About recovering the NetBackup catalog
Note:
NetBackup Catalog Recovery is a critical process. During the catalog recovery process, you must not perform any other operation using the NetBackup web UI or the NetBackup Administration Console. The NetBackup database and all the services will be down during the process.
Before you recover the NetBackup catalog, you must do the following:
Ensure that NetBackup is running in the recovery environment.
Configure the recovery devices in NetBackup.
Ensure that the media on which the catalog backups exist are available to NetBackup.
If the NetBackup primary server is part of a cluster, ensure that the cluster is functional.
Restore the NetBackup host identity by restoring the disaster recovery package.
See About restoring disaster recovery package.
Caution:
After successful catalog recovery, you must set the disaster recovery package passphrase, because the passphrase is not recovered during the catalog recovery.
The NetBackup catalog consists of several parts. How you recover the catalog depends on which part or parts of the catalog you want to recover, as follows:
Table: Catalog recovery options
Recovery option | Description |
|---|---|
Recover the entire catalog | Veritas recommends that you recover the entire catalog. Doing so helps ensure consistency among the various parts of the catalog. This method is most useful for recovering a catalog to the same environment from which it was backed up. |
Recover the catalog image files and configuration files | The image database contains information about the data that has been backed up. This type of recovery also restores the data and the metadata for the NetBackup databases (BMRDB, NBAZDB, and NBDB) so that it is available for further recovery processing. |
Recover the NetBackup databases | NetBackup stores information in the NetBackup database (NBDB). The metadata includes information about the data that has been backed up, and about where the data is stored. Recover the NetBackup database if it is corrupt or lost but the catalog image files exist and are valid. |
Recovery of the entire catalog or the catalog image files relies on the disaster recovery information. That information is saved in a file during the catalog backup. The location of the disaster recovery file is configured in the catalog backup policy.
See NetBackup disaster recovery email example.
If you do not have the disaster recovery file, you still can recover the catalog. However, the process is much more difficult and time-consuming.
See Recovering the NetBackup catalog without the disaster recovery file.
Note:
After a catalog recovery, NetBackup freezes the removeable media that contains the catalog backup. This operation prevents a subsequent accidental overwrite action on the final catalog backup image on the media. This final image pertains to the actual catalog backup itself, and its recovery is not part of the catalog recovery. You can unfreeze the media.
Other procedures exist for special use cases.
See Recovering the NetBackup catalog when NetBackup Access Control is configured.
Other topics provide more information about catalog recovery.
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