NetBackup Storage Lifecycle Policy (SLP) - FAQ.

By | February 14, 2016

NetBackup Storage Lifecycle Policy (SLP) is a powerful feature used not only for image duplication but also for disaster recovery purpose. In this post you can find answers for questions related to SLPĀ  that I received under some posts that I already wrote:

Q: If I change some settings on SLP, will those changes immediately affect old backup jobs (which are not yet duplicated) or they will apply only on new backup jobs?

A: Those settings will be applied to new backup jobs only. Even you do not change a name of SLP and modify the SLP using GUI, you will create a new version of SLP. If you need to apply settings to older jobs, you have to inactivate and modify the SLP using command nbstl. e.g.

  1. List of SLP versions.

    nbstl -L -all_versions

  2. Inactivate a SLP you want to modify.

    nbstlutil inactive -lifecycle name_of_SLP

  3. Modify the correct version of SLP. Example changing source and destination unit (STUA and STUB).

    nbstlutil name_of_SLP -modify_version -version nr -residence STUA,STUB

Q: During duplication, for what job Media server is responsible?

A: E.g. sending data (MSDP, tapes) or controlling OST storage via 3rd plugins.

Q: Is there any way to check duplication job progress and time to finish?

A: Yes, it is necessary to use NetBackup OpsCenter or command line nbstlutil with (repllist or pendimplist or stlilist) option.

Author: Mariusz

Architect (~ 15 years experience based on passion...) with strong background as a System Administrator and Engineer. Focused on Data Center Solutions: Virtualization/Cloud Computing and Storage/Backup Systems. Currently living in Poland.