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

Configuring NetBackup IT Analytics for NetBackup deployment

We can configure data collector on the primary server pod or on a separate host machine. Following are the steps for respective configurations.

Note:

From NetBackup version 10.3, cloudscale release data collector on primary server pod is supported.

Configuring NetBackup IT Analytics for NetBackup deployment by configuring data collector on a primary server pod

Configure data collector on the primary server pod.

To configure NetBackup IT Analytics for NetBackup deployment

  1. Create DNS server entry in such a way that single IP must be resolvable to two FQDNs.

    IP: 1.2.3.4 must be resolved to the following FQDNs:

    itanalyticsportal.<yourdomain>
    itanalyticsagent.<yourdomain>
    

    Note the following:

    • If the IT Analytics Portal URL is itanalyticsportal.<yourdomain>, then ensure to add the DNS entries for the following hostnames:

      itanalyticsportal.<yourdomain>
      itanalyticsagent.<yourdomain> 
      
    • If the IT Analytics Portal URL is aptareportal.<yourdomain>, then ensure to add the DNS entries for the following hostnames:

      aptareportal.<yourdomain>
      aptareagent.<yourdomain>
      
  2. Collect the <your-collector-name>.key file for the new data collector by accessing the IT Analytics portal link and creating a collector and copy it to the host machine from where Kubernetes cluster is accessed.

    For more information, refer to the NetBackup IT Analytics User Guide.

  3. Execute the following command in the primary server pod:

    kubectl exec -it -n <namespace> <primaryServer-pod-name> -- bash

  4. In case if the data-receiver is configured with self-signed certificate (https). User must add the certificate in the data collector.

    For more information, refer to the Configure the Data Collector to trust the certificate.

  5. Create a new folder analyticscollector at persisted location (for example, /mnt/nbdata/) using the following commands:
    cd "/mnt/nbdata/"
    mkdir analyticscollector
    
  6. Exit from the container and copy the <your-collector-name>.key file to /mnt/nbdata/analyticscollector using the kubectl cp <keyfile-name> <namespace>/<primary-pod-name>:/mnt/nbdata/analyticscollector command.
  7. Execute the following command to exec into the primary server pod:

    kubectl exec -it -n <namespace> <primaryServer-pod-name> -- bash

  8. Navigate to /usr/openv/analyticscollector/installer/ location and perform the following:
    • Open the responsefile.sample and add the following parameters:

      Configuration for reference:
      NetBackup.docx COLLECTOR_NAME=<your-collector-name>
      COLLECTOR_PASSCODE=<your-password>
      DR_URL=<http>/<https>://itanalyticsagent.<yourdomain>
      COLLECTOR_KEY_PATH=/mnt/nbdata/analyticscollector/<your-collector-name>.key
      HTTP_PROXY_CONF=N
      HTTP_PROXY_ADDRESS=
      HTTP_PROXY_PORT=
      HTTPS_PROXY_ADDRESS=
      HTTPS_PROXY_PORT=
      PROXY_USERNAME=
      PROXY_PASSWORD=
      PROXY_EXCLUDE=
    • Run ./dc_installer.sh -c /usr/openv/analyticscollector/installer/responsefile.sample command to connect data collector with IT Analytics portal

  9. Validate data collector integration with IT Analytics by performing the following:
    • Navigate to /usr/openv/analyticscollector/mbs/bin/ location.

    • Run the following command:

      ./checkinstall.sh

      If data collector is configured with portal, it will display as SUCCESSFUL.

  10. Check the data collector services status by running the following command and ensure that the following data collector services are up and running:

    /usr/openv/analyticscollector/mbs/bin/aptare_agent status

    Output of the above command:

    IT Analytics WatchDog is running (pid: 13312).
    IT Analytics MetaDataCollector is stopped.
    IT Analytics EventDataCollector is stopped.
    IT Analytics DataCollector process is running (pid: 13461).
    IT Analytics On-demand process is running (pid: 13463).
    IT Analytics Message Relay Server process is running (pid: 13471)
    

For more information about IT Analytics data collector policy, see NetBackup IT Analytics User Guide.

Configuring NetBackup IT Analytics for NetBackup deployment by configuring data collector on a separate host machine

NetBackup IT Analytics can be configured to use with NetBackup primary server in this Kubernetes environment. NetBackup IT Analytics can be configured at the time of primary server deployment or user can update the primary server CR to configure NetBackup IT Analytics.

To configure NetBackup IT Analytics for NetBackup deployment

  1. Using the ssh-keygen command, generates public key and private key on NetBackup IT Analytics data collector.

    NetBackup IT Analytics data collector uses passwordless ssh login.

  2. Update the primary server CR, copy public key generated in previous steps to "itAnalyticsPublicKey" section in spec.
    • Apply the primary server CR changes using kubectl apply -f environment.yaml -n <namespace>.

      On successfully deployment of primary server CR, describe the primary server CR using kubectl describe PrimaryServer <primary-server-name> -n <namespace>

    • In status section, verify It Analytics Configured is set to true.

      For more information, refer to the NetBackup™ Web UI Administrator's Guide.

  3. Create and copy NetBackup API key from NetBackup web UI.

  4. On NetBackup IT Analytics portal:
    • Navigate to Admin > Collector Administration > Select respective data collector > Add policy > Veritas NetBackup > Add.

    • Add required options, specify the NetBackup API in the API Key field, and then click OK.

    • Select newly added primary server from NetBackup Master Servers and provide nbitanalyticsadmin as Master Server User ID.

    • Provide privateKey=<path-of-private-key>|password=<passphrase> as Master Server Password and Repeat Password whereas <path-of-private-key> is the private key created using ssh-keygen in earlier steps and <passphrase> is the passphrase used while creating private key via ssh-keygen.

    • Provide appropriate data to data collector policy fields and select collection method as SSH or WMI protocol to NetBackup Master Server.

Configuring the primary server with NetBackup IT Analytics tools is supported only once from primary server CR.

For more information about IT Analytics data collector policy, see Add a Veritas NetBackup Data Collector policy and for more information about adding NetBackup Primary Servers within the Data Collector policy, see Add/Edit NetBackup Master Servers within the Data Collector policy.

To change the already configured public key

  1. Execute the following command in the primary server pod:

    kubectl exec -it -n <namespace> <primaryServer-pod-name> -- /bin/bash

  2. Copy the new public keys in the /home/nbitanalyticsadmin/.ssh/authorized_keys and /mnt/nbdata/.ssh/nbitanalyticsadmin_keys files.
  3. Restart the sshd service using the systemctl restart sshd command.