NetWorker Block Based Backup failed

There is a new feature introduced in NetWorker 8.x called Block Based Backup.  It is completely rewritten.  So, it is not the same as SnapImage.  It supports Block Based Backup for Windows machine.  For some reason, backup is only successful with Full level backup.  I attempt to start synthetic full backup but it fails.  This is the first client we attempt to use Synthetic full.  We are trying to backup a drive with size of few TB.  Block Based Backup will save the backup time.  We make sure the OS is supported, and BBB is sent to the same media only.  Also, we have weekly full and rest of them are synthetic full.

Eventually, my colleague works with DataDomain and NetWorker support and confirm it is required to enable synthetic backup on DataDomain.  Just login to DataDomain and run the command below.

ddboost option set virtual-synthetics enabled

run the following command to ensure virtual-synthetics is enabled.

ddboost option show

DD4500 Data Movement to archive tier uses all the resources

We have setup a DD4500 for our cloud.  Recently, we see backup running extremely slow with lots of timeout error on NetWorker.  Reboot the backup server, reset jobsdb and tmp do not fix the issue.
Suspect it is something similar to "Cleaning Affects Ingest in 5.2. User Cannot Throttle Down  kb182136".  So contact support and turn out it is the Data movement to a archive tier taking all the resource.

We attempt to change the throttle for Data Movement with help of support but it does not seem to help.  Only option is to upgrade to DDOS 5.4.3.0 or Disable Data Movement.  We suspend the Data movement as a workaround.  Then the backup speed is back to normal.

We finally complete the update of DDOS to DDOS 5.4.3.0, and we no longer see the issue again.

Add new shelf on DD880

Just add the last ES30 shelf with 2TB disks.  You can simplily find the instructions on DataDomain Document ID 72323.  The DD880 was setup with 5 ES20 shelves of 2TB disks.  So, we can only add one more ES30 shelf of 2TB.  Because you cannot mix ES30 with ES20 on the same loop, I arrange downtime to power down the DD880 before moving the ES20 to free up one loop.  That free loop is for the newly purchase ES30. 

For DDOS 5.1, you do need a shelf license and a Expanded Storage license.  Make sure you get your topology first before adding.  I will email a copy of autosupport to myself first.  On ES20, you do see the word host on the host port.  On ES30, they use diamond to represent ext port and circle represent host port. 

DataDomain support with NetWorker 7.6.2 and 7.6.3

With NW 7.6.2 boost devices, max session supported / devices are increased.  Max default session / device will be 10 instead of 4 in NW 7.6.1.  Dedup ratio will not be affected since it is SN side dedup for boost device.  I remember if AFTD is used, set the max session to 1 per device in 7.6. 

With NW 7.6.3, multiplexing is supported for VTL in DataDomain. 

Keep in mind as mentioned in the older article, NW 7.6.3 does not support DDOS 4.9.  If you plan to upgrade from NetWorker 7.6.1 to 7.6.2, make sure you go through the DataDomain Integration guide for NetWorker 7.6.2.  My plan is to stage off the saveset from old DD devices after migration to the new one generated in NW 7.6.2.  This seems to be the simplest option. 

Once migration completed, a case will be open with DataDomain to remove the old unused LSU.  You cannot delete old LSU from NetWorker / DataDomain GUI.  Do not delete LSU that contain data. 

Data Domain ifgroup part III

We try to config ifgroup with NetWorker 7.6.1, and it fails to work as expected.  For ex, if I setup ifgroup with 2 dual 10GbE NICs, and unplug a cable.  Sometimes, I don't see the backup session failovers to the other 3 working NIC.    If I set up failover on the NICs of DataDomain, I don't have any issue as mentioned in my earlier post.  Contact support and the suggestion is to upgrade to NetWorker to 7.6.2 and the DDOS to 5.0.  I am happy with NetWorker 7.6.1 and DDOS 4.9.x for now.  Will decide when to upgrade in the future.  Currently NIC failover on DataDomain is good enough!

DataDomain link aggregation 10GbE part II

After reviewing DDOS 4.9 Initial Config Guide, link aggregation on 10GbE is not supported.  DDOS 4.9 only supports link aggregation on 10GbE for 1 GbE.  This is confirmed by support as well.

"The 10 Gb-to-10 Gb interface does not support link aggregation. Only 1 GbE ports are supported."

Only failover will be supported on 10GbE for DDOS 4.9 and 4.8.  However, do consider the following before configuring failover.

• 10 GbE copper-to-10 GbE copper ports across Intel NICs can be
combined for failover (but not for link aggregation).
• 10 GbE optical-to-10 GbE optical ports can be combined for
failover (but not for link aggregation).
• 10 GbE failover across Intel NICs is supported.

Error labeling new boost device on DataDomain

NetWorker 7.6.3 is out and I try to install the new code on my test VADP proxy.  When I attempt to label a new media for my new boost device,  I get the following error message.

nsrd rd=networkerSN:datadomain_DD0304 mount operation failed: Connecting to 'datadomain' failed ([5028] rpc connection failure).

From experience, this is DNS and connectivity related issue.  Check DNS records and even add all the entries to host file.  It still return the same error.  Finally, uninstall NetWorker 7.6.3 and install NetWorker 7.6.2 back to the test box, everything works fine.

Check release notes and find out NetWorker 7.6.3 requires DDOS running at 5.0 or higher if you are using DDBoost.

Only DDOS versions 5.0.x and 5.1.x are supported with DD Boost 2.4

Currently, DDOS is running at 4.9.2.x and I don't plan to upgrade to DDOS 5.0 any time soon.  Only other option is to use AFTD.

NetWorker cloning for DataDomain boost device

DataDomain boost is supported in NetWorker 7.6.1 or above.  With clone from boost to boost devices, it is no longer a one to one ratio.  You can have more than one read session from the same boost NetWorker readonly device.  Also, multiple clone jobs can write to the same boost device at the same time.  Of course, it is not recommended to allow more than 4 sessions at the same time per boost device.

At the same time, it only sends the delta to the clone destination (given the destination is boost device).  This shorten the time for cloning after backup.

If the read or write media are not boost device, it should fall back to the one to one ratio (legacy way).

However, be very careful if your storage node is a very busy storage node, for example, SQL cluster.  Because dedup happens on the storage node (storage side dedup), this can cause heavy CPU usage.  So, best option is to config your SQL cluster as dedicated storage node with AFTD.

DD880 with 10Gb ethernet

If you plan to use 10GB NIC on your DD880 with twinax calbe, make sure you are using 7 ft.  Don't use 10 ft twinax cable because the card will not respond and only reboot of DD880 can clear it (sorry, it works like this by design and no workaround).  This can be found in Intel website.

http://www.intel.com/support/network/adapter/pro100/sb/CS-030612.htm

What if you must use longer cables?   Intel Ethernet SFP+Optics will be the anwser.  Cable length depends on the speed, cable specifications, and which optical module is used. Cable Lengths for Intel Ethernet SFP+ Optics provides the operating range in meters for optical cables used with Intel Ethernet SFP+ Optics.

http://www.intel.com/support/network/adapter/x520server/sb/CS-031094.htm

What are the SFP+ direct attach cable requirements for the Intel Ethernet Server Adapter X520 Series?
A: Any SFP+ passive or active limiting direct attach copper cable that comply with the SFF-8431 v4.1 and SFF-8472 v10.4 specifications Maximum cable length for passive cables is 7 meters Support for active cables requires Intel Network Connections software version 15.3 or later