NetBackup™ Deployment Guide for Kubernetes Clusters

Last Published:
Product(s): NetBackup & Alta Data Protection (10.5)
  1. Introduction
    1. About Cloud Scale deployment
      1.  
        Decoupling of NetBackup web services from primary server
      2.  
        Decoupling of NetBackup Policy and Job Management from primary server
      3.  
        Logging strategy (fluentbit) in Cloud Scale
    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.  
        Recommendations and limitations for Cloud Scale deployment
      4.  
        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 per client
      3.  
        Setting maximum jobs per media server
      4.  
        Enabling intelligent catalog archiving
      5.  
        Enabling security settings
      6.  
        Configuring email server
      7.  
        Reducing catalog storage management
      8.  
        Configuring zone redundancy
      9.  
        Enabling client-side deduplication capabilities
      10.  
        Parameters for logging strategy (fluentbit)
  3. Section II. Deployment
    1. Deploying operators
      1.  
        Deploying the operators
    2. Deploying fluentbit for logging strategy
      1.  
        Deploying fluentbit for logging strategy
    3. Deploying Postgres
      1.  
        Deploying Postgres
      2.  
        Enable request logging, update configuration, and copying files from/to PostgreSQL pod
    4. Deploying Cloud Scale
      1.  
        Installing Cloud Scale
      2. Single node Cloud Scale Technology deployment
        1.  
          Steps to deploy Cloud Scale in single node
      3.  
        Restarting Cloud Scale Technology services
    5. 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
    6. 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.  
          Expanding log volumes for primary pods
        2.  
          Recommendation for media server volume expansion
        3.  
          (AKS-specific) Allocating static PV for Primary and Media pods
        4.  
          (EKS-specific) Allocating static PV for Primary and Media pods
    2. Monitoring Snapshot Manager
      1.  
        Overview
      2.  
        Configuration parameters
    3. Monitoring fluentbit
      1.  
        Monitoring fluentbit for logging strategy
    4. 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
    5. 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
    6. 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
    7. Managing PostrgreSQL DBaaS
      1.  
        Changing database server password in DBaaS
      2.  
        Updating database certificate in DBaaS
    8. Managing fluentbit
      1.  
        Managing fluentbit for logging strategy
    9. 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
    10. 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, media servers, fluentbit pods, and postgres pods
      1.  
        Overview
      2.  
        Patching of containers
    4. Upgrading
      1. Upgrading Cloud Scale Technology
        1.  
          Upgrading Cloud Scale deployment for Postgres using Helm charts
        2.  
          Upgrading Cloud Scale deployment for logging strategy (fluentbit)
    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
        37.  
          Request router logs
        38.  
          Issues with NBPEM/NBJM
        39.  
          Issues with logging strategy for Cloud Scale
      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
      4.  
        Troubleshooting issue for bootstrapper pod
  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

Patching of containers

This section describes the procedure for patching of the following containers (listed with examples):

  • Primary (main) containers

    For example, netbackup/main:10.5-patch

  • Media containers

    For example, netbackup/media:10.5-patch

  • Poddependency-init containers

    For example, netbackup/operator:10.5-patch

  • Fluentbit collector pods

    For example, netbackup/fluentbit: 10.5-patch

  • Fluentbit cleanup container

    For example, netbackup/fluentbit-log-cleanup: 10.5-patch

  • PostgreSQL pods

Table: Primary and Media container keywords

Profile name

Main container keyword

Init container keyword

Sidecar container keyword

Primary container keywords

Primary

primary.main

Example,

primary.main:10.5-patch1

  

Nbatd

nbatd.main

Example,

nbatd.main:10.5-patch1

nbatd.nbatd-init

Example,

nbatd.nbatd-init:10.5-patch1

nbatd.pbx

Example,

nbatd.pbx:10.5-patch1

nbatd.nbhousekeeping:10.5-patch1

Mqbroker

nbmqbroker.main

Example,

nbmqbroker.main:10.5-patch1

nbmqbroker.nbmqbrokerinit

Example,

nbmqbroker.nbmqbrokerinit:10.5-patch1

 

Webservice

nbwsapp.main

Example,

nbwsapp.main:10.5-patch1

nbwsapp.nbwsinit

Example,

nbwsapp.nbwsinit:10.5-patch1

nbwsapp.secure-comms

Example,

nbwsapp.secure-comms:10.5-patch1

nbwsapp.nbhousekeeping

Example,

nbwsapp.nbhousekeeping:10.5-patch1

Policyjob

policyjob.main

Example,

policyjob.main:10.5-patch1

 

policyjob.pbx

Example,

policyjob.pbx:10.5-patch1

policyjob.secure-comms

Example,

policyjob.secure-comm:10.5-patch1

policyjob.nbhousekeeping

Example,

policyjob.nbhousekeeping:10.5-patch1

Policyjobmgr

policyjobmgr.main

Example,

policyjobmgr.main:10.5-patch1

 

policyjobmgr.pbx

Example,

policyjobmgr.pbx:10.5-patch1

policyjobmgr.secure-comms

Example,

policyjobmgr.secure-comm:10.5-patch1

policyjobmgr.nbhousekeeping

Example,

policyjobmgr.nbhousekeeping:10.5-patch1

Requestrouter

requestrouter.main

Example,

requestrouter.main:10.5-patch1

  

Bootstrapper

bootstrapper.main

Example,

bootstrapper.main:10.5-patch1

  

Media container keywords

Media

media.main

media.pod-dependency-init

media.fluentbit

To patch the main, media, poddependency-init container

  1. Use the following command to obtain the environment name:

    $ kubectl get environments -n <namespace>

  2. Depending on the container, use the following respective command to verify if serviceImageTag is present:
    • For primary container:

      $ kubectl get environment -n <namespace> -o=jsonpath='{$.items[0].spec.primary.serviceImageTag}'

    • For media container:

      $ kubectl get environment -n <namespace> -o=jsonpath='{$.items[0].spec.mediaServers[0].serviceImageTag}'

    • For poddependency-init container:

      $ kubectl get environment -n <namespace> -o=jsonpath='{$.items[0].spec.mediaServers[0].serviceImageTag}'

    Depending on the output perform one of the following:

    If serviceImageTag is present, then run the following command by changing the value field. For example, change 10.5-patch to the required image tag:

    • For primary container:

      $ kubectl patch environment <env-name> -n <namespace> --type=json --patch '[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/primary/serviceImageTag/primary.main", "value": "10.5-patch"}]'

      For patching init containers of primary server:

      kubectl patch environment <env-name> -n <namespace> --type=json --patch '[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/primary/serviceImageTag/<init container keyword>", "value": "10.5-patch"}]'

      For patching sidecar container of primary server

      kubectl patch environment <env-name> -n <namespace> --type=json --patch '[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/primary/serviceImageTag/<SideCar containers keyword>", "value": "10.5-patch"}]'

    • For media container:

      $ kubectl patch environment <env-name> -n <namespace> --type=json --patch '[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/mediaServers/0/serviceImageTag/media.main", "value": "10.5-patch"}]'

      For patching init containers of media server:

      kubectl patch environment <env-name> -n <namespace> --type=json --patch '[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/mediaServers/0/serviceImageTag/<Init containers keyword>", "value": "10.5-patch"}]'

      For patching sidecar container of media server

      kubectl patch environment <env-name> -n <namespace> --type=json --patch '[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/mediaServers/0/serviceImageTag/<container keyword>", "value": "10.5-patch"}]'

    • For poddependency-init container:

      $ kubectl patch environment <env-name> -n <namespace> --type=json --patch '[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/mediaServers/0/serviceImageTag/media.pod-dependency-init", "value": "10.5-patch"}]'

    Or

    If serviceImageTag is not present, then run the following command by changing the value field. For example, change 10.5-patch to the required image tag:

    • For primary container:

      $ kubectl patch environment <env-name> -n <namespace> --type=json --patch '[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/primary/serviceImageTag", "value": {}},{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/primary/serviceImageTag/primary.main", "value": "10.5-patch"}]'

      For patching init containers of primary server:

      kubectl patch environment <env-name> -n <namespace> --type=json --patch '[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/primary/serviceImageTag", "value": {}},{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/primary/serviceImageTag/<init container keyword>", "value": "10.5-patch"}]'

      For patching sidecar container of primary server

      kubectl patch environment <env-name> -n <namespace> --type=json --patch '[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/primary/serviceImageTag", "value": {}},{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/primary/serviceImageTag/<SideCar containers keyword>", "value": "10.5-patch"}]'

    • For media container:

      $ kubectl patch environment nbu -n netbackup --type=json --patch '[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/mediaServers/0/serviceImageTag", "value": {}},{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/mediaServers/0/serviceImageTag/media.main", "value": "10.5-patch"}]'

      For patching init containers of media server:

      kubectl patch environment <env-name> -n <namespace> --type=json --patch '[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/mediaServers/0/serviceImageTag", "value": {}},{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/mediaServers/0/serviceImageTag/<Init containers keyword>", "value": "10.5-patch"}]'

      For patching sidecar container of media server

      kubectl patch environment <env-name> -n <namespace> --type=json --patch '[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/mediaServers/0/serviceImageTag", "value": {}},{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/mediaServers/0/serviceImageTag/<SideCar containers keyword>", "value": "10.5-patch"}]'

    • For poddependency-init container:

      $ kubectl patch environment <env-name> -n <namespace> --type=json --patch '[{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/mediaServers/0/serviceImageTag", "value": {}},{"op": "replace", "path": "/spec/mediaServers/0/serviceImageTag/media.pod-dependency-init", "value": "10.5-patch"}]'

Note:

For patching the sidecar containers for primary server:

If a specific container is patched with some image(ex. nbatd.pbx: 10.5-patch) and you want to patch that container universally (ex. pbx: 10.5-patch1), then you have to first delete the previous entry for that container from the environment.

Patching the fluentbit collector pods

From version 10.5, you can also patch the fluentbit collector pods using the fluentbit containers. The fluentbit collector, daemonset, and sidecar are the same container images.

Fluentbit container patch image example: netbackup/fluentbit:10.5-patch

Fluentbit cleanup container patch image example: netbackup/fluentbit-log-cleanup:10.5-patch

To patch the fluentbit collector pods

  1. Using the following command, get the currently configured values. Save the values in a file.

    helm get values -n <namespace> fluentbit | grep -v "USER-SUPPLIED VALUES:" > <values file name>

  2. Update the output file to reflect new image tags:
    • Edit and update the tags in below json path file for the fluentbit-collector and execute the command:

      fluentbit.image.tag to 10.5-patch (or actual patch tag)

    • Edit and update the tags in below json path file for the fluenbit-log-cleanup image and execute the command:

      fluentbit.cleanup.image.tag to 10.5-patch (or actual patch tag)

  3. To update the deployment, run the helm command:

    helm upgrade --install -n <namespace> fluentbit <fluentbit tgz> -f <values file name>

    Note:

    The tarball you need for this command is the one containing the helm templates, not the docker images. It is usually named fluentbit-<version>.tgz

Update containerized PostgreSQL pod

The procedure describes the steps to update the image for NetBackup PostgreSQL pod in 10.5.

To update the containerized PostgreSQL pod for NetBackup version 10.5

Consider a scenario - In 10.5-xxxx deployment with netbackup-postgresql version 16.10.x.x, upgrade to netbackup-postgresql version 16.10.x.x using tag 10.5-patch2

  1. Suspend the backup job processing using the command:

    nbpemreq -suspend_scheduling

  2. Load, tag, and push the new NetBackup PostgreSQL image using the commands:

    To load the PostgreSQL imagedocker load -i VRTSnetbackup-postgresql-16.4.0002.tar.gz

    To load the PostgreSQL-upgrade imagesdocker load -i VRTSnetbackup-postgresql-upgrade-16.4-0002.tar.gz

    To tag the new imagesdocker tag netbackup/postgresql:16.4-0002 exampleacr.azurecr.io/netbackup/postgresql:10.5-patch2

    docker tag localhost/netbackup/postgresql-upgrade:16.4-0002 exampleacr.azurecr.io/netbackup/postgresql-upgrade:10.5_patch2

    To push the PostgreSQL imagedocker push exampleacr.azurecr.io/netbackup/postgresql:10.5-patch2

    docker push exampleacr.azurecr.io/netbackup/postgresql-upgrade:10.5-patch2

  3. Upgrade the PostgreSQL using Helm chart:

    To save PostgreSQL chart values to a file: helm show values postgresql-10.5-64.tgz > postgres-values.yaml

    vi postgres-values.yaml

    Upgrade the PostgreSQL: helm upgrade --install postgresql postgresql-10.5-64.tgz -f postgres-values.yaml -n netbackup

  4. Resume the backup job processing using the command:

    nbpemreq -resume_scheduling