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

Prerequisites for MSDP Scaleout and Snapshot Manager (AKS/EKS)

A working Azure Kubernetes cluster
  • Azure Kubernetes cluster

    • Your Azure Kubernetes cluster must be created with appropriate network and configuration settings.

      For a complete list of supported Azure Kubernetes service versions, refer to the Software Compatibility List (SCL) at:NetBackup Compatibility List.

    • Availability zone for AKS cluster must be disabled.

    • Cert-manager and trust-manager must be installed.

    • (MSDP Scaleout specific)

      • A Kubernetes Secret that contains the MSDP credentials.

        See Secret.

      • Enable AKS Uptime SLA.

        AKS Uptime SLA is recommended for a better resiliency.

        For information about AKS Uptime SLA and to enable it, see Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) Uptime SLA.

      • At least one storage class is backed with Azure disk CSI storage driver "disk.csi.azure.com", and allows volume expansion. It must be in LRS category with Premium SSD. For example, the built-in storage class "managed-csi-premium". It is recommended that the storage class has "Retain" reclaim.

    • (Snapshot Manager specific)

      Two storage classes with the following configurations are required:

      Storage class field

      Data

      Log

      provisioner

      disk.csi.azure.com

      file.csi.azure.com

      storageaccounttype

      Premium_LRS

      Premium_LRS

      reclaimPolicy

      Retain

      Retain

      allowVolumeExpansion

      True

      True

  • Azure container registry (ACR)

    Use existing ACR or create a new one. Your Kubernetes cluster must be able to access this registry to pull the images from ACR. For more information on Azure container registry, see 'Azure Container Registry documentation' section in Microsoft Azure Documentation.

  • Node Pool

    You must have a dedicated node pool for MSDP Scaleout/Snapshot Manager created. The Azure autoscaling allows your node pool to scale dynamically as required. It is recommended that you set the minimum node number to 1 or more to bypass some limitations in AKS.

    (MSDP Scaleout specific) Azure availability zone must be disabled. If Azure autoscaling is not enabled, ensure that the node number is not less than MSDP Scaleout size.

    (Snapshot Manager specific) User must enable managed identity on the control node pool and add appropriate role for Snapshot Manager to operate.

  • Client machine to access AKS cluster

    • A separate computer that can access and manage your AKS cluster and ACR.

    • It must have Linux operating system.

    • It must have Docker daemon, the Kubernetes command-line tool (kubectl), and Azure CLI installed.

      The Docker storage size must be more than 6 GB. The version of kubectl must be v1.19.x or later. The version of Azure CLI must meet the AKS cluster requirements.

    • If AKS is a private cluster, see Create a private Azure Kubernetes Service cluster.

  • Static Internal IPs

    If the internal IPs are used, reserve the internal IPs (avoid the IPs that are reserved by other systems) for MSDP Scaleout/Snapshot Manager and add DNS records for all of them in your DNS configuration.

    The Azure static public IPs can be used but is not recommended.

    If Azure static public IPs are used, create them in the node resource group for the AKS cluster. A DNS name must be assigned to each static public IP. The IPs must be in the same location of the AKS cluster.

  • Ensure that the managed identity has the scope to connect to the resource group of the cluster created for cloud scale deployment.

A working AWS Kubernetes cluster
  • AWS Kubernetes cluster

    • Your AWS Kubernetes cluster must be created with appropriate network and configuration settings.

      For a complete list of supported AWS Kubernetes service versions, refer to the Software Compatibility List (SCL) at:NetBackup Compatibility List

    • (MSDP Scaleout specific)

      • A Kubernetes Secret that contains the MSDP credentials.

        See Secret.

      • The node group in EKS should not cross availability zone.

      • At least one storage class that is backed with Amazon EBS CSI storage driver ebs.csi.aws.com or with the default provisioner kubernetes.io/aws-ebs, and allows volume expansion. The built-in storage class is gp2. It is recommended that the storage class has "Retain" reclaim policy.

      • AWS Load Balancer controller must be installed on EKS.

    • (Snapshot Manager specific) Two storage classes with the following configuration is required:

      Storage class field

      Data

      Log

      provisioner

      kubernetes.io/aws-ebs

      efs.csi.aws.com

      reclaimPolicy

      Retain

      Retain

      allowVolumeExpansion

      True

      True

      Note:

      It is recommended to use a separate EFS for Snapshot Manager deployment and primary server catalog.

  • Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR)

    Use existing ECR or create a new one. Your Kubernetes cluster must be able to access this registry to pull the images from ECR.

  • Node Group

    (MSDP Scaleout specific) You must have a dedicated node group for MSDP Scaleout created. The node group should not cross availability zone.

    The AWS Auto Scaling allows your node group to scale dynamically as required. If AWS Auto Scaling is not enabled, ensure the node number is not less than MSDP Scaleout size.

    It is recommended that you set the minimum node number to 1 or more to bypass some limitations in EKS.

    (Snapshot Manager specific) You must have a dedicated node group created for Snapshot Manager's scalable workflow and data movement services. It is recommended to use the NetBackup primary server's node group for Snapshot Manager's control services.

    User must assign same IAM role with required permissions to both the node groups, that is control node group and data node group.

  • Client machine to access EKS cluster

    • A separate computer that can access and manage your EKS cluster and ECR.

    • It must have Linux operating system.

    • It must have Docker daemon, the Kubernetes command-line tool (kubectl), and AWS CLI installed.

      The Docker storage size must be more than 6 GB. The version of kubectl must be v1.19.x or later. The version of AWS CLI must meet the EKS cluster requirements.

    • If EKS is a private cluster, see Creating an private Amazon EKS cluster.

  • Static Internal IPs

    If the internal IPs are used, reserve the internal IPs (avoid the IPs that are reserved by other systems) for Snapshot Manager and add forward and reverse DNS records for all of them in your DNS configuration.

    The AWS static public IPs can be used but is not recommended.

Existing NetBackup environment

MSDP Scaleout connects to the existing NetBackup environment with the required network ports 1556 and 443. The NetBackup primary server must be 10.0 or later. The NetBackup environment can be anywhere, locally or remotely. It may or may not be in AKS/EKS cluster. It may or may not be in the same AKS/EKS cluster.

If the NetBackup servers are on Azure/AWS cloud, besides the NetBackup configuration requirements, the following settings are recommended. They are not MSDP-specific requirements, they just help your NetBackup environment run smoothly on Azure/AWS cloud.

  • Add the following in /usr/openv/netbackup/bp.conf

    HOST_HAS_NAT_ENDPOINTS = YES
  • Tune sysctl parameters as follows:

    net.ipv4.tcp_keepalive_time=120
    
    net.ipv4.ip_local_port_range = 14000 65535
    
    net.core.somaxconn = 1024

    Tune the max open files to 1048576 if you run concurrent jobs.