Veritas NetBackup™ Appliance Troubleshooting Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): Appliances (3.3.0.1, 3.2, 3.1.2, 3.1.1, 3.1)
Platform: NetBackup Appliance OS

About troubleshooting the NetBackup Appliance

If you experience any issues with your NetBackup Appliance, use the following steps as a guide to help you resolve the problem. The steps provide links to more specific troubleshooting information. You can also find troubleshooting information for specific issues from the Appliances page on the Technical Support website. Use the search function to look for articles relating to your particular issue.

If you cannot resolve the problem on your own, it is important that you can define the problem and collect any supporting information. When you reach this point, you should contact Technical Support. A technical support representative works with you to diagnose the problem and produce a satisfactory resolution.

Table: Steps for troubleshooting NetBackup Appliance problems

Step

Action

Description

Step 1

Note the error message

To note what has gone wrong with the appliance you can use the following options:

  • Error messages are usually the vehicle for telling you something went wrong.

    Refer to the appliance error message documentation and confirm the recommended action.

    See Error messages displayed during initial configuration.

    See Error messages displayed on the NetBackup Appliance Web Console.

    See Error messages displayed on the NetBackup Appliance Shell Menu.

  • If you don't see an error message in an interface, but still suspect a problem, you can:

    • Use the Monitor > Hardware tab from the NetBackup Appliance Web Console to monitor the hardware, the storage devices, and all the components that are associated with them.

    • Execute a hardware self-test from theNetBackup Appliance Shell Menu using the Support > Test command. On completion of the hardware self test, a detailed hardware monitoring report is displayed on the NetBackup Appliance Shell Menu that can help you identify the exact issue with your appliance.

    • Check the NetBackup Appliance reports and logs. The logs show you what went wrong and the operation that was ongoing when the problem occurred.

      See About NetBackup Appliance log files.

  • If you can easily access the appliance hardware, you can identify the issues using LEDs. For more information about LED locations and interpreting them, refer to the NetBackup Appliance Hardware Installation Guides

Step 2

Identify what you were doing when the problem occurred

Ask the following questions:

  • What operation was tried?

  • What method did you use?

    For example, more than one way exists to install software on a client. Also more than one possible interface exists to use for many operations. Some operations can be performed with a script.

  • What type of server platform and operating system was involved?

  • If your site uses both the master server and the media server, was it a master server or a media server?

  • If a client was involved, what type of client was it?

  • Have you performed the operation successfully in the past? If so, what is different now?

  • What is the software version level?

  • Do you use operating system software with the latest fixes supplied?

  • Is your device firmware at a level, or higher than the level, at which it has been tested according to the posted device compatibility lists?

Step 3

Record all information

Capture potentially valuable information:

  • Progress logs

  • Reports

  • Utility Reports

  • Debug logs

  • Check for error or status messages in the system log and Event Viewer application in case of a Windows computer.

    Note:

    To start the Event Viewer, from the Start menu, click All Programs > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer.

  • Error or status messages in dialog boxes

See About NetBackup Appliance log files.

Step 4

Correct the problem

If you define the issue as a NetBackup Appliance issue, you can find additional troubleshooting information from the Appliances page on the Technical Support website. Use the search bar at the top of the page to look for articles relating to specific issues.

If you define the issue as a NetBackup issue, you can use the following information to correct it:

  • Take the corrective action as recommended by the status code or message.

    See NetBackup status codes applicable for NetBackup Appliance.

    For more information, refer to the NetBackup Status Code Reference Guide.

  • If no status code or message exists, or the actions for the status code do not solve the problem, use additional troubleshooting procedures to isolate common problems.

    See About NetBackup support utilities.

    See the NetBackup Troubleshooting Guide for additional information specific to NetBackup.

Step 5

Complete a problem report for Technical Support

If you can identify the logs that can help resolve the issue, collect the appropriate logs. If you cannot identify the required logs for resolving the problem, contact Technical Support to get advice on which logs to collect. If your troubleshooting is unsuccessful, prepare to contact Technical Support by filling out a problem report.

See About NetBackup Appliance log files.

Step 6

Contact Technical Support

The Veritas Technical Support website has a wealth of information that can help you solve NetBackup Appliance problems.

Access Technical Support at the following URL:

www.veritas.com/support