Veritas Flex Appliance Getting Started and Administration Guide

To create a NetBackup media server instance

1. Make sure that the NetBackup media server application you want to use is located in the repository. See Managing the repository.
2. Perform the following tasks if you have not already:

   • Configure at least one network interface. You can configure a physical interface, add a VLAN tag, or create a bond.

     See Configuring a network interface.

     See Creating a network bond.

   • Add at least one tenant.

     See Adding a tenant.

3. Gather the following information for the new instance:

   Note:

   The hostname and IP address must not be in use anywhere else in your domain.

   • Tenant that you want to assign it to

   • Hostname (maximum of 63 characters including the domain name)

   • IP address

   • Network interface

   • Domain name

   • Name servers

   • Search domains

   • Master server hostname

   • Certificate Authority (CA) information for one of the following:

     For a NetBackup CA:

     • CA certificate fingerprint

       If the master server is a Flex instance, you can locate this information from the instance details page of the master server instance. Click on the instance name under Application instances on the System topology page.

       If the master server is not a Flex instance, see the NetBackup Security and Encryption Guide for the steps to locate this information from NetBackup.

     • (Optional) Token for host ID-based certificate

       Depending on the master server security level, the host may require an authorization or a reissue token. If you do not specify a token when you create the instance, the wizard attempts to automatically obtain the certificate.

     For an external CA (available for NetBackup 8.2 and later):

     • Trust store, in PEM format

     • Host certificate, in PEM format

     • Private key, in PEM format

     • (Optional) Passphrase of the private key

       A passphrase is required if the key is encrypted.

     • (Optional) Custom CRL files

   • (Optional) Password for host name-based certificate

     A host name-based certificate is mandatory for Cloud Catalyst storage or if Enhanced Auditing is enabled on the master server. You can specify the password when you create the instance, or you can deploy the certificate from the master server later.

   • (Optional) NetBackup license key

     NetBackup applications come with an evaluation license key. You must add a permanent NetBackup license key before the evaluation key expires. You can add your permanent key when you create the instance to avoid future issues.

     Note:

     If the evaluation key expires before you create the instance, the instance creation fails. Make sure that you have a valid license key before you create an instance.

4. Add the hostname for the new instance to the Media Servers list or the Additional Servers list on the master server, as follows:

   • Log on to the NetBackup Administration Console as the administrator.

   • In the main console window, in the left pane, click NetBackup Management > Host Properties > Master Servers.

   • In the right pane, double click on the master server hostname.

   • In the Master Server Properties window, click one of the following:

     • If you want MSDP or Cloud Catalyst storage on the instance, click Servers > Additional Servers.

     • If you do not want MSDP or Cloud Catalyst storage on the instance, click Servers > Media Servers.

   • Click Add and enter the hostname for the new instance. The hostname should appear in the list.

   • Click OK.

5. If a firewall exists between the master server and the new instance, open the following ports on the master server to allow communication:

   • vnetd: 13724

   • bprd: 13720

   • PBX: 1556

   • If the master server is a NetBackup appliance that uses TCP, open the following ports:

     443, 5900, and 7578.

6. From the System topology page of the Flex Appliance Console, navigate to the Application instances section.
   
7. Click Create instance.
8. Select the appropriate media server application from the repository list that appears, making sure to verify the version number. Click Next.
9. Follow the prompts to create the instance. When you are done, you can view the progress in the Activity Monitor, which is accessible from the left pane of the Flex Appliance Console.

   Note:

   If you do not want to use DNS or want to bypass DNS for certain hosts, verify that the hostname resolution information is included in the Hosts file entries field. You must include entries for the master server and any other NetBackup hosts that you want to communicate with the instance.

10. Once the instance has been created successfully, you must change the password from the known default password. To change the password, open an SSH session to the instance and log in with the following credentials:

    • Username: appadmin

    • Password: P@ssw0rd

    Follow the prompt to enter a new password.

11. Create the storage servers for your selected storage, as follows:

    • Log on to the NetBackup Administration Console and select either NetBackup Management or Media and Device Management.

    • If you selected AdvancedDisk or Media Server Deduplication Pool (MSDP) storage for the instance, click Configure Disk Storage Servers and follow the prompts to create the storage servers. Enter the following storage information for AdvancedDisk and MSDP:

      • AdvancedDisk storage volume: /mnt/advanceddisk/vol*

      • MSDP storage path: /mnt/msdp/vol0

        Note:

        If the MSDP disk pool spans multiple volumes, only select vol0.

    • If you selected a Cloud Catalyst cache for the instance, click Configure Cloud Storage Servers and follow the prompts to create the storage servers. Enter the following local cache directory for Cloud Catalyst:

      /mnt/cloudcatalyst

    See the following guides for more information on NetBackup storage configuration:

    • The NetBackup AdvancedDisk Storage Solutions Guide

    • The NetBackup Deduplication Guide

12. (Optional) If you need to upload custom CRL files for an external CA, perform the following steps:

    • Use an SCP tool to copy the files to the /mnt/nbdata/hostcert/crl/ directory on the instance.

    • Run the following commands on the instance to enable the CRL check using the custom files:

      sudo nbsetconfig ECA_CRL_CHECK = CHAIN

      sudo nbsetconfig ECA_CRL_PATH = /mnt/nbdata/hostcert/crl/

    See the NetBackup Security and Encryption Guide for more information on the CRL configuration options.

13. If you plan to or have created multiple instances with MSDP or Cloud Catalyst storage, Veritas recommends that you tune the MaxCacheSize according to the following guidelines:

    • Allocate .75 to 1 GB of RAM for each TiB of storage that is allocated to MSDP or Cloud Catalyst on the instance. For example, if the storage pool has 80 TiB allocated, the MaxCacheSize should be 60 to 80 GB of RAM.

    • The sum of the MaxCacheSize for all instances with MSDP or Cloud Catalyst storage should not exceed 70% of the physical RAM on the appliance.

    To tune the MaxCacheSize:

    • Run one of the the following commands:

      • For MSDP:

        sudo /usr/openv/pdde/pdag/bin/pdcfg --write /mnt/msdp/vol0/etc/puredisk/contentrouter.cfg --section CACHE --option MaxCacheSize --value <percent%>

      • For Cloud Catalyst:

        sudo /usr/openv/pdde/pdag/bin/pdcfg --write /mnt/cloudcatalyst/storage/etc/puredisk/contentrouter.cfg --section CACHE --option MaxCacheSize --value <percent%>

      Where <percent%> is the percentage of the appliance RAM to use for the cache on the instance.

    • Restart the pdde-storage process with the following commands:

      sudo /etc/init.d/pdde-storage force-stop

      sudo /etc/init.d/pdde-storage start

14. If you did not select MSDP storage for the instance, the instance creation is now complete. You can skip the remaining steps in this procedure.

    If you did select MSDP storage for the instance, log in to the instance. Run the following command to create a backup policy to protect the MSDP catalog:

    sudo /usr/openv/pdde/pdcr/bin/drcontrol --new_policy --residence <storage unit> [--policy <policy name>] [--client<instance hostname>]

    Where <storage unit> is the name of the storage unit on which to store the MSDP catalog backups, and [--policy <policy name>] and [--client <instance hostname>] are optional.

    See the NetBackup Deduplication Guide for the other options that are available with the drcontrol utility.

15. (Pre-8.2 instances only) Use one of the following procedures to tune the NetBackup parameters.

    Warning:

    Tuning the NetBackup parameters optimizes backup performance and memory usage for the instance. If you skip this step, you may experience backup failures and other performance degradation.

    To tune the NetBackup parameters on a Veritas 5340 Appliance:

    • Log in to the instance and run the following command:

      sudo /opt/veritas/vxapp-manage/tune -s

    • From the appadmin home or tmp directory, restart the pdde-storage and mtstrmd processes with the following commands:

      sudo /etc/init.d/pdde-storage force-stop

      sudo /etc/init.d/pdde-storage start

      sudo /usr/openv/pdde/pdag/bin/mtstrmd -terminate

      sudo /usr/openv/pdde/pdag/bin/mtstrmd

    To tune the NetBackup parameters on a Veritas 5150 Appliance:

    • Log in to the instance and run the following command to create the tune script:

      sudo vi /tmp/tune_msdp.sh

    • In the editor that opens, enter the following information:

      #!/bin/bash

      . /opt/veritas/vxapp-manage/include

      PATH=${ENV_NB_HOME}/pdde/pdag/bin/:${PATH}

      CONTENT_ROUTER_CFG_LOCATION="${ENV_DD_DATA}/etc/puredisk/contentrouter.cfg"

      MTSTRMD_CFG_LOCATION="/usr/openv/lib/ost-plugins/mtstrm.conf"

      declare -r CONTENT_ROUTER_CFG_LOCATION

      pdcfg --write $CONTENT_ROUTER_CFG_LOCATION --section CONTENTROUTER --option MaxRetryCount --value 30

      pdcfg --write $CONTENT_ROUTER_CFG_LOCATION --section CACHE --option MaxCacheSize --value 60%

      pdcfg --write $CONTENT_ROUTER_CFG_LOCATION --section CRDATASTORE --option WriteThreadNum --value 1

      pdcfg --write $MTSTRMD_CFG_LOCATION --section PROCESS --option MaxConcurrentSessions --value 3

      pdcfg --write $MTSTRMD_CFG_LOCATION --section THREADS --option BackupFpThreads --value 4

    • Run the following command to make the script executable:

      sudo chmod +x /tmp/tune_msdp.sh

    • Run the following command to run the script:

      sudo /tmp/tune_msdp.sh

    • Restart the pdde-storage and mtstrmd processes with the following commands:

      sudo /etc/init.d/pdde-storage force-stop

      sudo /etc/init.d/pdde-storage start

      sudo /usr/openv/pdde/pdag/bin/mtstrmd -terminate

      sudo /usr/openv/pdde/pdag/bin/mtstrmd

16. (Pre-8.2 instances on 5340 appliance only) If you allocated more than 80 TB of MSDP storage for the instance, you need to resize the MSDP storage partition. Run the following command:

    sudo /opt/veritas/vxapp-manage/resize

    Note:

    You also need to perform this step if you provision more than 80 TB of storage for MSDP at a later time. You do not need to perform this step if you resize a smaller amount of existing MSDP storage over 80 TB after you create the instance.