NetBackup™ Snapshot Client Administrator's Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup (10.0)
  1. Introduction
    1.  
      About
    2. About snapshot management
      1.  
        About snapshots
      2.  
        About off-host backup support
      3.  
        About Instant Recovery
      4.  
        About snapshot methods for disk arrays
      5.  
        About block level incremental backup
    3. About snapshot basics
      1.  
        About the copy-on-write snapshot type
      2.  
        About the mirror snapshot type
    4.  
      Benefits of copy-on-write versus mirror
    5.  
      About local backup of a snapshot
    6. Off-host backup overview
      1.  
        About file and volume mapping methods
    7. Off-host backup methods
      1. About alternate client backup
        1.  
          About data sharing between clients
        2.  
          Alternate client backup split mirror examples
        3.  
          Alternate client backup through data replication example (UNIX only)
      2.  
        NetBackup media server data mover example (UNIX only)
    8. requirements
      1.  
        restrictions
    9.  
      terminology
    10.  
      assistance
    11.  
      About open file backups for Windows
  2. Installation
    1.  
      Installation prerequisites for
    2.  
      installation notes
    3.  
      About distributing Client Software in mixed-platform environments
    4.  
      About creating log directories
    5.  
      About the snapshot state file
  3. Policy configuration
    1.  
      Notes on policies
    2.  
      Configuring a policy
    3.  
      Backup Selections tab options when configuring a policy
    4.  
      Off-host backup configuration options
    5. Selecting the snapshot method
      1. Configuration parameters for
        1.  
          Maximum Snapshots parameter (Instant Recovery only)
        2.  
          Important note on VSS and disk arrays
      2.  
        Snapshot Resources
    6.  
      Configuring backup scripts
    7. About using alternate client backup
      1.  
        Alternate client backup requirements
    8. Configuring alternate client backup
      1.  
        Example alternate client backup configurations
    9. Policy configuration tips
      1.  
        Maximum pathname length
      2.  
        Snapshot tips
      3.  
        Multiple data streams
    10. About disabling snapshots
      1.  
        Disabling snapshots
  4. NAS snapshot configuration
    1.  
      About NAS snapshot overview
    2. Dynamic data streaming for D-NAS workloads
      1.  
        Understanding the features
      2.  
        Dynamic streaming parameters
    3.  
      Prerequisites for NetBackup DNAS configuration
    4.  
      Configuring dynamic data streaming with backup host pool
    5.  
      Configuring a backup host pool
    6.  
      Discover plugins
    7.  
      Minimum supported backup host versions for different features
    8.  
      Limitations and considerations
    9. Setting up a NAS-Data-Protection policy
      1.  
        About restores from NAS-Data-Protection policy
  5. FlashBackup configuration
    1.  
      About FlashBackup
    2. FlashBackup restrictions
      1.  
        Restores of Windows encrypted files and hard links
    3.  
      Configuring a FlashBackup policy
    4. Configuring FlashBackup policy for backward compatibility (UNIX only)
      1.  
        About the cache partition
      2.  
        Requirements for the cache partition
      3.  
        Directives for multiple data streams
  6. Instant Recovery configuration
    1.  
      About Instant Recovery capabilities
    2.  
      Instant Recovery requirements
    3.  
      Instant Recovery restrictions
    4.  
      Giving full server privileges to the media server
    5. About Instant Recovery
      1.  
        About snapshot and backup for Instant Recovery
      2.  
        About NetBackup catalog maintenance
      3.  
        About snapshot management
      4. Means of controlling snapshots
        1.  
          Maximum Snapshots parameter
    6.  
      Configuring a policy for Instant Recovery
    7. About sizing the cache for Instant Recovery copy-on-write snapshots
      1.  
        Cache size during restore
      2.  
        Setting an adequate size for the snapshot cache
    8.  
      Instant Recovery for databases
    9. About storage lifecycle policies for snapshots
      1.  
        Configuring a storage lifecycle policy to manage snapshot-based backups for Instant Recovery
      2.  
        Storage lifecycle polices and troubleshooting
  7. Configuration of software-based snapshot methods
    1. Software-based snapshot methods
      1.  
        About nbu_snap
      2. Cache device requirements
        1.  
          Determining a size for the cache partition
        2.  
          Entering the cache
      3. About VxFS_Checkpoint
        1.  
          VxFS multi-volume system
        2.  
          Storage Checkpoint disk usage
        3.  
          Checkpoint retention schedules
        4.  
          Block-Level restore
      4.  
        About VxFS_Snapshot
      5. About VxVM
        1.  
          Creating a snapshot mirror of the source
        2.  
          About VxVM instant snapshots
        3.  
          About NetBackup snapshot methods
        4.  
          Space-Optimized instant snapshots
      6. About FlashSnap
        1.  
          Testing volumes for FlashSnap
      7. About VVR
        1.  
          VVR volume replication configuration
        2.  
          VVR name registration
        3.  
          Primary and secondary disk group and volume names for VVR
        4.  
          Testing the replication setup with VVR
      8.  
        About NAS_Snapshot
      9. About VSS
        1.  
          Disk array reconfiguration steps
        2.  
          Configuration and testing of volumes with VSS
        3.  
          Notes and restrictions on VSS
  8. Support for Cluster Volume Manager Environments (CVM)
    1.  
      About support for CVM environments
    2.  
      Note on NetBackup and CVM
    3.  
      About enabling VxVM or FlashSnap snapshots in a CVM environment
    4.  
      About enabling the NetBackup client to execute VxVM commands on the CVM master node
  9. Configuration of snapshot methods for disk arrays
    1. OS-specific configuration tasks
      1.  
        About dynamic multi-pathing
      2. HBA configuration
        1.  
          HBA persistent target bindings
      3.  
        Verifying NetBackup client access, zoning, and LUN masking
    2. About IBM DS6000 and DS8000 arrays
      1.  
        IBM DS6000 and DS8000 software requirements
      2.  
        Preconfiguration for IBM arrays
      3. Configuring NetBackup to access the IBM DS6000 or DS8000 array
        1.  
          Configuring array access for NetBackup hosts not named in a policy
      4.  
        Configuring the IBM array for NetBackup
      5.  
        Using DSCLI commands to obtain unique IBM identifiers
      6.  
        Configuring a NetBackup policy for IBM_DiskStorage_FlashCopy
      7.  
        For further reference on IBM arrays
    3. About IBM DS4000 array
      1.  
        Array preconfiguration tasks
      2.  
        IBM 4000 software requirements
      3.  
        Verifying NetBackup client access, zoning, and LUN masking
      4.  
        Configuring NetBackup to access the IBM DS4000 array
      5.  
        Configuring the IBM 4000 array for NetBackup
      6.  
        Configuring a NetBackup policy for IBM_StorageManager_FlashCopy
    4. About Hitachi SMS/WMS/AMS, USP/NSC, USP-V/VM
      1. Hitachi array software requirements
        1.  
          Determining the current RAID Manager version
      2.  
        Preconfiguration for Hitachi
      3.  
        About communication between NetBackup and the Hitachi array
      4.  
        Determining if the Hitachi command devices are visible
      5.  
        About configuring the Hitachi array for NetBackup
      6.  
        Obtaining the Hitachi array serial number and the unique device identifiers
      7.  
        Configuring a NetBackup policy for Hitachi_ShadowImage or Hitachi_CopyOnWrite
    5. About HP-XP arrays
      1.  
        HP-XP array software requirements
      2.  
        Preconfiguration for HP-XP
      3.  
        About communication between NetBackup and the HP-XP array
      4.  
        Determining if the HP-XP command devices are visible
      5.  
        About configuring the HP-XP array for NetBackup
      6.  
        Obtaining the array serial number and unique HP-XP identifiers
      7.  
        Configuring a NetBackup policy for HP_XP_BusinessCopy and HP_XP_Snapshot
    6. About array troubleshooting
      1. Troubleshooting issues pertaining to all arrays
        1.  
          Troubleshooting Solaris issues
        2.  
          Troubleshooting host OS type specification
      2.  
        Troubleshooting NetBackup and EMC CLARiiON arrays
      3.  
        Troubleshooting NetBackup and EMC Symmetrix arrays
      4.  
        Troubleshooting NetBackup and HP EVA arrays
      5. Troubleshooting IBM DS6000 and DS8000 arrays
        1.  
          Snapshot errors with IBM DS6000 and DS8000 arrays (NetBackup status code 156)
      6. Troubleshooting IBM4000 arrays
        1.  
          Snapshot errors encountered with IBM4000 arrays (NetBackup status code 156)
        2.  
          For further reference on IBM System Storage DS4000
      7. Troubleshooting Hitachi arrays
        1.  
          NetBackup policy validation fails with Hitachi arrays
        2.  
          Backup or restore or image expiration fails with Hitachi arrays
  10. Notes on Media Server and Third-Party Copy methods
    1.  
      Disk requirements for Media Server and Third-Party Copy methods
    2.  
      Directives for Media Server and Third-Party Copy methods
    3.  
      Storage units for Media Server and Third-Party Copy methods
    4.  
      Preventing multiplexing on a third-party copy backup
    5.  
      Raw partition backups
    6.  
      Increasing the client read timeout for all clients
    7.  
      Further information on off-host data mover backups
  11. Backup and restore procedures
    1.  
      About performing a backup
    2.  
      About performing a restore
    3. Instant Recovery restore features
      1. About Instant Recovery: point in time rollback
        1.  
          Notes on rollback
        2.  
          Performing snapshot rollback
    4.  
      Notes for restoring individual files from an Instant Recovery snapshot
    5. About configurations for restore
      1.  
        About restoring over the LAN
      2.  
        About restoring over the SAN to a host acting as both client server and media server
      3.  
        About restoring directly from a snapshot
    6. About restoring from a disk snapshot
      1. About restoring on UNIX
        1.  
          Restoring individual files on UNIX
        2.  
          Restoring the entire snapshot on UNIX
      2. About restoring on Windows
        1.  
          Restoring individual files on Windows
        2.  
          Restoring the entire snapshot on Windows
  12. Snapshot management
    1.  
      About NetBackup and CloudPoint integration for snapshot management
    2.  
      Troubleshooting and NetBackup integration issues
  13. Troubleshooting
    1.  
      About gathering information and checking logs
    2. Logging directories for UNIX platforms
      1.  
        UNIX logging directories for backup
      2.  
        UNIX logging directories for restore
      3.  
        snapctl driver messages
    3. Logging folders for Windows platforms
      1.  
        Windows logging folders for backup
      2.  
        Windows logging folders for restore
      3.  
        Configuring VxMS logging
    4.  
      Customer support contact information
    5.  
      Latest patches and updates
    6.  
      Snapshot provider information
    7.  
      Important notes on &newProductName;
    8.  
      &newProductName; installation problems
    9. FlashBackup and status code 13
      1.  
        The FlashBackup cache partition may have run out of space
      2.  
        Removing stale snapshots (Solaris)
    10.  
      Single file restore from a FlashBackup Instant Recovery snapshot of a file protected by Windows VSS writer fails
    11.  
      Identifying and removing a left-over snapshot
    12.  
      Removing a VxVM volume clone
    13.  
      Alternate client restore and backup from a snapshot fails
    14.  
      Restore from a snapshot fails with status 2800
    15.  
      Raw Partition restore fails with the message 'FlashBackup-Windows policy restore error'
    16.  
      Snapshot creation fails with error 156
    17.  
      Snapshot fails with error 20
    18.  
      Restore from a snapshot fails with status 133
    19.  
      Backup from snapshot fails with error 50
    20.  
      Backup from snapshot parent job fails with error 4213: Snapshot import failed
    21.  
      Snapshot job fails and the snapshot command does not recognize the volume name
    22.  
      Snapshot creation fails with error 4220
    23.  
      Snapshot creation fails when the same volume is mounted on multiple mount points of the same host
    24.  
      Snapshot-based backup and restore failure
    25.  
      Multiple snapshot jobs fail with code 156 or 1541.
    26.  
      FlashBackup policy fails, with multiple backup selections [Cache =]
    27.  
      Partial backup failure with 'Snapshot encountered error 156'
    28.  
      Backup of file system validation fails with error 223
    29.  
      Policy validation fails if the specified CIFS share path contains a forward slash
    30.  
      Policy validation fails with status code 223
    31.  
      An NDMP snapshot policy for wildcard backup fails with error 4201
    32.  
      Troubleshooting with bpfis log
    33.  
      Limitations of using HP-UX 11.31
    34.  
      While configuring a policy for snapshot operations, the NetBackup Administration Console hangs
    35.  
      Accelerator enabled incremental backup of NetApp NAS volume
    36.  
      Snapshot method: Auto
  14. Appendix A. Managing nbu_snap (Solaris)
    1. About managing nbu_snap
      1.  
        Cache for nbu_snap
      2.  
        About determining cache size
      3.  
        About terminating nbu_snap
      4. nbu_snap commands
        1.  
          snapon command
        2.  
          snaplist command
        3.  
          snapcachelist command
        4.  
          snapstat command
        5.  
          snapoff command
  15. Appendix B. Overview of snapshot operations
    1.  
      Introduction to snapshot operations
    2.  
      Pre and post snapshot creation operations
    3.  
      About quiescing the system
    4.  
      About quiescing the database application
    5.  
      About quiescing the stack
    6.  
      File system quiesce
    7.  
      Volume manager data caching
    8.  
      How copy-on-write works
  16.  
    Index

Identifying and removing a left-over snapshot

NetBackup ordinarily removes snapshots after the &newProductName; backup completes, unless the Keep snapshot after backup parameter was set to Yes. However, as a result of some system failures, such as a system crash or abnormal backup termination, the snapshot may not be removed.

To identify and remove a left-over snapshot

  1. Use the bpfis command with the query option to list the current snapshots. Enter the following on the client or alternate client, depending on the type of backup:
       /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bpfis query

    This command returns the IDs (FIS IDs) of all current snapshots. For example:

    INF - BACKUP START 3629
    INF - FIS IDs: 1036458302
    INF - EXIT STATUS 0: the requested operation was successfully 
    completed

    In this example, the snapshot ID is 1036458302.

  2. If the bpfis output shows the ID of the snapshot, delete it as follows:
       bpfis delete -id snapshot_id
    

    If bpfis removed the snapshot, you can skip the rest of this procedure.

  3. Solaris, HP, AIX, Linux: if bpfis could not remove the snapshot, enter the following (on the client or alternate client) when no backups are running:
       df -k

    This command displays all mounted file systems, including any snapshots of a mounted file system.

    If a snapshot backup is currently running, the snapshot should not be deleted. NetBackup deletes it when the backup completes.

    Here are two snapshots from a df -k listing:

    /dev/dsk/c1t3d2s4  1048800  73076  914742  8%  /tmp/_vrts_frzn_img__wil_vxfs_1299000
    /dev/vx/dsk/clone_qes_clone/ufs 38383 21678  12867  63%  /tmp/_vrts_frzn_img
    __mix_ufs_1299000

    The snapshot appears in the following form:

    /tmp/_vrts_frzn_img__filesystemname_pid
    
  4. Solaris, HP, AIX, Linux: unmount the unneeded snapshot file systems (on the client or alternate client, depending on the type of backup).

    The next step depends on the type of snapshot.

  5. For nbu_snap (Solaris only):

    • Enter the following to display leftover snaps:

         /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/driver/snaplist
    • To remove a leftover snap, enter

         /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/driver/snapoff snap1 ... snapn
      

      More information is available on snaplist and snapoff.

      See About managing nbu_snap.

  6. For VxVM (Solaris, HP, AIX, Linux) and VVR (Solaris and HP):

    Do the following on the client for VxVM, and on the alternate client for VVR:

    • Enter the following to display unsynchronized mirror disks:

         vxprint -g diskgroup
      
    • Enter the following to resynchronize the mirror disks:

         vxassist -g diskgroup -v volume snapback
  7. For VxVM (Windows):

    • Enter the following to display unsynchronized mirror disks:

          vxdg -g diskgroup dginfo
    • Enter the following to resynchronize the mirror disks:

      vxassist snapback \Device\HarddiskDmVolumes\diskgroup\snap_volume
      
  8. For VxFS_Checkpoint (Solaris, HP, AIX, Linux):

    • Enter the following VxFS command to display the name of the checkpoint:

         /usr/lib/fs/vxfs/fsckptadm list /file_system
      

      Note:

      file_system is the mount point of the primary file system that was backed up, NOT the snapshot file system that was unmounted in a previous step.

      For example, if the snapshot file system that was unmounted is the following:

         /tmp/_vrts_frzn_img__vm2_1765

      the original file system, which should be specified on the fsckptadm list command, is the following:

         /vm2

      Example entry:

         /usr/lib/fs/vxfs/fsckptadm list /vm2

      Output:

      /vm2
      NBU+2004.04.02.10h53m22s:
          ctime                =  Fri Apr 02 10:53:23 2004
          mtime                =  Fri Apr 02 10:53:23 2004
          flags                =  removable

      In this example, the name of the checkpoint is NBU+2004.04.02.10h53m22s.

    • Remove the checkpoint by entering the following:

      /usr/lib/fs/vxfs/fsckptadm remove name_of_checkpoint /file_system
      

      For example:

      /usr/lib/fs/vxfs/fsckptadm remove NBU+2004.04.02.10h53m22s /vm2
    • If the checkpoint cannot be removed, unmount it (umount) and retry the following:

      /usr/lib/fs/vxfs/fsckptadm remove name_of_checkpoint /file_system
      
    • For more detail on removing VxFS clones, refer to the recommended actions for NetBackup status code 156 in the NetBackup Troubleshooting Guide.

  9. For TimeFinder, ShadowImage, BusinessCopy (Solaris or HP only):

    Do the following on the client or alternate client, depending on the type of backup:

    • To discover and remove any VxVM clones:

      See Removing a VxVM volume clone.

    • Enter the following to resynchronize the mirror disks:

      For EMC arrays (TimeFinder):

         symmir -g device_group establish LdevName

      where LdevName is the logical device name of the standard device. For Hitachi and HP arrays (ShadowImage, BusinessCopy):

         pairresync -g groupname -d dev_name

      For more information about EMC, Hitachi, and HP arrays and resynchronizing disks, see the NetBackup Snapshot Client Configuration document:

      http://www.veritas.com/docs/000081320

  10. For VxFS_Snapshot (Solaris or HP only):

    Using the mounted file system from a previous step, unmount the snapshot as follows:

       umount -F vxfs /tmp/_vrts_frzn_img__filesystemname_pid
  11. For FlashSnap (Solaris, HP, AIX, Linux):

    Do the following on the client or alternate client, depending on the type of backup:

    • Find the VxVM disk group:

         vxdg list
    • The format of the disk group name is as follows:

         SPLIT-primaryhost_diskgroup
      

      If vxdg list does not show the disk group, the group might have been deported. You can discover all the disk groups, including deported ones, by entering:

         vxdisk -o alldgs list

      The disk groups in parentheses are not imported on the local system.

    • Deport the VxVM disk group:

         vxdg deport SPLIT-primaryhost_diskgroup
      
    • On the primary (original) client, import and join the VxVM disk group:

         vxdg import SPLIT-primaryhost_diskgroup
          vxrecover -g SPLIT-primaryhost_diskgroup -m
          vxdg join SPLIT-primaryhost_diskgroup diskgroup
      
    • On the primary (original) client, start the volume and snap back the snapshot volume:

      vxvol -g SPLIT-primaryhost_diskgroup start SNAP-diskgroup_volume
      vxassist snapback SNAP-diskgroup_volume
      

      Example:

      In this example, chime is the primary client and rico is the alternate client. 1hddg is the name of the original disk group on chime.

      chime_lhddg is the split group that was imported on rico and must be rejoined to the original group on the primary chime.

      On alternate client rico, enter:

      vxdg deport chime_lhddg

      On primary client chime, enter:

      vxdg import chime_lhddg
      vxrecover -g chime_lhddg -m
      vxdg join chime_lhddg lhddg
      vxvol start SNAP-lhddg-vol01
      vxassist snapback SNAP-lhddg-vol01
  12. For FlashSnap (Windows):

    • Find the VxVM disk group:

         vxdg list
    • The format of the disk group name is as follows:

         SPLIT-primaryhost_diskgroup
      
    • Deport the VxVM disk group:

         vxdg -g split_diskgroup deport
    • On the primary (original) client, import and join the VxVM disk group:

         vxassist rescan
          vxdg -g split_diskgroup import
          vxdg -g split_diskgroup -n diskgroup join
    • On the primary (original) client, snap back the snapshot volume:

      vxassist snapback \Device\HarddiskDmVolumes\diskgroup\snap_volume