Restore Catalog from Tape

Forgot to mention, OS is Windows 2008 R2 SP-1

So if understood correctly ...

You have rebuilt a master server with NBU installed at exactly the same version.  On this new server you have configured the 'catalog' path to match the old sever.

Thinking you mught need to pull the DR file over (as you will have done) and run the nbcatsync

Kinda safe, you can do a dry run, if it says no changes, it ain't that ...

If it wants to make a changes, that could be the issue, or at least part of it ...

nbcatsync -sync_dr_file dr_file_path -dryrun

Other ideas ...

You could copy across ...netbackup\db\images

This is ok, as if using nbcatsync, you are only meant to use a partial catalog recovery anyway.

Problem you will/ might have, is the media DB maight be out of sync with the images DB.  Recommend to run nbcc to rebuild this.

Martin

Trying nbcatsysc to the backup file location is giving errors, "nbcatsync: EXIT Status 95" followed by "nbcatsync: requested media id is not assigned to this host in the EMM database (95)"

I'm thinking we're missing on our disk storage (which is on a another physical server) some of the catalog files. I have the last 3 weeks tapes fro the catalog backup, but I'm not sure the proper procuded to recover the catalog if the backups spans a few tapes.

As for the netbackup\db\images folder. This is already available int eh new configuration. Which this is what I am most confused about, I have the policy information for all the policies, whcih is stored in this lcoation, but I thought it would also contain the catalog information and after the reconfig and changing the DB to this location, the policy information, and catalog information would be recovered. Apparently not.

Currently I'm importing two of the three catalog tape backups, one already imported.

Thanks

OK - completely scrap my reply - the clue was in the thread "Recovery from TAPE"

My apologies, for spome reason I was thinking this was DISK (hey, it's Monday).

Further, you would need to have images DB copied acrosss anyway to use nbcatsync ...

So, let us start again .

1)

If you have the catalog tapes, no need to impotrt them, just run the catalog recovery wizard.

Have you tried this ?

Martin

I think this is where I'm having issues. I've searched but have not found a good article/answer on doing the catalog recovery from tape. In the catalog recovery wizard the first step is to point to the Disaster Recovery File. I'm assuming this is either a) on the tapes or b) since I still have access to the crashed server C drive, a file on this old server. Guess it could be in the netbackup\db\images folder under the Master Server name, but not sure which file to use. At least so far the ones I've pointed to do not work. Same errors.

Wouldn't I have to import the tapes since the catalog is missing? Or is there something "special" about a catalog backup to tape since if it is ever needed obviously it would not be in the current catalog?

Thanks again!

OK.

The DR file is emailed out or copied to a directory as specified in the Catalog Policy.

We will come back to this is shortly.

The other requiredment is you have the catalog tapes.

Catalog recovery goes like this :

1.  Build new server, NBU install the same, install path the same.

2. Configure tape drives/ library

3. Put catalog tapes in library

4.  Run inventory

5.  Run cartalog recovery wizard.

6. Supply DR file location.

7. Select Full recovery 

Let me look at the DR File issue ...

Martin

OK, the DR file is contained in the catalog, but we shouldn't be coping it from there ... no idea if it would work.  In theory, it probably would, as the DR file is effectivly the header file for the backup, but if it is EXACTLY the same, I would have to test.

However, if you have the old server, then look in this dir ...

<install> \veritas\netbackup\db\class\<catalog policy name>\

You should see a file 'catdrinfo'

In that file, you will see the location of the PATH the DR file is copied to ...

Eg.  PATH /netbackup/catback

It will also show the email address it is copied to (if set)

Does this allow you to track down the DR file ?

Martin

Hmm, Seems the DR file is the same as the catalog header file.

But, as the header file is located in the EMM database, you're going to need NBU running to extract it.

Think this is a no go ...

First thing first then, was the DR file emailed out, or is it obtainable from the server as described above.

martin

Our DAS, the MD1000 housing the DB for NetBackup has this location, \veritas\netbackup\db\class\<catalog policy name>, which does show our online path to the catalog. However, this location only shows the names of the files as Policy-#######_INCR. There is no _Full.

I'm afraid this storage location may have gotten "cleaned up" due to space issues, and the last FULL copy of the catalog was removed before it was checked that it could be removed. Yet another issue, I know, that one has been resolved going forward!

And yet another issue from the past, a couple of weeks ago, the Master Server had a hardware failure and the entire catalog was restored from disk, and this went fine. But after that restore, the e-mail was not set up properly, so no e-mails where going out with catalog DR information for the past two weeks.

At this point the only thing we seem to have is the catalog backup on multiple tapes. I believe going back to the last two weeks (of our 4 week tape rotation schedule) I should have a full catalog backup on the tape from two weeks ago, and incrementals up until the Master Server crashed.

So I guess I'm stuck again recovering the catalog from the tape copy. In the Troubleshooting manual, I get to step 6 on page 210 which states "Make available to Netbackup the media that contains the catalog backup". Which I have on tape. I'm wondering if I need to do a file level restore of the data on the catalog tapes and these will include the full Catalog file for the DR?

But not sure really at this point what to do about the catalog on tape restore.

How many tapes are there in total ?

Martin