Data Domain Copying Files from or to /ddvar Using SCP

Copying files from and to /ddvar using SCP:

This article describes how to copy files to and from /ddvar using SCP, and provides examples for workstations running both Linux (through SCP command) and Windows (by using powershell or pscp.exe). This method can also be used over Secure Remote Services (CLI using SSH).

SCP - Secure Copy Protocol

<file> - The file we want to transfer. It can be:

Local, for example ./4.9.4.5-306901.rpm

Remote, for example sysadmin@<IP Address>:/ddr/var/core/ddfs.core.9801.gz

<target_dir> the folder where the file is copied to. It can be:

Local, for example ./ or /ddr/var/releases/

Remote, for example sysadmin@<IP Address>:/ddr/var/releases/

Add "-O" parameter for scp to force copy package instead instead of looking for motd info. Avoid error : 

scp: Received message too long 707406368

Windows workstations

With most versions of windows, they now package openssh with powershell:

It has the same syntax as linux scp:

Open powershell
scp <file> <target_dir>

If we don't have access to powershell for some reason, you can use putty's pscp program from command prompt with similar syntax:

pscp.exe -scp <file> <target_dir>

pscp.exe can be downloaded here:

Putty Download Page

Examples (Windows using powershell):

1. Uploading an upgrade bundle to the DDR

PS C:\Users\user> scp 4.9.4.5-306901.rpm sysadmin@<IP Address>:/ddr/var/releases/

 For this example to work, file 4.9.4.5-306901.rpm must be in the same local folder.

2. Download a core file from the DDR to the local current working folder.

PS C:\Users\user> scp sysadmin@<IP Address>:/ddr/var/core/ddfs.core.9801.gz ./

Linux workstations

Same syntax as windows powershell scp

scp <file> <target_dir>

Copying files from the Data Domain appliance (Downloading from DDR):

1. Find the exact location of the file in the DDR from Autosupport or support bundle

a. From Autosupport

 i. Cores 

 ii. Support Bundles (SUBs): Open the latest ASUP report and look up /ddr/var/support. 

Looking for core file in asup:

/ddr/var/core:
total 24483740
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root        2646 Dec  1  2021 savecore_log.20211201-21.41
--wxr----t 1 root root     1048576 Dec  7  2021 msgbuf-20211207-02.56
drwx------ 2 root root       16384 Dec  1  2021 lost+found
drwx------ 2 root root        4096 Dec  2  2021 kernel-20211201-22.14
drwx------ 2 root root        4096 Dec  2  2021 kernel-20211201-21.54
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root          12 Mar 16  2023 ext -> /ddr/var/ext
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root      241555 Apr  6 08:02 ddfs-predump-20250406080219.log
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root      180979 Mar 31 19:47 ddfs-predump-20250331194741.log
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root           0 Mar 12 13:31 ddfs_dmck.info
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 25044734949 Apr  2 20:49 ddfs.core.9801.gz

Example (Linux):

We put together the path:

sysadmin@<IP Address>:/ddr/var/core/ddfs.core.9801.gz

Now we create the whole command:

$ scp sysadmin@<IP Address>:/ddr/var/core/ddfs.core.9801.gz ./

Copying files to the Data Domain appliance (Uploading to DDR)

A typical use case would be transferring an upgrade bundle to a DDR. The full path is <username>@<IP_or_hostname>:/ddr/var/releases/.

Add "-O" parameter for scp to force copy package instead instead of looking for motd info. Avoid error : 

scp: Received message too long 707406368

Example (Windows):

PS C:\Users\baltag2\Downloads\>scp -O 4.9.4.5-306901.rpm sysadmin@<IP Address>:/ddr/var/releases/
Using keyboard-interactive authentication.
Password: xxxxxxx
4.9.4.5-306901.rpm        | 388323 kB | 6472.1 kB/s | ETA: 00:00:00 | 100%