What is a NetBackup catalog?

NetBackup catalogs are the internal databases that contain information about NetBackup backups and configuration.
Backup information includes records of the files that have been backed up and the media on which the files are stored.
The catalogs also contain information about the media and the storage devices.

Since NetBackup requires the catalog information to restore backups, configure a catalog backup before using
NetBackup for regular client backups. Then, schedule the catalog backups to occur on a regular basis thereafter. Without
regular catalog backups, you risk losing regular backups if there is a problem with the disk that contains the catalogs.

Parts of the catalog

The NetBackup catalog resides on the disk of the NetBackup master server. The catalog consists of the following parts:

■ Image database: The image database contains information about what has been backed up. It is by far the largest part
of the catalog. For more information, see “Image database” on page 273.

■ NetBackup data that is stored in relational databases: The data includes media and volume data describing media
usage and volume information, which is used during the backups. For more information, see “NetBackup relational
database” on page 276.

■ NetBackup configuration files: The configuration files include flat files concerning policy and schedule information.
Image database

The image database (Program Files\VERITAS\Netbackup\db\images) contains subdirectories for each client that is
backed up by NetBackup, including the master server and any media servers.

The image database contains:

■ Image files (files that store only backup set summary information)

■ Image .f files (files that store the detailed information of each file backup)

The image database is the largest part of the NetBackup catalog. It consumes about 99% of the total space that is
required for the NetBackup catalog. While most of the subdirectories are relatively small in the NetBackup catalogs,
\images can grow to several tens, or even hundreds of gigabytes. The image database on the master server may grow
too large to fit on a single tape. The database growth is an important consideration for offline, cold catalog backups. 274
NetBackup Catalog What is a NetBackup catalog?

Image database growth depends on the number of clients, policy schedules, and

the amount of data that is backed up. To determine catalog space requirements, see “Determining catalog
spacerequirements” on page 342.

If the image catalog becomes too large for the current location, consider movingit to a file system or disk partition that
contains more space. For moreinformation, see “Moving the image catalog” on page 349.

The image database component of the NetBackup catalog uses the .f files inbinary format for Windows, Solaris, HP_UX,
Compaq Tru64 UNIX, AIX, and Linux platforms.

The catalog conversion utility (cat_convert) can be used to upgrade an image database to the binary format. (See
“Catalog conversion utility” on page 348.)

Image files

Each image file is an ASCII file, generally less than 1 kilobyte in size. An image file contains only backup set summary
information. For example, the backup ID, the backup type, the expiration date, fragment information, and disaster
recovery information.

Image .f files

The binary catalog may contain one or more image .f files. This type of file is also referred to as a files-file. The image .f
file may be large because it contains the detailed backup selection list for each file backup. Generally, image files range
in size from 1 kilobyte to 10 gigabytes.

The file layout determines whether the catalog contains one .f file or many .f files. NetBackup configures the file layout
automatically, based on the size of the binary catalog. NetBackup uses one of two layouts: single file layout or multiple
file layout.
Image .f file single file layout

NetBackup stores file information in a single image.f file if the information for

the catalog is less than 4 megabytes.When the backup file of one catalog backup is less than 4 megabytes, NetBackup
stores the information in a single image.f file. The image.f file is alwaysgreater than or equal to 72 bytes, but less than 4
megabytes.

Image .f file multiple file layout

When the file information for one catalog backup is greater than 4 megabytes, the information is stored in multiple .f
files: one main image .f file plus nine additional .f files. 275 NetBackup Catalog What is a NetBackup catalog?

Separating the additional .ffiles from the image .ffile and storing the files in the catstore directory improves performance
while writing to the catalog.

The main image.f file is always exactly 72 bytes

NetBackup relational database

NetBackup installs Sybase Adaptive Server Anywhere 9.0.1 during the master server installation as a private, non-shared
server for the NetBackup database (NBDB). The same installation of Sybase ASA is used for the optionally-licensed
product, Bare Metal Restore (BMR) database (BMRDB). The following describes the components:

■ Bare Metal Restore (BMR) database: The BMRDB database contains the information that the NetBackup Bare Metal
Restore option manages. The BMR database is created during the BMR installation process.

NetBackup database (NBDB): Also known as the Enterprise Media Manager (EMM) database, the NBDB contains
information about volumes and the robots and drives that are in NetBackup storage units.

Configuration files:

■ Install_path\VERITAS\NetBackupDB\data\vxdbms.conf

■ Install_path\VERITAS\NetBackupDB\conf\server.conf

■ Install_path\VERITAS\NetBackupDB\conf\databases.conf

Enterprise Media Manager (EMM) database

The Enterprise Media Manager (EMM) database contains information about media and the robots and drives that are in
NetBackup storage units. The NetBackup Resource Broker queries the EMM database to allocate storage units, drives
(including drive paths), and media. The host on which the EMM database resides is called the EMM server.
The EMM database contains the following information:

■ Device attributes

■ Robotic library and stand-alone drive residence attributes

■ NDMP attributes

■ Barcode rule attributes

■ Volume pool attributes

■ Tape and optical disk volume attributes

■ Media attributes

■ Storage unit attributes

■ Storage unit group attributes

■ Hosts with assigned tape drives

■ Media and device errors

■ Disk pool and disk volume attributes

■ Storage server attributes

■ Login credentials for storage servers, disk arrays, and NDMP hosts

■ Fibre Transport attributes

Catalog backups

A catalog backup is configured separately from regular client backups by using the Catalog Backup Wizard. The catalog
can be stored on a variety of media.

Note: Configure a catalog backup before you run any regular backups.

Note: If portions of the catalog are relocated, note the changes so that subsequent catalog backups are aware of the
locations of all the catalog components. In the event that a catalog recovery is needed, the same alterations must be
implemented before the recovery of the catalog.

Choose the catalog backup method that works best for your environment:

■ Online, hot catalog backup (recommended method) This type of catalog backup is for active environments in which
continual backup activity occurs. It is considered an online, hot method because it can be performed while regular
backup activity occurs. This type of catalog is policy-based and can span more than one tape. It also allows for
incremental backups, which can significantly reduce catalog backup times for large catalogs.
Online, hot catalog backups use media from the CatalogBackup volume pool only. For more information, see “Online,
hot catalog backup method” on page 279.

■ Offline, cold catalog backup This type of catalog backup is for environments in which periods of no backup activity
exist. It is considered an offline, cold backup because it should not be run when regular backup activity occurs. For
Sybase ASA, the databases (NBDB and BMRDB) are shut down during the backup. This type of catalog backup must fit on
a single tape. Offline, cold catalog backups use media from the NetBackup volume pool only. For more information, see
“Offline, cold catalog backup method” on page 291.

Online, hot catalog backup method

The online catalog is policy-based, which means that it has all of the scheduling flexibility of a regular backup policy. The
online catalog is designed for active environments in which continual backup activity occurs and the catalog size is large.

The online, hot catalog backup:

■ Can back up the catalog while continual client backups are in progress.

■ Can span multiple tapes for a catalog backup.

■ Allows for a flexible pool of catalog tapes.

■ Can perform a full or an incremental catalog backup.

■ Can restore the catalog to a different location.

■ Can run scheduled catalog backups.

■ Offers a wizard to automate the catalog recovery process or a guided command line tool.

■ Appends to existing data on tape.

■ Can be duplicated

Determining catalog space requirements

NetBackup requires disk space to store its error logs and information about the files it backs up. The disk space that
NetBackup needs varies according to the following factors:

■ Number of files to be backed up

■ Frequency of full and incremental backups

■ Number of user backups and archives

■ Retention period of backups

■ Average length of full path of files

■ File information (such as owner permissions)

■ Average amount of error log information existing at any given time

To estimate the disk space that is required for a catalog backup 1 Estimate the maximum number of files that each
schedule for each policy backs up during a single backup of all its clients. “Example reference table for catalog
requirements” on page 344 shows that a full backup for policy S1 includes 64,000 files.

2 Determine the frequency and the retention period of the full and the incremental backups for each policy.

3 Use the information from steps 1 and 2 to calculate the maximum number of files that exist at any given time. For
example: Assume that you schedule full backups to occur every seven days. The full backups have a retention period of
four weeks. Differential incremental backups are scheduled to run daily and have a retention period of one week. The
number of file paths you must allow space for is four times the number of files in a full backup. Add to that number one
week’s worth of incrementals. The following formula expresses the maximum number of files that can exist for each
type of backup (daily or weekly, for example):

Files per Backup x Backups per Retention Period = Max Files For example: A daily differential incremental schedule backs
up 1200 files and the retention period for the backup is seven days. Given this information, the maximum number of
files that can exist at one time are the following: 343 NetBackup Catalog Catalog maintenance and performance
optimization

1200 x 7 days = 8400 A weekly full backup schedule backs up 3000 files and the retention period is four weeks. The
maximum number of files that can exist at one time are the following:

3000 x 4 weeks = 12,000 Obtain the total for a server by adding the maximum files for all the schedules together. Add
the separate totals to get the maximum number of files that can exist at one time. For example, 20,400.

Note: For the policies that collect true image restore information, an incremental backup collects catalog information on
all files (as if it were a full backup). This changes the calculation in the example: the incremental changes from 1200 x 7 =
8400 to 3000 x 7 = 21,000. After 12,000 is added for the full backups, the total for the two schedules is 33,000 rather
than 20,400.

4 Obtain the number of bytes by multiplying the number of files by the average length of the file’s full paths and file
information. If you are unsure of the average length of a file’s full path, use 100. Using the results from the examples in
step 3 yields: (8400 x 150) + (12,000 x 150) =3060000 bytes (or about 2988 kilobytes)

5 Add between 10 megabytes to 15 megabytes to the total sum that was calculated in step 4. The additional megabytes
account for the average space that is required for the error logs. Increase the value if you anticipate problems.

6 Allocate space so all the data remains in a single partition.

File size considerations

■ Some UNIX systems have a large file support flag. Turn ON the flag to enable large file support. For example, AIX
disables large file support by default, so the file size limit is 2GB.

■ For UNIX systems, set the file size limit for the root user account to unlimited to support large file support.
Example: Estimating required catalog backup space

Table 6-3 on page 344 shows backup schedules, retention times, and number of files for a group of example policies.
Calculate the maximum number of files that each policy can generate by using the information in Table 6-3. Substitute
the information into the following formula:

Files per Backup x Backups per Retention Period = Max Files The following steps demonstrate the equation for policy

Advance Disk storage option

The NetBackup AdvancedDisk storage option lets you use disk storage directly attached to a NetBackup media server.
NetBackup aggregates the disks into pools of storage you can use for backups. NetBackup manages the storage as logical
entities (disk pools).

Figure B-1 Media server and disks NetBackup media server Directly-attached disks

The NetBackup AdvancedDisk storage option provides the following benefits:

■ The option is easy to deploy and use. NetBackup discovers the storage and uses familiar NetBackup storage units and
backup policies to use the storage.

■ Allows multiple file systems to be used in a single storage unit.

■ Storage unit capacity can be increased by adding disks. Only add what you need, when you need it, then update the
NetBackup disk pools. Logical units of storage span physical boundaries, so you do not have to create new NetBackup
storage units or change the backup policies.

■ Reduces level of administrator attention through automatic policies that distribute job load and intelligently manage
capacity so that jobs do not fail because of out of space conditions.

The terms that are used in AdvancedDisk include:

■ Data mover: An entity that moves data between the primary storage (the NetBackup client) and the storage server. In
AdvancedDisk, NetBackup media servers function as data movers.

■ Storage server: An entity that writes data to and reads data from the disk storage. A storage server is the entity that
has a mount on the file system on the storage. In AdvancedDisk, NetBackup media servers function as both storage
servers and data movers.

■ Disk volume: A logical unit of disk storage.

■ Disk pool: A collection of disk volumes that are administered as an entity.

NearStore storage units

This document contains information about how to administer Network Appliance (NetApp) NearStoreTM disk storage
units using NetBackup 6.5. This feature is also known as the SnapVault® for NetBackup solution. The NearStore disk
storage unit features introduced in this version are available on all supported media server platforms.

This document contains the following sections:

Find general disk storage unit setup information in Chapter 5 in this guide. See

the Data ONTAP System Administrator’s Guide for more information about anyNetApp commands referenced.Terms
used in this document include:Data ONTAP: The NetApp storage operating system provides unified data

management for both block and file serving environments. file system export mode: In the file system export mode,
backups become user-mountable when exported as CIFS or NFS file systems. This mode is in effect when both the
Enable file system export setting and the Enable block 734 Required software, hardware, and licenses

sharing setting are enabled. NetApp also refers to this mode as context-aware SIS.

The file system export mode adds functionality to the space optimized image mode by enabling a file system export of
the backup image. Mount the backup image as a file system, drag-and-drop or copy files to restore location.

image mode: This mode is in effect when neither Enable block sharing or Enable file system export are selected in the
storage unit dialog box. In the image mode, the disk storage unit acts much like a BasicDisk storage unit in how data is
stored.

qtree (quota tree): A subdirectory in a NearStore volume that acts as a virtual

subvolume with special attributes, primarily quotas and permissions. snapshot: A read-only, point-in-time copy of the
entire file volume. A snapshot captures file modifications without duplicating file contents.

SnapVault: Allows exports of snapshot copies to another NetApp system,

providing an incremental block-level backup solution. space optimized image mode: The space optimized image mode is
in effect when the Enable block sharing setting is enabled in the NearStore disk storage unit dialog. This mode makes use
of single-instance store (SIS) without the additional requirement of managing snapshots. NetApp also refers to this
mode as context independent SIS or advanced single instance store. To use this mode, the nearstore_asis1 license must
be turned on for each volume.

WAFL (Write Anywhere File Layout): The file system used in all NetApp storage servers. WAFL supports snapshot
creation.