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Changed syntax for omnib2dinfo

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omnib2dinfo: With the lastest released patches for DP 7.01 from 2013/04/09 there was a change in the syntax for the command omib2dinfo. In previous versions it was required to provide parameters like device type and host name to retrieve information from the B2D device, no matter if a software store or StoreOnce system was queried. For the new version of omnib2dinfo a logical device name can be provided with the command. With the change in place the command now can be executed on cell server instead of on client with installed media agent (cell server or client with connected StoreOnce system or software store).

New syntax:

omnib2dinfo -help | -h
omnib2dinfo -version | -v
omnib2dinfo -store_info -b2ddevice libraryname
omnib2dinfo -list_stores -b2ddevice libraryname
omnib2dinfo -list_objects -b2ddevice libraryname
omnib2dinfo -get_server_properties -b2ddevice libraryname

Old syntax:

omnib2dinfo -help | -h
omnib2dinfo -version | -v
omnib2dinfo -list_stores -type=ObjectStore | StoreOnceSoftware (OS | SOS)
                         -host=hostname
                         [-port=portNumber]
                         [-name=storeName]
                         [-client=clientName]
omnib2dinfo -list_objects -type=ObjectStore | StoreOnceSoftware (OS | SOS)
                          -host=hostname
                          [-port=portNumber]
                          -name=storeName
                          [-client=clientName]
omnib2dinfo -get_server_properties -type=ObjectStore | StoreOnceSoftware (OS | SOS)
                                   -host=hostname
                                   [-port=portNumber]
                                   [-client=clientName]

VMware backup done over NBD instead of SAN

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Problem: The backup of some virtual machines is done using transport mode NBD instead of SAN, even if it is configured for the virtual machine or a vApp container. There might be other virtual machines on the same SAN disk, which are able to do the backup over SAN. The cause of the problem is that in previous sessions the VMware SAN lock was not released, hence new backups were not able to use the transport mode SAN and switched to NBD. If NBD mode is available only and VMware does not unlock the lock, the complete backup of the virtual machine will fail.

The message you might see in Data Protector: Virtual Machine ‘Server_a.demo.local’: Backup disk scsi0:0 using transport method NBD

Solution: When no backup of virtual machines is running check the VE-Agent host and search e.g. in c:\windows\temp\vmware-SYSTEM for folders including the machine name. Listing the content of the folder will display a lock file. It is recommended to delete the content of the complete folder. After restarting the backup of a involved machine you can see that SAN transport mode is used again. In some cases you might Need to modify the permissions for the folders to allow the removal.

Recover Cell Server – Reviewed

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In previous posts it is documented how to recover a server using Enhanced Automated Disaster Recovery Option. Tis applies to the Cell Server too, as this server might be the most important server in a case of a disaster. For the cell server there are several options available to do a fast recovery. The following steps apply to cell server for all supported operating systems and the steps are only 1 possible way for recovery.

The most important information when a recovery of the cell server is required will be the information on which media is the backup of the internal database. With 2 settings you make sure the information is available when needed (if copied off the cell server per scheduled task). First you have to edit the file rdmserver.ini and to enable the parameter archiving=1. In this case DP will write the information regarding the backup of IDB to an additional file. Second step is to change file global and to enable the parameter RecoveryIndexDir=PathToBackupDir. After saving both files you need to restart the DP services. With the first backup of the IDB information regarding the backup is written to obrindex.dat.

In this file you now have the information which media was used during the backup and also some additional information regarding the drive used during the backup.

obrindex.dat

An additional Step to prepare for DR is the export of the devices. This can be done with the tool omnidownload. The command will generate some text files to be used to create devices in case of disaster using the command omniupload. Of course you can use the tool “SaveDevices” to automate this task (can be found in download section).

In case of a disaster in general you can follow the steps below:

  • Change / repair defect hardware
  • Install operating system
  • Installation Data Protector as cell server
  • Create new devices to be able to import IDB into IDB
  • Import media with IDB backup
  • Restore of IDB
  • Restore of all other settings

As written above these steps are only one way to recover the cell server. In the articles EADR W2K and Recover Cell Server additional ways using SRD / omniiso are described.

Mail Slots ESL E series

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This is a question I often need to answer and it is difficult to find the answer on HP’s website, especially when it’s not your daily business… How to open the ESL 712e mail slots? I always forget it and you need to know that the mail slots are called load ports.

The complete User Guide for the ESL E can be found here –