Veritas NetBackup™ Virtual Appliance Getting Started Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): Appliances (3.1.1)
  1. Product overview
    1. NetBackup Virtual Appliance product description
      1.  
        About the NetBackup Virtual Appliance combined master and media server role
      2.  
        About the NetBackup Virtual Appliance media server role
    2.  
      NetBackup Virtual Appliance supported features
    3.  
      About the NetBackup Virtual Appliance documentation
  2. Preparing the initial deployment
    1.  
      NetBackup Virtual Appliance product files (OVF templates)
    2.  
      NetBackup Virtual Appliance deployment methods
    3. NetBackup Virtual Appliance deployment guidelines
      1.  
        NetBackup Virtual Appliance initial deployment checklist
    4.  
      Troubleshooting NetBackup Virtual Appliance initial deployment issues
  3. Deploying and configuring the appliance
    1. How to deploy and configure a NetBackup Virtual Appliance combined master and media server
      1.  
        Using the vSphere Client to deploy a combined master and media server appliance
      2.  
        Using the OVF Tool to deploy a combined master and media server appliance
      3.  
        Performing the initial configuration on a NetBackup Virtual Appliance combined master and media server
      4.  
        Completing the initial configuration of the NetBackup Virtual Appliance combined master and media server
    2. How to deploy and configure a NetBackup Virtual Appliance media server
      1.  
        Using the vSphere Client to deploy a media server appliance
      2.  
        Using the OVF Tool to deploy a media server appliance
      3.  
        Configuring a master server to communicate with an appliance media server
      4.  
        Performing the initial configuration on a NetBackup Virtual Appliance media server
  4. Post initial configuration procedures
    1.  
      About modifying the NetBackup Virtual Appliance settings
    2.  
      Adding a permanent license key if an evaluation license key expires
    3.  
      Managing license keys on the NetBackup Virtual Appliance
  5. Introduction to the NetBackup Virtual Appliance Shell Menu
    1.  
      Using the NetBackup Virtual Appliance Shell Menu
    2.  
      About the NetBackup Virtual Appliance Shell Menu command views
  6. Appendix A. Limitations and Operational Notes
    1.  
      Known limitations of the NetBackup Virtual Appliance 3.1.1 release
    2.  
      Operational Notes for the NetBackup Virtual Appliance 3.1.1 release
  7. Appendix B. New features, enhancements, and changes
    1.  
      NetBackup Virtual Appliance 3.1.1 new features, enhancements, and changes

Performing the initial configuration on a NetBackup Virtual Appliance media server

This section describes how to perform the initial configuration on a NetBackup Virtual Appliance with the media server role.

You must complete the following tasks on the master server before you start the initial configuration. The following link provides specific instructions about how to accomplish the necessary tasks:

See Configuring a master server to communicate with an appliance media server.

  • Make sure that the master server and this media server have compatible software versions.

  • Add the host name of this media server to the SERVERS list on the master server that you plan to use with it.

  • If a firewall exists between the master server and this media server, open the appropriate ports on the master server.

  • Make sure that the date and time of this media server matches the date and time on the master server.

To perform the initial configuration of a NetBackup Virtual Appliance

  1. After you have deployed a new virtual appliance, log on to the NetBackup Virtual Appliance Shell Menu.

    The logon is admin, and the default password is P@ssw0rd.

  2. Use the following commands to change the admin and the maintenance account passwords from the known default password (P@ssw0rd):
    • Main > Settings > Password admin

    • Main > Settings > Password maintenance

  3. (Optional) Configure the appliance date and time.

    NTP is an optional during the initial configuration wizard. If you do not use an NTP server in your environment, make sure to configure the appliance date and time before the initial configuration.

    Caution:

    If the date and time of this media server matches the date and time of the master server, the initial configuration wizard fails.

    • Navigate to the Main > Network view.

    • Set the time zone by entering the following command:

      TimeZone Set

      Select the appropriate time zone from the displayed list.

    • Set the date and the time by entering the following command:

      Date Set Month Day HHMMSS Year

      Where Month is the name of the month.

      Where Day is the day of the month from 1 to 31.

      Where HHMMSS is the hour, minute, and seconds in a 24-hour format. The fields are separated by semi-colons, for example, HH:MM:SS.

      Where Year is the calendar year from 1970 through 2037.

  4. Use the following command to start the initial configuration:

    Main > Appliance > Configure

    A message about the Virtual Appliance Initial Configuration Wizard appears. This wizard will walk you through a two-step process to configure this appliance.

    The following prompt appears:

    >> Do you want to continue? [yes, no] (no)yes
    

    Type yes.

    The network configuration prompts appear in the following order:

    • Hostname

      Enter a short host name or a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for this appliance. As a best practice, Veritas recommends that you use FQDN.

      Caution:

      After the initial deployment has completed successfully, the only way to change the host name is to perform a factory reset.

      Note:

      If you plan to configure Active Directory (AD) authentication on this appliance, the host name must be 15 characters or less. Otherwise, AD configuration can fail.

    • DNS domain name

      Enter a DNS domain name for this appliance.

    • IPv4 address

      Enter the IPv4 address to be used for this appliance.

    • Netmask

      Enter the netmask that corresponds to the IP address.

    • Gateway IP address

      Enter the IPv4 address of the gateway (network point) that acts as an entrance to another network.

    • DNS server 1 IP address

      Enter the IPv4 address of the primary DNS server for this appliance.

    • DNS server 2 IP address(Optional)

      Enter the IPv4 address of the secondary DNS server for this appliance.

  5. (Optional) The following prompt appears:

    The host name must be resolvable with a DNS or a HOSTS file for the initial configuration to be successful. Do you want to write the host name resolution information to the HOSTS file? [yes, no](no)

    Note:

    If the host name is not resolvable with a DNS or a HOSTS file during the initial configuration, the initial configuration wizard will fail.

    Type yes to use the HOSTS file to resolve the appliance host name. This ensures that the host name is resolvable when DNS is not available.

    Type no to use the DNS you entered.

  6. After the network configuration is completed, the wizard takes you to the second step for storage configuration.

    In the second step, specify the following:

    • NTP server (Optional)

      Enter the Network Time Protocol (NTP) server for this appliance.

    • Master server

      Enter the NetBackup master server name or IP address for this appliance. The master server can be a traditional (non-appliance) NetBackup master server or a NetBackup physical appliance.

      Note:

      If the host name of the master server is an FQDN, Veritas recommends that you use the FQDN to specify the master server for the media server.

      When you are prompted with the CA certificate details from the master server, review the details, and then enter yes if you want to continue. If a token is required to deploy the host ID-based certificate, obtain the token from the NetBackup administrator of the master server, and then enter the token.

      For more information about security certificates, refer to the NetBackup Security and Encryption Guide.

    • AdvancedDisk disk pool name

      Enter a name for the AdvancedDisk disk pool on the appliance.

    • AdvancedDisk storage unit name

      Enter a name for the AdvancedDisk storage unit on the appliance.

    • AdvancedDisk storage size

      Enter a size for the AdvancedDisk storage.

    • MSDP storage unit name

      Enter a name for the MSDP storage unit on the appliance.

    • MSDP disk pool name

      Enter a name for the MSDP disk pool on the appliance.

    • MSDP storage size

      Enter a size for the MSDP storage.

    • MSDP Catalog size

      Enter a size for the MDSP Catalog storage.

  7. Use the following command to verify that the automatic configuration completed successfully:

    Main > Appliance > Status

    The command output should contain a message similar to the following:

    Appliance Version is 3.1.1.
    
    Appliance is configured as media appliance.
    

    If the output does not show that the appliance is configured as a media appliance, you need to redeploy the appliance or perform other troubleshooting steps to fix the issue before you proceed to the next step. See Troubleshooting NetBackup Virtual Appliance initial deployment issues.

  8. Use the following command to set the time zone:

    Main > Network > TimeZone Set

    Select the appropriate time zone from the displayed list.

  9. Add a permanent license key before the evaluation key expires with the following command:

    Main > Manage > License > Add

    You can locate your permanent license key from the Licensing Portal on the MyVeritas website.

    Warning:

    The NetBackup Virtual Appliance has a specific license key, and if the correct key is not installed, the appliance services stop functioning after the evaluation key expires. Make sure that the permanent license key that you add is correct for NetBackup Virtual Appliance.

    See Managing license keys on the NetBackup Virtual Appliance.

  10. (Optional)

    If you want to configure an IPv6 address for the appliance, run the following command:

    Main > Network > IPv6 <IPAddress> <Prefix> InterfaceName

    Where <IPAddress> is the IPv6 address and <Prefix> is the prefix length.

  11. (Optional)

    If you want to an IPv6 DNS server on the appliance, run the following command:

    Main > Network > DNS Add NameServer <IPAddress>

    Where <IPAddress> is the IPv6 address of the additional DNS server. Only global-scope and unique-local IPv6 addresses are allowed.

After the appliance is configured and operational, you are ready to install NetBackup client software on the computers that you want to back up.

See the NetBackup Installation Guide for how to install NetBackup clients.