Symantec Connect - Backup and Archiving - Blog Entries

What does mean each parameter in bpsetconfig/bpgetconfig?

Carmela Toriyama — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:54:49 +0000

Hello everybody:

When you create or consult an exclude/include list, it is neccesary to know what means all the parameters in these commands for the most efficient exclude/include list creation or search:

1.- These commands is used too for edit, remotly, the server's bp.conf file, CAUTION¡¡

2.- For include/exclude list, it's " -i | -e " options in both parameters.

3.- Many policies that contains the same client is an usual configuration, so:

- Identify in which policies is the client/server => to refers each one in the bpsetconfig/bpgetconfig commands, use " -c " option

* This option refers each entry in the "class" directory used to list all the policies that exists in the NetBackup configuration

(/usr/openv/netbackup/db/class).

3.1.- A policy uses to contains some schedules, so:

- Study if there are various schedules in the policies listed in 3; => to refers each one in the bpsetconfig/bpgetconfig commands, use

"-s " option, come before the policy in wich the schedule exists, with " -c " option. (Look 3.-)

An example:

For create an exclude list wich apply for all client's backups:

bpsetconfig -h host -e excludeGeneral.txt

Look in the host's /usr/openv/netbackup directory, it appears a exclude list named "excludeGeneral" wich listst he excludeGeneral.txt's contents

ls -l /usr/openv/netbackup

excludeGeneral

For create an exclude list wich is applied only for the client's backups runs by the policy "Policy":

bpsetconfig -h host -e excludePol.txt -c Policy

Look in the host's /usr/openv/netbackup directory, it appears a exclude list named "excludePol.Policy" wich lists the excludePol.txt's contents

ls -l /usr/openv/netbackup

excludePol.Policy

Regards.

Exchange 2010 SP2 RU1 - whitespace reclamation for all

KarlW — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:57:53 +0000

Hi All,

As Rob Wilcox pointed out Exchange 2010 SP2 Update Rollup 1 has been released by the Exchange team (click here for Rob's post). Included in this update is the fix to ensure deleted space is reclaimed.

The following Microsoft KB article describes the issue that has been fixed.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2621266

The update has been tested and whitespace reclamation is working as per my previous blog (see here).

Customers currently running the Interim update...

Remove the interim update
Upgrade to Exchange 2010 SP2 (this involves a schema change so you will need to do a /PrepareAD).
Install Exchange 2010 SP2 Update Rollup 1 on your Mailbox servers.

Try and keep the time between installing SP2 and then Update Rollup 1 to a minimum as this creates a window for the issue to arise again.

Customers currently running Exchange 2010 SP2 or without the Interim update...

Upgrade to Exchange 2010 SP2 if you haven't already (this involves a schema change so you will need to do a /PrepareAD).
Install Exchange 2010 SP2 Update Rollup 1 on your Mailbox servers.
Consider creating new mailbox databases to host journaling and user mailboxes. Why do this? The fix does not reclaim any previous deleted space - therefore by moving the mailboxes to a new DB you can then delete the old DBs and reclaim the maximum amount of disk space.
Continue to monitor the available new mailbox space (get-mailboxdatabase -status | ft Name, AvailableNewMailboxSpace)
Check and revise your shortcut deletion strategy to potentially recover further space.

Regards

Karl

Update Rollup 1 for Exchange 2010 Service Pack 2

Rob Wilcox — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:10:18 +0000

Last night I saw that Update Rollup 1 for Exchange 2010 Service Pack 2 has been released. Take a look at the information on it here. You can download it here.

It is just under 30 Mb in size.

It is advisable to test this in your own test environment before deploying it.

EV functionality in OWA in different browsers

Ralfeus — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:51:32 +0000

Today I was playing with EV 9 + Exchange 2010. I have found out I have no EV functionality in OWA. While checking EV OWA log at Client Access server I've found such entry:

[EVContext::IsValidBrowser] Returning: False

I tried then several browsers: IE 9, Firefox 9, Aurora (Firefox 11), Chrome 16.0.912.77. So, only IE 9 gave expected result.

Later I've checked Compatibility Chart and ensured only IE 7, 8 and 9 are supported. However I don't understand why EV cares about browser used by OWA if all presentation (e.g. browser dependent layer) is implemented by OWA

NBU 7.5 is now Available

Tmullen — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:38:44 +0000

The Symantec NetBackup™ Platform with V-Ray technology simplifies and unifies the protection of your informationdriven enterprise by automating advanced technologies and standardizing operations across applications, platforms, and virtual and physical environments. NetBackup with V-Ray
provides patented visibility into virtual machines and applications across physical and virtual servers, and optimizes deduplication data streams for fast and efficient backup and recovery.

Hawaii Security & Compliance User Group

Replies to Archived Items - Again

Rob Wilcox — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:19:49 +0000

A colleague reminded me of an old issue. It’s actually quite a rare Outlook setting, I would say, and it’s not one that I use. Some people use it and love it. The setting is :

“In folders other than the inbox, save replies with original message”

I wrote about an issue quite some time ago where this didn’t work with the Enterprise Vault 9.x series of Outlook Add-ins:

http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/replies-archived-items

I’ve just been looking at this in the upcoming 10.0.1 Client, and the good news is that it is fixed again.

Build up of registry entries on Enterprise Vault Server

Rob Wilcox — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:11:13 +0000

This issue originally came up in early 2010, but I was reminded about it the other day when a colleague asked whether the issue still existed or not. I looked back over my blogs and discovered I didn’t write about it the first time around, so … here goes!

This issue only exists with Outlook 2007 on the Enterprise Vault server. It does not exist when Outlook 2003 is installed. I do not know about Outlook 2010 – and that is currently not supported anyway (on the EV server).

With Outlook 2007 installed, if PST migrations are done and/or Vault Cache is enabled for end users then a large number of entries may build up in the registry under the following location:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Catalog

The entries will look something like this:

As you can see from that screenshot I’m getting a build up of references to the VCBuilds folder on disk, where temporary files are located as built by the server ready for end-user machines to download. These are the Vault Cache .DB files.

The problem is that these entries are added to the registry key, but never cleared up by Outlook, or Windows. They’re added to support Windows Search. Whilst this isn’t something that we, from an Enterprise Vault perspective, want to have happen on the EV sever, the fact that Outlook 2007 is used leads to this happening inevitably.

There is a way around it, and future work in this area might mean that Enterprise Vault cleans things up.

The way around it is documented in a Symantec technote :

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH128684

This is not the only location in the registry that the workaround can be added, but that’s the one which has chosen to be documented. i.e. :

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search\Preferences

PreventIndexingOutlook

DWORD : 1

(I had to create the Windows Search, and Preferences keys)

In addition, it should be noted that on 64 bit machines that registry key should be in:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search\Preferences

EV on VMWare

Rob Wilcox — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:14:04 +0000

For people that haven’t seen it, take a look at the awesome whitepaper on running Enterprise Vault on VMWare from the Symantec TFE Team.

Announcing the Latest Edition of Symantec NetBackup 7.5!

Swathi Turlapaty — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:39:40 +0000

Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced the latest edition of Symantec NetBackup 7.5 to help enterprise organizations overcome their data protection challenges. The current approach to backup modernization offered by other vendors is broken. Data growth has been exponential while backup performance gains thus far have been incremental. At the same time, backup teams are frustrated with missed backup windows and non-integrated solutions for physical and virtual backups, deduplication and snapshots. Ultimately, organizations face a situation where recovery, the end goal of why backups exist, is complex and unnecessarily expensive.

Symantec is delivering a new approach to data protection and introducing NetBackup 7.5 with new options, including NetBackup Accelerator to speed backups by up to 100 times while delivering “Instant Full Recovery” capability, NetBackup Replication Director to integrate NetApp® Snapshots™ with backup, and NetBackup Search to allow simple search and recovery of backup data and selective legal hold. Unlike other backup technology that relies on the IT team to integrate multiple disparate backup solutions, NetBackup is available as a single integrated appliance for the data center, remote office and virtual environments, providing customers with simplified deployment and operations.

Read more detailed blog post: Taking the Pain out of Backup:

Symantec is also announcing an expanded partnership with NetApp to integrate with NetBackup Replication Director, enabling customers to unify Snapshot and backup management, and remove the cost and risk associated with multiple backup and recovery tools. Replication Director enables organizations to reduce costs and complexity by recovering and managing backup and replicated Snapshots from a single, NetBackup management console.

Benefits

NetBackup 7.5 will deliver the following benefits:

Break the Backup Window with 100 Times Faster Backups: According to a recent Symantec survey of 1,425 enterprises, 72 percent of respondents stated that they would switch backup products if backup speeds doubled. NetBackup Accelerator delivers 100 times faster backup with “Instant Full Recovery” through a single click in NetBackup’s management console. This gives backup administrators the speed of incremental backups with the benefits of a full backup without the overhead and cost at recovery time.
Unify Snapshots and Backup: NetBackup 7.5 includes NetBackup Replication Director to centralize management and speed the recovery of hundreds of replicated Snapshots. Replication Director leverages NetBackup’s 10 years of experience with snapshots and the advanced API in Symantec’s popular OpenStorage (OST) interface that can integrate with storage-efficient NetApp Snapshots and replication (SnapVault® and SnapMirror®) for faster backup and recovery. Replication Director gives organizations the speed of Snapshots with the centralized management and recovery capabilities of NetBackup.
Fight Infinite Retention: Many businesses have tremendous legal risk and cost exposure resulting from over retention of backup tapes. NetBackup Search ends infinite retention by helping organizations identify what information to archive and what to delete based on relevance to legal discovery or compliance cases. This reduces the time and cost IT spends on eDiscovery and eliminates the need to keep backups forever.
One Product for Any Recovery: Survey results showed that the average enterprise is running seven different backup solutions, which creates operational complexity. Symantec NetBackup is the single point of control for backup, deduplication and recovery whether from tape, disk, virtual machines, physical machines or cloud. Symantec is also the only vendor to integrate all of these solutions on a single NetBackup appliance. To reduce capital expenses NetBackup has added support for cloud storage from AT&T, Amazon Web Services and Rackspace, in addition to its existing partnership with Nirvanix. Enhanced WAN optimization and encryption in NetBackup enable these partners to deliver cloud storage for backup as a cost effective alternative to tape.
Unite Virtual and Physical with V-Ray: NetBackup 7.5 powered by Symantec V-Ray offers X-Ray like visibility into VMware VMDK files and Hyper-V VHD files to deliver true granular recovery without copying or mounting the data. Patent-pending V-Ray technology also enables deduplication across physical and virtual environments from a single solution. NetBackup’s Virtual Machine Intelligent Policy (VIP) automatically detects and protects new, moved or cloned virtual machines and load balances backups for optimum performance.
Stop Putting Tapes on Trucks: NetBackup 7.5 simplifies disaster recovery by providing Auto Image Replication (AIR). AIR automates backup and replication between multiple NetBackup domains or locations and allows customers to eliminate volumes of redundant data and prioritize files that are sent over the network for disaster recovery purposes. AIR also removes the need to rely on physical movement of backup images via tape and eliminates the risk of disaster recovery not being possible due to human error. This offers a significant advantage over traditional tape-based off-site storage in which backups must be duplicated to tapes that are then shipped to the disaster recovery site, a time consuming and costly activity with the added risk that tapes could be lost or stolen in transit.

Availability

Symantec NetBackup 7.5 will be generally available for purchase in spring 2012 through Symantec’s worldwide network of value-added authorized resellers, distributors and systems integrators or directly.

Announcing the Latest Edition of Symantec Backup Exec 2012!

Swathi Turlapaty — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:33:39 +0000

Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced Backup Exec 2012 to help users eliminate complexity, perform backups in 100 percent virtualized environments and deliver instantaneous and cloud-based recovery through a single solution. As part of the new release, Symantec transformed Backup Exec’s user interface and configurability to provide a significantly simpler customer experience. Symantec is also expanding its leading technology to small businesses with Backup Exec Small Business Edition and Backup Exec.cloud, enabling growing organizations to back up their information in three simple steps in less than 10 minutes. Read this BLOG to learn more about what's new in Backup Exec 2012.

Backup Exec Portfolio Now Includes:

Backup Exec V-Ray Edition: Backup Exec V-Ray Edition will give virtualization architects the option of having industry leading Backup Exec technology protect their 100 percent virtualized environment and the option to easily extend protection to physical environments, if needed, without having to buy a separate solution.
Backup Exec Small Business Edition: In three simple steps, Backup Exec 2012 Small Business Edition will install and configure backups so small businesses with limited IT experience can protect their data with ease. Backup Exec Small Business Edition will bundle Symantec’s data and system recovery technology into one affordable solution with a single license that’s designed specifically for businesses with up to three servers.
Backup Exec.cloud: As a stand-alone solution, Backup Exec.cloud provides small businesses with simple off-premise data protection through a fully secure cloud-based service that is easy to setup, manage and configure. Cloud backup is ideal for a small office with no IT staff or remote or mobile offices that need a set-it-and forget-it backup strategy.
Backup Exec 3600 appliance: The Backup Exec 3600 appliance is an all-in-one, affordable data protection solution pre-packaged with Backup Exec and 5.5 TB of useable disk storage (available in North America only). Protects an unlimited number of servers and applications, whether physical or virtual, while reducing the backup window, storage and management costs.

Benefits

Backup Exec 2012 will deliver the following benefits:

Eliminate Backup Complexity with a New Administration Console: A newly redesigned administration console will provide users with fast, concise management, simplified experience, and monitoring capabilities. The new user interface will also automatically configure the most common and successful policies and settings, drawn both from Symantec’s many years of experience and from the Backup Exec community, to allow for quick configuration of systems and protection of data and applications with minimal effort.
Unite Virtual and Physical: Powered by Symantec V-Ray technology, Backup Exec 2012 enables visibility across both virtual and physical environments for fast and efficient backup and recovery while eliminating the need for specialized point products. Backup Exec 2012 will also provide true single file recovery, deduplication and backup management for VMware, Hyper-V or physical servers in a single product enabling significant storage and management savings.
Integrated Disaster Recovery: With Backup Exec’s integrated bare metal and “no hardware disaster recovery,” organizations will be able to easily recover a failed system to a physical server, or to a Hyper-V or VMware guest. Backup Exec’s powerful and patented recovery capabilities enable granular restore of entire virtual machines, single files, Active Directory objects, Exchange Emails, or SharePoint Documents from any single-pass physical, VMware or Hyper-V backup.
Recovery in the Cloud: As part of the continued expansion into cloud technologies, Symantec will add Backup Exec Cloud DR Option powered by Doyenz to enable customers to leverage cloud Recovery as a Service (RaaS) for planned and unplanned system recovery in the cloud. Focused on Backup Exec customers, the service will initially be available in the United States and will focus on rapid recovery for VMware environments.

Availability

Symantec Backup Exec 2012 and Backup Exec Cloud DR option powered by Doyenz will be generally available for purchase in spring 2012 through Symantec’s worldwide network of value-added authorized resellers, distributors and systems integrators or directly. Backup Exec.cloud is a service that was recently made available in the United States and Canada, and is now available in Western Europe.