NetWorker: How to Move An Existing Data Domain Device To Another Storage Node

Summary: There is a load on a single storage node, and we want to move some devices from one storage node to another storage node to reduce the load on that particular storage node.

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Instructions

  1. Log in to the NetWorker Management Console (NMC).
  2. Go to the Devices tab and select Devices from the left menu.
  3. Open the device properties of the device to be modified and ensure that Auto Media Management is not checked. If this box is checked, NetWorker automatically attempts to remount the device when it is unmounted.
auto media management
  1. Under Devices > Storage Nodes, add the New storage Node if it does not exist as a NetWorker resource.
  2. From Devices > Devices, right-click the device and unmount it.
  3. Use the New Device Wizard to create a new device.
A. When creating the new device, in the Select the Folders to use as Devices window, select the existing device fold:
device folder      
NOTE: At this point the NetWorker Device Name should match the existing device.
B. In the Select Storage Nodes window, select the new storage node that you want to mount the device on.
storage node selection
C. Click Next until you get to the Configuration Summary page. You will notice that the new device name should contain the new storage node name. For example, if the device is being moved to a new "remote" NetWorker storage node. It shows rd=device_name. It also shows the existing pool name:
device configuration summary
NOTE: When a device is being moved to the NetWorker server's local storage node, it will not show "rd="Mount the new device.
D: Click Configure, the Configuration Results window should report Success and report that the new device was created under the existing pool:
configuration results
  1. From the Devices tab, mount the new device. The device should get an existing volume label:
mount device
  1. Any backup or clone action previously configured to use the old storage node must be updated to use the new storage node.
From Protection > Policies, open the workflow action and change the storage node in the action properties. Clear the old storage node, and select the new one instead.
action storage node selection
  1. NetWorker clients which have a storage node entered into the "Storage Nodes" field in their Globals (2 of 2) tab must be updated to include the new storage node (if not present); otherwise backups fail:
NOTE: nsrserverhost is the default storage node which represents the NetWorker server's embedded storage node. Some client's may have this field empty (open); however, some have one or more storage nodes entered (restricted). This restricts storage node access to only the storage nodes defined in this field.
  1. Test any backup/clone job configured to use the new storage node and device.
  2. Delete the old device resource using the old storage node if no longer needed. Simply removing the device resource from NetWorker does not delete data on the device.
CAUTION: When removing the old device ensure the Permanently Erase all data… box is not checked. If this box is checked, it can result on data loss on the device. 
remove data

Affected Products

NetWorker
Article Properties
Article Number: 000199519
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 10 Mar 2025
Version:  3
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