VCB 1.5 Hot-Add Mode and TSM 5.5

[mreichartz]

Hi all,

I´m working on a backup solution with VCB 1.5 and TSM 5.5 (which has some built-in VCB integration) for a few days now and

I would like to use the SCSI Hot-Add functionality. Main reason is to avoid a physical VCB host (and of course ease of config).

VCB works fine using vcbMounter with commandline parameters and mounting filesystems or doing full backups of VMs also works well!:8}

But TSM seems to use hardcoded backup commands to start vcbMounter and so I don´t have any idea how to tell TSM to use the "-m hotadd" switch for vcbMounter.

Of course this a TSM question, but you are the ones working with it

Any ideas how to tell TSM NOT to start vcbMounter in SAN mode?

Thanks in advance,

Marco Reichartz

[dconvery]

You could use a pre backup script to mount and a post backup script to unmount.

Change the TRANSPORTMODE to "NBD"; in config.js

For pre command:

cd "C:Program FilesVMwareVMware Consolidated Backup Frameworkgeneric" 
cscript pre-command.wsf "C:Program FilesVMwareVMware Consolidated Backup Framework" %1 fullvm 

For post:

cd "C:Program FilesVMwareVMware Consolidated Backup Frameworkgeneric"
cscript post-command.wsf "C:Program FilesVMwareVMware Consolidated Backup Framework" %1-fullvm 

Dave Convery - VMware vExpert

************************

Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties.

Doug Larson

[mreichartz]

Hi Dave,

thanks for your reply. It seems to me, as if TSM 5.5 does not use any pre- or post-backup scripts which would help in this situation.

TSM gets the command to backup (e.g. "dsmc backup vm") and parses the dsm.opt file for additional infos like VC Host Adress, VC User, VMs to backup and some more.

Then TSM directly submits the vcbmounter command to mount the VM filesystems. But it does not set the -m switch and so it defaults to SAN mode.

I already modified the config.js, but it is ignored by TSM (it does not make use of the Integration Module as VCB integration ist builtin, maybe not supporting all features...)

(I can´t use an earlier version of TSM for some other reasons)

Marco Reichartz

[dconvery]

I haven't used TSM for a while and can only explain things in NetBackup terms, but they are similar for TSM.... Instead of using the integration that comes with your version of TSM, you can create a traditional backup job that backs up the files on the mount point. THEN you can use the standard pre and post scripting facility within TSM.

Check out this thread:

http://communities.vmware.com/message/657238;jsessionid=A9D0CE47CA9060814CD017F950BB53FA

Dave Convery - VMware vExpert

************************

Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties.

Doug Larson

[mreichartz]

You are right! That would be one possible approach - but with one great disadvantage:

Taking this approach would cause all files to belong to the VCBs filespace within TSM.

This is one of the main reasons for me to take TSM 5.5, which stores all files in a backup filespace that is associated with the VM and not with the VCB Proxy.

I have opened a Support Request at IBM and will post the results (if there are any...)

Marco

[dconvery]

If you dig deep enough, there is probably a config file or script that can take the mode parameter.

Dave Convery - VMware vExpert

************************

Accomplishing the impossible means only that the boss will add it to your regular duties.

Doug Larson

[mreichartz]

Here´s the statement from the TSM Hotline:

TSM 5.5 only supports VCB in SAN mode. The command to mount the VM´s vmdks is hardcoded and there is no way to change the mode to LAN or HOTADD.

Maybe this feature will be introduced to TSM 6.

After setting up an FC connected VCB Proxy TSM works in conjunction with VCB 1.5 as expected to.

Now I am approaching the problem of defining VM specific Include / Exclude lists for TSM. But this is another strange story ?:|

Marco

[markdjones82]

So, TSM 5.5 does not support changing the config.js in the integration module to something like "hotadd"?

I am also having issues with trying to get it to mount using the pre-command. It worked at first, but it doesn't seem to actually add the VMDK files, but only other files.