Backup - Documentum iDataAgent (Oracle)

Overview

Once you have performed a full backup of the Documentum Repository initially, the subsequent backups can be either Full backups or Incremental backups.

A full backup contains all the data that comprises a subclient. Though, full backups provide the most comprehensive protection of data, it consumes the most amount of time and resources. A full backup is supported for backing up database files, Storage Areas, and Full-text Indexes. Optionally, log files can be backed up as well.

To streamline the backup process and to optimize the time and resource, you can run incremental backups. You can perform these backups from the CommCell Console. Incremental backups are supported for backing up database files and Storage Areas.

Backups can be run on demand or can be scheduled to be run at a later point of time. However, it is always recommended that you schedule your backups at frequent intervals. For example, full backups can be scheduled on a weekly basis and incremental backups can be scheduled on a daily basis.

The following sections describes the various types of backups supported by this agent.

By default, during the database backup phase of an incremental backup, only logs are backed up. This can be overridden by setting the sINCREMENTALDCTMDBBACKUP registry key to Y.

When a Storage Area is backed up without any new documents, the backup job completes but nothing is backed up.

what happens during documentum backups

In order to achieve a consistent backup of Documentum components, Bull performs the following during a repository backup:

1. Pre-backup phase includes:
   1. Quiesces the Full-Text index ( indexer process).
   2. Inactivate dm_DMclean and dm_DMfilescan jobs.
   3. Create Bull Index.
2. Backs up the Full-Text Index (FTI).
3. Backs up the database.
4. Backs up the log files.
5. Backs up the storage area.
6. Post-backup phase includes:
   1. Unquiesces the Full-Text Index (indexer process).
   2. Activates  dm_DMclean and dm_DMfilescan jobs.
7. Archives Bull Index and copies it to media.

Incremental Backups

An incremental backup contains only data that is new or has changed since the last backup, regardless of the type. On average, incremental backups consume far less media and place less of a burden on resources than full backups.

Always ensure that your first backup is a full backup that will contain all the data that comprises a subclient's contents.

The illustration on the right clarifies the nature of full and incremental backups. For simplicity, assume there is a file system that contains six files as represented in the figure.

Backup #1 is a full backup and therefore writes all the data, changed and unchanged, to the backup media. Backups #2 through #n-1 are incrementals and only back up those files that have changed since the time of the last backup, regardless of the type. For example, files A, B, and E changed after the full backup and were therefore backed up in Backup #2. Backup #4 backed up files A and D because both files were modified sometime after Backup #3 occurred. File F did not change; hence, it was not backed up in any of the incremental backups, but it was included in both full backups, which, by definition, back up everything.

By default, during the database backup phase of an incremental backup, only logs are backed up. This can be overridden by setting the sINCREMENTALDCTMDBBACKUP registry key to Y.

When a Storage Area is backed up without any new documents, the backup job completes but nothing is backed up.

Starting an incremental backup

1. From the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers by double-clicking Client Computers | Documentum | <instance name>. The default and other subclients (if available) are displayed on the right-hand windowpane.
2. To back up the default subclient, right-click the subclient, and click Backup.
3. From the Backup Options dialog box, select from the following options as desired:

   Backup Type:

   • Select Incremental.

   Backup Schedule:

   • Select Immediate if you want to run the backup now.
   • Select Schedule if you want to schedule the backup for a specific time.

4. Click OK. You can track the progress of the backup job from the Job Controller window. If you are using a stand-alone drive, you are  prompted to load a specific cartridge into the drive. If you are using a library, you will not receive this prompt. The system loads the tapes automatically. Your cartridges should be appropriately labeled. This will enable you to locate the correct cartridge for a restore job, if necessary.

5. When the backup has completed, the Job Controller displays Completed.

Database Backups

The Documentum iDataAgent enables you to backup the database in different environments based on need. Database files can be backed up in full or incremental backups. These are described in the following sections.

Offline Backups

Offline backups are performed when the database is shut down and unavailable for use. Offline backups are always full backups and do not include the archived log files.

In order to backup the database when it is offline, you can create a separate user-defined subclient for offline backup. See Creating Subclient to Backup Offline Databases for step-by-step instructions.

Online Backups

Online backups are performed when the database is online. Oracle databases must be in the ARCHIVELOG mode. Data files are included when you back up the database in online mode. You can perform a full or incremental backup when the database is online. These backups do not require database downtime and are extremely useful when you need to perform a point-in-time restore of the database.

In order to backup the database when it is online, you can create a separate user-defined subclient for online backup. See Creating Subclient to Backup Online Databases for step-by-step instructions.

Archive Log Backups

Archive log backups are useful when you want to recover database transactions that have been lost due to an operating system or disk failure. You can apply these archive logs to an online backup in order to recover a database.

Full backups generally includes both the data and logs. However, you can also take backups of the archive logs only. In order to backup only the archive logs, you need to create a separate subclient for archive logs. See Creating Subclient to Backup Archived Log Files for step-by-step instructions.

By default, the first backup operation on the default subclient will include the entire database (data and archive logs) when the database is online and in ARCHIVELOG mode for Oracle databases.

Frequent backups of database log files should be performed. Without them, a database can be recovered only to the time of its last full backup.

Control File/Sp File Backups

Including Control Files in a backup is useful since the control file stores the status of the physical structure of the database. It is absolutely crucial to database operation. Control files keep track of data files, control files should be backed up whenever a change is made to the database.

Server Parameter (SP) files control database resources and is basically a repository for initialization parameters. It is maintained on the client computer where the Oracle database resides and is read at system startup. It should be included in a backup, especially if Recovery Manager (RMAN) is not used to back it up in the backup strategy of an Oracle database.

Selective copy - Full Backups

A selective copy allows you to copy backup data selectively from a source copy to this copy, providing for better tape rotation. Since only selective backups can be copied to selective copies, the selective copies cannot be promoted to the primary copy, only synchronous copies can be promoted. Note that the data selection process does not have to be the same for all auxiliary copies.

During an auxiliary copy operation or a data protection operation that creates an inline copy, only those backups from the primary copy that meet certain criteria will be copied to a selective copy. You can define a selective copy to be time-based, automatically selected, or automatically not selected on the primary copy.

If the copy is defined as All Fulls, all full backups on the primary copy will be copied during an auxiliary copy operation or a data protection operation that creates an inline copy. If the copy is defined as time-based, only the first or last full backup that occurs within each selected weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly interval will be copied. You have the option of creating and associating a custom calendar to the copy, so that the intervals can be further customized.

Selective copy will not only copy Selective Online Full and Selective Offline Full jobs, it will also copy regular Full jobs with the linked Log backup jobs.

You need to create a separate subclient to perform a selective copy full backup of the database. See Configuring Subclient for Selective Copy with Full Backups for step-by-step instructions.

Storage Area Backups

The Documentum iDataAgent enables you to back up both local and distributed Storage Areas that are  distributed across different computers. With distributed storage areas, the File System iDataAgent should be installed on the client computers that are hosting the Storage Areas.

Both full and incremental backup types are supported for Storage Areas. The first backup of a Storage Area is performed as a Full backup. Storage Areas can be backed up in a full Repository backup or as a separate backup. For the latter case, see Create Subclient to Only Contain Storage Areas for step-by-step instructions.

A pre or post backup process can be run when backing up Storage Areas.

Full-text Index Backups

The Documentum iDataAgent enables you to back up Full-text Indexes. The File System iDataAgent should be installed on the client computers that are hosting the Full-text Indexes.

Full-text Indexes can be backed up only in full backups. Even if an incremental backup job is run, Full-text Indexes will always be backed up as a full backup. Full-text Indexes can be backed up in a full Repository backup or as a separate backup. For the latter case, see Create Subclient to Only Contain Full-text Indexes for step-by-step instructions.

When backing up a Full-Text Index, it is necessary to quiesce the Index Server to ensure consistent backups.

For this purpose, quiesce and unquiesce scripts are required. These are used to quiesce and unquiesce the Indexer process in the Index Server during the backup operation respectively.

These two sample scripts are provided in the <installation_folder>/Base folder on the computer where the Documentum iDataAgent has been installed:

• cvfti_shutdown.sh

• cvfti_startup.sh

These scripts have to be modified to suit the environment prior to back up.

For windows based Documentum iDataAgent, the FTI quiesce and unquiesce scripts are similar to the scripts in the following example:

These scripts have to be modified prior to backup to suit your environment:

cvftishutdown.bat

E:\Documentum\fulltext\IndexServer\bin\nctrl.exe stop

cvftistartup.bat

C:\WINDOWS\system32\net.exe start FASTDSService

E:\Documentum\fulltext\IndexServer\bin\nctrl.exe start

Using Documentum X-plore as Indexing Software

For Windows based Documentum iDataAgents, the Documentum X-plore indexing server quiesce and unquiesce scripts are similar to the scripts in the following example.

These scripts have to be modified prior to backup to suit your environment:

cvxploreshutdown.bat

@REM set GALAXY_HOME=C:\TEMP

@REM set GALAXY_HOME=C:\TEMP

@REM set GALAXY_LOG=%GALAXY_HOME%

set CV_XPLORE_LOG=C:\TEMP\CV_xPlore.log

set errorlevel=0

@REM CALL Index Agent Unquiesce

echo "Index Agent quiesce begin at %date% %time%...." >> %CV_XPLORE_LOG%

@@ "C:\xPlore\dsearch\admin\xplore.bat suspendDiskWrites()"

set PH_1=%errorlevel%

IF NOT %PH_1% EQU 0 (

echo Index Agent quiesce Failed reason >> %CV_XPLORE_LOG%

GOTO FAIL

) ELSE (

echo "Index Agent quiesce is done at %date% %time%...." >> %CV_XPLORE_LOG%

)

:PASS

echo Index Agent quiesce or DB suspend Passed.

exit /b %errorlevel%

:FAIL

echo Eecho Index Agent quiesce or DB suspend Failed.

exit /b %errorlevel%

cvxplorestartup.bat

@REM set GALAXY_HOME=C:\TEMP

@REM set GALAXY_HOME=C:\TEMP

@REM set GALAXY_LOG=%GALAXY_HOME%

set CV_XPLORE_LOG=C:\TEMP\CV_xPlore.log

set errorlevel=0

@REM CALL Index Agent Unquiesce

echo "Index Agent Unquiesce begin at %date% %time%...." >> %CV_XPLORE_LOG%

@@ "C:\xPlore\dsearch\admin\xplore.bat resumeDiskWrites()"

set PH_1=%errorlevel%

IF NOT %PH_1% EQU 0 (

echo Index Agent Unquiesce Failed reason >> %CV_XPLORE_LOG%

GOTO FAIL

) ELSE (

echo "Index Agent Unquiesce is done at %date% %time%...." >> %CV_XPLORE_LOG%

)

:PASS

echo Index Agent Unquiesce or DB Resume Passed.

exit /b %errorlevel%

:FAIL

echo Either Index Agent Unquiesce or DB Resume Failed.

exit /b %errorlevel%

Managing Jobs

Once you initiate the backup operation, a backup job is generated in the Job Controller. Jobs can be managed in a number of ways. The following sections provide information on the different job management options available:

Restarting Jobs

Jobs that fail to complete successfully are automatically restarted based on the job restartability configuration set in the Control Panel. This configuration can be changed at any time; however, changes to this configuration will affect all jobs run in the entire CommCell.

It is also possible to override the default CommServe configuration for individual jobs by configuring retry settings when initiating the job. This configuration, however, will apply only to the specific job.

Configure Job Restartability at the CommServe Level

1. In the CommCell Console, click the Control Panel icon, then double-click Job Management.
2. In the Job Restarts tab of the Job Management dialog box, select a job type from the Job Type list, and then select the Restartable check box.
3. To change the maximum number of times the Job Manager will try to restart a job, select a number in the Max Restarts box.
4. To change the time interval between attempts by the Job Manager to restart the job, select a number of minutes in the Restart Interval (Mins) box.
5. Click OK to save your changes.

Configure Job Restartability for an Individual Job

1. From the Backup Options dialog box, click Advanced, then select the Job Retry tab and specify the following as desired:
   • Total Running Time - The maximum elapsed time, in hours and minutes, from the time that the job is created.
   • Number of Retries - The number of times that Job Manager will attempt to restart the job.
   • Kill Running Jobs When Total Running Time Expires - Option to kill the job when the specified Total Running Time has elapsed, even if its state is "Running".
2. Click OK.

Controlling Jobs

The following controls are available for running jobs in the Job Controller window:

These controls can be applied to:

• All jobs in the Job Controller.
• All selected jobs in the Job Controller providing you have the correct security associations at the proper level for each job selected.
• All data protection operations running for a particular client or client/agent.
• All data protection operations running for a particular MediaAgent.

1. From the Job Controller of the CommCell Console, right-click the job and select Kill, Suspend, or Resume as desired.
   • When killing a job:

     Click Yes when the confirmation prompt appears if you are sure you want to kill the job. The job status may change to Kill Pending for a few moments while the operation completes. Once completed, the job status will change to Killed and it will be removed from the Job Controller window after five minutes.

   • When suspending a job:

     The job status may change to Suspend Pending for a few moments while the operation completes. The job status then changes to Suspended.

   • When resuming a job:

     As the Job Manager attempts to restart the job, the job status changes to Waiting, Pending, or Running.

Additional Options

Several additional options are available to further refine your backup operations. The following table describes these options, as well as the steps for configuring them.

Be sure to read the overview material referenced for each feature prior to using them.

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