Linux cluster virtualized for Master - NBU 7

[NBdmecha]

Hi all,

currently we are running NBU 7.1.0.4 under solaris. Because of the benefits of virtual machines (migrations, recoverability, price,..) we are thinkig about moving our master to our ESX 5.1.

After reading all the documentation we found about that, we stated that:

     -there´s no problem on running master in Linux Vmware machines.

     -for ESX 5.1 compatibility we will need RHEL 6.

     -We will need also Netbackup 7.5

In the other hand we would like to create a cluster of two vmware nodes for the master. I understood that it should be done with Veritas Cluster Server.

Is that right? Does anyone got any experience on this?

Thanks in advance.

[Marianne]

If you are thinking of moving your NBU master to Linux, this is the only supported way:  http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH77448

In short:

1. hostname must be the same
2. Install path must be the same
3. NBU version and patch level must be the same
4. NBU master cannot be clustered.

You will need assistance from a Symantec Consulting partner to move non-clustered master to clustered. 
See: http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH31385

PS: If you want use VCS in a virtual environment, please take special care when provisioning NICs for heartbeats. Requirements are the same as for physical cluster nodes - NICs must be separate hardware devices to prevent SPOF (single point of failure) which may result in splitbrain condition (data corruption) when both heartbeats on shared infrastructure fail simultaneously. See VCS documentation in https://sort.symantec.com/documentation

[NBdmecha]

Thanks Marianne, currently our Master is already clustered under solaris using VCS (sorry I omitted it), so I understand we can have it clustered when we move it to Linux, right? I suppose you´ve said point 4 (NBU master cannot be clustered) because I forgot to say that our master is already clustered. About the virtualization, as we are also going to give the master a new name we will need Symantec to help us on restoring the catalog as you said.

[Marianne · Accepted solution]

Correct - catalog migration via catalog recovery cannot be done to convert non-clustered to clustered.

Since your NBU is already clustered, you can simply keep NBU virtual hostname the same - node names can be different. See http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH58358 :

For clustered Master Servers this means:

1. The DR Master Server must also be clustered using the same virtual host name, although the number and names of the member nodes can be different.

I feel point 2 here should not be problem provided you are using VCS on existing cluster as well.

You will need to upgrade NBU to 7.5.0.4 or 7.5.0.5 on existing cluster in order to migrate to same version on Linux cluster.

In all honesty - there are so many variables that it will probably be best to contact a Symantec Consulting Partner...