Veritas NetBackup™ for Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV) Administrator's Guide

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup (8.3.0.1, 8.3)
  1. Introduction to NetBackup for Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV)
    1.  
      Protect AHV using NetBackup
    2. About the Hypervisor policy type to protect Nutanix AHV VMs
      1.  
        Migrating BigData policy to Hypervisor policy
    3.  
      NetBackup terminology related to the AHV backup
    4.  
      NetBackup for AHV environment
  2. Prerequisites and things to consider before using Nutanix for AHV
    1.  
      Prerequisites
    2. Things to consider before using the NetBackup plug-in for Nutanix AHV
      1.  
        NetBackup character restrictions for virtual machine names
  3. Configuring NetBackup communication with AHV
    1.  
      Establishing communication between NetBackup and Nutanix AHV
    2. Configuring secure communication between the Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor server and NetBackup host
      1.  
        Managing SSL certificates on NetBackup Appliance
      2. Managing SSL certificates through ECA framework
        1.  
          ECA_TRUST_STORE_PATH for NetBackup servers and clients
        2.  
          ECA_CRL_PATH for NetBackup servers and clients
        3.  
          VIRTUALIZATION_HOSTS_SECURE_CONNECT_ENABLED for servers and clients
        4.  
          VIRTUALIZATION_CRL_CHECK for NetBackup servers and clients
    3.  
      Adding the Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor Cluster credentials for NetBackup
    4. Adding a backup host to the NetBackup master server
      1.  
        Adding a backup host to the NetBackup master access list
      2.  
        Configuring a NetBackup Appliance as a backup host
    5.  
      Adding a backup host to the Acropolis Cluster access list
  4. Configuring NetBackup policies for AHV
    1.  
      Creating a backup policy using the NetBackup Policies utility
    2.  
      Creating a backup policy using the NetBackup Command Line Interface
  5. Backup and recovery
    1. Back up the Nutanix AHV virtual machines
      1.  
        Basic phases in a NetBackup backup of an AHV
    2. Overview of the Nutanix AHV virtual machines recovery process
      1.  
        About recovering the Nutanix AHV virtual machines
      2.  
        Planning the recovery of a Nutanix AHV VM
      3.  
        Recovering a Nutanix AHV VM using the Backup, Archive, and Restore console
      4.  
        About recovering AHV VMs from the images that are backed up using NetBackup versions 8.1, 8.1.1, or 8.1.2
      5. Recovering a Nutanix AHV VM using the command line for Hypervisor policy
        1.  
          Creating or modifying the rename file
        2.  
          Using the command line to recover Nutanix AHV virtual machines for Hypervisor policy
  6. Troubleshooting issues
    1.  
      Troubleshooting issues related to AHV backup
    2.  
      NetBackup logs
    3.  
      About errors during policy creation, restore, and validation
    4.  
      NetBackup status codes
  7. Appendix A. NetBackup commands to backup and restore Nutanix AHV virtual machines
    1.  
      NetBackup commands for protecting the AHV
  8. Appendix B. Protect Nutanix AHV virtual machines with BigData policy
    1.  
      Using the BigData policy to backup and restore Nutanix AHV virtual machines
  9.  
    Index

Creating a backup policy using the NetBackup Command Line Interface

This topic provides information about using the command line interface to create a Hypervisor policy.

The NetBackup commands for policy creation are in the following directory:

Windows: install_path\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\admincmd

UNIX or Linux: /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd

To define a backup policy using the command line interface, run these commands on the NetBackup master server.

  1. Create a policy.

    bppolicynew policy_name

    For example: bppolicynew nutanix

  2. Set the policy attributes.

    bpplinfo policy_name -set [-M master_server,...] -pt policy_type

    To modify the policy type attributes, run the following command:

    bpplinfo policy_name -modify [-M master_server,...] -pt policy_type

    The policy_type value is Hypervisor.

    To add a storage unit, run the following command:

    bpplinfo policy_name -residence label -modify

    For example: bpplinfo nutanix -modify -M my.master.server -pt Hypervisor -residence stu

  3. Create a policy schedule.

    bpplsched policy_name [-v] [-M master_server,...] -add sched_label [-st sched_type] [-freq frequency]

    For example: bpplsched nutanix -add Full -st FULL

    Note:

    If you enable Accelerator, include at least 2 full backup schedules:

    - One full schedule with the Accelerator forced rescan option disabled

    - Second full schedule with the Accelerator forced rescan enabled

    Configure the forced rescan enabled schedule to run less frequently than the first full backup schedule.

    For example, if the first full backup schedule runs weekly, run the second schedule (with the Accelerator forced rescan option enabled) every month. However, the best frequency for this schedule depends upon your environment.

    To enable the Accelerator forced rescan option, set checksum_change_detection=1.

    Use the following command to add an incremental backup schedule:

    bpplsched nutanix -add ntnx_DINC -st INCR

    Where the values that the -st option supports for Nutanix AHV are:

    • FULL - for a full backup

    • INCR - for a differential incremental backup

    • CINC - for a cumulative incremental backup

    Note:

    You must run a full backup before an incremental backup. If no full backup is run, the incremental backup runs as a full backup. Cumulative incremental backups run as full backups till the next full backup schedule, and differential incremental run as full backups and subsequent differential backups run as incremental backups.

  4. Select the clients or virtual machines to back up.

    bpplinclude policy_name -add "Nutanix-AHV://@NUTANIX_CLUSTER?filter=Displayname AnyOf \"Nutanix_VM_Hostname\""

  5. Add a backup host using the following command:

    bpplclients policy_name -add backup_host hardware operating_system

    Enter the hardware operating_system details of the backup host.

    For example, bpplclients policy_name -add backup_host Nutanix Virtual_Machine

  6. To enable the Accelerator feature:

    Accelerator

    bpplinfo policy_name -modify -use_accelerator 1 -residence 
    NetBackupSTU -use_virtual_machine 6 -alt_client_name backup_host 
    -snapshot_method "Hypervisor_snap"  - snapshot_method_args 
    "application_consistent=0,Virtual_machine_backup=1,
    vm_identifier=DISPLAYNAME,file_system_optimization=0,exclude_swap=0"
     -fi 1 -offhost_backup 1 -ct "Hypervisor" -active 
    -application_discovery 1 -blkincr 1

    Here the -use_accelerator 1 option is used.

    Non-Accelerator

    bpplinfo policy_name -modify -use_accelerator 0 -residence 
    NetBackupSTU -use_virtual_machine 6 -alt_client_name backup_host 
    -snapshot_method "Hypervisor_snap" -snapshot_method_args 
    "application_consistent=0,Virtual_machine_backup=1,
    vm_identifier=DISPLAYNAME,file_system_optimization=0,exclude_swap=0"
     -fi 1 -offhost_backup 1 -ct "Hypervisor" -active 
    -application_discovery 1
  7. To enable cumulative or differential incremental backups:
    bpplinfo policy_name -modify -use_accelerator 0 -residence STU_name -use_virtual_machine 6 -alt_client_name backup_hostname -snapshot_method "Hypervisor_snap" -snapshot_method_args "application_consistent=0, Virtual_machine_backup=1, vm_identifier=DISPLAYNAME, file_system_optimization=0, exclude_swap=0" -fi 1 -offhost_backup 1 -ct "Hypervisor" -active -application_discovery 1 -blkincr 1

    Here the -blkincr 1 option is used.

    The possible keyword values for the snapshot_method_args option are as follows:

    Keyword values for snapshot_method_args

    Value - Description

    application_consistent=

    0 - Crash consistent

    virtual_machine_backup=

    1 - Full VM backup

    vm_identifier=

    Display name

    exclude_swap=

    0 - Disabled

    snapact=

    0 - Continue backup

    Note:

    NetBackup for Nutanix AHV does not support application consistent backups. Even if you enter application_consistent=1, the backups are set as crash consistent.

  8. Validate the policy.

    bpclient -policy policy_name -validate

    For example, bpclient -policy nutanix -validate

    If the policy successfully validates, no output appears. Otherwise, the following error occurs: Error code 48: client hostname could not be found.

  9. Use the bpbackup command to start the backup.
  10. Use the bprestore command to start the restore.

For detailed information about the commands and additional options, refer to the NetBackup Command Reference Guide.