About compatibility between NetBackup versions
You can run mixed versions of NetBackup between primary servers, media servers, and clients. This back-level support lets you upgrade NetBackup one server at a time, which minimizes the effect on overall system performance.
Veritas supports only certain combinations of servers and clients. In mixed version environments, certain computers must be the highest version. Specifically, the version order is: OpsCenter server, primary server, media server, and then clients. For example, the scenario that is shown is supported: 9.0 OpsCenter server > 8.3.0.1 primary server > 8.3 media server > 8.0 client.
All NetBackup versions are four digits long. The NetBackup 9.0 release is the 9.0.0.0 release. Likewise, the NetBackup 8.3 release is the NetBackup 8.3.0.0 release. For the purposes of supportability, the fourth digit is ignored. An 8.3 primary server supports an 8.3.0.1 media server. Likewise, an 8.3.0.1 primary supports an 8.3 OpsCenter server. An example of what is not supported is an 8.3 OpsCenter server with a 9.0 primary server.
The NetBackup catalog resides on the primary server. Therefore, the primary server is considered to be the client for a catalog backup. If your NetBackup configuration includes a media server, it must use the same NetBackup version as the primary server to perform a catalog backup.
For complete information about compatibility between NetBackup versions, refer to the Veritas SORT website.
Veritas recommends that you review the End of Support Life information available online.