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  1. Home
  2. Veritas NetBackup™ Administrator's Guide, Volume I
  3. Section V. Configuring backups
  4. Creating backup policies
  5. Policy Attributes tab
  6. Cross mount points (policy attribute)
Veritas NetBackup™ Administrator's Guide, Volume I

Cross mount points (policy attribute)

The Cross mount points attribute controls whether NetBackup crosses file system boundaries to back up or archive all files and directories in the selected path. For example, if root (/) is specified as the file path on a UNIX system, NetBackup backs up root (/) and all files and directories under root in the tree.

When this attribute is disabled, only the files that are in the same file system as the selected file path are backed up. By disabling, you also prohibit NetBackup from crossing mount points to back up root (/) without backing up all the file systems that are mounted on root. (For example, /usr and /home.)

In some cases, consider creating separate policies for the backups that cross mount points and those that do not. For example, in one policy, disable Cross mount points and include root (/) in the backup selection list. As a result, only the root file system is backed up, and not the file systems that are mounted on it. In another policy, enable Cross mount points and include root (/) in the backup selection list. As a result, all the data on the client is backed up.

Note:

NetBackup specifically excludes mapped directories even if Follow NFS and Cross mount points are enabled. To back up mapped directories, include the directories in the file list.

The following table lists items to consider when you use this policy attribute.

Table: Considerations for Cross mount points (policy attribute)

Item

Description

Follow NFS (policy attribute)

The behavior of Cross mount points can vary depending on how it is used in combination with Follow NFS.

See Examples of using Cross mount points and Follow NFS in combination.

See Follow NFS (policy attribute).

Backup selection entries

The following backup selection entries behave in the following manner for Windows and UNIX computers when the Cross mount points attribute is used:

  • /

    Valid for UNIX clients. For Windows clients, the forward slash expands to ALL_LOCAL_DRIVES.

  • :\

    Valid for Windows clients. For UNIX clients, this entry creates a status 69 (Invalid filelist specification).

  • *:\

    Valid for Windows clients. For UNIX clients, this entry creates a status 69 (Invalid filelist specification).

UNIX raw partitions

This attribute has no effect on UNIX raw partitions. If a raw partition is the root partition and contains mount points for other file systems, the other file systems are not backed up when Cross mount points is enabled.

ALL_LOCAL_DRIVES directive

Do not use Cross mount points in policies on UNIX computers where you use the ALL_LOCAL_DRIVES directive in the backup selection list.

Enabling Cross mount points can cause multiple backups of mounted volumes.

If you require the backup to traverse file system boundaries, do not use the ALL_LOCAL_DRIVES backup selection directive on UNIX clients. Instead, specify a forward slash (/) within the policy backup selection list and ensure that Cross mount points is selected in the policy Attributes.

Mount points to disk storage

Do not cross mount points to back up a media server that uses mount points to any disk storage that contains backup images. If the policy crosses mount points, the NetBackup backup images that reside on that disk storage are backed up. The NetBackup disk storage unit type uses mount points for disk storage.

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Example of using Backup Network Drives (policy attribute) to back up a shared folder

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Examples of using Cross mount points and Follow NFS in combination

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