Netbackup Master as a VMWare guest OS

[Michael_Rae]

Hi,

I am looking into the possibility of using a virtual machine as the base of a master server install. I would not be doing any backups to this master, all backups would be going through media servers. There are a few questions i have with regards to implementing this:

1. Is it possible to do a hot catalogue restore onto a Master from a media server's drives? as VMWare does not support FC Drives only the media servers would have drives attached.

2. Is it possible to do a hot catalogue backup to a media server's drives?

3. Would this configuration be supported by symantec?

Thanks

Message Edited by Michael Rae on 01-16-2009 02:03 AM

[F_J]

1. You have to add the media server to the master first, configure devices on it, then you will be able to recover the catalog from the remote media server.

2. Yes.

3. No - the current OS compatibility matrix only allows for the NBU client to be installed in VM Guest. Master or media servers in VM guests are not supported.

[Michael_Rae]

Thanks

I had noticed that the compatibility matrix showed only a client install but i was thinking that this was only due to the lack of support for tape drives, compatibility should be exactly the same as for the OS installed apart from this.

The compatibiliy matrix realy should be called a 'support' matrix if that is what it actually is.

Can it be confirmed that only configurations listed in the compatability matrix would be supported?

Message Edited by Michael Rae on 01-16-2009 02:56 AM

[F_J]

A compatibility matrix refers to scenarios tested by Symantec. If something is not listed in the matrix, it does not mean that it will not work - it means that it has not been tested and therefore is unsupported.

[Michael_Rae]

Thanks, not what i wanted to hear though really because it kind of screws up my plans :(

I think i already no the answer to this but ill ask anyway.... if something is classed as unsupported would that mean symantec would refuse to provide help if you were ever to request it?

[F_J · Accepted solution]

For a "real-world", high-severity issue on a production system that is in unsupported configuration (such as master or media server in VMWare guest), support may be (most likely will be) denied, unless there is a support exception in place.

For a low-severity issue in a non-production environment, such as proof-of-concept, customer support might be able to help you on a best-effort basis - but it is not guaranteed.

[MattS]

I have not personally tested but from what i have heard from others on this and other boards is that a VMWare master works great but just isnt supported.

What you could do is get a solid ghosting process in place that would allow you to move your master from VM to a physical server for Symantec to troubleshoot with you.  I really like the idea of having my master on a VM and i hope to put something like this in place this year.  The only problem is making sure i can move it to physical if the need ever comes for support purposes.

[ja290]

I'm curious what the rationale is for having a master server separate from any media servers. Would this be for an environment large enough that the master server wouldn't have the capacity to also serve as a media server?

Message Edited by ja290 on 01-16-2009 07:58 AM

[MattS]

I personally like to keep them seperate so i can perform maintenance on the media servers with less impact.  I'm always tweaking and adding virtual drives. Being able to reboot the media servers whenever i please is a nice thing.

My Master does not get taxed much but my media servers sure the hell do, i would prefer that the master is available to serve all the media servers.  Plus i just couldnt justify putting a load on my master when it is already seperate. Also my master is a old Sun280r running solaris 9... its just a solid box, probably the highest uptime in our company if you disregard those times that my ignorance gets in the way :p

[Michael_Rae]

Also you dont have much choice if you are using FC drives/robots as VMWare does not allow you to present them to the guest OS. In this case you would have no option but to do backups to physical media servers instead.

The advantages are whith regards to things like VMotion. In our environment if one of our datacentres was blown up the master server would be moved to a remote site on the fly automaticaly and would continue running all the time.

[MattS]

I forgot the topic was about a master in VMWare.  Yes Michael is right, having your single point of failure (the master server) in a VM would increase its HA by far.  Also you gain all the benefits of VMWare... upgrade to 7.0 doesn't go so well, just revert to a snapshot before the upgrade!

I'll try to find the thread where a Symantec employee said they are working on certifying the master on VMWare...

[Michael_Rae]

If they are looking to support it in the futurei think i will go ahead with the vmware implementation anyway and on the off chance i required support and it was refused i could always go back to phyisical hardware anyway.

If you could find that statement it would be great. Im gona have a word with a few people from symantec and see if its at all possible to come to some sort of agreement in the meantime.

[MattS]

I can't seem to find the link.  Definitely verify that they are at least working on it.  I read that probably about 8-9 months ago so who knows what the status is now.

[Anonymous]

Nearly there with the tape drives in a VM (without possibility of VMotion however)

http://www.boche.net/blog/index.php/2008/10/27/connect-a-fibre-attached-tape-device-to-a-vm-on-esx/

[Michael_Rae]

Small update here. Master as a virtual server will apparently be supported from release 6.5.4 onwards. 6.5.4 is due June 09.

[DHarding]

Support is available now.

ftp://exftpp.symantec.com/pub/support/products/NetBackup_Enterprise_Server/312604.pdf 

[AutoCog]

DHarding, are you sure this link works?  It didn't for me this evening.

[Michael_Rae]

If the link isnt working for you make sure to delete any after .pdf worked for me after doing this.

Here is the relevant info:

 

---

When operating NetBackup within a virtual machine (VM), the hypervisor may introduce conditions, i.e.

contention for shared resources or other interruptions, which were not present during standard qualification.

Additional tuning may be required to address any resulting delay, retry, or timeout conditions.

NetBackup may experience lesser performance within the hypervisor. It may be necessary to increase

system resources to address a performance issue.

Using hypervisor capabilities to suspend, resume, or otherwise disrupt execution of NetBackup is not

supported. The impact upon NetBackup operations and data is unknown. Only NetBackup management

interfaces are supported for associated software control.

In the event of a support escalation, NetBackup Technical Support will attempt to resolve the issue within the

virtual environment. In some cases, the customer may be asked to reproduce the issue absent of the

hypervisor. If the reported issue does not occur absent of the hypervisor, operating NetBackup on a physical

server would be considered a potential resolution.

Symantec reserves the right to exclude or discontinue implicit support for a NetBackup configuration due to

unforeseen incompatibilities within the hypervisor environment.

VIRTUAL MASTER SERVER

The NetBackup Master Server is supported within a VM, per the Support Guidelines above.

VIRTUAL MEDIA SERVER

The NetBackup Media Server is supported within a VM, per the Support Guidelines above, but limited to the

use of disk storage units. Specifically, these disk storage units are supported within a VM:

• Basic Disk

• Advanced Disk without sharing

• No other storage devices are supported at this time, nor are others currently planned.

VIRTUAL CLIENTS AND AGENTS

NetBackup operating system clients and application agents are supported within a VM, per the Support

Guidelines above, including PureDisk agents. In general:

• The configuration must be documented as supported in the NetBackup compatibility listing(s).

• The HW/SW vendors must support their respective products within the hypervisor.

• The hypervisor vendor must support the use of the various HW/SW products.

VIRTUAL SNAPSHOT CLIENT AND AGENTS

Due to the complexities of supporting storage arrays and snapshot methods within a VM, such configurations

will need explicit, case-by-case qualification within a specific hypervisor environment. In other words, there is

no general statement of implicit support. Please contact your Symantec account representative with

qualification inquiries.

 

---

Good enough for me, at least for now anyhow!

[jtabar]

Here's a working link to the official doc (the bad link above has a space after it):
ftp://exftpp.symantec.com/pub/support/products/NetBackup_Enterprise_Server/312604.pdf

Check here to see if the document has been updated since I posted this:
http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/312604.htm

It is very generic, pretty much allowing you to run a NetBackup master or media server in any virtual guest environment, as long as the hardware/software is supported with the hypervisor you are using.  You can run any NetBackup 6.x version master or media server in a virtual environment.