Exclusion list seems to be ignoring my entries

[Toddman214]

Hello all,

Master and media servers - Windows 2008 R2

Netbackup 7.5.0.4

I'm going through our environment, and trying to configure the database server OS-level backups to exclude the database files. Right now, many of them are including the db files, and its a huge waste of resources. If it makes a difference, I'm focusing on SQL database servers. We run an OS file-level backup on the Windows SQL servers themselves (some physical, some virtual), and a separate sql backup policy backs up the databases. Ive researched similar issues that other folks have had, but havent seen a solution that matches my particular issue.

Below is what I have in the exclusion list for the server I'm currently trying to address. The policy I am focusing on the one below named "VM_ONE-TIME_BACKUP". Its just a test plicy I use. As you can see, I've tried using the "*" wildcard in upper and lower case, and tried to exclude the entire volumes containing those database files, but the backup was still 600gb. This backup should not be over 40gb or so. Supposedly, this was addressed in version 7.1, so there may be something else wrong, as this is the first time I've really gotten in and started configuring exclusions.

Below is what is currently listed in the exclusion for both the client settings in the GUI, and in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Veritas\NetBackup\CurrentVersion\Config\Exclude

C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\*.lock
C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\bprd.d\*.lock
C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\bpsched.d\*.lock
C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackupDB\data\*
C:\Program Files\Veritas\Volmgr\misc\*
CLASS:PROD_VM_FARM-XXXXXX
*.ldf
*.LDF
*.mdf
*.MDF
*.ndf
*.NDF
CLASS:VM_ONE-TIME_BACKUP
*.ldf
*.LDF
*.MDF
*.mdf
*.ndf
*.NDF
L:\
S:\
T:\
U:\
  

Please let me know if there is something I am missing, or if this is a known issue. FYI......This perticular client is a VM. I set the same configuration on one of the physical database servers, and the exclusions worked.

Thanks all,

Todd

[revarooo]

ok lets see the bpbkar log on the client and see it including the files.

create the empty file (no .txt on the end!!) in the netbackup directory caled bpbkar_path_tr

re-run the backup and post the bpbkar log.

[Mark_Solutions]

I assume that you are running this as a MS-Windows policy and not a VMware policy? (Exclude lists do not apply to VMware policies)

Adding a * after a full drive path also helps (so L:\* rather than just L:\)

Things can also get case sensitive so make sure the policy name is exactly right

Hope this helps

[Toddman214]

Re-running now. Will post up once complete.

[Toddman214]

Mark,

The server in question (and we have 63 others like this) is a VM running under a Flashbackup-Windows policy. Are you saying that for each of the ones running as a VM policy, that I need to load the Backup agent, and add them to a Windows-based backup policy? If so, thats going to REALLY stink. :(

I'll try the :\* as well, and see if there's any luck (if there's any need with a VM policy).  I've double checked the case, and that's all accurate.

[Toddman214]

Mark, it looks like from something I just read, that with VM backups should be able to exclude a full disk, but not individual files. Is that literally what this is saying, because if it is, i think I'll be ok excluding the full drive letters. 

"In NBU 7.5 you can exclude disk from VMware backup, but not single files.

Notes say:

"Exclude data disks"
When data is protected via agent in-the-guest (e.g. Oracle®)

However. NBU 7.5 support consistent VMware backup of Exchange & SQL server.

Take a look at the "Netbackup 7.5 presentation in this thread "https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/netbackup-competitive-stratey"

Quote from the presentation:

Previous versions of NetBackup offered sophisticated VMware virtual machine protection as well as advanced database protection with Symantec’s patent-pending Granular Recovery Technology (GRT). However, they were not integrated… database backups, with or without GRT, did not work with VMware VADP backups and required a separate backup pass, treating the virtual machine as if it were a physical machine.

NetBackup 7.5 does away with this limitation, saving time, disk space, and money by integrating these two technologies for VMware virtual machines. Now it’s possible to perform a high-speed VMware VADP backup of a database server while retaining all the features of NetBackup’s advanced database agents, including item-level granular recovery. All of this is done in one fast backup pass – no more redundant copies of the same data. You can recover data at any level – full virtual machines, individual files, entire databases, or specific objects and items within a database. These recovery options work in exactly the same way as they always have in NetBackup, so there’s no need to retrain operators and database administrators."

[Mark_Solutions]

That is right - if you are on 7.5 you can change your policy to be a VMware policy (no need to make a new one) and then on the last tab - Advanced button select to exclude data disks - it will just back up the Boot disk when you have done that

You may still want to backup the databases with an agent though? (or through the SQL option on the vSphere API)

#Edit#

To do a SQL backup using the VMware backup type you do need to install a NetBackup client and the Symantec VSS writer onto the client - but the backup is done via the vSphere API

[Toddman214]

The databases get backed up through separate sql default-application-backup policies to capture the databases and transaction logging. I just need to be sure the backup of the actual server isnt capturing those again. I am running version 7.5.0.4.

Sorry, but where is that Advanced option located? Under the setting for the individual client, or somewhere else in the VM policy itself? I'd hoped to be able to configure this for individual VM clients, because the vm policy that many of these sql clients are located in contains about 450 other non-sql vm clients.

Thanks for the help so far! 

[Will_Restore]

VMware - Advanced Attributes dialog

This dialog appears when you click Advanced on the VMware policy tab.

Virtual disk selection

Exclude data disks

So you'd want to set up a separate Policy for those clients on which you want to exclude the disks

[Toddman214]

Wr,

I am running policy type FlashBackup-Windows, so there is no VMware tab. When I change the policy type to VMware, is when the VMware tab appears. However, I've never used the VMware policy type, so I dont exactly know what that does vs. the Flashbackup-Windows policy type. Looks like I need to research that before I break something.  

[Marianne]

Read about VMware policy type in NetBackup 7.5.0.x for VMware Administrator's Guide http://www.symantec.com/docs/DOC5605

[Will_Restore]

Sorry, you lost me. How can you run FlashBackup-Windows unless you already have NetBackup Client installed?   In which case use the normal Windows client Exclude List.

[Will_Restore · Accepted solution]

Oh!  Sounds like offhost backup in which case Exclude list will not work.  So we're back to square one -- install the NetBackup Client and run Windows backup with Exclude List or setup VMware Policy with Exclude data disks. 

[Toddman214]

Likewise, a bit lost. We've used flashbackup-windows to back up VM's since long before I took over backups. Our vm admin sets up any new vm's through Vcenter, and the policy's VM query captures the client for inclusion in the policy. Now, I do have to load the agent on to the servers that will be sql servers, but not the other vm's.

****edit

But, that said, since I DO always load the backup agent onto the sql vm servers, I could just move only these sql vm's to an existing MS-Windows policy, where file-level exclusions would work. Or, is there a better idea than that? I'm always open to suggestion.   

[Toddman214]

Wr.....take a look at my edit above. I think this is in line with your suggestion, since I already have to install the agent on the sql servers. By the way, the massive 600gb VM that I was capturing the database files on, which started this whole thread.....I simply set up the database exclusions on it, moved it to an MS-Windows policy (since it has the agent), and kicked off a full backup. Size went from 600gb to 29gb. ;)