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Bruce_Clegg's avatar
Bruce_Clegg
Level 5
6 years ago
Solved

Exclusion list on a Windows Server

I'm running netbackup 8.0 on redhat

99% of the servers I back up are Linux Clients.  But I have a single Windows box that I need to exclude some files from backups.

I think I should be doing this by going to Host Properties / Clients / Properties / Windows Client / Exclude Lists

But I don't have those options there - it looks like Netbackup believes this is a linux box?

The box is correctly identified as a Windows x64 box when I look at the client list in the Policy

8
Linux
  • Bruce_Clegg's avatar
    Bruce_Clegg
    6 years ago

    this remained a problem until I updated to NBU 8.2 (linux) - then the server showed up in the Host Properties/Clients as a Windows server

  • davidmoline's avatar
    davidmoline
    Level 6
    6 years ago

    Hi Bruce

    Interesting problem. I suspect but I am unable to test this theory at the moment, that the problem is because you have added the Windows client into a "standard" (aka *nix) backup policy. This is not good practice although it will work - what you find is (if you are using the ALL_LOCAL_DRIVES directive) that you may be missing "stuff" from your backup.

    Try creating a new MS-Windows policy with just that client and then refresh the client in host properties. I suspect (and hope) that will change the client type.
    If it doesn't you may need to update the host properties in the EMM database - see what "nbemmcmd -listhosts -display_server -machinename uprobob01v -machinetype client -verbose" returns (also repeat using the FQDN). If this shows the type as Linux, then use the "nbemmcmd -updatehost -machinename uprobob01v -machinetype client -operatingsystem windows" to change.

    Alternately you could try using the "bpsetconfig" command to push an exclude list to the client, or log into the client run the BAR GUI and update the exclude the list or (and only for the brave) update the registry directly - the registry key is "<HKLM>\SOFTWAR\Veritas\NetBackup\CurrentVersion\Config\Exclude"

    Cheers
    David

    • Bruce_Clegg's avatar
      Bruce_Clegg
      Level 5
      6 years ago

      Thanks David

      I set up a new policy with this server as the only client.  I had netbackup detect the client OS - and it correctly came up with Windows-x64.  Going to the host properties / clients / - right clicking on the client and choosing  Refresh Selected did nothing.  I went into properties and saw no way to refresh from inside there.

      I also tried the command: sudo ./nbemmcmd -listhosts -display_server -machinename u1probob01v -machinetype client -verbose

      ...and it told me invalid host name.  I tried a few variations of the name and fqdn then ran: sudo ./nbemmcmd -listhosts -verbose - and it just reported information about the media server.  Should I be using something other than -machinename?

      I'll look into bpsetconfig (and report here if I can get that to work) - but in the meantime can you help me understand what is going on with nbemmcmd?  That seems like a handy solution that I'd like to get to work.

      • davidmoline's avatar
        davidmoline
        Level 6
        6 years ago

        Bruce

        Hmm - okay the nbemmcmd won't display info on clients - my mistake. 
        I note that the name of the client is different in the two locations. Could the client be defined in another policy?
        Also after you created the new WIndows policy for that particular client, did you refresh the client host properties panel to check that the client name was displayed as entered in the policy?

        If all else fails, try removing all references to the troublesome client from all policies. Then check to verify that the client has disappeared from the client host properties panel. Then finally add the client back into an appropriate policy.

        Cheers
        David

  • sdo's avatar
    sdo
    Moderator
    6 years ago

    ...on the topic of exclusion lists, just thought I'd share some info...

    ...NetBackup Client effectively has three exclude lists to process...

    1. those defined by the operating system
    2. those determined by Veritas for the deployed version of NetBackup Client
    3. those specified by the end-user

    .

    # 1. the list that Windows provides to third party backup clients, of what to exclude...

    reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BackupRestore"

reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BackupRestore\FilesNotToBackup"

    .

    # 2. NetBackup Client's own private list of what to exclude...

    # ...v8.1.1 for Windows has 33 entries...

    nbgetconfig -private_exld_list

    .

    # 3. the customer / end-user specified list...

    nbgetconfig exclude

bpgetconfig -M 127.0.0.1 exclude

    .

    [end]