Networker

[Networker] Backup to disk - replicate - then off to tape

2009-04-02 11:00:19
Subject: [Networker] Backup to disk - replicate - then off to tape
From: japgar <networker-forum AT BACKUPCENTRAL DOT COM>
To: NETWORKER AT LISTSERV.TEMPLE DOT EDU
Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 10:52:50 -0400
I think one option would be to have the central site be your primary Networker 
server, each of your remote sites could be Storage Nodes only.  With this 
configuration, all licenses, client indexes, client definitions, & group 
schedules will be stored on your primary Networker server.  The  backups will 
occur at your remote sites, but the client index information will all be sent 
to and stored on your central site server.  

Depending on the number of clients and the size of the indexes, you might not 
be comfortable with this approach.  You'd also have to be willing to let each 
of your remote site backups be controlled centrally and be dependent on the 
network links between your sites.





Allan Nelson wrote:
> Hi Terry
> Thanks for persevering with this ;-)
> 
> We have a Networker server at each of the 4 sites.
> 
> At present I'm thinking we need something along these lines if we want to be 
> able to clone to tape from that one central site.
> 
> o DD replicates to central site
> o DD also replicates index of each client to central site
> o Central site has ALL clients enabled on their Networker server (we'd set 
> these up with the same clientid as at the remote site)
> 
> The downside is we need to buy a load of client licences for the central site 
> to enable the cloning.
> 
> If I'm wildly wrong I'd like to know - it's the only way I can think of doing 
> it.
> 
> Cheeers... Allan.
> 
> 
> > 
> > > 
> > > > <lemons_terry < at > emc.com> 02/04/09 13:07:37 >>>
> > > > 
> > > 
> > 
> 
> Hi Allan
> 
> Sorry, lost this in my Inbox.
> 
> "We had a DD system on site to test for simple backup purposes some time
> ago, and we had no problem cloning to tape off it - that would be our
> 'storage node' reading from the DD and writing to tape - yes? " Yes!
> 
> You're certainly not being thick.  To answer your question, I need to
> ask one of my own:  do you have a separate Networker server for each of
> your sites, or do you have just one NetWorker server?  The answer to
> that question will determine what is possible at the central site.
> 
> Thanks
> tl
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: EMC NetWorker discussion [mailto:NETWORKER < at > LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU] 
> On
> Behalf Of Allan Nelson
> Sent: Saturday, March 21, 2009 4:26 PM
> To: NETWORKER < at > LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU 
> Subject: Re: [Networker] Backup to disk - replicate - then off to tape
> 
> Hi Terry
> 
> Yes this does help (I think ;-)
> Thanks for defining how Networker works for me, I hadn't realised a
> storage node was present in our current setup, where we just have one
> Networker backup server per site.
> 
> We had a DD system on site to test for simple backup purposes some time
> ago, and we had no problem cloning to tape off it - that would be our
> 'storage node' reading from the DD and writing to tape - yes?  But of
> course that was on the site where the data is and Networker had access
> to the indexes of the clients in order to do the cloning.
> 
> The 4 DD systems we now have (1 per site) do replicate their data to a
> central DD system - they can suppport 1 to 1, many to 1 and
> bi-directional replication.
> 
> What exactly would the central Networker Server need to have available
> to it in order to backup that data from the central DD system (which
> contains all 4 sites backup data)?
> To clone to tape, it would need each sites Networker indexes (which
> won't be there).
> I liked the cloning idea as we could actually specify which 'versions'
> of the savesets get cloned (ie just once a month) but it would seem
> cloning is out of the question in this case.
> Are  you saying that we could do a Networker backup of the central DD
> system, and then if we do need a restore of a particular saveset so that
> we can bring a file or two back (this is all we would ever use these
> tapes for) we would be able to do that? I'm just trying to get clear
> what the process would be.
> 
> Would that then give us 3 possible options?
> 1) Central site pull a saveset off the tape and write it to a directory
> on the DD at the central site which replicates back to the remote site
> for the remote site to scan and recover?
> 2) Central site pull a saveset off the tape and write directly to the
> remote DD system for the remote site to scan and recover?
> 3) Central site pull a saveset off the tape to their DD and they scan it
> and recover the files to the remote client?  (We'd have to licence all
> clients on the central system in this case I guess.)
> 
> Apologies if I'm coming over unbelievably thick here, but I seem to have
> a mental block with regard to the process of recovering a single file
> from one of those tapes, and what we need to have centrally (in terms of
> licences, indexes etc) for that to be possible.
> 
> Cheeers... Allan
> 
> 
> > 
> > > 
> > > > lemons_terry < at > EMC.COM 03/20/09 8:55 PM >>>
> > > > 
> > > 
> > 
> Hi Allan
> 
> Every NetWorker environment has three NetWorker 'roles': client, storage
> node, and server.  You always have those three roles in your
> environment.  When you install a NetWorker server, all three roles are
> installed on that system; so you've had a storage node without realizing
> it. Additional storage nodes and clients can be added to the
> environment.
> 
> NetWorker clients read data from a source (file system, database
> application, etc.) and write a datastream in 'NetWorker format' (my
> term).  That datastream is delivered (either locally via memory or
> remotely via IP) to a NetWorker storage node, which writes the
> datastream onto the output device (tape or disk).  Only the storage node
> accesses (reads/writes) output devices.
> 
> The Data Domain systems do not support writing directly to tape devices.
> So, in order to create a tape copy of a backup on the central site DD
> system, the data will need to be read from the DD system into a
> NetWorker storage node and then written by a storage node to the tape
> device.  What you'll have on that tape device is a standard NetWorker
> tape with savesets stored on it, so you can restore directly from that
> tape to your host system; the DD system is not involved at all with a
> restore.
> 
> Hope this helps.
> tl
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: EMC NetWorker discussion [mailto:NETWORKER < at > LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU] 
> On
> Behalf Of Allan Nelson
> Sent: Friday, March 20, 2009 4:36 PM
> To: NETWORKER < at > LISTSERV.TEMPLE.EDU 
> Subject: [Networker] Backup to disk - replicate - then off to tape
> 
> Hi
> I'm after a bit of advice from anyone doing this in the real world.
> Sorry if this gets long...
> 
> We are about to implement a Data Domain setup at each of our 4 sites for
> backup/DR purposes.
> 3 of the DataDomains will replicate their data to our central site, and
> the central site will replicate its data (just that sites backup data)
> to one of the other sites.  So, we have 2 copies of each sites data (one
> local, one remote).
> We aim to keep 3 months backups on line on each Data Domain system.
> 
> Partly (I think) due to perhaps an 'old way of thinking' - ie tape gives
> a warm friendly feeling that it's safe ;-) but mainly because management
> would like the ability to go back up to 12 months - for example someone
> can come along and say that file I had 9 months ago - I'd like it back!
> (we're partly to blame for this as we do take monthly snapshot backups
> to tape which are stored for 12 months, and while this facility has been
> used a handful of times - it has been very much appreciated when it's
> been called on).  There's been a bit of a blurring of backups for DR and
> an archive system I fear!
> 
> So, the problem - I'm at a remote site and I need some file(s) back from
> up to 12 months ago.
> We were intially thinking that at the central site, we would clone to
> tape and store these off-site.  To do this, we'd need a client licence
> for each client at each site on this central system I believe?  
> 
> What concerns me more is the logistics of getting this data back.
> As I see it, we're going to have to set aside a heck of a lot of space
> on the DD to leave in reserve so that we can get back the largest
> saveset, and correspondingly we'd need to do the same at each of the
> remote sites to get their largest saveset replicated back up to the site
> in question. Would that be correct? or is there some way we can do that
> at the central site, bearing in mind we need to retain all
> ownership/permissions on these files.
> 
> Would implementing the backup servers at each remote site as storage
> nodes help in any way?  We've never used storage nodes so I don't know
> what added functionality they may give us (over the fact that backups
> would be controlled centrally).
> 
> We're open to any / all suggestions, but I don't think 'buy a proper
> archive system' is an option I'm afraid.
> 
> Thanks for reading... Allan.
> 
> 
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