EMC NetWorker
Upgrading to
NetWorker 7.6.x
Technical Note
P/N 300-010-410 REV A06 July 20, 2011This technical note contains important information about upgrading your NetWorker environment.
For the latest information regarding issues related to installation and upgrades please refer to the NetWorker Installation and Upgrade page on the EMC Support website at the following URL:
Documentation for NetWorker 7.6 and Service Packs can be downloaded from Powerlink.EMC.com at Home >Support > Technical
Documentation and Advisories > Software J-O Documentation > NetWorker Family > NetWorker > 7.6 & Service Packs.
This document contains the following sections:
Key differences between NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 2 and previous releases
Key differences between NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1 and previous releases
Key differences between NetWorker 7.6 and previous releases Workflow differences
Technical considerations prior to upgrading Recommended NetWorker Module versions
NetWorker Procedure Generator contains platform-specific procedures for upgrading to NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 2. To download Procedure Generator fromSupport > Product and Diagnostic Tools > Procedure Generators > NetWorker Procedure Generator.
The EMC NetWorker 7.6.x releases provide significant functional enhancements over previous releases, including the following. For NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 2:
Direct File Access feature with NetWorker Data Domain Boost Devices in NetWorker 7.6 SP2 and NMM 2.3
Data Domain devices created under a Storage Unit
NetWorker/Data Domain Boost support of AIX and HP-UX Support for Data Domain Archiver
NDMP token-based incremental backup support Windows disaster recovery support
vStorage API for Data Protection (VADP) replacing VCB for consolidated backup
AFTD enhancements in NMC to prevent read-only device selection for backup operations
For NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1:
Integration of Data Domain features and services in NetWorker and the NetWorker Management Console, including the managing of monitoring and reporting for Data Domain operations.
Enhancements to handling of Advanced File Type Devices (AFTDs) Changes to licensing, including a new licensing model based on
source capacity, and a licensing guide.
Notifications for drive order/serial number mismatch errors in NMC Enhancements to Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 support,
including new VSS writers, Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) failover support, and backup and recovery of BOOT/BCD data
Checkpoint restart backups, which allow for failed backups to be restarted at a known good point in the backup
Scheduled clone support For NetWorker 7.6:
Increased NetWorker functionality for VMware support, including support for the new virtualization platforms and features from VMware (such as the ESX Server vSphere 4)
ATMOS On Premise option (onsite) and ATMOS Online option (offsite) backup to Cloud capabilities
Enhancements to the NetWorker Management Console, including the new monitoring task panel and event/log information on every window, and new reports for Avamar and recovery operations.
Changes to licensing, including improvements to license expiry notification and update enabler functionality
Integration of the ConnectEMC console, used to obtain information on system configuration for identifying system errors
The purpose of this document is to ensure that differences between NetWorker 7.6.x and previous releases are fully understood in advance, to help ensure a successful upgrade. Before installing NetWorker release 7.6.x, review the NetWorker installation guide, administration guide, Data Domain integration guide, and other documentation.
Note: This technical note applies primarily to upgrades from
NetWorker releases 7.4.x and 7.5.x to NetWorker 7.6.x. A direct upgrade from a 7.2.x release to 7.6 and later is not recommended due to the change increases for each version. Instead, a step upgrade or new parallel deployment is recommended.
In all cases, upgrades of large complex, scripted or customized environments should use test environments where possible and be prepared for process and workflow changes.
All information contained in this document related to the NetWorker 7.6 release also applies to the NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 2 release. However, any features and changes identified as a 7.6 Service Pack 2 enhancement only apply to that release.
Key differences between NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 2 and
previous releases
AFTD enhancements in NMC to prevent read-only device selection for
backup operations
NMC now provides the option to hide read-only devices from the drop-down view, so that these devices are not accidentally selected from the drop-down when performing backups to disk.
Data Domain support enhancements
The following support enhancements to Data Domain deduplication and DD Boost devices have been made with NetWorker 7.6 SP2.
Direct File Access feature with NetWorker Data Domain Boost Devices in NetWorker 7.6 SP2 and NMM 2.3
The NetWorker Module for Microsoft (NMM) version 2.3 supports the Direct File Access (DFA) feature with NetWorker Data Domain Boost
devices, which enables backup data to bypass the storage node and go directly to the Data Domain system.
NetWorker/Data Domain Boost support on AIX and HP-UX
Data Domain Boost is now supported for use with NetWorker 7.6 SP2 storage nodes on the AIX and HP-UX platforms.
Data Domain devices created under a Storage Unit
Starting with NetWorker release 7.6 SP2, all Data Domain devices are created under a new Storage Unit (SU).
Data Domain devices that were configured prior to NetWorker 7.6 SP2 will not appear with the SU in the NMC Device Configuration wizard’s device folder tree. However, these devices are still available for use, and appear in the NetWorker Administration window’s Devices tab in NMC.
Data Domain Archiver support
NetWorker Data Domain devices on NetWorker 7.6 SP2 and higher are supported on the DD (Data Domain) Archiver storage system. However, be aware that DD Archiver data movement policies are managed on an mtree basis. You can specify one data movement policy per mtree. All NetWorker Data Domain devices in a datazone back up to a single mtree on a DD Archiver storage system by default.
You can create additional mtrees for a datazone manually by using the NetWorker Device Configuration Wizard and specifying a new top level folder in the Select Folders to use as Devices attribute.
NDMP token-based incremental backup support
In NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 2 and later, NDMP uses token-based backups (TBB) to perform NDMP full, incremental, and level 1-9 backups on NDMP servers that support TBB and that have been qualified with NetWorker. Currently, Celerra® and NetApp® servers with NDMP version 4 or later support TBB and have been qualified. However, check with Celerra and NetApp for the maximum number of incremental levels supported with TBB incremental backups. NetWorker supports the same number of incremental levels that are supported by Celerra and NetApp.
More information on NDMP token-based backups is provided in the
vStorage API for Data Protection (VADP) support
With the release of vSphere 4.1, VMware introduced a new vStorage API to replace VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB). Starting with
NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 2, the vStorage API for Data Protection (VADP) will be used to perform consolidated backup operations. The following enhancements have been introduced to the NetWorker software and the NetWorker Console to support VADP functionality:
Licensing model for VADP
For VADP backups of a VMware environment, a Virtual Edition Client license on the proxy host is required.
One Virtual Edition Client license is required per VADP proxy host regardless of the number of virtual machines and ESX servers configured to perform backups by using the proxy backup host.
File-level backup of a VM using VADP
For environments using vSphere 4, NetWorker now supports file-level backup of a virtual machine using the vStorage API, replacing the previous VCB configuration.
Image-level or file-level recovery from image-level backup using VADP
Using the vStorage API, NetWorker can perform an image-level backup, with the option to use encryption, compression, or other directives. An level or file-level recovery can then be performed from the image-level backup.
Single step recovery of a VM using VADP
NetWorker can recover any virtual machine backup to a specified vSphere server using the vStorage API. In the case of a disaster recovery, virtual machine backups can be recovered from the failed server to an ESX host or different vSphere server.
Note: Backup and recovery directly to a stand-alone ESX/ESXi 4.1 host is not supported. The ESX/ESXi must be connected to vCenter 4.1 to perform backup and recovery operations.
File-based incremental and differential backups using VADP
NetWorker supports both file-based incremental and differential backups using the VStorage API, with the ability to recover the entire save set or individual files from those backups.
Changes to Client Configuration in NMC for VADP
Changes to the Client Configuration wizard and the Apps & Modules tab in NMC have been made to provide options for VADP proxy host selection, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 VADP proxy host selection in the Client Backup Configuration wizard
Setting a proxy backup for a given client can be done by selecting the VMware backup type and then selecting the proxy host to use. Selecting the proxy host will determine the type of proxy used for backup. Proxy types are split between SCSI and VMware. For VMware, a drop down contains all hosts configured as VMware proxies. Each host in the drop down indicates the type of proxy supported as either "VCB" or "VADP", depending on which NetWorker version is installed, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 VADP proxy backup using Apps & Modules tab in NMC
Changed Block Tracking (CBT)
Virtual machines running on ESX 4.0 or later hosts with Virtual Hardware 7 can keep track of disk sectors that have changed. This feature is called Changed Block Tracking (CBT).
On a virtual machine, the virtual disk block changes are tracked from outside of the virtual machine in the virtualization layer. When a backup is performed, only the blocks changed since the last backup are
transmitted.
You can check if your virtual machine has CBT enabled or enable/disable CBT using the new command line executable, nsrvadp_modify_vm.exe. More information on how to use the
executable is provided in the EMC NetWorker Release 7.6 Service Pack 2 VMware Integration Guide.
When Changed Block tracking (CBT) is enabled, incremental and differential backups are supported only for Windows virtual machines, and all attached disks must be NTFS file systems.
Note also that CBT-based incremental backups are always file based. image-level recovery from a CBT-based incremental backup is not supported.
Upgrading from NetWorker 7.4 to 7.6 SP2 for VADP backups on UNIX and Windows
When upgrading to NetWorker release 7.6 SP2, run the following command on the NetWorker server to update pre-7.6 SP2 NetWorker clients to use VADP for backup and recovery:
nsrvadpserv_tool -p <VM proxy hostname or IP address>
The EMC NetWorker Release 7.6 Service Pack 2 Installation Guide and the
EMC NetWorker Release 7.6 Service Pack 2 VMware Integration Guide provide more information.
NetWorker 7.6 SP2 still supports VCB-based backups with NetWorker 7.6 SP1 proxy servers. However, VADP-based backups must use a NetWorker 7.6 SP2 proxy server. A NetWorker 7.6 SP2 proxy cannot be used for VCB backups..
Windows Disaster Recovery support for Windows 2008 and Windows 7
platforms
Starting with NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 2, support has been added for Microsoft Windows disaster recovery for:
Windows Server 2008 (x86 and x64) Windows Server 2008 R2 (x64) Windows 7 (x86 and x64)
Windows disaster recovery provides an automated bare metal recovery (BMR) disaster recovery solution by using the Windows ASR writer and other VSS writers to identify critical volumes that are needed to perform a disaster recovery on a disabled system.
Restoring a Windows disaster recovery backup is performed offline, which means that the Windows operating system is not active. This avoids the need to reinstall Windows manually and also avoids the problems that occur when restoring operating system files to an active Windows system.
To support offline restore, NetWorker provides a bootable Windows disaster recovery image that contains NetWorker binaries and a wizard to walk you through the Windows disaster recovery process.
Changes to the All backup save set
To support Windows disaster recovery, the behavior of the NetWorker save set All has changed significantly when backing up Windows 2008/2008 R2 and Windows 7 hosts. This section highlights the major changes and considerations to be aware of when using the save set All to protect Windows 2008 / 2008 R2 and Windows 7 hosts. For all other
Windows operating systems, the save set All remains unchanged. Table 2 on page 7 highlights these changes.
Table 1 Windows disaster recovery backup and restore roadmap
Components of the All save set for Windows Server 2003 with VSS licensed and enabled
Components of the All save set for Windows 2008 / 2008 R2 and Windows 7*
VSS SYSTEM BOOT DISASTER_RECOVERY
VSS SYSTEM FILESET All local physical drives
VSS SYSTEM SERVICES Mapped drives (UNC paths)
VSS USER DATA VSS OTHER
VSS ASR DISK (Windows Server 2003 only)
All local physical drives Mapped drives (UNC paths)
*For Windows XP, Vista, and for Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) systems, Windows disaster recovery backups are not supported. The All save set components for Vista and EFI hosts are equivalent to a Windows 2003 host that has VSS licensed and enabled. You can also revert the definition of All save set to be equivalent to a Windows 2003 host with VSS licensed and enabled by using the VSS:DISASTER_RECOVERY=off keyword in the Save Operations attribute. The NetWorker Administration Guide provides more information.
Components of the DISASTER_RECOVERY save set
The new DISASTER_RECOVERY save set encapsulates all of the critical volumes that are required to provide complete Windows disaster recovery capabilities. The save sets that make up the
DISASTER_RECOVERY save set correspond to each critical volume and are named as OSSR_driveletter, for example if drives C and D were identified as critical drives, they would be listed as OSSR_C and OSSR_D. All of save sets that are included in the
DISASTER_RECOVERY save set can be displayed in the NMC
Administration window in either the Log tab of the Monitoring window or in the Save Set tab of the Media window.
Figure 3 shows the DISASTER_RECOVERY save sets in the Save Set tab of the Media window.
Figure 3 Viewing DISASTER_RECOVERY save sets
Key differences between NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1 and
previous releases
Data Domain integration with NetWorker and NMC
In addition to NetWorker’s wizard-driven configuration of an EMC® Data Domain® storage system, the NetWorker software provides the following features and services.
Note: Contact your sales representative for details on how to get the licenses that are required to configure the new Data Domain devices with NetWorker 7.6 SP1
Deduplication backup
As the NetWorker server moves and stores information over a network, the Data Domain system identifies redundant files and data,
dramatically reducing the amount of disk storage needed to retain and protect data. Deduplication services may be performed at any of the following sites on a network:
On the Data Domain storage system (storage-side deduplication) On the NetWorker storage node (storage node deduplication)
Clone Controlled Replication of deduplicated backups
Deduplicated backup data can be replicated for efficient disaster recovery and consolidated tape operations. In addition to existing methods for replication, such as automatic cloning of a scheduled backup and cloning by way of the nsrclone command, replication can be done by a new NetWorker Clone resource. This resource can specify save set and scheduling options for the following operations:
Replication of deduplicated data after backup
Replication of deduplicated data from one Data Domain system to another
This new clone functionality is not limited in use to the Data Domain storage systems with NetWorker.
Device Configuration Wizard and NMC
The NetWorker Management Console (NMC) New Device Wizard can be used to configure Data Domain storage systems, including storage units within the Data Domain system. It is no longer required to use
NetWorker commands and scripts to configure and execute backup operations to Data Domain systems.
Note: Configuration of clients and replication cannot be performed from the New Device Wizard.
Data Domain storage system enablers and licensing
With NetWorker release 7.6 Service Pack 1, to take advantage of the new Clone Controlled Replication feature, you can configure a Data Domain host directly as a Data Domain media type. For Data Domain devices that are configured as a Data Domain media type, in contrast to legacy modes such as AFTD or VTL, the NetWorker software requires a Data Domain storage system enabler for each Data Domain host it uses. There is no restriction on the number of NetWorker Data Domain Device resources that can be created on the host, other than the overall device limits for the datazone. However, there must be sufficient Data Domain storage capacity entitlement licenses for the amount of Data Domain storage used in the datazone.
Optimized cloning (replication)
Data Domain optimized cloning (replication) for backup-to-disk can be performed through the standard NetWorker cloning workflow (using nsrclone).
Scheduled cloning and replication
Use the Configuration > Clones window in NMC or create nsrclone scripts to schedule cloning operations of deduplication backups.
Reporting and monitoring
Reporting and monitoring of deduplication backup, recovery, and replication operations is provided by the NetWorker Management Console (NMC) software. NMC provides the ability to monitor details of current Data Domain backup operations in either the NMC Enterprise window or the NetWorker Administration window Devices view, as well as display alerts that require user intervention.
New statistical reports of NetWorker with Data Domain backup activities, including Save Set summary, Save Set details, and so on, are available from the NMC Reports window.
Figure 5 Data Domain Statistics reports in NMC
Upgrading NetWorker servers, storage nodes and NMC
In order to use the new feature set with Data Domain integration, parts of the NetWorker environment must be updated to release 7.6 Service Pack 1. These components are:
1. The NetWorker server software
2. The NetWorker Management Console software
3. The NetWorker software for the storage nodes that will be driving I/O to the Data Domain system(s). Updates are dependent upon those Operating Systems supported in the initial release (see below). Updates to the NetWorker clients and application modules are not required, as long as the versions used are still covered by the primary support window – see the Software Compatibility Guide to ensure this support is still available. Backups from these systems and servers will be supported by the 7.6 Service Pack 1 storage nodes and the Boost
Data Domain Boost supported platforms
NetWorker supports the integration with Data Domain Boost on the following platforms:
Windows 2003 and Windows 2008 (x86 and x64) Solaris 9 and 10 (SPARC only)
Red Hat 4 and 5 (x86 and x64)
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9, 10, and 11 (x86 and x64)
Note: AIX and HP-UX support for Data Domain Boost was added for NetWorker 7.6 SP2 storage nodes.
Media Type required attribute for Data Domain cloning operations
There is a new pool attribute, Media type required, that when set will ensure an optimized clone is performed on the target Data Domain device.
1. Set up a clone pool and assign only Data Domain devices to this pool.
2. Set the Media type required attribute in the Pool resource to Data Domain.
Note: It is especially important to set this new attribute when using cloned controlled replication over WAN, so that the clone operation never falls back to regular cloning over a long distance network. This attribute is automatically set when using the configuration wizard.
Limitations to Data Domain support in NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1
The following limitations apply to NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1 support for Data Domain:
Storage nodes on AIX, HP-UX and Solaris AMD64 do not support Data Domain devices
AIX, HP-UX and Solaris AMD64 do not support the creation of LSU folders on a Data Domain system using the New Device wizard A Glibc 2.3.4 or later library is required on a Linux host in order for
that host to run as storage node for the Data Domain device The source and target remote storage node for the Data Domain
device of the clone operation must be defined as a Client resource on the NetWorker server
The Data Domain volume on the source storage node must be mounted
The Data Domain retention lock is not supported
Checkpoint restart backups are not supported with Data Domain devices.
Licensing changes
Licensing information now provided in NetWorker Licensing Guide New in NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1
All information related to licensing and enabling the NetWorker software is now provided in a new document, the EMC NetWorker Licensing Guide. This guide is available on EMC Powerlink with the other NetWorker documentation at Home > Support > Technical Documentation and Advisories > Software J-O Documentation > NetWorker Family > NetWorker.
Source Capacity Licensing Model
New in NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1
NetWorker Release 7.6 Service Pack 1 introduces a capacity licensing model, whereby you can license the NetWorker software based on a source capacity metric. Source capacity is measured as the aggregate of full backups (measured in terabytes) from all data-sources that are protected by the NetWorker software, irrespective of where the data is moved (for example, from tape, disk, VTL, Avamar Data Store, or Data Domain). The quantity of pre-deduplicated data is included in the calculation.
The source capacity licensing model allows for unlimited access and deployment of all NetWorker features, modules, and options, and simplifies license management and maintenance renewals, since only the source capacity of the datazone is tracked.
The EMC AMP Utility, a virtual appliance, is used to determine and track the backup environment's source capacity usage. The utility is available as a free download from EMC Powerlink.
Visual differences
Setting up a scheduled clone operation
Previously, scheduled clones could only be set up by creating nsrclone scripts that were set to run as scheduled tasks.
New in NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1
With NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1 and higher, you can set up scheduled clone operations through the Configuration tab in NMC, and the
reporting and monitoring functions in NMC have been enhanced for cloning operations. Scheduled clone operations allow you to reduce the backup window when compared to clone operations that are
automatically selected to run as part of a scheduled backup.
Figure 6 Scheduled clone operations in NMC
The nsrclone command is still supported for scheduled clone operations. Note: Cloning works differently for Avamar deduplication backups. The section “Cloning and Avamar deduplication” in the NetWorker
Administration Guide provides more information.
Data Domain integration in NMC
New in NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1
Configuration of backup operations on Data Domain devices is provided by the NetWorker Management Console (NMC) server. The NMC Device Configuration wizard can be used to configure Data Domain storage devices and storage pools.
Also, NMC can be used for configuration of Data Domain functionality in NetWorker, including scheduled clone operations. It is no longer required to use NetWorker commands and scripts to configure and execute backup operations to Data Domain systems.
Figure 7 Data Domain backup configuration in NMC
Reporting and monitoring of deduplication backup, recovery, and replication operations is additionally provided through NMC.
Notifications for Device Ordering/Serial number mismatch issues New in NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1
Upon detecting a device ordering error or serial number mismatch, in addition to an error message being returned, the device is put into service mode and an alert is posted to the Events window and the Monitoring window of NMC. The messages provide instructions to resolve the issue. When the issue is resolved and the device is re-enabled, the event is dismissed.
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 support
New in NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1
NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1 introduces NetWorker client support for Windows 7 (Ultimate Edition and Business Edition on both x86 and x64), and NetWorker server, storage node, client and NetWorker Management Console (NMC) support for Windows Server 2008 R2.
This includes support for the following: File system backup and recovery Online restore of System State
VSS Task Scheduler writer, Metadata Store Writer, and Performance Counters Writer
Note: These writers are backed up as a part of the VSS SYSTEM BOOT FILES save set.
Microsoft Cluster
Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) with Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows 2008 R2 Server core
NMC for Windows Server 2008 R2
The following are not supported: Virtual Hard Disks (VHDs) Hyper-V writer
Cluster Shared Volumes with Windows 7 Deduplication
NMC for Windows 7
Backup and recovery of BOOT/BCD Data on Windows 2008 R2 and Windows 7
In earlier versions of Windows operating system, the BOOT directory was present in the system drive. However, in Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2, a hidden, unmounted system reserved partition is created and the BOOT Configuration Data (BCD) store is saved in this partition. The BCD store contains the boot configuration parameters and controls the computer’s boot environment. BCDEdit is a command-line tool provided by Microsoft to add, delete, edit, and modify data in a BCD store.
During a backup, NetWorker checks for the type of operating system. If it is Windows 7 or Windows 2008 R2, it ensures that the partition containing the BCD is mounted and then assigns a drive letter to the mounted partition and performs the backup of the BCD. The VSS BOOT BCD FILES get backed up as a part of the VSS SYSTEM FILE SET. After a backup, the partition is unmounted.
During recovery, the BCD file is recovered to the folder
c:\boot_restored-{timestamp}. To restore the recovered file, import the file using the following command:
bcdedit /import c:\boot_restored-{timestamp}\BCD Restoring the recovered file is optional.
Backup and offline recovery using Windows Server Backup with NetWorker
For information about the Windows 2008 offline system recovery, refer to the Technical Note titled Windows Server 2008 Offline System Recovery Using Windows Server Backup with Networker at http://Powerlink.EMC.com.
Advanced File Type Device (AFTD) enhancements
The following AFTD enhancements have been made to load balancing, the default values for device target/max sessions, and space usage settings.
Device Configuration Wizard and NMC
AFTDs can be configured using the NMC New Device Wizard.
AFTD Load Balancing
NetWorker volume selection criteria was the same for AFTDs as for tapes, such that when there were multiple available AFTD volumes belonging to the same pool fitting the selection criteria (pool settings), NetWorker would select a volume based on label time. However,
selecting a volume by label time is unnecessary for AFTDs, and results in the first AFTD being overused while others are underused.
The load-balancing scenario for AFTDs has been changed to properly utilize multiple LUNs for improved performance and utilization. Now, among all volumes that fit the selection criteria (pool settings), for the first save set NetWorker chooses the AFTD with the lowest used space, and joins sessions based on device target sessions. When the desired utilization for the first AFTD is reached, the write operation continues with the next AFTD with the least amount of used space, and so on.
Target sessions and max sessions values for AFTDs
Previously, the target session default values for AFTDs were 4 for device target sessions and 512 for device max sessions. However, such values can lead to high concurrencies, resulting in disk thrashing.
The Device target session value has been changed from the default 4 to 1 for AFTDs, and device max sessions has been reduced from 512 to 32.
Intelligent space management
NetWorker now provides a configurable setting for determining at what level NetWorker stops writing to an AFTD. This configurable setting can be from 0% to 100%. If the capacity is defined at a value of 100%, the entire disk capacity is used, though the existing save set cutoff size is still in use.
Key differences between NetWorker 7.6 and previous releases
Licensing changes
Automation of NetWorker update enabler
Previously it was required to manually obtain the correct update enablers; only upon completion of the upgrade and attempting to start the NetWorker server would you receive an error message if you did not apply the update enabler.
New in NetWorker 7.6
With NetWorker Release 7.6, at the completion of a successful installation, when the NetWorker server starts, a check occurs to determine whether an Update enabler is required. If an Update enabler is required, the enabler is added automatically. After the update enabler is added, the NetWorker server generates an alert and displays the alert in NMC (and in nsrwatch) to notify that this enabler needs to be
authorized within 45 days.
Note: If you are upgrading from a 7.5.x release to 7.6 and later, an update enabler is not generated and not required. If you are upgrading from any release previous to 7.5 to release 7.6 and later, the update enabler is auto-generated. However, the enabler indicates "Update enabler for 7.5" and will need to be authorized for a 7.6.x server within 45 days.
License expiration alerts
For license expiry, NetWorker previously sent notification to NMC Alerts tab on the actual day of license expiration, leaving no time to customer to rectify the situation.
New in NetWorker 7.6
NetWorker now displays the following color-coded alerts in the Alerts window of the Administration console, and these alerts continue to be visible on every page in the console starting from 30 days before the expiration of a license:
Yellow indicates a license that is 30 days from its expiration date. This alert continues to appear on a daily basis until 10 days prior to expiration of the license.
Red indicates a license that is 10 days from its expiration date. This alert continues to appear on a daily basis up to and including the expiration date.
NetWorker continues to operate as it did before after 30 days. However, you must type the phrase “grace” to extend the expiration date by an additional 15 days.
Licensing for NetWorker NMDA Module New in NetWorker 7.6
The NetWorker Module for Databases and Applications (NMDA) version 1.0 is a new product that offers the functionality of the following modules:
NMO (NetWorker Module for Oracle) NMDB2 (NetWorker Module for DB2) NML (NetWorker Module for Lotus) NMS (NetWorker Module for Sybase) NMI (NetWorker Module for Informix)
A new enabler has been created for NMDA (either for Win/Lin, or for UNIX). If NMDA is installed on a physical host, the new NMDA enabler allows the full functionality of NMDA for all five applications supported by NMDA.
If NMDA is installed in a virtualized environment (for example, VMs for ESX VMware or Microsoft Hyper-V, Solaris zones for Solaris, LPARs for AIX, and so on), one NMDA license will be required for each application on all VMs.
Authorization of the NMDA enabler code is the same as any other module enabler code. Before the evaluation period ends, contact your EMC sales representative to authorize NMDA or to obtain a temporary enabler code.
Consolidation of NetWorker licensing across Windows and Linux platforms
NetWorker Server, Storage Node and Application Modules had different model codes and license enablers for Windows, UNIX and Linux
Operating Systems. The number of model codes and part numbers representing all three environments create unnecessary complexity.
New in NetWorker 7.6
The NetWorker Windows and Linux model codes are now combined into a single model code, which will be referred to as “Win/Lin”.
Existing licenses are not impacted by this change. New licenses provided for Windows and/or Linux clients will use this new model code.
Visual differences
NetWorker monitoring of Deduplication Replication jobs
Information and monitoring of replication jobs was not available within the NetWorker Management Console.
New in NetWorker 7.6
The NetWorker Management Console now displays activity concerning replication operations performed by the deduplication node under Events in the console. Information on configuring the Events pane to view deduplication operations is provided in the NetWorker Release 7.6 Administration Guide.
NetWorker monitoring for Deduplication Node maintenance operations New in NetWorker 7.6
NMC now monitors the following deduplication operations in the Events pane:
Status of hfscheck running on the deduplication node.
Capacity thresholds on the deduplication node, along with an alert notification when the space threshold is reached.
Hardware failures on the deduplication node.
Monitoring docking panel added to NMC with event and log information permanently visible
The NetWorker Management Console previously used one tab panel, and you had to navigate to the Monitoring window in order to view status information. Also, only one window could be viewed at a time.
New in NetWorker 7.6
The Monitoring window in NMC has been enhanced with a docking panel which enables you to view several monitoring windows at once. Each monitoring window is a floating window that can be repositioned to customize the view.
Figure 8 Monitoring window in NMC
Also, a portion of the Monitoring window, known as the task monitoring area, is always visible across all windows. A splitter separates the task monitoring area from the rest of the window. You can click and move the splitter to resize the task monitoring area. The arrow icon in the top-right corner of the Monitoring window allows you to select which tasks you want to appear in this view.
Changes to Avamar reporting in NMC
The category types for deduplication reports in NMC did not list the same information as the Avamar reports. The columns for capacity of backups, sizes of backups, and space utilized on the deduplication storage node did not match those on the Avamar report.
New in NetWorker 7.6
The NetWorker NMC reports for deduplication have now been
synchronized with the Avamar reports so that the type of data matches what is provided in the Avamar dpnsummary report.
Figure 9 Avamar reports in NMC
New Recovery Reports in NMC New in NetWorker 7.6
Four new recovery reports are available from the Reports task pane in NMC. These reports allow you to view the history of recovery operations that have been performed by NetWorker servers for any NetWorker server version 7.3 and later.
More information on recovery reports is provided in the NetWorker Release 7.6 Administration Guide.
Cloud Functionality for onsite and offsite backup and recovery
The NetWorker software previously did not support the ability to perform backup or recovery using cloud infrastructures.New in NetWorker 7.6
You can now use NetWorker to back up systems to cloud storage and recover from cloud storage. When enabled, backups occur over a TCP/IP network and can be compressed and encrypted. EMC Atmos cloud configurations are supported.
Note: Cloud backups are supported on Windows and Linux storage nodes only.
Further details regarding how to configure NetWorker to backup to an ATMOS Cloud Device and an Atmos OnPremise device are provided in the Configuration section of NetWorker Procedure Generator.
Network connectivity
Cloud backups are highly dependent on the network connection that is used to access the service. Any disruption in connectivity or a slowdown in network access speed may adversely affect cloud backups or
recoveries.
Additionally, if you define large Network Write Sizes for the cloud device, make sure to set the Send/Receive Timeout attribute
proportionally high to avoid read/write timeouts. Optimal values for send/receive timeouts vary depending on the network speed and bandwidth.
VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB) enhancements
VCB Proxy hosts on virtualization map
NetWorker previously did not represent VCB proxy hosts or their relationship to the virtual machines being backed up by the proxy host, making it difficult to determine the proper load balancing of related VCB proxy hosts. Because relationships to virtual machines are not
represented, you could not determine which virtual disks are not being backed up.
New in NetWorker 7.6
NetWorker now visually represents each VCB proxy host on the virtualization map, and visually represents the relationship between each VCB proxy host and the Virtual Machines it is configured to backup.
Using VCB directives for backing up virtual machines
Starting with NetWorker release 7.6, a new VCB directive has been introduced for backing up virtual machines using the VCB methodology. The VCB directive will skip saving the system folders
"WINDOWS\SYSTEM" and "WINDOWS\SYSTEM32" when the save set is either "ALLVMFS" or when performing incremental file-level backups. VCB directives are not supported when performing a level 0 (full) Image backup or when performing specific save set backups such as "C:\".
Only VCB Image backup required to perform image-based or file-based recovery
NetWorker needed to perform both a VCB-based file-level backup (used to recover individual files for the host VM) and a VCB-based image backup of a full virtual machine (used to recover the virtual machine in a disaster recovery) if you wanted to perform a file-level or full image recovery.
New in NetWorker 7.6
NetWorker now requires only the VCB-based image backup in order to perform either an image-based or file-based recovery. Therefore, the administrator is now able to browse the file system, locate the desired file and initiate recovery of only that file from a VCB image backup. More information on VCB-based backups is provided in Chapter 20 of the NetWorker Release 7.6 Administration Guide.
Improved VCB File-level Backup capabilities
For VCB file-level backups, NetWorker was using the Legato NetWorker Integration Module (LNIM) technology, which has some limitations when communicating between the NetWorker server and the NetWorker client on the VCB proxy. These limitations include the difficulty in handling special files (such as encrypting sensitive files and compressing large files, due to the inability to use NetWorker directives when backing up VMs), and the inability to cancel VCB backups or receive completion status of VCB backups using LNIM technology.
New in NetWorker 7.6
NetWorker now supports the file-level backup of virtual machines without using LNIM.
Note: In order to continue encrypting the backup data, use a VCB proxy instead of using NetWorker client agents in each VM.
Applying file-level incremental backups to full image backups
NetWorker did not support incremental or differential backups of virtual machines. Each backup was a full image backup that would result in the consuming of resources (network bandwidth, CPU, Memory and long-term storage medium).
New in NetWorker 7.6
NetWorker now supports file-based incremental and differential backups, and you can recover the whole save set or a single file from those backups.
Upgrading from a NetWorker 7.4 or 7.5 release to 7.6.x for VCB backups on UNIX and Windows
When upgrading from a NetWorker 7.4 or 7.5 release to NetWorker Release 7.6.x for VCB related backups without using the NetWorker Integration module, run the following command on the NetWorker server:
nsrvcbserv_tool -p <VCB proxy hostname or IP address> The upgrading chapter of the NetWorker Release 7.6 Installation Guide provides more information.
Note: NetWorker 7.6 supports only Microsoft Windows 2003 (32-bit or 64-bit) OS on VCB Proxy.
Workflow differences
Checkpoint restart backups
New in NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1
The Checkpoint restart feature allows failed backup operations to restart at a known good point prior to the point-of-failure during backup. A known good point is defined as a point in the backup data stream where the data was successfully written to tape and that data can be located and accessed by subsequent recovery operations.
This feature allows client backups that are part of a scheduled backup to be restarted if they fail while running, preventing files and directories that have already been backed up from being backed up again.
The checkpoint restart feature is not enabled by default. If a NetWorker client is not configured as checkpoint enabled and a backup fails, the next time the group is run, the software creates a new save set from the beginning.
Note: The NMC database cannot be backed up as part of a Checkpoint restart backup. If a backup of the Console database is required, do not select the Checkpoint enabled attribute in the client resource.
ConnectEMC functionality in NMC and the ConnectEMC Console
ConnectEMC is a program that polls information from the RAP database (for example, system configuration data) and creates an .xml file once per month with this data for analyzing by EMC Corporate Customer Service. NetWorker releases previous to 7.6 did not feature support for the ConnectEMC program.
New in NetWorker 7.6
ConnectEMC can now be installed on any Windows 32-bit server, node, or client in the datazone. You can install this package on a host of your choice so you have control over which host ultimately makes the connection to EMC. The default setting in the NetWorker installation process is set to not install, requiring the user to make a selection to install.
Upon installing ConnectEMC, an icon for the ConnectEMC console appears on the desktop. Use the ConnectEMC console and NMC to configure the ConnectEMC program. Configuration instructions are provided in the NetWorker Release 7.6 Administration Guide.
Change in behavior of mminfo output to query for valid save set copies
There was no convenient method to query for save sets with valid clone copies on other volumes using mminfo. This made certain tasks difficult to perform, such as determining if space could be cleared on the EDLs.
New in NetWorker 7.6
A single mminfo query can now be used to check whether all completed save sets on a volume have at least one successful clone on other
volumes. To query for save sets with valid clone copies on other volumes, run the following:
mminfo -q 'volume=<volumename>,validcopies>1'
Support for index-only backup option in the NSR group resource options
attribute list
Support for the -O option is added to the NSR group options to perform index only backups through the NSR group configuration. To enable this option, edit the group by clicking the Advanced tab and selecting Index-Only in the Options section.
NetWorker support for the HomeBase Agent
The NetWorker 7.6 software now supports EMC HomeBase Agent version 6.4 and later. Note however that NetWorker 7.6 releases include the HomeBase Agent version 6.2. If the HomeBase agent installed is version 6.2, the HomeBase server in your environment must also be version 6.2.
HomeBase version 6.4.x is required for BMR of the following host operating systems:
Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows Server 2008 SP2
Windows Server 2003 SP1 or later Windows Server 2003 R2 SP1 or later
To provide bare metal disaster recovery for NetWorker clients on these platforms, upgrade to the HomeBase 6.4 agent. Information about upgrading to and configuring the HomeBase 6.4 agent is available in the
HomeBase Agent Installation and Configuration Guide. Information on bare
metal recovery is available in the HomeBase Recovery and Migration Guide. Note: In NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1, the HomeBase Agent installation will not be bundled with the NetWorker installation package for AIX. HomeBase is still supported on AIX, however, you must download and install the HomeBase Agent manually.
Dedicated Storage Node in Solaris local zone
NetWorker supports a Dedicated Storage Node installed in a Solaris 10 local zone to backup directly to a physically attached device without sending data across the IP network, and manages the sharing of a device between multiple dedicated storage nodes or storage nodes that are installed in multiple local zones of a single physical host, as long as all are contained within a single NetWorker data zone.
Deduplication support for Windows Server 2008 clients
The NetWorker deduplication workflow was not supported on client hosts running Windows Server 2008.
New in NetWorker 7.6
NetWorker now supports deduplication workflow backups for both file systems and application-specific backups on NetWorker clients running any of the editions of the Windows Server 2008 operating system.
New default timeout of 10 minutes for NetWorker server in a MSCS or
Microsoft Failover Cluster
The default timeout for NetWorker server startup in a Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS) or Microsoft Failover Cluster has been changed from 3 minutes per daemon to 10 minutes per daemon. You can now set the server's timeout value by modifying the AdditionalArguments field in the Parameters tab of the NetWorker Server cluster resource.
Note: If upgrading from a version that does not allow you to set the default timeout to a version that does have this feature, re-register the NetWorker resource using regcnsrd.
To set the timeout parameter for the NetWorker server startup: 1. In the Cluster Administrator program, select the resource group
where the NetWorker Server resource exists.
2. In the Parameters tab of the NetWorker Server cluster resource, edit the value for the AdditionalArguments field.
3. Type the following keyword and add a value in seconds. For example:
ServerStartupTimeout=200 where 200 is a numeric value.
Note: The ServerStartupTimeout keyword is case sensitive. The time value is represented in seconds and must be a numeric value. If the entry for the time value is not recognized, the default of 600 seconds (10 minutes) is used for this variable.
Applying file-level incremental backups to full image backups
NetWorker did not support incremental or differential backups of virtual machines. Each backup was a full image backup that would result in the consuming of resources (network bandwidth, CPU, Memory and long-term storage medium).
New in NetWorker 7.6
NetWorker now supports file-based incremental and differential backups, and you can recover the whole save set or a single file from those backups.
Java Runtime Environments (JRE) version 1.6 and later are supported
Java is not included with the NetWorker 7.6 and later install. When installing the Console server software, a minimum JRE version of 1.6 is
required, depending on the operating system. Java is required to run the Console GUI, but is optional for the NMC server.
If you do not have the required Java version installed, go to the Java website to download and install the appropriate JRE version. The NMC console cannot be started until the correct JRE version is installed.
Environment variable added to adjust TCP window sizes
With the addition of the environment variable NSR_SOCK_BUF_SIZE, you can now adjust the TCP window for tuning so that NetWorker can utilize larger TCP window sizes.
The operating system still needs to be configured to enable larger TCP windows. The NetWorker default settings are 64K for Windows and Solaris, and 32K for all other platforms. You can override these defaults by setting NSR_SOCK_BUF_SIZE to the number of bytes desired prior to starting the NetWorker daemons:
NSR_SOCK_BUF_SIZE = <# bytes>
Note: This setting must be changed on all systems in the environment for the desired size to be used (for example, if the server is 128K, any clients would need to be set to 128K); if there are mismatched systems (for example, the server is 128K but one client is 32K), NetWorker will throttle down to the lowest value.
New operating system support
The following operating systems are supported for NetWorker server and client:
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) version 11 Mac OS-X version 10.6
zLinux
Operating systems no longer supported
The following operating systems that were supported by the previous release of NetWorker are no longer supported with release 7.6 and later: Red Hat Advanced Server 2.1
Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 3.0 SuSE Linux Enterprise Server version 8 Mac OS-X version 10.3.x
Solaris 8
Technical considerations prior to upgrading
Note: Please review the NetWorker Software Compatibility Guide
Compatibility Guide
current operating systems, applications and hardware devices in your environment are supported with the latest version of NetWorker before upgrading.
If the operating systems of your current NetWorker server and storage nodes are not supported with the 7.6.x version of NetWorker, you should upgrade your operating system before upgrading the NetWorker application.
Start the upgrade with the NetWorker server and storage nodes. NetWorker clients can be upgraded in phases after the server and storage nodes are upgraded.
For detailed step by step instructions to upgrade a NetWorker server, storage node and/or client to 7.6 including pre-requisite and
interoperability requirements, download the new NetWorker Procedure Generator on Powerlink. This Windows application allows you to generate a precise upgrade procedure that can be viewed with Microsoft Word. Currently upgrade procedures are available for Windows, Solaris and Linux with the remaining operating systems to come shortly. NetWorker Procedure Generator is available for download on Powerlink:
Home > Support > Product and Diagnostic Tools > NetWorker Procedure Generator
NetWorker catalog consistency checking
Before the Upgrade please ensure the NetWorker’s catalog consistency by running the following commands:
nsrim –X nsrck –m nsrck –L6
Servers and storage nodes should be upgraded together
It is considered best practice to upgrade servers and storage nodes to the same release level. It is also best practice to upgrade storage nodes prior to upgrading servers.
Parallelism recommended settings
The client parallelism attribute for a NetWorker client is set to 12 by default. This value can cause problems with interoperability features such as Avamar, EMC Celerra backups, and VSS backups.
Set the client parallelism attribute on NetWorker clients to 4. However, keep the NetWorker server client parallelism attribute set to 12.
Install Solaris 10 Encryption Kit on Solaris 10 AMD64 and Intel
When installing or upgrading to NetWorker Release 7.6.x on Solaris 10 AMD64 or Intel, ensure that the Solaris 10 Encryption kit is already installed on that host. This kit includes the packages SUNWcrman, SUNWcry, and SUNWcryr, and is available from the official SUN Solaris web downloads at Scroll down under "S" to find the link to the Solaris 10 Encryption Kit. Failure to install this kit prior to the installation of NetWorker will result in NetWorker NOT functioning on the Solaris 10 AMD and Intel
platforms.
Install Secure Storage library for lockbox creation on HP-UX ia64
When you create a lockbox entry (using either nsradmin, NMC, or the client configuration wizard) on HP-UX ia64, lockbox entry creation fails with an error indicating that the Secure Storage Library was not
initialized. This is due to a missing library, libccme.sl.
A hot fix containing the missing library libccme.sl has been provided in /usr/src/patches/2009/NW110377/NW/7.6/hp11ia64. Instructions for installing the hot fix are provided in the ReadMe file at
/usr/src/patches/2009/NW110377/README.
Back up NETWORKER.cfg file prior to upgrading from any version previous
to NetWorker 7.5 Service Pack 2
When upgrading from any version of NetWorker previous to 7.5 Service Pack 2, the NETWORKER.cfg file must be backed up on each client and used to replace the new NETWORKER.cfg file created after the upgrade, in order to maintain user preferences.
Re-enabling libraries if they become disabled after upgrade
After upgrading from a NetWorker 7.4 release to NetWorker 7.6.x, configured libraries may not become available and, after several
unsuccessful connection attempts, may be disabled. This may be due to a Control Port change.
To work around this issue: 1. Disable the library
2. Re-scan the Storage node where the failure occurred. 3. Re-enable the library.
The Library now appears in the Ready State.
Configuring LDAP authentication after upgrade
If a NetWorker 7.5.x Console server is configured to use LDAP for authentication and you are updating to release 7.6.x, in some cases NMC may fail to start after the update. If this occurs, the gstd.raw file in the Console's logs directory contains the message "acm: External directory library initialization failed".
Reset the Console authentication configuration and reconfigure LDAP by performing the following steps:
1. Ensure that the gstd service is not running. If gstd is running, stop the service.
2. Go to <NMC install directory>/cst.
3. Delete the files Config.xml, csp.clb, csp.clb.bak and upgrade_cst.tag, if present.
4. Copy Config.xml.template to Config.xml. 5. Start the Console.
6. The Console starts in native authentication mode.
7. Log in as Console's 'administrator' user with the password that was last set for this user before switching to LDAP mode.
8. Go to Setup > Configure Login Authentication and configure LDAP again.
Installing ConnectEMC
When performing a new installation of the NetWorker software, a prompt to install ConnectEMC displays after you select the installation type (either server, client, or server and client). ConnectEMC is a
program that generates an .xml file once per month from information in the RAP database (such as data related to system configuration and server errors), and sends the file to EMC Corporate Customer Service for the purpose of analyzing the customer’s NetWorker configuration if a failure occurs.
If installing ConnectEMC, the minimum installation must be client and it must be installed on a system running Windows 32-bit (x86). More information on installing ConnectEMC and best practices for installing is provided in the NetWorker Release 7.6 Installation Guide.
Installing ConnectEMC when updating the software
The ConnectEMC prompt does not appear if you are updating the NetWorker software. If you are updating a client to NetWorker release 7.6.x from a previous release and want to install ConnectEMC, you must uninstall then reinstall on the client.
Mac OS X installation changes
Starting with NetWorker 7.6 Service Pack 1, the NetWorker client for Mac OS X now uses launchd instead of SystemStarter to manage the NetWorker daemons (nsrexecd). Note the following changes:
the NetWorkerUninstall script is now located in /usr/sbin instead of /Library/Receipts/NetWorker/Contents/Resources/NetWorkerUn install
to restart nsrexecd, run launchctl start com.emc.NetWorker instead of SystemStart start NetWorker.
to shut down nsrexecd, only the -l option is supported; nsr_shutdown is no longer used to shut down nsrexecd.
Linux package requirements
Ensure that these packages are installed before installing openmotif on all Linux architectures:
expat-1.95.7-4.s390.rpm libstdc++-3.4.6-11.s390.rpm freetype-2.1.9-8.el4.6.s390.rpm fontconfig-2.2.3-13.el4.s390.rpm xorg-x11-Mesa-libGL-6.8.2*.rpm xorg-x11-libs-6.8.2*.rpm
To install the required libraries on Red Hat or SuSE platforms: 1. Determine if the following Linux packages are already installed:
Note: If you have access to "yum" repositories on your system you can simply type the following command for automatic validation and installation of the latest version of a particular package: # yum install <package_name> Where <package_name> refers to the package requirements listed in the steps below.
a. openmotif:
rpm –qa | grep openmotif
b. compat-libstdc++-33-3.2.3.-47.3 or later rpm –qa | grep compat-libstdc++ c. glibc-2.3.4 or later:
rpm –qa | grep glibc
Note: If configuring more than 32 VLAN NICs, install glibc 2.5-12 or later.
d. (Red Hat only) libXp.so.6 and libXm.so.3: #ls -l /usr/X11R6/lib/libXp.so.6 #ls –l /usr/X11R6/lib/libXm.so.3
Note: By default, these libraries are not part of the operating system. On Red Hat Linux 4, libXp.so.6 is installed with the xorg-x11-deprecated-libs rpm. These packages are in Red Hat Linux 5, but are not selected by default. To select these packages, when installing Red Hat 5, in the Optional Packages in X
Software Development Packages, individually select libXp.so.6 and libXm.so.3.
e. (SuSE 10 only) libcap1-1.10-10.1.i586.rpm: rpm –qa | grep libcap
f. Pdksh (not required for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5): rpm –qa | grep pdksh
Red Hat Advanced Server 2: pdksh-5.2.14-13.i386.rpm or later Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3: dksh-5.2.14-21.i386.rpm or later Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4: dksh.5.2.14-30.i386.rpm or later. SuSE 8 and 9 Itanium processor: pdksh-5.2.14-19i386.rpm SuSE 8 and 9 x86: pdksh-5.2.14-532.i386.rpm
Note: If the zh_CN.utf8 locale is used, ensure that both the founder-simplified-0.20040419-6.1.noarch.rpm and the
ttf-founder-traditional-0.20040419-6.1.noarch.rpm packages are also installed. 2. Download any required missing packages to a temp folder on the Linux computer. The operating system website provides download details specific to the operating system.
3. Change to the temp directory where the packages are downloaded. 4. Unzip the packages:
gunzip file_name.gzip 5. Untar the packages:
tar –xvf file_name.tar 6. Install the packages:
rpm –ivh file_name
7. Remove the packages from the temp directory.
HP-UX package requirements
Ensure that packages on the following HP-UX systems have been downloaded and installed.
HP-UX RISC package requirements
The NetWorker services cannot be started on an HP-UX RISC system until the following patches are downloaded from the HP web site: QPK1123(B.11.23.0712.070a) 1185010 Quality Pack Depot PHSS_37492
To obtain these patches, go to http://itrc.hp.com and click on patch database . You must provide an appropriate username and login to download the patches.
HPia64 and HP-UX 11.23 package requirements
PHSS_37500 and its dependency patch PHSS_39101 must be installed and changes are required to be made in the nsswitch.conf file and /etc/hosts file or nsrexecd will core dump after installing or upgrading to NetWorker 7.6.x
To download the patch and update the configuration and hosts file:
1. Go to the HP web site at
PHSS_37500 and PHSS_39101. You must provide an appropriate username and login to download the patch.
2. Run the patch to install.
HP-UX 11iv1 package requirements
The IPv6NCF11i package is included in UX 11.23 and later. For HP-UX 11i v1, IPv6NCF11i must be installed from the HP website:
1. Locate the IPv6NCF11i packages on the HP website. 2. Install the first depot,
J4256AA_A.02.01.01_HP-UX_B.11.11_32_64.depot. 3. Type the following command:
swinstall -x autoreboot=true -s
$PWD/J4256AA_A.02.01.01_HP-UX_B.11.11_32_64.depot \* 4. Install the second depot,
IPv6NCF11i_B.11.11.0705_HP-UX_B.11.11_32+64.depot. 5. Type the following command:
swinstall -x autoreboot=true -x enforce_dependencies=false –s
$PWD/IPv6NCF11i_B.11.11.0705_HP-UX_B.11.11_32+64.depot Note: If the NetWorker services on an HP-UX version previous to 11.23 are started without installing the packages, the nsrexecd daemon may not start. This will result in a core dump, and return the error message “Unable to find library libipv6.sl”.
TOUR packages for HP-UX 11iv1, HP-UX11iv2, HP 11.23 and lower
Install the TOUR 2.0 packages, available from the HP web site, using the following steps:
1. Navigate to the HP web site and search for the TOUR 2.0 packages. 2. Install the first depot,
J4256AA_A.02.01.01_HP-UX_B.11.11_32_64.depot. 3. Run the following command:
swinstall -x autoreboot=true -s
4. Install the second depot, IPv6NCF11i_B.11.11.0705_HP-UX_B.11.11_32+64.depot.
5. Run the following command:
swinstall -x autoreboot=true -x enforce_dependencies=false -s
$PWD/IPv6NCF11i_B.11.11.0705_HP-UX_B.11.11_32+64.depot Required package for CDI support
PHKL_36312 is required on the NetWorker server and storages for CDI support on devices. To download the patch
1. Go to the HP web site a
PHKL_36312. You must provide an appropriate username and login to download the patch.
2. Run the patch to install.
HP-UX Package Requirements for NetWorker Management Console
The following patches are required to run NMC on an HP-UX server:
HP-UX 11i v1 PHSS_38154
GOLDBASE11i for HP-UX 11i vi (GOLDBASE11i is a bundle contained in GOLDQPK11i, available on the HP Support Plus CDs)
HP-UX 11i v2 PHSS_38134
HP-UX 11i v3 PHSS_38135
Operating system connectivity tuning
NetWorker now uses two file descriptors for each active session. Since the maximum number of sessions on a backup server is limited to 512 sessions, setting the number of available file descriptors to 1048 is sufficient for all environments. Note that some operating systems have a value of 256.
Performance issues can be encountered when offloading is enabled on a network interface card and TCP CRC is used as a checksum. It is recommended to disable offloading:
# ethtool -K eth0 tso off
EMC also recommends increasing the network interface card queue length. Most new network interface cards already have this as a default. # ifconfig eth0 txqueuelen 1000
Recommended settings for UNIX and Linux
Kernel parameter tuning for all UNIX and Linux systems
EMC recommends that for all UNIX and Linux systems, the following kernel parameters should be increased. The amount that these
parameters should be increased is relative to the physical memory of the system; however, you should consider increasing these to at least twice the default settings.
maxfiles (number of file descriptors per process) maxsiz (size of stack segment)
maxmsg (message sizes)
nfiles/nflocks (the number of file descriptors/locks) semmax (the number of semaphore sets available) shmmax (shared memory)
The following settings are recommended for specific UNIX and Linux operating systems:
AIX
Increase TCP buffers by modifying the tcp_sendspace and tcp_recvspace parameters to 524288.
Solaris
Use the ndd –set /dev/tcp command to set the following values: tcp_conn_req_max_q 1024
This parameter sets the maximum number of pending, non-processed TCP requests.
tcp_conn_req_max_q0 4096
Normally, this setting is four times the tcp_conn_req_max_q parameter.
tcp_time_wait_interval 60000
This allows Solaris to free connections faster once they are closed.
HP-UX
EMC recommends increasing the max_thread_proc kernel parameter from 64 to at least 256, and nfile to at least 4096.
TRU64
Under /etc/sysconfigtab, please set the following values: socket: somaxconn = 65535 sominconn = 65535 proc: open_max_hard = 32768 open_max_soft = 32768 ipc: sem_mni = 1024 sem_msl = 512 sem_opm = 512 sem_ume = 512 shm_allocate_striped = 1 shm_max = 2139095040 shm_min = 1 shm_mni = 256 shm_seg = 256 inet: tcbhashnum = 16 tcbhashsize = 8192 Linux
To increase the connection backlog (hash tables) to a maximum allowed value, modify the following parameters in /etc/sysctl.conf as follows:
net.ipv4.tcp_max_syn_backlog = 8192 net.core.netdev_max_backlog = 8192
To increase the memory size available for TCP buffers, modify the parameters as follows:
net.core.rmem_max = 16777216 net.core.wmem_max = 16777216
net.ipv4.tcp_rmem = 4096 87380 16777216 net.ipv4.tcp_wmem = 4096 65536 16777216 The following keepalive values are recommended:
net.ipv4.tcp_keepalive_intvl = 30 net.ipv4.tcp_keepalive_probes = 10 net.ipv4.tcp_keepalive_time = 3420
The following timeout after improper close is recommended: net.ipv4.tcp_fin_timeout = 60
The following RPC value is provided: sunrpc.tcp_slot_table_entries = 64
Connectivity and DNS name resolution
Please check your DNS to determine if both forward and reverse lookups are properly configured across your environment for each IP address that is configured on your hosts, even if it is not used by NetWorker. Also, if your DNS is connected to a 100MBit Ethernet network while your backup network is 1GigaBit Ethernet, there will be performance implications under heavy loads, where multiple clients are accessing the DNS at the same time.
Dedicated host for the NetWorker Management Console server
EMC recommends dedicating a host machine for the NetWorker Management Console (NMC) server. If your environment is small (less than 50 clients), you may be able to install the NMC server on the same server that hosts the NetWorker server.Hardware Requirements for the NetWorker server and storage nodes
As a general rule of thumb, the NetWorker server and the storage nodes should not use virtual memory (page or swap), which will decrease performance and will mean that physical memory is not available to process I/Os flowing through the server. A base recommendation of 8 GB of memory is a good starting point for all NetWorker servers and storage nodes.CPU requirements: Please calculate 10MH/z of CPU cycles for every 1 MB of data that is flowing across the server. For example, if the intention is to push 300 MBs through a specific server under heavy load, you would need at least 3 GHz of CPU cycles (300 x 10 = 3GHz). In addition, you should add 30% to that calculation to make sure that maximum of 70% of the CPU is being used under heavy load. If more than 70% of the cycles are being utilized, the CPU response time increases dramatically and may impact processing performance significantly.
Backup Policies
Because there are a number of new disk and tape technologies available for backup, this represents an excellent opportunity to consider changing your backup policies.
In general, EMC recommends a backup policy that consists of: A full backup every month
A differential backup (level 1) every weekend between full backups Incremental backups between differentials
In terms of recoverability speeds, this backup policy works as well as a full backup every weekend and incremental backups between fulls, while providing significant advantages because less data is backed up on a daily basis, which means less backup target capacity is being used. This decreases the chances of backup failures and makes cloning much more affordable.
Firewall considerations
Data Domain port requirements
Regardless of the network connections used, communication and backup through a firewall requires the use of specific ports and protocols. Ensure that the following ports are open between the Data Domain NetWorker and NMC servers:
TCP 111 (NFS portmapper)
TCP 161 (for NMC server to query for alerts and statistics) TCP 162 (SNMPTRAP for NMC server to receive traps to monitor
status and events) TCP 2049 (NFS)
TCP 2051 (Replication, if clone-controlled replication is used, Data Domain to Data Domain systems)
TCP xxxx (select a random port for NFS mountd, 2052 is the default) On the Data Domain system, run the following command from SE mode: # nfs set mountd-port xxxx
Restart the Data Domain system.
The Data Domain system provides functionality to review your network configuration and capabilities, as well as SSH telnet to help diagnose issues.
ATMOS Cloud port requirements
The TCP ports 80 and 443 must be open to use an Atmos COS device. These ports are required to allow
