NetBackup OST Background and Best Practices Andrew McCausland Systems Engineer - Symantec UK Ltd September 2013 NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices What is OST? 1 Architecture 2 History and Licensing 3 Implementations 4 Getting Information on OST 5 Best Practice 6 Summary 7 NetBackup OST V2.0

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices What is OST? OpenStorage refers to three different things… Partner Program API 3rd Party Appliance Solutions NetBackup OST

Then backup devices got smarter… NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices What problem is OpenStorage trying to solve? History… Mainframes & mini-computers? Add a tape drive Workstations and small servers with critical data? Backup applications, backup servers and tape libraries Backup to disk for better SLAs? Add disks and/or Virtual Tape Libraries Then backup devices got smarter… Duplication Tape-out Off-site replication Deduplication Numbers of systems with critical data explodes… Amount of data explodes… NetBackup OST

The problem with Smart Devices… NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices What problem is OpenStorage trying to solve? The problem with Smart Devices… No backup Catalog Awareness Where are my backups? How accessible are my backups? Am I meeting my backup SLAs? Can I meet my restore SLAs Can I meet my DR SLAs? What does this mean for my operators? Multiple management points… Multiple restore steps… Higher OPEX Costs! NetBackup OST

The problem with Smart Devices… NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices What problem is OpenStorage trying to solve? The problem with Smart Devices… Tape protocols… Sequential vs. random I/O… Sync vs. Async operations… SCSI based transport… VTL Space reclamation… VTL Free space calculation… Number of OS tape drives Number of tapes… Robotic emulation… NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices What problem is OpenStorage trying to solve? Enter OST: Separate “What” from “How” What NetBackup Policy & Control How OST Vendor Implementation Operate on Backup image vs. tape operations Basic High Level Operations “Create backup image” “Copy backup image” “Retrieve backup image/part image” “Delete backup image” Optional support for advanced OST features Optimized Synthetics, AIR etc. Status & capability queries, logging, event notification etc. Let Smart Devices do what they do best… Maintain catalog awareness Remove dependence on tape protocols NetBackup OST

How do vendors access OST? NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices What problem is OpenStorage trying to solve? How do vendors access OST? Via Symantec Technology Enabled Program (STEP) NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Architecture OpenStorage Options NetBackup Secondary Storage Storage Servers Cloud Primary Storage Replication Director Backup Exec Disk Storage Devices NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Architecture OST Secondary Storage Exists on media servers only Under control of master server OST Vendor responsible for OST Plug-in Target hardware Connectivity Protocols Data formats Client Communicates to media server as normal Client Master Server NBU Media Server(s) NBU OpenStorage Any data format proprietary file system, de-duplication… Plugin Any protocol FC, TCP/IP, combination… Storage Server Any connectivity direct-attached, NAS, SAN… NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Architecture OST Cloud Public cloud providers AES-256 Encryption at the Media server Clients Bandwidth throttling OpsCenter usage and chargeback reporting Support for NetBackup Accelerator, & SLPs Media Server or 52xx appliance NetBackup OST

NetBackup Master Server NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Architecture - Replication Director NetBackup Master Server 8. Mount Snapshot 9. Duplicate Snapshot 1. Quiesce OpenStorage API NetBackup Media Server or 52xx appliance 2. Create Snapshot 3. Copy Snapshot 5. Copy Snapshot to other site 7. Export Snapshot 11. Duplicate Snapshot Vault Snapshot Snapshot Vault Snapshot Primary Data Snapshot Snapshot Application Server (NB Client) Snapshot 4. Replicate 6. Replicate Snapshot Site A Site B Filer/Array NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Architecture OST vs. other NetBackup interfaces NetBackup CLI Script NetBackup operations e.g. Biomni Front Office Backup as a Service (BaaS) NetBackup integration with application ecosystems E.g. VMware vCenter, VIP, vCloud Director, MS Hyper-V etc. NDMP Protocol to move data from network storage devices to backup targets Used for OST tape copies Vendor access via STEP program XBSA X-Open Group API to move data from applications to NetBackup client NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices History and Licensing OpenStorage API Announcement - Nov 2006 NetBackup 6.5 – Aug 2007 License: OpenStorage Disk Option (Later Standard or Enterprise Disk) Doc: NetBackup Shared Storage Guide NetBackup 7.0 – Feb 2010 License: Enterprise Disk NetBackup 7.1 – Mar 2011 License: Enterprise Disk or Platform (Capacity) NetBackup 7.5 – Mar 2012 License: Enterprise Disk or Platform (Capacity), Data Protection Optimization, Replication Director Doc: OpenStorage Solutions Guide, Replication Director Solutions Guide Cloud Admin Guide NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Implementation Supported Functionality - NetBackup Secondary Storage OpenStorage Feature Abbreviation Release Storage Server n/a NetBackup 6.5 Optimized Duplication Opt_Dup Optimized Synthetic Protection Opt_synth NetBackup 6.5.4 Direct Copy to Tape Direct_Copy NetBackup 7.0 Direct Copy to Shared Tape Direct_Copy_Shared Auto Image Replication A.I.R NetBackup 7.1 Granular Recovery Granular_Recovery Accelerator NetBackup 7.5 Encryption Key Management Service (with Direct Copy to Tape) KMS NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Implementation Supported Functionality – NetBackup Cloud OpenStorage Cloud Feature Release Storage Server NetBackup 6.5.4 Encryption NetBackup 7.5 Throttling Metering Supported Functionality – NetBackup Replication Director OpenStorage Replication Director Feature Release Array-based Restore NetBackup 7.5 Snapshot Management Snapshot Replication NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Implementation Supported Functionality – Backup Exec OpenStorage Feature Release Storage Server Backup Exec 2010 Optimized_Duplication Cloud NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Implementation Supported Functionality – Vendor Support NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Implementation NetBackup PureDisk, MSDP and Appliance Support PureDisk Deduplication Option (PDDO) Storage target remote from Media Server Uses OST to manage Storage Server, Disk Pool etc. Also supports Client side deduplication NOT an OST feature NetBackup MSDP (Media Server Deduplication Pool) Storage target block-level presented to Media Server Uses OST to manage Storage Server, Disk Pool NetBackup 50x0 Series Based on PDDO NetBackup 52x0 Series Based on MSDP NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST Objects From Admin Console NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Getting Information on OST NetBackup OST Objects From Admin Console Credentials Storage Server Devices Disk Pool Storage Storage Unit/Storage Lifecycle Policy From CLI bpstsinfo Get information on storage servers, LSUs, images, and plugins nbdevconfig Preview, import, create, or inventory disk pools nbdevquery Get disk media status # bpstsinfo -lsuinfo -storage_server nb5230dc -stype PureDisk LSU Info: Server Name: PureDisk:nb5230dc LSU Name: PureDiskVolume Allocation : STS_LSU_AT_STATIC Storage: STS_LSU_ST_NONE Description: PureDisk storage unit (/nb5230dc#1/2) Configuration: … # nbdevquery –U -listdv -stype PureDisk -dp dp_disk_nb5230dc Disk Pool Name : dp_disk_nb5230dc Disk Type : PureDisk Disk Volume Name : PureDiskVolume Disk Media ID : @aaaac Total Capacity (GB) : 29.75 Free Space (GB) : 28.88 Use% : 2 Status : UP Flag : ReadOnWrite Flag : AdminUp Flag : InternalUp Flag : ReplicationSource … # nbdevconfig -changestate -stype PureDisk -dp dp_disk_nb5230dc -dv PureDiskVolume -state DOWN successfully changed the state of disk volume # # bpstsinfo -plugininfo Plugin Info: Plugin Name: libstspipdMT.so Prefix: PureDisk: Label: OpenStorage PureDisk Plugin Build Version: 11 Build Version Minor: 2 Operating Version: 11 Vendor Version: 7.0005.0013.0531 09:48:34 May Plugin Name: libstspithrottlingMT.so Prefix: CS_throttle: Label: Throttling Plugin Build Version Minor: 1 Vendor Version: v1.1.0.75000_2011.0826 Plugin Name: libstspirackspaceMT.so Prefix: rackspace Label: Rackspace Plugin Build Version Minor: 0 Vendor Version: v1.1.2.75000_2013.0320 NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Implementation NetBackup OST Objects Vendor Plug-in Default location /usr/openv/lib/ost-plugins e.g. libstspiDataDomain.so, libstspiDataDomainMT.so. Vendor Target Storage Storage Server LSU (Logical Storage Unit) Multiple units supported Backup Images NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Best Practice OST Vendor Best Practices Vendor Documentation LSU Layouts NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Best Practice NetBackup Best Practices Be Informed Information Sources OST Documentation, HCL etc. Know what you are trying to do SLAs, Optimum Policy types etc. Solution Sizing Capacity Throughput Avoid concurrent backup and tape-out or backup and restore for optimal backup performance Analyze Performance NetBackup 7.0 - 7.1 Backup Planning and Performance Includes best practices - http://www.symantec.com/docs/DOC4483 NetBackup Deduplication Admin Guide and Additional Usage Information - http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH77575 NetBackup Appliances Support NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Best Practice NetBackup Best Practices Performance Tuning Measuring performance e.g. GENDATA directives Data transfer path Buffer counts and sizes Test multiple streams etc. Oracle See NetBackup 7.5 Oracle Admin Guide RMAN settings Be aware any recommended Max Storage Utilization Consider 85% if not other guidelines Tape out performance Note tape out from a deduplication pool is essentially random vs. sequential operation Consider staging via AdvancedDisk NetBackup OST

NetBackup OST - Background and Best Practices Best Practice NetBackup Best Practices Set up OpsCenter reporting and alerting Can be used for NetBackup SNMP traps Monitor Replication Check for SLP backlogs etc. Can use OpsCenter or “nbstlutil” – see SLP Best Practices white paper Can stop parent images expiring and cause capacity problems! Support Ensure Support Entitlements known Ensure Support Processes known Severities, SLAs, escalation process etc. Subscribe to key support subscriptions Based on SymAccount Login – free signup e.g. NetBackup Appliances, NetBackup Enterprise Server, NetBackup PureDisk & OpsCenter Analytics NetBackup OST

Andrew McCausland andrew_mccausland@symantec.com +44 (0)7801 470152 NetBackup OST