Setting Up the Dell™ DR Series System as an RDA or VTL Backup Target for Dell™ NetVault Backup Dell Engineering June 2015 A Dell Technical White Paper
Revisions Date Description January 2014 Initial release May 2014 Updated to add suggested block size on NVBU device configuration April 2015 Added VTL content for v3.2 Release June 2015 Added content for configuring an iSCSI target on Linux This document is for informational purposes only and may contain typographical errors and technical inaccuracies. The content is provided as is, without express or implied warranties of any kind. © 2015 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Table of contents Executive summary ................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 1 2 Installing and configuring the DR Series system for use with NetVault Backup ................................................................ 6 1.1 NetVault software prerequisites............................................................................................................
Executive summary This white paper provides information about how to set up the Dell DR Series system as a backup target for Dell NetVault Backup. This document is a quick reference guide and does not include all DR Series system deployment best practices. For additional information, see the DR Series system documentation and other data management application best practices whitepapers for your specific DR Series system at: http://www.dell.
1 Installing and configuring the DR Series system for use with NetVault Backup 1.1 NetVault software prerequisites The instructions in this document apply to NetVault Backup version 9.2 and later. The screenshots used in this document may vary slightly, depending on the version NetVault Backup software version used.
3. Launch the virtual console. 4. After the virtual console is open, log on to the system as user administrator and the password St0r@ge! (The “0” in the password is the numeral zero). 5. Set the user-defined networking preferences.
6. View the summary of preferences and confirm that it is correct. 7. Log on to the DR Series system administrator console, using the IP address you just provided for the DR Series system, with username administrator and password St0r@ge! (The “0” in the password is the numeral zero.). 8. Join the DR Series system to Active Directory. NOTE: If you do not want to add the DR Series system to Active Directory, see the DR Series System Owner’s Manual for guest logon instructions.
a. Select Active Directory from the left navigation area of the DR Series GUI b. Enter your Active Directory credentials.
2 Creating and configuring the RDA target container(s) for NetVault Backup 1. Create the RDS container in the Dell DR Series system by selecting Containers in the left navigation area, and then clicking Create at the top of the page. 2. Enter a Container Name, select the Connection Type as RDA, and then select the RDA type as RDS.
3. Click Create a New Container. Confirm that the container is added. 2.1 Adding the RDA target container(s) for NetVault Backup 1. 11 Open the NetVault Backup web console.
2. Add the RDA container to NetVault Backup by selecting and starting the wizard, Guided Configuration > Add Storage Devices. 3. In the Storage Configuration Wizard – Add Storage Devices page, select Add Dell RDA Devices.
4. Enter the DR Series system hostname, username, and password to add the RDA device. Enter the RDA container name and save. Note: The default username is backup_user and the password is St0r@ge! (The “0” in the password is the numeral zero). The suggested Block Size is 524288 bytes (512KB) to achieve optimal performance. Also, specify the Stream Limit required. 5. Confirm the RDA device is created by navigating to Manage Devices.
2.2 Configuring transport modes for NetVault Backup There are two transport modes for backing up data over RDA: Optimized / Dedup and Passthrough. Optimized backup does source side dedupe on the NVBU clients. The Passthrough mode does target side dedupe on the DR Series system. The default mode for each client is decided based on the number of CPU cores in the client machine and whether the architecture is 32-bit or 64-bit. In general, there is no need to change the mode.
NOTE: Except for the NetVault Backup file system plug-in, all the other plug-ins are 32- bit binaries on Windows (64-bit or 32-bit versions). There is a known issue because of which optimized back-ups with 32 bit plug-ins provide less performance than passthrough back-ups. It is recommended to keep the default that the DR Series system chooses to use rather than forcing the mode to be optimized even if the client has more power. A NetVault Backup client running on a 64-bit Linux machine has 64-bit plugins.
3 Configuring VTL 3.1 Creating and configuring iSCSI target container(s) for NetVault Backup 3.1.1 Creating an iSCSI VTL container for NetVault Backup 1. Create and export the iSCSI container. a. Select Containers in the left navigation area, and then click Create at the top of the page. 2. Enter the container name, select the Virtual Tape Library (VTL) option, and click Next.
3. Select the iSCSI Access Protocol. Specify the DMA Access Control by providing the storage node / media node IP Address, IQN or FQDN. For NetVault, you must also specific Auto as the Marker Type. Click Next. 4. Finalize VTL creation by clicking Create a New Container.
3.1.2 Configuring the iSCSI target – Windows 1. 18 Configure the iSCSI Initiator Software for Windows by providing the IP or FQDN of the DR Series system in the Quick Connect, Target field. Click Quick Connection to open the Quick Connect dialog box, which indicates a connection was made but is set as inactive.
2. Close the dialog box and proceed by selecting the newly discovered target. This target will have an Inactive Status as it requires authentication parameters to be provided for iSCSI logon. Select the Target from the list, click the Connect button, and then in the Connect To Target dialog box, click the Advanced button.
3. In Advanced Settings, select to Enable CHAP log on and enter the User Name and Target Secret / Password. Select OK. Refer to Appendix A for further details about accounts and credentials.
The iSCSI target should now appear as connected, and device discovery can now proceed. 4. Open the Server Manager Snap-in and verify that the newly connected devices show up in the Device Manager. Verify that the STK Library and IBM Ultrium-TD4 Device Drivers are installed. Note: Refer to the article at http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/home.aspx for information about acquiring Microsoft Device Drivers, e.g., StorageTek Library Drivers.
3.1.3 Configuring the iSCSI target – Linux Before you begin this procedure, ensure that the iSCSI initiator is installed (iscsi-initiator-utils). For example: yum install iscsi-initiator-utils ; /etc/init.d/iscsi start To configure the iSCSI target for Linux, follow these steps. 1. Add the CHAP Authentication details for the DR Series system on the Linux Initiator as follows: a. Edit /etc/iscsi/iscsid.conf and un-comment the following line: node.session.auth.authmethod = CHAP b.
For example: iscsiadm -m node --portal "10.8.230.108:3260" --login 4. Display the open session(s) with DR VTL(s) by using the following command: iscsiadm -m session For example: iscsiadm -m session = tcp: [8] 10.8.230.108:3260,1 iqn.198405.com.dell:dr4000.3071067.interoprhel52n1.30 5. Review dmesg or /var/log/messages for details about the tape devices created upon adding the DR Series system iSCSI VTL. 3.1.4 Configuring NetVault Backup to use the newly created iSCSI VTL 1.
2. Select the NetVault node that has the iSCSI device configured, and, after the scan has completed, select the tape library to be added. Click Next to add the iSCSI tape library. 3. When the tape library has been added, click the Create Backup job… button to commit the library. The VTL should show up ready for use.
4. Label all the media with labels and place them in their respective media groups for use. 3.2 Creating and configuring NDMP target container(s) for NetVault Backup 3.2.1 Creating the NDMP VTL container for NetVault Backup You need to create and export the NDMP container in the DR Series system GUI. 1. 25 Select Containers in the left navigation area of the DR Series system, and then click the Create link at the top of the page.
2. Enter the container name and select the Virtual Tape Library (VTL) option. Click Next. 3. Select the NDMP Access Protocol. Specify the DMA Access Control by providing the storage node or media node IP Address or FQDN. Select the Marker Type as Unix Dump. Click Next.
4. Finalize VTL creation by clicking Create a New Container. 3.2.2 Configuring NetVault Backup to use the newly created NDMP VTL You need to add the DR Series system as an NDMP node by using the NDMP Plugin. 1. 27 Navigate to the Create Backup Set submenu, and select the NDMP Plugin within the NetVault Create Selection Set navigation pane. Select to add a new NDMP Server node. In the dialog box, enter the name of the node, the IP address, and DR the credentials.
2. Access the Storage Configuration Wizard menu within the NetVault Administration interface. Select the Add Storage Devices button and then proceed to the Tape library/ medium changer submenu. 3. Select the NetVault node that has the NDMP device configured, and, after the scan has completed, select the tape library to be added. Click Next to complete the workflow to add the NDMP tape library. The VTL should now show up ready for use.
4. Label all the media with labels and place them in their respective media groups for use.
4 Setting up the DR Series system cleaner Performing scheduled disk space reclamation operations are recommended as a method for recovering disk space from system containers in which files were deleted as a result of deduplication. The cleaner runs during idle time. If your workflow does not have a sufficient amount of idle time on a daily basis, then you should consider scheduling the cleaner to force it to run during a scheduled time.
5 Monitoring deduplication, compression, and performance After backup jobs have run, the DR Series system tracks capacity, storage savings, and throughput on the DR Series system dashboard. This information is valuable in understanding the benefits of the DR Series system. Note: Deduplication ratios increase over time. It is not uncommon to see a 2-4x reduction (25-50% total savings) on the initial backup. As additional full backup jobs are completed, the ratios will increase.
A VTL configuration guidelines A.1 Managing VTL protocol accounts and credentials A.1.1 iSCSI account details and management By default, the iSCSI username is the hostname of the DR Series system and can be confirmed by reviewing the output of the iscsi –account --user CLI command. For example: >iscsi --show --user user : dr9-interop-a7 The default iSCSI password is St0r@ge!iscsi. You can modify this password in the iSCSI tab of the Clients page.
A.1.2 NDMP account details and management The default username for the NDMP service is “ndmp_user.” This can be confirmed on the NDMP tab of the Clients page in the DR Series system GUI. You can also use the CLI command ndmp –show as shown in the following example.
A.1.3 VTL Default Account Summary Table: Service NDMP iSCSI Account ndmp_user Default Credentials St0r@ge! St0r@ge!iscsi CLI Modifier ndmp --setpassword iscsi--setpassword A.2 Managing VTL media and space use A.2.1 General performance guidelines for DMA configuration • • • • A.2.2 The DR Series system (version 3.2 and later) provides inline VTL deduplication, compression, and encryption at rest functionality.
1. 2. 3. 4. Determine Existing Data Set Determine the change rate (Differential) Determine the retention period Calculate the data footprint during the retention period for existing data sets based on a 10-1 deduplication ratio 5. Calculate the data footprint during the retention period for change rate data sets based on a 10-1 deduplication ratio 6. Calculate the ratios within the retention period for each of the data sets 7.
20TB Total initial footprint with a 10% change rate Week Logical Size A.2.4 Pre-Deduplication 10% Change Rate Logical Logical Full Metrics Incremental Metrics 1 24.2TB 20TB 2TB 2 24.2TB 20TB 2TB 3 24.2TB 20TB 2TB 4 24.2TB 20TB 2TB 5 24.
A.2.6 Adding media to the VTL container To add media to an existing VTL container navigate to the containers menu option. Select and edit the target VTL container. Use the resulting dialog box field Add More Tape (no of Tape) field to input the number of tapes to add to the VTL container. Alternatively you may also use the “vtl –create_carts” cli command for this operation: > vtl --create_carts --name TEST_VTL_LALA --tapes 10 Created 10 cartridges A.2.
A.2.8 Space reclamation guidelines General Guidelines The DR v3.2 Appliance Virtual Tape Library feature is presented to operating systems and data management applications alike as devices either through iSCSI or NDMP protocol connectivity. The DMA interfaces with the virtual tape library and all its underlying components including the drives and media though these specific protocols.
For Netvault Backup the following can be used when a situation dictates that space must be reclaimed manually. 1. From the Explore Storage: Tape & VTL Storage: Explore Tape Storage page select the volume and Blank it. 2. Repeat this process as needed with all media items that can be reconciled for reclamation. CAUTION: This will permanently delete / destroy the data on these virtual volumes.
3. When the reconciliation process has completed on the NetVault: Backup software, from the DR Series system, initiate a cleaning cycle either via the UI or via the command line. For example: > maintenance --filesystem --reclaim_space Successfully started cleaner. 4. Make sure that the space has now been reclaimed via the UI or via the command line. The Cleaner Status should transition from Running to Pending at which time the statistics should change to reflect the reclaimed space.
