Netbackup Basics

What is Netbackup?

Symantec Netbackup (earlier Veritas Netbackup) is an enterprise level heterogeneous backup and
Recovery suite. It provides cross-platform backup functionality to a large variety of Windows, UNIX
And Linux operating systems.

It is set up with a central master server that manages both media servers (containing the backup media)
and clients. Core server platforms are, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, Linux and Windows.

Components of Netbackup
• Netbackup:
 Manages backup schedules
 Responds to client backup and restore requests
 Interface with media manager
 Assigns media for backup and finds media for restore
 Request device to write data and/or restore data
 Record metadata details like filename, path, security info, time, etc

• Media Manager:
 Manages robotic devices and drives
 Tracks physical condition of robotic devices and drives
 Manages media
 Locates and mounts media requested by NetBackup

Architecture
• Master Server: Provides centralized control for actions like scheduling and tracking client backup,
monitors jobs, generate reports and maintains debug logs
• Media Server: Provides interface to storage devices and maintains database of removable storage
media .
• Clients: Clients are servers and workstations to be backed up. Clients responds to request from
master server through media server to generate data streams for backup, or receive and process data
streams for restore.
• EMM server: allocates resources for one or more master servers. The EMM server is the repository
for all device configuration information.

Daeamons
 The Netbackup master server and the Enterprise Media Manager (EMM) server can be on the same
physical host or on different hosts.

 Master server: responsible for running jobs as configured in NetBackup policies. The nbpem and
nbjm services run only on the master server.

 EMM server: allocates resources for one or more master servers. The EMM server is the
repository for all device configuration information. The nbemm and nbrb services run only on the
EMM server.

 nbemm service: centralizes resource selection. nbemm maintains devices, media, and storage
units in a relational database

Monitoring daemons using the Activity Monitor (UNIX)

Netbackup Process Flow
 • nbpem service (Policy Execution Manager): creates a persistent job worklist, starts each job when
it is due (no wakeup interval), and sets a timer for the next due job.
• nbjm service (Job Manager): accepts requests from nbpem to run backup jobs, or to run media jobs
from commands such as bplabel and tpreq. nbjm acquires resources for each job, such as storage
unit, drives, media, and client and policy resources, and executes the job.
• nbrb service (Resource Broker): allocates resources in response to requests from nbjm. nbrb
acquires physical resources from nbemm (the Enterprise Media Manager service), and manages
logical resources such as multiplex groups, maximum jobs per client, and maximum jobs per
policy. nbrb is also responsible for initiating drive unloads, and manages pending request queues.

After boot up:

1. Internal job task is created within nbpem that sends a Job Start to nbjm for the
job which is due. nbpem provides to nbjm the parameters indicated in the backup
Policy and schedule that is generating the job.
 2. nbjm adds the job to its job list or queue. It then communicates with bpjobd to
Inform it of the job, at which time the job becomes visible in the Activity Monitor in the
Queued states until resources are allocated for it.

3. nbjm sends a resource allocation request to the Resource Broker, nbrb, indicating
The resources which are required for the backup operation and any resource
Consumption constraints for the job, including max jobs per policy, max jobs per
Client and max jobs this client. These resource consumption constraints were
Provided to nbjm by nbpem when the job was initiated

4. nbrb requests resources from the EMM service, nbemm, including storage unit,
storage unit group, media, and devices or drives.

5. When physical resources are available, nbemm will allocate them and respond to
nbrb, which in turn responds to nbjm. With resources allocated for the job, nbjm
Will notify bpjobd and the job moves to the active state.

6. nbjm is responsible for creating the files in the Images database that will house the
backup information, the Header file and the Files (.f) file. nbjm initiates this activity by
Communicating with bpdbm (via nbproxy).

7. nbjm uses bpcompatd to communicate via PBX to start bpbrm on the media server
that will write the backup image. The media server is selected based upon the
destination storage unit that is selected

8.bpbrm on the media server starts bpbkar (the client’s backup and archive process)
on the client system. bpbrm also starts bptm on the media server.

9. bptm initiates a connection with nbjm in order to get media and drive information
for the backup job, which nbjm returns through a separate connection it initiates.

10. bptm will then initiate the mount of the media (tape) specified on the drive specified,
Or the mount of the disk specified. It will also spawn a bptm child process to receive
the image from the client. The details of the Media Manager daemons (ltid, txxd,
txxcd, and avrd) involved in the mounting of the media on the drive are not shown
in this illustration, to reduce the complexity of the illustration.

11 bpbkar sends information about the backup image to bpbrm which

Forwards it to bpdbm on the master server. This stream of metadata is sent
Throughout the backup and stored in the master server’s Image database.
12. When mounting and positioning of the media in the drive, or of the disk to
be used, have been accomplished, the client backup process, bpbkar, will
Begin sending backup data to the bptm child process on the media server
System. The bptm child process receives the image and stores it block by
Block into a shared memory segment on the media server. The parent
bptm process retrieves the image from shared memory and directs it block
by block to the allocated storage media.

13. When the backup has been completed bptm will notify bpbrm, which in
Turn will notify the Job Manager nbjm that the job has finished bptm will
Also notify nbjm that it is done with the media.

14. While the client and media server processes invoked to perform the
Backup operation (bpbrm, bptm, and bpbkar) are terminated, nbjm will
Update the status for the job by communicating with bpjobd. The job will
be changed to Completed status, and the ending status of the job will be
Recorded.

15. nbjm communicates with bpdbm (using nbproxy) to complete the writing
and verification of the files for the backup image in the Images database.
16. With the backup job completed nbjm will de-allocate the resources used
For the backup by communicating with nbrb.

17 nbjm will notify nbpem that the job has been completed The completion
status will be included in this notification. The PolicyClient task that created
the job is responsible for requesting a re-try operation for this job on failure,
or for computing the new ‘due time’ for this job on success.

To verify that all processes are running on UNIX servers

1 To see the list of processes (daemons) running on the server and on
the Media
Manager, enter the following command:
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bpps –x

2 If the master server is also the EMM server, ensure that the nbemm
and the
nbrb services are running. If neither service is running, start them by
entering
the following two commands. If only one of the services is running,
start the
other service by using the appropriate command.
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/nbemm
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/nbrb

3 The nbpem and the nbjm services must be running on the master
server. If
neither service is running, start them by entering the following two
commands. If only one of the services is running, start the other
service by
using the appropriate command.
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/nbjm
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/nbpem

4 If either the NetBackup request daemon (bprd) or database manager

daemon
(bpdbm) is not running, start them by entering the following command:
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/initbprd

5 Make sure that the following media and device management

processes are
running:
■ltid (needs to be running only if drives are configured on the server)
■vmd (volume)
■avrd (automatic volume recognition), only if drives are configured on
the
server
■Processes for all configured robots

6 If any of these processes are not running, stop the device daemon
ltid by
running the following command:
/usr/openv/volmgr/bin/stopltid
Troubleshooting procedures 25
Troubleshooting NetBackup problems

7 To verify that the ltid, avrd, and robotic control daemons are stopped,
run
the following command:
/usr/openv/volmgr/bin/vmps

8 If you use ACS robotic control, the acsssi and the acssel daemons may
continue to run when ltid is terminated. Stop any robot control
daemons
that may continue to run by entering the following command:
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.kill_all

9 Then, start all daemons by running the following command:

/usr/openv/volmgr/bin/ltid

In windows : Step Action Description

The following services must be running. If these services are not

running, start
them by using the NetBackup Activity Monitor or the Services
application in
the Windows Control Panel.
To start all of the services, run install_path\NetBackup\bin\bpup.exe.
Services on master servers:

■NetBackup Request Manager service

■NetBackup Policy Execution Manager service
■NetBackup Job Manager service
■NetBackup database manager service
■NetBackup Device Manager service (if the system has configured
devices)
■NetBackup Volume Manager service
■NetBackup Client service
Services on EMM servers:
■NetBackup Enterprise Media Manager service
■NetBackup Resource Broker service
Services on media servers:
■NetBackup Device Manager service (if the system has configured
devices)
■NetBackup Volume Manager service
■NetBackup Client service
Services on clients (including NetBackup Remote Administration
Consoles):
■NetBackup Client service

Use the NetBackup Activity Monitor to see if the following processes

are running:
■avrd (automatic media recognition), only if drives are configured on
the
server
■Processes for all configured robots.

If these processes are not running, stop and restart the NetBackup
Device
Manager service. Use the NetBackup ActivityMonitor or the
Services application

PBX : The Enterprise Media Manager (EMM) services and other

services of NetBackup require a common services framework that is
called Private Branch Exchange. (PBX). PBX helps limit the number of
TCP/IP ports

Checking that PBX is running

After you know that PBX is installed on the NetBackup master server,
you need
to verify that it is running.

To see if PBX is running

1 On UNIX, check for the PBX process:
ps | grep pbx_exchange
2 To start PBX on UNIX, type the following:
/opt/VRTSpbx/bin/vxpbx_exchanged start
On Windows, make sure the Symantec Private Branch Exchange
service is
started. (Go to Start > Run and enter services.msc.)
inetd : Before you install or use NetBackup on a Linux client, verify
that the inetd (or xinetd) service is started on that computer. This
service ensures proper
communication between the NetBackup master and the Linux client

Ports in Netbackup

 Master server to/from media servers requires the TCP ports for vnetd/13724 and
PBX/1556, bi-directional.
 Master server to client requires the TCP port for vnetd/13724.
 Media server to client requires the TCP port for vnetd/13724 and PBX/1556.
 Media server to media server requires the TCP port for vnetd/13724 and PBX/1556, bi-
directional.
 Client to master server required the TCP port for vnetd/13724 for client-initiated (user-
directed), but not server-initiated, operations.

 SAN Client to/from master/media servers requires the TCP ports for vnetd/13724 and
PBX/1556, bi-directional.
 Java/Windows admin consoles to master and media servers requires the TCP ports for
vnetd/13724 and PBX/1556, bi-directional.
 To backup and restore VMWare:

Backup host to vCenter requires TCP port 443.

Multiplexing
Multiplexing sends concurrent backups from one or several clients to a single storage device.
Multiplexed and unmultiplexed backups can reside on same volume.

Multiplexing is generally used for:

 Slow clients
 Netbackup with software compression option
 Multiple slow networks
 Many short backups

NetBackup Catalogs
NetBackup catalogs are internal databases that contain information about NetBackup configuration and
any backups that have been performed.

Catalogs are located on both MASTER and MEDIA server.

The image catalog is the largest catalog whose size is determined by total no. of files stored in backup
images and it’s retention period.

 Roughly image catalog size is 2% to 5% of online data being managed.

 Size is also depends on total no. of files.
 Binary format catalogs are approx. 66%smaller than ASCII one.
 Indexing catalog improves it’s performance but size increases approx. by 2%.

Backup policies and schedules

Netbackup Policies
A policy is a template for backup of a single client or group of clients with common attributes and a
common file list.

Parts of a policy definition:

 Attributes
 Client list
 File list
 Schedules

Policies determine:
  What -- Backup files & data sets
 Who -- Backup clients
 How -- Backup behavior
 Where -- Backup storage location
 When -- Backup time and type

Netbackup Policies – to remember

 Define backup policy for specific set of data on specific group of clients.
 Policy may share clients with other policies.
 Policy may contain more than one client.
 Policy may direct the backup to a particular storage unit.
 Specify the use of volumes from a particular volume pool.
 Netbackup does not limit the number of policies that you can configure.

Multiple data streams

As per this policy attribute, NetBackup can divide automatic backups for each client into multiple jobs,
with each job backing up only part of a file list, depending on directives in the file list.
These jobs are in separate data streams and occur concurrently and failure of one data stream doesn’t
affect other streams. Multiple data streams can increase backup performance if clients and network are
of good capacity.
No. of streams and their concurrency is determined by –

 No. of drives available in storage unit

 Multiplexing settings (in storage unit)
 Max. jobs parameters (in policy)

Schedules
Schedules define the type of backup and timing of backup jobs.
Backup types:
 Automatic Scheduled –

 Full Backup

 Incremental Backup –
i. Differential incremental
ii. Cumulative incremental
 Client Requested –

 User Backup

 User Archive
Schedule method: Frequency based and Calendar based.
Backup window: Start time and Duration

Types of Backup
Automatic schedules backup the file list on all clients in the policy according to timetables set up in
schedules.

 Full backup – All files in specified path are backed up on each client
 Differential Incremental – Back up all files changed since last full or incremental (differential or
cumulative) backup
 Cumulative Incremental – Backup all files changes since last full backup
Cumulative Incremental backup generates more files per backup but provides quicker recovery compare
to differential backup.

Client requested schedules specify when users can start user backups and archives from the client with
user selected files/directories.

 User Backup – Backs up selected files/directories from user disk as per backup window specified
in schedule
 User Archive – Deletes files from user disk if backup is successful. It’s useful for freeing disk space
while providing a copy of data for future use.

Schedule Method
Frequency Based: Backup job is created for each client in policy client list for which backup is due to be
performed. Backup is due if period since last backup exceeds schedule’s frequency.

 Clients are processed in order in which they are displayed in policy client list. Starting point of list
is based upon last successful client backup that was run.

Calendar Based: Backup job is created for each client in policy client list for which backup is due to be
performed. Backup is due if date/time mentioned in schedule is arrived.

 Calender-based scheduling provides better flexibility in scheduling backup jobs.

Backup Windows
Start Time: This setting defines when backup window opens and Netbackup can start performing
backups according to schedule.

Duration: This setting defines time period during which backup window is open and NetBackup can start
backup according to schedule.

 Once started, backup continues, even if duration expires.

 If due to any reason like device unavailability backup couldn’t start in mentioned duration, it can
get start only in next schedule.

Retention Periods
 Retention is the time that the image is to be held in images catalog.
 Backup images are deleted from images catalog when retention period expires and
corresponding entry is deleted from media catalog.
 Expired image is not erased from tape, but its pointers are no longer in place, so image cannot
be easily found.
 By default, NetBackup does not mix retention periods on a single volume.
 Volume is not reused until all images on volume have expired.
 Retention levels are set as number from 0 through 24 (Period 0 to 30yrs).
 Level 0 to 9 are NetBackup’s default setting, Level 9 is infinity and can’t be altered.

How deduplication works:

Deduplication is a method of retaining only one unique instance of backup data on storage media.
Redundant data is replaced with a pointer to the unique data copy. Deduplication occurs on both a file
level and a file segment level. When two or more files are identical, deduplication stores only one copy
of the file. When two or more files share identical content, deduplication breaks the files into segments
and stores only one copy of each unique file segment.

Client deduplication does the following:

 Reduces network traffic. The client sends only unique file segments to the storage server.
Duplicate data is not sent over the network
 Deduplication significantly reduces the amount of storage space that is required for the
Netbackup backup images.
The following list describes how NetBackup derives unique segments to store:

 The deduplication engine breaks file 1 into segments A, B, C, D, and E.

 The deduplication engine breaks file 2 into segments A, B, Q, D, and L.
 The deduplication engine stores file segments A, B, C, D, and E from file 1 and file segments Q,
and L from file 2. The deduplication engine does not store file Introducing NetBackup
deduplication 15 About NetBackup deduplication segments A, B, and D from file 2. Instead, it
points to the unique data copies of file segments A, B, and D that were already written from file