Restore: Recovering Catalog Backup Data

Attention! You must back up the Catalog regularly, preferably every day.

Catalog Restore is a disaster recovery utility that allows you to restore the Catalog in the event you lose it. You need the Catalog to restore your files. Ideally, store a recent copy of the Catalog offsite. A recent backup copy of the Catalog makes restoring data easier in the event of a disaster. Without the Catalog, you may not be able to use certain recovery features, such as NDMP restore and virtualization. Without a usable backup of the Catalog, restoring your system in the event of a severe system failure will be arduous and time-consuming.

To restore your Catalog in the case of a disaster where you have lost DPX, you must first restore or reinstall DPX. BMR restore of the master server is recommended. However, BMR restore may not result in a usable catalog. In that case, after the BMR restore, perform a Catalog restore.

The preferred method of Catalog restore is from a tape device connected directly to the master server. In the event you used an alternate strategy to back up the Catalog to DiskDirectory, you will first need to identify where the required Catalog backup is, recover that data back to the master server, and then use the Catalog restore facility to access the DiskDirectory volser. Recovery of the DiskDirectory volser to your master depends on the strategy implemented to back it up and retain the data offsite. If this second backup was to tape, you may need to use Tape mode restore to recover those DiskDirectory volsers. If the data was retained on disk storage, then to access the required catalog backup, you may need to replicate that data back on site, attach CIFS/NFS storage, or attach LUN storage to the master server.

After a new DPX installation, if you have devices attached to your master server, launch the Device Configuration Wizard to install device software specific to those devices. It is not necessary to launch auto-configuration because your node and other configurations are restored with the Catalog.

The node of the master server where your Catalog resides must be defined in your Enterprise before starting a Catalog restore. If you need to define the node, follow the steps in Adding a Node in the Reference Guide.

To restore the Catalog once DPX is running, select the Catalog tab from the Function Tab Bar, then click Restore.