NetBackup™ Deployment Guide for Kubernetes Clusters

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup & Alta Data Protection (10.4.0.1)
  1. Introduction
    1.  
      About Cloud Scale deployment
    2.  
      About NetBackup Snapshot Manager
    3.  
      About MSDP Scaleout
    4.  
      Required terminology
    5.  
      User roles and permissions
  2. Section I. Configurations
    1. Prerequisites
      1.  
        Preparing the environment for NetBackup installation on Kubernetes cluster
      2.  
        Prerequisites for MSDP Scaleout and Snapshot Manager (AKS/EKS)
      3. Prerequistes for Kubernetes cluster configuration
        1.  
          Config-Checker utility
        2.  
          Data-Migration for AKS
        3.  
          Webhooks validation for EKS
      4. Prerequisites for Cloud Scale configuration
        1.  
          Cluster specific settings
        2.  
          Cloud specific settings
      5.  
        Prerequisites for deploying environment operators
    2. Recommendations and Limitations
      1.  
        Recommendations of NetBackup deployment on Kubernetes cluster
      2.  
        Limitations of NetBackup deployment on Kubernetes cluster
      3.  
        Limitations in MSDP Scaleout
    3. Configurations
      1.  
        Contents of the TAR file
      2.  
        Initial configurations
      3.  
        Configuring the environment.yaml file
      4. Loading docker images
        1.  
          Installing the docker images for NetBackup
        2.  
          Installing the docker images for Snapshot Manager
        3.  
          Installing the docker images and binaries for MSDP Scaleout
      5.  
        Configuring NetBackup IT Analytics for NetBackup deployment
      6. Configuring NetBackup
        1. Primary and media server CR
          1.  
            After installing primary server CR
          2.  
            After Installing the media server CR
        2.  
          Elastic media server
    4. Configuration of 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
  3. Section II. Deployment
    1. Deploying operators
      1.  
        Deploying the operators
    2. Deploying Postgres
      1.  
        Deploying Postgres
      2.  
        Enable request logging, update configuration, and copying files from/to PostgreSQL pod
    3. Deploying Cloud Scale
      1.  
        Installing Cloud Scale
    4. Deploying MSDP Scaleout
      1. MSDP Scaleout configuration
        1.  
          Initializing the MSDP operator
        2.  
          Configuring MSDP Scaleout
        3.  
          Configuring the MSDP cloud in MSDP Scaleout
        4.  
          Using MSDP Scaleout as a single storage pool in NetBackup
        5.  
          Using S3 service in MSDP Scaleout
        6.  
          Enabling MSDP S3 service after MSDP Scaleout is deployed
      2.  
        Deploying MSDP Scaleout
    5. Verifying Cloud Scale deployment
      1.  
        Verifying Cloud Scale deployment
  4. Section III. Monitoring and Management
    1. Monitoring NetBackup
      1.  
        Monitoring the application health
      2.  
        Telemetry reporting
      3.  
        About NetBackup operator logs
      4.  
        Monitoring Primary/Media server CRs
      5.  
        Expanding storage volumes
      6. Allocating static PV for Primary and Media pods
        1.  
          Recommendation for media server volume expansion
        2.  
          (AKS-specific) Allocating static PV for Primary and Media pods
        3.  
          (EKS-specific) Allocating static PV for Primary and Media pods
    2. Monitoring Snapshot Manager
      1.  
        Overview
      2.  
        Logs of Snapshot Manager
      3.  
        Configuration parameters
    3. 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
    4. Managing NetBackup
      1.  
        Managing NetBackup deployment using VxUpdate
      2.  
        Updating the Primary/Media server CRs
      3.  
        Migrating the cloud node for primary or media servers
    5. 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
    6. Managing PostrgreSQL DBaaS
      1.  
        Changing database server password in DBaaS
      2.  
        Updating database certificate in DBaaS
    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. Managing MSDP Scaleout
      1.  
        Adding MSDP engines
      2.  
        Adding data volumes
      3. Expanding existing data or catalog volumes
        1.  
          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 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
  5. Section IV. 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. Patching mechanism for Primary and Media servers
      1.  
        Overview
      2.  
        Patching of containers
    4. Upgrading
      1.  
        Upgrading Cloud Scale deployment for Postgres using Helm charts
      2. Upgrading NetBackup individual components
        1.  
          Upgrading NetBackup operator
        2. Upgrading NetBackup application
          1.  
            Upgrade NetBackup from previous versions
          2.  
            Procedure to rollback when upgrade of NetBackup fails
        3.  
          Upgrading MSDP Scaleout
        4. Upgrading Snapshot Manager
          1.  
            Post-migration tasks
    5. Cloud Scale Disaster Recovery
      1.  
        Cluster backup
      2.  
        Environment backup
      3.  
        Cluster recovery
      4.  
        Cloud Scale recovery
      5.  
        Environment Disaster Recovery
      6.  
        DBaaS Disaster Recovery
    6. Uninstalling
      1.  
        Uninstalling NetBackup environment and the operators
      2.  
        Uninstalling Postgres using Helm charts
      3.  
        Uninstalling Snapshot Manager from Kubernetes cluster
      4. Uninstalling MSDP Scalout from Kubernetes cluster
        1.  
          Cleaning up MSDP Scaleout
        2.  
          Cleaning up the MSDP Scaleout operator
    7. 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.  
          Post Kubernetes cluster restart, flexsnap-listener pod went into CrashLoopBackoff state or pods were unable to connect to flexsnap-rabbitmq
        36.  
          Post Kubernetes cluster restart, issues observed in case of containerized Postgres deployment
      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
  6. Appendix A. CR template
    1.  
      Secret
    2. MSDP Scaleout CR
      1.  
        MSDP Scaleout CR template for AKS
      2.  
        MSDP Scaleout CR template for EKS

MSDP Scaleout CR template for EKS

# The MSDPScaleout CR YAML
# notes:
# The CR name should be <= 40 characters.
# The MSDP credential stored in the Secret should match MSDP credential
rules defined in https://www.veritas.com/content/support/en_US/article.
100048511
apiVersion: msdp.veritas.com/v1
kind: MSDPScaleout
metadata:
  # The CR name should not be longer than 40 characters.
  name: sample-app
  # The namespace needs to be present for the CR to be created in.
  # It is not allowed to deploy the CR in the same namespace with MSDP
operator.
  namespace: sample-namespace
spec:
  # Your Container Registry(ECR for AWS EKS) URL where
the docker images can be pulled from the k8s cluster on demand
  # The allowed length is in range 1-255
  # It is optional for BYO. The code does not check the presence or
validation.
  # User needs to specify it correctly if it is needed.
  containerRegistry: sample.url
  #
  # The MSDP version string. It is the tag of the MSDP docker images.
  # The allowed length is in range 1-64
  version: "sample-version-string"
  #
  # Size defines the number of Engine instances in the MSDP-X cluster.
  # The allowed size is between 1-16
  size: 4
  #
  # The IP and FQDN pairs are used by the Engine Pods to expose the
MSDP services.
  # The IP and FQDN in one pair should match each other correctly.
  # They must be pre-allocated.
  # The item number should match the number of Engine instances.
  # They are not allowed to be changed or re-ordered. New items can be
appended for scaling out.
  # The first FQDN is used to configure the storage server in NetBackup, 
automatically if autoRegisterOST is enabled,
  # or manually by the user if not.
  serviceIPFQDNs:
    # The pattern is IPv4 or IPv6 format
    - ipAddr: "sample-ip1"
      # The pattern is FQDN format.
      fqdn: "sample-fqdn1"
    - ipAddr: "sample-ip2"
      fqdn: "sample-fqdn2"
    - ipAddr: "sample-ip3"
      fqdn: "sample-fqdn3"
    - ipAddr: "sample-ip4"
      fqdn: "sample-fqdn4"
  #
  # # s3ServiceIPFQDN is the IP and FQDN pair to expose the S3 service from the MSDP instance.
  # # The IP and FQDN in one pair should match each other correctly.
  # # It must be pre-allocated.
  # # It is not allowed to be changed after deployment.
  # s3ServiceIPFQDN:
  #   # The pattern is IPv4 or IPv6 format
  #   ipAddr: "sample-s3-ip"
  #   # The pattern is FQDN format.
  #   fqdn: "sample-s3-fqdn"
  # Optional annotations to be added in the LoadBalancer services for the
Engine IPs.
  # In case we run the Engines on private IPs, we need to add some
customized annotations to the LoadBalancer services.
  # loadBalancerAnnotations:
  #   # If it's an EKS environment, specify the following annotation
to use the internal IPs.
  #   # see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/amazon/aws/internal-lb
  #   service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer: "true"
  #   # If the internal IPs are in a different subnet as the EKS cluster, 
the following annotation should be
  #   # specified as well. The subnet specified must be in the same virtual
network as the EKS cluster.
  #   service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-internal-subnet: 
"apps-subnet"
  #
  #   # If your cluster is EKS, the following annotation item is required.
  #   # The subnet specified must be in the same VPC as your EKS.
  #   service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-subnets: "subnet-04c47
28ec4d0ecb90"
  #
  # SecretName is the name of the secret which stores the MSDP credential.
  # AutoDelete, when true, will automatically delete the secret specified
by SecretName after the
  # initial configuration. If unspecified, AutoDelete defaults to true.
  # When true, SkipPrecheck will skip webhook validation of the MSDP
credential. It is only used in data re-use
  # scenario (delete CR and re-apply with pre-existing data) as the secret
will not take effect in this scenario. It
  # cannot be used in other scenarios. If unspecified, SkipPrecheck defaults
to false.
  credential:
    # The secret should be pre-created in the same namespace which has the
MSDP credential stored.
    # The secret should have a "username" and a "password" key-pairs with
the corresponding username and password values.
    # Please follow MSDP guide for the rules of the credential.
    #   https://www.veritas.com/content/support/en_US/article.100048511
    # A secret can be created directly via kubectl command or with the
equivalent YAML file:
    #   kubectl create secret generic sample-secret --namespace sample-
namespace \
    #   --from-literal=username=<username> --from-literal=password=
<password>
    secretName: sample-secret
    # Optional
    # Default is true
    autoDelete: true
    # Optional
    # Default is false.
    # Should be specified only in data re-use scenario (aka delete and
re-apply CR with pre-existing data)
    skipPrecheck: false
  #
# s3Credential:

  #   # Use this option in conjunction with KMS option enabled.

  #   # The secret should be pre-created in the same namespace that the MSDP cluster is deployed.

  #   # The secret should have an "accessKey" and a "secretKey" key-pairs with the corresponding accessKey and secretKey values.

  #   # A secret can be created directly via kubectl-msdp command:

  #   #   kubectl-msdp generate-s3-secret --namespace <namespace> --s3secret <s3SecretName>

  #   secretName: s3-secret

  #   # Optional

  #   # Default is true

  #   autoDelete: true

  #   # Optional

  #   # Default is false.

  #   # Should be specified only in data re-use scenario (aka delete and re-apply CR with pre-existing data)

  #   skipPrecheck: false
  # Paused is used for maintenance only. In most cases you do not need
to specify it.
  #
  # When it is specified, MSDP operator stops reconciling the corresponding
MSDP-X cluster (aka the CR).
  # Optional.
  # Default is false
  # paused: false
  #
  # The storage classes for logVolume, catalogVolume and dataVolumes
should be:
  #   - Backed with AWS disk CSI driver "disk.csi.aws.com" with the
managed disks, and allow volume
  #     expansion.
  #   - The AWS in-tree storage driver "kubernetes.io/aws-disk" is not
supported. You need to explicitly
  #     enable the AWS disk CSI driver when configuring your EKS cluster, 
or use k8s version v1.21.x which
  #     has the AWS disk CSI driver built-in.
  #   - In LRS category.
  #   - At least Standard SSD for dev/test, and Premium SSD or Ultra Disk
for production.
  #   - The same storage class can be used for all the volumes.
  #
  # LogVolume is the volume specification which is used to provision a
volume of an MDS or Controller
  # Pod to store the log files and core dump files.
  # It is not allowed to be changed.
  # In most cases, 5-10 GiB capacity should be big enough for one MDS or
Controller Pod to use.
  logVolume:
    storageClassName: sample-AWS-disk-sc1
    resources:
      requests:
        storage: xGi
  #
  # CatalogVolume is the volume specification which is used to provision a
volume of an MDS or Engine
  # Pod to store the catalog and metadata. It is not allowed to be changed
unless for capacity expansion.
  # Expanding the existing catalog volumes expects short downtime of the
 Engines.
  # Please note the MDS Pods do not respect the storage request in
CatalogVolume, instead they provision the
  # volumes with the minimal capacity request of 500MiB.
  catalogVolume:
    storageClassName: sample-AWS-disk-sc2
    resources:
      requests:
        storage: xxxGi
  #
  # DataVolumes is a list of volume specifications which are used to
provision the volumes of
  # an Engine Pod to store the MSDP data.
  # The items are not allowed to be changed or re-ordered unless for
capacity expansion.
  # New items can be appended for adding more data volumes to each
Engine Pod.
  # Appending new data volumes or expanding the existing data volumes
expects short downtime of the Engines.
  # The allowed item number is in range 1-16. To allow the other MSDP-X
Pods (e.g. Controller, MDS) running
  # on the same node, the item number should be no more than "<the
maximum allowed volumes on the node> - 5".
  # The additional 5 data disks are for the potential one MDS Pod, one
Controller Pod or one MSDP operator Pod
  # to run on the same node with one MSDP Engine.
  dataVolumes:
    - storageClassName: sample-aws-disk-sc3
      resources:
        requests:
          storage: xxTi
    - storageClassName: sample-aws-disk-sc3
      resources:
        requests:
          storage: xxTi
  #
  # NodeSelector is used to schedule the MSDPScaleout Pods on the
specified nodes.
  # Optional.
  # Default is empty (aka all available nodes)
  nodeSelector:
    # e.g.
    # agentpool: nodegroup2
    sample-node-label1: sampel-label-value1
    sample-node-label2: sampel-label-value2
  #
  # NBCA is the specification for the MSDP-X cluster to enable NBCA
SecComm for the Engines.
  # Optional.
  nbca:
    # The master server name
    # The allowed length is in range 1-255
    masterServer: sample-master-server-name
    # The CA SHA256 fingerprint
    # The allowed length is 95
    cafp: sample-ca-fp
    # The NBCA authentication/reissue token
    # The allowed length is 16
    # For security consideration, a token with maximum 1 user allowed
and valid for 1 day should be sufficient.
    token: sample-auth-token

    # # S3TokenSecret is the secret name that holds NBCA authentication/reissue token for MSDP S3 service.
    # # It is used to request NBCA certificate for S3 service.
    # # It must be set if MSDP S3 service is enabled.
    # # The allowed length is in range 1-255
    # # For security consideration, a token with maximum 1 user allowed and valid for 1 day should be sufficient.
    # s3TokenSecret: sample-auth-token-secret-for-s3
  #
  # KMS includes the parameters to enable KMS for the Engines.
  # We support to enable KMS in init or post configuration.
  # We do not support to change the parameters once they have been set.
  # Optional.
  kms:
    # As either the NetBackup KMS or external KMS (EKMS) is configured
or registered on NetBackup master server, then used by
    # MSDP by calling the NetBackup API, kmsServer is the NetBackup master
server name.
    kmsServer: sample-master-server-name
    keyGroup: sample-key-group-name
  #
  # autoRegisterOST includes the parameter to enable or disable the
automatic registration of
  # the storage server, the default disk pool and storage unit when
MSDP-X configuration finishes.
  # We do not support to change autoRegisterOST.
  autoRegisterOST:
    # If it is true, and NBCA is enabled, the operator would register
the storage server,
    # disk pool and storage unit on the NetBackup primary server, when
the MSDP CR is deployed.
    # The first Engine FQDN is the storage server name.
    # The default disk pool is in format "default_dp_<firstEngineFQDN>".
    # The default storage unit is in format "default_stu_<firstEngineFQDN>".
    # The default maximum number of concurrent jobs for the STU is 240.
    # In the CR status, field "ostAutoRegisterStatus.registered" with
value True, False or Unknown indicates the registration state.
    # It is false by default.
    enabled: true
  #
  # CorePattern is the core pattern of the nodes where the MSDPScaleout
Pods are running.
  # It is path-based. A default core path "/core/core.%e.%p.%t" will be
used if not specified.
  # In most cases, you do not need to specify it.
  # It is not allowed to be changed.
  # Optional.
  # corePattern: /sample/core/pattern/path
  #
  # tcpKeepAliveTime sets the namespaced sysctl parameter net.ipv4.tcp_
keepalive_time in Engine Pods.
  # It is in seconds.
  # The minimal allowed value is 60 and the maximum allowed value is 1800.
  # A default value 120 is used if not specified. Set it to 0 to disable
the option.
  # It is not allowed to change unless in maintenance mode (paused=true), 
and the change will not apply until the Engine Pods get restarted.
  # For EKS deployment in 10.1 release, please leave it unspecified or
specify it with a value smaller than 240.
  # tcpKeepAliveTime: 120
  #
  # TCPIdleTimeout is used to change the default value for AWS Load
Balancer rules and Inbound NAT rules.
  # It is in minutes.
  # The minimal allowed value is 4 and the maximum allowed value is 30.
  # A default value 30 minutes is used if not specified. Set it to 0 to
disable the option.
  # It is not allowed to change unless in maintenance mode (paused=true), 
and the change will not apply until the Engine Pods and the LoadBalancer
services get recreated.
  # For EKS deployment in 10.1 release, please leave it unspecified or
specify it with a value larger than 4.
  # tcpIdleTimeout: 30