Frequently asked questions about Shared Storage Option

Q. What combinations of SAN hardware components are supported for Shared Storage Option?

A. Shared Storage Option works with many hardware combinations. Veritas has an open policy on hardware support for Shared Storage Option. Consult your hardware suppliers to verify the interoperability of their products.

A list of SAN components that have been tested with NetBackup is available on the Veritas support Web site:

http://www.netbackup.com/compatibility

Q. If NetBackup allocates four drives to a server and it finishes with two of the drives, does NetBackup reallocate the two drives? Or does NetBackup wait until the backup schedule that uses the four drives is completely finished before it reallocates the drives?

A. The two available drives are reallocated and used. NetBackup monitors drive status and notifies the NetBackup scheduler of drive availability.

Q. Does NetBackup Shared Storage Option use the IP protocol or the SCSI protocol?

A. Both. IP protocol is used to provide coordination between servers. Shared Storage Option uses SCSI protocol (SCSI reserve) as an added layer of protection.

Q. How can I reserve or release shared devices?

A.The Shared Storage Option does not load firmware in SAN devices or communicate with hub or switch APIs. The Shared Storage Option can communicate with hub or switch APIs if you use the NetBackup shared_drive_notify script.