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NetVault 12.4 - Administration Guide for Managed Service Providers

Introduction Getting started Configuring clients Managing catalog search Configuring storage devices
About storage devices SAN considerations Quest DR Series systems Quest QoreStor NetVault SmartDisk EMC Data Domain Systems Snapshot Array Manager Virtual Tape Libraries Virtual standalone drives Shared Virtual Tape Libraries Physical tape devices Storage tiers
Backing up data Managing policies Restoring data Managing NetVault Backup dashboard Managing jobs Monitoring logs Managing storage devices
Role-based access to manage storage devices Monitoring device activity Managing disk-based storage devices in list view Managing disk-based storage devices in tree view Managing the Snapshot Array Manager Managing tape libraries in list view Managing tape libraries in tree view Managing tape drives in list view Managing tape drives in tree view Adding shared devices
Managing storage media Managing user and group accounts Managing Tenant Monitoring events and configuring notifications Reporting in NetVault Backup Working with client clusters Configuring default settings for NetVault Backup
About configuring default settings Configuring encryption settings Configuring plug-in options Configuring default settings for post-scripts Configuring default settings for Verify Plug-in Configuring Deployment Manager Settings Configuring Job Manager settings Configuring Logging Daemon settings Configuring Media Manager settings Configuring Network Manager settings Configuring Process Manager settings Configuring RAS device settings Configuring Schedule Manager settings Configuring Web Service settings Configuring Auditor Daemon settings Configuring firewall settings Configuring general settings Configuring security settings Synchronizing NetVault Time Configuring the reporting utility Configuring NetVault Backup WebUI default settings Configuring NetVault Backup to use a specific VSS provider Configuring default settings using Txtconfig
Diagnostic tracing Managing diagnostic data Using the deviceconfig utility NetVault Backup processes Environment variables Network ports used by NetVault Backup Troubleshooting
Common errors Safe Mode in NetVault Backup

Secondary Copy

With a backup job, you can choose to run a Phase 2 job to create a Secondary Copy, which can be used for off‑site storage and disaster recovery purposes. NetVault Backup provides two methods to create a Secondary Copy: Duplicate and Data Copy.

Duplicate

The Duplicate method creates an exact copy which is linked to the original backup. This method breaks down the backup into segments and copies the segments to the storage device. During restore, the segments from the primary backup and secondary copy are interchangeable. As it is not possible to mix unencrypted segments with encrypted segments during restore, you cannot enable or disable encryption for the Duplicate. If the original saveset is encrypted, the Duplicate method creates an encrypted copy. If the original saveset is not encrypted, this method creates an unencrypted copy.

Data Copy

The Data Copy method breaks down the backup into segments and copies the segments to the backup device. During restore, either the primary backup or the secondary copy is used to recover data; the segments from the primary backup and secondary copy are not interchangeable. Therefore, it is possible to enable encryption for the Data Copy when the primary copy is unencrypted. This option is useful when you want to use the deduplication option for primary backups.

The Data Copy job has two requests: one for read and another for write. When you set a priority to the Data Copy job, the first request (source request) receives the priority that the user assigns to it; the subsequent request (destination request) served as first priority in the background with priority 0 or 1. This implementation is to avoid waiting for the destination media request to be served if the source media is available.

 
* 
NOTE: If the primary copy is encrypted, the Data Copy method automatically creates an encrypted saveset.

Snapshot-based backups

On supported Windows platforms, NetVault Backup plug-ins can use a hardware or software VSS provider to create consistent point-in-time copies of volumes, and use these snapshots to perform backups. The plug-ins can also create persistent snapshots, which can be used for data recovery operations.

Currently, the NetVault Backup Plug-in for FileSystem supports snapshot-based backups.

There are multiple ways in which you can configure the plug-in to perform VSS-based backups. You can configure the plug-in to:

•
Create and use snapshots to perform backups to disk- or tape-based storage devices.
•
Create and use snapshots to perform backups to disk- or tape-based storage devices, and retain snapshots as backups on supported disk arrays.

To create and use persistent snapshots, the data that you want to back up must reside on supported disk arrays. For more information about OS versions, plug-in versions, and disk arrays that support persistent snapshots, see the Quest NetVault BackupCompatibility Guide.

Backup retirement

A backup can be retained indefinitely or retired after a specified period. NetVault Backup supports generation- and time-based retirement methods for backups. When a backup is retired, its index is deleted from the NetVault Database.

Backup retirement methods

You can specify generation- and time-based retirement methods for backups:

•
Generation-based backup retirement: This method specifies the maximum generation count for a Full Backup (that is, the maximum number of Full Backups that are retained for the same data set). Generation-based retirement can only be set for Full Backups. When the number of Full Backups exceeds the specified generation count, the oldest Full Backup is retired.
•
Time-based backup retirement: This method specifies the length of time a backup is retained. You can specify the retirement age for backups in number of days, weeks, or years. A backup is retired when the retirement age is reached. Time-based retirement can be set for all backup types (that is, Full, Incremental, and Differential).
 
* 
NOTE: When a backup stored on a disk-based storage device (such as NetVault SmartDisk, Quest DR Series system, or Data Domain system) is retired, that backup is deleted from the device. You cannot import the deleted backup by scanning the device.
Retirement rules for dependent backups

If a backup has any dependent backups, you can use the following rules to delete the backup series:

•
Retire all backups when the last backup is retired: By default, the retirement of a backup series is deferred until all backups from this series are ready for retirement. The backups from an Incremental series or a Differential series are retired when the last dependent backup from the series is retired.
•
Retire all backups when the first backup is retired: NetVault Backup lets you modify the retirement behavior to retire a backup series when the first backup is retired. When this rule is applied, the backups from an Incremental series or a Differential Series are retired when the first backup from the series is retired.
You can choose to apply this rule in the following ways:
•
Use the Retirement Timing Control settings to change the default behavior for all backups
•
Use the saveset retirement settings to override the default behavior for selected backups

The following examples illustrate the retirement behavior for different backup series:

•
Example 1: Incremental Backup series
•
Example 2: Differential Backup series
•
Example 3: Mixed backups (Full, Incremental, and Differential Backups)
Example 1: Incremental Backup series

In this example, Full Backups are performed on Sunday and Incremental Backups are performed from Monday through Saturday. The retention period is set to seven days.

 
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

Full Backup

Incremental Backup 1

Incremental Backup 2

Incremental Backup 3

Incremental Backup 4

Incremental Backup 5

Incremental Backup 6

The Incremental Backups depend on the most recent backup of any type (Full, Incremental, or Differential). Therefore, these backups create a single backup series:

Full Backup <- Incremental Backup 1 <- Incremental Backup 2 <- Incremental Backup 3 <- Incremental Backup 4 <- Incremental Backup 5 <- Incremental Backup 6

Depending on the retirement rule that is applied, the backups are retired as follows:

•
Retire all backups when the last backup is retired: When you apply this rule, all backups from this series are retired on Day 15.
•
Retire all backups when the first backup is retired: When you apply this rule, all backups from this series are retired on Day 8.
Example 2: Differential Backup series

In this example, Full Backups are performed on Sunday and Differential Backups are performed from Monday through Saturday. The retention period is set to seven days.

 
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

Full Backup

Differential Backup

Differential Backup

Differential Backup

Differential Backup

Differential Backup

Differential Backup

Differential Backups depend on the recent Full Backup. Therefore, these backups create six separate backup series:

Full Backup <- Differential Backup 1

Full Backup <- Differential Backup 2

Full Backup <- Differential Backup 3

Full Backup <- Differential Backup 4

Full Backup <- Differential Backup 5

Full Backup <- Differential Backup 6

Depending on the retirement rule that is applied, the backups are retired as follows:

•
Retire all backups when the last backup is retired: When you apply this rule, the backups from this example are retired as follows:
 
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15

None

None

Differential Backup 1

Differential Backup 2

Differential Backup 3

Differential Backup 4

Differential Backup 5

Full Backup and Differential Backup 6

•
Retire all backups when the first backup is retired: When you apply this rule, all backups from this example are retired on Day 8.
Example 3: Mixed backups (Full, Incremental, and Differential Backups)

In this example, Full Backups are performed on Sunday, Incremental Backups are performed on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and Differential Backups are performed on Wednesday and Saturday. The retention period is set to seven days.

 
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

Full Backup

Incremental Backup 1

Incremental Backup 2

Differential Backup 1

Incremental Backup 3

Incremental Backup 4

Differential Backup 2

The Differential Backups depend on the recent Full Backup, while the Incremental Backups depend on the most recent backup of any type (Full, Differential, or Incremental). Therefore, these backups create three separate backup series:

Full Backup <- Incremental Backup 1 <- Incremental Backup 2

Full Backup <- Differential Backup 1 <- Incremental Backup 3 <- Incremental Backup 4

Full Backup <- Differential Backup 2

Depending on the retirement rule that is applied, these backups are retired as follows:

•
Retire all backups when the last backup is retired: When you apply this rule, the backups from this example are retired as follows:
 
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15

None

None

None

Incremental Backup 1 and Incremental Backup 2

None

None

Differential Backup 1, Incremental Backup 3, and Incremental Backup 4

Full Backup and Differential Backup 2

•
Retire all backups when the first backup is retired: When you apply this rule, all backups from this example are retired on Day 8.

About NetVault Backup Sets

NetVault Backup Sets are used to create backup and restore jobs.

You can use sets to store data selections, backup and restore options, scheduling options, device and media options, and other advanced backup and restore options. Sets eliminate the need to manually select the data items or configure backup and restore options for each job, and allow you to quickly and easily apply the same data selections and options to multiple jobs.

For example, you can save the data selections in a Backup Selection Set, and use this set to create Full, Incremental, and Differential Backup jobs to ensure that the same data set is used for all jobs. Similarly, you can change the day, date, or time in a Schedule Set to automatically change the job schedule for multiple jobs, or specify a new device for backups by changing the Target Set.

Set types

The following table describes the set types that are available in NetVault Backup.

 
Table 38. Set types
Set type
Descriptions

Backup Selection Set

This set is used to specify data selections for backup jobs. The data items that are available for selection depend on the plug-in in use.

For more information about these sets, see the relevant plug-in user's guide.

Plugin Options Set

This set is used to specify the backup method, backup type, and other backup options.

The backup options that are available to a job depend on the plug-in in use. For more information about these sets, see the relevant plug-in user's guide.

Schedule Set

This set is used to specify scheduling options for backup and restore jobs. These options define when and at what intervals a job runs.

NetVault Backup includes the following predefined Schedule Sets:

•
Immediate
•
Daily 10 PM
•
Friday 10 PM
•
Week Night 10 PM

Source Set

This set is used to specify source device options.

A Source Set is required for the following jobs:

•
Plug-in for Consolidation jobs
•
Plug-in for Data Copy jobs
•
Secondary Copy jobs
•
Restore jobs

NetVault Backup includes the following predefined Source Set:

•
Any Device

Target Set

This set is used to specify target device and media options for backup jobs.

NetVault Backup includes the following predefined Target Sets:

•
Default Backup Target Options
•
Local Only
•
Reuse Old Media
•
Stand-alone

Backup Advanced Options Set

This set is used to specify backup retirement settings, Secondary Copy job definitions, user-defined events, and other advanced options.

NetVault Backup includes the following predefined Backup Advanced Options Sets:

•
Default Advanced Backup Options
•
Keep forever (Archive)
•
Encrypt

Restore Selection Set

This set is used to specify data selections for restore jobs.

The data items that are available for selection depend on the plug-in in use. For more information, see the relevant plug-in user's guide.

Restore Advanced Options Set

This set is used to specify restore type, user-defined events, and other advanced restore options.

NetVault Backup provides the following predefined Restore Advanced Options Set:

•
Restore from selected backup
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