NetBackup™ Vault

Operator's Guide

UNIX, Windows, and Linux

Release 11.0
NetBackup™ Vault Operator's Guide
Last updated: 2025-03-06

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 Contents

Chapter 1 About NetBackup Vault ..................................................... 7

About storage administration and operation ......................................... 7

About vaulting media ...................................................................... 7
About storage administration and operations tasks ................................ 8
About storage administration responsibilities ........................................ 9

Chapter 2 About NetBackup Vault operational procedures

........................................................................................... 11

Vault Operator Menu interface ........................................................ 11

About Vault operational procedures .................................................. 13
Processing Vault reports .......................................................... 14
About removing tapes from a library ........................................... 14
Vault report options ................................................................. 15
Sending reports and tapes to the off-site vendor ........................... 16
Comparing received tapes to your reports ................................... 17
Rerunning reports .................................................................. 18
About injecting tapes into a robot ............................................... 19

Index .................................................................................................................... 21
6 Contents
 Chapter 1
About NetBackup Vault
This chapter includes the following topics:

■ About storage administration and operation

■ About vaulting media

■ About storage administration and operations tasks

■ About storage administration responsibilities

About storage administration and operation

This topic explains how to vault media as part of two major task areas: administration
and operation. At some sites, different personnel do the different tasks; at other
sites, the same personnel do all the tasks. Your site may assign the responsibilities
differently than they are discussed in this guide.
The storage administration tasks are summarized in this topic. Operational
procedures are performed in the Vault Operator menu interface.
See “Vault Operator Menu interface ” on page 11.

About vaulting media

When you vault media, you send backup images off site to a protected storage
location. NetBackup Vault simplifies the processes of image duplication, off-site
storage, and off-site retrieval for both storage administrators and systems operators.
Its purpose is to assist in disaster recovery by creating duplicate copies of backup
tapes and of the NetBackup catalog.
If backup tapes are destroyed at a primary datacenter location, Vault ensures that
copies of selected backups are available at an off-site location. Vault keeps track
8 About NetBackup Vault
About storage administration and operations tasks

of the copies and requests these tapes to be returned from the off-site location after
a specified period of time.

About storage administration and operations

tasks
Each storage administration task that is performed causes some storage operation
to occur. For example an administrator can decide to run or monitor daily Vault
sessions. An administrative task like this means you need to ensure that the Vault
session completes and you then remove the off-site tapes from the robotic libraries.
The storage administration tasks include the following:
■ Install and configure Vault.
■ Run and monitor daily Vault sessions to ensure that they complete .
■ Administer tape media to ensure sufficient media available for each day’s
duplicates.
■ Resolve conflicts between printed reports and off-site vendor media status.
■ Resolve issues about tapes improperly ejected.
■ Manually recover media.
The storage operations tasks include the following:
■ Receive daily notification of session completion.
■ Remove off-site tapes from robotic libraries.
■ Compare off-site tapes to be sent from library with report to send to off-site
vendor.
■ Send off-site tapes to off-site vendor.
■ Receive returned tapes from off-site vendor.
■ Compare returned tapes with report from off-site vendor.
■ Insert returned tapes into robotic libraries.
■ Report discrepancies between reports and tapes on-hand to storage
administration.
■ Re-run reports as needed.
■ Periodically audit media on site.
 About NetBackup Vault 9
About storage administration responsibilities

About storage administration responsibilities

Figure 1-1 shows the various responsibilities that are involved when you vault media.

Figure 1-1 Summary of storage administration responsibilities

tape duplication
Business recovery

Administration
Operations Operations
Operations
Operations Operations
Storage

change in status
Notify operations of
Configuration
Installation and Notification
Receiving daily

Monitoring Sendoffsite
Duplicating and Compare tapes
Remove tapes

Media Returntapes to library

Administering Compare tapes
Receive tapes from vault

Recovery Problems Report discrepancies

Resolving report

Troubleshooting Problems
Resolving eject Runaudit reports
Rerun reports

Storage administration involves the following tasks:

10 About NetBackup Vault
About storage administration responsibilities

Install Vault Storage administration installs Vault on a NetBackup primary server.

See the NetBackup Vault Administrator’s Guide.

Configure Vault Storage administration provides configuration information in profiles,

that contain the rules Vault uses to select images to duplicate or eject
from the robot. Storage administration accesses Vault through the
NetBackup Administration Console or through the Vault Administration
menu user interface (vltadm).

See the NetBackup Vault Administrator’s Guide.

Monitor Vault Storage administration monitors Vault activity by using the NetBackup
Administration Console and by reading the session log files for
information about vault sessions. If email notification is enabled in the
profile, session information is sent to the appropriate personnel.

Administer media Storage administration determines which volume pools and volume
groups hold the media and must allocate sufficient media for vaulting
needs.

See the NetBackup Vault Administrator’s Guide.

Notify operations of Storage administration must report any change in daily run status to
change in status operations. In most situations, Vault jobs are scheduled to run each
day. If duplications are ever postponed, storage administration notifies
operations of the job status.
 Chapter 2
About NetBackup Vault
operational procedures
This chapter includes the following topics:

■ Vault Operator Menu interface

■ About Vault operational procedures

Vault Operator Menu interface

Operational access to Vault is provided through the Vault Operator Menu interface.
From the Vault Operator Menu interface, you can eject and inject tapes, and print
reports for one or more Vault sessions. To be an authorized user of the interface,
you must be able to run the vltopmenu command.
Figure 2-1 shows the main Vault Operator Menu screen.
12 About NetBackup Vault operational procedures
Vault Operator Menu interface

Figure 2-1 Example display of the Vault Operator Menu

The Vault Operator Menu screen shows the current profile, current session, and
current report destinations. To select an option, type the number of the option and
press Enter.
The vltopmenu command starts the Vault Operator Menu. The command is in the
following directory:
■ UNIX
/usr/openv/NetBackup/bin

■ Windows
install_path\NetBackup\bin

The vltopmenu command writes messages about its operations to the log file for
Vault commands:
■ UNIX
/usr/openv/NetBackup/logs/vault/log.mmddyy

■ Windows:
install_path\NetBackup\logs\vault\mmddyy.log

The following table describes the menu options:

p) Select Profile Select a profile.

u) Profile Up Select the previous profile.

 About NetBackup Vault operational procedures 13
About Vault operational procedures

d) Profile Down Select the next profile.

s) Select Session Select a specific session for the current profile.

i) Inject Media into Robot Move media from the media access port (MAP) to the library slots.

e) Eject Media for This Session Eject media from this session.

m) Modify Report Destinations Change the following:

■ The print command

■ The email addresses to which Vault sends its reports
■ The directory to which Vault writes report files

r) Run Reports for This Session Generate reports for the current session and distribute them as defined in
the profile (print or distribute by email).

v) Run Individual Reports Select individual reports to generate and distribute.

cr) Consolidate All Reports Generate reports for any vault that does not have reports for a given session.

ce) Consolidate All Ejects Eject media for any vault that has not ejected the media for a given session.

re) Consolidate All Reports and Eject media from all vault sessions and run the reports as configured in the
Ejects profiles. You can eject media and run reports for a single vault or for all
vaults.

c) Container Management Add volumes to containers, view or change a container’s return date, or
delete a container.

q) Quit Quit the interface.

About Vault operational procedures

This topic explains the operational procedures in greater detail.
The following list summarizes the operational procedures that are described in the
following topics:
■ Process daily notifications of the completed Vault sessions.
■ Remove the tapes from the library.
■ Compare the ejected tapes with the report.
■ Send tapes off-site.
■ Receive expired tapes from off-site vendor (daily or weekly).
■ Compare the tapes that are received with the session status and notify storage
administration of any discrepancies.
14 About NetBackup Vault operational procedures
About Vault operational procedures

■ Rerun reports, if necessary.

■ Run the audit report and notify storage administration of any discrepancies.
■ Manually eject tapes to resolve problems.

Processing Vault reports

Each time the vault process runs, it sends reports to various staff members to notify
them that it ran. Storage operations should receive a copy of the daily Picking List
for Robot report. This report notifies the operations staff that a job has completed
and that tapes have been ejected from the library.
To process a Vault report
1 Determine who is responsible for processing the ejected tapes.
2 Retrieve printed reports from the assigned printer, if applicable.
3 Retrieve ejected tapes from the library doors.
4 Prepare tapes for off-site storage.
5 Compare ejected tapes with the Picking List for Robot.
6 Work with storage administration to resolve any discrepancies.
7 If you do not receive a report by the predetermined time, it may be difficult to
process the tapes properly. For example, you may miss the time for off-site
vendor delivery or pickup.
If you have not received a report that you expected, contact storage
administration to determine if there are any problems with the vault sessions.
They can monitor the current jobs and interrupt them to allow the session to
finish on time.

About removing tapes from a library

Libraries base decisions to eject media on their robotic capabilities. Robots that
have media access ports (MAPs) place ejected media into one of their MAPs. You
must remove the media from the slots in the MAP. For ACS robots that have multiple
MAPs, media are placed in the MAP nearest the media volume (depending on
configuration of the vault). For any robots that do not have MAPs, you must remove
the media from the library slots in the robot.
You determine when media is ejected when you configure Vault for immediate or
deferred ejection.
If you configure Vault for immediate ejection, the robot ejects the media into the
MAP during the Vault session. The robot extends the MAP so that you can remove
 About NetBackup Vault operational procedures 15
About Vault operational procedures

the media. Vault can select more media for ejection than the MAP can hold. If that
is the case, Vault fills the MAP again and ejects more media. It continues until it
ejects all the required media.
If you configure Vault for deferred ejection, you must eject the media and generate
the reports manually. The vault process may include more media than can fit in the
MAP. If this situation occurs, you must remove all ejected media before the robot
can process the next set of media. You can use the Vault Operator Menu to eject
media manually and generate reports.
The robot should eject the tapes in order of media ID and slot ID. Vault assigns a
new slot ID on a session-by-session basis, in media ID order. The Vault uses slot
IDs to order the Picking List for Robot report. For this reason, the report matches
the order of the tapes that are ejected. However, the order may not match if off-site
slot IDs from the tapes that have returned from the vault have been reused.

Note: If media are not removed and a timeout condition occurs, the media are
returned to (injected into) the library slots in the robot. If a timeout occurs, inventory
the robot as described in the chapter about management of media in robots in the
NetBackup Administrator’s Guide. After the inventory completes, you can use the
Vault Operator Menu to eject the media that was returned to the robot.

Vault report options

You can use several reports to process daily work. Cohesity recommends that you
send both printed copies and email copies of all reports to the staff members who
are involved.
The following list describes the reports:

Picking List for The Picking List for Robot report lists the tapes you must remove from
Robot the robot. Note the following about the Picking List for Robot report:

■ The tapes should be the same tapes that the robot has ejected.
■ The media ID should match the tape label.
■ The slot IDs should ascend in order.
■ The slot IDs should not match any slot in use at the off-site vendor
■ The slot IDs should not match any slot ID already in use by a tape
in transit to or from the off-site vendor.
■ The Date Assigned should be the same date as the report.
■ Expiration dates vary depending on the retention period of the
backup policy.
■ If the report does not list any media, Vault did not eject any media
during the session.
16 About NetBackup Vault operational procedures
About Vault operational procedures

Distribution List Include this report with the media that is sent off-site. It contains the
for Vault same information as the Picking List for Robot, but it is intended for
distribution to the off-site vendor with the tape batch.

Picking List for The Picking List for Vault report shows the tapes that were requested
Vault for return from the off-site vendor. Provide the off-site vendor with a
copy of this report with each batch of media that goes off-site so that
they return the expired tapes. The report does not list any tapes if no
tapes have expired on the reporting day. Give a copy to the off-site
vendor whether or not it lists any tapes.

Distribution List The Distribution List for Robot report contains information on the same
for Robot tapes as the Picking List for Vault report. These tapes do not arrive on
site for at least one day. Make sure that the report is available when
the tapes arrive the following day. Do not file the report until the tapes
are checked in.

Vault Inventory The Vault Inventory report shows all the tapes still in the off-site vault.
The tapes are those left after the off-site vendor receives the daily batch
and removes the appropriate tapes. The tapes that are removed are
those shown in the Distribution List for Vault report.

Provide one copy of this report to the vendor with each batch. Place
another copy in an easily accessible location.

You can print other reports after a Vault session. The storage administration team
should notify operations of all reports that are printed and which reports need to be
sent off site. For example, the administration team may print the detailed distribution
lists that show the actual data that is stored on each tape.

Sending reports and tapes to the off-site vendor

Cohesity suggests the following procedure as a guideline only. Your site may have
different procedures in place.
After you receive all reports and compare them to the tapes that are intended for
off-site storage, prepare the tapes and reports for pickup.
To send reports and tapes to the off-site vendor
1 Use only the containers that storage operations or storage administration
specify.
2 Include the following reports:
■ Vault Inventory
■ Distribution List for Vault
■ Picking List for Vault
 About NetBackup Vault operational procedures 17
About Vault operational procedures

3 Complete the off-site vendor pickup form. Note container numbers, vault
number, and date of shipment.
4 File a copy of the Picking List for Robot report in an accessible location.
5 Sign off for completion.
6 Place a copy of the Distribution List for Robot report in an accessible location.
This report is a reference for returning tapes.

Comparing received tapes to your reports

Cohesity suggests the following procedure as a guideline only; your site may have
different procedures in place. The off-site vendor returns tapes that were requested,
usually the preceding day. Compare the tapes that you received from the off-site
vendor to the reports that list the tapes you expect to receive. The comparison
should ensure that you have received the full set of tapes.
To compare received tapes against your reports
1 Locate the Distribution List for Robot report. This report is normally the previous
day’s report.
2 Compare the tapes you received from the off-site vendor with the report. Notify
storage administration if there are any discrepancies that you cannot resolve
with the off-site vendor.
3 Remove the tapes from the containers and enter them into the robot according
to your normal operating procedures. Be sure not to skip any slots because
the robot may not reload the tapes properly. If you use NetBackup-controlled
robots (such as TLD or TL8), run the inject process as storage administration
specifies.
4 Sign off the report and file it in the proper location.
You must resolve all discrepancies in the report, whether they are from the
tapes that have left or the tapes that have returned. Do not file a report until
you have resolved all discrepancies.

About report discrepancies

If you find report discrepancies, we suggest you run one or more reports to audit
the location of your media. One option is to run the Off-site Inventory report. Look
for any unassigned tapes that were left in the off-site vaulting location, and look for
any expired media that was not recalled. The All Media Inventory report also may
be useful; it shows media on site, media in transit, and media off site.
Expired media may not be recalled in the following circumstances: A tape is only
called back once. A tape should be picked up on the day when Vault generated the
18 About NetBackup Vault operational procedures
About Vault operational procedures

report that recalled it. If it is not picked up, that tape media ID does not appear on
the following reports, and the piece of media may be forgotten. The Lost Media
Report shows the media that was not picked from the vault as scheduled.

Rerunning reports
You may choose to rerun a report because you lost the original copy or because
you want updated information. Use the Vault Operator Menu to rerun reports.
To rerun a report
1 Log on to the NetBackup primary server.
2 Run the vltopmenu command as follows, using the name of the profile for
which you want to run reports:

vltopmenu profile

The Vault Operator Menu regenerates the reports for the most recent session.
Select the report or reports you want to rerun.

Printing reports from a previous day

To print reports from a previous day, change the session number.
To print reports from a previous day
◆ Choose Select Session and enter the number of the session for which you
printed reports.

Sending reports through email

To allow the report to be sent through email, change the report destination to include
one or more email addresses.
To send reports through email
1 Choose Modify the Report Destinations > Modify Email address(es).
2 Enter the email addresses to which the reports should be emailed.
3 (On Windows systems only) Configure the nbmail.cmd script in the \bin
directory.

Saving a report to a file

To save the reports to a file, change the report destination to include a path name.
 About NetBackup Vault operational procedures 19
About Vault operational procedures

To save a report to a file

1 Choose Modify the Report Destinations > Modify Directory Destination.
2 Enter the path name of a directory in which you want the report files stored.

About running the audit report

To create an audit report, use the All Media Inventory report. This report prints an
inventory of all media that is used for duplication of backups. First, it prints all the
media in the robot that is used for duplicates. Next, it prints all the media that is in
the off-site vault. This information is printed in order by media ID.

About resending eject commands (manually eject tapes)

Select Eject Media for This Session to resend the eject commands from a particular
session.
Normally, this option is only used if the eject process was interrupted and some
media were not ejected from the library. This option is also used if the number of
tapes you need to eject exceeded the size of the MAP. If there are still discrepancies
between ejected media and the Vault reports after using this command, contact
storage administration.

About injecting tapes into a robot

When you choose Inject Media into Robot, Vault moves tapes from the media
access port (MAP) to the library slots and updates the volume database.
If any problems occur during this process, contact storage administration.
20 About NetBackup Vault operational procedures
About Vault operational procedures
 Index

A T
audit report 19 tapes
comparing with reports 15
B injecting 19
receiving from offsite vendor 17
background 7
removing from library 14
sending to offsite vendor 16
C
commands
vltopmenu 11
V
Vault Operator Menu interface 11
vltopmenu command 11
E
eject command
resend 19
eject tapes
manually 19
email reports 18

I
injecting tapes 19

M
manual ejection
tapes 19
menu user interface
vltopmenu 11

O
operational procedures
summary 13

R
report discrepancies 17
reports
email 18
finding discrepancies 17
to print previous 18
to receive 14
to save to a file 18–19