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NetVault Plug-in for SnapMirror to Tape 10.0.5 - User Guide

Configuring default settings

To configure the default settings for Plug‑in for SnapMirror to Tape
1
Start the Backup Job Wizard, and click Create New next to the Selections list. Open the NetVault Backup Server. Select NDMP SnapMirror to Tape, and in the Actions list, click Configure.
— or —
In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings. On the Configuration page, click Server Settings, and then click Plugin Options.
2
Configure the following settings.
 
Table 2. Default settings for Plug‑in for SnapMirror to Tape
Option
Description
BLI Snapshot Creation Timeout
This setting determines the amount of time the plug-in waits for creation of snapshots for BLI backups. The timeout value is specified in number of seconds. The default value is 600 seconds.
You can increase the timeout value for snapshot creation if the volume is large or the filer requires an excessive amount of time to complete the task.
BLI Snapshot Deletion Timeout
This setting determines the amount of time the plug-in waits for deletion of snapshots during BLI backups. The timeout value is specified in number of seconds. The default value is 600 seconds.
You can increase the timeout value for snapshot deletion if the volume is large or the filer requires an excessive amount of time to complete the task.
BLI Incremental Backup Can Delete Previous Differential Snapshot
By default, when an Incremental Backup is performed, the plug-in deletes the snapshot that was created for the previous Incremental or Differential Backup.
If you do not want to delete the snapshot for a previous Differential Backup, clear this check box. This setting can be useful when you want to use the snapshot as the base for subsequent backup.
Delete All Previous Snapshots Prior to Starting a Full BLI Snapshot
To delete all existing snapshots and reclaim disk space before starting a BLI Full Backup, select this check box.
Snapshot Backup Selection Cannot be Used with Create Snapshot
Option
If you select the Create New Snapshot check box after selecting a snapshot in the selection tree, the plug-in reports an error and fails the job. When you clear this check box, the plug-in reports an error, but does not fail the job.
Codepage for UTF-8 Conversions
Type the codepage identifier for UTF-8 conversions. Use this setting with the Use UTF-8 Conversions option described in the section Adding a NetApp filer.
Translations depend on the configuration, locale, and code sets installed on the system. For a list of codepage values, see the operating system documentation
Use APM UTF-8 Conversion
To store and index UTF-8 character sets for browsing, select this check box. This setting allows you to browse the files in a native UTF supported language, such as Japanese. Without this setting, the plug-in indexes the files by filer-specific NDMP metadata.
3
Click OK to save the settings and close the dialog box.
 
 
*NOTE: After configuring UTF-8 encoding setting on the filer, filer volumes, and plug-in, we recommend that you perform a test backup of some data on the relevant volumes. Then, browse these savesets using the Restore Job Wizard to ensure that the names of the directories and files are displayed correctly. This test is necessary because UTF-8 name translations are received from the filer. If the filer fails to supply the names in UTF-8 format, it can cause corruption or truncation of the file and directory names.

Configuring media block size

When configuring media block size for data transfers, verify that you set the same block size on the filer and the target drives.
 
 
*NOTE: To use 256K block size, you require Plug-in for SnapMirror To Tape 7.2.101 or later. For Data ONTAP requirements, see the Dell NetVault Backup Compatibility Guide.
To configure the block size for data transfers
1
On the filer, set the DATA_BLOCK_SIZE variable.
Generally, this variable is set to 240K. You can set it to any value; in most cases, the filer uses 240K.
2
Start the NetVault WebUI, and in the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices. In the list of devices, click the applicable drive (or the corresponding Manage Device icon), and then click Performance.
3
In the Drive Performance Options dialog box, configure the following setting:
•
Drive Block Size: Type or select 240K or 256K depending on the value set for the DATA_BLOCK_SIZE variable. Changes to this setting are only applied to tapes that are blank or relabeled.
4
To use 256K media block size, do the following:
a
Open the configuration file ndmpsmtversions.cfg in a text editor. You can find this file in <NetVault Backup home>/config.
b
Set the Filer Block Size Preferred parameter to FALSE. By default, it is set to TRUE:
Filer Block Size Preferred=FALSE
Save the file.
c
Restart the NetVault Backup Service.
Important notes
•
Some operating systems may not be able to handle a block size of 256K or 240K. For more information about the block size capacity, see the relevant operating system documentation.
•
When duplicating backups created using Plug‑in for SnapMirror to Tape, verify that the target drive and media used for duplication are configured to use a block size of 256K or 240K.
•
If the target tape device is not locally attached to the NetApp filer, verify that the NetVault Backup Server or Client to which the device is attached supports a block size of 256K or 240K.
•
Linux and UNIX®: If necessary, increase the amount of shared memory, typically the shmmax setting.
•
Windows®: If necessary, increase the MaximumSGList setting for the tape device. For more information, see the relevant operating system and SCSI card documentation.
 

Backing up data

•
About backup methods and types
•
Performing a Standard Backup
•
Performing BLI Backups
•
Backing up existing snapshots in C-mode

About backup methods and types

This section provides a brief description of the available backup methods and types.
Backup methods
The Plug‑in for SnapMirror to Tape supports the following backup methods:
•
Standard Backup: This method can be used to perform Full or Level 0 backups of the selected volumes. The Standard Backup method is the only method available with Data ONTAP versions older than 8.1.1 and Plug‑in for SnapMirror to Tape versions older than 7.6.x.
•
Block Level Incremental (BLI) Backup: This method can be used to perform Full, Incremental, and Differential Backups of the selected volumes. The BLI Backup method uses snapshots to perform backups. A Full Backup initializes a backup context against which the plug-in performs Incremental and Differential Backups of the selected volumes.
The BLI Backup Method is available with Plug-in for SnapMirror To Tape 7.6.x and later versions.
 
 
*NOTE: The BLI Backups created with Plug‑in for SnapMirror to Tape cannot be consolidated using the Dell™ NetVault™ Backup Plug-in for Consolidation (Plug-in for Consolidation).
Backup types
The BLI method supports the following backup types:
•
Full Backup: A Full Backup provides a backup of the entire volume. These backups serve as the base backups for subsequent Incremental and Differential Backups.
•
Incremental Backup: An Incremental Backup provides a backup of the changes in a volume since the last Full, Differential, or Incremental Backup. Incremental Backups consume minimum storage space and are quicker to perform. However, data recovery can take more time depending on the number of savesets that the plug-in is required to restore.
•
Differential Backup: A Differential Backup provides a backup of the changes in a volume since the last Full Backup. Differential Backups speed up recovery since the plug-in is required to restore only two savesets. However, these backups consume more storage space and take more time to complete than the Incremental Backups. Differential Backups duplicate the data backed up by previous backups of the same type.
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