NetVault 13.1.2 - Administration Guide

Setting Backup Life options for continuous data protection

To set the Backup Life options for continuous data protection

On the Advanced Options page, click Backup Life, and configure the following settings.

Table 46. Backup Life options for continuous backups
Option	Description
Discard after full synthetic backup count	Use the arrows to set the maximum number of synthetic full backups to keep before deleting the previous synthetic full backups.
Make Backup Immutable	To make files immutable, select this option. NOTE: This setting is irreversible. After you make backups immutable, you cannot make them not immutable. NOTE: You cannot delete an immutable file until it reaches the selected length of time.

To save the settings and close the dialog box, click Set.


	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. NOTE: When a backup is immutable, it does not retire until it reaches the selected length of time, regardless of the backup count

Specifying additional options

To specify additional options for a backup job

On the Advanced Options page, click Additional Options, and configure the following settings.

Table 47. Additional backup job options

Option

Description

Enable Encryption

NetVault provides two encryption plug-ins:

•

NetVault Plug-in for Standard Encryption (Plug-in for Standard Encryption)

•

NetVault Plug-in for Advanced Encryption (Plug-in for Advanced Encryption)

NOTE: This option is not available for continuous data protection (CDP) backups.

These plug-ins provide support for CAST-128, CAST-256, non FIPS compliant AES-256, and FIPS compliant AES-256 algorithms to meet regulatory backup security requirements. For more information about these plug-ins, see the Quest NetVault Plug-in for Standard Encryption User’s Guide or Quest NetVault Plug-in for Advanced Encryption User’s Guide.

Once the Plug-in for Standard Encryption or Plug-in for Advanced Encryption is installed on a client, you can do either of the following:

•

Configure the plug-in to encrypt all backups originating for the client where the plug-in is installed. For more information about this setting, see relevant the plug-in user's guide.

•

Use the job-level encryption option to encrypt specific backups for the client. You can also select encryption only for the secondary copy.

The job-level encryption option is useful in the following situations:

•

Any plug-in installed on the server or client is incompatible with the encryption plug-ins.

•

Only specific backups on the server or client require encryption.

•

Primary backups do not require encryption, while secondary backups for offsite protection require encryption.

•

Primary backups are targeted to storage devices that support deduplication.

To perform job-level encryption for a primary backup, select the Enable Encryption check box. For more information about using job-level encryption for a secondary copy, see Encrypt Secondary Copy Only.

NOTE: An encrypted backup can be restored to the original client or an alternate client. In both cases, the plug-in must be installed on the target client and it must be configured as it was when the backup was performed — using the same Encryption Key String and Encryption Algorithm.

Enable Deduplication

Deduplication is enabled by default. Clear this check box if the target device does not support data deduplication.

When performing backups to devices that support deduplication, we recommend that you clear this check box for the following jobs:

•

Backups that use the encryption option. Encrypted backups do not deduplicate well and should not be deduplicated.

•

Incremental Backups that you want to consolidate using the Plug-in for Consolidation. By not selecting this option, you eliminate the unnecessary overhead of rehydrating the deduplicated Incremental Backups during the consolidation process. You can enable deduplication while backing up the Consolidated Full Backup.

NOTE: You cannot completely disable deduplication for a Quest DR Series system. The Quest DR Series systems provide a configuration mode for deduplication that controls whether deduplication is performed on the client or on the Quest DR Series system. You can turn off client-side deduplication by setting the Dedupe mode to Passthrough. For more information about this setting, see the Quest DR Series system Administration Guide.

NOTE: When backups stored on the Quest DR Series systems are selected for backup consolidation jobs, the overhead of rehydrating the deduplicated data can have a negative impact on performance.

Verify After Backup

To verify the stream length written to the media and ensure that no blocks were dropped during backup, select this check box.

Backup verification is performed as Phase 2 job after the actual backup is completed. If any dropped blocks are detected, the verification phase reports an error and fails. You must run the backup again if the verification phase fails.

NOTE: The Phase 2 backup verification job does not verify the integrity of data. This phase only verifies that the backup was actually written to the media.

By default, the verification job runs on the NetVault Server. To configure a different client to run the verification phase, see Configuring default settings for Verify Plug‑in.

NOTE: If Verify After Backup is selected for a Data Copy Backup with Duplicate a backup option, verification will be performed for each data stream either with the copy in the source media or with the copy in the target media of the Data Copy Duplicate Backup.

NOTE: If Verify After Backup is selected for a Data Copy Backup with Copy a full backup to produce a new independent copy of the data option selected, verification will be performed for each data stream, including the data streams in the source media and the data streams in the target media of the Data Copy Backup.

Use Network Compression

To use network compression while transferring data over the network, select this check box.

NOTE: This option is not available for continuous data protection (CDP) backups.

The data is compressed on the backup client before being transferred over the network. On the machine to which the target device is attached, the data is decompressed before being written to the media.

Network compression does not work for the following types of jobs:

•

Backups to NetVault SmartDisk

•

Backups to devices attached to NDMP-based NAS filers

•

Backups performed using the NetVault Plug-in for NDMP, NetVault Plug-in for NetWare, and NetVault Bare Metal Recovery products.

Don't Add Saveset Items to the Restore Search Catalog

To exclude a backup with a selected saveset from cataloging, select this check box.

To check the cataloged status (Yes or No) of a saveset, see the ‘Cataloged’ column on the Create Restore Job - Choose Saveset page

Click Set to save the settings and close the dialog box.

Creating a Secondary Copy


	NOTE: This option is not available for continuous data protection (CDP) backups.

To create a secondary copy

On the Advanced Options page, click Secondary Copy.

Click the Create Secondary Copy check box, and configure the following settings.

Table 48. Secondary Copy options

Option

Description

Copy with

Select the method that you want to use to create the Secondary Copy. The available methods are:

•

Duplicate

•

Data Copy

For more information about these methods, see Secondary Copy.

NOTE: For CDP backups, only Data Copy is valid.

NOTE: On NetVault Server 10.0.5 and later, the Plug-in for Data Copy creates index version 4, which is incompatible with earlier versions of NetVault. A client running NetVault 10.0.1 or an earlier version cannot read these index files. To restore Data Copy savesets generated from NetVault Server 10.0.5 or later, the client must also be running NetVault 10.0.5 or later.

Run copy job on

By default, the secondary copy job runs on the NetVault Server. If you want to run the job on a particular client, select the target client.

You can use this option to perform backups on a client with a locally attached physical or virtual tape device.

IMPORTANT:

Use Schedule Set

Select an existing Schedule Set, or click Create New, and configure the schedule type and schedule method. For more information, see Creating Schedule Sets.

NOTE: You cannot use the Repeating and Triggered schedule types to run Secondary Copy jobs. A Secondary Copy job can run only after the Phase 1 job completes successfully. The Repeating and Triggered schedule types can cause a situation where a Secondary Copy job is configured to start before the source saveset is available.

Use Target Set

Select an existing Target Set, or click Create New, and configure the target device and media options for the job. For more information, see Creating Target Sets.

NOTE: When performing Duplicate and Data Copy backups, you cannot use media items that contain the original saveset or a copy of the same backup. NetVault excludes these media items to ensure that copies and original backup do not exist on the same media item. The concept of media does not apply to disk-based devices. If the original saveset is stored on a disk-based device, NetVault does not exclude that device when you run a Duplicate or Data Copy job for that backup.

NOTE: We recommend that you select the same drives for all secondary copy jobs. For example, in a library with four drives, select drives 1 and 2 for the primary backups and drives 3 and 4 for the secondary copies targeted to tape devices. This type of selection avoids deadlocks when running several duplication jobs at the same time.

Use Source Set

Select an existing Source Set, or click Create New, and configure the source device options for the job. For more information, see Creating Source Sets for backup jobs.

Configure the required additional options.

Table 49. Additional options for Secondary Copy

Option

Description

Maximum Streams for Data Copy

Type or select the maximum number of parallel streams that can be generated for the Data Copy job. By default, a single data stream is generated to copy the data items in a sequential manner.

Media Request Timeout

Type or select the amount of time NetVault waits for the backup media. The timeout value is specified in number of minutes. The default value is 10 minutes.

If the required media item is not available within the specified interval, the job is automatically aborted.

If you set the value to zero (0), the Secondary Copy job waits indefinitely until the media is provided or the job is manually aborted.

The maximum timeout period that can be set is 1440 minutes (24 hours), which ensures that current instance is aborted before NetVault runs the next instance of a Daily job.

NOTE: The media request timeout for Phase 1 Data Copy jobs (created using the Plug-in for Data Copy) is controlled by the Media Request Timeout setting in the Backup Options Set; it is not controlled by the Media Request Timeout setting in the Target Set. The media request timeout for Phase 2 (Secondary Copy) Data Copy and Duplicate jobs is controlled by the Media Request Timeout specified in the Backup Advanced Options Set.

Encrypt Secondary Copy Only

To perform job-level encryption for a secondary copy, select the Enable Encryption check box.

This option can only be used with the Data Copy method. To use this option, the Plug-in for Standard Encryption or the Plug‑in for Advanced Encryption must be installed on the client.

Note the following:

•

If the primary copy is encrypted, the Data Copy method automatically creates an encrypted saveset whether you select the Encrypt Secondary Copy Only check box or not. Therefore, this option is only useful when you want to create an encrypted secondary copy from an unencrypted primary copy.

•

Encrypted primary backups are not encrypted again if you select the Encrypt Secondary Copy Only check box for a Data Copy.

•

To restore data from an encrypted Data Copy, you must use the primary copy’s Encryption Key.

For more information about using job-level encryption for a primary backup, see Enable Encryption.

Migrate (Discard Original)

To migrate the backup instead of creating a copy, select this check box. After copying the data, NetVault deletes the index for the original backup.

NOTE: When creating copies of the Plug-in for FileSystem backups, the Migrate option can only be selected for Full Backups that do not have any associated Incremental or Differential Backups. If you select this option for a Full Backup that has an associated Incremental or Differential Backup, NetVault creates the secondary copy successfully, but it does not delete the index for the primary or original backup. For such backups, after creating the copy, you must manually retire the primary or original backup.

Allow Streams to Share Media

This check box is not selected by default.

You can use this option to convert multiple data streams into a sequential data stream. If you do not select this check box, each stream is written separately.

If you are using a disk-based device to store the backup, multiple streams are recommended. For such jobs, there is no need to select this check box.

If you do not select the Allow Streams to Share Media check box for tape devices, each data stream targets a separate media item. Any tape that is used to write a stream is excluded from the allowable media items. If enough tapes are not available for the job, the job fails. When using tape devices to store the backups, you can select this check box to use minimal media items.

Use Optimised Replication Between Devices that Support this Feature

Optimized replication enables transfer of deduplicated data directly from one device to another device of the same type during a Data Copy or Duplicate operation. It provides an efficient method to create secondary copies and offers the following advantages:

•

Copies data in its deduplicated form, which greatly reduces the amount for data transferred over the network.

•

Copies data directly from the source to the destination without using any resources on the NetVault Server.

The following storage devices support optimized replication:

•

Quest DR Series systems: To perform optimized replication, both the source and target Quest DR Series systems must be running the same release version of the DR OS. Replication is not supported between systems that run different releases of the OS.

For example, to replicate data from a source system that is running DR OS 3.x, the target system must be running the same OS release version. Replication is unsuccessful if the target system is running DR OS release 2.0.x or 3.0.x.

NOTE: When optimized replication and backups are performed simultaneously on a Quest DR Series system, the backup throughput is affected.

•

Quest QoreStor Servers

•

NetVault SmartDisk devices: To perform optimized replication, you require NetVault SmartDisk 2.0 or later.

If the login credentials configured for the source and destination NetVault SmartDisk Servers do not match, replication fails. To ensure a successful replication, do one of the following:

- Disable WebDAV authentication on both NetVault SmartDisk Servers.

- Enable WebDAV authentication only on the source server.

- Configure the same login credentials on both servers.

NOTE: When copying a backup from a NetVault SmartDisk to a different device type (for example, VTL, Quest DR Series system, or Data Domain system), you must clear this check box. If you do not clear this check box, the Data Copy or Duplicate job fails or stops responding.

•

DD Boost-enabled Data Domain systems: The secondary copy backups between two DD Boost-Enabled Data Domain systems use the managed file-level replication feature provided by DD Boost.

File-level replication requires the DD Boost Replicator license, which must be installed on both the source and destination Data Domain systems.

NOTE: If the source and target Data Domain systems are running different versions of the Data Domain OS, then for replication to be successful, the target system must be running the higher version of the OS.

Select Source Media Before Target Media

When you select this check box, NetVault tries to acquire the source media before it attempts to acquire the target media for the Data Copy and Duplicate backups.

To set retirement period for the duplicate or data copy saveset, configure the following options.

Table 50. Retirement options for Secondary Copy
Option	Description
Use Life of Original	This option is selected by default. To use the original saveset’s retirement period, leave this option selected.
Discard After	To configure a different retirement period for the Duplicate or Data Copy saveset, select this option. Type or select the length of time that you want to retain the backup, and in the associated list, select the Days, Weeks, Months, or Years option. You can set only time-based retirement period for the copy.
Force Expiry	This check box is displayed when you select the Discard After option. By default, if a Secondary Copy has any dependent backups, its retirement is deferred until all dependent backups are ready for retirement. You can select this check box to retire a Secondary Copy according to its retirement schedule. Forcing this behavior can cause early retirement of dependent Incremental and Differential Backups. To apply this rule globally to all backups, you can modify the Media Manager settings. For more information, see Configuring retirement rules for dependent backups. If the Retirement Timing Control option is set to Force Always, the Force Expiry option is used, regardless of state of this check box.

Click Set to save the settings and close the dialog box.


	IMPORTANT: Data Copy or Duplicate of a persistent snapshot only backup, copies only the index and does not create the redundant copy of the data.

Configuring pre- and post-script options for backup jobs

You can use the pre- and post-script options to run user-defined scripts before a job starts or after a job completes. You can use these scripts to perform tasks such as dismounting or shutting down a database before the job starts or mounting or starting the database after the job completes.

Before configuring pre- or post-scripts, review the following information:

•

The script should be an executable file, for example, “.bat” files on Windows and “.sh” files on Linux.

•

The script file should reside on the target client. It should be available in the scripts directory under the NetVault installation directory.

•

The pre- and post-scripts can contain run-time parameters. These parameters are stored in the environment variable NV_USER_ARG. You can also use other NetVault environment variables in the scripts. For a list of available environment variables, see Environment variables in NetVault.

•

NetVault provides two predefined script files that can be used as post-scripts:

•

psmail: Use this script to send the job completion status to the specified email addresses.

•

psmail_logs: Use this script to send the job completion status and job logs to the specified email addresses.

On Linux and UNIX, the predefined scripts do not have any filename extension. On Windows, the scripts have the filename extension “.bat.”

To run these scripts, specify the following in the Post Script box:

•

Linux and UNIX: psmail or psmail_logs

•

Windows: psmail.bat or psmail_logs.bat

To specify pre- and post scripts

On the Advanced Options page of the target client, click Pre & Post Scripts, and configure the following settings.

Table 51. Pre- and post-script options for backup jobs

Option

Description

Pre Script

This option allows you to run a user-defined script before a job starts. You can use this script to perform any pre -backup preparation, such as dismounting or shutting down a database.

To run a pre -script, do the following:

•

In the Pre Script box, specify the script filename.

•

In the User Parameter box, provide the values for the run-time parameters. The value should be valid and conform to its usage in the script. NetVault does not perform any validity checks for the user parameters.

Post Script

This option allows you to run a user-defined script after a job completes. You can use this script to perform any post -backup processing, like mounting or starting a database after a job completes.

To run a post -script, do the following:

•

In the Post Script box, specify the script filename.

•

Click Set to save the settings and close the dialog box.

The following table illustrates the effect of script exit status on the overall execution and job status.

Table 52. Script execution and backup job status
Process	Result
Pre script	Success	Success	Success	Fail	Fail
Backup job	Success	Success	Fail	Does not run	Does not run
Post script	Success	Fail	Success	Success	Fail
Overall job status	Job completes successfully.	Job completes, but a post-script error is reported.	Job fails, but the post-script runs. An error is reported.	Job fails, and a pre-script error is reported.	Job fails; pre‑ and post-script errors are reported.

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NetVault 13.1.2 - Administration Guide

Setting Backup Life options for continuous data protection

Specifying additional options

Creating a Secondary Copy

Configuring pre- and post-script options for backup jobs