Forum Discussion

Hypeka's avatar
Hypeka
Level 4
4 years ago

NetBackup 7.7.x Upgrade, Migration or New Implementation

Hi Everyone,

Good day

We have NetBackup 7.7 Master and Two Media that run on Windows Server 2012 - As per checking NBU 7.7 is no longer supported by Veritas.

Our license is not renewed but we plan to avail New License for this setup (reason management issue).

Our goal is to have the NetBackup 8.3 version I don't know what would be the best option

1. Upgrade - without veritas support incase we encounter issue during the upgrade.

2. Migrate - Is this applicable if we will only use the same hardware or server?

3. Fresh Installation of NetBackup 8.3 - Can I just import the catalog from previous version (7.7) ? what about our backup, can we still restore our data from previous version (7.7)?

What's your opinion?

Thanks in advance,

7.7
windows server 2012
  • davidmoline's avatar
    davidmoline
    Level 6
    4 years ago

    HI Hypeka 

    The answer as Nicolai asks depends on the longest retention of backups in the current environment. 

    If you will be reusing the existing hardware/server, then your choices are limited.

    • The simplest is to upgrade in my opinion (and although I cannot guarantee this, support would probably help you complete an upgrade). THis allows you to keep all your existing backups and configurations. 
    • A fresh install is also attractive, but it does mean you will have to recreate all the policies etc. It is also not possible to import the 7.7 catalog into your new 8.3 environment (not without specialist services involved). 

    If all you have for backup is tape (no disk based storage), then a fresh install is an option. Keep a record from the old environment of what backups reside on which tapes (anmd their expiry) and if you do need to restore anything, you can perform an import from the tape (it does mean any old restore would take longer). I wouldn't recommend importing everything unless you only have a few tapes to do (it would be a waste of time and effort).

    If you have new hardware you can use, then a migration option should be considered - install the same version of NetBackup (including EEBs) onto the new hardware, then perform a catalog backup and recovery to the new server. Then upgrade the new server (you will still have the original master available if anything doesn't work). There are numerous articles available describing this process. 

    Cheers
    David 

  • Nicolai's avatar
    Nicolai
    Moderator
    4 years ago

    Hi Hypeka 

    What is your longest backup retention ?

    Option 3 may be my preferred option, if you don't have to carry over long term backups, but let them expire on the old 7.7 environment. Having to upgrade both Windows and Netbackup will be no easy task.

    Best Regards
    Nicolai