I had the same issue - and someone told me there was a fix I had to install for it to work.

Why not "Windows" ?   Standard policy type normally for unix clients. 

Create bpbkar log on the problematic clients and post the log for one of them (as attachment).

I agree with Bill - why Standard policy type?

Could you clarify your setup please - as wrobbins says you policy type is Standard and yet you talk about deleting registry entries?

If you clients are Windows based then the policy type should be Windows

Depending on your NetBackup version there is a fix for ignored exclusions:

7.0.1 Clustered Shared Drives : http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH144007
7.0.1 Windows 2008: http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH150101

You also need to ensure that you do not have more than one exclude list at play (so one for all policies, all schedule and another for a specific policy) as it will only take the onformation from one of them

Hope this helps

Few questions directed at everyone.

I hardly doubt the policy type has anything to do with the issue. 99% of the other PC's are also using this policy type without issue. Most of which are INCLUDED in the same policy as the PC's that are ignoring the exclude list.

I will however, move them all to a "windows" policy type since this seems to be the best practice.

I am running 7.0.0 so it appears that the above patches do not apply to me. Also, if a patch was required, wouldn't this issue affect all PC's, not just some?

Now, regarding more than one exclusion list in play. Where can I find other exclusions? I only see this client listed once in all of the policies. I've been setting these exclusions/inclusions, via "host properties -> client" double clicking the client and adding the exclusions and exclusions. They are all listed under "All schedules" and "all policies"

I also checked to make sure the IP address wasn't listed twice on NFS with two different aliases

I will post a bpbkar log up tonight as the only ones I have available are from saturday (when no PC backups take place)

Ok so here are two bpbkar logs

Good client and bad client

Interesting - both are 6.5GA so even worse than we thought!

In the "good" one the logs says:

Excluded: C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\mapisvc.inf

12:53:47.670 PM: [124.5000] <2> tar_base::V_vTarMsgW: INF - Reincluded: C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\mapisvc.inf

Which suggests you have exclude and include lists - so the exclude list is being overridden

The "bad one says:

UpdateExludeListWithVHD begin

4:08:13.452 PM: [5340.3088] <2> tar_base::V_vTarMsgW: TRV - object not found for file system backup: C:\Bid Sols Rec'd

4:08:13.478 PM: [5340.3088] <4> dos_backup::tfs_startdir: INF - Stopping scan for Symbolic Link: C:\Users\All Users

4:08:13.483 PM: [5340.3088] <2> ov_log::V_GlobalLogEx: INF - file_access (constructor): 0 non-NTFS volumes

4:08:19.699 PM: [5340.3088] <4> dos_backup::tfs_startdir: INF - Stopping scan for Directory Junction: C:\Users\Chris Martin\AppData\Local\Application Data

Which suggests the selection list is not correct but suggests no exclusions at all

So!!!...

1. Upgrade when possible

2. Please post the registry key (in text format) for both clients - just HKLM\Software\veritas\netbackup\currentversion\config\

Thanks

Are you saying it thinks the client version is 6.5? I personally have installed 7.0 on each of the affected PC's.

as far as that one directory not being found on "Bad client", that is ok. Some PC's in that policy have that directory, the ones that don't simply skip over it.

The exclusion/inclusion may seem a bit confusing, but I know it's right. Since we don't know what the "usernames" are on each PC this is how we implement our backup selection (since windows doesn't like wildcards for directories in the backup selection)

Backup Selection:

c:\users\* (include all files in users)

Exclude:

c:\users\* (exclude all files in users)

Include:

c:\users\*\pathtofileswewant (but include these specific files)

Ah yes! I remember that exclude / include now!

But yes - the first line of both logs says:

BPBKAR NetBackup Backup/Archive 6.5GA [Jan 4 2010] Copyright 1993 - 2007 VERITAS Software Corporation All Rights Reserved.

The exclude list issue exists at all versions back to 6.5 so it could be a factor.

So could you give us a screen shot or extract of the registry for the good and bad client so that we can see exactly what the settings are

Could you also take a look under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\BackupRestore\FilesNotToBackup

to see what entries are there

Failing spotting anything there we would need the backup running again with the logging level turned right up to see if it tells us a little more

I have just spotted one other difference between the good and the bad - the good one has:

12:53:34.660 PM: [124.5000] <4> dos_backup::V_PreProcessing: INF - backup privileges enabled, previous = 0

but the bad one does not - almost like a rights issue somewhere - do you use an account for the NetBackup Client Service?

Thanks

Also, I found this pretty intersting too

Under host properties, instead of going to client, i poked around in master server and checked those client settings. Interestingly enough I found this list... There are only a handful of clients listed here, not sure why or how they ended up here, but some of them in this list are problem clients... but not all such as mis3119. What does this setting do?

By default it runs as local system - that is the only place to change any access rights

Are they really Vista? Only Enterprise and Ultimate are supported at V7.

Both report being at 6.5GA from the provided logs so maybe the bpbkar executable has not upgraded or names have changed any the logs / backups actually relate to different clients?

The client attributes section is just used to control restore browse options, connection options and open file backup options - should not affect the exclude lists

If you look in the clients \netbackup\bin\ directory and right click bpbkar32.exe and check out its properties what version does it say it is?

And what does the \netbackup\version.txt say it is?

When right clicking on bpbkar32.exe the file version is 7.0.2010.104 and the product version is 7.0

version.txt:

HARDWARE Windows x64
VERSION NetBackup 7.0
RELEASEDATE Mon Jan  4 19:56:20 CST 2010
BUILDNUMBER 20100104

... of hostname resolution, that we're dealing with the same machines that NetBackup is talking to? 

Ok so here are the two registry files. I noticed the working PC has 2 more fields than the one that isn't

Perhaps it is the alias change / IP change that is causing the issue and things are getting cached causing you issues.

If all of these PCs are DHCP and you have a short lease then maybe this is cuasing things to go wrong - although I dont see why ot should affect the exclude lists, but it could cause the wrong PC to be backed up.

You may need to set a scheduled task on the Master and Media Servers to run:

bpclntcmd -clear_host_cache

As by default NetBackup expects all clients (in general servers) to have fixed IP addresses and so caches it and uses that for the next backup to save the time on client resolution.

Just as a test you could run this on the Master and Media Servers and try the backups again - but please set level 5 debug on the "bad" client so that we can see what the bpbkar log says.

Ok - sorry about that - in that case you may be OK as earlier versions did not cache it for very long - maybe only a couple of hours.

If you have set it at the client itself to level 5 then if you view it from the Master via its Host Properties and it does not already say it is set to 5 then you are not looking at the same client!

OK - Sorry

Open the BAR GUI on the client and select File - NetBackup Client Properties

On the Troubleshooting tab select general level 2 and verbose level 5

When you then connect via the Client Host Properties - Logging tab you should see global set to 5

I am guessing that you are accessing it from a Remote Admin Console?

If so can you access the Servers tab of the good client?

If you can add your PC name to its servers list, save and close and then re-open them.

Here are the two level 5 logs

Some things I've noticed:

Good Client:
5:52:25.549 PM: [6108.5720] <4> ncfLogConfiguration: INF - Process architecture: 9, Page size: 4096, Process type: 4, Process level: 8664, Processor revision: 6

Bad Client:
5:43:50.812 PM: [2480.2280] <4> ncfLogConfiguration: INF - Process architecture: 0, Page size: 4096, Process type: 2, Process level: 586, Processor revision: 6

Good Client:
5:52:25.701 PM: [6108.5720] <4> ImpersonatePlatform::logImpersonation: INF - Environment variable asl.log=Destination=file

Bad Client:

Good Client:

Bad Client:
INFORMATIONAL: REG_MULTI_SZ registry value "(null)\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BackupRestore\FilesNotToSnapshot" lacks proper termination

Good Client:
5:52:33.757 PM: [6108.5720] <4> tar_backup_tfi::UpdateExcludeListWithVHD: INF - UpdateExludeListWithVHD begin
5:52:34.151 PM: [6108.5720] <2> tar_base::V_vTarMsgW: INF - Estimate:-1 -1
5:52:34.151 PM: [6108.5720] <4> dos_backup::tfs_network_drive_check: DAT - GetDriveType(C:\) returned 3
5:52:34.151 PM: [6108.5720] <4> tar_base::V_vTarMsgW: INF - tar message received from dos_backup::tfs_scannext

Bad Client:
5:43:55.326 PM: [2480.2280] <4> tar_backup_tfi::backup_finishfile_state: INF - catalog messtar_backup_tfi::UpdateExcludeListWithVHD: INF - UpdateExludeListWithVHD begin
5:43:55.226 PM: [2480.2280] <2> tar_base::V_vTarMsgW: INF - Estimate:-1 -1
5:43:55.226 PM: [2480.2280] <4> dos_backup::tfs_network_drive_check: DAT - GetDriveType(C:\) returned 3
5:43:55.250 PM: [2480.2280] <2> tar_backup_tfi::backup_startfile_state: TAR - Backup: C:
5:43:55.250 PM: [2480.2280] <2> tar_backup_tfi::backup_startfile_state: TAR - writing file 0 'C:'
5:43:55.284 PM: [2480.2280] <4> dos_backup::tfs_readopen: INF - NT Security information obtained for: 'C:'

Ok so, I noticed the NAME of the client computer shares the same name as some others (for reasons that weren't fully explained to me). Anyways, I changed the computers name to match it's alias in the master servers host file.... AND IT WORKED! Only problem is, They want the name changed back before the end of the night. How could the computers name cause this type of issue?

Both of the logs you posted today said 6.5 GA again - and yet a previous one said 7 and before that it said 6.5

As we have suggested during this thread it very much looks like these backups are not actually backing up the intended clients - and even when you connect to them to get the logs that may also be the wrong client (although it is the one being backed up!)

As the show says - "Confused - you will be!" (or am i showing my age? - anyone remeber Soap?)

And now we have hosts file entries on the Master Server to contend with as well - do all of your PCs have fixed IP addresses? If not then it really looks like there is no certainty as to what you have backed up when.

If you look through the logs it does show by name who's PC is backed up each ti,e so perhaps that is a clue

If you use hosts files on the Master / Media Servers then the time it takes to clear the cache or running the bpclntcmd -clear_host_cache would make no difference .... on that point I have just realised that you tried that command and it didnt work - maybe as some are on 6.5?

Anyway - at this point it does look like things are resolved and just needs all host file entires, IP addresses, PC names and their associated NetBAckup client names checking and you should be fine!

Good luck and hope we have steared you in the right direction

All of the log files say 6.5. I HAVE SAID that it's 7.0. For some reason, bpbkar32.exe hasn't been updated with the release of 7.0.

Either way, I know for a fact that this is the PC that is being backed up. I've tested it by placing marker files on the affected PC and seeing if it exists when trying to restore it from that client and it does.

However, I do not know why netbackup ignores the exclude list if the PC name is not the same as the Master Server host Alias.  It is a little dumb that the PC name would cause problems for an exclude list. I wish this did solve my problem, since 3 or 4 PC's all have the same name and have to have the same name. I cannot have the same alias pointing to 4 different IP's.

So on those PCs is the NetBackup Client name the same as the actual PC name?

It may be that causing the issue rather than how the Master Server sees it

Mark:

Yes, both the PC name and client name were set to ql2svr. I then changed it to mis3409 to match the host list, but neither work. It's almost as if, the host name and the PC name need to be the same.

wr:

"Yes, I deliberatly loaded test jpeg, mp3, and txt files onto the affected machines and checked for their existanace in the catalog."

"Either way, I know for a fact that this is the PC that is being backed up. I've tested it by placing marker files on the affected PC and seeing if it exists when trying to restore it from that client and it does."