About the NetBackup image database
The image database contains subdirectories for each client that is backed up by NetBackup, including the primary server and any media servers.
The image database is located in the following location:
Windows: Program Files\Veritas\Netbackup\db\images
UNIX: /usr/openv/netbackup/db/images
The image database contains the following files:
Image files | Files that store only backup set summary information. |
.lck files | Used to prevent simultaneous updates on images. |
Image .f files | Used to store the detailed information about each file backup. |
db_marker.txt | Used to ensure that access to the db directory is valid when the NetBackup Database Manager starts up. Do not delete this file. |
The image database is the largest part of the NetBackup catalog. It consumes about 99% of the total space that is required for the NetBackup catalog. While most of the subdirectories are relatively small in the NetBackup catalogs, \images (Windows) or /images (UNIX) can grow to hundreds of gigabytes. The image database on the primary server can grow too large to fit on a single tape. Image database growth depends on the number of clients, policy schedules, and the amount of data that is backed up.
If the image catalog becomes too large for the current location, consider moving it to a file system or disk partition that contains more space.
The catalog conversion utility (cat_convert) can be used to convert .f files into a human-readable format.
Information about the cat_convert command is available in the NetBackup Commands Reference Guide.