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

Primary server corrupted

  • When catalog backup is taken on external media server

  • When catalog backup is taken on MSDP-X

  1. Copy DRPackages files (packages) located at /mnt/nblogs/DRPackages/ from the pod to the host machine from where Kubernetes Service cluster is accessed.

    Run the kubectl cp <primary-pod-namespace>/<primary-pod-name>:/mnt/nblogs/DRPackages <Path_where_to_copy_on_host_machine> command.

  2. Preserve the data of /mnt/nbdata and /mnt/nblogs on host machine by creating tar and copying it using the kubectl cp <primary-pod-namespace>/<primary-pod-name>:<tar_file_name> <path_on_host_machine_where_to_preserve_the_data> command.
  3. Change CR spec from paused: false to paused: true in primary, mediaServers, and msdpScaleouts sections in environment object using the following command:

    kubectl edit <environment_CR_name> -n <namespace>

  4. Change replica count to 0 in primary server's statefulset using the kubectl edit statefulset <primary-server-statefulset-name> -n <namespace> command.
  5. Clean the PV and PVCs of primary server as follows:

    • Get names of PV attached to primary server PVC (catalog, log and data) using the kubectl get pvc -n <namespace> -o wide command.

    • Delete primary server PVC (catalog, log and data) using the kubectl delete pvc <pvc-name> -n <namespace> command.

    • Delete the PV linked to primary server PVC using the kubectl delete pv <pv-name> command.

  6. (EKS-specific) Navigate to mounted EFS directory and delete the content from primary_catalog folder by running the rm -rf /efs/* command.
  7. Change CR spec paused: true to paused: false in primary server section in and reapply yaml with the kubectl apply -f environment.yaml -n <namespace> command.
  8. Once the primary pod is in ready state, execute the following command in the primary server pod:

    kubectl exec -it -n <namespace> <primary-pod-name> -- /bin/bash

    • Increase the debug logs level on primary server.

    • Create a directory DRPackages at persisted location using mkdir /mnt/nblogs/DRPackages.

    • Change ownership of the DRPackages folder to service user using the chown nbsvcusr:nbsvcusr /mnt/nblogs/DRPackages command.

  9. Copy earlier copied DR files to primary pod at /mnt/nblogs/DRPackages using the kubectl cp <Path_of_DRPackages_on_host_machine> <primary-pod-namespace>/<primary-pod-name>:/mnt/nblogs/DRPackages command.
  10. (Applicable for catalog backup taken on external media server)

    • Execute the following steps in the primary server pod:

      • Change ownership of files in /mnt/nblogs/DRPackages using the chown nbsvcusr:nbsvcusr <file-name> command.

      • Deactivate NetBackup health probes using the /opt/veritas/vxapp-manage/nb-health deactivate command.

      • Stop the NetBackup services using /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.kill_all.

      • Execute the nbhostidentity -import -infile /mnt/nblogs/DRPackages/<filename>.drpkg command.

      • Restart all the NetBackup services using /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.start_all.

    • Verify security settings are back.

    • Add respective media server entry in host properties using NetBackup Administration Console as follows:

      Navigate to NetBackup Management > Host properties > Master Server > Add Additional server and add media server.

    • Restart the NetBackup services in primary server pod and external media server

      • Execute the kubectl exec -it -n <namespace> <primary-pod-name> -- /bin/bash command in the primary server pod.

      • Run the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.kill_all command. After stopping all services restart the same using the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.start_all command.

      • Run the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.kill_all command. After stopping all services restart the services using the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.start_all command on the external media server.

    • Perform catalog recovery from NetBackup Administration Console.

      For more information, refer to the NetBackup Troubleshooting Guide.

    • Execute the kubectl exec -it -n <namespace> <primary-pod-name> -- /bin/bash command in the primary server pod.

      • Stop the NetBackup services using the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.kill_all command.

      • Start NetBackup services using the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.start_all command.

      • Activate NetBackup health probes using the /opt/veritas/vxapp-manage/nb-health activate command.

    • Change CR spec from paused: true to paused: false in primary, mediaServers, and msdpScaleouts sections in environment object using the following command:

      kubectl edit <environment_CR_name> -n <namespace>

    • To configure NetBackup IT Analytics refer to the following topic:

      See Configuring NetBackup IT Analytics for NetBackup deployment.

  11. (Applicable for catalog backup taken on MSDP-X)

    • Execute the following steps (after exec) into the primary server pod:

      • Change ownership of files in /mnt/nblogs/DRPackages using the chown nbsvcusr:nbsvcusr <file-name> command.

      • Deactivate NetBackup health probes using the /opt/veritas/vxapp-manage/nb-health deactivate command.

      • Stop the NetBackup services using the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.kill_all command.

      • Execute the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/nbhostidentity -import -infile /mnt/ndbdb/usr/openv/drpackage/<filename>.drpkg command.

      • Clear bpclntcmd -clear_host_cacheNetBackup host cache by running the command.

      • Start NetBackup services using the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.start_all command.

      • Refresh the certificate revocation list using the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/nbcertcmd -getcrl command.

    • From Web UI, allow reissue of token from primary server for MSDP only as follows:

      Navigate to Security > Host Mappings for the MSDP storage server and select Allow Auto reissue Certificate.

    • Run the primary server reconciler as follows:

      • Edit the environment (using kubectl edit environment -n <namespace> command) and change primary spec's for paused field to true and save it.

      • To enable the reconciler to run, the environment must be edited again and the primary's paused field must be set to false.

      The SHA fingerprint is updated in the primary CR's status.

    • Edit the environment using kubectl edit environment -n <namespace> command and change paused field to false for MSDP.

    • Verify if MSDP installation is successful and default MSDP storage server, STU and disk pool is created with old names. This takes some time. Hence, wait before the STU and disk pool display on the Web UI before proceeding to the next step.

    • Perform from step 2 in the following section:

      “Scenario 2: MSDP Scaleout and its data is lost and the NetBackup primary server was destroyed and is re-installed”

    • Edit environment CR and change paused: false for media server.

    • Perform full catalog recovery using one of the following options:

      Trigger a catalog recovery from the Web UI.

      Or

      Exec into primary pod and run bprecover -wizard command.

    • Once recovery is completed, restart the NetBackup services:

      Stop NetBackup services using the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.kill_all command.

      Start NetBackup services using the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bp.start_all command.

    • Activate NetBackup health probes using the /opt/veritas/vxapp-manage/nb-health activate command.

    • Verify/Backup/Restore the backup images in NetBackup server to check if the MSDP-X cluster has recovered or not.

    • Verify that the Primary, Media, MSDP and Snapshot Manager server are up and running.