NDMP Question

[chad_small]

I have a customer who wants to have a copy of a NetApp volume. That's not a problem but my question is this, is an NDMP dump initiated by TSM capable of being restored without a TSM server? Since TSM labeled the tape is there any issue with trying to restore the data directly from a NetApp with a direct attached drive? Also when running an NDMP dump directly from the NetApp and not from TSM is the TOC/Catalogue stored on the same tape with the data? My thinking is that the NDMP dump even though initiated by TSM is still just an NDMP dump. My concern is the TSM labeling and if it would cause any readability issues for a NetApp based restore?

 

[chad_small]

So no one can help me here?

 

[ttrinh7975]

Chad_small,

look into backupset within TSM.

http://ezbackup.cornell.edu/techsup-v4.2/ibmdocs/clients/html/macc/ans10009.htm

http://www.unix.ualberta.ca/TSM/tsmref/ansr0007.htm

 

[chad_small]

This is a NetApp and there is no way I am going to mount those volumes and back them up with a normal TSM backup. It's too big! Backupsets are out of the question. So again I ask is a NDMP dump initiated by TSM truly independent of TSM? Could a NetApp read the label and restore the dump without TSM?

 

[blagrange]

Chad, I was under the impression that since this is NDMP and a standard that all TSM did was execute the command for you at a scheduled time. Since NDMP drives are directly attached to the NAS pre 5.4 I do not believe that TSM can label or do anything proprietary with it to make it unreadable by the NAS unit.

If I had my netapp setup to control the library I would would test this for you but it would not be an easy task at this point.

My assumption is that it has to be independent. See below log of one of my nightly backups:

dmp Tue Jun 12 20:09:40 MDT TSM /vol/ServerShares(0) Start (Level 1, NDMP)
dmp Tue Jun 12 20:09:40 MDT TSM /vol/ServerShares(0) Options (b=64, u)
dmp Tue Jun 12 20:09:40 MDT TSM /vol/ServerShares(0) Snapshot (snapshot_for_backup.2807, Tue Jun 12 20:09:36 MDT)
dmp Tue Jun 12 20:10:55 MDT TSM /vol/ServerShares(0) Tape_open (ndmp)
dmp Tue Jun 12 20:10:56 MDT TSM /vol/ServerShares(0) Phase_change (I)
dmp Tue Jun 12 22:03:49 MDT TSM /vol/ServerShares(0) Phase_change (II)
dmp Tue Jun 12 22:04:17 MDT TSM /vol/ServerShares(0) Phase_change (III)
dmp Tue Jun 12 22:09:00 MDT TSM /vol/ServerShares(0) Phase_change (IV)
dmp Tue Jun 12 22:49:51 MDT TSM /vol/ServerShares(0) Phase_change (V)
dmp Tue Jun 12 22:50:22 MDT TSM /vol/ServerShares(0) Tape_close (ndmp)
dmp Tue Jun 12 22:50:22 MDT TSM /vol/ServerShares(0) End (159622 MB)

I believe the TOC is just a way for TSM to pass the Command to the filer for file level restores, this is not required if you know the complete path to the file, again because TSM does not know where or what is on the tape. The TOC is actually stored on regular STG pools defined to TSM. I use disk for instance. But the TOC is totally un-necessary to do a file level restore.

The restores are also sequential. You have to mount every tape for the backup of the file you are trying to restore. This again makes me thing that all TSM is doing is passing the ndmp restore command to the filer.

I woudl test it but I think you are right that you do not need TSM to restore the dumps created by the the scheduled TSM nas backup command.

 

[chad_small]

Thanks it makes me feel better that someone else thinks the same way. I need to do a dump and the customer wants to have the tape so want to make sure they don't come back to us needing us to restore the data.

 

[chad_small]

I contacted Tivoli support and a NDMP backup is fully independent of TSM. I figured it was but wanted to make sure. The customer wanted us to backup a NetApp volume and send him the tape to hold indefinitely. Now I know I can just send him one of the older NetApp backups from the time period requested without needing to do anything special.

 

[reddy]

Chad_small,

Is there any document available for configuring nas backups...? I literally knew nothing about it but one of our customers is asking about setting up backups.

Can you please help me in this..?

I appreciate your help...

 

[chad_small]

There's a lot of documentation. Here are the basics -

1. Setup Policy Domain with the retention settings require

2. Register the NAS with REGISTER NODE TYPE=NAS

3. Define the DATAMOVER for the node

NOTE ON NAMING THE DATAMOVER
--------------------------------------------------
The name must be the same as a node name
that you previously registered using the
REGISTER NODE TYPE=NAS command. The data
that is backed up from this NAS data mover will
be assigned to this node name in the server
database.

>>-DEFine DATAMover--data_mover_name--Type--=--NAS-------------->

.-LLAddress--=--10000----.
>--HLAddress--=--address--+------------------------+------------>
'-LLAddress--=--tcp_port-'

>--USERid--=--userid--PASsword--=--password--------------------->

.-ONLine--=--Yes-----.
>--+--------------------+--DATAFormat--=--+-NETAPPDump--+------><
'-ONLine--=--+-Yes-+-' +-|CELERRADump-+
'-No--' '-NDMPDump----'


4. Define paths to the Datamover

 

[Harry_Redl]

Hi all,

documentation for NetApp backups using NDMP vs TSM can be found here:
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg247243.html?Open

IBM just re-labels the NetApp appliances and sells them as N-Series

Hope it helps

Harry

 

[reddy]

ThankYou so much for the documentation Harry_Redl!

 

[influx]

Blagrange makes the statement, "the toc is totally unnecessary if you know the full path of the file you want to restore". Is that a valid statement.
The reason I ask: we've given our operations a menu driven system to query and restore Netapp data. A lot of what they do loads the TOC, eating up all of the TSM DB freespace on the server, and ultimately crashing TSM.
If I could query the TOC (which does not load it), and send the output to a file, and then modify my scripts to run the restore by providing the full path, this would solve a big issue.
So, I guess one of the questions would be: by supplying the full path, the TOC does not get loaded? or, How do you run a file restore without loading the TOC? Thanks.

 

[Tiger22]

So, I guess one of the questions would be: by supplying the full path, the TOC does not get loaded? or, How do you run a file restore without loading the TOC? Thanks.

No, the TOC does not get loaded.

You would just run something like:

restore node nasserver1 /vol1 filelist=/dir1/subdir1/file_i_need,/dir1/subdir2/another_file_i_need

The files are restored without loading or needing the TOC.