Welcome to NetWorker Fundamentals.

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Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 1

This course provides an overview of NetWorker architecture, features, and functionality. A
detailed discussion of NetWorker backup and recovery functions is also provided.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 2

In this module, you gain an understanding of the NetWorker solution for backup and
recovery. The module provides an overview of NetWorker data protection functions and
benefits of the NetWorker solution and use cases.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 3

There are many components in an IT environment that need to be protected. NetWorker
works within the existing framework of hardware, operating systems, and network
communication protocols to provide a comprehensive and consolidated data protection
solution. NetWorker provides centralized and automated backup and recovery across an
enterprise using a common platform for backup to tape, disk, snapshot and replication
management, as well as deduplication backups.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 4

These are some of the common reasons organizations choose NetWorker for their backup
management solution:
• Provides centralized control of traditional and deduplicated backups.
• Provides advanced backup-to-disk capabilities, including snapshot management, NAS
backup to disk, and backup to cloud.
• Delivers enterprise performance, security, reporting, and analytics.
• Provides integrated support for Avamar and Data Domain with a common
management interface and backup workflow. By leveraging Avamar and Data Domain
deduplication, NetWorker helps users reduce the amount of disk storage needed to
retain and protect data without adding administrative complexity.
• Provides NetWorker application modules for fast, online, automated, and reliable
backup and recovery of popular database, messaging, content, and ERP applications.
• Features support for virtual environments. Both guest-level and image backups of
virtual machines are supported.
• Provides better recoverability from tape backups by leveraging a future-proof open
tape format with better recoverability from damaged tape media.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 5

NetWorker performs various data protection functions like backup, tracking and reporting,
staging, cloning, aging, and recovery. Let’s take a look at each of these and review how
NetWorker supports them.

A backup is a copy of production data created and retained for the sole purpose of
recovering deleted or corrupted data. NetWorker provides a scalable solution to manage
backups for a small network or an entire enterprise, and enables you to automate and
configure this process for speed and efficiency.

Tracking and reporting is the process of storing and accessing information about the
backups. NetWorker saves and tracks information, such as the location and volumes of the
backup, the client that generated the backup, the backup creation date and time, and the
backup type.

Recovery is the process of restoring data to a given point in time. NetWorker makes this
process possible from anywhere within the NetWorker data zone. This feature enables users
to retrieve a single file or restore an entire file system.

Aging determines the length of time that the backup data is available for recovery.
NetWorker allows you to specify how long individual copies of data are maintained.

Staging is the process of moving a save set from one storage volume, which is the physical
medium where the backup data is stored, to another.

Cloning is similar to staging however instead of moving data it simply makes a copy of it.
This copy or clone can then be managed independently with its own retention time.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 6

NetWorker allows you to perform more efficient backups than most native operating system
backup software programs.

Many native solutions limit you to one backup at a time, one operating system, and only
local devices. NetWorker is not bound by these restrictions and is capable of backing up
multiple save sets from clients running different operating systems to any NetWorker-
configured device.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 7

NetWorker provides network-based backup protection that functions in LAN, WAN, and SAN
environments on open system protocols, including TCP/IP, Network Data Management
Protocol(NDMP), and NFS/CIFS.

NetWorker uses the client/server model which distributes the workload and improves
performance. It is supported on numerous operating systems as listed in the NetWorker
Software Compatibility Guide. The supported platforms seamlessly co-exist within the data
zone. For example, a Microsoft NetWorker client can back up to a UNIX NetWorker storage
node and vice versa.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 8

In an environment without multiplexing, only one stream of data is written to a tape device
at any given time. This situation is not ideal because as more clients perform simultaneous
backups, the tape drive’s throughput is not optimized.

One of the ways that Networker achieves backup efficiency with tapes is by interleaving, or
multiplexing, multiple backups onto a backup device. Multiplexing enables more than one
save stream to write to the same device at the same time. This allows the device to write to
the volume at the collective data rate of the save streams, up to the maximum data rate of
the device.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 9

Open Tape Format (OTF) is a data format that allows multiplexed, heterogeneous data to
reside on the same tape volume.

As shown on the slide, clients wrap their backup data into packages containing platform-
independent data, which are called save set chunks, before sending them to the storage
node. The storage node receives the packages and arranges them in media records and
files.

These are then stored in tape volume. The way the storage node organizes the data is also
platform-independent allowing any NetWorker storage node to read the data. Through the
use of Open Tape Format, a NetWorker storage node can be migrated to a host running a
different operating system.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 10

NetWorker backup and recovery software centralizes, automates, and accelerates data
backup and recovery across an IT environment. It easily scales for support of small to very
large, complex organizations. NetWorker delivers protection for a wide variety of computing
and storage environments including SAN, NAS and DAS, various operating systems, virtual
environments, critical business applications, and a variety of backup storage options
including tape, virtual tape, disk arrays, deduplication systems, and cloud storage.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 11

NetWorker provides support for backup and recovery of VMware virtual clients with guest
level backups and image-level backups with NetWorker VMware Protection. Backup data can
be stored on deduplication devices, such as Data Domain.

These methods can be employed to reduce complexity in the backup environment, reduce
the impact of backups on production servers and reduce backup storage requirements.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 12

This module introduced the NetWorker solution for backup and recovery. The module
provided an overview of NetWorker data protection functions, benefits of the NetWorker
solution and use cases.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 13

This module focuses on NetWorker backup and recovery terms, the NetWorker software
components and their roles, and NetWorker control data.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 14

A save set is one or more files, directories, file systems, or application-generated data
residing on a NetWorker client, that is backed up as a unit to a NetWorker storage node or
backup device.

A save stream is a single save set in the process of being backed up. The save program
runs on the NetWorker client and is used to back up a save set.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 15

A volume is a physical piece of media, such as a magnetic tape or a file system directory,
to which backup data is written.

A pool contains a collection of NetWorker-labeled volumes.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 16

A protection group is a NetWorker resource that defines a set of data sources to protect,
such as clients, VMware objects or save sets.

Data protection policies enable you to protect client data automatically throughout the
data protection lifecycle.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 17

Workflows define a list of actions to perform sequentially or concurrently. A workflow can
be as simple as a single action that applies to a finite list of Client resources, or it can be a
complex chain of actions that apply to a dynamically changing list of resources, with some
actions occurring sequentially and others occurring concurrently.

Actions are the key resources in a workflow for a data protection policy. An action defines
the data protection operation to be performed, such as backup or clone.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 18

The three primary types of NetWorker hosts in a NetWorker data zone are the NetWorker
server, storage node(s), and clients.

A single NetWorker server, along with its storage nodes and clients, forms a NetWorker
data zone within which data is protected.

An enterprise may have more than one NetWorker data zone; however, NetWorker servers
and storage nodes may belong to only one data zone.

NetWorker clients may be backed up by multiple NetWorker servers and therefore, may
belong to multiple data zones.

Additionally, NetWorker provides the ability to create multiple restricted data zones (RDZ)
on a single NetWorker server to support multi-tenancy requirements of organizations like IT
service providers and cloud hosting providers.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 19

The most fundamental component of NetWorker software is the NetWorker client. The
NetWorker client software contains all of the functionality needed for communication with
the NetWorker data zone. Because of this every host in a data zone must have the
NetWorker client software installed, including the NetWorker server and storage nodes.

The client’s most important functions are to generate backups called save sets, push them
to a NetWorker storage node or device, and retrieve them during a recovery.

While performing a backup, the client also generates tracking information, including the file
and directory names in the backup and the time of the backup. This data is sent to the
server where it is stored and used to facilitate browsable point-in-time (PIT) recoveries.

Additionally, the client software will also contain graphical user interfaces or command line
utilities that allow users to manually perform backup and recovery operations from the
client.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 20

NetWorker storage nodes are dedicated hosts with directly-attached or SAN/LAN-accessible
devices to support the storage of backup data.

During a backup, a NetWorker client sends backup data to a particular storage node based
on that client’s configuration. The storage node organizes the client’s data and writes the
client’s data to one of its devices.

Storage nodes also send tracking information about the save sets written to the volume
during the backup to the NetWorker server. This information is used for future backups as
well as for recoveries.

During a recovery, the client reads from the storage node. The storage node provides the
device that contains the necessary volume.

The NetWorker server is always a storage node and is the default storage node for backups.
A NetWorker server can manage many storage nodes, but a NetWorker storage node can be
managed by only one NetWorker server. In other words, a storage node cannot exist in two
data zones at the same time. Storage node hosts have both the NetWorker client and
storage node software installed on them.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 21

The NetWorker Server is a physical or virtual machine that manages the data zone and
facilitates client backups and recoveries.

The NetWorker server stores the configuration information for the data zone including client
configurations, devices, policies, and schedules in its resource database.

Additionally, the server hosts the media database responsible for tracking volume and save
set location information.

Finally, the NetWorker server tracks the contents of all save sets backed up from all clients
in its client file indexes.

There can only be one NetWorker server per data zone and it must be available for any
NetWorker activity to be supported in that data zone. The NetWorker server has the
NetWorker client, storage node, and server software installed and is configured to
automatically back up its databases and client file indexes to ensure recoverability in the
event of a disaster.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 22

Administration of a NetWorker server is performed using the NetWorker Management
Console server (NMC).

NMC provides a Java-based graphical user interface accessible from any supported web
browser.

The Console server provides a global view of the NetWorker environment, allowing you to
centrally configure and manage one or more NetWorker data zones as well as run a number
of preconfigured and customizable reports.

The Console server gathers information about backups from the data zone and can be
hosted on the NetWorker server or on a separate host. One NetWorker Management
Console server can be used to manage multiple NetWorker servers and data zones across
an enterprise.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 23

NetWorker control data collectively represents the NetWorker configuration information and
the backup tracking information stored on the NetWorker server.

The Resource Database contains the NetWorker configuration resource files.

The Media Database is the NetWorker database used to track the backups and the
volumes they are stored on.

Client File Indexes, or CFIs, are the NetWorker databases that track each file or
pathname in a client’s backup, allowing clients to browse their backups for files from a
particular point in time. The NetWorker server creates and maintains one client file index
per client.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 24

Resources are used to configure and define objects within a NetWorker environment.

Each configurable component in NetWorker is represented by a resource and there can be

multiple configurations for each type. Examples of resource types include clients, devices,
tape libraries, and policies.

Nearly all NetWorker resources are stored on and managed by the NetWorker server in the
resource database.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 25

The NetWorker server maintains tracking information for save sets and volumes in a client
file index for each client and in the media database.

The Client File Index (CFI) is the database maintained by the NetWorker server that
tracks each backed up save set. The CFI information answers the question, "What files were
backed up and when?" for each client. The NetWorker server maintains a single index file
for each client computer. The NetWorker server is also a client and has its own index file.
The CFI information is used to support browsable recoveries using file selection and allows
clients to more easily recovery files to a specific point in time.

The Media Database tracks the NetWorker labeled volumes, the save sets contained on
them, and the life cycle status of the save sets and volumes. The NetWorker server uses
the media database records to determine which volumes are needed for backing up and
recovering data.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 26

This module focused on NetWorker backup and recovery terms, NetWorker software
components and their roles, and NetWorker control data.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 27

This module covers an overview of backup and recovery operations and additional features
of NetWorker.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 28

This lesson covers an overview of the NetWorker backup workflow, supported backup levels,
interfaces for running backups, devices, and NetWorker cloning and staging operations.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 29

A backup creates a copy of production data for the sole purpose of recovery in the event of
loss or corruption. The backup destination can be another directory on the same system,
another server, or some other type of storage media.

Networker manages this backup data, which includes client and tracking information, and
directs it to the proper destination. NetWorker also enables you to automate and schedule
the backup process.

During NetWorker backup, the NetWorker client pushes the data to the destination storage
node where it formats the data and writes it to a volume in a backup device which it
manages. Alternatively, newer NetWorker versions offer the ability for the client to send
data directly to the target device bypassing the storage node. Tracking information is sent
to the NetWorker server from the backup client and/or the storage node. The NetWorker
server is always responsible for storing the tracking information.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 30

EMC NetWorker allows you to perform two types of backups.

A scheduled or server-initiated backup is started from the NetWorker server and is

configured to start automatically through the use of NetWorker policies and workflows.
Server-initiated backups may also be started manually either by using the NetWorker
Management Console or the command line.

A client-initiated backup is started from a NetWorker client and is a manual process that the
user performs. It is usually a one-time event and is performed using a backup command or
GUI.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 31

Server-initiated backups are run automatically according to policy workflows and actions
that determine how and when a client is backed up. You define what data you want to back
up for each host using a NetWorker client resource. Then, you assign those client resources
to backup groups. Next, you design workflows that define the actions or tasks that you
want to perform for that group, when to automatically run the workflow and how often it
will run.

You can also start a server-initiated backup manually from either the NetWorker
Administration window or the command line.

Here, we see an example of a run of the Filesystem Backups policy displayed in the
NetWorker Administration Monitoring window. The policy has a backup action called
Backup and backs up five save sets.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 32

Client-initiated backups can be performed on Microsoft Windows clients using NetWorker
User (winworkr.exe) GUI. On all platforms, the save command can be executed directly
from the command line on any NetWorker client.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 33

NetWorker supports the following back up levels.

• Full backup results in a back up of all files, regardless of whether the files have
changed. The advantage of full backup is faster recovery.

• Incremental backup results in the back up of the files that have changed since the last
backup, regardless of the level of the last backup. The advantages are, it is typically
faster than a full backup, less load on the server, and uses less volume space than a full
backup.

• Cumulative incremental backup results in the back up of all files that have changed
since the last full backup. The advantages are, it is typically faster than a full backup,
less load on the server, and uses the least amount of space.

• Logs only backup performs a backup of only database transaction logs. The advantages
are, it is faster than a full or incremental backup and there is less load on the server.

• Synthetic full backup performs an incremental backup and then combines the most
recent full backup and subsequent incremental backups to produce a new full backup.
The advantages are, it is faster than a full backup, faster recovery, low load on the
server, client, and network, and requires fewer volumes for recovery.

• Skip backup, skips the scheduled backup. For example, you can skip a backup on a
holiday if no one is available to change or add more tape media volumes.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 34

NetWorker software supports a variety of different backup media. NetWorker supports
Tape/Virtual Tape Libraries (VTLs), Advanced File Type Device (AFTD), Data Domain (DD)
Boost, and Cloud disk device types.

• Tape: Includes tape drives and cartridges; may be physical or virtual.

• AFTD: Advanced file type devices (AFTDs) refers to an existing file system directory
configured in NetWorker as a backup to disk resource. Once the device resource is
configured, NetWorker uses the directory as a backup volume.

• DD Boost devices: DD Boost devices reside on Data Domain storage systems that have
the DD Boost features enabled. The DD Boost API accesses the DD Boost devices over a
network.

• Cloud disk device types: Cloud devices are specific to cloud storage services, such as
Atmos. Backups to a cloud device occur over the TCP/IP network.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 35

Cloning is the process of copying save sets or a volume of save sets to another volume.
With cloning, you can create identical copies of save sets in case of damage to original
media or for offsite storage. No volume contains more than one instance of a save set.
Cloning can be done either manually or automatically.

The cloning operation reads save sets from a volume within a backup pool and writes the
data to a volume in a clone pool as shown in the example on the slide. You can clone save
sets multiple times, but NetWorker must write each clone to a separate volume. The clone
operation validates that NetWorker can read the original backup data successfully in the
media database and on the media volume, which provides additional assurance that you
can recover the data.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 36

Staging is the process of copying backup data from one volume to another volume, then
removes the data from the original location. Staging save sets from a primary backup
device ensures that there is always sufficient disk space available on the primary device to
store backup data.

Staging is often used to move save sets from advanced file type devices to long term
storage media, such as tape. This allows the most recent backups to be written to and
recovered from disk and then moved to tape to free space on disk for subsequent backups.

In this example, the staging operation results in the deletion of the original save sets, once
they have been successfully staged to other volumes as indicated by the Xs in the diagram.
This is the difference between a clone and a stage operation. The save sets appear to move
from one volume to another. The resulting save set is identical to that of the first, but in a
different location.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 37

This lesson covers an overview of recovery, its types, and interfaces.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 38

A recovery restores data to its original state at a specific point in time. NetWorker is flexible
in how recoveries are performed while at the same time maintaining necessary security to
avoid recovery of data by non-authorized persons. Recoverable data can include files,
directories, file systems, or application data. NetWorker detects and can be configured to
automatically resolve naming conflicts. Files can be recovered to a directory other than the
directory from which they were backed up.

Recovered files retain the modification time and permissions they had when backed up. The
modification time does not change when the file is recovered.

Recoveries are manual processes and can be categorized by the method used to recover
the data. There are three types of recoveries: browsable, save set, and directed.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 39

Browsable recoveries are the most flexible and easy to use method of recovering data.
Browsable recoveries are performed by NetWorker users and administrators using
interfaces that require information from the Client File Index(CFI). Only those files for which
the user has read permission can be recovered.

During the recovery, the user selects the set of files and directories to be recovered. When
recovering an entire directory or file system, a point-in-time recovery is automatically
performed. This restores the directory or file system to the way it looked as of the most
recent backup. You can also recover a version of a file other than the most recent version.

Consider using a browsable recovery when you want to recover only the files that you mark
for recovery and no other files. Also, when you don’t know the exact name of a file, the file
can be located by browsing through the file system. Because of the point-in-time feature,
browsable recoveries are useful when the most recent backup is not a full backup and files
have been deleted or renamed since the full backup.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 40

A save set recovery allows you to recover data from a save set rather than browsing and
marking data for recovery. A save set recovery can be performed at any time for any save
set. Data that can be recovered includes individual files, directories, and entire save sets.

Since a save set recovery does not utilize client file index information, it does not perform a
point-in-time recovery. Recovering to a specific point in time using save set recoveries may
require multiple recovery operations followed by manual deletion and renaming of files.

A save set recovery is useful when recovering an entire save set or a large number of files
from a single save set. A save set recovery is also commonly performed when information
about the save set being recovered is no longer in the client file index.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 41

A directed recovery is defined as a recovery in which the data that was backed up from
one computer is recovered to another. Because backed up data has a specific data format,
the source and destination clients must have similar operating systems and file system
formats. Additionally, specific access rights are required to perform directed recoveries.

A directed recovery is useful when you cannot log on to the source client to perform the
recovery, you want to perform all recoveries from a single NetWorker client, or you want to
transfer files from one computer to another. The directed recovery capability gives you a
high degree of flexibility and convenience in recovering and redirecting data.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 42

NetWorker provides several interfaces for performing recoveries.

Recoveries can be performed from the command line on any NetWorker client, by running
the recover command.

Additionally, the graphical user interfaces allow the user to mark one or more items for
recovery.

On Microsoft Windows clients, NetWorker User provides a front-end graphical interface for
recoveries.

NetWorker provides the Recovery Wizard that allows the administrator to perform most
NetWorker recoveries through the NetWorker Management Console without having to log
into the client or any other application. The Recovery Wizard supports browsable, save set,
and directed recoveries. With the Wizard, you can create and save a configuration that you
can reuse and modify later. Note that the wizard does not support cross-platform
recoveries.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 43

NetWorker server recovery involves recovering portions or all of the NetWorker control
data, or completely rebuilding the NetWorker server, including its client data. Once each
day, the bootstrap save set, containing media database and resource information, and the
client file indexes are backed up. Recovery of the bootstrap save set is required to recover a
NetWorker server. Recovery of individual client file index save sets is optional. If the
benefits of an individual client file index are not immediately necessary, you may decide not
to recover a client's CFI, especially if the index is extremely large.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 44

This lesson covers some of the features and capabilities that make NetWorker an extremely
efficient and flexible backup management solution. We will also take a look at NetWorker
security features.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 45

The parallel save streams (PSS) feature in NetWorker enables maximum utilization of all
available save streams at any given time regardless of the number of specified save points.
Client parallelism is fully utilized for all save points, thus increasing backup throughput
written to backend media.

With PSS, a single save set entry can be backed up in multiple, parallel save streams. A
save set is split into several save points, each taking a separate save session or stream.
Only as many streams as the client parallelism permits are running at any given time. As a
backup on a stream finishes, the stream is reclaimed and may be reallocated.

PSS is implemented for both UNIX and Windows platforms for file system type backups.
Block based backups are not yet supported with PSS.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 46

Storing backup data on deduplication devices significantly reduces the amount of storage
capacity that is required for backups. Two primary options are available for leveraging
deduplication in a NetWorker environment. With both options, NetWorker provides the
interfaces for defining and managing backup and recovery operations.

NetWorker deduplication with Avamar takes advantage of Avamar source-based

deduplication technologies where the Avamar server is the target for NetWorker backup
data in the form of a NetWorker deduplication node.

Data Domain can be used for deduplicated backup storage in several ways, including
virtual tape and AFTD devices. When integrated with Data Domain through the use of the
NetWorker Data Domain device type, DD Boost technology is used. This significantly
increases backup performance by performing the deduplication process on the backup client
and reduces the amount of data traveling over the network to the Data Domain system.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 47

CloudBoost enables long-term retention of backups to public or private cloud storage.
CloudBoost decouples metadata from data, which removes a bottleneck for cloud reads and
writes. Encryption keys, metadata, and file system information are housed separately from
the data. All advanced data services, such as chunking, encryption, in-line deduplication,
compression, and bulk data transfers, are performed separately from the metadata.
CloudBoost is available as both a physical and a virtual appliance. NetWorker with
CloudBoost sends a backup clone to the CloudBoost appliance.

CloudBoost translates these clones into generic objects which are sent to an object store,
which can be a public, private, or hybrid cloud. The CloudBoost appliance presents itself as
a NetWorker Advanced File Type Device. The enabled workflow is a clone operation to the
cloud; it is not a backup to the cloud. With this low cost tape replacement solution, each
CloudBoost appliance can support up to 6 PB of addressable backend storage.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 48

NetWorker provides support for backup and recovery of VMware virtual clients in two ways:
guest level backups and NetWorker VMware Protection. With a guest backup, the virtual
machine is treated like a normal backup client with the NetWorker client software installed
on the host virtual machine.

NetWorker provides the NetWorker VMware Protection option for image-level backups.
With this option, an EMC Backup and Recovery appliance is deployed in the vSphere server.
Backups are configured and monitored using NetWorker Administration. Virtual machines
are backed up without installing backup agents on every virtual machine and are not
impacted by backup processing. Image-level and file-level recoveries can be performed.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 49

To protect Hyper-V environments, NetWorker leverages the Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy
Service (VSS) to deliver snapshot-based protection and recovery for the entire Hyper-V
server environment, including parent and child partitions (guests).

At the parent level, NetWorker simplifies full protection for the Hyper-V physical server.
Users can easily back up and recover the server operating system, system state, data
volumes, and Hyper-V configuration database. Leveraging the Hyper-V VSS Writer,
NetWorker with NetWorker Module for Microsoft also executes full-image backups or
snapshots of Hyper-V child partitions. Within the child partition, NetWorker executes
application-consistent backups of Microsoft Exchange, SQL, and SharePoint. Application-
aware backups provide fine-grain recovery with application log management to ensure
maximum flexibility in data recovery. Support for off-host backup of child partitions
removes the impact of backup from production Hyper-V servers. The persistent snapshot
management of NetWorker enables fast and efficient snapshot restore and rollback for quick
Hyper-V recovery. Hyper-V data saved on secondary media such as disk, virtual tape, or
tape is also quickly recovered in a single step when needed. To ensure recoverability in
dynamic virtual environments, data can be directed to original or alternate locations.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 50

Using the checkpoint restart feature may prevent re-runs of entire backups when a failure
is encountered during backup. When checkpoint restart is enabled, failed backup operations
can be restarted at a known good point prior to the point-of-failure.

If the checkpoint restart feature has not been enabled, a failure encountered during a
scheduled backup operation might require a rerun of an entire backup save set. This can be
costly when a limited backup window of time is available.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 51

Clients with network access to AFTD or DD Boost storage devices can send their backup
data directly to the storage devices, thus bypassing the storage node in the backup path.
With DD Boost backups using Client Direct, the deduplication processing occurs on the
client.

Using Client Direct has the potential for reducing bandwidth usage as the backup data
travels directly from the client to the storage device. Also, any bottlenecks at the storage
node are avoided.

The Client Direct feature is enabled for a client by default. Client Direct clients require a
network connection and remote access to the storage device such as a CIFS or NFS path. If
a Client Direct backup cannot be performed, a traditional backup via the storage node is
performed.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 52

NetWorker block based backups (BBB) are high-performance backups which are supported
on Windows and Linux. During block based backups, the backup application scans a volume
or a disk in a file system, and backs up all the blocks that are in use in the file system.

Block based incremental backups use the Change Block Tracking (CBT) driver to identify the
changed blocks, and back up only the changed blocks. Block based full and incremental
backups are fast backups with reduced backup times because the backup process backs up
only the occupied disk blocks and changed disk blocks respectively.

Block based backups use Client Direct and support only these target devices:

• Advanced File Type Devices (AFTDs)

• Data Domain devices

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 53

NetWorker Snapshot Management (NSM) provides snapshot backups on disk that can be
tracked and managed from NetWorker. You can leverage snapshots for impact-free backups
by using a server other than the production host to perform backups to backup media. This
alternate proxy host or mount host will take on the performance burden of backups instead
of the production server.

NSM provides snapshot restore/recovery capabilities to retrieve data directly from a

snapshot (snapshot restore) or from a clone copy. Data on disk can be replaced from a
snapshot by performing a rollback restore. NetWorker provides snapshot backups with the
same benefits that are offered for conventional backups such as configuration, monitoring,
lifecycle policies, and granular file system recoveries.

NSM supports several EMC array-based, software-based, and NAS environments including
VMAX, VNX, RecoverPoint, Isilon, and NetApp. With data on supported hardware, NSM
provides snapshot backup support for file system clients, NMDA for Oracle and DB2, and
NMSAP with Oracle.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 54

EMC NetWorker application modules act with third-party applications, together with
NetWorker, to provide a comprehensive data storage management system. NetWorker
modules allow applications to be backed up in a consistent state.

NetWorker application modules fully integrate with the third-party vendor-specific APIs,
eliminating the need to develop or maintain custom backup and recovery scripts. They
provide fast, online, automated, and reliable granular backup and recovery for popular
database, messaging, content, and ERP applications.

Available NetWorker application modules include the modules listed here.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 55

Restricted data zones provide NetWorker administrators with the ability to organize a
NetWorker environment into a multi-tenancy configuration. Restricted data zones allow
multiple tenants to share a single NetWorker environment. In a multi-tenancy
configuration, each restricted data zone contains one NetWorker server and other
associated NetWorker resources. This offers users who need to provide backup services to
various clients an ability to create logical data zones within a backup environment. This is
particularly useful with service providers managing multiple tenants within a single
infrastructure. Global administrators oversee the setup and management of several
restricted data zones and assign tenant administrators with access to a restricted data
zone. A tenant administrator can only manage NetWorker resources within an assigned
restricted data zone.

The restricted data zone feature results in autonomy for tenants in a hosted or service
provider environment, and a simplified experience for NetWorker administrators.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 56

Security is an essential component of NetWorker and is accomplished in several ways.

• Resource update logging provides for the tracking of all resource changes made on a
NetWorker server. The security audit logging feature records auditable security events
related to the security and integrity of the NetWorker data zone. This information is
useful for accountability where there are multiple NetWorker administrators, for security
in the event of a system intrusion and for general auditing of modifications. In addition to
these two logs, NetWorker maintains log files that allow users to trace the sequence of
activities for the NetWorker server, Console server and NetWorker clients.

• Access control features to the NetWorker infrastructure include token-based

authentication and role-based authorization of users. NetWorker hosts and daemons use
the nsrauth GSS mechanism to authenticate components and to verify hosts. Firewalls
monitor all traffic flowing between two or more networks and allow only authorized
traffic, as defined by administrative policies.

• Through the use of user authentication and authorization, user access to backup data for
restores can be restricted. Security from disclosure of backup data can also be enabled
through the use of encryption. When enabled, the data is encrypted on the client as the
save stream is generated.

• Secure communications involves HTTPS, self-signed certificates, secure channels, and

firewalls for protecting the information that is being communicated.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 57

NetWorker uses AuthC, the NetWorker Authentication Service, to provide token-based
authentication for NMC and CLI users. Authenticated users can then perform secure
administrative functions and backup and recovery operations.

AuthC is a web-based application installed on each NetWorker server. It uses a local

database and, optionally, an LDAP or Active Directory (AD) server, for authentication of
external users.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 58

This module covered an overview of backup and recovery operations and additional features
of NetWorker.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 59

This module focuses on NetWorker management tools and NetWorker licensing.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 60

NetWorker provides administrative interfaces, including GUI and command line interfaces,
to manage, configure and monitor the NetWorker server.

NetWorker Management Console provides a global view of all NetWorker servers in a

backup environment.

In addition to the Console, two other administrative interfaces may be available depending
on whether the user is on a UNIX or Windows host.

nsradmin is a command line utility used to view, create, delete, and modify resources.

nsrwatch, available only on UNIX hosts, is a monitoring tool used to view current device
operations, active sessions, messages concerning recent activity, and any pending
messages such as an unfulfilled volume mount request.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 61

In addition to providing centralized event and reporting capabilities, NetWorker
Management Console (NMC) provides access to each managed NetWorker server in an
environment for NetWorker administration functions including configuring clients, devices
and other resources, and scheduling, running, and monitoring backups.

With NMC, NetWorker can be administered from any host having a supported web browser.
For example, you can administer a Linux NetWorker server from a Windows machine and
vice versa. NetWorker also provides many command line utilities.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 62

Individual NetWorker servers are managed through NMC Administration. NetWorker is
highly configurable. With its many configuration points, NetWorker can be tailored to meet
the unique backup requirements of specific backup environments. The Protection window
is used to access most of the configurable NetWorker resources. Configuration is simplified
through the use of wizards for creating various backup resources, such as clients, groups,
policies, and workflows.

Note: The Devices window is used to configure and manage backup devices.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 63

From the NetWorker Administration Monitoring window, the administrator can view the
status of completed backups and those in progress, look at alerts and log messages, and
manually start policies and workflows. Also, alerts and log messages are displayed in panels
at the bottom of every window in NetWorker Administration.

Note: The Media window is used to manage pools and to view information contained in the
media database and client file indexes.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 64

Use the Hosts window to manage the hosts known to this NetWorker server as well as
package management activities. The options available in this window provide the
administrator with information up front about each of the hosts in the environment.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 65

In the Server window you will find the resources related to NetWorker server
administration including notifications, registrations, restricted data zones, and user groups.
In every NetWorker Administration window, clicking the NetWorker server in the tree on the
left, displays information about the NetWorker server in the middle pane and links to
NetWorker resources and support in the right pane.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 66

To facilitate NetWorker administration, a number of reports are available through the
NetWorker Management Console reports feature. Data maintained in the NMC server
database, gathered from managed NetWorker servers, is used to prepare reports on backup
and recovery operations. Customized reports can also be created.

A report can be displayed in a number of different formats, including a table, a document,

and several types of charts. Reports can be printed and also can be exported to a file in one
of several different formats.

NetWorker drill-down reports enable the user to double-click items within the report to view
more detailed information.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 67

Many environments do not have centralized monitoring and alerting across backup solutions
and supporting infrastructures. Data Protection Advisor provides advanced capabilities for
your EMC Networker environment, including:

• Centralized monitoring and reporting across the backup environment, with long term
trending capabilities to improve planning, provisioning, utilization, and chargeback.

• Monitoring of capacity utilization, CPU utilization, memory, and port performance which
provides insight into performance bottlenecks.

• Deduplication statistics highlight which clients could benefit from deduplication.

• Analysis of the impact of policy or configuration changes for rapid troubleshooting.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 68

NetWorker uses the EMC Licensing Solution model for licensing. This capacity-based
solution uses the Common Licensing Platform, CLP.

With the EMC Licensing Solution, one or more EMC Licensing Solution License servers are
installed in a NetWorker environment. A single License Server can manage the NetWorker
license and capacity allocation for one or more data zones. A license file stores all licensing
information for the environment. This file is read to determine the type of licenses and the
amount of capacity purchased.

With the EMC Licensing Solution, license files are node-locked to the License server. The
entitlements are tied to a user’s ID and not to a specific NetWorker server. This makes for
flexibility in license management.

An EMC Licensing Solution License server is configured and managed by using LMTOOLS in
Windows or lmgrd in Linux.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 69

This module covered NetWorker management tools and NetWorker licensing.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 70

This course provided an overview of NetWorker architecture, terminology, features, theory
of operations, and management. This includes NetWorker components and backup and
recovery functions.

This concludes the training.

Copyright 2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. NetWorker Fundamentals 71