Backup : User’s Guide for VCOD Offer
Introduction
The goal of this document is to provide detailed instructions on how to use and operate the Backup solution provided with the VCOD offer hosted on NGP/FCX/Cloud Avenue core Infra platforms.
The vCenter on Demand “VCOD” is based upon reserving dedicated resources, HW & SW, for the customer based on VMware vSAN cluster. The backup solution design follows the same concept.
VCOD can be a single or dual site offer.
VCOD offer will provide the customer with:
From virtual env side :
- Dedicated ESXi(s)
- Dedicated vCenter Server
- Dedicated vSAN stretched cluster (if needed)
From backup env side :
- Dedicated backup server.
- Dedicated storage server per site.
- Reporting tool, if needed.
- Self-Service portal, if requested by the customer
Design Overview
The Backup solution for VCOD includes:
- One backup server, as a VM deployed on the customer`s vSAN cluster.
- Logical storage provided from the back-end physical storage to host the customer`s backup images.
- vCenter plugin
The backup images could be stored on single site or dual site.
Single Site: Only one backup image will be stored at the same site.
Dual Site: Two backup images will be stored (one per site)
Accessibility
The backup environment could be managed and accessed using either NetBackup WebUI or NetBackup Plugin for vCenter
NetBackup WebUI
The WebUI provides all NetBackup features including monitoring, configuring, and managing backup and restore jobs.
Sign-in to NetBackup WebUI
To sign-in to a NetBackup primary server using a username and password
- Open a web browser and go to the following URL https://primaryserver/webui/login The primaryserver is the host name or IP address of the NetBackup primary server that you want to sign in to.
- Enter your credentials and click Sign in.
NetBackup Plugin for vCenter
The plugin could be accessed from vCenter using same UI credentials and you can use the plug-in to do the following:
- View the backup status of virtual machines at various vSphere levels.
- View messages that are related to backups, such as snapshot deletion failure.
- Sort and filter the backup information and export the information for analysis.
- Recover virtual machines.
More info about the Plug-in could be found at
NetBackup™ Plug-in for VMware vSphere Client (HTML5) Guide
Reporting
Reporting service is provided through a back-end tool to send the needed customized reports to all customers by mail.
These reports will be created by the Service Provider`s back-end teams.
By default, a daily report will be generated for each customer contains the backup status of the last night`s backup window.
VM-Level Backup & Restore
Managing Backups
Creating a Backup Policy
To add a backup policy in the WebUI
2. On the Attributes tab enter a Policy name, and select VMware from the Policy type drop-down list, and select stu-dpss01standard from the Policy storage drop-down list and select Use Accelerator.
3. On the Schedules tab, Click on Add
4. Specify a name for the schedule by typing it in the Name attribute and select Type of backup from the drop-down list.
5. Select Schedule type, either Calendar or Frequency. Calendar-based schedules allow administrators to create a job schedule based on a calendar view. Select Calendar to display the Include Dates tab. Use the Frequency attribute to specify how much time must elapse between successful backups. To set the frequency, select a frequency value from the list. The frequency can be seconds, minutes, hours, days, or weeks.
6. The Retention attribute specifies how long NetBackup retains the backups. To set the retention period, select a time period (or level) from the list. When the retention period expires, NetBackup deletes information about the expired backup.
7. Select Start Window tab to set time periods during which backups can start when using a schedule. Select the Start day and Start time for the backup window and click on Duplicate to replicates the time window for the entire week.
8. Use the Exclude Days tab to exclude specific days from a schedule for a backup policy. If a day is excluded from a schedule, jobs do not run on that day.
9. Use the Include Dates tab to configure the schedules that run according to specific days, on recurring week days, or on recurring days of the month.
10. Click on Add to save the Schedule.
11. On the Clients tab, click on Select manually, then click Add.
12. Select Client by either Enter the VM hostname or Browse virtual machines and click Select.
13. On VMware tab change the Primary VM identifier to VM display name, and from Transport mode section select NBD: Unencrypted Transfer and leave all other attributes to default.
14. Check the Exclude disks tab if it is required to exclude any disks from the VM backup.
15. Click on Create to add the newly configured policy.
Modifying a Backup Policy
- To modify a policy, on the left, click Protection > Policies, and select the required backup policy to be modified.
- Click on Edit to modify the parameters of the selected backup policy.
3. You can also Copy, Delete and Deactivate a backup policy.
Initiate a Backup Policy
To initiate a backup policy, click on Manual backup and select the schedule you want to use and the clients you want to backup and click OK
Managing Restores
You can recover a VM to its original location where it existed when it was backed up or to different location. You can choose to recover from the default copy of the backup image or from an alternate copy, if one exists. The default copy is also known as the primary copy.
To recover a VM
2. Click the Recovery points tab. In the calendar view on the left, select the date on which the backup occurred.
3. On the image that you want to recover, click Recover and select Restore virtual machine from the drop-down list.
4. Review the Restore to values. To recover to an alternate location, change the restore values, if necessary, then click Next.
5. Review or change the Recovery options values and click Next to run the Pre-recovery check.
6. NetBackup verifies the credentials and appropriate paths and connectivity, determines whether the datastore or datastore cluster has available space, and reviews other requirements. Resolve any errors and Click Start recovery.
Agent-Less File-Level Restore
There is a possibility to restore files and folders from a VM backup without an agent if the VM OS is compatible with this feature as per the following matrix:
- On the left, click VMware then locate and click on the VM.
- Click the Recovery points tab. In the calendar view, click the date on which the backup occurred.
- On the image or the copy of the image, click Recover > Restore files and folders.
4. Select the files and click Add. Then click Next to choose Recovery target.
5. On Recovery target page enter the name of the Target VM (the default is the original VM) and the username and password for the target VM and select the restore options.
6. On the Recovery options page you can choose whether to Overwrite existing files. Click Next to run Pre-recovery check. A summary of your selections is displayed.
7. Click Start recovery to restore the files. The Activity tab displays the status of the recovery.
Agent-Level Backup & Restore
With Agent, Backup & Restore for different workloads can be managed
Prerequisites
Machine Side
Common Prerequisites :
Submit a SWAN request to ATQIOF to get the required entries of your Backup env to add them to the hosts file
If the firewall is activated on the OS level, make sure that the required ports are already opened in bi-direction
Firewall Ports
| Source/Desitnation | Destination/Source | Service Name | Port |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machine (VM/BMS) | Backup Env | BKP_TCP_bpcd | 13782 |
| BKP_TCP_bprd | 13720 | ||
| BKP_TCP_spad | 10102 | ||
| BKP_TCP_spoold | 10082 | ||
| BKP_TCP_veritas_pbx | 1556 | ||
| BKP_TCP_vnbmqbroker | 13781 | ||
| BKP_TCP_vnetd | 13724 | ||
| BKP_TCP_ portmapper | 111 | ||
| BKP_TCP_ nbfsd | 7394 |
For better performance, it is recommended that the MTU Size = 8872
Windows-Based OS Prerequisites :
No prerequisites, up-till-now
Linux-Based OS Prerequisites :
| The following libraries are needed: libnsl libnsl.so.1 | yum install libnsl yum install libnsl.so.1 | Needed for: RHEL CentOS |
Agent Installation
Windows-Based OS
Agent Installation for Windows-Based OS
Mount the required ISO image
Click on Installation > Netbackup Client Software Installation
Click Next to Accept the Agreement and select Typical Installation
Enter the names of the servers in your environment, then click Next
Contact the Service Desk (SD) to submit a SWAN or Ocean request to ATQIOF to generate and get the needed token
Confirm the CA certificate which has been retrieved from the Backup server, then click Next
Select Install after reviewing the installation summary, then click Finish once the installation completed successfully
Linux-Based OS
Agent Installation for Linux-Based OS
Mount the ISO image
mount /dev/sr0 /iso
Open the extracted folder and run ./install
Answer by “Y” when prompting for the following questions:
- Do you wish to continue ?
- Do you want to install the Netbackup software on this client ?
Enter the names of the servers in your environment
Answer by “Y” once the certificate has been retrieved from the Backup env
Contact the Service Desk (SD) to submit a SWAN or Ocean request to ATQIOF to generate and get the needed token
When prompted, specify 1 or 2options if you want Java and the JRE packages installed
- Include the Java GUI and JRE
- Exclude the Java GUI and JRE
Follow the prompts to complete the installation
After the installation is complete, select Exit from this Script
Use Cases
This section covers specific use cases which may help in case exists
Monster File Server
Oracle DB Backup
Prerequisites
- Prior to configuring the Oracle backup, make sure a dedicated user account must be created on the database end to perform the backup of the instance with sysdba and sysbackup roles.
- Install NetBackup client if it’s not installed on server, where Oracle is running. (Oracle database agent is installed as part of the NetBackup client installation, separate oracle agent installation is not required.)
- NetBackup client agent installation procedure mentioned above under section Agent-Level Backup & Restore
- Make sure communication between backup master server and Client is working on ports 13724 and 1556.
Configuration
Oracle Instance Discovery
Log on to the NetBackup Web UI
From the left pan click on Workflows and select Oracle and then select instance
In the Instances tab, click on Actions and select Discover instances.
Discover Instances pop box will appear click on Start Discovery
After completion of discovery task Discovered instances will start reflecting under instance tab.
Click on the instance which you want to register and click on three dots button in left of instance and click on Manage credentials
Select option User instance credentials and from Instance credentials choose option Oracle Authentication only
Enter Instance credentials. And click Finish.
If you want to use rman recovery catalog then tick on Oracle RMAN recovery catalog option before clicking on Finish.
Instance registration status will appear in instances list.
To manually add an instance
If you want to add any instance manually or discover instance option not able to search specific instance click on option ADD instance.
Provide Instance name hosts and credentials to add the instance.
Backup Policy
Create a new backup policy and choose policy type oracle.
Set a backup schedule under Schedules tab.
In Instance and database tab choose database protection option. Protect
instance and database
In backup selection tab choose DB component which need to be backed up.
On Oracle tab choose desired options based on requirement. And click create.
Restore
Restoration is Database Administrator responsibility.
From NetBackup web end not possible to perform restore for databases/instances. Database team need to create RMAN restore script to perform the restore.
Backup team will provide backup date and backup image details if required for restoration.
Monitoring
Backup and Restore job’s status can be monitored through NetBackup web UI Activity Monitor.
Monitoring NetBackup
To monitor a job
2. Click on a job ID that you want to view. On the Overview tab you can view information about a job.
- The File List contains the files that are included in the backup image.
- The Status section shows the status and the status codes that are related to the job.
3. Click the Details tab to view the logged details about a job. You can filter the logs by error type using the drop-down menu.
Delete a Backup Image
- On the left, click Catalog then in the Search tab select the backup Date/time range and Client (host name) and any other relevant attributes.
- Click on Search button to list the backup images that match your search criteria.
- Select the backup image to be deleted and click on Expire.
Troubleshooting NetBackup
The general guidelines to help you resolve any problems you may encounter while you use NetBackup are provided through the below links.
NetBackup™ Logging Reference Guide
The Veritas Technical Support website has a wealth of information that can help you solve NetBackup problems.
Access Technical Support at the following URL: