Upgrade NetBackup 7.7.3 on GCS HA 6.1 Clustered Master server on Windows Server 2008 R2

[Alun]

Good morning, I am trying to work out how to upgrade our NetBackup infrastructure which is running on a number of soon to be end of life systems.

Our Master server GCS cluster and our media servers are running on older servers which need replacing, the Windows Server 2008 R2 OS is end of support by the end of 2019 and the NetBackup version is out of standard support in May.

We would like to replace the hardware and upgrade the OS, GCS clustering and NetBackup versions to the latest fully supported versions.

I was hoping to use something like the following:

1. Build replacement master server nodes and media servers, add the new master server nodes to the GCS clusters and remove the existing servers, add the media servers to the NetBackup domain and decommission the old media servers.

2. Upgrade the OS, VCS clustering and NetBackup versions incrementally so as to maintain compatability.

Is this possible without engaging with Veritas consulting?

Many thanks,

Alun.

[Mouse · Accepted solution]

Yes you can do all this as long as you yourself proficient in all related technologies, if you keep NBU clustered then it can be all migrated and upgraded in place. I can't speak about how easy or difficult it is - for me it's easy because I do these things for living and many of them a year, but usually if you raising this question - it might be complicated for you. However if you have enough runway for this upgrade and sufficient resources, just build a parallel system and try to transform/upgrade it to the desired state, at least it will give you confidence it will be alright or issues will pop up for you to sort out, so you know they are there.

I don't know how many hops you need to go through or what is the compatibility position here but I'd try to tackle the issue by moving to the newer OS first provided it is compatible with your existing cluster software - built one or two new nodes per site based on the same NBU and cluster version and new OS, join them to the existing cluster and failover to the new nodes. Then you can upgrade cluster and NBU versions in the order that is compatible. It's a bit difficult to advise further because the stack has to be studied for what is the best compatible way to move it to the desired version and what is feasible from the downtime perspective - you probably need to get an SME to help you out if you are in a rush. Otherwise just build a lab, read the docs and do it yourself.