Upgrading a globally clustered (GCO) NetBackup master server to NetBackup 8.1 and later

Description

A globally clustered master server consists of two master server clusters that use the same virtual host name with a replicating storage layer between them.

For more details, refer to the NetBackup Highly Available Environments Administrator's Guide for more details on global clusters.

http://www.veritas.com/docs/DOC5332

The two clusters that make up the global cluster are referred to as the primary site cluster and the secondary site cluster. The primary site cluster is the one where the master server normally runs, and the secondary site cluster is the standby cluster which is only bought on-line when there is a problem at the primary site.

The standard upgrade procedure for a global cluster is to upgrade the primary site cluster first and then the secondary site cluster.

Upgrading NetBackup in the primary and the secondary master server cluster follows procedures that are outlined in the NetBackup installation guides and the NetBackup Clustered Master Server Administrator's Guide. For the upgrade to NetBackup 8.1, there are some additional steps for global clusters that are detailed in this document.

Note: The clusters at both sites must be upgraded at the same time because NetBackup will not start in a fail over situation if the secondary site is not running NetBackup 8.1.

Note: Veritas recommends always upgrading to the latest available release of NetBackup to ensure you have access to the latest features and bug fixes.

Upgrading NetBackup in clustered replication configuration on Unix and Linux

On UNIX and Linux platforms, all nodes on the secondary master server cluster are considered to be passive during upgrade.

To upgrade a UNIX or Linux global cluster

1. Ensure that global cluster fail over is disabled for the duration of the upgrade.
2. Suspend replication between the primary and secondary sites.
3. Upgrade NetBackup on the primary site master server cluster first, following the standard upgrade procedures. For more details, refer to the NetBackup Upgrade Guide.
4. Fetch Host ID-based certificates for all inactive nodes on primary site, following the procedure to deploy Host ID-based certificate. For more details, refer to the NetBackup Security and Encryption Guide.
5. Upgrade NetBackup on the secondary site. For more details, refer to the NetBackup Upgrade Guide.
6. Fetch Host ID-based certificates for all nodes on secondary site, following the procedure to deploy Host ID-based certificate. For more details, refer to the NetBackup Security and Encryption Guide.
7. Restart the replication between the primary and secondary sites and re-enable the global cluster fail over. Be sure to take extreme care when re-establishing the replication link to ensure that the synchronization occurs in the correct direction (from the primary site to the secondary site).

Upgrading NetBackup in clustered replication configuration on Windows

On Windows, at least one node of the cluster must be active at the time of the upgrade. Unlike UNIX and Linux configurations, the secondary site cluster must be brought on-line for the upgrade to proceed.

To upgrade a Windows primary master server cluster

1. Ensure that global cluster fail over is disabled for the duration of the upgrade.
2. Suspend replication between the primary and secondary sites
3. Upgrade NetBackup on the primary site master server cluster first, following the standard upgrade procedures. For more details, refer to the NetBackup Upgrade Guide.
4. Fetch Host ID-based certificates for all inactive nodes on primary site, following the procedure to deploy Host ID-based certificate. For more details, refer to the NetBackup Security and Encryption Guide.
5. To update the secondary cluster, isolate the secondary master server cluster from the rest of the network.
6. Present the upgrade volume to the appropriate mount point. If no upgrade volume is available, see the note following this procedure.
7. Upgrade NetBackup using the standard upgrade procedures from the NetBackup installation Guide.
8. Stop NetBackup.
9. Dismount the upgrade volume.
10. Reconnect the secondary master server cluster to the rest of the network.
11. Fetch Host ID-based certificates for all nodes on secondary site, following the procedure to deploy Host ID-based certificate. For more details, refer to the NetBackup Security and Encryption Guide.
12. Restart the replication between the primary and secondary sites and re-enable the global cluster fail over. Be sure to take extreme care when re-establishing the replication link to ensure that the synchronization occurs in the correct direction (from the primary site to the secondary site).

Note: If no upgrade volume is available, consider using the following approach during the upgrade:

• Before upgrading the primary cluster, stop the replication between the primary and secondary clusters so that the target volume can be mounted to the secondary cluster. For more details, refer to your replication documentation.
• At step 5 of the upgrade procedure, present the replication target volume to the secondary cluster as the upgrade volume.