Catalog Backup: Strategies to Avoid

The following are Catalog backup strategies that are not recommended. Although Catalog backup in some of these cases may succeed, the recovery may not be possible if the master server is not available to coordinate the restore process.

Tape drive attached to a NetApp storage system or other NDMP appliance

The Catalog cannot be backed up directly to an NDMP attached tape drive. In cases where a tape drive cannot be attached to the Catalogic DPX device server, ensure you know where the catalog backup is retained and how to recover it. Do not move Catalog backups to NDMP attached storage. NDMP restore requires Catalog data on the master server. You cannot recover NDMP data unless the master server has the NDMP tape backup in its Catalog. Thus, in a disaster where the primary catalog backup media (DiskDirectory) is lost, the archive via NDMP will not help, since you will have no way to directly recover that data without the master server Catalog.

Block backup to the Catalogic DPX Open Storage Server or NetApp storage systems

Block backup can be used to protect the master server, but that does not guarantee that the Catalog is in a consistent state. You must perform a separate Catalog backup. See Back up to Local Storage Protected with Block Backup in DiskDirectory for Catalog Backup.

USB devices

Consumer grade removable USB storage is not an ideal medium for DiskDirectory management. Backups may succeed, but they would require very careful administration, and you would need to maintain a detailed accounting of backups and devices. It is likely that volser file names will be duplicated across multiple devices, adding to restore time confusion.

Virtualization features

Agent-based and agentless virtualization generally requires a master server with a viable Catalog to run the restore. For disaster recovery testing, other testing, or temporary needs requiring older Catalog data, you can virtualize a master server if that is followed with the desired Catalog restore. However, note that you generally cannot perform virtualization to the original IP address. This limitation may cause local cmagent configuration issues, and the virtualization will likely invalidate the licensing. For real disaster recovery scenarios, BMR followed by a Catalog restore is preferred.