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Dell Emc Networker: Cloudboost 19.3 Integration Guide

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654 views54 pages

Dell Emc Networker: Cloudboost 19.3 Integration Guide

Uploaded by

asma merzougui
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 54

Dell EMC NetWorker

CloudBoost 19.3 Integration Guide


19.3

June, 2020
Rev. 01
Notes, cautions, and warnings

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the
problem.

WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.

© 2016 - 2020 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its
subsidiaries. Other trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Contents
PREFACE..................................................................................................................................................................................... 6

1 CloudBoost Integration................................................................................................................. 9
About the CloudBoost appliance......................................................................................................................................... 9
CloudBoost appliances with NetWorker software............................................................................................................ 9
CloudBoost requirements and considerations............................................................................................................ 10
On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console browser requirement........................................................................10
Direct back up to the cloud with Linux and Windows clients................................................................................... 10
Backup Amazon EC2 data to Amazon S3 storage..................................................................................................... 11
Backup a Microsoft Azure virtual machine data to Azure blob storage...................................................................11
Cloud best practices...................................................................................................................................................... 12
Supported private clouds.................................................................................................................................................... 13
Supported public clouds...................................................................................................................................................... 13
Supported Regions...............................................................................................................................................................13
Firewall port requirements.................................................................................................................................................. 14

2 NetWorker with CloudBoost solution requirements........................................................................16


Solution requirements..........................................................................................................................................................16
WAN requirements.........................................................................................................................................................16
Virtual CloudBoost appliance requirements (VMware ESX).................................................................................... 16
Virtual CloudBoost appliance requirements (Amazon Web Services EC2)............................................................ 17
Virtual CloudBoost appliance requirements for Microsoft Azure.............................................................................18
NetWorker client host requirements................................................................................................................................. 18
CloudBoost sizing and performance considerations........................................................................................................18
CloudBoost metadata storage requirements..............................................................................................................18
End-to-end bottlenecks................................................................................................................................................ 19
Minimum WAN requirements........................................................................................................................................19

3 Deploying the Virtual CloudBoost Appliance with VMware ESX.......................................................20


Virtual CloudBoost appliance installation (VMware ESX).............................................................................................. 20
Deploy the virtual CloudBoost appliance..........................................................................................................................20
Configure network settings for a CloudBoost appliance................................................................................................ 21

4 Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance with Microsoft Azure Resource Manager ................................23
Integrate the CloudBoost appliance with Microsoft Azure............................................................................................23
Download the VHD files and JSON template.................................................................................................................. 23
Configure and deploy the CloudBoost appliance ........................................................................................................... 23
Use the Azure PowerShell to configure Microsoft Azure for the CloudBoost appliance.................................... 24
Use the Azure CLI to configure the CloudBoost appliance......................................................................................24
Start the CloudBoost virtual machine...............................................................................................................................28
Set the FQDN...................................................................................................................................................................... 28
Check the Microsoft Azure audit logs.............................................................................................................................. 28
Verify network setup and status of the appliance.......................................................................................................... 28

5 Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance in Amazon EC2..................................................................... 30

Contents 3
Deploy the virtual CloudBoost appliance in Amazon EC2.............................................................................................. 30
Start the CloudBoost virtual machine...............................................................................................................................30
Set the FQDN....................................................................................................................................................................... 31
Verify network setup and status of the appliance........................................................................................................... 31

6 Configuring Network Settings for a CloudBoost Appliance.............................................................33


Network settings for a CloudBoost appliance................................................................................................................. 33
Configure network settings for a CloudBoost appliance................................................................................................33
Configure CloudBoost to use a proxy............................................................................................................................... 34

7 Configuring a New CloudBoost Appliance..................................................................................... 36


Create and manage cloud profile for CloudBoost appliance..........................................................................................36
Cloud profiles..................................................................................................................................................................36
Create a cloud profile.................................................................................................................................................... 36
Edit a cloud profile......................................................................................................................................................... 36
Validate cloud storage credentials.....................................................................................................................................36
Enable remote client mounts..............................................................................................................................................37
Configuring a new CloudBoost appliance......................................................................................................................... 37
Editing CloudBoost appliance configurations...................................................................................................................38

8 Configuring NetWorker with a CloudBoost appliance.....................................................................39


Configure a CloudBoost device by using an embedded NetWorker storage node.....................................................39
Configure a CloudBoost device on an external storage node....................................................................................... 42
Troubleshoot CloudBoost device configuration issues...................................................................................................46
Setting the configuration options for the CloudBoost SDK.....................................................................................46
Improve clone performance..........................................................................................................................................47
Cannot retrieve the version of the CloudBoost appliance....................................................................................... 47
The selected CloudBoost appliance is unsupported for device type "CloudBoost"..............................................47
Directory not found....................................................................................................................................................... 47
Unable to connect to the CloudBoost appliance: LOGON_FAILURE error........................................................... 47
Adding a CloudBoost 2.2.2 appliance fails with an error "unable to resolve".........................................................48
scanner -i command on linux hangs for remote CB devices having incremental savesets or small
savesets .....................................................................................................................................................................48
Report information on cloud backup.................................................................................................................................48

9 Perform a CloudBoost Appliance Recovery................................................................................... 49


Recovering CloudBoost Appliance.................................................................................................................................... 49

10 Monitoring, Managing, and Supporting a CloudBoost Appliance.................................................... 50


Monitoring CloudBoost.......................................................................................................................................................50
Connect to the CloudBoost CLI........................................................................................................................................ 50
Connect to the CLI on the physical appliance........................................................................................................... 50
Connect to the CLI on vSphere...................................................................................................................................50
Connect to the CLI on Amazon EC2........................................................................................................................... 51
Upgrade a CloudBoost appliance....................................................................................................................................... 51
CloudBoost integration with EMC Secure Remote Services ....................................................................................... 52
Registering EMC Secure Remote Services................................................................................................................52
Installing the EMC Secure Remote Services gateway............................................................................................. 52
Register CloudBoost with EMC Secure Remote Services............................................................................................ 53

4 Contents
Configuring average chunk size........................................................................................................................................ 53
Specifications for the chunk size setting......................................................................................................................... 53

Contents 5
PREFACE
As part of an effort to improve product lines, periodic revisions of software and hardware are released. Therefore, all versions of the
software or hardware currently in use might not support some functions that are described in this document. The product release notes
provide the most up-to-date information on product features.
If a product does not function correctly or does not function as described in this document, contact a technical support professional.
NOTE: This document was accurate at publication time. To ensure that you are using the latest version of this
document, go to the Support website https://www.dell.com/support.

Purpose
This document describes the integration between the NetWorker software and the CloudBoost appliance.

Audience
This guide is part of the NetWorker documentation set, and is intended for use by system administrators who are responsible for setting
up and maintaining backups on a network. Operators who monitor daily backups will also find this guide useful.

Revision history
The following table presents the revision history of this document.

Table 1. Document revision history


Revision Date Description
01 June 15, 2020 First release of this document for CloudBoost 19.3.

Related documentation
The following publications provide information about CloudBoost.
• CloudBoost Release Notes
Contains information about new features and changes, fixed problems, known limitations, environment and system requirements for
the latest release.
You may also find it helpful to refer to these NetWorker publications.
• NetWorker Administration Guide
Describes how to configure and maintain the NetWorker software.
• NetWorker Installation Guide
Provides information about how to install, uninstall, and update the NetWorker software for clients, storage nodes, and servers on all
supported operating systems.

Typographical conventions
The following type style conventions are used in this document:

Table 2. Style conventions


Bold Used for interface elements that a user specifically selects or clicks, for example, names of buttons,
fields, tab names, and menu paths. Also used for the name of a dialog box, page, pane, screen area
with title, table label, and window.
Italic Used for full titles of publications that are referenced in text.
Monospace Used for:

6 PREFACE
Table 2. Style conventions(continued)

• System code
• System output, such as an error message or script
• Pathnames, file names, file name extensions, prompts, and syntax
• Commands and options

Monospace italic Used for variables.


Monospace bold Used for user input.
[] Square brackets enclose optional values.
| Vertical line indicates alternate selections. The vertical line means or for the alternate selections.
{} Braces enclose content that the user must specify, such as x, y, or z.
... Ellipses indicate non-essential information that is omitted from the example.

You can use the following resources to find more information about this product, obtain support, and provide feedback.

Where to find product documentation


• https://www.dell.com/support
• https://community.emc.com

Where to get support


The Support website https://www.dell.com/support provides access to product licensing, documentation, advisories, downloads, and
how-to and troubleshooting information. The information can enable you to resolve a product issue before you contact Support.
To access a product-specific page:
1. Go to https://www.dell.com/support.
2. In the search box, type a product name, and then from the list that appears, select the product.

Knowledgebase
The Knowledgebase contains applicable solutions that you can search for either by solution number (for example, KB000xxxxxx) or by
keyword.
To search the Knowledgebase:
1. Go to https://www.dell.com/support.
2. On the Support tab, click Knowledge Base.
3. In the search box, type either the solution number or keywords. Optionally, you can limit the search to specific products by typing a
product name in the search box, and then selecting the product from the list that appears.

Live chat
To participate in a live interactive chat with a support agent:
1. Go to https://www.dell.com/support.
2. On the Support tab, click Contact Support.
3. On the Contact Information page, click the relevant support, and then proceed.

Service requests
To obtain in-depth help from Licensing, submit a service request. To submit a service request:
1. Go to https://www.dell.com/support.
2. On the Support tab, click Service Requests.

PREFACE 7
NOTE: To create a service request, you must have a valid support agreement. For details about either an account or
obtaining a valid support agreement, contact a sales representative. To find the details of a service request, in the
Service Request Number field, type the service request number, and then click the right arrow.

To review an open service request:


1. Go to https://www.dell.com/support.
2. On the Support tab, click Service Requests.
3. On the Service Requests page, under Manage Your Service Requests, click View All Dell Service Requests.

Online communities
For peer contacts, conversations, and content on product support and solutions, go to the Community Network https://
community.emc.com. Interactively engage with customers, partners, and certified professionals online.

How to provide feedback


Feedback helps to improve the accuracy, organization, and overall quality of publications. You can send feedback to
[email protected].

8 PREFACE
1
CloudBoost Integration
This section contains the following topics:
Topics:
• About the CloudBoost appliance
• CloudBoost appliances with NetWorker software
• Supported private clouds
• Supported public clouds
• Supported Regions
• Firewall port requirements

About the CloudBoost appliance


The CloudBoost appliance provides an integrated solution for existing supported backup environment by enabling the transfer of backups
to public, hybrid, or private cloud storage. The CloudBoost appliance supports the following use cases: long-term retention to the cloud
and backup to a private or public cloud.
CloudBoost decouples metadata from data. Encryption keys, metadata, and file system information are housed separately from the data,
which removes a common bottleneck for cloud read/write operations. All advanced data services, such as chunking, encryption, inline
deduplication, compression, and bulk data transfers are performed separately from metadata storage.
CloudBoost is available as a VMware virtual appliance and as a virtual appliance that resides in supported public clouds.

CloudBoost appliances with NetWorker software


A NetWorker with CloudBoost environment can extend onsite data protection to the cloud through the following methods:

Backup to the NetWorker with CloudBoost allows direct backup of on-premises clients to a range of private, public, and hybrid
cloud clouds. This solution allows clients to send backups directly to the object store with only the metadata being
stored in the CloudBoost appliance. This distributed model where the CloudBoost appliance is not in the data path
provides enhanced backup performance, scale, and client-side data reduction. The solution supports Client Direct
backup to the cloud for Linux and Windows file systems and a broad range of enterprise applications. For
applications that do not support Client Direct, use an external or embedded NetWorker Storage Node to perform
backups directly to the cloud.

Backup in public This solution allows protection of applications that run in public clouds such as AWS, AWS S3, Azure, and Azure
cloud blob storage. Similar to on-premises backups to the cloud, this solution allows Client Direct backup to the object
store for applications that run in AWS EC2 and Azure compute instances. For applications that do not support
Client Direct, use an external or embedded NetWorker Storage Node to perform backups directly to the cloud.

Long-term This solution allows clone backups from a backup target to the cloud for long-term retention. The operational copy
retention or for backup and restore operations remains on the Data Domain host or any other backup target. The copy that is
cloning to cloud: cloned to the cloud by NetWorker and CloudBoost is used for long-term retention of data.

This table details the module support matrix for CloudBoost.

Table 3. CloudBoost module matrix


Module Application External or Cloning Client Direct
embedded
Storage Node Linux x64 Microsoft
Windows 64-
bit
File System Not applicable Yes Yes Yes Yes

Block Based Backup

CloudBoost Integration 9
Table 3. CloudBoost module
matrix(continued)
Module Application External or Cloning Client Direct
embedded
Storage Node Linux x64 Microsoft
Windows 64-
bit
NetWorker Module for DB2 Yes Yes Yes Yes
Databases and Applications
(NMDA) Informix

SAP IQ Not applicable

Lotus Yes

MySQL Not applicable

Oracle Yes, except for Yes


Oracle 11.2.0.4

Sybase Yes

NetWorker Module for Microsoft Exchange Yes Yes Not applicable Yes
Microsoft
Microsoft Hyper-V

Microsoft SharePoint

Microsoft SQL

NetWorker Module for SAP SAP HANA Yes Yes Yes Not applicable
(NMSAP)
SAP with Oracle Yes

NetWorker Snapshot Module Not applicable Not applicable Yes Yes, only RHEL Yes
(NSM)

VBA VMware Not applicable Not applicable

vProxy VMware

CloudBoost requirements and considerations


Before you can use the CloudBoost appliance to protect data in a NetWorker datazone, you must deploy a CloudBoost appliance in the
environment.
Refer to the NetWorker E-LAB Navigator for the complete list of supported products and versions.

On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console browser


requirement
The supported web browser for On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console is:
• Google Chrome
• Microsoft Internet Explorer
• Mozilla firefox

Direct back up to the cloud with Linux and Windows clients


This use case is intended for when you have onsite infrastructure and want to use object storage for all backup workloads, including short-
term backups for operational recovery and long-term backups for compliance.
Direct backup to the cloud is recommended for the following use cases:
• Where a high bandwidth pipe to the object store is required.
• When backing up non-critical applications that can tolerate a higher SLA for backup and restore operations.

10 CloudBoost Integration
This illustration displays Linux and Windows clients that are directly backed up to the cloud.

Figure 1. Clients backed up directly to the cloud

For clients that cannot back up directly to the cloud, you can send backups through the CloudBoost appliance or an external NetWorker
storage node to the cloud. However, routing through either the CloudBoost appliance or the external NetWorker storage node limits
performance. Having the data path go directly from the client to the cloud is the most scalable, efficient, and optimal performance
deployment model.

Backup Amazon EC2 data to Amazon S3 storage


This use case is intended for workloads that run in public clouds and use S3 cloud object storage for backups, including short-term
backups for operational recovery and long term retention backups for compliance.
The following illustration displays back up in Amazon EC2 to Amazon S3 storage.

Figure 2. Back up in Amazon EC2 to Amazon S3 storage

Backup a Microsoft Azure virtual machine data to Azure


blob storage
This use case is intended for workloads that run in the public cloud and use Microsoft Azure blob storage for backups, including short-term
backups for operational recovery and long-term retention backups for compliance.
You use the same NetWorker tools to manage both onsite and cloud-based data protection processes.
The following illustration illustrates backing up of Microsoft Azure virtual machine to Azure blob storage.

CloudBoost Integration 11
Figure 3. Back up to Microsoft Azure

Cloud best practices


Consider cloud best practices before you implement cloud backups.

Backups to a cloud storage device


NetWorker backups are saved in media pools which can contain one or more backup devices. When a backup is triggered, the NetWorker
server sends it to one of the unused devices in the media pool.
When creating a media pool that contains CloudBoost devices, do not include backup devices from other CloudBoost appliances or any
other type of backup device. Each CloudBoost appliance has its own deduplication database and cannot deduplicate against backups that
are sent to other devices.

Concurrent backup and recovery operations


To support concurrent backup and recovery operations, you can create multiple NetWorker devices on a single CloudBoost appliance.
Each CloudBoost device type supports a minimum target session of 10 and a maximum session of 80. That means, each CloudBoost
device supports a minimum of 10 concurrent streams and a maximum of 80 concurrent streams.
For example, to optimize performance you can mount the cloud volume on three cloud storage devices:
• One cloud storage device for backup (device CL1)
• One cloud storage device for recovery (device CL2)
• One cloud storage device for clone operations (device CL3)
You can create a maximum of 512 cloud devices per CloudBoost appliance, which is the maximum capacity of a NetWorker storage node.
To optimize the backup and recovery performance, consider reducing the number of cloud devices per CloudBoost appliance. Each cloud
device can handle a maximum of 80 concurrent streams.

Network dependencies
Cloud backups depend on the network connection that accesses the cloud service. Any disruption in connectivity or a slowdown in
network speed can adversely affect cloud backups or recoveries.
The CloudBoost appliance requires proper DNS name resolution.
Consider the following points before you set up the network for cloud backups:
• If the latency between the source and cloud object store is higher than 50 ms, backup and restore throughput from the object store
might be impacted. NetWorker can sustain 100 ms on the metadata path. However, packet loss significantly impacts the backup
success rate.
• If there is a high-latency link and some packet loss between the NetWorker server, client, and the CloudBoost appliance, set a high
client-retry value for the backup so backups are re-tried.
• An increase of 5 ms latency in the data path (clients to the cloud object store, the CloudBoost appliance, or the cloud object store),
has the following impacts:
○ For the initial full backup, throughput is two to two and a half times slower.
○ Consecutive backups are about 20 percent slower compared to a full backup.
• A higher-latency link and higher packet losses might result in significantly slower backup operations.

12 CloudBoost Integration
NOTE: It is recommended that latency between the NetWorker client and the cloud object store be limited to less than
50 ms and that packet loss be less than 1 percent.

Supported private clouds


The following table lists the private clouds that CloudBoost appliances support.

Table 4. Supported private clouds


Cloud provider Information that is required by the CloudBoost appliance
Elastic Cloud Storage (ECS) Appliance • ECS endpoint
• ECS access key ID
• ECS secret access key
NOTE: Elastic Cloud Storage (ECS) Community version is not supported
with CloudBoost.

Generic OpenStack Swift version 1.7.2 • Swift provider authentication endpoint


• Swift authentication type
• Region (optional)
• Swift credentials (specify the tenant name and the username separated by a colon,
and then type the password)
• Swift secret key

Supported public clouds


The following table lists the public clouds that CloudBoost appliances support.

Table 5. Supported public clouds


Cloud provider Information that is required by the CloudBoost appliance
Amazon Web Services (S3) • Storage region
• AWS access key ID
• AWS secret access key

Microsoft Azure Storage (supports general • Azure account name


purpose and blob storage accounts with hot • Azure API key
and cool tiers)

Scality Object Storage • Access Key ID


• Secret Access Key
• Endpoint URL

Google Cloud Storage (Standard, DRA, • Access key


Nearline) • Secret key

Supported Regions
The following table lists the regions that are supported by AWS and Azure.

Table 6. Regions supported by the public cloud


Cloud provider Supported regions
Amazon Web Services (EC2 and S3) • Virginia
• Ohio
• California

CloudBoost Integration 13
Table 6. Regions supported by the public cloud(continued)
Cloud provider Supported regions

• Oregon
• Mumbai
• Seoul
• Singapore
• Sydney
• Tokyo
• Frankfurt
• Ireland
• South America (Sao Paulo)

Microsoft Azure Storage • All the regions are supported in Microsoft Azure.
NOTE:
○ ZRS replication is not supported.
○ Special Azure regions are not supported.

Firewall port requirements


As with all networked software solutions, adhering to best practices for security is encouraged to protect the deployment. If the ports in
the following table are not configured before you configure the CloudBoost appliance, restart the CloudBoost appliance.
NOTE: It is not recommended to route outbound http traffic from the CloudBoost appliance through a proxy because it
can create a performance bottleneck. In environments where outbound http traffic is restricted, create an exception for
the appliance in the firewall after you consult with the IT security team. To configure a proxy, see Configure CloudBoost
to use a proxy.
The following table outlines the firewall port requirements.

Table 7. Firewall port requirements


Out In TCP port Description
Administrator workstation CloudBoost appliance 22 SSH for maintenance and troubleshooting

CloudBoost appliance Cloud storage (public or private) 443 HTTPS to access object store (if supported)

CloudBoost appliance On-Prem CloudBoost 7443 HTTPS to On-Prem CloudBoost Management


Management Console Console.

NetWorker Server CloudBoost appliance 7937-7942 The CloudBoost appliance has a pre-configured
NetWorker SN. For a single CloudBoost device,
or
a minimum of six ports must be opened on the
NetWorker Client CloudBoost appliance. The port range can be
expanded based on the deployment type and
the number of CloudBoost devices configured.
The NetWorker Security Configuration Guide
provides additional information on the
NetWorker port requirements.

NetWorker client • Cloud Storage (public or 443 HTTPS to access object store (if supported)
private)
• CloudBoost appliance for
metadata.

CloudBoost appliance EMC Secure Remote Services 9443 Communication from the CloudBoost appliance
gateway to the Secure Remote Services gateway

14 CloudBoost Integration
Figure 4. CloudBoost firewall ports

For information about firewall ports for any system that you deploy with CloudBoost, refer to the documentation for that system.
For information about NetWorker, refer to the NetWorker Security Configuration Guide.

CloudBoost Integration 15
2
NetWorker with CloudBoost solution
requirements
Before you begin the installation and configuration of the CloudBoost appliance, it is important that you understand all the requirements.
Topics:
• Solution requirements
• NetWorker client host requirements
• CloudBoost sizing and performance considerations

Solution requirements
This section outlines the solution requirements for the CloudBoost appliance in the following environments.
• VMware ESX
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2
• Microsoft Azure
For more information about metadata store, see CloudBoost sizing and performance considerations on page 18.

WAN requirements
The following points provide the WAN requirements for the CloudBoost appliance.
• Greater than or equal to 100 Mb/s bandwidth
• Less than or equal to 100 ms RTT latency

Virtual CloudBoost appliance requirements (VMware ESX)


The following section outlines the requirements and workflows that are supported for the VMware ESX virtual CloudBoost appliance.

Minimum deployment virtual machine requirements for VMware ESX


This table outlines the requirements.

Table 8. CloudBoost minimum requirements for


VMware ESX
Workflow type CPU Memory OS Metadata space
Client direct backup 4 16 GB 50 GB 100 GB

Backup/clone via 8 32 GB
CloudBoost appliance
16 64 GB

Large CloudBoost deployment virtual machine requirements for


VMware ESX
This table outlines the requirements.

16 NetWorker with CloudBoost solution requirements


Table 9. Large CloudBoost deployment
requirements for VMware ESX
Workflow type CPU Memory OS Metadata space
Client direct backup 8 32 GB 50 GB 100 GB

Backup/clone via CloudBoost 16 64 GB 50 GB Extendable up to 3 TB


appliance
16 64 GB 50 GB Extendable up to 3 TB

NOTE: SSD is recommended for storage.

Virtual CloudBoost appliance requirements (Amazon Web


Services EC2)
The following section outlines the requirements and workflows that are supported for the Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2 virtual
CloudBoost appliance.

Minimum deployment requirements for AWS EC2


This table outlines the minimum deployment requirements that apply to CloudBoost deployed on Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2.

Table 10. Minimum deployment requirements for


AWS EC2
Workflow type CPU Memory OS Metadata space
Client direct backup 4 16 GB 50 GB 100 GB

Backup/Clone via 8 32 GB
CloudBoost appliance

Use the AWS EC2 instance, type m4.xlarge, for small-client direct installations.
NOTE: For smaller environments, you can choose an instance with unified compute and storage such as AWS EC2
m3.xlarge, which includes 4 vCPUs, 15 GB memory, and 2x40 GB SSD storage.

Large deployment requirements for AWS EC2


This table outlines the requirements that apply to a large CloudBoost deployment on Amazon Web Services (AWS) EC2.

Table 11. Large deployment requirements for


AWS EC2
CPU Memory OS Metadata space
8 32 GB 50 GB 100 GB metadata space is required per 200 TB of logical capacity

The primary metadata volume can be expanded to 3 TB to manage up to 6 PB of logical protected capacity.
Use the AWS EC2 instance type, m4.2xlarge, for Client Direct or for all installations of backup or clone operations through the CloudBoost
appliance.
The CloudBoost appliance requires Amazon Elastic Block Store (AWS EBS) for the operating system disk and metadata database. Do not
use the AWS EC2 instance default storage volumes with the CloudBoost appliance. The AWS EC2 instance default storage volumes are
ephemeral.

NetWorker with CloudBoost solution requirements 17


Virtual CloudBoost appliance requirements for Microsoft
Azure
The following section outlines the requirements and workflows that are supported for the Microsoft Azure virtual CloudBoost appliance.

Minimum deployment virtual machine requirements for Microsoft


Azure
This table outlines the minimum requirements are supported for Microsoft Azure.

Table 12. Minimum requirements for Microsoft Azure


Workflow type CPU Memory OS Metadata space
Client direct backup 4 16 GB 50 GB 100 GB metadata is
required per 200 TB of
logical capacity

Backup/clone via 8 32 GB 50 GB 100 GB metadata is


CloudBoost appliance required per 200 TB of
logical capacity

16 64 GB 50 GB 100 GB metadata is
required per 200 TB of
logical capacity

NetWorker client host requirements


This table outlines the NetWorker client host requirements for a virtual machine, public cloud, or private cloud.

Table 13. NetWorker client host


requirements
Workflow type Operating System CPU Memory
Linux x64 Microsoft Windows 64-
bit
NetWorker file system backup Yes Yes 2 4 GB

NetWorker Module backup Yes Yes See CloudBoost appliance with NetWorker
software and the NetWorker Module
documentation for specific requirements.

CloudBoost sizing and performance considerations


The following topics contain information about CloudBoost sizing, performance, and requirements.

CloudBoost metadata storage requirements


The amount of metadata storage that is required by a CloudBoost appliance depends on the average chunk size and data reduction ratio.
The virtual CloudBoost appliance requires a minimum of 100 GB of internal capacity for storing CloudBoost metadata. However, the
amount of space that is provisioned for metadata directly affects the logical capacity addressable by the virtual CloudBoost appliance.
The ratio of metadata space to logical capacity ranges from 1:2000 to 1:500. For example, 100 GB of metadata allows the appliance to
address 200 TB of logical capacity. To address the maximum logical capacity of 6 PB, 3 TB of metadata space is needed.
The virtual CloudBoost appliance assumes that the underlying storage is protected by using RAID or a similar technology. The virtual
CloudBoost appliance does not provide protection against a failed virtual data disk.

18 NetWorker with CloudBoost solution requirements


Use the following formula to determine the CloudBoost metadata storage requirements:

Metadata storage = 100 GB (Reserved) + (512 / Data Reduction


ratio) * (Logical Capacity in TB / Chunk Size in KB)

where:
• The default chunk size is 256 KB, which is the default.
• Deduplication ratio for the CloudBoost appliance is 2x–8x.

NOTE: You must use an SSD for metadata storage.

Examples
To address 6 PB of logical capacity with a dataset that has 4x data reduction, the CloudBoost appliance requires 3 TB of metadata
storage.
To address 1 PB logical capacity with a dataset that has 4x data reduction, the CloudBoost appliance requires 500 GB for metadata.

End-to-end bottlenecks
WAN bandwidth is expected to be the most common bottleneck. A properly resourced CloudBoost appliance can saturate a 1 Gb/s link
with 30 ms RTT latency without hitting any limits in the virtual machine.
Object store ingest limits present another potential bottleneck. In some cases, we reach the objects/sec limit that can be sustained by a
single logical container in the object store.

Minimum WAN requirements


A minimum bandwidth of 100 Mb/s to the cloud with a maximum latency of less than 100 ms RTT is recommended for the CloudBoost
solution. Extremely low bandwidth links might result in backup and restore timeouts.

NetWorker with CloudBoost solution requirements 19


3
Deploying the Virtual CloudBoost Appliance
with VMware ESX
This section includes the following topics:
Topics:
• Virtual CloudBoost appliance installation (VMware ESX)
• Deploy the virtual CloudBoost appliance
• Configure network settings for a CloudBoost appliance

Virtual CloudBoost appliance installation (VMware


ESX)
This section applies to installing the virtual CloudBoost appliance on VMware ESX.
You must obtain the .OVA file from https://support.emc.com to install the virtual appliance.
The procedure for deploying the virtual appliance differs for each cloud provider:
• To deploy the virtual CloudBoost appliance on Amazon EC2, see Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance in Amazon EC2 on page 30.
• To deploy the virtual CloudBoost appliance on Microsoft Azure, see Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance with Microsoft Azure
Resource Manager on page 23.

Deploy the virtual CloudBoost appliance


Deploy the virtual CloudBoost appliance in vSphere.
• Determine the location of the .OVA file that you must download. This location could be a URL or a location that is accessible from the
computer, such as a local hard drive or a network share.
1. In the vSphere client, click File > Deploy OVF Template.
2. Browse to the location of the OVA package, and then click Next.
3. Select the Inventory Location (the ESX cluster and host that runs the virtual machine), and then type the name of the virtual
machine.
4. Select the datastore for the VMDK files, and then click Next.
For optimal performance, select Thick Provisioned Eager Zeroed when you select the target datastore. However, for testing
purposes, the default 50 GB thin or thick provisioned storage is sufficient.
5. On the Ready to Complete page of the wizard, review the deployment settings.
6. Clear Power on after deployment, and then click Finish.
7. In the vSphere client inventory, right-click the virtual machine:
a. Click Edit Settings.
b. On the Resources tab, click Memory.
c. Ensure that Reservation is set to all.
d. Click OK.
NOTE: For performance, memory must be reserved and not shared.

8. Adjust the size of hard disk 2 as required:


a. In the vSphere client inventory, right-click the virtual machine.
b. Click Edit Settings.
c. On the Resources tab, type the size of hard disk 2 in the required field.
d. Click OK.

20 Deploying the Virtual CloudBoost Appliance with VMware ESX


The virtual CloudBoost appliance installs.
NOTE: Before you can finish configuring the virtual appliance in the On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console, you
must set the appliance's IP address and network through the CLI.

Configure network settings for a CloudBoost


appliance
1. Connect to the CloudBoost CLI.
2. Authenticate with the default password, password.
3. Set the new administrator password.
4. To see the current network configuration of the appliance, type the following command.

status

admin@mag-fs> status
Host Configuration:
Hostname: hostname
Domain: domain
FQDN: fqdn
Version Information:
Version: version identifier
Internal Version:version identifier
Revision: revision identifier
Network Interfaces:
name mode address netmask
---- ---- ------- -------
eth0 dhcp 10.x.x.123 address

Network Routes:
prefix netmask gateway
------ ------- -------
default 0.0.0.0 10.x.x.1
10.x.x.0 address *
DNS Configuration
DNS Servers: 10.x.x.91
Appliance Configuration
Status: Not Configured
Endpoint: NA

5. If the IP address is dynamically assigned, then skip to step 8. To statically set the IP address and netmask, type the command net
config interface static IP address netmask netmask address
NOTE: If you have multiple networks, you must type the following commands for each network that is listed in the
status command output.

net config eth0 xx.x.xx.xxx netmask 0.0.0.0


6. Manually add the gateway by typing these commands.
NOTE: If you have multiple networks, you must also add multiple routes to the gateways.

route add IP address netmask netmask address gw gateway address

For example:

route add 0.0.0.0 netmask 0.0.0.0 gw xx.x.xx.x

7. To manually set the DNS, type these commands:

dns set primary <primary IP address>


dns set secondary <secondary IP address>
dns set tertiary <tertiary IP address>

Deploying the Virtual CloudBoost Appliance with VMware ESX 21


For example:

dns set primary 10.5.96.91


dns set secondary 10.5.96.92
dns set tertiary 10.5.96.93

8. (Mandatory) To set the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN), type the following command:

fqdn servername.yourcompanydomain

Consider the following:


• Custom FQDN_name names are not supported.
• The FQDN_name must be in lowercase.
• The FQDN_name must not include the underscore character (_).

For example:

fqdn cloudboost.example.com

NOTE: You must set the FQDN to access the On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console.

9. To verify the networking setup and to see the status of the appliance, type the following command:

status

After you have verified the system's basic networking settings, configure CloudBoost by using the On-Prem CloudBoost Management
Console.
NOTE: Other commands are available from the command line. To get help, type help or click the ? icon.

22 Deploying the Virtual CloudBoost Appliance with VMware ESX


4
Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance with
Microsoft Azure Resource Manager
Use the procedures in this section to deploy a CloudBoost appliance with Microsoft Azure Resource Manager (ARM).
Topics:
• Integrate the CloudBoost appliance with Microsoft Azure
• Download the VHD files and JSON template
• Configure and deploy the CloudBoost appliance
• Start the CloudBoost virtual machine
• Set the FQDN
• Check the Microsoft Azure audit logs
• Verify network setup and status of the appliance

Integrate the CloudBoost appliance with Microsoft


Azure
Integrating the CloudBoost appliance with the Microsoft Azure cloud platform employs Microsoft Azure low-cost blob storage to provide
deduplication at the source, which minimizes bandwidth and storage consumption.
Use the following procedures to deploy and integrate the CloudBoost appliance with Microsoft Azure.

Download the VHD files and JSON template


Network bandwidth and large file sizes might cause the VHD and JSON file download to be time-consuming.
1. Download the CloudBoost appliance from Online Support at https://support.emc.com.
2. Extract the files from the downloaded Zip file.
NOTE: 7zip was used to zip these files. To download the files, you might need to install a 7zip compatible extractor.

The Zip file contains the following files:


• Virtual Root Hard Disk (VHD) Zip file:
./installer/target/azure/root.vhd
The root VHD file is approximately 3 GB. As a sparse file, the root VHD file is 50 GB.
• lvm VHD Zip file:
./installer/target/azure/lvm.vhd
The lvm VHD is approximately 50 MB. As a sparse file, the lvm VHD is 40 GB.
• JSON Zip file:
./management/mgt_console/resources/scripts/autobuild/azuredeploy.json
• MD5 check sums for the root VHD and lvm VHD files:
./installer/target/azure/azure_discs_md5sum.txt

Configure and deploy the CloudBoost appliance


You can use either the Microsoft CLI or Azure PowerShell to configure and deploy the CloudBoost appliance.

Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance with Microsoft Azure Resource Manager 23


Use the Azure PowerShell to configure Microsoft Azure for
the CloudBoost appliance
The following software and permissions are required:
• Microsoft Azure PowerShell
• Microsoft Azure account
• Azure subscription
Refer to the Microsoft Azure documentation for installation and configuration details.
1. Start Microsoft Azure PowerShell.
2. Type the following command:

Add-AzureAccount

3. Type the following command:

Select-AzureSubscription –SubscriptionName subscription-name

where subscription-name is the Microsoft Azure subscription account.


4. Respond to the following prompts:

$storage_account_name = account_name

$rg_name = resourcegroup_name

$storage_account_key = account_key

where:
• account_name is the name of the Microsoft Azure subscription account.
• resourcegroup_name is name of the resource group.
• account_key is the Microsoft Azure account key.

5. To deploy the CloudBoost virtual machine, use the following template:

New-AzureRmResourceGroupDeployment -<resourcegroup_name> $rg_name -<template_file> ./


azure.json

where:
• <resourcegroup_name> is name of the resource group.
• <template_file> is the name of the Microsoft Azure template file.

Use the Azure CLI to configure the CloudBoost appliance


Follow these steps to configure the CloudBoost appliance by using the Azure CLI.

Configure Microsoft Azure for the CloudBoost appliance by using the


Azure CLI
The following software and permissions are required:
• Microsoft Azure account
• Azure CLI tools
• Azure utilities
• Go tools
• Git software

24 Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance with Microsoft Azure Resource Manager


Refer to the Microsoft Azure documentation for installation and configuration details.
1. Authenticate Azure with the account.
a. Open the Azure CLI, and then type the following command:

az login

A device code appears with a link to the Microsoft Azure Device Login page.
b. To open the Microsoft Azure Device Login page, click the link.
c. In the Code field, type the device code.
2. In the Azure Resource Manager, perform the following steps:
a. Create or use a storage account with the following properties:
• Deployment Model—Resource Manager
• Account Kind—General Purpose
• Replication—Select any type except ZRS.

b. Set the deployment mode to Resource Mode. Type the following command:

az config mode arm

3. In the Azure Resource Manager, perform the following steps:


a. Create a resource group or use an existing resource group to deploy the CloudBoost Virtual Machine (VM).
This resource group is used in the steps that follow.
b. Create a container in the storage account.
4. At the Azure CLI, retrieve the Azure storage account information.
• To list the storage account name, type, location, and resource group, type the following command:

az storage account list

• To retrieve the Azure storage access key, type the following command:

az storage account keys list <storage_account_name> -g <resource_group>

5. Export or set the following environment variables that the Azure CLI will use. The procedure differs for Linux and Windows operating
systems.
• On a Linux system, type the following commands:

export AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT=<storage_account_name>

export AZURE_STORAGE_ACCESS_KEY=<primary_access_key>

NOTE: On a Linux OS, you can add these environment variables to the .bashrc file so you do not need to export
the variables each time that you want to use them.
• On a Windows system, type the following commands:

set AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT=<storage_account_name>

set AZURE_STORAGE_ACCESS_KEY=<primary_access_key>

Methods for uploading the VHD files


You can use either the azure-vhd-utils Go tool or the Microsoft Azure CLI template to upload the VHD files to the Microsoft Azure
storage account.
Uploading the files with the azure-vhd-utils Go tool is significantly faster than using the Microsoft Azure CLI template.

Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance with Microsoft Azure Resource Manager 25


Upload the .vhd files (azure-vhd-utils Go tool)
Upload the .vhd files by using the azure-vhd-utils Go tool that Microsoft provides.
1. Install the latest version of the Go programming language software, which is available at the following link:
https://golang.org/dl/
2. If required, install git.
The git software is available at the following link: https://git-scm.com/downloads
3. Export or set the following PATH and GOPATH environment variables that the Azure CLI template will use. The procedure differs for
Linux and Windows operating systems:
• On a Linux system, type the following commands:

export PATH=<Paths>;C:\Go\bin

export GOPATH=<GO_PATH>

NOTE: On Linux, you can add these environment variables to the .bashrc file, so you do not have to export the
variables each time that you want to use them.
• On a Windows system, type the following commands:

set PATH=<Paths>;C:\Go\bin

set GOPATH=<GO_PATH>

The following site provides detailed information: https://golang.org/doc/code.html#GOPATH

4. Export or set the following environment variables that the Azure CLI template will use.
The procedure differs for Linux and Windows operating systems:
• On a Linux system, type the following commands:

export AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT=<storage_account_name>

export AZURE_STORAGE_ACCESS_KEY=<storage_account_key>

where:
○ <storage_account_name> is the name of the storage account where the blob is to be uploaded.
○ <storage_account_key> is the storage account key information.
NOTE: On Linux, you can add these environment variables to the .bashrc file, so you do not have to export the
variables each time that you want to use them.
• On a Windows system, type the following commands:

set AZURE_STORAGE_ACCOUNT=<storage_account_name>

set AZURE_STORAGE_ACCESS_KEY=<storage_account_key>

where:
○ <storage_account_name> is the name of the storage account where the blob is to be uploaded.
○ <storage_account_key> is the storage account key information.

5. To get the Microsoft Azure utilities, type the following command:

go get github.com/Microsoft/azure-vhd-utils

6. Upload the root VHD file by typing the following command on one line:

azure-vhd-utils upload --localvhdpath <root.vhd_path>


--stgaccountname <storage_account_name> --stgaccountkey

26 Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance with Microsoft Azure Resource Manager


<storage_account_key> --containername
<container_name> --blobname <dest_blob_name>

where:
• <root.vhd_path> is the file path to the root VHD file.
• <storage_account_name> is the name of the storage account where the blob is to be uploaded.
• <storage_account_key> is the storage account key information.
• <container_name> is the destination location of the container in the storage account.
• <dest_blob_name> is the name of the blob in which to upload the VHD file.

7. Upload the LVM VHD file by typing the following command on one line:

azure-vhd-utils upload --localvhdpath <lvm.vhd_path>


--stgaccountname <storage_account_name> --stgaccountkey
<storage_account_key> --containername <container_name>
--blobname <dest_blob_name>

where:
• <lvm.vhd_path> is the file path to the LVM VHD file.
• <storage_account_name> is the name of the storage account where the blob is to be uploaded.
• <storage_account_key> is the storage account key information.
• <container_name> is the destination location of the container in the storage account.
• <dest_blob_name> is the name of the blob in which to upload the VHD file.

Upload the .vhd files (Microsoft Azure CLI template)


The CLI template method can take several hours to upload the VHD files to the Microsoft Azure storage account. The azure-vhd-utils Go
tool method can take less than an hour to upload the VHD files.

NOTE: Depending on network bandwidth, uploading these files might be time consuming because of their large size.

1. Open the command prompt.


2. Upload the root and lvm VHDs to the storage account by typing the following command:

azure storage blob upload <image_to_upload> <container_name> <blob_name>

where:
• <image_to_upload> is the root or lvm VHD file to upload.
• <container_name> is the destination location of the container in the storage account.
• <blob_name> is the name of the blob in which to upload the VHD file.
An output similar to the following appears:
$ azure storage blob upload CloudBoost-18.0.0.0-azure-root.vhd
vhds test -azure-root.vhd
info: Executing command storage blob upload
+ Checking blob test-azure-root.vhd in container vhds
+ Uploading CloudBoost-18.0.0-azure-root.vhd to
blob test-azure-root.vhd in container vhds
Percentage: 7.92% (3.69GB/50.00GB)
Average Speed: 1.86MB/S
Elapsed Time: 00:33:51 11

Deploy the CloudBoost virtual machine with the JSON template


Deploy the CloudBoost virtual machine in Microsoft Azure by using the azuredeploy.json file that you downloaded from the Online
Support at https://support.emc.com.
1. Deploy the CloudBoost virtual machine in Microsoft Azure. At the command prompt. type the following command:

azure group deployment create -n <deployment_name> -f azuredeploy.json -g <resource_group>

where:
• <deployment_name> is the name of the deployment. Use a unique name.

Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance with Microsoft Azure Resource Manager 27


• <resource_group> is the name of the resource group that deploys the virtual machine.

2. At the command prompt, type the following information:


• For vmName, specify a unique name for the virtual machine.
• For storageAccountName, specify the storage account name to associate with the virtual machine.
• For osDiskVhdUri, type the destination URL of the following blob:
<URL_to_VHD_Azure_blob>/CloudBoost-18.0.0.0-azure-<root|lvm>.vhd
• For metaDiskVhdUri, type the destination URL of the following blob:
<URL_to_VHD_Azure_blob>/CloudBoost-18.0.0.0-azure-<root|lvm>.vhd

3. To comply with the virtual machine size and location standards, adjust the JSON file. For detailed information about Azure virtual
machine size, refer to the following Microsoft documentation:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/virtual-machines/virtual-machines-windows-sizes

Start the CloudBoost virtual machine


1. Log in to Microsoft Azure.
2. Select and open the CloudBoost appliance.
3. Connect to the CloudBoost appliance using either of the following methods:
• Use an SSH client.
• Log in through a browser.

The CloudBoost CLI appears.


4. Authenticate with the default password, password.
5. Set a new administrator password.

Set the FQDN


1. Open the Azure CLI.
2. Log in to Microsoft Azure.
3. Select and open the CloudBoost appliance.
The CloudBoost CLI appears.
4. Authenticate with the new, previously set, administration password.
5. Set the FQDN. At the command prompt, typing the following command:

fqdn <FQDN_name>

Consider the following:


• Ensure that the FQDN_name is the same name as the DNS Label Name that Microsoft Azure provides.
• Custom FQDN_name names are not supported.
• The FQDN_name must be in lowercase letters.
• The FQDN_name must not include the underscore character (_).

Check the Microsoft Azure audit logs


To check the Microsoft Azure audit logs, at the command prompt, type the following command:

azure group log show <resource_group> deployment

where <resource_group> is the name of the resource group that was used to deploy the virtual machine.

Verify network setup and status of the appliance


1. To configure network settings for the CloudBoost appliance, see Configuring Network Settings for a CloudBoost Appliance on page
33.

28 Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance with Microsoft Azure Resource Manager


2. To verify the network setup and see the status of the appliance, type the following command:

status

For example:

admin@mag-fs> status
Host Configuration:
Hostname: hostname
Domain: domain
FQDN: fqdn
Version Information:
Version: version identifier
Internal Version:version identifier
Revision: revision identifier
Network Interfaces:
name mode address netmask
---- ---- ------- -------
eth0 dhcp 10.x.x.123 address

Network Routes:
prefix netmask gateway
------ ------- -------
default 0.0.0.0 10.x.x.1
10.x.x.0 address *
DNS Configuration
DNS Servers: 10.x.x.91
Appliance Configuration
Status: Not Configured
Endpoint: NA

3. Configure the CloudBoost appliance, see Configuring a New CloudBoost Appliance on page 36.
4. To configure NetWorker with the CloudBoost appliance, see Configuring NetWorker with a CloudBoost appliance on page 39.

Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance with Microsoft Azure Resource Manager 29


5
Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance in
Amazon EC2
Deploy the virtual CloudBoost appliance in Amazon
EC2
Ensure that Licensing has made the Amazon Machine Image (AMI) for the CloudBoost appliance available.
1. Log in to the Amazon Web Services console.
2. Click EC2.
For more information about supported regions, see Supported Regions on page 13
3. Under Images, perform the following steps:
a. Click Instances and click Launch Instance.
b. Click AWS Marketplace and then, search CloudBoost.
c. Select CloudBoost 19.3.0.0.
4. Under Instance Type, select an instance type that exceeds the following minimum requirements:
• 4 CPUs
• 16 GB of memory
For more information about system requirement, see Virtual CloudBoost appliance requirements (Amazon Web Services EC2) on page
17

It is recommended that you use m4.xlarge.


5. Under Configure Instance Details, perform the following steps:
a. Type the number of instances to create.
b. Select the network and submask.
c. Select Auto-assign Public IP.
6. Under Add Storage for the Root section:
a. Set Size (GB) to at least 50.
The default size for the added volume is 40 GB. Increase the default size for the added volume based on a 1:2000 ratio. This
storage is used for the metadata store.
b. Add an EBS volume for metadata.
7. Under Tag Instance, define up to 10 keys to assist with AMI management and identification.
8. Under Configure Security Group:
a. To allow or deny public access, select an existing security group. Security groups are a set of firewall rules.
b. Consider the port requirements for the CloudBoost appliance.
9. Review information about the instance.
10. Select an existing key pair, or create a new key pair. You use this key to connect to the CloudBoost appliance.
11. Click Launch instances.
12. Before you can connect to the CloudBoost appliance, you must download the private key.
NOTE: Save the private key in a secure and accessible location. After the private key is created, you will be unable to
download the private key again.

The CloudBoost appliance starts in Amazon EC2.

Start the CloudBoost virtual machine


1. Log in to Amazon EC2.
2. Select the CloudBoost appliance, and then click Connect.

30 Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance in Amazon EC2


3. In the Connect To Your Instance wizard, connect with an SSH client.
4. Log in to the SSH terminal:
To log in to the SSH terminal as the Admin user, type the following command:

ssh -i “cloudboost_aws.pem” admin@ AWS FQDN_name or IP

Consider the following:


• Custom FQDN_name names are not supported.
• The FQDN_name must be in lowercase.
• The FQDN_name must not include the underscore character (_).

NOTE: It is best practice to keep the DHCP configuration options that Amazon supplied.

5. Select and open the CloudBoost appliance.


The CloudBoost CLI appears.
6. Authenticate with the default password, password.
7. Set the new administrator password.

Set the FQDN


1. Connect to the CloudBoost CLI.
2. Authenticate with the new administrator password that you configured in the previous step.
3. Set the FQDN by typing the following command:

fqdn <FQDN_name>

Consider the following:


• Custom FQDN_name names are not supported.
• The FQDN_name must be in lowercase.
• The FQDN_name must not include the underscore character (_).

Verify network setup and status of the appliance


1. To configure network settings for the CloudBoost appliance, see Configuring Network Settings for a CloudBoost Appliance on page
33.
2. To verify the network setup and see the status of the appliance, type the following command:

status

For example:

admin@mag-fs> status
Host Configuration:
Hostname: hostname
Domain: domain
FQDN: fqdn
Version Information:
Version: version identifier
Internal Version:version identifier
Revision: revision identifier
Network Interfaces:
name mode address netmask
---- ---- ------- -------
eth0 dhcp 10.x.x.123 address

Network Routes:
prefix netmask gateway
------ ------- -------
default 0.0.0.0 10.x.x.1
10.x.x.0 address *
DNS Configuration

Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance in Amazon EC2 31


DNS Servers: 10.x.x.91
Appliance Configuration
Status: Not Configured
Endpoint: NA

3. Configure the CloudBoost appliance, see Configuring a New CloudBoost Appliance on page 36.
4. To configure NetWorker with the CloudBoost appliance, see Configuring NetWorker with a CloudBoost appliance on page 39.

32 Deploying the CloudBoost Appliance in Amazon EC2


6
Configuring Network Settings for a
CloudBoost Appliance
This section includes the following topics:
Topics:
• Network settings for a CloudBoost appliance
• Configure network settings for a CloudBoost appliance
• Configure CloudBoost to use a proxy

Network settings for a CloudBoost appliance


You must provide basic network settings information for a CloudBoost appliance at the CLI and complete initial configuration in the On-
Prem CloudBoost Management Console.
NOTE: In AWS, the CloudBoost AMI automatically uses the default VPC settings for the appliance IP address, DNS, and
FQDN.

Configure network settings for a CloudBoost


appliance
1. Connect to the CloudBoost CLI.
2. Authenticate with the default password, password.
3. Set the new administrator password.
4. To see the current network configuration of the appliance, type the following command.

status

admin@mag-fs> status
Host Configuration:
Hostname: hostname
Domain: domain
FQDN: fqdn
Version Information:
Version: version identifier
Internal Version:version identifier
Revision: revision identifier
Network Interfaces:
name mode address netmask
---- ---- ------- -------
eth0 dhcp 10.x.x.123 address

Network Routes:
prefix netmask gateway
------ ------- -------
default 0.0.0.0 10.x.x.1
10.x.x.0 address *
DNS Configuration
DNS Servers: 10.x.x.91
Appliance Configuration
Status: Not Configured
Endpoint: NA

Configuring Network Settings for a CloudBoost Appliance 33


5. If the IP address is dynamically assigned, then skip to step 8. To statically set the IP address and netmask, type the command net
config interface static IP address netmask netmask address
NOTE: If you have multiple networks, you must type the following commands for each network that is listed in the
status command output.

net config eth0 xx.x.xx.xxx netmask 0.0.0.0


6. Manually add the gateway by typing these commands.
NOTE: If you have multiple networks, you must also add multiple routes to the gateways.

route add IP address netmask netmask address gw gateway address

For example:

route add 0.0.0.0 netmask 0.0.0.0 gw xx.x.xx.x

7. To manually set the DNS, type these commands:

dns set primary <primary IP address>


dns set secondary <secondary IP address>
dns set tertiary <tertiary IP address>

For example:

dns set primary 10.5.96.91


dns set secondary 10.5.96.92
dns set tertiary 10.5.96.93

8. (Mandatory) To set the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN), type the following command:

fqdn servername.yourcompanydomain

Consider the following:


• Custom FQDN_name names are not supported.
• The FQDN_name must be in lowercase.
• The FQDN_name must not include the underscore character (_).

For example:

fqdn cloudboost.example.com

NOTE: You must set the FQDN to access the On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console.

9. To verify the networking setup and to see the status of the appliance, type the following command:

status

After you have verified the system's basic networking settings, configure CloudBoost by using the On-Prem CloudBoost Management
Console.
NOTE: Other commands are available from the command line. To get help, type help or click the ? icon.

Configure CloudBoost to use a proxy


CloudBoost can be configured to use a proxy to communicate with the On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console.
Do not route outbound http traffic from the CloudBoost appliance through a proxy because it can create a performance bottleneck. In
environments where outbound http traffic is restricted, create an exception for the appliance in the firewall after you consult with the IT
security team.
In a private cloud environment, excludes are used when the CloudBoost appliance is in a proxy or isolated network. In this scenario, the IP
of the private cloud is excluded. Each time that you run the http-proxy command, you override an earlier setting for excludes.

34 Configuring Network Settings for a CloudBoost Appliance


1. Connect to the CloudBoost CLI.
2. Authenticate with the administrator password.
3. Check the status of the CloudBoost appliance by typing the following command:
status
If a proxy is set, this command displays and lists what is excluded.

4. To remove the current proxy configuration, type the following command:


http-proxy reset
Use this command to clear the last proxy setting and excludes

5. To add a proxy exclude, type the following command:


http-proxy <IP>:<port> exclude <prefix>/<mask>
where:
• <IP> is the IP address of the proxy server.
• <port> is the port number of the proxy server.
• <prefix> is the range of the source IP addresses for which you want to bypass the proxy.
• <mask> specifies the size of the range that is identified by the prefix.

For example, this command sets the proxy to 10.8.196.10:3128 and excludes 10.8.*. *. Note that (*) is 0–255:
http-proxy 10.8.196.10:3128 exclude 10.8.0.0/16
6. To add exceptions for multiple exclusions, type the following command:
http-proxy <IP>:<Port> exclude <prefix>/<mask>,<prefix>/<mask>,...
where:
• <IP> is the IP address of the proxy server.
• <port> is the port number of the proxy server.
• <prefix> is the range of the source IP addresses for which you want to bypass the proxy.
• <mask> specifies the size of the range that is identified by the prefix.

For example, this command sets the proxy to 10.8.196.10:3128 and excludes 192.8.*. *.* and 100.9.22.24. Note that (*) is 0–255:
http-proxy 10.8.196.10:3128 exclude 192.0.0.0/8,10.10.0.0/16,10.9.22.24/32

Configuring Network Settings for a CloudBoost Appliance 35


7
Configuring a New CloudBoost Appliance
Create and manage cloud profile for CloudBoost
appliance
The following topics describe how to create and manage cloud profiles for CloudBoost appliances.

Cloud profiles
Before you configure a CloudBoost appliance in the On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console, create a cloud profile for the storage that
the appliance will use.

Create a cloud profile


Before you configure a CloudBoost appliance in the On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console, create a cloud profile for the storage the
appliance uses.
Obtain the necessary credentials for the cloud provider that you intend to use.

1. Use a web browser and sign in to the On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console as the administrator. Type the On-Prem CloudBoost
Management Console address in the following format:
https://<FQDN of the each of the CloudBoost appliance>:7443
NOTE:

• The username is admin and use the password that you updated during deployment of CloudBoost.

2. In the left menu, click Cloud Profiles.


The Cloud Profiles page opens.
3. To create a cloud profile, click New Cloud Profile.
a. In the Display Name field, type the name for this cloud profile.
b. In the Cloud Storage Provider field, select the cloud provider.
c. In the fields that appear for the selected cloud provider, provide the credentials and any additional information that is required to
access this particular cloud object store.
d. Click Save.

Edit a cloud profile


1. From the On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console, open the Cloud Profiles page.
2. To change information for an existing cloud profile, click Edit.
a. On the Edit a Cloud Profile page, change any fields necessary.
b. Click Save.

Validate cloud storage credentials


Use the cloud storage credential validator, sometimes referred to as the blobstore validator (BSV), to validate the cloud storage
credentials that you intend to use with the CloudBoost appliance.
• Configure the CloudBoost appliance with a valid cloud storage provider.
• The NTP must be configured.
NOTE: If the date and time of the ESX host, CloudBoost virtual machine and object store are out of sync, then the
validation fails. You can sync these to a specific time in the same zone or to an NTP.

36 Configuring a New CloudBoost Appliance


To validate the cloud profile in CloudBoost, run the command:

admin@mag-fs>diagnostics blobstore-cli "--provider s3 --identity XXXX --


credential YYYY--endpoint ZZZZ " validate

NOTE: For validation to run successfully, you must provide all the options in the command within the double quotation.
In order to validate AWS cloud-profile, it is necessary to provide the option "--s3-virtual-hosts".

Enable remote client mounts


When you enable remote client mounts, you create the password that you must use for the task. Share the admin username and new
password with anyone who needs to remotely mount with the client.
1. Open a CLI window for the appliance.
2. Log in with the admin username and password.
3. Type the following command, where the value for password is the password that you created.

remote-mount-password enable password

Configuring a new CloudBoost appliance


After you provide basic network information at the CLI, you must use a web browser to finish configuration in the On-Prem CloudBoost
Management Console. You can change certain configuration information for an appliance after the initial configuration.
Define a cloud profile for use with this appliance.
1. Use a web browser and sign in to the On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console as the administrator. Type the On-Prem CloudBoost
Management Console address in the following format:
https://<FQDN of each of the CloudBoost appliance>:7443
NOTE: Only the administrator can log into the On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console.

2. In the left menu, click CloudBoost Appliances.


The Appliances page opens.
3. Click CloudBoost Appliances, click the appliance that you want to configure.
4. To change the display name for this appliance from the default FQDN that you set in the CLI, in the Name field, type the new display
name.
5. To minimize clock drift:
a. Select Enable NTP.
b. Type the hostname or IP address for at least one NTP server.
Consider the following:
• Use the NTP details of the host system on which NetWorker server is installed.
• You can specify multiple servers to provide redundancy in case one or more time servers are unavailable. However, the NTP
server validation is done only for one NTP server.
• If the NTP is not enabled, then the CloudBoost appliance inherits the time zone from the host ESXi server.

6. To set the frequency of backups, select a schedule for Backup Frequency.


NOTE: The backups referred to here are for the system state of the appliance and for the stored metadata. This is
not a reference to any backup software integration.
7. To use asymmetric encryption keys:
a. Select Enable backup encryption with asymmetric keys.
b. Refer to the displayed instructions to help you create the private and public encryption keys. Only this method of asymmetric key
creation is supported for the CloudBoost appliance.
c. From the output file that is a result of step b, copy the entire public key and paste it into the text box below the instructions on the
Configure tab.
d. From the output file that is a result of step b, copy the entire private key and paste it somewhere safe. If you created a pass
phrase, copy that as well.

Configuring a New CloudBoost Appliance 37


NOTE: You must safely store the private key and pass phrase. They must be provided to decrypt a recovered
backup. Appliances that are backed up using the public key that is provided on the Configure tab cannot be
recovered without the private key and pass phrase.

8. Review the selections and click Save to save these settings for the appliance.
CloudBoost is configured.
9. Download the recovery metadata and the private key.
NOTE:

a. After editing the initial configurations, you must safely store the recovery files. They must be provided during a
Disaster Recovery. Appliances that are backed up cannot be recovered without the private key and recovery
metadata.
b. After you acknowledge, the recovery metadata file and private key will be purged from the CloudBoost. If you do
not acknowledge, the file will be available for download in the Pending Action.

Editing CloudBoost appliance configurations


You can change certain configuration information for an appliance after the initial configuration.
1. Use a web browser and sign in to the On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console as the administrator. Type the On-Prem CloudBoost
Management Console address in the following format:
https://<FQDN of each of the CloudBoost appliance>:7443
NOTE: Only the administrator can log into the On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console.

2. In the left menu, click CloudBoost Appliances.


The Appliances page opens.
3. Click Edit
NOTE: You can edit only the NTP server field and the backup frequency.

4. Review the changes and click Save to save these settings for the appliance.
CloudBoost is configured.
5. Download the recovery metadata and the private key.
NOTE:

a. You must safely store the recovery metadata and the private key. They must be provided during a Disaster
Recovery. Appliances that are backed up cannot be recovered without the private key and recovery metadata.
b. After you acknowledge, the recovery metadata file and private key is purged from the CloudBoost. If you do not
acknowledge, the file will be available for download in the Pending Action.

38 Configuring a New CloudBoost Appliance


8
Configuring NetWorker with a CloudBoost
appliance
This chapter applies to configuring NetWorker with a CloudBoost appliance by using backup to the cloud. Cloud-based data protection
occurs over a TCP/IP network.
The CloudBoost appliance has an embedded storage node which can be used with the NetWorker server. However, it is recommended
that you install the NetWorker storage node on a separate Linux or Windows server and do not use the embedded NetWorker storage
node on the CloudBoost appliance.
Topics:
• Configure a CloudBoost device by using an embedded NetWorker storage node
• Configure a CloudBoost device on an external storage node
• Troubleshoot CloudBoost device configuration issues
• Report information on cloud backup

Configure a CloudBoost device by using an


embedded NetWorker storage node
To configure a CloudBoost device to receive backup or clone data, perform the following steps.
You do not require an external storage node when you back up Linux and Windows hosts by using Client Direct.
1. In the NetWorker Administration interface
a. Click View > Diagnostic Mode.
b. Ensure that NetWorker Client Direct is selected.
Client Direct backups are enabled by default.
2. If remote client mounts are not configured, on the CloudBoost appliance, enable remote client mounts, and then define a password for
the remotebackup user account:
a. Connect to the CloudBoost appliance with the admin account.
b. Type the following command:
remote-mount-password enable password
where password is the new password for the remotebackup user.
3. Log in to the NMC GUI as an administrator of the NetWorker server.
4. On the taskbar, click the Enterprise icon .
5. In the navigation tree, highlight a host:
a. Right-click NetWorker.
b. Select Launch Application. The NetWorker Administration window appears.
6. On the taskbar, click the Devices button .
7. In the expanded left navigation pane:
a. Right-click CloudBoost Appliances.
b. Select New Device Wizard.
8. On the Select the Device Type page, select CloudBoost, and then click Next.
9. Review the CloudBoost Preconfiguration Checklist page, and then click Next.
10. On the CloudBoost Configuration Options page, perform the following tasks:
a. In the CloudBoost Storage group box:
i. Select Use Embedded Storage Node.
ii. Select an embedded storage node.

b. In the CloudBoost appliance group box, select one of the following options:

Configuring NetWorker with a CloudBoost appliance 39


• To use a CloudBoost appliance that you have previously configured on the NetWorker server, select Use an existing
CloudBoost appliance.
• To create a CloudBoost appliance, select Create a new CloudBoost appliance and then type a descriptive name.

c. In the Hostname (FQDN) field, type the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the CloudBoost appliance.
d. In the Username field, type remotebackup.
e. In the Password field, type the password for the remotebackup account, which you defined on the CloudBoost appliance by using
the remote-mount command.
f. In the Configuration Method group box, select the file system on the CloudBoost appliance that NetWorker uses as the target
data device:

Figure 5. Device Configuration Wizard: CloudBoost Configuration Options

i. Select Browse & Select.


The Browse and Select the CloudBoost Device PathCloudBoost window appears.
ii. In the /mnt/magfs/base directory, create a folder with write access enabled. Use a unique name.
For example: /mnt/magfs/base/CBO1
The CloudBoost appliance creates a share on /mnt/magfs/base. The NetWorker software requires that each CloudBoost
device has a unique, customer named, folder.

NOTE: You cannot create folders outside of the /mnt/magfs/base directory.


iii. Select the folder that you just created.

NetWorker validates the CloudBoost username and password that you specified. NetWorker also updates the NetWorker Device
Name and Storage Path fields with the information.
g. Click Next.

40 Configuring NetWorker with a CloudBoost appliance


Figure 6. Device Configuration Wizard: Browse and Select the CloudBoost Device Path

11. On the CloudBoost Pool Configuration page, perform the following steps:
NOTE: For detailed information about NetWorker media pools, refer to the NetWorker Administration Guide.

a. Ensure that Configure Media Pools for devices option is selected.


b. In the Devices table, select the NetWorker device for the CloudBoost appliance.
c. In the Pool Type box, depending on the use case, select one of the following:
• Backup
• Backup Clone

d. In the Pool box:


• To use a new pool, select Create and use a new Pool, and then type a pool name.
• To use an existing pool, select Use an existing Pool and choose a pool that contains at least one CloudBoost device.

NOTE: The pool that you select cannot contain other device types such as AFTD and DD Boost devices.

e. Ensure that Label and Mount device after creation is selected.


f. Click Next.

Figure 7. Device Configuration Wizard: Configure the CloudBoost Pool

12. On the Review the Device Configuration page:


a. Review the settings.
b. Click Configure.

Configuring NetWorker with a CloudBoost appliance 41


13. On the Check results page:
a. Review whether the devices were successfully configured or if any messages appeared.
b. Click Finish.
c. To change any of the settings, click Back to the correct wizard page.
If the Device Configuration wizard does not create a CloudBoost device, manually create an embedded storage node that corresponds to
the embedded storage node that you created with the wizard. After the nsrsnmd daemon starts on the CloudBoost appliance, create a
CloudBoost device.

Configure a CloudBoost device on an external


storage node
For large scale deployments, the recommendation is to use an external storage node.
1. In the NetWorker Administration interface, click View > Diagnostic Mode, and ensure that NetWorker Client Direct is selected.
Client Direct backups are enabled by default.

2. Log in to the NMC GUI as an administrator of the NetWorker server.


3. On the taskbar, click the Enterprise icon .
4. In the navigation tree, highlight a host:
a. Right-click NetWorker.
b. Select Launch Application. The NetWorker Administration window appears.
5. Create a storage node:
a. From the navigation tree, right-click Storage Nodes and select New.
The Create Storage Node windows appear with the General tab displayed.
b. Set the Identity attributes:
i. In the Name field, specify the hostname of the NetWorker storage node.
ii. In the Type of Storage Node field, select SCSI.

c. In the Status attributes, review or set the storage node status:


• Storage node is configured indicates that a device has been configured on this storage node.
• Enabled indicates that the storage node is available for use:
○ Yes indicates an available state.
○ No indicates a service or disabled state. New device operations cannot begin and existing device operations might be
canceled.
• Ready indicates that the storage node is ready to accept device operations.

6. On the taskbar, click the Devices button .


7. Expand Devices in the left navigation pane:
a. Right-click the CloudBoost device.
b. Select New Device Wizard.
The Device Configuration Wizard window appears.
8. On the Select the Device Type page:
a. Select CloudBoost.
b. Click Next.
9. Review the CloudBoost Preconfiguration Checklist page, and then click Next.
10. On the CloudBoost Configuration Options page, perform the following tasks:
a. In the CloudBoost Storage group box:
i. Select Use External Storage Node.
ii. Select an external storage node.

b. In the CloudBoost Appliance group box, select one of the following options:
• To use a CloudBoost appliance that you have previously configured on the NetWorker server, select Use an existing
CloudBoost appliance.
• To create a CloudBoost appliance, select Create a new CloudBoost appliance and specify a descriptive name.

42 Configuring NetWorker with a CloudBoost appliance


c. In the Hostname (FQDN) field, specify the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the CloudBoost appliance.
d. In the Username field, type remotebackup.
e. In the Password field, type the password for the remotebackup account, which you defined on the CloudBoost appliance by using
the remote-mount command.
f. In the Configuration Method group box, select Browse & Select.
The Browse and Select the CloudBoost Device Path page appears.

Figure 8. Device Configuration Wizard: CloudBoost Configuration Options

11. On the Browse and Select the CloudBoost Device Path page, select the file system on the CloudBoost appliance that NetWorker
uses as the target data device:
a. Select New Folder.
b. Create a folder in the /mnt/magfs/base directory. Use a unique name.
For example: /mnt/magfs/base/CBO1
Configure the CloudBoost appliance to cloud profile, the CloudBoost appliance creates a share on /mnt/magfs/base. The
NetWorker software requires that each CloudBoost device has a unique, customer named, folder.

NOTE: You cannot create folders outside of the /mnt/magfs/base directory.

c. Select the folder that you just created.


d. Ensure that the storage path that you specify exists in a subfolder in the /mnt/magfs/base directory with write access
enabled.
NetWorker updates the NetWorker Device Name and Storage Path fields with the required information.
e. Click Next.

Configuring NetWorker with a CloudBoost appliance 43


Figure 9. Device Configuration Wizard: Browse and Select the CloudBoost Device Path

12. On the Configure the CloudBoost Pool page, perform the following steps:
NOTE: For detailed information about NetWorker media pools, refer to the NetWorker Administration Guide.

a. Ensure that the Configure Media Pools for devices is selected.


b. In the Devices table, select the NetWorker device for the CloudBoost appliance.
c. In the Pool Type box, depending on the deployment, select either of the following:
• Backup
• Backup Clone

d. In the Pool box, perform either of the following steps:


• To use a new pool, select Create and use a new Pool and specify a pool name.
• To use an existing pool, select Use an existing Pool and select a pool that contains at least one CloudBoost device.

NOTE: The pool that you select cannot contain other device types such as AFTD and DD Boost devices.

e. Leave Label and Mount device after creation selected.


f. Click Next.

Figure 10. Device Configuration Wizard: Configure the CloudBoost Pool

13. Review the configuration settings, and then click Next.


14. On the Check Results page, check and verify that the device configuration was successful.

44 Configuring NetWorker with a CloudBoost appliance


Figure 11. Device Configuration Wizard: Check Results Page

After the CloudBoost device has been configured with the NetWorker external storage node, the following information displays:
• The Name field points to the NetWorker external storage node.
• The Device access information field points to the CloudBoost appliance.
• The media type is specified as CloudBoost.

Figure 12. Device information

Figure 13. Device properties

Configuring NetWorker with a CloudBoost appliance 45


Troubleshoot CloudBoost device configuration
issues
This section provides information about the error messages that might appear when you configure a NetWorker device for the
CloudBoost appliance.

Setting the configuration options for the CloudBoost SDK


You can set the configuration option for the CloudBoost SDK by creating the nsrcbconfig file to pass specific set of configuration
option to CloudBoost library.
Perform one of the following action sequences depending on the operating system:

Operating system Procedure


Windows a. Open Notepad, and create the nsrcbconfig file with the configuration options.
b. Save the file in <installation Directory>\Emc Networker\nsr\debug\ directory without an
extension.

Linux a. Open the terminal.


b. Create nsrcbconfig file without an extension in the /nsr/debug/ directory and update the file with the
configuration options.

You can add one of more configuration options from the following table.

Table 14. Configuration options


Configuration options Description
v (lower case only) Provides the capability of different log levels that ranges from 0-5. Greater the
number, more the debug logs printed in /nsr/logs/cloudboost/*

maxLogFiles Controls the number of log files that are retained in /nsr/logs/cloudboost/
folder. The default value is 10. The maximum value is 50.
max_log_size Limits the size of log files. When the value reaches the maximum file size, the files is
zipped and the log continues in a new file. The default size of log file is 10 MB.
curlConnectTimeout This is the timeout value for establishing connection to object store. This can be set to
a higher value (in msec) if there are connection failures with an error message
"BAD_NETWORK_PATH or Transfer error". The default value is 20000 msec.
cacheLocation It is the directory where CloudBoost SDK stores the blob cache. You must create the
directory incase if it does not exist. The default location is /nsr/logs/
cloudboost/ folder.

log_dir It is the directory where the CloudBoost SDK writes log files. If it is not present, then
you must create it. The default location is /nsr/logs/cloudboost/ folder.

The following example creates a nsrcbconfig file in /nsr/debug/nsrcbconfig location.

[root@ip-xx-xx-xx-xx /]# cat /nsr/debug/nsrcbconfig


v=5
maxLogFiles=15
max_log_size=100
curlConnectTimeout=30000

46 Configuring NetWorker with a CloudBoost appliance


Improve clone performance
For a new installation of NetWorker, the Disable (RPS) Clone attribute is selected by default. For NetWorker 9.0.1 and later, the Disable
(RPS) Clone attribute is cleared by default. If you are upgrading to NetWorker 19.3, the Disable (RPS) Clone attribute keeps the
previously assigned setting.
To improve clone performance, consider the following facts:
• For concurrent cloning workloads, select the Disable (RPS) Clone attribute.
• Ensure that the number of source and destination volumes match. This step avoids contention between the source and destination
volumes and reduces the chances of clone failure.
To clear or select the Disable (RPS) Clone attribute, perform the following steps.
1. Open the Administration window.
2. Right-click the NetWorker server name in the left pane.
3. Select Properties.
4. In the Configuration tab, clear or select the Disable RPS Clone attribute.

Cannot retrieve the version of the CloudBoost appliance


This error message appears when the NetWorker server cannot determine the version of NetWorker that is running on the CloudBoost
appliance.
To resolve this issue, contact Technical Support for access to the CLI and ensure that the following criteria are met.
• The NetWorker daemon nsrexecd is started on the appliance:
1. Log in to an SSH terminal with the Maginatics user account.
2. Type the following command:
ps -ef | grep nsr
3. Confirm that the nsrexecd process appears.
4. If the nsrexecd daemon does not appear, type the following command to start the nsrexecd process on the appliance:
sudo service networker start
• Forward and reverse name resolution is correctly configured for the CloudBoost appliance and the NetWorker server host.

The selected CloudBoost appliance is unsupported for


device type "CloudBoost"
If the NetWorker server and the CloudBoost appliance cannot communicate with each other, this error message appears.
The host and DNS entries were not updated between the CloudBoost appliance and the NetWorker.

Directory not found


This error appears when the NetWorker server cannot access the file system on the CloudBoost appliance.
To resolve this issue, ensure that the /mnt/magfs folder exists on the CloudBoost appliance and is mounted.
NOTE: For NetWorker 9.1.1 and later, the /mnt/magfs/base folder is validated when a CloudBoost device is created.
You cannot create a device in a folder other than /mnt/magfs/base.

Unable to connect to the CloudBoost appliance:


LOGON_FAILURE error
This error appears in the following scenarios:
• The password that is specified for the remotebackup user is incorrect.
• The remotebackup user does not exist on the CloudBoost appliance.

Configuring NetWorker with a CloudBoost appliance 47


Adding a CloudBoost 2.2.2 appliance fails with an error
"unable to resolve"
Perform the following steps to add a CloudBoost appliance 2.2.2 in the NetWorker server running on 18.0 or later in the absence of
reverse DNS.
1. Download the NetWorker client and storage node package for Linux from the Online Support website to a temporary location.
2. Stop the NetWorker process using the nsr_shutdown command.
3. Install the client and storage node by running the dpkg command: dpkg -i package package..
dpkg -i lgtoclnt_18.0_amd64.deblgtonode_18.0_amd64.deb
4. Start the NetWorker daemons by typing the following command:

Initialization system Command


sysvinit /etc/init.d/networker start

systemd systemctl start networker


5. Add the CloudBoost appliance using the NetWorker character-based interface (nsradmin) and then, label and mount the appliance.

scanner -i command on linux hangs for remote CB devices


having incremental savesets or small savesets
Use the scanner -m command to get the list of savesets. To scan a single saveset, use -S option and for multiple savesets use saveset list
in a file use -I option.

Report information on cloud backup


Use cloud backup information to monitor backup costs and help optimize the cloud backups.
Cloud backup information can be obtained from the following sources:
• Cloud backup and recover reports in the NMC.
• The mminfo command
Use the mminfo -avot command to get information on how much data is consumed in a cloud backup. The NetWorker Command
Reference Guide and the UNIX man pages provide more information about how to use the mminfo command.

48 Configuring NetWorker with a CloudBoost appliance


9
Perform a CloudBoost Appliance Recovery
This section includes the following topic:
Topics:
• Recovering CloudBoost Appliance

Recovering CloudBoost Appliance


You can recover the CloudBoost appliance by using the recovery metadata and private key.
1. You must have the recovery metadata and the private key.
2. The recovery target appliance must be running the same version of the CloudBoost software as that of the failed appliance
1. Deploy a second CloudBoost appliance to restore the metadata from backups that are stored in the cloud.
2. Connect to CloudBoost through CLI and validate whether the date and time are in sync between the ESX server, CloudBoost virtual
machine and the object store.
3. Use a web browser to sign in to the On-Prem CloudBoost Management Portal.
4. In the left menu, click Appliance Recovery.
5. Upload the metadata file and the private key and click Preview
6. Review the recovery information and click Start Recovery.
In the left menu, click CloudBoost Appliance and validate the configurations.

Perform a CloudBoost Appliance Recovery 49


10
Monitoring, Managing, and Supporting a
CloudBoost Appliance
Monitoring CloudBoost
CloudBoost is integrated with EMC Secure Remote Services (ESRS), which can be enabled to monitor the health of the appliances. If
CloudBoost appliances are not registered with ESRS, you must monitor health, collect and review logs, and when necessary, contact
Support.

Connect to the CloudBoost CLI


There are several ways to connect to the CloudBoost command line interface (CLI).
Depending on the platform that you are hosting the CloudBoost appliance on, you might be limited on how you can connect to the CLI.
For example, when connecting to the CloudBoost appliance on AWS, you are limited to using SSH to connect to the appliance.
The following table displays which connection methods are available depending on the platform that you are using for the CloudBoost
appliance.

Table 15. CLI connection methods


Platform CLI connection methods
Hardware appliance • Serial cable
• SSH

vSphere client • Console


• SSH

Amazon EC2 • SSH


• SSH via web browser

Connect to the CLI on the physical appliance


Select one of the following options from the table:

Table 16. Physical appliance connection options


Option Description
Serial Cable Connect a serial cable to the appliance.

SSH In the SSH terminal, type the following command: ssh admin@FQDN_name or IP address
NOTE: Type the password that was created when you setup the CloudBoost appliance. If
you are connecting to the appliance for the first time, you are prompted for a new
password.

Connect to the CLI on vSphere


Select one of the following options from the table:

50 Monitoring, Managing, and Supporting a CloudBoost Appliance


Table 17. vSphere connection options
Option Description
Console In the vSphere client, right-click VM > Open Console.

SSH In the SSH terminal, type the following command: ssh admin@FQDN_name or IP address
NOTE: Type the password that was created when you setup the CloudBoost appliance. If
you are connecting to the appliance for the first time, you are prompted for a new
password.

Connect to the CLI on Amazon EC2


1. Log in to Amazon EC2:
a. Select the CloudBoost appliance.
b. Click Connect.
2. In the Connect To Your Instance wizard, choose how to connect and then follow the instructions.
You can connect by using either of the following methods:
• With an SSH client.
• From the browser.
3. In the SSH terminal, type the following command:
ssh -i "private key" admin@AWS_FQDN-name or IP address
Where private key is the private key that was used as the key pair when you installed the CloudBoost AMI. The quotation marks are
required.
Consider the following facts:
• Custom FQDN_name names are not supported
• The FQDN_name must be in lowercase.
• The FQDN_name must not include the underscore character (_).
It is best practice to keep the DHCP configuration options supplied by Amazon.

Upgrade a CloudBoost appliance


You can upgrade the CloudBoost appliance software in the CLI. During the upgrade, the CloudBoost appliance is unavailable. The appliance
will restart after the upgrade is complete.
To review the latest CloudBoost appliance supported features, refer to the following content available on the Support website at https://
support.emc.com.
CAUTION: If the site cache is enabled in CloudBoost 18.1, then contact the DellEMC support to assist you in disabling
the site cache and upgrade to CloudBoost 19.2.
• The CloudBoost Release Notes contains information about new features and changes, fixed problems, known limitations, environment,
and system requirements for the latest release.
• The NetWorker E-LAB Navigator provides a complete list of supported products and versions.
NOTE:

• CloudBoost 18.2 and later does not support site-cache.


• The upgrade process usually takes 60 minutes or less.
1. Connect to CloudBoost using an SSH client.
For more information about connecting to CLI, see Connect to the CloudBoost CLI.
2. Login to CloudBoost as an administrator and run the following command: upgrade appliance <URL upgrade path> .
NOTE: You must host the image of CloudBoost that you want to upgrade to in your LAN environment. Since
downloading the image from the support site requires authentication, CloudBoost will be unable to download the
image from the link.

3. Review the warning message, and then type Yes.


TheCloudBoost upgrade process initiates.

Monitoring, Managing, and Supporting a CloudBoost Appliance 51


4. Monitor the progress of the upgrade.
NOTE: During an upgrade, some services might temporarily be down or the appliance might go red while it restarts.
The services and appliance will return to a normal state after the restart completes.

After the upgrade is complete, type status to view CloudBoost version.


By default, the recovery files are saved as recovery.key and recovery.meta. To prevent accidental overwrite of existing recovery files, Dell
EMC recommends that you save the recovery files with a different file name.
NOTE: You must download the recovery information immediately. If you fail to download the recovery file, then you will
be unable to perform a disaster recovery on the upgraded CloudBoost appliance.

CloudBoost integration with EMC Secure Remote


Services
EMC Secure Remote Services (ESRS) is a virtual appliance that enables two-way remote communication to monitor system health and to
proactively communicate alerts and issues to Customer Support. ESRS is included at no extra charge in the enhanced or premium
warranty or maintenance agreement.

Registering EMC Secure Remote Services


When the CloudBoost appliance is registered with the EMC Secure Remote Services gateway, the appliance continuously communicates
with EMC Secure Remote Services, sending status information and reports on a predetermined schedule. Appliance alerts from EMC
Secure Remote Services appear in the On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console. When necessary, CloudBoost Technical Support is
notified of issues and can open an SSH session with the appliance to obtain additional logs and reports.

Auditing
You can audit remote support activity, including the date and time of remote sessions, the ticket number, and the technician who provided
the support.

Registering
You can allow or deny this remote activity for any reason. When a technical support agent starts a connection through EMC Secure
Remote Services, an email that requests access is sent to you. You can choose to grant or deny the request.
If you choose not to register CloudBoost appliances with EMC Secure Remote Services, you must manually monitor the appliances. If any
issues arise, contact Support.

Installing the EMC Secure Remote Services gateway


You can install the EMC Secure Remote Services gateway version 3.6.0 or later in a VM separate from the CloudBoost appliance. After
the CloudBoost appliance is registered in the On-Prem CloudBoost Management Console, you can then also register the appliance with
EMC Secure Remote Services.
For information about installing the EMC Secure Remote Services gateway, refer to the EMC Secure Remote Services Virtual Edition
topics at the following sites.
• https://support.emc.com/products/37716_EMC-Secure-Remote-Services-Virtual-Edition
• https://support.emc.com/products/37716_EMC-Secure-Remote-Services-Virtual-Edition/Topics/pg58757/
NOTE: At the CloudBoost CLI, when you register the appliance with EMC Secure Remote Services, you need to provide
the SID from the email that is sent from EMC Secure Remote Services Support, along with the IP address or the URL
and serial number. For information about registering the CloudBoost appliance with EMC Secure Remote Services, see
Register CloudBoost with EMC Secure Remote Services on page 53.

52 Monitoring, Managing, and Supporting a CloudBoost Appliance


Register CloudBoost with EMC Secure Remote
Services
You can register a CloudBoost appliance with the EMC Secure Remote Services gateway to enable two-way remote communication with
Customer Support. EMC Secure Remote Services gateway monitors system health and communicates alerts and issues to Customer
Support.
The EMC Secure Remote Services gateway must be installed, and the CloudBoost appliance must be registered in the On-Prem
CloudBoost Management Console. Remote access must be enabled for the appliance.
NOTE: If a firewall exists between the CloudBoost appliance and the EMC Secure Remote Services gateway server,
certain ports such as port 9443, must be open.
1. Find the EMC Secure Remote Services SID in the email from EMC Secure Remote Services Support.
2. Have the IP address or URL and the serial number of the installed Secure Remote Services gateway available.
3. Connect to the CloudBoost CLI.
4. Type the following command:

support esrs register esrs_gateway username password sid gateway_sn

where:
• esrs_gateway is either the IP address or the FQDN for the EMC Secure Remote Services gateway virtual machine.
• username and password are the credentials that you used to set up the EMC Secure Remote Services gateway.
• sid is the EMC Secure Remote Services serial number that EMC Secure Remote Services Support provided in an email.
• gateway_sn is the serial number for the EMC Secure Remote Services gateway.

NOTE: If you see this message, Approval Request Pending - Contact EMC Customer Support, contact
Customer Support and ask for the device registration in EMC Secure Remote Services to be manually approved.
After Support approves the request, you can run the command in step 4 again. After a device is successfully
registered, you can also use the status command to verify the connection. At the bottom of the window, you will
see a list of the EMC Secure Remote Services Server details.
The CloudBoost appliance is registered with EMC Secure Remote Services, and continuous support monitoring begins.

Configuring average chunk size


You can adjust the chunk size in AWS and Azure to reduce API calls and improve backup, restore, and clone performance.
1. Connect to the CloudBoost CLI.
2. Authenticate with the administrator password.
3. Check the current average chunk size appliance by typing the following command: avgchunksize show
4. To change the average chunk size, type the following command: avgchunksize change xxx
Where xxx is the new chunk size setting.

Specifications for the chunk size setting


You can adjust the chunk size in AWS and Azure to reduce API calls and improve backup, restore, and clone performance.
Consider the following specifications for the chunk size setting:
• The maximum chunk size is 4 MB.
• The maximum average chunk size is 1 MB.
• The minimum average chunk size is 256 KB.
• If the average chunk size is increased, object sizes increase which reduces the overall API calls.
• The compression rate of each chunk is data dependent. Changing the chunk size results in smaller objects from higher compression
ratios.
This table lists the workload chunk size specifications.

Monitoring, Managing, and Supporting a CloudBoost Appliance 53


Table 18. Specifications for work load types
Work load type Chunk size
File system SQL
256 K 1024 K 256 K 1024 K
Average chunk size in KB with Rabin finger print 282.29 1092.68 222 1347

Average chunk size in KB with transferring blob 294.2 1193.36 72 432

This table lists the compressed SQL data specifications.

Table 19. Specification with compressed SQL data


Work load type Chunk size
256 K 1024 K
Average chunk size in KB with Rabin finger print 310 1240

Average chunk size in KB with transferring blob 172 686

54 Monitoring, Managing, and Supporting a CloudBoost Appliance

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