Decomissioning/replacing media servers

[perez_cmz]

My current environment consist of 8 media servers (4 at each site). Also an IBM tape library, DataDomain and NDMP hosts at each site.

The plan is to decomission 2 media servers from each site.

I'd like the remaining 4 media servers (2 per site) to take over the roles of the media servers being decomissioned.

I am aware of the nbdecommission utility, just not so sure about the actual steps for my type of environment.

[sksujeet]

Use the nbdecommission with new server switch and it will move the assigned medias & images to new servers automatically and will do the complete decom of old server

[Marianne · Accepted solution]

You may want to read through Chapter 6 of NBU Admin Guide I:

Chapter 6  Managing media servers

This chapter includes the following topics:
 

■ Activating or deactivating a media server

■ Adding a media server

■ About decommissioning a media server

■ Previewing references to a media server

■ Decommissioning a media server

■ Registering a media server

■ Deleting all devices from a media server

■ Removing a device host from the EMM database

This TN also explains what exactly nbdecommission does: http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO66666

Remember to update SERVER entries on all clients...

[perez_cmz]

Is there a more efficient way of updating the server entries on the clients, than going one by one ?

[Marianne]

Yes.
Once the Server entries on the master server is updated, you can syncronize Clients' entries with  add_media_server_on_clients command.

SYNOPSIS

add_media_server_on_clients
 

On UNIX and Linux systems, the directory path to this command is

/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/

On Windows systems, the directory path to this command is

<install_path>\NetBackup\bin\
 

DESCRIPTION

Run the add_media_server_on_clients command from a NetBackup server to

synchronize the server list from the server’s configuration with the server lists

on the known clients.
 

The add_media_server_on_clients command tries to connect to all configured

clients (clients that are listed in backup policies).
 

For each client to which it can connect, add_media_server_on_clients updates

the client’s configuration (if necessary) to include all the servers from the server’s

configuration.

(taken from NBU Commands manual)