bmr for master/media server

[manatee]

NBU 7.6.0.3

i have prepared a hyper-v vm for doing my test upgrade of my master/media server from 7.6.0.3 to 7.7.x

the master/media server is running on Oracle Linux Server 6.3

i will have the install ISO for the linux but i'm also looking at if i can do a BMR restore which should make it easy to port the physical master/media server to a VM (for testing purposes only like upgrades).

now when i started creating the BMR policy, i remembered that the selection has to be "All Local Drives". my worry is, if i go ahead with that, it will also make a backup of the 9TB partition that is mounted in my SAN. i only want to backup the system partition where linux and NBU lives.

is it possible to do what i dream of?

[Marianne · Accepted solution]

You cannot protect a master with BMR. BMR database sits on the master - so master cannot be recovered via BMR.

Master needs to be backed up and restored using Catalog backup. See Disaster Recovery chapter in Troubleshooting Guide.

[manatee]

hmm, i really should move NBU install location to a different partition. away from the OS partition.

i'm doing "dd" instead as i'm only interested in the OS backup and restore.

[Marianne]

Good luck with that.

[Michael_G_Ander]

I have always gone for either the OS image solution or fresh install, catalog and documentation for BMR of masters. As you catalog is located on a SAN, it gives you the possibility to have a fast catalog recovery.

Another option could be to move the OS/Netbackup binaries to the SAN, as it gives some other possibilities, this have it's own set of caveats.

[Nicolai]

You should check out "rsync".

Rsync is a splendid tool for moving large amount of data. Used previous for both creating clone of my production environment for testing, as well as moving Netbackup catalog to new hosts during hardware refresh.

hint: Remember to use the -p flag to keep permission

External resources:

http://www.tecmint.com/rsync-local-remote-file-synchronization-commands/

http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2010/09/rsync-command-examples

[manatee]

wow. i haven't used it yet but looks good compared to "dd". will check it out! thanks.

i have finished creating an image of my OS using "dd" and was able to save it to tape and in the cloud. in case someone is wondering the progress. however, i'm stuck on the vm creation as hyper-v only supports rhel/ol 6.4 and above with native drivers.

back to the drawing board.

[Marianne]

If all else fails, follow steps in Troubleshooting Guide:
Install OS using same hostname, install & patch NBU to same path & same version, recover catalog.

[manatee]

say i was able to install OS using same hostname, install & patch NBU to same path & same version, and recover catalog, and the whole lot booted up, is that enough to declare upgrade successful?

i mean, since it will be the same hostname, it has to be on a separate network as the production server. and since it's on a separate network, i wouldn't have any clients to test it with. only from the nbu console to view/verify if everthing is in order.

[Marianne]

You may want to check that all config (such as STUs and policies) look okay and that you can browse the catalogs for a number of clients. 

Others may want to add to this checklist... 

[manatee]

the process is moving forward. was able to find native NIC drivers for linux in hyper-v environments. i now have OL6.3 installed with the filesystems recreated and ready to install NBU 7.6.0.1 BUT.. seems the URL for downloading NBU server softwares have changed since the Symantec. or maybe i'm mistaken.

anyway, have emailed customer care for how to get hold of NBU 7.6.0.1 for unix/linux server software. and yes, i'll be going the route suggested by Marianne. good time to test DR skills :)

[Marianne]

Licenses are registered to an email address these days. (Customer Care will be able to assist here) 

The registered person must logon to MyVeritas: https://my.veritas.com/ 

Once logged on, Click on Licensing , then Entitlements. 

Select the link under ‘Company Name’.

Select the Entitlement ID that corresponds with the License Certificate.

 Click on Current Version and Previous Versions column to see available versions.

You will find Download links next to the Description column. 

[manatee]

got it! i'm closing this thread as succeeding posts have become irrelevant.

thanks for all the replies!