Highly available master server setup

[ssumi]

We have just purchased netbackup 7.5 and are looking for the best fit for ourq master server. Web installeda single master in a vm with one media server at each site, plus our dr site. I am doing one nbu domain. I want our catalogs and backups for our dr site to continue flowing even if we have to shut down our master at the primary site. I really would prefer to keep it as one domain. The suggestion I have from Symantec so far has been to set up AIR from our primary site to our dr site. We are already replicating images using tape to dr so AIR seems a bit silly as I don't want to duplicate the image, I just want the catalog info available there as well. I have thought about doing a veritas stretched cluster across our wan (100mbps link) so I can take our master down for patching and what not. Our backup environment is pretty important for compliance reasons and i really want to make this highly available. Since we haven't started doing backups large scale yet, if we have to redeploy our master server now is the time. So what's the pros and cons and what options do I have? I'm running our master server as a vm currently in a 2008 r2 guest system. I would like to be able to take down the master at any time for patching with minimal disruption to backups and operations. I also want to be able to run our master from our DR site with minimal reconfiguration needed. I'm not liking have to promote a media server to maste and use air to replicate full images over the wire. Thanks in advance.

[Yasuhisa_Ishika]

Overview of prerequisites and configuration steps are described in Highly Available Environments Administrator’s Guide.Please check page 63 "About globally clustered NetBackup master servers
with catalog replication".
http://www.symantec.com/docs/DOC5183

By the way, global cluster with volume replication needs a lot of cost and work - preparing volume replication, forming cluster, and configuring NetBackup into cluster.
You also need an assistance of consultin service to convert standalone master server to clustered master server(including single-node cluster).

I wonder why you continue to spent transport costs of tapes, and why you are to configure global cluster to minimize downtime for maintenance.
I think A.I.R is cost-effective option for this case. It does not provide availability for master server failure, but you just recover the master server from catalog backup - it can be done within few hours.

[ssumi]

Our transport costs are minimal -- our DR site is on the way home for a few of our employees, we just grab the tapes once a week and drop them off in our media vault at the DR site.  Having a company handle our tape transport isn't really an option.

Hours of downtime waiting for a restore isn't really an option in the environment we're in.  I need the catalogs ready to go if I have to get to the DR site and begin getting some systems back.  We may just have to use AIR to get some of our most critical infrastructure down there and then also keep a copy on tape for the long term storage.

I'm not concerned about converting a standalone.  As stated, we're not using NetBackup much yet -- only just today started getting some policies built.  If we're going to go to a cluster setup then now is the time.  We can delete the entire NBU domain and start over very easily, which is why I'm evaluating options.

[Marianne]

Recovery without Import method is ideal for a tape-only environment.

In short, you have a 'stand-by' master at the DR site to which you copy images on a regular basis.

You write-protect the tapes, add them to a non-backup pool at DR (e.g. RESTORE), configure Media Host Override in General Server section of Host Properties.

For more details, see original 3-page doc:
Recovery Without Import
http://eval.symantec.com/mktginfo/products/White_Papers/Data_Protection/nbu_wp_replicatingbucatalogs_103003.pdf

or newer (longer) version:
http://eval.symantec.com/mktginfo/enterprise/white_papers/b-whitepaper_implementing_highly_available_dr_with_veritas_NBU_01_08_13599373.pdf