Chat now with support
Chat with Support

NetVault 11.4.5 - Administration Guide

Introduction Getting started Configuring clients Configuring storage devices Backing up data Managing policies Restoring data Managing jobs Monitoring logs Managing storage devices
Monitoring device activity Managing disk-based storage devices in table view Managing disk-based storage devices in tree view Managing tape libraries in table view Managing tape libraries in tree view Managing tape drives in table view Managing tape drives in tree view Adding shared devices
Managing storage media Managing user accounts 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 default settings for global notification methods Configuring the reporting utility 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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.
Use the Retirement Timing Control settings to change the default behavior for all backups

The following examples illustrate the retirement behavior for different 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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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:

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.

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

Table 20. Set types

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:

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

NetVault Backup includes the following predefined Source Set:

Target Set

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

NetVault Backup includes the following predefined Target Sets:

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:

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:

Backup and recovery strategy

The primary objective of backing up data is to recover from the damages caused by a data loss event and resume normal operations quickly. This objective requires a good backup strategy, which maximizes data availability and minimizes data loss and downtime, while balancing your business requirements with costs, resources, and other factors.

To create a good backup plan, consider the possible failure modes, like hardware failure, data corruption, human error, or loss of a data center, and select the suitable backup methods and features to recover from these scenarios.

Typically, your backup plan should define what backup methods are used, when and at what intervals the backups are performed, how the backups are stored, how long the backups are retained, and how the backup media are re-used.

Related Documents

The document was helpful.

Select Rating

I easily found the information I needed.

Select Rating