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NetVault Plug-in for SQL Server 12.2 - User Guide

Introducing NetVault Backup Plug-in for SQL Server Planning your SQL Server deployment Installing and removing the plug-in Configuring the plug-in Backing up data
Defining a backup strategy Understanding snapshot-based backups Reviewing the compression features Performing Online VDI backups Performing VSS backups in SQL Server Example of creating a full VDI backup of an AlwaysOn Availability Group on Windows
Restoring data Using the CLI with the plug-in Troubleshooting

Submitting a backup job

You can submit a job using the CLI in the following ways:

Option 1: Create a job, and submit it immediately using the nvjobcreate utility.

Example:

nvjobcreate.exe ‑jobtitle create_bkp_job1 ‑type backup ‑selectionsetname backup_set1 ‑submit

Option 2: Create a job using the nvjobcreate utility, and submit it later using nvjobstart utility. To list the job details and Job ID of a job, run the command nvjoblist.

Example of creating a job and submitting it later with its Job ID, 67:

nvjobcreate.exe ‑jobtitle create_bkp_job2 ‑type backup ‑selectionsetname backup_set1
nvjobstart -jobid 67

Restoring a job

You can use the nvjobcreate utility to perform a restore job. Create a Restore Selection Set using the nvsetcreate utility, and then pass this set as a value of the selectionsetname tag to the nvjobcreate utility.

Example:

Create a Restore Selection Set for the saveset ID 7 of the backup job. Use the created selection set to create and submit a restore job.

To find the saveset ID, use the nvrestore.exe -list command. This command lists all the backup jobs that have been run and any relevant information, including saveset IDs.

nvsetcreate.exe ‑setname restore_all_instances_set ‑type RS ‑client SQL_Server_Client ‑plugin "Plug-in for SQL Server" ‑include "All Instances" ‑saveset 7
nvjobcreate ‑jobtitle restore_all_instances ‑type restore ‑selectionsetname restore_all_instances_set ‑submit

Example of using the NetVault Backup CLI to create a Full Database backup for VSS

The following examples show how to create a Backup Option Set for a VSS Full Database backup and how to execute a VSS backup job. If you use the CLI to create and run VSS-based backups, you must use both VSS tags in the CLI.

To create a Backup Option Set, enter the following in a CLI session:

nvsetcreate.exe ‑setname backup_set1 ‑type BO ‑client SQL_Server_Client ‑plugin "Plug-in for SQL Server" ‑backupoption MSSQL_OPT_USE_VSS=TRUE ‑backupoption MSSQL_OPT_TYPE_VSS_FULL=TRUE

To run a backup job using the preceding Backup Option Set, enter the following in a CLI session:

nvjobcreate ‑jobtitle create_bkp_job1 ‑type backup ‑selectionsetname selection_bkp_job1 ‑selectionoptionssetname backup_set1 ‑submit

 

Troubleshooting

This topic describes some common errors and their solutions. If an error occurs that is not described in this table, obtain the SQL Server error number from the NetVault Backup Logs, and then see the relevant SQL Server documentation for the resolution.

 
Table 3. Troubleshooting
Symptom
Reason/symptom
Solution

Transaction Log backup failed

Transaction Log backups are not allowed for Simple Recovery Model databases.

For taking Transaction Log backups, the recovery model for the database must be set to Full Recovery Model.

Or clear the Simple Recovery Model databases.

Backup failed

The File and Filegroup backup fails and the following error message appears in the logs:

“The primary filegroup cannot be backed up as a file backup because the database is using the SIMPLE recovery model. Consider taking a partial backup by specifying READ_WRITE_FILEGROUPS.”

Either modify the Selection Set to include only secondary filegroups for the Simple Recovery Model databases or select the Partial Database or Differential Partial Database backup type.

Backup failed

Login failed for user <userName>.

Verify that the password for the plug-in has been entered correctly.

Backup Completed with warnings

After this status is revealed for backup, check the NetVault Backup Log entries for the job to see if they display one or both of the following messages:

•
“Failed to add backup record”
•
“Failed to write index of backup to the database”

These messages indicate that the selected data was backed up, but the job’s index information was not properly added by NetVault Backup to its database. Without this index information, the data cannot be properly restored.

Method 1:

Open the Manage Devices page, select the backup media, and click Scan. NetVault Backup stores index information for backup jobs in two locations: in the NetVault Database and on the media targeted by the backup. Performing this scan adds the index information to the NetVault Database. To verify that the information was added, open the Manage Job Definitions page, and locate the specific job. If you can run the job now, the scan process has corrected the problem.

Method 2:

If the scan has failed, run the backup job again.

VSS Restore fails from a NetVault Backup Server installed on Linux or UNIX.

By default, the plug-in assumes that the media format for backup tapes is MTF, which is typically used for Windows. However, Linux and UNIX use CPIO.

Configure the plug-in to set the Media Format to use CPIO during VSS Restores. For more information, see Configuring plug-in options.

AlwaysOn Availability Group not displayed under the Virtual Client

If a group is not listed under a Virtual Client, it might indicate that the services for the SQL Server Instances are not running. It might also indicate that valid login credentials were not set up for the plug-in at the All Instances level.
•
Use SQL Server Configuration Manager to verify that services are running.
•
Verify that you set up valid credentials for the All Instances node located under the applicable Virtual Client in the selection tree. For more information, see Configuring the plug-in.

Nodes take a long time to open

To populate the next level of the node, the plug-in queries SQL Server for instance and cluster information. If the plug-in queries or logs in to an instance whose Windows service is not running, a lengthy timeout imposed by SQL Server might occur. NetVault Backup uses a five-minute timeout. If the NetVault Backup timeout is exceeded, the plug-in displays an error message and the node is not opened. Address the issues that are causing a delay in the login and query processes.
•
Use SQL Server Configuration Manager to verify that services are running.
•
Enter default credentials for plug-in logins to SQL Server. For more information, see Entering logon credentials for all instances on a client.
•
If different credentials are required for some of the instances, enter the login credentials for those instances using the applicable instance or AlwaysOn Availability Group node in selection tree. For more information, see Entering default logon credentials for a specific SQL Server Instance.
•
If you must open the All Instances node to configure login credentials for specific instances or AlwaysOn Availability Groups, but the NetVault Backup timeout setting is preventing the All Instances node from opening, use the Physical Client Long Timeout option to change the timeout value for the node. For more information, see the topic on configuring the timeout period in the Quest NetVault Backup Administrator’s Guide.

VSS backup and restore jobs might fail due to concurrent backup jobs running on the OS from NetVault Backup.

If two backup/restore jobs utilizing snapshots are scheduled to run at the same time, one of the jobs might fail with a VSS_E_SNAPSHOT_SET_IN_PROGRESS error in the log. This message indicates that VSS will not support taking two different snapshot sets at the same time.

It is recommended not to run multiple jobs at the same time on a given client.

Reschedule the job OR rerun the job after 30 minutes if it is a one time job.

VSS backup and restore jobs in SQL Server might fail with an error in the log.

Backup and restore jobs for SQL Server with VSS option might fail with on of the following error in the log.

VSS_E_WRITERERROR_RETRYABLE

VSS_E_SNAPSHOT_SET_IN_PROGRESS

VSS_E_FREEZE_TIMEOUT

Rerun/ retry the failed backup/ restore job after 30 minutes.

Upgrading the plug-in fails.

If a Plug‑in for SQL Server process is running, upgrading the plug-in might fail, and an error message might be displayed during the upgrade:

Failed to install software. A key could not be installed.

In the NetVault Backup Client where SQL Server is running, check if one or more Plug‑in for SQL Server processes, named nvsqlserver, are running. End the running Plug‑in for SQL Server, nvsqlserver, processes. You can use Windows Process Explorer utility, or NetVault Backup nvpview utility, to view and end the processes.

Alternatively, restart (stop, then start) the NetVault Backup services in the NetVault Backup Client where SQL Server is running.

VDI backup job shows the following message in the NetVault Backup binary logs:

ODBC error: Could not insert a backup or restore history/detail record in the msdb database.

The backup includes one or more databases with a name exceeding 117 characters in length. The ODBC error message is shown for each database with a name exceeding 117 characters in length.

If performing backups using the VDI backup method, limit the names of the databases in your environment to 117 characters in length.

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