NetBackup™ Deployment Guide for Kubernetes Clusters

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup & Alta Data Protection (10.3.0.1, 10.3)
  1. Introduction
    1.  
      About NetBackup deployment on Kubernetes clusters
    2.  
      Required terminology
    3.  
      User roles and permissions
    4. About MSDP Scaleout
      1.  
        MSDP Scaleout components
      2.  
        Limitations in MSDP Scaleout
    5.  
      About NetBackup Snapshot Manager
  2. Section I. Deployment
    1. Prerequisites for Kubernetes cluster configuration
      1. Config-Checker utility
        1.  
          How does the Config-Checker utility work
        2.  
          Config-Checker execution and status details
      2. Data-Migration for AKS
        1.  
          How Data-Migration works
        2.  
          Data-Migration execution and status details
      3. Webhooks validation for EKS
        1.  
          How does the webhook validation works
        2.  
          Webhooks validation execution details
    2. Deployment with environment operators
      1. About deployment with the environment operator
        1.  
          Prerequisites
        2.  
          Contents of the TAR file
        3.  
          Known limitations
      2. Manual deployment
        1.  
          Deploying the operators
        2.  
          Deploying NetBackup and MSDP Scaleout
        3.  
          Deploying NetBackup and Snapshot Manager
      3.  
        Configuring the environment.yaml file
      4.  
        Uninstalling NetBackup environment and the operators
      5.  
        Applying security patches
    3. Deploying NetBackup
      1.  
        Preparing the environment for NetBackup installation on Kubernetes cluster
      2.  
        Recommendations of NetBackup deployment on Kubernetes cluster
      3.  
        Limitations of NetBackup deployment on Kubernetes cluster
      4. Primary and media server CR
        1. About primary server CR and media server CR
          1.  
            After installing primary server CR
          2.  
            After Installing the media server CR
        2.  
          Elastic media server
        3.  
          Monitoring the status of the CRs
        4.  
          Updating the CRs
        5.  
          Deleting the CRs
      5.  
        Configuring NetBackup IT Analytics for NetBackup deployment
      6.  
        Managing NetBackup deployment using VxUpdate
      7.  
        Migrating the cloud node for primary or media servers
    4. Deploying NetBackup using Helm charts
      1.  
        Overview
      2.  
        Installing NetBackup using Helm charts
      3.  
        Uninstalling NetBackup using Helm charts
    5. Deploying MSDP Scaleout
      1.  
        Deploying MSDP Scaleout
      2.  
        Prerequisites for AKS
      3.  
        Prerequisites for EKS
      4.  
        Installing the docker images and binaries
      5.  
        Initializing the MSDP operator
      6.  
        Configuring MSDP Scaleout
      7.  
        Using MSDP Scaleout as a single storage pool in NetBackup
      8.  
        Configuring the MSDP cloud in MSDP Scaleout
      9.  
        Using S3 service in MSDP Scaleout for AKS
      10.  
        Enabling MSDP S3 service after MSDP Scaleout is deployed for AKS
    6. Deploying Snapshot Manager
      1.  
        Prerequisites
      2.  
        Installing the docker images
    7. Verifying Cloud Scale deployment
      1.  
        Verifying Cloud Scale deployment
  3. Section II. Monitoring and Management
    1. Monitoring NetBackup
      1.  
        Monitoring the application health
      2.  
        Telemetry reporting
      3.  
        About NetBackup operator logs
      4.  
        Expanding storage volumes
      5. Allocating static PV for Primary and Media pods
        1.  
          (AKS-specific) Allocating static PV for Primary and Media pods
        2.  
          (EKS-specific) Allocating static PV for Primary and Media pods
    2. Monitoring MSDP Scaleout
      1.  
        About MSDP Scaleout status and events
      2.  
        Monitoring with Amazon CloudWatch
      3.  
        Monitoring with Azure Container insights
      4.  
        The Kubernetes resources for MSDP Scaleout and MSDP operator
    3. Monitoring Snapshot Manager
      1.  
        Overview
      2.  
        Logs of Snapshot Manager
      3.  
        Configuration parameters
    4. Managing the Load Balancer service
      1.  
        About the Load Balancer service
      2.  
        Notes for Load Balancer service
      3.  
        Opening the ports from the Load Balancer service
    5. Managing MSDP Scaleout
      1.  
        Adding MSDP engines
      2.  
        Adding data volumes
      3. Expanding existing data or catalog volumes
        1.  
          Recommendation for media server volume expansion
        2.  
          Manual storage expansion
      4.  
        MSDP Scaleout scaling recommendations
      5. MSDP Cloud backup and disaster recovery
        1.  
          About the reserved storage space
        2. Cloud LSU disaster recovery
          1.  
            Recovering AKS MSDP S3 IAM configurations from cloud LSU
      6.  
        MSDP multi-domain support
      7.  
        Configuring Auto Image Replication
      8. About MSDP Scaleout logging and troubleshooting
        1.  
          Collecting the logs and the inspection information
    6. Managing PostrgreSQL DBaaS
      1.  
        Changing database server password in DBaaS
      2.  
        Updating database certificate in DBaaS
      3.  
        Disabling non-SSL access to remote DBaaS on Azure
    7. Performing catalog backup and recovery
      1.  
        Backing up a catalog
      2. Restoring a catalog
        1.  
          Primary server corrupted
        2.  
          MSDP-X corrupted
        3.  
          MSDP-X and Primary server corrupted
    8. Setting key parameters in Cloud Scale deployments
      1.  
        Tuning touch files
      2.  
        Setting maximum jobs
      3.  
        Enabling intelligent catalog archiving
      4.  
        Enabling security settings
      5.  
        Configuring email server
      6.  
        Reducing catalog storage management
      7.  
        Configuring zone redundancy
      8.  
        Enabling client-side deduplication capabilities
  4. Section III. Maintenance
    1. MSDP Scaleout Maintenance
      1.  
        Pausing the MSDP Scaleout operator for maintenance
      2.  
        Logging in to the pods
      3.  
        Reinstalling MSDP Scaleout operator
      4.  
        Migrating the MSDP Scaleout to another node pool
    2. PostgreSQL DBaaS Maintenance
      1.  
        Configuring maintenance window for PostgreSQL database in AWS
      2.  
        Setting up alarms for PostgreSQL DBaaS instance
    3. Upgrading
      1. Upgrading NetBackup
        1.  
          Preparing for NetBackup upgrade
        2.  
          Upgrading NetBackup operator
        3.  
          Upgrading NetBackup application
        4.  
          Upgrade NetBackup from previous versions
        5.  
          Upgrading NetBackup using Helm charts
        6.  
          Procedure to rollback when upgrade of NetBackup fails
      2.  
        Upgrading MSDP Scaleout
      3. Upgrading Snapshot Manager
        1.  
          Upgrading Snapshot Manager operator
        2. Upgrading Snapshot Manager
          1.  
            Procedure to rollback when upgrade of Snapshot Manager fails
        3.  
          Post-migration tasks
    4. Uninstalling
      1. Uninstalling MSDP Scalout from Kubernetes cluster
        1.  
          Cleaning up MSDP Scaleout
        2.  
          Cleaning up the MSDP Scaleout operator
      2.  
        Uninstalling Snapshot Manager from Kubernetes cluster
    5. Troubleshooting
      1. Troubleshooting AKS and EKS issues
        1.  
          View the list of operator resources
        2.  
          View the list of product resources
        3.  
          View operator logs
        4.  
          View primary logs
        5.  
          Socket connection failure
        6.  
          Resolving an issue where external IP address is not assigned to a NetBackup server's load balancer services
        7.  
          Resolving the issue where the NetBackup server pod is not scheduled for long time
        8.  
          Resolving an issue where the Storage class does not exist
        9.  
          Resolving an issue where the primary server or media server deployment does not proceed
        10.  
          Resolving an issue of failed probes
        11.  
          Resolving token issues
        12.  
          Resolving an issue related to insufficient storage
        13.  
          Resolving an issue related to invalid nodepool
        14.  
          Resolving a token expiry issue
        15.  
          Resolve an issue related to KMS database
        16.  
          Resolve an issue related to pulling an image from the container registry
        17.  
          Resolving an issue related to recovery of data
        18.  
          Check primary server status
        19.  
          Pod status field shows as pending
        20.  
          Ensure that the container is running the patched image
        21.  
          Getting EEB information from an image, a running container, or persistent data
        22.  
          Resolving the certificate error issue in NetBackup operator pod logs
        23.  
          Pod restart failure due to liveness probe time-out
        24.  
          NetBackup messaging queue broker take more time to start
        25.  
          Host mapping conflict in NetBackup
        26.  
          Issue with capacity licensing reporting which takes longer time
        27.  
          Local connection is getting treated as insecure connection
        28.  
          Primary pod is in pending state for a long duration
        29.  
          Backing up data from Primary server's /mnt/nbdata/ directory fails with primary server as a client
        30.  
          Storage server not supporting Instant Access capability on Web UI after upgrading NetBackup
        31.  
          Taint, Toleration, and Node affinity related issues in cpServer
        32.  
          Operations performed on cpServer in environment.yaml file are not reflected
        33.  
          Elastic media server related issues
        34.  
          Failed to register Snapshot Manager with NetBackup
        35.  
          Pods unable to connect to flexsnap-rabbitmq post Kubernetes cluster restart
      2. Troubleshooting AKS-specific issues
        1.  
          Data migration unsuccessful even after changing the storage class through the storage yaml file
        2.  
          Host validation failed on the target host
        3.  
          Primary pod goes in non-ready state
      3. Troubleshooting EKS-specific issues
        1.  
          Resolving the primary server connection issue
        2.  
          NetBackup Snapshot Manager deployment on EKS fails
        3.  
          Wrong EFS ID is provided in environment.yaml file
        4.  
          Primary pod is in ContainerCreating state
        5.  
          Webhook displays an error for PV not found
  5. Appendix A. CR template
    1.  
      Secret
    2. MSDP Scaleout CR
      1.  
        MSDP Scaleout CR template for AKS
      2.  
        MSDP Scaleout CR template for EKS

Deploying NetBackup and MSDP Scaleout

After the operators are deployed, you can deploy the NetBackup and MSDP Scaleout environment.

To deploy NetBackup primary, media, and MSDP Scaleout components:

  1. Create a Kubernetes namespace where your new NetBackup environment will run. Run the command:

    kubectl create namespace nb-example

    Where, nb-example is the name of the namespace. The Primary, Media, and MSDP Scaleout application namespace must be different from the one used by the operators. It is recommended to use two namespaces. One for the operators, and a second one for the applications.

  2. Create a secret to hold the primary server credentials. Those credentials are configured in the NetBackup primary server, and other resources in the NetBackup environment use them to communicate with and configure the primary server. The secret must include fields for `username` and `password`. If you are creating the secret by YAML, the type should be opaque or basic-auth. For example:
    apiVersion: v1
           kind: Secret
           metadata:
             name: primary-credentials
             namespace: nb-example
           type: kubernetes.io/basic-auth
           stringData:
             username: nbuser
             password: p@ssw0rd

    You can also use this command to create a secret.

    $ kubectl create secret generic primary-credentials --namespace nb-example --from-literal=username='nbuser' --from-literal=password='p@ssw0rd'

  3. Create a KMS DB secret to hold Host Master Key ID (`HMKID`), Host Master Key passphrase (`HMKpassphrase`), Key Protection Key ID (`KPKID`), and Key Protection Key passphrase (`KPKpassphrase`) for NetBackup Key Management Service. If creating the secret by YAML, the type should be _opaque_. For example:
     apiVersion: v1
           kind: Secret
           metadata:
             name: example-key-secret
             namespace: nb-example
           type: Opaque
           stringData:
             HMKID: HMKID
             HMKpassphrase: HMKpassphrase
             KPKID: KPKID
             KPKpassphrase: KPKpassphrase

    You can also create a secret using kubectl from the command line:

    $ kubectl create secret generic example-key-secret --namespace nb-namespace --from-literal=HMKID="HMKID" --from-literal=HMKpassphrase="HMKpassphrase" --from-literal=KPKID="KPKID" --from-literal=KPKpassphrase="KPKpassphrase"

    For more details on NetBackup deduplication engine credential rules, see: https://www.veritas.com/content/support/en_US/article.100048511

  4. Create a secret to hold the MSDP Scaleout credentials for the storage server. The secret must include fields for `username` and `password` and must be located in the same namespace as the Environment resource. If creating the secret by YAML, the type should be _opaque_ or _basic-auth_. For example:
    apiVersion: v1
           kind: Secret
           metadata:
             name: msdp-secret1
             namespace: nb-example
           type: kubernetes.io/basic-auth
           stringData:
             username: nbuser
             password: p@ssw0rd

    You can also create a secret using kubectl from the command line:

    $ kubectl create secret generic msdp-secret1 --namespace nb-example --from-literal=username='nbuser' --from-literal=password='p@ssw0rd'

    Note:

    You can use the same secret for the primary server credentials (from step 2) and the MSDP Scaleout credentials, so the following step is optional. However, to use the primary server secret in an MSDP Scaleout, you must set the `credential.autoDelete` property to false. The sample file includes an example of setting the property. The default value is true, in which case the secret may be deleted before all parts of the environment have finished using it.

  5. (Optional) Create a secret to hold the KMS key details. Specify KMS Key only if the KMS Key Group does not already exist and you need to create.

    Note:

    When reusing storage from previous deployment, the KMS Key Group and KMS Key may already exist. In this case, provide KMS Key Group only.

    If creating the secret by YAML, the type should be _opaque_. For example:

    apiVersion: v1
           kind: Secret
           metadata:
             name: example-key-secret
             namespace: nb-example
           type: Opaque
           stringData:
             username: nbuser
             passphrase: 'test passphrase'

    You can also create a secret using kubectl from the command line:

    $ kubectl create secret generic example-key-secret --namespace nb-example --from-literal=username="nbuser" --from-literal=passphrase="test passphrase"

    You may need this key for future data recovery. After you have successfully deployed and saved the key details. It is recommended that you delete this secret and the corresponding key info secret.

  6. (Optional for AKS-specific) Create a secret to hold the MSDP S3 root credentials if you need MSDP S3 service. The secret must include accessKey and secretKey, and must be located in the same namespace as the Environment resource.
    • accessKey must match the regex pattern ^[\w]+$ and has the length in the range [16, 128].

    • secretKey must match the regex pattern ^[\w+\/]+$ and has the length in the range [32, 128].

    It is recommended that you generate random S3 root credentials. Run the following command:

    $ kubectl msdp generate-s3-secret --namespace nb-example --s3secret s3-secret1

    Save the generated S3 root credentials at a secure place for later use.

  7. Configure the samples/environment.yaml file according to your requirements. This file defines a primary server, media servers, and scale out MSDP Scaleout storage servers.See Configuring the environment.yaml file. for details.
  8. Apply the environment yaml file, using the same application namespace created in step 1.

    $ kubectl apply --namespace nb-example --filename environment.yaml

    Use this command to verify the new environment resource in your cluster:

    $ kubectl get --namespace nb-example environments

    The output should look like:

    NAME                 AGE
    environment-sample   2m

    After a few minutes, NetBackup finishes starting up on the primary server, and then the media servers and MSDP Scaleout storage servers you configured in the environment resource start appearing. Run:

    $ kubectl get --namespace nb-example all,environments,primaryservers,mediaservers,msdpscaleouts

    The output should show:

    • All pod status as Ready and Running

      NAME                        READY   STATUS    
      pod/dedupe1-uss-controller- 1/1     Running  
      pod/dedupe1-uss-mds-1       1/1     Running   
    • For msdpscaleout SIZE = READY, for example: 4=4.

      NAME                                     SIZE   READY
      msdpscaleout.msdp.veritas.com/dedupe1     4      4
    • environment.netbackup should show STATUS as Success

      NAME                                                   STATUS
      environment.netbackup.veritas.com/environment-sample   Success
  9. To start using your newly deployed environment sign-in to NetBackup web UI. Open a web browser and navigate to https://<primaryserver>/webui/login URL.

    The primary server is the host name or IP address of the NetBackup primary server.

    You can retrieve the primary server's hostname by using the command:

    $ kubectl describe primaryserver.netbackup.veritas.com/<primary server CR name>--namespace <namespace_name>

More Information

Deploying MSDP Scaleout