PRODUCT ENHANCEMENT: Functionality added to the nbdelete command that will allow administrators to control the media server where the nbdelete command is initiated.

Enhancement:  
Administrators will be able to control the media server on which nbdelete is initiated by setting up a configuration file to map a disk mediaID to a specific media server.


Previous Behavior:
In older versions of NetBackup when image cleanup would be triggered, and nbdelete may initiate the bpdm process for cleanup of the fragments and images from disk on any media server that has credentials to the storage server.  In a majority of configurations this is a benefit as the jobs will be balanced between the servers.  

In cases where media servers located in multiple geographic centers were configured with credentials to a single storage server, the OST plugin calls to the remote server(s) may take longer to complete when compared to media servers that are geographically local to where the image is stored.  

Example:
bpdm for a slow job where the media server the image is housed on is on the East Coast, and the image deletion is initiated on a storage server on the West Coast:
06:28:17.348 [21261] <2> : /usr/openv/lib/ost-plugins/libstspiDataDomain.so:stspi_get_pathname img_basename clientABC_1265062239_C2_F1_R1 img_date 1265062239

[1.289 seconds later]
06:28:18.637 [21261] <2> : /usr/openv/lib/ost-plugins/libstspiDataDomain.so:stspi_get_pathname found -> returning pathname dd1_lsu1/clientABC_1265062239_C2_F1_R1:1265062239:hpusir61_oracle:4:1::


Compared to the same calls made when the image and the server that clean up is initiated on is in the same geographic location:  
17:09:35.138 [12165] <2> : /usr/openv/lib/ost-plugins/libstspiDataDomain.so:stspi_get_pathname img_basename client123_1265392177_C1_F1 img_date 1265392177

[.062 seconds later}
17:09:35.200 [12165] <2> : /usr/openv/lib/ost-plugins/libstspiDataDomain.so:stspi_get_pathname found -> returning pathname dd3-lsu1/client123_1265392177_C1_F1:1265392177:name11_trans_inst52:4:1::


The overall time added to the image deletion may be hours depending on the number of images and the latencies in return of the calls.


Behavior: Administrators will be able to configure a mapping file that will force the nbdelete command to initiate bpdm for cleanup of images on a specific media server. This may considerably lessen image deletion times.  


Implementation:

The configuration file to create is:
  Windows: <install_path>\Veritas\NetBackup\db\config\CLEANUP_MEDIASERVER_MAP
  UNIX:   /usr/openv/netbackup/db/config/CLEANUP_MEDIASERVER_MAP


Entries to the config file are diskmediaID mediaserver pairs. "#" at the start of a line denotes a comment.
A sample config file to map disk mediaID @aaaac to media server named " remote-nbmedia1 " is as follows:

# disk mediaID to media server mapping for nbdelete
#
# entries should be one disk media id to a line,
# followed by at least one space then the name of
# the media server you would like to use for delete operations
# from the specified mediaID.
#
# this value can be overriden by the -bpdm_media_server
# argument to nbdelete
#
# if a mediaID is not found here, then any media
# server with credentials to reach the disk storage
# server may be selected.
#
# example :
#
# @aaaac foobar
#
@aaaac remote-nbmedia1



Additional comments:
NetBackup administrators may notice that the image cleanup details in the activity monitor show a different media server listed for deletion prior to the resource being granted.

Example:
04/19/2010 12:22:40 - requesting resource @aaaac
04/19/2010 12:22:40 - Info nbdelete (pid=11829) deleting expired images. Media Server: local-nbmedia1 Media: @aaaac
04/19/2010 12:22:41 - granted resource  MediaID=@aaaac;DiskVolume=dd1_lsu1;DiskPool=Disk_pool1;Path=dd1_lsu1;StorageServer=dd01;MediaServer=remote-nbmedia1

This should be considered normal and the first media server listed viewed simply as a place-holder until the configuration file is read and the resource granted.