure successful communication between NetWorker clients and servers,
each NetWorker host configured must not have any invalid or inactive IP addresses
stored in the hostname resolution service (DNS, NIS, Active Directory, hosts file, and
so on). Each IP address that maps to a host must have a configured network interface
(NIC).

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Troubleshooting

Unapproved server error


If an unapproved server tries to contact a client to start a backup, a message similar to
the following appears: client_name: server_name cannot request
command execution.
To provide additional servers access to the NetWorker client, perform the following
steps:
1. Modify the servers file on the client and ensure that the file contains both the
short name and the long name of the server. For example, the servers file on a
NetWorker client should contain these names for a NetWorker server that is
named mars in the jupiter.com domain:
mars
mars.jupiter.com
2. In the Alias attribute of the Client resource, specify both the short name and the
long name, and any other applicable aliases for the client.

Unapproved server error during client setup


If you add a Windows client to a UNIX NetWorker server, and the servers file on a
Windows client does not include the UNIX server hostname, the message similar to
the following may appear:
client_name: saveset_name Host server_name cannot request
command execution
client_name: saveset_name 10/13/00 11:48:26 nsrexec: Host
server_name cannot request command execution
client_name: saveset_name Permission denied

Ignore the message, and continue to add the client to the UNIX server. To avoid the
message, add the UNIX server hostname to the servers file on the client after you
add the client to the UNIX server.

Server copy violation


When the Alias attribute of the Client resource for the NetWorker server does not
contain all of the host names or aliases for the NetWorker server, the NetWorker
server may become disabled and an error message similar to the following appears:
nsrd: registration info event: server is disabled copy
violation

To resolve this issue, add all of the server aliases that are related to any additional
network interfaces to the alias list of Client resource for the NetWorker server.

Remote recover access rights


You can control client recover access with attributes in the Client resource. The
Remote Access attribute displays a list of the users that can recover save sets for a
client. Add or remove user names depending on the level of security the files require.
Note: If you type a hostname or host=hostname in the Remote Access
attribute, you allow any user on that host to recover files for the client. To enter a
username without specifying the host, type user=name.

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The following users have permission to recover any files on any client, regardless of
the users who are listed in the Remote Access attribute:
l ‘Root’ user on a UNIX host
l Member of the ‘Administrators’ local group on a Windows host
l Members of a ‘Application Administrator’ User group on the NetWorker Server
l Members of a NetWorker Server User group that has the ‘Change Security
Settings’ privilege
Other users can only recover files for which they have read permission, which is based
on file permissions at the time of backup. Files recovered by a user other than root,
operator, or the operator group are owned by that user.

NetWorker server takes a long time to restart


The consistency check of the media database, which occurs when the NetWorker
server services start, can take a significant amount of time to complete when the
media database is very large. While the NetWorker server performs the consistency
check, client connections with the NetWorker server are delayed.
To reduce the size of the media management database, run the nsrim -C command
when the NetWorker server is idle. Be aware that this command may take a long time
to run and that the NetWorker server will be unavailable during this time. Run the
command when the NetWorker server is not busy.
Note: The nsrim -C command can take a long time to complete and you cannot
perform NetWorker server operations until the command completes.
Reduce the size of the media database size on page 807 provides more information
about reducing the size of the media database.

Changing the NetWorker server address


When the IP address changes on the NetWorker server, the NetWorker hostid also
changes. The authorization code assigned to each NetWorker license depends on the
hostid. When the hostid of the NetWorker server changes, you must contact Dell EMC
Licensing to generate new authorization codes based on the new hostid, then update
each NetWorker license with the new authorization code.
If you do not re-register the software with the new authorization codes within 14 days
of the hostid change, the NetWorker becomes disabled and you cannot perform any
operations with the exception of recovery operations.
Note: If you are using DHCP, use a static IP address for the NetWorker server.

Binding to server errors


NetWorker architecture follows the client/server model, where the NetWorker
servers use RPC to provide services to the client. These services reside in daemon
processes.
When the daemons start, they register with the registration service provided by the
portmapper.
If the NetWorker services are not running and an operation requests a NetWorker
service, a message similar to the following may appear in the savegroup completion
email:
Server not available
RPC error, no remote program registered

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Troubleshooting

These messages indicate that one or more NetWorker services are not running on the
NetWorker server. The following table summarizes the startup commands that you
can use to startup the services on a UNIX NetWorker server.

Table 155 NetWorker Startup commands

Operating system Startup command


Solaris, Linux /etc/init.d/networker start

HP-UX /sbin/init.d/networker start

AIX /etc/rc.nsr

Identifying connection lost to device


When a device loose connection with Networker server, the Device Connectivity
Check (DCC) framework discovers device unavailability. Upon discovery of the device
unavailability, NetWorker server notifies the user through NMC console, Networker
logs, or by email.
The various scenarios where the devices becomes unavailable are as follows:
l Data Domain hosting the devices becomes unavailable.
l Data Domain administrator accidently deletes the MTree having the devices.
l The mount point hosting the AFTD devices becomes offline.
l The AFTD device folder is deleted accidently from the OS file system.
Note: Starting with NetWorker 19.2, DCC framework will be enhanced to verify
the existence and availability of DD, DDCT, and AFTD devices.
The Networker DCC framework provides the following capabilities:
l The DCC framework periodically checks the device connectivity.
l The DCC feature is enabled by default. It is visible in the diagnostic mode under
NMC console.
l The NetWorker storage node reports DCC result to Networker server.
l Networker server parses the report and moves the device either to normal or
suspected state and informs the broker about the status of the device.
l If the suspect status of the device has changed, Networker server reports this
event to customer, through NMC console, NetWorker logs or through email.
The supported NetWorker device types are:
l DD and DDCT device
l AFTD device.
The limitations are as follows:
l DCC does not check the existence of savesets residing in a volume. However, it
checks the existence of VolHdr file created inside the volume to determine the
device availability and accessibility.
l In case of DDCT devices , NetWorker metadata is still stored in the cloud tier
volume and the actual saveset file might have moved to the cloud storage. DCC
checks the availability and accessibility of only the DDCT device and not the cloud
unit configured which may or may not be available.

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Reasons for Device unreachability


There are three reasons for device unreachability and in each case we update the
device state accordingly.
l DD is unavailable: If the DD is unavailable, DCC marks all the devices under that DD
to Suspected state automatically. If the DD is available again, DCC marks all the
devices under that DD to Normal state automatically.
Note: DCC sends notifications to NMC or logs (server and storage node) for
the above two scenarios. DCC does not check the existence of M-Tree or
devices if the DD is unavailable.
l M-Tree is unavailable: If M-tree is deleted, all the devices under the M-Tree is
marked to Suspected state. If M-tree is undeleted, all the devices under the M-
Tree is moved to Normal state from Suspected state.
Note: DCC sends notifications to NMC or logs (server and storage node) for
the above two scenarios. DCC does not check the existence of the device if
M-Tree is deleted.
l DD and AFTD device unavailability: By default DCC does not check for the device
availability if the device is in Disabled or Service Mode state. DCC checks for the
existence of volhdr in device directory. If volhdr exists device is considered as
Available, otherwise it is considered as Unavailable. If the devices are unavailable
DCC sends notification to NMC or logs (server and storage node)
Note: DCC feature works only when both NetWorker server and storage nodes are
on 19.1 version. Starting with NetWorker 19.1, the default value of DCC interval is
3 minutes.

Device Connectivity Check Configurations


Device Connectivity Check is enabled on both server and storage node by default. The
default time interval is 3 minutes and it can be extended up to 60 minutes. DCC
settings can be edited either through nsradmin CLI (hidden) or through NMC in
diagnostic mode.
Settings on Server CLI and Storage Node CLI
Figure 104 Settings on Server CLI

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Troubleshooting

Figure 105 Settings on Storage Node CLI

Example 14

NMC Server and Storage Node Settings


To set the server in NMC, select Server properties in the Configuration tab
(Diagnostic mode).
Figure 106 NMC Server settings

To set storage node in NMC, select Storage node properties in the Configuration
tab (Diagnostic mode).
Figure 107 NMC Storage Node Settings

DCC can be enabled or disabled based on the settings of server and storage Node.
Table 156 Enabling and Disabling DCC based on Server and Storage node settings

DCC check on server DCC check on Resultant DCC


storage node
On Off Off

On On On

Off On/Off Off

Interval 1 Interval 2 Whichever is greater

When DCC identifies any unreachable device due to various reasons, it moves the
device to suspected state and it sets two attributes Suspected device and Suspected
mark time.

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l Suspected device and suspect time attributes are set when the device state is
changed to suspected state from normal state and these attributes are cleared
when the device is available.
l If there is any device that is in suspected state and is moved to service mode
manually, suspected flag is cleared off and there won't be any DCC check on that
going forward. DCC starts checking this device only if it again moves to enabled
state.

New.Net and NetWorker software are incompatible


Software from New.Net, Inc. loads a dynamic link library (DLL) named newdotnet.dll,
which modifies the Windows TCP/IP stack in ways that are incompatible with
NetWorker software.
This causes many NetWorker programs, including save.exe, to fail on exit. This is a
New.Net problem that the NetWorker software cannot work around. The Go!Zilla,
BearShare, Mp3.com, iMesh, Babylon, Cydoor, Webshots, and gDivx products include
the New.Net software. If you suspect that the New.Net DLL is the cause of problems,
uninstall the New.Net software.
NOTICE If you manually delete the newdotnet.dll file, the system will become
unusable.

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928 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


GLOSSARY

This glossary provides definitions for terms used in this guide.

access control list (ACL) List that specifies the permissions assigned to a specific file or directory.
See administrator.

active group NetWorker backup group that has its Autostart attribute enabled.

administrator Person who normally installs, configures, and maintains software on network
computers, and who adds users and defines user privileges.

Administrators group Microsoft Windows user group whose members have the rights and privileges of users
in other groups, plus the ability to create and manage the users and groups in the
domain.

advanced file type Disk storage device that uses a volume manager to enable multiple concurrent backup
device (AFTD) and recovery operations and dynamically extend available disk space.

agent Term used by Sun Microsystems to denote a cluster server. Also known as a package
(HP-UX), and a virtual server (Microsoft).

annotation 1. Comment associated with an archive save set.


2. Comment associated with an event.

application specific Program that is used in a directive to specify how a set of files or directories is to be
module (ASM) backed up or recovered. For example, compressasm is a NetWorker directive used to
compress files.

archive Process that backs up directories or files to an archive volume to free up disk space for
regular backups. Archived data is not recyclable. See groom.

archive request NetWorker resource used to schedule and manage archiving.

archive volume Volume used to store archive data. Archive data cannot be stored on a backup volume
or a clone volume.

attribute Name or value property of a resource.

authentication Process by which a user or software process is determined to be trusted or not trusted.

authorization Privileges assigned to users.

authorization code Unique code that in combination with an associated enabler code unlocks the software
for permanent use on a specific host computer. See license key.

autochanger See library.

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Glossary

auto media management Feature that enables the storage device controlled by the NetWorker server to
automatically label, mount, and overwrite a volume it considers unlabeled.

backup 1. Duplicate of database or application data, or an entire computer system, stored


separately from the original, which can be used to recover the original if it is lost or
damaged.
2. Operation that saves data to a volume for use as a backup.

backup cycle Full or level 0 backup and all the subsequent incremental backups that are dependent
on that backup.

Backup Operators group Microsoft Windows user group whose members have the capability to log in to a domain
from a workstation or a server, whose data they may back up and restore. Backup
Operators can also shut down servers or workstations.

backup volume A volume used to store backup data. NetWorker backup data cannot be stored on an
archive volume or a clone volume.

bootstrap Save set that is essential for disaster recovery procedures. The bootstrap consists of
three components that reside on the NetWorker server: the media database, the
resource database, and a server index.

browse policy NetWorker policy that specifies the period of time during which backup entries are
retained in the client file index. Backups listed in the index are browsable and readily
accessible for recovery.

canned report Preconfigured report that can be tailored by the user.

carousel See library.

client Host on a network, such as a computer, workstation, or application server whose data
can be backed up and restored with the backup server software.

client file index Database maintained by the NetWorker server that tracks every database object, file,
or file system backed up. The NetWorker server maintains a single index file for each
client computer. The tracking information is purged from the index after the browse
time of each backup expires.

client-initiated backup See manual backup.

Client resource NetWorker server resource that identifies the save sets to be backed up on a client.
The Client resource also specifies information about the backup, such as the schedule,
browse policy, and retention policy for the save sets.

clone 1. Duplicate copy of backed-up data, which is indexed and tracked by the NetWorker
server. Single save sets or entire volumes can be cloned.
2. Type of mirror that is specific to a storage array.

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Glossary

clone volume Exact duplicate of a backup or archive volume. NetWorker software can index and track
four types of volumes (backup, archive, backup clone, and archive clone). Save sets of
these different types may not be intermixed on one volume. Clone volumes may be used
in exactly the same way as the original backup or archive volume.

cluster Group of linked virtual or physical hosts, each of which is identified as a node, with
shared storage that work together and represent themselves as a single host.

common internet file Formerly known as Server Message Block (SMB). Message format used by Microsoft
system (CIFS) DOS and Windows to share files, directories, and devices.

connection port Port used to perform functions through a firewall.

Console application Console server user role whose members can configure features, except security
administrator features, in the Console sever application.

Console security Console server user role whose members can add Console users and assign them to
administrator Console roles.

Console server See NetWorker Management Console (NMC).

consolidate To create a full backup by merging a new level 1 backup with the last full level backup.

continued save set Save set data that is continued from a previous volume.

control zone Group of datazones managed by the NetWorker software.

conventional storage Storage library attached to the NetWorker server or storage node, used to store
backups or snapshot backups. Also known as secondary storage. See primary storage.

daemon Process on UNIX systems that runs in the background and performs a specified
operation at predefined times or in response to certain events.

database 1. Collection of data arranged for ease and speed of update, search, and retrieval by
computer software.
2. Instance of a database management system (DBMS), which in a simple case might
be a single file containing many records, each of which contains the same set of
fields.

data management Application that manages a backup or recovery session through an NDMP connection.
application (DMA)

data mover (DM) Client system or application, such as NetWorker software, that moves data during a
backup, recovery, snapshot, or migration operation. See proxy host.

data server agent (DSA) Functionality that enables the NetWorker server to communicate with a non-
NetWorker NDMP host and package images of save streams. For example, an NDMP
host that generates proprietary save data may send that data to a NetWorker storage
device to have a save set associated with it.

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Glossary

data service provider Feature that controls access to disk storage during an NDMP back up.
(DSP)

datazone Group of clients, storage devices, and storage nodes that are administered by a
NetWorker server.

deduplication backup Type of backup in which redundant data blocks are identified and only unique blocks of
data are stored. When the deduplicated data is restored, the data is returned to its
original native format.

destination client Computer to which database files are restored in a directed recovery.

device 1. Storage folder or storage unit that can contain a backup volume. A device can be a
tape device, optical drive, autochanger, or disk connected to the server or storage
node.
2. General term that refers to storage hardware.
3. Access path to the physical drive, when dynamic drive sharing (DDS) is enabled.

Device Central Interface from which one can manage all NetWorker libraries.

DFS component 1. A namespace for files and DFS links, called a DFS root.
2. A connection to a shared file or folder, called a DFS child node.
See distributed File System (DFS).

direct access restore NDMP operation that can recover data in the middle of a tape set without having to
(DAR) parse the tape set sequentially, thereby reducing the recovery time of large backups.

directed recovery Method that recovers data that originated on one client host and re-creates it on a
different client host, known as the destination client.

directive Instruction that directs NetWorker software to take special actions on a given set of
files for a specified client during a backup or recovery operation. Directives are ignored
in manual (unscheduled) backups.

disaster recovery Restore and recovery of data and business operations in the event of hardware failure
or software corruption.

distributed File System Microsoft Windows add-on that creates a logical directory of shared directories that
(DFS) span multiple hosts across a network.

document mode Display mode that presents static reports such as charts or tables in a format that
resembles the Print Preview mode in a PDF viewer.

drill-down Organization of report information by granularity. For example, within a group summary
report, a client report may be viewed, and then a report for a selected save set for that
client.

drive Hardware device through which media can be read or written to. See device.

DSA save set Save sets of an NDMP client that are backed up to non-NDMP tape device. See data
server agent (DSA).

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Glossary

dynamic drive sharing Feature that allows NetWorker software to recognize and use shared drives and when
(DDS) they are available.

enabler code Unique code that activates the software:


l Evaluation enablers or temporary enablers expire after a fixed period of time.
l Base enablers unlock the basic features for software.
l Add-on enablers unlock additional features or products, for example, library
support.
See license key.

enterprise Computers and folders organized into a tree-based visual representation.

event Notification generated by an application that could require user action, such as the
impending expiration of a software enabler key that appears in the daemon log of the
Console server.

event-based backup See probe-based backup.

exit code Indicator that specifies whether a backup or recovery session succeeded. An exit code
of zero (0) indicates the session completed successfully. A nonzero exit code indicates
that the session did not complete successfully.

expiration date Date when a volume changes from read/write to read-only.

expired save set Save set that has exceeded its browse time and has been removed from the NetWorker
client file index. Expired save sets can no longer be browsed.

file index See client file index.

file system 1. Software interface used to save, retrieve, and manage files on storage media by
providing directory structures, data transfer methods, and file association.
2. Entire set of all files.
3. Method of storing files.

firewall Security software designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private


network.

folder An icon on a computer screen that can be used to access a directory.

full backup Type of backup that backs up all data objects or files, including the transaction logs
contained in databases, regardless of when they last changed. See level.

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Glossary

generic services toolkit Software framework that underlies the Console server.
(GST)

groom Process that removes the original files from a local disk after a successful archive
operation.

group One or more client computers that are configured to perform a backup together,
according to a single designated schedule or set of conditions.

hash Number generated from a string of text that is used to encrypt a user password. See
salted hash.

heterogeneous network Network with systems of different platforms and operating systems that interact
across the network.

high-availability system System of multiple computers configured as cluster nodes on a network that ensures
that the application services continue despite a hardware or software failure. Each
cluster node has its own IP address with private resources or disks that are available
only to that computer.

high-water mark Percentage of disk space that, when filled, automatically starts the staging process.

host Computer on a network.

host authentication Encryption and verification services between NetWorker hosts. See user
authentication.

host ID Eight-character alphanumeric number that uniquely identifies a computer.

hostname Name or address of a physical or virtual host computer that is connected to a network.

inactivity timeout Time in minutes to wait before a client is considered to be unavailable for backup.

incremental backup See level.

individual user Process by which Console administrators restrict or grant user access to NetWorker
authentication servers, based on Console usernames.

insertion time Time that the save set record was most recently introduced into the save set database.

Interactive mode Console mode that displays reports (as charts or tables) that users can interact with.
For example, one can sort, rearrange, and resize columns in a table-format report that
was run in this mode.

Internationalization Process of adapting software to accept input and output of data in various languages
(I18N) and locales.

934 Dell EMC NetWorker Administration Guide


Glossary

JAR (Java Archive) A file that contains compressed components needed for a Java applet or application.

Java Type of high-level programming language that enables the same, unmodified Java
program to run on most computer operating systems. See Java Virtual Machine (JVM).

Java plug-in JVM that can be used by a web browser to run Java applets.

Java Virtual Machine Execution environment for interpreting the Java programming language. Each operating
(JVM) system runs a unique JVM to interpret Java code.

jukebox See library.

label Electronic header on a volume used for identification by a backup application.

legacy method Use of special-case Microsoft APIs to back up and recover operating system
components, services, and applications.

level Backup configuration option that specifies how much data is saved during a scheduled
or manual backup:
l A full backup backs up all data objects or files, regardless of when they last
changed.
l An incremental backup backs up only data objects or files that have changed since
the previous backup.

library Hardware device that contains one or more removable media drives, as well as slots for
pieces of media, media access ports, and a robotic mechanism for moving pieces of
media between these components. Libraries automate media loading and mounting
functions during backup and recovery. The term library is synonymous with
autochanger, autoloader, carousel, datawheel, jukebox, and near-line storage.

library sharing Shared access of servers and storage nodes to the individual tape drives within a
library. The drives are statically assigned to hosts.

license key Combination of an enabler code and authorization code for a specific product release to
permanently enable its use. Also called an activation key.

License Manager (LLM) Application that provides centralized management of product licenses.

Lightweight Directory Set of protocols for accessing information directories.


Access Protocol (LDAP)

live backup See rollover-only backup.

local cluster client NetWorker client that is not bound to a physical machine, but is instead managed by a
cluster manager. It is also referred to as a logical or virtual client.

localization (L10N) Translation and adaptation of software for the user language, time formats, and other
conventions of a specific locale.

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Glossary

logical cluster client See virtual cluster client.

logical device Virtual device used in the integration of NetWorker software with SmartMedia. Many
logical devices can be assigned to a single physical device.

low-water mark Percentage of disk space filled that, when reached, automatically stops the migration
process.

LUS Driver used by EMC software products as a proprietary device driver that sends
arbitrary SCSI commands to an autochanger. Also known as the EMC User SCSI.

managed application Program that can be monitored or administered, or both from the Console server.

managed node Storage management application under the control of Console. For example, a system
running NetWorker on a backup server or storage node is considered to be a managed
node.

man pages Online technical reference manual, normally provided on UNIX servers, for the syntax
and function of program commands that may be issued from the command line.

manual backup Backup that a user performs from the client, also known as an unscheduled, on-
demand, or ad hoc backup.

media Physical storage, such as a disk file system or magnetic tape, to which backup data is
written. See volume.

media index Database that contains indexed entries of storage volume location and the life cycle
status of all data and volumes managed by the NetWorker server. Also known as media
database.

member Physical host that occupies a node in a cluster environment. Each member has its own
IP address.

mount To make a volume physically available for use, such as the placement of a removable
disk volume or tape into a drive for reading or writing.

mount host Host in a network that is used to mount storage array snapshot volumes to perform
snapshot restore and rollover operations.

mount point See volume mount point.

multiple session See parallelism.

multiplex To simultaneously write data from more than one save set to the same storage device.

NDMP server Instance of one or more NDMP services, such as a data, tape, or SCSI server, that is
managed by a single control connection.

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Glossary

NDMP service Virtual machine that is controlled by a data management application (DMA) such as
NetWorker software. Example services include:
l Server with a directly attached storage appliance
l Storage device system with one or more tape drives
l Software process that reads two datastreams and multiplexes them into one stream

NDMP storage node Host or open system with NDMP services. For example, Netapp Filer and EMC Filer.

near-line storage See library.

network attached Disk array or storage device (NAS filer) that connects directly to the messaging
storage (NAS) network or LAN interfaces and uses the common communication protocols of TCP/IP
or NDMP.

Network Data Software component that uses TCP/IP standards to specify how heterogeneous
Management Protocol network components communicate for the purposes of backup, recovery, and transfer
(NDMP) of data between storage systems.

NetWorker administrator NetWorker server user who may add, change, or delete NetWorker server users.

NetWorker application NetWorker server user who may operate NetWorker software, configure the
administrator NetWorker server, and create and modify NetWorker resources.

NetWorker Management Software program that is used to manage NetWorker servers and clients. The NMC
Console (NMC) server also provides reporting and monitoring capabilities for all NetWorker processes.

NetWorker security NetWorker server user who may add, change, or delete NetWorker server user groups.
administrator

NetWorker server Computer on a network that runs the NetWorker server software, contains the online
indexes, and provides backup and restore services to the clients and storage nodes on
the same network.

NetWorker Snapshot Technology that provides point-in-time snapshot copies of data. NetWorker software
Management (NSM) backs up data from the snapshot. This allows applications to continue to write data
during the backup operation, and ensures that open files are not omitted.

network file system Communications protocol that enables users to access shared files on different types of
(NFS) computers over a network.

NFS server Host that contains exported file systems that NFS clients can access. See network file
system (NFS).

node See cluster.

non-critical volume A volume that contains files that are not part of the system state or an installed service.

notification Message sent to the NetWorker administrator about important NetWorker events.

nsrd Master NetWorker server process.

nsrhost Logical hostname of the NetWorker server.

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Glossary

offline backup Backup of database objects performed while the corresponding database or instance is
shut down and unavailable to users. Also known as a cold backup.

offline restore Automated restore that does not require the manual installation of an operating system.
A bare metal recovery (BMR) is an offline restore.

online backup Backup of database objects performed while the corresponding database or instance is
running and available to users. Also known as a hot backup.

online indexes Databases located on the NetWorker server that contain all the information pertaining
to the client backups (client file index) and backup volumes (media index).

online restore Restore operation that is performed from a NetWorker recover program. An online
restore requires that the computer has been booted from an installed operating system.
See also offline restore.

operator Person who performs day-to-day data storage tasks such as loading backup volumes
into storage devices, monitoring volume locations and server status, verifying backups,
and labeling volumes.

override Different backup level that is used in place of the regularly scheduled backup.

package A term used by HP-UX to denote a cluster server. Also known as an agent (Sun) or
virtual server (Microsoft).

parallelism Feature that enables a maximum number of concurrent streams of data during backup
or restore operations. For example, parallelism values can be set for the NetWorker
server, clients, pools, and groups.

pathname Set of instructions to the operating system for accessing a file:


l An absolute pathname indicates how to find a file by starting from the root directory
and working down the directory tree.
l A relative pathname indicates how to find a file by starting from the current
location.

peer NetWorker host that is involved in an authentication process with another NetWorker
host.

permanent enabler Enabler code that has been made permanent by the application of an authorization
code. See enabler code.

physical cluster client Backup client that is bound to a physical host in the cluster and can have its own
resources (private or local).

physical host Node or host that forms part of a cluster.

point-in-time copy (PIT Fully usable copy of a defined collection of data, such as a consistent file system,
copy) database, or volume that contains an image of the data as it appeared at a specific point
in time. A PIT copy is also called a snapshot or shadow copy.

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Glossary

policy Set of defined rules for client backups that can be applied to multiple groups. Groups
have dataset, schedule, browse, and retention policies.

pool 1. NetWorker sorting feature that assigns specific backup data to be stored on
specified media volumes.
2. Collection of NetWorker backup volumes to which specific data has been backed
up.

primary storage Server storage subsystem, such as a disk array, that contains application data and any
persistent snapshots of data.

probe-based backup Type of scheduled backup, also known as an event-based backup, where the
NetWorker server initiates the backup only when specified conditions are met, as
determined by one or more probe settings.

proxy host Surrogate host computer that performs backup or clone operations in place the
production host by using a snapshot copy of the production data. See mount host.

purge Operation that deletes file entries from the client file index.

quiesce State in which all writes to a disk are stopped and the file system cache is flushed.
Quiescing the database prior to creating the snapshot provides a transactionally
consistent image that can be remounted.

recover To restore data files from backup storage to a client and apply transaction (redo) logs
to the data to make it consistent with a given point-in-time.

recyclable save set Save set whose browse and retention policies have expired. Recyclable save sets are
removed from the media database.

recyclable volume Storage volume whose data has exceeded both its browse and retention policies and is
now available to be relabeled and reused.

Registry Microsoft Windows database that centralizes all Windows settings and provides
security and control of system, security, and user account settings.

remote device 1. Storage device that is attached to a storage node that is separate from the
NetWorker server.
2. Storage device at an offsite location that stores a copy of data from a primary
storage device for disaster recovery.

remote procedure call Protocol used by the backup server to perform client requests over a network.
(RPC)

repository Console database that contains configuration and reporting information.

requester A VSS-aware application that creates and destroys a shadow copy. NetWorker
software is a requester. See shadow copy.

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Glossary

resource Software component whose configurable attributes define the operational properties of
the NetWorker server or its clients. Clients, devices, schedules, groups, and policies are
all NetWorker resources.

resource database NetWorker database of information about each configured resource.

resource owner Logical cluster host that owns the resource. If a Cluster resource, such as a shared disk,
is not owned by a virtual host, it is assumed to be owned by the physical node that
hosts the resource.

restore To retrieve individual data files from backup media and copy the files to a client without
applying transaction logs.

retention policy NetWorker setting that determines the minimum period of time that backup data is
retained on a storage volume and available for recovery. After this time is exceeded, the
data is eligible to be overwritten.

retrieve To locate and recover archived files and directories.

retry mechanism Action that NetWorker software performs when client operations fail. This situation
might occur because the rate of transmission is either low or undetectable.

role Grant of user privileges to the Console. There are three roles: Console Application
Administrator, Console Security administrator, and the Console User. See user groups.

roll forward To apply transactional logs to a recovered database to restore it to a state that is
consistent with a given point-in-time.

rollover Backup of a snapshot to conventional storage media, such as disk or tape. Previously
known as a live backup.

rollover-only backup Rollover whereupon the snapshot copy is deleted. Previously known as a serverless
backup, live backup, or nonpersistent backup.

root 1. (UNIX only) UNIX superuser account.


2. (Microsoft Windows and UNIX) Highest level of the system directory structure.

salted hash Added string of random data that provides a unique identifier to a user's password. See
hash.

save NetWorker command that backs up client files to backup media volumes and makes
data entries in the online index.

save set 1. Group of tiles or a file system copied to storage media by a backup or snapshot
rollover operation.
2. NetWorker media database record for a specific backup or rollover.

save set consolidation Process that performs a level 1 backup and merges it with the last full backup of a save
set to create a new full backup.

save set ID (ssid) Internal identification number assigned to a save set.

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save set recover To recover data by specifying save sets rather than by browsing and selecting files or
directories.

save set status NetWorker attribute that indicates whether a save set is browsable, recoverable, or
recyclable. The save set status also indicates whether the save set was successfully
backed up.

save stream Data and save set information that is written to a storage volume during a backup. A
save stream originates from a single save set.

scanner NetWorker command used to read a backup volume when the online indexes are not
available.

scheduled backup Type of backup that is configured to start automatically at a specified time for a group
of one or more NetWorker clients. A scheduled backup generates a bootstrap save set.

secondary storage Storage media managed by a NetWorker server or storage node that stores
conventional or snapshot data. Configure a storage device on a NetWorker server or
storage node for each secondary storage.

security event Operation related to authorization, authentication, or configuration.

service port Port used to listen for backup and recover requests from clients through a firewall.

shadow copy Temporary, point-in-time copy of a volume created using VSS technology. See VSS
(Volume Shadow Copy Service).

shared disk Storage disk that is connected to multiple nodes in a cluster.

shell prompt Cursor in a shell window where commands are typed.

silo Repository for holding hundreds or thousands of volumes. Silo volumes are identified by
bar codes, not by slot numbers.

simple network Protocol used to send messages to the administrator about NetWorker events.
management protocol
(SNMP)

skip Backup level in which designated files are not backed up. See level.

Smart Media EMC software application that manages media resources within a distributed
environment.

snapset See snapshot save set.

snapshot Point-in-time, read-only copy of specific data files, volumes, or file systems on an
application host. Operations on the application host are momentarily suspended while
the snapshot is created on a proxy host. Also called a PiT copy, image, or shadow copy.

snapshot policy Sets of rules that control the life cycle of snapshots. These rule specify the frequency
of snapshot creation, how long snapshots are retained, and which snapshots will be
backed up to conventional storage media.

snapshot save set Group of files or other data included in a single snapshot. Previously called a snapset.

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stage To move data from one storage medium to a less costly medium, and later removing the
data from its original location.

stand-alone In a cluster environment, a NetWorker server that starts in noncluster (stand-alone)


mode.

stand-alone device Storage device that contains a single drive for backing up data. Stand-alone devices
cannot automatically load backup volumes.

STL Silo Tape Library.

storage node Computer that manages physically attached storage devices or libraries, whose backup
operations are administered from the controlling NetWorker server. Typically a
“remote” storage node that resides on a host other than the NetWorker server.

synthetic full backup Backup that combines a full backup and its subsequent incremental backups to form a
new full backup. Synthetic full backups are treated the same as ordinary full backups.

tape service NDMP DSP service that controls access to tape storage. A system can simultaneously
host multiple tape services corresponding to multiple backup streams.

target client NetWorker client on which data is to be restored This may be the same as the original
source client from which the data was backed up, or it may be a different client.

target database Database that the NetWorker server backs up as a safeguard against data loss.

target sessions The number of simultaneous backup data streams accepted by a backup device.

temporary enabler Code that enables operation of the software for an additional period of time beyond the
evaluation period. See enabler code.

transaction log Record of named database transactions or list of changed files in a database, stored in a
log file to execute quick restore and rollback transactions.

transmission control Standard set of communication protocols that connects hosts on the Internet.
protocol / internet
protocol (TCP/IP)

trap Setting in an SNMP event management system to report errors or status messages.

update enabler Code that updates software from a previous release. It expires after a fixed period of
time.

user 1. A NetWorker user who can back up and recover files from a computer.
2. A Console user who has standard access privileges to the Console server.

user alias Username seen by the NetWorker server when a Console user connects to the
NetWorker server.

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user authentication Feature that validates user sign-on attempts. NetWorker can validate sign-on attempts
against either a central authority, such as an LDAP database, or a local Console
database. See host authentication.

user data Data that is generated by users, typically for the purposes of a business function. A
Microsoft Word document or an Excel spreadsheet is an example of user data.

user groups Feature that assigns user privileges. See role.

versions Date-stamped collection of available backups for any single file.

virtual cluster client NetWorker client that is not permanently bound to one physical host but is managed by
a cluster manager. It is also referred to as a logical cluster client or a virtual client.

virtual server 1. Server, usually a web server, that shares resources with other virtual servers on the
same computer to provide low-cost hosting services.
2. In a cluster configuration, a set of two nodes, which are physical computers, and
virtual servers. Each node and virtual server has its own IP address and network
name. Each virtual server also owns a subset of shared cluster disks and is
responsible for starting cluster applications that can fail over from one cluster node
to another.

virtual tape library (VTL) Software emulation of a physical tape library storage system.

volume 1. Unit of physical storage medium, such as a disk or magnetic tape, to which backup
data is written.
2. Identifiable unit of data storage that may reside on one or more computer disks.

volume ID (volid) Internal identification that NetWorker software assigns to a backup volume.

volume mount point Disk volume that is added into the namespace of a host disk volume. This allows
multiple disk volumes to be linked into a single directory tree, and a single disk or
partition to be linked to more than one directory tree.

volume name Name that you assign to a backup volume when it is labeled.

VSS (Volume Shadow Microsoft technology that creates a point-in-time snapshot of a disk volume.
Copy Service) NetWorker software backs up data from the snapshot. This allows applications to
continue to write data during the backup operation, and ensures that open files are not
omitted.

VSS component A subordinate unit of a writer. See writer.

Windows disaster Bare metal recovery of a host. NetWorker provides an automated bare metal recovery
recovery solution for Windows.

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writer Database, system service, or application code that works with VSS to provide metadata
about what to back up and how to handle VSS components and applications during
backup and restore. See VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service).

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