NetVault Bare Metal Recovery 10.5 - User Guide for Plug-ins

Installing Plug-in Live Client for Linux on each Linux®-based NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client

From the machine acting as the NetVault Backup Server, access the NetVault Configuration Wizard or Manage Clients page.


	NOTE: If the selected clients are all the same type, you can use the configuration wizard to install the plug-in on multiple clients at the same time. When you select multiple clients, verify that the plug-in binary file is compatible with the OS and platforms of the target clients. From the Manage Clients page, you can only select one client for plug-in installation.

•

To access the NetVault Configuration Wizard page:

In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration.

On the NetVault Configuration Wizard page, click Install Plugins.

On the next page, select the applicable client (one or more of the Linux-based clients previously added to the NetVault Backup Server as NetVault Backup Clients).

•

To access the Manage Clients page:

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients.

On the Manage Clients page, select the applicable client (a Linux-based client previously added to the NetVault Backup Server as a NetVault Backup Client), and click Manage.

On the View Client page, click the Install Plugin button (

Click Choose Plug-in File, navigate to the location of the Linux-based version of the “.npk” installation file for the plug-in (on the installation CD or the directory to which the file was downloaded from the website).

Based on the operating system (OS) in use, the path for this software may vary on the installation CD.

Select the file entitled “drx-x-x-x-x.npk” (where xxxxx represents the version number and platform), and click Open.

To begin installation, click Install Plugin.

After the plug-in is successfully installed, a message is displayed.

Storix® installation

Installation of this plug-in on the NetVault Backup Server and each Linux® Client also creates two additional directories on the machine:

•

/storix

•

/opt/storix

These directories contain Storix SBAdmin — a third-party DR boot utility application that is used by this plug-in to perform backups and restores. The data contained within these directories is required by this plug-in. Removal of these directories results in the inability to use the plug-in.

When you install the Plug-in Live Client for Linux, two additional Storix directories are created — the Storix Bin directory and the Storix Temp directory.

The Storix Bin directory is where the Storix software is installed. With Plug-in Live Client for Linux 3.0 and earlier, the Storix Bin directory is located in /opt/storix/bin by default. With Plug-in Live Client for Linux 3.1 and later, the default Storix Bin directory is /usr/bin — the binaries in this directory set up the correct environment and then call the scripts in /opt/storix/bin.

The Storix Temp directory contains the “linuxboot.iso” file after a successful backup. It resides in /storix/temp by default. With Plug-in Live Client for Linux 3.0 and earlier, both the Storix Bin and Storix Temp directory locations can be changed by using NetVault Backup Configurator. With Plug-in Live Client for Linux 3.1 and later, only the directory location for Storix Temp can be changed through the VaultDR Linux Online section on the Plug-in Options dialog box. The Storix Bin directory can only be changed from the configuration file.

The BB Agent Timeout option can also be set through the VaultDR Linux Online section on the Plug-in Options dialog box. This option indicates the time (in seconds) that the plug-in waits for a Storix request before timing out. The default is 360 seconds.

If you change the location of the Storix Temp directory, before performing a DR backup by using the NetVault Backup WebUI, you must configure the new Storix Temp path in the Plug-in Options dialog box.

For example, if you change the Storix Temp directory to /storix/temp222, perform the following steps.

On the Linux Client, create the directory where the Boot Image should reside:

mkdir /storix/temp222

In the Navigation pane of the NetVault Backup WebUI, click Change Settings.

Click Client Settings.

Select the client on which Plug-in Live Client is installed, and click Next.

On the Settings page, click Plugin Options.

In the VaultDR Linux Online section of the dialog box, modify the path and name in the Storix Temp Directory field so that it is identical to the path and name created in Step 1.

To save the settings, click Apply.

Removing Plug-in Live Client for Linux®

To remove the plug-in:

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients.

On the Manage Clients page, select the applicable machine (the NetVault Backup Server or an NetVault Backup Client with the Plug-in Live Client for Linux installed), and click Manage.

In the Installed Software table on the View Client page, select the applicable plug-in for removal (for example, Plug-in Live Client for Linux), and click the Remove Plugin button (

In the Confirm dialog box, click Remove.

Removal of associated subdirectories

As outlined in Storix® installation, installation of this plug-in on a Linux® NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client creates additional subdirectories that are required for use by this plug-in. The removal process outlined in the previous section does not automatically remove these additional “storix” directories and other related data.

To remove all associated directories and files:

From the machine containing the installation of this plug-in, navigate to /opt/storix/bin:

cd /opt/storix/bin

At the command prompt, issue the following command to remove the remaining directories:

./stuninstall

Respond “y” to each prompt that appears regarding the removal of user configuration and history files.

The following shows the screen output for these steps.

# cd /opt/storix/bi

# ./stuninstall

This program will remove Storix System Backup Administrator software

from the system. You may choose to keep the user configuration files in the

/storix directory will not be removed in case you decide to reinstall this or

another version at a later time.

Do you wish to also remove the user configuration and history files

in the data (/storix) directory (y/n)? y

Are you sure you want to remove the software (y/n)? y

Removing system startup configuration ...

Removing program files ...

Removing user data and history files ...

Storix System Backup Administrator has been removed.

Remove the /usr/netvault/util/linux directory by using the following command:

rm -irf /usr/netvault/util/linux

Remove the README files by using the following command:

rm -irf /usr/netvault/util/RE*

Remove the /usr/netvault/util/stinstall directory by using the following command:

rm -irf /usr/netvault/util/stinstall

Generating a DR image


	IMPORTANT: Attempts to perform a Plug-in Live Client for Linux® backup of a system whose hard disk is full or nearly full, may fail. The plug-in requires a portion of the local system’s hard disk to synchronize data. If enough free space is not available for this synchronization of data, the backup fails.

If you changed the default Storix Temp directory (described in Storix® installation), ensure that the new Storix Temp directory exists before continuing with the steps in the following sections.

•

Selecting data for a backup

•

Setting backup options

•

Finalizing and submitting the job

Selecting data for a backup

You must use sets (Backup Selection Set, Backup Options Set, Schedule Set, Target Set, and Advanced Options Set) to create a backup job and create a DR image. For more information, see the Dell NetVault Backup Administrator’s Guide.

To create a Backup Selection Set:

In the Navigation pane of the NetVault Backup WebUI running on the NetVault Backup Server, click Create Backup Job.

You can also start the wizard from the Guided Configuration link. In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration. On the NetVault Configuration Wizard page, click Create backup jobs.

In Job Name, specify a name for the job.

Assign a descriptive name that lets you easily identify the job when monitoring its progress or restoring data. The job name can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot include non-English characters. On Linux®, the names can have a maximum of 200 characters. However, a maximum of 40 characters is recommended on all platforms.

Next to the Selections list, click Create New.

Double-click the NetVault Backup Client that is to serve as a target for a DR backup (that is, a machine containing an installation of the Plug-in Live Client for Linux) it to open it.

In the list of installed plug-ins, locate the Plug-in Live Client for Linux (labeled “Plug-in Live Client for Linux”), and double-click it to open it.

An icon representing the NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client appears.

From this level of the selection tree, select the entire Linux Client for inclusion in a DR backup.

Two items appear as non-selectable for the Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client machine:

•

Boot Image: The plug-in scans the Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client machine and incorporates required system information (that is, NIC card driver files) as well as various OS data files into a CD creation file (entitled “linuxboot.iso”). This file can be restored to the NetVault Backup Server where it would be used to create a bootable CD. This CD is then used to boot the same Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client the Boot Image data was taken from to prepare it for the recovery of its backed-up System Image information.

•

System Image: The plug-in performs a DR backup of the entire client system. This backup includes all system information for the Linux NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client, including all partition and Disk Boot Record information.

Note the following important points:

•

The Boot Images data backup incorporates driver information files from the /lib/modules directory on the client machine. Before backing up this data, ensure that proper device information files for all the devices used by the target client are available in the /lib/modules directory.

Note that:

•

The boot CD is unable to load devices for which proper device driver files are not available in the Boot Images backup.

•

The boot CD only loads those devices for which the device drivers are supported by the third-party DR boot utility application used by the Plug-in Live Client for Linux.

•

Plug-in Live Client for Linux does not support the backup of Access Control Lists (ACLs) and attribute information. When a backup of a target Linux system is performed, these details are not included. After the restore of this backup is performed, any ACLs/attributes must be manually recreated.

Click Save, enter a name in the Create New Set dialog box, and click Save.

The name can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot include non-English characters. On Linux®, the names can have a maximum of 200 characters. However, a maximum of 40 characters is recommended on all platforms.

Setting backup options


	IMPORTANT: Attempts to perform a Plug-in Live Client for Linux® backup of a system whose hard disk is full or nearly full, may fail. The plug-in requires a portion of the local system’s hard disk to synchronize data. If enough free space is not available for this synchronization of data, the backup fails.

If you changed the default Storix Temp directory (described in Storix® installation), ensure that the new Storix Temp directory exists before continuing with the steps in the following sections.

•

Selecting data for a backup

•

Setting backup options

•

Finalizing and submitting the job

Selecting data for a backup

To create a Backup Selection Set:

In the Navigation pane of the NetVault Backup WebUI running on the NetVault Backup Server, click Create Backup Job.

You can also start the wizard from the Guided Configuration link. In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration. On the NetVault Configuration Wizard page, click Create backup jobs.

In Job Name, specify a name for the job.

Next to the Selections list, click Create New.