Sun Cluster HA for NetBackup Overview

Sun Cluster HA for NetBackup makes the VERITAS NetBackup master server highly available.

The NetBackup master server acts as the centralized administration and scheduling server. Each cluster can have only one NetBackup master server.

The master server communicates with media servers through connections to the public network. Typically, in non-clustered systems, the node that runs the master server is connected to the devices that are used for making and storing backups. However, in the Sun Cluster environment, you must attach backup devices to media servers rather than to master servers. You cannot include backup devices or media servers in the cluster.

NetBackup media servers are the machines that perform backups. Multiple media servers can exist on the local network. You can distribute workload between multiple media servers.

NetBackup clients are processes that run on nodes that are inside or outside of the cluster. The clients transfer data from the machine to be backed up to the master servers and media servers.

NetBackup also includes a NetBackup media manager, which consists of daemons that interact with the backup devices. Sun Cluster does not control the daemons.

Sun Cluster HA for NetBackup only makes the NetBackup master server highly available. VERITAS NetBackup components, agents, add-ons, and the features that use these components are not highly available. For example, online (hot) and warm backups of databases are not highly available because the database backup agents are not under the control of the Sun Cluster framework.

Installation Notes

Note the following considerations before you install VERITAS NetBackup and Sun Cluster HA for NetBackup. Figure 1–1 illustrates the configuration limitations.

• VERITAS NetBackup is a single-instance data service. You cannot run more than one instance of VERITAS NetBackup per cluster.

• You must install NetBackup master servers in a cluster.

• NetBackup clients can exist inside of a cluster or outside of a cluster.

• You cannot include NetBackup media servers and their backup devices (tape libraries, optical readers, and so on) in any cluster.

• The shared disk that is associated with the NetBackup master server should be large enough to accommodate the NetBackup administrative files and logs that accumulate over time. The size of the administrative files and logs depends upon the amount of backup activity that is required for your configuration.

• If the VERITAS NetBackup client is a cluster, only one logical host can be configured as the client because there is only one bp.conf file.

• If the NetBackup client is a cluster and if one of the logical hosts on the cluster is configured as the NetBackup client, NetBackup cannot back up the physical hosts.

• On the cluster that runs the master server, the master server is the only logical host that can be backed up.

• Backup media cannot be attached to the master server, so one or more media servers are required.

• In a Sun Cluster environment, robotic control is supported only on media servers and not on the NetBackup master server that runs on Sun Cluster.

Supported Configurations

The following figure illustrates the supported configuration for Sun Cluster HA for NetBackup.

You must include the NetBackup master server in a cluster. You can attach backup devices only to media servers. You cannot include backup devices and media servers in a cluster.

Communication between NetBackup components occurs only through connections to the public network. If failover or switchover occurs, the components under cluster control fail over or switch over to their backup nodes.

Figure 1–1 Sun Cluster HA for NetBackup Supported Configurations