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Things to Consider when Creating and Configuring File System Subclients
The following table shows subclient creation and configuration details specific to Windows, Unix and Macintosh File System iDataAgents.
Agent |
Type of Data | Default Subclient created during install of the Agent | Supports Default Subclient | Supports User Defined Subclient | Contents of the default subclient when user-defined subclient is present | Other Types of subclients supported by the Agent | Notes |
|
Unix File System iDataAgents; Macintosh File System iDataAgents |
folders; files |
Yes | Yes | Yes | entire file system except portions assigned to other subclients, unless otherwise configured* | None | *See Caution Against Re-configuring Default Subclient Content. |
| Windows File System iDataAgents | folders; files; Office Communications Server System State data System databases |
Yes | Yes | Yes | entire file system (including system state) except portions assigned to other subclients, unless otherwise configured* | None | *See
Caution
Against Re-configuring Default Subclient Content. For details on including the OCS data as the subclient content, see Office Communications Server. |
| Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgent | folders; files; |
Yes | No | Yes | entire file system except portions assigned to other subclients, unless otherwise configured | None |
The following example illustrates a simple subclient configuration for File System iDataAgents:
Example - Windows, Unix, Macintosh
The Macintosh File System iDataAgent is designed to back up and restore file system data (i.e., files and directories) residing on Macintosh computer systems. Subclient content for this agent includes one or more of the following data types: Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), Hierarchical File System (HFS), HFS+, ISO 9660, Mac OS Extended, Mac OS Extended (Journaled) [for Mac OSX 10.3.x], MS-DOS, Network File System (NFS), Universal Disk Format (UDF), and Universal File System (UFS). After you install a Macintosh File System iDataAgent, a default subclient is automatically created by the system, and the default subclient content includes all the file system data on the client computer. However, you can use the CommCell Console to create user-defined subclients to distribute some of this content by configuring the Subclient Properties (Content) tab. Any content that you do not distribute to the user-defined subclients will remain in the default subclient.
When you configure subclient content, you browse the directory tree structure on the client computer and select the directories and files that you want protected. The resulting content will display the selected items. For example:
/tests
/trials
/results
A useful way to distribute subclient content of a Macintosh File System iDataAgent is by directory or groups of directories, as shown in this example:
Distributing the client data using subclients in this way can help improve backup performance in cases where your site manages a high number of directories.
Subclient-level backup filters are available for this iDataAgent to exclude specified directories and files from being backed up. For example, suppose the Ops directory contains a file called Processing that you do not want backed up. You can add a subclient filter for the user-defined subclient OpsInfo to exclude the Processing file from being backed up. Subclient-level backup filters are also available for this iDataAgent to provide exceptions to the data that you are excluding. For example, suppose that you want to exclude from your backup all the files in the Ops directory except the Maintenance file. You can add a subclient filter for the user-defined subclient OpsInfo to exclude the Ops directory from being backed up, but you can add a corresponding subclient filter to allow the Maintenance file to be backed up. Filters can also be used in conjunction with the default subclient so that all directories and files are backed up except the ones you specifically exclude. Subclient-level backup filters provide exclusion capabilities on a per-subclient basis, whereas Global Filters allow you to filter out data from data protection operations on all agents of a certain type within a CommCell. For more information, see Filters.
Wildcards and regular expressions are supported by this agent in the following function:
For a list of wildcards supported by this iDataAgent, see Wildcards.
For more information, see Things to Consider when Creating and Configuring File System Subclients.
The Unix File System iDataAgents are designed to back up and restore file system data (i.e., files and directories) residing on Unix computer systems. Subclient content for all these agents except the IRIX File System iDataAgent includes the appropriate Unix File System (UFS) data. In some cases, per the specific iDataAgent, other File System data (e.g., CD-ROM File System [cdfs]) may also be included in the subclient content. After you install a Unix File System iDataAgent, a default subclient is automatically created by the system, and the default subclient content includes all the file system data on the client computer. However, you can use the CommCell Console to create user-defined subclients to distribute some of this content by configuring the Subclient Properties (Content) tab. Any content that you do not distribute to the user-defined subclients will remain in the default subclient.
When you configure subclient content, you browse the directory tree structure on the client computer and select the directories and files that you want protected. The resulting content will display the selected items. For example:
/tests
/trials
/results
A useful way to distribute subclient content of a Unix File System iDataAgent is by directory or groups of directories, as shown in this example:
Distributing the client data using subclients in this way can help improve backup performance in cases where your site manages a high number of directories.
Subclient-level backup filters are available for these iDataAgents to exclude specified directories and files from being backed up. For example, suppose the Ops directory contains a file called Processing that you do not want backed up. You can add a subclient filter for the user-defined subclient OpsInfo to exclude the Processing file from being backed up. Subclient-level backup filters are also available for these iDataAgents to provide exceptions to the data that you are excluding. For example, suppose that you want to exclude from your backup all the files in the Ops directory except the Maintenance file. You can add a subclient filter for the user-defined subclient OpsInfo to exclude the Ops directory from being backed up, but you can add a corresponding subclient filter to allow the Maintenance file to be backed up. Filters can also be used in conjunction with the default subclient so that all directories and files are backed up except the ones you specifically exclude. Subclient-level backup filters provide exclusion capabilities on a per-subclient basis, whereas Global Filters allow you to filter out data from data protection operations on all agents of a certain type within a CommCell. For more information, see Filters.
Wildcards and regular expressions are supported by these agents in the following function:
For a list of wildcards supported by these iDataAgents, see Wildcards.
The user can use the wildcard expressions only in the user-defined subclients while defining the subclient content for backup processes. The wildcards thus specified defines the file types based on file extensions. The wildcards for the subclient content can be defined in the Subclient Properties (Content) tab.
For more details on Wildcards and Regular Expressions see Content, Filters and Regular Expressions
For more information, see Things to Consider when Creating and Configuring File System Subclients.
The Windows File System iDataAgents are designed to back up and restore file system data (i.e., files and directories) residing on Windows computer systems. Subclient content for this agent includes the appropriate Windows File System (WFS) data. After you install a Windows File System iDataAgent, a default subclient is automatically created by the system, and the default subclient content includes all the file system data on the client computer. However, you can use the CommCell Console to create user-defined subclients to distribute some of this content by configuring the Subclient Properties (Content) tab. Any content that you do not distribute to the user-defined subclients will remain in the default subclient.
When you configure subclient content, you browse the directory tree structure on the client computer and select the directories and files that you want protected. The resulting content will display the selected items. For example:
D:\tests
D:\trials
E:\results
A useful way to distribute subclient content of a Windows File System iDataAgent is by directory or groups of directories, as shown in this example:
Distributing the client data using subclients in this way can help improve backup performance in cases where your site manages a high number of directories.
Subclient-level backup filters are available for these iDataAgents to exclude specified directories and files from being backed up. For example, suppose the Ops directory contains a file called Processing that you do not want backed up. You can add a subclient filter for the user-defined subclient OpsInfo to exclude the Processing file from being backed up. Subclient-level backup filters are also available for these iDataAgents to provide exceptions to the data that you are excluding. For example, suppose that you want to exclude from your backup all the files in the Ops directory except the Maintenance file. You can add a subclient filter for the user-defined subclient OpsInfo to exclude the Ops directory from being backed up, but you can add a corresponding subclient filter to allow the Maintenance file to be backed up. Filters can also be used in conjunction with the default subclient so that all directories and files are backed up except the ones you specifically exclude. Subclient-level backup filters provide exclusion capabilities on a per-subclient basis, whereas Global Filters allow you to filter out data from data protection operations on all agents of a certain type within a CommCell. For more information, see Filters.
Wildcards and Regular Expressions
Wildcards and regular expressions are supported by these agents in the following function:
For a list of wildcards supported by these iDataAgents, see Wildcards.
The user can use the wildcard expressions while defining the subclient content for backup processes. The wildcards thus specified defines the file types based on file extensions. The wildcards can be used to define the subclient content by selecting the Subclient content may contain wild card entries check box while Creating a New Backup Set. There can be only one subclient per each of such Backup Sets.
The wildcards for the subclient content can be defined in the properties dialog box under the content tab.
For more information on the supported wildcards for File System see Wildcards.
For more details on Wildcards and Regular Expressions see Content, Filters and Regular Expressions
For more information, see Things to Consider when Creating and Configuring File System Subclients.
Once installed, the agent is configured and is therefore able to manage the data or volumes on the client computer. However, you can change certain aspects of the subclient configuration to manage the data in the manner that best suits your needs.
You can view or change the subclient configuration from the Subclient Properties dialog box. The following information can be configured.
You can enable or disable all operations for this CommCell object and all objects below it. For more information, see Activity Control.
You can define the content of the subclient. Most agents include a configure button that displays a dialog where you can add or modify the data included as subclient content. For step-by-step instructions, see Configure Subclient Content.
For more information, see File System Content. See also Subclient Content Considerations.
You can also change the user account for configuring UNC paths as part of the subclient content for Windows File System agents. For more information, see User Accounts and Passwords.
For the Unix File System iDataAgents, you can include symbolic links in the subclient content by using Subclient Properties (Content). Once a symbolic link is verified during a backup scan, the actual physical data path is included in the subclient content as auto-discovered data.
Several configurable options to efficiently use available resources for transferring data secured by data protection operations are provided in the subclient. This includes the following:
You can enable or disable the encryption of data for transmission over unsecure networks and for storage on media. For more information, see Data Encryption.
You can view the data paths associated with the primary storage policy copy of the selected storage policy or incremental storage policy. You can also modify the data paths for the subclient including their priority. For additional information, see Configuring Alternate Data Paths for Subclients.
You can perform the following functions:
You can enable or disable Global Filters. For more information, see Global Filters.
Specify whether multiple data reads are allowed for a single physical drive (Windows or NetWare) or mount point (Unix) during backups on this subclient. This should be selected only for specialized hardware such as RAID. For more information, see Automatic File System Multi-Streaming.
Specify the number of simultaneous backup data streams allowed for this subclient. For best performance, this should be set no higher than the number of physical drives that hold this subclient's data, except for specialized hardware such as RAID. For more information, see Automatic File System Multi-Streaming.
You can add, modify or view Pre/Post processes for the subclient. These are batch files or shell scripts that you can run before or after certain job phases. For more information, see Pre/Post Processes.
If installed on the client, QSnap can be enabled to back up locked files or to provide volume-level snapshot functionality and utilize the integrated block-filter driver. On Unix clients, for some supported agents, any volume that you add to a subclient is automatically configured as a CXBF Device, which is required to back up the volume. Other agents will require using Volume Explorer to create CXBF devices. Depending on the agent, and for specific scenarios, Volume Explorer can or should also be used to configure these devices. If QSnap is enabled, the CommCell Configuration Report displays a superscript Q in the subclient column. For step-by-step instructions for the supported file system iDataAgents, see Enable QSnap on a Subclient. Also, see Configure a CXBF Device in Volume Explorer as appropriate.
| QSnap is not supported by the Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgent. |
You can associate the subclient to a storage policy. For more information, see Storage Policies.
For eligible Unix File System subclients configured for 1-Touch for Unix, it is strongly recommended that you select a storage policy that uses a MediaAgent on a different computer. In such a case, if the system becomes defective, the media does not have to be exported to another MediaAgent when you try to recover the system using 1-Touch. For more information, see the following as appropriate:
You can rename a user-defined subclient.
By default for the Windows File System iDataAgent, the system state is backed up with the rest of the file system on the default subclient. You can change this default. For more information, see Backing Up System State.
| System state backup is not supported by the Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgent. |
If mtime is checked, Unix/Linux mtime will be used to determine if a file needs to be backed up during an incremental backup. If not checked, the option will be ignored. If ctime is checked, Unix/Linux ctime will be used to determine if a file needs to be backed up during an incremental backup. If not checked, the option will be ignored.
The following pertain to Windows File System and Data Protection Manager:
You can define an account with permissions to execute Pre/Post commands for the agent's archive, backup, or volume creation jobs.
See Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgent or Microsoft Windows File System iDataAgent in User Accounts and Passwords for more information.
You can perform the following functions:
For more information, see User Administration and Security.
For the Windows iDataAgents that support VSS, you can specify whether Volume Shadow Service (VSS) will be used to back up data for this subclient. You can also specify whether VSS will be used to back up the system state (if system state is included in backup) on the subclient.
If enabled on other subclients, VSS is used to back up locked files. If VSS is enabled, the CommCell Summary Report displays a superscript Q in the subclient column. For more information, see VSS for Windows File System iDataAgents.
| VSS is used automatically by the Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgent. You do not have an option to not use it. |
For some Unix File System iDataAgents, you can configure the subclient for 1-Touch. For more information, see the following as appropriate:
When creating and configuring subclients for File System and Data Protection Manager iDataAgents, keep in mind the following considerations:
Backup and restore operations for the Macintosh File System iDataAgent may be affected by the various supported data types and characteristics. For more information, see Overview - Macintosh File System iDataAgent.
The tmpfs, ctfs, proc, devfs and lofs (loopback) file systems are automatically skipped during backups by the Solaris File System iDataAgent. The filters for these file systems and others can be altered by using the ignoreFStype registry key. The addition of the lofs file system as a skipped file system has an impact on the Solaris Global Zone with regard to filesystem submount points that might previously had been expected to be backed up (e.g., if the root of a zone is an lofs file system and it has the ufs, zfs, or vxfs submount file system). These submount file systems will be skipped during backup unless they are added to the subclient content.
The use of default subclient to backup the DPM server is not supported. You need to create a user subclient before you can run a DPM backup. For DPM 2007, a replica is created for every unique volume being protected due to this you need to create a subclient for each replica created. For example, if the DPM server has 25 clients and one volume protected per client, then you should create 25 separate subclients to protect them.
| QSnap is not supported by the Microsoft Data Protection Manager iDataAgent; VSS is used automatically. |
We recommend that you do not re-configure the content of a default subclient because this would disable its capability to serve as "catch-all" entity for client data. As a result, the likelihood that some data will not get backed up or scanned for archiving would increase.