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Upgrade and then move Solaris media Server to another master Server

KelvinHBLi
Level 4

Hi,

We have 2 master Servers, master Server A and master Server B, and 1 media Server C

Master Server A is a Windows 2008 Server with Netbackup 7.7.3 installed, connected with a LTO-4 tape library

Master Server B is a newly built Windows 2012 with Netbackup 8.0 installed, connected with a new LTO-8 tape library

The media Server C is Solaris with Netbackup 7.7.3 installed. It is under the master Server A, sharing the same LTO-4 tape library with the Server A, and it also has disk type storage configured, which are LUNs assigned to it from a small SAN.

Requirement

1) Upgrade the media Server C to 8.0

2) And then, move it to master Server B (together with its connected LTO-4 tape library and disk storage)

3) No backup image on the master Server A needs to be moved to master Server B

4) If the above move is successful, then we'll decommission the master Server A in 4 weeks

 

From what I've read in this forum, do I understand it correctly that the below are all the steps we need to do ?

1) On the master server, add the new media server to the additional servers list of the master server. Also, add the new media server to the additional servers list of the clients that the new media server backs up.

2) Upgrade the media Server. The upgrade (of the media Server C) from 7.7.3 to 8.0 will be equivalent to a new installation, and it is during this "new installation" which we will "tell" the media Server about the new master Server, which will be the master Server B. And this is the "move" job done.

3) Then, run the "Configure Storage Devices" wizard from the new master Server B to let it discover and configure the LTO-4 tape library connected to the media Server C.

4) Also, on the master Server B, add/define the Storage Units attached to the media Server C, just as how they are on the master Server A

 

Did I miss any important steps ? For example, I've read something like decommissioning the media Server C from master Server A, however, because we need to roll back the whole operation if the move doesn't go well, so we wouldn't like to do this "decommission" step if not necessary for the "move" itself.

 

Thanks,

Kelvin

2 ACCEPTED SOLUTIONS

Accepted Solutions

I agree with @RiaanBadenhorst you really want to do the "move" as a fresh install. 

Some comments on your original plan:

  1. As well as adding the media server to the additional servers list on the clients, you may need to add the new master to you existing clients from the old domain (assuming you will want to back them up from the new master - not required if this is not needed). 
  2. An upgrade is different to a new installation. The upgrade doesn't provide the option to change the master server. Do what has been suggested which is a clean install of 8.0 instead.
  3. This will be required as master B has no knowledge of media C.
  4. No problem with is. 

As for being able to rollback the media server to the old master - not really possible unless you have a way to retain the server's current state (split mirror maybe??). If you are able to provide a way back you could skip the nbdecommission step at the start and do it later (note, that this is not best practice and should only be done by someone that understands what is required - although given you intend to decommission the old environment maybe just live with it, making sure that master A doesn't try to use media C when it is configured to master B (on master A you can deactivate the media server to achieve this). 

You don't indicate what type of disk storeage is used on media C (basic/advanced/MSDP). If it is MSDP, there is no simpe way to migrate this to a new master server - it really needs to be wiped and recreated. Basic and Advanced disk can be reused as is (and you also have the option to import any backup images left there into the new master).

The are other issues as well - you indicate that master A has access to the LTO4 tape library - this needs to be managed carefully during the cutover if you intend to keep using master A up until it is decommissioned. If master A will only be used for possible restores, then this is less of a concern.

View solution in original post

Hi David,

Thanks very much for your very detailed reply.

We'll use Solaris ABE (Alternate Boot Environment) to keep the old state of the media Server C, in case we need to roll back the whole operation.

So, I'll skip the nbdecommission step but deactivate the media Server C on master Server A. In fact, if the operation is successful, we'll also power off the master Server A as it will be only served for restore purpose.

The disk storage type on media Server C is BasicDisk, which are LUNs from a SAN assigned to it directly. The backup images stored on it are not Nebackup but RMAN backup images, so they shouldn't be affected.

Cheers,

Kelvin

View solution in original post

4 REPLIES 4

RiaanBadenhorst
Moderator
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  1. expire or duplicate all image you want to keep from the disk on media server
  2. run nbdecommission on master A so that media C is removed
  3. uninstall netbackup from media C (v 7.7.3)
  4. install netbackup on media C (v8.0)
  5. add it to master B and configure

There is no point to move/migrate/upgrade, rather just treat is as a new install. That way it's clean.

I agree with @RiaanBadenhorst you really want to do the "move" as a fresh install. 

Some comments on your original plan:

  1. As well as adding the media server to the additional servers list on the clients, you may need to add the new master to you existing clients from the old domain (assuming you will want to back them up from the new master - not required if this is not needed). 
  2. An upgrade is different to a new installation. The upgrade doesn't provide the option to change the master server. Do what has been suggested which is a clean install of 8.0 instead.
  3. This will be required as master B has no knowledge of media C.
  4. No problem with is. 

As for being able to rollback the media server to the old master - not really possible unless you have a way to retain the server's current state (split mirror maybe??). If you are able to provide a way back you could skip the nbdecommission step at the start and do it later (note, that this is not best practice and should only be done by someone that understands what is required - although given you intend to decommission the old environment maybe just live with it, making sure that master A doesn't try to use media C when it is configured to master B (on master A you can deactivate the media server to achieve this). 

You don't indicate what type of disk storeage is used on media C (basic/advanced/MSDP). If it is MSDP, there is no simpe way to migrate this to a new master server - it really needs to be wiped and recreated. Basic and Advanced disk can be reused as is (and you also have the option to import any backup images left there into the new master).

The are other issues as well - you indicate that master A has access to the LTO4 tape library - this needs to be managed carefully during the cutover if you intend to keep using master A up until it is decommissioned. If master A will only be used for possible restores, then this is less of a concern.

Hi David,

Thanks very much for your very detailed reply.

We'll use Solaris ABE (Alternate Boot Environment) to keep the old state of the media Server C, in case we need to roll back the whole operation.

So, I'll skip the nbdecommission step but deactivate the media Server C on master Server A. In fact, if the operation is successful, we'll also power off the master Server A as it will be only served for restore purpose.

The disk storage type on media Server C is BasicDisk, which are LUNs from a SAN assigned to it directly. The backup images stored on it are not Nebackup but RMAN backup images, so they shouldn't be affected.

Cheers,

Kelvin

Thanks!