About dynamic last images
In most environments, the tracked last backups work well without tuning. However, in environments with specialized workloads or clients, the static configuration may not suit all scenarios. In such cases, tuning the parameters alone may not be sufficient and can affect client-side deduplication efficiency.
Client-side deduplication efficiency is especially important in high-latency environments, such as NetBackup Client Direct backups, optimized duplication, or replication. In some cases, it can also affect the overall deduplication rate and performance for the client.
To address these situations, NetBackup 11.2 provides the cacontrol command to configure the rules that determine the selection of the last backups for a specific client. This capability enables on-demand, dynamic searches of the MSDP catalog instead of relying solely on tracked last backups. If no rule is configured, or if a configured rule does not return any results, the system falls back to using the tracked last backups.
Use the cacontrol command with the --dynamicLastImages option to configure and list the rules for the clients.
Table:
Command | Description |
|---|---|
cacontrol --dynamicLastImages getRules [rulesFile] | Returns the configured custom rules. If no rules are configured, the built-in template is returned. If rulesFile is specified, the output is written to that file. Otherwise, it is written to standard output. |
cacontrol --dynamicLastImages setRules rulesFile | Applies the JSON rules that are defined in rulesFile. |
cacontrol --dynamicLastImages editRules | (Linux only) Opens the current rules in the vim editor. Changes are applied when the file is saved and the editor is closed. The option combines the getRules and setRules options with the vim text editor. When the editRules option cannot be used (for example, on Windows), combine the commands with the getRules option, editing, and the setRules option. |
cacontrol --dynamicLastImages suggestRule dsid client policy | Generates a suggested rule for a specified client based on existing MSDP catalog information. You can start with the suggestion to configure, monitor, and tune the rule for a client. Note: Suggested rules may not be optimal. Review and adjust parameters before use. Monitor backup results and tune the rules further as needed. |