Dell NetVault Backup 10.0.

1
Administrators Guide


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NetVault Backup Administrators Guide
Updated - September 2014
Software Version - 10.0.1
NVG-101-10.0.1-EN-01

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
About Dell NetVault Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Key benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Feature summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
About this document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Target audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Recommended additional reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Getting started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
About deploying NetVault Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
About NetVault Backup components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
NetVault Backup Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
NetVault Backup Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
NetVault Backup plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
NetVault WebUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
NetVault Backup Command Line Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Starting and stopping the NetVault Backup Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Configuring Web Service settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Logging in to NetVault Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Quitting NetVault Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Overview of NetVault WebUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Navigation pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Using the configuration wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Installing NetVault Backup plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Installing product license keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Monitoring the NetVault Backup Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Configuring clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
About NetVault Backup Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Adding a client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Important notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Firewall rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Locating a client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Checking communication through a firewall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Adding a server as a client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Adding a legacy client that is outside the firewall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Removing a client from the available clients list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Managing clients . . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing client details . . . . .
Installing plug-ins . . . . . . .
Removing plug-ins . . . . . . .
Installing license key . . . . .

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Administrators Guide

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Checking client access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Configuring default settings for a client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Removing a client from the NetVault Backup Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Managing client groups . . . .
About client groups . . .
Creating a client group .
Modifying a client group
Removing a client group

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Configuring storage devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

About storage devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
SAN considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Dell NetVault SmartDisk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
About NetVault SmartDisk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Adding a NetVault SmartDisk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Dell DR Series Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Dell DR Series Systems . . . . . . . .
Dell DR Series Systems prerequisites . . .
Adding a Dell DR Series System . . . . . . .

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EMC Data Domain Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

About EMC Data Domain Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Data Domain System prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Adding a Data Domain System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Using DD Boost commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Virtual Tape Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
About Virtual Tape Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Virtual Tape Library Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Creating and adding a Virtual Tape Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Re-adding a previously created VTL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Virtual standalone drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
About virtual standalone drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Creating and adding a virtual standalone drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Shared Virtual Tape Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
About Shared Virtual Tape Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Planning for SVTL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
SVTL prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Creating and adding an SVTL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Re-adding a previously created SVTL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Physical tape devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Important notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Adding a standalone tape drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Adding a tape library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Backing up data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
About backing up data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
Backup job definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
Secondary Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Backup indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Dell NetVault Backup 10.0.1
Administrators Guide

Backup retirement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61

About NetVault Backup Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
Set types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
Defining a backup and recovery strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Creating a backup job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Creating a Schedule Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Scheduling methods and options for non-repeating jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Scheduling methods and options for repeating jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Creating a Target Set . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specifying device type . . . . . . . .
Specifying media options . . . . . .
Configuring media sharing options

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Creating a Source Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

Creating a Backup Advanced Options Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Setting backup retirement options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Specifying additional options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Creating a Secondary Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Configuring pre and post script options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
Configuring user-defined events for backup jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Managing Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Modifying a set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Deleting a set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Managing backup policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
About backup policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Creating a backup policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Modifying a backup policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Quiescing a backup policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Deleting a backup policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Restoring data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
About restoring data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
Restore job definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
Creating a restore job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
Using additional features available on the Choose Saveset page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
Creating a Source Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
Creating a Restore Advanced Options Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
Setting restore type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
Specifying additional options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Configuring pre and post scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Configuring user-defined events for restore jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Additional notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Managing online backup indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Deleting online indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Loading offline indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Compressing online indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Uncompressing online indexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
Dell NetVault Backup 10.0.1
Administrators Guide

Managing jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Viewing job activity and status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Managing jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Running a job immediately . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
Aborting a job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
Stopping and restarting a job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
Placing a job on hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
Viewing media request details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
Viewing job logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
Monitoring job progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
Clearing job errors and warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Managing job definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Viewing a job definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Editing a job definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Deleting a job definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Viewing job history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Monitoring logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102
About NetVault Backup logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Viewing log messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Setting log filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Exporting logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Setting up a log event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Removing a log event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Managing storage devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Monitoring device activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Managing disk storage devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Viewing disk storage device details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Checking a disk storage device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Changing the disk storage device status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Scanning a disk storage device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Removing a disk storage device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Managing tape libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Viewing tape library details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Blanking tape media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Labeling tape media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Scanning all foreign media in a library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Opening and closing library door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Restarting ACSLS or NDMP Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Importing shadow tapes (NetApp VTL) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Removing a tape library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Managing tape drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Viewing tape drive details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Configuring performance options for a tape drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Checking a tape drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Changing the status of a tape drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Configuring automatic cleaning options for a tape drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Dell NetVault Backup 10.0.1
Administrators Guide

Manually submitting a drive cleaning job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Configuring cleaning slots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Configuring the cleaning lives option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Removing a tape drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Labeling a tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Blanking a tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Scanning a foreign tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Unloading a tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Loading a tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Managing storage media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Viewing disk storage details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Viewing tape storage details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Managing tape storage media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Marking a tape as unusable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Marking a tape as read-only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Scanning a foreign tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Blanking a tape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Marking a tape for reuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Managing savesets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Viewing saveset details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Configuring retirement period for a saveset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Deleting a saveset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Managing user accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132
About user accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Creating a user account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Setting user password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Configuring user details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Configuring client and media group memberships for a user . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Granting privileges and quota to a user account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Setting up user notification profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Modifying a user account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Deleting a user account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Setting a password policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
User privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Monitoring events and configuring notifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139
About NetVault Backup events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Event classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Events types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Viewing event logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Setting event log filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Using global notification method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
About global notification methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Setting up a global notification method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Using custom notification methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
About custom notification methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Dell NetVault Backup 10.0.1
Administrators Guide

Creating a custom notification method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Setting up a custom notification method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Using canned reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148
About canned reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Generating a canned report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Available canned reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Additional notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Working with client clusters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
About client cluster support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Virtual clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Configuring tape devices in cluster environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Installing a cluster-aware plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Installation procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Upgrading a cluster-aware plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Configuring a cluster-aware plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Configuring the preferred network address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Configuring default settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Modifying a virtual client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Removing a virtual client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Backing up data using a cluster-aware plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Cluster failover during backups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Restoring data using a cluster-aware plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Viewing logs and job status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Configuring default settings for NetVault Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
About configuring default settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Configuring Auditor Daemon settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
About Auditor Daemon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Configuring default settings for Auditor Daemon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Configuring general settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Relocating default directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Configuring TCP/IP buffer sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Changing language and locale settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Changing locale settings for legacy clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Disabling pre-installation package compatibility check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Configuring firewall settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Configuring security settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Synchronizing BakBone Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
About BakBone Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Configuring an alternate BakBone Time Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Configuring plug-in options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
About plug-in options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Configuring default options for Disk Devices Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Configuring default options for nvjobstart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
Dell NetVault Backup 10.0.1
Administrators Guide

Configuring encryption settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Configuring default settings for post-scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Configuring backup verification settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Configuring Job Manager settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
About Job Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Configuring default settings for Job Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Configuring Logging Daemon settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
About Logging Daemon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Configuring disk space alert thresholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Creating a user-defined purge policy for logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Configuring additional settings for Log Daemon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Configuring Media Manager settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
About Media Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Configuring general settings for Media Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Configuring device-related settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Configuring additional settings for Media Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Configuring foreign RAS device settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Configuring DAV RAS device settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Configuring media request weightings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Setting soft stream limit for an RDA container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Configuring Network Manager settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
About Network Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Configuring timeout settings for Network Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Configuring connection settings for Network Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Configuring default port for Network Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Configuring default port for Communications Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Configuring Process Manager settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
About Process Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Configuring shared memory settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Configuring Schedule Manager settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
About Schedule Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Configuring default settings for Schedule Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Configuring global notification settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Configuring mail server settings for SysOp Email method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Configuring mail ID for SysOp Email method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Configuring default printer for Print Report method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Configuring Network Manager host for SNMP Trap method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Configuring the reporting utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
About reporting utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Customizing HTML report templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Customizing plain text report templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Customizing CSV report templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Configuring timeout setting for report generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Configuring default settings for Statistics Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Creating a global purge policy for the Reports Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Creating table-specific purge policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Dell NetVault Backup 10.0.1

Administrators Guide

Using the trace utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203

About trace logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Trace levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Setting trace levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Enabling tracing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Enabling circular logging method for trace files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Using the deviceconfig utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207
About deviceconfig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Configuring default settings for tape libraries . .
Configuring general settings for tape libraries
Configuring drive cleaning settings . . . . . . .
Configuring mixed media settings . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Configuring default settings for tape drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

Configuring NDMP settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Configuring general settings for tape drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Configuring software compression settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Configuring drive performance settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Configuring statistics collection settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
NetVault Backup processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216
About NetVault Backup processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Understanding NetVault Backup processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Environment variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220
Using environment variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
About Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222
Contacting Dell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Technical support resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

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1
Introduction

About Dell NetVault Backup

About this document

Target audience

Recommended additional reading

About Dell NetVault Backup

Dell NetVault Backup (NetVault Backup) offers the most advanced, cross-platform data protection capabilities
on the market as well as unsurpassed ease of use, out-of-the-box deployment, and pain-free scalability.
NetVault Backup allows you to safeguard your data and applications in both physical and virtual environments
from one intuitive user interface and to protect a massive number of servers that contain many petabytes of
data. NetVault Backup also features heterogeneous support, so you can safeguard data on a wide range of
operating systems, applications, databases, processor architectures, and networked storage devices. Such
cross-platform versatility makes it easy for you to tailor NetVault Backup to match the ever-changing and
growing landscape of your IT infrastructure.

Key benefits

Simple, out-of-the-box deployment for fast time to value

Protection for both physical and virtual environments for cost savings

Heterogeneous server support for flexibility to adjust to changing conditions

Extensive application support

Disk-based backup and deduplication to significantly improve storage efficiency

Seamless integration with the Dell DR Series appliances for source-side deduplication and WAN-optimized
replication

Comprehensive Network Attached Storage (NAS) protection to safeguard critical data

Powerful, flexible encryption when and where you need it

Bare metal recovery to drastically reduce the time it takes to recover a failed disk drive

Extensive storage attachment options allow for distributed backup targets and workload

Dynamic device sharing to optimize backup data transfers and reduce points of failure

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Feature summary

Back up to disk and tape Leverage disk- and tape-based backups to a wide range of storage targets,
including NAS devices and third-party deduplication appliances. NetVault Backup also allows you to move
data from one storage target to another for off-site storage and disaster recovery purposes.

Data deduplication Reduce your data storage footprint by up to 90% with deduplication provided by
Dell NetVault SmartDisk (NetVault SmartDisk). Its patented byte-level, variable-block size
deduplication packs up to 12 times more protected data into the same storage area.
NetVault Backup also integrates seamlessly with the Dell DR Series disk backup appliances, enabling you
to take full advantage of the powerful deduplication, compression, and replication capabilities offered
by these appliances.

Virtualization support Extend advanced data protection to VMware and Hyper-V environments.
NetVault Backup gives you consistent, reliable, point-and-click backup and restore for virtual
environments without requiring you to be an expert.

Application protection Ensure the availability of business-critical applications such as Oracle,

SQL Server, Exchange, SharePoint, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Domino, DB2, Informix, SAP, and Sybase
with application plug-ins. These plug-ins complement native solutions to save you time on integration.
No scripting is required to run backup and recovery jobs.

NAS protection Get advanced data protection for information stored on NAS appliances, including
those made by Dell, EMC, Hitachi, IBM, NetApp, and Sun. You can reduce traffic over the LAN and
maximize performance by backing up data using Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP). NetVault
Backup supports many different storage topologies and configurations, allowing you to perform backups
directly to a locally-attached SCSI device, a SAN-attached device, or a storage device elsewhere on the
network.

Enterprise-wide control Give backup administrators the flexibility to define, manage, and monitor
jobs from remote locations of their choice. Automated features for global event notification and policybased job management simplify their tasks across heterogeneous storage networks.

Strong security Meet regulatory requirements without sacrificing backup windows or deduplication
performance with encryption plug-ins for CAST-128, AES-256, and CAST-256 algorithm support. Flexible
job-level encryption lets you easily select which data to encrypt.

Flexible storage attachment Avoid data transfers over the network by attaching a target storage
device directly to a source server. With LAN-free backups, you can easily distribute the workload
throughout the backup domain.

Dynamically shared device Share stand-alone and library-based tape drives among backup server and
clients in SAN or shared-SCSI environments. This allows you to optimize workloads and maximize your
equipment investments.

Simple, straight-forward Licensing License NetVault Backup by capacity or by component. This gives
you incredible flexibility to choose the model that best meets the organizations needs.

About this document

This guide describes how to configure and use NetVault Backup to protect your data. It provides comprehensive
information about all NetVault Backup features and functionality.
IMPORTANT: The configuration settings for NetVault Backup are stored in .cfg files. You can find these
files in <NetVault Backup home>\config on Windows and <NetVault Backup Home>/config on Linux. The
settings in these files should only be modified under the guidance of Dell Software Support. Any incorrect
changes to these files can cause errors and other unexpected behavior. Before you modify a configuration
file, we recommend that you create a backup copy of the file.

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Target audience
This guide is intended for backup administrators and other technical personnel who are responsible for
designing and implementing a backup strategy for the organization. A good understanding of the operating
systems on which the NetVault Backup Server and Clients are running is assumed.

Recommended additional reading

Dell NetVault Backup Installation Guide This guide provides information about installing the NetVault
Backup Server and Client software.

Dell NetVault Backup Command Line Interface Reference Guide This guide provides information about
using the NetVault Backup command line utilities.

Dell NetVault Backup Plug-in for FileSystem Users Guide This guide provides information about
installing, configuring, and using NetVault Backup Plug-in for FileSystem.

Dell NetVault Backup Built-in Plug-ins Users Guide This guide provides information about configuring
and using the following plug-ins:

NetVault Backup Plug-in for Consolidation

NetVault Backup Plug-in for Data Copy

NetVault Backup Plug-in for Databases

NetVault Backup Plug-in for Raw Devices

Dell NetVault Backup Workstation Client Administrators Guide This guide provides information about
administering the NetVault Backup Workstation Client software.

Dell NetVault Backup Workstation Client Users Guide This guide provides information about using the
NetVault Backup Workstation Client software.

Dell NetVault SmartDisk Installation/Upgrade Guide This guide provides information about installing
the NetVault SmartDisk software.

Dell NetVault Backup SmartDisk Administrators Guide This guide provides information about
administering a NetVault SmartDisk instance.

You can download these guides from https://support.software.dell.com/.

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2
Getting started

About deploying NetVault Backup

About NetVault Backup components

Starting and stopping the NetVault Backup Service

Troubleshooting

Configuring Web Service settings

Logging in to NetVault Backup

Quitting NetVault Backup

Overview of NetVault WebUI

Using the configuration wizard

Installing NetVault Backup plug-ins

Installing product license keys

Monitoring the NetVault Backup Server

About deploying NetVault Backup

NetVault Backup is designed to work in an environment in which one machine is configured as the NetVault
Backup Server and various other machines throughout the network act as NetVault Backup Clients assigned to it.
The server is deployed first, followed by the individual clients. This arrangement of a single server and its
associated clients constitutes a NetVault Backup Domain.
The following diagram depicts a NetVault Backup deployment.

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Figure 1. NetVault Backup deployment overview

Virtual Tape Library

Tape Device
NetVault
SmartDisk

NetVault Backup
Client

NetVault
Backup Server

LAN

WAN

Tape Device
Virtual Machine
VMware vCenter
Server

Exchange
Server

Database
Server

Network Attached
Storage

Workstation
Client

File Server

Fiber/iSCSI

NetVault
SmartDisk
NetVault Backup Server Software

NetVault
Backup Server

NetVault Backup
Client

NetVault Backup Plug-in

NetVault Backup Client Software
with SmartClient License
NetVault Backup Client Software
NetVault Backup Plug-in for VMware
NetVault Backup Plug-in for NDMP

Workstation Client

About NetVault Backup components

A NetVault Backup deployment consists of the following components:

NetVault Backup Server

NetVault Backup Clients

NetVault Backup plug-ins

NetVault WebUI

NetVault Backup Command Line Interface

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NetVault Backup Server

The NetVault Backup Server is the main component of the NetVault Backup solution. The server provides the
core services such as schedule management, job management, device management, media management, user
management, notification management, and log management. It administers the backup and restore jobs for all
assigned clients. Various types of physical and virtual storage devices can be locally attached to the server.
The NetVault Backup Server can run on Windows and Linux operating systems.

NetVault Backup Clients

The NetVault Backup Client is installed on machines that will be protected by the NetVault Backup solution.
These can include file servers, database servers, email servers, application servers, and workstations. The
NetVault Backup Clients are assigned to a NetVault Backup Server that manages the data protection operations
for the clients. A single server and its associated clients constitute a NetVault Backup Domain.
The NetVault Backup Clients can run on AIX, FreeBSD, HP-UX, Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, and Windows
operating systems.
A NetVault Backup SmartClient license is required to attach physical or virtual storage devices locally to a
NetVault Backup Client.
NOTE: Dell NetVault Backup Workstation Client extends the NetVault Backup enterprise-class data
protection to workstations by enabling protection for vital intellectual property stored in documents,
spreadsheets, and data files on desktops and laptops. Its Shadowing process creates local redundant
copies to protect data against corruption and accidental deletion. Seamless integration with the NetVault
Backup Server protects the Shadow Area for long-term retention or disaster recovery to ensure business
continuity. For more information about the NetVault Backup Workstation Clients, refer to the Dell
NetVault Backup Workstation Client Administrator's Guide.

NetVault Backup plug-ins

The NetVault Backup Plug-ins are used to protect various applications and data stored on the server and client
machines. There are two categories of NetVault Backup plug-ins:

Built-in plug-ins

Licensed plug-ins

Built-in plug-ins
The built-in plug-ins are packaged with the NetVault Backup software, and automatically installed on the
respective machines when you install the NetVault Backup Server and Client software. NetVault Backup offers
the following types of built-in plug-ins:

NetVault Backup Plug-in for FileSystem (Plug-in for FileSystem) The Plug-in for FileSystem protects
critical file system data, and minimizes downtime by allowing you to restore full volumes, individual
partitions, or individual directories and files quickly and reliably with minimal interaction.

NetVault Backup Plug-in for Consolidation (Plug-in for Consolidation) The Plug-in for Consolidation
allows you to consolidate Incremental Backups and create a composite set that can be used as a Full
Backup.

NetVault Backup Plug-in for Data Copy (Plug-in for Data Copy) The Plug-in for Data Copy allows you to
create one or more copies of backups for off-site storage and disaster recovery purposes.

NetVault Backup Plug-in for Databases (Plug-in for Databases) The Plug-in for Databases protects
critical system data stored in the NetVault Databases that is essential to recover a functional NetVault
Backup Server after a failure.

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NetVault Backup Plug-in for Raw Devices (Plug-in for Raw Devices) The Plug-in for Raw Devices
protects data stored on physical disks.

For more information about built-in plug-ins, refer to the Dell NetVault Backup Built-in Plug-ins Users Guide.

Licensed plug-ins
The licensed plug-ins are available as separate products, and installed on the NetVault Backup Server and Client
machines to protect specific applications and appliances. NetVault Backup offers the following types of licensed
plug-ins:

Plug-ins for applications These plug-ins provide data protection to business-critical applications such
as Oracle, SQL Server, Exchange, SharePoint, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Domino, DB2, Informix, SAP, and
Sybase.

Plug-ins for NDMP-based NAS appliances These plug-ins enable NDMP-based backups and restores for
appliances that support this protocol. NetVault Backup also offers specialized plug-ins that integrate the
NetApp SnapMirror, SnapVault, and Snapshot technologies to provide advanced data protection to NetApp
appliances.

Plug-ins for virtual environments These plug-ins provide data protection to virtual machines in
VMware and Hyper-V environments.

Plug-ins for backup encryption These plug-ins provide support for CAST-128, AES-256, and CAST-256
algorithms to meet regulatory backup security requirements.

Plug-ins for device integration These plug-ins enable configuration of specialized tape libraries for use
in a NetVault Backup environment.

Plug-ins for bare metal recovery These plug-ins provide the ability to recover an entire system,
including the operating system, applications, system settings, partition information, and data stored on
the supported Windows and Linux operating systems.

Additionally, NetVault Backup offers cluster-aware versions of various plug-ins that enable data protection for
distributed data.
For more information about the licensed plug-ins, refer to the respective plug-in users guide.

NetVault WebUI
NetVault Backup offers a web-based user interface, called the NetVault WebUI, to configure, manage, and
monitor your NetVault Backup system. You can use the NetVault WebUI to perform various tasks such as the
following:

Configure performance, security, and other options

Manage clients, storage devices, and storage media

Perform backups and restores

Monitor jobs, device activities, and logs

Set up notifications

Generate and view reports

You can access the NetVault WebUI from any standard browser. The NetVault WebUI is automatically installed on
the NetVault Backup Server. You can use the WebUI to remotely administer a NetVault Backup Server from any
system on which you can run a supported web browser and connect to the server (over HTTP or HTTPS).

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NetVault Backup Command Line Interface

NetVault Backup also provides a Command Line Interface that allows you to configure and manage a NetVault
Backup system from a command prompt or terminal session window. You can use the NetVault Backup CLI
utilities to perform various tasks such as the following:

Start and stop the NetVault Backup Service

Configure performance, security, and other options

Manage clients, storage devices, and storage media

Perform backups and restores

Generate and view reports

The NetVault Backup CLI is automatically installed on the NetVault Server and Client machines. For more
information about the command line interface, refer to the Dell NetVault Backup Command Line Interface
Reference Guide.

Starting and stopping the NetVault Backup

Service
The NetVault Backup Service is automatically started on the server and client machines. You can use the
NetVault Configurator or CLI to manually start or stop the NetVault Backup Service.

To manually start or stop the NetVault Backup Service using the Configurator
1

On Windows, log on to the system with Administrator privileges.

On the Start menu, click NetVault Configurator. If this program is not available on the Start menu, click
All Program, click Dell, click NetVault Backup, and then click NetVault Configurator.

On Linux and UNIX, log on to the system with root user privileges.
Start a terminal session, and type:
nvconfigurator
or
nvconfigurator &
You can run this command from any directory.

In the Configurator window, click the Service tab.

To stop the NetVault Backup Service, click Stop Service.

To start the NetVault Backup Service, click Start Service.

Click OK to apply the changes and exit the Configurator.

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Troubleshooting
The following is a list of some common errors and their solution.
Table 1. Troubleshooting
Description

Symptom

The NetVault Backup Service fails

to start on a Windows-based
NetVault Backup Server.

Check the Windows Event Viewer to NetVault Backup 10.x uses a

see if it displays the following
PostgreSQL database to store the
message:
system data. If the database does
not start, NetVault Backup cannot
PDT FATAL: lock file
start.
"postmaster.pid" already
exists

Solution

To correct this issue, delete the

postmaster.pid file from the
location referenced in the log and
restart the
NetVault Backup Server. For more
information, refer to
https://support.software.dell.com
/netvaultbackup/kb/122475.

After restarting the machine, the

NetVault Backup Service sometimes
fails to start on a Windows-based
NetVault Backup Server.

Check the Windows Event Viewer to NetVault Backup 10.x uses a

see if it displays the following
PostgreSQL database to store the
message:
system data. If the database does
FATAL: could not create any not start, NetVault Backup cannot
start.
TCP/IP sockets " for a
PostgreSQL source

To correct this issue, start the Task

Manager, and click Show processes
from all users. You will see
multiple instances of
postgres32.exe running on the
system. Select any one instance of
this process, and click End Process.
This will remove all instances of
postgres32.exe, and then you will
be able to start the NetVault
Backup Service from the
Configurator.

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Configuring Web Service settings

To configure the Web Service settings for NetVault Backup
1

On Windows-based systems, log on to the system with Administrator privileges. On the Start menu, click
NetVault Configurator. If this program is not available on the Start menu, click All Program, click Dell,
click NetVault Backup, and then click NetVault Configurator.

On Linux-based systems, log on to the system with root user privileges. Start a terminal session, and
type:
nvconfigurator
or
nvconfigurator &

In the Configurator window, click the Web Service tab.

To access the NetVault WebUI via HTTP, configure the following settings:

Enable Web Service over HTTP Select this check box.

HTTP Listen port for incoming Web Service connections The default HTTP port is 80. If this
port is being used by any other server or application, configure an alternate port.

To access the NetVault WebUI via HTTPS, configure the following settings:

Enable Web Service over HTTPS This protocol is selected by default.

HTTPS is the preferred protocol. It provides encrypted communication between the client and
server, which protects sensitive data such as NetVault Backup passwords passed between the
browser and NetVault Web Service.

HTTPS Listen port for incoming Web Service connections By default, NetVault Backup uses
port 8443 for HTTPs. If this port is being used by any other server or application, configure an
alternate port.

WebService security certificate file To use HTTPS, you must provide an SSL certificate and
private key. NetVault Backup provides a self-signed certificate (server.crt), but this certificate
will generate warnings in most browsers. You can find server.crt in <NetVault Backup home>\etc
on Windows and <NetVault Backup home>/etc on Linux.
For the browser to accept a certificate without warnings, you must provide a valid certificate file
signed by a trusted certificate authority.

WebService private key file Provide the private key file to be used for HTTPS communications.
The default key file is server.key. You can find this file in <NetVault Backup home>\etc on
Windows and <NetVault Backup home>/etc on Linux.

Click OK to apply the changes and exit the Configurator.

NOTE: You can access and modify these settings from the WebUI using the Change Settings link. In the
Navigation pane, click Change Settings. On the Configuration page, click Server Settings, and on the
NetVault Server Settings page, click Web Service.

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Logging in to NetVault Backup

IMPORTANT: To use NetVault Backup, you must be logged-in with Administrator privileges on Windowsbased systems and root user privileges on Linux- and UNIX-based systems.

To log in to NetVault Backup

1

Open a browser window. In the address bar, type:

https://<machine-name>:8443
Press Enter.

In the Login dialog box, type your user name and password.
NOTE: There are two predefined user accounts in NetVault Backup:

admin This is the Administrator account for NetVault Backup.

default This is a standard user account that can be used to perform various operations in
NetVault Backup.

After installing NetVault Backup, you can use either the admin or the default user account to log in
to NetVault Backup. By default, no password is assigned to these user accounts. For more
information about NetVault Backup user accounts, see Managing user accounts.
3

To save the user name, select the Remember Me check box.

Click Log In.

After you log in, the WebUI opens the Server Monitor page in your browser window.
NOTE: After any change in the IP address of the NetVault Backup Server (for example, due to
reassignment at reboot by DHCP), you must clear the browser cache before logging in to the NetVault
WebUI. If you fail to do so, the login may fail with a message that the server is not accessible.
Alternatively, you can assign a static IP address to the NetVault Backup Server.

Quitting NetVault Backup

To quit NetVault Backup

Click the arrow next to the user name at upper-right corner of the NetVault WebUI, and select Logout.

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Overview of NetVault WebUI

The NetVault WebUI consists of the Header pane, Navigation pane, and Operations pane.
Figure 2. NetVault WebUI home page

The following table provides a brief description of the WebUI panes.

Table 2. NetVault WebUI panes
Pane

Description

Header pane

This pane includes two items.

Navigation pane

Current user Shows the user icon and user name. Click the arrow next to the
user name and select Logout to quit NetVault Backup.

Information button Click this button to open the About dialog box.

This pane provides links to set up, manage, and monitor various aspects of NetVault
Backup. The navigation links are organized into the following sections:

Monitoring

Jobs

Reporting

Configuration

For more information about this pane, see Navigation pane.

Operations pane

This is the main area where you perform all NetVault Backup operations. The Operations
pane loads various WebUI pages depending on the item you select in the Navigation pane.

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Navigation pane
The following table provides a brief description of the links available in the Navigation pane.
Table 3. Navigation pane
Section

Item

Description

Monitoring

Server Monitor

Opens the Server Monitor page.

Use this page to view the overall status of your NetVault Backup
Server. For more information, see Monitoring the NetVault Backup
Server.

Job Status

Opens the Job Status page.

Use this page to view and perform job activities. For more
information, see Managing jobs.

Device Activity

Opens the Device Activity page.

Use this page to monitor data transfer activities for active
devices. For more information, see Monitoring device activity.

View Logs

Opens the View Logs page.

Use this page to view and manage NetVault Backup logs. For more
information, see Monitoring logs.

View Events

Opens the View Events page.

Use this page to view events logs for NetVault Backup. For more
information, see Viewing event logs.

Jobs

Create Backup Job

Starts the backup job wizard.

For more information about creating and scheduling a backup job,
see Creating a backup job.

Create Restore Job

Starts the restore job wizard.

For more information about creating and scheduling a restore job,
see Creating a restore job.

Manage Sets

Opens the Set Management page.

Use this page to modify or remove existing sets. For more
information, see Managing Sets.

Manage Job Definitions

Opens the Manage Job Definitions page.

Use this page to view, edit, and remove job definitions. For more
information, see Managing job definitions.

Manage Policies

Opens the Policy Management page.

Use this page to create and manage backup policies. For more
information, see Managing backup policies.

Explore Storage

Opens the Manage Media page.

Use this page to explore and manage disk and tape-based storage
media. For more information, see Managing storage media.

Reporting

View Reports

Opens the View Reports page.

Use this page to generate and view canned reports. These reports
provide information about backup and restore jobs, storage
devices, clients, media utilization, and other aspects of NetVault
Backup. For more information, see Using canned reports.

Job History

Opens the Historic Job Activity page.

Use this page to view the details of completed jobs. For more
information, see Viewing job history.

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Table 3. Navigation pane

Section

Item

Description

Configuration

Guided Configuration

Starts the NetVault Configuration Wizard.

The wizard guides you through the various aspects of setting up a
NetVault Backup Server, including adding clients, configuring
storage devices, installing plug-ins and product licenses, and
scheduling a backup job. For more information, see Using the
configuration wizard.

Manage Clients

Opens the Manage Clients page.

Use this page to add and manage clients, client groups, and
virtual clients. For more information, see Configuring clients and
Working with client clusters.

Manage Devices

Opens the Device Management page.

Use this page to add, view, administer, and remove the storage
devices. For more information, see Managing storage devices.

Manage Users

Opens the Manage User Accounts page.

Use this page to create and manage user accounts, create user
notification profile, and set user password policy. For more
information, see Managing user accounts.

Configure Notifications

Opens the Editing Global Notification Profile page.

Use this page to configure global notification methods. For more
information, see Using global notification method.

Change Settings

Opens the server and client settings pages.

Use these pages to customize the NetVault Backup system and
change the default settings for NetVault Backup Server and Client
machines. For more information, see Configuring default settings
for NetVault Backup.

Using the configuration wizard

The NetVault WebUI provides a configuration wizard that helps you to set up the NetVault Backup Server and
complete the initial configuration requirements. You can access this wizard from the Guided Configuration link
in the Navigation pane, and use it to add clients and devices, install plug-ins and licenses, and schedule backup
jobs.

To use the configuration wizard

1

Start the NetVault WebUI, and log in to NetVault Backup.

In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration to start the NetVault Configuration wizard.

Select the type of task that you want to perform.

Table 4. Guided configuration options
Option

Description

Add Clients

Adds a NetVault Backup Client to the Server.

Without completing this configuration step you cannot access a client for
backup or restore operations in NetVault Backup. For more information, see
Adding a client.

Install Plugins

Installs a NetVault Backup plug-in on one or more clients. For more information,
see Installing NetVault Backup plug-ins.

Install Licenses

Installs product license keys for the server and plug-ins. For more information,
see Installing product license keys.
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Table 4. Guided configuration options

Option

Description

Add Storage Devices Adds a storage device to the NetVault Backup Server. The available options are:

Single virtual disk device

Adds a virtual standalone drive. For more information, see Virtual
standalone drive.

Virtual tape library/media changer

Adds a Virtual Tape Library (VTL). For more information, see Virtual Tape
Libraries.

Shared virtual tape library

Adds a Shared Virtual Tape Library (SVTL). For more information, see
Shared Virtual Tape Libraries.

Single physical tape device

Adds a standalone tape drive. For more information, see Physical tape
devices.

Tape library/media changer

Adds a tape library. For more information, see Physical tape devices.

Add NetVault SmartDisk

Adds a NetVault SmartDisk. For more information, see Dell NetVault
SmartDisk.

Add Dell RDA Device

Adds a Dell DR Series System. For more information, see Dell DR Series
Systems.

Add Data Domain Boost Device

Adds an EMC Data Domain System. For more information, see EMC Data
Domain Systems.

Create Backup Jobs

Creates and schedules backup jobs. For more information, see Creating a
backup job.

Follow the instructions to complete the configuration steps.

After a task is completed successfully, a message is displayed.

To continue, click a button in the Operations pane. Alternatively, click a link in the Navigation pane to
exit the configuration wizard and open another page.

Installing NetVault Backup plug-ins

NetVault Backup offers a selection of licensed plug-ins that can be installed on the NetVault Backup Server or
Clients to protect specific applications and appliances. You can use the configuration wizard to install a plug-in
on multiple clients at the same time.
NOTE: When installing the plug-in on multiple clients, ensure that the binary file is compatible with the
client OS and platform.

To install a NetVault Backup plug-in using the configuration wizard

1

In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration, and then on the NetVault Configuration Wizard
page, click Install Plugins.

In the NetVault Backup Clients list, select the clients on which you want to install the plug-in.

Click Choose Plug-in File, and in the browse window, navigate to the location of the .npk installation
file for the plug-in (on the installation CD or the directory to which the file was downloaded from the
web site).
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Select the platform-specific binary file for the plug-in, and click Next to begin installation.

After the plug-in is installed successfully, a message is displayed.

Installing product license keys

The evaluation license for the NetVault Backup products is valid for a period of 30 days. To continue using the
product after the expiry of the evaluation period, you must install the permanent license keys for the server
and installed plug-ins. The server is licensed based on the NetVault Backup Server Edition and the additional
options that you have purchased. The clients require a permanent license key only if a licensed plug-in has been
installed on the machine. For more information about obtaining the license keys, refer to the Dell NetVault
Backup Installation Guide.
You can use the NetVault Configuration Wizard to install the product license keys. Alternatively, you can install
the license keys from the Manage Clients page.

To install the license keys using the configuration wizard

1

In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration, and then on the NetVault Configuration Wizard
page, click Install Licenses.

In the NetVault Backup Clients list, select the client on which you want to install the license key, and
Click Next.
NOTE: The permanent license keys for NetVault Backup are tied to the Machine ID of the NetVault
Backup machine. While installing the license keys, ensure that you select the correct server or
client machine for which the license was obtained.

In the Enter the license key string box, type or copy and paste the license key. Click Apply.

After the key is applied successfully, a message is displayed.

Monitoring the NetVault Backup Server

You can use the Server Monitor page to monitor the overall status of your NetVault Backup Server, and track the
status of clients, devices, regular jobs, and policy jobs. You can also use this page to monitor the data transfer
rate, number of active jobs, and events that occurred during the selected time window.

To monitor the NetVault Backup Server

1

In the Navigation pane, click Server Monitor.

NOTE: The Server Monitor page is automatically loaded when you start the WebUI.

On the Server Monitor page (see Figure 2, NetVault WebUI home page), you can view the following
information.
Table 5. Server Monitor page
Item

Description

Client Status

This area shows the number of online clients and total client count.
You can click this area to open the Manage Clients page.

Storage Devices

This area shows the number of online devices and total device count.
You can click this area to open the Manage Devices page

Total Data Stored

This area shows the total amount of data backed up from various clients.
You can click this area to open the Manage Media page.

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Table 5. Server Monitor page

Item

Description

Activity Chart

This chart displays the data transfer rate, number of active jobs, and
events that occurred during the selected time window.
To view the event details, move the mouse point over the event item.
The default time window for the Activity Chart is 1 hour. You can change
both the time window for the graph and the type of events that are
displayed on the page.

Job Activity Charts

Time window By default, the time window is set to 1 hour. You

can also set this to 10 minutes, 8 hours, 12 hours, and 24 hours.

Event type By default, the event type is set to Errors Only. You
can also set this to Key Events and All Events.

This area displays bar charts for the following:

Current Activity The individual bars represent the active,

waiting, pending, and scheduled jobs.

Policies The individual bars represent the policy jobs that have
completed successfully, completed with warnings, and failed.

Regular Jobs The individual bars represent the regular jobs that
have completed successfully, completed with warnings, and failed.

You can click a bar to open the Job Status page and view the job details
for that category. For example, you can click the Active bar in the
Current Activity category to view the jobs that are currently running; you
can click the Errors bar in the Regular Jobs category to view the regular
jobs that completed with warnings.
3

To open another page, click a link in the Navigation pane.

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3
Configuring clients

About NetVault Backup Clients

Adding a client

Managing clients

Managing client groups

About NetVault Backup Clients

The NetVault Backup Clients are machines that will be protected by the NetVault Backup solution. These
machines require at least the client version of NetVault Backup and TCP/IP connectivity to the server. You can
attach physical and virtual storage devices locally to a client after installing the NetVault Backup SmartClient
license on it.
To use a client in a backup or restore operation, you must first add the client to the NetVault Backup Server. A
single server and its associated clients constitute a NetVault Backup Domain. A NetVault Backup Server acts as a
client to itself, and it can also be added as a client to other NetVault Backup Servers.
NOTE: To allow a NetVault Backup Server to function as a client to another server, you must enable the
security setting This machine may be added as a client to a server on the server. For more
information, see Adding a server as a client.

Adding a client
To use a client in a backup or restore operation, you must first add the client to the NetVault Backup Server. You
can use the configuration wizard to add and configure a NetVault Backup Client.
For information about adding Workstation Clients to the NetVault Backup Server, refer to the Dell NetVault
Backup Workstation Administrator's Guide.
NOTE: A NetVault Backup Server can only support clients of the same version as itself or older. The
NetVault Backup Client software version cannot be higher than the NetVault Backup Server software
version.

To add a client to the NetVault Backup Server

1

Start the configuration wizard:

In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration, and then on the NetVault Configuration
Wizard page, click Add Clients.

Alternatively, in the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients, and then click Add Client.

In the NetVault Backup Clients table, locate the client that you want to add.
The table provides a list of NetVault Backup machines automatically discovered on the network
broadcast range. These are systems on which you have installed either the server or the client software.
The table includes the following columns:

Status Displays the status icon that indicates whether the client is currently online of offline.
The following table lists the client status icons.
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Table 1. Client status icons

Icon

Description
The client is currently online. You can add the client to the NetVault Backup Server.

The client is currently online, but it is password-protected. To add the client, you
require its NetVault Backup password.
The client is currently offline. Try adding the client later when it is online.

Client Displays the NetVault Backup name assigned to the client.

Version Displays the NetVault Backup version installed on the machine.

Description Displays the client description.

NOTE: The clients that reside in a different subnet are not listed in the NetVault Backup Clients
table. To add such clients, use the Find Machine option. For more information, see Locating a
client.

Select the client that you want to add, and click Next.
3

If the client is password-protected, type the NetVault Backup password for the client, and click Next.
If no NetVault Backup password is set for the client, provide the systems root or administrator password.
This page is not displayed if security is disabled on the client. For more information, see Configuring
security settings.

Type a descriptive text for the client, and click Next.

If the client resides on a network that is outside the firewall, select the Client is Outside Firewall check
box, and configure the following settings.
Table 2. Firewall settings
Option

Description

Listen ports for devices

Ports to listen on for device requests. This must be configured on NetVault

Backup machines that have a locally-attached device (for example,
NetVault Backup Server or NetVault Backup Client with SmartClient
license).
Requirement Two ports per drive.

Connect ports for devices Ports used by plug-ins to connect to remote storage devices. This must be
configured on clients that will connect to remote devices.
Requirement Two ports per drive.
Listen ports for NetVault Ports for receiving messages during data transfers. This must be configured
Backup message channels on both the NetVault Backup Server and the Client. NetVault Backup
requires a two-way connection between the Server and the Client for
message channels.
Requirement Three ports per client.
To run two or more plug-ins simultaneously on a client, configure two ports
per plug-in plus an additional port per client. For example, to run two
plug-ins simultaneously, configure (2 * 2) + 1 = 5 ports for a client.

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Table 2. Firewall settings

Option

Description

Connect ports for

Ports for sending messages during data transfers. This must be configured
NetVault Backup message on both the NetVault Backup Server and the Client. NetVault Backup
channels
requires a two-way connection between the Server and the Client for
message channels.
Requirement Three ports per client.
To run two or more plug-ins simultaneously on a client, configure two ports
per plug-in plus an additional port per client. For example, to run two
plug-ins simultaneously, configure (2 * 2) + 1 = 5 ports for a client.
Connect ports for NDMP
control channels

Ports for sending NDMP messages (NDMP control channels). This must be
configured on the NetVault Backup Server (on which the plug-in is
installed) when a firewall separates an NDMP Filer and the NetVault
Backup Server. By default, NetVault Backup uses port number 10000, but it
can be changed.

Listen ports for NDMP

data channels

Ports to listen on for NetVault Backup devices operating as NDMP movers.

This must be configured on the NetVault Backup Server or Client to which
the device is attached. These ports are used for data transfers between an
NDMP Filer and the device when they are separated by a firewall.

Connect ports for intermachine setup

Ports for establishing initial contact (broadcast channels) while adding a

NetVault Backup Client, and subsequently to ascertain its availability.
Requirement Two ports per client.

You can use the following formats to specify the ports or port ranges for data channels, message
channels, and broadcast channels:

A comma-separated list (for example, 20000, 20050)

A port-range separated by a dash (for example, 20000-20100)

A combination of comma-separated list and port-range

To simplify administration, we recommend that you configure the same port-range for data, message,
and broadcast channels across all NetVault Backup machines.
For more information, see Firewall rules. To check communication through a firewall, see Checking
communication through a firewall.
Click Next.
6

After the client is successfully added to the server, a message is displayed.

Important notes

NetVault Backup uses port number 20031 for TCP and UDP messaging. Make sure that this port is open on
the firewall.

NetVault Backup does not support firewalls using NAT (Network Address Translation)/IP Masquerading.

The firewall configuration settings are not displayed when you add a legacy client (a client running 9.x or
a previous version of NetVault Backup). To add such clients, see Adding a legacy client that is outside the
firewall.

To configure firewall ports before adding a client, use the NetVault Configurator. You can specify the
ports or port ranges on the Firewall tab.
The Firewall tab is not available on clients running 10.0. On these clients, you must manually modify the
firewall.cfg file. You can find this file in the <NetVault Backup home>\config on Windows and the
<NetVault Backup home>/config on Linux-based machines.

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Firewall rules
When creating firewall rules on the server and client machines, make sure that you open the following ports to
send and receive traffic from NetVault Backup.
Table 3. Firewall filtering rules
From

To

TCP/UDP

Source port

Destination port

Server

Client

TCP

Connect ports for inter-machine

connection setup specified on the
NetVault Backup Server

20031

Client

Server

TCP

Connect ports for inter-machine

connection setup specified on the
NetVault Backup Clients

20031

Server

Client

TCP

Connect ports for message channels

specified on NetVault Backup Server

Listen Ports for Message Channels

specified on the NetVault Backup
Clients

Client

Server

TCP

Listen ports for message channels

specified on the NetVault Backup
Clients

Connect Ports for Message Channels

specified on the NetVault Backup
Server

Server

Client

UDP

20031

20031

Client

Server

UDP

20031

20031

Server

Client

TCP

Listen ports for devices specified on

the NetVault Backup Server and
Clients

Connect ports for devices specified

on the NetVault Backup Clients

Client

Server

TCP

Connect ports for devices specified

on NetVault Backup Clients

Listen ports for devices specified on

NetVault Backup Server and Clients

Example
Consider a NetVault Backup system with the following configuration:

Number of drives: 6

Number of clients with one plug-in: 10

Number of clients with two plug-ins: 2

The following table illustrates the port requirements for this system.
Table 4. Example Port requirement calculation
NetVault Backup
machine
Server (with
locally-attached
storage device)

Total
ports

Example port
range

Minimum two ports per

client

24

50300-50323

Connect ports for NetVault

Backup message channels

Minimum three ports per

client

38

50200-50237

Listen ports for devices

Minimum two ports per

drive

12

50100-50111

Port type

Requirement

Connect ports for intermachine connection setup

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Table 4. Example Port requirement calculation

NetVault Backup
machine
Client

Port type

Requirement

Connect ports for intermachine connection setup

Minimum two ports per

client

Total
ports

Example port
range

24

50300-50323

(These ports can be the

same as the ports specified
on the server side.)
Listen ports for NetVault
Backup message channels

Minimum three ports per

client

38

50500-50537

Connect ports for devices

Minimum two ports per

drive

12

50400-50411

The following table illustrates the filtering rules for this system.
Table 5. Example Firewall filtering rules
From

To

TCP/UDP

Source port

Destination port

Server

Client

TCP

50300-50323

20031

Client

Server

TCP

20031

50300-50323

Server

Client

TCP

50200-50237

50500-50537

Client

Server

TCP

50500-50537

50200-50237

Server

Client

UDP

20031

20031

Client

Server

UDP

20031

20031

Server

Client

TCP

50100-50111

50400-50411

Client

Server

TCP

50400-50411

50100-50111

Locating a client
The clients that reside in a different subnet are not displayed in the NetVault Backup Clients table. To locate
and add such clients, use the following procedure.

To locate a client that is not discovered automatically

1

Start the client addition wizard, and then click Find Machine.

On the Find Client page, type the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) or IP address of the client.

Click Find.

Once the machine is located, complete steps 3 through 6 in the section Adding a client.
NOTE: The Find command reports an error if the specified client cannot be located on the network. This
can occur for several reasons such as the following:

NetVault Backup is not installed on the client.

NetVault Backup is not running on the client.

DNS lookup table or host table cannot be contacted.

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Checking communication through a firewall

To check if the server and client can communicate through a firewall
1

Start the client addition wizard, and then click Firewall Test.

In the Check Connection dialog box, provide the following details.

Table 6. Check connection
Option

Description

Netvault Client Name

Provide the NetVault Backup name of the machine that you want to locate.

NetVault Client Address

Provide the IP address of the machine that you want to locate.

UDP Port

The default UDP port for NetVault Backup. It is set to 20031. If you have
configured NetVault Backup to use a different port, change this value.

TCP Port

The default UDP port for NetVault Backup. It is set to 20031. If you have
configured NetVault Backup to use a different port, change this value.

Timeout

The timeout interval is set to 15 seconds by default.

Click Test.
This command checks if TCP, UDP, and messaging connectivity is available between the server and client,
and displays the result in the dialog box.
NOTE: You can also use the Test command to check connectivity to clients that are already added to the
server. Open the Manage Clients page. Select the client, and then click Firewall Test.
For existing clients the NetVault Backup Client Name and Address are displayed as read-only strings in the
dialog box.
IMPORTANT: The firewall test option checks the connectivity to the Stats Manager process on the
specified server or client machine. If this process is not running on the client, the test fails. However, the
client may still be accessible for backup. In any case, it is an abnormal situation and should be corrected.

Adding a server as a client

The security settings on a NetVault Backup Server prevent the server from being added as a client to another
server. Before adding a server, you must enable the configuration option This machine may be added as a
client to a server on the server.

To allow a NetVault Backup Server to function as a client to another server

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings, and then on the Configuration page, click Server
Settings.

Under System and Security, click Security.

In the Security dialog box, select the This machine may be added as a client to a server check box.
For more information about this setting, see Configuring security settings.

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Adding a legacy client that is outside the firewall

The firewall settings are not displayed when you add a client that is running NetVault Backup 9.x or a previous
version. If a legacy client is outside the firewall, you must manually modify firewallrelationships.dat and
machine.dat files on the server and client.

To add a legacy client that is outside the firewall

1

On the NetVault Backup Server, open the firewallrelationships.dat and machines.dat files.
You can find the firewallrelationships.dat file in the config directory (<NetVault Backup home>/config
on Windows and in <NetVault Backup home>\config on Linux) and machines.dat file in the etc directory
(<NetVault Backup home>/etc on Windows and in <NetVault Backup home>\etc on Linux).
NOTE: If you cannot find the firewallrelationships.dat file on the server or client, manually create
the file and save it in the config directory.

In the [<Client Name>] section, set the value for the Outside Firewall option to TRUE:
Outside Firewall=TRUE
For example, if you are trying to add ClientA, locate the section [ClientA], and modify the Outside
Firewall setting.
If you cannot find the section or the Outside Firewall entry, add them.

Save and close the files.

On the NetVault Backup Client, open the firewallrelationships.dat and machines.dat files.
You can find the firewallrelationships.dat file in the config directory (<NetVault Backup home>/config
on Windows and in <NetVault Backup home>\config on Linux) and machines.dat file in the etc directory
(<NetVault Backup home>/etc on Windows and in <NetVault Backup home>\etc on Linux).

In the [<Server Name>] section, set the value for the Outside Firewall option to TRUE.
Outside Firewall=TRUE
For example, if you are trying to add the client to ServerA, locate the section [ServerA], and modify
the Outside Firewall setting.
If you cannot find the section or the Outside Firewall entry, add them.

Save and close the files.

Restart the NetVault Backup Service on the server and client machines.

Removing a client from the available clients list

To remove a defunct client from the available clients list
1

Start the client addition wizard.

In the NetVault Backup Clients table, select the defunct client, and click Remove.
In the confirmation dialog box, click Remove.

If NetVault Backup has been removed or stopped, the following message is displayed:
Client <client name> is not responding. Unable to remove this client.
When this occurs, click Force Removal in the Error dialog box to remove the client.

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Managing clients
This section includes the following topics:

Viewing client details

Installing plug-ins

Removing plug-ins

Installing license key

Checking client access

Configuring default settings for a client

Removing a client from the NetVault Backup Server

Viewing client details

To view client details
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients.

The NetVault Backup Clients table provides a list of clients added to the NetVault Backup Server. It
includes the NetVault Backup Clients, Workstation Clients, and Virtual Clients.
The following table provides is a brief description of the client icons.
Table 7. Client icons
Icon

Description
Client is up and running.

Client is online. It is in the process of being added, or the NetVault Backup password
for the client has changed since it was added.
Client is currently unavailable. The system is offline or the NetVault Backup Service is
not running.
Represents a Virtual Client that consists of a cluster of Clients. For more information
about Virtual Clients, see Working with client clusters.
Workstation Client is online. It is powered on and has network connectivity to the
NetVault Backup Server.
Workstation Client is offline. It is powered off, or does not have any network
connectivity to the NetVault Backup Server.

Select the client, and click Manage.

3

On the View Clients page, you can view the following details:

Client Summary The Client Summary table displays the machine name and description,
NetVault Backup version and build number, machine ID, network name of the machine, IP address,
release information, and OS version.
You can click the Server Capabilities and License Key Details links to view the corresponding
details.

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Installed Plug-ins The Installed Plug-ins table displays the plug-ins installed on the selected
client. The details include the plug-in name, version number, and installation date.

To perform a client-related task, click the corresponding button in the Operations pane. Alternatively,
click a link in the Navigation pane to open another page.

Installing plug-ins
To install plug-ins on the NetVault Backup Server or Client
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients.

In the NetVault Backup Clients list, select the client, and click Manage.

At the lower-right corner of the Installed Plug-ins table, click the Install Plugin button (

Select the platform-specific .npk binary file for the plug-in, and click Next to begin installation.

).

After the plug-in is installed successfully, a message is displayed.

Removing plug-ins
To remove a plug-in from the NetVault Backup Server or Client
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients.

In the NetVault Backup Clients list, select the client, and click Manage.

In the Installed Pug-ins table, select the plug-in, and click the Remove Plugin button (

In the confirmation dialog box, click Remove.

).

Installing license key

To install the license keys on the NetVault Backup Server or Client
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients.

In the NetVault Backup Clients list, select the client, and click Manage.

On the View Clients page, click Install License.

In the Install License dialog box, type or copy and paste the license key, and click Apply.
After the key is installed successfully, a message is displayed on the page. Click the Close button to close
the dialog box.

Checking client access

To check access to a client
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients.

In the NetVault Backup Clients list, select the client, and click Manage.

On the View Clients page, click Check Access.

The NetVault Backup Server tries to connect to the client, and returns a message indicating the current
accessibility status of the client. Click the Close button to close the dialog box.
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Configuring default settings for a client

NetVault Backup runs with some default settings which can be customized to suit your environment. These
settings can be viewed and modified from the Change Settings and Manage Clients links in the Navigation pane.
This section describes how to access the configuration pages from the Manage Clients link.

To change the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients.

In the NetVault Backup Clients list, select the client, and click Manage.

On the View Clients page, click Configure.

On the Client Settings page, select the applicable item, and configure the default settings for that item.
For more information about the default settings, see Configuring default settings for NetVault Backup.

Removing a client from the NetVault Backup Server

To remove a client from the NetVault Backup Server
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients.

In the NetVault Backup Clients list, select the client, and click Manage.

On the View Clients page, click Remove Client.

In the confirmation dialog box, click Remove.

Managing client groups

This section includes the following topics:

About client groups

Creating a client group

Modifying a client group

Removing a client group

About client groups

The NetVault Backup Clients can be grouped together into one or more logical units. The Client Groups can be
used to apply backup policies to multiple clients at the same time. You can create any number of client groups
on the server and add a client to multiple client groups.
NetVault Backup includes a pre-configured client group named default that is automatically created on the
NetVault Backup Server. This group is originally configured to include All Clients, so when you add a client, it
is automatically added to the default group, unless you have reconfigured this group to not include All
Clients.

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Creating a client group

To create a client group
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients, and then on the Manage Clients page, click Manage Client
Groups.

Click New Group, and provide the following information:

In Group Name, type a name for the client group.

In Group Description, provide a detailed description for the client group.

To add all clients to the group, select the All Clients check box. When you select this check box,
the new clients are automatically added to the group.
To add a specific client, select the target client in the Available Clients table, and click the Add
button (

)to the left of the item. When you click this button, the selected client is moved to

the Chosen Clients table.

To remove a client from the group, select the target client in the Chosen Clients table, and click
the Remove button (

)to the left of the item. When you click this button, the selected client is

moved to the Available Clients table.

3

To add the group, click Create Group.

Modifying a client group

To modify a client group
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients, and then on the Manage Clients page, click Manage Client
Groups.

Select the client group, and click Edit.

Modify the applicable group settings. For more information, see Creating a client group.

To save the settings, click Create Group.

Removing a client group

To remove a client group
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients, and then on the Manage Clients page, click Manage Client
Groups.

Select the client group, and click Remove.

In the confirmation dialog box, click Remove.

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4
Configuring storage devices

About storage devices

Dell NetVault SmartDisk

Dell DR Series Systems

EMC Data Domain Systems

Virtual Tape Libraries

Virtual standalone drive

Shared Virtual Tape Libraries

Physical tape devices

About storage devices

NetVault Backup supports a wide range of devices for storing backups. These include:

Physical tape libraries, autoloaders, and tape drives

NetVault Backup Virtual Tape Libraries (VTLs) and Shared Virtual Tape Libraries (SVTLs)

Dell NetVault SmartDisk (NetVault SmartDisk) with optional deduplication

Deduplication appliances, including Dell DR Series Systems and EMC Data Domain Systems

You can attach the storage devices to the NetVault Backup Server, Clients, or NAS filers in a NetVault Backup
Domain. The physical storage devices can be configured for single or shared use, and connected through SCSI,
iSCSI, IP, SAS, or Fibre Channel SAN interfaces. A NetVault Backup SmartClient license is required to attach
physical or virtual storage devices locally to a NetVault Backup Client.
To use a storage device in a backup or restore operation, you must first add the device to the NetVault Backup
Domain. A device attached to a NetVault Backup Client is only recognized after you add the client to the
NetVault Backup Server. Similarly, a device attached to a filer is only recognized after you add the filer to the
server using NetVault Backup Plug-in for NDMP (Plug-in for NDMP).

SAN considerations

In a SAN environment, you must use persistent binding (also known as SCSI mapping, persistent
reservation, or persistent naming). NetVault Backup cannot communicate with a library if its logical
address changes as a result of changes in the SAN. Persistent binding assigns a fixed logical address to
the device, which does not change as devices are added or removed in the SAN. For the Fibre Channel
Host Bus Adapters (HBAs), you can map the Fibre Channel device address (World Wide Name (WWN) or
World Wide Identifier (WWID)) or Loop ID to the logical SCSI address. This ensures that changes in the
SAN have no impact on the NetVault Backup operations.

You must also use persistent binding when the server and fibre devices are attached to separate switches
or when zoning is implemented. NetVault Backup does not support multipathing to a tape library or
device, so only one channel should be logically or physically configured for use to ensure consistent
communication path.

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You should not use the tape libraries or drives on the same switch or in the same zone that has disk
devices attached. Problems might be encountered if packets from both device types co-exist in a SAN
environment. Therefore, you should use separate HBAs for these devices.

Apple supports multipathing in FC Host Adapter and XserveRAID, and often this is the default setting
after installation. However, multipathing is not supported in NetVault Backup. Therefore, the
connections should be logically or physically separated to ensure a consistent communication path.

Dell NetVault SmartDisk

This section includes the following topics:

About NetVault SmartDisk

Adding a NetVault SmartDisk

About NetVault SmartDisk

Dell NetVault SmartDisk (NetVault SmartDisk) provides disk-based storage with optional data deduplication
capability. It uses powerful byte-level, variable block-based software deduplication which packs up to 12 times
more protected data into the same storage area for a 92% reduction in storage footprint. NetVault SmartDisk is
installed and licensed separately from NetVault Backup.
A NetVault SmartDisk instance consists of one or more Storage Pools and a set of processes that perform diskbased backups and byte-level variable block software deduplication. An instance can be deployed on a
dedicated NetVault SmartDisk Server, NetVault Backup Server, or NetVault Backup Client. It can accept data
streams from heterogeneous platforms. A Storage Pool consists of one or more file system volumes. It can be
easily extended by adding additional file system paths.
For more information about installing and configuring NetVault SmartDisk, refer to the Dell NetVault SmartDisk
Installation Guide and Dell NetVault SmartDisk Administrator's Guide.

Adding a NetVault SmartDisk

To use a NetVault SmartDisk for backups and restores, you must first add the device to the NetVault Backup
Server. You can use the configuration wizard to add and configure this device.

To add a NetVault SmartDisk to the NetVault Backup Server

1

Start the configuration wizard:

In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration, and then on the NetVault Configuration
Wizard page, click Add Storage Devices.

Alternatively, in the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices, and then click Add Device.

Select the NetVault SmartDisk option, and click Next.

On the Add NetVault SmartDisk Instance page, provide the following details.

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Table 1. Add NetVault SmartDisk

Option

Description

Network name/IP address Type the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) or IP address of the host on
which NetVault SmartDisk is installed. Provide this information even if the
device is deployed on the NetVault Backup Server.
If the server is unable to resolve the host name, it fails to add the device.
Network port

The default value for this setting is zero (0). If the device is listening on
the default port, do not change this value.
If the device is listening on a non-default port, type the port number
configured as the Network Settings:Remote Listen Port in the
percolator.cfg file. For more information about configuring a non-default
port for a NetVault SmartDisk, refer to the Dell NetVault SmartDisk
Administrators Guide.

Force add

If the device is already added to another NetVault Backup Server with the
same name, select the Force add check box. This option can be useful if
you have performed a disaster recovery to rebuild the NetVault Backup
Server.

Configure WebDAV
credentials

To prevent unauthorized access to data, you can set up WebDAV

authentication for server requests on NetVault SmartDisk. NetVault
SmartDisk uses Digest Access Authentication with WebDAV. For more
information about setting up authentication on the NetVault SmartDisk
Server, refer to Dell NetVault SmartDisk Administrators Guide.
If WebDAV authentication is enabled on the NetVault SmartDisk, select this
check box, and provide the following information:

Username Specify the user account configured on the NetVault

SmartDisk Server.

Password Type the password for the user account.

Confirm Password Re-type the password for confirmation.

NOTE: If you enable WebDAV authentication on the NetVault SmartDisk

Server, but do not configure the authentication details on the NetVault
Backup Server, the backups and restores using that device will fail without
reporting any proper error messages. The scan operation will also fail for
the device.
4

Click Next to add the device.

After the device is successfully added and initialized, a message is displayed.

Disabling WebDAV authentication for NetVault SmartDisk

Currently, NetVault Backup does not provide any method to disable WebDAV authentication once it has been
enabled for a NetVault SmartDisk. The only way to do this is to remove the NetVault SmartDisk from the
NetVault Backup Server, and re-add the device.

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Dell DR Series Systems

This section includes the following topics:

About Dell DR Series Systems

Dell DR Series Systems prerequisites

Adding a Dell DR Series System

About Dell DR Series Systems

The Dell DR Series disk-based data protection appliances optimize utilization with in-line deduplication and
compression, and reduce network bandwidth requirements with client-side deduplication processing and
deduplicated replication. The appliances incorporate innovative deduplication and compression technology to
help you achieve a data-reduction level up to 15:1. As a result, you can retain more backup data for a longer
period of time in the same footprint.
The DR Series include the following appliance types:

DR4000 System This consists of preinstalled DR4000 system software on a Dell R510 appliance
platform.

DR4100 System This consists of preinstalled DR4000 system software on a Dell R720xd appliance
platform.

For more information about the Dell DR Series systems, refer to the Dell DR Series System Administration
Guide.

Dell DR Series Systems prerequisites

Before adding a Dell DR Series system to a NetVault Backup Server, make sure that the following requirements
are met:

Create a storage container Create the required storage container on the DR Series system. NetVault
Backup requires an RDA connection type container. While creating a container, make sure that you set
the RDA type to RDS.
You must create the container before adding the device to the NetVault Backup Server.

Configure the required storage options On the DR Series system, configure the storage options for the
container. For more information about the storage options, refer to the Dell DR Series System
Administration Guide.

Configure Ports for Replication To perform replication operations across a firewall, configure the
following fixed TCP ports on the DR Series system to support replication operations:

port 9904

port 9911

port 9915

port 9916

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Adding a Dell DR Series System

To use a Dell DR Series System for backups and restores, you must first add the device to the NetVault Backup
Server. You can use the configuration wizard to add and configure this device.

To add a Dell DR Series System to the NetVault Backup Server

1

Start the configuration wizard:

In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration, and then on the NetVault Configuration
Wizard page, click Add Storage Devices.

Alternatively, in the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices, and then click Add Device.

Select the Dell RDA Device option, and click Next.

On the Add Dell RDA Storage page, provide the following details.
Table 2. Add Dell DR Series system
Option

Description

Network name/IP address Type the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) or IP address of the Dell DR
Series system.
If the server is unable to resolve the host name, it fails to add the device.
Username

Specify a user account that can be used to log on to the device.

On the Dell DR Series system, only one user account exists, and the user ID
for that account is backup_user. You can only change the password for
this account; you cannot create a new account or delete the existing
account.

Password

Type the password for the user account.

LSU

Type the name of the storage container. Ensure that the container is
created before you add the device. The server will not add the device if
the specified container is not available on the device.
Each Dell DR Series system added to NetVault Backup represents a storage
container.

Block size

Type or select the block size for data transfers. The block size is specified
in bytes. The default block size is 131072 bytes.

Force add

If the device is already added to another NetVault Backup Server with the
same name, select the Force add check box. This option can be useful if
you have performed a disaster recovery to rebuild the NetVault Backup
Server.

Click Next to add the device.

After the device is successfully added and initialized, a message is displayed.

NOTE: The soft stream limit for an RDA container is defined in the dellrdalayer.cfg file. You can find this
file in <NetVault Backup home>\config on Windows and <NetVault Backup home>/config on Linux.
The default value for this setting is 32 streams. This setting applies to all NetVault Backup Servers to
which the container is added. If the number of data streams exceeds the defined limit for the container,
the Media Manager reports the error Device has too many streams. To change the default value for the
soft stream limit, see Setting soft stream limit for an RDA container.

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EMC Data Domain Systems

This section includes the following topics:

About EMC Data Domain Systems

Data Domain System prerequisites

Adding a Data Domain System

Using DD Boost commands

About EMC Data Domain Systems

EMC Data Domain Systems provide disk-based storage with inline deduplication capabilities that reduce storage
requirements by 10 to 30 times. NetVault Backup provides seamless integration with Data Domain systems
through the EMC DD Boost software, allowing you to minimize your backup window and perform optimized
disk-based backups while reducing your storage and network bandwidth requirements.
NOTE: The NetVault Backup Starter Edition does not support DD Boost.

DD Boost components
The DD Boost software includes two components:

DD Boost Library This component runs on the NetVault Backup Server, and provides the interface to
communicate with the DD Boost Server running on the Data Domain system.

DD Boost Server This component runs on the Data Domain systems.

DD Boost features
DD Boost offers the following features.

Distributed Segment Processing DD Boost offloads parts of the deduplication process to the backup
server, enabling the server to send only unique data segments to the Data Domain system. This increases
the aggregate backup throughput of the storage system and reduces the amount of data transferred over
the network. It also decreases CPU utilization on the backup server because sending data over the
network is more CPU-intensive than the distributed deduplication process.
Without this feature, the DD Boost Library sends all data (unique or redundant) to a Data Domain system
for deduplication processing.

Advanced Load Balancing and Link Failover This feature allows you to combine multiple Ethernet
links into a group, and register a single interface with the backup application. The Data Domain system
automatically balances the load for backup and restore jobs on multiple interfaces, and routes the jobs
to the available interfaces if one of the interfaces in the group goes down.

File Replication File-level replication enables transfer of deduplicated data directly between two or
more DD Boost-enabled Data Domain systems, which reduces WAN bandwidth requirement by up to 99
percent. The duplicate copies are created and transferred by the Data Domain systems without using any
resources on the backup server.
Replication requires optional DD Boost Replicator license. The license must be installed on all
participating Data Domain systems.
If the source and target Data Domain systems are running different versions of the Data Domain OS, then
for replication to be successful, the target system must be running the higher version of the OS.

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Data Domain System prerequisites

Before adding a Data Domain system to a NetVault Backup Server, make sure that the following requirements
are met:

Install DD Boost license on the Data Domain System To use a Data Domain system for backups and
restores, install the required DD Boost license and enable DD Boost on the Data Domain systems.

Create a DD Boost user account On the Data Domain system, create a DD Boost user account that can
be used to log on to the device for backups and restores.

Configure the required DD Boost features On the Data Domain system, configure the features that you
want to use. For more information about enabling and configuring DD Boost features, refer to the DD
Boost section in the DD OS Administration Guide.

Open the required firewall ports To perform DD Boost backups and replication across a firewall, open
the following ports on the Data Domain system:

TCP 2049 (NFS)

TCP 2051 (Replication)

TCP 111 (NFS portmapper)

TCP xxx (select a random port for NFS mountd)

Install Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 SP1 Redistributable Package on Windows Install the Microsoft Visual
C++ 2005 SP1 Redistributable Package on Windows-based NetVault Backup Server. This requirement
applies to all supported Windows platforms. The DD Boost library will fail to load if you do not install this
package on Windows.

Configure network time-outs Backup and restore jobs often take a long time to complete. Although
the DD Boost Library can recover from temporary network interruptions, the operating system on the
data protection application system might terminate a job prematurely if the data protection application
time-outs are set too low. To avoid this, Data Domain recommends setting time-outs to at least 30
minutes (1800 seconds).

Adding a Data Domain System

To use a Data Domain system for backups and restores, you must first add the device to the NetVault Backup
Server. You can use the configuration wizard to add and configure this device.

To add a Data Domain system to the NetVault Backup Server

1

Start the configuration wizard:

In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration, and then on the NetVault Configuration
Wizard page, click Add Storage Devices.

Alternatively, in the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices, and then click Add Device.

Select the EMC DataDomain Boost Device option, and click Next.

On the Add EMC DDBoost Storage page, provide the following details.
Table 3. Add Data Domain system
Option

Description

Network name/IP address Type the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) or IP address of the Data
Domain system.
If the server is unable to resolve the host name, it fails to add the device.
Username

Specify a DD Boost user account that can be used to log on to the device
for backups and restores. Ensure that the user account is created on the
Data Domain system before you add the device to the NetVault Backup
Server.
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Table 3. Add Data Domain system

Option

Description

Password

Type the password for the user account.

LSU

Type the name of the Logical Storage Unit (LSU). If the specified LSU does
not exist on the Data Domain system, NetVault Backup automatically
creates it when you add the device to the server. You can configure
multiple LSUs on a single Data Domain system.
Each Data Domain system added to NetVault Backup represents an LSU.

Block size

Type or select the block size for data transfers. The block size is specified
in bytes. The default block size is 131072 bytes.

Force add

If the device is already added to another NetVault Backup Server with the
same name, select the Force add check box. This option can be useful if
you have performed a disaster recovery to rebuild the NetVault Backup
Server.

Click Next to add the device.

After the device is successfully added and initialized, a message is displayed.

NOTE: When you add a Data Domain system, NetVault Backup creates several metadata files on the
device. Each NetVault Backup Server (to which you add the Data Domain system) creates is its own set of
metadata files.
NetVault Backup also writes the data transfer statistics to the stats.stnz file. The nvstatsmngr process
uses this file and requires that it is regularly updated. However, frequent updates can have a significant
performance impact on the system. By default, NetVault Backup updates the file after every 5 seconds or
10 blocks of data transfer. To change the default setting, see Configuring foreign RAS device settings.

Using DD Boost commands

This section provides a brief description of the DD Boost commands that you can use to manage the DD Boost
features on a Data Domain system. For a detailed description of these commands, refer to the DD Boost section
in the DD OS Administration Guide. For information about configuring DD Boost from the graphical-user
interface-based Enterprise Manager, refer to the DD OS Administration Guide.

DD Boost Access

Add clients to DD Boost access list:

ddboost access add clients <client-list>

Delete clients from DD Boost access list:

ddboost access del clients <client-list>

Reset DD Boost access list to factory default:

ddboost access reset

Enable DD Boost:
ddboost enable

Disable DD Boost:
ddboost disable

Display DD Boost access list:

ddboost access show

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Display DD Boost status (whether enabled or disabled):

ddboost status

Display number of active clients and connections:

ddboost show connections
This command displays the number of active clients, connections used for DD Boost, and connections
used for a given group. It also provides an overview of the available interfaces.

Delete all storage units and their contents from the Data Domain system:
ddboost destroy
This command removes all data from the storage units. The corresponding catalog entries must be
removed manually.

DD Boost User

Set DD Boost user:

ddboost set user-name <user-name>

Display the current user:

ddboost show user-name

Reset the DD Boost user:

ddboost reset user-name

Distributed Segment Processing

Enable or disable Distributed Segment Processing:

ddboost option set distributed-segment-processing {enabled | disabled}

Display status of the Distributed Segment Processing option (whether enabled or disabled):
ddboost option show distributed-segment-processing

Reset Distributed Segment Processing to the default option (that is, enabled):
ddboost option reset distributed-segment processing

File Replication

Enable file replication:

ddboost file-replication option set {encryption {enabled | disabled}|
low-bw-optim {enabled | disabled}
Note the following:

To enable file replication, this option should be set on both the source and destination Data
Domain systems. Only an administrator can set this option.

To use encryption, the encryption option should be enabled on both the source and destination
systems.

Low-bandwidth optimization option is only recommended for networks with less than 6Mbps
aggregate bandwidth. This option is disabled by default. For maximum filesystem write
performance, leave this option disabled.

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Display status of the encryption or low-bandwidth optimization options (whether enabled or disabled):
ddboost file-replication option show [low-bw-optim]| [encryption]

Reset the low-bandwidth optimization or encryption option for file replication:

ddboost file-replication option reset {low-bw-optim | encryption}

Display file replication statistics:

ddboost file-replication show stats

Reset file replication statistics:

ddboost file-replication reset stats

Display the status of a DD Boost file replication transfer:

ddboost file-replication show active

Display the data transfer history between the source and destination systems:
ddboost file-replication show history [duration duration{day | hr}]
[interval hr]
This command displays the amount of pre- and post-compressed data, network transfer data,
low-bandwidth optimization factor, and number of errors.

Interface Group (ifgroup)

Add an interface:
ddboost ifgroup add interface <IP Address>

Remove an interface from the group:

ddboost ifgroup del <IP Address>
Before you issue this command, make sure that the interface that you want to remove is not in use by
any backup or restore job.

Enable Advanced Load Balancing and Link Failover:

ddboost ifgroup enable

Disable Advanced Load Balancing and Link Failover:

ddboost ifgroup disable

Remove the interfaces for Advanced Load Balancing and Link Failover and disable the ifgroup:
ddboost ifgroup reset
This command is equivalent to issuing the ddboost ifgroup disable command followed by multiple
ddboost ifgroup del interface ipaddr commands.

Display interfaces added to an ifgroup:

ifgroup show config

Display Link Aggregation status:

ifgroup status

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Storage Unit

Create a storage unit:

ddboost storage-unit create <storage-unit-name>

Delete a storage unit:

ddboost storage-unit delete <storage-unit-name>
The corresponding catalog entries should be removed manually.

Display the names of all storage units or the names of all files in a specified storage unit:
ddboost storage-unit show [compression] [storage-unitname]
Use the compression option to display the original byte size, global compression, and local compression
for all storage units.

Statistics

Show the read-write statistics, including number of errors

ddboost show stats [interval seconds] [count count]

Reset all statistics or clear all job connections when a network connection is lost
ddboost reset stats

Virtual Tape Libraries

This section includes the following topics:

About Virtual Tape Library

Virtual Tape Library Considerations

Creating and adding a Virtual Tape Library

Re-adding a previously created VTL

About Virtual Tape Library

The Virtual Tape Libraries (VTLs) emulate tape libraries on disk, which allows disk-to-disk backups. VTLs are
included in NetVault Backup as a licensable option. With VTLs, you have the flexibility to perform quick backups
to disks, and during off-peak hours migrate or duplicate the backups to physical devices for off-site storage. The
Media Manager does not distinguish between a virtual and physical tape, which simplifies the process of setting
up backup policies, including retirement period and rotation schemes.
VTLs are represented as directories on the disk. Each VTL contains three directories: drives, slots, and media.
These directories contain numbered subdirectories. The virtual drives reside as files in the drives
subdirectories. These files contain links to the media files. The virtual tapes reside as media files in the media
directory. When a virtual tape is moved between slot and drive, the media file itself stays in the media
directory, while the drives and slots files are modified to emulate the moving of the media.
A VTL can handle any number of concurrent NetVault Backup Client backups. As with a physical library, the
number of drives contained in the VTL dictate how many simultaneous operations can be performed. The
number of slots should be the same as or more than the number of configured drives. Different operating
systems may impose maximum file size limits, which can affect the maximum VTL media size.
NOTE: VTLs are independent of file systems (for example, NTFS, UFS, ext3, and others) and disk systems
(for example, IDE, SCSI, iSCSI, and others), but VTLs do not support file systems residing on removable
drives.
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Virtual Tape Library Considerations

While creating a Virtual Tape Library, consider the following:

Before creating a VTL, NetVault Backup performs a disk space check to ensure that the target disk has
sufficient space to accommodate the new VTL. On normal file systems you can use the disk space check
feature to avoid errors during VTL creation. When creating a VTL on a third-party deduplication
appliance or compressed file system, you should disable this feature. For more information, see
Configuring default options for Disk Devices Plug-in.

During disk space checks the free space required on the disk is calculated as follows:
Number of Slots * Media Capacity + <x>
Here <x> is the additional disk space considered for the following requirements:

Disk space required to create the directory structure for VTL. It varies for different file systems.

Disk space required by other applications running on the system.

By default, the additional space requirement is set to 20MB. To change this setting, see Configuring
default options for Disk Devices Plug-in.

If the target disk does not have sufficient space to accommodate the specified VTL, the device
emulation process is terminated and a message is displayed.

Creating and adding a Virtual Tape Library

To create and add a Virtual Tape Library
1

Start the configuration wizard:

In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration, and then on the NetVault Configuration
Wizard page, click Add Storage Devices.

Alternatively, in the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices, and then click Add Device.

Select the Virtual tape library/media changer option, and click Next.

In the list of NetVault Backup machines, select the machine on which you want to create the device, and
click Next.

On the Add Virtual Tape Library page, provide the following details.
Table 4. Add Virtual Tape Library
Option

Description

Choose the location on

disk where you wish to
create the new device

Specify the location where you want to create the VTL.

Choose a name for the

device

Specify a unique name for the device.

Device display name

Specify a display name for the device.

Choose a 5 character
media barcode prefix

The NetVault Backup Server automatically generates a barcode prefix and

assigns it to the media used by the VTL.

Ensure that the path is already created on the selected machine. NetVault
Backup will not create any non-existing directories in the path.

If you want to change it, type a unique code for the device.
Specify the media
capacity

Type or select the size of the virtual tape.

The media size is specified in GiB. Each slot will contain a piece of media
of the given size. The default value is 32GiB.

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Table 4. Add Virtual Tape Library

Option

Description

Choose number of drives

Type or select the number of drives for the VTL.

You can create maximum of 100 drives. The default value is two drives.

Choose number of slots

Type or select the total number of slots that will hold the media.
You can specify a maximum of 999 slots. The default value is 16 slots.

Click Next to create and add the device.

After the device is successfully added and initialized, a message is displayed.

Re-adding a previously created VTL

To re-add a previously created VTL
1

Start the configuration wizard.

On the NetVault Configuration Wizard page, select the Virtual tape library/media changer option and
the Re-add previously generated virtual device check box.

In the list of NetVault Backup machines, select the machine on which the device was created. Click Next
to scan the selected client and list the discovered VTLs.

In the Device list, select the device that you want to add, and click Next.

After the device is successfully added and initialized, a message is displayed.

Virtual standalone drive

This section includes the following topics:

About virtual standalone drive

Creating and adding a virtual standalone drive

About virtual standalone drive

The virtual standalone drives emulate tape drives on disk, which allows disk-to-disk backups. Virtual standalone
drives are included in NetVault Backup as a licensable option. With these devices, you have the flexibility to
perform quick backups to disks, and during off-peak hours migrate or duplicate the backups to physical devices
for off-site storage. The Media Manager does not distinguish between a virtual and physical tape, which
simplifies the process of setting up backup policies, including retirement period and rotation schemes.
Virtual standalone drives are represented as directories on the disk. The virtual tapes reside as media files in
the directory.

Creating and adding a virtual standalone drive

To create and add a Virtual Standalone Drive
1

Start the configuration wizard:

In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration, and then on the NetVault Configuration
Wizard page, click Add Storage Devices.

Alternatively, in the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices, and then click Add Device.

Select the Single virtual disk device option, and click Next.
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In the list of NetVault Backup machines, select the machine on which you want to create the device, and
click Next.

On the Add Single Virtual Disk Device page, provide the following details.
Table 5. Add virtual standalone drive
Option

Description

Choose the location on

disk where you wish to
create the new device

Specify the location where you want to create the device.

Choose a name for the

device

Specify a unique name for the device.

Choose a 5 character
media barcode prefix

The NetVault Backup Server automatically generates a barcode prefix and

assigns it to the media used by the device.

Ensure that the path is already created on the selected machine. NetVault
Backup will not create any non-existing directories in the path.

If you want to change it, type a unique code for the device.
Specify the media
capacity

Type or select the size of the virtual tape.

The media size is specified in GiB. Ensure that sufficient space is available
on the disk to create the virtual media. The default value is 32GiB.

Click Next to create and add the device.

After the device is successfully added and initialized, a message is displayed.

Shared Virtual Tape Libraries

This section includes the following topics:

About Shared Virtual Tape Libraries

Planning for SVTL

SVTL prerequisites

Creating and adding an SVTL

Re-adding a previously created SVTL

About Shared Virtual Tape Libraries

NetVault Backup Shared Virtual Tape Libraries (SVTLs) extend the VTL implementation and allow you to share a
VTL with multiple NetVault Backup machines for LAN-free backups. The SVTLs are supported on the following
platforms:

Windows

Linux (x86 and x86-64)

Solaris SPARC and Solaris x86-64

The interface can be Fibre Channel, iSCSI, or SCSI. On Linux and Solaris platforms, SCSI_FCP protocol is also
supported. The disks can be of any size. However, operating system-imposed limitations do apply. The SVTL size
can be changed during runtime using CLI utilities.

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Planning for SVTL

Before setting up an SVTL, consider the following:

The SVTL size will depend on your disk size. Therefore, select a disk that meets your SVTL size
requirements.

The disk should be physically connected to all clients that will access the SVTL. The number of virtual
drives for the SVTL will depend on the number of machines that will access the SVTL. However, it is not
limited by the number of machines currently connected to the disk. You can configure additional drives
for future use.

Select the machine that will control the virtual arm changer. Although the SVTL drives can be shared or
distributed among multiple clients, only one client controls the virtual arm changer.

SVTL prerequisites
This section includes the following topics:

General requirements

Setting up raw I/O on Linux-based systems

Setting up raw I/O on RedHat Linux

Setting up raw I/O on RedHat Enterprise Linux 5

Setting up raw I/O on SUSE Linux

General requirements
Before creating an SVTL, ensure that the following requirements are met:

Connect the disk array to all NetVault Backup Clients that will share the SVTL. The interface can be Fibre
Channel, iSCSI, or SCSI. On Linux and Solaris platforms, SCSI_FCP protocol is also supported.

Only an unformatted disk that contains no mounted partitions or volumes can be used as an SVTL. A
partition on a hard disk cannot serve as an SVTL. The additional requirements include the following:

The disk should allow multiple interfaces.

On Windows, any non-ejectable disk can serve as an SVTL.

NetVault Backup does not support Multipath, Powerpath, or software RAID technologies.

On Windows, you must delete the existing volumes on a disk or LUN before using it to create an SVTL.

On Windows 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Vista, a new disk drive that is added should be first placed
Online within the Disk Management administrative utility. When prompted to initialize the disk, select
No. If you do not perform these steps, NetVault Backup will be unable to create an SVTL on the disk.

Linux has a pool of raw device nodes that should be bound to a block device before raw I/O can be
performed on it. There is a raw device controller that acts as the central repository of raw to block
device binding information.

Binding is performed using a utility named raw, which is normally supplied by the Linux distributor.

On Solaris systems hosting the SVTL or sharing the drives, specify the SCSI ID and LUN values for the
applicable disks and volumes in the file /kernel/drv/sd.conf. This is required only if you are using a disk
or RAID volume on a SAN. Use the following format to specify the values:
name="sd" class="scsi" target=6 lun=5;

On Solaris systems, create a single large name Backup on the hard disk that is to house the SVTL. Use
the applicable commands to set up the target hard disk so that it contains a single partition.

Determine the client that will control the virtual arm changer.
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Setting up raw I/O on Linux-based systems

To set up raw I/O on Linux-based systems, you require the following:

One or more free IDE or SCSI disk partitions.

A raw device controller named /dev/rawctl or /dev/raw. If this is not present, type the following
command to create a symbolic link:
ln -s /dev/your_raw_dev_ctrl /dev/rawctl

To set up raw I/O

1

At the prompt, type the following command to display information from the file devices.txt. This file is
usually located in the /usr/src/linux/Documentation directory:
ls /dev/rawctl
or
ls /dev/raw/raw1

Logged in as root, type the following command to create the device:

mknod /dev/rawctl c 162 0

Set the following permissions:

crw-rw

If you require /dev/raw/raw1 and /dev/raw/raw2, follow the same procedure using the proper numbers listed
in the devices.txt file and set the same permissions.

Setting up raw I/O on RedHat Linux

The following example shows how to set up raw I/O on RedHat Linux. The raw partition used is /dev/sda5.
1

Calculate the number of 4096-byte pages in this partition, as shown in the following example:
fdisk /dev/sda
Disk /dev/sda: 255 heads, 63 sectors, 1106 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 bytes
num_pages = floor( ((1106-524+1)*16065*512)/4096 )
num_pages = 11170736

Bind an unused raw device node to this partition. This needs to be done each time the machine is
rebooted. You must be logged in as root to run this command:
raw /dev/raw/raw1 /dev/sda5

For persistent binding, open the /etc/sysconfig/rawdevices file and append the following line:
dev/raw/raw1 /dev/sda5
Restart the system or type the following command:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/rawdevices start

Set appropriate read permissions on the raw device controller and the disk partition. Set appropriate
read and write permissions on the raw device.

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Setting up raw I/O on RedHat Enterprise Linux 5

The raw devices interface has been deprecated in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5; the raw device mapping is now
performed using udev rules.To do this correctly, add the appropriate entries to the
/etc/udev/rules.d/60-raw.rules file in the following format:

For device names:

ACTION=="add", KERNEL=="<device name>", RUN+="/bin/raw /dev/raw/rawX %N"

For major or minor numbers:

ACTION=="add", ENV{MAJOR}=="A", ENV{MINOR}=="B", RUN+="/bin/raw /dev/raw/rawX
%M %m"

Here <device name> is the name of the device that you want to bind (for example, /dev/sda1), A and B are
the major or minor numbers of the device you want to bind, and X is the raw device number that you want the
system to use.
If you have a large pre-existing /etc/sysconfig/rawdevices file, convert it using the following script.
#!/bin/sh
grep -v "^ *#" /etc/sysconfig/rawdevices | grep -v "^$" |
while read dev major minor;
do
if [-z $minor]; then
echo ACTION==\add\, KERNEL==\${major##/dev/}\,
RUN+=\\/bin/raw $dev%N\"
else
echo ACTION==\add\, ENV{MAJOR}==\$major\,
ENV{MINOR}==\$minor\, RUN+=\\/
bin/raw $dev%M%m\$dev%M%m\
fi
done

Setting up raw I/O on SUSE Linux

On SUSE Linux, the raw disk partitions are administered in the /etc/raw file. This is a plain text file containing
comments and examples for possible configurations. Once created, bind the raw devices. You do this by starting
them with the script /etc/init.d/raw. Use the chkconfig(8) utility to ensure that the raw device binding occurs
after any restart.

Creating and adding an SVTL

To create an SVTL
1

Start the configuration wizard:

In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration, and then on the NetVault Configuration
Wizard page, click Add Storage Devices.

Alternatively, in the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices, and then click Add Device.

Select the Shared virtual tape library option, and click Next.

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In the list of NetVault Backup machines, select the machine on which you want to create the device, and
click Next.

On the Add Shared virtual tape library page, provide the following details.
Table 6. Add SVTL
Option

Description

Library Device

Select the target drive. Depending on the operating system, the list
includes the following items:

Windows PhysicalDrive1, PhysicalDrive2, and so on

Linux /dev/raw/raw1, /dev/raw/raw2, and so on

Solaris /dev/rdsk/c0t0d0s0, /dev/rdsk/c1t1d0s0, and so on

Device Description

Displays the disk type.

Device Size

Displays the disk size.

Device Block Size

Displays the block size.

Previously Formatted as
SVTL?

Indicates whether the selected disk was previously formatted as an SVTL.

Barcode Prefix

The NetVault Backup Server automatically generates a barcode prefix and

assigns it to the media used by the device.
If you want to change it, type a unique code for the device.

Number of Drives

Type or select the number of drives for the SVTL. The number of drives can
be more than the number of NetVault Backup Clients currently connected
to the disk. The additional drives can be used in future to connect more
clients.

Number of Media Items

Type or select the total number of slots that will hold the media.

Media Capacity

Type or select the media size. The media size is specified in MiB.
When creating an SVTL, NetVault Backup stores some information about
the SVTL on the disk, which consumes a few megabytes of space. Take this
into consideration when you configure the media capacity.

To determine the disk space requirements for the SVTL, click Calculate Size Required. If the required
disk size is larger than the actual disk size, reduce the Media Items and Media Capacity.

Click OK.

To create an SVTL, NetVault Backup formats the specified disk. To confirm this, provide the following
details:

Password Type the NetVault Backup password for the server.

Confirmation Phrase Enter the text FORMAT SVTL.

Click Format to format the disk and create the SVTL.

8

After the SVTL is created, and the tape drives are automatically discovered and assigned to the
appropriate storage bays, a message is displayed.
You can use this default configuration if all the drives are to be controlled by the client selected in Step
3. In this case, no further action is required. You can exit the configuration wizard.

To assign the drives to a different client or to share the drive with multiple clients, click Add Drives
Manually, and complete the following steps:
a

In the Choose Machine table, select the client to which the drive is attached. If the device is
connected to multiple clients, select any one client. Click Next to scan the selected client and
list the attached devices.
Alternatively, to skip this bay and configure the next bay, click Leave bay empty.

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In the Choose drive for bay table, select the device that you want to add, and click Next.

If the device is connected to multiple clients (for example, in a SAN setup), all the host clients
are listed in the Choose Machines table. To share the drive with multiple clients, select the
additional clients in the Choose Machines table, and click Next.

After the drive is successfully assigned to the selected clients, a message is displayed.
To manually assign additional drives for the library, click Add more devices.
Alternatively, exit the configuration wizard and open another page.

Re-adding a previously created SVTL

To re-add a previously created SVTL
1

Start the configuration wizard.

On the NetVault Configuration Wizard page, select the Shared virtual tape library option and the Readd previously generated virtual device check box.

In the list of NetVault Backup machines, select the machine on which the device was created. Click Next
to scan the selected client and list the discovered SVTLs.

In the Device list, select the device that you want to add, and click Next.

After the SVTL is add, and the tape drives are automatically discovered and assigned to the appropriate
storage bays, a message is displayed.
You can use this default configuration if all the drives are to be controlled by the client selected in Step
4. In this case, no further action is required. You can exit the configuration wizard.
To assign the drives to a different client or to share the drive with multiple clients, click Add Drives
Manually, and complete the following steps:
a

In the Choose Machine table, select the client to which the drive is attached. If the device is
connected to multiple clients, select any one client. Click Next to scan the selected client and
list the attached devices.
Alternatively, to skip this bay and configure the next bay, click Leave bay empty.

In the Choose drive for bay table, select the device that you want to add, and click Next.

If the device is connected to multiple clients (for example, in a SAN setup), all the host clients
are listed in the Choose Machines table. To share the drive with multiple clients, select the
additional clients in the Choose Machines table, and click Next.

After the drive is successfully assigned to the selected clients, a message is displayed.
To manually assign additional drives for the library, click Add more devices.
Alternatively, exit the configuration wizard and open another page.

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Physical tape devices

This section includes the following topics:

Important notes

Adding a standalone tape drive

Adding a tape library

Important notes
Before adding a physical tape device or library, review the following notes:

On Windows-based machines, you must disable the Removable Storage Service before adding a device to
the NetVault Backup Server. For more information about disabling this service, refer to the Dell NetVault
Backup Installation Guide.

The NetVault Backup Server may not recognize a standalone tape device that is locally attached to an
RHEL4 U1 Client. This happens because on RHEL4 U1, the SG driver that supports the standalone devices
is not loaded automatically. This issue only occurs when the RHEL4 U1 Client does not have any other
locally-attached library or changer. To correct this problem, manually load the SG driver and restart the
NetVault Backup Service. For more information about obtaining and loading the SG driver, refer to the
relevant RHEL4 U1 documentation.

Adding a standalone tape drive

To add a standalone tape drive to the NetVault Backup Server
1

Start the configuration wizard:

In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration, and then on the NetVault Configuration
Wizard page, click Add Storage Devices.

Alternatively, in the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices, and then click Add Device.

Select the Single physical tape device option, and click Next.

In the list of NetVault Backup Clients, select the client that is physically connected to the target device.
If the device is connected to multiple clients, select any one client.
Click Next to scan the selected client and list the attached devices.

In the Choose drive table, select the device that you want to add, and click Next.

If the device is connected to multiple clients (for example, in a SAN setup), all the host clients are listed
in the Choose Machines table. To share the drive with multiple clients, select the additional clients in
the Choose Machines table, and click Next.
This page is not displayed if the drive is connected to a single client.

After the device is successfully added and initialized, a message is displayed on the page.

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Adding a tape library

To add a tape library to the NetVault Backup Server
1

Start the configuration wizard:

In the Navigation pane, click Guided Configuration, and then on the NetVault Configuration
Wizard page, click Add Storage Devices.

Alternatively, in the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices, and then click Add Device.

Select the Tape library/media changer option, and click Next.

In the list of NetVault Backup Clients, select the client that is physically connected to the target device.
If the device is connected to multiple clients, select the client that you want to designate as the library
controller.
NOTE: In NetVault Backup, a library changer is always controlled by a single machine. The drives
can be shared among multiple clients.
Click Next to scan the selected client and list the attached devices.

In the Choose library table, select the device that you want to add.
In the Device display name box, specify a display name for the tape library.
Click Next.

After the tape drives are discovered and assigned to the appropriate storage bay, a message is displayed.
To use this default configuration, no further action is required. You can exit the configuration wizard.

To assign the drives to a different client or to share the drive with multiple clients, click Add Drives
Manually, and complete the following steps:
a

In the Choose Machine table, select the client to which the drive is attached. If the device is
connected to multiple clients, select any one client. Click Next to scan the selected client and
list the attached devices.
Alternatively, to skip this bay and configure the next bay, click Leave bay empty.

In the Choose drive for bay table, select the device that you want to add, and click Next.

If the device is connected to multiple clients (for example, in a SAN setup), all the host clients
are listed in the Choose Machines table. To share the drive with multiple clients, select the
additional clients in the Choose Machines table, and click Next.
This page is not displayed if the drive is connected to a single client.

After the drive is successfully assigned to the selected clients, a message is displayed.
To manually assign additional drives for the library, click Add more devices.
Alternatively, exit the configuration wizard and open another page.

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5
Backing up data

About backing up data

About NetVault Backup Sets

Defining a backup and recovery strategy

Creating a backup job

Creating a Schedule Set

Creating a Target Set

Creating a Source Set

Creating a Backup Advanced Options Set

Managing Sets

About backing up data

A backup is a copy of data that can be used to restore and recover the original data after a data loss event.
NetVault Backup offers a selection of plug-ins that integrate with the native APIs to provide applicationconsistent backups and recovery of data. Depending on the application type, these plug-ins provide multiple
methods and options to back up the selected data.
In general, NetVault Backup supports the following features:

Full and selective backups

Primary and secondary backups

Normal and deduplicated backups

Encrypted and non-encrypted backups

Repeating and non-repeating backups

Backup job definition

To back up data, you need to create and submit a backup job. The NetVault WebUI provides a configuration
wizard that helps you to perform this task. You can run the wizard from the Guided Configuration or Create
Backup Job link in the Navigation pane.
A backup job definition includes the following components:

Selection list

Plug-in options

Scheduling options

Source device options (available only to the Plug-in for Consolidation, Plug-in for Data Copy, and
Secondary Copy jobs)

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Target device and media options

Advanced backup options

These components are stored in NetVault Backup Sets. For more information about NetVault Backup Sets, see
About NetVault Backup Sets.
Each backup job has a Job ID and a Job Name. The Job ID is an auto-generated number. The Job Name is a
user-defined string that allows you to easily identify the job when monitoring its progress, viewing the job logs,
or selecting a backup to restore data. The backup data is stored as a Saveset on the media.

Secondary Copy
With a backup job, you can choose to run a Phase 2 job to create a Secondary Copy that can be used for off-site
storage and disaster recovery purposes. NetVault Backup offers the following methods to create Secondary
Copies:

Duplicate This method creates an exact copy which is linked to the original backup. It breaks down the
backup into segments and copies the segments to the storage device. During restore, the segments from
the primary and secondary copy can be interchanged. As it is not possible to mix unencrypted segments
with encrypted segments during restore, you cannot enable or disable encryption for a secondary copy
created using the Duplicate method. If the original saveset is encrypted, the Duplicate method will
create an encrypted secondary copy. If you have not encrypted the primary backup, the secondary copy
will also be unencrypted.

Data Copy The Data Copy method breaks down the backup into segments and copies the segments to
the backup device. During restore, either the primary or the secondary copy is used to recover data. The
segments from the primary and secondary copy are not interchanged. This allows you to encrypt the
Data Copy when the primary copy is unencrypted. This is useful when you want to use the deduplication
option for the primary backups.

Backup indexes
NetVault Backup generates a backup index for each backup, and writes this index to the backup media and the
NetVault Database. The backup index includes a header which contains information required for restoring data.
Backup indexes stored in the NetVault Database are called Online Indexes. Online indexes allow you to quickly
scan through the contents of a saveset without loading the media. The is no maximum limit on the index file
size or the number of items that can be included in a backup job.

Backup retirement
NetVault Backup allows you to set generation-based or time-based retirement period for backups:

Generation-based retirement period This method specifies the number of Full Backups that are
retained for the same data set. It can only be used for Full Backups.

Time-based retirement period This method specifies the length of time a backup is retained. The
retention period can be specified in number of days, weeks, or years. The time-based retirement period
can be used for all backup types (that is, Full, Incremental, and Differential).

When a backup is retired, its index is deleted from the NetVault Database. The indexes for the Incremental and
Differential backups are automatically deleted when the base Full Backup is retired.
NOTE: When a backup stored on a disk-based storage device (such as NetVault SmartDisk, Dell DR Series
System, or Data Domain System) is retired, that backup is deleted from the device. You cannot import the
deleted backup by scanning the device.

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About NetVault Backup Sets

NetVault Backup Sets are used to create backup and restore jobs. The sets store data selections, backup and
restore options, scheduling options, device and media options, and other advanced options. The job attributes
stored in the sets can be quickly and easily applied to one or more jobs. For example, you can save the data
selections in a Backup Selection Set and use this set to create Full, Incremental, and Differential Backup jobs.
This eliminates the need to manually select the data items each time a backup is performed, and ensures that
the same data set is selected for the subsequent backups. Similarly, you can change the day, date, or time in a
Schedule Set to automatically change the job schedule for multiple jobs, or specify a new device for backups by
changing the Target Set.

Set types
The following table describes the set types that are available in NetVault Backup.
Table 1. Set types
Set type

Descriptions

Backup Selection Set

This set is used to specify data selections for backup jobs.

Backup Options Set

This set is used to specify plug-in-related backup options, such as backup

method, backup type, and others.

Schedule Set

This set is used to specify scheduling options for backup and restore jobs.
These options specify when and at what intervals a job will run.
NetVault Backup provide the following predefined Schedule Sets:

Source Set

Immediate

Daily 10 PM

Friday 10 PM

Week Night 10 PM

This set is used to specify source device options for the following jobs:

Plug-in for Consolidation jobs

Plug-in for Data Copy jobs

Secondary Copy jobs

Restore jobs

NetVault Backup provides the following predefined Source Set:

Target Set

Any Device

This set is used to specify target device and media options for backup jobs.
NetVault Backup provides the following predefined Target Sets:

Backup Advanced Options Set

Default Backup Target Options

Local Only

Reuse Old Media

Stand-alone

This set is used to specify advanced options, such as backup retirement

period, deduplication, encryption, secondary copy, and other options for
backup jobs.
NetVault Backup provides the following predefined Backup Advanced Options
Sets:

Default Advanced Backup Options

Encrypt

Keep forever (Archive)

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Table 1. Set types

Set type

Descriptions

Restore Selection Set

This set is used to specify data selections for restore jobs.

Restore Advanced Options Set

This set is used to specify advanced options for restore jobs.

NetVault Backup provides the following predefined Restore Advanced
Options Set:

Restore from selected backup

Defining a backup and recovery strategy

The primary objective of backing up data is to recover from the damages caused by a data loss event and
resume normal operations quickly. This requires a good backup strategy that maximizes data availability and
minimizes data loss and downtime, while balancing your business requirements with costs, resources, and other
factors.
To create a good backup plan, consider the possible failure modes, like hardware failure, data corruption,
human error, or loss of a data center, and select the suitable backup methods and features to recover from
these scenarios.
Typically, your backup plan should define what backup methods will be used; when and at what intervals the
backups will be performed; how the backups will be stored; how long the backups will be retained; and how the
backup media will be re-used.

Creating a backup job

To create a backup job
1

In the Navigation pane, click Create Backup Job to start the configuration wizard.
You can also start the wizard from the Guided Configuration link. In the Navigation pane, click Guided
Configuration, and then on the NetVault Configuration Wizard page, click Create Backup Jobs.

In Job Name, type a name for the job.

Assign a descriptive name that allows you to easily identify the job for monitoring its progress or
restoring data. The job name can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot
include non-Latin characters. There is no length restriction. However, a maximum of 40 characters is
recommended on all platforms.

In the Selections list, select an existing Backup Selection Set, or click Create New, and select the items
that you want to back up. The selection tree is plug-in specific. For more information about selecting
data for backups, refer to the relevant plug-in user's guide.

In the Plugin Options list, select an existing Backup Options Set, or click Create New, and configure the
options that you want to use. These options are plug-in specific. For more information about these
options, refer to the relevant plug-in user's guide.

In the Schedule list, select an existing Schedule Set, or click Create New, and configure the schedule
type and schedule method. For more information, see Creating a Schedule Set.
The predefined set Immediate is selected by default. To run the job as soon as it is submitted, use this
set.

In the Target Storage list, select an existing Target Set, or click Create New, and configure the target
device and media options for the job. For more information, see Creating a Target Set.
The predefined set Default Backup Target Options is selected by default.

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In the Advanced Options list, select an existing Backup Advanced Options Set, or click Create New, and
configure the options that you want to use. For more information, see Creating a Backup Advanced
Options Set.
The predefined set Default Advanced Backup Options is selected by default.

Select one of the following methods to save or schedule the job:

Schedule the job To submit the job for scheduling, click Save & Submit.
You can monitor the job progress from the Job Status page and view the logs from the View Logs
page. For more information, see Viewing job activity and status and Viewing log messages.

Save the definition without scheduling the job To save the job definition without scheduling
it, click Save.
You can view, edit, or run this job from the Manage Job Definitions link. For more information,
see Managing job definitions. This job will not be displayed on the Job Status page until you
submit it.

NOTE: A job that uses the Schedule Type Triggered is only scheduled when you run the script.

Creating a Schedule Set

To create a Schedule Set
1

Start the job configuration wizard, and click Create New next to the Schedule list.

Select the Schedule Type from the following options.

Table 2. Schedule type
Schedule type

Description

Immediate

To run a job as soon as it is submitted, select this option.

Once

To run a job once on the specified days, select this option. Additionally,
configure the following settings:

Run at Type the start time for the job, or click

, and select the

Starting from Type the date on which the schedule takes effect,
or click
, and select the start date.

Schedule method Select a scheduling method and configure the

required options. For more information, see Scheduling methods
and options for non-repeating jobs.

start time.

Repeating

To create a recurring schedule for jobs that are performed on a regular

basis, select this option. Additionally, configure the following settings:

Run at Type the start time for the job, or click

, and select the

start time.

Starting from Type the date on which the schedule takes effect,
or click
, and select the start date.

Schedule method Select a scheduling method and configure the

required options. For more information, see Scheduling methods
and options for repeating jobs.

NOTE: For repeating jobs, the first instance is scheduled when you submit
the job. The next instance is scheduled when the current instance
becomes active, and this procedure is repeated for each subsequent
instance.

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Table 2. Schedule type

Schedule type

Description

Triggered

To schedule a job from an external script, select this option.

The most common use of this option is to run a job independently of the
NetVault Backup Scheduler such as from a 3rd-party scheduler or an
automation interface.
To schedule a triggered job, do the following:

In Trigger Name, specify a trigger name.

The trigger name can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric
characters, but it cannot include non-Latin characters. On Linux
OS, the names can have a maximum of 64 characters. On Windows
OS, there is no length restriction, but a maximum of 20 characters
is recommended. On Windows OS, the following characters are not
supported:
" / \ : ; | * ? < >^

Include the following command in the script:

nvtrigger <trigger_name>
The nvtrigger utility is stored in <NetVault Backup home>\bin on
Windows and <NetVault Backup home>/bin on Linux. If this path in
not configured in the path variable, provide the complete file path.
Alternatively, include commands to change to the appropriate
directory in the script.
You can run the script from the command line interface.

Under Job Options, configure the following settings.

Table 3. Job retry and priority settings for Schedule Set
Option

Description

Job Retries

This setting is used to automatically reschedule a job after a failed

attempt.
To schedule retry attempts for a job, do the following:

Select the Job Retries check box, and in the value box type or
select a value from 1 through 10. You can set a maximum of 10
retries for a job.

In the Retry After box, type the interval between two attempts, or
click
, and select the interval. By default, the job is scheduled
to run immediately after a failed attempt.

NOTE: For each retry attempt, the same Job ID is used, but the instance ID
is increased by 1.
Job Priority

This setting is used to prioritize resource allocation when two or more jobs
are scheduled to run at the same time. The default priority level for a
backup job is 30.
To override the default priority settings for an individual job:

In the Job Priority box, type or select a value from 1 through 100. 1
denotes highest priority, while 100 denotes lowest priority. A job
with a priority level of zero (0) runs as a background task.

To change the priority level settings globally for all jobs, see Configuring
Schedule Manager settings.

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Click Save, and in the Create New Set dialog box, type a name for the set.
A set name can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot include non-Latin
characters. On Linux OS, the names can have a maximum of 200 characters. On Windows OS, there is no
length restriction. However, a maximum of 40 characters is recommended on all platforms.
Click Save to save the Schedule Set.

Scheduling methods and options for non-repeating

jobs
The Schedule Type Once offers the following methods and options.
Table 4. Scheduling methods for non-repeating jobs
Schedule Method

Description

Any day

Run a job on any day after the schedule takes effect.

On days of week

Run a job on specific days of the week.

Options

On days of month

Days Select the check boxes corresponding to the days on which you want to
run the job.

Weeks Select the check boxes corresponding to the weeks on which you want
to run the job. To run the job on the last week of a month, select the Last
check box.

Run a job on specific days of month.

Options

On specified date

Select the check boxes corresponding to the days on which you want to run
the job. To run the job on the last day of a month, select the Last check box.

Run a job on a specific date.

Scheduling methods and options for repeating jobs

The Schedule Type Repeating offers the following methods and options.
Table 5. Scheduling methods and options for repeating jobs
Schedule Method

Description

Every day

Run a job daily at the specified time.

On days of week

Run a job on specific days of the week.

Options

On days of month

Days Select the check boxes corresponding to the days on which you want to
run the job.

Weeks Select the check boxes corresponding to the weeks on which you want
to run the job. To run the job on the last week of a month, select the Last
check box.

Run a job on specific days of month.

Options

Select the check boxes corresponding to the days on which you want to run
the job. To run the job on the last day of a month, select the Last check box.

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Table 5. Scheduling methods and options for repeating jobs

Schedule Method

Description

Every

Select this option to a job at every <n> interval. The time interval can be specified in
hours, days, weeks, or months.
Options

Run every Type or select the interval at which you want to run the job, and
select Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months.

Creating a Target Set

To create a Target Set
1

Start the backup job wizard, and click Create New next to the Target Storage list.

Configure the following options:

Device Selection See Specifying device type.

Media Options See Specifying media options.

Media Sharing See Configuring media sharing options.

Click Save, and in the Create New Set dialog box, type a name for the set.
A set name can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot include non-Latin
characters. On Linux OS, the names can have a maximum of 200 characters. On Windows OS, there is no
length restriction. However, a maximum of 40 characters is recommended on all platforms.
Click Save to save the Target Set.

Specifying device type

To specify device type for a backup job
1

On the Create Target Set page, click Device Selection, and configure the following settings.
Table 6. Device Selection options for Target Set
Option

Description

Any Device

This option is selected by default. If you do not specify a device type,

NetVault Backup uses any suitable device for a job.

Specify Device

To use particular devices for a job, select this option. In the box below,
clear the check marks for the devices that you do not want to use. When
you exclude a library, the associated drives are automatically excluded.
You can also use the following buttons to select or deselect devices:

Local Drives Only

Unselect all Deselects all devices.

Toggle selection Deselect all the selected devices and select all
the unselected devices.

To use only devices that are locally attached to the target client, select
this check box.
NOTE: NetVault SmartDisk is considered a network-attached device or a
non-local device.

Click Set to save the settings and close the dialog box.

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Specifying media options

To configure media options for a backup job
1

On the Create Target Set page, click Media Options, and configure the following settings.
Table 7. Media Options for Target Set
Option

Description

Target media by

Select one of the options from the following:

Automatically label
BLANK media

Any media not in a group This option is selected by default. To

use media that do not belong to any media group, leave this option
selected.

Any media To use any suitable media regardless of its group

association, select this option.

Specific Media ID To use particular media, select this option. In

the media list to the right, click the label for the target media.

Media in group To use media that belong to a particular media

group, select this option. In the media group list to the right, click
the group label for the target media. Media group labels are
case-insensitive.

To automatically label blank media during backup, select this check box.
By default, NetVault Backup assigns a system-generated label to blank
media items. The label consists of the NetVault Backup Server Name, the
current date, and a seed number. To use media barcodes as the default
labels, see Configuring general settings for Media Manager.
NOTE: If a piece of media that previously appeared to contain data
becomes unexpectedly blank, it is marked as suspect to ensure that
auto-labeling of blank media does not occur for it. NetVault Backup does
not permit the use of same label, whether user-specified or systemgenerated, to ensure that only one label is associated with a piece of
media. A notification event occurs when any media item becomes
unexpectedly blank.

Reuse media

Select the appropriate option from the following:

Never This option is selected by default. It ensures that media

marked for re-use are never used for a backup.

Any To allow any suitable reusable backup media regardless of the

group association, select this option.

With the same group label as target media To reuse media items
that belong to same media group as the target media, select this
option. This option can only be set if you have specified a group
label for the Target media by option.

NOTE: A piece of media is automatically marked for reuse when the last
saveset stored on it is retired. To manually mark a piece of media for
re-use, see Marking a tape for reuse.
Media request timeout

Type or select the amount of time NetVault Backup waits for the backup
media. The timeout value is specified in number of minutes. If the backup
media item is not available within the specified interval, the job is
aborted.
NOTE: The timeout interval for media requests cannot be less than 5
minutes. The interval is automatically set to the nearest 5 minutes, if you
specify a value that is not a multiple of 5. For example, if you specify 8
minutes, the timeout value is set to 10 minutes, and if you specify 23
minutes, the timeout value is set to 25 minutes.

Click Set to save the settings and close the dialog box.
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Configuring media sharing options

To configure media sharing options
1

On the Create Target Set page, click Media Sharing, and configure the following settings.
Table 8. Media Sharing options for Target Set
Option

Description

Ensure backup is the first To write a backup at the beginning of a media item, select this check box.
on target media
The data can be restored quickly if the saveset is located at the beginning
of a physical tape.
Only new or blank media items are eligible for backups that use this
option.

Protect media from

further writes after
backup

To write-protect a piece of media as soon as the backup is completed,

select this option.

Only use media with a

minimum of <x>
gigabytes of free space

To specify the minimum amount of space required on the target media

item, type or select the value. The value must be specified in GB.

NOTE: To mark any existing tapes as read-only, see Marking a tape as

read-only.

Click Set to save the settings and close the dialog box.

Creating a Source Set

The Source Set is required for the following jobs:

Plug-in for Consolidation jobs

Plug-in for Data Copy jobs

Secondary Copy jobs

The source set specifies the device in which the media containing the data to be copied or consolidated resides.
The options can also be used to specify the source copy for backups that were performed to a disk-based backup
device or VTL, and then copied to a tape.

To create a Source Set

1

Start the backup job wizard, and click Create New next to the Source Options list.

Click Device Selection, and configure the following settings.

Table 9. Device Selection options for Source Set
Option

Description

Any Device

This option is selected by default. If you do not specify a device type,

NetVault Backup uses any suitable device for a job.

Specify Device

To use particular devices for a job, select this option. In the box below,
clear the check marks for the devices that you do not want to use. When
you remove a library, the associated drives will be automatically removed.

Local Drives Only

To use only devices that are locally attached to the target client, select
this check box.
NOTE: NetVault SmartDisk is considered a network-attached device or a
non-local device.

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Click Save, and in the Create New Set dialog box, type a name for the set.
A set name can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot include non-Latin
characters. On Linux OS, the names can have a maximum of 200 characters. On Windows OS, there is no
length restriction. However, a maximum of 40 characters is recommended on all platforms.
Click Save to save the Restore Source Set.

Creating a Backup Advanced Options Set

To create a Backup Advanced Options Set
1

Start the backup job wizard, and click Create New next to the Advanced Options list.

Configure the following options:

Backup Life See Setting backup retirement options.

Additional Options See Specifying additional options.

Secondary Copy See Creating a Secondary Copy.

Pre & Post Scripts See Configuring pre and post script options.

Events See Configuring user-defined events for backup jobs.

Click Save, and in Advanced Options Set Name, type a name for the set.
A set name can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot include non-Latin
characters. On Linux OS, the names can have a maximum of 200 characters. On Windows OS, there is no
length restriction. However, a maximum of 40 characters is recommended on all platforms.
Click Save to save the Advanced Options Set.

Setting backup retirement options

To set the backup retirement options
1

On the Advanced Options page, click Backup Life, and configure the following settings.
Table 10. Backup Life options
Option

Description

Archive

To archive the selected data, select this option.

An archive cannot be used as a base for Incremental or Differential
backups. While archiving data, you must always select the Full Backup
type. If you select Incremental or Differential Backup type, restore will
fail.

Backup

To create a backup, use this option. It is selected by default.

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Table 10. Backup Life options

Option

Description

Backup Life

To specify how long the backup is retained, select one of the following
options:

Never Discard To retain the backup indefinitely, select this

option.

Discard After To set a time-based or generation-based retirement

period, select this option, and do one of the following:
Type or select the number Full Backups that you want to retain, and
in the associated list, select Full Backups.
or
Type or select the length of time that you want to retain the
backup, and in the associated list, select the Days, Weeks, or
Months option.

NOTE: When you configure a time-based retirement period, the time

component (HH:MM) is automatically set to the job save or job submit
time.
Offline Index After

To remove the online index after a specified period, select this option.
Type or select the length of time that you want to retain the index, and in
the associated list, select the Days, Weeks, or Months option.

Click Set to save the settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring default interval for backup retirement scans

In a time-based retirement period, the time component (HH:MM) does not represent the actual retirement
time. It only represents the time due for backup retirement. The actual time of retirement is determined by the
interval at which Media Manager scans the Media Database to identify backups that are to be retired. The
default interval between two scans is 60 minutes. Therefore, if the retirement time is set to 10:20, the backup
is actually retired at 11:00.

To configure the default interval for the backup retirement scans

1

Open the mediamgr.cfg file in a text editor. You can find this file in <NetVault Backup home>\config on
Windows and <NetVault Backup home>/config on Linux.
IMPORTANT: Before editing the mediamgr.cfg file, create a copy of the original file and save it to
a different location. This allows you to revert to the previous version of the configuration file if
you make any mistakes while editing the file.

Add the following lines:

[Defaults:Retirement Check Granularity in Mins]
Value = <Minutes>
By default, the mediamgr.cfg file does not include the [Defaults:Retirement Check
Granularity in Mins] section. To change the default interval, you must add this section and specify
the interval. If you do not add the section, the default interval (60 minutes) will be used.
For example, to set the scan interval to 30 minutes, add the following lines:
[Defaults:Retirement Check Granularity in Mins]
Value = 30
NOTE: If you set this value to 0 (zero), the savesets will be retired according to the time specified
in the Advanced Options set or the Change Expiry dialog box.

Save the file.

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Specifying additional options

To specify additional options for a backup job
1

On the Advanced Options page, click Additional Options, and configure the following settings.
Table 11. Additional backup job options
Option

Description

Enable Encryption

NetVault Backup offers two encryption products:

NetVault Backup Plug-in for Standard Encryption (Plug-in for

Standard Encryption)

NetVault Backup Plug-in for Advanced Encryption (Plug-in for

Advanced Encryption)

These plug-ins provide support for CAST-128, AES-256, and CAST-256

algorithms to meet regulatory requirements. You can install these plug-ins
on the server or client to perform encrypted backups on that machine. For
more information about these plug-ins, refer to the users guides for the
plug-ins.
The Enable Encryption can be used to perform selective encrypted
backups in the following situations:

Enable Deduplication

When any plug-in installed on the server or client is incompatible

with the Plug-in for Standard Encryption or Plug-in for Advanced
Encryption.

Only specific backups on the server or client require encryption.

Primary backups do not require encryption while secondary backups

for off-site protection require encryption.

Primary backups are targeted to storage devices that support

deduplication.

Deduplication is enabled by default. Clear this check box if the target

device does not support data deduplication.
While performing backups to devices that support deduplication, we
recommend that you clear this check box for the following jobs:

Backups that use the encryption option. Encrypted backups do not

deduplicate well and should not be deduplicated.

Incremental Backups that will be consolidated using the Plug-in for

Consolidation. This will eliminate the unnecessary overhead of
rehydrating the deduplicated Incremental Backups during the
consolidation process, but still allow the resulting Consolidated Full
backup to be deduplicated.

NOTE: You cannot completely disable deduplication for a DR Series system.

The DR Series systems provide a configuration mode for deduplication that
controls whether deduplication is performed on the client or the DR Series
system. You can turn off client-side deduplication by setting the Dedupe
mode to Passthrough. For more information about this setting, refer to
the Dell DR Series System Administration Guide.
NOTE: When backups stored on the Dell DR Series systems are selected for
backup consolidation jobs, the overhead of rehydrating the deduplicated
data can have a negative impact on performance.

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Table 11. Additional backup job options

Option

Description

Verify After Backup

To verify the stream length written to the media and ensure that no blocks
were dropped during the backup, select this check box. Backup
verification is performed as Phase 2 job after the actual backup is
completed. If any dropped blocks are detected, the verification phase
reports an error and fails.
NOTE: You must run the backup again if the verification phase fails.
Backup verification does not verify the integrity of the data. It only
verifies that the backup was actually written to the media.
By default, the verification job runs on the NetVault Backup Server. To
configure a different client to run the verification phase, see Configuring
backup verification settings.

Use Network Compression To use network compression while transferring data over the network,
select this check box.
The data is compressed on the backup client before being transferred over
the network. On the machine to which the target device is attached, the
data is decompressed before being written to the media.
Network compression does not work for the following types of jobs:

Backups to NetVault SmartDisk

Backups to devices attached to NDMP-based NAS filers

Jobs using the NetVault Backup Plug-in for NDMP, NetVault Plug-in
for NetWare, and NetVault Bare Metal Recovery products

Click Set to save the settings and close the dialog box.

Creating a Secondary Copy

To create a secondary copy
1

On the Advanced Options page, click Secondary Copy, and configure the following settings.
Table 12. Secondary Copy options
Option

Description

Secondary Copy

To create a Secondary Copy, select this check box and configure the
options that are displayed on the dialog box.

Copy with

Select the method that you want to use to create the Secondary Copy. The
available methods are:

Duplicate

Data Copy

For more information about these methods, see Secondary Copy.

Run copy job on

By default, the secondary copy job runs on the NetVault Backup Server. If
you want to run the job on a particular client, select the target client.
Only clients running 8.5 or a later version of NetVault Backup can be
selected to run the Secondary Copy job.
You can use this option to perform backups on a client with a locallyattached physical or virtual tape device.

Use Schedule Set

Select an existing Schedule Set, or click Create New, and configure the
schedule type and schedule method. For more information, see Creating a
Schedule Set.

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Table 12. Secondary Copy options

Option

Description

Use Target Set

Select an existing Target Set, or click Create New, and configure the
target device and media options for the job. For more information, see
Creating a Target Set.
NOTE: We recommend that you select the same drives for all secondary
copy jobs. For example, in a library with 4 drives, select drives 1 and 2 for
the original backups, and drives 3 and 4 for the secondary copies targeted
to tape devices. This will avoid deadlocks when running several duplication
jobs at the same time.

Use Source Set

Select an existing Source Set, or click Create New, and configure the
target device and media options for the job. For more information, see
Creating a Source Set.

Maximum Streams for

Data Copy

Type the maximum number of parallel streams that can be generated for
the data copy job.

Media Request Timeout

Type or select the amount of time NetVault Backup waits for the backup
media. This timeout value is specified in number of seconds. If the backup
media item is not available within the specified interval, the subjob is
aborted.
The default value is 600 seconds.

Encrypt Secondary Copy

Only

To encrypt the Secondary Copy, select this check box. This option can only
be used with the Data Copy method.
If the primary copy is encrypted, Data Copy will automatically create an
encrypted saveset whether the Encrypt Secondary Copy Only check box is
selected or not. Therefore, this option is only useful when you want to
create an encrypted secondary copy from an unencrypted primary copy.
NOTE: Encrypted primary copies will not be encrypted again if you select
the Encrypt Secondary Copy Only check box for a copy. For restoring data
from such secondary copies, you must use the primary copys Encryption
Key.

Migrate (Discard Original) To migrate the backup instead of creating a new copy, select this check
box. After copying the data, NetVault Backup deletes the index for the
original backup.
NOTE: While creating copies of the Plug-in for FileSystem backups, the
Migrate option can only be selected for Full Backups that do not have any
associated Incremental or Differential Backups. If you select this option for
a Full Backup that has an associated Incremental or Differential Backup,
NetVault Backup creates the secondary copy successfully, but it does not
delete the index for the primary or original backup. For such backups,
after creating the copy, you must manually retire the primary or original
backup.
Allow Streams to Share
Media

To convert multiple data streams into a sequential data stream and write it
to the same media, select this check box. This reduces the number of
media items required for the copy.

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Table 12. Secondary Copy options

Option

Description

Use Optimised
Replication Between
Devices that Support this
Feature

Optimized replication enables transfer of deduplicated data directly from

one device to another device of the same type during a Data Copy or
Duplicate operation. It provides an efficient method to create secondary
copies and offers the following advantages:

Copies data in its deduplicated form, which greatly reduces the

amount for data transferred over the network.

Copies data directly from the source to the destination without

using any resources on the NetVault Backup Server.

The following storage devices support optimized replication:

NetVault SmartDisks To perform optimized replication, you

require NetVault SmartDisk 2.0 or later.
If the login credentials configured for the source and destination
NetVault SmartDisk Servers do not match, the replication will fail.
To ensure a successful replication, do one of the following:
Disable WebDAV authentication on both NetVault SmartDisk
Servers.
Enable WebDAV authentication only on the source.
Configure the same login credentials on both servers.

NOTE: While copying a backup from a NetVault SmartDisk to another

device type (for example, VTL, Dell DR Series System, or Data Domain
System), you must disable this option. Otherwise, the Data Copy or
Duplicate job will fail or hang.

Dell DR Series Systems To perform optimized replication, both

the source and target DR Series systems must be running the same
release version of the DR OS. Replication is not supported between
systems that run different releases of the OS.
For example, to replicate data from a source system that is running
DR OS 2.1.x, the target system must be running the same OS release
version. Replication will be unsuccessful if the target system is
running DR OS release 2.0.x or 3.0.x.

NOTE: When optimized replication and backups are performed

simultaneously on a Dell DR Series system, the backup throughput will be
affected.

DD Boost-Enabled Data Domain Systems The secondary copy

backups between two DD Boost-Enabled Data Domain Systems use
the managed file-level replication feature provided by DD Boost.
File-level replication requires the DD Boost Replicator license,
which must be installed on both the source and the destination
Data Domain systems.
If the source and target Data Domain systems are running different
versions of the Data Domain OS, then for replication to be
successful, the target system must be running the higher version of
the OS.

Select Source Media

Before Target Media

When you select this check box, NetVault Backup tries to acquire the
source media before it attempts to acquire the target media for the Data
Copy and Duplicate backups.

Use Life of Original

To use the original savesets retirement period, select this option.

Discard After

To set a different retirement period for the copy, select this option. Type
or select the length of time that you want to retain the backup, and in the
associated list, select the Days, Weeks, Months, or Years option. You can
set only time-based retirement period for the copy.

Click Set to save the settings and close the dialog box.
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Configuring pre and post script options

NetVault Backup lets you add user-defined scripts to backup jobs that are run before and after the job. You can
use these scripts to perform tasks such as dismounting or shutting down a database before the job starts or
mounting or starting the database after the job completes.
The script must be an executable file, for example, .bat files on Windows and .sh files on Linux. After
creating the script, you must copy the file to the scripts directory on the target client (<NetVault Backup
home>\scripts on Windows and <NetVault Backup home>/scripts on Linux). You can also create subdirectories in
the scripts directory to store the pre- and post-scripts.
The scripts can contain run-time parameters. These parameters are stored in the environment variable
NV_USER_ARG. You can also use other NetVault Backup environment variables in the scripts. For a list of
available environment variables, see Using environment variables.
NetVault Backup provides two predefined script files that can be used as post-scripts:

psmail Use this script to send job completion status to the specified email addresses.

psmail_logs Use this script to send job completion status and job logs to the specified email addresses.

On Linux and UNIX, the predefined scripts do not any file name extension. On Windows, the scripts have the file
name extension .bat. To run these scripts, specify the following in the Post Script box:

Linux and UNIX psmail or psmail_logs

Windows psmail.bat or psmail_logs.bat

To specify pre- and post-scripts

1

On the Advanced Options page, click Pre & Post Scripts, and configure the following settings.
Table 13. Pre & post script options for backup jobs
Option

Description

Pre Script

This option allows you to run a user-defined script before a job starts. You
can use this script to perform any pre-backup preparation, like
dismounting or shutting down a database.
To run a pre-script, do the following:

In the Pre Script box, specify the script file name. If the file is in
<NetVault Backup home>\scripts (on Windows) or <NetVault Backup
home>/scripts directory (on Linux), just specify the file name. If it
is in a subdirectory in the scripts directory, provide the relative
path. For example, if the file myscript.bat is in <NetVault Backup
home>\scripts\tst, type \tst\myscript.bat in the box.

In the User Parameter box, provide the values for the run-time
parameters. The value should be valid and conform to its usage in
the script. NetVault Backup does not perform any validity checks
for the user parameters.

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Table 13. Pre & post script options for backup jobs
Option

Description

Post Script

This option allows you to run a user-defined script after a job completes.
You can use this script to perform any post-backup processing, like
mounting or starting a database after a job completes.
To run a post-script, do the following:

In the Post Script box, specify the script file name. If the file is in
<NetVault Backup home>\scripts (on Windows) or <NetVault Backup
home>/scripts directory (on Linux), just specify the file name. If it
is in a subdirectory in the scripts directory, provide the relative
path. For example, if the file myscript.bat is in <NetVault Backup
home>\scripts\tst, type \tst\myscript.bat in the box.

In the User Parameter box, provide the values for the run-time
parameters. The value should be valid and conform to its usage in
the script. NetVault Backup does not perform any validity checks
for the user parameters.

The following table illustrates the effect of script exit status on the overall execution and job status.
Table 14. Script execution and backup job status

Process

Result

Pre script

Success

Backup job

Success

Success

Post script

Success

Fail

Overall job status

Job
completes
successfully.

Job
completes,
but a post
script error is
reported.

Job fails, but

the post
script runs.
An error is
reported.

Job fails, and Job fails and

a pre script
an error is
error is
reported.
reported.

Success

Success

Fail

Fail

Fail

Does not run

Does not run

Success

Success

Does not run

Click Set to save the settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring user-defined events for backup jobs

To raise user-defined events for a backup job
1

On the Advanced Options page, click Events, and configure the following settings.
Table 15. User-defined event types for backup jobs
Option

Description

Job is Successful

Type or select the event that you want to raise when the job completes
successfully.

Job has Warnings

Type or select the event that you want to raise when the job completes
with warnings.

Job Fails

Type or select the event that you want to raise when the job fails.

To receive a notification when the event occurs, set up a notification method. For more information, see
Setting up a global notification method.
2

Click Set to save the settings and close the dialog box.

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Managing Sets
This section includes the following topics:

Modifying a set

Deleting a set

Modifying a set
To modify a set
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Sets.

In the Set Type list, select the type of set that you want to modify.

In the list of available sets, select the set, and click Edit.

Modify the data selections or required options.

Click Save, and in the Edit Set dialog box, click Save again.
NOTE: Be aware that editing a set will affect the existing jobs using that set.

Deleting a set
To delete a set
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Sets.

In the Set Type list, select the type of set that you want to delete.

In the list of available sets, select the set, and click Delete.

In the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

NOTE: Be aware that deleting a set will affect the existing jobs using that set.

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6
Managing backup policies

About backup policies

Creating a backup policy

Modifying a backup policy

Quiescing a backup policy

Deleting a backup policy

About backup policies

A backup policy can be used to submit one or more jobs that target one or more similar clients. You can use a
policy to administer backup strategies such as following:

Daily Incremental and Weekly Full Backups of file servers

Full backups of multiple Windows workstations

Full and Incremental Backups of multiple databases

Backup policies are supported by the following built-in plug-ins:

NetVault Backup Plug-in for FileSystem

NetVault Backup Plug-in for Consolidation

NetVault Backup Plug-in for Data Copy

NetVault Backup Plug-in for Databases (NetVault Databases)

You can create and submit backup policies from the Manage Policies page and monitor the policy jobs from the
Job Status page.

Creating a backup policy

To create a backup policy
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Policies, and then click Add to open the Edit Policy page.

In Policy Name, type a name for the policy.

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Click Add Job, and on the Create Policy Job page, configure the following settings.
Table 1. Policy job definition
Option

Description

Job Name

Type a name for the job.

Assign a descriptive name that allows you to easily identify the job for
monitoring its progress or restoring data. The job name can contain
alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot include
non-Latin characters. There is no length restriction. However, a maximum
of 40 characters is recommended on all platforms.

Selections

Select an existing Backup Selection Set, or click Create New, and select
the items that you want to back up. The selection tree is plug-in specific.
For more information about selecting data for backups, refer to the
relevant plug-in user's guide.

Plugin Options

Select an existing Backup Options Set, or click Create New, and configure
the options that you want to use. These options are plug-in specific. For
more information about these options, refer to the relevant plug-in user's
guide.

Schedule

Select an existing Schedule Set, or click Create New, and configure the
schedule type and schedule method. For more information, see Creating a
Schedule Set.
The predefined set Immediate is selected by default. To run the job as
soon as it is submitted, use this set.

Target Storage

Select an existing Target Set, or click Create New, and configure the
target device and media options for the job. For more information, see
Creating a Target Set.
The predefined set Default Backup Target Options is selected by
default..

Advanced Options

Select an existing Backup Advanced Options Set, or click Create New, and
configure the options that you want to use. For more information, see
Creating a Backup Advanced Options Set.
The predefined set Default Advance Backup Options is selected by
default.

Click Save to save the job definition.

4

To add more job definitions, repeat step steps 4 and 5.

Click Next.

To select the clients or client groups for the policy, do the following:
Table 2. Client and client group selection for backup policy
Option

Description

Add clients or client

groups

In the Available table, select the clients and client groups that you want to
add, and click Add.
To select consecutive items, hold down the Shift key while clicking with
the mouse button; to select non-consecutive items, hold down the Ctrl key
while clicking with the mouse button.
The selected items are moved to the Selected table.

Remove clients or client

groups

In the Selected table, select the clients and client groups that you want to
remove, and click Remove.
The selected items are moved to the Selected table.

Click Next.

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To raise user-defined events, configure the following settings:

Table 3. User-defined events for backup policy
Option

Description

Raise event if policy has

warnings

Type or select the event that you want to raise when one or more policy
jobs complete with warnings.

Raise event if policy has

errors

Type or select the event that you want to raise when one or more policy
jobs fail.

To receive a notification when the event occurs, set up a notification method. For more information, see
Setting up a global notification method.
9

Click Save Policy to save the policy definition.

Modifying a backup policy

This procedure can be used to modify a backup policy that is in dormant (or quiesced) state. A backup
policy is said to be in dormant (or inactive) state if no policy jobs are currently running; a policy is said to be in
active state if one or more policy jobs are currently active. Before modifying an active backup policy, you must
place the policy in quiesced state. For more information about this procedure, see Quiescing a backup policy.

To modify a policy that is in dormant or quiesced state

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Policies.

In the Available Policies table, select the policy that you want to modify, and click Edit.

To change the job definitions for a policy, do the following:

Add job On the Edit Policy page, click Add Job, and create the job definitions. For more
information about the job components, see Policy job definition.
Click Save to the save the job definition.

Edit job In the Jobs table, select the job that you want to change, and click Edit Job.
On the Edit Policy Job page, modify the applicable job components. For more information, see
Policy job definition.
Click Save to the save the job definition.

Delete job In the Jobs table, select the job that you want to delete, and click Delete Jobs. In
the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

Click Next.

To change the client or client groups for the policy, see Client and client group selection for backup
policy.

Click Next.

To change the user-defined events for the policy failures or policy warnings, see User-defined events for
backup policy.

Click Save Policy to save the policy definition.

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Quiescing a backup policy

Before modifying an active backup policy, you must place the policy in quiesced state. A policy is temporarily
disabled when it is placed in quiesced state.

To quiesce an active backup policy

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Policies.

In the Available Policies table, select the policy, and click Quiesce.
In the policy table, the policy status is set to Quiescing.

During this state, NetVault Backup completes the following tasks:

Deletes all the scheduled instances for the policy jobs.

Completes the jobs that are in progress.

Complete phase 2 (for example, a Secondary Copy job) for the active jobs.

After these operations are completed, the policy status is set to Quiesced.
In this state, you can change the policy definition.

A Quiesced policy will remain in that state until it is opened and saved again. When you do this, all
policy jobs will be scheduled again.

Deleting a backup policy

To delete a backup policy
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Policies.

In the Available Policies table, select the policy that you want to delete, and click Delete.

In the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

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7
Restoring data

About restoring data

Creating a restore job

Creating a Source Set

Creating a Restore Advanced Options Set

Additional notes

Managing online backup indexes

About restoring data

Restore refers to reconstructing all or part of a system from a backup. A restore can be performed for the
following reasons:

To recover lost data (for example, a file that was accidentally deleted)

To recover database or files which have been corrupted

To copy or move data to another database or directory

To recover to a previous point-in-time, if some operation goes wrong

To migrate data when upgrading to a new system

To copy or move data to a test or production server

To recover from media failure, OS corruption, loss of physical system

The NetVault Backup plug-ins integrate with the native APIs to restore and recover application-specific data
from backups. The methods and options supported by the plug-ins depend on the application type.
In general, NetVault Backup offers the following restore features:

Complete or granular restores

Disaster recovery

Restores to alternate location

Restores to alternate server

Restore job definition

To restore data, you need to create and submit a restore job. You can create a restore job definition from the
Create Restore Job link in the Navigation pane.
A restore job definition includes the following components:

Selection list

Plug-in options

Target client name (when restoring to an alternate server)

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Scheduling options

Source device options

Advanced restore options

These components are stored in NetVault Backup Sets. For more information about NetVault Backup Sets, see
About NetVault Backup Sets.
Each restore job has a Job ID and a Job Name. The Job ID is an auto-generated number. The Job Name is a
user-defined string that allows you to easily identify the job when monitoring its progress or viewing the job
logs.

Creating a restore job

To create a restore job
1

In the Navigation pane, click Create Restore Job.

In the saveset table, select the saveset that you want to use, and click Next.
The table displays the saveset name (Job Title and Saveset ID), creation date and time, and saveset size.

By default, the list is sorted alphabetically by saveset name. To sort the list by another column,
click the heading of the column. The arrowhead next to the column header name indicates the
sort order (up for ascending order and down for descending). To reverse the sort order, click the
column heading again.

You can use one or more filters to display specific savesets on this page. You can also search for a
data item in savesets and view the media list for a saveset.
For more information about the additional features, see Using additional features available on
the Choose Saveset page.

When you select a saveset, the following details are displayed in the Saveset Information area:
Job ID, Job Title, name of the NetVault Backup Server, name of the client from which the data
was backed up, plug-in used to create the saveset, saveset creation date and time, saveset
retirement setting, whether Incremental Backup or not, whether Archive or not, and saveset size.

On the Create Selection Set page, select the items that you want to restore. The selection tree is
plug-in specific. For more information about selecting data for restores, refer to the relevant plug-in
user's guide.

Click Edit Plugin Options, and configure the options that you want to use. These options are plug-in
specific. For more information about these options, refer to the relevant plug-in user's guide.
Click Next.

On the Create Restore Job page, specify a name for the job.
Assign a descriptive name that allows you to easily identify the job for monitoring its progress. The job
name can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot include non-Latin
characters. There is no length restriction. However, a maximum of 40 characters is recommended on all
platforms.

In the Target Client list, select the restore target. To restore data to the same client (from which data
was backed up), use the default setting.
To restore data to an alternate client, select the target client in the list. Alternatively, click Choose. In
the Choose the Target Client dialog box, select the client, and click OK.

In the Schedule list, select an existing Schedule Set, or click Create New, and configure the schedule
type and schedule method. For more information. For more information, see Creating a Schedule Set.
The predefined set Immediate is selected by default. To run the job as soon as it is submitted, use this
set.

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In the Source Options list, select an existing Source Set, or click Create New, and configure the source
device options. For more information, see Creating a Source Set.
The predefined set Any Device is selected by default. To select any available device for the job, use
this set.

In the Advanced Options list, select an existing Restore Advanced Options Set, or click Create New, and
configure the options that you want to use. For more information, see Creating a Restore Advanced
Options Set.
The predefined set Restore from selected backup is selected by default.

10 Click Submit to submit the job for scheduling.

You can monitor the job progress from the Job Status page and view the logs from the View Logs page.
For more information, see Viewing job activity and status and Viewing log messages.

Using additional features available on the Choose

Saveset page
This section describes how to use the additional features available on the on the Create Restore Job Choose
Saveset page. These features are common to all NetVault Backup plug-ins.

Filtering the saveset list

By default, the saveset table on the Create Restore Job Choose Saveset page lists all available savesets. You
can use the following filters to display specific savesets on this page:

Client Use this filter to display savesets created for particular clients.
Click the Client box, and in the Choose Client dialog box, select the applicable clients. Click OK to close
the dialog box. The default selection is Any.

Plugin Type Use this filter to display savesets created using a particular plug-in.
Click the arrow, and in the list, select the applicable plug-in. The default selection is Any.

Date Use this filter to display savesets created during the specified period.
Click the arrow, and in the list, select one of the following options: Last 24 hours, Last Week, Last Month,
Last 6 Months, Last Year, or Any. The default selection is Any.

Job Use this filter display savesets created for particular job IDs.
Click the Job box, and in the Choose Job dialog box, select the applicable jobs. Click OK to close the
dialog box. The default selection is Any.

Searching for files in savesets

The Search option on the Create Restore Job Choose Saveset page allows you to find a particular file or data
item within a saveset without opening it or browsing through the contents. You can use the file name or a
regular expression to find the entities.

To search for data items in savesets

1

On the Create Restore Job Choose Saveset page, click Search.

In the Search for files in savesets dialog box, configure the following options:

Search String Type the search string.

Regular expression search To search for entities using regular expression, select this check
box.

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Case sensitive To perform a case-sensitive search, select this check box.

Click Search.
On the Search Results page, you can view the savesets in which the specified files or data items are
found. Select the items you want to restore. You can only restore items from one saveset.

Viewing media list

To view media list for a saveset
1

On the Create Restore Job Choose Saveset page, select the applicable saveset.

In the Saveset Information area, click Media List.

In the dialog box that appears, you can view the data and index segment details. For each data segment,
you can view the media label, media group, offset, segment size, and media location. For index
segments, you can view the media label, media group, and media location.

Click Close to close the dialog box.

Creating a Source Set

To create a Source Set
1

Start the restore job wizard, and click Create New next to the Source Options list.

Click Device Selection, and configure the following settings.

Table 1. Device Selection options for Restore Source Set
Option

Description

Any Device

This option is selected by default. If you do not specify a device type,

NetVault Backup uses any suitable device for a job.

Specify Device

To use particular devices for a job, select this option. In the box below,
clear the check marks for the devices that you do not want to use. When
you remove a library, the associated drives will be automatically removed.

Local Drives Only

To use only devices that are locally attached to the target client, select
this check box.
NOTE: NetVault SmartDisk is considered a network-attached device or a
non-local device.

Click Save, and in the Create New Set dialog box, type a name for the set.
A set name can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot include non-Latin
characters. On Linux OS, the names can have a maximum of 200 characters. On Windows OS, there is no
length restriction. However, a maximum of 40 characters is recommended on all platforms.
Click Save to save the Restore Source Set.

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Creating a Restore Advanced Options Set

To create a Restore Advanced Options Set
1

Start the restore job wizard, and click Create New next to the Advanced Options list.

Configure the following options:

Restore Type See Setting restore type.

Additional Options See Specifying additional options.

Pre & Post Scripts See Configuring pre and post scripts.

Events See Configuring user-defined events for restore jobs.

Click Save, and in the Create New Set dialog box, type a name for the set.
A set name can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot include non-Latin
characters. On Linux OS, the names can have a maximum of 200 characters. On Windows OS, there is no
length restriction. However, a maximum of 40 characters is recommended on all platforms.
Click Save to save the Restore Advanced Options Set.

Setting restore type

To specify the restore type
1

On the Advanced Options page, click Restore Type, and select one of the following options.
Table 2. Restore type
Option

Description

Restore from selected

backup

Use this option to restore data from the selected backup.

Restore from latest

backup

Use this option to restore data from most recent backup that was
performed using the particular Backup Selection Set regardless of which
backup saveset is used to create the restore job.

This option is selected by default.

The following example illustrates the difference between these two options:

Create a test directory and create a Backup Selection Set MySet to back up the test directory.

Create a file named first.txt in the test directory.

Perform a Full Backup (TestBackup1) using MySet.

Delete first.txt and create a new file named last.txt in the test directory.

Perform another Full Backup (TestBackup2) using MySet.

Restore TestBackup1 using the Restore from selected backup option. This will restore the file
first.txt.

Restore TestBackup1 using the Restore from latest backup option. This will restore the file
last.txt.

Click Set to save the settings and close the dialog box.

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Specifying additional options

To specify additional options for a restore job
1

On the Advanced Options page, click Additional Options, and configure the following setting:

Use Network Compression To use network compression while transferring data over the
network, select this check box. The data is compressed on the server or client to which the
source device is attached before being transferred over the network. On the target client, the
data is decompressed before being restored to the original or alternate location.
Network compression does not work for the following types of jobs:

Restores from NetVault SmartDisk

Restores from devices attached to NDMP-based NAS filers

Jobs using the Dell NetVault Backup Plug-in for NDMP, Dell NetVault Plug-in for NetWare,
and NetVault Bare Metal Recovery products

Click Set to save the settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring pre and post scripts

NetVault Backup lets you add user-defined scripts to backup jobs that are run before and after the job. You can
use these scripts to perform tasks such as dismounting or shutting down a database before the job starts or
mounting or starting the database after the job completes.
The script must be an executable file, for example, .bat files on Windows and .sh files on Linux. After
creating the script, you must copy the file to the scripts directory on the target client (<NetVault Backup
home>\scripts on Windows and <NetVault Backup home>/scripts on Linux). You can also create subdirectories in
the scripts directory to store the pre- and post-scripts.
The scripts can contain run-time parameters. These parameters are stored in the environment variable
NV_USER_ARG. You can also use other NetVault Backup environment variables in the scripts. For a list of
available environment variables, see Using environment variables.
NetVault Backup provides two predefined script files that can be used as post-scripts:

psmail Use this script to send job completion status to the specified email addresses.

psmail_logs Use this script to send job completion status and job logs to the specified email addresses.

On Linux and UNIX, the predefined scripts do not any file name extension; on Windows, the scripts have the file
name extension .bat. To run these scripts, specify the following in the Post Script box:

Linux and UNIX psmail or psmail_logs

Windows psmail.bat or psmail_logs.bat

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To specify pre and post scripts

1

On the Advanced Options page, click Pre & Post Scripts, and configure the following settings.
Table 3. Pre & post script options for restore jobs
Option

Description

Pre Script

This option allows you to run a user-defined script before a job starts. You
can use this script to perform any pre-backup preparation, like
dismounting or shutting down a database.
To run a pre-script, do the following:

Post Script

In the Pre Script box, specify the script file name. If the file is in
<NetVault Backup home>\scripts (on Windows) or <NetVault Backup
home>/scripts directory (on Linux), just specify the file name. If it
is in a subdirectory in the scripts directory, provide the relative
path. For example, if the file myscript.bat is in <NetVault Backup
home>\scripts\tst, type \tst\myscript.bat in the box.

In the User Parameter box, provide the values for the run-time
parameters. The value should be valid and conform to its usage in
the script. NetVault Backup does not perform any validity checks
for the user parameters.

This option allows you to run a user-defined script after a job completes.
You can use this script to perform any post-backup processing, like
mounting or starting a database after a job completes.
To run a post-script, do the following:

In the Pre Script box, specify the script file name. If the file is in
<NetVault Backup home>\scripts (on Windows) or <NetVault Backup
home>/scripts directory (on Linux), just specify the file name. If it
is in a subdirectory in the scripts directory, provide the relative
path. For example, if the file myscript.bat is in <NetVault Backup
home>\scripts\tst, type \tst\myscript.bat in the box.

In the User Parameter box, provide the values for the run-time
parameters. The value should be valid and conform to its usage in
the script. NetVault Backup does not perform any validity checks
for the user parameters.

The following table illustrates the effect of script exit status on the overall execution and job status.
Table 4. Script execution and restore job status

Process

Result

Pre script

Success

Restore job

Success

Success

Post script

Success

Fail

Overall job status

Job
completes
successfully.

Job
completes,
but a post
script error is
reported.

Job fails, but

the post
script runs.
An error is
reported.

Job fails, and Job fails and

a pre script
an error is
error is
reported.
reported.

Success

Success

Fail

Fail

Fail

Does not run

Does not run

Success

Success

Does not run

Click Set to save the settings and close the dialog box.

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Configuring user-defined events for restore jobs

To raise user-defined events for a restore job
1

On the Advanced Options page, click Events, and configure the following settings.
Table 5. User-defined event types for restore jobs
Option

Description

Job is Successful

Type or select the event that you want to raise when the job completes
successfully.

Job has Warnings

Type or select the event that you want to raise when the job completes
with warnings.

Job Fails

Type or select the event that you want to raise when the job fails.

To receive a notification when the event occurs, set up a notification method. For more information, see
Setting up a global notification method.
2

Click Set to save the settings and close the dialog box.

Additional notes

Restoring data on Itanium platforms When you try to restore a backup with an index larger than 2GB
in size, the job may fail on Itanium platforms. If the job fails with the error message Failed when
sorting items to restore, use one of these methods to manually increase the stack size:

On the standard UNIX platforms, edit the ulimit setting from the CLI to increase the stack size.
The following is a list of available options:
ulimit -a
Displays all the settings for the environment.
ulimit -s
Displays the current stack size setting.
ulimit -s unlimited
Sets an unlimited stack size.

ulimit -s <n>
Sets stack size to the specified value.

man ulimit
Provides information about the ulimit command.

After changing the value, run the ulimit -a command to ensure that the setting has been
changed.

On a HP-UX Itanium platform, use the bash command kmtune or kctune (depending on the
operating system) to access to the kernel stack size information. The stack variables are maxssiz
for 32-bit applications and maxssiz_64bit for 64-bit applications. The following is a list of
available options:

kmtune -l -q maxssiz
Displays the setting information for a 32-bit application.

kmtune -l -q maxssiz_64bit
Displays the setting information for a 64-bit application.

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 kmtune -u -s maxssiz=<n>
Sets the new stack size to the specified value for a 32-bit application.
kmtune -u -s maxssiz_64bit =<n>
Sets the new stack size to the specified value for a 64-bit application.
kmtune -u -s maxssiz+<n>
Increases the stack size by the specified value for a 32-bit application.
kmtune -u -s maxssiz_64bit +<n>
Increases the stack size by the specified value for a 64-bit application.
(All instances of kmtune should be replaced by kctune depending on the OS. For more
information, run the man command.)

Managing online backup indexes

Backup indexes stored in the NetVault Database are called Online Indexes. Online indexes allow you to quickly
scan through the contents of a saveset without loading the media. However, these indexes increase disk space
used by the NetVault Database. To reduce space usage, you can either delete or compress the online indexes.
This section covers the following topics:

Deleting online indexes

Loading offline indexes

Compressing online indexes

Uncompressing online indexes

Deleting online indexes

You can delete the online backup indexes either automatically or manually. To automatically delete online
indexes after a specified period, configure the retention period in the Advanced Options Set while creating the
job. For more information, see Setting backup retirement options.
To manually delete online indexes for existing savesets, use the procedure described in this section.
NOTE: Deleting a backup index is not the same as setting the retirement period for a saveset. When a
saveset is retired, NetVault Backup discards all information about it from the NetVault Database. When
you scan the media to retrieve the index for a retired saveset, it is loaded as a new index in the NetVault
Database. When you delete the online indexes, NetVault Backup still retains some information about the
saveset, which allows it to quickly reload the saveset index from the backup media.

To manually delete online indexes

1

In the Navigation pane, click Create Restore Job, and then on the Choose Saveset page, click Manage
Indexes.

Click Choose Client, and select the client for which the backup was created. Click OK to close the dialog
box.

Optionally, click Choose Plugin, and select the plug-in that was used to create the backup. Click OK to
close the dialog box.

Click the View icon to display the savesets for the selected client and plug-in.

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In the savesets list, all items are selected by default.

To delete indexes for specific savesets, either clear the check marks for the savesets that you want to
exclude, or remove all check marks (click the check box in the header row), and select the individual
savesets.

Click Offline.

Loading offline indexes

To restore data from a saveset with offline, you must reload the backup index from the backup media.

To load offline indexes

1

In the Navigation pane, click Create Restore Job, and then on the Choose Saveset page, click Manage
Indexes.

Click Choose Client, and select the client for which the backup was created. Click OK to close the dialog
box.

Optionally, click Choose Plugin, and select the plug-in that was used to create the backup. Click OK to
close the dialog box.

Click the View icon to list the savesets for the selected client and plug-in.

In the savesets list, all items are selected by default.

To load indexes for specific savesets, either clear the check marks for the savesets that you want to
exclude, or remove all check marks (click the check box in the header row), and select the individual
savesets.

Click Load, and in the Load Index dialog box, provide the following details:

Select the Use any storage to load index from check box, or in the Storage containing index
list, select the storage media.

In the Days to Keep Index box, type or select the number of days you want to retain the index in
the NetVault Database.

Click OK to close the dialog box.

Compressing online indexes

NetVault Backup automatically compresses online indexes after 30 days of inactivity. You can customize this
policy from the Change Settings page. For more information, see Configuring general settings for Media
Manager.
To manually compress indexes for existing backups, use the procedure described in this section.

To manually compress online indexes

1

In the Navigation pane, click Create Restore Job, and then on the Choose Saveset page, click Manage
Indexes.

Click Choose Client, and select the client for which the backup was created. Click OK to close the dialog
box.

Optionally, click Choose Plugin, and select the plug-in that was used to create the backup. Click OK to
close the dialog box.

Click the View icon to list the savesets for the selected client and plug-in.

In the savesets list, all items are selected by default.

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To compress indexes for specific savesets, either clear the check marks for the savesets that you want to
exclude, or remove all check marks (click the check box in the header row), and select the individual
savesets.
6

Click Compress.

Uncompressing online indexes

When you try to browse or restore data from savesets with compressed indexes, NetVault Backup will
automatically de-compress the index to a temporary directory, and delete the directory after the operation
completes.You can also de-compress an index manually.

To manually uncompress online indexes

1

In the Navigation pane, click Create Restore Job, and then on the Choose Saveset page, click Manage
Indexes.

Click Choose Client, and select the client for which the backup was created. Click OK to close the dialog
box.

Optionally, click Choose Plugin, and select the plug-in that was used to create the backup. Click OK to
close the dialog box.

Click the View icon to list the savesets for the selected client and plug-in.

In the savesets list, all items are selected by default.

To de-compress indexes for specific savesets, either clear the check marks for the savesets that you want
to exclude, or remove all check marks (click the check box in the header row), and select the individual
savesets.

Click Uncompress.

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8
Managing jobs

Viewing job activity and status

Managing jobs

Managing job definitions

Viewing job history

Viewing job activity and status

You can use the Job Status page to view job activity, progress, and status.

To view job activity and status

1

In the Navigation pane, click Job Status.

On the Job Status page, you can view the following information.

Figure 1. Job Status page

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Table 1. Job Status page

Item

Description

Job activity charts

This area displays bar charts for the following:

Current Activity The individual bars represent the number of

active, waiting, pending, and scheduled jobs.

Policies The individual bars represent the number of policy jobs

that have completed successfully, completed with warnings, and
failed.

Regular Jobs The individual bars represent the number of regular

jobs that have completed successfully, completed with warnings,
and failed.

You can click a bar to view the job details for that category in the activity
table below. For example, you can click the Active bar in the Current
Activity category to view the jobs that are currently running; you can click
the Errors bar in the Regular Jobs category to view the regular jobs that
have failed.
To view all current job activities, click the View all current activity
link.
Job activity table

By default, the table lists all current job activities.

You can click a bar in the activity chart area to filter the list for that
category. You can further filter the list, by clicking the View icon, and
selecting the plug-in type.
The activity table includes the following details:

Start Time

Job Title

Client

Type Job type (backup or restore)

ID Job identification number

Next Run Time Date and time when the next instance is
scheduled to run

Progress Current or average transfer rate

Run Status

To perform a job-related task, click the corresponding button in the Operations pane. Alternatively, click
a link in the Navigation pane to open another page.

Managing jobs
This section includes the following topics:

Running a job immediately

Aborting a job

Stopping and restarting a job

Placing a job on hold

Viewing media request details

Viewing job logs

Monitoring job progress

Clearing job errors and warnings

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Running a job immediately

To run a job immediately
1

In the Navigation pane, click Job Status or Manage Job Definitions.

NOTE: If the job that you want to run was just saved and not submitted for scheduling, use the
Manage Job Definitions link.

In the list of jobs, select the job, and click Run Now.

In the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

When the job is successfully launched, a message is displayed at the upper-right corner of the NetVault
WebUI.

Aborting a job
To abort a job
1

In the Navigation pane, click Job Status.

In the list of jobs, select the job, and click Abort.

In the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

When the action is successfully completed, a message is displayed at the upper-right corner of the
NetVault WebUI.

Stopping and restarting a job

The Stop and Restart methods allow you to stop a job at any point and resume it later from the same point.
These methods are only available to Plug-in for FileSystem jobs. To use this option, you must select the backup
option Enable Restartable Backup for the job. For more information about this option, refer to the users
guide for the Plug-in for FileSystem.
When you stop the job, the plug-in generates index for all items that have been processed up to that point and
writes the index to the backup media and NetVault Database. The job status is then set to Job Stopped. If
the plug-in is writing a very large backup index, the jobs status continues to be reported as Writing to Media:
Storing Backup Index until the index is written. When you restart the job later, the plug-in runs an
Incremental Backup job to back up the remaining files and folders.
NOTE: The Stop and Restart methods will not work if you select multiple job instances simultaneously.

To stop a job
1

In the Navigation pane, click Job Status.

In the list of jobs, select the job, and click Stop.

In the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

Restarting a job
To restart a job
1

In the Navigation pane, click Job Status.

In the list of jobs, select the job, and click Restart.

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Placing a job on hold

When you place a job on hold, its schedule is disabled until you resume the job.

To place a job on hold

1

In the Navigation pane, click Job Status.

In the list of jobs, select the job, and click Hold.

NOTE: If you restart NetVault Backup, a job on hold will remain in the same state, but it will be
rescheduled to run at its next scheduled time. If the job cannot be rescheduled because it was scheduled
to run once and this time has now elapsed, the job status will be set to Did not Run. Warning messages
will be generated in the NetVault Backup Logs explaining why the job did not run.

Resuming a job
To resume a job that was placed on hold
1

In the Navigation pane, click Job Status.

In the list of jobs, select the job, and click Resume.

Viewing media request details

When a job is in Waiting for Media status, it implies that the job is unable to initiate data transfer as the
target drive or media is unavailable. This may be caused by any of the following reasons:

The target media or device is in use by another job

The target device is offline

The target media is not loaded

The Reuse Media option was not selected for a job. Therefore, the job is waiting for new media.

No blank or reusable media is available for the job.

To determine the exact reason for the Waiting for Media status
1

In the Navigation pane, click Job Status.

In the list of jobs, select the job, and click Diagnose Job.

On the Diagnose Media Request page, you can view the following information:

Media Request ID

Request Type

Status

Priority Media request priority

Client NetVault Backup Client on which the job is running

Media Target media and group label (if no specific media is targeted, Any not in a group is
displayed)

Reuse Media Whether the Reuse Media option is selected or not

Required Space Amount of space required on the media to complete the current request

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Force First Backup Whether the Ensure This Backup is First on the Media option is selected
or not

Auto-Label Whether the Label Blank Media Automatically option is selected or not

Mark Read-Only After Whether the Mark Media Read-Only option is selected or not

Media Format

Unload on Completion

Drives Drive on which the media item resides

Force Local Whether the Local Drives Only option is selected or not

Network Compression Whether the Network Compression option is selected or not

The Reasons table lists the reasons why the specified device or media cannot be used for the job. Some
examples are given below:

Not enough space.

Currently unavailable.

The 'force local drives' option is set. This type of device is considered network attached.

NOTE: We recommend that you perform the steps above and generate a binary log dump when logging a
case with Dell Software Technical Support.

Viewing job logs

To view logs related to a particular job
1

In the Navigation pane, click Job Status.

In the list of jobs, select the job, and click View Logs.
The View Logs page displays logs related to the selected job. For more information about logs, see
Viewing log messages.

Monitoring job progress

To monitor the progress of a backup or restore job
1

In the Navigation pane, click Job Status.

In the list of jobs, select the applicable job, and click Monitor.

On the Monitor Job page, you can view the following information.

Job details This area displays the Job ID, title, phase, instance, client, plug-in, start time,
expected completion time, run count, duration, size, and status.

Data transfer chart This area displays the data transfer chart.

Job logs This area displays the log pertaining to the job.

To view the job definition or abort the job, click the corresponding button in the Operations pane.
Alternatively, click a link in the Navigation pane to open another page

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Clearing job errors and warnings

To clear job errors or warnings
1

In the Navigation pane, click Job Status.

Do one of the following:

To clear errors and warnings for all current jobs, click Acknowledge. Ensure that the view is set
to All activity.

To clear warnings for regular or policy jobs, click the Warnings bar in the Regular Jobs or
Policies category, and click Acknowledge.

To clear errors for failed regular or policy jobs, click the Errors bar in the Regular Jobs or
Policies category, and click Acknowledge.

To clear error or warning for a specific job, select the job in the table, and click Acknowledge.

Managing job definitions

This section includes the following topics:

Viewing a job definition

Editing a job definition

Deleting a job definition

Viewing a job definition

Job definitions are stored in the NetVault Scheduler Database. You can access the job definitions for all
scheduled, saved, completed, and active jobs from the Manage Job Definitions page. From this page, you can
view, edit, and delete a job definition.

To view a job definition

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Job Definitions.

On the Manage Job Definitions page, a list of all job definitions available in the NetVault Jobs Database
is displayed. These include scheduled, saved, completed, and active jobs.
The details include Job Title, ID, Policy name, Type, Plugin, Client, Selection Set, and Next Run Time.

By default, the list is sorted by Job ID (descending order).

To sort the list by another column, click the heading of the column. The arrowhead next to the column
header name indicates the sort order (up for ascending order and down for descending). To reverse the
sort order, click the column heading again.

Select the job definition that you want to view, and click View Job.

On the Manage Job Definitions View Jobs page, you can view the following information:

Job Summary This area shows the following information:

Job title, job ID, job type (backup, restore, or report)

Client, plug-in, creation date, modification date

Run count, average duration, average size (in MiB)

Backup or Restore Selection Set, Backup or Restore Options Set, Schedule Set, Target Set,
and Backup or Restore Advanced Options Set

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Recent Instances This table lists the recent instances of the job. It shows the following
information:

Run time, duration, job size (in MiB)

Run status of the job (for example, Succeeded, Failed, Aborted, and others)

To perform a job-related task, click the corresponding button in the Operations pane. Alternatively, click
a link in the Navigation pane to open another page.

Editing a job definition

To edit a job definition
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Job Definitions.

In the list of available job definitions, select the job, and click Edit Job.

Depending on the type of job, the backup or restore job wizard is started.

Modify the required items, and save or schedule the job. For more information, see Creating a backup
job or Creating a restore job.

Deleting a job definition

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Job Definitions.

In the list of available job definitions, select the jobs that you want to delete.
To select consecutive items, hold down the Shift key while clicking with the mouse button; to select nonconsecutive items, hold down the Ctrl key while clicking with the mouse button.

Click Remove, and in the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

Viewing job history

To view job history
1

In the Navigation pane, click Job History.

On the Job History page, you can view the following information:

Job title, end time, job ID, phase number, and instance number.

Job type, plug-in, and client.

Run status.

To filter the list, click Filter Options, and set the applicable filter options:

Job Title List jobs with a specified job name or title.

Job ID List jobs with a particular Job ID.

Job Phase List particular job phases (1 or 2).

Job Instance List particular job instances.

Client List jobs for a particular client.

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Plugin List jobs for a particular plug-in.

Job Type List backup, restore, or report jobs.

Run Status List jobs with particular run status (for example, Succeeded, Failed, Aborted, and
others).

Start Time List jobs that started at the specified time.

End Time List jobs that completed at the specified time.

Job Status List jobs with a particular job status Completed, Completed with Errors, Completed
With Errors or Warnings, Running, or Scheduled.

Click OK to set the filter, and close the dialog box.

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9
Monitoring logs

About NetVault Backup logs

Viewing log messages

Setting log filter

Exporting logs

Setting up a log event

About NetVault Backup logs

Logs are messages generated by various processes. These can include status information, warnings, errors, and
other types of information. Logs can be used to track activities and troubleshoot problems. Logs are managed
by the Log Daemon. This process runs on the NetVault Backup Server.
You can access logs from the View Logs page. From this page, you can perform the following functions:

View log messages

Set log filters

Export logs to a binary or text file

Viewing log messages

To view log messages
1

In the Navigation pane, click View Logs.

The View Logs page displays the following information.

Severity Based on their severity, the log messages are classified as follows.

Table 1. Log warning levels

Icon

Severity

Description

Background

General log messages.

Information

Log messages related to media, scheduler, and system

activities.

Job message

Log messages related to backup, restore, and report jobs.

Warning

Problems that might not have caused a job to fail.

Error

Problems that might have caused a job to fail.

Severe error

Critical problems that might have caused a job to fail.

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NOTE: For some log messages, the icon can include an exclamation mark. You can view log context
or additional information for these logs by clicking the More Info button. The dialog box that
appears can include data transfer details, execution scripts, or any other information generated by
the plug-in.

Date Date and time when the log was generated.

Job ID Job ID for job-related logs.

Class Type of operation that generated the logs. It can be one of the following:

System

Schedule

Jobs

Media

Database

Plugins

UI

Client Name of the client for which the log was generated.

Message Detailed log message or description.

To sort the logs by any column, click the heading of the column. The arrowhead next to the column
header name indicates the sort order (up for ascending order and down for descending). To reverse the
sort order, click the column heading again.
By default, the logs are sorted by Date.

To filter the logs based on their severity, select the minimum severity level in the Display Level list.
When you set the filter, only messages of the selected severity or higher are displayed on the page.
By default, the severity level is set to Job Messages. This implies that only Job Messages, Warnings,
Errors, and Severe errors are displayed by default.

To stop or resume live updates, click the Pause/Resume button

To perform a logs-related task, click the corresponding button in the Operations pane. Alternatively,
click a link in the Navigation pane to open another page.

Setting log filter

To set log filters
1

In the Navigation pane, click View Logs.

On the View Logs page, click Filter.

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In the Set Log Filter dialog box, configure the settings that you want to use.
Table 2. Log filter options
Filter option

Description

From

Select one of the following options:

First Event To start from the first log message, select this option.
or

Specific Time To start from specific date and time, select this
option, and do the following:
Type the start date, or click the calendar button, and select the
start date.
Type the start time, or click the button next to the box, and select
the start time.

To

Select one of the following options:

Last Event To list up to the last log message, select this option.

Specific Time To list up to specific date and time, select this

option, and do the following:

or

Type the start date, or click the calendar button, and select the
start date.
Type the start time, or click the button next to the box, and select
the start time.
Classes

By default, all log classes are selected. To remove logs for a particular
category, clear the check box for it.

Only display logs for Job

ID

To display logs for a particular job, type the Job ID.

Only display logs

containing text

To display logs that contain a particular string, type the filter string.

Click Filter to set the filter, and close the dialog box.

To clear the filter settings, click Clear Filter on the View Logs page.

Exporting logs
NetVault Backup logs can be exported to external files in binary or text format. This option can be used to
create a copy of the logs before purging them from the NetVault Database. By default, all current logs are
exported to the specified file. If you want to export logs generated during a specific period, set a time-based
filter criterion, and then use the export option. For example, to export all logs generated during the previous
month, set a filter to display only those logs, and then select this option.

To export logs to binary or text file

1

In the Navigation pane, click View Logs.

On the View Logs page, click Export.

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In the Export Logs dialog box, configure the following settings.

Table 3. Export logs
Option

Description

File Name

Type the file name for the log file. You can also select an existing log dump
file in the binary or text log file list. If you select or specify an existing
file, it will be overwritten.
By default, the binary files are stored in the following location:

Windows <NetVault Backup home>\log\dumps\binary

Linux <NetVault Backup home>/log/dumps/binary

By default, the text files are stored in the following location:

Windows <NetVault Backup home>\log\dumps\text

Linux <NetVault Backup home>/log/dumps/text

To save the file in a different location, specify the full path.

Binary Log

Select this option to export the logs to a binary file (.nlg). When you send
the logs to Dell Software Technical Support, you must use the binary
format.

Text Log

Select this option to export the logs to a text file.

Click Export to export the logs.

After the logs are successfully exported, a message is displayed at the upper-right corner of the NetVault
WebUI.

Setting up a log event

You can set up an event for a log message and use any available notification method to alert when this event
occurs. The log event is added to the Log Daemon class.

To set up a log event

1

In the Navigation pane, click View Logs.

In the logs table, select the log message, and click Set Log Event.

In the Set Log Event dialog box, configure the following options.
Table 4. Set log event

Option

Description

Event Name

Specify the event name.

Event Description

Provide a detailed description for the event.

Click Set Event.

After the event is successfully added, a message is displayed at the upper-right corner of the NetVault
WebUI.

To set up a notification method for the event, refer to Setting up a global notification method.

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Removing a log event

To remove a log event
1

In the Navigation pane, click View Logs.

In the logs table, select the log message for which the event was set, and click Set Log Event.

In the Set Log Event dialog box, click Remove.

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10
Managing storage devices

Monitoring device activity

Managing disk storage devices

Managing tape libraries

Managing tape drives

Monitoring device activity

You can use the Device Activity page to monitor data flows and data transfer rates for active devices.

To view device activities

1

In the Navigation pane, click Device Activity.

On the Device Activity page, you can view the following information.

Figure 1. Device Activity page

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Table 1. Device Activity page

Item

Description

Device activity

This area shows data transfers from clients to jobs on the left and jobs to
storage devices on the right. Grey lines depict data flow; the thicker the
line, the higher the rate of flow. Boxes represent clients, jobs, and
devices; the taller the box, the higher the rate of flow.
You can click a box to view the information about that component (client,
job, or storage device), which is displayed in the Summary area.
You can also use the following options available in the Detail area to
change the data flow view:

Devices Select this option to view data transfers from all jobs to a
storage device.

Job groups Select this option to view data transfers from a job
group (plug-in or policy) to a storage device. The job group can be
selected in the Grouping list.

Job Select this option to view data transfers from client to jobs
and from jobs to storage devices.

To view the data flow details for another device, click the device box, and
click Focus. To hide the details for that device, click Un-focus.
To stop data flow updates, click Pause, and to resume updates, click Play.
The transfer rate will show as unknown for backups running on older
NetVault Backup Clients.
Summary

This area shows the number of active data transfers, number of active
clients, number of active devices, overall throughput, current job, and
current device.
You can click a box (representing the client, job, or storage device) in the
Device Activity area to view information about that component.

To perform a job-related task, click the corresponding button in the Operations pane. Alternatively, click
a link in the Navigation pane to open another page.

Managing disk storage devices

This section includes the following topics:

Viewing disk storage device details

Checking a disk storage device

Changing the disk storage device status

Scanning a disk storage device

Removing a disk storage device

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Viewing disk storage device details

To view device details
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

On the Manage Devices page, you can view the list of storage devices added to the NetVault Backup
Server. The device status is indicated using the following icons.
Table 2. Device status icons
Icon

Description
Device is online and available for use.
Device is currently offline. NetVault Backup is able to detect the device, but unable
to access it for backup or restore jobs.
Device is unavailable. NetVault Backup is unable to detect the device.

To view the details of a particular device, click the corresponding Manage Device icon.

On the RAS Device Management page, you can view the following information:

Device details When you select a NetVault SmartDisk, the Device details area displays the
following information:

Name The name of the storage device. For NetVault SmartDisks, the name is derived
from the host name and IP address of the device.

Status The status of the device. AVAILABLE specifies that the device is available for
backups and restores, while OFFLINE specifies that the device is unavailable and cannot be
used for backups or restores.

Data Stored The total amount of data stored on the device.

Space Used The total space used by the NetVault Backup Servers to which this device has
been added.

Data Deduplicated The total amount of data that has been submitted for deduplication.

Data In Staging The amount of data that is currently stored in the Staging Store.

Space Available The total disk space available on the storage device.
For NetVault SmartDisks, it indicates the total disk space available across all configured
Storage Volumes regardless of their deny/favour configuration. It does not include the
Garbage Collection Reserve or Last Resort Threshold (LRT).

Deduplication ratio The Deduplication Ratio is calculated as follows:

Deduplication ratio = Data Deduplicated / Disk Used by Deduplicated
Data

Staging Status The current status of the Staging Store. It can be one of the following:

AVAILABLE Staging Store is available for writing.

FULL Staging Store is full; no more space is available for writing.

UNAVAILABLE Disk index is unavailable.

UNLICENCED NetVault SmartDisk is not licensed, the license has expired, or the
license limit has exceeded.

NONE The status is currently unknown.

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Storage Status The current status of the Storage space. It can be one of the following:

AVAILABLE Storage is available for deduplication and rehydration.

FULL Storage is full; no more space is available for data deduplication.

UNAVAILABLE Chunk Index is unavailable; no data deduplication or rehydration is

available.

UNLICENCED NetVault SmartDisk is not licensed, the license has expired, or the
license limit has exceeded.

NONE The current status is unknown.

Group The media group name. None indicates that the device is not added to any
group. To add the device to a storage group, click the Edit icon, and in the Edit Media
Group dialog box, specify the media group name. Click Save to save the details and close
the dialog box.

Version The version number of the device.

License Type License type being used.

License Capacity License capacity.

License Expiration License validity period.

Dedupe Licensed If the deduplication option is licensed or not.

Garbage Collection State The current phase of Garbage Collection.

Deduplication Queue Length The number of elements or NetVault Backup segments

currently waiting to be deduplicated. This information is displayed only for NetVault
SmartDisks.

When you select a Dell DR Series system or a Data Domain system, the Device details area
displays the following information:

Name The name of the storage device. For Dell DR Series systems and Data Domain
systems, the name is derived from the LSU name (container name) and the DNS name or IP
address of the device.

Status The status of the device. AVAILABLE specifies that the device is available for
backups and restores, while OFFLINE specifies that the device is unavailable and cannot be
used for backups or restores.

Data Stored The total amount of data stored on the device.

Space Used The total space used by the NetVault Backup Servers to which this device has
been added.

Space Available The total disk space available on the storage device.

Deduplication ratio The Deduplication Ratio is calculated as follows:

Deduplication ratio = Data Deduplicated / Disk Used by Deduplicated
Data
Currently, the Deduplication ratio is not provided for Dell DR Series systems.

Activity chart This area displays the activity graph if the device is being used by a backup or
restore job.

Job details This area displays the following information about the active jobs:

Data transfer rate

Name or title of the job, job ID, instance number, and phase number (1 or 2)

To perform a device-related task, click the corresponding button in the Operations pane. Alternatively,
click a link in the Navigation pane to open another page.

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Checking a disk storage device

To check the status of an offline device
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, locate the device, and click the corresponding Manage Device icon.

Click Check, and then in the confirmation dialog box, click Check again.
If the device is currently operational, its status is changed to Available.

Changing the disk storage device status

To change the current status to online or offline
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, locate the device, and click the corresponding Manage Device icon.

If the device is currently offline, click Online to bring it back online.

If the device is currently online, click Offline to take it offline.

This will mark the device as offline and make it unavailable to NetVault Backup. This process will not
physically take the system offline.

Scanning a disk storage device

The scanning process queries all NetVault Backup backups stored on the disk-based storage devices, and imports
those backups that are not indexed in the given NetVault Backup Servers database. The backups on a device
can only be scanned into a NetVault Backup Server that has the identical NetVault Backup Machine Name as the
original server which performed the backups. The amount of time taken by the scanning process depends on the
number of backups that need to be imported and the size of the backup indexes.

To scan a disk-based storage device

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, locate the device, and click the corresponding Manage Device icon.

Click Scan, and then in the confirmation dialog box, click Scan again.
NOTE: When a saveset is retired, it is deleted from the disk-based storage device. You cannot use the scan
process to import retired savesets from such devices.

Removing a disk storage device

When you remove a device, it does not delete the backups stored on the device. You can add the device to the
same or different NetVault Backup Server to use the backups. If you add the device to a different server, you
must scan the device to access the backups stored on it.

To remove a disk-based storage device

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, locate the device, and click the corresponding Manage Device icon.

Click Remove, and then in the confirmation dialog box, click Remove again.

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If NetVault Backup fails to remove the device, select the Force Removal check box in the confirmation
dialog, and click Remove.
NOTE: You can use the Force Removal option to remove a device that is currently not in use. However,
the device may still try to communicate with the NetVault Backup Server.

Managing tape libraries

This section includes the following topics:

Viewing tape library details

Blanking tape media

Labeling tape media

Scanning all foreign media in a library

Opening and closing library door

Restarting ACSLS or NDMP Libraries

Importing shadow tapes (NetApp VTL)

Removing a tape library

NOTE: To configure advance settings for tape devices, you can use the deviceconfig utility. For more
information, see Using the deviceconfig utility.

Viewing tape library details

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

On the Manage Devices page, you can view the list of storage devices added to the NetVault Backup
Server. The device status is indicated using various status icons. For more information, see Device status
icons.
To view the details of a particular tape library, click the corresponding Manage Device icon.

On the Tape Library Management page, you can view the following information:

Library details This area shows the following information:

Library name, vendor name, product name

Number of drives and slots

Client to which the device is attached

Device status (online or offline) and door status (open or close)

Drives table The Drives table lists all tape drives for the library. It shows the following
information:

Drive bay number, drive name, and drive status (online or offline),

Label of the tape loaded in the drive

To perform a library-related task, click the corresponding button in the Operations pane. Alternatively,
click a link in the Navigation pane to open another page.

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Blanking tape media

To blank one or more tapes in a library
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, locate the device, and click the corresponding Manage Device icon.

Click Bulk Blank, and configure the following options.

Table 3. Bulk blank
Option

Description

All media in list

To blank all media items in the Media that can be blanked list, select this
check box.

Media that can be

blanked

To blank specific media items, select the items in this list.

Password

Type the password for the NetVault Backup Server.

To select consecutive items, hold down the Shift key while clicking with
the mouse button; to select non-consecutive items, hold down the Ctrl key
while clicking with the mouse button.
If no password is set for the NetVault Backup Server, provide the system's
root or administrator password.

Enter 'BLANK' to confirm

request

To confirm, type BLANK in this box. This string is case-insensitive.

NOTE: To blank a single tape, see Blanking a tape.

4

Click OK.
IMPORTANT:

Blanking a piece of media removes the NetVault Backup header from the media. It also deletes the
media label and removes any group association. This makes the media item available to NetVault
Backup for storing future backups.

Blanking deletes or erases the backup data residing on the media item. If it is desired to purposely
destroy the data that is stored on a piece of media, then it should be blanked by NetVault Backup
and have its data securely removed by tools that are designed for such purposes.The bulk blanking
operation removes the indexes for backups stored on the selected media items from the NetVault
Database

Labeling tape media

Each piece of media, whether a tape cartridge or a virtual tape in a VTL, uses a label for identification. The
media labels can be of the following types:

Media barcode

A system-generated string consisting of the NetVault Backup Server name, current date, and a seed
number

A user-defined string

You can manually assign a label to a blank media item, or automatically label it during a backup. The default
label consists of a system-generated string. To use media barcodes as the default labels, see Configuring general
settings for Media Manager.

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To label one or more tapes in a library

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, locate the device, and click the corresponding Manage Device icon.

Click Media Label, and configure the following options.

Table 4. Tape media labeling
Option

Description

Type of Media

Select the type of media that you want to label. The available options are:

Type of Label

Blank Select this check box to label any blank, non-labeled piece
of media in a device that is currently accessible to the NetVault
Backup Server.

Other Select this check box to label media types that do not
belong to any category listed here.

NetVault 5 Select this check box to label any piece of media that
was used to back up data with NetVault Backup 5.x.

Reusable Select this check box to label reusable media items.

Select the type of media label. The available options are:

Barcode To use media barcodes as the media labels, select this

option.

Machine and Date To use a system-generated string as the media

label, select this option. This string consists of the NetVault Backup
Server Name, Current Date, and a Seed Number.

User Defined To assign user-defined label, select this option, and

provide the following details:
Label Specify the string that you want to use as the media label.
A media label can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric
characters, but it cannot include non-Latin characters. NetVault
Backup does not support a % character in the string.
There is no length restriction on media and group labels. However,
the combined display range for the media label, barcode and group
label is 100 characters. Therefore, a maximum of 40-50 characters
is recommended for the media and group labels.
Seed To identify individual media items, a sequential number is
added to the user-defined string. The option defines the initial
value for the sequence. This value is increased by one for each
media item. The default value for this option is one.

Group Label

To add media items to a group, select the group label in the list. If you
want to create a new group label, type the string.
The group label can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric
characters, but it cannot include non-Latin characters.
Group labels are case-insensitive.

All Media in List

To label all media items in the selected library, select this check box.

Media to Label

To label specific media items, select the individual media items in the list.
To select consecutive items, hold down the Shift key while clicking with
the mouse button; to select non-consecutive items, hold down the Ctrl key
while clicking with the mouse button.

NOTE: To label a single tape, see Labeling a tape.

4

Click OK to save the settings.

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Scanning all foreign media in a library

A piece of media is marked as foreign if no information for that item is available in the NetVault Database.
This can occur for several reasons, for example, when a piece of media is swapped between libraries, removed
from the NetVault Backup Server, or loaded on a device controlled by another NetVault Backup Server. NetVault
Backup cannot process data stored in a foreign tape until you scan the tape and import the backups and backup
indexes into the NetVault Database. Scanning retrieves the header information from the backup media and adds
it to the NetVault Database. This removes the foreign tag for the tape.

To scan all foreign media in a library

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, locate the device, and click the corresponding Manage Device icon.

Click Scan All, and in the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

If NetVault Backup fails to scan the tapes, click Force Scan, and in the confirmation dialog box, click OK.
The scanning process is started, and a message is displayed at the upper-right corner of the NetVault
WebUI.
NOTE: Scanning does not read the data on the tape. It skips between the beginning and end of backups to
read the on-tape index for each backup saveset.

Opening and closing library door

Before opening a library door, you must issue the Open Door command from the WebUI. NetVault Backup puts a
software lock on the library door which prevents anyone from opening the door without issuing the Open Door
command. If you do not issue this command, NetVault Backup will not know when tapes are added, removed, or
rearranged, and may attempt to load non-existent media.

To open a library door from WebUI

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, locate the device, and click the corresponding Manage Device icon.

Click Open Door.

The library will go offline when you open the door.

To bring it back online, click Close Door.

Restarting ACSLS or NDMP Libraries

If an ACSLS or NDMP library encounters a network problem, restart the library as described in this section.

To restart an ACSLS or NDMP library

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, locate the device, and click the corresponding Manage Device icon.

Click Restart.
This will restart the network and socket connections by removing them and adding the library again.

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Importing shadow tapes (NetApp VTL)

The NetApp VTL Shadow Tape option allows you to quickly import a tape from the shadow tape pool whenever
possible instead of obtaining the physical tape. To use shadow tapes, configure the Enable Shadow Tapes
option on the filer and the library containing the virtual tape. For more information about enabling shadow
tapes, consult the relevant NetApp VTL documentation. Additionally, you must use the barcodes as the label for
the virtual tape media. NetVault Backup requires this method of labelling media to be fully functional. This can
be configured by selecting the Use Barcodes as Labels check box in the Media Manager settings dialog box. For
more information, see Configuring general settings for Media Manager.
With shadow tapes enabled, whenever a virtual tape is exported to a physical tape, the virtual tape is moved to
the shadow tape pool. The shadow tape pool is invisible to the backup application and it is not listed as part of
a virtual library, but it is available for quick access if the physical tape is later imported. It is also available for
reading if the physical tape is stored off-site or is otherwise unavailable.
The NetApp VTL manages the space used by shadow tapes. It can delete a shadow tape if more space is required
for the new backup data. The administrator can set a preferred retention time for shadow tapes. If the
retention period has not expired, the NetApp VTL will send a notification before deleting the shadow tape.

To import virtual tapes

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, locate the device, and click the corresponding Manage Device icon.

Click Import Media, and in the Media Barcode list, select or type the barcode for the tapes that you
want to import.

Click Import.
The requested tapes are imported to the medium changer from the shadow tape pool or physical library.
When both shadow tapes and physical tapes are available, the shadow tapes are converted to read-only
virtual tapes and imported to the entry/exit port (EEPort). When only the physical tapes are available,
virtual tapes are created from the physical tapes and imported to the EEPort.

Note the following:

The media requests for shadow tapes can only be used for Restore or Duplication tasks because the
shadow tapes are converted to a virtual tapes with the read-only attribute set.

No permanent record are created for the shadow tape media in the NetVault Database. The database
only stores details of the actual media. The shadow tape attribute is associated with the media items
when they are imported as shadow tape to the library. Therefore, all shadow media must be exported
from the library before NetVault Backup is stopped and restarted. If this is not done, the media items
lose the shadow attribute, which makes them read-only items. For the same reason, the shadow tape
media must be exported before the library door is opened.

Error messages are displayed if you try to import media when nothing is available in the shadow tape
pool or when the shadow tapes option is not supported on the device.

Removing a tape library

When you remove a tape library, it does not delete the media information from the NetVault Database. You can
use the media on another library that supports the media type. Scanning is not be required if you use the media
in the same NetVault Backup domain. In a different NetVault Backup Domain, you must scan the media to access
the backups.

To remove a tape library

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, locate the device, and click the corresponding Manage Device icon.

Click Remove, and then in the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

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Managing tape drives

This section includes the following topics:

Viewing tape drive details

Configuring performance options for a tape drive

Checking a tape drive

Changing the status of a tape drive

Configuring automatic cleaning options for a tape drive

Manually submitting a drive cleaning job

Configuring cleaning slots

Configuring the cleaning lives option

Removing a tape drive

Labeling a tape

Blanking a tape

Scanning a foreign tape

Unloading a tape

Loading a tape
NOTE: To configure advance settings for tape devices, you can use the deviceconfig utility. For more
information, see Using the deviceconfig utility.

Viewing tape drive details

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

On the Manage Clients page, you can view the list of storage devices added to the NetVault Backup
Server.

In the list of devices, open the applicable library to list the available drives and slots. For each drive, the
activity and status messages (for example, Idle, Writing, Loading media, and others) are displayed on the
page.The device status is indicated using various status icons. For more information, see Device status
icons.

To view the details of a particular tape drive, click the drive or the corresponding Manage Device icon.

On the Tape Drive Management page, you can view the following information:

Drive Info This area shows general information about the drive. The details include:

Drive name, vendor name, and product name

Client to which the device is attached

Media label of the tape loaded in the drive

Drive bay number

Media block size and transfer buffer size

Statistics Info This area displays the drive usage statistics. The details include:

Total data written and read

Number of write and read errors

Date on which the last write and read operations were performed

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Date on which the drive last cleaning operation was performed

Time elapsed since the last automatic or manual cleaning operation

Number of times the drive has been cleaned

Amount of data read or written since the last cleaning operation

Number of times the drive has been used for read or write operations since the last
cleaning operation

Number of read or write errors reported since the last cleaning operation

Activity chart This area displays the activity graph if the device is being used by a backup or
restore job.

Job details This area displays the following information for active jobs:

Data transfer rate

Name or title of the job, job ID, instance number, and phase number (1 or 2)

To view the slot details, click Slots or the corresponding Manage Device icon. On the Slot Browser page,
you can view the following information:

Cleaning Info This area displays the drive cleaning statistics. The details include:

Drives table The Drives table lists all tape drives for the library. It shows the following
information:

Drive bay number, drive name, and drive status (online or offline)

Label of the tape loaded in the drive

Slots table The Slots table lists all slots. It shows the following information:

Slot number and status (Empty or Has media)

Barcode, label, and group label of the tape loaded in the slot

Space available

To perform a device-related task, click the corresponding button in the Operations pane. Alternatively,
click a link in the Navigation pane to open another page.

Configuring performance options for a tape drive

To configure performance options for a tape drive
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, click the applicable drive or the corresponding Manage Device icon.

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Click Performance, and in the Drive Performance Options, configure the following settings.
Table 5. Drive performance options
Option

Description

Drive Block Size

This option specifies the block size for reading and writing data to the
media. The default value is 256KiB.
The media block size can be increased in increments of 1KiB, but many
devices may only accept a value in the multiples of 4KiB or 32KiB.
NOTE: The changes to the media block size settings are only applied to
blank media. If you are reusing media, blank it first for these changes to
take effect.
Large media blocks enable reading and writing of larger blocks of data,
thereby reducing the number of times a backup needs to read data and
write it to media. However, this does not always imply an overall faster
backup. The maximum media block size is limited by several factors,
including the operating system, SCSI adapter, and make, model, and type
of drives.
On Linux and UNIX systems, you can increase the media block size for
optimum performance.
On Windows, you might be required to change the registry setting
MaximumSGList to use block sizes larger than 64KB. Before changing this
setting, ensure that the SCSI bus is only used by the tape devices. If other
devices also use the SCSI bus, this registry change might prevent them
from working. If you want to apply these changes only to a specific channel
on the HBA, consult the hardware vendor.
To change the registry setting on Windows, follow these steps:
1

Start the Registry Editor.

Open the key

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\<HBA Vendor>\Parameters (where <HBA Name> is
specific to your SCSI card for example, QL2200 for a Qlogic 2200
card).

Create the Parameters key if not present.

Under Parameters, create the Device key if not present.

Under the Device key, add the DWORD registry value

MaximumSGList if not present.

Calculate the hexadecimal value of MaximumSGList:

On 32-bit systems:
MaximumSGList = (Maximum Block Size / 4KiB) + 1
For example, if the block size is set to 256KiB, the value for this key
will be (256KiB/4KiB) + 1 = 65. The decimal value will be 65 and the
hexadecimal value will be 0x41. The block size can be set from
64KiB through 1012KiB. The maximum value 255 is internally
converted to 257 to make a block size of 1 MiB (1024 KiB).
On 64-bit systems:
On 64-bit systems, the default OS page size is 8KiB. The formula for
calculating MaximumSGList is:
MaximumSGList = (Maximum Block Size / 8KiB) +1
Therefore, the maximum value of 255 corresponds to a maximum
media block size of 2 MiB.

Reboot the system to apply the changes.

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Table 5. Drive performance options

Option

Description

Drive Transfer Buffer Size The transfer buffer or the shared memory is allocated in blocks of 32KiB.
The default size for this option is 8MiB.
The transfer buffer size can be increased for faster performance. To
calculate the buffer size, use the following formula:
(<Total number of buffers> x 32KiB) + 1 byte
On Linux and UNIX systems, you require sufficient RAM and large Shared
Memory segment. Before increasing the transfer buffer size, check the
following settings on these platforms:

Maximum size of a shared memory segment (SHMMAX)

Minimum size of shared memory segment (SHMMIN)

Maximum number of shared memory identifiers in the system

(SHMMNI)

Maximum number of shared memory segments a user process can

attach (SHMSEG)

Maximum number of semaphore identifiers in the system (SEMMNI)

Maximum number of semaphores in a set (SEMMSL)

Maximum number of semaphores in the system (SEMMNS)

Maximum number of operations per semop call (SEMOPM)

Semaphore maximum value (SEMVMX)

The total allowed shared memory is determined by the formula

SHMMAX * SHMSEG. These values are often limited by the ulimit setting,
and the command ulimit -a can be used to view these system settings.
On Windows, you require at least 2GB RAM and large virtual memory. You
might also have to change the MaximumSGlist setting on the SCSI card.
For examples, see the Optimal transfer buffer size.
Software Data
Compression

To perform software compression, select this check box. The data is

compressed when it is transferred to the device during backup.

Compression Threshold

The value set for this option determines the minimum level of compression
that must be achieved when data is compressed during a backup. For
example, if you set the value to 80%, one of the following occurs:

If the compressed data size is less than 80% of the original data
size, the data is backed up in its compressed form.

If the compressed data size is more than 80% of the original data
size, the data is backed up in its uncompressed form.

If you enter 80%, a file size of a 100MB must be <= 80MB after compression.
If the specified level is not achieved, NetVault Backup backs up the file in
its uncompressed form. The extent that data can be compressed is
dependent on the data contents. Encrypted data cannot be compressed.
With some files, compression may actually result in a file that is larger
than the original uncompressed file.
Compression Data Blocks

Type or select the number of data blocks per compression unit. The default
block size is 8KiB.

Click OK to save the settings and close the dialog box.

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Optimal transfer buffer size

The following table provides examples of the optimal values that can be used for some drives.
Table 6. Optimal transfer buffer size of different drive types
Drive type

Optimal transfer buffer size (in KiB)

Fast Modern Tape Drives

65537 (64MiB + 1KiB)

For example, LTO series, SDLT, and SAIT

Medium Speed Tape Drives

32769 (32MiB + 1KiB)

For example, DLT8000, DLT7000, and AIT-3

Older Professional Tape Drives

16385 (16MiB + 1KiB)

For example, DLT2000, DLT4000, and AIT-2

Older Low Capacity Low-end Drives

8193 (8MiB + 1KiB)

For example, EXB-8505, AIT-1, and DAT

Checking a tape drive

To check the status of an offline tape drive
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, open the library, and then click the applicable drive or the corresponding Manage
Device icon.

Click Check, and then in the confirmation dialog box, click Check again.
If the device is currently operational, its status is changed to Available.

Changing the status of a tape drive

To change the current status to online of offline
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, open the library, and then click the applicable drive or the corresponding Manage
Device icon.

If the device is currently offline, click Online to bring it back online.

If the device is currently online, click Offline to take it offline.

This will mark the device as offline and make it unavailable to NetVault Backup. This process will not
physically take the system offline.

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Configuring automatic cleaning options for a tape

drive
To configure automatic cleaning options for a tape drive
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, open the library, and then click the applicable drive or the corresponding Manage
Device icon.

Click Clean, and in the Drive Cleaning Options dialog box configure the following options.
Table 7. Drive Cleaning Options

Option

Description

Days

To perform drive cleaning after every x days, select the Apply check box to
the left, and type or select the value.

Data Transferred

To perform drive cleaning after every x GiB of data transfer, select the
Apply check box to the left, and type or select the value.

Hours of Use

To perform drive cleaning after every x hour, select the Apply check box to
the left, and type or select the value.

Soft Read/Write Errors

To perform drive cleaning after every x*100 soft read/write errors, select
the Apply check box to the left, and type or select the value.

Click OK to save the settings and close the dialog box.

Manually submitting a drive cleaning job

To manually submit a drive cleaning job
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, open the library, and then click the applicable drive or the corresponding Manage
Device icon.

Click Cleaning.
After the task is completed a message is displayed.

Configuring cleaning slots

To configure cleaning slots for a library
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, open the library, and then click a slot to open the Slot Browser.

In the list of slots, select the applicable slot, and click Set Slot.
The slot must be empty.

In the Slot Settings dialog box, configure the following options.

Table 8. Slot Settings
Option

Description

Set as cleaning slot

Select the check box if the slot will hold a cleaning tape.

Cleaning slot

Type or select the slot number.

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Click OK to save the settings and close the dialog box.

After the dialog box is closed, a message stating Library device needs to be restarted is displayed.

Access the Manage Devices page, and restart the library.

When you open the Slot Browser again, the slot status is set to CLN Slot.

Configuring the cleaning lives option

NOTE: To configure the cleaning lives option, a cleaning tape must be placed in the designated slot.

To configure the cleaning lives for a tape

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, open the library, and then click a slot to open the Slot Browser.

In the list of slots, select the slot containing the cleaning tape, and click Set Cleaning Life.

Type of select the number of cleaning lives. It can be set to any value from 1 through 40. The default
value is 1.

Click OK to save the settings and close the dialog box.

Removing a tape drive

When you remove a tape drive, it does not delete the media information from the NetVault Database. You can
use the media on another drive that supports the media type. Scanning is not be required if you use the media
in the same NetVault Backup domain. In a different NetVault Backup Domain, you must scan the media to access
the backups.

To remove a tape drive

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, open the library, and then click the applicable drive or the corresponding Manage
Device icon.

Click Remove, and then in the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

Labeling a tape
You can manually assign a label to a blank media item, or automatically label it during a backup. The default
label consists of a system-generated string. To use media barcodes as the default labels, see Configuring general
settings for Media Manager.

To label a single tape

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, open the applicable library.

If the tape is currently loaded in a drive, click the applicable drive or the corresponding Manage Device
icon.

If the tape is currently not loaded in a drive, click Slots to open the Slot Browser. In the list of slots,
select the slot that has the tape.

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Click Label, and in the Medial Label dialog box, configure the following options.
Table 9. Labeling a single tape
Option

Description

Label

Specify a label for the tape. The media label can contain alphanumeric
and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot include non-Latin
characters. NetVault Backup does not support a % character in the
string.
There is no length restriction on media and group labels. However, the
combined display range for the media label, barcode and group label is 100
characters. Therefore, a maximum of 40-50 characters is recommended
for the media and group labels.

Group Label

To add the tape to a media group, specify the group label. The group label
can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot
include non-Latin characters. Group labels are case-insensitive.

Offsite Location

Specify the off-site location for the tape.

Click OK to save the settings and close the dialog box.

Blanking a tape
To blank a single tape
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, open the applicable library.

If the tape is currently loaded in a drive, click the applicable drive or the corresponding Manage Device
icon.

If the tape is currently not loaded in a drive, click Slots to open the Slot Browser. In the list of slots,
select the slot that has the tape.

Click Blank, and then in the confirmation dialog box, click OK.
IMPORTANT:

Blanking a piece of media removes the NetVault Backup header from the media. It also deletes the
media label and removes any group association. This makes the media item available to NetVault
Backup for storing future backups.

Blanking deletes or erases the backup data residing on the media item. If it is desired to purposely
destroy the data that is stored on a piece of media, then it should be blanked by NetVault Backup
and have its data securely removed by tools that are designed for such purposes.The bulk blanking
operation removes the indexes for backups stored on the selected media items from the NetVault
Database.

Scanning a foreign tape

A piece of media is marked as foreign if no information for that item is available in the NetVault Database.
This can occur for several reasons, for example, when a piece of media is swapped between libraries, removed
from the NetVault Backup Server, or loaded on a device controlled by another NetVault Backup Server. NetVault
Backup cannot process data stored in a foreign tape until you scan the tape and import the backups and backup
indexes into the NetVault Database. Scanning retrieves the header information from the backup media and adds
it to the NetVault Database. This removes the foreign tag for the tape.

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To scan a foreign tape

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, open the library, and then click the applicable drive or the corresponding Manage
Device icon.

Click Scan.
The scanning process is started, and a message is displayed.
NOTE: Scanning does not read the data on the tape. It skips between the beginning and end of backups to
read the on-tape index for each backup saveset.

Unloading a tape
To unload a tape
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, open the library, and then click the applicable drive or the corresponding Manage
Device icon.

Click Unload.
After unload request is sent successfully, a message is displayed.

Loading a tape
To unload a tape
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Devices.

In the list of devices, open the library, and then click Slots to open the Slot Browser.

In the list of slots, select the slot that has the tape, and click Load.
After the load request is sent successfully, a message is displayed.

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11
Managing storage media

Viewing disk storage details

Viewing tape storage details

Managing tape storage media

Managing savesets

Viewing disk storage details

1

In the Navigation pane, click Explore Storage.

On the Explore Storage page, you can view the following information:

Backup saveset summary This area shows the total backup savesets stored in the disk and tape
storage devices.

Disk storage summary This area shows the total data stored in disk storage devices, amount of
physical space used, and deduplication ratio.

Tape and VTL storage summary This area shows the total data stored in tapes and VTLs,
number of media items used, and number of blank media items in the added libraries.

To view disk storage details, click Explore Disk Storage.

On the Explore Disk Storage page, you can view the repository list. The page displays the following
information:

Repository Name The name of the device, LSU, or storage container.

Type Device type (for example, NetVault SmartDisk, Dell DR Series system, or Data Domain
system).

Record Count Number of data records stored in the device.

Saveset Count Number of savesets stored in the device.

Space Free Amount of space available.

Space Used Amount of space used.

Deduplication ratio The ratio of data before deduplication to the amount of data after
deduplication.

To view the details of a particular repository, select the item in the repository list, and click Explore
Repository.
3

On the Explore Disk Storage Repository page, you can view the following information:

Repository summary This area shows the following information:

Repository name and amount of data stored in the repository.

Physical space used and amount of space available.

Deduplication ratio (move the mouse point over the chart to view details).

Percentage of storage used by various plug-ins (move the mouse point over the chart to
view details).
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Saveset table The Saveset table lists all backups stored in the repository. It shows the saveset
creation date, saveset name, and saveset size.
To filter the saveset list, click Filter Options, and set the filter criteria:

To view savesets created for a particular client, click the Client arrow, and select the
client in the list.

To view savesets created during a particular period, click the Saveset Date arrow, and
select one of the following options: Last 24 hours, Last Week Last Month, Last 6 Months,
Last Year, or Any.

Viewing tape storage details

1

In the Navigation pane, click Explore Storage.

On the Explore Storage page, you can view the following information:

Backup saveset summary This area shows the total backup savesets stored in the disk and tape
storage devices.

Disk storage summary This area shows the total data stored in disk storage devices, amount of
physical space used, and deduplication ratio.

Tape and VTL storage summary This area shows the total data stored in tapes and VTLs,
number of media items used, and number of blank media items in the added libraries.

To view tape storage details, click Explore Tape Storage.

On the Explore Disk Storage page, you can view the media list. The page displays the following
information:

Label Media label.

Group Media group label.

Barcode Media barcode.

Library Name of the library.

Record Count Number of data records stored in the tape.

Saveset Count Number of savesets stored in the tape.

Space Free Amount of space available.

Space Used Amount of space used.

Online Whether the tape is online or not.

To view the details of a particular tape, select the item in the media list, and click Explore Media.
3

On the Explore Disk Storage Repository page, you can view the following information:

Tape summary This area shows the following information:

Media barcode, label, and group label.

Library name, off-site location, media type (disk file or tape).

Amount of data stored and amount of space available.

Whether the tape can be reused or not and number of times the tape has been reused.

Date on which the last write and read operations were performed.

Number of read and write errors.

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Whether the tape is usable.

Whether the tape is marked read-only.

Percentage of storage used by different savesets (move the mouse point over the chart to
view details).

Saveset table The Saveset table lists all backups stored in the repository. It shows the saveset
creation date, saveset name, and saveset size.

Managing tape storage media

This section includes the following topics:

Marking a tape as unusable

Marking a tape as read-only

Scanning a foreign tape

Blanking a tape

Marking a tape for reuse

Marking a tape as unusable

If a piece of media is damaged or not suitable for use, you can mark it as unusable so that it is not selected
for any job.

To mark a tape as unusable

1

In the Navigation pane, click Explore Storage.

Click Explore Tape Storage. In the media list, select the tape, and click Explore Media.

To mark the tape as unusable, click Mark Unusable.

To change this property, select the tape, and click Mark Usable.

Marking a tape as read-only

To mark a tape as read-only
1

In the Navigation pane, click Explore Storage.

Click Explore Tape Storage. In the media list, select the tape, and click Explore Media.

To mark the tape as read-only, click Mark Read Only.

To change this property, select the tape, and click Mark Writable.
IMPORTANT: A piece of media can be marked as read-only to stop further writes if a SCSI error occurs
during a write operation. When this occurs, check for hardware errors. If no tape or media error is found,
set the tape as writable.
NOTE: To write-protect a piece of media, you can also set the Protect Media from Further Writes after
Backup option in the Target Set. For more information, see Configuring media sharing options.

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Scanning a foreign tape

A piece of media is marked as foreign if no information for that item is available in the NetVault Database.
This can occur for several reasons, for example, when a piece of media is swapped between libraries, removed
from the NetVault Backup Server, or loaded on a device controlled by another NetVault Backup Server. NetVault
Backup cannot process data stored in a foreign tape until you scan the tape and import the backups and backup
indexes into the NetVault Database. Scanning retrieves the header information from the backup media and adds
it to the NetVault Database. This removes the foreign tag for the tape.

To scan a foreign tape

1

In the Navigation pane, click Explore Storage.

Click Explore Tape Storage. In the media list, select the tape, and click Explore Media.

Click Scan.
The scanning process is started, and a message is displayed.
NOTE: Scanning does not read the data on the tape. It skips between the beginning and end of backups to
read the on-tape index for each backup saveset.

Blanking a tape
To blank a tape
1

In the Navigation pane, click Explore Storage.

Click Explore Tape Storage. In the media list, select the tape, and click Explore Media.

Click Blank, and then in the confirmation dialog box, click OK.
IMPORTANT:

Blanking a piece of media removes the NetVault Backup header from the media. It also deletes the
media label and removes any group association. This makes the media item available to NetVault
Backup for storing future backups.

Blanking deletes or erases the backup data residing on the media item. If it is desired to purposely
destroy the data that is stored on a piece of media, then it should be blanked by NetVault Backup
and have its data securely removed by tools that are designed for such purposes.The bulk blanking
operation removes the indexes for backups stored on the selected media items from the NetVault
Database.

Marking a tape for reuse

A piece of media is automatically marked for reuse when the last saveset stored on it is retired. You can also set
this property manually. When a piece of media is manually marked for re-use, NetVault Backup retains its media
label and group associations. To reuse such media, you must set the Reuse Media option in the Target Set to one
of the following:

Any

With the same group label as target media

NetVault Backup overwrites any existing data on the media when they are reused.

To manually mark a tape for reuse

1

In the Navigation pane, click Explore Storage.

Click Explore Tape Storage. In the media list, select the tape, and click Explore Media.

Click Reuse, and then in the confirmation dialog box, click OK.
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Managing savesets
This section includes the following topics:

Viewing saveset details

Configuring retirement period for a saveset

Deleting a saveset

Viewing saveset details

To view the details of a saveset
1

In the Navigation pane, click Explore Storage.

If the saveset is stored in a disk-based storage device, click Explore Disk Storage. In the repository list,
select the device, and click Explore Repository.

If the saveset is stored in a physical or virtual tape, click Explore Tape Storage. In the media list, select
the tape, and click Explore Media.

In the saveset list, select the target saveset, and click Examine Saveset.

On the Saveset Information page, you can view the following details:

Job ID, job title, and tag

Server, client, and plug-in name

Saveset creation and retirement date

Whether the saveset is an Incremental Backup

Whether the saveset is an Archive

Saveset size

Click Media list to view the offset, segment position, segment length, and on-tape index information.

Configuring retirement period for a saveset

NetVault Backup supports generation-based and time-based retirement periods for backups. For more
information about these retirement types, see Backup retirement. The retirement period for a new backup can
be specified in the Backup Advanced Options set. For existing savesets, it can be set or changed from the
Manage Media link.

To configure retirement period for a saveset

1

In the Navigation pane, click Explore Storage.

If the saveset is stored in a disk-based storage device, click Explore Disk Storage. In the repository list,
select the device, and click Explore Repository.

If the saveset is stored in a physical or virtual tape, click Explore Tape Storage. In the media list, select
the tape, and click Explore Media.

In the saveset list, select the target saveset, and click Examine Saveset.

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Click Change Expiry, and configure the following settings.

Table 1. Change saveset expiry period
Option

Description

Change Expiry Date

To set time-based retirement period, select this check box, and do one of
the following:

Select the On option, and type or select the date and time in the
respective boxes.
or

Change Generation Cycle

Select the Never option to retain the backup indefinitely.

To set generation-based retirement period, select this check box, and do

one of the following:

Select the Discard after option, and in the associated box, type or
select the number of Full Backups.
or

Select the Never option to retain the backup indefinitely.

Click OK to save the settings.

NOTE: In a time-based retirement period, the time component (HH:MM) does not represent the actual
retirement time. It only represents the time due for backup retirement. The actual time of retirement is
determined by the interval at which Media Manager scans the Media Database to identify backups that are
to be retired. The default interval between two scans is 60 minutes. Therefore, if the retirement time is
set to 10:20, the backup is actually retired at 11:00. To change the default interval for backup retirement
scans, see Configuring default interval for backup retirement scans.

Deleting a saveset
Deleting a saveset essentially involves removing its index from the NetVault Database. You can still scan the
media to import the backup index into the NetVault Database, and use the backup.

To delete a saveset
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Media.

If the saveset is stored in a disk-based storage device, click Explore Disk Storage. In the repository list,
select the device, and click Explore Repository.

If the saveset is stored in a physical or virtual tape, click Explore Tape Storage. In the media list, select
the tape, and click Explore Media.

In the saveset list, select the target saveset, and click Examine Saveset.

Click Remove, and then in the confirmation dialog box, click OK.

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12
Managing user accounts

About user accounts

Creating a user account

Modifying a user account

Deleting a user account

Setting a password policy

User privileges

About user accounts

NetVault Backup allows the system administrator to create one or more user accounts and assign privileges to
perform various tasks. This prevents unauthorized access to the NetVault Server and enables role-based access
restrictions. For example, a user account for the Database Administrator role can be granted privileges to
perform backups and restores of database systems. Similarly, a user account for the network administrator role
can be granted privileges to add and remove storage devices.
There are two predefined user accounts in NetVault Backup:

admin This is the Administrator account for NetVault Backup.

default This is a standard user account that can be used to perform various operations in NetVault
Backup.

The admin and default user accounts are assigned all privileges in NetVault Backup. For more information about
use privileges, see User privileges. These user accounts cannot be deleted. By default, no password is assigned
to the admin and default user accounts. To prevent unauthorized access to the NetVault Server, ensure that a
secure password is assigned to these user accounts.
NOTE: Non-administrator user accounts can only change or reset their passwords.

Creating a user account

To create a user account
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Users.

On the Manage User Accounts page, click Add.

NetVault Backup creates a new user account and assigns the default name New User (or New User
<n> if the default name is in use) to this user.
NOTE: The NetVault Backup Server does not delete the user account if you exit without completing
the user addition procedure. If you do not require the user account, you must delete it manually
from the Manage Users page. For more information, see Deleting a user account.

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Configure the following settings:

Password See Setting user password.

Details See Configuring user details.

Client and media memberships See Configuring client and media group memberships for a user.

Privileges and quotas See Granting privileges and quota to a user account.

Notification Profile See Setting up user notification profile.

Click Done to save the user details.

Setting user password

To set or change password for a user account
1

On the Editing User page, click Password.

To remove the existing password and reset it to blank, select the Reset password to blank check box.
or
To set or change the user password, configure the following options.
Table 1. User password

Item

Description

Current Password

Type the current password for the user account. Leave it blank if no
password is set for the account.

New Password

Type the new password for the user account. The password can contain
alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot include
non-Latin characters. The user password can contain a maximum of 100
characters.

Confirm Password

Re-type the password for confirmation.

Click Done to save the user details, and return to the Editing User page.

Configuring user details

To modify the user name, contact information, and other details
1

On the Editing User page, click Details.

Update the details as described in the following table.

Table 2. User details
Item
Identification

Description

In User Name, type a unique name for the user account. You can
assign a name based on the user group, role, or actual name.
The user name can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric
characters, but it cannot include non-Latin characters. There is no
length restriction, but a maximum of 20 characters is recommended
on all platforms. The following characters are not supported in user
names:
" / \ : ; | * ? < >^

In Real Name, specify the actual name of the user.

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Table 2. User details

Item
Contact Information

Description

In the Email-1, Email-2, and Email-3 boxes, specify the email

addresses for the user account.
The email ID configured in the Email-1 box is used for email
notifications if you set up a notification profile for the user
account. For more information, see Setting up user notification
profile.

Details

In the Workstation, Location, and Description boxes, provide the

workstation details.

Click Done to save the user details, and return to the Editing User page.

Configuring client and media group memberships for

a user
To modify client and media group memberships for a user account
1

On the Editing User page, click Client and media group memberships.

Update the details as described in the following table.

Table 3. User client and media memberships
Item
Client group
memberships

Description

To grant access to all client groups, select the User is a member of

ALL client groups check box. When you select this check box, the
user account is automatically granted access to all new clients and
client groups that are added to the NetVault Backup Server.

To grant access to specific client groups, select the groups in the

Not a member of list, and click Join.
To select consecutive items, hold down the Shift key while clicking
with the mouse button; to select non-consecutive items, hold down
the Ctrl key while clicking with the mouse button.
The selected client groups are moved to the Member of list.

Media group
memberships

To remove a client group, select the group in the Member of list,

and click Leave.

To allow access to a client only when the user is locally logged on to

the client, select the Local access only check box. When you select
this check box, the client cannot be accessed for backups from the
NetVault Backup Server or another NetVault Backup Client.

To grant access to all media groups, select the User is a member of

ALL media groups check box. When you select this check box, the
user account is automatically granted access to all new media
groups that are added to the NetVault Backup Server.

To grant access to specific media groups, select the media groups in

the Not a member of list, and click Join.
To select consecutive items, hold down the Shift key while clicking
with the mouse button; to select non-consecutive items, hold down
the Ctrl key while clicking with the mouse button.
The selected media groups are moved to the Member of list.

To remove a media group, select the group in the Member of list,

and click Leave.

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Click Done to save the group membership information for the user, and return to the Editing User page.

Granting privileges and quota to a user account

To change user privileges and job and media quota for a user account
1

On the Editing User page, click Privileges and Quotas.

Update the details as described in the following table.

Table 4. User privileges and quotas
Item
User Privileges

Media Quota

Description

To grant all privileges to a user account, select the User is granted

ALL privileges check box.

To grant specific privileges, select the privileges in the Denied list,

and click Add. The selected privileges are moved to the Granted
list.

To revoke privileges, select the privilege in the Granted list, and

click Remove.

Infinite To allow access to infinite amount of media, use this

option. It is selected by default.

Up to To assign specific media quota, select this option. Type or

select the amount of media that is available to the user. The usage
quota is specified in terabytes.
When usage reaches the defined quota, the jobs submitted by the
user fail. The media usage amount is calculated from the existing
records in the Media Database. When a saveset is retired, the
amount of media used by it is added to the available pool.

Job Quota

Infinite To allow access to infinite number of jobs, use this option.

It is selected by default.

Up to To assign specific job quota, select this option. Type or

enter the maximum number of jobs the user can perform.
When number of jobs performed by the user reaches the defined
quota, the user is not allowed to submit any other job. The number
of jobs performed by a user is derived from the existing records in
the Scheduler Database. For any deleted job definitions, a user can
submit an equal number of new jobs.

Click Done to save the group membership information for the user, and return to the Editing User page.

Setting up user notification profile

To set up notification profile for a user account
1

On the Editing User page, click Notification Profile.

In the events table, open the event class and event type, and select the notification method that you
want to use.

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Table 5. User notification profile

Item

Description

E-mail

Select this method to send an email notification to the user when the
event occurs. The user notifications are delivered to the email ID
configured in the E-mail-1 box on the User Details page.

Windows Pop-up Message

Select this method to display pop-up messages to the user when the event
occurs. This method is only supported on Windows-based clients. The popup messages are not displayed if a firewall or any other tool is configured
to block such messages. The pop-up message notification method is not
available in the recent versions of Windows.

Click Done to save the user details, and return to the Editing User page.

Modifying a user account

To modify a user account
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Users.

On the Manage User Accounts page, select the user account, and click Edit.

Configure the following settings:

Password See Setting user password.

Details See Configuring user details.

Client and media memberships See Configuring client and media group memberships for a user.

Privileges and quotas See Granting privileges and quota to a user account.

Notification Profile See Setting up user notification profile.

Click Done to save the user details.

Deleting a user account

To delete a user account
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Users.

On the Manage User Accounts page, select the user account that you want to remove, and click Delete.

In the confirmation dialog box, click Remove to remove the user account from the NetVault Backup
Server.

Setting a password policy

The password policy defines the maximum age for a user password and applies globally to all NetVault Backup
users.

To set a password policy

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Users.

On the Manage User Accounts page, click Set Password Policy.

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On the Set Password Policy page, provide the following information:

Select the Passwords expire after check box, and type or select the maximum number of days a
password can be used before the user is required to change it.

Select the Display reminder check box, and type or select the number of days before NetVault
Backup notifies the users to change their password. The message is displayed immediately after
the users log on to NetVault Backup.

Click Done to save the password policy.

User privileges
The following table provides a brief description of the user privileges in NetVault Backup.
Table 6. User privileges in NetVault Backup
Privilege

Description

Clients Add/remove clients

Permission to add and remove NetVault Backup Clients.

Clients Add/remove virtual/clustered

clients

Permission to add and remove virtual clients.

Clients Administer client groups

Permission to create, modify, and delete client groups.

Clients Configure client

Permission to configure clients.

Clients Get client properties

Permission to view client properties.

Clients Set firewall relationship

Permission to set firewall relationship between the NetVault Backup

Server and Client.

Devices Add Random Access Store

Permission to add NetVault SmartDisks.

Devices Add libraries

Permission to add tape libraries to the NetVault Backup Server.

Devices Add simple drives

Permission to add standalone drives to the NetVault Backup Server.

Devices Clean drives

Permission to run the Clean command for a drive.

Devices Manage devices

Permission to perform device management tasks.

Devices Open and close entry/exit ports Permission to issue commands to open or close the entry/exit ports.
Devices Open and close library doors

Permission to issue commands to open or close the library doors.

Devices Perform device checks

Permission to run check off-line devices.

Devices Reconfigure devices

Permission to reconfigure added devices.

Devices Remove devices

Permission to remove devices from the NetVault Backup Server.

Devices Set drive cleaning properties

Permission to set the drive cleaning options.

Jobs Abort jobs

Permission to abort active jobs.

Jobs Acknowledge policy errors

Permission to acknowledge policy errors and remove the error flags.

Jobs Administer backup/restore sets

Permission to create, modify, and delete NetVault Backup Sets.

Jobs Administer policies

Permission to create and manage backup policies.

Jobs Delete job

Permission to delete NetVault Backup jobs.

Jobs Delete scheduled phase

Permission to delete scheduled jobs.

Jobs Hold job

Permission to place jobs on hold.

Jobs Jobs owned by this user may run

Permission to submit and run NetVault Backup jobs.

Jobs Quiesce policy

Permission to place backup policies in quiesced state.

Jobs Restart job

Permission to restart Plug-in for FileSystem backups.

Jobs Resume job

Permission to resume jobs placed on hold.

Jobs Run predefined jobs instantly

Permission to issue the Run Now command.

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Table 6. User privileges in NetVault Backup

Privilege

Description

Jobs Stop

Permission to stop active Plug-in for FileSystem backups.

Jobs Submit/update backup Jobs

Permission to submit and modify backup jobs.

Jobs Submit/update restore Jobs

Permission to submit and modify restore jobs.

Jobs View backup jobs

Permission to view the job definitions for backup jobs.

Jobs View policies

Permission to view the policy definitions.

Jobs View restore jobs

Permission to view the job definitions for restore jobs.

Media Blank ANSI media

Permission to blank ANSI media.

Media Blank bad media

Permission to blank a bad media.

Media Blank media

Permission to blank media.

Media Blank non-NetVault media

Permission to blank non-NetVault media.

Media Export media

Permission to export media to entry/exit port.

Media Get media or device item status

Permission to view device and media status.

Media Import media

Permission to import NetApp VTLs shadow tapes.

Media List media

Permission to view media list.

Media Load/unload media from drives

Permission to load and unload media from drives.

Media Manage media requests

Permission to change media request priority and place media

request on hold.

Media Mark media for re-use

Permission to manually mark media for reuse.

Media Modify backup expiry data

Permission to modify the retirement period for backups.

Media Remove media

Permission to remove media information from the NetVault

Database.

Media Scan foreign media

Permission to scan foreign media items and import backups residing

on them.

Media View and diagnose media

requests

Permission to view and diagnose Media requests.

Media View backup expiry data

Permission to view the retirement period for backups.

Media View media properties

Permission to view media properties.

Media Write media labels

Permission to perform individual and bulk media labeling

operations.

Reports Modify/edit report Jobs

and components

Permission to create and modify user-defined reports and report

components.

Reports View and run reports

Permission to generate and view reports.

System Change global notification

Permission to set up global notification profile for NetVault Backup.

profile
System Dump log entries

Permission to export log message to binary or text files.

System Install/remove software

Permission to install and remove NetVault Backup plug-ins.

packages
System Install license key

Permission to install product license keys.

System Manage operator message

Permission to acknowledge or delete operator messages for

NetVault Backup events.

System Permitted to use CLI tools

Permission to use the CLI utilities.

System Purge log entries

Permission to delete log messages from the NetVault Database.

System Administer user accounts

Permission to create, modify or delete user accounts.

System Reset password for user

Permission to reset password for user accounts.

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13
Monitoring events and configuring
notifications

About NetVault Backup events

Viewing event logs

Setting event log filter

Using global notification method

Using custom notification methods

About NetVault Backup events

An event can be described as any significant occurrence in the NetVault Backup system. These can include jobrelated or non-job-related occurrences in NetVault Backup. Events can indicate a problem that requires your
response or a condition that you want to be notified about. Event logs can be used to track activities or respond
to problems or errors reported by the system. You can view these logs from the View Events page.

Event classes
NetVault Backup events are organized into the following categories or classes.
Table 1. Event classes

Audit

Licensing

Media Database

BakBone Time

Log Daemon

Policy

Device

Machines

Scheduler Database

Job

Media

Stats Collection

Each category or class includes one or more event types. The event types are listed in the following section.

Events types
The following table provides a brief description of the event types available in various event classes.
Table 2. Events types
Event class

Event type

Description

Audit

Failed to Update Audit File

Occurs when NetVault Backup is unable to update the audit

trail.

Update Session Map Failed

Occurs when NetVault Backup is unable to update the session

owner mapping file.

No Time Source

Occurs when a BakBone Time Server is not configured for the

Domain.

BakBone Time

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Table 2. Events types

Event class

Device

Job

Event type

Description

Server Time Inconsistency

Occurs when BakBone Time on two or more controlling servers

do not match. This is applicable only when a client is added to
two or more NetVault Backup Servers.

Server Time Unknown

Occurs when the Time Server is unable to fetch BakBone Time

from the Source.

Time Server Changed

Occurs when the Time Server is changed for a NetVault Backup

Domain.

Time Server Not Responding

Occurs when the Time Server is not responding to a time

request.

Time Server Removed

Occurs when the Time Server is removed from the NetVault

Backup Domain.

Check

Occurs when a request is received to check a device.

Check Serial Number of

Drive

Occurs when a request is received to check the serial number

of a drive.

Check Serial Number of All

Drives

Occurs when a request is received to check the serial numbers

of all drives.

Close Door

Occurs when a request is received to close a library door

Close EEPort

Occurs when a request is received to close an entry/exit port.

Close EEPort Clean

Occurs when a request is received to close an entry/exit port

containing cleaning media.

Device Forced Offline

Occurs when the offline command is selected for a device.

Device Gone Offline

Occurs when a device becomes offline.

Drive Unavailable

Occurs when a drive becomes offline.

Library Gone Offline

Occurs when a library becomes offline.

Library Scan Completed

Occurs when a media scan request is completed.

Map

Occurs when an ACSLS drive is mapped.

No Suitable Drive

Occurs when NetVault Backup is unable to find a suitable drive

to run a backup or restore job.

Open Door

Occurs when a request is received to open a library door.

Open EEPort

Occurs when a request is received to open an entry/exit port.

Reconfigure Device

Occurs when a device is modified.

Remove

Occurs when a device is removed.

Restart Library

Occurs when a library is restarted.

Synchronize Silo Media

Occurs when silo media items are synchronized.

Unmap

Occurs when an ACSLS drive is un-mapped.

Update Serial Number of

Drive

Occurs when a request is received to update the serial

number of a drive.

Update Serial Number of all

Drives

Occurs when a request is received to update the serial

number of all drives.

All Job Retries Failed

Occurs when all retry attempts for a job have failed.

Job Abort Requested

Occurs when a request is received to abort a job.

Job Aborted

Occurs when a job is aborted.

Job Completed Successfully

Occurs when a job completes successfully.

Job Completed with

Warnings

Occurs when a job completes with warnings.

Job Created

Occurs when a job is created.

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Table 2. Events types

Event class

Event type

Description

Job Deleted

Occurs when a job is deleted.

Job Died

Occurs when a job terminates unexpectedly.

Job Failed

Occurs when a job fails.

Job Finished

Occurs when a job is completed.

Job Hold

Occurs when a job is put on hold.

Job Modified

Occurs when a job is modified.

Job Phase Starting

Occurs when phase 1 or phase 2 starts for a job.

Job Resume

Occurs when a job that was placed on hold is resumed.

Job Retry Scheduled

Occurs when a job is rescheduled after a failed attempt.

Job Run Now

Occurs when a job is submitted to run immediately.

Job Scheduled

Occurs when a job is submitted.

Job Stop Requested

Occurs when a request is received to stop a job.

Job Stopped

Occurs when a job is stopped.

Scheduled Phase Deleted

Occurs when a scheduled phase is deleted for a job.

Set Created

Occurs when a set is created.

Set Deleted

Occurs when a set is deleted.

Set Modified

Occurs when a set is modified.

License Exceeded

Occurs when usage exceeds the available licenses.

License Expiring

Occurs when the evaluation license is nearing expiry or has

expired. This event occurs when the validity period for the
evaluation license is less than or equal to 7 days.

Log Daemon

Home Drive Becoming Full

Occurs when disk space usage reaches warning or critical

threshold.

Machines

Client Added

Occurs when a NetVault Backup Client is added to the domain.

Client Down

Occurs when a NetVault Backup Client becomes offline.

Client Group Created

Occurs when a client group is created.

Client Group Deleted

Occurs when a client group is deleted.

Client Group Modified

Occurs when a client group is modified.

Client Group Renamed

Occurs when a client group is renamed.

Client Removed

Occurs when a client is removed.

Virtual Client Added

Occurs when a cluster-aware plug-in is installed on the server.

For more information about virtual clients and cluster-aware
plug-ins, see Working with client clusters.

Virtual Client Removed

Occurs when a cluster-aware plug-in is removed. For more

information about virtual clients and cluster-aware plug-ins,
see Working with client clusters.

Workstation Client Added

Occurs when a Workstation Client is added to the NetVault

Backup Server.

Blank

Occurs when a request is received to blank a piece of media.

Licensing

Media

Delete Group

Occurs when a media group is deleted.

Delete Job Instance

Occurs when a job instance is deleted.

Export

Occurs when a piece of media is exported to an entry/exit

port.

Import

Occurs when a request is received to import a piece of media.

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Table 2. Events types

Event class

Event type

Description

Import Clean

Occurs when a request is received to import a cleaning media

item.

Label

Occurs when a label is assigned to a piece of media.

Load

Occurs when a piece of media is loaded into a drive.

Media Blanked

Occurs when a piece of media is blanked.

Media Deleted

Occurs when a piece of media is removed from the NetVault

Database.

Medial Full

Occurs when a piece of media becomes full.

Media Labelled

Occurs when a media label request is completed.

Medial Loaded

Occurs when a media load request is completed.

Media Marked Bad

Occurs when a piece of media is marked bad.

Media Request Change

Priority

Occurs when a media request priority is changed.

Media Request Timeout

Expired

Occurs when a media request has timed out for a backup job;
this occurs when NetVault Backup is unable to find suitable
media within the specified timeout interval.

Media Suspect

Occurs when a piece of media is marked suspect.

Media Unexpectedly BLANK

Occurs when a piece of media is found to be unexpectedly

BLANK when it is selected for use.

Media Unloaded

Occurs when a piece of media is unloaded.

Media Unusable

Occurs when a piece of media is rejected by a drive.

No Suitable Media

Occurs when NetVault Backup is unable to find a suitable

media to complete the backup job.

Request Off Hold

Occurs when a media request is taken off hold.

Request On Hold

Occurs when a media request is placed on hold.

Reuse

Occurs when a piece of media is marked for re-use.

Scan Request

Occurs when a request is received to scan a foreign media.

Unload

Occurs when a piece of media is unloaded.

Update Properties

Occurs when media properties are modified.

Media Database Backup Retired

Occurs when a saveset is retired and its information is deleted

from the NetVault Database.

Index Compressed

Occurs when a backup index is compressed.

Index Compression Failure

Occurs when NetVault Backup fails to decompress a backup

index due to insufficient disk space.

Index Loaded

Occurs when an offline index is temporarily loaded.

Index Offlined

Occurs when the backup index for a saveset is deleted from

the NetVault Database.

Index Offlining Failure

Occurs when NetVault Backup fails to delete the backup index

for a saveset from the database.

Index Read Failure

Occurs when NetVault Backup fails to read the index for a

saveset.

Index Uncompressed

Occurs when a backup index is de-compressed.

Media Database Check Failed Occurs when the database integrity or reference check fails
for the Media Database.

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Table 2. Events types

Event class

Policy

Scheduler
Database

Event type

Description

Media Database Check

Passed

Occurs when the Media Database check completes

successfully.

Media Database Check

Passed with Warnings

Occurs when the Media Database check generates warnings.

Media Database Compacted

Occurs when the database compact action is completed

successfully for the Media Database.

Media Database Compaction

Failed

Occurs when the database compact action fails for the Media
Database.

Modify Backup Expiry

Occurs when the retirement period is modified for a saveset.

Policy Branch Errors

Acknowledged

Occurs when policy branch errors or warnings are

acknowledged.

Policy Created

Occurs when a policy is created.

Policy Deleted

Occurs when a policy is deleted.

Policy Errors Acknowledged

Occurs when policy errors or warnings are acknowledged.

Policy Modified

Occurs when a policy is modified.

Policy Quiesce

Occurs when a request is received to quiesce a policy.

Policy Quiesced

Occurs when a policy is placed in a quiesced state.

Scheduler Database Check

Failed

Occurs when the database integrity or reference check fails

for the scheduler database.

Scheduler Database Check

Passed

Occurs when the Scheduler Database check is completed

successfully.

Scheduler Database Check

Passed with Warnings

Occurs when the Scheduler Database check generates

warnings.

Scheduler Database
Compacted

Occurs when the database compact action is completed

successfully for the Scheduler Database.

Scheduler Database
Compaction Failed

Occurs when the database compact action fails for the

Scheduler Database.

Stats Collection Cache Too Small

Occurs when cache memory is running low for the Statistics

Manager; this would result in the process running slowly.

Cannot Accept Records

Occurs when the Statistics Manager refuses to accept data

from other processes.

Lost Server

Occurs when the Statistics Manager discards the I/O data

collected for a server on polling timeout.

Stats Manager Ready

Occurs when NetVault Backup starts the Statistics Manager.

Viewing event logs

To view events
1

In the Navigation pane, click View Events.

On the View Events page, you can view the following information:

Date Date and time when the event was raised

Class Event class

Event Event type

Message Detailed log message or description

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To sort the logs by any column, click the heading of the column. The arrowhead next to the column
header name indicates the sort order (up for ascending order and down for descending). To reverse the
sort order, click the column heading again.
By default, the logs are sorted by Date.

To stop or resume live updates, click the Pause/Resume button

To perform a logs-related task, click the corresponding button in the Operations pane. Alternatively,
click a link in the Navigation pane to open another page.

Setting event log filter

To set event filters
1

In the Navigation pane, click View Events.

On the View Events page, click Filter.

In the Set Event Filter dialog box, configure the settings that you want to use.
Table 3. Log filter options
Filter option

Description

From

Select one of the following options:

First Event To start from the first event, select this option.
or

Specific Time To start from specific date and time, select this
option, and do the following:
Type the start date, or click the calendar button, and select the
start date.
Type the start time, or click the button next to the box, and select
the start time.

To

Select one of the following options:

Last Event To list up to the last event, select this option.

Specific Time To list up to specific date and time, select this

option, and do the following:

or

Type the start date, or click the calendar button, and select the
start date.
Type the start time, or click the button next to the box, and select
the start time.
Classes

By default, all event classes are selected. To remove log messages for a
particular category, clear the check box for it.

Only display event

containing text

To display log messages that contain a particular string, type the filter
string.

Click Filter to set the filter, and close the dialog box.

To clear the filter settings, click Clear Filter on the View Events page.

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Using global notification method

About global notification methods
NetVault Backup events can be notified using the following methods:

Sysop Email Send an email notification to the Administrator when the event occurs.

Print Report Generate a report when the event occurs.

Run a Job Run a job when the event occurs.

SNMP Trap Send a message to the configured network manager host when the event occurs. The Simple
Network Management Protocol (SNMP) provides a means to monitor and control the network devices on
TCP/IP-based networks. An SNMP trap is a notification (message) sent from a managed device to the
network management host when a significant event occurs. The event need not necessarily be an
outage, a fault, or a security violation. The SNMP Trap method allows the administrator to monitor the
NetVault Backup events from an SNMP-based network management interface as a part of the network
management operations.

Setting up a global notification method

To set up a global notification method
1

In the Navigation pane, click Configure Notifications.

On the Editing Global Notification Profile page, open the event class, and then open the event type that
you want to be notified about.

Select the notification method that you want to use. NetVault Backup offers the following global
notification methods:
Table 4. Setting up global notification method
Notification method

Description

Sysop Email

Select this method to send an email notification to the Administrator

(Sysop) when the event occurs.
To use this method, you must configure the following the settings:

Mail server details

SysOp email ID

For more information, see Configuring global notification settings

Print Report

Select this method to generate a report when the event occurs.

To use this method on Windows-based machines, you must do one of the
following:

Configure a default printer. For more information, see Configuring

global notification settings.
This printer is used for all event types.

Alternatively, set the NVPRINTER variable in the Notification

method box:
NVPRINTER=<Printer URL>
The configured printer is used for an individual event.

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Table 4. Setting up global notification method

Notification method

Description

Run a Job

Select this method to run a NetVault Backup job when the event occurs.
To use this method, you must do the following:

Create the job that you want to run when the event occurs
Set the JOBID variable in the Notification method box:
JOBID=<Job ID for the job that you want to run>

SNMP Trap

Select this method to send a message to the configured network manager

host when the event occurs.
To enable SNMP traps, you must do the following:

Copy the file nvnotifications.mib to the .mib files directory on

the host system running the network management software. The
.mib (Management Information Base) file describes the format of
SNMP Traps sent by NetVault Backup. You can find
nvnotifications.mib in <NetVault Backup home>\etc on Windows
and <NetVault Backup home>/etc on Linux. For more information
about the location of the .mib files on the host, refer to the
relevant network management software documentation.

Configure the Network Manager Host address and authentication.

For more information, see Configuring global notification settings.

Click Save to save the global notification profile.

Using custom notification methods

About custom notification methods
Custom Notification Methods are created using external scripts, and typically used to perform some task when
an event occurs in the NetVault Backup system.
The script file contains a header and body. The header specifies the script name and provides a brief description
about the script. The script body contains the commands. You can use any text editor to create the script file.
After creating the script, save it in the global subdirectory in the scripts directory (<NetVault Backup
home>\scripts\global on Windows and <NetVault Backup home>/scripts/global on Linux).
Only users with good knowledge of scripting using NetVault Backup executable files and environmental variables
should use this feature.

Creating a custom notification method

To create a custom notification method
1

Open a new script file in a text editor.

Create the script header:

Specify the method name on the first line. Enclose the name within the NVNAMESTART and
NVNAMEEND tags.
On Linux and UNIX platforms, specify the interpreter name on the first line of the script (for
example, #!\bin\sh).

To include a description about the script, enclose the text within the NVCOMMENTSTART and
NVCOMMENTEND tags. You can use multiple lines of text. Script description is optional.
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Begin each header line with a REM tag on Windows and the # character on Linux and UNIX to
mark the line as a comment.
Example (Windows):
REM NVNAMESTART My Custom MethodNVNAMEEND
REM NVCOMMENTSTART Start a new
REM occurrence of this event.
REM NVCOMMENTEND

Create the script body and specify the syntax for the commands. You can open the NetVault Backup
scripts in the util directory using any text editor to view the proper structure and use them as a template
for custom scripts.
To use NetVault Backup scripts residing in the scripts directory, provide the complete path:

Windows %NVHOME%\scripts\<command>

Linux and UNIX $NVHOME/scripts/<command>

Ensure the script has a valid exit status.

4

Save the script. On Windows, assign .bat extension and save the file in <NetVault Backup
home>\scripts\global. On Linux, assign .sh extension and save the file in <NetVault Backup
home>/scripts/global.

Setting up a custom notification method

To set a custom notification method
1

In the Navigation pane, click Configure Notifications.

On the Editing Global Notification Profile page, open the event class, and then open the event type that
you want to be notified about.

Select the custom notification method.

In the Notification Method box, set the environment variables:

To specify multiple arguments, you can use a Comma (,), Carriage Return (CR), or Line Feed
(LF) as a delimiter.
Example: Comma as a delimiter
ARG0=NVTEST.NV_Test_SP_v2, ARG1=1, ARG2=NETVAULT, ARG3=NVRelease, ARG4=1,
ARG5=1, ARG6=p_return_msg, ARG7=p_status
Example: CR or LF (that is, a new line) as a delimiter
ARG0=NVTEST.NV_Test_SP_v2
ARG1=1
...
ARG7=p_status

To include special characters in the value string, use the Exclamation Mark (!) escape
character:

To specify Comma (,) in the value string, enter !,

To specify Exclamation Mark (!) in the value string, enter !!

To specify Equals (=) in the value string, enter !=

You cannot use Escape characters in the name string.

5

Click Save to save the global notification profile.

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14
Using canned reports

About canned reports

Generating a canned report

Available canned reports

About canned reports

Canned reports are predefined reports that provide information about the backup and restore jobs, storage
devices, clients, media utilization, and other aspects of NetVault Backup. These reports use built-in template
files that determine the content, layout, and format of the report. The report templates are stored in <NetVault
Backup home>\reports\templates on Windows <NetVault Backup home>/reports/templates on Linux.
You can generate and view the canned in the following formats:

HTML

Text

Comma Separated Value (CSV)

The reporting functionality is integrated with the event notification system. This allows you to set up global or
user-specific notification methods for report jobs, and receive notification when the job completes successfully,
fails, or meets the specified conditions. You can use this feature to send reports as email attachments to the
Administrator and other NetVault Backup users.

Generating a canned report

To generate a canned report
1

In the Navigation pane, click View Reports.

On the View Reports page, select the report.

To run the report, click Run & View.

To change the job definition, click Edit Report, and configure the following settings.
Table 1. Edit report job definition
Option

Description

Schedule

Select an existing Schedule Set. The predefined set Immediate is

selected by default. To run the job as soon as it is submitted, use this set.
To create a new set, click Create New, and configure the schedule type
and schedule method. For more information, see Creating a Schedule Set.

Report Completed Event

Specify the event that you want to raise when the job completes
successfully.

Report Failure Event

Specify the event that you want to raise when the job fails.

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Click Save, and in the Save Report Job dialog box, click OK.
To receive a notification when the event occurs, set up a notification method. For more information, see
Setting up a global notification method.
5

To raise the associated events and receive a notification, click Run and Notify.

If the report uses any filters (for example, Start and End Dates, or Job ID), the Set filters for report
dialog box is displayed next; specify the filter values, and click OK.

The report is displayed in a new browser window.

Available canned reports

NetVault Backup offers the following types of canned reports.
Table 2. Canned reports
Report title

Description

Client Groups

Lists all client groups.

Client Statuses

Displays the current status of clients.

Data Stored By Client

Displays client-wise list summary of backups performed during the

specified period. The report includes client name, transfer size, start
date, start time, end date, end time, run length, and plug-in name.

Disk Storage Devices General

Lists NetVault SmartDisks added to the server. The report includes the
device ID, device name, host name, status and the disk space statistics.

Expired Offline Media

Provides a summary of retired offline media that can be reused.

Failed ULA Requests

Provides a summary of failed user requests for the specified period.

Full Online Storage

Lists online storage devices that are full.

Global Notifications

Lists events that are included in the global notification profile.

Historic Jobs - by date

Displays date-wise summary of jobs performed during the specified period.

The report includes job ID, transfer size, run length, job completion status
and other details.

Historic Jobs - by size

Displays size-wise summary of jobs performed during the specified period.

The report includes job ID, transfer size, run length, job completion status
and other details.

Historic Jobs Duration by date

Displays date-wise summary of jobs performed during the specified period.

You can use this report to filter jobs based on the run length. The report
includes start date, start time, run length, job ID, instance Id, transfer
size, and other details

Historic Jobs Encrypted by date

Provides date-wise summary of encrypted primary or secondary backups

performed during the specified period. The report includes start time,
start date, run length, job title, job ID, instance ID, client name, selection
set, transfer size, exit status, enable encryption, and encrypt secondary
copy. The reports does not list jobs performed without encryption.

Historic Jobs Encrypted by size

Provides size-wise summary of encrypted primary or secondary backups

performed during the specified period. The report includes start time,
start date, run length, job title, job ID, instance ID, client name, selection
set, transfer size, exit status, enable encryption, and encrypt secondary
copy. The reports does not list jobs performed without encryption.

Historic Jobs Failed by date

Provides date-wise summary of jobs that failed during the specified

period. The report includes start time, start date, run time, job title, job
ID, instance ID, client name, selection set name, transfer size, and exit
status.

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Table 2. Canned reports

Report title

Description

Historic Jobs Successful by date

Provides date-wise summary of jobs that completed successfully during the

specified period. The report includes start time, start date, run time, job
title, job ID, instance ID, client name, selection set name, transfer size,
and exit status.

Historic Jobs Warnings by date

Provides date-wise summary of jobs that completed with warnings during

the specified period. The report includes start time, start date, run time,
job title, job ID, instance ID, client name, selection set name, transfer
size, and exit status.

Library Contents

Displays a summary of online media items. The report includes the current
location (whether a piece of media is in a drive or slot in a library), used
space and available space on the media.

Media General

Provides a summary of used media items. The report includes the current
location, used and available space, saveset expiry date, and other details.

Media Quotas and Usage

Provides a summary of used and assigned media quota for each user.

Monthly Job Summary

Provides a summary of jobs performed during the given month. The report
shows amount of data, number of jobs that completed successfully,
number of jobs that failed, and number of jobs that completed with
warnings. Additionally, the report shows the details of active jobs and the
jobs that failed during the period.

NDMP Jobs

Displays a summary of NDMP filer backups. The report includes Job ID,
title, start time, run length, client name, transfer size and the job
completion status.

NetVault Error Logs

Lists error log messages generated during the specified period.

NetVault Events

Lists events raised during the specified period.

NetVault Logs

Displays system log messages generated during the specified period. The
report includes job ID, event class, warning level, time, date, client, and
message.

NetVault Logs - Most Recent

Displays system log messages generated during the specified period.

The report only reads logs for recent two days from the NetVault Database.
This vastly improves the time taken to generate the report and amount of
system memory used while generating it. The report includes job ID, event
class, warning level, time, date, client, and message.

Offline Devices

Lists devices that are currently offline.

Outstanding Operator Messages

Lists operator messages that have not been acknowledged.

Overnight Duplication Job

Summary

Provides a summary of overnight duplication jobs. The report includes the

total amount of data written, the number of successful jobs, failed jobs
and jobs completed with warnings

Overnight Job Summary

Provides a summary of overnight jobs. The report includes the total

amount of data written, the number of successful jobs, failed jobs and
jobs completed with warnings.

Policies Summary

Provides a summary of policy backups performed during the specified

period. The report includes policy name, number of clients and jobs
included in the policy, policy status, list of clients, number of failed jobs,
number of jobs completed with warnings, and details of failed jobs.

Restore Summary

Provides a summary of restore jobs. The report includes job ID, target
client, job completion status, and other details.

Server License - Capabilities and

Usage

Displays available and used licenses for NetVault Backup.

Single Job Summary

Displays job details, drive events, media transfer details, logs, and media
used for a single job.

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Table 2. Canned reports

Report title

Description

Single Policy Summary

Displays policy status, target clients, job details, number of failed jobs,
transfer size, and transfer rate for a single policy.

Single User's Audit Trail

Displays the audit trail generated for a particular user. The output can be
further filtered for a specific period.

Storage Contents Query

Provides a summary of data stored on individual media items and NetVault

SmartDisks. The report includes job title, plug-in name, saveset expiry
date, and other details. The filter criteria include client name, media
label, media group, job title, plug-in name.

Storage Segment Contents Query

Provides a summary of data stored on each segment. The report includes

plug-in name, job title, client name, and other details.

Storage Utilization

Displays the storage utilization statistics for devices controlled by the

NetVault Backup Server. The report includes a summary of used media,
count of blank media items, and storage space statistics for NetVault
SmartDisks.

Storage Utilization RAS

Displays the storage utilization statistics for disk-based storage devices.

The report shows device name, media group, space used, space available,
and other details.

User Details

Displays the details of NetVault Backup users.

User Notifications

Lists all events that have been included in any user notification profile.

User Privileges

Lists privileges granted to individual users.

User-Defined Event Types

Lists all user-defined events.

Weekly Job Summary

Provides a summary of jobs performed during the given week. The report
shows number of jobs that completed successfully, number of jobs that
failed, and number of jobs that completed with warnings. Additionally, the
report shows the details of active jobs and the jobs that failed during the
period.

Workstation Client failed jobs

Lists all failed backups jobs for Workstation Clients.

Workstation Client Jobs by client Displays client-wise summary of Workstation Client backup jobs.
Workstation Client Jobs - by date

Displays date-wise summary of Workstation Client backup jobs (latest

first).

Workstation Client successful jobs Lists all successful backup jobs for Workstation Clients.
Workstation Client Inactive for a
Week

Lists Workstation Clients that have not had a backup attempted for more
than seven (7) days. This report can be used to determine which
Workstation Clients have not connected to the network where the NetVault
Backup Server resides long enough for a backup to occur. It helps you to
identify the workstation data that may be at risk by not being protected
for long-term retention or disaster recovery.

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Additional notes
Unknown values in the Storage Contents Query and Storage Segment Contents
Query reports

In the Storage Contents Query and Storage Segment Contents Quety reports, the following columns are
not applicable to NetVault SmartDisks. These fields are displayed as Unknown in the entries related to
NetVault SmartDisks.
Table 3. Storage contents reports Columns not applicable to NetVault SmartDisks

Barcode

Library ID

Media expiry date

Media ID
(NetVault SmartDisks use Device ID)

Media expiry time

Segments

Write errors

Space used

Read errors

Space Left

Media type

(NetVault SmartDisks use Total Space Available)

Data Written
(NetVault SmartDisks use Transfer Size)

Format

Data Read
(NetVault SmartDisks use Transfer Size)

The following fields are not related to individual segments or media items. Their values remain the same
for all segment entries for NetVault SmartDisks:

Space Used in Staging (displays 0B if deduplication is enabled)

Space Used by Dedupe Store

Total Space Available

When you select the Delete Auto-Generated Backup Jobs on Completion option for the Plug-in for
NDMP backups, the plug-in deletes all the subjob details from the NetVault Database, including the
transfer statistics for the jobs. As a result, the following fields are displayed as Unknown in the entries
related to these backups.
Table 4. Storage contents reports Columns not applicable to NetVault SmartDisks

Start date

Transfer size

Start time

Transfer rate

End date

Exit status

End time

For job type

Backup type

Type

Filer

Run length

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15
Working with client clusters

About client cluster support

Installing a cluster-aware plug-in

Configuring a cluster-aware plug-in

Modifying a virtual client

Removing a virtual client

Backing up data using a cluster-aware plug-in

Restoring data using a cluster-aware plug-in

Viewing logs and job status

About client cluster support

NetVault Backup offers cluster-aware versions of various plug-ins that enable data protection for the distributed
data. These plug-ins require Cluster Support License Keys. The cluster nodes are grouped together into a Virtual
Client on which the cluster-aware plug-in is installed. The backups and restores of cluster nodes are performed
through the virtual client.
The following table lists the NetVault Backup plug-ins that can be used in a cluster setup.
Table 1. Cluster-aware NetVault Backup Plug-ins
Plug-in

Description

Dell NetVault Backup Plug-in for FileSystem

This plug-in is shipped with the NetVault Backup software and

can be used to back up the shared file system data on the
following platforms:

Windows Server Clusters

Linux Clusters

Sun Clusters (Solaris SPARC)

For more information about the supported cluster software

versions, refer to the NetVault Backup Compatibility Guide. You
can download this guide from
https://support.software.dell.com/.
A default installation of NetVault Backup does not require
licensing of its native Plug-in for FileSystem. However, to use
this plug-in a cluster setup, a File System Cluster Support
license key is required.
Dell NetVault Backup Plug-in for Exchange

This plug-in can be deployed in an Exchange Server Single Copy

Cluster (SCC)/Failover Cluster or Cluster Continuous
Replication (CCR) setup to back up the distributed Exchange
Server data. For more information, refer to the Dell NetVault
Backup Plug-in for Exchange Users Guide.

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Table 1. Cluster-aware NetVault Backup Plug-ins

Plug-in

Description

Dell NetVault Backup Plug-in for Oracle

This plug-in can be used in Oracle's Real Application Clusters

(RAC) setup to back up the distributed Oracle database. For
more information, refer to the Dell NetVault Backup Plug-in for
Oracle Users Guide.

Dell NetVault Backup Plug-in for SQL Server

This plug-in can be used in an SQL Server Failover Cluster setup

to back up the distributed SQL Server database. For more
information, refer to the Dell NetVault Backup Plug-in for SQL
Server Users Guide.

Virtual clients
A virtual client is created when you install a cluster-aware plug-in. All nodes in a cluster are grouped together
to form a virtual client.
A virtual client is managed like any other NetVault Backup Client. It can be browsed and added to client groups
and policies, granted user access, and included in reports. The NetVault Backup Server administers the creation
and configuration of a virtual client. The cluster-aware version of the plug-in runs locally on the cluster nodes
and the data is processed locally. A cluster node configured as a SmartClient sends data directly to the locally
attached storage device.

Configuring tape devices in cluster environment

In a cluster setup, a backup device can be connected in different ways. This section describes the pros and cons
of some of the device configuration methods.

Connecting a device to the NetVault Backup Server or Client This type of configuration allows the
control of a robotic arm. However, during backups and restores, the data is transferred over the
network.

Sharing drives A derivative of the previous method can be used by connecting the physical library to
the NetVault Backup Server, thus, giving it the control of the robotic arm, and sharing the drive with the
cluster nodes. This allows the control of the robotic arm and at the same time enables local data
transfers.
This configuration offers high drive availability. With all cluster nodes sharing the control of drives, the
drives are always available. However, the cluster node that currently controls the drive does not need to
be the node that currently controls the cluster.

Connecting a device to a cluster node This configuration offers the fastest method of data transfer as
the data is routed directly to a locally attached device.
However, the disadvantage is that the robotic arm cannot be controlled by a machine within the cluster,
limiting the device type usage for this type of configuration to standalone drives. Moreover, the drive
becomes unavailable when the cluster node is down.

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Installing a cluster-aware plug-in

Prerequisites
Before you start the installation procedure for a cluster-aware plug-in, make sure that the following
requirements are met:

Install NetVault Backup Server Install the NetVault Backup Server software on the designated machine.
The server must be a separate machine outside the cluster setup. For instructions on installing the server
software, refer to the Dell NetVault Backup Installation Guide.

Install the NetVault Backup Client Install the NetVault backup Client software on the individual cluster
nodes. For instructions on installing the client software, refer to the Dell NetVault Backup Installation
Guide.

Add NetVault Backup Clients Add the clients to the NetVault Backup Server. For information about
adding a client, see Adding a client.

Copy the installation file Copy the .npk installation file for the cluster-aware plug-in to the
NetVault Backup Server. The path to copy the file is <NetVault Backup home>\packages\standard on
Windows and <NetVault Backup home>/packages/standard on Linux. The installation file for the Plug-in
for FileSystem (for the Server operating system) is already available in this directory. You can also copy
the installation files to subdirectories in the standard directory.

Installation procedure
To install a cluster-aware plug-in
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients.

On the Manage Clients page, and click Add Virtual Client.

On the Virtual Client page, provide the following information:

In Virtual Client Name, type a name for the virtual client. The name must be unique. Spaces are
not recognized in a virtual client name and are replaced with an underscore (_) character. The
virtual client name cannot be changed once it is configured.

In Virtual Client Address, type the IP address for the cluster application.

In the Package list, select the installation file for the plug-in. This list contains all the clusteraware .npk files copied to the packages directory and its subdirectories The following table
provides the file names for the installation files. Here x-x- x-x represent the version, build, and
platform numbers.

Table 2. Installation files for cluster-aware plug-ins

Option

Description

Plug-in for FileSystem for Windows

win-x-x-x-x.npk

Plug-in for FileSystem for Linux

nvf-x-x-x-x.npk

Plug-in for FileSystem for Solaris (SPARC)

nvf-x-x-x-x.npk

Plug-in for Exchange

exs-x-x-x-x.npk

Plug-in for Oracle

ora-x-x-x-x.npk

Plug-in for SQL Server

sql-x-x-x-x.npk

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To add a cluster node to the virtual client, select it in the Available Clients table, and click the
Add button to the left of the item. The selected client is moved to the Chosen Clients table.

To remove a cluster node from the virtual client, select it in the Chosen Clients table, and click
the Remove button to the left of the item. The selected client is moved to the Available Clients
table.

Click Create Virtual Client.

The NetVault Backup Server starts installing the plug-in on the selected cluster nodes. This process
overwrites the standard version of the same plug-in installed on the cluster nodes. However, you can use
the cluster-aware version to perform backups of the local non-shared data. When the installation
completes, the virtual client is added to the NetVault Backup Clients table on the Manage Clients page.

Upgrading a cluster-aware plug-in

To upgrade a cluster-aware plug-in
1

Remove the virtual client that was created with the previous version of the plug-in. For more
information about removing a virtual client, see Removing a virtual client.

Create a new virtual client using the upgraded version of the cluster-aware plug-in. For more
information about installing the plug-in, see Installing a cluster-aware plug-in.
Make sure that you assign the old virtual clients name to the new virtual client. If you change the name
for the new virtual client, you cannot run the jobs that were defined for the old virtual client.

Configuring a cluster-aware plug-in

The configuration procedure for a cluster-aware plug-in includes the steps outlined in the following sections:

Configuring the preferred network address

Configuring default settings

Configuring the preferred network address

A cluster node has at least two network addresses:

Public IP Address The address which is used by the machines outside the cluster to communicate with
the cluster nodes.

Private IP Address The address which is used by a cluster node to communicate with the other
machines within the cluster.

For each cluster node, you must configure the machines public IP address as the Preferred Network Address
for the node.

To configure the preferred address for a cluster node

1

Obtain the IP address for the cluster node.

You can use the ifconfig utility on Linux and UNIX and the ipconfig utility on Windows to complete this
step.

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

On the Configuration page, click Client Settings. In the clients table, select the target client, and click
Next. The Client Settings page appears

Under Services, click Network Manager.

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In the Network Manager dialog box, specify the preferred network address for the cluster node in the
corresponding box.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Repeat steps 1 through 6 for each cluster node.

Configuring default settings

To configure the default settings for a cluster-aware plug-in
1

In the Navigation pane, click Create Backup Job, and then click the Create New button next to the
Selections list.

On the NetVault Backup Selections page, double-click the NetVault Backup Server. In the list of plug-ins,
select the cluster-aware plug-in, and in the Actions list, click Configure.
NOTE: The default settings for a cluster-aware plug-in can only be set from the NetVault Backup
Selections page. For cluster-aware plug-ins, configuring these options from the Change Settings
link is not supported.

In the Configure dialog box, set the required options. The configuration options for the cluster-aware
version are the same as the standard version of the plug-in. For more information about these options,
refer to the relevant plug-in users guide.

Click OK to save the settings.

These settings are stored on the NetVault Backup Server in configuration files specific to the virtual
client, and applied during backups and restores of shared data performed through the virtual client.

Modifying a virtual client

Once a virtual client is created, you can add or remove the cluster nodes or change the IP address for the
cluster application.

To modify a virtual client

1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients.

In the list of NetVault Backup Clients, select the target virtual client, and click Manage.

On the Virtual Client page, modify the required settings.

To modify the IP address for the cluster application, type the new address in Virtual Client
Address.

To add a cluster node to the virtual client, select it in the Available Clients table, and click the
Add button to the left of the item. The selected client is moved to the Chosen Clients table.

To remove a cluster node from the virtual client, select it in the Chosen Clients table, and click
the Remove button to the left of the item. The selected client is moved to the Available Clients
table.

To save the modified settings, click Save Virtual Client.

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Removing a virtual client

To remove a virtual client
1

In the Navigation pane, click Manage Clients.

In the list of NetVault Backup Clients, select the target virtual client, and click Manage.

On the Virtual Client page, click Remove.

In the Confirm dialog box, click Remove.

When you remove a virtual client, the cluster nodes added as NetVault Backup Clients are not removed
from the server. However, it removes the ability of the plug-in to back up the cluster data.

Backing up data using a cluster-aware

plug-in
The procedure for performing backups using the Plug-in for FileSystem is similar for both the standard and
virtual clients. The cluster-aware version of the plug-in can be used in the same manner as the standard version
to select the data items. However, when you open the virtual client node on the NetVault Backup Selections
page, only the cluster-aware plug-in is listed under the node. The plug-in displays both the shared and local
drives and mount points in the selection tree. You must make a note of the drive letter or mount point for the
shared resource and select the data accordingly. The backup options that can be set for the standard version are
also available with the cluster-aware version.
NOTE: While backing up cluster data using a virtual client, only the LUNs owned by the active node are
backed up; LUNs owned by passive nodes are not backed up.
For information about backing up data in the Exchange Server Clustered environment, Oracle RAC setup, and
SQL Server Failover Cluster, refer to the relevant plug-in users guide.

Cluster failover during backups

If a failover occurs during a backup, the job is aborted and the status Job Failed is returned. You can use the
Job Retry scheduling option to run the job again after the failover completes.
With the Plug-in for FileSystem, when a failover occurs on Windows, the reason for the failover has a direct
bearing upon the status of the aborted job:

If the machine in control of the cluster resources goes offline during a backup, the job is aborted and the
status Job Failed is returned. You can use the job retry feature to run the backup again.

If the machine in control of the cluster remains online but the actual cluster resource that is being
backed up fails, the job is aborted and the status Backup Completed with Warnings is returned. The
scheduled job retries do not work for such jobs. In this scenario, examine the job logs to find the missing
data or run the job again to back up the data.

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Restoring data using a cluster-aware plug-in

The procedure for performing restores using the Plug-in for FileSystem is similar for both the standard and
virtual clients. The backups are restored from the virtual client node and not the actual client node. When you
submit a restore job, the plug-in communicates with the cluster service to determine the controlling node and
targets this machine for the restore.
For information about restoring data in the Exchange Server Clustered environment, Oracle RAC setup, and SQL
Server Failover Cluster, refer to the relevant plug-in users guide.

Viewing logs and job status

When you back up a virtual client, the data is essentially backed up from a single client and it is accessed from
the controlling node. For cluster backups and restores, the virtual client name is displayed on the Job Status
page and the actual client name is displayed on the View Logs page.

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16
Configuring default settings for NetVault
Backup

About configuring default settings

Configuring Auditor Daemon settings

Configuring general settings

Configuring firewall settings

Configuring security settings

Synchronizing BakBone Time

Configuring plug-in options

Configuring encryption settings

Configuring default settings for post-scripts

Configuring backup verification settings

Configuring Job Manager settings

Configuring Logging Daemon settings

Configuring Media Manager settings

Configuring Network Manager settings

Configuring Process Manager settings

Configuring Schedule Manager settings

Configuring global notification settings

Configuring the reporting utility

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About configuring default settings

NetVault Backup runs with some default settings which can be customized to suit your environment. These
settings can be viewed and modified from the Change Settings and Manage Clients links in the Navigation pane.
The default settings are available for the following processes and components.
Table 1. Client and server settings
Group

Setting

System and Security

Plugins

Services

User Interface

Auditing

Firewall

General

Security

Time Sync

Plugin Options

Script

Encryption

Verify

Job Manager

Logging Daemon

Media Manager

Network Manager

Process Manager

Schedule Manager

Web Service

Notification

Trace Level

Reporting

Configuring Auditor Daemon settings

This section includes the following topics:

About Auditor Daemon

Configuring default settings for Auditor Daemon

About Auditor Daemon

The Auditor Daemon (nvavp) runs on the NetVault Backup Server. This process tracks and controls user
activities. It validates each user request, and depending on the assigned privileges, allows or denies a request.
The audit trail is stored in the NetVault Database.
By default, the Auditor Daemon logs every user activity regardless of whether the request is granted or denied.
It automatically deletes the log messages that are older than 31 days. You can customize the Auditor Daemon to
log only failed user requests or create a user-defined policy to delete the log messages.

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Configuring default settings for Auditor Daemon

To configure the default settings for Auditor Daemon
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under System and Security, click Auditing.

In the Auditing dialog box, configure the following settings.

Table 2. Auditor Daemon settings
Setting

Description

Only record failed

By default, the Auditor Daemon logs every user request, regardless of
requests in the audit trail whether the request is granted or denied. To override this behavior and log
only failed user requests, select this check box.
NOTE: You must restart the NetVault Backup Service to apply any changes
to this setting.
Purge entries by age

To purge log entries that are older than the maximum age set for the log
messages, leave this check box selected. The maximum log age is specified
in the Purge entries that are older than box.
NOTE: Ensure that the log messages are purged periodically as the audit
trail can consume a considerable amount of disk space.

Purge entries that are

older than

Type or select the maximum age for the log messages. The log age is
specified in number of days. The default value is 31 days.

Time interval between

purges

Type or select the interval between two purge events for audit trail. The
time interval is specified in number of hours. The default interval is 24
hours.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring general settings

This section includes the following topics:

Relocating default directories

Configuring TCP/IP buffer sizes

Changing language and locale settings

Changing locale settings for legacy clients

Disabling pre-installation package compatibility check

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Relocating default directories

You can relocate database, trace, logs, reports, stats, and temporary directories to another drive or volume to
alleviate low disk space issues.
NOTE: You must restart the NetVault Backup Service to apply any changes to these settings.

To relocate the default directories

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under System and Security, click General.

In the General dialog box, configure the following settings.

Table 3. Default directory paths
Setting

Description

Database Directory

This directory stores the module list, license keys, and NetVault Database.
The default path for the database directory is <NetVault Backup Home>\db
on Windows and <NetVault Backup Home>/db on Linux.
To relocate the directory, type the full path. The specified path must exist
on the target drive or volume. If the NetVault Backup Server is unable to
find the path, it fails to relocate the directory.

Trace Directory

This directory stores the NetVault Backup trace logs. The default path for
the trace directory is <NetVault Backup Home>\trace on Windows and
<NetVault Backup Home>/trace on Linux.
To relocate the directory, type the full path. The specified path must exist
on the target drive or volume. If the NetVault Backup Server is unable to
find the path, it fails to relocate the directory.
NOTE: The trace logs contain large volume of data. Therefore, this
directory should not be relocated to a network share.

Log Directory

This directory stores the NetVault Backup log files. The default path for
the logs directory is <NetVault Backup Home>\logs on Windows and
<NetVault Backup Home>/logs on Linux.
To relocate the directory, type the full path. The specified path must exist
on the target drive or volume. If the NetVault Backup Server is unable to
find the path, it fails to relocate the directory.

Temporary Directory

This directory stores the temporary files generated during various NetVault
Backup operations. The default path for the temporary directory is
<NetVault Backup Home>\tmp on Windows and <NetVault Backup
Home>/tmp on Linux.
To relocate the directory, type the full path. The specified path must exist
on the target drive or volume. If the NetVault Backup Server is unable to
find the path, it fails to relocate the directory.
NOTE: The temporary directory holds the Backup Saveset Index. The free
disk space on this directory should be at least three times the size of the
index file to perform backups and restores properly. For example, if the
backup index file is 3GiB in size, the temporary directory should have at
least 9GiB of free disk space. If the temporary directory does not have
sufficient space, warnings and logs are generated.

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Table 3. Default directory paths

Setting

Description

Reports Directory

This directory stores the report templates. The default path for the
reports directory is <NetVault Backup Home>\reports on Windows and
<NetVault Backup Home>/reports on Linux.
To relocate the directory, type the full path. The specified path must exist
on the target drive or volume. If the NetVault Backup Server is unable to
find the path, it fails to relocate the directory.

Statistics Directory

This directory stores data collected by the nvstatsmngr process. The

default path for the statistics directory is <NetVault Backup Home>\stats
on Windows and <NetVault Backup Home>/stats on Linux.
To relocate the directory, type the full path. The specified path must exist
on the target drive or volume. If the NetVault Backup Server is unable to
find the path, it fails to relocate the directory.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring TCP/IP buffer sizes

In most cases, the default buffer sizes for the TCP/IP sockets are adequate, and should not be changed. For
guidance on optimal buffer sizes and TCP/IP tuning, refer to your OS documentation.

To change the default buffer sizes for the TCP/IP sockets

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under System and Security, click General.

In the General dialog box, configure the following settings.

Table 4. TCP/IP send and receive buffer sizes

Setting

Description

Minimum network send

buffer size

This setting determines the minimum send buffer size for a TCP/IP socket.
The default value is 1KB. To adjust the buffer size, type or select the new
value. The buffer size must be set in KB.

Maximum network send

buffer size

This setting determines the maximum send buffer size for a TCP/IP socket.
The default value is 16384KB. To adjust the buffer size, type or select the
new value. The buffer size must be set in KB.

Minimum network
receive buffer size

This setting determines the minimum receive buffer size for a TCP/IP
socket. The default value is 1KB. To adjust the buffer size, type or select
the new value. The buffer size must be set in KB.

Maximum network
receive buffer size

This setting determines the maximum receive buffer size for a TCP/IP
socket. The default value for this option is 16384KB. To adjust the buffer
size, type or select the new value. The buffer size must be set in KB.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

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Changing language and locale settings

To change the language and locale for NetVault Backup
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under System and Security, click General.

In the General dialog box, configure the following settings

Language Selection Select the preferred language for NetVault Backup. The available options
are:

Chinese (Simplified)

English

French

German

Japanese

Korean

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Close the NetVault WebUI, and open it in a new browser tab or window.

Changing language settings for NetVault WebUI

To change the display and input language for NetVault WebUI, you must change the language settings for your
web browser. The following procedures describe how to change this setting in different web browsers.

Internet Explorer
1

On the tool bar, click Internet Options.

On the General tab, under Appearance, click Languages.

If the preferred language is not available in the Language list, click Add. In the Add Language dialog
box, select the language that you want to use, and click OK.

In the Language Preference dialog box, click the applicable language, and use the Move up button to
move the selected item to the top of the list. Click OK.

Close all Internet Explorer windows and reopen the browser window.

Chrome
1

On the tool bar, click Customize and control Google Chrome.

Click Settings, and then click Show Advance Settings. Under Languages, click Language and input
settings.

If the preferred language is not available in the list, click Add. In the Add Language dialog box, select
the language that you want to use, and click OK.

In the Languages dialog box, select the applicable language, and click Display Google Chrome in this
language. Click Done.

Close all Google Chrome windows and reopen the browser window.

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Firefox
1

Click the Tools menu, and select Options.

Click the Content tab. Under Languages, click Choose.

If the preferred language is not available in the list, click Select a language to add. Select the language
that you want to use, and click Add.

In the Languages dialog box, click the applicable language, and use the Move up button to move the
selected item to the top of the list. Click OK.

Close all Firefox windows and reopen the browser window.

Changing locale settings for legacy clients

By default, the legacy clients (that is, the clients running 9.x or a previous version of NetVault Backup) assume
the locale settings of the NetVault Backup Server.
NOTE: This setting is required only when the NetVault Backup Server and Client run on machines with
different locale settings.

To change the locale setting for a legacy client

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

On the Configuration page, click Client Settings. In the clients table, select the applicable client, and
click Next.

Under System and Security, click General.

In the General dialog box, configure the following setting:

Locale to assume for legacy clients Select the preferred locale for the client. The available
options are:

Default

Chinese (Simplified)

English

French

German

Japanese

JapaneseEUC

Korean

Use Default to automatically use the locale settings of the NetVault Backup Server.
NOTE: If international characters are not displayed correctly when selecting data for a backup or restore
job, make sure that the Locale to assume for legacy clients setting is correctly configured for the client.
5

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

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Disabling pre-installation package compatibility check

Before installing a plug-in, NetVault Backup ensures that the installation package is compatible with the client
OS and bit-type. You can disable this check, if required.

To disable pre-installation compatibility checks for packages

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under System and Security, click General.

In the General dialog box, configure the following setting:

Package Install System Check This check box is selected by default. Before installing any
plug-in, NetVault Backup ensures that installation package is compatible with the client OS and
bit-type. The installer reports an error if the package is incompatible.
To disable pre-installation package compatibility checks, clear the check box.
NOTE: Be aware that when you disable package check, you risk installing an incompatible package.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring firewall settings

The firewall settings enable communication with NetVault Backup Clients that are located outside the firewall.
These settings provide the TCP/IP port specifications, which are used to establish data transfer channels,
message channels, and broadcast channels through the firewall.

To configure firewall settings for a client

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under System and Security, click Firewall.

In the Firewall dialog box, configure the required settings. For more information about these settings,
see Firewall settings.
When creating firewall rules on the server and client machines, make sure that you open the configured
ports. For more information, see Firewall rules.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

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Configuring security settings

To configure security settings for NetVault Backup Server or Client
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under System and Security, click Security.

In the Security dialog box, configure the following settings.

Table 5. Security settings
Setting

Description

This machine may be

added as a client to a
server

By default, you cannot add a NetVault Backup Server as a client to another

NetVault Backup Server. To allow a NetVault Backup Server to function as a
client to another server, select this check box.

Disable Security

To add a client without using its NetVault Backup password, select this
check box.

Master Password

Specify a password for the NetVault Backup machine. The password can
contain a maximum of 100 characters. It cannot contain the following
characters:
<>&#|
The NetVault Backup password is used during client addition. For more
information about NetVault Backup passwords, refer to the Dell NetVault
Backup Installation Guide.

Confirm Password
6

Type the NetVault Backup password again for confirmation.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Synchronizing BakBone Time

This section includes the following topics:

About BakBone Time

Configuring an alternate BakBone Time Server

About BakBone Time

NetVault Backup designates a Time Server, called BakBone Time Server, to synchronize time on the server and
all client machines in the NetVault Backup Domain. Typically, the NetVault Backup Server acts as the BakBone
Time Server, and the system time on this machine is the BakBone Time. However, you can designate any other
NetVault Backup machine as the BakBone Time Server. NetVault Backup ignores the local time on the clients and
uses BakBone Time for all time-specific operations, such as job scheduling, reporting, and tracing.

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Configuring an alternate BakBone Time Server

To establish an alternate NetVault Backup machine as the BakBone Time Server
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under System and Security, click Time Sync.

In the Time Sync dialog box, configure the following settings.

Table 6. Time synchronization settings
Setting

Description

This machine is the

BakBone time server

This check box is selected by default on the NetVault Backup Server.

Synchronize BakBone
time with system

Type the NetVault Backup name of the alternate time server.

Number of ping-pongs to
determine time
difference

Type or select the number of time packets to be exchanged while polling.

The default value is 5.

To configure an alternate time server, clear this check box on the NetVault
Backup Server.

Number of hours between Specify how often the NetVault Backup Server checks to see if it is still
time sync updates
synchronized with the time server. The default polling interval is 24 hours.
Number of milliseconds of Type or select the allowed time variance. By default, NetVault Backup
allows 1000-millisecond variance between the NetVault Backup Server and
time difference allowed
the BakBone Time Server.
between 2 servers
6

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring plug-in options

This section includes the following topics:

About plug-in options

Configuring default options for Disk Devices Plug-in

Configuring default options for nvjobstart

About plug-in options

The Plugin Options dialog box can be used to configure the default settings for various built-in and licensed
plug-ins. This section covers only the Disk Devices plug-in and nvjobstart utility. For information about the
default settings for other plug-ins, refer to the users guide for that plug-in.
The default settings for the Duplicate plug-in are intended for NetVault Backup versions prior to 7.4. The later
versions use the settings provided on the Advanced Options tab or page. For more information about these
options, refer to the Dell NetVault Backup Administrators Guide.

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Configuring default options for Disk Devices Plug-in

To configure the default options for the Disk Devices Plug-in
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Plugins, click Plugin Options.

In the Plugin Options dialog box, under Disk Devices Plugin, configure the following options.
Table 7. Default settings for Disk Devices Plug-in
Setting

Description

Allow disk libraries to

have entry/exit ports

To create Virtual Tape libraries that have entry/exit ports (EEPorts), select
this check box.

Check available disk

space before creating
disk libraries

Before creating a VTL, NetVault Backup performs a disk space check to

ensure that the target disk has sufficient space to accommodate the new
VTL.
On normal file systems you can use the disk space check feature to avoid
errors during VTL creation. However, on third-party deduplication
appliances and compressed file systems, you should clear this check box.

Free disk space margin to The free space required on the disk is calculated as follows:
be used when calculating Number of Slots * Media Capacity + <x>
available disk space
Here <x> is the additional disk space considered for the following
requirements:

Disk space required to create the directory structure for the VTL. It
varies for different file systems.

Disk space required by other applications running on the system.

The default value is 20MB. To change this requirement, type or select the
new value.
Unit used to express the
free disk space margin in
6

Type or select the unit used to specify disk space margin. The unit can be
MB or GB. The default unit is MB.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring default options for nvjobstart

To configure the default options for nvjobstart
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Plugins, click Plugin Options.

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In the Plugin Options dialog box, under CLI, configure the following setting:

nvjobstart Enhanced Job Completion Status By default, the nvjobstart utility returns the
following messages depending on the job exit codes.

Table 8. Default job exit codes and status messages

Exit code

Status message

Job completed successfully

Job failed with error: Job Failed

This message is returned for the following job completion states:

Job failed

Job completed with warnings

Job aborted

Job stopped

Job died

If you select the nvjobstart Enhanced Job Completion Status check box, the utility returns the
following codes and messages.
Table 9. Enhanced job exit codes and status messages
Exit code

Status message

Job completed successfully

Job Failed

Job Completed with Warnings

Job Aborted

Job Stopped

Job Died

-1

Job Failed with Undefined Error

NOTE: You must configure this option on the NetVault Backup machine on which you will run this utility.
6

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring encryption settings

NetVault Backup offers two encryption products:

NetVault Backup Plug-in for Standard Encryption (Plug-in for Standard Encryption) This plug-in
supports the CAST-128 algorithm.

NetVault Backup Plug-in for Advanced Encryption (Plug-in for Advanced Encryption) This plug-in
supports the CAST-256 and AES-256 algorithms.

When installed on a NetVault Backup Client, these plug-ins encrypt and transfer data across the network to the
backup device, where it remains encrypted until restored to the client. If encryption is only required for
secondary storage, job-level encryption offers the choice of encrypting only the secondary copy while the
primary backup remains unencrypted to shrink the backup window. When using disk-based storage devices (such
as NetVault SmartDisk and Dell DR Series sytems), job-level deduplication allows you to separate deduplicated
data from non-deduplicated unencrypted data for optimal deduplication ratios and performance.
For more information about configuring the default settings for encryption, refer to the Dell NetVault Backup
Plug-in for Standard Encryption Users Guide or Dell NetVault Backup Plug-in for Advanecd Encryption Users
Guide.
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Configuring default settings for post-scripts

NetVault Backup lets you add user-defined scripts to backup and restore jobs that are run before and after a
job. You can use these scripts to perform tasks such as dismounting or shutting down a database before the job
starts or mounting or starting the database after the job completes.
By default, the post-script execution is terminated when a job is aborted. You can change this behavior, if
required.

To change the default setting for post-scripts

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Plugins, click Script.

In the Script dialog box, configure the following setting:

Terminate running script on Job Abort This check box is selected by default. If you want to
continue script execution even when the associated job is aborted, clear this check box.
Be aware that this setting applies to all post-scripts defined for the backup, restore, and report
jobs performed on the given NetVault Backup Client.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring backup verification settings

With a backup job, you can choose to run the verification phase to check the correctness and completeness of a
backup at the end of data transfer. NetVault Backup uses the built-in Verify plug-in to perform the verification
phase. The Verify plug-in verifies the stream length written to the media and makes sure that no blocks were
dropped during backup. While the actual backup runs as Phase 1, backup verification runs as Phase 2 of the
backup job.

To configure backup verification settings

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

Under Plugins, click Verify.

In the Verify dialog box, configure the following settings.

NOTE: These settings must be configured on the NetVault Backup Server.

Table 10. Default settings for Verify plug-in

Setting

Description

Always run Verify locally

By default, the verification phase runs on the NetVault Backup Server. To

avoid data transfers over the network, you can choose to run verification
locally on the clients to which the device used for backup is attached.
This option is globally applied to all clients, which will not work for clients
that do not have a locally-attached backup device.

Comma separated list of

clients that verify locally

If your backup jobs are distributed across multiple client-attached devices,

use this setting to specify a comma-separated list of clients that will run
the verification phase locally.
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Table 10. Default settings for Verify plug-in

Setting

Description

Default client to run

Verify

To configure an alternate client to run all verification jobs, specify the

client name. This is useful if you use a client-attached device for your
backups. It allows you to select the same client to run backup verification
jobs.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring Job Manager settings

This section includes the following topics:

About Job Manager

Configuring default settings for Job Manager

About Job Manager

The Job Manager (nvjobmgr) runs on the NetVault Backup Server and manages job execution. This process is
initiated by the Schedule Manager. A single instance of Job Manager runs for each job until the completion of a
job. The Job Manager relays job status information. It coordinates with the Data Plug-in and fetches the
required information from the server. It is also responsible for sending drive and media requests to the Media
Manager process.

Configuring default settings for Job Manager

To configure the default settings for Job Manager
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Services, click Job Manager.

In the Job Manager dialog box, configure the following settings.

Table 11. Job Manager settings
Setting

Description

Job Keep Alive rate

Keep-alive messages are used to verify network connection between two

NetVault Backup machines and to keep this connection intact.
This setting controls how often keep-alive messages are sent between the
Job Manager running on the server and the Data Plug-in running on an
clients. The default value is 5 minutes. To change the interval, type or
select a new value. The keep-alive rate is specified in number of minutes.

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Table 11. Job Manager settings

Setting

Description

CLI utility nvjobcreate

will return exit status

By default, when a job is successful, the nvjobcreate utility returns the

Job ID, and when a job fails, the utility returns 0.
When you select this check box, the nvjobcreate utility returns 0 when
a job is successful and 1 when a job fails. To determine the Job ID when
the nvjobcreate command has been configured to return the exit status,
you can use the -jobidfile option to output the Job ID to a specified file.
For more information about this utility, refer to the Dell NetVault Backup
Command Line Interface Reference Guide.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring Logging Daemon settings

This section includes the following topics:

About Logging Daemon

Configuring disk space alert thresholds

Creating a user-defined purge policy for logs

Configuring additional settings for Log Daemon

About Logging Daemon

The Logging Daemon (nvlogdaemon) runs on the NetVault Backup Server. This process starts along with the
NetVault Backup Service and performs the following functions:

Manages NetVault Backup logs The Logging Daemon creates and manages the log files. The log files are
store in the logs directory on the NetVault Backup Server (<NetVault Backup home>\logs on Windows and
<NetVault Backup home>/logs on Linux). Logs are stored in binary format and used to track activities and
troubleshoot problems. The log files are named log-0, log-1, log-2, and so on. The Log Daemon always
reserves space on the disk by creating a blank log file. For example, when log-0 becomes full, it creates
log-2 before opening log-1 to write log messages. Log-0 and log-1 are created during installation. The
Log Daemon automatically deletes logs that are older than 30 days.

Performs periodic disk space checks The Logging Daemon performs periodic disk space checks, and
issues alert messages when the space usage level reaches the Warning or Critical Threshold. The Warning
and Critical thresholds are set to 85 and 95 percent of the total disk space, respectively. The disk space
check applies to the NetVault Backup Home, Database, Logs, and Reports directories. The default
interval between two disk space check events is one hour.

Configuring disk space alert thresholds

NetVault Backup defines two alert thresholds for the disk space usage levels: Warning and Critical. By default,
the Warning Threshold is set to 85 percent and the Critical Threshold is set to 97 percent of the total disk space.
NOTE: The NetVault Backup Service must be restarted to apply any changes to the Warning and Critical
Threshold values.

To change the default alert threshold settings

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

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To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Services, click Logging Daemon.

In the Logging Daemon dialog box, configure the following settings.

Table 12. Disk space alert threshold settings
Setting

Description

Disk Space Warning

Threshold

Type or select the Warning Threshold level. The default value is 85 percent
of the total disk space.
When the disk space usage reaches or exceeds the Warning Threshold, the
following events occur:

The Logging Daemon reports an error.

The Auditor Daemon logs a message.

NetVault Backup raises the Home Drive Becoming Full event.

You can set up a global notification method to receive notification
when this event is raised. For more information, see Using global
notification method.

Disk Space Critical

Threshold

Type or select the Critical Threshold level. The default value is 95 percent
of the total disk space.
When the disk space usage reaches or exceeds the Critical Threshold, the
following events occur:

NetVault Backup sends an error message to the Event Viewer on

Window and syslog on Linux and UNIX.

The Logging Daemon reports an error.

NOTE: If the disk space is critically low when the NetVault backup Service
starts, the errors are only logged through the Event Viewer or syslog.

The NetVault Backup Service shuts down automatically and the

service status is set to Stopped Disk Full.
You can restart the service only when the disk usage percentage
drops below the configured Critical Threshold level.

Time interval between

disk space full checks

Type or select the interval between two disk space check events. It is
specified in number of hours. The default value is one hour.
To disable disk space checks, set the value to zero (0).
NOTE: Regardless of this setting, the Log Daemon performs disk space
check when the NetVault Backup Service is restarted.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Creating a user-defined purge policy for logs

To ensure that the log files do not continue to accumulate and consume large amounts of disk space, the
Logging Daemon automatically deletes the logs after 30 days. You can change this behavior with a user-defined
policy.

To create a user-defined purge policy for logs

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Services, click Logging Daemon.

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In the Logging Daemon dialog box, configure the following settings.

Table 13. Auto-purge settings for logs
Setting
Auto-purge method

Description

By default, the Auto-purge method is set to Exceeds log age.

Use this setting to delete logs that are older than the maximum age
set for the messages.

Set the purge method to Exceeds number of pages to delete

logs when the number of log pages exceeds the maximum page
limit.

To disable automatic purging of log files, set the Auto-purge

method to None.

NOTE: Logs can consume a considerable amount for disk space. Therefore,
periodic purging of the log files is necessary.

Auto-purge when the

number of log pages
exceeds

When the Auto-purge method is set to Exceeds number of pages, use

this setting to specify the maximum number of log pages that can exist at
any given point. The default value is 10 pages.

Auto-purge entries that

are older than

When the Auto-purge method is set to Exceeds log age, use this setting
to specify the maximum age for logs. The log age is specified in number of
days. The default value is 30 days.

Select the time interval

to auto-purge

The default interval between two auto-purge events is three hours. To

change the interval, type or select a new value. The purge interval is
specified in number of hours.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring additional settings for Log Daemon

To configure additional settings for Log Daemon
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Services, click Logging Daemon.

In the Logging Daemon dialog box, configure the following settings.

Table 14. Additional settings for Logging Daemon
Setting

Description

Log file page size

Type or select the maximum page size for log files. The file size in
specified in KB. The default value is 1024KB. When a log file becomes full,
the logging daemon does the following:

Message Response
Interval

Creates a new blank file to reserve space for logs.

Starts writing to the next file.

This setting determines the amount of time the NetVault WebUI waits for
the Logging Daemon to send all log messages before displaying a progress
dialog box. This dialog box displays the number of log messages loaded
against the total number of log messages. If the response is delayed, you
can abort the operation by clicking Cancel on the progress dialog box.

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Table 14. Additional settings for Logging Daemon

Setting

Description
The default response time for the Logging Daemon is 256 milliseconds. To
change default setting, type or select a new value. The minimum value can
be 100 milliseconds.
If the NetVault WebUI receives all log messages within the specified
interval, the progress dialog box is not displayed (for example, when there
are only few log messages to be displayed).

Outgoing message bundle To improve performance, the logging daemon sends messages in bundles.
size
Each bundle contains 64 messages by default. To change the number of
messages per bundle, type or select the bundle size in Outgoing Message
Bundle Size.
Minimum time between
progress updates

By default, the progress dialog box is refreshed every 256 milliseconds. To

change the refresh rate, type or select the time interval.

Minimum warning level to By default, NetVault Backups sends log messages with warning code 64 and
send to system log
above to the OS. You can view these messages from the Event Viewer (on
Windows) or syslog (on Linux and UNIX).
To change the severity level of messages that NetVault Backup sends to the
OS, specify the warning level code in the Minimum warning level to send
to system log box. The warning codes and the corresponding severity level
of the messages are listed below:

112 Severe errors

96 Severe errors and errors

80 Severe errors, errors and warnings

64 Severe errors, errors, warnings, and startup messages

48 Severe errors, errors, warnings, startup messages, and job

messages

32 Severe errors, errors, warnings, startup messages, job

messages, and informational messages

16 Severe errors, errors, warnings, startup messages, job

messages, informational messages, and background messages

0 All messages

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring Media Manager settings

This section includes the following topics:

About Media Manager

Configuring general settings for Media Manager

Configuring device-related settings

Configuring additional settings for Media Manager

Configuring foreign RAS device settings

Configuring DAV RAS device settings

Configuring media request weightings

Configuring media request weightings

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About Media Manager

The Media Manager (nvmedmgr) runs on the NetVault Backup Server and performs the following functions:

It manages the Media Database that contains information about the media contents and online savesets.

It stores the device configuration details. The Media Manager manages the backup devices through the
Device Manager processes. The Media Manager issues high-level instructions for loading and unloading
media, which are carried out by the Device Manager processes.

It controls the selection of device and media based on the media requests submitted by the Job Manager.
NOTE: The NetVault Backup Service must be restarted to apply any changes to the Media Manager
settings.

Configuring general settings for Media Manager

To configure general settings for Media Manager
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Services, click Media Manager.

In the Media Manager dialog box, under General Settings, configure the following settings.
Table 15. General settings for Media Manager
Setting

Description

Minimum life for

imported backups

A piece of media is marked as foreign if no information for that item is

available in the NetVault Database. This can occur for several reasons, for
example, when a piece of media is swapped between libraries, removed
from the NetVault Backup Server, or loaded on a device controlled by
another NetVault Backup Server. NetVault Backup cannot process data
stored in a foreign tape until you scan the tape and import the backups
and backup indexes into the NetVault Database. Scanning retrieves the
header information from the backup media and adds it to the NetVault
Database. For more information about scanning foreign media, see
Scanning a foreign tape.
The retention period for the imported data is determined by the backup
life set for the savesets. If the saveset is already retired, the data is
temporarily stored for 7 days. To change the default retention period, type
or select a new value. The retention period is specified in number of days.

Use barcodes as labels

By default, NetVault Backup assigns a system-generated string as the

media label to blank media items. The string consists of the NetVault
Backup Server Name, the current date, and a seed number.
To assign media barcodes as the default label for blank media during
backups, select this check box.

Continuation Restore
Request Priority Boost

A continuation restore request occurs when an active restore job requires

additional media for completion. By default, these requests are assigned a
priority level of 5 so that they are not preempted by other media requests
and the active job is completed without any interruption.
To change the default setting, type or select a value from 1 through 100. 1
denotes highest priority, while 100 denotes lowest priority. A job with a
priority level of zero (0) runs as a background task.

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Table 15. General settings for Media Manager

Setting

Description

Continuation Backup
Request Priority Boost

A continuation backup request occurs when an active backup job requires

additional media for completion. By default, these requests are assigned a
priority level of 5 so that they are not preempted by other media requests
and the active job is completed without any interruption.
To change the default setting, type or select a value from 1 through 100. 1
denotes highest priority, while 100 denotes lowest priority. A job with a
priority level of zero (0) runs as a background task.

Label Request Priority

NetVault Backup assigns a priority level of 10 to bulk media labeling

requests.
To change the default priority setting, type or select a value from 1
through 100. 1 denotes highest priority, while 100 denotes lowest priority.
A job with a priority level of zero runs as a background task.

Blank Request Priority

NetVault Backup assigns a priority level of 10 to bulk media blanking

requests.
To change the default setting, type or select a value from 1 through 100. 1
denotes highest priority, while 100 denotes lowest priority. A job with a
priority level of zero (0) runs as a background task.

Bulk Label Callback

Timeout

The callback timeouts for bulk media labeling controls how long NetVault
Backup waits for user inputs before ending these requests. By default,
NetVault Backup waits for 120 seconds for user confirmation. If
confirmation is not received within the specified interval, the request is
not carried out.
To change the default setting, type or select a new value. The timeout
value is specified in number of seconds.

Bulk Blank Callback

Timeout

The callback timeouts for bulk media blanking controls how long NetVault
Backup waits for user inputs before ending these requests. By default,
NetVault Backup waits for 120 seconds for user confirmation. If
confirmation is not received within the specified interval, the request is
not carried out.
To change the default setting, type or select a new value. The timeout
value is specified in number of seconds.

Minimum interval
This setting determines how frequently the online media status is updated
between reporting online on the NetVault WebUI.The default value is 10 minutes.
capacity
To change the default setting, type or select a new value. The update
interval is specified in number of minutes.
Mark expired Read Only
media as writable

This option prevents automatic reuse of retired read-only media.

Days of inactivity before

an index is compressed

Backup indexes stored in the NetVault Database are called Online Indexes.
The online indexes are automatically compressed after 30 days of
inactivity.

When you select this check box the read-only tag for a piece of media is
automatically removed when the last saveset stored on it is retired. This
allows you to re-use the media for new backups.

To change the default inactivity period for index compression, type or

select the new value.
To disable automatic compression of online indexes, set this option to zero
(0).
Hours between scans for This setting determines the interval at which the Media Manager scans the
indexes to be compressed Media Database to identify backup indexes that can be compressed. The
default value is 12 hours.
To change the default interval, type or select a new value.
To disable Media Manager scans for index compression, set this option to
zero (0).
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Table 15. General settings for Media Manager

Setting

Description

Maximum number of
indexes to be
compressed/
uncompressed/offlined at
a time

This setting determines the maximum number of backup indexes that can
be simultaneously compressed, decompressed, or taken offline.
The default value is 200 indexes. To change the default setting, type or
select a new value.

Minimum Space For Index The compressed backup indexes are automatically decompressed when you
Decompression
try to browse or restore the corresponding saveset. The minimum amount
of space for index decompression is set to 500MB by default. This space is
reserved on the drive or partition on which the NetVault Database resides.
To change the minimum space for index decompression, type or select the
new value. The space requirement is specified in MB.
A decompression request fails in the following circumstances:

The available space on the target drive or partition is less than the
minimum required space.

The specified amount of free disk space is not available on the

target drive or partition after index decompression.
When NetVault Database receives a decompression request, it reads
the index header to determine its decompressed file size. The
request is not completed if after decompression the free disk space
on the target drive or partition would be less than the specified
amount.

If the decompression request fails, an error message is displayed. If the

request was issued manually, the message is displayed on the Create
Restore Job page. When index decompression is performed automatically,
the message is displayed on the View Logs page.
Days of inactivity before
an index is offlined

Backup indexes stored in the NetVault Database are called Online Indexes.
To automatically delete online indexes after a specified period of
inactivity, type or select the value. The inactivity period is specified in
number of days. The default value is zero (0), which disables automatic
deletion of online indexes.

Hours between scans for

indexes to be offlined

This setting determines the interval at which the Media Manager scans the
Media Database to identify backup indexes that can be taken offline. The
default interval is 24 hours.
To change the default interval, type or select a new value.
To disable Media Manager scans for online index deletion, set this option to
zero (0)

Maximum characters in a
media request diagnosis

By default, NetVault Backup supports a maximum of 64,000 characters in

the Diagnose Media Requests for Job dialog box. To change this setting,
type or select a new value. The value is specified in thousands of
characters.
Lesser number of characters may result in quicker output. However, the
output may be truncated and you may not get the complete information.
Therefore, you should not change the default value for this option.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

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Configuring device-related settings

To configure device-related settings
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Services, click Media Manager.

In the Media Manager dialog box, under General Settings, configure the following device-related
settings.
Table 16. Device settings controlled by Media Manager
Setting

Description

Do not describe device

Select this check box to stop status updates on the Device Activity page.
activity in device window It may help reduce the load on the NetVault Backup Server when several
backup devices are added to the server.
Do not display drives that Select this check box to hide the offline devices on the Device Activity
are available but not
page.
active
Only check available
drives and media when
processing a media
request

Select this check box to only check for available drives and media when a
media request is received. It can be useful in large environment to reduce
the network traffic generated by the automatic checks. However, it may
cause a delay in job startup when several jobs are launched at the same
time.

Only check available

drives when processing a
media request

Select this check box to only check for available drives when a media
request is received.

Only check available

media when processing a
media request

Select this check box to only check for available media when a media
request is received.

Do not issue
Prevent/Allow Media
Remove commands to
drives

During backup and restore operations, the Media Manager issues PREVENT/
ALLOW MEDIUM REMOVAL SCSI commands to move a tape to or from a
drive. If your library software can handle tape removal or ejection by itself
and does not require any explicit commands to be sent to the drive, you
can select this check box. When this check box is selected, the Media
Manager skips the PREVENT/ALLOW MEDIUM REMOVAL SCSI commands
during device operations.

Do not open a device if

the serial number has
changed

Select this check box to stop issuing commands to a device whose serial
number has changed since its last configuration for NetVault Backup.

Unavailable device retry

interval

Type or select the interval at which NetVault Backup tries to locate

unavailable devices. The retry interval is specified in minutes. The default
value is 30 minutes.

Allow library modification Select this check box to allow a user to modify the library settings while it
when jobs are running
is in use.
6

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

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Configuring additional settings for Media Manager

To configure general settings for Media Manager
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Services, click Media Manager.

In the Media Manager dialog box, under General Settings, configure the following additional settings.
Table 17. Additional Media Manager settings
Setting

Description

Use Target media request This option can be used to set timeout interval for source media requests.
timeout for Source media It applies to Plug-in for Consolidation, Plug-in for Data Copy, and
request
Secondary Copy jobs.
When you select this check box, the timeout setting for the source media
is automatically obtained from the Target Set defined for the job. If the
target media item is not available within the specified interval, the job is
aborted.
Do Not Scan Unknown
Media

When you add tapes to a library, and close the door (or restart the library),
NetVault Backup takes inventory by reading the media barcodes. If
NetVault Backup cannot find the barcode for a piece of media, it marks
that tape as UNKNOWN. NetVault Backup loads each unknown tape into
one of the drives to scan for backups and on-tape indices. On very large
systems, this can increase the burden on the drive resources. If you do not
want to scan unknown tapes and leave them as UNKNOWN, select this
check box.
This option applies to all new libraries that are added to the Netvault
Backup Server. It does not change the setting for existing libraries. To
apply this setting to an existing library, you must remove the library and
re-add it.

Force Process Media

This setting allows NetVault Backup to interrupt the continuous processing
Request Queue Throttling of media request queues in very busy systems to allow other processing to
occur. It determines the minimum response time between two media
requests. The default value is 5 seconds. The value must be specified in
number of seconds.
NOTE: The default setting for this option should not be changed unless
advised by Dell Software Technical Support.
Life Of Segments Table
Scan Results For
Duplication

During Phase 2 Data Copy and Duplication jobs, the Media Manager stores
the results of the Segments table scan so that it does not have to scan the
table each time a media request is serviced. This setting determines the
amount of time the cached results are retained by NetVault Backup.
The default value is 600 seconds. To change the default setting, type or
select the new value. The value must be specified in number of seconds.
The recommended period is between 300 and 1800 seconds.

Life Of Index When

Loaded From Offline

The nvrestore CLI utility automatically imports an offline index if it is

needed for a restore job.
This setting determines how long the imported by the nvrestore utility
indexes are retained in the NetVault Database. The default value is one (1)
day. To change the default setting, type or select the number of days you
want to retain the index. This value must be specified in number of days.

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Table 17. Additional Media Manager settings

Setting

Description

Recover Database Table

After Failed Compaction

Select this check box to create a copy of the NetVault Database tables
before performing a database compact action during NetVault Database
backups. The copy is used to recover the tables and indexes if failure or
data corruption occurs during the compact action. This option applies to
both the Media and Schedule Databases.
The copy of the tables is stored in <NetVault Backup home>\tmp on
Windows and <NetVault Backup home>/tmp on Linux. The compact action
does not occur for a table if there is insufficient disk space in the tmp
directory to store a copy of the table. By default, this option is disabled
because of the disk space overhead associated with it. Before enabling this
option, ensure that the tmp directory has sufficient space to store the
copy of the largest database table and index.

Maximum number of
sessions to retire at a
time

This setting determines the maximum number of simultaneous sessions

that are used to retire backup savesets.
The default value is 250 savesets. To change the default setting, type or
select a new value.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring foreign RAS device settings

When you add a Data Domain system, the NetVault Backup Server creates several metadata files on the device.
Each NetVault Backup Server (to which you add the Data Domain system) creates its own set of metadata files.
NetVault Backup also writes the data transfer statistics to the stats.stnz file. The nvstatsmngr process uses this
file and requires that it is regularly updated. However, frequent updates can have a significant performance
impact on the system. By default, NetVault Backup updates the file after every 5 seconds or 10 blocks of data
transfer.

To change the transfer update frequency for Data Domain Systems

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Services, click Media Manager.

In the Media Manager dialog box, under Foreign RAS Device Configuration, configure the following
settings:

Transfer Update Frequency (Blocks) By default, NetVault Backup updates the stats.stnz file
after every 10 blocks of data transfer. To change the default setting, type or select a new value.

Transfer Update Frequency (Seconds) By default, NetVault Backup updates the stats.stnz file
after every 5 seconds. To change the default interval, type or select a new value. The time
interval is specified in number of seconds.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

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Configuring DAV RAS device settings

To change the timeout interval for NetVault SmartDisk stream end responses
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Services, click Media Manager.

In the Media Manager dialog box, under DAV RAS Device Configuration, configure the following setting:

Data transfer stall timeout This setting determines the amount of time NetVault Backup waits
for a stream end response from a NetVault Backup SmartDisk before reporting a stall. The
default value is 60 seconds. To change the default setting, type or select the new value. The stall
timeout interval is specified in number of seconds.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring media request weightings

The Media Manager process uses media request weightings while assigning a media request for a backup or
restore job.
IMPORTANT: These settings should only be changed under the direction of Dell Software Technical
Support.

To change relative priority for backup devices

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Services, click Media Manager.

In the Media Manager dialog box, under Media Request Weightings, configure the following settings.
Table 18. Media request weightings
Setting

Description

Local Device Weighting

The media request weighting for local devices is set to 32 by default. To

change this setting, type or select the new value. You can assign any value
between 2 and 32.

RAS Device Weighting

The media request weighting for RAS devices is set to 16 by default. To

change this setting, type or select the new value. You can assign any value
between 2 and 32.

Non NDMP Device

Weighting

The media request weighting for non-NDMP devices is set to 8 by default.

To change the default setting, type or select the new value. You can assign
any value between 2 and 32.

Media Loaded Weighting

The media request weighting for media-loaded devices is set to 4 by

default. To change the default setting, type or select the new value. You
can assign any value between 2 and 32.

Device Empty Loaded

Weighting

The media request weighting for empty loaded devices is set to 2 by

default. To change the default setting, type or select the new value. You
can assign any value between 2 and 32.

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By default, the Media Manager gives preference to a local device. To use another suitable device for a
job, you can set a higher media request weight for that device. For example, to ensure that the
Verification phase for a job uses the same NDMP device that was used for the backup, you can set a
higher value for the Media Loaded Weighting option. If you use the default media request weights, the
Media Manager will give preference to a local device even if the required media item is loaded into the
NDMP device.
6

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Setting soft stream limit for an RDA container

The soft stream limit for an RDA container is defined in the dellrdalayer.cfg file.You can find this file in
<NetVault Backup home>\config on Windows and <NetVault Backup home>/config on Linux. The default value
for this setting is 32 streams. This setting applies to all NetVault Backup Servers to which the container is
added. If the number of data streams exceeds the defined limit for the container, the Media Manager reports
the error Device has too many streams.

To configure the soft stream limit for an RDA container

1

Navigate to the NetVault Backup config directory, and open the file dellrdalayer.cfg in a text editor.

In the [Performance:SoftStreamLimit] section, change the Value setting:

[Performance:SoftStreamLimit]
Tab Name = Dell RDA Options
Tab Name Id = 9829
Label = Soft Stream Limit
Label Id= 9830
Type = Range
Range=1,256
Value=32
You can set the soft stream limit to any value between 1 and 100.

If the container is added to more than one NetVault Backup Server, set the same soft stream limit on all
servers.

Configuring Network Manager settings

This section includes the following topics:

About Network Manager

Configuring timeout settings for Network Manager

Configuring connection settings for Network Manager

Configuring default port for Network Manager

Configuring default port for Communications Manager

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About Network Manager

The Network Manager (nvnmgr) and Communications Manager (nvcmgr) support the inter-process messaging
system. Both run as processes on Linux and UNIX systems and as threads within the nvpmgr process on Windows.
These processes perform the following functions:

The Network Manager and Communications Manager work in tandem to transmit inter-process messages
to remote clients. While the Communications Manager handles communication between the NetVault
Backup processes on local machines, Network Manager transmits the inter-process messages to remote
clients.

The Network Manager broadcasts availability messages, which help determine the current status of the
NetVault Backup Clients.
NOTE: You must restart the NetVault Backup Service to apply any changes to the Network Manager
settings.

Configuring timeout settings for Network Manager

To configure timeout settings for Network Manager
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Services, click Network Manager.

In the Network Manager dialog box, under Timeouts, configure the following settings.
Table 19. Network Manager timeout settings
Setting

Description

Time to complete a
remote connection

This setting controls how long the NetVault Backup Server tries to establish
connection with a remote client. The default value is 60 seconds. To
change the default timeout interval, type or select a new value. The
timeout interval is specified in number of seconds.

Time to wait before

dropping inactive
connection(s)

This setting controls how long the NetVault Backup Server waits before
ending an inactive connection. It helps to reduce the amount of resources
consumed by idle connections. The default value is 600 seconds. To change
the default timeout interval, type or select a new value. The timeout
interval is specified in number of seconds.

Keep Alive rate

Keep-alive messages are used to verify that a connection between two

NetVault Backup machines is still intact. The Keep Alive Rate controls how
often the server sends keep-alive messages. The default value is 7
seconds. To change the default interval, type or select a new value. The
keep-alive rate is specified in number of seconds.

Time between availability The NetVault Backup Clients broadcast availability messages at regular
broadcasts
intervals that provide their current status and location on the network.
These broadcasts are used to discover the new clients and update the
client status on the NetVault WebUI. The default interval for availability
broadcasts is 600 seconds. To change the default setting, type or select a
new value. The broadcast interval is specified in number of seconds.
NOTE: If you set a very small interval, it may increase network traffic, and
if you set a large interval, it may result in delayed discovery of clients and
client status updates on the NetVault WebUI.

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Table 19. Network Manager timeout settings

Setting

Description

Time between security

broadcasts

Security broadcasts discover the password-protection status of clients, and

notify whether its password has been activated or disabled on a client. The
Client Status icons on the NetVault WebUI are updated based on these
broadcasts. The default interval for security broadcasts is 600 seconds. To
change the default setting, type or select a new value. The broadcast
interval is specified in number of seconds.

Time between availability The NetVault Backup Server performs availability checks at regular
checks
intervals to scan for changes in the network settings. If a change is
detected, the server sends an interim broadcast to propagate the new
settings. The broadcast system is then reset to regular pulse, reducing
network traffic. The default interval for availability checks is 10 seconds.
To change the default setting, type or select a new value. You can reduce
the interval between two checks to quickly detect and transmit changes. If
you do not want to apply the changes immediately, use the default value
or set it equal to the interval for Availability Broadcasts.
6

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring connection settings for Network Manager

To configure connection settings for Network Manager
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Services, click Network Manager.

In the Network Manager dialog box, under Connections, configure the following settings.
Table 20. Network Manager connection settings
Setting

Description

Broadcast details to
machines on local
networks

This check box is selected by default. Although this option can be disabled,
it is not recommended. Availability broadcasts are needed for automatic
discovery of clients and status updates. Without these broadcasts, you
need to manually locate new clients using the Find Machine command to
add them. For more information about this command, see Locating a
client.

Preferred network
address

For multihomed systems, you can configure the following settings:

Comma separated list of

barred address(es)
Comma separated list of
fallback address(es)

Preferred network address Specify the primary IP address for

network connection. You can specify only a single IP address.

Comma separated list of barred address(es) Specify the barred

or blocked addresses that are not to be used for NetVault Backup
connections. To specify multiple addresses, use a comma as
delimiter.

NOTE: The NetVault Backup Service must be restarted after making any
changes to the barred addresses setting.

Comma separated list of fallback address(es) Specify the

fallback addresses to use when the preferred network address is not
available. For multiple addresses, use a comma as delimiter.

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Table 20. Network Manager connection settings

Setting

Description
Important notes:

Ensure that the preferred, barred, and fallback addresses do not

conflict with each other.

These settings should only be used when the local machine is

connected to multiple networks, either through multiple Network
Interface Cards or through virtual IP addressing.

When a connection is initiated, the addresses are attempted in the

following order:

Preferred network address

Fallback addresses

Any other addresses in the order defined by the binding order of the
host machine

If the preferred address is unavailable and the NetVault Backup Server

starts using a fallback address, it does not automatically revert back to the
preferred address when the IP becomes available.
To force the NetVault Backup Server to use the preferred address, do one
of the following:

Remove the client and add it again.

When you remove the client, the message Machine <NetVault
Backup Machine Name> Has Gone Down (Warning Level:
Background) is displayed on the View Logs page. Wait until the
timeout for remote connection expires. The timeout interval is
determined by the Time to complete remote connection setting
(set to 60 seconds by default).
When the client is up and detected on the network, the message
Machine <NetVault Backup Machine Name> Has Come Up (Warning
Level: Background) is displayed on the View Logs page. To add the
client, use the Find Machine command, and specify its preferred
network address in the box.

Comma separated list of

networks and addresses
not to resolve

Alternatively, disable or disconnect the network interface currently

in use until the timeout for remote connection expires. The value
configured for the Time to complete remote connection setting
determines the duration for which the network interface needs to
be disabled or disconnected. Restart the NetVault Backup Service
when the client is reported as unavailable. The NetVault Backup
Server uses the preferred address when the next connection
attempt is made after you restart the service on the client.

When the NetVault Backup Service starts, it attempts to resolve all client
IP addresses listed in the machines.dat file. You can find this file in
<NetVault Backup home>\etc on Windows and <NetVault Backup
home>/etc on Linux. This can cause a significant delay in the service
startup and the machine can appear unresponsive during this time.
The Comma separated list of networks and addresses not to resolve
option lets you specify the addresses that are not be resolved. This can
reduce or avoid the startup delay.
You can specify a single address or a range, for example, 192.168.1.2 or
192.168.x.x. If you want to configure multiple addresses or networks, use
a comma as delimiter.

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Table 20. Network Manager connection settings

Setting

Description
To get the list of networks from the machines.dat file, issue the following
command on Windows:
findstr Network <NetVault Backup home>\etc\machines.dat
An example output is given below:
C:\NetVault Backup\etc>findstr Network machines.dat
Networks=192.168.203.1,192.168.65.1,172.16.245.1
Networks=10.1.40.81,172.16.211.1,172.16.62.1
Networks=10.1.2.37,172.16.22.1,172.16.128.1
Networks=10.1.240.222,172.16.4.1
Networks=192.168.122.1,10.1.240.52
Networks=10.1.80.83,10.1.2.68,172.16.116.1
Networks=192.168.172.1,10.1.40.98,192.168.147.1
Networks=192.168.174.1,10.1.8.71,192.168.120.1
Networks=192.168.122.1,10.1.8.79
Networks=10.1.8.132,192.168.91.1,192.168.106.1
Networks=10.1.8.163,192.168.233.1,192.168.207.1
Networks=10.1.8.16,200.0.0.1
...
Based on this output, you can configure the following values in the Comma
separated list of networks and addresses not to resolve box:
10.0.0.0, 172.0.0.0, 192.0.0.0, 200.0.0.0
Some networks may have name instead of the IP address. To find the IP
addresses for such clients, you can use the nslookup tool.
To prevent the NetVault Backup Service from resolving all networks,
specify the first octet of a network address (that is, 192.0.0.0, 10.0.0.0).
NOTE: Using 0.0.0.0 does not prevent the service from resolving the
networks.
The startup delay is also caused by clients that are offline and listed on the
Manage Clients page. To speed up the process, you can remove the clients
that are offline or no longer in use.
In a domain managed by a Windows-based NetVault Backup Server, you may
experience a long delay as the service attempts to resolve all client IP
addresses using the NBNS (NetBIOS Name Service) protocol. In this
environment, you can use the Comma separated list of networks and
addresses not to resolve setting to reduce the startup delay. You can also
use this setting in an NetVault Backup Client Cluster setup to prevent the
service from resolving the private cluster IP addresses.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box

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Configuring default port for Network Manager

The Network Manager is configured to use port 20031 to open TCP and UDP sockets on a client. If this port is
being used by another application, the NetVault Backup Service fails immediately after startup. When this
occurs, you must change the default port for Network Manager.

To change the default port for Network Manager

1

Open the file nvnmgr.cfg in a text editor. You can find this file in <NetVault Backup home>\config on
Windows and <NetVault Backup home>/config on Linux.

Add the following lines to this file:

[network]
UdpPort=<port number>
TcpPort=<port number>
Set the same port number for both the TCP and UDP sockets. Ensure that the port is not in use by any
other application. In a firewall-protected environment, ensure that the port is open and specified in the
firewall settings for the client. For more information, see Configuring firewall settings.

Restart the NetVault Backup Service to apply the new settings.

Repeat steps 13 on the NetVault Backup Server and all clients.

Configuring default port for Communications Manager

The Communications Manager is configured to use port 20032 to open TCP sockets on a client. If this port is
being used by another application, the NetVault Backup Service fails immediately after startup. When this
occurs, you must change the default port for Communications Manager.

To change the default port for Communications Manager

1

Open the file configure.cfg in a text editor. You can find this file in <NetVault Backup home>\config on
Windows and <NetVault Backup home>/config on Linux.

In the [machine] section, append the following line:

[machine]
Comms TcpPort=<port number>
Ensure that the port is not in use by any other application. In a firewall-protected environment, ensure
that the port is open and specified in the firewall settings for the client. For more information, see
Configuring firewall settings.

Restart the NetVault Backup Service to apply the new settings.

Repeat steps 13 on the NetVault Backup Server and all clients.

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Configuring Process Manager settings

This section includes the following topics:

About Process Manager

Configuring shared memory settings

About Process Manager

The Process Manager (nvpmgr) runs on all NetVault Backup machines and manages all other NetVault Backup
processes. It creates and destroys the transient processes. The Process Manager also manages the allocation of
the shared memory area for the process table, trace buffers, and progress buffers.
NOTE: The NetVault Backup Service must be restarted to apply any changes to the Process Manager
settings.

Configuring shared memory settings

To configure the shared memory settings for Process Manager
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Services, click Process Manager.

In the Process Manager dialog box, configure the following settings.

Table 21. Shared memory settings for Process Manager
Setting

Description

Shared Memory Allocated This setting controls the amount of shared memory allocated to the
individual trace buffers of each NetVault Backup process. The default
to the Trace Buffer of
value is 7KB on all platforms. To increase the shared memory for individual
Each Process
trace buffers, type or select a new value. The shared memory is allocated
in KB.
NOTE: Increasing the value of this setting could affect the performance
and scalability of NetVault Backup. For example, it could reduce the
maximum number of concurrent data transfers.
Shared Memory Allocated This setting controls the amount of shared memory allocated to the
to a Progress Buffer
individual progress buffers of the data plug-ins. The progress buffers are
used to share job progress data displayed on the NetVault WebUI. The
default value is 1KB on all platforms. To increase the shared memory for
progress buffers, type or select a new value. The shared memory is
allocated in KB.
Number of Progress
Buffers Available to
Plugins

This setting controls the total number of progress buffers available to the
plug-ins running on the NetVault Backup Clients. The progress buffers are
used to share job progress data displayed on the NetVault WebUI. The
default value is 100 on all platforms. To increase the shared memory for
progress buffers, type or select the new value.

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Table 21. Shared memory settings for Process Manager

Setting

Description

Shared Memory Used for

Process Table

This setting controls the amount of shared memory allocated to the

Process Table that maintains the details of all current NetVault Backup
processes. The default value for this option is 16384KB on Windows and
500KB on Linux and UNIX.
On NetVault Backup machines running a number for concurrent processes,
you can increase the amount of shared memory for the Process Table to get
optimum performance. To increase the shared memory, type or select a
new value. The shared memory is allocated in KB.
NOTE: On Windows, the shared memory is allocated dynamically. On Linux
and UNIX, the shared memory for the process table is allocated from the
shared memory pool. To increase the shared memory for the process table
on these platforms, you must first increase the overall shared memory
pool. This can be done by configuring the shmmax variable in the system
configuration file. For more information about increasing the shared
memory pool, consult the relevant O/S documentation.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring Schedule Manager settings

This section includes the following topics:

About Schedule Manager

Configuring default settings for Schedule Manager

About Schedule Manager

The Schedule Manager (nvsched) runs on the NetVault Backup Server and performs the following functions:

It manages the job schedules and queues. The Schedule Manager initiates the Job Manager to launch a
job instance, and schedules the next instance for recurring jobs. The actual job execution is carried out
by the Job Manager.

It manages the Scheduler database. The Schedule Manager updates the Job Status page and provides job
scheduling data to the Reporting utility.

Configuring default settings for Schedule Manager

To configure the default settings for Schedule Manager
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under Services, click Schedule Manager.

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In the Schedule Manager dialog box, configure the following settings.

Table 22. Schedule Manager settings
Setting

Description

Number of days to keep

job status

Type or select the display period for status records. The display period is
specified in number of days. The default value for this setting is 7 days.
NOTE: This setting just hides the display of job status records on the
NetVault WebUI. It does not delete the records from the Scheduler
database.

Number of days to keep

By default, the Schedule Manager deletes the report job history from the
report job histories in the database after 90 days. To change the retention period, type or select a
database
new value. The value is specified in number of days.
Number of days to keep
other job histories in the
database

By default, the Schedule Manager deletes the backup and restore job
history from the database after 90 days. To change the retention period,
type or select a new value. The value is specified in number of days.

Number of days to keep

Type or select the retention period for non-repeating jobs. The retention
non-scheduled jobs in the period is specified in number of days. The default value for this setting is 0
database
(zero). With the default setting, the job definitions of non-repeating jobs
are retained indefinitely.
Maximum simultaneously
active jobs

By default, the Schedule Manager supports a maximum of 200 simultaneous

jobs. This includes backup, restore and report jobs. To change the default
setting, type or select a new value.
NOTE: Each active job requires some amount of shared memory. An
increase in the number of active jobs might have an impact on the overall
performance of NetVault Backup.

Exclude reports jobs from To display the report jobs on the Job Status page, clear this check box.
jobs management views
These jobs are excluded by default.
Exclude reports jobs from To display the report jobs on the Manage Policy page, clear this check box.
policy management views These jobs are excluded by default.
Exclude restore jobs from To display the restore jobs on the Manage Policy page, clear this check
policy management views box. These jobs are excluded by default.
Default backup job
priority
Default restore job
priority
Default report job
priority

The Schedule Manager assigns a priority level for each job type, which is
applied globally to all backup, restore, and report jobs. This setting is used
to prioritize resource allocation when two or more jobs are scheduled to
run at the same time.
The default priority levels are:

Backup job 30

Restore job 20

Report job 50

To change the priority level settings globally for all jobs, configure the
following options:

Default backup job priority

Default restore job priority

Default report job priority

Type or select a value from 1 through 100. 1 denotes highest priority, while
100 denotes lowest priority. A job with a priority level of zero (0) runs as a
background task.
To override the priority setting for an individual job, configure the Job
Priority option in the Schedule Set. For more information, see Creating a
Schedule Set, Job retry and priority settings for Schedule Set.
6

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

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Configuring global notification settings

This section includes the following topics:

Configuring mail server settings for SysOp Email method

Configuring mail ID for SysOp Email method

Configuring default printer for Print Report method

Configuring Network Manager host for SNMP Trap method

Configuring mail server settings for SysOp Email

method
To configure the default settings for email notifications
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under User Interface, click Notification.

In the Notification dialog box, under Mail Server, configure the following options.
Table 23. Mail server settings for notifications
Setting

Description

Outgoing E-mail Server

(SMTP)

Type the machine name or IP Address of the Mail Server.

Port number

The default SMTP listener port is port number 25. If the Mail Server is
configured to listen on a different port, specify the port number.

NetVaults E-mail Address Type the senders email address for notifications.
NetVaults Real Name

Type the senders name for email notifications.

Perform Authentication

To perform authentication, select this check box. You can use this setting
only if your Mail Server supports LOGIN or PLAIN protocols.

Authentication Account

Specify a user account that can be used for SMTP authentication. This is
required only if the Perform Authentication check box is selected.
If no user account is specified, the user name from NetVaults E-mail
Address is used for authentication.
For example, if you specify UserA@mycompany.com in the NetVaults
E-mail Address box, NetVault Backup uses UserA to perform SMTP
authentication.

Authentication Password

Type the password for the SMTP authentication account.

Confirmation
Authentication Password

Re-type the password for confirmation.

Use hostname instead of

nvsendmail

Select this check box to use the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN)
instead of nvsendmail with the EHLO and HELO commands. NetVault
Backup uses the hostname in the mail server messages, so the system must
be set up with an FQDN to display the hostname in FQDN format.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

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Configuring mail ID for SysOp Email method

To configure the default settings for SysOp email notifications
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under User Interface, click Notification.

In the Notification dialog box, under Global Notification, configure the following settings.
Table 24. SysOp mail ID for notifications

Setting

Description

Email Address of System

Administrator

Type the email address of the Sysop (Administrator). Use a comma (,) to
separate multiple email addresses.

Real Name of System

Administrator

Type the real name of the Sysop or Administrator.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring default printer for Print Report method

To use the Print Report notification method, you must configure a default printer on Windows-based NetVault
Backup Servers.

To configure the default settings for Print Report notifications

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under User Interface, click Notification.

In the Notification dialog box, under Default Printer, configure the following setting:

Default Printer Name To configure a default printer for the Print Report notification method,
type the printer name. Specify the exact string that is used to identify the printer in the Windows
OS.
This setting is only required on Windows-based NetVault Backup Servers.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring Network Manager host for SNMP Trap

method
To configure the default settings for SNMP Trap notifications
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.
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Under User Interface, click Notification.

In the Notification dialog box, under SNMP Traps, configure the following settings.
Table 25. Default settings for SNMP Trap notifications
Setting

Description

Trap Target Host

Type the network name or FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) of the
Network Manager host to which the SNMP traps are to be sent.

Port Number

The default listener port for SNMP traps is port number 162. If the host is
configured to listen on a different port, specify the port number.

Community String

An SNMP community string is a password that is used to authenticate

messages that are sent between the Network Manager Host and the agent.
The community string is included in every packet that is transmitted
between the SNMP manager and the SNMP agent.
This Community String is set to public, which is the default read-only
community string for most network devices. We recommend that you
modify this default string and set a new password for SNMP traps.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring the reporting utility

This section includes the following sections:

About reporting utility

Customizing HTML report templates

Customizing plain text report templates

Customizing CSV report templates

Configuring default settings for Statistics Manager

Creating a global purge policy for the Reports Database

Creating table-specific purge policy

About reporting utility

The NetVault Backup reporting utility provides a selection of canned reports that can be generated and viewed
in HTML, text, and Comma Separated Value (CSV) formats. For more information about reports, see Using
canned reports.
The data for the canned reports is gathered and transmitted by the Statistics Manager (nvstatsmngr) and
Reports Database Manager (nvrepdbmngr) processes:

Statistics Manager This process runs on the NetVault Backup Server and Client machines. The Statistics
Manager collects the following data drive statistics, event history, media requests, server capacity, and
transfer information.

Reports Database Manager This process runs only on the NetVault Backup Server. The Reports Database
Manager polls the Statistics Manager at regular intervals to retrieve the collected data, and writes the
data to the Reports Database. It provides the information in the reports database to the reporting utility
and performs periodic purging of the reports database.

You can customize the report templates and change the default settings for the Statistics Manager and the
Reports Database Manager from the NetVault WebUI.

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Customizing HTML report templates

NetVault Backup uses built-in templates to generate and format the output for HTML reports. You can customize
these templates to apply various formatting styles. The formatting styles are applied globally to all HTML report
templates. These settings should only be configured by users with a good knowledge of HTML. Improper
configuration could result in incorrect output.

To customize the output format for HTML reports

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under User Interface, click Reporting.

In the Reporting dialog box, under HTML Text Output, configure the following settings:

Pre-text for HTML output of plain text

Post-text for HTML output of plain text

Default HTML column header pre-text

Default HTML column header post-text

Default HTML header field pre-text

Default HTML header field post-text

Default text to output for an HTML report with no records

Default HTML total row pre-text

Default HTML total row post-text

Default HTML total field pre-text

Default HTML total field post-text

Default HTML average row pre-text

Default HTML average row post-text

Default HTML average field pre-text

Default HTML average field post-text

Default HTML format pre-text

Default HTML format post-text

Default HTML format field pre-text

Default HTML format field post-text

Use the pre-text fields to specify opening HTML tags for formatting styles (for example, font type, font
size, and others) or text for headers, total or average rows, or body cells.
Use the post-text fields to specify closing HTML tags for custom formatting styles.
Use the Default text to output for an HTML report with no records field to change the default text
Nothing to display with any custom text.
6

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

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Customizing plain text report templates

NetVault Backup uses built-in templates to generate and format the plain text reports. You can customize these
templates and add line breaks, tabs, or separators. The formatting styles are applied globally to all plain text
report templates. These settings should only be configured by users familiar with the use of control characters
and escape sequences in text output. Improper configuration could result in incorrect output.

To customize the output format for plain text reports

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under User Interface, click Reporting.

In the Reporting dialog box, under Plain Text Output, configure the following settings:

Default plain text column header pre-text

Default plain text column header post-text

Default text to output for a plain text report with no records

Default plain-text total row pre-text

Default plain-text total row post-text

Default plain-text total field pre-text

Default plain-text total field post-text

Default plain-text average row pre-text

Default plain-text average row post-text

Default plain-text average field pre-text

Default plain-text average field post-text

Default plain-text format pre-text

Default plain-text format post-text

Default plain-text format field pre-text

Default plain-text format field post-text

Use the pre-text fields to specify formatting styles (for example, line breaks, separators, and others) or
text for headers, total or average rows, or body cells.
Use the post-text fields to specify formatting styles (for example, line breaks, separators, and others).
Use the Default text to output for a plain text report with no records field to change the default text
Nothing to display with any custom text.
6

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

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Customizing CSV report templates

NetVault Backup uses built-in templates to generate and format the output for CSV reports. You can customize
these templates and define a custom delimiter, add line breaks, tabs, or separators. The formatting styles are
applied globally to all CSV report templates. These settings should only be configured by users familiar with the
use of control characters and escape sequences in CSV output. Improper configuration could result in incorrect
output.

To customize the output format for CSV reports

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under User Interface, click Reporting.

In the Reporting dialog box, under CSV Output, configure the following settings:

Default CSV column header pre-text

Default CSV column header post-text

Default CSV header field pre-text

Default CSV header field post-text

Default text to output for a CSV report with no records

Default CSV format pre-text

Default CSV format post-text

Default CSV format field pre-text

Default CSV format field post-text

Use the pre-text fields to specify formatting styles (for example, line breaks, separators, and others) or
text for headers, total or average rows, or body cells
Use the post-text fields to specify formatting styles (for example, line breaks, separators, and others)
and custom delimiters.
Use the Default text to output for a CSV report with no records field to change the default text
Nothing to display with any custom text.
6

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring timeout setting for report generation

To configure the timeout setting for report generation
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under User Interface, click Reporting.

In the Reporting dialog box, under Misc, configure the following setting:

Report Generation Timeout By default, the timeout period is set to 120 seconds. If the report
generation does not complete within this period, the job fails. To change the timeout period,
type or select a new value. The valid timeout range is 60 to 600 seconds.

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Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Configuring default settings for Statistics Manager

To configure the default settings for Statistics Manager
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under User Interface, click Reporting.

In the Reporting dialog box, under Stats Collection, configure the following settings.
Table 26. Stats Collection settings
Setting

Description

Statistics gathering
window start

By default, the Statistics Manager collects statistics for 24 hours, starting

at 00:00:00 and continuing until 23:59:59 hours. To limit statistics
collection to certain times of the day, specify the start and end time in
these boxes.

Statistics gathering
window end

Specify the time in HH:MM:SS format.

The maximum duration for a session is 24 hours. It could last a single
calendar day or continue to the next day. For example, if you set 10:00:00
as the start time and 7:00:00 as the end time, the session will begin at
10:00 A.M. on the current day and lasts until 7:00 A.M. the next day.

Frequency

Type or select the polling period for Statistics Manager. The polling period
is specified in number of seconds. The default value is 10 seconds.

Records per Storage File

Type or select the maximum number of records per file. The Statistics
Manager will close the current file and open a new file when this limit is
reached. The default value for this setting is 1000 records.

In the Reporting dialog box, under Stats Provision, configure the following settings.
Table 27. Stats Provision settings
Setting

Description

Enable stats collection on Statistics collection is enabled by default on all NetVault Backup machines.
this machine
To disable this activity on a client, clear this check box.
Be aware that if you disable statistics collection, the reports related to
drive performance, event history, media requests, and other data
collected by the Statistics Manager will not be accurate.
Absent server threshold

Type or select how long the Statistics Manager holds the collected data for
the Reports Database Manager. The threshold is specified in number of
hours. The default value is 72 hours. If the Reports Database Manager does
not poll for data within this time, a warning is logged and the following
events occur:

The Statistics Manager discards all files that are not transferred to
the Reports Database.

The Statistics Manager does not store any files until the Reports
Database Manager establishes contact with it.

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Table 27. Stats Provision settings

Setting

Description

Transmit Block Size

Type or select the block size for transmitting data collected by the
Statistics Manager. The block size is specified in KB. The default value is
10KB.

Minimum Stats Manager

Cache

Type or select the minimum cache for Statistics Manager. It is specified in

number of records. The default value is 30 records.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Creating a global purge policy for the Reports

Database
By default, the Reports Database Manager deletes all records that are older than 31 days. You can override this
behavior with a age-based or size-based purge policy.

To create a global purge policy for the Reports Database

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under User Interface, click Reporting.

In the Reporting dialog box, under Tables, configure the following settings.
Table 28. Global purge settings for the Reports Database
Setting

Description

Tables default to being

part of the global purge
group

By default, the global purge policy is applied to all the tables in the
Reports Database. You can override this behavior for individual tables with
table-specific purge policies. The table-specific policies are only applied
when you disable the global policy at the database level.
To apply the global purge policy to all report tables, ensure that this check
box is selected.

Purge check frequency

By default, the Reports Database Manager performs purge check every 24

hours, and deletes all records that match the purge condition.
To change the frequency of purge checks, type or select the time interval
between two purge events. The purge frequency is specified in number of
hours.

Global purge method

Select one of the following options:

By date Select this option to delete records that are older than
the specified time limit.

By space used Select this option to delete records when the space
usage exceeds the specified size limit.

Global purge space limit

Type or select the maximum file size for the report tables. The file size is
specified in MB. The default value is 50MB.

Global purge time limit

Type or select the maximum age for records stored in the Reports
Database. The record age is specified in number of days. The default value
is 31 days.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

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Creating table-specific purge policy

Table-specific purge policies can be created for the following report tables: driveevents, events,
mediacapacities, mediarequests, mediatransfers, driveperformance, and jobfiletallies.
To create a purge policy for individual report tables
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under User Interface, click Reporting.

In the Reporting dialog box, under Tables, configure the following settings.
Table 29. Table-specific purge policy
Setting

Description

Tables default to being

part of the global purge
group

By default, the global purge policy is applied to all the tables in the
Reports Database. The table-specific policies are only applied when you
disable the global policy at the database level.
To disable the global purge policy at the database level, clear this check
box.

Table <table name> purge Select one of the following options:

method
By space used Select this option to delete records when the space
usage exceeds the specified size limit.

By date Select this option to delete records that are older than
the specified time limit.

Use global policy Select this option to apply the global purge
policy to the table.

Table <table name> purge Type or select the maximum file size for the report tables. The file size is
space limit
specified in MB. The default value is 10MB.
Table <table name> purge Type or select the maximum age for records stored in the Reports
time limit
Database. The record age is specified in number of days. The default value
is 31 days.
6

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

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17
Using the trace utility

About trace logs

Setting trace levels

Enabling tracing

Enabling circular logging method for trace files

About trace logs

Tracing is a logging technique that captures diagnostic information related to events and error conditions
occurring in the NetVault Backup system. It is used by Dell Software Technical Support to identify and correct
problems in the system.
NOTE: The trace utility must only be used under the direction of Dell Software Technical Support.
Tracing is disabled by default. To generate trace logs, you must set appropriate trace levels for various
processes, and activate tracing. Trace logs are stored in <NetVault Backup home>\trace on Windows and
<NetVault Backup home>\trace on Linux. To relocate the trace directory, see Configuring general settings.
By default, the BakBone Time is used in trace logs. BakBone Time is the system time on the BakBone Time
Server that is usually the NetVault Backup Server. It is used to synchronize time on all NetVault Backup Clients in
the domain. You can also configure NetVault Backup to use local client time in the trace logs. The log time is
recorded in the format hhmmss.mmmmmm (Hours, Minutes, Seconds, and fractional component). The update
interval for the fractional component is OS dependent.
By default, a single trace file is created for each process that continues to grow as new logs are added to it. The
maximum file size depends on the OS and file system in use. From the Change Settings link, you can override
this behavior and configure a the circular tracing method for the trace logs.

Trace levels
Trace levels specify what type of events and errors are traced, and what level of detail is recorded in the trace
logs. The following table lists the supported trace levels.
Table 1. Trace levels
Trace level
DEFAULT

Description
The DEFAULT trace level is equivalent to the LIBDEBUG trace level.
On pre-8.5 versions, this setting is equivalent to the LIBVERBOSE trace level.

ALWAYS

Traces all error conditions.

NORMAL

Traces high-level application execution path.

VERBOSE

Traces low-level application execution path.

LIBNORMAL

Traces high-level execution of library functions.

LIBVERBOSE

Traces low-level execution of library functions.

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Table 1. Trace levels

Trace level

Description

DEBUG

Traces high-level debug information.

LIBDEBUG

Traces low-level debug information.

Setting trace levels

Trace levels specify what type of events and errors are traced, and what level of detail is recorded in the trace
logs. By default, the trace level for each process is set to DEFAULT. The DEFAULT trace level is equivalent to the
LIBDEBUG trace level.

To change trace levels for one or more processes

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under User Interface, click Trace Level.

In the Trace Level dialog box, the following processes are listed.
Table 2. Setting trace levels for various NetVault Backup processes

Configurator

SVTL Library Manager

Config Manager

Process Manager

ACSLS Library Manager

RAS Device Scanner

Communication Manager

Media Manager

Web Service

Network Manager

Logging Daemon

Web service Worker

Script Plugin

Database Browser

Notification Plugin

GUI

Verify Browser

Reports Producer

Core Plugin

Duplicate Browser

Audit Tool Plugin

GUI Proxy

SysExec Plugin

Consolidate Incremental
backups

Schedule Manager

Utility Plugin

Data Copy

Job Manager

Device Scan

Data Copy Plugin Slave

Device Manager

Statistics Manager

Disk Device Creator

NDMP Device Manager

Reports Database Manager

Raw Device

SVTL Device Manager

Auditor

Verify Plugin

Library Manager

SVTL Creator

File System

NDMP Library Manager

CLI Proxy Gateway

NetVault Databases

When you install a licensed plug-in, a new process corresponding to that plug-in is automatically added
to this dialog box. The trace utility can be used to capture information about the new process without
any additional requirement.
6

For each process, the trace level is set to DEFAULT. To set or change the trace level for a process, select
the appropriate setting. The available options are:

DEFAULT

ALWAYS

NORMAL

VERBOSE
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LIBNORMAL

LIBVERBOSE

DEBUG

LIBDEBUG

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Enabling tracing
Tracing is not enabled by default. You have to start it manually after setting the trace levels.

To enable tracing
1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under System and Security, click General.

In the General dialog box, configure the following settings.

Table 3. Enable tracing
Setting

Description

Generate debugging files

Select this check box.

To disable tracing, clear this check box.

Use Bakbone time in

debugging files

This check box is selected by default to ensure all date and time values in
the trace logs are based on BakBone Time. This helps in comparing and
analyzing trace output from multiple clients. We recommend that you
leave this check box selected.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

Enabling circular logging method for trace

files
By default, NetVault Backup creates a single trace file for each process that continues to grow as logs are added
to it. Circular tracing allows you to split the file by setting maximum lines per trace file, and overwrite the
oldest file by setting the maximum number of trace files to retain. For example, if you configure 5000 lines per
trace file and 5 trace files to keep per session, 5000 trace logs are written to one file, and then a new file is
created. When the fifth file is filled up, the first file is overwritten.

To enable circular logging method for trace files

1

In the Navigation pane, click Change Settings.

To configure the default settings for NetVault Backup Server, click Server Settings.

To configure the default settings for a NetVault Backup Client, click Client Settings. In the clients table,
select the applicable client, and click Next.

Under System and Security, click General.

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In the General dialog box, configure the following settings.

Table 4. Enable circular logging method for trace files
Setting

Description

Lines per trace file

This setting determines two properties for trace files:

Whether circular tracing is enabled or not.

When circular tracing is enabled, the maximum number of lines for

each trace file.

The default value for this option is zero (0), which indicates that circular
logging is not enabled for trace files.
To enable circular tracing, type or select the maximum number of trace
lines that can be written to each file. It is set in multiples of 1000 and the
maximum supported value is 32,000.
After configuring this option, you must also set the Trace Files to Keep Per
Session option.
Trace file to keep per
session

Type or select the maximum number of trace files that can be created in a
session. A session is valid for an indefinite time, until the NetVault Backup
Service is restarted. The maximum supported value is 1000.
When circular tracing is enabled, NetVault Backup begins writing trace
messages to the first file. When data exceeds the defined maximum lines,
the current file is closed and a new file is created. An integer is appended
to the file name to indicate its sequence. When the last file gets filled,
NetVault Backup overwrites the first file, and so on.

Click Apply to apply the new settings and close the dialog box.

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A
Using the deviceconfig utility

About deviceconfig

Configuring default settings for tape libraries

Configuring default settings for tape drives

About deviceconfig
The deviceconfig utility is a console application that allows you to configure advanced device settings for all
types of tape libraries and drives. This utility is automatically installed on the respective machines when you
install the NetVault Backup Server and Client software.
The deviceconfig utility is located in the bin directory (<NetVault Backup home>\bin on Windows and
<NetVault Backup home>/bin on Linux and UNIX).
To use this utility, you must be logged-in with Administrator privileges on Windows and root user privileges on
Linux and UNIX.

Configuring default settings for tape

libraries
To configure default settings for a tape library
1

Start a terminal session or command window.

Go to <NetVault Backup home>\bin (Windows) or <NetVault Backup home>/bin (Linux and UNIX).

To start the utility, type the following command:

deviceconfig [-servername <FQDN> (-httpport <HTTP port> |
-httpsport <HTTPS port>)] -username <NetVault Backup user>
-password <user password>
-librarymachine <library machine name> -libraryname <library name>
These options are described in the following table.
Table 1. Using deviceconfig to modify tape library settings
Option

Description

-servername

Connects to a remote NetVault Backup Server.

With this option, you must specify either the HTTP or HTTPS port to
connect to the Remote Web Service.
If you omit this option, the deviceconfig utility connects to the Local Web
Service and automatically detects the local Web Service configuration.

-username

Specifies a valid NetVault Backup user name.

-password

Specifies the password for the user account.

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Table 1. Using deviceconfig to modify tape library settings

Option

Description

-librarymachine

Specifies the name of the NetVault Backup machine to which the library is
connected to.

-libraryname

Specifies the name of the library.

Examples:
deviceconfig -servername Test_Server-B -httpsport 8443
-username default -librarymachine Test_Server-B
-libraryname Library_1
deviceconfig -username default -librarymachine Test_Server-A
-libraryname Library_2
4

The Changer Configuration page is displayed when you start the utility. This page contains the following
items:

Configuration To configure general settings for a tape library, press 1. For more information
about these settings, see Configuring general settings for tape libraries.

Cleaning To configure drive cleaning settings for a tape library, press 2. For more information
about these settings, see Configuring drive cleaning settings.

Mixed Media To configure mixed media settings, press 3. For more information about these
settings, see Configuring mixed media settings.

To save the changes and quit, press s.

(To quit without saving the changes, press q.)

Configuring general settings for tape libraries

On the Configuration page, the following settings are available.
Table 2. General settings for tape libraries
Option

Description

Need command to open

entry/exit port

The default setting is OFF. To change it, press the option number.

Do not issue unload

commands to drives

The default setting is OFF. To change it, press the option number.

Must unload drive(s) to

open door

The default setting is OFF. To change it, press the option number.

Do not overlap commands The default setting is OFF. To change it, press the option number.
to arm and drive
Return inactive media to
slot delay

Type the timeout period for media inactivity. The timeout period is specified in
number of seconds. NetVault Backup returns the media i returned to the slot if no
activity occurs within the specified period. The default value for this option is 30
seconds. To retain the media indefinitely in the drive, set this option to zero (0).

Mark Unknown Media

Blank

The default setting is OFF. To change it, press the option number.
When it is set ON, NetVault Backup marks an unknown tapes as BLANK without
reading the tape headers. You still need to run the Blank command to actually
delete the data and use the media for backups.

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Table 2. General settings for tape libraries

Option

Description

Do Not Scan Unknown

Media

When you add tapes to a library, and close the door (or restart the library),
NetVault Backup takes an inventory by reading the media barcodes. If NetVault
Backup cannot find the barcode for a piece of media in the Media Database, it
marks that tape as UNKNOWN. You can use the Mark Unknown Media Blank
option to mark such tapes as BLANK.
If you do not mark the unknown tapes as BLANK, NetVault Backup starts loading
each unknown tape into one of the drives to scan for backups and on-tape indices.
On very large systems, this can increase the burden on the drive resources.
If you do not want to scan the unknown tapes automatically, change the setting to
ON. When it is set ON, the unknown tapes are marked as UNKNOWN.
To apply this parameter to an existing library, you must remove the library and
re-add it.

Entry / Exit Port Locks

Arm

The default setting is OFF. To change it, press the option number.

Configuring drive cleaning settings

On the Cleaning page, the following settings are available.
Table 3. Drive cleaning settings
Option

Description

Automatic Cleaning
Supported

The default setting is ON for libraries that support automatic cleaning.

Barcode Prefix(es) of
cleaning media

Specify the barcode prefixes for cleaning media. To configure multiple cleaning
tapes, separate the barcodes using a comma. If you do not use the barcode labels
of tape media, you can omit this option.

Cleaning Slots

Specify the slot numbers that will hold the cleaning media. To configure multiple
slots, use a comma.

Configuring mixed media settings

On the Mixed Media page, the following settings are available.
Table 4. Mixed Media settings
Option

Description

Slot Types

This option specifies the slot ranges for each media type. This would be
determined by how the media was organized in the library during initial setup. To
create this list, assign a unique Slot Type Identifier for each media type and
specify the corresponding slot range for it. The format for creating is:
<SlotTypeIdentifier>=<SlotRange>
To specify more than one slot range for a media type, create a separate list item.
Comma-separated values are not supported. Use the same Slot Type Identifier for
configuring the additional slots or slot ranges. When assigning a Slot Type
Identifier, make sure that it allows you to easily identify the media type contained
in the slot. No spaces are allowed in the values.

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Table 4. Mixed Media settings

Option

Description
Example:
SDLTMedia=1-10
STKRMedia=11-30
LTO1Media=31-60
LTO1Media=101

Drive Types

This option specifies the types of drives that are available on the library. To create
this list, assign a unique Drive Type Identifier for each media type and specify the
corresponding drive number for it. The format for creating this list is:
<DriveTypeIdentifier>=<DriveNumber>
For multiple drives of the same type, configure each individual drive as a separate
list item. Comma-separated values are not supported. Use the same Drive Type
Identifier for configuring multiple drives of the same type. When assigning a Drive
Type Identifier, make sure that it allows you to easily identify the drive type. No
spaces are allowed in the values.
Example:
SDLT=1
STKR=2
STKR=3
LTO1=4

Drive Types/Media Type

Compatibilities

This option specifies the supported media type for each drive type. The format
for creating this list is:
<DriveTypeIdentifier>=<SlotTypeIdentifier>
Example:
SDLT=SDLTMedia
STKR=STKRMedia
LTO1=LTO1Media
This configuration ensures that a piece of media is only obtained from the
corresponding slots when a particular type of drive is accessed.

Configuring default settings for tape drives

To configure the default settings for a tape drive
1

Start a terminal session or command window.

Go to <NetVault Backup home>\bin (Windows) or <NetVault Backup home>/bin (Linux and UNIX).

To start the utility, type the following command:

deviceconfig [-servername <FQDN> (-httpport <HTTP port> |
-httpsport <HTTPS port>)] -username <NetVault Backup user>
-password <user password>
-drivemachine <drive machine name> -drivepath <path to drive>
These options are described in the following table.

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Table 5. Using deviceconfig to modify tape drive settings

Option

Description

-servername

Connects to a remote NetVault Backup Server.

With this option, you must specify either the HTTP or HTTPS port to
connect to the Remote Web Service.
If you omit this option, the deviceconfig utility connects to the Local Web
Service and automatically detects the local Web Service configuration.

-username

Specifies a valid NetVault Backup user name.

-password

Specifies the password for the user account.

-drivemachine

Specifies the name of the NetVault Backup machine to which the drive is
connected to.

-drivepath

Specifies the name or path of the drive.

Examples:
deviceconfig -servername Test_Server-B -httpsport 8443
-username default -drivemachine Test_Server-B
-drivepath C:\VTL\MyVTL\drives\1
deviceconfig -username default -drivemachine Test_Server-A
-drivepath C:\VTL\MyVTL-2\drives\1
4

The Drive Configuration page is displayed when you start the utility. This page contains the following
items:

NDMP Configuration To configure NDMP Settings, press 1. For more information about these
settings, see Configuring NDMP settings.

Configuration To configure general settings for a tap drive, press 2. For more information about
these settings, see Configuring general settings for tape drives.

Software Compression To configure software compression settings, press 3. For more

information about these settings, see Configuring software compression settings.

Performance To configure drive performance settings, press 4. For more information about
these settings, see Configuring drive performance settings.

Statistics To configure statistics collection settings, press 5. For more information about these
settings, see Configuring statistics collection settings.

To save the changes and quit, press s.

(To quit without saving the changes, press q.)

Configuring NDMP settings

On the NDMP Configuration page, the following settings are available.
Table 6. NDMP settings
Option

Description

Allow Mover to do Local

Data Transfer if Possible

The default setting is OFF. To change it, press the option number.

Allow Mover to do IPC

Data Transfers if Possible

The default setting is OFF. To change it, press the option number.

Allow Mover to do TCP

Data Transfer if Possible

The default setting is ON. To change it, press the option number.

Allow Mover to do Direct

Backup if Possible

The default setting is ON. To change it, press the option number.

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Table 6. NDMP settings

Option

Description

Allow Mover to do Direct

Restore if Possible

The default setting is ON. To change it, press the option number.

Emulate NDMP Device

The default setting is ON. To change it, press the option number.

Configuring general settings for tape drives

On the Configuration page, the following settings are available.
Table 7. General settings for tape drives
Option

Description

Device Serial Number

This setting displays the drive serial number.

End of media warning

This setting specifies the amount of media reserved at the end of the tape at
which the end of media warnings are issued. This value is specified in MB. The
default value is 0MB.

Time between polling

empty drive

This setting specifies the interval at which NetVault Backup polls a standalone
drive for the purpose of detecting a tape in the device. This value is specified in
number of minutes. The default value is one (1).
To turn off polling, set this option to zero (0).

Media block size (KiB)

This option specifies the block size for reading and writing data to the media. The
default value is 64KiB.
The media block size can be increased in increments of 1KiB, but many devices
may only accept a value in the multiples of 4KiB or 32KiB.
NOTE: The changes to the media block size settings are only applied to blank
media. If you are reusing media, blank it first for these changes to take effect.
Large media blocks enable reading and writing of larger blocks of data, thereby
reducing the number of times a backup needs to read data and write it to media.
However, this does not always imply an overall faster backup. The maximum
media block size is limited by several factors, including the operating system, SCSI
adapter, and make, model, and type of drives.
On Linux and UNIX systems, you can increase the media block size for optimum
performance.
On Windows, you might be required to change the registry setting
MaximumSGList to use block sizes larger than 64KB. Before changing this setting,
ensure that the SCSI bus is only used by the tape devices. If other devices also use
the SCSI bus, this registry change might prevent them from working. If you want
to apply these changes only to a specific channel on the HBA, consult the
hardware vendor.
To change the registry setting on Windows, follow these steps:
1

Start the Registry Editor.

Open the key [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\

Services\<HBA Vendor>\Parameters (where <HBA Name> is
specific to your SCSI card for example, QL2200 for a Qlogic 2200 card).

Create the Parameters key if not present.

Under Parameters, create the Device key if not present.

Under the Device key, add the DWORD registry value MaximumSGList if
not present.

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Table 7. General settings for tape drives

Option

Description
6

Calculate the hexadecimal value of MaximumSGList:

On 32-bit systems:
MaximumSGList = (Maximum Block Size / 4KiB) + 1
For example, if the block size is set to 256KiB, the value for this key will be
(256KiB/4KiB) + 1 = 65. The decimal value will be 65 and the hexadecimal
value will be 0x41. The block size can be set from 64KiB through 1012KiB.
The maximum value 255 is internally converted to 257 to make a block size
of 1 MiB (1024 KiB).
On 64-bit systems:
On 64-bit systems, the default OS page size is 8KiB. The formula for
calculating MaximumSGList is:
MaximumSGList = (Maximum Block Size / 8KiB) +1
Therefore, the maximum value of 255 corresponds to a maximum media
block size of 2 MiB.

Reboot the system to apply the changes.

Time to wait for plugin to This setting specifies the timeout period for the plug-in to connect to NetVault
connect
Backup. The job is aborted if connection cannot be established within the
specified interval. This value is specified in number of seconds. The default value
is zero (0). With the default setting, the job is not timed out.
Supports Short Reads

The default setting is ON. To change it, press the option number.

Cleaning Tapes Supported This setting indicates whether the library supports cleaning tapes or not. The
default value is usually correct, unless certain library models have a different
setting.

Configuring software compression settings

On the Software Compression page, the following settings are available.
Table 8. Software Compression settings
Option

Description

Perform software data

compression

The default setting is OFF. To perform software compression, change the setting
to ON. The data is compressed when it is transferred to the device during backup.

Compression decision
switch

The value set for this option determines the minimum level of compression that
must be achieved when data is compressed during a backup. For example, if you
set the value to 80%, one of the following occurs:

If the compressed data size is less than 80% of the original data size, the
data is backed up in its compressed form.

If the compressed data size is more than 80% of the original data size, the
data is backed up in its uncompressed form.

If you enter 80%, a file size of a 100MB must be <= 80MB after compression. If the
specified level is not achieved, NetVault Backup backs up the file in its
uncompressed form. The extent that data can be compressed is dependent on the
data contents. Encrypted data cannot be compressed. With some files,
compression may actually result in a file that is larger than the original
uncompressed file.
Number of data blocks
per compression unit

Type the number of data blocks per compression unit. The default block size is
8KiB.

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Configuring drive performance settings

On the Performance page, the following settings are available.
Table 9. Performance settings
Option

Description

Open disk media for

Synchronous IO on Unix

The default setting is OFF. If your RAID system can respond instantaneously to
synchronous IO writes, change this setting to ON. It allows multiple streams to
generate output at similar rates resulting in similar jobs ending at the same time
(but at the expense of overall throughput).
Under most circumstances, it is best to leave this option at the default OFF state
to achieve best overall performance.

Amount of memory to
The transfer buffer or the shared memory is allocated in blocks of 32KiB. The
assign for transfer buffers default size for this option is 8193KiB.
The transfer buffer size can be increased for faster performance. To calculate the
buffer size, use the following formula:
(<Total number of buffers> x 32KiB) + 1 byte
On Linux and UNIX systems, you require sufficient RAM and large Shared Memory
segment. Before increasing the transfer buffer size, check the following settings
on these platforms:

Maximum size of a shared memory segment (SHMMAX)

Minimum size of shared memory segment (SHMMIN)

Maximum number of shared memory identifiers in the system (SHMMNI)

Maximum number of shared memory segments a user process can attach

(SHMSEG)

Maximum number of semaphore identifiers in the system (SEMMNI)

Maximum number of semaphores in a set (SEMMSL)

Maximum number of semaphores in the system (SEMMNS)

Maximum number of operations per semop call (SEMOPM)

Semaphore maximum value (SEMVMX)

The total allowed shared memory is determined by the formula

SHMMAX * SHMSEG. These values are often limited by the ulimit setting, and the
command ulimit -a can be used to view these system settings.
On Windows, you require at least 2GB RAM and large virtual memory. You might
also have to change the MaximumSGlist setting on the SCSI card.
For examples, see the Optimal transfer buffer size.
Number of media blocks
to write at a time

We recommend that you do not change the value for this setting. If you change
the value, record it as it will be necessary to re-apply the setting if the drive is
reinstalled. Restores require the same values that are set at the time of backup
and fail if the settings do not match.

Number of media blocks

to read at a time

We recommend that you do not change the value for this setting. If you change
the value, record it as it will be necessary to re-apply the setting if the drive is
reinstalled. Restores require the same values that are set at the time of backup
and fail if the settings do not match.

Lock transfer buffer in

memory

This setting locks the allocated transfer buffer position in memory, increasing the
potential performance and preventing another process from using it when
NetVault Backup is running.
The default setting is ON. Do not change the default setting unless otherwise
advised by Dell Software Technical Support.

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Configuring statistics collection settings

On the Statistics page, the following settings are available.
Table 10. Drive performance statistics
Option

Description

Gather statistics on
device performance

The default setting is OFF. To log drive performance statistics, change the setting
to ON. This information facilitates troubleshooting. However, it also increases the
size of the NetVault Database.

Gather statistics on data

channel performance

The default setting is OFF. To log Data Channel statistics, change the setting to
ON. This information facilitates troubleshooting. However, it also increases the
size of the NetVault Database.

Record drive
performance

The default setting is ON.To record drive performance details with each job that
uses the drive, use the default setting.

Length of time between

sampling drive transfer
rates

Specify the interval at which NetVault Backup records the drive transfer rates.
The value for this setting is specified in number of seconds. The default value is
60 seconds.

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NetVault Backup processes

About NetVault Backup processes

Understanding NetVault Backup processes

About NetVault Backup processes

NetVault Backup comprises several static and dynamic processes that run on the server and client systems.

The static processes remain active while the NetVault Backup Service is running. These processes are
assigned a fixed single-digit process ID and generally use the same amount of system resources during
their life.

The dynamic processes are initiated and destroyed based on the current activity performed by NetVault
Backup. These processes are assigned a changing ID and use varying amount of system resources during
their life.

On Windows-based systems, you can view the NetVault Backup processes from the Task Manager. On Linux- and
UNIX-based platforms, you can use the following command to view these processes:
ps -ef | grep nv

Understanding NetVault Backup processes

This section briefly describes the functions of various NetVault Backup processes.

nvpmgr (Process Manager)

nvpmgr runs on all NetVault Backup Server and Client systems. This process manages all other NetVault Backup
processes. It creates and destroys the transient processes. The Process Manager also manages the allocation of
shared memory area for the process table, trace buffers, and progress buffers. Although the Process Manager is
assigned a static process ID, it is seen as a Dynamic process due to its need for varying levels of system
resources.
Process Type Dynamic
Process ID 1

nvcmgr (Inter-Process Communications Manager)

nvcmgr supports the inter-process messaging system. It runs on all NetVault Backup Server and Client systems.
On UNIX and Linux OS, the Communications Manager runs as a process, while on Windows, this process runs as a
thread within the nvpmgr process. It handles communication between various NetVault Backup processes on a
local machine.
Process Type Static
Process ID 2

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nvnmgr (Network Manager)

nvnmgr supports the inter-process messaging system. It runs on all NetVault Backup Server and Client systems.
On UNIX and Linux OS, the Network Manager runs as a process, while on Windows, this process runs as a thread
within the nvpmgr process. It transmits the inter-process messages to remote clients. The Network Manager
also broadcasts availability messages that help determine the current status of the clients.
Process Type Static
Process ID 3

nvmedmgr (Media Manager)

nvmedmgr runs on the NetVault Backup Server. This process manages the Media Database which contains
information about the media contents and online backup savesets. The Media Manager issues high-level
instructions for loading and unloading media, which are carried out by the Device Manager processes. Media
Manager controls the selection of device and media for a job based on the media requests submitted by the Job
Manager.
Process Type Static
Process ID 4

nvsched (Schedule Manager)

nvsched runs on the NetVault Backup Server. This process manages the job schedules and queues. The Schedule
Manager initiates the Job Manager to launch a job instance and schedules the next instance for recurring jobs.
The actual job execution is carried out by the Job Manager. The Scheduler Manager manages the Scheduler
Database. It updates the Job Status page and provides job scheduling data to the Reporting utility.
Process Type Static
Process ID 5

nvlogdaemon (Log Daemon)

nvlogdaemon runs on the NetVault Backup Server. This process manages the logs generated by various processes
and writes them to log files. Logs are useful in tracking activities and troubleshooting problems. The Log
Daemon also performs periodic disk space checks, and issues alerts when the space usage reaches the defined
warning or critical threshold for the NetVault Backup Home, Database, Logs, and Reports directories.
Process Type Static
Process ID 7

nvavp (Audit Verification Manager or Auditor)

nvavp runs on the NetVault Backup Server. This process tracks and controls user activities. It validates each user
request, and depending on the assigned privileges, allows or denies a request.
Process Type Static
Process ID 8

nvstatsmngr (Statistics Manager)

nvstatsmngr runs on all NetVault Backup Server and Client systems. This process collects drive statistics, event
history, media requests, server capacity, and transfer information for the reporting utility.
Process Type Static
Process ID 9

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nvrepdbmngr (Report Manager)

nvrepdbmngr runs on the NetVault Backup Server. This process manages the Reports Database. The Reports
Database Manager polls the Statistics Manager at periodic intervals to fetch the collected data, and writes the
data to the Reports Database. It transmits the information in the Reports Database to the reporting utility and
performs periodic purging of the Reports Database.
Process Type Static
Process ID 10

nvdevmgr (Device Manager)

nvdevmgr runs on the NetVault Backup Server and Clients that have locally-attached devices. It performs media
reads and writes, and handles loading and unloading of media. NetVault Backup creates one instance of the
Device Manager process for each configured drive. In SAN environment, an instance runs for each NetVault
Backup Client that shares the device.
Process Type Dynamic
Process ID Varies

nvndmpdevmgr (NDMP Device Manager)

nvndmpdevmgr runs on the NetVault Backup Server. It performs media reads and writes, and handles loading
and unloading of media for NDMP-based filers. NetVault Backup creates one instance of the NDMP Device
Manager process for each configured drive.
Process Type Dynamic
Process ID Varies

nvchgmgr (Changer Manager)

nvchgmgr controls the Robotic Arm Changer. It runs on the NetVault Backup Server and Clients to which the
robotic arm changer is connected. NetVault Backup creates one instance for each arm changer.
Process Type Dynamic
Process ID Varies

nvndmpchgmgr (NDMP Changer Manager)

nvchgmgr runs on the NetVault Backup Server. It controls the Robotic Arm Changer for devices attached to
NDMP-based filers. NetVault Backup creates one instance for each arm changer.
Process Type Dynamic
Process ID Varies

nvjobmgr (Job Manager)

nvjobmgr runs on the NetVault Backup Server and manages the execution of a job. It is initiated by the
Schedule Manager. A single instance of Job Manager runs for each job until the execution is completed. The Job
Manager reports on the job run status and exit status. It coordinates with the Data Plug-in and fetches the
required information from the NetVault Backup Server. It also sends drive and media requests to the Media
Manager.
Process Type Dynamic
Process ID Varies

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nvduplicate (Duplicate Process)

nvduplicate performs backup duplication. It runs on the NetVault Backup system on which the Duplication
phase is run.
Process Type Dynamic
Process ID None

nvverify (Verification Process)

nvverify performs backup verification. It verifies the stream length written to the media and makes sure that
no blocks were dropped during backup. It runs on the NetVault Backup system on which the Verification phase is
run.
Process Type Dynamic
Process ID None

nvplgscript (Plug-in Script Process)

nvplgscript executes the pre and post scripts for a job. It runs on the target client when you select the pre and
post script execution options for a job.
Process Type Dynamic
Process ID None

nvwsrequesthandler (Web Service Request Handler)

nvwsrequesthandler runs the web service used by the WebUI.
Process Type Dynamic
Process ID None

nvwsworker (Web Service Worker Process)

nvwsworker is the web service worker process launched by nvwsrequesthandler. Teams of these processes are
used to improve performance. When a lot of content is served to the WebUI, ten or more processes can run on
the NetVault Backup Server. These processes continue running for a short time after the content is served.
Process Type Dynamic
Process ID None

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C
Environment variables

Using environment variables

Using environment variables

The following is a list of NetVault Backup environment variables that can be used in user-defined scripts.
Table 1. Environment variables
Variable

Description

NETVAULTCLIACCOUNT

Specifies the NetVault Backup user name. The specified account must have
privileges to use the CLI utility.
NETVAULTCLIACCOUNT=<User Account Name>
The variable must be included in the script to access the CLI utility.

NETVAULTCLIPASSWORD

Specifies the password for the NetVault Backup user account.

NETVAULTCLIPASSWORD=<Password>
This variable must be included in the script to specify the password for the user
account.

NV_HOME

Returns the NetVault Backup installation directory.

NV_JOBCLIENT

Specifies the target client for a job.

NV_JOBCLIENT=<Name of the NetVault Backup Client>

NV_JOBID

Specifies the Job ID.

NV_JOBID=<Job ID>

NV_JOBTITLE

Specifies the Job Title.

NV_JOBTITLE=<Job title>

NV_JOB_WARNINGS

Returns TRUE if a job completes with warnings, else FALSE.

If a backup completes with warnings:

NV_JOB_WARNINGS=TRUE

If a backup completes successfully:

NV_JOB_WARNINGS=FALSE

This variable can only be used in a post script. It is currently used by mail scripts,
but has general applicability.
If a backup completes with warnings, the NV_STATUS variable will return
SUCCEEDED, while the NV_JOB_WARNINGS variable will return TRUE.
The return value for is not localized; it is TRUE or FALSE in English.
NV_OUTPUT_FILE

Returns the user-defined output file for reports.

NV_SERVERNAME

Specifies the NetVault Backup Server Name.

NV_SERVERNAME=<Name of the NetVault Backup Server>

NV_SESSIONID

Specifies the Session ID of a job.

NV_SESSIONID=<Session ID>

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Table 1. Environment variables

Variable

Description

NV_STATUS

Returns the exit status of a job. It returns either SUCCEEDED or FAILED.

If a backup job completes successfully or completes with warnings:

NV_STATUS=SUCCEEDED

If a backup job fails:

NV_STATUS=FAILED

This variable can only be used in a post script. The return value is not localized; it
is SUCCEEDED or FAILED in English.
NV_USER_ARG

Specifies the user-defined arguments passed with the pre- or post-scripts.

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About Dell

Dell listens to customers and delivers worldwide innovative technology, business solutions and services they
trust and value. For more information, visit www.software.dell.com.

Contacting Dell
Technical support:
Online support
Product questions and sales:
(800) 306-9329
Email:
info@software.dell.com

Technical support resources

Technical support is available to customers who have purchased Dell software with a valid maintenance
contract and to customers who have trial versions. To access the Support Portal, go to
https://support.software.dell.com/.
The Support Portal provides self-help tools you can use to solve problems quickly and independently, 24 hours a
day, 365 days a year. In addition, the portal provides direct access to product support engineers through an
online Service Request system.
The site enables you to:

Create, update, and manage Service Requests (cases)

View Knowledge Base articles

Obtain product notifications

Download software. For trial software, go to Trial Downloads.

View how-to videos

Engage in community discussions

Chat with a support engineer

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