Veritas NetBackup™ Appliance Release Notes

Last Published:
Product(s): Appliances (3.3.0.1)
Platform: NetBackup Appliance OS

New features, enhancements, and changes for NetBackup Appliance 3.3.0.1

The following list describes the new features, enhancements, and changes in the NetBackup appliance 3.3.0.1 release:

  • Pre-upgrade requirements for version 3.3.0.1

    If you did not upgrade to NetBackup Appliance software version 3.2 and you plan to upgrade to version 3.3.0.1, you must first install the following updates:

    • HDD firmware and BIOS updates

      Appliance models 5230 and 5330 are likely to require an HDD firmware update prior to version 3.3.0.1 upgrades. Appliance models 5230 and 5330 all require a BIOS update prior to version 3.3.0.1 upgrades. Appliance models 5240, 5250, and 5340 are not affected and do not require these updates before 3.3.0.1 upgrades. Hotfixes that contain both the HDD firmware and BIOS updates are available for software versions 2.7.3 through 3.2.

    • MSDP fingerprinting conversion hotfix

      All appliances currently on version 3.0 require installation of this hotfix. Once installed, the fingerprinting conversion can take some time to complete. You cannot upgrade the appliance until the fingerprinting conversion has completed.

      For a complete checklist of pre-upgrade requirements, refer to the following article:

      https://www.veritas.com/support/en_US/article.100046066

  • Supported upgrade paths

    Direct upgrades to version 3.3.0.1 are supported as follows:

    5230, 5240, or 5330 appliances that currently use versions 3.0, 3.1, 3.1.1, 3.1.2, or 3.2.

    5340 appliances that currently use versions 3.1, 3.1.1, 3.1.2, or 3.2.

    5250 appliances that use version 3.2.

    Appliances that currently use versions 2.7.3 and earlier must be upgraded twice to get to version 3.3.0.1. It is recommended to first upgrade these systems to version 3.0, and then upgrade to version 3.3.0.1.

  • Upgrading systems with role-based access control (RBAC) users

    If you plan to upgrade appliances with versions 3.1.2 or 3.2 that have NetBackup RBAC users, after the upgrade has completed, you must download and run the NetBackup 8.3 RBAC Utility. For details, see the following articles:

    https://www.veritas.com/support/en_US/article.100047577

    https://www.veritas.com/support/en_US/article.100047660

  • MSDP cloud storage support with NetBackup 8.3.0.1 (included with appliance version 3.3.0.1)

    NetBackup 8.3 introduces MSDP cloud, a new cloud solution with deduplication technology. Data is stored directly to cloud targets with deduplication. One MSDP storage server can support both local storage and multiple cloud storage targets. After you configure the MSDP storage server, you can add a cloud storage target to that storage server and then the MSDP storage server can store data to the cloud target.

    This new cloud solution is available on new NetBackup appliances that ship with version 3.3.0.1 or on appliances that are upgraded to version 3.3.0.1, including high availability (HA) configurations.

    Note:

    The NetBackup 5240 Cloud Catalyst Appliance is not compatible with the MSDP cloud feature. You can still upgrade these appliances to version 3.3.0.1, however you cannot configure them to use the MSDP cloud feature.

  • Resize NDMPLog partition

    Starting with this release, you can use the Main > Manage > Storage Resize command to resize the NDMPLog partition upward from its minimum (default) size of 100 GB. The maximum size of the partition is dependent on the amount of all unallocated storage. You can also resize this partition from the NetBackup Appliance Web Console.

  • Manage Network Address Translation (NAT) server names

    Starting with this release, you can choose to configure a media server appliance behind a NAT network. This configuration allows the media server to communicate with NAT clients and a master server in the public network. As part of the configuration, new commands let you manage NAT server names in the NetBackup Servers list. The following describes the command view and the available options:

    Command view: Main > Settings > NetBackup NATServers

    Options: Add Delete Show

    For more details, see the NetBackup Appliance Commands Reference Guide.

  • Automatic rollback when installing revised EEBs

    Starting with this release, an installed EEB can be updated with a newer revision of the same EEB without the need for a manual rollback of the currently installed version. EEB installation is supported through the NetBackup Appliance Shell Menu and the Appliance Management Server (AMS). For EEB installation details, refer to the following documents:

    NetBackup Appliance Administrator's Guide

    Veritas Appliance Management Guide

  • Support for Universal Shares in appliance high availability (HA) setups

    Starting with this release, you can configure Universal Shares for use in HA setups. For HA setups, the create and delete operations for Universal Shares are supported only from the active node. After creating the share on the active node, the share can be monitored by the other node after performing a switchover to it. For details, see the NetBackup Appliance Administrator's Guide.

    The Workload administrator can create an IA mount from a Universal Share asset backup image. After mounting the share, the user can read and write data to it. Modifications to the IA mount do not affect the original Universal Share. The life cycle of an IA mount is independent of the Universal Share storage. For more details see the NetBackup Web UI Administrator's Guide.

  • Instant Access (IA) support for appliance HA setups

    Starting with the release, IA supports appliance HA setups. The workload administrator can create IA workloads (VMware VM, Microsoft SQL Database, Universal Share) from an asset backup image in an HA setup. After creating the IA workloads, the user can read and write data to it. Modifications to the IA workloads do not affect the original data in the backup image. For more details, see the NetBackup Web UI Administrator's Guide.

  • LogBrowser command

    The Support > LogBrowser command allows you to start a log transfer web service to send logs through a web page to the Veritas AutoSupport server. You can set the amount of time to keep the feature active. When the set time expires, the log transfer web service stops automatically. For more information, see the NetBackup Appliance Commands Reference Guide.

Appliance Management Server version 1.4

  • The Overview tab provides an option to reboot an appliance.

  • The new Capacity tab displays the capacity utilization trend of an appliance. You can specify the duration for which to view the trend and then select a date to view the corresponding consumption details. The data is automatically updated every 24 hours. This tab is available for physical appliances only and not for virtual appliances.

  • The following management actions are available from the Manage menu on the Home page of the Appliance Management Console:

    • The Stage packages action lets you to upload packages from the AMS repository to the agent appliances in the /inst/patches/incoming directory.

    • The Manage services action lets you start, stop, or restart certain services on multiple appliances simultaneously, provided that the agent versions of the selected appliances match.

  • The new Repository and Activity icons are available in the navigation menu on the left in the Appliance Management Console Monitor. They let you directly access the Repository page and the Activity Monitor page, respectively. Earlier, these views were accessible from the Settings page and the Monitor page.

  • The Repository page displays the details of a package when you click on a package name. In case of EEBs, the Readme is included in the details so that you can quickly review it.

  • Warning and information messages about your currently registered appliances are displayed as notifications at the top of the Home page. These notifications persist during the current signed-in session, unless you either click X in the right corner, or address the task that the notification mentions.

  • After you upgrade a NetBackup Appliance from 2.7.3 to a later version, you need to re-register the appliance with the Appliance Management Console.

  • Starting with NetBackup Appliance 3.3.0.1, AMS logs can be collected by using the Main > Support > DataCollect command.

  • The following new command-line options are available from the appliance shell menu:

    • Management Server Status lets you verify whether an appliance is configured as an AMS or not.

    • Management Server Configure lets you configure an appliance as an AMS. Earlier, the Configure option was not required.

    • Management Agent Unregister lets you unregister an appliance from the AMS after it is removed from the Appliance Management Console.

  • Veritas recommends that you configure a NetBackup Virtual Appliance as a master or a media server before configuring it as an AMS. Without a role configured, Active Directory support in unavailable.

For details, refer to the Appliance Management Guide.