Netbackup 5.0 Windows cluster migration

If you are in the same boat as me, Netbackup 5.0 Windows Master Server running on old hardware, you will need to migrate to new hardware before you should upgrade to the latest, in this case Netbackup 6.5.1, version. Here is how I performed the migration relatively painlessly.

First you need the new cluster, see my previous post about installing Netbackup offline. I highly recommend keeping the same Master Server name. If you have a cluster like me, you can have a new cluster name and ip but the virtual Master Server name and ip should remain the same. That is where installing Netbackup offline makes sense. Just use a cheap switch and put in host file entries for everything after you build the cluster online. Make sure your new cluster has every single software needed, I forgot Perl and some modules for Perl on mine. You should work with Symantec support on running NBCC to ensure no catalog issues before migration.

Step 1: Old cluster - Do a catalog backup after you stop all running backups.



Step 2: Old cluster - Shut off Master Server Virtual IP, this should cause Netbackup to go offline as well. Also shut off any addons, like NBAR or Aptare. Leave the shared disk running. Kill any Netbackup processes that may still be running.

Step 3: New cluster - Shut off all Netbackup services including the virtual name and IP, leave the shared disk running.

Step 4: Old cluster - Copy various databases and custom scripts to the new server over the network, make sure you turn off virus scanner as it can slow it down significantly. You need to know which ones to copy, basically your shared data which are the image database and volmgr database. You can see which ones exactly in your environment if you look in your catalog backup setup. You only need the stuff from your master server and nothing from the media server. An alternate option, and one that Symantec tells you to do, is to recover from a catalog backup. I've not had good luck with it, as it doesn't put everything in the right place, even if I had setup the new cluster exactly the same. Of course, if you didn't keep the directory structure the same, it won't be in the right place. Copying manually is just much faster and easier since you don't have to run a restore from command line, know which tape you need, blah blah. Since this isn't a disaster recovery scenario, just copy the data over.

Step 5: New cluster - bring all Netbackup services up, the only one that goes offline should be the device manager if you have a dedicated Master Server with no attached storage or tape drives.

Step 6: New cluster - Go into "Host Properties" in the Netbackup Administration Console, Master Server, and double click your Master Server. Put all your settings back as they were registry settings before, you did write them down right? You will need a restart once you make that change.

Step 7: New cluster - Check if your scratch pool is still there, mine was still there but not marked as a scratch pool, jobs failed when they ran out of tape. I guess that was some sort of registry setting to not get transferred over. Simply check the box marked Scratch pool and you are set.

Step 8: New cluster - Go into your cluster administrator and setup registry replication. You will want the SOFTWARE\Veritas keys replicated as that is all your Master Server settings. That way when you failover, your 2nd node will have all the right settings.

Step 9: New cluster - Double check host file entries, server list and any custom scripts you may have. At this point, Netbackup should be up and running and since you kept the same Master Server name you will be able to run backups once again.

That was about it, hope your migration goes smoothly. If I saved you thousands in consulting fees, please send a check to .....

I should have some experiences on the Netbackup 6.5.1 Windows Cluster upgrade in 2-3 weeks time, hope that goes smoothly as well.