How to avoid NDMP

[dvieira]

Hi,

We have and EMC Celerra configured for NDMP ( for other reasons than Backup ). The NDMP backup with Backup Exec is too much limited, so we want the ability to choose when we want to make backups using NDMP or to make backups using a regular UNC path like \\celerra\folder

The problem is BE detects that Celerra is configured for NDMP and forces always the use of NDMP. There is any way to bypass this ?

Thanks

David

[ZeRoC00L]

Here you can find a technote about it:

It says BE12.5, but will also work with 2010.

http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH55199

[Colin_Weaver]

If you must still have NDMP on the Celerra then you will have to change the NDMP Port on all servers and host that have BackuP Exec Media Server or Remote Agent components. It needs changing from 10000 to something else and has to be the same on every server running BE Processes. Of course this will still be an issue if you have a software package that needs to talk to NDMP on the Celerra installed on a system that also runs a Backup Exec component.

Once you have changed the NDMP port on all servers you should be able to do share level access of data on the Celerra, although for backup Purposes you will still need a Remote Agent License installed on the media servers doing the backups.

Note typically a share level/cifs backup from a NAS is slower than an NDMP backup from the same NAS - even when the backup storage device is attached to the media server.

How to change ports is provided in article

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH55199

(which is also provided at the bottom of the article linked by the previous poster)

[dvieira]

Thanks for your answers.

Disabling the NDMP on the Celerra is not a option, because it's used for other things on the Celerra itself.

Changing the port is not possible also, because when you are adding the NDMP node on BE, the BE uses the port to contact the NDMP. If you change the port, it will say that he can't contact the NDMP server, and you are unable to add the false NDMP.

After created, the option to change the port is disabled.

I think the only way is BE 2010 have a way to explicit indicate if you want to use CIFS or NDMP, or have somewhere an option saying to BE 2010, that it should only use NDMP in cases where it's especified explicitly.

Thanks

David

[Colin_Weaver]

I thought you didn't want to use NDMP option to do your backups, I thought you wanted to use UNC paths (so CIFS shares) - which does not use NDMP.

As such remove the Celerra from the Backup Exec Devices list

Change the Backup Exec NDMP port (on the media server) as per the article.

Create a User Defined selection for the share on the Celerra and test a backup.

If this works then change all your other BE servers (Media and Remote to the same NDMP port number)

If you want the ability to choose between CIFS and NDMP then I don't think you can, as it is a one or the other scenario. If you want this ability then I suggest you submit an Ideas post instead of a Forums post as it would be an enhancement to the current product.

[dvieira]

That's the funny thing

If you delete from the device list ( and restart services ), when you make a Backup Job, when you enter your unc path to the CIFS Share, in the Selection List using a user defined selection, the BE  detects that the source doesn't have a BE Agent, and then tries to understand if it's a NDMP capable device. In that case it is, and so, it will mark the user-defined selection with the icon of the NDMP.

Later on, when you run the Job together with SGMON, it will report something like, the destination is detected as a NDMP server.

Even also with the credentials. The selection list is not accepted with the Domain credentials, but only accepts the NDMP user

That's the problem of the products, trying to be more clever than the Sysadmins. 

[Colin_Weaver]

In theory that detection should not happen if the media server is using a different NDMP port from the NAS device though

The process then becomes

- BE Services restarted after setting NDMP to (say) Port 120000

- User defined selection to UNC share created

- Job starts and Backup Exec tries to detect if RAWS is present over Port 12000 on the device name for the NAS (based on the sharename) and does not find it because the NAS NDMP Port is on 10000

- Backup Exec then falls back to BEREMOTE process on media server which accesses the share over CIFS (a warning message that cannot be disabled is recorded in the job logs about this fallback to local beremote process.)

[dvieira]

Correct, but i don't know if I can change this port on the NDMP Server. It's being used for other stuff.

Besides that is a nonsense to change that, just because BE 2010 is trying to be clever guessing the source  type.

You know what. I've check that with CA Arcserve, and surprise... they do exactly as we want. So, going back again to CA Arcserve.

Symantec: Please check for the Future.

[Colin_Weaver]

I suspect (but am not sure) that CA does not use a form of the NDMP protocol for it's own backups hence the reason you won't see the same condition with CA. The Backup Exec Remote agent does use a subset of NDMP hence the problem.