Unable to remove a media server from the NetBackup database after the media server was improperly decommissioned.

Problem

Unable to remove media servers details from NetBackup DataBase ( Please Delete Disk Objects First ), after the server was improperly decommissioned, even though it is believed that all dependencies related to the specific media server have been removed.

Media servers are referenced in the relational NetBackup DataBase (NBDB) and have associated dependencies such as media, tape devices, storage units, disk pools, Storage Lifecycle Policies, and backup image details. A media server being decommissioned must have all associated dependencies moved/relocated or removed before the media server can be successfully removed from NetBackup.

Error Message

Please Delete Disk Objects First

Cause

In certain circumstances, if a media server was improperly decommissioned from NetBackup, entries left in the NBDB database can prevent the media server from being deleted.

An example of a failure would be shown after running the following nbemmcmd command:

nbemmcmd -deletehost -machinename <hostname> -machinetype media

Note: The location of the nbemmcmd command is in the following path...

Windows: install_path\NetBackup\bin\admincmd\
UNIX/Linux: /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/

Example output from the failing nbemmcmd command may state the following:

NBEMMCMD, Version:X.X
The function returned the following failure status: "Please Delete Disk Objects First"

Investigate further to determine if there are dependencies in the NBDB database. Execute the nbdb_unload <tmp_folder> command to enable easier examination of the NBDB contents. The nbdb_unload command creates ASCII '.dat' files showing the contents of the NBDB database, and each '.dat' relates to a specific table which can be referenced using the reload.sql file, which is created when the unload is performed.

Note: The location of the nbdb_unload command is in the following path...

Windows: install_path\NetBackup\bin\
UNIX/Linux: /usr/openv/db/bin/

Solution

1. Determine the media server ID.

   • For example, 1000017 - this information will be available in the 'EMM_Machine' table and associated '.dat' file; use the 'reload.sql' file to determine which '.dat' file contains the machine details.

2. Then search for this machine ID and whether it's associated to any Disk, Tape, NDMP or other media related entries.

   • If there are dependencies, these require removing using NetBackup commands (see Related article 100018898 below), or it may require a custom SQL script from Veritas Support.

   • If the only entries are in the tables EMM_Machine, EMM_MachineAlias, or EMM_MachineConfig, then it suggests the wrong hostname is being used when trying to remove the media server, and perhaps a Fully Qualified Hostname is required rather than a short hostname.

   • If there are no dependencies, please run the nbemmcmd command trying all known hostnames for this media server.

     nbemmcmd -deletehost -machinename <hostname> -machinetype media

     The hostnames will be shown within the table EMM_Machine for the specific machine ID number (as mentioned above).