Specify what media server a restore runs through
Enabling automatic failover to an alternate server
NetBackup allows the administrator to configure automatic restore failover to an
alternate server if the original server is temporarily inaccessible. Once it is
configured, this method does not require administrator intervention.
See “Restore Failover properties” on page 168.
Some examples of when to use this method are as follows:
■ Two or more servers share a robot, each with connected drives.
When a restore is requested, one of the servers is temporarily inaccessible.
■ Two or more servers have stand-alone drives of the same type.
When a restore is requested, one of the servers is temporarily inaccessible.
In these instances, inaccessible means that the connection between bprd on the
master server and bptm on the original server (through bpcd) fails.
Possible reasons for the failure are as follows:
■ The original server is down.
■ The original server is up but bpcd on that server does not respond. (For example,
if the connection is refused or access is denied.)
■ The original server is up and bpcd is fine, but bptm has problems. (For example,
if bptm cannot find the required tape.)
Note: The failover uses only the failover hosts that are listed in the NetBackup
configuration. By default, the list is empty and NetBackup does not perform the
automatic failover.
Failing over to an alternate server
Use the following procedure to enable automatic failover to an alternate server.
To enable automatic failover to an alternate server
1 Modify the NetBackup configuration on the master server are as follows:
■ By using the NetBackup Administration Console:
Open the RestoreFailover host properties dialog box of the master server.
Add an entry in the Alternate Restore Failover Machines list that lists
the media server and failover restore server(s).
■ By modifying the bp.conf file on a UNIX NetBackup server:
As root, add the following entry to the
/usr/openv/netbackup/bp.conf file:
FAILOVER_RESTORE_MEDIA_SERVERS =
failed_host host1 host2 ... hostN
Where:
failed_host is the server that is not operational.
host1 ... hostN are the servers that provide failover capabilities.
When automatic failover is necessary for a given server, NetBackup searches
through the relevant FAILOVER_RESTORE_MEDIA_SERVERS list. NetBackup
looks from left to right for the first server that is eligible to perform the
restore.
There can be multiple FAILOVER_RESTORE_MEDIA_SERVERS entries and each
entry can have multiple servers. However, a NetBackup server can be a
failed_host in only one entry.
2 Stop and restart the NetBackup Request daemon on the master server.
