A third area the NetBackup Appliance 2.6 Release focuses on is improved supportability. Refer to the two previous blogs; NetBackup Appliance 2.6 Release Overview and NetBackup 5230 – 14TB configuration. In this release*, there are three (3) new features which enable greater supportability: customers having greater control over their system, better visibility of how the system is operating, and expedited troubleshooting and support. Combined, these features enable the NetBackup appliance to deliver greater operational efficiency, reduce risk, and improve SLAs. More importantly, it saves valuable administration time by automating many routine tasks, and streamlining common procedures.
Symantec has added several new and enhanced features to delivery faster and more efficient NetBackup appliance administration and customer support:
- Appliance Diagnostics Center: New tools and wizards to troubleshoot problems and optimize the customer’s appliance, including:
- Test Call Home functionality
- Collect log files
- Test and diagnose network issues
- Check disk configuration
- Perform a hardware health check
These Wizards can be accessed from the following icon in the NetBackup Appliance Web Console:
A separate Wizard helps you perform each task. Some Wizards also guide you through system optimization and tuning. The Automated health checks and log collection enables faster case resolution through standardized data collection and pro-active appliance health checks.
- Enhanced help system: Provides faster and more efficient search capabilities. Symantec Help Center (SymHelp) is a browser-based, help delivery system with advanced search, autosuggest, and filtering capabilities. SymHelps offers additional advantages over traditional help systems:
- Allows search from a much larger NetBackup Appliance content set. SymHelp includes content from the NetBackup Appliance Administrator's Guide, the Troubleshooting Guide, and the Command Reference Guide. This means you can search all of the NetBackup Appliance Administrator's Guide, the Troubleshooting Guide, and the Command Reference Guide content from one SymHelp Search window.
- In addition to the appliance content, SymHelp lets you search content from the NetBackup Administrator's Guide.
- Appliance checkpoint and rollback: Allows one user directed checkpoint, as well as appliance automated pre- and post-upgrade checkpoints, to revert to a previous configuration. The factory reset capability has been enhanced with the option of retaining storage configuration and backup data. The ability to roll back to a later state is defined by a checkpoint. All of these methods to restore the appliance to a previous point in time are available in a management area called Appliance Restore. The four (4) types of checkpoints are:
- Pre-upgrade checkpoint: created before you install a software upgrade. You can use this type of checkpoint as a rollback checkpoint in case a software upgrade fails.
- Post-upgrade checkpoint: created after an appliance has been upgraded to a new software version.
- User-directed checkpoint: a checkpoint that you create at any point in time using the application user interface or the NetBackup Appliance Shell Menu. This checkpoint offers more flexibility when you roll back your appliance. Only one user-directed checkpoint may exist at any given time. If a new user-directed checkpoint is created, it overwrites the previous user-directed checkpoint if one exists.
- Factory checkpoint: created during a new installation of the NetBackup Appliance software, as well as during an upgrade of an unconfigured appliance.
Only one of each checkpoint type can exist on the appliance at a time. At most, there can be four checkpoints on your appliance: a pre-upgrade checkpoint, a post-upgrade checkpoint, a user-directed checkpoint, and a factory checkpoint.
Symantec NetBackup is focused on saving customers time and money. And nowhere is that more visible than with the improved supportability features in NetBackup Applinace Release 2.6.
For additional NetBackup Appliance information with NetBackup Software Release 7.6 refer to Symantec NetBackup 52xx Appliance Release Notes - Release 2.6.
Notes:
* NetBackup 7.6 is the version of NetBackup software that the NetBackup Appliance 2.6 release installs. Information about the new features, enhancements, and fixes found in NetBackup 7.6 can be found in the NetBackup 7.6 Release Notes document on the Symantec Support website: http://www.symantec.com/docs/DOC6138