Dell NetWorker 19.9 Administration Guide

Creating an AFTD by using the Properties window (Linux and UNIX)

1. Create one directory for each disk (or partition) to be used for an AFTD.

   AFTDs require a directory (folder) to be created in the disk file system that the NetWorker server or storage node recognizes as the device name (and the destination for the data).

   NOTE:Do not use a temporary directory for AFTDs. The data could be overwritten.
2. In the NetWorker Administration window, click the Devices view.
3. Verify that the path to the storage directory that will contain the AFTDs is allowed.
   1. In the navigation tree, select Storage Nodes.
   2. Right-click the storage node that you will use, and select Properties.
   3. In the AFTD allowed directories list, verify or type the path of the storage directory that will contain the AFTDs.

      AFTDs can be created and accessed only by these listed paths. If this list is left empty, there are few restrictions as to where a device path can be created.

   4. Click OK.
4. In the navigation tree, right-click Devices and select New.

   The Create Device window opens, with the General tab selected. The Identity area might show a default device name in the Name field.

5. In the Identity area, set the following attributes:
   1. In the Name attribute, type the name of the directory that you created for the AFTD.
      For example: 
aftd-1

      If you configure the device on a separate storage node host that is not the NetWorker server host, it is a remote device and this Name attribute must be specified with rd= in the following format:

      rd=remote_snode_hostname:device_name
      

      For example:


      rd=snode-1:aftd-1
   2. (Optional) Add a comment in the Comment field.
   3. In the Device Access Information attribute, provide complete paths to the device directory. You can provide alternate paths for the storage node and for Client Direct clients, for example:

      For non-root or cross-platform Client Direct access:

      For non-root or cross-platform Client Direct access to an AFTD, do not specify an automounter path or a mounted path. Instead, specify the path in the host:/path format, even if the AFTD is local to the storage node.

      For example:

      NFS_host:/path

      where:

      • NFS_host is the hostname of the NFS file server
      • path is the NFS-mountable path that is exported by the file server

        This format is required to allow Client Direct access for Windows or non-root UNIX clients.

        NOTE:Non-root Client Direct access to an NFS AFTD is supported with NFSv3, NFSv4 (v4.0, v4.1, and v4.2) protocols and AUTH_SYS authentication on the NFS host. For Client Direct access to an AFTD when the backup client is able to run as root on the AFTD host, provide a mount point or automounter path.
        NOTE:For example, for an NFS-mounted device:

        /mnt/aftd-1
        /net/storho-1/snode-1/aftd-1

        where:

        • aftd-1 is the storage device directory name
        • storho-1 is the storage system hostname
        • snode-1 is the storage node hostname

          The first path enables the storage node to access the device via its defined mount point. The second path enables Client Direct clients to use the automounter path to directly access the device, bypassing the storage node.

   4. In the Media Type field, select adv_file, for the AFTD.

      Considerations for Client Direct clients provides additional details for Client Direct configurations.

      Multiple devices for a single volume configuration provides additional details for shared volumes.

6. In the Status area, ensure that the Auto Media Management tape feature is not enabled.
7. In the Cleaning area, leave the options for cleaning at their default (disabled) settings, so that automatic cleaning is not invoked.
8. Select the Configuration tab.
9. In the Save Sessions area, set the number of concurrent save sessions (streams) and the number of nsrmmd (data mover) processes the device may handle:

   • Target Sessions is the number of sessions that a nsrmmd process on the device will handle before another device on the host will take the additional sessions. Use this setting to balance the sessions among nsrmmd processes.

     If another device is not available, then another nsrmmd process on the same device will take the additional sessions.

     Typically, set this attribute to a low value. The default values are 4 for AFTDs and 6 for DD Boost devices. It may not be set to a value greater than 60.

     Multiple devices for a single volume configuration provides details on volume sharing.

   • Max Sessions is the maximum number sessions the device may handle. If no additional devices are available on the host, then another available storage host takes the additional sessions, or retries are attempted until sessions become available.

     The default values are 32 for AFTDs and 60 for DD Boost devices, which typically provides best performance. It cannot be set to a value greater than 60.

     The Max Sessions setting does not apply to concurrent recover sessions.

   • Max nsrmmd count limits the number of nsrmmd processes that can run on the device. Use this setting to balance the nsrmmd load among devices. The default value is 4.

     To modify this value, first adjust the sessions attributes, apply, and monitor the effects, then update max nsrmmd count.

     At least one nsrmmd process is reserved for restore or clone operations.

10. In the Local Backup area, leave Dedicated Storage Node at No (the default).
11. In the Remote Host area, if an NFS path is specified in the Device Access Information, then type a Remote User name and Password.

    The remote username is the name of the user on the NFS server. It is recommended that you also specify the numeric user id (UID) of that user. Do this by appending a colon (:) and the UID after the username, for example, user_name:4242.

    NOTE:If the device username is changed after labeling, manual action may be required to change the owner of all files and directories in the AFTD. NetWorker will try to perform this automatically during the next operation, however the ability to do so depends on the security configuration of the file server where the AFTD storage resides.
12. Click OK when the configuration is complete.
13. If a new password for an AFTD is provided, unmount and re-mount the device to ensure that the change takes effect.