This article describes what Networker notification is, how it operates and how to configure it which is intended to EMC Community Network audience.

What is Networker notification?

Networker notification provides information about events that occur in a NetWorker environment. You can configure the events to be reported and how the NetWorker server reports them to you. Specific programs can be executed when an event occurs, including third-party programs. By default, the NetWorker server sends notifications to log files that are located in the NetWorker_install_dir\logs directory on Windows and the /nsr/logs directory on UNIX.

How does Networker proceed notifications?

Many NetWorker processes within a data zone notify the NetWorker server (nsrd) when they finish performing their assigned task or when they are having difficulty performing a task due to undesirable conditions. These conditions might include:

There are no appendable volumes available for a backup.

A NetWorker license has expired or is about to expire.

A tape drive needs cleaning before data can be written to a volume in the drive.

An advanced file type device has become full.

When a process notifies nsrd of what is happening, one of multiple priorities is assigned to the notification, depending on the message’s importance. Priorities can range from informational where no problem exists, to critical, where it is possible that NetWorker is unable to perform a backup.

Networker notification types:

There are two types of networker notifications. Preconfigured notifications & customized notifications

Preconfigured notifications: There are numerous preconfigured NetWorker notification resources that nsrd uses, so that when a particular event occurs at a specific priority, nsrd can perform some action to either correct the situation or somehow notify the NetWorker administrator that the condition exists.

For a complete description list of preconfigured notifications, please see the Networker Administration Guide (https://support.emc.com/search/?text=Networker%20Administration%20Guide)

Customized notifications: User is also able to customize your NetWorker environment, you can either modify the action performed for existing, preconfigured notifications or you can create your own customized notifications, which usually involves copying an existing notification and modifying the action, resulting in multiple actions being performed for the event. An owner notification pertains only to the savegroup report for a client and is discussed shortly.

Configure Networker notification:

Networker notification requires following three elements:

Event

Action

Priority

A notification’s Event attribute specifies one or more events which trigger the performing of the notification by nsrd. A wide variety of NetWorker events send RPC messages to nsrd, keeping the NetWorker server informed about what is taking place.

Each message generated as the result of an event is flagged with a severity level or priority. A notification’s Priority attribute specifies the severity level(s) at which the message must be flagged for the notification to be performed.

Lastly, the Action attribute specifies the command that is executed when a selected event sends a message to nsrd at a selected priority. For a NetWorker server running Microsoft Windows, NetWorker provides the following commands that are commonly used in notifications:

nsrlog (directs message contents to a log file)

nsrlpr (sends message contents to a printer)

smtpmail (emails message contents to a user)

To create a custom notification:

1. From the Administration window, click Configuration.

2. Right-click Notifications, then select New. The Create Notification dialog box appears.

3. In the Name attribute, enter a name for the notification.

4. In the Event attribute, select the events to be acted on.

5. In the Priority attribute, select the priorities of the corresponding actions.

6. In the Action attribute, enter a command to execute in response to the selected events and priorities.

7. Click Ok.

SNMP trap notifications:

To configure Network notification seed via SNMP. Please see KB Configuring, Creating, Modifying SNMP trap notification: https://support.emc.com/kb/125420

Author: Fenglin Li

             

iEMC APJ

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