Veritas-bu

[Veritas-bu] Request for Comments - Unix/NT Perl Interface to NetBackup

2002-01-22 13:58:46
Subject: [Veritas-bu] Request for Comments - Unix/NT Perl Interface to NetBackup
From: plb AT iotk DOT com (Peter L. Buschman)
Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 19:58:46 +0100
Mark:

Yes.  In keeping with the perl-oriented focus, I am thinking the low-level 
API should be kept in
perl, thus allowing HTML interfaces to be developed effectively with both 
mod_perl and embperl
(for embedded perl inside html pages a'la PHP.)

Using embperl, you could literally query NetBackup information from inside 
an HTML document
and that report your boss wants, but NBU just won't generate for you on its 
own becomes possible :)

--PLB

At 04:09 PM 01/22/2002 +0000, Mark Smiles wrote:
>Are you considering porting this to run under Apache::MOD_PERL?
>Regards
>Mark Smiles
>
>Vapiwala, Kevin V [IT] wrote:
>
>>I think if there was a web based interface that would allow you to run
>>restores that would be a great feature. I've already coded many web based
>>cgi-bin utilities in perl, even a tool that lets you search for a file in
>>your images, but I haven't gotten to trying a web based restore GUI. This
>>would come in handy in our large environment where the NDMP users need to
>>have restore privileges on the master. That leaves us open to a security
>>risk because they have access to all that data that is backed on the NB
>>master.
>>Kevin Vapiwala
>>Salomon Smith Barney
>>Vital Records Group
>>2nd Floor, Rutherford
>>Phone: 201-231-0348
>>Group Line: 201-231-1270
>>
>>                 -----Original Message-----
>>                 From:   Peter L. Buschman [mailto:plb AT iotk DOT com]
>>                 Sent:   Tuesday, January 22, 2002 9:49 AM
>>                 To:     veritas-bu AT mailman.eng.auburn DOT edu
>>                 Subject:        [Veritas-bu] Request for Comments - Unix/NT
>>Perl Interface to NetBackup
>>
>>
>>                 Fellow NBU Users:
>>
>>                 I would like to pose the following question to the list:
>>
>>                          "What features would you most like to see in a perl
>>interface to            NetBackup?"
>>
>>                 As a perl programming exercise, I have been working on an
>>abstract module                 that provides read-access
>>                 to nearly every piece of configuration and index data within
>>NetBackup.  I           have also successfully ported
>>                 the module to Windows such that scripts that use the module
>>can run                 un-modified on both Unix and NT
>>                 platforms (so far tested only on Solaris and Windows 2000.)
>>
>>                 To date, I have even surprised myself at how well this
>>programming exercise            has functioned, to the point
>>                 that I think some of you folks out there might be able to
>>make some use of                this code (under a suitable open
>>                 source license, of course.)
>>
>>                 I have abstracted the following commands in their entirety,
>>returning their                 output in easily-parsed perl
>>                 hash structures (in particular, I fully parse the dreaded
>>bpdbjobs                -all_columns output, returning every single
>>                 field.)  All functions can be passed search parameters that
>>take advantage          of perl's powerful matching syntax
>>                 to return desired subsets of data (ideal for creating
>>functions that          monitor objects created in a certain time
>>                 period....like for a daily job success/failure report.)
>>
>>                 ##   /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/goodies/bperrcode
>>                 ##   /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/bpclclients
>>                 ##   /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/bpdbjobs
>>                 ##   /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/bpimagelist
>>                 ##   /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/bpmedialist
>>                 ##   /usr/openv/volmgr/bin/vmpool
>>                 ##   /usr/openv/volmgr/bin/vmquery
>>                 ##   /usr/openv/bin/admincmd/bpconfig
>>                 ##   /usr/openv/bin/admincmd/bpgetconfig
>>                 ##   /usr/openv/bin/admincmd/bpstulist
>>                 ##   /usr/openv/bin/admincmd/bpcllist
>>                 ##   /usr/openv/bin/admincmd/bpsyncinfo
>>                 ##   /usr/openv/volmgr/bin/vmglob
>>                 ##   /usr/openv/volmgr/bin/tpconfig
>>
>>                 Furthermore, version information and other details stored in
>>various text            files are accessible.
>>
>>                 What I would like to know is this:
>>
>>                 Would anyone be interested in this?  (I still have some
>>documentation I                 need to write on basic usage
>>                 since this is still just a low-level toolkit, but I have
>>written a few           example scripts that illustrate the power
>>                 of the API.)
>>
>>                 If there is interest, what features would you like to see
>>added in the            future?  I am rather enjoying this as
>>                 a fun programming project and am looking for suggestions as
>>to where to go          with it.  Since I spend my
>>                 free time doing this, I might as well code up things that
>>other people find               useful.
>>
>>                 A few things that have come to mind include:
>>
>>                          + A reporting framework a'la NetBackup Advanced
>>Reporter.
>>                          + Porting a number of the monitoring scripts that
>>are out there so                they are cross-platform.
>>                          + Adding command and control functions.
>>                          + An NBU configuration auditor that looks for
>>common problems and             errors.
>>
>>                 If there is enough interest, I will look at setting up a
>>mailing list for                cross-platform backup programming issues
>>                 (I'd eventually like to create toolkit interfaces to 
>> Legato             Networker,  Tivoli Storage Manager, and others, allowing
>>                 some application-independent tasks like media managment to
>>be handled              uniformly, but I am getting way ahead
>>                 of myself there.)
>>
>>                 --PLB
>>
>>
>>
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>>                 Veritas-bu maillist  -  Veritas-bu AT mailman.eng.auburn DOT 
>> edu
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