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Many improvements have been made to the Veritas NetBackup product that make it much more robust to meet the
needs of our customers, including several core architecture changes. Because of these changes and the number of
new features now offered in NetBackup, Symantec encourages you to upgrade any systems running a pre-6.0 version
to the latest version of NetBackup 6.0.
Included in these changes is a new NetBackup catalog format. This new catalog format requires a significant data
conversion to occur during the upgrade. As a result, it is important that your existing NetBackup catalog be clean
and free of corruption or errors prior to the upgrade and data conversion. We have made available a set of tools
designed to help you validate the consistency of your existing catalog before an upgrade is started. This document
explains the entire upgrade process and how to utilize these tools to check the consistency of your catalog. It is
critical that you follow the process outlined in this document to help ensure a successful upgrade to NetBackup 6.0.
■ Verify that the volumes on your disk staging storage unit (DSSU) have more than 1% of available disk space.
Upgrades to 6.0 require that certain files get duplicated. If a DSSU volume has less than 1% of available disk
space, errors can occur.
Verifying servers
■ Ensure that the servers list defined on the master server does not contain any media servers that are not valid.
The NetBackup 6.0 installation requires that the nbpushdata command be run after servers are upgraded. This
command gathers media and device configuration information from each server. If any invalid server names are
listed, it can cause errors during the upgrade.
■ For UNIX systems, verify each SERVER and MEDIA_SERVER entry in the
/usr/openv/netbackup/bp.conf file lists a host name that is valid and accessible.
■ For Windows systems, launch the NetBackup Administration Console and go to Host Properties > Master
Servers. Open the Properties for the master server and go to the Servers section and verify each host name
listed is valid and accessible.
■ Ensure that there are no non-active media servers assigned to any storage units. Review the output of the
bpstulist command to make sure all media servers assigned to the storage unit are valid and accessible. Any
storage units that are no longer valid must be removed.
■ For UNIX systems, run the following command:
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/bpstulist -U
■ For Windows systems, run the following command:
<install_path>\NetBackup\bin\admincmd\bpstulist -U
■ Ensure that the device information listed in the vmglob output lists entries that are from valid media servers.
Run this command on the master server and compare the output to each media server. Any device information
that is no longer valid must be removed.
■ For UNIX systems, run the following command:
/usr/openv/volmgr/bin/vmglob -listall
■ For Windows systems, run the following command:
<install_path>\Volmgr\bin\vmglob -listall
Note: If AppareNet is used, it is recommended that this step be done with help from Symantec Enterprise
Technical Services. The AppareNet output must be analyzed by Symantec Enterprise Technical Services. The
AppareNet software can be downloaded from the following URL: http://www.apparentnetworks.com/sas/300/
■ To prevent any Domain Name Service (DNS) issues during the upgrade process, place a host file on the
master server and on every media server that contains the fully qualified domain name, short name, and IP
address of every media server and the master server.
■ Network Address Translation (NAT)
Determine if any media servers are separated from the master server by a firewall. If so, ensure that these
media servers are not running NAT. NAT causes problems with the PBX connections between NetBackup
servers and can cause connectivity issues during or after the upgrade.
■ NetBackup does not support PAT or Dynamic Address Translation.
■ Check to see if Veritas Security Services (VxSS) is installed. This software may need to be upgraded as well.
■ Check to see if the Shared Storage Option (SSO) will be used for drive sharing between NetBackup 6.0 and
NetBackup 5.x media servers. It is important to note that in NetBackup 6.0, the EMM server is responsible for
granting a SSO resource. In NetBackup 5.x, the media server itself is responsible for SSO tape drive selection.
This can lead to slower drive selection performance in larger environments. Refer to TechNote 282271.
■ During the upgrade, all valid NetBackup Master and Media servers must be online.
Warning: Repair any inconsistencies discovered with NBCC before continuing with your upgrade. Failure to complete
this step may result in a failed upgrade.
This step must be done with help from Symantec Enterprise Technical Services. There cannot be any NetBackup
activity occurring while collecting the files needed for the NBCC. This can be a time-consuming process, however it
is strongly recommended that you perform this prior to attempting an upgrade.
Note: You must install the latest 6.0MP patch binaries before proceeding to Step (e), running the nbpushdata
command on all upgraded servers.
Best practices
The following sequence highlights the order in which you should install NetBackup software when upgrading from
one version of NetBackup to another.
Caution: The following is not the sequence you should use to run the nbpushdata command. Refer again to bullets
a - e above or the NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guides.
a Master server
b Media servers
c NetBackup Remote Administration consoles
(If supporting older releases, refer to the NetBackup 6.0 System Administrator’s Guides for information on
how to implement multiple versions.)
d NetBackup clients - After you have successfully upgraded your master servers and media servers to the
latest NetBackup 6.0 MP release, you can then upgrade your clients to NetBackup 6.0.
e Any NetBackup add-on products. The following should be considered for each add-on product:
Note: Symantec recommends that you perform these backups onto removable media and then physically
remove the media to a secure location.
Caution: To install the 6.0 software, you will be directed to follow specific steps in a specific section of the
NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guides. It is important that you perform only those steps in the referenced sections.
■ On UNIX systems:
Perform steps 4 - 14 as described in the section “Upgrading NetBackup Server Software” in “Chapter 3” of
the NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guide for UNIX and Linux. VERITAS
■ On Windows systems:
Start at step 3 in the appropriate NetBackup server installation or upgrade procedure as described in the
section “Installing or Upgrading NetBackup” in “Chapter 2” of the NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guide for
Windows.
Caution: Do not run nbpushdata to populate the EMM database at this time.
Caution: For clusters, do not run the clusterconfig command during an upgrade.
Caution: Do not start any backups at this time. Your NetBackup environment is not ready to perform backup
operations until after you have completed all the steps and procedures in this document.
9 Verify that NetBackup policies are still deactivated. You can do this using the Administrator’s Console.
10 Install the latest NetBackup 6.0 maintenance pack. You can download this maintenance pack from the following
support web site: http://entsupport.symantec.com.
Note: You must install the latest 6.0MP patch binaries before proceeding.
11 This step applies only to Windows systems with media server names that begin with an underscore (e.g.
_mediaserverA). You must complete this step before you run the nbpushdata command.
a Open a command prompt and navigate to <install_path>\veritas\Netbackup\bin\admincmd and
issue the following command:
nbemmcmd -changesetting -machinename emmservername -validate_host_name no
The emmservername is the name of the master or media server where the EMM resides.
b Stop and then restart all of the NetBackup services or daemons on the master server.
c Open a command prompt and navigate to <install_path>\veritas\Netbackup\bin\admincmd and
issue the following command:
nbemmcmd -listsettings -machinename emmservername
The emmservername is the name of the master or media server where the EMM resides.
d In the output that appears, ensure that the validate_host_name value is no.
For example:
E:\Program Files\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin\admincmd>nbemmcmd -listsettings
-machiname emmservername
Note: If you want to simulate the pushdata commands described in Step 16, add the flag -preview to the
nbpushdata command. This command is available starting with 6.0 MP5. Simulating the command tests the
network connectivity to affected media servers and logs output to the pushdata log.
Note: If you are concerned that your current installation of NetBackup may be corrupt, contact Symantec
Technical Support for assistance.
17 If you are upgrading VCS clusters to 6.0 MP5, you must perform the following to ensure backups run:
■ Take the NetBackup resource offline.
■ Run bpclusterutil -c to reconfigure the VCS group and start the new agent.
18 Upgrade the clients in your environment. Refer to, “Upgrading Clients After Servers Are Upgraded” in Chapter 3
of the NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guides.
Note: Clients that are upgraded to 6.0 cannot be backed up using 5.x media servers.
Note: With NetBackup 6.0, cold catalog backups will shut down the EMM database as any normal cold database
application allowing no connections until the backup process completes. It is recommended that you use the
HOT catalog backup option.
After upgrading
■ If you have application clusters running in your NetBackup environment, the performance could be affected. To
address any performance issues related to application clusters, refer to TechNote 285451.
The following list identifies the NetBackup documents that you may need to reference before and during your
upgrade.
The following list describes the changes that were implemented for each revision of this document.
■ Revision B
■ Added Appendix B: Document change log
■ Fixed broken document links
■ Revision C
■ “Verifying system capacities”—added requirement for DSSU volume space
■ “NetBackup compatibility requirements”—added requirement and reference to TechNote 280696 for
renaming NetBackup Vault robotic volume group names
■ “Verifying network infrastructure”—added reference to cluster checklist TechNote 285699
■ Added step to upgrade process to stop all third party custom schedules/scripts before upgrading servers
■ Added step to upgrade process that describes how to allow for Windows media server names that start with
special characters
■ “Upgrading servers from NetBackup 5.x to NetBackup 6.0”—changed Step 6 to “freeze the NetBackup
group” instead of taking it off line
■ “After upgrading”—added reference to TechNote 288197 about listing all policies with the bppllist
command
■ “After upgrading”—added reference to TechNote 286443 about downgrading a media server back to
NetBackup 5.x
■ Revision D
■ Added TechNote numbers and links for new topics introduced in Revision C
■ “Verifying network infrastructure”—added bulleted item that describes not support for PAT or Dynamic
Address Translation
■ “Verifying network infrastructure”—removed bulleted item that described having more than 110 IP
addresses to a single interface which can interfere with PBX
■ “Verifying network infrastructure”—added bulleted item that diatribes client name matching the SERVER=
or the MEDIA_SERVER= entry to ensure services start on the media server
■ “Verifying the integrity of the 5.x NetBackup Media and Image Catalogs”—added paragraph that describes
running bpexpdate -deassignempty after completing the NBCC
■ “Upgrading to 6.0”—added step to upgrade sequence introduction to run nbpushdata -preview before
running nbpushdata. Also indicated that the command is available starting with 6.0 MP5.
■ “Best practices”—added Step (f) to patch all applicable add-on products, agents, and options with latest
available patches
■ “Upgrading servers from NetBackup 5.x to NetBackup 6.0”—changed Step 6 to identify specific resources
that must remain online during cluster upgrades