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NetVault Plug-in for NDMP 13.3 - Application Notes for NetApp ONTAP

Enabling the C-Mode browse extension

In support of the NDMP protocol extension for Cluster Aware Backup (CAB), you can enable support for the NetApp Data ONTAP Cluster Mode (C-Mode) browse extension. To enable the extension, run the following commands from the filer console:

set diag
services ndmp extensions modify -is-extension-0x2050-enabled true

Backing up data

•
About Backup Dump levels
•
Backing up data in 7.x-7G and 7-mode
•
Backing up data in C-mode
•
Backing up individual data paths in C‑mode

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 Level 1 through Level 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.
 
* 
NOTE: Clustered Data ONTAP 8.3 supports 32 (0 to 31) levels of Incremental Backups (Level 0 is a Full Backup and Level 1 through Level 31 are Incremental Backups). For more information, see the Clustered Data ONTAP 8.3 Data Protection Tape Backup and Recovery Guide.
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 in 7.x-7G and 7-mode

In Data ONTAP 7.x-7G and 7-mode, the Plug‑in for NDMP can be used to back up files, directories, qtrees, and volumes as well as snapshots stored on volumes.

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 lets you easily identify the job for monitoring its progress or restoring data. The job name can contain alphanumeric and nonalphanumeric 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
Next to the Selections list, click Create New.
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 following nodes:
•
Volumes
•
Snapshots
d
Select the data that you want to back up.
•
Back up all volumes: Select the Volumes node.
•
Back up individual volumes: Open the Volumes node, and select the volumes that you want to back up.
 
* 
NOTE: Although LUNs are displayed as valid backup points, if you select a LUN for a backup, the backup succeeds; however, when you try to restore the LUN, Data ONTAP is unable to identify it because the metadata required to identify the LUN is not backed up when you back up a LUN directly.

The workaround is to back up a snapshot that includes the LUN. Snapshots contain the metadata required to identify a LUN. When the snapshot is restored, Data ONTAP is able to identify the restored LUN.

•
Back up individual files and directories: Open the Volumes node, and then open the target volume. Select the files and directories that you want to back up.
 
* 
NOTE: If you omit child-level items after selecting the parent node, the job fails. To perform selective backups, open the parent node, and select each item that you want to back up.
•
Back up snapshots: To list all volumes, open the Snapshots node, and then open the applicable volume to list directories that have any snapshots available for a backup. Open the applicable directory, and select the snapshot that you want to back up. You can only select a single snapshot.
 
* 
IMPORTANT: If you do not want to use Direct Access Restore (DAR), use the NetApp NODAR build.
e
Click Save, and in the Create New Set dialog box, type a name for the set.
 
* 
NOTE: A set name can contain alphanumeric and nonalphanumeric 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.
f
To close the dialog box, click Save.
4
In the Plugin Options list, select an existing Backup Options Set, or complete the following steps to create a set.
a
Next to the Plugin Options list, click Create New.
b
Under NDMP Backup Options, configure the following settings.
 
Table 2. 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.

Update /etc/dumpdates

The file “/etc/dumpdates” keeps a record of the backup, including the backup name, backup level, and snapshot time.

Leave this check box selected if your backup strategy includes Incremental Backups. The information in this file is used to determine what data must be included in an Incremental Backup.

Backup ACLs

Leave this check box selected to back up ACLs associated with the selected files.

Do Direct Backup if Possible

To use Direct Access Restore (DAR) during restores, leave this check box selected. DAR enables precise tape positioning, which allows faster recovery of an individual file or a small set of files.

Without DAR, the backup saveset is read sequentially to restore files. DAR requires Data ONTAP 6.x or later.

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.

Quest recommends that you leave this check box selected.

Request Unicode File Information

To convert the names of directories and files, and display them correctly according to the locale configured on the NetVault Backup WebUI, select this check box. This feature can only be used if the filer supports UTF-8 encoding:

To use this feature, do the following:

•
Enable UTF-8 conversion on the filer.
•
Set the appropriate language type on each target volume.
•
Set the Use UTF-8 Conversions option when adding the NDMP Server or using the Edit Server method. For more information, see the Quest NetVault Backup Plug‑in for NDMP User’s Guide.
•
Set the configuration option Codepage for UTF-8 Conversions. For more information, see the Quest NetVault Backup Plug‑in for NDMP User’s Guide.

Exclude

Use this option to specify the files and directories that you want to exclude from the backup. Type the full file path, starting with a forward slash (“/”). If the full path is not provided, the plug-in excludes any item that matches the entry. To separate multiple items, use a comma.

You can use up to two wildcard characters per file. Wildcard characters can only be used at the first or the last place in the filename. For example, if you enter “/dir1/tmp*, *.o” in Exclude, the plug-in excludes the following items:

•
Files and directories starting with the letters “tmp” in the directory /dir1.
•
All files and directories with the extension “.o”.

Filenames are case-sensitive for NFS shares and case-insensitive for CIFS shares.

Incremental forever

The number of dump levels for clustered environments ranges from 0 to 31. If your environment contains a large number of files that are regularly added and rarely deleted, select this option if you want to avoid generating a Full Backup after dump level 31.

To use this feature, do the following after selecting the check box:

•
In the Number of Incremental backups list, select 0 to generate only Incremental Backups after the initial Full Backup. If you want to generate a Full Backup after reaching a dump level that exceeds 31, select that number.
•
From the Next Backup list, select the type of backup to perform.

The Dump Date for Differential field indicates the date on which a change was identified.

c
Under Volume Backup Options, configure the following settings.
 
Option
Description

Backup Subvolumes Individually

If you are backing up more than one qtree from the same volume, select this check box. It allows you to run separate jobs for each qtree. For example, if two qtrees are selected in addition to other non-qtree files and directories, the plug-in runs three subjobs, one for each of the qtrees and one for the non-qtree data

Note the following:

•
The Plug‑in for NDMP automatically creates individual jobs if the selected qtrees reside on different volumes, even if you do not select this option.
The plug-in also creates individual jobs for each volume included in the backup.
•
Each child job creates a separate saveset. In the preceding example, three savesets are created. This step facilitates quick restore.
•
When used with other NetVault Backup features, this option can cause unwanted results. For example, when used with the option Ensure this Backup is the First on the Media, each subjob is set to exist first on the media and requires a separate media item.

Backup Subvolume Data Only

You can use this check box to back up only the qtree data while excluding the non-qtree files and directories.

It eliminates the need to select individual qtrees. You can select the volume node, and then select this check box to back up qtree data and exclude non-qtree data. You must use this option with the Backup Subvolumes Individually option.

NOTE: The backup fails if there are no qtrees in the selected volume.

Backup Non-Subvolume Data ONLY

You can use this option to back up only the non-qtree data while excluding the qtree data.

It eliminates the need to select individual files and directories. You can select the volume node, and then select this check box to back up all non‑qtree data and exclude the qtree data. This option cannot be used if the Backup Subvolumes Individually check box is selected.

d
Under Sub Jobs, configure the following settings.
 
Table 3. 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 required result, set the same value for each job.

Delete auto generated backup jobs on completion

The plug-in creates individual subjobs for each volume included in a backup. If this check box is not selected, all subjobs are listed on the Job Status page. This display 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.

e
The Backup Restart Extension (BRE) options allows you to resume a failed backup job from the last checkpoint before failure. Without BRE, any failure encountered during a backup renders the entire saveset unusable even if a significant portion of the data was successfully transferred to the backup media.
To take advantage of BRE, configure the following settings under Restart.
 
Option
Description

Enable restart, if possible

To enable checkpoint restarts, select this check box.

Number of Gigabytes between checkpoints

This option specifies the amount of data written to the media between two checkpoints. You can set it to any value from 1 through 30000 GB. The default value is zero (0). With the default setting, the checkpoints are set to media boundaries.

Number of attempts to restart backup

Type or select the number of times the plug-in attempts to restart the backup. You can set it to any value from 1 through 100. The default value is zero (0). With the default setting, the plug-in keeps trying to restart the backup infinitely.

Delay, in minutes, between retries

Specify the interval between two restart attempts. You can set it to any value from 1 through 1440 minutes. The default value is zero (0). With the default setting, the plug-in tries to resume the backup immediately upon failure.

f
Click Save, and in the Create New Set dialog box, type a name for the set.
g
To close the dialog box, click Save.
5
Select or create the Schedule Set, Target Set, and Advanced Options Set. For more information about these sets, see the Quest 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 Quest NetVault Backup Administrator’s Guide.
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