The example I’m going to give here is for an environment that is already configured but has storage controllers that are not configured as NAS iData Agents for backup or any volumes on those controllers. In this environment the controller I’m enabling backups on is the secondary storage tier which is already a snapvault destination so it is in the Array Manager for SnapProtect. This environment requires new NetApp aggregates to be added as resource pools as new volumes and data have been assigned to the aggregates. The process involves working with SnapProtect, NetApp Management Console (DFM) and the NetApp storage controllers.
Enable backups on a controller within SnapProtect:
Enable Accounts
Before you begin log onto the controller and ensure the login account you require has access to the controller. To do this open a SSH session to the controller and use the following command:
#useradmin user list
If the account used by SnapProtect doesn’t exist then you’ll need to add it as an administrator. Below is a snapshot from a controller where it is added and also a controller where it’s not.
You can add the account via the command line or via the web console. In this instance I added the account via the console. In System Manager go to Configuration -> Local Users and Groups -> Users and click Create. Enter the required details and click Create.
Once completed you can re-run the command from the CLI to ensure that the account appears
Enable the client for backups
Go to Client Computer and select the controller you wish to enable backups from.
Right click and select Properties.
Enable the backup. Rename the default settings via the properties if you wish. Also, on the general tab enter the account details for the required service account. This is normally an AD account
Create the Resource Pools if you are going to be using new aggregates
Go to NetApp Management Console and create the resource pools for the aggregrates. Log onto the server running onCommand and launch the NetApp Management Console.
Go to Data -> Resource Pools and click on Add. Now enter a name for the resource pool
Click next and select the aggregate that’ll be used by the pool.
Click Next. Enter a label for the resource and click Next
Deselect the aggregate overcommitted thresholds and click Next
Confirm the settings and click Finish
Afterwards in SnapProtect, go into the properties for an existing snapvault/snapmirror and verify that the resource pools appear in the provisioning tab.
Create new storage policy
Next, create a Storage Policy to take snapshots of the volume.
Enter a policy name and click Next
Enter the library and click next
Enter a media agent and click Next
Enter the retention and click next
Select the OCUM server and click Next (selected by default)
Review the policy and click Finish
Create a Primary Snapshot policy
Right-click on the Primary(Snap) policy that was created by default. Enter 1. Primary (Snapshot) as the name and check the retention periods are as required
Select the Primary (Classic) policy and edit it so that the name is set to UNUSED Primary (Classic)
Create an Auxillary Copy policy
Next right-click on the policy name and select Create a new Snapshot Copy.
Enter the name as 2. Aux Copy Remote with Snapvault or Snapmirror within the parenthesis depending on what job type it is. Select Vault for Snapvault and Mirror for Snapmirror. Select the library also. If it’s a vault then Selective Copy will be enabled by default
Enable the retention based on the backup policies
Select the Copy Policy to have Primary (Snapshot) as the Source Copy. If this is a 3-chain backup such as Primary -> Snapvault -> Snapmirror then for the Snapmirror Aux Copy you would set the source copy to be Aux Copy Local (Snapvault). As this is only a Primary -> Snapvault the source copy is set to Primary
Set the Aux Copy Fallen Behind to the below
Verify the associations. If the subclient hasn’t already been assigned to this policy this will be empty
Click on Provisioning and select the required Resource Pool for the Snapvault destination. Also select the required Provisioning Policy. Click Ok to save the settings.
The last thing to do for the policies is to set the Copy Precedence, otherwise the default Classic will appear and break the chain you want to set up. Right-click on the new Storage Policy and select Properties.
Select the UNUSED policy and click the down arrow so that it is the last in the precedence order.
Edit the subclient to use new Storage Policy
In the default subclient change the settings to point to the required volume and assign it to the newly create storage policy. Go to Properties of the client.
Set the Storage Devce -> Data Storage Policy -> Storage Policy to the new policy. You can also rename the default policy too before clicking ok.
Test the backup
Run a test backup to ensure it works correctly. Right-click on the default subclient and click Backup
Verify via the console or the command line that it completed successfully
You can also see from the System Manager console that the snapshot was created
Test the Aux Copy
Now run an auxillary copy. Right-click on the storage policy and select All Tasks -> Run Auxillary copy.
In the Select a Copy field select the Aux copy you want to run. If you have multiple Aux Copys such as Snapmirror and Snapvault you’ll have multiple choices from the drop down. Select the copy and click Ok
The job will begin in the console
To verify that the job is running, from the backup controller run the command snapvault status and you’ll see the status as transferring.
The job will say that it’s checking conformance. This involves DFM setting up the relationship. To view what is going on go to the OnCommand server with the Management Console -> Data -> Jobs and you can see the job that is currently running.
If you click on one of the job steps it will tell you the source and destination volume names. From here you can check on the destination that the volume has been created.
Updates within the SnapProtect console are slow so if you want to check on the progress run the snapvault status command again on the controller. Verify the snapshots have moved across in SnapProtect by going to the Storage Policy and selecting the remote aux copy policy. Right click and select Tasks -> List Snaps. The snapshots that were ready for transmission will be visible.
This can also be checked from the System Manager console.
Set up Schedule Policies
Once the aux copy job has been confirmed as completed it’s now time to add the backup and snapvault/snapmirror to a backup schedule. To set the backup schedule policy you first need to check if there are any schedules assigned to the storage policy. If you do then either remove it or ensure it’s correct for your needs, otherwise you’ll end up with two schedules and they will clash and cause issues down the road.
As this backup will run directly on the backup storage and to separate it from other systems I’m going to create new backup schedules for this storage policy. To create a new policy you can right-click on Schedule Policies and select New Schedule Policy or right-click on an existing policy as select clone.
As the CIFS snapshot schedule is configured similar to what I need I’m going to create a clone of the existing Daily CIFS snapshot.
Create the schedules you require for full and incremental backups. Edit the schedules listed with the policy as required.
Make sure to edit the associations as they get cloned as well from the cloning process. Select the subclient you want to backup. Once you’re happy with it click Ok
Create/clone a new schedule for the Aux Copy (Snapvault/Snapmirror) also. Set the snapshot replication time to be well after the initial backup to ensure that there’s sufficient time for the primary to finish.
Once again edit the associations so that only the subclient you want will be part of this schedule. This is based on the storage policy you created earlier. Click ok once the one you need has been selected
Completed
Now you have set up the backup from start to finish, from resource pool creation for an aggregate to setting up and testing the policies.