Veritas NetBackup™ Deduplication Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup (8.1.2)
  1. Introducing the NetBackup media server deduplication option
    1.  
      About the NetBackup deduplication options
  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. About MSDP Encryption using KMS service
      1.  
        Upgrading KMS for MSDP
    14. Configuring a storage server for a Media Server Deduplication Pool
      1.  
        MSDP storage path properties
      2.  
        MSDP network interface properties
    15.  
      Configuring a storage server for a PureDisk Deduplication Pool
    16.  
      About disk pools for NetBackup deduplication
    17. Configuring a disk pool for deduplication
      1.  
        Media Server Deduplication Pool properties
    18.  
      Creating the data directories for 96-TB MSDP support
    19.  
      Adding volumes to a 96-TB Media Server Deduplication Pool
    20. Configuring a Media Server Deduplication Pool storage unit
      1.  
        Media Server Deduplication Pool storage unit properties
      2.  
        MSDP storage unit recommendations
    21.  
      Configuring client attributes for MSDP client-side deduplication
    22.  
      Disabling MSDP client-side deduplication for a client
    23.  
      About MSDP compression
    24.  
      About MSDP encryption
    25.  
      MSDP compression and encryption settings matrix
    26.  
      Configuring encryption for MSDP backups
    27.  
      Configuring encryption for MSDP optimized duplication and replication
    28.  
      About the rolling data conversion mechanism for MSDP
    29.  
      Modes of rolling data conversion
    30.  
      MSDP encryption behavior and compatibilities
    31.  
      Configuring optimized synthetic backups for MSDP
    32.  
      About a separate network path for MSDP duplication and replication
    33.  
      Configuring a separate network path for MSDP duplication and replication
    34. 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
    35. 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
    36.  
      About MSDP replication to a different domain
    37. 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.  
        About the certificate to be used for adding a trusted master server
      4.  
        Adding a trusted master server using NetBackup CA-signed (host ID-based) certificate
      5.  
        Adding a trusted master server using external CA-signed certificate
      6.  
        Removing a trusted master server
      7.  
        Enabling NetBackup clustered master server inter-node authentication
      8.  
        Configuring NetBackup CA and NetBackup host ID-based certificate for secure communication between the source and the target MSDP storage servers
      9.  
        Configuring external CA for secure communication between the source MSDP storage server and the target MSDP storage server
      10. Configuring a target for MSDP replication to a remote domain
        1.  
          Target options for MSDP replication
        2.  
          Configuring a NetBackup Deduplication Engine user with limited permissions for Auto Image Replication
    38.  
      About configuring MSDP optimized duplication and replication bandwidth
    39.  
      About storage lifecycle policies
    40.  
      About the storage lifecycle policies required for Auto Image Replication
    41. Creating a storage lifecycle policy
      1.  
        Storage Lifecycle Policy dialog box settings
    42.  
      About MSDP backup policy configuration
    43.  
      Creating a backup policy
    44. Resilient Network properties
      1.  
        Resilient connection resource usage
    45.  
      Specifying resilient connections
    46.  
      Adding an MSDP load balancing server
    47.  
      About variable-length deduplication on NetBackup clients
    48.  
      About the MSDP pd.conf configuration file
    49. Editing the MSDP pd.conf file
      1.  
        MSDP pd.conf file parameters
    50.  
      About the MSDP contentrouter.cfg file
    51.  
      About saving the MSDP storage server configuration
    52.  
      Saving the MSDP storage server configuration
    53.  
      Editing an MSDP storage server configuration file
    54.  
      Setting the MSDP storage server configuration
    55.  
      About the MSDP host configuration file
    56.  
      Deleting an MSDP host configuration file
    57.  
      Resetting the MSDP registry
    58. About protecting the MSDP catalog
      1.  
        About the MSDP shadow catalog
      2.  
        About the MSDP catalog backup policy
    59.  
      Changing the MSDP shadow catalog path
    60.  
      Changing the MSDP shadow catalog schedule
    61.  
      Changing the number of MSDP catalog shadow copies
    62. Configuring an MSDP catalog backup
      1.  
        MSDP drcontrol options
    63.  
      Updating an MSDP catalog backup policy
    64.  
      About MSDP FIPS compliance
  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.  
        Managing CloudCatalyst storage server with IAM Role or CREDS_CAPS credential broker type
      5.  
        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 source control or target control 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 and compression rates
    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_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.  
        Trouble restarting ESFS after the CloudCatalyst storage server is down
      8.  
        Restarting the vxesfsd process
      9.  
        Problems restarting vxesfsd
      10. CloudCatalyst troubleshooting tools
        1.  
          esfs_cleanup.sh script
        2.  
          esfs_check consistency checking tool
        3.  
          setlsu_ioctl tool
        4.  
          cred_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 pd.conf file parameters

Table: pd.conf file parameters describes the deduplication parameters that you can configure for a NetBackup Media Server Deduplication Pool environment.

The parameters in this table are in alphabetical order; the parameters in a pd.conf file may not be in alphabetical order.

The parameters in the file in your release may differ from those that are described in this topic.

You can edit the file to configure advanced settings for a host. If a parameter does not exist in a pd.conf file, you can add it. During upgrades, NetBackup adds only required parameters to existing pd.conf files.

The pd.conf file resides in the following directories:

  • (Windows) install_path\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\ost-plugins

  • (UNIX) /usr/openv/lib/ost-plugins/

Table: pd.conf file parameters

Parameter

Description

BACKUPRESTORERANGE

On a client, specifies the IP address or range of addresses that the local network interface card (NIC) should use for backups and restores.

Specify the value in one of two ways, as follows:

  • Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) format. For example, the following notation specifies 192.168.10.0 and 192.168.10.1 for traffic:

    BACKUPRESTORERANGE = 192.168.10.1/31

  • Comma-separated list of IP addresses. For example, the following notation specifies 192.168.10.1 and 192.168.10.2 for traffic:

    BACKUPRESTORERANGE = 192.168.10.1, 192.168.10.2

Default value: BACKUPRESTORERANGE= (no default value)

Possible values: Classless Inter-Domain Routing format notation or comma-separated list of IP addresses

BANDWIDTH_LIMIT

Determines the maximum bandwidth that is allowed when backing up or restoring data between the deduplication host and the deduplication pool. The value is specified in KBytes/second. The default is no limit.

Default value: BANDWIDTH_LIMIT = 0

Possible values: 0 (no limit) to the practical system limit, in KBs/sec

COMPRESSION

Specifies whether to compress the data during backups.

By default, the data is compressed.

Default value: COMPRESSION = 1

Possible values: 0 (off) or 1 (on)

See About MSDP compression.

CR_STATS_TIMER

Specifies a time interval in seconds for retrieving statistics from the storage server host. The default value of 0 disables caching and retrieves statistics on demand.

Consider the following information before you change this setting:

  • If disabled (set to 0), a request for the latest storage capacity information occurs whenever NetBackup requests it.

  • If you specify a value, a request occurs only after the specified number of seconds since the last request. Otherwise, a cached value from the previous request is used.

  • Enabling this setting may reduce the queries to the storage server. The drawback is the capacity information reported by NetBackup becomes stale. Therefore, if storage capacity is close to full, Veritas recommends that you do not enable this option.

  • On high load systems, the load may delay the capacity information reporting. If so, NetBackup may mark the storage unit as down.

Default value: CR_STATS_TIMER = 0

Possible values: 0 or greater, in seconds

DEBUGLOG

Specifies the file to which NetBackup writes the deduplication plug-in log information. NetBackup prepends a date stamp to each day's log file.

On Windows, a partition identifier and slash must precede the file name. On UNIX, a slash must precede the file name.

Note:

This parameter does not apply for NDMP backups from a NetApp appliance.

Default value:

  • UNIX: DEBUGLOG = /var/log/puredisk/pdplugin.log

  • Windows: DEBUGLOG = C:\pdplugin.log

Possible values: Any path

DISABLE_BACKLEVEL_TLS

When secure communication is established between the client and the server, this parameter specifies whether or not to disable older TLS versions. NetBackup version 8.0 and earlier use older TLS versions such as SSLV2, SSLV3, TLS 1.0, and TLS 1.1.

To enable TLS 1.2, change the value of the DISABLE_BACKLEVEL_TLS parameter to 1 and restart the NetBackup Deduplication Engine (spoold) and the NetBackup Deduplication Manager (spad).

Default value: DISABLE_BACKLEVEL_TLS = 0

Possible values: 0 (off) or 1 (on)

Note:

To enable TLS 1.2, NetBackup version must be 8.1 and later. When TLS 1.2 is enabled (DISABLE_BACKLEVEL_TLS = 1) on a machine (which can be a client or a media server or a load balance server), to establish communication, all machines connected to it must also enable TLS 1.2.

For a standard backup, NetBackup client version 8.0 and earlier can communicate with NetBackup server (media server or load balance server) version 8.1 that has TLS 1.2 enabled.

However, in case of optimized duplication and replication, load balance, and client direct duplication, NetBackup client versions 8.0 and earlier cannot communicate with NetBackup server (media server or load balance server) version 8.1, which has TLS 1.2 enabled.

Further, NetBackup 5000 series appliance does not support TLS 1.2.

DONT_SEGMENT_TYPES

A comma-separated list of file name extensions of files not to be deduplicated. Files in the backup stream that have the specified extensions are given a single segment if smaller than 16 MB. Larger files are deduplicated using the maximum 16-MB segment size.

Example: DONT_SEGMENT_TYPES = mp3,avi

This setting prevents NetBackup from analyzing and managing segments within the file types that do not deduplicate globally. Note: this parameter does not apply to the NDMP backups that use the NetApp stream handler.

Default value: DONT_SEGMENT_TYPES = (no default value)

Possible values: comma-separated file extensions

ENCRYPTION

Specifies whether to encrypt the data during backups. By default, files are not encrypted.

If you set this parameter to 1 on all hosts, the data is encrypted during transfer and on the storage.

Default value: ENCRYPTION = 0

Possible values: 0 (no encryption) or 1 (encryption)

See About MSDP encryption.

FIBRECHANNEL

Enable Fibre Channel for backup and restore traffic to and from a NetBackup series appliance.

Default value: FIBRECHANNEL = 0

Possible values: 0 (off) or 1 (on)

FILE_KEEP_ALIVE_INTERVAL

The interval in seconds at which to perform keepalives on idle sockets.

The following items describe the behavior based on how you configure this parameter:

  • Commented out (default) and Resilient Network connections are enabled: If the value is less than 75 seconds, the keep alive interval is 60 seconds. If the value is greater than 1800 seconds (30 minutes), the keep alive interval is 1440 seconds (80% of 30 minutes). If the value is between 75 and 1800 sections, the keep-alive interval is 80% of the parameter value.

    See Resilient Network properties.

  • Commented out (the default) and Resilient Network connections are not enabled: The keep-alive interval is 1440 seconds (80% of 30 minutes).

  • 0 or less: Disabled; no keepalives are sent.

  • Greater than 0: The keep-alive interval is the specified value in seconds except as follows: If less than 60 seconds or greater than 7200 seconds (two hours), the keep-alive interval is 1440 seconds (80% of 30 minutes).

Default value : FILE_KEEP_ALIVE_INTERVAL = 1440

Possible values: 0 (disabled) or 60 to 7200 seconds

To determine the keep alive interval that NetBackup uses, examine the deduplication plug-in log file for a message similar to the following:

Using keepalive interval of xxxx seconds

For more information about the deduplication plug-in log file, see DEBUGLOG and LOGLEVEL in this table.

FP_CACHE_CLIENT_POLICY

Note:

Veritas recommends that you use this setting on the individual clients that back up their own data (client-side deduplication). If you use it on a storage server or load balancing server, it affects all backup jobs.

Specifies the client, backup policy, and date from which to obtain the fingerprint cache for the first backup of a client.

By default, the fingerprints from the previous backup are loaded. This parameter lets you load the fingerprint cache from another, similar backup. It can reduce the amount of time that is required for the first backup of a client. This parameter especially useful for remote office backups to a central datacenter in which data travels long distances over a WAN.

Specify the setting in the following format:

clienthostmachine,backuppolicy,date

The date is the last date in mm/dd/yyyy format to use the fingerprint cache from the client you specify.

Default value: FP_CACHE_CLIENT_POLICY = (no default value)

See Configuring MSDP fingerprint cache seeding on the client.

FP_CACHE_INCREMENTAL

Specifies whether to use fingerprint caching for incremental backups.

Because incremental backups only back up what has changed since the last backup, cache loading has little affect on backup performance for incremental backups.

Default value: FP_CACHE_INCREMENTAL = 0

Possible values: 0 (off) or 1 (on)

Note:

Change this value only when directed to do so by a Veritas representative.

FP_CACHE_LOCAL

Specifies whether or not to use the fingerprint cache for the backup jobs that are deduplicated on the storage server. This parameter does not apply to load balancing servers or to clients that deduplicate their own data.

When the deduplication job is on the same host as the NetBackup Deduplication Engine, disabling the fingerprint cache improves performance.

Default value: FP_CACHE_LOCAL = 1

Possible values: 0 (off) or 1 (on)

FP_CACHE_MAX_COUNT

Specifies the maximum number of images to load in the fingerprint cache.

Default value: FP_CACHE_MAX_COUNT = 1024

Possible values: 0 to 4096

Note:

Change this value only when directed to do so by a Veritas representative.

FP_CACHE_MAX_MBSIZE

Specifies the amount of memory in MBs to use for the fingerprint cache.

Default value: FP_CACHE_MAX_MBSIZE = 20

Possible values: 0 to the computer limit

Note:

Change this value only when directed to do so by a Veritas representative.

FP_CACHE_PERIOD_REBASING_THRESHOLD

Specifies the threshold (MB) for periodic rebasing during backups. A container is considered for rebasing if both of the following are true:

  • The container has not been rebased within the last three months.

  • For that backup, the data segments in the container consume less space than the FP_CACHE_PERIOD_REBASING_THRESHOLD value.

Default value: FP_CACHE_PERIOD_REBASING_THRESHOLD = 16

Possible values: 0 (disabled) to 256

See About MSDP storage rebasing.

FP_CACHE_REBASING_THRESHOLD

Specifies the threshold (MB) for normal rebasing during backups. A container is considered for rebasing if both of the following are true:

  • The container has been rebased within the last three months.

  • For that backup, the data segments in the container consume less space than the FP_CACHE_REBASING_THRESHOLD value.

Default value:FP_CACHE_REBASING_THRESHOLD = 4

Possible values: 0 (disabled) to 200

If you change this value, consider the new value carefully. If you set it too large, all containers become eligible for rebasing. Deduplication rates are lower for the backup jobs that perform rebasing.

See About MSDP storage rebasing.

LOCAL_SETTINGS

Specifies whether to use the pd.conf settings of the local host or to allow the server to override the local settings. The following is the order of precedence for local settings:

  • Local host

  • Load balancing server

  • Storage server

To use the local settings, set this value to 1.

Default value: LOCAL_SETTINGS = 0

Possible values: 0 (allow override) or 1 (always use local settings)

LOGLEVEL

Specifies the amount of information that is written to the log file. The range is from 0 to 10, with 10 being the most logging.

Default value: LOGLEVEL = 0

Possible values: An integer, 0 to 10 inclusive

Note:

Change this value only when directed to do so by a Veritas representative.

MAX_IMG_MBSIZE

The maximum backup image fragment size in megabytes.

Default value: MAX_IMG_MBSIZE = 51200

Possible values: 0 to 51,200, in MBs

Note:

Change this value only when directed to do so by a Veritas representative.

MAX_LOG_MBSIZE

The maximum size of the log file in megabytes. NetBackup creates a new log file when the log file reaches this limit. NetBackup prepends the date and the ordinal number beginning with 0 to each log file, such as 120131_0_pdplugin.log, 120131_1_pdplugin.log, and so on.

Default value: MAX_LOG_MBSIZE = 100

Possible values: 0 to 50,000, in MBs

META_SEGKSIZE

The segment size for metadata streams

Default value: META_SEGKSIZE = 16384

Possible values: 32-16384, multiples of 32

Note:

Change this value only when directed to do so by a Veritas representative.

MTSTRM_BACKUP_CLIENTS

If set, limits the use of the Multi-Threaded Agent to the backups of the specified clients. The clients that are not specified use single-threading.

This setting does not guarantee that the specified clients use the Multi-Threaded Agent. The MaxConcurrentSessions parameter in the mtstrm.conf file controls the number of backups the Multi-Threaded Agent processes concurrently. If you specify more clients than the MaxConcurrentSessions value, some of the clients may use single-threaded processing.

See MSDP mtstrm.conf file parameters.

The format is a comma-separated list of the clients, case insensitive (for example, MTSTRM_BACKUP_CLIENTS = client1,client2,client3).

Default value: MTSTRM_BACKUP_CLIENTS = (no default value)

Possible values: comma separated client names

See About the MSDP Deduplication Multi-Threaded Agent.

MTSTRM_BACKUP_ENABLED

Use the Multi-Threaded Agent in the backup stream between the deduplication plug-in and the NetBackup Deduplication Engine.

Default value: MTSTRM_BACKUP_ENABLED = (no default value)

Possible values: 1 (On) or 0 (Off)

The value for this parameter is configured during installation or upgrade. If the hardware concurrency value of the host is greater than a hardware concurrency threshold value, NetBackup sets MTSTRM_BACKUP_ENABLED to 1. (For the purposes of this parameter, the hardware concurrency is the number of CPUs or cores or hyperthreading units.)

The following items describe the values that are used for the determination algorithm:

  • The hardware concurrency value is one of the following:

    • For media servers, half of the host's hardware concurrency is used for the hardware concurrency value in the algorithm.

    • For clients, all of the host's hardware concurrency is used for the hardware concurrency value in the algorithm.

  • The hardware concurrency threshold value to enable multithreading is one of the following:

    • Windows and Linux: The threshold value is 2.

    • Solaris: The threshold value is 4.

The following examples may be helpful:

  • A Linux media server that has 8 CPU cores with two hyperthreading units per core has a hardware concurrency of 16. Therefore, the hardware concurrency value for the algorithm is 8 (for media servers, half of the system's hardware concurrency). Eight is greater than two (the threshold value of Windows and Linux), so multithreading is enabled (MTSTRM_BACKUP_ENABLED = 1).

  • A Solaris client that has 2 CPU cores without hyperthreading has a hardware concurrency of 2. The hardware concurrency value for the algorithm is 2 (for clients, all of the system's hardware concurrency). Two is not greater than four (the threshold value of Solaris), so multithreading is not enabled (MTSTRM_BACKUP_ENABLED = 0).

See About the MSDP Deduplication Multi-Threaded Agent.

MTSTRM_BACKUP_POLICIES

If set, limits the use of the Multi-Threaded Agent to the backups of the specified policies. The clients in the policies that are not specified use single-threading, unless the client is specified in the MTSTRM_BACKUP_CLIENTS parameter.

This setting does not guarantee that all of the clients in the specified policies use the Multi-Threaded Agent. The MaxConcurrentSessions parameter in the mtstrm.conf file controls the number of backups the Multi-Threaded Agent processes concurrently. If the policies include more clients than the MaxConcurrentSessions value, some of the clients may use single-threaded processing.

See MSDP mtstrm.conf file parameters.

The format is a comma-separated list of the policies, case sensitive (for example, MTSTRM_BACKUP_POLICIES = policy1,policy2,policy3).

Default value: MTSTRM_BACKUP_POLICIES = (no default value)

Possible values: comma separated backup policy names

See About the MSDP Deduplication Multi-Threaded Agent.

MTSTRM_IPC_TIMEOUT

The number of seconds to wait for responses from the Multi-Threaded Agent before the deduplication plug-in times out with an error.

Default value: MTSTRM_IPC_TIMEOUT = 1200

Possible values: 1-86400, inclusive

See About the MSDP Deduplication Multi-Threaded Agent.

OPTDUP_BANDWIDTH

Determines the bandwidth that is allowed for each optimized duplication and Auto Image Replication stream on a deduplication server. OPTDUP_BANDWIDTH does not apply to clients. The value is specified in KBytes/second.

Default value: OPTDUP_BANDWIDTH= 0

Possible values: 0 (no limit) to the practical system limit, in KBs/sec

A global bandwidth parameter effects whether or not OPTDUP_BANDWIDTH applies.

See About configuring MSDP optimized duplication and replication bandwidth.

OPTDUP_COMPRESSION

Specifies whether to compress the data during optimized duplication and Auto Image Replication. By default, files are compressed. To disable compression, change the value to 0. This parameter does not apply to clients.

Default value: OPTDUP_COMPRESSION = 1

Possible values: 0 (off) or 1 (on)

See About MSDP compression.

OPTDUP_ENCRYPTION

Specifies whether to encrypt the data during optimized duplication and replication. By default, files are not encrypted. If you want encryption, change the value to 1 on the MSDP storage server and on the MSDP load balancing servers. This parameter does not apply to clients.

If you set this parameter to 1 on all hosts, the data is encrypted during transfer.

Default value: OPTDUP_ENCRYPTION = 0

Possible values: 0 (off) or 1 (on)

See About MSDP encryption.

OPTDUP_TIMEOUT

Specifies the number of minutes before the optimized duplication times out.

Default value: OPTDUP_TIMEOUT = 720

Possible values: The value, expressed in minutes

PDDO_SSL_VERIFY

Specifies whether to perform SSL verification when communicating with the NetBackup 5000 series appliance. By default, SSL verification is not performed while communication with the NetBackup 5000 series appliance.

To perform SSL verification, change the value to 1 and copy the root certificate file of NetBackup 5000 series appliance to following directory:

  • For Windows: install_path\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\ost-plugins

  • For UNIX: /usr/openv/lib/ost-plugins/

    After copying the root certificate file, you must rename it to storage_server_name.pem, where storage_server_name is the fully qualified domain name of the NetBackup 5000 series appliance.

The root certificate file on NetBackup 5000 series appliance is:

  • (1.4.4) /Storage/var/VRTSat/.VRTSat/profile/certstore/trusted/*.0

  • (1.4.5) /Storage/var/VxAT/root/.VRTSat/profile/certstore/trusted/*.0

If there are multiple NetBackup servers and NetBackup clients that communicate with NetBackup 5000 series appliance, the root certificate file must be copied to all the media servers and NetBackup clients.

Default value: PDDO_SSL_VERIFY = 0

Possible values: 0 (off) or 1 (on)

PREFERRED_EXT_SEGKSIZE

Specifies the file extensions and the preferred segment sizes in KB for specific file types. File extensions are case sensitive. The following describe the default values: edb are Exchange Server files; mdfare SQL Server master database files, ndf are SQL Server secondary data files, and segsize64k are Microsoft SQL streams.

Default value: PREFERRED_EXT_SEGKSIZE = edb:32,mdf:64,ndf:64,segsize64k:64

Possible values: file_extension:segment_size_in_KBs pairs, separated by commas.

See also SEGKSIZE.

PREFETCH_SIZE

The size in bytes to use for the data buffer for restore operations.

Default value: PREFETCH_SIZE = 33554432

Possible values: 0 to the computer's memory limit

Note:

Change this value only when directed to do so by a Veritas representative.

RESTORE_DECRYPT_LOCAL

Specifies on which host to decrypt and decompress the data during restore operations.

Depending on your environment, decryption and decompression on the client may provide better performance.

Default value: RESTORE_DECRYPT_LOCAL = 1

Possible values: 0 enables decryption and decompression on the media server; 1 enables decryption and decompression on the client.

SEGKSIZE

The default file segment size in kilobytes.

Default value: SEGKSIZE = 128

Possible values: 32 to 16384 KBs, increments of 32 only

Warning:

Changing this value may reduce capacity and decrease performance. Change this value only when directed to do so by a Veritas representative.

You can also specify the segment size for specific file types. See PREFERRED_EXT_SEGKSIZE.

VLD_CLIENT_NAME

Specifies the name of the NetBackup client to enable variable-length deduplication. By default, the VLD_CLIENT_NAME parameter is not present in the pd.conf configuration file.

You can also specify different maximum and minimum segment sizes with this parameter for different NetBackup clients. If you do not specify the segment sizes, then the default values are considered.

The values are case-sensitive.

Use in any of the following formats:

  • VLD_CLIENT_NAME = *

    Enables variable-length deduplication for all NetBackup clients and uses the default VLD_MIN_SEGKSIZE and VLD_MAX_SEGKSIZE values.

  • VLD_CLIENT_NAME = clientname

    Enables variable-length deduplication for NetBackup client clientname and uses the default VLD_MIN_SEGKSIZE and VLD_MAX_SEGKSIZE values.

  • VLD_CLIENT_NAME = clientname (64, 256)

    Enables variable-length deduplication for NetBackup client clientname and uses 64 KB as the VLD_MIN_SEGKSIZE and 256 KB as the VLD_MAX_SEGKSIZE value.

Note:

You can add a maximum of 50 clients in the pd.conf file.

VLD_MIN_SEGKSIZE

The minimum size of the data segment for variable-length deduplication in KB. The segment size must be in multiples of 4 and fall in between 4 KB to 16384 KB. The default value is 64 KB.

The value must be smaller than VLD_MAX_SEGKSIZE. Different NetBackup clients can have different segment sizes.

A larger value reduces the CPU consumption, but decreases the deduplication ratio. A smaller value increases the CPU consumption, but increases the deduplication ratio

Note:

Keeping similar or close values for VLD_MIN_SEGKSIZE and VLD_MAX_SEGKSIZE results in a performance that is similar to fixed-length deduplication.

VLD_MAX_SEGKSIZE

The maximum size of the data segment for variable-length deduplication in KB. VLD_MAX_SEGKSIZE is used to set a boundary for the data segments. The segment size must be in multiples of 4 and fall in between 4 KB to 16384 KB. The default value is 128 KB.

The value must be greater than VLD_MIN_SEGKSIZE. Different NetBackup clients can have different segment sizes.

Note:

Keeping similar or close values for VLD_MIN_SEGKSIZE and VLD_MAX_SEGKSIZE results in a performance that is similar to fixed-length deduplication.

VLD_POLICY_NAME

Specifies the name of the backup policy to enable variable-length deduplication. By default, the VLD_POLICY_NAME parameter is not present in the pd.conf configuration file.

You can also specify different maximum and minimum segment sizes with this parameter for different NetBackup policies. If you do not specify the segment sizes, then the default values are considered.

The values are case-sensitive.

Use in any of the following formats:

  • VLD_POLICY_NAME = *

    Enables variable-length deduplication for all NetBackup policies and uses the default VLD_MIN_SEGKSIZE and VLD_MAX_SEGKSIZE values.

  • VLD_POLICY_NAME = policyname

    Enables variable-length deduplication for NetBackup policy policyname and uses the default VLD_MIN_SEGKSIZE and VLD_MAX_SEGKSIZE values.

  • VLD_POLICY_NAME = policyname (64, 256)

    Enables variable-length deduplication for NetBackup policy policyname and uses 64 KB as the VLD_MIN_SEGKSIZEand 256 KB as the VLD_MAX_SEGKSIZE value.

Note:

You can add a maximum of 50 policies in the pd.conf file.