How to define and manage alias of a NetBackup client ?

[Gdd]

I have a backup network with for each NetBackup client "myclient", a specific IP address and a specific client name  "sav-myclient".

When I backup a client which is a VM (Policy type VMware),  the name used for the backup is the "VMware Display name". Most of the time, it is only "myclient" without the "sav-" prefix.

When I restore a file for that client, the name for the source is "myclient" and for the destination is "sav-myclient".

When I backup a physical machine, the name used is "sav-myclient".

When I restore a file for that client, the name for the source is "myclient" and for the destination is also "sav-myclient".

Is there a way to define "sav-myclient" and "myclient" as alias so that people who restore files do not have to know when to use "sav-" prefix ?

Note : There is a lot of clients (more than 400), the method should be automatic...

[Deb_Wilmot]

Have you tried:

 AUTO_ADD_ALL_ALIASES_FOR_CLIENT

Windows Admin Guide page 221, Unix Admin Guide page 230 (volume 1).

[Gdd]

According to the admin guide,  default value seems to be "YES":

From the admin guide :

===

By default, AUTO_ADD_ALL_ALIASES_FOR_CLIENT is not present in the configuration
file. When AUTO_ADD_ALL_ALIASES_FOR_CLIENT is not present, the option is
enabled. That is, bpadm is allowed to add client aliases automatically.

===

However, when I display the current value... bpgetconfig display "NO" :

===

[root@xxx admincmd]# ./bpgetconfig | grep AUTO_ADD
AUTO_ADD_ALL_ALIASES_FOR_CLIENT = NO

===

I will try to change to change it to "YES", but I do not understand why initial value has not been set correctly ?

(note : it is a new master server - OS is RedHat and version is 7.6.0.1, but I have the same value in a Windows 7.6.09.1 server)
 

[Deb_Wilmot · Accepted solution]

I didn't even know this parameter existed until I was looking in the admin guide for the windows altpath directions for  you :)

I was thinking about this and wondering how this would act with existing clients - I don't know that this will be what you need for any clients  you have already backedup.

In that case I would suggest you script a move from one client directory to the other -bk directory, then creation of a symlink (while nbu is down and after a good hot catalog backup is complete of course).

Or, in theory, if you move the client data into one directory (i.e. client-bk to client) and remove the old directory it should pick up the aliases (but I haven't tried this yet and I'm off today so I won't get a chance to play around with this setting until at least Sunday.)