We are going to learn the NetBackup storage configuration and storage concepts such as storage unit and storage unit and also configure and verify basic disk storage.
Here we’ll discuss NetBackup storage device concepts, define the term storage device, storage unit and storage unit groups.
NetBackup storage concepts
A storage device usually referred to as physical disk to tape devices to which NetBackup is going to write data or going to restore the data from. Normally, when we talk about storage device, it a physical storage device which the server or operating system can see and access.
NetBackup has a concept called storage unit and a storage unit is a logical entity which NetBackup associate with physical storage device. This can be a tape device or a path to a storage device or disk pool. Normally, a storage unit is associated with one or more media servers. Lets look at some storage device and storage unit.
Storage devices and storage units
As discussed a storage unit is a group of one or more storage devices and of specific type that is attached to the NetBackup server. When backup run the storage unit specifies the media server that is going to copy the data from the client to the storage device and also which storage device is actually used for that backup.
For example, here we see a storage unit which is ms1_bdisk_STU which is a basic disk location on Media server 1. Another basic disk location is in Media server 2 which is ms2_bdisk_STU. Note that name convention that we are using here indicates the media server the storage is from and type of storage.
This will help us to easily identify the storage unit by looking it by name. Finally we see a third storage unit here which is tape device and connected to media server 2. Note that entire tape library is considered a single storage destination where media server sends the backup to.
Disk storage types
BasicDisk
- Uses a directory on locally or network attached disk used to store backup data
- Does not require any additional license
AdvancedDisk
- Uses a disk pool (a collection of disk volumes) that reside on a media server or NetBackup appliance to store backup data
- Requires NetBackup Data Protection Optimization Option license
OpenStorage
- Used with intelligent disk appliances that use the Veritas OpenStorage API for integrated backup functionality
- Requires NetBackup Data Protection Optimization Option license
PureDisk
- Uses a Media Server Deduplication pool (MSDP) on an MSDP media server or NetBackup appliance to store backup data
- Requires NetBackup Data Protection Optimization Option license
When creating disk based storage units a disk type will be assigned to that storage unit and as you see the table here the number of different disk types are available.
A basic disk uses a simple local folder or network attached disk on that server and a basic disk does not require any additional license from the base NetBackup licenses.
Additional disk type such as advancedDisk which uses a disk pool and open storage which allows us integration with third party products and puredisk which stands for media server deduplication that is inherent in NetBackup, all these three other disk storage type are also available in NetBackup.
Configuring a basic disk storage unit
To view our existing storage unit we go in to the NetBackup storage administration console and navigate to left hand tree to NetBackup management > Storage > Storage unit. Under there if you would like to create a new storage unit we simply right click and select new storage unit or select the icon up on the top in icon bar.
Same thing can be done via command line using the command > bpstuadd -label. For more details about commands please refer to NetBackup commands reference guide.
After selecting new storage unit we need to select storage unit type. In this case we are selecting storage unite type as disk and disk type as BasicDisk. Under properties and server selection we need to select the media server name where this storage resides on.
Once we have done that we also need to put a path for the directory to that storage unit. The path can be a drive letter of folder in a windows or some folder on Unix. The check box “This directory can exist on the root file system or system disk” by default is not enabled and this protects us for example on Unix where our file system may have been unmounted and in that case we may not want the NetBackup to write to that same folder accidently which is in the root file system and by default NetBackup would not do that.
Finally you can see a red circle which is “Maximum concurrent jobs”, this tell us how many backup jobs can use this storage unit simultaneously. Default is set to 1, however with a disk storage unit since it is random access device we may have more that 1 concurrent job running. You can also test it by increasing the concurrent number from lower to higher to figure out when the performance is degraded.
Viewing a basic disk storage unit properties
Once we configure a new BasicDisk storage unit it should appear in the NetBackup administration console > NetBackup Management > Storage units. To view the property, right click on the storage > change storage unit or double click on the storage unit and we should get the change storage unit pop up window where you can make any changes if you want.
Some of the options in the property can not be modified such as storage unit name. Clicking on the View Properties > it shows the file system and available storage size of the directory where the basic disk has been configured.
Disk reports for BasicDisk
Another option to get the NetBackup storage unit information is by going to NetBackup management > Disk Reports. In the above screenshot it is the disk status report. By clicking on run repots we can find out disk total capacity, used capacity etc.
Also read – How to configure NetBackup storage unit groups
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