How to Troubleshoot Disk Device Space Issues in Networker 9

This video covers how to troubleshoot disk device space issues in Networker 9.

Hi there.

In this video, we'll look at troubleshooting disk device space issues in networker. This video demonstrates how to troubleshoot disk device space issues in networker version nine and onwards. While data domain devices are more common, this video applies to standard dis devices as well.

Networker allows administrators to define safe set retention policies and ensure data that is expired is removed from the disk. It uses the NS rim command to achieve this which runs an action with the server backup workflow. There are a variety of factors which may prevent safe sets from being removed from a disk device follow these steps to determine the cause. Usually it is best to start with a single save set to determine why it is not expiring.

The most common retention complaint is a misunderstanding of networker logic. A safe set may only expire after its retention date and the retention date of all its dependent safe sets is passed. Dependent save sets are those which rely on earlier safe sets in the same cycle like an incremental depends on its parent full backup to recover. Mm info can show you a clear view of your backup cycles.

Ensure you include SS create SS flags level and C retent in the report spec, use the client and save set name in your query spec to isolate the cycle. Each backup cycle begins with a successful full backup and ends with the last dependent. The usual effect is that all save sets expire together with the last expiring save set of a cycle. Two volume flags may prevent freeing up space or expected save set, recycling, manual recycle mode prevents automatic expiry of save sets scan needed prevents this too as well as preventing clean up of deleted save sets.

In NMCS media section, the scan needed and manual recycle flags can be seen. We can also confirm this state at the command line using mm info. We can turn these flags off but not before un mounting the volumes by doing this. We also ensure that the volumes are mounted afterwards. Use the context menu of the volume to set scan not needed and auto recycling before remounting the volume under normal circumstances. Networker does not allow saves set file deletion to reclaim space.

If other weed operations are in progress, this special key file overrides that behavior to enable this behavior echo a blank line into the extension list file at the command line using windows explorer may invisibly add a dot txt. You will need to restart the server for this to take effect. MS Rim's behavior has changed in network nine. It now runs as an action in the default server backup workflow. After the server backup action, this workflow should run daily check your demon log to ensure that it is indeed running.

You can run the MS rin command manually as well. Capture output for support as needed. Save sets can be manually deleted. Although it is difficult to guess how much actual space will be freed by deletion because of the duplication specifically, if there are more backups of the same safe set, it is likely the shared data of the safe set is still mostly present.

Data Domains of different versions have been shown to sometimes cause space reclamation issues. Keep DDOS versions uniform where possible some data domain commands can help you assess cleanable space. See other users and initiate cleaning file cy show comp shows global compression ratio file cy show space shows a cleanable space estimate DD boost storage unit show reveals other users file cycle star will initiate cleaning other issues may exacerbate space problems.

Some data may not be duplicated. Well, such as compressed or encrypted data, you may need to lower retention values to ensure data is removed quickly enough, failing the full backup effectively retains all the previous cycle save sets until the next successful full backup. Always be aware that you may not be the only user of the data domain. And finally, you may simply not have enough disk capacity for your needs and that's it.

Thanks for watching.