NetBackup™ for VMware Administrator's Guide

To use NetBackup commands to create a VMware policy

1. Create a blank policy.

   bppolicynew policyName -M primaryServer

   For example:

   bppolicynew policy1 -M nbserver.acme.com

2. Configure the VMware policy type and set the VMware snapshot options.

   This step requires running the initialize form of the bpplinfo command in two stages.

   First stage:

   bpplinfo policyName -set -pt VMware Example for the first stage of bpplinfo: bpplinfo policy1 -set -active -pt VMware -residence stu1

   Second stage:

   bpplinfo policyName -modify -use_virtual_machine 1 -alt_client_name VMware_backup_host -snapshot_method "VMware_v2" -snapshot_method_args keyword=value,keyword=value,... The -alt_client_name specifies the VMware backup host (NetBackup access host). You can specify a particular backup host on this option, or specify MEDIA_SERVER (a media server acts as the backup host). The -use_virtual_machine, -alt_client_name, -snapshot_method "VMware_v2", and-snapshot_method_args must be specified with all parameters set. (Otherwise, the snapshot job fails.) Note: -snapshot_method_args is a comma-delimited list of keywords that define the VMware snapshot and policy. The keywords are described in a separate topic: See VMware policy: bpplinfo options and keywords. Example for the second stage of bpplinfo (for a policy for vCloud Director): bpplinfo policy1 -modify -use_virtual_machine 1 -alt_client_name backuphost1.acme.com -application_discovery 1 -snapshot_method "VMware_v2" -snapshot_method_args "file_system_optimization=1, snapact=2,drive_selection=0,Virtual_machine_backup=2, enable_vCloud=1,multi_org=0,disable_quiesce=0,nameuse=0, exclude_swap=1,skipnodisk=0,post_events=1,ignore_irvm=0, rLim=10,rTO=0,rHz=10,trantype=san:hotadd:nbd:nbdssl"

   To back up virtual machines in vCloud Director, the bpplinfo command must include the following:

   • -application_discovery 1

   • The snapshotMethodArgs list must include enable_vCloud=1.

   In addition, NetBackup credentials must be specified for a vCloud Director server.

3. Create a schedule for the policy.

   bpplsched policyName -add scheduleLabel -st scheduleType

   For example:

   bpplsched policy1 -add Full -st FULL

4. Modify the schedule attributes.

   bpplschedrep policyName scheduleLabel -(0..6) start duration

   For example:

   bpplschedrep policy1 Full -0 0 604800

5. Select the virtual machines to back up.

   This step requires two commands: bpplclients and bpplinclude.

   bpplclients policyName -add VM_to_back_up hardware operating_System
   
   bpplinclude policyName -add ALL_LOCAL_DRIVES | filter_to_select_VMs

   • To back up a virtual machine through manual selection (for example):

     bpplclients policy1 -add prvm1.acme.com Windows-x64 Windows2008
     bpplinclude example -add ALL_LOCAL_DRIVES

     In this example, prvm1.acme.com is the virtual machine to back up, including all of its local drives (-add ALL_LOCAL_DRIVES). ALL_LOCAL_DRIVES is the only file list option available for the VMware policy type.

   • To automatically select virtual machines through a query rule (for example):

     bpplclients policy1 -add MEDIA_SERVER VMware VMware
     bpplinclude pol1 -add "vmware:/?filter= Displayname Contains 
     'prvm'"

     MEDIA_SERVER allows NetBackup to use a media server to discover and select the virtual machines. As an alternative, you can use -add to specify a particular discovery host.

     In the bpplinclude example, the query rule "vmware:/?filter= Displayname Contains 'prvm'" selects the virtual machines with the display names that contain prvm. (Other characters can also appear in the display names.)

   Note:

   To back up virtual machines in vCloud Director, the policy must use a query rule on the bpplinclude command to select virtual machines automatically. For vCloud, do not specify a virtual machine on the bpplclients command.

   bpplinclude has options for modifying the query rules in an existing policy.

   See bpplinclude options for modifying query rules in a VMware policy.

To test the bpplinclude query rule (vmware:/?filter) before you run the backup

• Run the following:

  Windows:

  install_path\NetBackup\bin\nbdiscover -noxmloutput -policy policyName -noreason

  UNIX, Linux:

  /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/nbdiscover -noxmloutput -policy policyName -noreason

  A + sign appears before the virtual machines that the query rule selects for the backup: these virtual machines are included in the backup when the policy runs.

  The virtual machines to be excluded from the backup appear with a - sign.

  The -noreason option omits explanations as to why the query excluded a virtual machine or why the query failed. For explanations, do not include -noreason.

  For more details on most of the command options, see the man page or the NetBackup Commands Reference Guide.