Multi Instancing
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Overview
How to Use Multi Instancing
Using the Multi Instancing feature, the same Agent and MediaAgent software
can be installed on a computer multiple times; the resultant multiple instances
of a particular software component can operate simultaneously on the computer,
independent from each other.
Each instance consists of the following:
- A set of software component binaries installed, e.g.,
C:\Program Files\DataProtection\.
- A set of services.
- A set of registry entries in a single path, e.g.,
- for Windows, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CommVault
Systems\Galaxy\Instance001.
- for Unix, /etc/CommVaultRegistry/Galaxy/Instance001/
- A set of updates, which are applied to each
instance separately.
Some of the circumstances where this feature will prove useful are illustrated
by the following:
- Mixed-bit Environments.
A Windows server computer may have a 64-bit operating system, and a mixture
of 32-bit and 64-bit applications installed. To protect the data from each application,
you would normally install the appropriate Agents, and configure each to protect
a particular kind of data. However, most Agents designed to protect application
data, e.g., SQL, Exchange, etc., require you to install a matching file system
Agent, a 32-bit version of the Windows File System
iDataAgent for the 32-bit application
Agents that will protect the data of 32-bit applications, and a 64-bit Windows
File System iDataAgent for the 64-bit
application Agents that will protect the data of 64-bit applications. The Multi
Instancing feature allows you to do just this, installing two copies (instances)
of the Windows File System iDataAgent
on the same computer, a 32-bit version and a 64-bit version, thus accommodating
such a mixed-bit environment.
- Different CommCells.
For the sake of load-balancing, as well as other possible network considerations,
you can have the same computer be part of two different CommCells. For instance,
you might want all backups from a particular computer to be handled by CommCell
A, and all the data archiving activity to be handled by CommCell B; or, you
may want all SQL and Exchange data for your enterprise to be handled by CommCell
A, and all file system data to be handled by CommCell B. The Multi Instancing
feature allows you to do just this, installing the Windows File System
iDataAgent to one instance on the
computer, and the Exchange and SQL iDataAgents
to a second instance on the same computer, thus accommodating such an overlapping-CommCell
environment.
This illustrates just two possible uses; there will certainly be other cases
where Multi Instancing will prove useful in an enterprise.
- Not all components support Multi Instancing. Only one set of drivers can be installed, so Multi Instancing is not supported
for software components that utilize a device driver. For example, the Image
Level iDataAgent with QSnap requires
a device driver, and thus can not be installed using the Multi Instancing feature.
Also, since Shared Magnetic libraries with Dynamic Mount Paths requires a
driver, it can only be used by one instance; therefore you cannot
Install the Shared Dynamic Disk driver for MediaAgents to more than one
instance. For a list of supported components, refer to
Support Information - Multi
Instancing.
- The following installation types
cannot be used to create additional instances, and cannot be used for a
computer that already has Multiple Instances:
- Multiple Instances of the MediaAgent installed on a single computer which
share libraries must be in the same CommCell. To be in separate CommCells, they
cannot share any libraries with each other.
- Multiple instances of the CommServe are only supported for cluster
virtual servers. See Clusters.
- Multi
Instancing is not supported for NetWare Operating Systems.
- A maximum of 16 instances
are supported on a single Windows computer; there is no limit on a UNIX
computer.
- Different versions of the same software component can be installed in different
instances on the same computer, as long as all software components are versions
7.0 or above.
- You cannot use DB2 iDataAgents
installed to different instances to protect the data of a given version of DB2 on
a Unix computer. For example, if DB2
version 8 is installed on a given computer, you cannot protect some of its
data with a DB2
iDataAgent installed to Instance
001, and protect some of its data with a DB2
iDataAgent installed to Instance
002. However, if you have DB2 version 8 and DB2 version 9 installed on the
same Unix computer, you could, for instance, use a DB2
iDataAgent installed to Instance
001 to protect the data of DB2 version 8, and a DB2
iDataAgent installed to Instance
002 to protect the data of DB2 version 9.
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WARNING For these
iDataAgents,
ensure that there is no overlapping subclient content across instances
before commencing data protection operations:
- Exchange Database iDataAgent
- Informix iDataAgent
- Oracle iDataAgent
- SharePoint Server iDataAgent
- Sybase iDataAgent
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- Each instance requires specifying unique text for the host name (network
interface) if using the same CommServe. For example, for
instance001, the interface could use
www.company.com as the interface name that
resolves to IP address 10.11.11.1 and
instance002 could use
10.11.11.1 as the interface name. Both
instances are specifying the same computer, but the text is unique.
- Each instance has its own set of binaries. If a new Agent is installed
to a given instance, binaries are copied to that instance only.
- Different instances can either be in the same CommCell or in different CommCells.
If any instances will be in the same CommCell, you must supply a unique client name
and host name during installation. For instances in different CommCells, the
same client name and host name can be used.
- For Exchange-based agents, the Destination Folder path entered during installation must be different for each instance that is installed.
- For the Exchange Mailbox Archiver and Exchange Public Folder Archiver Agents, the OWA alias entered during agent installation must be different for each instance that is installed.
- Each instance will require
a separate set of static TCP Ports configured for services, except when
multiple instances of CommServe are installed on a cluster. For more information
on required ports, see
Network TCP Port Requirements; for more information about the services that
make use of these ports, see
Services.
- When implementing Multi Instancing, you may decide to change the network
ports used for an existing instance. For step-by-step instructions, see
Changing Port Numbers.
- Use the
bAllowMultiInstances registry key to install multiple instances
of the CommServe in the active-active configuration. Each instance of the
CommServe software must use a different virtual server to perform the
CommServe install.
- The instance that has the CommServe software cannot share the instance
with another physical or virtual installation. Hence, when an instance
already has the CommServe installed for a specific cluster virtual server,
subsequent installs of Agents or MediaAgents for a different virtual server
will automatically be installed to a new instance.
- For all virtual servers that use the same instance, only one set of
binaries and one set of services are used. This is true except for the
GxClusterPlugin service, which exists per
virtual server.
For more information about clusters, see
Clustering Support.
This section details the steps for using Multi Instancing.
- Verify that the selected computer meets the necessary System Requirements.
Refer to
System Requirements, and select the page for the software component(s) you
are installing.
- To allow Multi Instancing, for Windows configure the
bAllowMultiInstances registry key, or for UNIX configure the
cvpkgadd_unlock_inst key.
- Install software on the computer for the first instance; refer to
Installation, and select the
page for the software you are installing. If the computer already has an instance
installed, proceed to the next Step.
- Install software on the computer for the next instance.
- When you are done, the computer will appear in the CommCell Browser as either
a client of each of the CommServes with which the instances are associated,
with a list of Agents that were installed for that instance, or it will appear
as a MediaAgent.
When upgrading a CommCell with multiple instances on the same computer, each
instance is upgraded individually.
When uninstalling components which have been Multi Instanced, each instance
of a given Agent or MediaAgent will be shown separately, either in the
Add/Remove Control Panel (Windows) or in the Uninstall menu (Unix) so you can
select the one you want to uninstall. Once uninstalled, the license will be
released, and the CommCell Browser will indicate it is no longer installed, but
the binaries are not actually removed until the last component using them is
uninstalled. (Remember that if you have multiple instances of the Windows File
System iDataAgent, for example, the
binaries are only installed once, for all instances.) For more information about uninstalling software components, see
Uninstalling Components.
- The installation of some products requires that a device driver be
installed (e.g., QSnap) and thus, during the install process, you will be
prompted to reboot. Before rebooting, check whether there are running jobs
from any other instance, which would be interrupted by a reboot.
-
When specifying a Network TCP Port Number other than 8400 for a MediaAgent's
Communications Service (GxCVD), which may be necessary when more than one
instance of the MediaAgent is installed on a computer, bear in mind that clients
with an earlier release may not be able to communicate through that port. Thus,
when specifying a non-default port number in such cases, you should ensure that
all clients using the MediaAgent are at a release version (7.0.0 or higher) that
supports the Multi Instancing feature, and non-default Network TCP Port Numbers.
-
In a firewall configuration, if the client computer has multiple instances of
the Agent software installed, then each instance must be configured with a
distinct IP address and hostname, to be uniquely identified by the CommServe.
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