VERITAS NetBackup SERVER MIGRATION ACTIVITY EXPERIENCE
Today I am going to share my VERITAS NetBackup Server Up gradation and Tape Library Migration Activity. I will also share some points which I faced after this Activity and the steps which guided me to decrease my down time.
There may be so many points which might forgot to share but I hope this will also help towards successful Migration.
I request to all that before doing Migration / UP Gradation Activity make sure that you have properly read the Release Notes of New Product (In my case it was NetBackup Server 7.1) and also make sure that your all Clients and existing environment support New Product. As an example what I faced is my Win2000 OS with SP4 are not supported to install the NetBackup Client 7.1
Agenda
One existing Machine running Veritas NetBackup Server 6.5.5 with an IBM Tape Library and the agenda is to configure Netbackup Server 7.1 on a New Machine with a New Tape Library. All the data of Old NetBackup Server should be present on the New NetBackup Server(Data means Catalog data,Volume Pools,Policies etc)
Live/Running NetBackup Server configuration
IBM Tape Library with two Tape Drives
Cartridge capacity = 44
Installed cartridge = 32
Cartridge Type = LTO-4
NetBackup version = 6.5.5
OS of NetBackup Server = win2003 R2
Suggested Environment
IBM Tape Library TS3310 (New)
Cartridge capacity = 144
Installed cartridge = 5
Cartridge Type = LTO-5
NetBackup version required = 7.1
OS of NetBackup Server = win2008 R2
Activity Started
Note:
Initially to decrease the down time we isolate the new NetBackup Server Machine with the existing/Live environment
1.) First of all from the licensing portal of Symantec download 7.1 product. Here you may find the difficulty because you will need the notification ID which you will get from Customer Support. See a helpful link below for reference:
https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/netbackup-71-now-available
2.) Install NetBackup 6.5.0 on New Machine.
3.) Update the VERITAS NetBackup Server to 6.5.5
4.) Configure the New Tape Library on the New NetBackup Server (Make sure that the New Tape Library Drivers are properly installed and the OS is able to detect the Tape Library. For verification check the Device Manager of windows).
5.) Take the backup of Catalog to Tape Cartridge from Live NetBackup Server and copy the DR file from Live NetBackup Server to USB/Flash Drive and Shutdown the Live NetBackup Server and now connect your New NetBackup Server to the Network which we did not do when we started the Activity. The isolation of NetBackup Server saves our time from point # 1 to point # 5. See the below link of how to take the Catalog Backup for reference:
https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/articles/howto-take-online-hot-catalog-backup
6.) Insert the Tape Cartridge of Catalog Backup (of LIVE Tape Library) to the New Tape Library which is connected with New NetBackup Server and supply/copy the DR file to the New NetBackup Server which will required while Catalog Recovery Wizard.
7.) Restore the Catalog Backup on to the New NetBackup Server. (See the Point # 11 if you will face Media Type problem)
8.) Restart the New NetBackup Server
9.) De activate all NetBackup policies so that they may not trigger and check The Catalog Search, Media, Volume pools and Policies to verify the restore is successful and check the last backup to make sure that the restore is up to date.
10.) You will also find the Old Tape Library again on to the New NetBackup Server after Catalog Recovery so Configure the New Tape Library once again to the New NetBackup server from the first TAB "Getting Started" and Remove the Old Tape Library.
11.) If you want to use the Tape Cartridges of Old Tape Library in the New Tape Library so you make sure that the Media Type should be same while adding the Tape Cartridges from Old Tape Library to New Tape Library and keep in mind that the Media/Tape Cartridges is just one generation back if you want to write on Old Tape Cartridges. In my case my Old Tape Cartridges is LTO 4 and new Tape Library is LTO 5. If you mistakenly configured Tapes with wrong Media Type, change the Media Type via below command as an example:
C:\Program Files\VERITAS\Volmgr\bin>vmchange.exe -new_mt HCART3 -m MEDIA-ID
Make sure that Media Type should be same while adding the Old Tapes to the New Tape Library. You can lose the data while changing the Media ID on the New NetBackup Server.
12.) If you moved all the Tape Cartridges properly. Inventory Robot and Activate all NetBackup Policies which you de activated at point # 9 so that your backup will start where they left on Old Tape Library.
Note:
If you are interested to use Brand New Tape Cartridges in the New Tape Library so all the differential/cumulative backups’ policies will take the Full backup first.
13.) Now install the Netbackup Server 7.1
Problem which I faced after and while Up gradation
- My win2000 OS with SP4 will not be able to install NetBackup Client version 7.1 because version 7.1 is not for win2000 platform.
- My newly Installed Library have six drives but I only able to utilized two at a time. Although all Tape Drives are able to worked properly. This problem seems that i came across with this problem only but see the below link for reference:
https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/ko/forums/more-two-tape-drives-are-not-working
- My Old NetBackup Server which was 6.5.5 was not alerting me for Cleaning of Head. This thing I faced in only NetBackup version 7.1. Now I have to configure the Tape Library Drives cleaning procedure because if the Drives will not clean the backup will not be written via those Drives. See the discussion for your reference:
https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/does-netbackup-offers-head-cleaning#comment-5515231
- I was facing error 84 and error 41 while writing the Backups. I still trying to troubleshoot this problem but what I did after that my problem resolved which is just a workaround. My Tape Library Drives connected via Fiber to Fiber Switch and Fiber Switch to NetBackup Server ( which is in a Chase of Blade server ). I simply remove the Fiber Switch between the Drives and NetBackup Server. This problem is with my case. It is not must that other people will also face this problem. I just highlight this is because that while research on latest version before going LIVE keep in mind that you will also check your product with this angle also.
- I also faced error 69 with the NetBackup Policy for Exchange 2003 Information Store backup. What I assume that while upgradation from 6.5.5 to 7.1 the up gradation process may removed the registery. See the below post for reference:
https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/exchange-error-69
- I used different IP Address on the New NetBackup Server which caused problem when at the end of Activity I assigned the IP which I was using on Old NetBackup Server. Actually in NetBackup what I have come to know that NetBackup does not support the changing of IP address also as we cant change the hostname of NetBackup Server.
- I faced much delay when I tried to download the NetBackup software 7.1 from fileconnect. To overcome this I would like to share a link below for reference:
- https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/netbackup-71-now-available
- Keep in mind that both Tape Libraries (Old and New) will not work simultaneously on the Master Server and in my case I am using single machine which is Master/Media Server. There may be some license required.
- I also have a Sun Solaris version 9 OS on which I was not able to install NetBackup Client version 7.1. Actually NetBackup compress/tar file which I have downloaded from fileconnect was not able to uncompress/untar the long files via the tar software installed in Solaris9 and in Solaris10 too. See the below link for reference which leads you how to uncompress this:
https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/not-able-install-solaris-client-71-solaris-9
- I was using DLO for NetBackup on NetBackup version 6.5.5 and the OS was win2003 and the DLO version was 6 without any MPs and the same version I was not able to install with the New NetBackup Server OS because the New NetBackup Server OS was win2008 and it(DLO) required MP6x because of some SQL dependency. See the below post for reference:
https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/how-install-dlo-win2008
These are the problem which I faced while this Activity and I hope if you will see this Article it will help to in decreasing the Down Time.
