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QoreStor 7.0.1 - User Guide

Introducing QoreStor Setting up your QoreStor system Configuring QoreStor settings Managing containers Managing local storage Managing cloud storage Managing replications Managing Users Monitoring the QoreStor system Support, maintenance, and troubleshooting [[[Missing Linked File System.LinkedTitle]]]

NDMP

The Network Data Management protocol (NDMP) is used to control data backup and recovery between primary and secondary storage in a network environment. For example, a NAS server (Filer) can talk to a tape drive for the purposes of a backup.

You can use the protocol with a centralized data management application (DMA) to back up data on file servers running on different platforms to tape drives or tape libraries located elsewhere within the network. The protocol separates the data path from the control path and minimizes demands on network resources. With NDMP, a network file server can communicate directly to a network-attached tape drive or virtual tape library (VTL) for backup or recovery.

The QoreStor VTL container type is designed to work seamlessly with the NDMP protocol.

iSCSI

iSCSI or Internet Small Computer System Interface is an Internet Protocol (IP)-based storage networking standard for storage subsystems. It is a carrier protocol for SCSI. SCSI commands are sent over IP networks by using iSCSI. It also facilitates data transfers over intranets and to manage storage over long distances. iSCSI can be used to transmit data over LANs or WANs.

In iSCSI, clients are called initiators and SCSI storage devices are targets. The protocol allows an initiator to send SCSI commands (CDBs) to the targets on remote servers. It is a storage area network (SAN) protocol, allowing organizations to consolidate storage into data center storage arrays while providing hosts (such as database and web servers) with the illusion of locally attached disks. Unlike traditional Fibre Channel, which requires different cabling, iSCSI can be run over long distances using existing network infrastructure.

iSCSI is a low-cost alternative to Fibre Channel, which requires dedicated infrastructure except in FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet). Note that the performance of an iSCSI SAN deployment can be degraded if not operated on a dedicated network or subnet

The VTL container type is designed to work seamlessly with the iSCSI protocol. For details, see Creating a VTL type container .

VTL and DR Series specifications

This topic describes key specifications of VTL support in QoreStor.

  • Supported VTL Types — QoreStor supports two types of virtual tape libraries.
    • Standard emulation of StorageTek L700 library
    • Quest OEM version of the StorageTek L700 library

NOTE: The Quest type VTL is supported only with VeritasBackup Exec and Netbackup data management applications (DMAs).

NOTE: Refer to the documentation for your specific QoreStor version, which includes DMA best practices whitepapers and the latest QoreStor Interoperability Guide, for a complete list of the supported DMAs. Visit the following site and select your specific QoreStor to download documentation: support.quest.com/qorestor.

  • Number of Tape Drives — Each tape library contains 10 tape drives of the type IBM-LTO-4 (‘ULT3580-TD4’)
  • Tapes or Media Sizes— Each library initially is created with 60 slots housing 60 tape media of the default size of 800GiB, which is the equivalent of an LTO4 tape.

    You can add additional tapes to the library as needed by editing the container in the GUI or by using the following CLI command:

    vtl --update_carts –-name <name> –-add --no_of_tapes <number>

    NOTE: For more information about using the CLI, see the QoreStor Command Line Interface Reference Guide.

    A library can only contain tapes of the same size. For example, if the library is originally created with 10 tapes of size 10GB, additional tapes of size 10GB can only be added.

    The table below details the tape size and capacity configurations supported by each QoreStor installation type.

    Table 9: Supported tape configurations per installation mode
     Tape Large installation Standard installation Cloud-Optimized installation
    Size Max number of slots supported Size Max number of slots supported Size Max number of slots supported
    LTO-4 800GB 2000 800GB 1000 800GB 500
    LTO-4 400GB 4000 400GB 2000 400GB 1000
    LTO-4 200GB 8000 200GB 4000 200GB 2000
    LTO-4 100GB 10000 100GB 5000 100GB 2500
    LTO-4 50GB 10000 50GB 5000 50GB 2500
    LTO-4 10GB 10000 10GB 5000 10GB 2500

  • Maximum Number of DMAs or Initiators Supported — A tape library can be accessed by one DMA or iSCSI initiator at a time.

Guidelines for configuring VTL

The overall steps and recommended guidelines for using and configuring a virtual tape library (VLT) with QoreStor are described below.

Plan your Environment

Determine the following before creating a container of type VTL.

  • Identify the Data Management Application (DMA) that you will be using to back up data. Refer to the QoreStor Interoperability Guide for a complete list of the supported DMAs.
  • For the NDMP protocol, determine the filer that will be backed up using NDMP Refer to the QoreStor Interoperability Guide for a list of the supported Filers and Operating systems.
  • For the iSCSI protocol, determine the iSCSI initiator’s properties – This is the DMA IP, hostname or IQN of the software initiator on the operating system.
  • Assess the estimated size of full and incremental backups and retention periods.

    NOTE: The size of the full and incremental backups will determine the tape capacity size that you set. You should use a larger tape size for full backups and a smaller size for incremental backups that have smaller retention periods. Note that faster expiration periods of incremental backups residing on smaller tapes results in the release of space back to the system for future backups.

Create Containers of Type VTL

  • Determine the VTL library type (NDMP or iSCSI) that you should be using as per the suggested type in the best practices guide of your preferred DMA.

    Refer to the QoreStor documentation, which includes DMA best practices whitepapers for your specific QoreStor version at support.quest.com/qorestor.

  • When creating the container in the GUI or by using the CLI, you will need to set the connection type of either NDMP or iSCSI. You need to provide either the DMA IP/hostname for NDMP or the IP/hostname or IQN for an iSCSI connection type.

    Refer to the topics, Creating Storage Containers and Creating a VTL Type Container, for detailed instructions about creating containers. Refer to the QoreStor Command Line Interface Guide for details about the CLI commands for creating containers.

Authentication/User Management Considerations

  • You can use the following commands to view user information for the iSCSI user: iscsi_user, and NDMP user: ndmp_user.
    • iscsi --show
    • ndmp --show

    Refer to the QoreStor Command Line Reference Guide for more details about using these commands.

  • For iSCSI, you need to set the system-wide CHAP account for the QoreStor system. You can add this user on the Users page in the QoreStor GUI. See the topic, Adding a User, for instructions for adding an iSCSI user and password.
  • For NDMP, you can set the password for ndmp_user by using the Users page in the QoreStor GUI. These credentials are needed for configuring the NDMP-VTL in the DMA. See the topic, Adding a User, for instructions for adding an NDMP user and password.

Verify the Tape Library Creation

You can easily check that the library has been created and is available for use by using the following commands.

  • Check the container properties by executing the following command:

    container --show –verbose

    • Upon initial addition of the connection, the NDMP/iSCSI connection status shows as ‘Added”. At this time, the library is not officially created.
    • After a few minutes, the NDMP/iSCSI connection status changes to “Available” . This status indicates that the library is online, and the tape drives and media is available for usage.
  • To check the status of the virtual tape library and all the tapes in the library, you can run one of the following commands:
    • vtl –show
    • vtl --show --name <container_name> --verbose

Configure the Library in the DMA

See the QoreStor documentation, which includes DMA best practices whitepapers for your specific QoreStor version at:

support.quest.com/qorestor.
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