> Expert > Backup and Restore Agents > Snapshot Management > Supported Agents > UNIX File System Agent

Advanced Configuration - IntelliSnap for UNIX File System

Understanding the CommCell Console

The File System iDataAgent uses the following entities to manage backup and restore operations from the CommCell Console.

Subclient

A logical entity that uniquely defines a unit of data on a client computer.

Backup Set

A group of subclients which includes all the data backed up by the iDataAgent.

Imagesklzzwxh:0002onfigurationklzzwxh:0003nixklzzwxh:0004nderstanding_comcell.png

Configuring User Defined Backup Sets

You can create user defined backup sets to group a set of selected data that you need to backup. A user-defined backup set will contain its own default subclient.

Creating a Backup Set for On-Demand Backups

On-Demand backups allow content to be specified as an external input when initiating a backup. Whereas traditional backups are performed using subclients, which contain fixed content configured prior to performing the operation, On- Demand backups allow you to specify content each time you perform a backup.

Content for On-Demand backups is defined through two entities:

  • a Content File, which is a text file that defines the location of the data that you want to protect. Each Content File contains the fully qualified paths from the root directory to files, links, and devices to be backed up.

  • a Directive File, which is a text file that defines where each Content File is located. The Directive File contains the fully qualified paths from the root directory to one or more Content Files. Only one Directive File is needed for a single On-Demand backup.

Once these entities are defined, an On-Demand Backup Set is then created. Backups performed from this Backup Set will allow you to select the Content and Directive Files to be included.

Formatting Content and Directive Files

Content File entries should be in the following format with no filters, wildcards, or regular expressions included:

/usr/datafile

/usr/textfile

/etc/docfile

Similarly, Directive File entries should be in the following format with no filters, wildcards, regular expressions, or blank lines:

/usr/ContentFile1

Configuring On-Demand Backup Sets

Create one or more Content Files defining the content to be backed up.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client>.

  2. Right-click the File System, point to All Tasks and then click New On Demand Backup Set.

  3. In the New Backup Set Name box, type a name (up to 32 characters).

  4. Click OK.

Create a Directive File defining the locations of each Content File.

Note

Once an On-Demand Backup Set has been created, it cannot be changed into a traditional backup set.

imagesklzzwxh:0019onfigurationklzzwxh:0020nixklzzwxh:0021n_demand.png

Adding Files and Folders with Unicode Characters to Content Files

If the path or the filename contains Unicode characters, the Content File must be converted to a format that can be used by the data protection operation. The Unicode Conversion utility must be used to convert the Content File to a format that can be provided as input.

  1. Using a text editor, create a file that contains a list of files or folders with Unicode characters and save the file as a Unicode text file.

  2. From the command line, navigate to the <software install folder>/Base folder and type the following: 

     
    ./CVconvertUnicode <source file> <destination file>

    where:

    • <source file> is the full path and name of the file created in Step 1.

    • <destination file> is the full path and name of the destination file. This file is automatically created by the utility.

  3. Use the destination file as the content file to perform an On-Demand backup.

Preventing Duplicate Backups of Files

On-Demand Backups explicitly back up the files listed in the Content File. If the Content file has two entries for the same file, the file will be backed up twice.

For example, consider a Content File that lists the following entries:

/usr/

/usr/textfile

In this scenario, the textfile folder will be backed up twice because the Content File also has an entry for the parent folder usr.

It is recommended that Content Files avoid such duplicate entries. If you are unable to avoid duplicate entries, use the following steps to prevent the duplication of data.

Configuring Content File to Exclude Duplicate Entries

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers.

  2. Right-click the <Client> in which you wish to perform the restore, and then click Properties.

  3. Click Advanced and then click Additional Settings tab.

  4. Click Add.

  5. In the Name field, type OnDemand_AutoExpandDir.

    The Category and Type fields are populated automatically.

  6. In the Value field, type 0.

  7. Click OK.

config_ondemand_reg_key

Configuring User Defined Subclients

You can create user-defined subclients to protect specific portions of the client data. For example, you may need to frequently backup a specific directory or a set of directories. You can create a subclient for such directories and schedule frequent backups for that subclient.

Tip

By default, the content of the Default Subclient contains the entire file system.
When you create a user-defined Subclient, the contents of the user-defined Subclient will be excluded from the Default Subclient.

Creating a Subclient to Back Up Specific Files

You can create a user-defined subclient to manage and backup specific data files.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System | Backup Set.

  2. Right-click the Backup Set, point to All Tasks and then click New Subclient.

  3. In the Subclient Name box, type a name.

  4. Click the Storage Device tab.

  5. In the Storage Policy list, click a storage policy name.

  6. Click the Content tab.

  7. Click Browse.

  8. Select the directory or file to be backed up and click Add.

    Repeat this step to include all the files and directories to be backed up.

  9. Click Close.

  10. Click OK.

subclient_bkp_specific_files

Creating a Subclient to Back Up Specific Files Using Wildcards

You can use the following wildcards to specify the files to be backed up.

Wildcards

Description

Examples

*

Matches any number of characters.

Used to match all objects.

This wildcard is used in the following scenarios:

  • Back up all files of a specific extension.

  • Back up all files under a specific directory.

  • Back up all files of a specific extension where the file name starts with a specific pattern.

*.doc backs up all files with the extension .doc (e.g., status.doc, mission.doc) on all partitions and paths on the client computer.

/Test/*.doc backs up all .doc files only in the /Test directory

a*.so backs up all files which start with "a" and with the extension .so (e.g., alsvc.so, advdcc.so) on the client computer.

/Finance/Test/* backs up only the files under the /Finance/Test directory. Any sub-directory under the Test directory is not backed up.

**

Matches any directory level.

/**/move.cpp - includes the file named move.cpp located at any directory level. (e.g., /root/newapp/move.cpp/opt/kde3/src/move.cpp)

/etc/** - includes all directories and files under /etc directory. All the sub-directories and files under these directories are included in the backup.

?

Matches any one character.

Used to match all files (or directories) for which any one character in the file name or the directory name is variable.

/access? backs up any directory or file on the client computer for which the name begins with- access followed by any one character such as access1 or access5. However, access12 or access15 are not backed up because the last two characters in the name are variables. To back up access12 or access15, you must specify access?? in the subclient content.

Class?report backs up any directory or file for which the wildcard character in the place of ? is a variable. For example: Class1report and Class2report are included in the backup. However, Class15report is excluded from backup.

[]

Matches a set or range of characters enclosed in square brackets.

Numbers within square brackets are treated as single digits, and a dash between two digits indicates the complete range of numbers between those two digits.
For example,
test[1-5].txt backs up all files test1.txt through test5.txt.
test1[0-9][0-9][0-9].txt backs up all files starting from test1000.txt to test1999.txt.
test[1-3][0-9] backs up files test 10 through test 39; test[10-39] backs up test0, test1, test2, test3, and test9.
test[A-Ea-e].txt backs up all upper case and lower case files testA.txt through testE.txt, and testa.txt through teste.txt.
test[A-Ea-e6-9].txt backs up all upper case and lower case files testA.txt through testE.txt and testa.txt through teste.txt, and test6.txt through test9.txt.

[!]

Matches any single character that is not in the listed set or range of characters. You can use the wildcard in the following scenario:

Back up all files in a directory except the files for which the name starts with any character from the specified set or range of characters.

/root/[!AEIOU]*.doc backs up all .doc files in the /root directory that start with a letter other than A, E, I, O, or U.

When you use wildcards to specify the subclient content, the content path appears in Italics.

If you want all the files with the file extension ".doc" to be backed up from any level, then specify the content as *.doc. If any subclient content doesn’t start with /, then /**/ will be prefixed to the content to match at any level. E.g., *.doc will be /**/*.doc

To treat *, ?, [ ] as literals in the subclient content and not as wildcards, you can escape the wildcard by adding ‘\’ before the wildcard. For example, /Report\[2011-2012\]/*.doc backups all the .doc files under /Report[2011-2012]

More than one type of wildcard can be used when specifying subclient content (e.g., /Dcvol?/oracle[1-47]/**/*.log).

On newly installed UNIX clients, a wildcard path with a single trailing "*" backs up only the files and not the subdirectories. For more information about the wildcard behavior, see Wildcard Behavior on Newly Installed UNIX Clients.

Use the following steps to backup specific files using wild cards:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System | Backup Set.

  2. Right-click the Backup Set, point to All Tasks and then click New Subclient.

  3. In the Subclient Name box, type a name.

  4. Click the Storage Device tab.

  5. In the Storage Policy list, click a storage policy name.

  6. Click the Content tab.

  7. Click Add Paths.

  8. Type the specific file name or the path to the file(s), and then click OK.

  9. Click OK.

add_content_widlcards_snp

Creating a Subclient to Back Up Predefined Content

The Content Library folder on any client will automatically collect frequently accessed data such as images, audio and video. You can select the required content category under the Content Library and add to the subclient content. The following predefined content categories are available:

  • Audio

  • Executable

  • Image

  • Office

  • System

  • Video

Use the following steps create a subclient to backup predefined content:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System | Backup Set.

  2. Right-click the Backup Set, point to All Tasks and then click New Subclient.

  3. In the Subclient Name box, type a name.

  4. Click the Storage Device tab.

  5. In the Storage Policy list, click a storage policy name.

  6. Click the Content tab.

  7. Click Browse.

  8. Navigate to <Client> | Content Library.

  9. Click the desired file type.

    For example, click Audio to select all the audio files on a client.

  10. Click OK.

    imagesklzzwxh:1114onfiguratioklzzwxh:1115indowsklzzwxh:1116dd_content_library.png

A symbolic link is a file that points to another file. By default, the symbolic link file will be included in the subclient content. However, use the following procedure to expand and backup the path in the symbolic link.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System.

  2. Right-click the Backup Set, point to All Tasks and then click New Subclient.

  3. In the Subclient Name box, type a name.

  4. Click the Storage Device tab.

  5. In the Storage Policy list, click a storage policy name.

  6. Click the Content tab.

  7. Select the Expand symbolic links of subclient content check box and then click Discover.

    The data paths to which the symbolic links in the data contents are pointing will be displayed in contents of subclient.

  8. Click OK.

expand_sym_links_snp

Backup of content pointed by the symbolic links can be enabled at the subclient level.

Use the following steps to follow the symbolic links under a subclient and include the content pointed by these links for backup:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System | Backup Set.

  2. Right-click the <Subclient> and then click Properties.

  3. Click the Content tab.

  4. Click Browse.

  5. Select the directory or file to be backed up and click Add.

    Repeat this step to include all the files and directories to be backed up.

  6. Click Close.

  7. Select the Expand symbolic links of subclient content check box and then click Discover.

    The data paths to which the symbolic links in the data contents are pointing will be displayed in contents of subclient.

  8. Click OK.

expand_sym_links_sc

Symbolic links are backed up by default when they are part of subclient content. In addition to symbolic links, you can enable back up of data pointed by symbolic links that are present under the subclient content path but reside outside the content path.

For example, consider a subclient with content as /home/user having symbolic links under this directory:

/home/user/lib->/usr/lib/

/home/user/commonProfile.rc->/etc/commonProfile.rc

When you enable the option, symbolic links as well as the data they are pointing to will be backed up, i.e., the data content of the directories, /user/lib and /etc/commonProfile.rc is backed up.

Note that data will be backed up unless there is another subclient with content covering the path the symbolic link is pointing to; if the other subclient is not scheduled for backup, loss of data due to user error will occur.

Use the following steps to enable backup of data pointed by symbolic links:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers.

  2. Right-click the <Client> and click Properties.

  3. Click Advanced and then click Additional Settings tab.

  4. Click Add.

  5. In the Name box, type nBackupSymLinkData.

    The Category and Type fields are automatically populated.

    Alternatively, you can click Lookup and search for the additional setting using the Find box.

  6. In the Value field, type 1.

  7. Click OK.

    Tip

    Duplicate links and certain kinds of circular links (e.g., /a/b/c/d -> /a/b) are excluded from the subclient content automatically.

    imagesklzzwxh:1045onfigurationklzzwxh:1046nixklzzwxh:1047ackup_symlink_reg_key.png

Creating a Subclient to Back Up Raw Devices

You can create subclients to backup block and character raw devices. You can include raw device files referenced by one or more symbolic links in the subclient content. The following should be noted:

  • Use character device files instead of block device files for achieving better backup and restore performance.

  • Raw devices are backed up using Full Backups.

  • Raw device backups are not restartable. Hence, it is recommended to run these backups under high priority.

  • Number of bytes backed up is always displayed as 0 on the CommCell Console even for a successful backup. However, the correct number of backed-up bytes is displayed in the Job History.

  • For consistent backups, unmount the volumes before you perform a backup of the raw devices.

  • From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System.

  • Right-click the Backup Set, point to All Tasks and then click New Subclient.

  • In the Subclient Name box, type a name.

  • Click the Storage Device tab.

  • In the Storage Policy list, click a storage policy name.

  • Click the Content tab.

  • Click Add Paths.

  • Type the raw device path (e.g., /dev/rhdisk34).

  • Click OK.

  • Click OK to close the Subclient Properties dialog box.

raw_device_snp

By default, hard links are ignored during backups and the data is duplicated thus taking up additional storage space. You can prevent such data duplication when backing up hard-linked files and also preserve hard links during restores using the following steps.

Additional disk space is required for the job results directory, for more information see Job Results Directory Disk Space Calculation.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers.

  2. Right-click the <Client>, and then click Properties.

  3. Click Advanced and then click Additional Settings tab.

  4. Click Add.

  5. In the Name field, type HLINKSNAP.

    The Category and Type fields are populated automatically.

  6. In the Value field, type Y.

  7. Click OK.

imagesklzzwxh:0088onfigurationklzzwxh:0089nixklzzwxh:0090onfig_hlink_reg_key.png

Configuring Backups for NFS-Mounted File Systems

By default, the NFS-mounted file systems are not included in the default subclient. You can include the NFS-mounted file systems using either of the following methods:

Use the following steps to add the NFS-mounted file system mount point to the subclient content:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System | Backup Set.

  2. Right-click the <Subclient> in the right pane, and then click Properties.

  3. Click the Content tab.

  4. Click Browse.

  5. Select the NFS mount point to be included in the backup.

  6. Click Add.

  7. Click Close.

  8. Click OK.

bkp_nfs_mnt

Configuring Backups for Locked Files

Files with advisory locks are backed up by default. However, files with mandatory locks are skipped during backups. Use the following methods to configure the backups of files with mandatory locks.

Enabling Backups of Locked Files

You can ignore the file lock detection and back up the files with mandatory locks using the following steps:

  1. Log on to the CommCell Console.

  2. On the CommCell Browser, right-click the <client computer> and click Properties.

  3. Click Advanced.

    The Advanced Properties dialog box appears.

  4. Click the Additional Settings tab, and click Add.

    The AddAdditional Settings dialog box appears.

  5. In the Name box, type sSKIPLOCKF.

  6. In the Category box, select FileSystemAgent.

  7. In the Type box, select String.

  8. In the Value box, type Y.

  9. Click OK.

    The additional setting appears in the list on the Additional Settings tab.

  10. Click OK.

Configuring Backups for Macintosh Files

By default, the File System iDataAgent backs up Macintosh files on a shared mount point. During these backups, if the data on the Macintosh file system share are Apple Double formatted files, they are backed up as two separate files.

Use the following steps to backup the Apple Double formatted Macintosh files as a single file:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers |<Client> | File System | Backup Set.

  2. Right-click the <Subclient> in the right pane and click Properties.

  3. Click the Content tab.

  4. Select the Enable Apple Double Support check box.

  5. Click OK.

imagesklzzwxh:0097onfigurationklzzwxh:0098nixklzzwxh:0099nable_apple_double.png

Configuring Restores for X9000 IBRIX Files

Use the following steps to enable restore of X9000 IBRIX files appropriately. When enabled, the files will be created initially with 600 permissions and the original permissions are applied to the files when they are closed.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers.

  2. Right-click <Client> and then click Properties.

  3. Click Advanced and then click Additional Settings tab.

  4. Click Add.

  5. In the Name field, type nIbrixEnabled.

    The Category and Type fields are populated automatically.

  6. In the Value field, type 1.

  7. Click OK.

imagesklzzwxh:0101onfigurationklzzwxh:0102nixklzzwxh:0103nable_ibrix.png

Configuring the Locale for Non-ASCII Characters

To backup and restore files containing non-ASCII (international) characters appropriate locale has to be configured in the server. Once configured, these settings enable you to do the following:

  • Back up files with names containing non-ASCII characters.

  • Restore file names containing non-ASCII characters without distortion.

  • Properly display files with non-ASCII characters when browsing subclient content or backup data

The following steps use the example of KOI-8R character encoding scheme to store the files with Russian names.

  1. Logon to the client as root and stop the Services. 

    commvault stop

  2. Run the locale command (with no options) to determine which locale is currently set on the server. A sample output is shown in the example.

    Example:

    LANG=en_US.iso885915
 LC_CTYPE="en_US.iso885915"
 LC_NUMERIC="en_US.iso885915"
 LC_TIME="en_US.iso885915"
 LC_COLLATE="en_US.iso885915"
 LC_MONETARY="en_US.iso885915"
 LC_MESSAGES="en_US.iso885915"
 LC_ALL=

    This output shows that the en_US.iso885915 locale for the LANG environment variable is currently set.

  3. Use the LC_CTYPE environment variable to set the desired locale.

    Example:

    LC_CTYPE=ru.koi8-r

  4. Export the locale. 

    export LC_CTYPE

  5. Run the locale command. A sample output is shown in the example.

    Example:

    LANG= en_US.iso885915
 LC_CTYPE="ru.koi8-r"
 LC_NUMERIC="ru.koi8-r"
 LC_TIME="ru.koi8-r"
 LC_COLLATE="ru.koi8-r"
 LC_MONETARY="ru.koi8-r"
 LC_MESSAGES="ru.koi8-r"
 LC_ALL=

  6. Start the Services. 

    commvault start

A properly configured system will have the correct locale set in one of the operating system startup scripts (e.g., /etc/profile). In case you do not want to change the locale for the entire system, you may make the changes to the Commvault startup scripts by editing the /opt/commvault/galaxy_vm file

Example:

LC_CTYPE=ru.koi8-r
 export LC_CTYPE

Restart the server to allow the Agent to start with the correct locale settings.

Configuring Backups for Automatically Skipped File Systems

By default, the following file systems are automatically skipped during backups:

  • nfs

  • nfs3

  • nfs4

  • isofs

  • openpromfs

  • smbfs

  • devfs

  • procfs

  • nsspool

  • sysfs

  • floppy

  • lofs

  • tmpfs

  • proc

  • ctfs

However, you can include them in the backups using one of the following methods:

Enabling Backups for Skipped File Systems

By default, the default subclient includes all the data in the client. However, the above mentioned file systems are not included in the backups. Use the following steps to include the skipped file systems in the default subclient.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers.

  2. Right-click the <Client>, and then click Properties.

  3. Click Advanced and then click AdditionalSettings tab.

  4. Click Add.

  5. In the Name box, type ignoreFStype.

    The Category and Type fields are populated automatically.

  6. In the Value box, type :autofs:cdrom:nfs3:lofs:tmpfs:proc:ctfs:namefs:.

  7. Click OK.

ignorefs_reg_key

Adding the Skipped File System to Subclient Content

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System.

  2. Right-click the Backup Set, point to All Tasks, and then click New Subclient.

  3. In the Subclient Name box, type a name.

  4. Click the Storage Device tab.

  5. In the Storage Policy list, select a Storage Policy name.

  6. Click the Content tab.

  7. Click Browse.

  8. Select the skipped file system data to be backed up and click Add.

  9. Click Close.

  10. Click OK.

bkp_nfs_mnt

Configuring Filters for Backups

You can set filters to prevent specific data from being backed up. Typically, you can use filters to exclude certain system-related files and database application files which consistently fail during a backup operation.

Filtering Files from a Backup

Subclient-level backup filters are available for the File System iDataAgent to exclude specified directories and files from being backed up. Follow the steps given below to configure filters on a subclient:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System | Backup Set.

  2. Right-click the Subclient in the right pane and then click Properties.

  3. Click the Filters tab.

  4. Under Exclude these files/folders/patterns, click Browse.

  5. Click the file, folder, or directory that you want to exclude from backup operations and click Add.

  6. Optionally, click Add under Exclude these files/folders/patterns and type the path to files and folders that you want to exclude. You can also enter patterns of files or folders using wild cards.

    You cannot enter Escape sequence to specify the path or file name.

  7. Click Close.

  8. Click OK.

filters

Supported Wildcards

You can use the following wildcards to specify the files to be filtered.

Wildcards

Description

Examples

*

Any number of characters. This wildcard is used in the following scenarios:

  • Filter all files of a specific extension

  • Filter all files under a specific directory

  • Filter all files of a specific extension where the file name starts with a specific pattern.

  • *.doc filters all files with the extension .doc, for example "status.doc" and "mission.doc," on all partitions on the client computer.

    /Test/*.doc filters all .doc files only in the /Test directory.

  • a*.so filters all files with the extension .so, for example "alsvc.so" and "advdcc.so" on the client computer which have the name beginning with "a".

  • /Finance/Test/* filters all the files and directories in the "Test" directory under the "Finance" directory on the / partition. Any sub-directories under the Test directory are not get backed up.

?

Any one character.

  • This wildcard can be used in the following scenario:

  • All files (or directories) for which any one character in the file name or the directory name is variable.

  • /access? filters any directory or file on the machine for which the name begins with- "access" followed by any one character such as "access1" or "access5". However, "access12" or "access15" are not backed up because the last two characters in the name are variable.

  • /Class/report? filters any directory or file under the /Class directory where the character in place of the question mark (?) is variable. For example: "/Class/report1" and "/Class/report2" are backed up. However, "/Class/report15" is not backed up.

[]

Set or range of characters.

  • /[a-m]*.doc filters any file with .doc extension on the / partition for which the name begins with the letters "a" through "m”.

  • /[AEIOU]*.doc filters any file name that ends with .doc and begins with the letters A, E, I, O, or U.

  • /Finance/report[1-47-9] filters files report1, report2, report4, report7, report8, report9 under the Finance directory.

  • /Department-[A-CS] filters files Department-A, Department-B, Department-C, and Department-S.

[!]

The negation of a set or range of characters. You can use the wildcard in the following scenario: filter all files in a directory except the files for which the name starts with any character from the specified set or range of characters.

/root/[!AEIOU]*.doc filters all .doc files in the /root directory that start with a letter other than A, E, I, O, or U.

**

Matches any directory level.

  • /**/move.cpp filters the file named move.cpp located at any directory level. For example: /root/newapp/move.cpp/opt/kde3/src/move.cpp.

  • /etc/** filters all directories, sub-directories, and files under the /etc directory.

***

Matches any directory level, including the parent directory

  • /etc/*** filters all directories, sub-directories, and files under the /etc directory, and the /etc directory itself.

  • To filter all directories, sub-directories, and files under the /etc directory, specifying /etc/*** instead of /etc/** improves performance because /etc/*** filters the /etc directory itself. This is especially useful if you have a large subset of the file system under the /etc directory.

Notes:

  • When you use wildcards to specify the subclient content, the content path appears in Italics.

  • If you want all the files with the file extension ".doc" to be filtered from any level, then specify the content as "*.doc". If any subclient content does not start with a forward slash (/), then "/**/" will be prefixed to the content to match at any level. For example: "*.doc" will become "/**/*.doc".

  • If you wants to treat the asterisk (*), question mark (?), and square brackets ([ ]) as literal, and not as wildcards, then add a forward slash (\) before the wildcard. For example: /Report\[2011-2012\]/*.doc will filter all the .doc files under /Report[2011-2012]

  • More than one type of wildcard can be used when specifying subclient content. For example: /Dcvol?/oracle[1-47]/**/*.log).

On newly installed UNIX clients, a wildcard path with a single trailing "*" filters only the files and not the subdirectories. For more information about the wildcard behavior, see Example of UNIX Filters.

Configuring Exclusions to Filters

Once you set the filters, you can also provide exceptions for the filters. The files or folders added to the exception list will be included in the backup operations. For example, if you want to exclude from your back up operation all the files in the /Ops directory except the Maintenance file. You can add a subclient filter to exclude the /Ops directory from being backed up and also provide an exception to allow the Maintenance file to be backed up.

On newly installed UNIX clients, a wildcard path with a single trailing “*” allows exception to exclusion of only the files and not the subdirectories.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System | Backup set.

  2. Right-click the <Subclient> in the right pane and click Properties.

  3. Click the Filters tab.

  4. Under Except for these files/folders/patterns, click Browse.

  5. Click the file, folder, or directory that you want to include in the backups and then click Add.

  6. Click Close.

  7. Click OK.

filters_exception

Deleting a Filter

You can remove a filter by deleting it from the exclusion list.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System | Backup set.

  2. Right-click the <Subclient> in the right pane, and then click Properties.

  3. Click the Filters tab.

  4. Under Exclude these files/folders/patterns, select the filter that you want to delete.

  5. Click Delete.

  6. Click OK.

filters_delete

Configuring Catalog Backup Job Progress Status

You can configure how often a catalog backup job progress status is saved, or updated before it gets saved.

Modifying the Save Frequency of Catalog Backup Job State

By default, a catalog backup job saves its state for restart every 5 minutes. You must add an additional setting to increase or decrease the frequency of saving the backup job state.

Procedure

  1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click client and then click Properties.

  2. In the Client Properties dialog box, click the Additional Settings tab and then click Add.

  3. In the Add Additional Settings dialog box, enter the details for the additional setting:

    1. In the Name box, type nMinTimeToSendCatalogRestartUpdate.

    2. In the Category box, select FileSystemAgent.

    3. In the Type box, select Integer.

    4. In the Value box, type 600 to increase the frequency to 10 minutes.

    5. Click OK.

  4. In the Client Properties dialog box, click OK.

Modifying the Update Frequency of Catalog Backup Job State

The catalog backup job state updates occur after the progress through the collect file crosses preset thresholds. By using an additional setting, you can configure the backup job state updates to occur after every n files in the collect file. Configuring a lower value for the additional setting might adversely affect the backup performance.

Procedure

  1. From the CommCell Browser, right-click client and then click Properties.

  2. In the Client Properties dialog box, click the Additional Settings tab and then click Add.

  3. In the AddAdditional Settings dialog box, enter the details for the additional setting:

    1. In the Name box, type nCatalogRestartCommitInterval.

    2. In the Category box, select FileSystemAgent.

    3. In the Type box, select Integer.

    4. In the Value box, type 100 to set the updates to occur after every 100 files.

    5. Click OK.

  4. In the Client Properties dialog box, click OK.

Configuring Retention for Deleted Items

Use these options to retain items deleted from the disk within the archive. You can configure to keep deleted items for specified number of days after deletion or forever. You my also choose to delete these items forever.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | <Agent> | <BackupSet>.

  2. Right-click the Subclient on the right pane, and then click Properties.

  3. Click the Retention tab.

  4. Select from one of the following options:

    • Delete Immediately

      By default, the deleted items are deleted immediately from the archive.

    • Keep for n days

      Select and enter the number of days for which you want to keep the deleted items available in the archive after deletion.

    • Keep forever

      Select to retain deleted items forever.

      Tip

      Data moved from one subclient to another is also considered as deleted item and would be included for deleted items backup.

  5. Click OK.

imagesklzzwxh:0132onfigurationklzzwxh:0133nixklzzwxh:0134s_retention.png

Enabling Optimized Scan for Linux File System iDataAgent

Optimized Scan is performed when you run a backup for any subclient. The .DATACLASS_nn directory contains the optimized scan meta data. By default, the .DATACLASS_nn directory is excluded from backups.

If a subclient contains a volume that is not added to the monitored volumes list, a recursive scan is performed for that volume.

Use the following procedure to enable Optimized Scan:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > File System > backup_set.

  2. Right-click the appropriate subclient and click Properties.

  3. In the Subclient Properties dialog box, click Advanced.

  4. In the Advanced Properties dialog box, click the Advanced Options tab.

  5. Click Optimized Scan and then click OK.

  6. Click OK.

For more information, see Optimized Scan for Unix.

Configuring the Kernel Parameters

The File System iDataAgent uses the operating system's kernel resources, such as shared memory, semaphores, etc., to perform data protection and recovery operations. If you are using an earlier version of the operating system, you can optimize the usage of these resources by setting the kernel parameter values.The following table displays the possible range of values for each parameter:

Parameters

Description

Possible Range of Values

SEMMSL*

Defines the maximum number of semaphores per semaphore set.

1 - 2147483647 [MAXINT]

SEMMNS*

Defines the maximum semaphores in the system.

1 - 2147483647 [MAXINT]

SEMOPM*

Defines the maximum number of operations for each semaphore call.

100

SEMMNI*

Defines the maximum number of semaphore sets in the entire system.

1 - 65535

SHMMNI

Defines the maximum number of shared memory segments in the entire system.

1 - 2147483647 [MAXINT]

SHMMAX

Defines the maximum allowable size of one shared memory segment.

0 - 2147483648 [2 GB] (the high-end value is the recommended value)

SHMALL

Defines the maximum total shared memory system-wide.

2097152

Note: Contact your system administrator to obtain the recommended values for the SHMXXX parameters.

Use the following steps to modify the kernel parameters:

  1. From the UNIX prompt, log on to the client as root.

  2. Navigate to the /proc/sys/kernel. 

    cd /proc/sys/kernel

  3. View the current values of the parameters in the sem file.

    For example, view the values of all semaphore parameters. The output provides the current value for the following parameters in the order listed: SEMMSL, SEMMNS, SEMOPM, and SEMMNI.

    Example:

    cat sem
 250 32000 32 128

    In this example, SEMMSL=250, SEMMNS=32000, SEMOPM=32, and SEMMNI=128

  4. Modify the required parameters.

    Important Considerations

    • The minimum recommended value for the SEMMNI parameter is 128.

    • Use the following formula to calculate the value for the SEMMSL parameter:

      • Non-MediaAgent:

        SEMMSL = 1 * number_of_desired_streams

      • MediaAgent:

        SEMMSL = 12 * number_of_desired_streams

    • Use the following formula to calculate the value for the SEMMNS parameter:

      SEMMNS = SEMMSL * SEMMNI

    • The SEMOPM and SEMMSL parameter values must be equal.

    • If any applications or databases are running on the client, the parameters must be increased accordingly.

Example

Parameters

Non-MediaAgent

MediaAgent

SEMMSL

1 * 250 = 250

12 * 100 = 1200

SEMMNI

128

128

SEMMNS

250 * 128

1200 * 128

SEMOPM

250

1200

 
 
sysctl -w kernel.parameter="SEMMSL SEMMNS SEMOPM SEMMNI"

Example

sysctl -w kernel.sem="1200 153600 1200 128"

Note

To preserve the parameter settings permanently on a Red Hat Linux computer, add them to the /etc/sysctl.conf file after removing any existing entries for the parameters.
Example

kernel.sem=1200 153600 1200 128

Note

Run the command if you have only modified the /etc/sysctl.conf file and you want to refresh the computer with the configuration that you specified:

sysctl -p

Configuring Multiple Streams for Backups

File System Multi-Streaming employs multiple data streams per subclient for data protection operations. This enables the subclient's contents to be distributed to all the streams, transmitting them in parallel to the storage media. Hence a subclient whose data is secured using three data streams, utilizes more of the available network resources, and can complete in as little as one third the time that the same data would require using a single stream.

Note that, you do not have to enable multi-streaming if you have multiple mount points pointing to the same physical drive.

Before enabling multi streaming, ensure that you can use multi-streaming when you restore the data and create an auxiliary copy. Restores by jobs use the same number of streams that you configure for the subclient. For more information on restoring by jobs, see Restore by Jobs.

  1. Follow the steps given below to configure multi-streaming.From the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client> File System >backup_set.

  2. Right-click the appropriate subclient and click Properties.

  3. In the Subclient Properties dialog box, specify the basic settings for the subclient:

    1. In the Subclient name box, type the name of the subclient.

    2. On the Content tab, add the content to be backed up.

    3. Click Advanced.

  4. In the Advanced Subclient Properties dialog box, click the Performance tab.

  5. On the Performance tab, specify the number of data streams:

    1. Select the Allow multiple data readers within a drive or mount point check box

    2. Enter the number of data streamsin the Number of Data Readers box.

      Important: The number of streams configured in the storage policy must be equal to or greater than the value entered in the Number of Data Readers box.

    3. Click OK.

  6. On the Storage Device tab, in the Storage Policy list, click a storage policy name to associate with the subclient.

    Tip: To create a new storage policy, click Create Storage Policy and follow the instructions in the storage policy creation wizard.

  7. Click OK.

Configuring Incremental and Differential Backups Using Ctime and Mtime

Incremental and differential backups can be configured depending on the changed time. The changed time can include ctime (changes in the file properties) or mtime (changes to the data in the file). You can use ctime to include the files with their properties changed since last backup/last full backup. Similarly, you can use mtime to include the files with their data changed since last backup/last full backup.

The ctime and mtime will be applicable only for the volumes which are scanned by the Recursive Scan. When Optimized Scan is used for scanning the volumes, ctime and mtime will not be taken into account.Follow the steps given below to configure an incremental backup using ctime and mtime options.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System | Backup Set.

  2. Right-click the <Subclient> in the right pane, and then click Properties.

  3. Under Incremental backups should use, select the change time (ctime or mtime).

  4. Click OK.

imagesklzzwxh:0153onfigurationklzzwxh:0154nixklzzwxh:0155time_ctime.png

Configuring Ctime or Mtime for All Subclients

When File Archiver agent is also installed on the client, you can globally set the ctime/mtime for backups on all the subclients using the following steps:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers.

  2. Right-click the <Client> and then click Properties.

  3. Click Advanced and then click AdditionalSettings tab.

  4. Click Add.

  5. In the Name field, type ifindUseMTime.

    The Category and Type fields are populated automatically.

  6. In the Value box, type one of the following:

    • Y - to include mtime

    • N - to include ctime

  7. Click OK.

file_archiver_mtime_ctime

Configuring Pre-processing and Post-processing for Backups

Setting Up Pre-processes and Post-processes

You can add and modify Pre-processes and Post-processes for a subclient. These are batch files or shell scripts that you can run before or after certain job phases. For example, you can use an echo command to check the level of a backup. Similarly, you can include a case statement within a script to run specific operations based on the level of the backup job.

A Save As Script file can also be run as a pre-process and post-process, if you include the absolute path of the associated input file in the script file.

See Pre-processes and Post-processes - Commands and Arguments for information on additional arguments that the CommServe sends to the Pre-processes and Post-processes.

The first line of the script must execute a command that is designed to call in the pre/post program. Ensure that you have included the appropriate command in the first line of the script.

The following is an example of a typical pre/post script:

#!/bin/bash base='basename $0' echo $0, 'date' > /extra/aah/RESULTS/$base.out exit 0

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System | Backup Set.

  2. Right-click the <Subclient> in the right pane, and then click Properties.

  3. Click the Pre/Post Process tab.

  4. Depending on the process you want to set up, click the corresponding Browse button.

  5. Select the process and then click OK.

pre_post

Setting Up Post-processes to Run during Failures

By default, a specified post-process command is executed only on successful completion of the scan or backup operation or if the job is killed.

Use the following steps to run a post-process even if the scan or backup operation did not complete successfully. For example, this may be useful to bring a database online or release a snapshot.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System | Backup Set.

  2. Right-click the <Subclient> in the right pane, and then click Properties.

  3. Click the Pre/Post Process tab.

  4. Select the Run Post Scan Process for all attempts check box.

  5. Select the Run Post Backup Process for all attempts check box.

  6. Click OK.

pre_post_failure

Configuring Sparse Files for Restores

The sparse files are restored by default as flat files, wherein the holes are restored as data. This will increase the disk usage. Use the following steps to restore the holes as genuine holes which will considerably reduce the disk usage.

To add or edit an additional setting, follow the steps in Add or Modify an Additional Setting.

Use these arguments:

  • In the Name box, type OptimizeRunLengths. The Category and Type details are automatically populated.

  • In the Value box, type a positive integer value that is a multiple of 1024. Any other value will be rounded off to the next multiple of 1024.

optrunlen_reg_key

Configuring the Linux File System Agent to Ignore System Errors for Backup Jobs

You can configure the Linux File System Agent to ignore system errors for backup jobs. For example, the File not found error.

This configuration also applies for the older clients up to two releases old.

Procedure

  • To the client computer, add the backupDoNotReportFileError additional setting with the value error_code1. For example, 65521.

    For instructions on adding the additional setting from the CommCell Console, see Add or Modify an Additional Setting.

    Property

    Value

    Name

    backupDoNotReportFileError

    Category

    FileSystemAgent

    Type

    String

    Value

    error_code1, error_code2...

Modifying an Agent, Backup Set or Subclient

The following table describes the properties that can be configured from the agent, backup set and subclient levels.

Option

Description

Related Topics

Change Storage Policies

You can modify the storage policies in any of the following situations.

  • To include a different media for the backup operation.

  • To use a storage policy with a different retention criteria.

You can change the storage policies from the subclient level.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client>| File System | <Backup Set>

  2. Right-click the <user-defined Subclient> in the right pane, and then click Properties.

  3. Click the Storage Device tab.

  4. Select the Storage policy from the drop-down list.

  5. Click OK.

Refer to Storage Policies.

Rename a Backup Set or Subclient

You can rename backup sets and subclients.

Renaming BackupSet:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers |<Client>| File System.

  2. Right-click the <Backup Set>, and then click Properties.

  3. In the Backup Set box, type a name.

  4. Click OK.

Renaming subclient:

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client>| File System | <Backup Set>.

  2. Right-click the <user-defined Subclient>, and then click Properties.

  3. In the Subclient Name box, type a name.

  4. Click OK.

Data Transfer Options

You can efficiently configure the available resources for transferring data secured by data protection operations from the subclient level. This includes the following:

  • Enable or disable Data Compression either on the client or the MediaAgent.

  • Configure the transfer of data in the network using the options for Network Bandwidth Throttling and Network Agents.

You can configure the data transfer options.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > File System > backup_set.

  2. Right-click the subclient and click Properties.

    The Subclient Properties dialog box appears.

  3. On the Storage Device tab, click the Data Transfer Option sub-tab and choose the appropriate software compression option for this subclient.

  4. Click Advanced.

    The Advanced Subclient Properties dialog box appears.

  5. On the Performance tab, select the Throttle Network Bandwidth (MB/HR) check box, enter the throughput limit, and then click OK. The Commvault software throttles the transfer on a per-network-agent basis.

  6. Click OK.

Refer to Data Compression and Network Bandwidth Throttling.

View Data Paths

You can view the data paths associated with the primary storage policy copy of the selected storage policy or incremental storage policy. You can also modify the data paths including their priority from the subclient level.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | File System | Backup Set.

  2. Right-click the <Subclient> in the right pane, and then click Properties.

  3. Click the Storage Device tab.

  4. In the Storage Policy list, click a storage policy name.

  5. Click Data Paths.

Configure Activity Control

You can enable backup and restore operations from the agent and subclient level. However, you can enable restore operations only from the agent level.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client>

  2. Right-click the <Client> or <Subclient> in the right pane, and then click Properties.

  3. Click the Activity Control tab and select or clear option(s) as desired.

  4. Click OK.

Refer to Activity Control.

Configure User Security

You can create a security association from the agent or subclient level. For instructions on creating a security association at the agent or subclient level, see Administering the Security Associations of an Entity.

Refer to User Administration and Security.

Enable and Disable Data Encryption

You can enable data encryption from the subclient level. Encryption must be enabled at the client level prior to configuring any instances residing on that client.

  1. From the CommCell browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client>| File System | <Backup Set>

  2. Right-click the <Subclient> in the right pane, and then click Properties.

  3. In the Subclient Properties dialog box, click Advanced.

  4. In the Advanced Subclient Properties dialog box, click the Encryption tab and select the desired encryption.

  5. Click OK.

Refer to Data Encryption.

View Software Version and Installed Updates

The Version tab, at the Agent level displays the software version and post-release service packs and updates installed for the component.

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers

  2. Right-click the <Client> for which you want to view the version and the click Properties.

  3. Click the Version tab.

  4. Click OK.

CommCell Configuration Report

The CommCell Configuration Report provides the properties of the CommServe, MediaAgents, clients, agents, subclients, and storage policies within the CommCell based on the selected filter criteria.

  1. On the CommCell Console menu bar, select the Reports tab.

  2. Click Configuration.

    The Report Selection dialog box appears.

  3. Click Run.

Refer to CommCell Configuration.

Deleting an Agent, Backup Set or Subclient

Caution

When you delete an instance or backupset, the associated data is logically deleted and you can no longer access the corresponding data from CommCell Console for recovery purposes.
Refer to Recovering Data Associated with Deleted Clients and Storage Policies for information on how to recover data if you accidentally delete an entity.

Deleting an Agent

You need to uninstall or DeConfigure the agent software from the client computer before deleting from CommCell Browser. After you delete the client software, you can either leave the corresponding data intact for appropriate action or you can remove the data immediately. If you choose to remove the data immediately, you must delete the agent from the CommCell Browser. If you delete the agent, all of the agent's data is irretrievably lost.

  • You cannot delete an agent while operations for that agent are running.

  • From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client>.

  • Right-click the <Agent>, and then click Delete.

  • A confirmation message is displayed with the following message:

    This operation will permanently delete the data backed up from this level and it cannot be restored.

  • Click OK to continue with the deletion operation or click No to abort the deletion.

Deleting a Backup Set

Consider the following before deleting a Backup Set:

  • You cannot delete a default Backup Set.

  • Schedules associated with the Backup Set are also automatically deleted.

  • From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers | <Client> | <Agent>.

  • Right-click the <Backup Set>, and then click Delete.

  • A confirmation message is displayed, asking if you want to delete the Backup Set.

    Click No to cancel the deletion and retain the Backupset, or click Yes to continue the deletion.

Deleting a Subclient

Consider the following before deleting a subclient:

  • You cannot delete a default subclient.

  • Schedules associated with the subclient are also automatically deleted.

Procedure

  1. From the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers > virtualization_client > agent > backup_set.

  2. Right-click the subclient that you want to delete, and then click Delete.

  3. A confirmation message is displayed, asking if you want to delete the subclient.

    Click No to cancel the deletion and retain the subclient, or click Yes to continue the deletion.

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