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Veritas NetBackup™ Virtual Appliance Documentation

Last Published: 2017-07-25

Product(s): Appliances (3.0)

Deploying a NetBackup Virtual Appliance

The following procedures describe how to deploy and configure a NetBackup Virtual Appliance from the VMware vSphere Web Client, the NetBackup Virtual Appliance Shell Menu, and the NetBackup Administration Console.

Note:

To ensure a successful deployment, make sure that you meet all of the deployment guidelines before you begin these procedures.

See NetBackup Virtual Appliance deployment guidelines.

To deploy a NetBackup Virtual Appliance

Download the NetBackup Virtual Appliance product file from the Licensing Portal on the MyVeritas website and save it to your local computer.
For more information on the Licensing Portal, see the MyVeritas Licensing Portal Guide on the Support website.
Review the initial deployment checklist to make sure that you have all of the necessary information to complete the deployment procedure. Veritas recommends that you print this file and fill it out for use as you perform the deployment. Then store it in a secure location for future reference.
See NetBackup Virtual Appliance initial deployment checklist.
Using the VMware vSphere Web Client, log on to the vCenter Server where you want to deploy your appliance.
Note:
Your vCenter Server user account must have at least the minimum privileges required to deploy an OVF template. Refer to the VMware documentation for more information.
Select File > Deploy OVF Template to start the deployment wizard.
On the Source page of the deployment wizard, click Browse to navigate to the NetBackup Virtual Appliance product file. If you split the file when you downloaded it, make sure that all of the pieces are saved in the same folder and navigate to that folder.
Verify the path and click Next.
Review the OVF Template Details page and click Next.
On the End User License Agreement page, read through the EULA and click Accept and then Next.
Enter the destination details as follows:
- Name: Enter a unique name for your appliance.
- Inventory Location: Select the folder or the data center where you want the appliance to be located. The options are autopopulated based on what is available to that vCenter Server.
Click Next.
Select the resource location where you want the deployed template to run.
Click Next.
Select the destination storage where you want to store the appliance files.
Click Next.
Caution:
If you select a storage cluster, make sure that one of the datastores in the cluster has enough storage space for the entire appliance. If none of the individual datastores in the cluster has enough space, the deployment fails.
Select Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed as the provisioning format for the appliance disks. For more information on provisioning, refer to the VMware documentation.
Click Next.
On the Properties page, fill in the following information:
Network configuration:
- Host name
  Enter a short host name or a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for this appliance. As a best practice, Veritas recommends that you use FQDN.
  Caution:
  The host name can only be set during initial deployment. After the initial deployment has completed successfully, the only way to change the host name is to redeploy the appliance.
  Note:
  If you plan to configure Active Directory (AD) authentication on this appliance, the host name must be 15 characters or less. Otherwise, AD configuration can fail.
- DNS domain name
  Enter a DNS domain name for this appliance.
- IP address
  Enter the IPv4 address to be used for this appliance.
  Note:
  IPv6 addresses are not supported during the initial deployment process. However, you can configure an IPv6 address after deployment through the NetBackup Virtual Appliance Shell Menu.
  See “To complete the initial configuration of a NetBackup Virtual Appliance”.
- Netmask
  Enter the netmask that corresponds to the IP address.
- Gateway
  Enter the IPv4 address of the gateway (network point) that acts as an entrance to another network.
- DNS server
  Enter the IPv4 address of the primary DNS server for this appliance.
  Note:
  You can only add one DNS server during initial deployment. If you want to add additional servers, you can do so after deployment through the NetBackup Virtual Appliance Shell Menu.
  See “To complete the initial configuration of a NetBackup Virtual Appliance”.
Storage configuration:
- AdvancedDisk disk pool name
  Enter a name for the AdvancedDisk disk pool on the appliance.
- AdvancedDisk storage unit name
  Enter a name for the AdvancedDisk storage unit on the appliance.
- MSDP disk pool name
  Enter a name for the MSDP disk pool on the appliance.
- MSDP storage unit name
  Enter a name for the MSDP storage unit on the appliance.
Caution:
You cannot change the storage configuration after initial deployment. After the initial deployment has completed successfully, the only way to change the storage configuration is to redeploy the appliance.
When you have filled in all of the required information, click Next.
Read through and verify the deployment options that you entered. If everything is correct, click Finish to deploy the appliance.
The amount of time that it takes for the deployment process to complete varies depending on your network connection. After the deployment, NetBackup Virtual Appliance automatically configures the network, the role, and the storage. This configuration process can take up to 30 minutes to complete.
Once the deployment and the automatic configuration are complete, proceed to the remaining configuration steps in the following procedure.

To complete the initial configuration of a NetBackup Virtual Appliance

After you have deployed a new virtual appliance, open an SSH session to the appliance to log on to the NetBackup Virtual Appliance Shell Menu.
The logon is admin, and the default password is P@ssw0rd.
Note:
You cannot log on to the NetBackup Virtual Appliance Shell Menu until the automatic configuration is complete. If you attempt to log on before then, a message appears to let you know that the configuration is still in progress. If you see this message, wait a few minutes and try again.
Use the following command to verify that the automatic configuration completed successfully:
Main > Appliance > Status
The command output should contain a message similar to the following:
```
Appliance Version is 3.0.

Appliance is configured as master appliance.
```
If the output does not show that the appliance is configured as a master appliance, you need to redeploy the appliance or perform other troubleshooting steps to fix the issue before you proceed to the next step. See Troubleshooting NetBackup Virtual Appliance initial deployment issues.
Use the following commands to change the admin and the maintenance account passwords from the known default password (P@ssw0rd):
- Main > Settings > Password admin
- Main > Settings > Password maintenance
See Changing NetBackup Virtual Appliance user passwords.
Use the following command to set the time zone:
Main > Network > TimeZone Set
Select the appropriate time zone from the displayed list.
Use the following command to add a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server:
Main > Network > NTPServer Add <Server>
Where <Server> is the name of the NTPServer.
Add a permanent license key before the evaluation key expires with the following command:
Main > Manage > License > Add
You can locate your permanent license key from the Licensing Portal on the MyVeritas website.
Warning:
The NetBackup Virtual Appliance has a specific license key, and if the correct key is not installed, the appliance services stop functioning after the evaluation key expires. Make sure that the permanent license key that you add is correct for NetBackup Virtual Appliance.
See Managing license keys on the NetBackup Virtual Appliance.
(Optional)
If you want to configure an IPv6 address for the appliance, run the following command:
Main > Network > IPv6 <IPAddress> <Prefix> [InterfaceName]
Where <IPAddress> is the IPv6 address and <Prefix> is the prefix length.
[InterfaceName] is an optional parameter for a comma-separated list of interface names. If an interface name is not provided, the command searches for an interface and configures it.
See About IPv4-IPv6-based network support.
(Optional)
If you want to add more than one DNS server on the appliance, run the following command:
Main > Network > DNS Add NameServer <IPAddress>
Where <IPAddress> is the IP address of the additional DNS server.
The address can be either IPv4 or IPv6. Only global-scope and unique-local IPv6 addresses are allowed.
See Configuring DNS and host name mapping for the NetBackup Virtual Appliance.
Log on to the appliance from the NetBackup Administration Console and activate the NetBackup catalog backup policy.
By default, the appliance creates an inactive backup policy that uses a Storage Lifecycle Policy (SLP) to protect the NetBackup catalog. The SLP backs up the data to AdvancedDisk and then duplicates it to MSDP. You are then able to use Auto Image Replication to save your catalog backup off site. Veritas recommends that you use this replication-based strategy for disaster recovery (DR) due to the combined master and media server role of the appliance.
To activate the policy, navigate to the NetBackup Management > Policies tab in the Administration Console, right-click on the nbu-catalog policy, and select Activate.

After the appliance is configured and operational, you are ready to install NetBackup client software on the computers that you want to back up. See About installing NetBackup Administration Console and client software.

More Information

Common tasks in NetBackup Virtual Appliance

About modifying the NetBackup Virtual Appliance settings