Discovering a configuration
Review the secure communication compatibility matrix for BMR for NetBackup 8.1.1 and later releases before you proceed with the prepare to discover operation.
See Secure communication compatibility matrices for BMR for NetBackup 8.1.1 and later releases.
You can discover the configuration of a new system; the system does not have to be a NetBackup client. A discovered configuration contains the hardware and the software information of a host.
Hardware discovery is mainly required when you are recovering a client onto different target machine than the original. In this case, as target machine differs in hardware details like NIC (network interface card), disk details than original, BMR needs to understand those details before restore begins. Therefore user needs to perform hardware discovery of target hardware using BMR prepare-to-discover operation and map original client configuration with the discovered configuration.
When you discover a configuration, BMR adds it to the discovered configurations pool. The elements of the configuration (such as disk layout) can then be used when you perform operations such as dissimilar disk restore.
When the discovery operation ends, the following changes appear on the client, and the configuration appears in the Discovered Configurations view:
AIX clients display B55 on the LED display.
HP-UX, Linux, and Solaris clients display the following message:
The Bare Metal Restore hardware discovery boot has concluded.
Windows clients display a pop-up box stating that the discovery is finished and that you can click to reboot the system.
To discover a configuration using the bmrprep command
- Login as an administrator.
- Run the bpnbat command.
For more information regarding bpnbat command, refer to the NetBackup Command Reference Guide
- Run the bmrprep command to initiate a prepare to discover operation.
For more information about bmrprep command, refer to the NetBackup Command Reference Guide
https://www.veritas.com/support/en_US/article.DOC5332
Starting with Netbackup 8.1.1 release, when you execute the bmrprep command, validation checks are performed pertaining to the different parameters such as SRT version, configuration version, and so on.
If the validation checks for prepare to discover are successful, then the client is marked for automatic discovery. This automatic discovery is by default valid for 48 hours. Master server authenticity is validated automatically and a host-ID based certificate is automatically issued to this client during the automatic discovery process.
Use the nbhostmgmt command to verify whether the client is marked for automatic discovery.
For more information regarding nbhostmgmt command, refer to the NetBackup Command Reference Guide
https://www.veritas.com/support/en_US/article.DOC5332
For more information about the automatic recovery or discovery and the host-ID based certificate, refer to the NetBackup Security and Encryption Guide
If the validation checks fail, appropriate error messages are displayed. Follow the instructions that are provided in the message.
For more information, See Error messages for prepare to restore, prepare to discover, and the bmrprep command with reference to secure communication in BMR.
The client is ready for discovery.
To discover a configuration using the NetBackup Administration console
- In the Bare Metal Restore Management node, click Actions > Prepare to Discover.
- In the Prepare to Discover dialog box, complete the fields and enter data as necessary.
If you select a client in the Hosts > Bare Metal Restore Clients view, the values for that client are included in the dialog box.
Note:
If a client is the target of a dissimilar disk restore (DDR) and VxVM manages the protected client's disks, specify an SRT with VxVM installed.
- Click OK.
Starting with Netbackup 8.1.1 release, when you click Prepare to Discover, validation checks are performed pertaining to the different parameters such as SRT version, configuration version, and so on.
If the validation checks are successful, then the the client is marked for automatic discovery. This automatic discovery is by default valid for 48 hours. Master server authenticity is validated automatically and a host-ID based certificate is automatically issued to this client during the automatic discovery process.
The client is ready for discovery.
Use the nbhostmgmt command to verify whether the client is marked for automatic discovery.
For more information about nbhostmgmt command, refer to the NetBackup Command Reference Guide
https://www.veritas.com/support/en_US/article.DOC5332
For more information about the automatic recovery or discovery and the host-ID based certificate, refer to the NetBackup Security and Encryption Guide
If the validation checks fail, appropriate error messages are displayed. Follow the instructions that are provided in the message.
For more information, See Error messages for prepare to restore, prepare to discover, and the bmrprep command with reference to secure communication in BMR.
- Boot the client to start the hardware discovery operation.
If you use media boot, when BMR prompts for the client name, enter it as it appears in the Tasks view from the prepare-to-discover operation.
Target machine discovery is done automatically and you receive a notification upon discovery completion. Upon successful discovery operation, you can see the discovered configuration with the given name under Bare Metal Restore Management > Resources > Discovered Configurations menu.
Note:
If you abort the discovery operation or if the discovery operation fails, either run the prepare to discover operation again to restart the automatic discovery or manually set the option using the or command-line interface.
For more information about manually setting the Allow Auto Reissue Certificate option, see Allowing automatic reissue of a certificate section within the NetBackup Security and Encryption Guide