Forum Discussion

yahya1's avatar
yahya1
Level 2
3 years ago

Netbackup Upgrade Help

HI, I am a support engineer, I have limited knowledge about NBU. Don't go harsh on me for asking stupid questions. I have shared the environment details for a client who are planning an upgrade. Luc...
appliances
Linux
master
Media
NBU
NetBackup 5240
Upgrade
versions
  • davidmoline's avatar
    davidmoline
    3 years ago

    Hi yahya1 

    Firstly I think the order you should perform the upgrades would be the DR site first, then the production site. Air works best when replicating from lower to higher versions. 

    When looking at the appliance upgrades to 4.0, this also includes NetBackup 9.0, you must run the AURA tool (and pass) before you will be able to upggrade (you will not be able to upgrade without running the AURA tool and recieving a pass). 

    Once the DR site is upgraded, perform the upgrades on the production site - first the master or primary server as it is now referred to, then the appliance (again you must run the AURA tool prior to upgrade and get a pass). 

    Note if you have an OpsCenter server in the environment - upgrade this as the very first step.

    The upgrade order in general is Ops Center server first, then primary (or master) server, then media servers and finalllt clients.

    As for downgrading, the appliance upgrade process will protect the current environment until the upgrade completes (it creates a snapshot of the boot environment which is upgraded and can rollback to the previous version if the upgrade fails). The primary server really needs you to take approporiate action to protect the current environment prior to upgrade (a good catalog backup, snapshot of the system if it is a VM etc.). There is no easy rollback for a BYO primary server without some pre-planning (the database is upgraded among otherthings, so reverting to the previous version is not as simple as uninstalling). If you cannot create a snapshot of the master server, review the diaster recovery section of the troubleshooting admin guide for details on how to use a catalog recovery to recover the primary server.

    All that said, if you properly prepare for the upgrade (catalog consistency checks - NBCC - catalog backups, etc.) the upgrade itself is robust and you are unlikely to encounter problems. For the appliance the AURA tool has been a truly wonderful utility to ensure your appliance will upgrade without issues.

    Good luck
    David

davidmoline's avatar
davidmoline
Level 6

Hi yahya1 

Firstly I think the order you should perform the upgrades would be the DR site first, then the production site. Air works best when replicating from lower to higher versions. 

When looking at the appliance upgrades to 4.0, this also includes NetBackup 9.0, you must run the AURA tool (and pass) before you will be able to upggrade (you will not be able to upgrade without running the AURA tool and recieving a pass). 

Once the DR site is upgraded, perform the upgrades on the production site - first the master or primary server as it is now referred to, then the appliance (again you must run the AURA tool prior to upgrade and get a pass). 

Note if you have an OpsCenter server in the environment - upgrade this as the very first step.

The upgrade order in general is Ops Center server first, then primary (or master) server, then media servers and finalllt clients.

As for downgrading, the appliance upgrade process will protect the current environment until the upgrade completes (it creates a snapshot of the boot environment which is upgraded and can rollback to the previous version if the upgrade fails). The primary server really needs you to take approporiate action to protect the current environment prior to upgrade (a good catalog backup, snapshot of the system if it is a VM etc.). There is no easy rollback for a BYO primary server without some pre-planning (the database is upgraded among otherthings, so reverting to the previous version is not as simple as uninstalling). If you cannot create a snapshot of the master server, review the diaster recovery section of the troubleshooting admin guide for details on how to use a catalog recovery to recover the primary server.

All that said, if you properly prepare for the upgrade (catalog consistency checks - NBCC - catalog backups, etc.) the upgrade itself is robust and you are unlikely to encounter problems. For the appliance the AURA tool has been a truly wonderful utility to ensure your appliance will upgrade without issues.

Good luck
David

yahya1's avatar
yahya1
Level 2
3 years ago

MEGA KUDOS for explaining wonderfully. Let's hope all goes well. :D