Forum Discussion

Giroevolver's avatar
16 years ago
Solved

Split NetBackup Master and Media Server

Hi Guys,

I would like to know if there is a way to split your master/media server once they are built and running in production.

Our enviroment is growing I would like the Master server to be on a seperate server/VM.

We currently have a master/media server on a physical server and I would like to offload the Master server to a VM if possible.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks
  • If I get you correclty you currently have 1 server that is both a master and a media server.

    ok

    you want the master to just be the master and you want to add a media server.

    ok

    do the server install on the new media server.

    add it netbackup.

    get the tape drives for the media server setup ( if san you need to zone)
    Start with moveing 1 drive from the master to the new meida.

    create a storage unit for this tape drive.

    as a test setup a test policy that uses that new storage unit and try a backup.

    if it works.

    then move all the tape drives to the new media server.
    (you could leave one on the master -which by default is also a media- in case your media server goes down and you need to do a restore) leave the robot control on the master - no need to move it because if the master is down it won't work anyway.

    remove any storage units for the master that you don't need any more.

    and now you have a master and a media server -

    It is just a matter of setting up a new media server and using it for all backups, and not using the master for any backups.

  • If I get you correclty you currently have 1 server that is both a master and a media server.

    ok

    you want the master to just be the master and you want to add a media server.

    ok

    do the server install on the new media server.

    add it netbackup.

    get the tape drives for the media server setup ( if san you need to zone)
    Start with moveing 1 drive from the master to the new meida.

    create a storage unit for this tape drive.

    as a test setup a test policy that uses that new storage unit and try a backup.

    if it works.

    then move all the tape drives to the new media server.
    (you could leave one on the master -which by default is also a media- in case your media server goes down and you need to do a restore) leave the robot control on the master - no need to move it because if the master is down it won't work anyway.

    remove any storage units for the master that you don't need any more.

    and now you have a master and a media server -

    It is just a matter of setting up a new media server and using it for all backups, and not using the master for any backups.

  • My suggestion is this, since you want to migrate the existing Master to VM:

    1. Run a good and thorough backup of your current Master (which is also your Media) server.  "Thorough" means it covers OS, application, and all NetBackup catalogs.

    2. Remove backup devices configured on this Master/Media server (storage units, robot, and drives.)   See Note below

    3. Do another thorough backup.   Now you have two backups - one was before any device changes, and one after device changes.

    4. Use what you have to do the P2V (physical to virtual) migration, such as VMware Converter, to migrate your Master server to VM.  This VM should retain your original Master's name, so you don't have to rename anything.   Power down the physical Master (or unplug it from LAN) so the VM Master can be brought up.

    5. Verify the migration is successful (reboot the VM and see if NBU starts properly, and make sure all necessary daemons/processes are running).  If the migration is not successful, at least you still have the original Physical server as well as 2 good backups.

    6. Once you are satisfied with the VM NetBackup Master server, rebuild the physical machine (original Master) as a new NetBackup Media server.  You may want to build it from scratch - reinstall Windows server, install NBU Media, and configure backup devices (robot, drive, storage unit.)

    7. Test your new Media server.

    Note - the reason to remove the backup devices is that, based on my understanding, it's difficult to configure tape devices to VM.  So rather than do P2V migration first and then remove tape devices from Master, it would be better to remove tape devices first then do the P2V migration.

    You will need to plan some downtime for this migration.
  • I don't know which one I would mark as the solution. Both posters give good information.
    Thanks guys.
  • Yes Master Supported but Media Server possible only with Disk Storage units

    Virtual master server
    The NetBackup master server is supported within a virtual machine, as stated in
    the “General guidelines for support” on page 2.
    Refer to the following for a list of supported NetBackup 6.x master server
    platforms:
    http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/278064.htm
    Virtual media server
    The NetBackup media server is supported within a virtual machine, as stated in
    the “General guidelines for support” on page 2. Support, however, is limited to
    disk storage units.
    The following disk storage units are supported within a virtual machine:
    ■ Basic Disk
    ■ Advanced Disk without sharing
    Refer to the following for a list of supported NetBackup 6.x media server
    platforms:
    http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/278064.htm

    Refer this Doc for more information
    ftp://exftpp.symantec.com/pub/support/products/NetBackup_Enterprise_Server/312604.pdf
  • Yes I am aware that you can only use disk for a virtual media server but I'm going to use the master virtual and media physical.

    As I only have one enterprise server license if I split these servers do I need another media server license?
  • Yes you do need another "Enterprise Server 6.5 Windows" license for the NetBackup Media server.

    BTW, be aware that "NetBackup Enterprise Server" license comes in different tiers, and the price difference is a lot.  Check with your Symantec Sales/Account manager - since your Master will be on VM, you may not need the same tier license as for your Media server (the physical box that Master was on), and this could save your company quite some money...

    Hope this helps.