Veritas NetBackup™ Deduplication Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup (8.1)
  1. Introducing the NetBackup media server deduplication option
    1.  
      About the NetBackup deduplication options
    2.  
      New MSDP features in NetBackup 8.1
  2. Planning your deployment
    1.  
      Planning your MSDP deployment
    2.  
      NetBackup naming conventions
    3.  
      About MSDP deduplication nodes
    4.  
      About the NetBackup deduplication destinations
    5.  
      About MSDP storage capacity
    6. About MSDP storage and connectivity requirements
      1.  
        Fibre Channel and iSCSI comparison for MSDP
    7. About NetBackup media server deduplication
      1.  
        About MSDP storage servers
      2.  
        About MSDP load balancing servers
      3.  
        About MSDP server requirements
      4.  
        About MSDP unsupported configurations
    8. About NetBackup Client Direct deduplication
      1.  
        About MSDP client deduplication requirements and limitations
    9. About MSDP remote office client deduplication
      1.  
        About MSDP remote client data security
      2.  
        About remote client backup scheduling
    10.  
      About the NetBackup Deduplication Engine credentials
    11.  
      About the network interface for MSDP
    12.  
      About MSDP port usage
    13.  
      About MSDP optimized synthetic backups
    14.  
      About MSDP and SAN Client
    15.  
      About MSDP optimized duplication and replication
    16. About MSDP performance
      1.  
        How file size may affect the MSDP deduplication rate
    17.  
      About MSDP stream handlers
    18. MSDP deployment best practices
      1.  
        Use fully qualified domain names
      2.  
        About scaling MSDP
      3.  
        Send initial full backups to the storage server
      4.  
        Increase the number of MSDP jobs gradually
      5.  
        Introduce MSDP load balancing servers gradually
      6.  
        Implement MSDP client deduplication gradually
      7.  
        Use MSDP compression and encryption
      8.  
        About the optimal number of backup streams for MSDP
      9.  
        About storage unit groups for MSDP
      10.  
        About protecting the MSDP data
      11.  
        Save the MSDP storage server configuration
      12.  
        Plan for disk write caching
  3. Provisioning the storage
    1.  
      About provisioning the storage for MSDP
    2.  
      Do not modify MSDP storage directories and files
    3.  
      About adding additional MSDP storage
    4.  
      About volume management for NetBackup MSDP
  4. Licensing deduplication
    1.  
      About the MSDP license
    2.  
      Licensing NetBackup MSDP
  5. Configuring deduplication
    1.  
      Configuring MSDP server-side deduplication
    2.  
      Configuring MSDP client-side deduplication
    3.  
      About the MSDP Deduplication Multi-Threaded Agent
    4. Configuring the Deduplication Multi-Threaded Agent behavior
      1.  
        MSDP mtstrm.conf file parameters
    5.  
      Configuring deduplication plug-in interaction with the Multi-Threaded Agent
    6.  
      About MSDP fingerprinting
    7.  
      About the MSDP fingerprint cache
    8. Configuring the MSDP fingerprint cache behavior
      1.  
        MSDP fingerprint cache behavior options
    9.  
      About seeding the MSDP fingerprint cache for remote client deduplication
    10.  
      Configuring MSDP fingerprint cache seeding on the client
    11. Configuring MSDP fingerprint cache seeding on the storage server
      1.  
        NetBackup seedutil options
    12.  
      Enabling 96-TB support for MSDP
    13. Configuring a storage server for a Media Server Deduplication Pool
      1.  
        MSDP storage path properties
      2.  
        MSDP network interface properties
    14.  
      Configuring a storage server for a PureDisk Deduplication Pool
    15.  
      About disk pools for NetBackup deduplication
    16. Configuring a disk pool for deduplication
      1.  
        Media Server Deduplication Pool properties
    17.  
      Creating the data directories for 96-TB MSDP support
    18.  
      Adding volumes to a 96-TB Media Server Deduplication Pool
    19. Configuring a Media Server Deduplication Pool storage unit
      1.  
        Media Server Deduplication Pool storage unit properties
      2.  
        MSDP storage unit recommendations
    20.  
      Configuring client attributes for MSDP client-side deduplication
    21.  
      Disabling MSDP client-side deduplication for a client
    22.  
      About MSDP compression
    23.  
      About MSDP encryption
    24.  
      MSDP compression and encryption settings matrix
    25.  
      Configuring encryption for MSDP backups
    26.  
      Configuring encryption for MSDP optimized duplication and replication
    27.  
      About the rolling data conversion mechanism for MSDP
    28.  
      Modes of rolling data conversion
    29.  
      MSDP encryption behavior and compatibilities
    30.  
      Configuring optimized synthetic backups for MSDP
    31.  
      About a separate network path for MSDP duplication and replication
    32.  
      Configuring a separate network path for MSDP duplication and replication
    33. About MSDP optimized duplication within the same domain
      1. About the media servers for MSDP optimized duplication within the same domain
        1.  
          About MSDP push duplication within the same domain
        2.  
          About MSDP pull duplication within the same domain
    34. Configuring MSDP optimized duplication within the same NetBackup domain
      1. Configuring NetBackup optimized duplication or replication behavior
        1.  
          Setting NetBackup configuration options by using the command line
    35.  
      About MSDP replication to a different domain
    36. Configuring MSDP replication to a different NetBackup domain
      1. About NetBackup Auto Image Replication
        1.  
          One-to-many Auto Image Replication model
        2.  
          Cascading Auto Image Replication model
        3.  
          About the domain relationship for replication
        4.  
          About the replication topology for Auto Image Replication
        5. Viewing the replication topology for Auto Image Replication
          1.  
            Sample volume properties output for MSDP replication
      2.  
        About trusted master servers for Auto Image Replication
      3.  
        Adding a trusted master server
      4.  
        Removing a trusted master server
      5.  
        Enabling NetBackup clustered master server inter-node authentication
      6. Configuring a target for MSDP replication to a remote domain
        1.  
          Target options for MSDP replication
    37.  
      About configuring MSDP optimized duplication and replication bandwidth
    38.  
      About storage lifecycle policies
    39.  
      About the storage lifecycle policies required for Auto Image Replication
    40. Creating a storage lifecycle policy
      1.  
        Storage Lifecycle Policy dialog box settings
    41.  
      About MSDP backup policy configuration
    42.  
      Creating a backup policy
    43. Resilient Network properties
      1.  
        Resilient connection resource usage
    44.  
      Specifying resilient connections
    45.  
      Adding an MSDP load balancing server
    46.  
      About the MSDP pd.conf configuration file
    47. Editing the MSDP pd.conf file
      1.  
        MSDP pd.conf file parameters
    48.  
      About the MSDP contentrouter.cfg file
    49.  
      About saving the MSDP storage server configuration
    50.  
      Saving the MSDP storage server configuration
    51.  
      Editing an MSDP storage server configuration file
    52.  
      Setting the MSDP storage server configuration
    53.  
      About the MSDP host configuration file
    54.  
      Deleting an MSDP host configuration file
    55.  
      Resetting the MSDP registry
    56. About protecting the MSDP catalog
      1.  
        About the MSDP shadow catalog
      2.  
        About the MSDP catalog backup policy
    57.  
      Changing the MSDP shadow catalog path
    58.  
      Changing the MSDP shadow catalog schedule
    59.  
      Changing the number of MSDP catalog shadow copies
    60. Configuring an MSDP catalog backup
      1.  
        MSDP drcontrol options
    61.  
      Updating an MSDP catalog backup policy
  6. Configuring deduplication to the cloud with NetBackup CloudCatalyst
    1. Using NetBackup CloudCatalyst to upload deduplicated data to the cloud
      1. Optimized duplication is used to copy data from an MSDP storage server to a CloudCatalyst storage server (preferred use case)
        1.  
          MSDP storage servers fan-in to a single CloudCatalyst storage server
      2.  
        Backups go directly to a CloudCatalyst storage server
    2.  
      CloudCatalyst requirements and limitations
    3.  
      Configuring a Linux media server as a CloudCatalyst storage server
    4. Configuring a CloudCatalyst storage server for deduplication to the cloud
      1.  
        How to configure a NetBackup CloudCatalyst Appliance
      2.  
        How to configure a Linux media server as a CloudCatalyst storage server
      3.  
        Configuring a CloudCatalyst storage server as the target for the deduplications from MSDP storage servers
      4.  
        Configuring a storage lifecycle policy for NetBackup CloudCatalyst
    5.  
      About the CloudCatalyst esfs.json configuration file
    6.  
      About the CloudCatalyst cache
    7.  
      Controlling data traffic to the cloud when using CloudCatalyst
    8.  
      Configuring push or pull optimized duplication for CloudCatalyst
    9.  
      Decommissioning CloudCatalyst cloud storage
    10.  
      NetBackup CloudCatalyst workflow processes
    11.  
      Disaster Recovery for CloudCatalyst
  7. Monitoring deduplication activity
    1.  
      Monitoring the MSDP deduplication rate
    2. Viewing MSDP job details
      1.  
        MSDP job details
    3.  
      About MSDP storage capacity and usage reporting
    4.  
      About MSDP container files
    5.  
      Viewing storage usage within MSDP container files
    6.  
      Viewing MSDP disk reports
    7.  
      About monitoring MSDP processes
    8.  
      Reporting on Auto Image Replication jobs
  8. Managing deduplication
    1. Managing MSDP servers
      1.  
        Viewing MSDP storage servers
      2.  
        Determining the MSDP storage server state
      3.  
        Viewing MSDP storage server attributes
      4.  
        Setting MSDP storage server attributes
      5.  
        Changing MSDP storage server properties
      6.  
        Clearing MSDP storage server attributes
      7.  
        About changing the MSDP storage server name or storage path
      8.  
        Changing the MSDP storage server name or storage path
      9.  
        Removing an MSDP load balancing server
      10.  
        Deleting an MSDP storage server
      11.  
        Deleting the MSDP storage server configuration
    2. Managing NetBackup Deduplication Engine credentials
      1.  
        Determining which media servers have deduplication credentials
      2.  
        Adding NetBackup Deduplication Engine credentials
      3.  
        Changing NetBackup Deduplication Engine credentials
      4.  
        Deleting credentials from a load balancing server
    3. Managing Media Server Deduplication Pools
      1.  
        Viewing Media Server Deduplication Pools
      2.  
        Determining the Media Server Deduplication Pool state
      3.  
        Changing Media Server Deduplication Pool state
      4.  
        Viewing Media Server Deduplication Pool attributes
      5.  
        Setting a Media Server Deduplication Pool attribute
      6. Changing a Media Server Deduplication Pool properties
        1.  
          How to resolve volume changes for Auto Image Replication
      7.  
        Clearing a Media Server Deduplication Pool attribute
      8.  
        Determining the MSDP disk volume state
      9.  
        Changing the MSDP disk volume state
      10.  
        Inventorying a NetBackup disk pool
      11.  
        Deleting a Media Server Deduplication Pool
    4.  
      Deleting backup images
    5.  
      About MSDP queue processing
    6.  
      Processing the MSDP transaction queue manually
    7.  
      About MSDP data integrity checking
    8. Configuring MSDP data integrity checking behavior
      1.  
        MSDP data integrity checking configuration parameters
    9.  
      About managing MSDP storage read performance
    10. About MSDP storage rebasing
      1.  
        MSDP server-side rebasing parameters
    11.  
      About the MSDP data removal process
    12.  
      Resizing the MSDP storage partition
    13.  
      How MSDP restores work
    14.  
      Configuring MSDP restores directly to a client
    15.  
      About restoring files at a remote site
    16.  
      About restoring from a backup at a target master domain
    17.  
      Specifying the restore server
  9. Recovering MSDP
    1.  
      About recovering the MSDP catalog
    2.  
      Restoring the MSDP catalog from a shadow copy
    3.  
      Recovering from an MSDP storage server disk failure
    4.  
      Recovering from an MSDP storage server failure
    5.  
      Recovering the MSDP storage server after NetBackup catalog recovery
  10. Replacing MSDP hosts
    1.  
      Replacing the MSDP storage server host computer
  11. Uninstalling MSDP
    1.  
      About uninstalling MSDP
    2.  
      Deactivating MSDP
  12. Deduplication architecture
    1.  
      MSDP server components
    2.  
      Media server deduplication backup process
    3.  
      MSDP client components
    4.  
      MSDP client - side deduplication backup process
  13. Troubleshooting
    1. About unified logging
      1.  
        About using the vxlogview command to view unified logs
      2.  
        Examples of using vxlogview to view unified logs
    2. About legacy logging
      1.  
        Creating NetBackup log file directories for MSDP
    3.  
      NetBackup MSDP log files
    4. Troubleshooting MSDP installation issues
      1.  
        MSDP installation on SUSE Linux fails
    5. Troubleshooting MSDP configuration issues
      1.  
        MSDP storage server configuration fails
      2.  
        MSDP database system error (220)
      3.  
        MSDP server not found error
      4.  
        License information failure during MSDP configuration
      5.  
        The disk pool wizard does not display an MSDP volume
    6. Troubleshooting MSDP operational issues
      1.  
        Verify that the MSDP server has sufficient memory
      2.  
        MSDP backup or duplication job fails
      3.  
        MSDP client deduplication fails
      4.  
        MSDP volume state changes to DOWN when volume is unmounted
      5.  
        MSDP errors, delayed response, hangs
      6.  
        Cannot delete an MSDP disk pool
      7.  
        MSDP media open error (83)
      8.  
        MSDP media write error (84)
      9.  
        MSDP no images successfully processed (191)
      10.  
        MSDP storage full conditions
      11.  
        Troubleshooting MSDP catalog backup
    7.  
      Viewing MSDP disk errors and events
    8.  
      MSDP event codes and messages
    9. Troubleshooting CloudCatalyst issues
      1. CloudCatalyst logs
        1.  
          Error messages in esfs_storage
        2.  
          Error messages in esfs_filesystem
      2. Problems encountered while using the Cloud Storage Server Configuration Wizard
        1.  
          Unable to select the desired media server
        2.  
          Unable to select the Deduplication option
        3. Storage Server Creation Status errors
          1.  
            Login credentials or certificate failed message
          2.  
            Failure to add credentials
      3. Disk pool problems
        1.  
          Disk pool creation problem due to timeout issue
        2.  
          One disk pool for each CloudCatalyst storage server
      4. Problems during cloud storage server configuration
        1.  
          Media server not available in Media Servers tab to add credentials
        2.  
          Add credentials failed message for media server
      5.  
        Status 191: No images were successfully processed
      6.  
        Media write error (84) if due to a full local cache directory
      7.  
        Restarting the vxesfsd process
      8.  
        Problems restarting vxesfsd
      9. CloudCatalyst troubleshooting tools
        1.  
          esfs_cleanup.sh script
        2.  
          esfs_check consistency checking tool
        3.  
          setlsu_ioctl tool
  14. Appendix A. Migrating to MSDP storage
    1.  
      Migrating from PureDisk to the NetBackup MSDP
    2.  
      Migrating from another storage type to MSDP

MSDP client - side deduplication backup process

The Figure: MSDP client backup to a deduplication pool diagram shows the backup process of a client that deduplicates its own data. The destination is a media server deduplication pool. A description follows.

Figure: MSDP client backup to a deduplication pool

MSDP client backup to a deduplication pool

The following list describes the backup process for an MSDP client to a Media Server Deduplication Pool:

  • The NetBackup Job Manager (nbjm) starts the Backup/Restore Manager (bpbrm) on a media server.

  • The Backup/Restore Manager probes the client to determine if it is configured and ready for deduplication.

  • If the client is ready, the Backup/Restore Manager starts the following processes: The OpenStorage proxy server (nbostpxy) on the client and the data moving processes (bpbkar) on the client and bptm on the media server).

    NetBackup uses the proxy plug-in on the media server to route control information from bptm to nbostpxy.

  • The Backup/Archive Manager (bpbkar) generates the backup images and moves them to the client nbostpxy process by shared memory.

    The Backup/Archive Manager also sends the information about files within the image to the Backup/Restore Manager (bpbrm). The Backup/Restore Manager sends the file information to the bpdbm process on the master server for the NetBackup database.

  • The client nbostpxy process moves the data to the deduplication plug-in.

  • The deduplication plug-in on the client tries to retrieve a list of fingerprints, in the following order:

    The list of fingerprints is used as a cache so the plug-in does not have to request each fingerprint from the engine.

    If no fingerprints are loaded into the cache, the deduplication rate may be very low for the backup.

  • The deduplication plug-in separates the files in the backup image into segments.

  • The deduplication plug-in buffers the segments and then sends batches of them to the Deduplication Multi-Threaded Agent. Multiple threads and shared memory are used for the data transfer.

  • The NetBackup Deduplication Multi-Threaded Agent processes the data segments in parallel using multiple threads to improve throughput performance. The agent then sends only the unique data segments to the NetBackupDeduplication Engine.

  • The NetBackup Deduplication Engine writes the data to the Media Server Deduplication Pool.

    The first backup may have a 0% deduplication rate, although a 0% deduplication rate is unlikely. Zero percent means that all file segments in the backup data are unique.

The Figure: MSDP deduplication client backup to a PureDisk storage pool diagram shows the backup process of a client that deduplicates its own data. The destination is a PureDisk storage pool. A description follows.

Note:

NetBackup supports PureDisk Deduplication Pool storage on NetBackup 5000 series appliances only.

Figure: MSDP deduplication client backup to a PureDisk storage pool

[PureDisk EOSL Sept 2014][PureDisk 5000 EOSL 01/20/2017]MSDP deduplication client backup to a PureDisk storage pool

The following list describes the backup process for an MSDP client to a PureDisk storage pool:

  • The NetBackup Job Manager (nbjm) starts the Backup/Restore Manager (bpbrm) on a media server.

  • The Backup / Restore Manager probes the client to determine if it is configured and ready for deduplication.

  • If the client is ready, the Backup/Restore Manager starts the following processes: The OpenStorage proxy server (nbostpxy) on the client and the data moving processes (bpbkar on the client and bptm on the media server).

    NetBackup uses the proxy plug-in on the media server to route control information from bptm to nbostpxy.

  • The Backup/Archive Manager (bpbkar) generates the backup images and moves them to the client nbostpxy process by shared memory.

    The Backup/Archive Manager also sends the information about files within the image to the Backup/Restore Manager (bpbrm). The Backup/Restore Manager sends the file information to the bpdbm process on the master server for the NetBackup database.

  • The client nbostpxy process moves the data to the deduplication plug-in.

  • The deduplication plug-in retrieves a list of fingerprints from the last full backup of the client. The list is used as a cache so the plug-in does not have to request each fingerprint from the engine.

  • The deduplication plug-in performs file fingerprint calculations.

  • The deduplication plug-in sends only unique data segments to the PureDisk storage pool.