About NetBackup Auto Image Replication
The backups that are generated in one NetBackup domain can be replicated to storage in one or more target NetBackup domains. This process is referred to as Auto Image Replication.
The ability to replicate backups to storage in other NetBackup domains, often across various geographical sites, helps facilitate the following disaster recovery needs:
One-to-one model
A single production data center can back up to a disaster recovery site.
One-to-many model
A single production data center can back up to multiple disaster recovery sites.
Many-to-one model
Remote offices in multiple domains can back up to a storage device in a single domain.
Many-to-many model
Remote data centers in multiple domains can back up multiple disaster recovery sites.
NetBackup supports Auto Image Replication from an OpenStorage disk pool in one NetBackup domain to an OpenStorage disk pool in another domain. The OpenStorage devices that host those disk pools must be the same type.
Auto Image Replication does not support synthetic backups or optimized synthetic backups.
Auto Image Replication does not support spanning volumes in a disk pool. NetBackup fails backup jobs to the disk pools that span volumes if the backup job is in a storage lifecycle policy that also contains a replication operation.
Auto Image Replication does not support replicating from a storage unit group. That is, the source copy cannot be in a storage unit group.
The ability to perform Auto Image Replication between different versions of NetBackup does not overrule the basic image compatibility rules. For example, a database backup that was taken in one NetBackup domain can be replicated to a NetBackup domain of an earlier version. However, the older server may not be able to successfully restore from the newer image.
For information about version compatibility and interoperability, see the NetBackup Enterprise Server and Server Software Compatibility List at the following URL:
Synchronize the clocks of the primary servers in the source and the target domains so that the primary server in the target domain can import the images as soon as they are ready. The primary server in the target domain cannot import an image until the image creation time is reached. Time zone differences are not a factor because the images use Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Table: Auto Image Replication process overview is an overview of the process, generally describing the events in the originating and target domains.
NetBackup uses storage lifecycle policies in the source domain and the target domain to manage the Auto Image Replication operations.
See About the storage lifecycle policies required for Auto Image Replication.
Table: Auto Image Replication process overview
Event | Domain in which event occurs | Event description |
|---|---|---|
1 | Originating primary server (Domain 1) | Clients are backed up according to a backup policy that indicates a storage lifecycle policy as the Policy storage selection. The SLP must include at least one operation to similar storage in the target domain. |
2 | Target primary server (Domain 2) | The storage server in the target domain recognizes that a replication event has occurred. It notifies the NetBackup primary server in the target domain. |
3 | Target primary server (Domain 2) | NetBackup imports the image immediately, based on an SLP that contains an import operation. NetBackup can import the image quickly because the metadata is replicated as part of the image. (This import process is not the same as the import process available in the Catalog utility.) |
4 | Target primary server (Domain 2) | After the image is imported into the target domain, NetBackup continues to manage the copies in that domain. Depending on the configuration, the media server in Domain 2 can replicate the images to a media server in Domain 3. |