About MSDP storage servers
A storage server is an entity that writes to and reads from the storage. One host functions as the storage server, and only one storage server exists for each NetBackup deduplication node. The host must be a NetBackup media server. Although the storage server components run on a media server, the storage server is a separate logical entity.
See About MSDP deduplication nodes.
The MSDP storage server does the following:
Receives the backups from clients and then deduplicates the data.
Receives the deduplicated data from clients or from other media servers.
You can configure NetBackup clients and other NetBackup media servers to deduplicate data also. In which case, the storage server only receives the data after it is deduplicated.
Writes the deduplicated data to and reads the deduplicated data from the disk storage.
Manages that storage.
Manages the deduplication processes.
How many storage servers (and by extension, nodes) you configure depends on your storage requirements. It also depends on whether or not you use optimized duplication or replication, as follows:
Optimized duplication in the same domain requires at least two deduplication nodes in the same domain. The following are the required storage servers:
One for the backup storage, which is the source for the duplication operations.
Another to store the copies of the backup images, which are the target for the duplication operations.
See About MSDP optimized duplication within the same domain.
Auto Image Replication to another domain requires the following storage servers:
One for the backups in the originating NetBackup domain. This storage server writes the NetBackup client backups to the storage. It is the source for the duplication operations.
Another in the remote NetBackup domain for the copies of the backup images. This storage server is the target for the duplication operations that run in the originating domain.