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Problem with AIR, SLP, and Vault

StuLong
Level 3

In my environment, I have a remote data center in which I have an SLP that performs a backup once a month, followed by a replication to my local data center.  My local data center has an SLP that performs an import, followed by two duplications to tape, to separate volume pools.  All of this is working as expected.

At my local data center, I have created a vault profile to eject the tape(s) from one of the pools. This is scheduled to happen three days after the import and duplications.  The vault profile is set to include all across the Attribute and Location selections, except for the Volume Pool location, which is restricted to the lone pool that I want to offsite. The session is running as scheduled, but it is not selecting the tape with the duplicate images to eject.

I believe my problem may be related to what I read in the NBU help about the vault selection criteria. From the help page on the volume pool configuration option:

"Selecting Volume pools restricts the search for images to those in either all volume pools or just the volume pools that you choose to include in your search. An image is selected for duplication or vaulting if any fragments of its primary copy is found in a media that from any of the selected volume pools."

I think this is why my vault profile is failing to eject my offsite tape. The copy on the tape is not the primary copy of the image, that is the original SLP import that is still on disk.  As an experiment, I did change the image on tape to be the primary copy, and the vault session then ejected the tape.

My first thought was to move the duplication step from the SLP to the vault profile.  My problem here is that vault appears to be unable to select the SLP import images as source copies, as the SLP policies do not show up in the list of policies under the Attributes section.

The SLP duplication steps do not allow setting one of the copies as the new primary, so that workaround is out as well.

Has anyone gotten a similar work flow to function without resorting to custom scripts? 

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions

watsons
Level 6

Actually from NBU 6.5.5 onwards, there is an official way to let Vault choose from a non-primary copy for duplication. Check out:

http://www.veritas.com/docs/000039996

This technote can be tricky to get it right at the first time, I had to try a few settings to make it work. See below... 

I have tested something similar to your scenario - so I made the SLP on this local master having a "Import -> Duplication to tape" , which all run fine. So MSDP copy is the PRIMARY, and tape copy becomes SECONDary. Now I would like to have vault using the second copy as the SOURCE, I create that touch file.

Since I want that touch file to work only for 1 vault profile (say ProfileA), I have to edit the file to insert the profile name.

Now in the vault selection, uncheck the "Attributes", check the "Location", "Include all" for those locations except the last "Volume Pool" which I want it to choose the image from, "include" only the volume pool where the SECONDary copy (tape) sits in, and there you go.

At first, I thought this approach has a con side, because instead of disk to tape I use tape to tape duplication, but come to think about performance of MSDP rehydration to tape, it actually makes sense to go this way :) 

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6 REPLIES 6

RiaanBadenhorst
Moderator
Moderator
Partner    VIP    Accredited Certified

Hi,

Why don't you keep your one duplication to tape in the SLP, then add the second duplication to a vault job + the eject. That way you'll have the disk as source (primary) and no need to select a volume pool.

StuLong
Level 3

Riaan, the vault selection criteria will only select primary copies, and I cannot select the SLP primary copy (the original import) because the SLP policies do not show up in the vault policy selection list. If I could make that happen I would gladly do both duplications as part of the vault.

If I leave one tape duplication step in the SLP, then again I cannot get vault to select that tape copy as a source, because it is not the primary.  And the SLP will not let me set the tape copy to be primary, like the vault duplication step does.  I would have to manually set the tape copy as primary in order to have vault find it and select it for duplication.

btw, I have not yet opened a support ticket with Veritas.  We are still trying to sort out our entitlements after the Symantec/Veritas split; none of my active NetBackup entitlements got transferred from Syamntec to Veritas. So, according to Veritas, I don't own NetBackup at the moment.

RiaanBadenhorst
Moderator
Moderator
Partner    VIP    Accredited Certified

Hi,

 

I think what you're doing is "new" to NetBackup. The combination of AIR and Vault that is. What you could do is copy over your policies from the one site to the other (just remove the schedules or blank them out). But you'll have a bunch of extra policies in the list. I've not tested whether vault actually looks at the policies configured (/usr/openv/db/class) when it builds the list or whether it pulls it from the images. I suppose it would just look at the policies so it might work.

 

That should potentially help with the eject.

StuLong
Level 3

Good idea about the policy, Riaan.  In fact, that policy is already in the local policy list, because the archive job was being done local before we moved the application to the remote data center.  The local policy was, however, disabled.

I have re-enabled the local policy, and I think I'm making progress.  The vault log now shows that the imported source images in the MSDP are being rejected by the vault process because a copy already exists in an offsite volume group.  This is true, as I manually vaulted all of the images last month.  Unfortunately, I cannot test the vault process since I cannot trigger the user archive which starts the whole SLP chain.  I will have to wait and see what happens early next month.

I changed the local SLP policy so that it performs one duplication, copying the image to the tape pool that stays on site for 7 year retention.  The vault profile now has a duplication step added to it, using the disk image as source and making a copy to the tape pool that gets ejected and sent offsite.  I think it's possible that activating the local policy may be the key.  I may just have to accept the need for extra "do-nothing" policies in the local master.

I will update this early next month, after the next schedule archive run.

watsons
Level 6

Actually from NBU 6.5.5 onwards, there is an official way to let Vault choose from a non-primary copy for duplication. Check out:

http://www.veritas.com/docs/000039996

This technote can be tricky to get it right at the first time, I had to try a few settings to make it work. See below... 

I have tested something similar to your scenario - so I made the SLP on this local master having a "Import -> Duplication to tape" , which all run fine. So MSDP copy is the PRIMARY, and tape copy becomes SECONDary. Now I would like to have vault using the second copy as the SOURCE, I create that touch file.

Since I want that touch file to work only for 1 vault profile (say ProfileA), I have to edit the file to insert the profile name.

Now in the vault selection, uncheck the "Attributes", check the "Location", "Include all" for those locations except the last "Volume Pool" which I want it to choose the image from, "include" only the volume pool where the SECONDary copy (tape) sits in, and there you go.

At first, I thought this approach has a con side, because instead of disk to tape I use tape to tape duplication, but come to think about performance of MSDP rehydration to tape, it actually makes sense to go this way :) 

RiaanBadenhorst
Moderator
Moderator
Partner    VIP    Accredited Certified

Or try this method provided by Watsons :)