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NetVault Plug-in for NDMP 10.0.5 - Application Notes for Dell FluidFS

About backup dump levels

The Plug‑in for NDMP supports both Full and Incremental Backups. The backup type is determined by the Dump Level that can be set to Level 0 for a Full Backup or Levels 1 through 9 for Incremental Backups:

•
Level 0 or Full Backup: A Full Backup provides a backup of all the data in the selected path.
•
Level 1 through 9 or Incremental Backup: The Incremental Backups base themselves on the most recent lower‑level Incremental Backup, and include any data that has changed or is new since the last Full or Incremental Backup.
Examples:
•
Level 1 Incremental Backup includes any data that has changed or is new since the last Level 0 or Full Backup.
•
Level 2 Incremental Backup includes any data that has changed or is new since the last Level 1 Incremental Backup, and so on, up to dump level 9.
Important notes
•
If a directory is included in a dump level 0 backup, it is included in all future dumps even if no changes have occurred. In this instance, the directory is empty and does not contain content. However, it does not negatively affect the recovery of data.
•
Only one dump level is maintained for each selected set of data. For example, after performing Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 Incremental Backups, if you perform a Full Backup, the dump level is reset to 0. The next instance of the Incremental Backup is based on the Full Backup.
•
If an Incremental Backup fails, the subsequent backup is based on the most recent backup of a lower level. For example, if dump level 1 is completed successfully, but dump level 2 fails, dump level 3 is based on dump level 1. The failure of an Incremental Backup is noted in the NetVault Backup logs.

Backing up data using the plug-in

To back up data using the plug-in
1
In the Navigation pane, click Create Backup Job.
— or —
In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration, and then on the NetVault Configuration Wizard page, click Create Backup Jobs.
2
In Job Name, specify a name for the job.
Assign a descriptive name that allows you to easily identify the job for monitoring its progress or restoring data. The job name can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot contain non-Latin characters. There is no length restriction. However, a maximum of 40 characters is recommended on all platforms.
3
In the Selections list, select an existing Backup Selection Set, or complete the following steps to create a set.
a
Click Create New next to the Selections list.
b
On the NetVault Backup Selections page, open the NetVault Backup Server, and then open NDMP Client.
c
In the list of added servers, open the applicable filer to display the Volumes node.
d
Select the data that you want to back up:
•
Back up all NAS Containers: Select the Volumes node.
•
Back up individual NAS Containers: Open the Volumes node, and select the NAS Containers that you want to back up.
e
Click Save, and in the Create New Set dialog box, type a name for the set. Click Save to close the dialog box.
 
* 
NOTE: A set name can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot contain non‑Latin characters. On Linux OS, the names can have a maximum of 200 characters. On Windows OS, there is no length restriction. However, a maximum of 40 characters is recommended on all platforms.
4
In the Plugin Options list, select an existing Backup Options Set, or complete the following steps to create a set.
a
Click Create New next to the Plugin Options list.
b
Under NDMP Backup Options, configure the following settings.
 
Table 1. NDMP Backup Options
Option
Description

Dump Level

Select the type of backup that you want to perform. For a Full Backup, type or select 0. For an Incremental Backup, type or select any level from 1 to 9, based on the previous dump level.

Do Direct Backup

To use Direct Access Recovery (DAR) during restores, leave this check box selected. DAR enables precise tape positioning, which allows quick recovery of individual files.

Without DAR, the backup saveset is read sequentially to restore files.

Snapshot

This variable controls whether a snap shot is taken for the backup.

List of Include Paths

This environment variable specifies a list of comma separated paths to be included in the backup operation. The path specified could be a directory or a file. If the path is a directory, all child elements of that directory are included in the backup. Each path specified is relative to the backup root directory (as specified by the FILESYSTEM environment variable) and must start with the "/" character. Each path can be a maximum of 1K bytes long. The last element of any path can contain a wild card character ("*") at the beginning or at the end.

A maximum of 32 paths can be specified.

If INCLUDE_PATH is specified, SUBTREE_NAME must also be specified.

If the specified INCLUDE_PATH does not exist, the backup fails.

List of Exclude Paths

This environment variable specifies a list of comma separated paths to be excluded in the backup operation. The path specified could be a directory or a file. If the path is a directory, all child elements of that directory are excluded in the backup. Each path specified is relative to the backup root directory (as specified by the FILESYSTEM environment variable) and must start with the "/" character. Each path can be a maximum of 1K bytes long. The last element of any path can contain a wild card character ("*") at the beginning or at the end.

A maximum of 32 paths can be specified.

If EXCLUDE_PATH is specified, SUBTREE_NAME must also be specified.

If the exclude path is not within the include path it will be ignored.

Set Sub Tree Name for Include/Exclude Paths

This environment variable must be specified if INCLUDE_PATH or EXCLUDE_PATH is specified. The specified name is used to track the time stamp of the backups at each backup level to handle incremental/differential backups. The environment variable must be a string of no more than 64 characters.

File and Directory Exclusion

Specifies a matching pattern for directory and file names that are not to be backed up. The environment variable is a list of string separated by comma. Each entry is used to match to nodes encountered during backup. The string can contain an asterisk (“*”) as the wild card character but the asterisk must be the first or last character of the pattern. At most 32 comma separated strings are supported.

Save File Information

This option allows you to browse individual files and directories while selecting data during restore. You cannot restore individual files and directories if you clear this check box.

Dell recommends to keep this check box selected.

c
The Plug‑in for NDMP includes the ability to generate multiple jobs for each container selected in a backup set. We recommend that you set the backups to run in parallel so that it is equal to the number of drives (virtual or physical) targeted for the data-protection backup operation.
To run parallel jobs, configure the following settings under Sub Jobs.
 
Table 2. Sub Jobs
Option
Description

Number of Backups to Run in Parallel

Type or select the number of jobs that can run concurrently. The default value is zero. With the default setting, all jobs in parallel, limited only by the availability of drives, network bandwidth, and other resources.

To achieve the desired result, set the same value for each job.

Delete Auto Generated Backup Jobs on Completion

By default, each subjob is listed on the Job Status page. This can create confusion when you try to view the details of the parent job. To include only a single entry for the parent job, leave this check box selected.

d
Click Save, and in the Create New Set dialog box, type a name for the set. Click Save to close the dialog box.
5
Select or create the Schedule Set, Target Set, and Advanced Options Set. For more information about these sets, see the Dell NetVault Backup Administrator’s Guide.
6
To submit the job for scheduling, click Save & Submit. You can monitor the job progress from the Job Status page and view the logs from the View Logs page.
To save the job definition without scheduling it, click Save. You can view, edit, or run this job from the Manage Job Definitions page. This job is not displayed on the Job Status page until you submit it.
For more information about Job Status, View Logs, and Manage Job Definitions, see the Dell NetVault Backup Administrator’s Guide.

Backup content filtering

NDMP include/exclude path adds an ability to include or exclude certain paths for NDMP backup and restore operations. While defining a backup using DMA, you can select specific directories from the virtual NAS volume to include in, or exclude from, NDMP backup jobs.

During backup, you can filter the content using the following NDMP environment variables.

•
INCLUDE_PATH – Specifies a list of paths to be included. The paths are relative to the backup root.
•
EXCLUDE_PATH – Specifies a list of paths to be excluded. The paths are relative to the backup root.
•
EXCLUDE – Specifies a list of filename/pattern to be excluded.

The NDMP server first examines INCLUDE_PATH and only traverse to the list of included paths. Then EXCLUDE_PATH and EXCLUDE is evaluated to further filter the content. The difference between EXCLUDE_PATH and EXCLUDE is that EXCLUDE_PATH is applied only at the specified path while EXCLUDE is applied to all elements. For example,

EXCLUDE: a*

EXCLUDE_PATH: /home/david/b*

In this case, all directories and files starting with “a” are excluded. Directories and files under /home/david starting with “b” are excluded.

The EXCLUDE environment variable specifies a name for filtering and a wild card character at the beginning or end of the pattern. For example, you can specify “*.o” to filter out all object files during backup. The same rule is applicable to the last path element of INCLUDE_PATH and EXCLUDE_PATH. For example, if INCLUDE_PATH is “/home/a*”, then all directories and files under /home that starts with “a” are backed up.

The NDMP server follows a general rule that prioritize INCLUDE_PATH. So, if something is specified by INCLUDE_PATH, it gets backed up even if EXCLUDE_PATH or EXCLUDE excludes it. The following are few examples,

Example 1

INLCUDE_PATH: /home/david/a*

EXCLUDE_PATH: /home/david

In this case, /home/david and all child nodes starting with “a” are backed up even though EXCLUDE_PATH has excluded /home/david.

Example 2

INLCUDE_PATH: /home/david/a*

EXCLUDE: david

In this case, /home/david and all child nodes starting with “a” are backed up even though EXCLUDE has excluded all elements name “david”.

Example 3

INLCUDE_PATH: /home/david/a*

EXCLUDE: *c

In this case, /home/david and all child nodes starting with “a” are backed up except for child nodes ending with a “c”. So “/home/david/aaa” are backed up while “/home/david/abc” are excluded.

Exception:

There is an exception to the rules described above. If the last element of a INCLUDE_PATH does not contain a wild card character and the named element is a directory, then it will be backed up no matter what EXCLUDE_PATH and EXCLUDE is set to. For example,

INLCUDE_PATH: /home/david/abc

EXCLUDE: *c

In this case, if “/home/david/abc” is a directory, it will be backed up even though it matches EXCLUDE’s “*c”. However, if “/home/david/abc” is not a directory, then it will be excluded.

 

Backing up replica NAS containers

To back up Replica NAS Containers
1
Complete steps 1 through 3 in the section Backing up data using the plug-in.
 
* 
NOTE: The Replicated Container must either be promoted to a Local Container or it must be a Read-Only Replica Container.
2
Click Create New next to the Plugin Options list, and configure the Sub Job options. For more information, see Sub Jobs.
3
Complete steps 5 and 6 in the section Backing up data using the plug-in.
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