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OpsCenter installation and troubleshooting tutorial (HOW TO)

Chronos
Level 4

For all of you out there frustrated with the lengthy documentation and the numerous issues that can pop up when installing the fancy-shmanzy OpsCenter, fear no more my children! Help is here...

First of all, I wholeheartedly recommend installing at least 7.1 and it's associated patch. Here's where you can download it all:

https://www4.symantec.com/Vrt/offer?a_id=91443

What you need to know:

1. if you have a master server that runs 6.5.x you will definitely need to configure an Agent, for data collection. If your master is running NetBackup 7.x you should be fine without any Agent configuration.

2. you will need a Windows host where OpsCenter will be installed (preferably NOT the master, if the master is running on Windows). This host needs to be a client of the master, so it needs to be able to communicate beyond firewalls with the master. I'll explain this a bit later in detail.

Here are the steps I took to get this thing up and running:

1. installed OpsCenter 7.1 ->

  • install the server first from the installation menu
  • install the agent (if you have a master below NBU 7.x)
  • install the Java webbuilder

*NOTE* you don't need to install the authentication service that comes with OpsCenter, it's actually specified that you only need it *IF* you install OpsCenter as a cluster. In most enviroments though OpsCenter runs on a single instance, so the authentication service isn't really needed in that case.

2. applied the patch

3. after the installation, you will need to actually start your new OpsCenter server. In a Windows enviroment, depending on the specific path where you chose to install this SW (below is the default installation path, and I suggest you keep it like that), you will need to execute:

C:\Program Files\Symantec\OpsCenter\server\bin\opsadmin.bat start

This will start the OpsCenter DB, the WebGUI and all the other services that are required. *NOTE* After you complete the installation of the server, the install menu gives you the possibility to start the same services by just leaving checked "Start WebGUI now" option (or something like that); I suggest un-checking that and completing the installation of all components first and then starting the server using the method described above.

4. in order to connect to the server GUI, open up a browser (Firefox would be indicated, with Chrome I had some menus not available). You will need to type in the IP address of the network interface used to communicate with the master server. To find out what that IP address is you just need to ping your OpsCenter Windows host from your master server. Once you have that, type it in using https and the secure port:

https://<WIN_HOST_IP>:8443/opscenter

5. by default, the log in credentials are:

  • user ID: admin
  • password: password

6. you will now need to configure the master server (from which all the data will be pulled) and the Agent (in case the master is below 7.x). Start with the agent:

  • click Settings, then go to Configuration and then click on the Agent tab (second from left to right). You will need to select on which host does the Agent run (by default it will be the very same host you installed OpsCenter onto, so just type in the name of your Windows machine there), the family type OS (Windows obviously), the PBX port (1556 by default, this is the Private Branch Exchange port and I don't recommend that you change its number) and finally you'll need to choose the network interface that connects to the master (it's usually the same IP that you accessed OpsCenter from, see point 4 above). Once you've done all this, the new Agent should appear just below the Integrated Agent, so click on it to check the settings again. *NOTE* You don't need this step if you run NetBackup 7.x!
  • after the configuration of the Agent, you can go to the first tab in Setttings-Configuration (called NetBackup) and start working on that. Basically, you will need to add the network name (hostname) of the master server, the PBX port (already inserted by default - 1556) and OpsCenter Preferred Network Address. If you have multiple network interfaces on your server, they should appear in that drop-down menu. Choose the interface (IP address) that connects to your master (you can find it by pinging your OpsCenter Windows host from the master).
  • *THIS THIRD POINT ONLY APPLIES IF YOU HAVE A VERSION OF NETBACKUP THAT IS BELOW 7.X ! * Go to "Advanced Data Collection Properties" and choose: the NetBackup version, the Agent host (your Windows host where you've just installed OpsCenter), the Install Directory (by default C:\Program Files\VERITAS\NetBackup ), the Volume Manager Directory (by default C:\Program Files\VERITAS\Volmgr ); check all the other options (Enable Image Data Collection, etc.) and then type in your usrID and password for the root (Unix) or Administrator (Windows) account.

After clicking "Save" you will then need to restart your server so execute again the command:

C:\Program Files\Symantec\OpsCenter\server\bin\opsadmin.bat stop / start

Since your session has been cut off during the restart you will need to log in again. Once you've done that, you should be able to see the OpsCenter server showing "Connected" or "Partially connected" in the upper left portion of the screen. Go again to Settings- Configuration and click on the NetBackup tab, then select the newly added master server and the "Enable data collection" button should activate. Click on it and wait for the confirmation that data collection has been enabled.

 

TIPS FOR TROUBLESHOOTING

In case you run into troubles and your master is NOT showing connected/partially connected, here are a few steps to take in order to resolve that:

  1. check the correct name resolution between the Windows client and the master server - ping (both ways), nslookup (both ways) and bpclntcmd (both ways) should be the first things to verify.

nslookup <master_hostname> / <master_IP_address>         => from the client where you've installed OpsCenter

nslookup <client_name> / <client_IP_address>                     => from the master server

ping <master_hostname> / <master_IP_address>                => from the client where you've installed OpsCenter

ping <client_name> / <client_IP_address>                            => from the master server

bpclntcmd -hn <master_hostname>                                      => from the client where you've installed OpsCenter

bpclntcmd -ip <master_IP_address>                                     => from the client where you've installed OpsCenter

bpclntcmd -hn <client_name>                                               => from the master

bpclntcmd -ip <client_IP_address>                                       => from the master

    2.  in the NetBackup console (NOT the OpsCenter GUI), go to "Host properties", right-click on your master server and choose Properties. In the window that opens up click on Client attributes and verify that the OpsCenter Windows host is in the list of clients for the master.

   3.   check for any firewalls between the two hosts that might block port 1556.

   4.   check for the PBX shared service on the master server (the command to run is : bpps -x , and the last line in the output should show PBX running)

   5.   check for the nbsl process on the master (the above command should display that too)

   6.   check to see if on the Windows host where OpsCenter runs you don't have anti-virus software that might block the agent.exe executable (I've bumped into the moronic situation where Symantec's own AV would block Symantec's own Agent....).

   7. make sure you have the latest Java version installed (or at least a recent version of it) and that your Windows OS is up to date.

   8. check to see if your Agent has the right root permissions (applicable if your master server is running on Unix/Linux, in which case you need to look at the /etc/ssh/ssh_config file - or similar - and search for PermitRootLogin, which should be set to "yes")

   9. check to see if the Windows host where you've installed OpsCenter is specifically mentioned (with both the hostname AND the IP address)  in the bp.conf file on the master server

 

If you find this useful please vote it up, so that others can find this post and use it for their own environment.