Does NetBackup 7.5 backing up EV 9.x require parent_end_notify configured?

[user022013]

Hi gurus,

In the Admin guide for Netbackup agent 7.5 for EV, it says that for EV 7.5 and 8.x an administrator might set up parent_end_notify.cmd to ensure the database backups start immediately after the Vault Store backups to ensure consistency.

I was wondering if it is something that is still recommended as it wasn't made clear, other references in the manual are usually EV8 and later, but not in this case.

Cheers.

[RLeon]

I cannot find any reference to parent_end_notify in the Symantec NetBackup Enterprise Vault Agent 7.5 Administrator's Guide.

According to the NetBackup Backing Up Enterprise Vault White Paper, the EV_OPEN_PARTITION directive automatically includes EV_VAULT_STORE_DB, making the latter redundant.

In other words, the EV_OPEN_PARTITION directive will backup both the Vault Store open partition files and its DB consistently for you.

There are also many other useful recommendations and tips in the White Paper, such as using flashbackup on very large partitions.

[user022013]

My bad,  I was referencing a tech note, not the admin guide.  The white paper answered just about everything but once again, referencing this particular tech note, I have another question.

I have 2 EV vault stores.  As below:

Vault1 - Svr_EV1  - Alias: EV10

Vault2 - Svr-EV2 - Alias: EV20

I have an EV agent policy that is set up like this:

Client - EV1

EV_Open_Partition=Vault1

EV_Open_Partition=Vault2

EV_Fingerprint_DB=Site1

It works, as the agent discovers both vault stores and backs them up.   The questions I have are:

1.  Should I split the Open_Partition backups into two policies, one for each vault,;

2.  Should I use the EV server aliases instead if I split the policies, and

3.  Which policy would I put the EV_Fingerprint file backup into?

Cheers.

[RLeon]

1.  Should I split the Open_Partition backups into two policies, one for each vault,;

Having more than one EV_OPEN_PARTITION in a policy is fine, as you have discovered. The only exception is when a partition has become too large for your backup window, in which case you may want to split it out into its own flashbackup policy.

2.  Should I use the EV server aliases instead if I split the policies, and

If you keep all EV_OPEN_PARTITION directives for all Vault Stores from different EV servers in a single policy, then use the EV site alias in the Client tab.
If you split policies by EV servers, then yes, you should use the individual servers' own EV server alias in their policy's Client tab.

3.  Which policy would I put the EV_Fingerprint file backup into?

The Nbu EV Guide has this to say:

To ensure consistency when backing up a fingerprint database, you should add all open partitions of the vault store group and the fingerprint database in the same policy.

However, if you want to be extra careful, you might want to split the fingerprint db into its very own policy and schedules. The white paper you just read has this to say:

Backing up the Enterprise Vault fingerprint databases should be treated slightly different.
A full backup of the fingerprint databases should be completed before the backup of vault store partitions, indexes, and other SQL databases.
Once the backup of the vault store partitions, indexes, and other databases is complete, it is highly recommended that a transaction log backup of the fingerprint databases be performed within a few hours.

Some more food for thought:
http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH150237

[user022013]

Thank you All.  Most helpful.  As it turns out I had to split the vault stores into their own policies as they require to be run at different times of the day for the time being.