Best practices: NetBackup SAN Client

Article:HOWTO56052

Created: 2011-07-25

Updated: 2012-01-24

Article URL http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO56052

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Best practices: NetBackup SAN Client

The NetBackup SAN Client feature is designed for a computer that has the following characteristics:

Contains critical data that requires high bandwidth for backups
Is not a candidate for converting to a media server

A SAN Client performs a fast backup over a Fibre Channel SAN to a media server. Media servers that have been enabled for SAN Client backups are called Fibre Transport Media Servers.

Note:

The FlashBackup option should not be used with SAN Clients. Restores of FlashBackup backups use the LAN path rather than the SAN path from media server to the client. The LAN may not be fast enough to handle a full volume (raw partition) restore of a FlashBackup backup.

A Symantec technote contains information on SAN Client performance parameters and best practices:

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH54778

The main point of the technote is the following: that effective use of a SAN Client depends on the proper configuration of the correct hardware. (Refer to the technote for in-depth details.)

In brief, the technote contains the following information:

A list of the HBAs that NetBackup supports.
Further information is available on supported hardware.
See the NetBackup 7.x hardware compatibility list:
http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH76495
Tips on how to deploy a Fibre Channel SAN between the SAN Client and the Fibre Transport Media Server.
A list of supported operating systems and HBAs for the Fibre Transport Media Server. Also a list of tuning parameters that affect the media server performance.
A similar list of supported operating systems and tuning parameters for the SAN Client.
A description of recommended architectures as a set of best practices
The document describes the following best practices:
- To make best use of high-speed disk storage, or to manage a pool of SAN Clients for maximum backup speed: dedicate Fibre Transport Media Servers for SAN Client backup only. Do not share media servers for LAN-based backups.
- For a more cost-effective use of media servers, Fibre Transport Media Servers can be shared for both SAN Client and LAN-based backups.
- Use multiple data streams for higher data transfer speed from the SAN Client to the Fibre Transport Media Server. Multiple data streams can be combined with multiple HBA ports on the Fibre Transport Media Server. The maximum number of simultaneous connections to the Fibre Transport Media Server is 32.

Further information is available on SAN Client.

See the NetBackup SAN Client and Fibre Transport Troubleshooting Guide:

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH51454

See the following for related information on network data transfer rates:

See How to calculate the required data transfer rate for your backups.

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Article URL http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO56052

Best practices: NetBackup SAN Client

Best practices: NetBackup SAN Client

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