Unable to understand the TECH213788 (TechNote)

[nbu123]

URL:- http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH213788

As per the above URL we need to perform the below step

2.    Add this setting to all nodes of the clustered NetBackup Master Server configuration:

echo PREFERRED_NETWORK=see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com MATCH see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com | bpsetconfig

Can someone please guide me where i have to add this command/setting.

[Marianne]

Do you have the problem described right at the top of the TN?

Problem

During the installation of the NetBackup 7.5.0.7 maintenance release on a clustered NetBackup master server, numerous NetBackup processes may core dump or generate application faults.

ALL of the following conditions must be met for this symptom to occur:

• The NetBackup master server must be a NetBackup 7.5.0.7 upgrade candidate
• with either CLUSTER_NAME or REQUIRED_INTERFACE configured
• and ANY_CLUSTER_INTERFACE = YES (or 1 or ON)
• and PREFERRED_NETWORK is not configured "

Do you have a clustered master server?
Are you trying to install NBU 7.5.0.7?

[nbu123]

Yes Marianne we have a clustered Master server and we are trying to upgrade it to v7.5.0.7.

We are getting the core dump error while performing the upgrade also as mentioned in the TN all conditions falls correct with our envirnoment.

[Marianne]

Your 7.6 license keys allow you to upgrade to 7.6.1. Any reason why you don't want to upgrade to a later version? I must admit that I also have a problem understanding the TN. If I were in your shoes, I would try to upgrade to 7.6.x or else log a call with Veritas for assistance with interpretation of the TN.

[nbu123]

Due to some internal organzisational  factors we have been asked to first upgrade to 7.5.0.7 first and then go to next family upgrade 7.6.1.2.

Therefore i am looking to first upgrade to 7.5.0.7

[mph999]

Well, I've just looked in the eTrack, and yes, the entry given in the TN is really the ine they want to add.

It seems they want to use it as a dummy entry.

The work around is to use bpsetconfig to add the following line to the config:

PREFERRED_NETWORK = see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com MATCH
see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com


It is unlikely that this will cause any problems, but it could cause a long name
resolution of the name see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com .

They could check first by doing this:
$ bpclntcmd –clear_host_cache
$ date ; bpclntcmd –hn see.TECH12345.at.symantec.com ; bpclntcmd -hn
for.NB_7.5.0.7.only.symantec.com ; date
This should give and indication of how long the name resolution takes.

Due to caching, this should only happen 1 an hour so a slow lookup should not
impact performance but problems are suspected due ot this,
see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com can be added to the localhost file.

[CRZ]

Can someone please guide me where i have to add this command/setting.

The short answer is: every node of your master server cluster needs to have that PREFERRED_NETWORK entry added to its bp.conf file. 

(You tagged this thread "Linux," so I'm saying bp.conf - it always helps to tell us what O/S you're running!)

This TN is pretty straightforward, as our TNs go.  :)

[nbu123]

OS Of our master server is LINUX.

I am sill confused what needs to be done.

As per TN "echo PREFERRED_NETWORK=see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com MATCH see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com | bpsetconfig " needs to be added some where.

As per reply from forum member "mph999" below entry needs to be added in config(bp.conf)

PREFERRED_NETWORK = see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com MATCH
see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com

According to Tech Note " | bpsetconfig " also needs to be added but as per reply by mph999 its not there

[Andrew_Madsen · Accepted solution]

If you type "echo PREFERRED_NETWORK=see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com MATCH see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com | bpsetconfig" without the quotes at a root prompt in where bpsetconfig can be run then "PREFERRED_NETWORK=see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com MATCH see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com" without the quotes will appear in the bp.conf file of the affected master server nodes.

The wording in the TECHNOTE it misleading. Since configuration files are input files and not scripts or batch files it would never execute an "echo" command.

[CRZ]

# echo PREFERRED_NETWORK=see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com MATCH see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com | bpsetconfig

This is a way using the command line to add this configuration to your bp.conf using the results of the echo command - the line we want added to bp.conf - "piped" through the bpsetconfig command, which actually appends the echo output to the bp.conf file.  If this is confusing to you, with all due respect, you should probably find a good system administrator at your company to help you out.

If you are not comfortable with command line stuff but are still able to manually edit your bp.conf file, or as I said earlier, maybe you have that friendly system administrator available, then the entry can be added to the bp.conf file - again, that entry is:

PREFERRED_NETWORK = see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com MATCH
see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com

I'm not sure we can make this any simpler than that.

I have to disagree with Andrew; I don't believe this TechNote is misleading.  A command line prompt would have helped, but the author's intent was probably to write an O/S-agnostic command (although I don't even know if this would work in Windows - anybody?)  We do make the assumption that our reading audience has basic understand of the UNIX command line structure by putting a pipe command in there without explaining what it is, I guess, but we all know what happens when one assumes...but there's only so deep we would want to go in a TechNote.  I don't think what's "missing" is unreasonable here.

[nbu123]

Thanks Andrew that make me understand now.

[Andrew_Madsen]

CRZ,

The TECHNOTE says:

" Add this setting to all nodes of the clustered NetBackup Master Server configuration:

echo PREFERRED_NETWORK=see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com MATCH see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com | bpsetconfig"

This is misleading. To make it less misleading it should read "To add this setting to the configuration of all nodes of the clustered NetBackup Master Server execute:

echo PREFERRED_NETWORK=see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com MATCH see.TECH213788.at.symantec.com | bpsetconfig"

Whereas the statement as it sits leads one to believe(as it did the OP) that this needs to be put in some configuration file.