Netbackup Policy Reporter

Every few months management asks for a list of backed up clients and over all details of the backup policies.  For a very long time I would reference a spreadsheet that would be manually updated.  Well, that was tedious and not so accurate work, so I started to look for a solution that would export the neatly formatted results of bppllist -allpolicies –U command.  My method was to export the results to a txt file and then use powershell to manipulate the text and format it. 

After a few searches, I found this post on the Symantec Connect site about the “Netbackup Policy Reporter”.  It is a VB utility written to format the results of the bppllist command.  This utility formats the result in a neatly organized spreadsheet that can be used as a report. 

I used the following steps listed on the post to generate the Netbackup Policy Report. 
1.    Download the Policy List Parser.txt file and rename it to Policy_list_parser.exe . This is a VB utility so the exe extension is necessary.  The machine where the Utility is executed will need to have excel installed.

2.    .  Executing the utility may give an error related to “COMDLG32.ocx”. I used a Windows 7 32bit workstation, so I downloaded the COMDLG32.ocx  and placed in System32  and registered the file with Windows by running the following at an elevated  command prompt. regsvr32  %Systemroot%\System32\comdlg32.ocx.

3.    After successful launch of the utility execute the “bppllist -allpolicies –U” command by navigating to AdminCmd directory.  On Windows: C:\program files \veritas\netbackup\bin\admincmd. 

4.    Send the command results to an out-file: C:\program files \veritas\netbackup\bin\admincmd\ bppllist -allpolicies –U>>C:\temp\rpt.txt. 

5.    To process the results of the command, enter the path to the text file in the input file field and enter the name of the new .xls file in the otput filed.

6.    Example Input: C:\temp\RPT.TXT
Ouput: C:\temp\Report.xls
Note: Error 1004" The file could not be accessed may occur if input and output fields are not filled out correctly. 

Make sure that all files are in the same directory to avoid any annoying errors. 


Symantec Connect Netbackup Reporter Post


Download comdlg32.zip

Upgrade of a NetBackup master server to version 7.1.0.2 may cause bmrsavecfg failures at backup time when Bare Metal Restore (BMR) information is being collected.  At backup time, the BMR process runs a bmrsavecfg job that will collect information from the client and submit the data into the BMR database on the master server to be imported. Although this process previously worked prior to the upgrade, there may be failures while the data is being imported into the BMR database.

Error Messages in Job Detail Status:

 BMRERR: Received BMR error: Failed to import Config file. (1) 
Error bpbrm(pid=6456) BMRERR: Received BMR error: Failed sending the discovery. (1) 
Error bpbrm(pid=6456) BMRERR: Received BMR error: BMR information discovery failed. (1)

Symantec TechNote

NetBackup Status Code 59

Every now and then some of my Netbackup jobs end with status code 59 which means that the Netbackup master or Media server is not in the client Server allow list.  This usually happens after an Agent upgrade which not a big issue, but annoying none the less.

Message: access to the client was not allowed
Explanation: The master or the media server tries to access the client, but the client does not recognize the server as a valid server.
For the Enterprise Vault Agent: The names of all of the media servers among the Enterprise Vault servers are not specified in the client configuration.
Recommended Action: Do the following, as appropriate:
•    If the server is a valid server, verify that it is in the server list on the client. If necessary add it as follows:
•    1. Open the Backup Archive and Restore Utility on the Windows Client.
•    2. Select File >Specify NetBackup Machines and Policy Type
•    3. On the Specify NetBackup Machines  and Policy Type dialog opens Select Edit Server list and type in the name of Netbackup master or media server that will backup the client up..

Update: I've not had a chance to try this fix but it seems related.  From Symantec How TO articles. 

bpsetconfig

I have also seen this fix for status code (46) I've seen the technote but do not have the link. 
From the Netbackup OppsCenter Help Menu

Netbackup: Import Disk Based images

This is the procedure I used to import Netbackup disk based images from a failed media server.  This is a 2 phased method that uses the NBU Admin console.  Phase 1 initiates the import process by locating the path to the images to be imported and the second phases imports the images into the database.  The disk images must be present on a local disk. In my experience network importing from a network share did not work.

Phase 1
Importing NetBackup disk images
First, run the "phase 1 import".
1. Start the NetBackup Administration Console and go to the Catalog section.
2. From the menu select Actions > Initiate Import and a dialog box will appear.
3. Check the "The images to be imported are on disk" radio button and enter a disk path to import images from.
4. Check the Activity Monitor for progress of the phase one import.

Phase 2
Once the "phase 1 import" completes, run the "phase 2 import".
1. Start the NetBackup Administration Console and go to the Catalog section.
2. Under Pathname:, enter the disk path used for the phase 2 import.
3. Select a date range for the images to import and click the Search button.
4. Select Backup IDs to import from the search results.
5. From the menu select Actions > Import to begin the phase 2 import.
6. Check the Activity Monitor for progress of the phase 2 import.

Once the phase 2 import completes successfully, the disk images will be available for restores.


Documentation

Netbackup Device Mappings

Use the bellow process to update/install the Netbackup Device mappings.

1. Download and extract the new mappings file package to a temporary folder.  This will create three files in the temporary location:

    * Readme.txt
    * external_types.txt
    * external_robotics.txt

2. Copy the external_types.txt file from the temporary location to C:\Program Files\VERITAS\NetBackup\var\global\ on the Master Server or  EMM Server.

3. Copy the external_robotics.txt file from the temporary location to C:\Program Files\VERITAS\NetBackup\var\global\ on the master server, EMM Server, each media server that controls a robot, and each media server from which robot inventories will be run.

4. Bring up a command window with Start -> Run -> Type "cmd". Enter the following commands in that command window.

5. Update the NetBackup Enterprise Media Manager database with the new device mappings version. This only needs to be done once and must be run from the Master Server or the EMM Server.  Use the command format below that corresponds to the installed version of NetBackup:

NetBackup 6.5/7.0/7.1:  C:\Program Files\VERITAS\Volmgr\bin\tpext -loadEMM

7. Restart Device Manager (ltid) on each Media Server.

8. Verify that the version that is now stored in the Enterprise Media Manager database is the same as what is in the file stored on the Media Server:

C:\Program Files\VERITAS\Volmgr\bin\tpext -get_dev_mappings_ver


Device Mappings_V195.zip

Netbackup Display Tape Drive Status (vmoprcmd)

This command will display the status of all drives attached to a netbackup media server.   I usually run it from the master server.  This command can run with switches, but I get the results I need by executing it on its own.

1.    Command Prompt.
2.    Cd C:\Program files\VERITAS\volmgr\bin\vmoprcmd.

Netbackup Eject Tapes from library (VMchange)

One of the most time consuming and most disliked tasks of netbackup administration is the removal of Tape from the tape library for offsite storage. In the past we have used the Admin Console’s GUI to query the catalog for a specific time frame which would output job results for a specific date.  We then used the job results to eject associated Tapes from the library using the GUI. 

I’ve tried to automate this process by using vmchange.exe via a script but I have not been able to work it out.  The documentation says that a CSV can be generated to jnput the MediaIDs to the command, but this is where my trouble begins.  The command executes correctly, but the MediaIDs do not get fed into the command.  The CSV file has to be a Colon (: ) separated.  I’ve worked around this by typing in the MediaIDs in the command prompt in a colon separated list which is faster than looking for MediaID using the GUI. 

I will try PowerShell in an attempt to automate this process, but for moment this the command I use. 

1.    From a command prompt cd to the default install location
2.    C:\Program Files\Veritas\Volmgr\bin\vmchange.exe -res -multi_eject -sc -rn 0 -rt TLD -rh netbackup -vh netbackup -v scan -ml 000924:000925:000926 ext.



--rn=RobotNumber
--rt=RobotType
-rh=RobotHost
-vh=VolumeHost
-v=Volume (where mediaID resides)
-ml=MediaList (Colon separated TapeIDs)



...

Netbackup Generate list of TapeIDs to Eject (bpimagelist)

Netbackup Administration is fairly easy and a straightforward process, and in my opinion not as automated as I would like.  Unix based installation may be better at automation via scripts, but at least in my experience dealing with a Windows installation I’ve not seen to much automation. 

I’ve tried to automate the process of Tape removal from the library but I’ve not been able t make it work.  One of my challenges has been automatically generating the list of media to eject.  I’ve read in Forum posts on how to incorporate bpimagelist in a netbackup exit script , which would generate a file with associated TapeIDs of the completed job, but I ‘ve not seen one for a Windows install.  In the meantime this what I use to generate the media list. 

1.    Query the Catalog for a specific date in which a full job completed. 
2.    Use the result of the query to fill in the info needed by the bpimagelist command. 
3.    Info needed
-d Date of job
-Client ClientName
-l
-policy PolicyName
-backupid  BackupID
4. On a command Prompt CD to default install path
admincmd\bpimagelist -d 10/29/2010 -client megatron01 -l -policy megatronPol
 -backupid megatron-_1288325930 -media>C:\scripts\TapeID.txt

This produces a text file with the associated TapeIDs that can then be used with vmchange.exe to eject the tapes. 


Symantec TechNote



..........

Netbackup 7 Nbrbutil

Use the nbrbutil command to clear the allocation holds that the media server has placed.  The command can be run from the media server itself or the master server and is in the following path:

Windows: C:\Program Files\veritas\NetBackup\bin\admincmd\nbrbutil -resetall

nbrbutil -dump to dump log and diagnostic data. 

Windows: C:\Program Files\veritas\NetBackup\bin\admincmd\nbrbutil -resetall

Also available in the NBU command reference guide.  

Netbackup 7 Orphaned Jobs in Activity Monitor (Error Code 50)

Sometime in January I stopped a job from the activity monitor and it stopped with error code of 50.  I tried to lelete it from activity monitor but it did not delete..  After looking around Symantec Knolodge base I found a Technote that outlined the steps to delete the jobs database which removes orphaned jobs from the Activity Monitor.

1. stop NetBackup (bpdown) in the default folder: C:\Program Files\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin
2. bpps , kill the remaining processes
3. cd to install_path\veritas\netbackup\db\jobs
4. delete the bpjobd.act.db file  (Note: For Windows 2008, uncheck 'Hide extensions for known file types')
5. cd up to the restart folder
6. delete all files
7. cd..\trylogs
8. delete all files
9. cd..\ffilelogs
10. delete all files
11. restart NetBackup (bpup) in the default folder: C:\Program Files\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin

Technote

http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH43177

Netbackup 7.1 Unzip and Join split Files

I am getting ready to upgrade our Symantec Netbackup Enterprise Server from version 7.0 to 7.1.  I downloaded the Split file images and now have to join them.  On a windows system Command prompt cd to the location of the files and type in the following. Leave the original file names. 

copy /b "NetBackup_7.1_Win_zip.1of2"+"NetBackup_7.1_Win_zip.2of2" "NetBackup_7.1_Win.zip"