Dell DR Series System Administrator Guide 1508079523powervault Dr4100 En Us

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Dell DR Series System
Administrator Guide
Notes, Cautions, and Warnings
NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you
how to avoid the problem.
WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.
Copyright © 2014 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and
intellectual property laws. Dell™ and the Dell logo are trademarks of Dell Inc. in the United States and/or other
jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.
2014 - 04
Rev. A07
Contents
1 Introduction to the DR Series System................................................................ 11
About the DR Series System GUI Documentation..............................................................................11
What's New In This Release.................................................................................................................11
Other Information You May Need.......................................................................................................11
Source Code Availability......................................................................................................................12
2 Understanding the DR Series System................................................................ 13
About the DR Series System................................................................................................................14
Drive and Available Physical Capacities..............................................................................................14
Internal Drive Capacity.................................................................................................................. 15
External Drive Capacity .................................................................................................................15
Data Storage Terminology and Concepts..........................................................................................16
Data Deduplication and Compression......................................................................................... 19
Streams vs. Connections.............................................................................................................. 20
Replication.....................................................................................................................................20
Reverse Replication.......................................................................................................................22
Reverse Replication: Alternate Method........................................................................................ 22
Supported File System Protocols........................................................................................................23
NFS.................................................................................................................................................23
CIFS................................................................................................................................................ 23
CIFS ACL Support..........................................................................................................................24
Access Control List Support in Containers.................................................................................. 24
Unix Permissions Guidelines.........................................................................................................25
Windows Permissions Guidelines.................................................................................................26
Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS.................................................................................................................. 26
Rapid Data Storage (RDS): DR Series System..................................................................................... 27
Rapid OFS (ROFS) API....................................................................................................................27
OpenStorage Technology (OST): DR Series System..........................................................................27
OpenStorage Technology (OST) API............................................................................................29
Software Components and Operational Guidelines....................................................................29
DR Series System and Data Operations............................................................................................. 30
DR Series Expansion Shelf............................................................................................................. 31
Understanding About Adding a DR Series Expansion Shelf.........................................................32
Supported Software and Hardware....................................................................................................32
Terminal Emulation Applications..................................................................................................32
DR Series — Expansion Shelf Cabling.................................................................................................33
Adding a DR Series System Expansion Shelf......................................................................................34
3 Setting Up the DR Series System.........................................................................37
Interacting With the DR Series System...............................................................................................37
Networking Preparations for the DR Series System.....................................................................37
Connections for Initializing a DR Series System................................................................................38
Initializing the DR Series System.........................................................................................................39
Default IP Address and Subnet Mask Address..............................................................................39
Local Console Connection...........................................................................................................40
iDRAC Connection........................................................................................................................42
Logging in and Initializing the DR Series System......................................................................... 43
Accessing iDRAC6/iDRAC7 Using RACADM......................................................................................44
Logging in Using a Web Interface...................................................................................................... 44
Registering a DR Series System.....................................................................................................47
Enabling Active Scripting in Windows IE Browsers......................................................................48
Disabling the Compatibility View Settings................................................................................... 48
Dashboard Page and Options............................................................................................................ 49
Understanding the Dashboard Options....................................................................................... 49
Displaying System Alerts............................................................................................................... 50
Events............................................................................................................................................ 50
Health............................................................................................................................................. 51
Usage............................................................................................................................................. 54
Viewing the Latest Range..............................................................................................................54
Viewing a Specific Time Range.....................................................................................................55
System Usage................................................................................................................................ 55
Container Statistics........................................................................................................................56
Replication Statistics Page............................................................................................................ 59
Storage Page and Options..................................................................................................................60
Understanding the Storage Options.............................................................................................61
Containers......................................................................................................................................61
Replication Page............................................................................................................................62
Clients............................................................................................................................................63
About the Schedules Page and Options............................................................................................ 65
Setting a Replication Schedule..................................................................................................... 65
Setting a Cleaner Schedule...........................................................................................................66
About the System Configuration Page and Options......................................................................... 66
System Configuration Page and Options.....................................................................................67
Understanding the System Configuration Page Options............................................................ 69
Support Page and Options..................................................................................................................70
Understanding the Support Page Options....................................................................................71
4 Configuring the DR Series System Settings..................................................... 75
Configuring Networking Settings....................................................................................................... 75
Networking Page and Ethernet Port Values.................................................................................78
Managing the DR Series System Password........................................................................................ 79
Modifying the System Password.................................................................................................. 80
Resetting the Default System Password...................................................................................... 80
Shutting Down the DR Series System.................................................................................................81
Rebooting the DR Series System........................................................................................................ 81
Configuring Active Directory Settings................................................................................................ 81
Configuring Local Workgroup Users Settings....................................................................................82
Configuring Email Alert Settings.........................................................................................................83
Adding a Recipient Email Address................................................................................................ 83
Editing or Deleting a Recipient Email Address.............................................................................84
Sending a Test Message................................................................................................................84
Configuring Administrator Contact Information............................................................................... 85
Adding Administrator Contact Information................................................................................. 85
Editing Administrator Contact Information..................................................................................86
Managing Passwords.......................................................................................................................... 86
Modifying the System Password...................................................................................................86
Modifying Password Reset Options..............................................................................................87
Configuring an Email Relay Host........................................................................................................87
Adding an Email Relay Host.......................................................................................................... 87
Editing an Email Relay Host..........................................................................................................88
Configuring System Date and Time Settings.....................................................................................88
Editing System Date and Time Settings....................................................................................... 89
Creating Containers............................................................................................................................89
Configuring Share-Level Security...................................................................................................... 90
5 Managing DR Series Storage Operations......................................................... 93
Managing Container Operations........................................................................................................93
Creating Storage Containers........................................................................................................ 93
Editing Container Settings............................................................................................................ 98
Deleting Containers...................................................................................................................... 98
Moving Data Into a Container...................................................................................................... 99
Displaying Container Statistics..................................................................................................... 99
Managing Replication Operations.................................................................................................... 101
Creating Replication Relationships.............................................................................................102
Editing Replication Relationships................................................................................................103
Deleting Replication Relationships.............................................................................................104
Starting and Stopping Replication..............................................................................................104
Setting the Replication Bandwidth............................................................................................. 105
Displaying Replication Statistics................................................................................................. 105
Creating a Replication Schedule................................................................................................ 106
6 Monitoring the DR Series System.....................................................................109
Monitoring Operations Using the Dashboard Page........................................................................ 109
System Status Bar........................................................................................................................109
DR Series System and the Capacity-Storage Savings-Throughput Panes................................110
System Information Pane............................................................................................................110
Monitoring System Alerts...................................................................................................................111
Using the Dashboard Alerts Page................................................................................................ 111
Viewing the System Alerts........................................................................................................... 112
Monitoring System Events.................................................................................................................112
Using the Dashboard to Display System Events......................................................................... 112
Using the Dashboard Events Option...........................................................................................113
Using the Event Filter...................................................................................................................113
Monitoring System Health.................................................................................................................114
Using the Dashboard Page to Monitor System Health...............................................................115
Using the Dashboard Health Options.........................................................................................116
Monitoring System Usage..................................................................................................................117
Displaying Current System Usage............................................................................................... 117
Setting a Latest Range Value.......................................................................................................118
Setting a Time Range Value ........................................................................................................118
Monitoring Container Statistics.........................................................................................................119
Displaying the Container Statistics Page.................................................................................... 119
Monitoring Replication Statistics......................................................................................................120
Displaying the Replication Statistics Page.................................................................................. 121
Displaying Replication Statistics Using the CLI.......................................................................... 122
7 Using Global View.................................................................................................123
About Global Views...........................................................................................................................123
Prerequisites...................................................................................................................................... 123
Configuring Active Directory Settings........................................................................................ 124
Adding a Login Group in an ADS Domain.................................................................................. 125
About the Global View Page............................................................................................................. 125
Global View Summary.................................................................................................................126
Appliance List...............................................................................................................................127
Navigating in Global View.................................................................................................................129
Adding a DR Series System to Global View......................................................................................129
Removing a DR Series System from Global View............................................................................130
Reconnecting DR Series Systems.....................................................................................................130
Using the Reconnect Report.......................................................................................................131
8 Using the DR Series System Support Options...............................................133
Support Information Pane.................................................................................................................133
Diagnostics Page and Options......................................................................................................... 134
Generating a Diagnostics Log File ............................................................................................. 134
Downloading Diagnostics Log Files........................................................................................... 136
Deleting a Diagnostics Log File...................................................................................................136
DR Series System Software Upgrade................................................................................................136
Software Upgrade Page and Options............................................................................................... 137
Verifying the Current Software Version ..................................................................................... 137
Upgrading the DR Series System Software.................................................................................137
Restore Manager (RM).......................................................................................................................139
Downloading the Restore Manager............................................................................................139
Creating the Restore Manager USB Key.....................................................................................139
Running the Restore Manager (RM)........................................................................................... 140
Resetting the Boot LUN Setting in PERC H700 BIOS After Running RM..................................140
Hardware Removal or Replacement.................................................................................................141
DR Series System: Proper Shut Down and Start Up...................................................................141
DR Series System NVRAM............................................................................................................141
9 Configuring and Using Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS...................................... 145
Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS Benefits.................................................................................................. 145
Best Practices: Rapid NFS................................................................................................................. 146
Best Practices: Rapid CIFS.................................................................................................................147
Setting Client-Side Optimization......................................................................................................148
Installing the Rapid NFS Plug-In.......................................................................................................148
Installing the Rapid CIFS Plug-In...................................................................................................... 150
Determining If Your System Is Using Rapid NFS or Rapid CIFS.......................................................150
Viewing the Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS Logs....................................................................................151
Viewing Rapid NFS Logs.............................................................................................................. 151
Viewing Rapid CIFS Logs............................................................................................................. 151
Monitoring Performance...................................................................................................................151
Uninstalling the Rapid NFS Plug-In...................................................................................................152
Uninstalling the Rapid CIFS Plug-In..................................................................................................152
10 Configuring and Using Rapid Data Storage.................................................153
RDS Overview....................................................................................................................................153
RDS Guidelines..................................................................................................................................154
Best Practices: RDS and the DR Series System................................................................................154
Setting Client-Side Optimization......................................................................................................154
Adding RDS Devices in NVBU........................................................................................................... 155
Removing RDS Devices From NVBU................................................................................................ 155
Backing Up Data on the RDS Container Using NVBU......................................................................155
Replicating Data to a RDS Container Using NVBU...........................................................................157
Restoring Data From a DR Series System Using NVBU................................................................... 158
Supported DR Series System CLI Commands for RDS....................................................................158
11 Configuring and Using OST.............................................................................. 161
Understanding OST........................................................................................................................... 161
OpenStorage Technology (OST) API................................................................................................162
OST Guidelines..................................................................................................................................163
OST Terminology.............................................................................................................................. 163
Supported OST Software and Components.................................................................................... 164
OST Required Configurations...........................................................................................................164
Best Practices: OST and the DR Series System................................................................................164
Setting Client-Side Optimization......................................................................................................164
Configuring an LSU...........................................................................................................................164
Installing the Dell OST Plug-In......................................................................................................... 165
Understanding the Dell OST Plug-In (Linux)..............................................................................165
Understanding the Dell OST Plug-In (Windows)....................................................................... 166
Installing the OST Plug-In for Backup Exec on Windows......................................................... 166
Installing the OST Plug-In for NetBackup on Windows.............................................................167
Uninstalling the Dell OST Plug-In for Windows.........................................................................168
Installing the OST Plug-In for NetBackup on Linux...................................................................168
Uninstalling the Dell OST Plug-In for Linux............................................................................... 169
Configuring DR Series System Information Using NetBackup........................................................169
Using NetBackup CLI to Add DR Series System Name (Linux)..................................................170
Using NetBackup CLI to Add DR Series System Name (Windows)........................................... 170
Configuring NetBackup for the DR Series System.....................................................................170
Configuring NetBackup for Optimized Synthetic Backups........................................................171
Creating Disk Pools From LSUs...................................................................................................172
Creating Storage Units Using the Disk Pool............................................................................... 172
Backing Up Data From a DR Series System (NetBackup)................................................................ 173
Restoring Data From a DR Series System Using NetBackup..................................................... 173
Duplicating Backup Images Between DR Series Systems Using NetBackup............................ 173
Using Backup Exec With a DR Series System (Windows).................................................................174
OST Plug-In and Supported Versions.........................................................................................174
Installation Prerequisites for the OST Plug-In for Backup Exec................................................ 174
Configuring the DR Series System Using the Backup Exec GUI................................................174
Creating Backups on the DR Series System Using Backup Exec...............................................175
Optimizing Duplication Between DR Series Systems Using Backup Exec................................176
Restoring Data from a DR Series System Using Backup Exec................................................... 176
Understanding the OST CLI Commands.......................................................................................... 177
Supported DR Series System CLI Commands for OST.............................................................. 177
Understanding OST Plug-In Diagnostic Logs.................................................................................. 178
Rotating OST Plug-In Logs for Windows................................................................................... 178
Collecting Diagnostics Using a Linux Utility.....................................................................................179
Rotating OST Plug-In Logs for Linux..........................................................................................179
Guidelines for Gathering Media Server Information........................................................................179
NetBackup on Linux Media Servers............................................................................................ 179
NetBackup on Windows Media Servers..................................................................................... 180
Backup Exec on Windows Media Servers................................................................................... 181
12 Troubleshooting and Maintenance................................................................183
Troubleshooting Error Conditions................................................................................................... 183
DR Series System Alert and Event Messages....................................................................................183
About the Diagnostics Service......................................................................................................... 203
Understanding Diagnostics Collection......................................................................................204
About the DR Series System Maintenance Mode............................................................................205
Scheduling DR Series System Operations........................................................................................207
Creating a Cleaner Schedule............................................................................................................207
Displaying Cleaner Statistics.......................................................................................................208
13 Supported Ports in a DR Series System......................................................... 211
14 Getting Help.........................................................................................................213
Before Contacting Dell Support....................................................................................................... 213
Contacting Dell................................................................................................................................. 214
10
1
Introduction to the DR Series System
The DR Series system documentation contains topics that explain how to use the Dell DR Series system
to perform data storage operations and manage storage and replication containers. The DR Series system
topics introduce and describe the DR Series system graphical user interface (GUI) that you can use to
manage your backup and replication operations. A comprehensive set of GUI-based procedures allow
you to access management features and capabilities using a supported web browser.
The DR Series system graphical user interface (GUI) provides one method for managing the DR Series
system, with the other being the command-line interface (CLI). In some instances, the DR Series system
GUI may provide additional features and options that are not available in the DR Series system CLI and
vice versa. For example, Global View is only available in the GUI and the ability to add and remove clients
in only available in the CLI. For more information about the DR Series system CLI commands, see the Dell
DR Series System Command Line Reference Guide.
About the DR Series System GUI Documentation
The DR Series system documentation describes how to use the graphical user interface (GUI) and its
menus, tabs, and options to perform a wide variety of data storage operations, and to manage the related
storage and replication containers.
The documentation is written for an administrator end-user and introduces and provides procedures for
using the DR Series system GUI elements to easily manage your backup and deduplication operations. A
comprehensive set of GUI-based procedures allow you to access all of the key management features and
capabilities using a supported web browser.
NOTE: For information about the supported web browsers you can use with the DR Series system,
see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide available at support.dell.com/manuals.
What's New In This Release
For a list of the features, enhancements, and changes in the latest release, see What Is New In This
Release in the Dell DR Series System Release Notes at dell.com/support/manuals. If you are upgrading
from a previous software version, please see Upgrade Notes in the Dell DR Series System Release Notes.
Other Information You May Need
WARNING: See the safety and regulatory information that shipped with your system. Warranty
information may be included within this document or as a separate document.
• The Dell DR Series System Owner's Manual provides information about solution features, describes
how to troubleshoot the system, and how to install or replace DR Series system components. This
document is available at support.dell.com/manuals.
• The Dell DR Series System Command Line Reference Guide provides information about managing DR
Series system data backup and replication operations using the DR Series system command line
interface (CLI). This document is available at support.dell.com/manuals.
11
• The Dell DR Series System Getting Started Guide provides an overview of setting up your DR Series
system, and includes technical specifications. This document is available at support.dell.com/
manuals.
• The Setting Up Your Dell DR Series System provides information about network, initial setup, and user
account settings needed to initialize the Dell DR Series system. This document is available at
support.dell.com/manuals
• The Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide provides information on the supported hardware and
software that can be used with the DR Series system. This document is available at support.dell.com/
manuals.
• Any media that ships with your system that provides documentation and tools for configuring and
managing your system, including those pertaining to the operating system, system management
software, system updates, and system components that you purchased with your system.
NOTE: Always check for documentation updates on support.dell.com/manuals and read the
documentation updates first because they often supersede information in other documents, and
contain the latest updated versions of the documents.
NOTE: Always check for release notes on support.dell.com/manuals and read the release notes
first because they contain the most recently documented information about known issues with a
specific product release.
Source Code Availability
A portion of the DR Series system software may contain or consist of open source software, which you
can use under the terms and conditions of the specific license under which the open source software is
distributed.
Under certain open source software licenses, you are also entitled to obtain the corresponding source
files. For more information about this or to find the corresponding source files for respective programs,
see the Dell opensource.dell.com website.
12
2
Understanding the DR Series System
The DR Series system is a high-performance, disk-based backup and recovery appliance that is simple to
deploy and manage, and offers unsurpassed Total Cost of Ownership benefits. Features such as
innovative firmware and an all-inclusive licensing model ensure optimal functionality and the assurance
of no hidden costs for desired future features.
NOTE: Unless otherwise noted, later references to "the system" or "DR Series system" are used
interchangeably to represent the Dell DR Series system.
The DR Series system has a simple installation process with full, intuitive remote setup and management
capabilities. It is available in many drive capacities and is ideal for SMB, enterprise, and remote office
environments. For details about specific drive capacities and types available in the DR Series system, see
Drive and Available Physical Capacities.
NOTE: The DR Series system also supports using external data storage expansion shelves (also
known as expansion enclosures). An added expansion shelf enclosure must be equal to or greater
than each DR Series system internal drive slot capacity (0–11). For more information about
expansion enclosures, see “Expansion Unit Limits” in the Dell DR Series System Interoperability
Guide and Installing an Expansion Shelf License, DR Series System - Expansion Shelf Cabling, and
Expansion Shelf Licenses in this guide.
Using Dell deduplication and compression algorithm technology, this system can achieve data reduction
levels ranging from 10:1 to 15:1. This reduction in data results in less incremental storage needs and a
smaller backup footprint. By removing redundant data, the system provides deduplication and
compression that delivers:
• Fast, reliable backup and restore functionality
• Reduces media usage and power and cooling requirements
• Improves overall data protection and retention costs
The benefits of data deduplication can be extended across the enterprise—through the deduplicated
replication function—to provide a complete backup solution for multi-site environments.
The shorter Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and more attainable Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) can
also be assured as critical backup data remains on disk and online longer. Capital and administrative costs
are diminished at the same time as internal service level agreements (SLAs) are more easily met.
The DR Series system includes the following:
• Advanced data protection and disaster recovery
• Simple management interface (using the system GUI)
• Wide variety of data backup installations and environments
The Dell DR Series system contains data backup and management software preinstalled on a Dell
hardware appliance, which provides you with a robust disk-based data backup capability installed on a
deduplication-enabled appliance.
13
The system supports two interface types, and the system software manages the storage containers using
the following interfaces:
• A command line interface (CLI)
• A graphical user interface (GUI)
About the DR Series System
The Dell DR Series system is a solution designed to reduce your backup data footprint using a number of
comprehensive backup and deduplication operations that optimize storage savings. Collectively, the DR
Series system comes in the following types:
• DR4000 system: This is preinstalled DR4000 system software on a Dell PowerEdge R510 appliance
platform.
• DR4100 system: This is preinstalled DR4000 system software on a Dell PowerEdge R720xd appliance
platform.
• DR6000 system: This is preinstalled DR6000 system software on a Dell PowerEdge R720xd appliance
platform. This differs from the DR4100 by including a higher level of base system hardware.
The DR Series system consists of the following components:
• Software — The system software supports record linkage and context-based lossless data
compression methods.
• Hardware — Following are the appliance types that support the DR Series:
– DR4000 system: Includes twelve 3.5 inch SAS or Nearline SAS chassis drives that are hot-
swappable, two power supplies for power redundancy, and two cabled 2.5-inch SAS drives for the
operating system. The operating system is installed on two 2.5–inch internal drives that are in a
RAID 1 configuration in the DR4000 system.
– DR4100 system: Includes twelve 3.5 inch SAS or Nearline SAS chassis drives that are hot-
swappable, two power supplies for power redundancy, and includes two 2.5-inch drives that are
hot-pluggable in the rear.
– DR6000 system: Includes twelve 3.5 inch SAS or Nearline SAS chassis drives that are hot-
swappable, two power supplies for power redundancy, and includes two 2.5-inch drives that are
hot-pluggable in the rear.
NOTE: For slot locations for the twelve 3.5–inch drives in the DR Series system types, see DR
Series System and Data Operations.
• Expansion shelf—The system appliance supports the addition of external Dell PowerVault MD1200
data storage expansion shelf enclosures. Adding an expansion shelf provides additional data storage
for the DR Series system and also requires a license. Each added expansion shelf enclosure must be
equal to or greater than each DR Series system internal drive slot capacity (0–11). For more
information, see “Expansion Unit Limits” in the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide and see
Expansion Shelf Licenses in this guide. For more general information about the supported storage
enclosures, see “DR Series Expansion Shelf” in DR Series System and Data Operations.
Drive and Available Physical Capacities
Table 1 defines the internal system drive capacity and available physical capacity (in decimal and binary
values) in the DR Series system. The DR Series system comes in the following types:
• DR4000 system—which consists of preinstalled system software on a modified Dell R510 appliance
platform.
14
• DR4100 system—which consists of preinstalled system software on a modified Dell R720xd appliance
platform.
• DR6000 system—which consists of preinstalled system software on a modified Dell R720xd appliance
platform. This differs from the DR4100 by including a higher level of base system hardware.
Internal Drive Capacity
The capacity values listed in Table 1 represent the internal drive and available physical capacities that have
been adjusted for the associated overhead in the DR Series system releases. Logical capacity assumes
15:1 savings ratio; actual could be different.
NOTE: In Table 1, the abbreviations TB and GB represents Terabytes and Gigabytes in decimal
values, and the abbreviation TiB represents Tebibytes in binary values. Tebibytes are a standards-
based binary multiple of the byte, a unit of digital information storage.
Table 1. Internal Drive Capacity and Available Physical Capacity
DR Series Single
Drive Capacity 9 Drive Capacity (12
DRV RAID6 with
Hot Spare)
(Decimal)
9 Drive Capacity (12
DRV RAID6 with Hot
Spare) (Binary)
Total Logical
Capacity @ 15:1
Savings Ratios
(Decimal)
Total Logical
Capacity @ 15:1
Savings Ratios
(Binary)
4 TB (DR6000
only)
36 TB 32.74 TiB 540 TB 491.1 TiB
3 TB (DR4100 and
DR6000 only)
27 TB 24.56 TiB 405 TB 368.4 TiB
2 TB 18 TB 16.37 TiB 270 TB 245.55 TiB
1 TB 9 TB 8.18 TiB 135 TB 122.7 TiB
600 GB (DR4X00
only)
5.4 TB 4.91 TiB 81 TB 73.65 TiB
300 GB (DR4X00
only)
2.7 TB 2.46 TiB 41 TB 36.9 TiB
For more general information about the external data storage capacity supported by the expansion shelf
enclosures, see the “DR Series Expansion Shelf” section in DR Series System and Data Operations.
External Drive Capacity
The capacity values listed in Table 2 represent the additional storage capacity in the external drives that
are available when you add the supported expansion shelf enclosures to a DR Series system. Additional
data storage can be added using the expansion shelf enclosures in the following capacities. For more
information on the expansion shelf enclosures, see “Expansion Unit Limits” in the Dell DR Series System
Interoperability Guide and Adding a DR Series System Expansion Shelf, Installing an Expansion Shelf
License, and DR Series System - Expansion Shelf Cabling in this guide.
Table 2. External Drive Capacity and Available Physical Capacity
DR Series System
Drive Capacity
Available Physical
Capacity (Decimal)
Available Physical
Capacity (Binary)
Total Logical
Capacity @ 15:1
Total Logical
Capacity @ 15:1
15
Savings Ratios
(Decimal)
Savings Ratios
(Binary)
1 TB 9 TB 8.18 TiB 135 TB 122.7 TiB
2 TB 18 TB 16.37 TiB 270 TB 245.55 TiB
3 TB (DR4100 and
DR6000 only)
27 TB 24.56 TiB 405 TB 368.4 TiB
4 TB (DR6000
only)
35.37 TB 32.17 TiB 842.5 TB 540 TiB
Data Storage Terminology and Concepts
This topic presents several key data storage terms and concepts that help you to better understand the
role that the DR Series system plays in meeting your data storage needs.
Data Deduplication and Compression: The DR Series system design draws upon a wide variety of data-
reduction technologies that include the use of advanced deduplication algorithms, in addition to the use
of generic and custom compression solutions that are effective across a large number of differing file
types. The system uses a concept of content-awareness where it analyzes data to better learn and
understand the structure of your files and data types.
Once this is learned, it uses this method to improve your data reduction ratios while reducing resource
consumption on the host. The system uses block deduplication to address the increasing data growth,
and this is well suited to providing the best results for routine and repeated data backups of structured
data. Block-level deduplication works efficiently where there are multiple duplicate versions of the same
file. This is because it looks at the actual sequence of the data–the 0s and 1s–that comprise the data.
Whenever a document is repeatedly backed up, the 0s and 1s stay the same because the file is simply
being duplicated. The similarities between two files can be easily identified using block deduplication
because the sequence of their 0s and 1s remain exactly the same. In contrast to this, there are differences
in online data. Online data has few exact duplicates. Instead, online data files include files that may
contain a lot of similarities between each file. For example, a majority of files that contribute to increased
data storage requirements come pre-compressed by their native applications, such as:
• Images and video (such as the JPEG, MPEG, TIFF, GIF, PNG formats)
• Compound documents (such as .zip files, email, HTML, web pages, and PDFs)
• Microsoft Office application documents (including PowerPoint, MS Word, Excel, and SharePoint)
NOTE: The DR Series system experiences a reduced savings rate when the data it ingests is
already compression-enabled by the native data source. It is highly recommended that you
disable data compression used by the data source. For optimal savings, the native data sources
need to send data to the DR Series system in a raw state for ingestion.
Block deduplication is not as effective on existing compressed files due to the nature of file compression
because its 0s and 1s change from the original format. Data deduplication is a specialized form of data
compression that eliminates a lot of redundant data. The compression technique improves storage
utilization, and it can be used in network data transfers to reduce the number of bytes that must be sent
across a link. Using deduplication, unique chunks of data, or byte patterns, can be identified and stored
during analysis. As the analysis continues, other chunks are compared to the stored copy and when a
match occurs, the redundant chunk is replaced with a small reference that points to its stored chunk. This
reduces the amount of data that must be stored or transferred, which contributes to network savings.
16
Network savings are achieved by the process of replicating data that has already undergone
deduplication.
By contrast, standard file compression tools identify short repeated substrings inside individual files, with
the intent of storage-based data deduplication being to inspect large volumes of data and identify large
amounts of data such as entire files or large sections of files that are identical. Once this has been done,
this process allows for the system to store only one copy of the specific data. This copy will be
additionally compressed using single-file compression techniques. For example, there may be cases
where an email system may contain 100 or more emails where the same 1 Megabyte (MB) file is sent as
an attachment and the following shows how this is handled:
• Without data deduplication, each time that email system is backed up, all 100 instances of the same
attachment are saved, which requires 100 MB of storage space.
• With data deduplication, only one instance of the attachment is actually stored (all subsequent
instances are referenced back to the one saved copy), with the deduplication ratio being
approximately 100 to 1). The unique chunks of data that represent the attachment are deduplicated at
the block chunking level.
NOTE: The DR Series system does not support deduplication of any encrypted data, so there will
be no deduplication savings derived from ingesting encrypted data. The DR Series system
cannot deduplicate data that has already been encrypted because it considers that data to be
unique, and as a result, cannot deduplicate it.
In cases where self encrypting drives (SEDs) are used, when data is read by the backup application, it is
decrypted by the SED or the encryption layer. This works in the same way as if you were opening an MS-
Word document that was saved on a SED. This means that any data stored on a SED can be read and
deduplicated. If you enable encryption in the backup software, you will lose deduplication savings
because each time the data is encrypted, the DR Series system considers it to be unique.
Replication: Replication is the process by which the same key data is saved from multiple storage
devices, with the goal of maintaining consistency between redundant resources in data storage
environments. Data replication improves the level of fault-tolerance, which improves the reliability of
maintaining saved data, and permits accessibility to the same stored data. The DR Series system uses an
active form of replication that lets you configure a primary-backup scheme. During replication, the
system processes data storage requests from a specified source to a specified destination (also known as
a target) that acts as a replica of the original source data.
NOTE: The DR Series system software includes version checking that limits replication only between
other DR Series systems that run the same system software release version. If versions are
incompatible, the administrator will be notified by an event.
NOTE: It is important to distinguish the difference between data that has been processed by backup
and data that has been processed by replication, since backup saves a copy of data that remains
unchanged for a long period of time.
Targets with replica data are read-only, and are updated with new or unique data during scheduled or
manual replications. The DR Series system acts as a form of storage replication where the backed up and
deduplicated data is replicated in real-time or via a scheduled window. In a replication relationship
between two DR Series systems, this means that a relationship exists between a pair of systems, one
acting as the source and the other as a target in the replication pair (for example, with acme-west and
acme-east). When this type of replication relationship exists between distinct containers on two distinct
DR Series systems, it can be considered bidirectional in the sense that:
• West1 container on the acme-west source system can replicate data to a separate East1 container on
the acme-east target system.
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• The East2 container on the target acme-east system can also replicate data back to the West2
container on the source acme-west system.
This form of replication involves separate containers on two distinct DR Series systems. Target containers
in replication must always act as read-only, while source containers can act as read-write. Unlike NFS and
CIFS containers, OST and RDS container replication is handled by the two supported Data Management
Applications (DMAs) on media servers. For more information on OST, see Understanding OST. For more
information on RDS, see Configuring and Using Rapid Data Storage.
NOTE: OST and RDS containers are categorized as Rapid Data Access (RDA) containers in DR Series
systems. Replication for these protocols is done via the backup software rather than using the DR
Series system to configure the replication relationship.
The DR Series system supports the 64:1 replication of data (32:1 if on the DR4X00), whereby up to 64
source DR Series systems can write data to different individual containers on a single, target DR Series
system. This supports the use case where branch or regional offices can each write their own data to a
separate, distinct container on a main corporate DR Series system.
NOTE: Be aware that the storage capacity of the target DR Series system is directly affected by the
number of source systems writing to its containers, and by the amount being written by each of the
source systems.
If the source and target systems in a replication pair reside in different Active Directory (AD) domains,
then the data that resides on the target DR Series system may not be accessible. When AD is used for
authentication for DR Series systems, the AD information is saved with the file. This can serve to restrict
user access to the data based on the type of AD permissions that are in place.
NOTE: This same authentication information is replicated to the target DR Series system when you
have replication configured. To prevent domain access issues, ensure that both the target and
source systems reside in the same Active Directory domain.
Reverse Replication: The concept of reverse replication is not supported on DR Series systems. This is
because replica containers are always in a R-O (read-only) mode on the DR Series system, thus making
write operations a non-supported operation. Under very specific conditions, it might be possible for
replica containers to support a type of write operation whose sole function is to restore data from an
archival target. For example, data could be replicated back to the remote site where a data management
application (DMA), also known as backup software, is connected to allow this data to be restored directly.
This specific case applies only to configurations where data is backed up from a remote location to a
local container, and then replicated over a WAN to a replica container that is backed up to tape backup.
The data needs to be restored from the tape backup to the original location; first, restore the data back to
a DR Series system replica container, and then restore it back to the original source location of the data
on the other side of the WAN link.
NOTE: If you choose to use this alternate workaround method, you must set up a new data storage
unit in the DMA and import the images before a restore to the original location can occur.
To support this effort to leverage deduplication across the WAN to allow this scenario, complete the
following:
1. Make sure that the replication operation has completed (between source and target).
2. Delete current replication relationship, and re-create replication relationship (reversing the source
and target roles).
3. Restore data to the original source container (now the target).
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4. Make sure that the replication operation has completed.
5. Delete replication relationship and re-create replication relationship (restoring original source and
target destinations).
Under this scenario, a fraction of the data to be recovered is sent across the WAN link. This could speed
up a remote restore significantly. However, there are some downsides to this type of scenario:
• If step 1 is not followed correctly, any changes not fully replicated are lost.
• During steps 2 and 3, any data that is written to the original DR Series system source container may be
lost.
• During step 4, if the data is not fully replicated back before the switch is made, it may be lost.
Alternatively, you still could support this effort by completing the following:
1. Create a new container on the target DR Series system.
2. Set up replication from this container back to the source DR Series system container.
3. Set up a new disk storage unit in the DMA and make sure that the DMA is aware of any new images.
4. Import the old images back into the DMA from the target DR Series system (the original source
location).
5. Use a new disk storage unit in the DMA, and then restore the data back to the original client.
Data Deduplication and Compression
The DR Series system design uses various data-reduction technologies, including advanced deduplication
algorithms, in addition to the generic and custom compression solutions that prove effective across
many differing file types. Data deduplication and compression is addressed in the following areas:
•DR Series System — The DR Series system backup and recovery appliances provide both efficient and
high-performance disk-based data protection to leverage the advanced deduplication and
compression capabilities in the DR Series system software. The DR Series systems provide a key
component that performs backup, recovery, and data protection operations.
•Deduplication — This technology eliminates redundant copies of data and in the process it decreases
disk capacity requirements and reduces the bandwidth needed for data transfer. Deduplication can be
a major asset for companies that are dealing with increasing data volumes and require a means for
optimizing their data protection.
•Compression — This technology reduces the size of data that is stored, protected, and transmitted.
Compression helps companies improve their backup and recovery times while helping reduce
infrastructure and network resource constraints.
In general, DR Series systems are disk-based data protection appliances that offer advanced
deduplication and compression capabilities to reduce the time and cost associated with backing up and
restoring data. Based on deduplication and compression technology, the DR Series systems eliminate the
need to maintain multiple copies of the same data. This lets customers keep more data online longer and
reduce the need for tape backup dependency.
Using its deduplication and compression technology, DR Series systems can help achieve an expected
data reduction ratio of 15:1. Achieving this reduction in data means that you need fewer incremental
storage operations to run and it provides you with a smaller backup footprint. By removing redundant
data, DR Series systems deliver fast reliable backup and restore functionality, reduce media usage and
power and cooling requirements, and improve your overall data protection and retention costs.
You can extend the benefits of data deduplication across the enterprise as well–using the DR Series
system deduplication replication function–to provide a complete backup solution for multi-site
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environments. With 64:1 deduplicated replication (32:1 for DR4X00), up to 64 nodes can be replicated
simultaneously to separate, individual containers on one node. The DR Series systems use compression
with replication to shrink the data that is needed to be moved across the wire to a container.
Replication can be scheduled based on your settings to occur during non-peak periods. The replication
schedule you create can be set and prioritized to ingest data over replication data to ensure the most
optimal back up windows based on your needs. The DR Series systems are Symantec OpenStorage
Technology (OST) certified to provide tight integration with NetBackup and Backup Exec DMA products
to allow them to control when backup images are created, compressed, duplicated, and deleted, so that
customers using these products can leverage the DR Series system appliance as a disk.
The DR Series systems also provide seamless integration with a number of data management applications
(DMAs), including Dell NetVault Backup, CommVault replicated disk libraries, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager
(TSM), and others. Ideal for SMB, enterprise, and remote offices, the DR Series system provides data
deduplication and compression support for multiple data capacity points. For a complete list of
supported DMAs and data capacity points, see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide.
NOTE: The DR Series system does not support deduplication of any encrypted data. So, there will be
no deduplication savings derived from ingesting encrypted data. The DR Series system cannot
deduplicate data that has already been encrypted because it considers that data to be unique, and
as a result, it cannot deduplicate it.
Streams vs. Connections
This topic describes the differences between data streams and application connections.
Streams can be likened to the number of files written at the same time to a DR Series system. The DR
Series system tracks the number of files being written and assembles the data into 4MB chunks before
processing that section of the data. If the stream count is exceeded, the data is processed out of order
and overall deduplication savings can be affected. For details on maximum stream count, see the Dell DR
Series System Interoperability Guide.
Connections are created by applications; within a single connection, there can be multiple streams
depending on the application and how many backup jobs are running in parallel over that single
connection. Replication can use up to 16 streams over a single port using one connection.
For example, suppose you are running backups using Backup Exec and using DR4100 and the CIFS
protocol. If you have:
• One Backup Exec server connected to the DR4100 over CIFS and one backup running, you have one
connection and one stream.
• One Backup Exec server connected to the DR4100 over CIFS with 10 concurrent backups running,
you have one connection and ten streams. This means that Backup Exec is writing ten different files
to the DR4100.
Replication
Replication is the process by which the same key data is saved from multiple storage locations, with the
goal being to maintain its consistency between redundant resources in data storage environments. Data
replication improves the level of fault-tolerance, which improves the reliability of maintaining saved data,
and permits accessibility to the same stored data. The DR Series system uses an active form of replication
that lets you configure a primary-backup scheme. During replication, the system processes data storage
20
requests from a specified source to a specified destination (also known as a target) that acts as a replica
of the original source data.
NOTE: The DR Series system software includes version checking that limits replication only between
other DR Series systems that run the same system software release version. If versions are
incompatible, the administrator will be notified by an event.
NOTE: It is important to distinguish the difference between data that has been processed by
backup, and data that has been processed by replication. This is because backup saves a copy of
data that generally remains unchanged for a long period of time.
Targets with replication data are read-only, and are updated with new or unique data during scheduled or
manual replications. The DR Series system can be considered to act as a form of a storage replication
process in which the backup and deduplication data is replicated in real-time or via a scheduled window
in a network environment. In a replication relationship between two DR Series systems, this means that a
relationship exists between a pair of systems. One system acts as the source and the other as a target in
this replication pair (for example, acme-west and acme-east). When this type of relationship exists
between distinct containers on two distinct DR Series systems, it can be considered bidirectional in the
sense that:
• The West1 container on the acme-west source system can replicate data to a separate East1
container on the acme-east target system.
• The East2 container on the target acme-east system can also replicate data back to the West2
container on the source acme-west system.
This form of replication involves separate containers on two distinct DR Series systems. Target containers
in replication must always act as read-only, while sources containers can act as read-write. Unlike NFS
and CIFS containers, OST and RDS container replication is handled by the two supported Data
Management Applications (DMAs) on media servers. For more information on OST, see Understanding
OST. For more information on RDS, see Configuring and Using Rapid Data Storage.
NOTE: OST and RDS containers are categorized as Rapid Data Access (RDA) containers in DR Series
systems.
The DR Series system supports the 64:1 replication of data (32:1 if on DR4X00), whereby up to 64 source
DR Series systems can write data to different individual containers on a single, target DR Series system.
This supports the use case where branch or regional offices can each write their own data to a separate,
distinct container on a main corporate DR Series system.
NOTE: Be aware that the storage capacity of the target DR Series system is directly affected by the
number of source systems writing to its containers, and by the amount being written by each of the
source systems.
However, if the source and target systems in a replication pair are in different Active Directory (AD)
domains, then the data that resides on the target system may not be accessible. When AD is used to
perform authentication for DR Series systems, the AD information is saved with the file. This can act to
restrict user access to the data based on the type of AD permissions that are in place.
NOTE: This same authentication information is replicated to the target DR Series system when you
have replication configured. To prevent domain access issues, ensure that both the target and
source systems reside in the same Active Directory domain.
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Reverse Replication
The concept of reverse replication is not a supported operation on DR Series systems. This is because
replica containers are always in a R-O (read-only) mode on the DR Series system, thus making write
operations a non-supported operation.
Under very specific conditions, it might be possible for replica containers to support a type of write
operation whose sole function is to restore data from an archival target. For example, data could be
replicated back to the remote site where a data management application (DMA), or backup software, is
connected to allow this data to be restored directly.
This specific type of case applies only to configurations where data is backed up from a remote location
to a local container, and then replicated over a WAN to a replica container that is backed up to tape. The
data needs to be restored from the tape backup to the original location; first back to a DR Series system
replica container, and then back to the original source location of the data on the other side of the WAN
link.
NOTE: If you choose to use this alternate workaround method, you must set up a new data storage
unit in the DMA, and import the images before a restore to the original location can occur.
To leverage this type of deduplication across the WAN, complete the following:
1. Make sure that the replication operation has completed (between source and target).
2. Delete the current replication relationship, and re-create a replication relationship (reversing the
source and target roles).
3. Restore data to the original source container (now the target).
4. Make sure that the replication operation has completed.
5. Delete the replication relationship and re-create a replication relationship (restoring original source
and target destinations).
Under this scenario, a fraction of the data to be recovered is sent across the WAN link. This could speed
up a remote restore significantly. However, there are some downsides to this type of scenario:
• If step 1 is not followed correctly, any changes not fully replicated are lost.
• During steps 2 and 3, any data that is written to the original DR Series system source container may be
lost.
• During step 4, if the data is not fully replicated back before the switch is made, it may be lost.
Alternatively, you could still support this type of effort by completing the following:
1. Create a new container on the target DR Series system.
2. Set up replication from this container back to the source DR Series system container.
3. Set up a new disk storage unit in the DMA and make sure that the DMA is aware of any new images.
4. Import the old images back into the DMA from the target DR Series system (the original source
location).
5. Use a new disk storage unit in the DMA, and then restore the data back to the original client.
Reverse Replication: Alternate Method
To support an alternate method of reverse replication, complete the following:
1. Create a new container on the target DR Series system.
2. Set up replication from this container back to the source DR Series system container.
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3. Set up a new disk storage unit in the DMA and make sure that the DMA is aware of any new images.
4. Import the old images back into the DMA from the target DR Series system (the original source
location).
5. Use a new disk storage unit in the DMA, and then restore the data back to the original client.
Supported File System Protocols
The DR Series system supports the following file system protocols:
• Network File System (NFS)
• Rapid NFS
• Common Internet File System (CIFS)
• Rapid CIFS
• Rapid Data Access (RDA)
– OpenStorage Technology (OST)
– Rapid Data Storage (RDS)
NOTE: The DR Series system supports the following container connection types: NFS, CIFS, and
RDA. OST and RDS provide a logical disk interface that can be used with network storage devices to
store data and support data storage operations.
For more information on NFS and CIFS, see NFS and CIFS. For more information on RDS, see Configuring
and Using Rapid Data Storage.
For more information on OST, see Understanding OST, Creating an OST or RDS Connection Type
Container, and Creating an NFS or CIFS Connection Type Container.
NFS
The Network File System (NFS) is a file system protocol that is designated to be a file server standard, and
its protocol uses the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) method of communication between computers.
Clients can access files via the network similar to the way that local storage is accessed.
NFS is a client-server application in which a client can view, store, and update files on a remote system
just like they are working on a local system. System or Network Administrators can mount all or a portion
of a file system, and the file system (or portion) that is mounted can be accessed using the privileges
assigned to each file.
NOTE: If you want to do a mount on AIX, you must set the nfs_use_reserved_ports and portcheck
parameters first. The parameters cannot be set to 0. For example: root@aixhost1 / # nfso -
po portcheck=1 root@aixhost1 / # nfso -po nfs_use_reserved_ports=1
CIFS
The Common Internet File System (CIFS) remote file access protocol is one supported by the DR Series
system, and is also known as a Server Message Block (SMB). SMB occurs more commonly than the
Network File System (NFS) protocol on systems that run the Microsoft Windows operating system. CIFS
allows programs to request files or services on remote computers.
CIFS also uses the client-server programming model, whereby the client requests access to a file or
passes a message to a program running on the server. Servers review all requested actions and return a
23
response. CIFS is a public (or open) variation of the SMB that was originally developed and used by
Microsoft.
NOTE: The DR Series system currently supports version 1.0 of the Server Message Block (SMB).
NOTE: For details on CIFS feature restrictions, see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide,
at support.dell.com/manuals.
CIFS ACL Support
The DR Series system software supports the use of access control lists (ACLs) for CIFS and share-level
permissions. By definition, an ACL is simply a list of permissions that can be associated with any network
resource.
Each ACL can contain access control entries (ACEs) that define or describe the permissions for an
individual user or a group of users. An ACL can consist of zero (meaning that all users have access) or a
number of ACEs that define specific permissions on a per-user or per-group basis.
NOTE: If an ACE list is empty (meaning that it contains zero entries), this means that all access
requests will be granted.
An ACL describes the entities that are allowed to access a specific resource. ACLs are a built-in access
control mechanism in the Windows operating systems.
NOTE: The DR Series system supports setting up share-level permissions for a CIFS share using a
Microsoft Windows administrative tool. Share-level permissions let you control access to shares. For
more information, see Configuring Share-Level Security.
NOTE: Any user that is part of BUILTIN\Administrators can edit ACLs on CIFS shares. The local DR
Series system administrator is included in the BUILTIN\Administrators group. To add additional
domain groups to the BUILTIN\Administrators group, you can use the Computer Manager tool on a
Windows client to connect to the DR Series system as Domain administrator and add any groups
you want. This capability allows users other than the Domain administrator to modify an ACL as
needed.
Access Control List Support in Containers
All new containers apply a default Access Control List (ACL) at the root of the container. This default ACL
is the same as that which would be created by a Microsoft Windows 2003 Server. Therefore, these new
containers with the default ACL support the following permission types:
NOTE: Any user that is part of BUILTIN\Administrators can edit ACLs on CIFS shares. The local DR
Series system administrator is included in the BUILTIN\Administrators group. To add additional
domain groups to the BUILTIN\Administrators group, you can use the Computer Manager tool on a
Windows client to connect to the DR Series system as Domain administrator and add any groups
you want. This capability allows users other than the Domain administrator to modify an ACL as
needed.
• BUILTIN\Administrators:
Allows Full access, object inherit, and container inherit.
Applies to This folder, subfolders, and files.
• CREATOR OWNER:
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Allows Full access, inherit only, object inherit, and container inherit.
Applies to Subfolders and files only.
• EVERYONE:
Allows Traverse folders, execute files, list folders, read data, read attributes, and read
extended attributes.
Applies to This folder only.
• NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM:
Allows Full access, object inherit, and container inherit.
Applies to This folder, subfolders, and files.
• BUILTIN\Users:
Allows Create folders and append data, inherit-only, and container inherit.
Applies to This folder, subfolders, and files.
• BUILTIN\Users:
Allows Read and execute, and container inherit.
Applies to This folder, subfolders, and files.
• BUILTIN\Users:
Allows Create files and write data, object inherit, and container inherit.
Applies to Subfolders only.
NOTE: If these permissions are unsuitable for your needs, you can modify the default ACL to suit
your own requirement using the Windows ACL Editor (for example, using Properties → Security
from Windows Explorer).
NOTE: The system does not understand the Owner Rights permission and sets the owner of new
files/folders created by the Domain Administrators as DOM\Administrator rather than as BUILTIN
\Administrators.
Unix Permissions Guidelines
For a user to create, delete, or rename a file or a directory requires Write access to the parent directory
that contains these files. Only the owner of a file (or the root user) can change permissions.
Permissions are based on the user IDs (UIDs) for the file Owner and group IDs (GIDs) for the primary
group. Files have owner IDs and group owner IDs. To enable Unix access, the DR Series system supports
three levels of users:
• Owner (of the file)
• Group (group in which the owner belongs)
• Other (other users with an account on the system)
Each of these three user types support the following access permissions:
• Read (read access that allows user to read files)
• Write (write access that allows user to create or write to a file)
• Execute (access that allows user to execute files or traverse directories in the filesystem)
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NOTE: A root user has all levels of permission access, and a user can be a member of a single group
or of multiple groups (up to 32 groups are allowed in Unix).
Windows Permissions Guidelines
To enable Windows access, the DR Series system supports access control lists (ACLs) that contain zero or
more access control entries (ACEs), and an empty ACE list grants all access requests. The Windows New
Technology File System (NTFS) uses ACLs as part of the security descriptor (SD) process, which requires
permissions to access such filesystem objects as files and directories. ACLs support two levels of users:
• Owners
• Groups
Both Owners and Groups have Security IDs (SIDs) that define and identify an object owner or the group
owning an object. ACEs in an ACL consist of a SID, a specific permission that either allows or denies
access and also defines which of the following inheritance settings apply:
• IO—inherit-only: not used for access checking.
• OI—object inherit: new files get this ACE added.
• CI—container inherit: new directories get this ACE added.
Windows NTFS ACLs include the following read, write, append, execute, and delete permissions that
allow users to:
• Synchronize access
• Read data or list the directory
• Write data or add a file
• Append data or add a folder
• Read Extended Attributes (EAs)
• Write EAs
• Execute file or traverse folders
• Delete child or delete folders
• Delete a file
The Owner user type has two default permissions:
• Write discretionary ACL
• Read control
Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS
Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS enable write operation acceleration on clients that use DR replication and NFS
or CIFS file system protocols. Similar to OST and RDS, these accelerators allow for better coordination
and integration between DR Series system backup, restore, and optimized deduplication operations with
Data Management Applications (DMAs) such as CommVault, EMC Networker, and Tivoli Storage Manager.
For the current list of qualified DMAs, see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide.
Rapid NFS is a new client file system type that ensures that only unique data is written to the DR Series
system. It uses user space components and file system in user space (FUSE) to accomplish this. Metadata
26
operations such as file creates and permission changes go through the standard NFS protocol, whereas
write operations go through RDNFS.
Rapid CIFS is a Windows-certified filter driver that also ensures that only unique data is written to the DR
Series system.
All chunking and hash computations are done at the media or client server level.
Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS are only available on the DR6000 platform and require you to install a plug-in
on the client or media server, depending on your DMA and configuration. For details, see the Configuring
and Using Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS chapter.
Rapid Data Storage (RDS): DR Series System
Rapid Data Storage (RDS) is developed by Dell and provides a logical disk interface for use with network
storage devices. RDS allows for better coordination and integration between DR Series system backup,
restore, and optimized duplication operations with Dell NetVault Backup (NVBU).
The DR Series system and NVBU integration is done using the Rapid OFS (ROFS) plugin developed by Dell.
The ROFS plugin allows NVBU control over backup image creation, deletion, and duplication. RDS allows
deduplication and compression operations to happen on the client-side so that network traffic can be
reduced.
The RDS protocol allows the supported backup applications to communicate directly with the DR Series
system and determine whether a specific chunk of data already exists on the system. If the data already
exists, only the pointers need to be updated on the DR Series system, and the duplicate chunk of data
does not need to be transferred to the system. This process provides two benefits: it improves the overall
backup speed, and also reduces the network load.
Rapid OFS (ROFS) API
NOTE: Rapid OFS (ROFS) is an internal API used by RDS. The term ROFS is not used in the web user
interface or CLI.
The Rapid OFS (ROFS) API is an application programming interface that allows disk-based devices like the
DR Series system to natively integrate with the Dell NetVault Backup. For example, because the DR Series
system supports both data deduplication and replication, the ROFS API allows these supported DMAs to
use the DR Series system appliance features and duplicate the optimized data from one storage appliance
to another.
Unlike replication configured directly on the DR Series system for CIFS and NFS, the ROFS API allows the
Data Management Application (DMA) to be aware of the replication copy. The ROFS API allows the DMA
to restore directly from any DR Series system that can communicate with the DMA.
The ROFS API enables the writing of data to disk and allows NVBU (the DMA) to interact with the DR
Series system (the data backup and deduplication device) using the ROFS API.
OpenStorage Technology (OST): DR Series System
OpenStorage Technology (OST) is developed by Symantec and provides a logical disk interface for use
with network storage devices. The DR Series system appliance can use OST via plug-in software to
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integrate its data storage operations with a number of data management applications (DMAs). Within Dell,
OST is part of DR Rapid Data Access.
OST allows for better coordination and tighter integration between DR Series system backup, restore, and
optimized duplication operations and the following supported DMA types:
• Symantec NetBackup
• Symantec Backup Exec
Integration is done via a Dell OST plug-in developed for the DR Series system, through which NetBackup
and Backup Exec can control when the backup images are created, duplicated, and deleted. The major
benefit of OST is that it allows the deduplication operations to happen on the client side so that network
traffic can be reduced.
OST via the Dell OST plug-in allows NetBackup and Backup Exec to take full advantage of such DR Series
system features as data deduplication, replication, and energy efficiency. DR Series systems can access
the OpenStorage API code through the plug-in, which can be installed on the media server platform
choice you make (Windows or Linux). The OST protocol allows the supported backup applications to
communicate directly with the DR Series system and determine whether a specific chunk of data already
exists on the system. This process means that if the data already exists, only the pointers need to be
updated on the DR Series system, and the duplicate chunk of data does not need to be transferred to the
system. This process provides two benefits: it improves the overall backup speed, and also reduces the
network load.
When OST is used with the DR Series system, it offers the following benefits:
• OST protocol provides faster and improved data transfers:
– Focused on backups with minimal overhead
– Accommodates larger data transfer sizes
– Provides throughput that is significantly better than CIFS or NFS
• OST and DMA integration:
– OpenStorage API enables the DMA-to-media server software communications
– DR Series system storage capabilities can be used without extensive changes to DMAs
– Backup and replication operations are simplified by using built-in DMA policies
• DR Series System and OST:
– Control channel uses TCP port 10011
– Data channel uses TCP port 11000
– Optimized write operations enable client-side deduplication
• Replication operations between DR Series systems:
– No configuration required on source or target DR Series systems
– Replication is file-based, not container-based
– Triggered by DMA optimized duplication operation
– DR Series system transfers the data file (not the media server)
– After duplication, DR Series system notifies DMA to update its catalog (acknowledging the second
backup)
– Supports different retention policies between source and replica
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OpenStorage Technology (OST) API
The OpenStorage Technology (OST) API is an application programming interface that allows disk-based
devices like the DR Series system to natively integrate with the two supported Symantec Data
Management Applications (DMA), NetBackup and Backup Exec. For example, because the DR Series
system supports both data deduplication and replication, the OST API allows these supported DMAs to
use the DR Series system appliance features and duplicate the optimized data from one storage appliance
to another.
The OST API enables the writing of data to disk and is illustrated in the following example where
NetBackup (the DMA) interacts with the DR Series system (the data backup and deduplication device)
using the OST API:
• NetBackup needs to store a file to disk. To do this it notifies the DR Series system via the OST API
which file it needs to backup and what to name this file.
• DR Series system accepts this file, backs it up, and stores it in its filesystem.
• NetBackup can perform one of three subsequent operations with this specific stored file:
– Expire it
– Restore from it
– Copy or duplicate it
• If NetBackup, using the OST API, directs the DR Series system to expire a stored file, it deletes it from
its filesystem.
• Similarly, if NetBackup, using the OST API, wants to restore from a stored file, it directs the DR Series
system which file to restore, which then delivers the stored file to NetBackup for the restore.
NOTE: OST contains a feature called optimized duplication. For example, in optimized duplication,
the DMA (NetBackup) directs device A to perform an optimized duplication with device B. Device A
and B communicate and determine which data segments of the file need to be replicated from A to
B for device B to ensure that device B contains a full and complete duplicate data file. Once
successful, the DMA now knows about both copies of this data file, and can use this file on device B
as it would any other data file that resides there.
Software Components and Operational Guidelines
To better coordinate and integrate OpenStorage Technology (OST) with the DR Series system data
storage operations, the following guidelines list the required components and supported operations. For
details on the supported operating systems and DMA versions, see the Dell DR Series System
Interoperability Guide.
The Dell DR Series system licensing is all-inclusive, so that no additional Dell licensing is required to use
OST or the optimized duplication capability. The Dell OST plug-in that gets installed on a supported Linux
or Windows media server platform is a free download from Dell. However, Symantec NetBackup requires
that you purchase a Symantec OpenStorage Disk Option license. Similarly, Symantec Backup Exec
requires that you purchase the Deduplication Option to enable the OST feature.
• OST Media Server Component:
– An OST server component resides on the DR Series system
– For Linux media server installations, use the Linux OST plug-in and the Red Hat Package Manager
(RPM) installer
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– For Windows media server installations, use the Windows OST plug-in and the Microsoft (MSI)
installer
• Windows-based OST plug-in
• Linux-based 64-bit OST plug-in
• Supported Symantec OpenStorage (OST) protocol:
– Symantec, version 9
– Symantec, version 10
• Supported Symantec DMAs
– NetBackup
– Backup Exec
• Supported OST operations
– Backup (Passthrough writes and Optimized writes)
– Restore
– Replication
DR Series System and Data Operations
Data is stored and resides on the Dell DR Series system, a two-rack unit (RU) appliance, which comes
preinstalled with the system software.
The DR Series system consists of a total of 14 drives. Two of these drives are 2.5-inch drives that are
configured as a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) 1 on the RAID Controller and this is
considered to be volume 1. In the DR4000 system, these drives are internal, while in the DR4100 and
DR6000 systems, these drives are accessible from the rear. The data that is being backed up is stored on
the 12 virtual disks that reside on the DR Series system appliance. The DR Series system also supports
additional storage in the form of external expansion shelf enclosures (see the DR Series Expansion Shelf
section in this topic). The hot-swappable data drives that are attached to the RAID controller are
configured as:
• 11 drives that operate as RAID 6, which act as virtual-disks for data storage (drives 1–11).
• The remaining drive (drive 0) acts as the dedicated hot-spare drive for RAID 6 for the system.
The DR Series system supports RAID 6, which allows the appliance to continue read and write requests to
the RAID array virtual disks even in the event of up to two concurrent disk failures, providing protection to
your mission-critical data. In this way, the system design supports double-data drive failure survivability.
If the system detects that one of the 11 virtual drives has failed, then the dedicated hot spare (drive slot 0)
becomes an active member of the RAID group. Data is then automatically copied to the hot spare as it
acts as the replacement for the failed drive. The dedicated hot spare remains inactive until it is called
upon to replace a failed drive. This scenario is usually encountered when a faulty data drive is replaced.
The hot spare can act as replacement for both internal mirrored drives and the RAID 6 drive arrays.
Figure 1. DR Series System Drive Slot Locations
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Drive 0 (top) Drive 3 (top) Drive 6 (top) Drive 9 (top)
Drive 1 (middle) Drive 4 (middle) Drive 7 (middle) Drive 10 (middle)
Drive 2 (bottom) Drive 5 (bottom) Drive 8 (bottom) Drive 11 (bottom)
DR Series Expansion Shelf
Each DR Series system appliance supports the installation and connection of Dell PowerVault MD1200
data storage expansion shelf enclosures. Each expansion shelf contains 12 physical disks in an enclosure,
which provides additional data storage capacity for the basic DR Series system. The supported data
storage expansion shelves can be added in a variety of capacities based on your DR Series system
version; for details, see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide.
The physical disks in each expansion shelf are required to be Dell-certified Serial Attached SCSI (SAS)
drives, and the physical drives in the expansion shelf uses slots 1–11 configured as RAID 6, with slot 0
being a global hot spare (GHS). When being configured, the first expansion shelf is identified as Enclosure
1 (in the case where two enclosures are added, these would be Enclosure 1 and Enclosure 2). Adding an
expansion shelf to support the DR Series system requires a license. For more information, see Expansion
Shelf Licenses.
NOTE: The 300 Gigabyte (GB) drive capacity (2.7 TB) version of the DR Series system does not
support the addition of expansion shelf enclosures.
NOTE: If you are running a DR Series system with an installed release of system software prior to
2.1, and you intend to upgrade to release 3.x system software and add an external expansion shelf
(or shelves), Dell recommends that you observe the following best practice sequence of operations
to avoid any issues:
• Upgrade the DR Series system with the release 3.x system software
• Power off the DR Series system
• Connect the external expansion shelf (or shelves) with cabling to the DR Series system
• Power on the external expansion shelf (or shelves)
• Power on the DR Series system
NOTE: If you install an expansion shelf enclosure to support a DR Series system, each shelf must use
physical disks that have a capacity equal to or greater than each DR Series system internal drive slot
capacity (0–11) that they are supporting.
Figure 2. DR Series System Expansion Shelf (MD1200) Drive Slot Locations
Drive 0 (top) Drive 3 (top) Drive 6 (top) Drive 9 (top)
Drive 1 (middle) Drive 4 (middle) Drive 7 (middle) Drive 10 (middle)
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Drive 2 (bottom) Drive 5 (bottom) Drive 8 (bottom) Drive 11 (bottom)
Understanding About Adding a DR Series Expansion Shelf
The process for adding an expansion shelf requires the following:
• Physically adding or installing the expansion shelf (for more information, see Adding a DR Series
System Expansion Shelf)
• Cabling the expansion shelf to the DR Series system (for more information, see DR Series System -
Expansion Shelf Cabling)
• Installing the license for an expansion shelf (for more information, see Installing an Expansion Shelf
License)
Supported Software and Hardware
For a complete list of the latest supported software and hardware for the DR Series system, Dell
recommends that you see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide at support.dell.com/manuals.
For example, the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide lists the following supported hardware and
software categories:
• Hardware
– BIOS
– RAID controllers
– Hard drives (internal)
– Hard drives (external)
– Expansion unit limits
– USB flash drives
– Network interface controllers
– iDRAC Enterprise
– Marvell WAM controller
• Software
– Operating System
– Supported backup software
– Network file protocols and backup client operating systems
– Supported web browsers
– Supported system limits
– Supported OST software and components
– Supported RDS software and components
– Supported Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS software and components
Terminal Emulation Applications
To access the DR Series system command line interface (CLI), the following terminal emulation
applications can be used:
• FoxTerm
• Win32 console
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• PuTTY
• Tera Term Pro
NOTE: The listed terminal emulation applications are not the only ones that work with the DR Series
system. This list is only intended to provide examples of terminal emulation applications that can be
used.
DR Series — Expansion Shelf Cabling
Each DR Series system appliance is capable of supporting additional storage capacity by connecting Dell
PowerVault MD1200 data storage expansion shelf enclosures. Each expansion shelf enclosure contains
12 physical disks that provide additional data storage capacity for a basic DR Series system. For the
expansion unit limits and supported capacities, see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide.
Figure 1 and Figure 2 display the recommended method for cabling between the DR Series system’s
PERC controller card to the appropriate connectors on the rear of the Dell PowerVault MD1200
expansion shelf enclosure.
Make sure that the Dell PowerVault MD1200 front panel selector switch is set to its Unified mode (with
the switch set to its “up” position, indicated by a single Volume icon). Figure 1 shows the SAS In ports on
the Enclosure Management Module (EMM) on the rear of the Dell MD1200. Figure 2 shows the
recommended redundant path cabling configuration, which includes cable connections from both PERC
H800 connectors on the DR4000 system (or the PERC H810 on a DR4100/DR6000 system) to the two
SAS In ports on the EMM rear chassis of the Dell PowerVault MD1200.
If you plan on installing multiple expansion shelf enclosures, then the two SAS In ports on the rear chassis
of the EMM on the additional enclosure are daisy-chained to the two SAS Out ports on the EMM rear
chassis on the first enclosure. This is considered a redundant mode connection via the SAS In/Out
connectors on the enclosures with the DR Series system appliance.
If you install multiple enclosures and cable them as described here, make sure to set the enclosure mode
switch on the MD1200 front chassis to the top (unified mode) position. For more information, see Dell
PowerVault MD1200 and MD1220 Storage Enclosures Hardware Owner's Manual at support.dell.com/
manuals.
Figure 3. Dell PowerVault MD1200 Rear Chassis
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Figure 4. Unified Mode Daisy-Chained Redundant Path Dell PowerVault MD1200 Enclosures
Figure 5. SAS Port and Cable Connections (Dell PowerVault MD1200 EMM)
1. SAS cable 2. pull-tab
Adding a DR Series System Expansion Shelf
There are three tasks associated with configuring an expansion shelf enclosure with the DR Series system
that you need to complete before being able to use this additional data storage capacity:
• Install all cabling that connects the expansion shelf enclosure to the DR Series system (for
information, see DR Series System - Expansion Shelf Cabling).
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• Add and activate the expansion shelf enclosure using the Storage page (which is explained in this
topic).
• Install the Dell license for expansion shelf enclosures (for information, see Installing an Expansion
Shelf License).
To add an expansion shelf enclosure to a DR Series system, complete the following:
1. Click Storage in the navigation panel.
The Storage page is displayed. (This step assumes that you completed all expansion shelf enclosure
cable connections and green LEDs are shown next to the fastplugs on the rear chassis, indicating
that cable connections are active.)
2. In the Physical Storage pane, click Add in the Configured column of the Physical Storage summary
table that corresponds to the enclosure you want to add (Not Configured is the displayed State for
the enclosure).
The Enclosure Addition dialog is displayed that indicates that all input-output to the system will be
stopped during an enclosure addition, and prompts you to click OK to continue or click Cancel to
stop this process.
3. Click OK to continue adding the enclosure to the DR Series system.
If you click Cancel, the addition process quits and the Storage page is displayed.
4. If you clicked OK, an Enclosure Addition dialog is displayed that indicates this process may take up
to 10 minutes to complete.
A System Status dialog displays with the following message: The system is currently adding an
enclosure. Please wait for this process to complete and the system to become operational.
5. To verify that an enclosure was added, click Dashboard→ Health.
The Health page is displayed, and each properly cabled and activated expansion shelf enclosure has
a corresponding tab that displays a green status check mark (for example, if you have installed two
enclosures, two tabs are displayed: Enclosure 1 and Enclosure 2).
NOTE: If the Enclosure tab does not display a green status check mark, this indicates that there
is an issue with the enclosure (such as it has not been properly connected or activated).
6. After adding an expansion shelf enclosure, make sure that you install an expansion shelf license.
For more information, see Installing an Expansion Shelf License.
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3
Setting Up the DR Series System
Before you can interact with the DR Series system using one of its two supported methods: the web-
based DR Series system graphical user interface (GUI) using a web browser or the command line interface
(CLI) and a terminal emulator application (for example, PuTTY), you must first ensure that it is properly set
up. For more information about properly setting up the DR Series system, see the following links. For
more information on the DR Series system CLI commands, see the Dell DR Series System Command Line
Reference Guide.
Related Links
Logging in Using a Web Interface
Interacting with the DR Series System
Logging in and Initializing the DR Series System
Networking Preparations for the DR Series System
Interacting With the DR Series System
You interact with the DR Series system using its web-based graphical user interface (GUI) through a
browser-based connection. The DR Series system GUI provides a single, comprehensive data
management interface that lets you create new data containers, modify or delete existing containers, and
perform a number of data-related operations using its features and settings.
NOTE: A second method for interacting with the DR Series system is by using its command-line
interface (CLI) via a terminal emulator application (for example, PuTTY).
You can create and manage containers that are the repositories where you store your backup and
deduplicated data. A data container is a shared file system that is imported using a client, and is accessible
via file system protocols. For details, see Supported File System Protocols.
The DR Series system provides real-time summary tables, detail tables, and graphs that let you monitor
the status of the data capacity, storage savings, and the throughput of the containers you are managing
using its set of GUI features.
Networking Preparations for the DR Series System
Before you can start using the DR Series system, ensure that you have satisfied the following networking
prerequisites:
•Network: An active network is available using Ethernet cables and connections.
NOTE: If your DR Series system is equipped with a 1-GbE NIC, Dell recommends using CAT6 (or
CAT6a) copper cabling. If your DR Series system is equipped with a 10-GbE NIC, Dell
recommends using CAT6a copper cabling.
NOTE: If your DR Series system is equipped with a 10-GbE enhanced small form-factor
pluggable (SFP+) NIC, you must use Dell-supported SFP+ LC fiber-optic transceivers or twin-
axial cabling.
•IP Addresses: You need to make sure to have IP addresses that you use for the DR Series system. The
DR Series system ships with a default IP address and subnet mask address, which should only be used
for an initial system configuration.
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NOTE: You need to have an IP address available to replace the default IP address if you choose
the static mode of IP addressing, or select to use the DHCP mode of IP addressing.
To perform an initial configuration, you need:
– An IP address for the system
– A subnet mask address
– A default gateway address
– A DNS suffix address
– A primary DNS server IP address
– (Optional) A secondary DNS server IP address
•NIC Connections: To configure NIC connection bonding remember that, by default, the DR Series
system will configure its NIC interfaces together as a bonded team (and only one IP address is needed
because the bonded NICs assume the primary interface address). NIC connection bonding can use
either of these configurations:
– Adaptive load balancing (ALB), which is the default setting, does not require any special network
switch support. Ensure that the data source system resides on the same subnet as the DR Series
system. For more information, see Configuring Networking Settings.
– 802.3ad or dynamic link aggregation (using the IEEE 802.3ad standard). 802.3ad requires special
switch configuration before using the system (contact your network administrator for an 802.3ad
configuration).
NOTE: To configure a 10-GbE NIC or 10-GbE SFP+ bonded configuration, connect only the 10-
GbE/10-GbE SFP+ NICs. You can use the new Advanced Networking feature available on the
command line interface to modify the default factory configuration.
• DNS: you need a DNS domain available, and you need to know the primary DNS server IP address
(and a secondary DNS server IP address, if you choose to configure one).
• Replication ports: the replication service in the DR Series system requires that enabled fixed ports be
configured to support replication operations that are to be performed across firewalls (TCP ports
9904, 9911, 9915, and 9916).
For more information about replication ports, see Managing Replication Operations, and for more
information about system ports, see Supported Ports in a DR Series System.
NOTE: For the latest details about supported hardware and software for the Dell DR Series
system, see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide at support.dell.com/manuals.
NOTE: For information about ports needed for OST operations, see Understanding OST.
Connections for Initializing a DR Series System
There are two supported methods for connecting to the DR Series system for logging in and performing
the initial system configuration via the DR Series system CLI:
•Local console connection: this is a local access connection made between a local workstation and
the DR Series system (with one connection made to a USB keyboard port on the DR Series front/rear
chassis, and a second connection made to the VGA monitor port on the DR Series system rear
chassis. (See Figure 3 for locations in the DR Series System Rear Chassis Port Locations in the Local
Console Connection.)
•iDRAC connection: this is a remote access connection made between an integrated Dell Remote
Access Controller (iDRAC) and the dedicated management port on the DR Series system rear chassis.
(See Figure 3 for locations in the DR Series System Rear Chassis Port Locations in the Local Console
Connection.)
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Initializing the DR Series System
Before you can start using the DR Series system graphical user interface (GUI) for the first time, you must
properly initialize the system. To initialize the DR Series system, complete the following:
1. Log in to the DR Series system CLI by using a local console KVM (keyboard-video monitor)
connection or an iDRAC connection. For more information, see Local Console Connection, or
iDRAC Connection.
2. Configure your system network settings using the Initial System Configuration Wizard. For more
information, see Logging in and Initializing the DR Series System.
The Initial System Configuration Wizard lets you configure the following network settings to complete a
first-time initialization of your system:
• IP addressing mode
• Subnet mask address
• Default gateway address
• DNS suffix address
• Primary DNS server IP address
• (Optional) Secondary DNS server IP address
• Host name for system
Default IP Address and Subnet Mask Address
This topic lists the following default address values that can be used for initialization of a DR Series
system:
• IP address—10.77.88.99
• Subnet mask address—255.0.0.0
There are two key factors related to default address values and initializing a DR Series system:
• Using the local console
• Reserving MAC addresses using DHCP
If the network where the system will reside does not have or does not support DHCP, then the DR Series
system can use the default IP (10.77.88.99) and subnet mask (255.0.0.0) addresses provided for
initialization. If the network where the system will reside does not have or support reserving an IP address
for the MAC address of the NICs in the DHCP server, then DHCP assigns an arbitrary IP address that is
unknown (and which is unusable by you) during initialization.
As a result, if your network does not support DHCP or if you cannot reserve an IP address for the specific
MAC addresses of the DHCP network interface cards (NICs), then Dell recommends that you use the
local console connection method and the Initial System Configuration Wizard.
NOTE: After successfully initializing and configuring your system, you can modify the IP address to
use either a static IP address or use dynamic IP addressing (DHCP), and modify the subnet mask
address to be one that is supported by your network.
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NOTE: If you have not run the Initial System Configuration Wizard on one (or more) DR Series
system(s) being installed into the same network, there is a potential that the system (or systems)
may come up with the same default IP address (10.77.88.99). The default IP address is not user-
configurable and it can potentially result in becoming a duplicate IP address in the case of multiple
systems.
Initialization issues could include when a network has had a network power outage, the DHCP server in
the network is misconfigured, or if the Initial System Configuration Wizard has never been run.
If your network does not accept the default subnet mask address (255.0.0.0), you can establish a
connection between the DR Series system and a laptop workstation. In this case, make sure that you
connect using SSH, and use the default IP address to run the Initial System Configuration Wizard.
If you are using a known static IP address, you can skip running the Initial System Configuration Wizard,
and directly configure the DR Series system using its user interface.
To configure the DR Series system, select System Configuration → Networking, and configure the
network settings as desired. For more information, see Configuring Networking Settings.
NOTE: For details about logging in and using the Initial System Configuration Wizard, see
Configuring Networking Settings.
Local Console Connection
To configure a local console connection, you must make the following two rear chassis cable
connections:
• VGA port and your video monitor
• USB port and your keyboard
To make local console cable connections for the DR Series system appliance, complete the following:
1. (DR4000 system) Locate the VGA monitor port and the USB ports on the back of your system. See
Figure 3 for the VGA and USB port locations and complete steps 1 to 4. For the DR4100/DR6000
system, skip to step 5.
2. Connect the video monitor to the VGA port on the back of your system (see item 1 in the DR4000
System Rear Chassis Port Locations table).
3. Connect the USB keyboard to one of the two USB ports on the back of your system (see item 3 in
DR4000 System Rear Chassis Port Locations table).
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4. You are now ready to perform initialization using the DR Series system CLI login process. For more
information, see Logging in and Initializing the DR Series System.
Figure 6. DR4000 System Rear Chassis Port Locations
Item Indicator, Button, or
Connector Icon Description
1 Video connector Connects a VGA display to the system.
2 iDRAC6 Enterprise port Dedicated management port for the iDRAC6
Enterprise card.
3 USB connectors (2) Connects USB devices to the system. The
ports are USB 2.0-compliant.
4 Ethernet connectors (2) Embedded 10/100/1000 NIC connectors.
5 Ethernet Connectors (2) on
expansion card
1-GbE/10-GbE/10-GbE SFP+ Ethernet Port
To make local console cable connections for the DR4100 system appliance, complete the following:
NOTE: The DR4000 system supports up to four 1–GbE ports or up to two 10–GbE ports; for
the 1–GbE ports, these are two internal LAN on Motherboard (LOM) ports referenced in item 4
above that reside on the motherboard, and two ports on an expansion card referenced in item
5 above. If the system is using the two 10–GbE ports, these reside on an expansion card
referenced in item 5 above.
5. (DR4100/DR6000 system) Locate the VGA monitor port and the USB ports on the back of your
system. See Figure 3 for the VGA and USB port locations and complete steps 5 to 8.
6. Connect the video monitor to the VGA port on the back of your system (see item 2 in the DR4100/
DR6000 System Rear Chassis Port Locations table).
7. Connect the USB keyboard to one of the two USB ports on the back of your system (see item 3 in
the DR4100/DR6000 System Rear Chassis Port Locations table).
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8. You are now ready to perform initialization using the DR Series system CLI login process. For more
information, see Logging in and Initializing the DR Series System.
Figure 7. DR4100/DR6000 System Rear Chassis Port Locations
Item Indicator, Button, or
Connector Icon Description
1 iDRAC7 Enterprise port Dedicated management port for the iDRAC7
Enterprise card (port is available only if an
iDRAC7 Enterprise license is installed on
your system).
2 Video connector Connects a VGA display to the system.
3 USB connectors (2) Connects USB devices to the system. The
ports are USB 2.0-compliant.
4 Ethernet connectors (4) Four integrated 10/100/1000 NIC
connectors, or four integrated connectors
that include:
• Two 10/100/1000 Mbps NIC connectors
• Two 100 Mbps/1 Gbps/10 Gbps SFP
+/10-GbE T connectors
5 PCIe expansion card slots
(3)
Connect up to three full-height PCI Express
expansion cards
6 Hard drives (2) Provides two hot-swappable 2.5-inch hard
drives
NOTE: The DR4100/DR6000 system supports up to six 1–GbE ports or up to two 10–GbE
ports. For the 1–GbE ports, these are four internal LAN on Motherboard (LOM) ports referenced
in item 4 above that reside on the network daughter card (NDC), and two additional ports on a
PCI Express expansion card referenced in item 5 above. If the system is using the two 10–GbE
ports, these ports reside on the NDC.
iDRAC Connection
The iDRAC connection requires a network connection between the integrated Dell Remote Access
Control (iDRAC) management port on the DR Series system and another computer running the iDRAC
remote console session in a supported browser. The iDRAC provides remote console redirection, power
control, and the out-of-band (OOB) system management functions for the DR Series system. iDRAC
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connections are configured using console redirection and the iDRAC6/7 web interface. The login values
you can use for making iDRAC connections are:
• Default username: root
• Default password: calvin
• Default static IP address: 192.168.0.120
For information on how to configure the iDRAC, see the Dell RACADM Reference Guides at
support.dell.com/manuals and Accessing iDRAC6/iDRAC7 Using RACADM.
When the Dell DR Series System splash screen is displayed, you are ready to begin initialization using the
DR Series system CLI login process. For more information, see Logging in and Initializing the DR Series
System.
Logging in and Initializing the DR Series System
Use the DR Series system CLI and the Initial System Configuration Wizard to log in to and initialize the
system. After completing a local console or iDRAC connection, log in to the DR Series system CLI:
1. Launch a terminal emulator application (like PuTTY), and type the default IP address for the DR Series
system (if you are not using iDRAC or local console).
2. At the login as: prompt, type administrator, and press <Enter>.
3. At the administrator@<system_name> password: prompt, type the default administrator password
(St0r@ge!), and press <Enter>.
The Initial System Configuration Wizard window is displayed.
Figure 8. Initial System Configuration Wizard Window
4. To configure the network settings, type y (for yes), and press <Enter>.
5. To configure the use of the default IP address that ships with the system, choose to use static IP
addressing.
To do this, at the DHCP prompt, type no (this selects static IP addressing), and press <Enter>.
NOTE: When you select static IP addressing, you are prompted to type the static IP address (for
example, you could use the default IP, 10.77.88.99) for the system, and press <Enter>. If your
network supports the use of DHCP, type yes at the DHCP prompt, press <Enter>, and respond
to any prompts.
6. To configure a subnet mask address, type the subnet mask address you want to use (for example,
you could use the default subnet mask address, 255.0.0.0), and press <Enter>.
7. To configure a default gateway address, type the default gateway address you want to use (for
example, 10.10.20.10), and press <Enter>.
8. To configure a DNS Suffix, type the DNS suffix you want to use (for example, storage.local), and press
<Enter>.
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9. To configure a primary DNS server IP address, type an IP address you want to use for the primary
DNS server (for example, 10.10.10.10), and press <Enter>.
10. (Optional) To configure a secondary DNS server IP address, type y (for yes), and press <Enter>.
If you responded yes, type an IP address you want to use for the secondary DNS server (for example,
10.10.10.11), and press <Enter>.
11. To change the default host name (for example, the serial number of the DR Series hardware
appliance), type y (for yes) and press <Enter>.
If you responded yes, type the host name you want to use, and press <Enter>. After you configure
your host name response, the current system settings are displayed.
12. To accept these settings, type y (for yes), and press <Enter>.
13. If you want to change any of these settings, type n (for no), and press <Enter>. Modify the settings as
needed, and press <Enter>.
When completed, a successful initialization message is displayed.
14. At the prompt, type exit and press <Enter> to end the DR Series system CLI session.
You are now ready to log in to the system using the DR Series system GUI.
NOTE: Before you log into the system using the DR Series system GUI, make sure to register it in the
local Domain Name System (DNS) for your network so that it is a DNS-resolvable entry.
NOTE: At this point, you could modify the bonding mode to use 802.3ad, if this configuration is
available in your network.
Accessing iDRAC6/iDRAC7 Using RACADM
You can use SSH-based or Telnet-based interfaces to access iDRAC6/iDRAC7 using the RACADM utility.
RACADM (remote access controller administration) is a Dell command-line utility that allows you to set
up and configure the integrated Dell Remote Access Control (iDRAC) interface card to provide an out-of-
band management capability.
The iDRAC card contains a controller with its own processor, memory, network connection, and access
to the system bus. This gives system or network administrators the capability to configure a system as if
they were sitting at the local console using the power management, virtual medial access and remote
console capabilities, by using a supported web browser or command line interface.
The login values you can use for making iDRAC connections are:
• Default username: root
• Default password: calvin
• Default static IP address: 192.168.0.120
For more information, see the RACADM Reference Guides for iDRAC, the Integrated Dell Remote Access
Controller 6 (iDRAC6) User Guide, or the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 7 (iDRAC7) User
Guide that are available at support.dell.com/manuals.
Logging in Using a Web Interface
To log in to the DR Series system using a browser-based connection, complete the following:
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NOTE: This procedure describes the logging in process from a first-time perspective, starting with
the Customer Registration and Notification page, the completion of the Initial System
Configuration Wizard process, and the Initial Software Upgrade page.
1. In a supported web browser, type the IP address or hostname of the system in the browser Address
bar, and press <Enter>.
The DR Series System Login page is displayed.
NOTE: The DR Series System Login page may display a warning message if the web browser
you are using does not properly support the DR Series system. If you are running a Microsoft
Internet Explorer (IE) web browser, make sure that you disable the Compatibility View. For
more information about disabling the Compatibility View settings, see Disabling the
Compatibility View Settings. For more information about the supported web browsers, see the
Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide.
NOTE: For best results when using IE web browsers in combination with supported Windows-
based servers, ensure that Active Scripting (JavaScript) is enabled on the Windows client. This
setting is often disabled by default on Windows-based servers. For more information on
enabling Active Scripting, see Enabling Active Scripting in Windows IE Browsers.
NOTE: If you want to reset your login password, click Reset Password on the DR Series System
Login page. The Reset Password dialog is displayed.
The reset options displayed depend on the password reset option you configured earlier. For
more information see, Modifying Password Reseting Options.
By default, the service tag option is displayed. In Service Tag, enter the service tag number ID
for the system, and click Reset Password to reset the system password back to its default
setting (or click Cancel to return to the DR Series System Login page).
2. In Password, type St0r@ge! and click Log in or press <Enter>.
The Customer Registration and Notification page is displayed. Before you can begin using the DR
Series system graphical user interface (GUI), you need to properly register the system with Dell. In
addition, this page also allows you to sign up for notifications about appliance alerts and system
software updates. For more information, see Registering a DR Series System.
3. In the Settings pane of the Customer Registration and Notification page, complete the following:
a. In Contact Name, enter a system contact name.
b. In Relay Host, enter a hostname or IP address for the relay host.
c. In Email Address, enter an email address for the contact.
d. Select Notify me of [DR Series] appliance alerts to be notified about system appliance alerts.
e. Select Notify me of [DR Series] software updates to be notified about system software updates.
f. Select Notify me of [DR Series] daily container stats reports to be notified about container
statistics on a daily basis.
g. Select Don't show me this again to not display the Customer Registration and Notification page
again.
h. Click Confirm to have the DR Series system accept your settings (or click Skip without
configuring any settings) to proceed with initialization.
The Initial System Configuration Wizard page is displayed.
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4. To start the initial system configuration process, click Yes.
The Initial Configuration — Change Administrator Password page is displayed.
NOTE: If you click No, you will bypass the initial system configuration process, and the DR
Series system Dashboard page is displayed. However, when you next log in to the DR Series
system, you will be prompted to perform the initial system configuration process again with the
Initial System Configuration Wizard page is displayed.
5. In the Settings pane of the Initial Configuration — Change Administrator Password page, complete
the following:
a. In Current Password, enter the current administrator password.
b. In New Password, enter the new administrator password.
c. In Retype New Password, enter the new administrator password again to confirm it.
d. Click Next to continue with the initial configuration process (or click Back to return to the
previous page, or click Exit to close the Initial System Configuration Wizard).
The Initial Configuration — Networking page is displayed.
6. In the Settings pane of the Initial Configuration — Networking page, complete the following:
a. In Hostname, enter a hostname that meets the hostname naming convention: A-Z, a-z, 0–9, the
dash special character (-), within a maximum 19 character limit.
b. In IP Address, select the Static or DHCP mode of IP addressing, and if planning to use a
Secondary DNS, enter an IP address for the secondary domain name system.
c. In Bonding, select the Mode choice from the drop-down list (ALB or 802.3ad).
Dell recommends that you verify the system can accept your bonding selection type. The
connection will be lost unless it is correctly configured. For more information, see Configuring
Networking Settings.
d. In Bonding, enter the MTU value for the maximum transmission unit (the MTU accepts values
between 512 and 9000). For more information, see Configuring Networking Settings.
e. In Active Directory, enter a fully qualified domain name for the Active Directory Services (ADS)
domain in Domain Name (FQDN), enter an organization name in Org Unit, enter a valid ADS
username in Username, and enter a valid ADS password in Password.
For more information, see Configuring Active Directory Settings.
NOTE: If an ADS domain has already been configured, you will not be allowed to change
the values for the Hostname or IP Address settings.
f. Click Next to continue with the initial configuration process (or click Back to return to the
previous page, or click Exit to close the Initial System Configuration Wizard).
The Initial Configuration — Date and Time page is displayed.
NOTE: If the Microsoft Active Directory Services (ADS) domain has already been configured,
the Initial Configuration — Date and Time page will not display.
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7. In the Settings pane, select the Mode choice (NTP or Manual).
a. If you select NTP, accept or revise the NTP servers as desired (you are limited to only three NTP
servers), and in Time Zone, select the desired time zone from the drop-down list.
b. If you select Manual, in Time Zone, select the desired time zone from the drop-down list, click
the Calendar icon and select the desired day in the month, and adjust the Hour and Minute
sliders to the desired time (or click Now to choose the current date and time), and click Done.
c. Click Next to continue with the initial configuration process (or click Back to return to the
previous page, or click Exit to close the Initial System Configuration Wizard)
For more information, see Configuring System Date and Time Settings.
NOTE: Dell recommends using NTP when the DR Series system is part of a workgroup and not
part of an domain. When the DR Series system is joined to a domain, such as the Microsoft
Active Directory Services (ADS) domain, NTP is disabled.
The Initial Configuration — Summary page is displayed.
8. The Initial Configuration — Summary page displays a summary of all of the initial configuration
changes you have made. Click Finish to complete the Initial System Configuration Wizard (or click
Back to return to a previous page to change a setting).
The Initial Software Upgrade page is displayed and prompts you to verify the current installed
system software version.
9. Click Dashboard in the navigation panel.
The DR Series system main window consists of the following components:
• Navigation panel
• System Status bar
• System Information pane
• Command bar
Your login username is displayed at the top of the page. If you are logged in as a domain user, the
domain is displayed in the format of domain\username. (You can only log in as a domain user after
configuring Login Groups under Active Directory. This is a requirement for using Global View.)
NOTE: You can display the Help system documentation by clicking Help, or log out of the system
by clicking Log out at the top right of any page.
NOTE: When logged in, a Logout Confirmation dialog is displayed after 45 minutes of non-use.
This dialog displays for 30 seconds before the DR Series system performs a forced timeout. Click
Continue to reset the 45-minute logout timer. If you do not click Continue before the 30-second
interval elapses, the DR Series system logs you out. You must log in again to resume using the DR
Series system features and GUI.
Registering a DR Series System
Before you can start using the DR Series system using its graphical user interface (GUI) for the first time,
you must properly register the system with Dell by completing the Customer Registration and
Notification page. The Customer Registration and Notification page is displayed when you initially log
into a DR Series system using a web interface connection, and it consists of the following text boxes and
check boxes in the Settings pane:
•Contact Name
•Relay Host
•Email Address
•Notify me of [DR Series] appliance alerts. If this check box is selected, you are notified of all warning
and critical severity system alerts, which are the types that may require user action. For more
information, see Displaying System Alerts.
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•Notify me of [DR Series] software updates. If this check box is selected, you are notified by Dell about
any new system software upgrades or maintenance releases. For more information, see Software
Upgrade Page and Options.
•Notify me of [DR Series] daily container stats reports. If this check box is selected, you are notified by
Dell about your container statistics on a daily basis. For more information, see Displaying Container
Statistics.
•Don't show me this again
To register a DR Series system:
1. In Contact Name, enter the name of the DR Series system contact.
2. In Relay Host, enter the hostname or IP address for the DR Series system email relay host.
3. In Email Address, enter an email address for the system contact.
4. To be notified about DR Series system appliance alerts, select the Notify me of [DR Series] appliance
alerts check box.
5. To be notified about DR Series system software updates, select the Notify me of [DR Series] software
updates check box.
6. To be notified about DR Series system container statistics on a daily basis, select the Notify me of
[DR Series] daily container stats reports check box.
7. To not display the Customer Registration and Notification page again, select the Don't show me
this again check box.
8. Click Confirm for the DR Series system to accept your values (or click Skip) to proceed to the Initial
System Configuration Wizard page.
Enabling Active Scripting in Windows IE Browsers
To enable Active Scripting (JavaScript) in Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer (IE) web browsers,
complete the following:
NOTE: This procedure describes how to configure your Windows IE web browser to enable Active
Scripting (JavaScript). This setting is often disabled by default on Windows-based servers
1. Launch the IE web browser, and click Tools→ Internet Options.
The Internet Options page is displayed.
2. Click the Security tab, and click Custom level....
The Security Settings — Local Intranet Zone page is displayed.
3. Using the right scroll bar, scroll down the Settings choices until you reach Scripting.
4. In Active scripting, click Enable.
5. Click OK to enable JavaScript and the Active Scripting feature for your web browser.
The Internet Options page is displayed.
6. Click OK to close the Internet Options page.
Disabling the Compatibility View Settings
To disable the Compatibility View settings of the IE web browser you are using to log in to access the DR
Series system graphic user interface (GUI), complete the following:
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NOTE: This procedure describes how to disable the Compatibility View settings to ensure there is
no conflict between different versions of the Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) web browser you use
to access the DR Series system. Disabling the compatibility view settings requires that the Display all
websites in Compatibility View check box option in the Compatibility View Settings page remains
unselected, and that there are no DR Series systems or domains associated with these systems listed
in the Compatibility View list on this page.
1. Launch the IE web browser, and click Tools→ Compatibility View settings.
The Compatibility View Settings page is displayed.
2. If selected, deselect the Display all websites in Compatibility View check box option.
3. If any DR Series systems are listed in the Compatibility View list, select the entry and click Remove.
Repeat this step for any additional DR Series systems that are listed.
4. Click Close to exit from the Compatibility View Settings page.
Dashboard Page and Options
By default, the Dashboard page is displayed after logging on, which displays the following current
system-related information:
•System Status
– System State
– HW (Hardware) State
– Number of Alerts
– Number of Events
•Capacity
•Storage Savings
•Throughput
•System Information
Your login username is displayed at the top of the page. If you are logged in as a domain user, the domain
is displayed in the format of domain\username. (You can only log in as a domain user after configuring
Login Groups under Active Directory. This is a requirement for using Global View.)
NOTE: To refresh the values listed in Storage Savings and Throughput, click .
For more information, see the following:
•Understanding the Dashboard Options
•Using the Dashboard Alerts Page
•Using the Dashboard Events Option
•Using the Dashboard Page to Monitor System Health
•Using the Dashboard to Display System Events
Understanding the Dashboard Options
The DR Series system provides a mechanism for viewing and accessing the latest information about the
system as soon as you log in. The Dashboard section of the navigation panel (which displays the
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Dashboard page by default) lists the current system status and provides the following menu options, that
when selected, display the corresponding pages:
•Alerts
•Events
•Health
•Usage
•Container Statistics
•Replication Statistics
Displaying System Alerts
To display the Alerts page, click Dashboard → Alerts, or click the Number of Alerts link on the
Dashboard page.
The Alerts page displays the Current Time Zone (for example, US/Pacific), the Number of Alerts, and a
system alerts summary table that lists the total number of system alerts by index number, timestamp, and
a brief message that describes the alert.
Unresolved critical events become system alerts, which will clear when the problem is resolved. For more
information, see Monitoring System Alerts.
Events
The DR Series system provides two ways to display current system events in the Events page:
• Click Dashboard→ Events.
• Click Number of Events link on the Dashboard page.
The Events page provides an Event Filter pane, which is where you can set specific search criteria based
on selected event severity, and starting and ending date setpoints. After you set the search criteria, click
Start Filter to display the events matching your values.
Matching events are displayed in a Events summary table that lists the total number of system events that
match the search criteria you defined, and defines each matching system event by:
• Index number
• Event severity: critical, warning, or info (informational)
• Timestamp
• Message (brief description of system event)
In the Events page, set the search criteria for a specific system event type (or all recorded system events)
based on the following:
• In Event Severity, select the event severity to search for from the options in pull-down list: ALL,
CRITICAL, WARNING, and INFO.
• In Message Contains, enter the word or string of words to search for in the events message text (the
DR Series system performs a case-insensitive match based on your entry).
• In Timestamp From, enter starting time in field or click calendar icon to choose month and day, enter
starting time using the Hour and Minute sliders, or click Now to set the current time, and click Done.
• For Timestamp To, enter starting time in field or click calendar icon to choose month and day, enter
ending time using the Hour and Minute sliders, or click Now to set the current time, and click Done.
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• Click Start Filter display all search results that match the selected criteria, or click Reset to return all
search settings to their default values.
All critical system events remain in the event list as a system historical record. For more information, see
Monitoring System Events and Using the Event Filter.
Health
You can use the Health page to display and view the current state of the DR Series systems (see Figures 1,
2, and 3).
To display the Health page, click Dashboard → Health or click the HW State link on the Dashboard page.
Both methods display this page, which shows the current state of the system hardware (and any installed
data storage expansion shelf enclosure).
The Health page contains tabs if expansion shelves are installed (for example: System, Enclosure 1, and
Enclosure 2).
Health Page: DR4000 System
Figure 1 Health Page (DR4000 System and Components)
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Health Page: DR4100 System
Figure 2 Health Page (DR4100 System and Components)
Health Page: DR6000 System
Figure 3 Health Page (DR6000 System and Components)
DR Series System Components
In the System tab on the Health page, the following images and System Hardware Health table display
the status of the system components (for specific locations, see the Figures).
• Chassis: front view (image)—shows the 0 -11 drive locations and status
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• Chassis rear view (image)—shows power supply locations and status, and positions of rear panel
connectors
• OS internal drives (image)—shows the status for the operating system internal drives
• System Hardware Health (table)—shows the current status for all of the major hardware
subcomponents in the appliance:
– Power Supplies—status, name, and location
– Fans—status, name, speed, and identifier
– Temperature—status, name, and temperature
– Storage—storage controller, storage virtual disks, storage physical disks, storage controller battery,
and storage cache
NOTE: The storage controller battery state displays either as Ready or Charging (the latter
indicates this state after a system reboot until the storage controller battery is fully charged).
– Voltage—status, name, voltage, and probe name
– NIC (network interface card)—status, name, type, and speed
– CPU (central processing unit)—status and name
– DIMM (dual in-line memory module)—status, name, and connector name
– NVRAM (non-volatile random access memory)—NVRAM (status, name, errors, temperature, SSD
state, SSD health, SSD firmware version, serial number, and firmware version); NVRAM super
capacitor (status, name, state, voltage, and maximum design voltage)
NOTE: To display the current status, name, and state of chassis components, hover your mouse
over the component.
All system hardware components are listed in the System Hardware Health pane by component name,
status, and other attributes. The following table identifies the component status by one of three color-
coded icons that reflect its state.
Icon Description
This color code icon indicates that the component status is operating at an optimal
state.
This color code icon indicates that the component status is a operating under a
warning state (a non-critical error has been detected).
This color code icon indicates that the component status is operating under an error
or actionable state (a critical error has been detected).
To expand any component category to display more status details for each related subcomponent, click
+ ("plus sign" icon) in the System Hardware Health pane. To contract any expanded component category,
click — ("minus sign" icon). For more information, see Monitoring System Health.
DR Series System Enclosures
In the Enclosure tab on the Health page, the following images and System Hardware Health table display
the status of the expansion shelf enclosure components (for specific locations, see Figure 4).
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Figure 4 Expansion Shelf Components
• Chassis: front view (image)—shows the 1 -11 drive locations and status; drive 0 is the dedicated hot
spare for RAID 6
• Chassis rear view (image)—shows cooling fan locations and status, and positions of rear panel
connectors
• Service Tag—lists the service tag for the selected expansion shelf
• System Hardware Health (table)—shows the current status for all of the major hardware
subcomponents in the expansion shelf:
– Power Supplies—status, name, and location
– Fans—status, name, speed, and identifier
– Temperature—status, name, and temperature
– Storage—storage physical disks (status, slot, serial number, state, GHS status, spare state, smart
alert, and size)
– Enclosure Management Module (status, name, identifier, and Nexus ID)
Usage
To display the Usage page, click Dashboard → Usage. The Usage page consists of options, pull-down
lists, and tabs that let you filter the DR Series system usage statistics that you want to view, which include:
•Latest Range and Display last...—these options display system usage details for based whether you
select Latest Range or Time Range.
•System Usage tabs—displays system usage based on the Latest Range or Time Range option that you
selected, and represented by the following tabs: CPU Load, System, Memory, Active Processes,
Protocols, Network, Disk, and All.
NOTE: If you click the All tab, this action displays the system usage that is defined by the range and
display options you selected, and the file system protocols you have configured. To view all of the
displayed usage categories, use the scroll bar on the right-hand side of the page.
Viewing the Latest Range
The Usage page lets you filter the system usage statistics you want to view. To view the Latest Range
statistics, complete the following:
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NOTE: The Usage page also displays the Current Time Zone in use for the system.
1. Click the Latest Range option.
2. Select the desired Hours, Days, or Months duration in the Range pull-down list.
3. Enter the desired value in the Display last... drop-down list.
For the Hours duration, enter between 1 and 24 hours; for the Days duration, enter between 1 and 31
days; for the Months duration, enter between 1 and 12.
4. Click Apply.
5. To view a specific set of usage statistics, click one of the seven desired tabs, or click All to display the
entire set of system usage statistical graphs.
For information on viewing specific time range statistics on the Usage page, see Viewing a Specific Time
Range.
Viewing a Specific Time Range
The Usage page lets you filter the system usage statistics you want to view. To view a specific Time
Range, complete the following:
NOTE: The Usage page also displays the Current Time Zone in use for the system.
1. In the Usage page, select the Time Range option.
2. Type the desired start date in Start Date (or click the calendar icon and make your date selection), or
click Now to select the current time (or use the Hour and Minute sliders to set a desired time), and
click Done.
3. Type the desired end date in End Date (or click the calendar icon and make your date selection), or
select the Set “End Date” to current time to set the end date to the current day and time, or click
Now to select the current time (or use the Hour and Minute sliders to set a desired time), click Done,
and click Apply.
For information on viewing the latest range statistics on the Usage page, see Viewing the Latest Range.
System Usage
This Usage page is where the DR Series system usage is displayed based on the Latest Time or Time
Range values you selected. System usage statistics are grouped and represented by the following tabs:
•CPU Load
•System
•Memory
•Active Processes
•Protocols
•Network
•Disk
•All
NOTE: If you click All, it displays system usage defined by the range and display options you select,
and the file system protocols you have configured. To view all of the displayed usage categories,
use the scroll bar on the right-hand side of the page.
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The All tab displays the entire set of system status categories in graphical format (depending upon your
file system protocol type).
For more information, see Monitoring System Usage.
Container Statistics
To display the Container Statistics page, click Dashboard → Container Statistics. This page lets you
select from the Container Name drop-down list, and based on the container you select, displays a variety
of statistics for the specified container:
NOTE: The DR Series system polls for statistics every 30 seconds.
•Backup Data pane: Displays the current number of active files ingested (based on time/minutes) and
the current number of active bytes (mebibytes/MiB) ingested based on time in minutes. You can
choose to click Zoom to view the backup data active files and active bytes statistics in other than the
default mode of 1h (1–hour). The other selectable viewing options are 1d (1–day), 5d (5–day), 1m (1–
month), and 1y (1–year).
•Throughput pane: Displays the current number of Mebibytes/second (MiB/s) for read operations
(based time/minutes) and the current number of MiB/s for write operations (based on time/minutes).
You can choose to click Zoom to view the throughput statistics in other than the default mode of 1h
(1–hour). The other viewing options are 1d (1–day), 5d (5–day), 1m (1–month), and 1y (1–year) that
you can select.
NOTE: To refresh the values listed in the Backup Data and Throughput panes, click .
•Marker Type and Connection Type pane: Displays the marker type associated with the selected
container (for example, Auto, Networker, or another), and the Connection Type (NFS/CIFS, OST, or
RDS).
• If the selected container includes an NFS connection type, there will be an NFS Connection
Configuration pane.
• If the selected container includes a CIFS connection type, there will be a CIFS Connection
Configuration pane.
• If the selected container includes an OST or RDS connection type, the OST or RDS login entry user is
listed (for example, backup_user) with the following tabs: Capacity, Duplication, and Client Statistics.
• (Optional) Replication pane: Displays the Replication Configuration and Replication Status panes. The
Replication pane is only displayed in the Container Statistics page if the selected container is
configured for replication.
Backup Data Pane
The Backup Data pane in the Container Statistics page displays the following graphed information:
• Current number of active files ingested (based on time in minutes)
• Current number of active bytes (Mebibytes/MiB) ingested (based on time in minutes)
You can choose to display this information in 1–hour (1h), which is the default, or in 1–day (1d), 5–day
(5d), 1–month (1m), and 1–year (1y) increments for both the Active Files and Active Bytes graphs.
NOTE: To refresh the values listed in Backup Data and Throughput panes, click .
Throughput Pane
The Throughput pane in the Container Statistics page displays the following statistics for any existing
container that you select in the Container Name drop-down list:
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• Current number of Mebibytes/per second (MiB/s) for read operations (based on time/minutes)
• Current number of MiB/s for write operations (based on time/minutes)
NOTE: To refresh the values listed in Backup Data and Throughput panes, click .
Replication Pane
The Replication section in the Container Statistics page consists of two panes: Replication Configuration
and Replication Status. This section of this page is only displayed when there are replication statistics for a
selected container that has been configured for replication.
Replication Configuration Pane
This pane contains the following fields:
•Enable (for example, Yes or No)
•Role (for example, Source or Target)
•Remote Container Name (for example, IP Address or hostname)
•Bandwidth (for example, Default, KiB/s, MiB/s, and GiB/s)
•Encryption (for example, None, AES 128–bit, or AES 256–bit)
Replication Status Pane
This pane contains the following fields:
•Peer State (for example, online)
•Replication State (for example, INSYNC)
•Replication Average Transfer Rate (for example, 1005 KiB/s)
•Replication Peak Transfer Rate (for example, 2253 KiB/s)
•Network Average Transfer Rate (for example, 2024 KiB/s)
•Network Peak Transfer Rate (for example, 2995 KiB/s)
•Network Bytes Sent (for example, 69.79 KiB)
•Estimated Time to Sync (for example, 14 days 32 hours 46 minutes, and 33 seconds)
•Savings (for example, 27.99 %)
•Last INSYNC Time (for example, 2012–11–04 16:45:53)
•Schedule Status (for example, Outside window: starts in 2 days, 1 hours, 13 minutes 21 seconds)
Connection Type Pane
The Connection Type pane is part of the Container Statistics page, and the information displayed in this
pane depends upon the connection type of the selected container:
• NFS containers — lists the following NFS connection configuration information:
– NFS Access Path
– Client Access
– NFS Options
– Map Root to
– NFS Write Accelerator (DR6000 only). Indicates whether the RDNFS accelerator is active (being
used) or inactive.
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• CIFS containers — lists the following CIFS connection configuration information:
– CIFS Share Path
– Client Access
– CIFS Write Accelerator (DR6000 only). Indicates whether the RDCIFS accelerator is active (being
used) or inactive.
• OST or RDS containers — lists the following OST or RDS connection configuration information,
grouped under the following tabs:
–Capacity tab — Status, Capacity, Capacity Used, and Total Images.
–Duplication tab — The Duplication Statistics pane displays both Inbound and Outbound categories
with the following statistic types: Bytes Copies-logical, Bytes Transferred-actual, Network
Bandwidth Savings-in percentage, Current Count of Active Files, and Replication Errors. The
Recent Number of Optimized Copies pane displays a summary table that lists each entry by the
following: File Name, Peer IP, Peer ID, Logical Bytes to Send, Replication Rate, Savings, and
Replicated at categories.
–Client Statistics tab — Contains the Client Statistics pane, which displays Images Ingested, Images
Complete, Images Incomplete, Images Restored, Bytes Restored, Image Restore Errors, Image
Ingest Errors, Bytes Ingested, Bytes Transferred, and Network Savings (in percentage) statistics.
For more information, see Monitoring Container Statistics.
Duplication Statistics
The Duplication Statistics pane displays duplication statistics (which are also known as file copy statistics)
for OST or RDS connection type containers. To view these duplication statistics, navigate to the
Container Statistics page, select an OST or RDS connection type container in the Container Name list,
and select the Duplication tab. The Duplication Statistics pane displays the following statistics types:
•Inbound:
– Bytes Copied (logical): displayed in bytes
– Bytes Transferred (actual): displayed in bytes
– Network Bandwidth Savings: (displayed by percentage)
– Current Count of Active Files: displayed in numbers of files
– Replication Errors: displayed in numbers of errors
•Outbound:
– Bytes Copied (logical): displayed in bytes
– Bytes Transferred (actual): displayed in bytes
– Network Bandwidth Savings: (displayed by percentage)
– Current Count of Active Files: displayed in numbers of files
– Replication Errors: displayed in numbers of errors
Recent Number of Optimized Copies
When an OST or RDS container is selected in the Container Statistics page, you can display the Recent
Number of Optimized Copies summary table in the Connection Type: OST or Connection Type: RDS
pane. This pane, its tabs, and the summary table are displayed only when the Duplication tab is selected
and an OST or RDS connection type container is selected in the Container Name pull-down list.
Recent Number of Optimized Copies Summary Table
This summary table contains the following information about the optimized copies:
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•File Name
•Peer IP
•Peer ID
•Logical Bytes to Send
•Replication Rate
•Savings (in percentage)
•Replicated at (in yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss format)
Client Statistics
You can display client statistics in the Container Statistics page that correspond to any container that is
configured as an OST or RDS connection type. To display client statistics, click the name of the OST or
RDS container in the Container Name list, and click the Client Statistics tab in the Connection Type: OST
or Connection Type: RDS pane. This action displays the following Client Statistics types for the selected
OST or RDS container:
• Images Ingested
• Images Complete
• Images Incomplete
• Images Restored
• Bytes Restored
• Image Restore Errors
• Image Ingest Errors
• Bytes Ingested
• Bytes Transferred
• Network Savings (in percentage)
For more information, see Monitoring Container Statistics.
Replication Statistics Page
To display the Replication Statistics page, click Dashboard → Replication Statistics. This page lets you
view and monitor statistics for replication containers or peer DR Series systems that you select, and
consists of two main panes:
•Replication Filter—Lets you select all, one, or multiple replication containers, one or more peer
systems, and configure a variety of statistics types to display in the Replication Statistics summary
table.
•Replication Statistics—Contains a summary table that displays the filtered results of the replication
statistics from the Replication Filter pane for the container or peer system choices you made. The
summary table displays the category of statistics based on the check boxes you selected.
NOTE: The DR Series system software includes version checking that limits replication only between
other DR Series systems that run the same system software release version. If versions are
incompatible, the administrator will be notified by an event.
For more information, see Monitoring Replication Statistics, Displaying Replication Statistics, and
Displaying the Replication Statistics Page.
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Container Filter
The Replication Filter pane in the Replication Statistics page contains the following components:
• Container Filter:
–All (selecting this option lets you select all replication containers in the system)
–Name (selecting this option and drop-down list lets you select replication containers)
–Peer System (selecting this option and list box let you select peer DR Series systems)
•Headers (selecting the following check boxes let you filter for specific replication statistic types)
– Peer Status
– Replication Status
– Time to Sync
– Progress % (percentage)
– Replication Throughput
– Network Throughput
– Network Savings
– Last Time in Sync
– Peer Container
– Peer System
NOTE: The DR Series system polls for statistics every 30 seconds.
After you have configured the Replication Filter settings, click Apply Filter to display the filtered set of
replication statistics in the Replication Filter summary table. The Replication filter summary table lists the
replication statistics that correspond to the check boxes you selected (by default, Peer Status, Replication
Status, Network Throughput, Network Savings, and Progress Percentage check boxes are selected and
are displayed in the table). To reset the check box selections, click Reset.
NOTE: If you select more than five statistics types, use the horizontal scroll bar to scroll and display
the additional columns of statistics.
For more information, see Monitoring Replication Statistics.
Storage Page and Options
To display the Storage page, click Dashboard → Storage. This page displays system-related storage
information in the following panes:
NOTE: The DR Series system polls and updates statistics every 30 seconds.
•Storage Summary:
– Number of Containers
– Number of Containers Replicated
– Total Number of Files in All Containers
– Compression Level
•Capacity:
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– Used and free system physical capacity in both percentages and Gibibytes (GiB) or Tebibytes (TiB)
•Storage Savings:
– Total savings (deduplication and compression) graphed in percentages and based on time in
minutes; you can display the statistics in 1–hour (1h), 1–day (1d), 5–day (5d), 1–month (1m), and 1–
year (1y); 1–hour is the default.
•Throughput:
– Read and write rates graphed in Mebibytes per second (MiB/s) and based on time in minutes; you
can display the statistics in 1–hour (1h), 1–day (1d), 5–days (5d), 1–month (1m), and 1–year (1y); 1–
hour is the default.
•Physical Storage:
– Type: internal or external storage (external is the expansion shelf enclosure)
– Raw Size (storage capacity listed in Gigabytes or Terabytes)
– % Used (represents the percent of capacity used)
– Service Tag (tag is a unique 7–digit Dell ID)
– Configured (status is listed as yes, no, add, or detect)
– State (storage status is ready, reading, initializing, rebuilding, or not detected)
NOTE: To refresh the values listed in Storage Savings and Throughput , click . To refresh an
expansion shelf enclosure, click Detect under the Configured column in the Physical Storage
summary table (the Enclosure Detect dialog is displayed with this message: If the enclosure is
undetected, please wait five minutes and try again. If the enclosure still remains undetected after an
attempt, keep the enclosure powered On and reboot the appliance).
For more information about DR Series system container operations, see Managing Container Operations.
Understanding the Storage Options
The DR Series system provides a mechanism for storing backed up and deduplicated data that has been
ingested by the system into easily accessible storage containers. The DR Series system graphical user
interface (GUI) simplifies the process for storing this type of data via its system storage processes. The
Storage section of the navigation panel contains the following options:
•Containers
•Replication
•Clients
Containers
To display the Containers page, click Storage→ Containers. This page displays the total number of
containers (Number of Containers) and the container path (Container Path: /containers). This page lets
you perform the following tasks using its options: Create, Edit, Delete, and Display Statistics. These
options let you do the following:
• Create new containers
• Edit existing containers
• Delete existing containers
• Display container, connection, and replication statistics
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The Containers page also displays a Containers summary table that displays the following types of
container-related information:
• Containers — lists containers by name
• Files — lists the number of files in each container
• File type — lists the connection type per container:
– Network File System (NFS)
– Common Internet File System (CIFS)
– Rapid Data Access (RDA)
• Replication status — lists the current replication state per container:
– Not Configured
– Stopped
– Disconnected
– Trying to Connect
– Online
– N/A
– Marked for Deletion
NOTE: For newly created OST or RDS containers, the Replication status displays N/A. When
replication data has been deleted from an existing OST or RDS container, the Replication status also
displays N/A. For existing containers that are in the process of deleting a large amount of data, the
Replication status displays Marked for Deletion to indicate that the data deletion process has not
yet completed.
NOTE: Use Select to identify the container on which you want to perform an action. For example,
click Select, and click Display Statistics to display the Container Statistics page for the container
you selected.
Replication Page
To display the Replication page, click Storage → Replication. The Replication page displays the number
of source replications, the names of the local and remote containers, the peer state, and the bandwidth
selected per container. The Replication page lets you perform the following tasks:
• Create a new replication relationship (source and target pair) and select the type of encryption to use
• Edit or delete an existing replication relationship
• Start or stop replication between a replication pair
• Set the bandwidth (or speed limit) for the replication process
• Display statistics for an existing replication relationship
The Replication page contains a Replication summary table that lists the following replication-related
information:
•Local Container Name—Local container name (IP address or hostname)
•Role—Source or target in the replication process
•Remote Container Name—Remote container name (IP address or hostname)
•Peer State—Online, Offline, Paused, or Disconnected. When started, the Peer State displays the status
as Online for the selected container. When stopped, the Peer State initially displays the status as
Paused, and then changes to Offline.
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•Bandwidth—Settings include Kibibytes per second (KiB/s), Mebibytes per second (MiB/s), Gibibytes per
second (GiB/s), or default (an unlimited bandwidth setting)
NOTE: Click Select to identify the replication relationship on which you want to perform an
action. For example, click Select→ Display Statistics to display the Replication Statistics page
for the container you selected. For more information, see Replication Statistics.
Clients
To display the Clients page, click Storage → Clients. This page displays the total number of clients that
are connected to the DR Series system, which can be a combination of NFS, CIFS, RDS, and OST clients,
and this total is listed above the Client tabs (NFS, CIFS, and RDA tabs).
In addition, depending upon the tab type you select, the number of clients for each connection type is
displayed. For example, in the Clients page, if the RDA tab is selected, this displays the number of current
OST or RDA clients that correspond to this type (OpenStorage Technology or Rapid Data Storage clients)
that are connected to the system, and provides the following information client-related information:
•Number of RDA Clients — Lists the number of OST and RDS clients.
•Name — Lists each client by name.
•Type — Lists the type of RDA clients.
•Plug-In — Lists the plug-in type installed on each client.
•Backup Software — Lists the backup software used with each client.
•Idle Time — Lists the idle time (non-activity) for each client.
•Connection — Lists the number of connections for each client. For a definition of connections and
streams, see Streams_vs_Connections.
•Mode — Lists the current mode type for each client.
To perform one of the possible actions on a client, click Select to identify the client, and then click the
desired option (for example, the RDA tab provides these options: Update Client, Edit Password, or
Download Plug-In). For more information about using this page and its tabs, see Clients Page (Using the
NFS or CIFS Tab) or Clients Page (Using the RDA Tab).
Clients Page (Using the NFS or CIFS Tab)
To display the Clients page, click Storage→ Clients. This page displays the total number of clients that
are connected to the DR Series system, and this number reflects all of the clients based listed under the
Clients tabs (NFS, CIFS, and RDA). Using this page and the NFS or CIFS tab lets you perform the following
tasks for NFS or CIFS clients (for information about RDA clients, see Clients Page (Using the RDA Tab).
The Clients page displays a summary of the NFS (or CIFS) clients, and lists the following types of NFS and
CIFS client-related information:
•Number of NFS (or CIFS) Clients — lists number of NFS (or CIFS) clients
•Name — lists each client by name
•Idle Time — lists idle time (nonactivity) for each client
•Connection Time — lists connection time for each client
NOTE: If you have DR6000 and you want to use Rapid NFS or Rapid CIFS, click the Download Plug-
In link and select the Rapid CIFS or Rapid NFS plug-in for the relevant client and protocol.
Clients Page (Using the RDA Tab)
To display the Clients page, click Storage→ Clients. This page displays the total number of clients that
are connected to the DR Series system, and this number reflects all of the clients based listed under the
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Clients tab (NFS, CIFS, and RDA). Using this page and the RDA tab lets you perform the following tasks for
RDS or OST clients:
• Update a client (you are limited to modifying the mode type)
• Edit a client password
• Download a client plug-in
NOTE: The RDA plug-in is installed by default if you are running the latest version of Dell
NetVault Backup (NVBU). You must download and install the RDA plug-in for NVBU only if there
is a plug-in version mismatch between the DR Series system software and NVBU.
This page displays an RDS or OST Clients Summary table that lists the following types of RDS or OST
client-related information:
• Name — lists client by name
• Type — lists client type
• Plug-In — lists plug-in type that is installed on the client
• Backup Software — lists backup software used with this client
• Idle Time — lists the idle time for this client
• Connection — lists the number of connections for this client
• Mode — lists the mode types that can be set for this client:
–Auto: DR will set the deduplication to Dedupe or Passthrough, based on the client’s number of
cores and whether it is 32– or 64–bit.
–Passthrough: The client will pass all data to DR for deduplication processing (appliance-side
deduplication).
–Dedupe: The client will process hashing on data, so deduplication processing occurs on the server
side (client-side deduplication).
If an OST or RDS client has four or more CPU cores, it is considered to be dedupe-capable. However, the
OST or RDS client operating mode depends upon how it is configured in the DR Series system (Dedupe is
the default RDA client mode).
• If the administrator did not configure an OST or RDS client to operate in a specific mode and it is
dedupe-capable, it will run in the Dedupe mode.
• If an OST or RDS client is not dedupe-capable (meaning the OST or RDS client has less than four CPU
cores), and the administrator sets it to run in the Dedupe mode, it will only run in the Passthrough
mode.
• If an OST or RDS client is set to run in Auto mode, the OST or RDS client will run in the mode setting
determined by the media server.
The following table shows the relationship between the configured OST or RDS client mode types and
the supported client mode based on client architecture type and corresponding number of CPU cores.
For information about Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS supported client modes based on architecture and CPU
cores, see Best Practices: Rapid NFS and Best Practices: Rapid CIFS.
Table 3. Supported OST or RDS Client Modes and Settings
OST or RDS Client
Mode Settings
32–Bit OST or RDS
Client (4 or more
CPU cores)
64–Bit OST or
RDS Client (4 or
more CPU cores)
32–Bit OST or RDS
Client (Less than 4
CPU cores)
64–Bit OST or RDS
Client (Less than 4
CPU cores)
Auto Passthrough Dedupe Passthrough Passthrough
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Dedupe Not Supported Supported Not Supported Not Supported
Passthrough Supported Supported Supported Supported
NOTE: Click Select to identify the OST or RDS client on which you want to perform an action. For
example, click Select → Download Plug-In to display the Download Plug-Ins page for the client
you selected. Select the plug-in for the relevant client and protocol.
About the Schedules Page and Options
To display the Schedules page, click Dashboard → Schedules. This page displays any existing Replication
or Cleaner operations that have been set up for the DR Series system. If no times are listed, this indicates
there are no scheduled Replication or Cleaner operations. The Replication and Cleaner operations will
automatically run whenever the DR Series system detects a window of inactivity when there are no other
major system operations running.
NOTE: Replication schedules can only be set on individual replication-enabled source containers.
The Schedules page lets you create a new schedule for running Replication or Cleaner operations, or you
can modify an existing schedule for either of these operations. For more information about scheduling
Replication or Cleaner operations, see Creating a Cleaner Schedule and Creating a Replication Schedule.
NOTE: Cleaner operations are system processes that reclaim disk space from containers where files
were deleted. When no Cleaner schedule is set, the Cleaner process will run as needed.
The Schedules page displays the following:
• System Time Zone: using the following format (US/Pacific, Tue May 1 10:33:45 2012)
• Scheduled Replication operations: with day of the week (Sunday through Saturday), start time, and
stop time
• Scheduled Cleaner operations: with day of the week (Sunday through Saturday), start time, and stop
time
NOTE: Schedules only control the source container in scheduled Replication operations; the target
container is passive in these operations.
Setting a Replication Schedule
To set a replication schedule from the Schedules page, complete the following:
NOTE: Replication schedules can only be set on individual replication-enabled source containers.
NOTE: The DR Series system software includes version checking that limits replication only between
other DR Series systems that run the same system software release version. If versions are
incompatible, the administrator will be notified by an event.
1. Click Replication on the options bar, which displays the Replication Schedule page.
Another method to display the Replication Schedule page, click Schedules → Replication Schedule.
2. In Container, select a replication-enabled source container form the drop-down list.
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3. Click Schedule to display the Set Replication Schedule window, and enter a Start Time and Stop
Time (using the hour and minute pull-down lists) for each day of the week you want replication to be
scheduled.
For more information about Replication schedules, see Creating a Replication Schedule.
NOTE: If either the Create or Edit Schedule options are disabled (grayed out), this means that
there is no replication-enabled source container on which you can create a Replication
schedule. You must first create a source container that can be replicated. For more information,
see Creating Replication Relationships.
Setting a Cleaner Schedule
To set up a Cleaner schedule on the Schedules page, complete the following:
NOTE: For more information about setting a new or modifying an existing Cleaner schedule, see
Creating a Cleaner Schedule.
1. Click Schedules→ Cleaner Schedule in the navigation panel, or click Cleaner on the Schedules page
to display the Cleaner Schedule page.
2. If there is no Cleaner schedule, click Schedule to display the Set Cleaner Schedule window, and
enter the Start Time and Stop Time (using the hour and minute pull-down lists) for each day of the
week being scheduled.
If there is an existing Cleaner schedule that you want to modify, click Edit Schedule and make your
changes.
About the System Configuration Page and Options
To display the System Configuration page, click Dashboard → System Configuration. The System
Configuration page displays the current DR Series system configuration information in the following
panes:
•Networking
•Active Directory
•Local Workgroup Users
•Email Alerts
•Password
•Admin Contact Info
•Email Relay Host
•Date and Time
NOTE: Each pane title in the System Configuration page is a link. To display the corresponding
page that provides more detailed information and the related options you can use, click the pane
title link. For example, to display the Date and Time page, click the Date and Time pane title link.
The System Configuration page provides options that let you:
• Edit the current system password
• Shut down the system
• Reboot the system
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The System Configuration page provides the means for managing configuration settings for the
Networking, Active Directory, Local Workgroup Users, Email Alerts, Admin Contact Info, Email Relay
Host, and Date and Time pages in the system.
NOTE: For example, to manage the date and time configuration settings, click Date and Time to
display the Date and Time page. You can then add or edit the following date and settings: Mode,
Time Zone, and Date and Time. If the DR Series system is part of a workgroup and not joined to a
Microsoft Active Directory Services (ADS) domain, you will also be able to add or edit the Network
Time Protocol (NTP) servers associated with the system. However, when the DR Series system is
joined to a domain, the NTP Servers setting on the Date and Time page is disabled and is not
displayed.
NOTE: Dell recommends using NTP servers when the DR Series system will be running as part of a
workgroup and not joined to a domain. The use of NTP servers as a reference time source is
disabled when the DR Series system is joined to a domain.
System Configuration Page and Options
To display the System Configuration page, click Dashboard → System Configuration. This page displays
the following pane title-enabled links that allow you to display more detailed system configuration
information for the following categories:
•Networking
•Active Directory
•Local Workgroup Users
•Email Alerts
•Admin Contact Info
•Password
•Email Relay Host
•Date and Time
Networking
The Networking pane displays the currently configured Mode, Hostname, IP Address, Bonding, Domain
Suffix, and Primary DNS settings for the DR Series system. The Networking pane title acts as a link to the
Networking page:
• This page lists the Hostname, IP Address, DNS, Bonding, and installed NICs. The Networking page
provides Edit Hostname, Edit IP Address, Edit DNS, Edit Bonding, and Edit MTU options.
• This page also displays the interfaces showing bonds and other Ethernet connections.
Active Directory
The Active Directory pane displays the current status of the Domain Name for the DR Series system (not
configured or listing the configured domain name). The Active Directory pane title acts as a link to the
Active Directory page:
• This page contains a Settings and a CIFS Container Share Path pane. The Settings pane lists the
configuration status, and lists the FQDN domain name (Fully Qualified Domain Name) of the Microsoft
Active Directory Services (ADS) domain. The CIFS Container Share Path pane lists the current CIFS
container share path locations. The Active Directory page provides the Join and Leave options.
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Local Workgroup Users
The Local Workgroup Users pane displays the current configured local workgroup users (CIFS) for the DR
Series system. The Local Workgroup Users pane title acts as a link to the Local Workgroup Users (CIFS)
page:
• This page lists the configured local CIFS users by user name that belongs to the local workgroup in
the DR Series system. The Local Workgroup Users (CIFS) page provides the Create, Edit, and Delete
options (by which you manage the users that belong to this local workgroup. To edit or delete an
existing local workgroup user, click Select to identify the local user you wish to modify or delete.
Email Alerts
The Email Alerts pane displays the current number of email notification recipients configured for the DR
Series system. The Email Alerts pane title acts as a link to the Email Alerts page:
• This page lists all currently configured recipient email addresses. The Email Alerts page provides Add,
Edit, Delete, and Send Test Message options. To create an email recipient, click Add to display the
Add Recipient Email Address dialog. In Email Address enter a valid email address for your email
system and click Submit. To edit or delete an existing email recipient, click Select to identify the email
recipient in which you wish to modify, delete, or send a test message.
Admin Contact Info
The Admin Contact Info pane displays the current information associated with the administrator
configured for the DR Series system. The current information is contained in the Contact Information and
Notification panes. The Contact Information pan includes the Contact Information, Company Name,
Email, Work Phone, and Comments categories. The Notification pane displays the status of the DR Series
system appliance alerts and system software updates (disabled or enabled). The Admin Contact Info pane
title acts as a link to the Administrator Contact Information page:
• This page contains contact information for the DR Series system administrator and is sent with all
system alert email messages. The Administrator Contact Information page provides the Add Contact
Information option (which after you configure it, this option changes to Edit Contact Information).
Click the Edit Contact Information option to display the Edit Administrator Contact Information
dialog where you can enter information or select a check box:
–Administrator Name
–Company Name
–Email
–Work Phone
–Comments
–Notify me of [DR Series] appliance alerts
–Notify me of [DR Series] software updates
–Notify me of [DR Series] daily container stats reports
Password
The Password Management pane displays the current Reset Password Option set for the system. The
Reset Password Option can be:
•Service Tag Only
•Service Tag and Administrator Email
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NOTE: To select the option Service Tag and Administrator Email, you must first configure the e-
mail relay host and administrator contact e-mail.
In the Password Management pane you can edit the current password and edit the password reset
options.
Email Relay Host
The Email Relay Host pane displays the current email relay host configured for the DR Series system. The
Email Relay Host pane title acts as a link to the Email Relay Host page:
• This page lists the configured email relay host by its IP address or hostname that is responsible for
email in the DR Series system. The Email Relay Host page provides the Add Relay Host option (which
after you configure it, this option changes to Edit Relay Host).
Date and Time
The Date and Time pane displays the current Mode configured for the DR Series system (Manual or NTP),
the current Time Zone, and the current Date and Time (in mm/dd/yy hh:mm:ss format, for example:
12/11/12 14:58:22 PST). The Date and Time pane title acts as a link to the Date and Time page:
• This page contains a Settings pane that lists the Mode used. The system uses Network Time Protocol
(NTP) servers if the system is part of a workgroup and not joined to an Active Directory Services (ADS)
domain. If the system is joined to an ADS domain, then the NTP servers setting is disabled and the
system uses the ADS domain time. The Settings pane also displays the current Time Zone, and current
Date and Time. The Date and Time page provides the Edit option for changing the date and time
settings.
NOTE: Dell recommends using the Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers when the DR Series
system is part of a workgroup and not part of a domain. The NTP time mode is disabled when the
DR Series system is joined to an Active Directory Services (ADS) domain. Any attempt to enable the
NTP time mode when you are joined to an ADS domain displays an error message indicating this is
not possible.
Understanding the System Configuration Page Options
The System Configuration page contains three key system options:
•Password Management
•Shutdown
•Reboot
Edit Password
Edit Password—click this option to display the Edit Password dialog, where you can change the login
password for the DR Series system
NOTE: To change CIFS login credentials, you can use the DR Series system CLI command,
authenticate –set –user . For details, see the Dell DR Series System Command Line Reference
Guide.
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NOTE: Editing your existing login password is different than resetting your login password. Click
Edit Password in the System Configuration page to edit your login password to reflect any value
that meets the system password requirements (for more information, see Modifying the System
Password. Click Reset Password in the Login page to reset your login password to the system
default value, which requires you to provide the service tag for your system. For more information,
see Resetting the Default System Password.
Shutdown
Shutdown—click this option to display the Shutdown System dialog, where you can shut down the DR
Series system.
CAUTION: Shutdown powers Off the appliance on which the system software is installed. Once in
a powered Off state, you can power it On at its physical location or using an iDRAC configuration
to the system.
Reboot
Reboot—click this option to display the Reboot System dialog, where you can reboot the DR Series
system.
Support Page and Options
Click Dashboard → Support to display the Support page. The Support page displays the current support-
related information for your system in the Support Information pane:
NOTE: The exact number of Ethernet listings (MAC and Speed) displayed depend upon the number
and type of Ethernet ports installed in your system. For example, the DR4000 system can support
up to four 1–GbE ports or up to two 10–GbE ports, and the DR4100 system can support up to six
1–GbE ports (four internal 1–GbE ports on the network daughter card and two 1–GbE ports on a
PCI Express expansion card) or two 10–GbE ports. The following example shows four ports (eth0
through eth3).
•Product Name
•Software Version
•Service Tag
•Last Diagnostic Run
•BIOS Version
•MAC Address
•iDRAC IP Address
•eth0 MAC
•eth0 Speed
•eth1 MAC
•eth1 Speed
•eth2 MAC
•eth2 Speed
•eth3 MAC
•eth3 Speed
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In addition, this page provides options for supporting, upgrading, and licensing additional storage for your
DR Series system: Diagnostics, Software Upgrade, and License. For more information, see
Understanding the Support Page Options.
Understanding the Support Page Options
The Support page displayed in the navigation panel provides several important options (Diagnostics,
Software Upgrade, and License). These options allow you to perform the following tasks:
• Generate, download, or delete diagnostics log files
• Upgrade a later version of the DR Series system software
• Install the license file for any added data storage expansion shelf
Diagnostics
Diagnostics—Click this option to display the Diagnostics page, where the number of diagnostics are
listed by file name, size, time, and date that the diagnostics log bundle was generated, the reason the
diagnostics log bundle was created, and its status. The Diagnostics page provides the Generate,
Download, and Delete options.
The diagnostics bundle of log files are used by Dell Support to diagnose system conditions that you
report or are detected as issues during DR Series system operations.
NOTE: Click Select to identify the diagnostics log file on which you want to perform an action. For
example, click Select → Download to display the File Download dialog for the diagnostics log file
you selected for downloading.
NOTE: The diagnostics bundles can be generated in two modes: admin-generated and auto-
generated. In the latter mode, when a process or service failure is detected, the DR Series system
starts collecting system-related information as a background task. Once the collection has
completed, the DR Series system generates a system event. If diagnostics bundles are being
generated frequently without an administrator request, you may want to contact Dell Support for
assistance.
For more information about the Diagnostics page and Diagnostics service, see Diagnostics Page and
Options, and About the Diagnostics Service.
Software Upgrade
Software Upgrade—Click this option to display the Software Upgrade page, where there are two panes:
the Upgrade File Location and Software Information. The Software Upgrade page allows you navigate
and locate the software upgrade file. Once located, click Start Upgrade to start the upgrade process, or
view the current version and upgrade history for the DR Series system. The Start Upgrade page provides
the Reboot option.
NOTE: When preparing to perform a software upgrade for the DR Series system, the software
upgrade file must be downloaded and be locally accessible from the system running the DR Series
system GUI.
For more information about system software upgrades, see Software Upgrade Page and Options.
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License
License—Click this option to display the License page, where there are two panes: License File Location
and Number of Installed Licenses. The License page is where you locate the corresponding license file
for the installed data storage expansion shelf.
In the License File Location pane, click Browse... to navigate to the directory/folder path location where
the license file (license.xml) resides (typically, it is downloaded to /store/license). After you locate it, click
Install License to install and validate the license file for the installed data storage expansion shelf.
After installing and validating the license file, the License page displays a License file has been
successfully installed dialog, and the Number of Installed Licenses summary table is updated with the
new license file you just installed. The Number of Installed Licenses pane contains a summary table that
lists and identifies each installed license by ID, description, entitlement ID, and current status.
For more information about the supported data storage expansion shelf or the licenses needed for an
expansion shelf, see Expansion Shelf Licenses and Installing an Expansion Shelf.
Expansion Shelf Licenses
This topic introduces the license required for adding external data storage in the form of Dell MD1200
storage arrays that are referred to as expansion shelf enclosures. Expansion shelf enclosures allow you to
add supplemental data storage capacity to support DR Series system operations. Any expansion shelf
enclosure that is added must be equal to or greater than each DR Series system internal drive slot
capacity (0–11). Expansion shelf enclosures can be added to the internal data storage in certain
capacities. Licenses define the expansion shelf enclosure size in a license = size format (for example,
shelf = 18TB), and licenses are added on a per-shelf basis. For the maximum number of expansion shelf
enclosures per DR Series system, see “Expansion Unit Limits” in the Dell DR Series System Interoperability
Guide.
Table 4. Expansion Shelf Capacities in the DR Series System
System/Expansion Shelf
Enclosure Size
Maximum Data Storage Capacity Options
600 Gigabyte (GB) expansion shelf • 9 TB
• 18 TB
• 27 TB
1 TB expansion shelf • 9 TB
• 18 TB
• 27 TB
2 TB expansion shelf • 18 TB
• 27 TB
3 TB expansion • 27 TB
4 TB expansion (DR6000 only) • 36 TB
Licenses
Adding an expansion shelf enclosure requires that you order a license for each enclosure from a Dell
Account representative at the time that you order the DR Series system. You can also order this at a later
date when you want to add additional external storage to your base DR Series system. To obtain the
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license, you can download it from the support.dell.com website using your service tag or use an email
link from your Dell Account representative.
If you already have a Dell MD1200 storage array, the order process supports licensing for existing
hardware that you want to add to a base DR Series system. Each license supports one expansion shelf
enclosure, and the system supports multiple enclosures using the DR Series system service tag. Because
the licenses are tied to the system service tag, if the internal drives are moved to another system chassis,
this would require a new license. For more information about the expansion shelf enclosures, see “DR
Series Expansion Shelf” in DR Series System and Data Operations.
NOTE: The 300 Gigabyte (GB) drive capacity (2.7 TB) version of the DR Series system does not
support the addition of expansion shelf enclosures to add external storage to the base system.
Installing an Expansion Shelf License
Make sure that you have located the license for expansion shelf prior to attempting to install and validate
it.
To install a license for an expansion shelf for the DR Series system, complete the following:
NOTE: The 300 Gigabyte (GB) drive capacity (2.7 TB) version of the DR Series system does not
support the addition of expansion shelf enclosures.
1. In the navigation panel, select Support → License (or double-click License).
The License page is displayed, showing a License File Location pane and a Number of Installed
Licenses pane.
2. In the License File Location pane, click Browse... to navigate to the license file location (typically, it is
downloaded to /store/license).
3. Click Install License and follow all prompts.
If successful, a License has been successfully installed dialog is displayed, and the new license
appears in the Number of Installed Licenses pane. The Number of Installed Licenses pane lists the
total number of installed licenses, and defines each installed license by ID, a brief description, an
entitlement ID (license tag), and the status of the license.
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4
Configuring the DR Series System
Settings
This topic introduces the concept that before you can run any DR Series system operations, you first
need to understand the following key tasks:
• How to initialize the system
• How to shut down or reboot the system
• How to manage the system password
Initializing the DR Series system requires that you configure and manage a number of very important
system settings.
NOTE: Dell recommends that you use the Initial System Configuration Wizard to configure your
DR Series system. Changing some of the system settings using the DR Series system GUI (such as
bonding, MTU, hostname, IP address, and DNS) can cause issues that may affect your DR Series
system GUI access.
For more information about initializing the system, see Initializing the DR Series System.
For more information about shutting down or rebooting the system, see Shutting Down the DR Series
System and Rebooting the DR Series System.
For more information about managing the system password, see Managing the DR Series System
Password.
Configuring Networking Settings
You can configure the networking settings that were configured using the Initial System Configuration
Wizard process for the DR Series system in the following tabs:
NOTE: For the Ethernet port settings on the NICs, this example only shows Eth0 and Eth1
(depending upon your system configuration, you could have NICs configured with Ethernet port
settings in the Eth0–Eth5 range). The DR4000 system supports up to four 1–GbE ports or up to two
10–GbE ports, while the DR4100/DR6000 system supports up to six 1–GbE or up to two 10–GbE
ports. For more information, see Local Console Connection.
•Hostname
– Hostname (FQDN)
– iDRAC IP Address
•DNS
– Domain Suffix
– Primary DNS
– Secondary DNS
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•Interfaces
– Device
– Mode
– MAC Address
– MTU (maximum transmission unit)
– Bonding Option
– Slave Interfaces
•Eth0
– MAC
– Maximum Speed
– Speed
– Duplex
•Eth1
– MAC
– Maximum Speed
– Speed
– Duplex
To configure new networking settings (or to change from those set using the Initial System
Configuration Wizard), complete the following:
1. Select System Configuration → Networking.
The Networking page is displayed. Select settings for hostname, IP Address, DNS, Bonding, or to
view the Ethernet port settings (Eth0-Eth3) for the DR Series system.
• To configure hostname, skip to step 2.
• To configure IP addressing, skip to step 5.
• To configure DNS, skip to step 10.
2. To change the current Hostname, select the Hostname tab and click Edit Hostname on the options
bar.
The Edit Hostname dialog is displayed.
3. Type a hostname in Hostname that meets the following supported character types and length:
• Alphabetic—allows A-Z, a-z, or a combination of upper and lower case alphabetic characters.
• Numeric—allows numerals zero (0) through 9.
• Special characters—allows only the dash (-) character.
• Length limit—hostnames cannot exceed the maximum length of 19 characters.
4. Click Submit to set the new hostname for your system.
5. To change the current IP address settings for the selected NIC bond or Ethernet port, select the
Interfaces tab and click Edit Interfaces on the options bar.
The Edit Interface — <bond or Ethernet port number> dialog is displayed.
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6. Under IP Address, in Mode, select Static (to set static IP addressing for your system), or select DHCP
(to set dynamic IP addressing for your system).
NOTE: To select the DHCP mode of IP addressing, select DHCP, and click Submit. The
remaining substeps in this step only need to be completed if you selected the Static mode of IP
addressing for the DR Series system.
a. In New IP Address, type an IP address that represents the new IP address for your system.
b. In Netmask, type an netmask address value that represents your system (the system IP address
and netmask identify the network to which your system belongs).
c. In Gateway, type an IP address for the gateway associated with your system.
7. Under MTU, in MTU, enter the value you want to set as the maximum.
NOTE: Ensure that the value that you enter in MTU is the same for the clients, Ethernet Switch,
and the appliance. The connection between the clients, the Ethernet switches, and the
appliance will break if the MTU number is not the same on all the components.
NOTE: In computer networking, jumbo frames are Ethernet frames with more than 1500 bytes
of payload (but in some cases, jumbo frames can carry up to 9000 bytes of payload). Many
Gigabit Ethernet switches and Gigabit Ethernet network interface cards support jumbo frames.
Some Fast Ethernet switches and Fast Ethernet network interface cards also support jumbo
frames.
Some computer manufacturers use 9000 bytes as the conventional limit for jumbo frame sizes. To
support jumbo frames used in an Internet Protocol subnetwork, both the host DR Series system
(initiator or source) and the target DR Series system have to be configured for 9000 MTU.
Consequently, interfaces using a standard frame size and those using the jumbo frame size should
not be in the same subnet. To reduce the chance of interoperability issues, network interface cards
capable of supporting jumbo frames require specific configurations to use jumbo frames.
To verify that the destination system can support a specific frame size, use the DR Series system CLI
command network --ping --destination <IP address> --size <number of bytes>.
For more information, contact Dell Support for assistance (for details, see Contacting Dell).
NOTE: Make sure that if you are using any Dell network switches that you take full advantage of
the latest switch firmware upgrades and application notes. The application notes provide
procedures that assist you in performing switch firmware upgrades and saving configuration
files (for complete details, see support.dell.com/ and navigate to Drivers and Downloads for
your system type).
NOTE: When setting or changing the MTU value, make sure that you verify that the Ethernet
network switch is capable of supporting an MTU size that is equal to or larger than the value
you are setting. Any mismatch in MTU values between the clients, Ethernet network switch, and
the DR Series system appliance will make it inoperable.
Dell suggests that you observe standard best practices when deploying jumbo frames in networks,
and recommends using jumbo frames with the DR Series system because this frame size typically
provides the best performance. However, for networks that do not support jumbo frames, the DR
Series system also supports using the standard frame size.
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8. Under Bonding, from the Bonding configuration list, select the appropriate bonding configuration.
NOTE: You may lose the connection to the system if you change the bonding configuration.
Change the bonding configuration only if the system accepts the new bonding type.
•ALB—Configures adaptive load balancing (ALB), which is the default setting.
NOTE: ALB load balancing does not balance the load properly when your backup servers
are on a remote subnet. This is because ALB uses the address resolution protocol (ARP) and
ARP updates are subnet-specific. Because this is the case, ARP broadcasts and updates are
not sent across the router. Instead, all traffic is sent to the first interface in the bond. To
resolve this ARP-specific issue, make sure that your data source systems reside on the same
subnet as the DR Series system.
•802.3ad—Configures dynamic link aggregation using the IEEE 802.ad standard.
CAUTION: If you change the existing bonding setting, the connection to the DR Series
system may be lost unless you are sure that the system can accept this bonding type.
9. Click Submit to have the DR Series system accept the new values (or click Cancel to display the
Networking page).
The Updated IP Address dialog is displayed when the selection is successful (if you change the static
IP address manually, you need to use this IP address in the browser when you log back into the DR
Series system).
10. To configure DNS settings for your system, select the DNS tab and click Edit DNS on the options bar.
The Edit DNS dialog is displayed.
11. In Domain Suffix, type a domain suffix to use.
For example, acme.local. This is a required field.
12. In Primary DNS, type an IP address that represents the primary DNS server for your system; this is a
required field.
13. For Secondary DNS, type an IP address that represents the secondary DNS server for your system;
this is an optional field.
14. Click Submit to have the DR Series system accept the new values (or click Cancel to display the
Networking page).
The Updated DNS dialog is displayed when the selection is successful.
Networking Page and Ethernet Port Values
The Networking page displays the currently configured multiple Ethernet ports for the DR Series system
in a series of panes. For 1–Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) ports in the DR4000 system this could be Eth0, Eth1,
Eth2, and Eth3, and in the DR4100 system this could be Eth0, Eth1, Eth2, Eth3, Eth4, and Eth5. For 10-
GbE/10-GbE SFP+ NICs, this means that the two ports are bonded together into a single interface. For
example, the DR Series system port configuration is as follows:
• In a 1-GbE NIC configuration: the DR4000 system supports up to four 1–GbE ports, which consists of
up to two internal LAN on Motherboard (LOM) ports and two ports on an expansion card that are
bonded together. The DR4100 system supports up to six 1–GbE ports, which consists of up to four
internal LOM ports on the network daughter card (NDC) and two ports on a PCI Express expansion
card.
• In a 10-GbE or 10-GbE SFP+NIC configuration: the DR4000 system supports up to two 10–GbE or
10–GbE SFP+ ports on an expansion card that are bonded together. The DR4100 system supports up
to two 10-GbE or 10-GbE SFP+ ports that reside on the NDC that are bonded together.
NOTE: For more information on advanced networking options see the Command Line Interface
Guide available at dell.com/support/manuals.
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The ports for bonded NICs display: MAC address, port speed in megabtyes per second (MB/s), maximum
speed, and duplex setting. The following example shows Ethernet port values for the four ports in a 1-
GbE NIC bonded configuration on a DR4000 system:
Eth0:
• MAC: 00:30:59:9A:00:96
• Speed: 1000Mb/s
• Max Speed: 1000baseT/Full
• Duplex: Full
Eth1:
• MAC: 00:30:59:9A:00:97
• Speed: 1000Mb/s
• Max Speed: 1000baseT/Full
• Duplex: Full
Eth2:
• MAC: 00:30:59:9A:00:98
• Speed: 1000Mb/s
• Max Speed: 1000baseT/Full
• Duplex: Full
Eth3:
• MAC: 00:30:59:9A:00:99
• Speed: 1000Mb/s
• Max Speed: 1000baseT/Full
• Duplex: Full
Managing the DR Series System Password
You can manage the login password that is used when logging in to the DR Series system in two ways:
• By modifying the existing login password using the Edit Password option in the System Configuration
page. For more information, see Modifying the System Password.
• By resetting the login password to its default value using the Reset Password option in the DR Series
System Login page. For more information, see Resetting the Default System Password.
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Modifying the System Password
To configure a new password or to modify an existing password for logging in to the DR Series system,
complete the following:
1. To change the system password, do one of the following:.
• In the navigation panel, select System Configuration, the System Configuration page is
displayed. Click Password Management.
• In the navigation panel, select System Configuration → Password, the Password Management
page is displayed.
2. Click Edit Password.
The Edit Password dialog is displayed.
3. In Current password, type the current password for the system.
4. In New password, type the new system password.
5. In Confirm password, retype the new password to confirm this as the new password replacing the
existing system password.
6. Click Change Password (or click Cancel to display the System Configuration page).
If successful, a Password change was successful dialog is displayed.
Resetting the Default System Password
To reset the system to use the default password (St0r@ge! ) for logging in, complete the following:
1. In the Login window, click Reset Password.
The Reset Password dialog is displayed.
If the password reset option is set to Service Tag, proceed to step 2.
If the password reset option is set to Service Tag and Administrator Email, proceed to step 4.
2. In Service Tag, type the Service Tag associated with your system, and click Reset Password.
NOTE: If you are unsure of the Service Tag associated with your DR Series system, it can be
found on the Support page (click Support in the navigation panel to display the Support
Information pane, which displays the Service Tag).
The Login window is displayed, and a Password has been reset dialog is displayed.
3. To log in using the default password, type St0r@ge! , and click Login.
NOTE: After you have reset the login password to its default and logged in to the DR Series
system, Dell recommends for security reasons that you create a new unique login password.
4. In Service Tag, type the Service Tag associated with your system.
NOTE: If you are unsure of the Service Tag associated with your DR Series system, it can be
found on the Support page (click Support in the navigation panel to display the Support
Information pane, which displays the Service Tag).
5. In Administrator Email enter the email address of the administrator of this system.
The Administrator Email that you enter must match the administrator email address configured in
the DR Series system. If you have set security questions, the security questions are displayed.
6. Enter the answers to the configured security questions in Answer 1 and Answer 2.
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7. Click Send Now.
An email with a unique code, used to reset the password, is sent only to the configured administrator
email address. The code is valid for only 15 minutes. The password reset code expires after 15
minutes and cannot be used. You must repeat the password reset procedure to regenerate the code
again.
Shutting Down the DR Series System
If needed, you can shut down the DR Series system by selecting Shutdown in the System Configuration
page. However, you should fully understand what this action means to system operations before
attempting to shut down the system.
CAUTION: Shutdown powers Off the appliance on which the DR Series system software is
installed. Once powered Off, you can only power it On again at its physical location, or you must
use an iDRAC connection to the DR Series system.
To shutdown your DR Series system, complete the following:
1. In the navigation panel, select System Configuration.
The System Configuration page is displayed.
2. Click Shutdown on the System Configuration page options bar.
The Shutdown confirmation dialog is displayed.
3. Click Shutdown System to proceed with shutting down the system (or click Cancel to return to the
System Configuration page).
Rebooting the DR Series System
If needed, you can reboot the DR Series system by selecting the Reboot option in the System
Configuration page. To reboot your system:
1. In the navigation panel, select System Configuration.
The System Configuration page is displayed.
2. Click Reboot on the System Configuration page options bar.
The Reboot System confirmation dialog is displayed.
3. Click Reboot System to proceed with rebooting the system (or click Cancel to return to the System
Configuration page).
The System has successfully rebooted dialog is displayed after rebooting (system reboot may take
up to 10 minutes to complete).
Configuring Active Directory Settings
You need to configure the Active Directory setting to direct your DR Series system to join or leave a
domain that contains a Microsoft Active Directory Service (ADS). To join an ADS domain, complete steps 1
through 4 in the following procedure (to leave an ADS domain, skip to step 5). When you join the DR
Series system to an ADS domain, this disables the Network Time Protocol (NTP) service and instead uses
the domain-based time service.
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To configure the DR Series system for a domain using ADS, complete the following:
1. Select System Configuration → Active Directory.
The Active Directory page is displayed.
NOTE: If you have not yet configured ADS settings, an informational message is displayed in the
Settings pane in the Active Directory page.
2. Click Join on the options bar.
The Active Directory Configuration dialog is displayed.
3. Type the following values in the Active Directory Configuration dialog:
• In Domain Name (FQDN), type a fully qualified domain name for the ADS; for example,
AD12.acme.com. (This is a required field.)
NOTE: Supported domain names are limited to 64 characters in length and can only consist
of a combination of A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and three special characters: a dash (-), a period (.), and
an underscore (_).
• In Username, type a valid user name that meets the user name guidelines for the ADS. (This is a
required field.)
NOTE: Supported user names are limited to 64 characters in length and can only consist of
a combination of A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and three special characters: a dash (-), a period (.), and an
underscore (_).
• In Password, type a valid password that meets the password guidelines for the ADS. (This is a
required field.)
• In Org Unit, type a valid organizational name that meets the organization name guidelines for the
ADS. (This is an optional field.)
4. Click Join Domain to configure your system with these ADS settings (or click Cancel to display the
Active Directory page).
The Successfully Configured dialog is displayed when successful.
NOTE: If you configure CIFS container share paths, these will be displayed in a CIFS Container
Share Path pane in the Active Directory page.
5. To leave an ADS domain, click Leave in the Active Directory page.
The Active Directory Configuration dialog is displayed.
6. Leaving the configured ADS domain requires that you enter the following:
a. In Username, enter a valid user name for the ADS domain.
b. In Password, enter a valid password for the ADS domain.
7. Click Leave Domain to direct your DR Series system to leave the ADS domain (or click Cancel to
display the Active Directory page).
The Successfully Configured dialog is displayed when successful.
Configuring Local Workgroup Users Settings
You need to configure settings to create a local workgroup of CIFS authenticated users. This capability
lets you create a local workgroup (Local Workgroup Users) to which you can add new users, edit existing
users, or delete users from the workgroup.
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To configure the DR Series system for a Local Workgroup Users, complete the following:
1. Select System Configuration → Local Workgroup Users.
The Local Workgroup Users (CIFS) page is displayed.
2. To create a new CIFS user in this local workgroup of users, click Create on the option bar.
The Create a local workgroup user for CIFS authentication dialog is displayed.
a. In User Name, enter a valid user name for this user.
b. In Password, enter a valid password for this user.
c. Click Add CIFS User to create the new user in the Local Workgroup Users for the system (or click
Cancel to return to the Local Workgroup Users (CIFS) page).
An Added CIFS user confirmation dialog is displayed when successful.
3. To edit an existing CIFS user in this local workgroup of users, click Select to identify the user in the
Local Workgroup Users summary table that you want to modify, and click Edit in the option bar.
The Edit a local workgroup user for CIFS authentication dialog is displayed.
a. In Password, enter a different valid password for this user.
You cannot modify the User Name for this user, you can only modify the Password. If you want a
user with a different User Name, you must delete this user and create a new user with the desired
User Name.
b. Click Edit CIFS User to modify the password for existing user in the Local Workgroup Users for
the system (or click Cancel to return to the Local Workgroup Users (CIFS) page).
4. To delete an existing CIFS user from the local workgroup of users, click Select to identify the user in
the Local Workgroup Users summary table that you want to delete, and click Delete in the option
bar.
The Delete user confirmation dialog is displayed.
a. Click OK to delete the selected user from the Local Workgroup Users summary table (or click
Cancel to return to the Local Workgroup Users (CIFS) page).
A Deleted CIFS user confirmation dialog is displayed when successful.
Configuring Email Alert Settings
You can create and manage recipient email addresses for users to which you want to send DR Series
system email alerts. The Email Alerts page contains options that let you add new, edit or delete existing
recipient email addresses, and send a test message to the recipient email addresses listed in the Recipient
Email Address pane.
NOTE: The Email Alerts page contains all the options you need for managing the recipient email
addresses and testing the send message capability.
Adding a Recipient Email Address
To configure and add a new recipient email address, complete the following:
1. Select System Configuration → Email Alerts.
The Email Alerts page is displayed.
2. Click Add on the options bar.
The Add Recipient Email Address dialog is displayed.
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3. In Email Address, type a valid email address using the address format that your email system
supports.
4. Click Submit to configure the recipient email address (or click Cancel to display the Email Alerts
page).
The Email Alerts page is displayed, and an Added email recipient dialog is displayed when
successful.
5. To create additional recipient email addresses, repeat steps 2 through 4.
NOTE: For information about sending an email alerts message to test one or more email recipients,
see Sending a Test Message.
Editing or Deleting a Recipient Email Address
To edit or delete an existing recipient email address:
1. Select System Configuration→ Email Alerts.
The Email Alerts page is displayed.
NOTE: To edit or delete an existing recipient email address, you must first click Select in the
Recipient Email Address pane to indicate the address that you want to edit or delete. To edit an
existing email address, proceed to step 2, or to delete an existing email address, skip to step 4.
For more information about adding email recipients, see Adding a Recipient Email Address.
2. To edit an existing recipient email address, click Select to indicate the recipient email address entry
that you want to change, and click Edit on the options bar.
The Edit Recipient Email Address dialog is displayed.
3. Modify the existing email address you selected as needed, and click Submit.
The Email Alerts page is displayed, and a Successfully updated email recipient dialog is displayed
when successful. To edit additional recipient email addresses, repeat steps 2 and 3.
4. To delete an existing recipient email address, click Select to indicate the recipient email address entry
that you want to delete, and click Delete on the options bar.
The Delete Confirmation dialog is displayed.
5. Click OK to delete the selected email recipient address (or click Cancel to display the Email Alerts
page).
The Email Alerts page is displayed, and a Deleted email recipient dialog is displayed when
successful. To delete additional recipient email addresses, repeat steps 4 and 5.
Sending a Test Message
The DR Series system provides the means for sending test messages to all configured recipient email
addresses. This process lets you manage the sending of system alert messages, at which point you can
verify that all of the configured email recipients received these messages.
NOTE: If needed, ensure that you have a configured email relay host. For more information about
email relay hosts, see Adding an Email Relay Host.
1. Select System Configuration → Email Alerts.
The Email Alerts page is displayed.
2. Click Send Test Message on the options bar.
The Send Test Email confirmation dialog is displayed.
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3. Click OK (or click Cancel to display the Email Alerts page).
The Email Alerts page is displayed, and a Successfully sent email dialog is displayed when
successful.
4. Verify that all of the intended recipient email addresses received the test email.
Configuring Administrator Contact Information
You can configure the administrator contact information to identify the person who is actively managing
or responsible for your DR Series system acting as its administrator. To do this, enter contact information
for the administrator on the Administrator Contact Information page using the Edit Contact
Information option.
In the navigation panel on the Dashboard page, click System Configuration → Admin Contact Info to
display the Administrator Contact Information page.
For more information about contact information for the administrator, see Editing Administrator Contact
Information, and Adding Administrator Contact Information.
The following information categories are displayed in the Contact Information and Notification panes
on the Administrator Contact Information page, and this is information sent with all system alert emails:
•Contact Information
– Administrator Name
– Company Name
– Email
– Work Phone
– Comments
•Notification
– Status of Notify me of [DR Series] appliance alerts check box (enabled or disabled)
– Status of Notify me of [DR Series] software updates check box (enabled or disabled)
– Status of Notify me of [DR Series] daily container stats reports check box (enabled or disabled)
Adding Administrator Contact Information
To configure contact information for the system administrator, complete the following:
1. Select System Configuration → Admin Contact Info.
The Administrator Contact Information page is displayed.
2. Click Add Contact Information on the options bar.
The Add Administrator Contact Information dialog is displayed.
3. In Administrator Name, type the name of the administrator for this appliance.
4. In Company Name, type the company name associated with the administrator.
5. In Email, type the email address of the administrator (using the email address format that your email
system supports).
6. In Work Phone, type the telephone number associated with the administrator.
7. In Comments, type some information or add comments that uniquely identify this administrator.
8. Click the Notify me of [DR Series] appliance alerts check box to be notified about system alerts.
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9. Click the Notify me of [DR Series] software updates check box to be notified about system software
updates.
10. Click the Notify me of [DR Series] daily container stats reports check box to receive your container
statistics summary report on a daily basis.
11. Click Submit (or click Cancel to display the Administrator Contact Information page).
The Administrator Contact Information page is displayed, and an Updated administrator contact
information dialog is displayed when successful.
Editing Administrator Contact Information
To edit the contact information for an existing system administrator, complete the following:
1. Select System Configuration→ Admin Contact Info.
The Administrator Contact Information page is displayed.
2. Click Edit Contact Info on the options bar.
The Edit Administrator Contact Information dialog is displayed.
3. Modify the notification selections as needed.
4. Click Submit.
The Administrator Contact Information page is displayed, and an Updated administrator contact
information dialog is displayed when successful.
Managing Passwords
You can edit the system password and system password reset configuration on this page.
Modifying the System Password
To configure a new password or to modify an existing password for logging in to the DR Series system,
complete the following:
1. To change the system password, do one of the following:.
• In the navigation panel, select System Configuration, the System Configuration page is
displayed. Click Password Management.
• In the navigation panel, select System Configuration → Password, the Password Management
page is displayed.
2. Click Edit Password.
The Edit Password dialog is displayed.
3. In Current password, type the current password for the system.
4. In New password, type the new system password.
5. In Confirm password, retype the new password to confirm this as the new password replacing the
existing system password.
6. Click Change Password (or click Cancel to display the System Configuration page).
If successful, a Password change was successful dialog is displayed.
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Modifying Password Reset Options
To modify the password reset options:
1. Select System Configuration → Password.
The Password Management page is displayed.
2. Click Edit Password Reset Options.
The Edit Password Reset Options dialog is displayed.
3. To use service tag only, select Service Tag Only and click Submit.
NOTE: To select the option Service Tag and Administrator Email, you must first configure the
e-mail relay host and administrator contact e-mail.
4. To use the service tag and administrator e-mail, select Service Tag and Administrator Email.
The optional security questions area is displayed.
5. To set the optional security questions, under Optional Security Question 1 and Optional Security
Question 2 in Question enter the security question.
6. In Answer , enter the answer to your security question.
NOTE: Save the answer in a secure location, you will need these answers to reset the DR Series
system password.
7. Click Submit.
Configuring an Email Relay Host
If needed, you can configure an external email relay host to serve your DR Series system if the network
email system requires one. The email relay host is typically an external mail server that relays any email
alerts from the DR Series system to each of the designated recipient email addresses.
To do this on the Email Relay Host page, click Add Relay Host to define a new email relay host (or to edit
an existing email relay host, click the Edit Relay Host) on the options bar. For more information on
editing an existing email relay host, see Editing an Email Relay Host.
Adding an Email Relay Host
To configure a new email relay host for your DR Series system, complete the following:
NOTE: To edit an existing email relay host, see Editing an Email Relay Host.
1. Select System Configuration → Email Relay Host.
The Email Relay Host page is displayed.
2. Click Add Relay Host on the options bar.
The Add Relay Host dialog is displayed.
3. In Relay Host, type the hostname or IP address of an external mail server that will act as the email
relay host for your DR Series system.
4. Click Submit (or click Cancel to display the Email Alerts page).
The Email Relay Host page is displayed, and an Updated external email server information dialog is
displayed when successful.
5. Send a test message to verify that the email relay host is working properly.
For more information, see Sending a Test Message.
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6. Verify that all of the intended recipient email addresses received the test email.
Editing an Email Relay Host
To edit an existing email relay host for your DR Series system, complete the following:
1. Select System Configuration→ Email Relay Host.
The Email Relay Host page is displayed.
2. Click Edit Relay Host on the options bar.
The Edit Relay Host dialog is displayed.
3. In Relay Host, modify the email relay hostname or IP address of the external mail server as needed.
4. Click Submit (or click Cancel to display the Email Alerts page).
The Email Relay Host page is displayed, and an Updated external email server information dialog is
displayed when successful.
Configuring System Date and Time Settings
If you need to configure or manage the date and time settings used by your system that synchronize it
with other DR Series systems or clients running in your domain, navigate to the Date and Time page, and
click Edit. The Date and Time page displays a Settings pane that contains the following date and time-
related settings (by default, the system has the following date and time settings as default values in an
initial system startup):
•Mode—select from two types: Manual and Network Time Protocol (NTP).
NOTE: Dell recommends using NTP when the DR Series system is part of a workgroup and not
part of a domain. When the DR Series system is joined to a domain, such as the Microsoft Active
Directory Services (ADS) domain, NTP is disabled and the DR Series system uses the domain
time.
•Time Zone—when in NTP mode, select from a list of time zone options based on Greenwich Mean
Time (GMT); for example, GMT-8:00, Pacific Time (US and Canada).
•NTP Servers—when in NTP mode, select from an Internet pool of NTP servers (you can define up to
three NTP servers) when using the NTP mode. If this setting is not visible in the Settings pane, verify
that the Mode indicates it is joined to an Active Directory Services (ADS) domain. When joined to a
domain, NTP is disabled for the DR Series system.
•Set Date and Time—when in Manual mode, click the calendar icon, and configure the date and time
by making month, day, and time in a 24-hour time format selections. Use the controls on the
calendar to select the month, the day of the month, and the hours and minutes using the slider
controls. To set the current time, click Now. When done with setting your date and time values, click
Done (and the time appears for example, as 12/12/12 14:05:45). When all date and time settings are
configured, click Submit for the DR Series system to accept the new values.
NOTE: System synchronization is critical for proper data archiving and replication service
operations.
By using the NTP mode, you synchronize your system clock whereby NTP ensures that your system has a
reliable time stamp. This is critical for successful file exchanges, network log coordination and validation,
and resource access requests within a workgroup.
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NOTE: Dell recommends that you use the NTP mode to ensure better replication service operations
when part of a workgroup. You can set or modify existing date and time settings for your DR Series
system by using the Edit option in the Date and Time page. However, the NTP service is disabled
when you join a domain, at which point the domain time management is used and you cannot
enable NTP.
Editing System Date and Time Settings
To modify the default time and date settings for your DR Series system, complete the following:
1. Select System Configuration → Date and Time.
The Date and Time page is displayed.
2. Click Edit on the options bar.
The Edit Date and Time dialog is displayed.
NOTE: If the DR Series system is joined to a Microsoft Active Directory Services (ADS) domain,
the Edit option will be disabled (grayed out) and the Mode, Time Zone, or Date and Time values
cannot be changed in the Settings pane. This is because whenever a DR Series system is joined
to a domain, the Network Time Protocol (NTP) is disabled and the DR Series system uses the
domain-based time service. NTP is used in the Mode setting when the DR Series system is part
of a workgroup and not joined to a domain. To be able to modify or edit any of the Settings
pane values when the DR Series system is joined to an ADS domain, you would first need to
leave the ADS domain before you could modify any of the date and time settings. For more
information, see Configuring Active Directory Settings.
3. In Mode, select either Manual or NTP.
If you select Manual, continue on with the tasks in step 3.
If you select NTP, skip to step 4.
a. Select Manual.
The Edit Date and Time dialog is displayed.
b. Click the Time Zone drop-down list and choose the desired time zone.
c. Click the Calendar icon (adjacent to Set Date and Time), and select the desired day in the month
(the system prevents the selection of unsupported days).
d. Adjust the Hour and Minute sliders to the desired time (or click Now to set the date and time to
be the current date and time in hours and minutes).
a. Click Done.
The Edit Date and Time dialog is displayed with your new settings.
4. Select NTP.
The Edit Date and Time dialog is displayed.
• Click the Time Zone drop-down list and select the desired time.
• Edit or revise the NTP servers as desired (you are limited to selecting only three NTP servers).
5. Click Submit (or click Cancel).
The Date and Time page is displayed, and an Enabled NTP service dialog is displayed when
successful (and this was your selected mode).
Creating Containers
After initialization, the DR Series system contains a single default container named backup. Containers
function like a shared file system, which can be assigned a connection type of None (to be defined later),
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NFS/CIFS, or RDA (includes both OST and RDS clients). Containers can then be accessed using NFS, CIFS,
or RDA.
If needed, you can also create additional system containers for storing your data. For more information
about creating a storage container or specific connection type containers, see Creating Storage
Containers, Creating an NFS or CIFS Connection Type Container, or Creating an OST or RDS Connection
Type Container.
Configuring Share-Level Security
The DR Series system supports setting up share-level permissions for CIFS shares using the standard
Microsoft Windows administrative tool, Computer Management. Computer Management is a component
that is built into the Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, and XP operating systems.
NOTE: Any user that is part of BUILTIN\Administrators can edit ACLs on CIFS shares. The local DR
Series system administrator is included in the BUILTIN\Administrators group. To add additional
domain groups to the BUILTIN\Administrators group, you can use the Computer Manager tool on a
Windows client to connect to the DR Series system as Domain administrator and add any groups
you want. This capability allows users other than the Domain administrator to modify an ACL as
needed.
This administrative tool lets you control access to shares and also configure read-only or read-write
access to user groups or individual users within the Active Directory Service (ADS) when joined to an ADS
domain.
To implement share-level security on a DR Series system that has been joined to an ADS domain, make
sure that you have mapped a drive on the DR Series system using an account with DOMAIN
\Administrator credentials (or by using an account that is equivalent to a domain administrator). For more
information about joining to an ADS domain, see Configuring Active Directory Settings.
NOTE: If you do not use an account with sufficient privileges, you will not be able to see the shares
or you may experience other problems.
1. Click Start → Control Panel → Administrative Tools → Computer Management.
The Computer Management page is displayed.
2. Click Action → Connect to another computer... .
The Select Computer dialog is displayed.
3. Click Another computer, type the hostname or IP address for this DR Series system, and click OK.
The Computer Management page is displayed with the designated DR Series system listed in the left
pane.
4. Click System Tools, and click Shared folders.
The Shares, Sessions, and Open Files folders are displayed in the main pane of the Computer
Management page.
5. Click Shares to display a list of the shares managed by the DR Series system.
6. Right-click on the share of interest, and select Properties.
The specified share Properties page is displayed.
7. Click the Share Permissions tab in the specified share Properties page.
The Share Permissions view in the Properties page is displayed.
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8. To remove existing access permissions to the share, or add additional groups or user that can access
the share, complete the following:
• To add access for a new group or user, click Add... to display the Select Users or Groups dialog.
• Click Object Types..., choose the object types you want to select (Built-in security principals,
Groups, or Users), and click OK.
• Click Locations... and define the root location from which to begin your search, and click OK.
• In the Enter the object names to select list box, enter any object name(s) you want to find.
NOTE: You can search for multiple objects by separating each name with a semicolon, and
by using one of the following syntax examples: DisplayName, ObjectName, UserName,
ObjectName@DomainName, or DomainName\ObjectName.
• Click Check Names to locate all matching or similar object names that are listed in the Enter the
object names to select list box, by using the object types and directory locations you selected.
9. Click OK to add the object to the Group or user names list box.
10. In the Permissions pane for the selected object, select the Allow or Deny check box to configure the
following permissions:
• Full Control
• Change
• Read
11. Click OK to save the selected share permission settings associated with the selected object.
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5
Managing DR Series Storage Operations
Managing Container Operations
This topic introduces the concept of using the DR Series system to manage all of your data storage and
replication operations. Data storage operations can include tasks such as creating new containers,
managing or deleting existing containers, moving data into containers, and displaying current container
statistics. Replication operations can include such tasks as creating new replication relationships,
managing or deleting existing replication relationships, starting and stopping replication, setting a
replication bandwidth limit per host, displaying current replication statistics, and setting a replication
schedule.
Creating Storage Containers
By default, the DR Series system provides a container named backup for your use after you complete the
basic system configuration and initialization process. You can also create additional containers to store
your data as needed.
NOTE: The DR Series system does not support container names that begin with a number.
Containers function like a shared file system that can be accessed using the following connection types:
•NFS/CIFS
•NFS
•CIFS
•RDA (Rapid Data Access)
–OST (OpenStorage Technology)
–RDS (Rapid Data Storage)
•None (an unassigned connection type)
Choosing the None or unassigned connection type lets you create containers that can be configured
later as needed. To modify a container configured with a None connection type, select the container,
click Edit, and start configuring it as desired.
NOTE: If you have the DR6000 and you want to use Rapid NFS or Rapid CIFS, choose the NFS/CIFS
connection type when you create the container.
Creating an NFS or CIFS Connection Type Container
To create an NFS or a CIFS connection type container, complete the following:
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NOTE: If you have DR6000 and you want to use Rapid NFS or Rapid CIFS, use this procedure to
create a container.
1. Select Storage → Containers.
The Containers page is displayed, which includes a Containers summary table listing all existing
containers.
2. Click Create.
The Create New Container dialog is displayed.
3. In Container Name, type the name of the container.
Container names cannot exceed 32 characters in length, must start with a letter, and can be
composed of any combination of the following characters:
• A-Z (uppercase letters)
• a-z (lowercase letters)
• 0-9 (numbers). Do not start a container name with a number.
• dash (-) or underscore (_) special characters
NOTE: The DR Series system does not support the use of the following special characters in
container names: /, #, or @.
4. In Marker Type, select the appropriate marker that supports your DMA.
•None — Disables marker detection for the container.
•Auto — Automatically detects CommVault, Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM), ARCserve, and HP Data
Protector marker types. In addition, select this option if you need to support EMC Networker 2.0.
•Networker — Supports EMC Networker 3.0. If you need to support EMC Networker 2.0, select
Auto.
•Unix Dump — Supports the Amanda marker, among others.
•BridgeHead — Supports the BridgeHead HDM marker.
Improper marker selection can result in non-optimal savings. As a best practice, if you have only one
type of DMA with traffic directed to a container, it is best to select the marker type that supports your
DMA (for example, BridgeHead, Auto, or another). Conversely, as a best practice, if you have traffic
from a DMA that is not one of the supported marker types, it is best to disable marker detection for
the container by selecting the None marker type.
NOTE: If you have the DR6000 and plan to use Rapid NFS with your container, set the marker
to None in this step. After you complete this procedure, specify the marker for your DMA using
the Mount -o command on the client (after installing the Rapid NFS plug-in). For details, see
Installing the Rapid NFS Plug-In.
5. In Connection Type, select NFS/CIFS.
This displays the following in the NFS and CIFS panes:
• NFS access path: <system name>/containers/<container name>
• CIFS share path: <system name>\<container name>
NOTE: To create an NFS connection type, skip to step 6. To create a CIFS connection type, skip
to step 10.
6. To select an NFS connection type, click Enable NFS in the NFS pane.
The Client Access, NFS Options, and Map root to panes are displayed, and is where you configure
this container to use NFS to backup Unix or Linux clients.
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7. In the Client Access pane, define a specific NFS client (or all clients) that can access the NFS
container or manage clients who can access this container:
• To allow open access for all clients to the NFS container you create, select Open Access (all
clients have access). When you select this setting, this action removes the Add client (IP or FQDN
Hostname) and Clients text boxes. Select this check box only if you want to enable access for all
clients to this NFS container.
• To define a specific client that can access the NFS container you create, type the IP address (or its
FQDN hostname) in the Add clients (IP or FQDN Hostname) text box, and click Add. The “added”
client appears in the Clients list box.
• To delete an existing client from the NFS Clients list box, select the IP address (or FQDN
hostname) of the client you want to delete, and click Remove. The “deleted” client disappears
from the list box.
8. In the NFS Options pane, define which NFS options to use for the client, by selecting from the NFS
Options choices: rw (allows read-write access), ro (allows read-only access), or insecure (allows for
replies being made to requests before the changes in the request are committed to disk).
NOTE: The DR Series system always commits writes to NVRAM first before committing any
changes to disk.
9. In the Map root to pane, select the user level you want mapped to this container from one of the
following options from the drop-down list and skip to step 12.
•nobody represents a user on the system without root access permissions
•root represents a remote user with root access to read, write, and access files on the system
•administrator represents the system administrator
NOTE: The DR Series system administrator that manages the system has a different set of
privileges than does the CIFS administrator user. Only the DR Series system administrator can
change the password for the CIFS administrator user. To change the password that allows
access for the CIFS administrator user, use the authenticate --set --user administrator
commands. For more information, see the Dell DR Series System Command Line Reference
Guide.
10. To select a CIFS connection type, click Enable CIFS in the CIFS pane.
The Client Access pane is displayed, which allows you to configure this container to use CIFS to
backup Microsoft (MS) Windows clients.
11. In the Client Access pane, define a specific CIFS client (or all clients) that can access the CIFS
container or manage clients who can access this container:
• To allow open access for all clients to the CIFS container you created, select Open Access (all
clients have access). When you select this setting, this action removes the Add clients (IP or
FQDN Hostname) and Clients text boxes. Select this check box only if you want to enable access
for all clients to this CIFS container.
• Type the IP address (or its FQDN hostname) in the Add clients (IP or FQDN Hostname) text box,
and click Add. The “added” client appears in the Clients list box.
• To delete an existing client from the Clients list box, click to select the IP address (or FQDN
hostname) of the client you want to delete, and click Remove. The “deleted” client disappears
from the list box.
12. Click Create a New Container.
The Containers page is displayed, along with a Successfully Added dialog. The list of containers in
the Containers summary table is now updated with your new container.
Creating an OST or RDS Connection Type Container
To create an OST or RDS connection type container:
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NOTE: If you have DR6000 and you want to use Rapid NFS or Rapid CIFS, do not use this
procedure. Instead, see Creating an NFS or CIFS Connection Type Container.
1. Select Storage → Containers.
The Containers page displays all existing containers.
2. Click Create.
The Create New Container dialog is displayed.
3. In Container Name, type the name of the container.
Container names cannot exceed 32 characters in length, must start with a letter, and can be
composed of any combination of the following characters:
• A-Z (uppercase letters)
• a-z (lowercase letters)
• 0-9 (numbers). Do not start a container name with a number.
• dash (-) or underscore (_) special characters
NOTE: The DR Series system does not support the use of the following special characters in
container names: /, #, or @.
4. In Marker Type, select the appropriate marker that supports your DMA.
•None — Disables marker detection for the container.
•Auto — Automatically detects CommVault, Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM), ARCserve, and HP Data
Protector marker types. In addition, select this option if you need to support EMC Networker 2.0.
•Networker — Supports EMC Networker 3.0. If you need to support EMC Networker 2.0, select
Auto.
•Unix Dump — Supports the Amanda marker, among others.
•BridgeHead — Supports the BridgeHead HDM marker.
Improper marker selection can result in non-optimal savings. As a best practice, if you have only one
type of DMA with traffic directed to a container, it is best to select the marker type that supports your
DMA (for example, BridgeHead, Auto, or another). Conversely, as a best practice, if you have traffic
from a DMA that is not one of the supported marker types, it is best to disable marker detection for
the container by selecting the None marker type.
5. In Connection Type, select RDA .
The RDA pane is displayed.
6. In RDA type, select either OST or RDS.
7. In Capacity, select one of the following options allowed per container:
NOTE: If you select RDS, by default, Unlimited is selected. Under Capacity the Size field is
inactive.
•Unlimited: this defines the allowed amount of incoming raw data per container (based on the
physical capacity of the container).
•Size: this defines a set limit in Gibibytes (GiB) for incoming raw data allowed per container.
8. Click Create a New Container (or click Cancel to display the Containers page).
After creating the new container, the Containers page is displayed and includes a Successfully
Added dialog. The list of containers in the Containers summary table is updated with your new
container (and its new status is reflected as N/A in the Replication column of this table).
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Creating an Unassigned Connection Type Container
To create an unassigned container in the DR Series system without a defined connection type (No
Access), complete the following:
NOTE: The DR Series system allows you to create a container without configuring it with a specific
connection type. When you are ready to configure an unassigned container at a later date, select it
in the Containers summary table, click Edit, and configure it with the desired connection type.
1. Select Storage → Containers.
The Containers page is displayed showing all existing containers.
2. Click Create.
The Create New Container dialog is displayed.
3. In Container Name, type the name of the container.
Container names cannot exceed 32 characters in length, must start with a letter, and can be
composed of any combination of the following characters:
• A-Z (uppercase letters)
• a-z (lowercase letters)
• 0-9 (numbers). Do not start a container name with a number.
• dash (-) or underscore (_) special characters
NOTE: The DR Series system does not support the use of the following special characters in
container names: /, #, or @.
4. In Marker Type, select the appropriate marker that supports your DMA.
•None — Disables marker detection for the container.
•Auto — Automatically detects CommVault, Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM), ARCserve, and HP Data
Protector marker types. In addition, select this option if you need to support EMC Networker 2.0.
•Networker — Supports EMC Networker 3.0. If you need to support EMC Networker 2.0, select
Auto.
•Unix Dump — Supports the Amanda marker, among others.
•BridgeHead — Supports the BridgeHead HDM marker.
Improper marker selection can result in non-optimal savings. As a best practice, if you have only one
type of DMA with traffic directed to a container, it is best to select the marker type that supports your
DMA (for example, BridgeHead, Auto, or another). Conversely, as a best practice, if you have traffic
from a DMA that is not one of the supported marker types, it is best to disable marker detection for
the container by selecting the None marker type.
5. To create a container with an unassigned connection type, select No Access to create a container for
configuration at a later time.
6. Click Create a New Container .
After creating a new container, the Containers page is displayed and displays a Successfully Added
dialog. The list of containers in the Containers summary table is updated with your new unassigned
container.
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Editing Container Settings
To modify any of the settings for an existing container, complete the following:
1. Select Storage→ Containers.
The Containers page is displayed, and lists all current containers.
2. Click Select to identify the container in the list that you want to modify, and click Edit.
The Edit Container dialog is displayed.
3. Modify the marker type for the selected container as needed. For details, see Creating Storage
Containers.
CAUTION: If you are changing the marker type on a DR6000 and you are using Rapid CIFS,
you must remount the share on the client after you change the marker type.
4. Modify the connection type options for the selected container as needed.
• If you want to modify an existing NFS/CIFS, NFS, or CIFS connection type container settings, see
the NFS/CIFS, NFS-only, and CIFS-only options available in Creating an NFS or CIFS Connection
Type Container, and make the corresponding changes.
• If you want to modify the existing OST or RDS connection type container settings, see the options
available in Creating an OST or RDS Connection Type Container , and make the corresponding
changes.
• If you want to modify the existing unassigned (No Access) connection type container settings, see
the options available in Creating An Unassigned Connection Type Container, and make the
corresponding changes.
NOTE: If you select Open Access in the Client Access pane, the Add clients (IP or FQDN
Hostname) and Clients panes are hidden and you cannot create or modify these options.
NOTE: The DR Series system always commits writes to NVRAM first before committing any
changes to disk.
NOTE: The DR Series system administrator that manages the DR Series system has a different
set of privileges than the CIFS administrator user. Only the DR Series system administrator can
change the password for the CIFS administrator user. To change the password that allows
access for the CIFS administrator user, use the DR Series system CLI authenticate --set --user
administrator command. For more information, see the Dell DR Series System Command Line
Reference Guide at dell.com/support/manuals.
5. After the container type settings have been modified, click Modify this Container .
The Successfully updated container dialog is displayed. The list of containers in the Containers
summary table is updated with the newly modified container.
Deleting Containers
Before deleting a container, Dell recommends that you first carefully consider whether or not you need
to preserve the data in the container. To delete an existing container that contains data, complete the
following:
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CAUTION: Before deleting any DR Series container that contains deduplicated data, Dell
recommends that you take steps to preserve this data using another means of long-term
retention. Once a container is deleted, the deduplicated data cannot be retrieved. The DR Series
system allows you to delete any specified container and all of its contents in one operation.
1. Select Storage → Containers.
The Containers page is displayed, and lists all current containers.
2. Click Select to identify the container you want to delete, and click Delete.
A Delete Confirmation dialog is displayed, which prompts you about the specific container by name
that you selected to delete.
3. Click OK in the Delete Confirmation dialog.
The Successfully removed container dialog is displayed. The list of containers in the Containers
summary table is updated and no longer displays the deleted container.
Moving Data Into a Container
To move data into an existing DR Series system container, complete the following:
1. Click Start → Windows Explorer → Network.
The Network page is displayed, which lists all current computers.
2. In the browser Address bar, click Network to select your DR Series hostname or IP address.
The Network page is displayed, which lists all current storage and replication containers.
NOTE: However, if your DR Series system is not listed, you can enter its hostname or IP Address
preceded by "https://" and followed by the container name in the Address bar to access it (for
example in this format, https://10.10.20.20/container-1). The DR Series system only supports
the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) form of IP addressing.
3. Move data from the source location to the destination container using your regular DMA or backup
application process.
NOTE: If any file ingested by the DR Series system by a DMA or backup application is renamed
or deleted without using the DMA or backup application’s process, the corresponding catalog
must be updated accordingly. Failure to do so may prevent the DMA or backup application
from being able to access the data.
4. Verify that the data recently moved now resides in the destination container (or click Dashboard →
Container Statistics, select the destination container in the Container Name drop-down list, and
view the following information panes for recent container activity:
•Backup Data
•Throughput
•Connection Type
•Connection Configuration
Displaying Container Statistics
To display the current statistics for an existing container that stores your data, complete the following:
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NOTE: An alternate method to display statistics for any current container is to select that container
by name in the Container Name drop-down list in the Container Statistics page (Dashboard →
Container Statistics).
1. Select Storage → Containers.
The Containers page is displayed, and the Containers summary table lists all of the current
containers in the system.
2. Click Select to identify the container to display, and click Display Statistics in the options bar.
The Container Statistics page is displayed which shows the current backup data (number of active
files and active bytes ingested in the Backup Data pane), and read and write throughput (in the
Throughput pane). The system polls for and updates the displayed statistics every 30 seconds.
NOTE: To display statistics for another container, select that container by name in the
Container Name drop-down list.
This page also displays the marker type and connection type for the selected container, and whether
the container is using Rapid CIFS or Rapid NFS (DR6000 only). For more information, see Container
Statistics Page, Connection Type Pane, and Monitoring Container Statistics.
In addition, you can also display the set of system statistics by using the DR Series system CLI stats --
system command to show the following categories of system statistics:
• Capacity Used (system capacity used in Gibibytes or GiBs)
• Capacity Free (system capacity free in GiBs)
• Read Throughput (read throughput rate in Mebibytes or MiB/s)
• Write Throughput (write throughput rate in MiB/s)
• Current Files (current number of files in system)
• Current Bytes (current number of ingested bytes in system)
• Post Dedupe Bytes (number of bytes after deduplication)
• Post Compression Bytes (number of bytes after compression)
• Compression Status (current compression status)
• Cleaner Status (current space reclamation process status)
• Total Inodes (total number of data structures)
• Dedupe Savings (deduplication storage savings by percentage)
• Compression Savings (compression storage savings by percentage)
• Total Savings (total storage savings by percentage)
Displaying DR Series System Statistics Using the CLI
An alternate method for checking the current DR Series system statistics is using the DR Series system CLI
stats --system command to show the following categories of system statistics:
• Capacity Used (system capacity used in Gibibytes or GiBs)
• Capacity Free (system capacity free in GiBs)
• Read Throughput (read throughput rate in Mebibytes or MiB/s)
• Write Throughput (write throughput rate in MiB/s)
• Current Files (current number of files in system)
• Current Bytes (current number of ingested bytes in system)
• Post Dedupe Bytes (number of bytes after deduplication)
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• Post Compression Bytes (number of bytes after compression)
• Compression Status (current compression status)
• Cleaner Status (current space reclamation process status)
• Total Inodes (total number of data structures)
• Dedupe Savings (deduplication storage savings by percentage)
• Compression Savings (compression storage savings by percentage)
• Total Savings (total storage savings by percentage)
For more information on DR Series system CLI commands, see the Dell DR Series System Command Line
Reference Guide.
Displaying Container-Specific Statistics Using the CLI
You can display the set of container-specific statistics by using the DR Series system CLI stats --container
--name <container name> command to show the following categories of statistics:
• Container Name (name of the container)
• Container ID (ID associated with container)
• Total Inodes (total number of data structures in container)
• Read Throughput (read throughput rate in Mebibytes or MiB/s for container)
• Write Throughput (write throughput rate in MiB/s for container)
• Current Files (current number of files in container)
• Current Bytes (current number of ingested bytes in container)
• Cleaner Status (current space reclamation process status for the selected container)
For more information on DR Series system CLI commands, see the Dell DR Series System Command Line
Reference Guide.
Managing Replication Operations
If you plan on performing replication operations across a firewall, the DR Series system replication service
requires that the following fixed TCP ports be configured to support replication operations:
NOTE: To allow replication storage information to be viewed by a corresponding data management
agent (DMA), the target DR Series system needs to reside in the same domain as the source DR
Series system in the replication relationship.
• port 9904
• port 9911
• port 9915
• port 9916
NOTE: If there are no existing containers, replication relationships, or any scheduled replication
operations, the only Replication-related option that is enabled is Create.
The DR Series system supports 64:1 replication of data (32:1 for DR4X00). This means that up to 64
source DR Series systems can write data to different individual containers on a single, target DR Series
system. Replication can use up to 16 streams over a single port using one connection. For a definition of
connections and streams, see Streams_vs_Connections.
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NOTE: The DR Series system software includes version checking that limits replication only between
other DR Series systems that run the same system software release version. If versions are
incompatible, the administrator will be notified by an event.
NOTE: Be aware that the storage capacity of the target DR Series system is directly affected by the
number of source systems writing to its containers, and also by the amount being written by each
of these source systems.
Creating Replication Relationships
To create a new replication relationship, complete the following:
1. Select Storage → Replication.
The Replication page is displayed, which lists all current replication entries by the following
categories:
• Local Container Name
• Role (target or source)
• Remote Container Name
• Peer State (online or offline)
• Bandwidth (replication bandwidth limit)
NOTE: Bandwidth is the replication bandwidth limit that you can set as Kibibytes per second
(KiBps), Mebibytes per second (MiBps), Gibibytes per second (GiBps), or as an unlimited
bandwidth (default).
2. Click Create in the options bar.
The Create Replication page is displayed.
3. In Step 1: Select a local container, select a local container from the list of available containers.
4. In Step 2: Select Encryption, select one of the following encryption options: None, 128–bit, or 256–
bit.
5. In Step 3: Select a role, select Source or Target.
6. In Step 4: Remote container settings, select one of these two options:
•Create container on remote system. If you select this option, see Creating a Container on a
Remote System (Replication), which describes the process of creating a container on a remote
system.
•Map to container on remote system. If you select this option, see Mapping to a Container on a
Remote System (Replication), which describes the process of mapping to a container on a remote
system.
7. Enter the required information in the Step 4: Username, Password, Peer System, and Peer Container
Name fields.
For more information, see Creating a Container on a Remote System (Replication) or Mapping to a
Container on a Remote System (Replication), depending upon your selected option.
8. Click Create Replication (or click Cancel to display the Replication page).
The Successfully added replication dialog is displayed when successful.
Creating a Container on a Remote System (Replication)
This topic describes the process for creating a replication relationship with a container on a remote
system using the Replication page. For more information, see Creating Replication Relationships. The
following procedure assumes you have completed the Step 1, Step 2, and Step 3 tasks for creating
replication relationships, and you are selecting the Create container on a remote system option in Step:
4 Remote container settings.
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To create a replication relationship with a container on a remote system, complete the following tasks:
NOTE: Exercise care when configuring the direction of replication for source and target containers.
For example, target containers can have their contents deleted if they contain existing data.
1. In Username, type a valid user name for the peer system (for example, administrator).
2. In Password, type a valid password for the peer system (for example, St0r@ge!).
3. In Peer System, type the IP address that represents this peer system (for example, 10.10.10.10).
4. In Peer Container Name, type a name for the new container (for example, StorageReplica2), or
choose from an existing container on the peer system.
5. Click Create Replication (or click Cancel to display the Replication page).
The Successfully added replication dialog is displayed when successful.
Mapping to a Container on a Remote System (Replication)
This topic describes the process for creating a new replication relationship by mapping to a container on
a remote system using in the Replication page. For more information, see Creating Replication
Relationships. The following procedure assumes you have completed the Step 1, Step 2, and Step 3 tasks
in Creating Replication Relationships, and you are selecting the Map to container on a remote system
option in Step: 4 Remote container settings.
To create a replication relationship by mapping to a container on a remote system, complete the
following tasks:
NOTE: Exercise care when configuring the direction of replication for source and target containers.
For example, target containers can have their contents deleted if they contain existing data.
1. Click Map to container on remote system.
2. In Username, type the valid user name for the peer system (for example, administrator).
3. In Password, type the valid password for the peer system (for example, St0r@ge!).
4. In Peer System, type the IP address that represents the peer system (for example, 10.10.10.10).
5. In Remote Container, click Retrieve Container(s) to display the remote containers in the list box.
6. Select the desired remote container in the Retrieve Container(s) list box.
7. Click Create Replication (or click Cancel to display the Replication page).
The Successfully added replication dialog is displayed when successful.
Editing Replication Relationships
To modify settings for an existing replication relationship, complete the following:
CAUTION: Exercise care when configuring the direction of replication for source and target
containers. For example, target containers can have their contents deleted if they contain
existing data.
1. Select Storage→ Replication.
The Replication page is displayed.
2. Click Select to identify the replication relationship that you want to modify, and click Edit in the
options bar.
The Edit Replication dialog is displayed.
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3. Modify any of the following values as needed in Step 2: Select Encryption:
•None
•128–bit
•256–bit
4. Modify any of the following values as needed in Step 4: Remote container settings:
•Username
•Password
•Peer System
NOTE: Because you cannot modify an existing defined role (source or target) for a replication
relationship, if necessary you must delete the existing replication relationship, and recreate a
new relationship with the specific source and target roles that you want.
5. Click Save Replication (or click Cancel to display the Replication page).
The Successfully updated replication dialog is displayed when successful.
Deleting Replication Relationships
To delete an existing replication relationship, complete the following:
1. Select Storage → Replication.
The Replication page is displayed.
2. Click Select to identify the relationship that you want to delete, and click Delete in the options bar.
The Delete Replication dialog is displayed.
3. Click OK in the Delete replication dialog (or click Cancel to display the Replication page).
The Successfully deleted replication dialog is displayed when successful.
Starting and Stopping Replication
To start or stop replication in an existing replication relationship, complete the following:
NOTE: For more information about setting up a Replication schedule, see Creating a Replication
Schedule.
1. Select Storage → Replication.
The Replication page is displayed.
2. Click Select to identify the replication relationship on which you want to stop (see step 3) or start
(see step 4) the replication process.
3. To stop the scheduled replication process, click Stop, and click OK to stop replication (or click
Cancel to display the Replication page).
The Successfully stopped replication dialog is displayed.
4. To start the scheduled replication process, click Start, and click OK to start replication (or click
Cancel to display the Replication page).
The Successfully started replication dialog is displayed.
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Setting the Replication Bandwidth
To set the replication bandwidth rate on a DR Series system, complete the following:
1. Select Storage→ Replication.
The Replication page is displayed.
2. Click Select to identify the replication relationship on which you want to set the replication
bandwidth speed rate, and click Bandwidth.
The Replication Bandwidth Throttling dialog is displayed.
3. Select the IP address for the peer system from the Peer System drop-down list.
4. In Set bandwidth throttling speed, choose the replication bandwidth limit you want to set from the
following choices:
• Click Kbps (Kilobytes per second), and type a value in the Rate box to set a rate in Kbps.
• Click Mbps (Megabytes per second), and type a value in Rate box to set a rate in Mbps.
• Click Gbps (Gigabytes per second), and type a value in Rate box to set a rate in Gbps.
• Click Default (not limited) to choose an unlimited replication bandwidth rate.
NOTE: The minimum allowed replication bandwidth setting that you can configure is 192 Kbps.
5. Click Set Bandwidth (or click Cancel to display the Replication page).
The Successfully set replication bandwidth dialog is displayed when successful.
Displaying Replication Statistics
To display the statistics for an existing replication relationship, complete the following:
1. Select Storage → Replication.
The Replication page is displayed.
2. Click Select to identify the replication relationship for which you want to display replication statistics,
and click Display Statistics to display the Replication Statistics page, which contains:
•Replication Filter—the Container Filter section in this pane lets you select one or more
replication containers, or all of the replication containers, one or more peer DR Series systems.
The Headers section lets you select any of ten statistics type check boxes that you choose to
display in the Replication Statistics summary table (by default, five check boxes are selected: Peer
Status, Replication Status, Network Throughput, Network Savings, and Progress %).
•Replication Statistics Summary—this pane displays the filtered statistics results based on the
check box(es) you selected in the Replication Filter pane, and based on your container or peer
system choices listed under the corresponding table column. Depending upon the number of
check boxes you select, you may need to use the horizontal scroll bar to display all of the
statistics columns.
3. In the Replication Filter pane, select any of the following Container Filter choices for which you
want to display your choice of replication statistics:
• Click All—this displays replication statistics for all of the currently configured containers on the
system.
• Click Name, and select an individual container in the Name drop-down list—this displays
replication statistics for a single container. To display more than one container, click Ctrl in the
Name drop-down list, and select any additional containers you want to include.
• Click Peer System, and select an individual peer DR Series system in the Peer System list box—
this displays replication statistics for a single peer system. To display more than one peer system,
click Ctrl in the Peer System list box, and select any additional peer systems you want to include.
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4. In the Replication Filter pane, select from the following Headers check boxes that you want to filter
and display in the Replication statistics summary table for the selected container(s):
•Peer Status—indicates the current peer status (Insync, Paused, or Replicating).
•Replication Status—indicates the current replication status (Offline, Online, Disconnected, Trying
to Connect, or Stopped).
•Time to Sync—indicates the time until system synchronization (in days/hours/minutes/seconds).
•Progress (%)—indicates the current replication progress by percentage.
•Replication Throughput—indicates the current replication throughput by percentage (%).
•Network Throughput—indicates the current network throughput by percentage.
•Network Savings—indicates the current network savings using replication by percentage.
•Last Time in Sync—indicates the last time system synchronization occurred.
•Peer Container—indicates the peer container in the replication relationship.
•Peer System—indicates the IP address of the peer system in the replication relationship.
For more information, see Displaying the Statistics: Replication Page.
Creating a Replication Schedule
Replication schedules can only be set on individual replication-enabled source containers. To create a
Replication schedule on a replication-enabled source container, complete the following:
NOTE: If there is no Replication schedule set, but there is pending data that can be replicated,
replication will run when it detects the following: 1) there are no active data ingests, and 2) five
minutes of system idle time have elapsed since the last data file ingest completed.
NOTE: The Replication Schedule page displays the current DR Series system time zone and current
timestamp (using this format: US/Pacific, Tue Oct 28 14:53:02 2012).
To schedule Replication operations on your system, complete the following:
1. Select Schedules → Replication Schedule.
The Replication Schedule page is displayed.
2. Click to select the replication-enabled source container in the Container drop-down list.
The Replication schedule table is displayed with columns that identify the week day, start time, and
stop time.
3. Click Schedule to create a new schedule (or click Edit Schedule to modify an existing Replication
schedule).
The Set Replication Schedule page is displayed.
4. Select (or modify) the Start Time and Stop Time setpoint values using the Hour and Minutes pull-
down lists to create a Replication schedule. For an example, see Daily Replication Schedule Example
and Weekly Replication Schedule Example.
NOTE: You must set a corresponding Stop Time for every Start Time in each Replication
schedule you set. The DR Series system will not support any Replication schedule that does not
contain a Start Time/Stop Time pair of setpoints (daily or weekly).
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5. Click Set Schedule for the system to accept your Replication schedule (or click Cancel to display the
Replication Schedule page).
NOTE: To reset all of the values in the current Replication schedule, click Reset in the Set
Replication Schedule dialog. To selectively modify values in the current schedule, make your
changes to the corresponding hours and minutes pull-down lists for the Start Time and Stop
Time you wish to modify, and click Set Schedule.
Dell recommends that you do not schedule the running of any Replication operations during the
same time period when Cleaner or ingest operations will be running. Failure to follow this practice
will affect the time required to complete the system operations and/or impact your DR Series system
performance.
Daily Replication Schedule Example
The daily Replication schedule example in this topic illustrates the process for setting up a replication
schedule that uses a 24-hour clock (the time keeping convention where time of day is defined on a 24–
hour basis). You set or view a Replication schedule in the Replication Schedule page. For more
information, see Creating a Replication Schedule.
NOTE: Replication schedules can only be set on individual replication-enabled source containers.
To set a daily replication schedule that starts at 16:00 hours (which is 4:00 PM in a 12–hour clock format)
and stops at 23:00 hours (which is 11:00 PM in a 12–hour clock format) on Mondays, click Edit Schedule
(if modifying an existing schedule) or Schedule (if creating a new schedule):
• Select 16 in the hours pull-down list and 00 in the minutes pull-down list to set a Start Time of 16:00
on Monday.
• Select 23 in the hours pull-down list and 00 in the minutes pull-down list to set a Stop Time of 23:00
for Monday.
• Set the Start Time and Stop Time setpoints for any remaining days of the week on which you want to
schedule replication.
NOTE: You must set a corresponding Stop Time for every Start Time in each Replication schedule
you set. The DR Series system will not support any Replication schedule that does not contain a
Start Time/Stop Time pair of setpoints (daily or weekly).
Weekly Replication Schedule Example
The following example shows how to set up a weekly Replication schedule with a start time at 01:00 am
on Saturday and a stop time at 01:00 am on Sunday. The DR Series system uses the 24-hour clock
convention for its time keeping in which each day is divided into twenty-four 1-hour segments.
NOTE: Replication schedules can only be set on individual replication-enabled source containers
that you select from the Container drop-down list.
• Select 01 in the hours pull-down list and 00 in the minutes pull-down list to set a Start Time of 01:00
for Saturday.
• Select 01 in the hours pull-down list and 00 in the minutes pull-down list to set a Stop Time of 01:00
for Sunday
NOTE: You need to click Set Schedule for the DR Series system to accept your Replication
schedule.
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For more information on Replication schedules, see Creating a Replication Schedule.
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6
Monitoring the DR Series System
This topic introduces the ways in which you monitor the current state of DR Series system operations
using the Dashboard page options in the navigation panel. The Dashboard page displays a summary of
current system status categories (System State, HW State, Number of Alerts, and Number of Events. In
addition, this page displays Capacity, Storage Savings, and Throughput), and includes the System
Information pane. There are links to other system pages (the Health, Alerts, and Events pages) that you
can use to display the current state of the system health (by the status of its components), display the
current system alerts, and current system events for your DR Series system.
Monitoring Operations Using the Dashboard Page
The Dashboard page contains system status indicators for the current state of the DR Series system
(System State), current hardware state (HW State), current number of system alerts (Number of Alerts),
and current number of system events (Number of Events). The Dashboard page also contains data
graphs that display:
•Capacity—used space and free space available in percentage and total (in Gibibytes or Tebibytes)
•Storage Savings—total savings in percentage based on time (in minutes), which can be displayed in 1h
(1–hour, which is the default), 1d (1–day), 5d (5–day), 1m (1–month), or 1y (1–year) durations.
•Throughput—for reads and writes in volume based on time (in minutes), which can be displayed in 1h
(1–hour, which is the default), 1d (1–day), 5d (5–day), 1m (1–month), or 1y (1–year) durations.
The Dashboard page also displays a System Information pane that lists key information about this DR
Series system (such as product name, system name, software version, and a number of other key
categories). For details about the System Information pane, see System Information Pane.
System Status Bar
The Dashboard page contains a System Status pane with icons that indicate the current system status
and provide links for more DR Series system status information:
•System State
•HW State (with a link to the Health page)
•Number of Alerts (with a link to the Alerts page)
•Number of Events (with a link to the Events page)
For more detailed information about the System Status pane icons:
•System State, see Monitoring System Usage.
•HW State, see Monitoring System Health.
•Number of Alerts, see Monitoring System Alerts.
•Number of Events, see Monitoring System Events.
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Location Status Icon Description
System Status bar Represents an optimal state.
System Status bar Represents a warning state (a non-critical error was
detected).
System Status bar Represents an actionable state (a critical error was
detected).
NOTE: To display specific information about the current HW State, click the link to display the
Health page. The Health page displays the current status of the DR Series system hardware and
expansion shelf enclosures (if installed): front and rear chassis views, showing hard drive, power
supply, cooling fan, and connection locations. The System Hardware Health pane for the DR Series
system provides status for the power supplies, cooling fans, temperature, storage, voltage, network
interface cards (NIC), CPU, DIMM, and NVRAM. The System Hardware Health pane for the external
expansion shelf enclosures provides status for the power supplies, cooling fans, temperature,
storage, and the Enclosure Management Module (EMM).
NOTE: To display more information about the current Number of Alerts, click the link to display the
Alerts page. The Alerts page displays the total number of alerts, and lists each system alert by index
number, timestamp, and message that briefly describes alert status.
NOTE: To display more information about the current Number of Events, click the link to display
the Events page. The Events page displays the total number of events, and lists each system event
by index number, severity (critical, warning, and informational), timestamp, and a message that
briefly describes event status.
DR Series System and the Capacity-Storage Savings-Throughput Panes
There are three central panes in the Dashboard page that display data graphs which illustrate the current
DR Series system status for Capacity, Storage Savings, and Throughput:
•Capacity—displays the used and free physical storage capacity in percentages and volume in
Gibibytes and Tebibytes (GiBs and TiBs).
•Storage Savings—displays a total savings in percentages (combining both deduplication and
compression) over a time period (in minutes).
•Throughput—displays the throughput volume in Mebibytes/second (MiB/s) for read and write
operations over a time period (in minutes).
NOTE: For both the Storage Savings and Throughput data graphs, you can choose to display the
current values in 1h (1-hour, the default), 1d (1-day), 5d (5-days), 1m (1-month), and 1y (1-year)
durations.
System Information Pane
Located in the lower part of the Dashboard page, the System Information pane displays the following
categories of current system information:
•Product Name
•System Name
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•Software Version
•Current Date/Time
•Current Time Zone
•Cleaner Status
•Total Savings (in percentage)
•Total Number of Files in All Containers
•Number of Containers
•Number of Containers Replicated
•Active Bytes (total bytes before optimization)
NOTE: To display additional information about certain elements in the DR Series system GUI, click
the corresponding Question Mark (?) icon.
Monitoring System Alerts
You can monitor the DR Series system alerts and display the current state of the system using the
navigation panel, the Dashboard page, and its options:
• Using the Dashboard page, you can access the Alerts page via the Number of Alerts link.
• Using Dashboard→ Alerts, you can access the Alerts page from the navigation panel.
• The Alerts page lists the number of system alerts, the current time zone, and provides a summary
table of alerts defined by index number, timestamp of the system alert, and a brief message describing
the alert. For more information, see Displaying System Alerts.
Using the Dashboard Alerts Page
To use the Dashboard page to display the current number of system alerts, complete the following:
NOTE: This method in convenient when you are already at the Dashboard page and want to quickly
display more information about system alerts.
1. Click Number of Alerts on the Dashboard page.
The Number of Alerts in the System Status bar provides a link (which indicates the number of alerts,
in this case 2 alerts, which are listed in the Number of Alerts: 2 link).
2. Click the Number of Alerts link (in this example, 2).
The Alerts page is displayed.
3. View the list of system alerts in the System Alerts summary table, identified by index number,
timestamp, and a brief message that describes the alert.
For more information, see Dashboard Page and Options and Displaying System Alerts.
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Viewing the System Alerts
To use the DR Series navigation panel to display the current number of system alerts, complete the
following:
1. Click Dashboard → Alerts in the navigation panel.
The Alerts page is displayed, which lists the number of system alerts in the System Alerts summary
table, and provides the current timezone (for example, US/Pacific).
2. Review the system alerts listed in the System Alerts summary table, which identifies each alert by:
• Index number (for example: 1, 2, ...).
• Timestamp (in yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss format; for example, 2012–10–30 10:24:53).
• Message (a brief description of the alert; for example, Network Interface Controller Embedded
(LOM) Port 2 disconnected. Connect it to a network and/or check your network switches or
routers for network connectivity issues).
Monitoring System Events
You can monitor the DR Series system events, and filter events you want to display using the Event Filter
pane in the Events page. This page can display All system events, or you can restrict the events to only
one of the following types: Info (Informational), Warning, or Critical events.
The Events page lets you search for system events and monitor the current state of the DR Series system
based on the system events that match your search criteria. For more information about using the Event
Filter pane, see Using the Event Filter.
To monitor the system, using either of the following methods to display the Events page:
• In Dashboard page, click the Number of Events link in the Events page.
• In the navigation panel, click Dashboard → Events to display the Events page.
Using the Dashboard to Display System Events
To use the Dashboard page to display the current number of system events (Number of Events),
complete the following:
NOTE: This method in convenient when you are already at the Dashboard page and want to display
the current system events.
1. In the Dashboard page, click the Number of Events link in the System Status bar (for example,
Number of Events: 2).
The Events page is displayed and lists the total number of current events, the Event Filter, the Events
summary table, and the current time zone.
2. In the Event Filter pane, you can select to filter events by using the Event Severity pull-down list, and
setting the Timestamp From and Timestamp To starting and ending setpoints.
3. In the Event Severity pull-down list, select the severity level of events that you want to filter and
display (All, Critical, Warning, or Info).
4. In Message Contains, enter a word or string of words you want to search for in the Message text
field, and the DR Series system will perform a case-insensitive match for your entry (no other search
options are supported). Matches are displayed in the Events summary table.
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5. In Timestamp From, click in the field or click the calendar icon to display the current month and day.
• Click and select a day in the current month schedule (or use the left and right arrows in the
month title to select a previous or later month, respectively).
• Use the Hour and Minute sliders to set the desired time in hours and minutes, or click Now to use
the current time.
• When configured, click Done.
6. In Timestamp To, click in the field or click the calendar icon to display the current month and day.
• Click and select a day in the current month schedule (or use the left and right arrows in the
month title to select a previous or later month, respectively).
• Use the Hour and Minute sliders to set the desired time in hours and minutes, or click Now to use
the current time.
• When configured, click Done.
7. Click Start Filter to display system events in the Events summary table based on the settings you
selected.
The Events summary table displays system events based on Index, Severity, Timestamp, and
Message (a brief description of event). To navigate and display results in the Events summary table,
complete the following:
• Set the number of events to display per page: click Events per page at the lower-right corner of
the table and select either 25 or 50 events to display per page.
• Use the scroll bar to display each full page of system events.
• To display other pages of system events, click prev or next, click on a specific page number, or
enter a page number in the Goto page and click Go to display that page of system events.
8. To clear the current filter settings, click Reset and set new filter values using the process described in
steps 3 through 6.
For more information about using the Event Filter on the Events page, see Using the Event Filter.
Using the Dashboard Events Option
To use the DR Series navigation panel to display the current number of system events, complete the
following:
1. Click Dashboard→ Events in the navigation panel.
The Events page is displayed, which lists the total number of system events in the System Events
summary table, and provides the current timezone (for example, US/Pacific).
2. View the list of current system events in the System Events summary table, which are grouped by
index number, severity, timestamp, and a brief description of the event message.
3. Use the Event Filter to search for events that match the criteria you select (event severity, message
content, timestamp from, and timestamp to ranges).
For more information on using the Event Filter, see Using the Event Filter and Using the Dashboard
to Display System Events.
Using the Event Filter
The Events page contains an Event Filter pane that lets you filter the type of system events you want to
display in the Events summary table. Event filtering is done by selecting the severity level and using a
timestamp. Choose the severity level by selecting it in the Event Severity drop-down list, and refine your
search by selecting specific start and end setpoints in Timestamp from and Timestamp to.
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To filter the system events you want to display in the Events summary table, complete the following:
1. Click Dashboard → Events (or access the Events page via the Number of Events link).
The Events page is displayed, which lists the number of current events and the current time zone set
for the system.
2. In the Event Filter pane, select the desired severity to display from the Event Severity drop-down list.
System event severity levels include:
•All—displays all four types of system events (All, Critical, Warning, and Info)
•Critical—displays only critical events (in red)
•Warning—displays only warning events (in yellow)
•Info—displays only informational events
3. In Message Contains, enter a word or string of words that you want to search for in the Message text
field, and the DR Series system will perform a case-insensitive match for your entry (no other search
options are supported). Matches are displayed in the Events summary table.
4. Click the Calendar icon (adjacent to Timestamp From) to configure a start setpoint.
To configure a start setpoint, complete the following:
• Select the desired day in the current month, or click the left or right arrow in the month title bar
to select a previous or later month.
• Adjust the Hour and Minute sliders to the desired time (or click Now to set the date and time as
the current date and time in hours and minutes).
• Click Done.
5. Click the Calendar icon (adjacent to Timestamp To) to configure an end setpoint.
To configure an end setpoint, complete the following:
• Select the desired day in the current month, or click the left or right arrow in the month title bar
to select a previous or later month.
• Adjust the Hour and Minute sliders to the desired time (or click Now to set the date and time to
be the current date and time in hours and minutes).
• Click Done.
6. Click Start Filter (or click Reset to return all values to default values).
The search results based on your filter choices are displayed in the Events summary table.
For more information about using the Events summary table, see Using the Dashboard to Display System
Events.
Monitoring System Health
Monitor and display the current state of your system hardware status using the following methods in the
DR Series system:
• Using Dashboard→ Health , you can access the Health page from the navigation panel.
• In the Dashboard page, you can access the Health page via the HW State link.
For more information about the Health page, see Health.
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Using the Dashboard Page to Monitor System Health
To use the Dashboard page to display and monitor the current DR Series system hardware status,
complete the following:
1. Click Dashboard in the navigation panel.
The Dashboard page is displayed and provides a HW State link in the System Status bar (for example,
HW State: optimal). (You can also access the Health page when you click Dashboard→ Health.)
2. Click the HW State link (in this example, optimal) to display the Health page.
The Health page provides a System tab, which is the default displayed on this page. If you have
installed at least one enclosure, your system will also include an Enclosure tab. The System tab
displays front and rear views of the chassis showing the disk drive locations in the front view (0–11),
the OS internal drives (12–13), and the fans, system connectors, and power supplies in the rear view.
If installed and clicked, the Enclosure tab displays front and rear views of the enclosure chassis
showing the physical disk locations (0–11) in the front view, and the enclosure connectors, fans, and
pluggable drive locations in the rear view. In addition, the service tag of the expansion shelf is
displayed. Both the System and Enclosure tabs display the System Hardware Health summary table
that lists the current status of all major components in the DR Series system or its expansion shelf,
respectively.
NOTE: This method is convenient when you are already at the Dashboard page and want to
display more information about current System Status.
DR Series system — System Hardware Health components
• Power Supplies
• Fans
• Temperature
• Storage
• Voltage
• NIC
• CPU
• DIMM
• NVRAM
Enclosure — System Hardware Health components
• Power Supplies
• Fans
• Temperature
• Storage
• Enclosure Management Module (EMM)
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Using the Dashboard Health Options
To use the navigation panel to display the current system status of the DR Series system components (or
any expansion shelf enclosure) that are installed, complete the following:
1. Click Dashboard → Health.
The Health page is displayed.
2. Mouse over the chassis front and rear panel views on the Health page to display a dialog with the
status, name, and state for the DR Series system disk drives and OS drives.
Use the same process to display a similar dialog with the status and name for the power supplies and
rear panel connectors for an expansion shelf enclosure.
3. View the status in the System Hardware Health summary table for all of the DR Series system or
expansion shelf components (depending upon the tab selected, System or Enclosure).
To display additional information, click to expand each component in the corresponding summary
table.
For more information about the system components and the Health page, see Health, Monitoring System
Health, and Using the Dashboard Page to Monitor System Health.
Understanding DR Series System NICs And Ports
The DR Series system supports the use of the following types of NICs:
• 1-Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) two-port (10-Base T); Dell recommends using CAT6a copper cabling
• 10-GbE two-port (100-Base T); Dell recommends using CAT6a copper cabling
• 10-GbE SFP+ two-port using LC fiber-optic transceivers or twin-axial cabling
The 1-GbE, 10-GbE, and 10-GbE SFP+ NICs configurations bond multiple Ethernet ports into a single
interface by default:
• For the 1-GbE ports, this means that the four ports in the DR4000 system (or the six ports in the
DR4100/DR6000 system) are bonded together to form one interface connection.
• For the 10-GbE and 10-GbE SFP+ ports, this means that to operate at maximum speed, only the two
high-speed Ethernet ports are bonded together to form one interface connection.
The DR Series system supports configuring the NICs to use either of the following supported bonding
configurations:
•ALB—adaptive load balancing (ALB) is the default; this configuration does not require special switch
support, but it does require the data source machine to be on the same subnet as the DR Series
system. The ALB is mediated by the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP).
•802.3ad—also known as Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP) is used for copper-wired Ethernet
applications; this configuration does require special switch management (the requirement being that
it be managed from the switch).
For more information, see Configuring Networking Settings.
ALB and the 802.3ad are link aggregation methods that aggregate or combine multiple network
connections in parallel to increase throughput beyond what a single connection could support.
Link aggregation for Ethernet connections also provides redundancy, in case one of the links fails. The DR
Series system also comes with a Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS) card for future enhancements.
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The DR Series system ships equipped with the 1-GbE, I-GbE, or 10-GbE SFP+ NIC. To visually differentiate
between the NIC types, observe the markings on the NICs installed in the rear chassis of the DR Series
system:
• 1-GbE NIC is labeled as GRN=10 ORN=100 YEL=1000
• 10-GbE NIC is labeled as 10G=GRN 1G=YLW
NOTE: There are two key requirements to meet if you use the 10-GbE NIC configuration: 1) use
only CAT6a copper cabling, and 2) you must have two switch ports capable of supporting 10-GbE
NICs.
NOTE: There are two key requirements to meet if you use the 10-GbE SFP+ NIC configuration: 1)
use only Dell-supported SFP+ transceivers, and 2) you must have two switch ports capable of
supporting 10-GbE SFP+ NICs (and LC fiber-optic or twin-axial cabling).
To verify the types of NICs that are installed in your system, click System Configuration → Networking to
display the NIC information. For more information, see Configuring Networking Settings. In addition, you
can also use the DR Series system CLI network --show command to display other NIC-related
information.
Monitoring System Usage
To display the current DR Series system usage, click Dashboard → Usage to display the Usage page. This
page allows you to monitor system status and the currently displayed system usage status is based on the
Latest Range or Time Range settings that are in effect. These settings define the output for the following
tab categories on the Usage page:
•CPU Load
•System
•Memory
•Active Processes
•Protocols
•Network
•Disk
•All (displays all system status categories)
Displaying Current System Usage
To display the current usage for a DR Series system, complete the following:
1. Click Dashboard → Usage.
The Usage page is displayed.
2. View the current system usage based on the current Latest Range or Time Range values in effect
(the default is the last 1-hour period). By default, the CPU Load is always the first tab that displays
when the Usage page is selected.
The tabs you can display in the Usage page include: CPU Load, System, Memory, Active Processes,
Protocols, Network, Disk, and All. For more information, see System Usage.
3. Click any of the system usage tabs to display the current status for that tab category (or click All to
display all of the system usage tab results).
For example, click Protocols to display the current results for the NFS Usage - Total, CIFS Usage -
Total, and RDA Usage - Total for the system.
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Setting a Latest Range Value
To set a Latest Range value and display system status results based on this setting, complete the
following:
1. Click Dashboard → Usage.
The Usage page is displayed.
2. Click Latest Range.
3. Select the desired duration period (Hours, Days, or Months) in the Range drop-down list.
By default, Hours is the first displayed duration option in the drop-down list.
4. Select a value in the Display last... drop-down list that matches the Range duration time period you
selected.
For example, Hours (the default display period shown) lists choices between 1-24. If Days is selected,
the choices listed are between 1-31, and if Months is selected, the listed choices are between 1-12.
5. Click Apply.
6. Click the tab that corresponds to the usage type you want to view based on the selected settings (or
click All to display all of the system results based on the selected settings).
For more information, see Usage and Displaying Current System Usage.
Setting a Time Range Value
To set a Time Range value and display system status results based on these settings, complete the
following:
1. Click Dashboard → Usage.
The Usage page is displayed.
2. Click Time Range.
3. In Start Date, click the Start Date field (or Calendar icon) to display the current month.
To select a previous month, click the left arrow in the month title bar to select the desired month in
the current year (or previous year).
4. To choose the Start Date day in the selected month, you have two options:
• Choose a specific day in the selected month (only the available days are displayed). Future days
are considered unavailable (and appear dimmed out).
• Click Now to select the current date and time in Hours and Minutes (or use the Hour and Minute
sliders to select a desired time value).
5. Click Done to display your date and time settings in Start Date.
The date and time settings you set appear in an mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm AM/PM format.
6. In End Date, perform the same process that you did for setting the Start Date to specify an end date
(or select Set “End Date” to current time).
7. Click Apply.
8. Click the tab that corresponds to the usage type you want to monitor using your choice of settings
(or click All to display all of the system usage tab results based on your choice of settings).
9. Observe the DR Series system usage results based on the criteria selected.
For more information about the Usage page, see Usage and Displaying Current System Usage.
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Monitoring Container Statistics
Click Dashboard → Container Statistics to monitor statistics for the container that you selected in the
Container Name: drop-down list, which displays current statistics in the following panes:
•Backup Data
•Throughput
•Marker Type
•Connection Type
•Replication
For more information, see Backup Data Pane, Throughput Pane, Connection Type Pane, Replication
Pane, Container Statistics Page, and Editing Container Settings.
Displaying the Container Statistics Page
To display container statistics for a selected container, complete the following:
1. Click Dashboard→ Container Statistics.
The Container Statistics page is displayed.
2. In the Container Name: drop-down list, select the container you want to monitor.
NOTE: When you select a container, all statistics displayed on the Container Statistics page
represent specific information about the backup data, throughput, replication, marker type, and
connection type for the selected container. The displayed statistics will vary depending upon
the connection type used by the specified container.
3. View the current statistics in the Backup Data and Throughput panes.
The Backup Data pane displays the number of active files ingested based on time (in minutes), and
the number of active bytes ingested based on time (in minutes). The Throughput pane displays the
number of read data in Mebibytes/per second (MiB/s) based on time (in minutes), and the number of
write data in MiB/s based on time (in minutes).
NOTE: The Current Time Zone for the DR Series system is displayed below the Backup Data
pane (for example, System Time Zone: US/Pacific).
4. In the Backup Data and Throughput panes, click Zoom to select which duration period you want to
display:
• 1h (1-hour is the default duration displayed)
• 1d (1-day)
• 5-d (five-day)
• 1m (1-month)
• 1y (1-year)
NOTE: To refresh the values listed in the Backup Data and Throughput panes, click .
5. The Marker Type pane displays the marker type associated with the container. For details, see
Creating Storage Containers.
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6. In the Connection Type pane, view information about the configured connection type for the
selected container which can be NFS, CIFS, NFS/CIFS, RDS, or OST (the following example shows an
NFS/CIFS container):
• NFS Connection Configuration pane—NFS access path, Client Access, NFS Options, Map root to,
and NFS Write Accelerator (DR6000 only).
• CIFS Connection Configuration pane—CIFS share path, Client Access, and CIFS Write Accelerator
(DR6000 only).
• If the container is an RDA connection type container, the Connection Type OST pane or
Connection Type RDS — displays three tabs: Capacity, Duplication, and Client Statistics. The
Capacity tab displays a Capacity pane with Status, Capacity, Capacity Used, and Total Images.
The Duplication tab displays a Duplication Statistics pane with Inbound and Outbound statistics
in the following categories: Bytes Copied (logical), Bytes Transferred (actual), Network Bandwidth
Settings, Current Count of Active Files, and Replication Errors. The Client Statistics tab displays a
Client Statistics pane with Images Ingested, Images Complete, Images Incomplete, Images
Restored, Bytes Restored, Image Restore Errors, Image Ingest Errors, Bytes Ingested, Bytes
Transferred, and Network Savings.
7. In the Replication pane (for NFS/CIFS connection types), view the replication information for the
selected container in the following panels:
• Replication Configuration—Enable, Role, Remote Container Name, Bandwidth, and encryption.
• Replication Status—Peer State, Replication State, Replication Average Transfer Rate, Replication
Peak Transfer Rate, Network Average Transfer Rate, Network Peak Transfer Rate, Estimated Time
to Sync (in days, hours, minutes, and seconds), Savings (in percentage), Last INSYNC Time (yyyy-
mm-dd hh:mm:ss), and Schedule Status (next starting time in days, hours, minutes, and seconds).
Monitoring Replication Statistics
Click Dashboard → Replication Statistics to display and monitor replication statistics for one (or more)
containers, and one (or more) peer DR Series systems selected in the Replication Filter pane. Depending
upon the configured settings, you can monitor and display replication statistics for:
• All containers
• One or more specific containers
• One or more peer DR Series systems
The Replication Filter pane contains 10 Headers check boxes that when selected display replication
statistics for the container(s) or other peer DR Series system(s) you select in Container Filter.
After selecting the container(s), peer system(s), and the replication statistic categories, click Apply Filter to
display the replication statistics results based on the search criteria you selected.
Using the Replication Statistics page, you can selectively filter and display specific types of related
replication statistics for all, one or more than one container, or one or more other peer DR Series
systems.
For more information about Replication statistics, see Displaying Replication Statistics, Container Filter,
and Displaying the Replication Statistics Page.
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Displaying the Replication Statistics Page
To display system replication container statistics for a selected container or another DR Series system,
complete the following:
1. Click Dashboard→ Replication Statistics.
The Replication Statistics page is displayed.
2. To select a container or another peer DR Series system, choose the appropriate Container Filter
option.
• Click All to choose all of the replication containers.
• Click Name, press Ctrl, and select the containers in the list box to select one or more containers
in the list that you want to display.
• Click Peer System, press Ctrl, and select the peer systems in the list box to select one or more
peer DR Series systems in the list that you want to display.
NOTE: Only one of the Container Filter options can be active at any one time (they are
mutually exclusive).
3. Select the Header check box(es) for the replication statistics categories for which you want to filter
and display in the Replication Statistics summary table:
•Peer Status
•Replication Status
•Time to Sync
•Progress % (percentage)
•Replication Throughput
•Network Throughput
•Network Savings
•Last Sync in Time
•Peer Container
•Peer Status
NOTE: The following five types of replication statistics are enabled by default: Peer Status,
Replication Status, Network Throughput, Network Savings, and Progress %. If you choose
more than five types of statistics (when you select additional check boxes), a horizontal scroll
bar appears at the bottom of the Replication Statistics table. Use this scroll bar to display the
columns of additional statistics that may not display within the main window.
4. Click Apply Filter to display the replication statistics types you selected to filter for your container or
other peer DR Series system choices.
The Replication Statistics summary table displays the replication statistics types you selected in the
Replication Filter pane.
To reset the default settings in the Replication Filter pane, click Reset.
To update the Replication Filter table after making a change, click Apply Filter to display an updated
set of replication statistics.
NOTE: Use the horizontal and vertical scroll bars to navigate through the columns of replication
statistics displayed in the Replication Statistics summary table.
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NOTE: You can set up nightly replication statistics notification mails using the alerts --email --
daily_report yes command. For more information, see the Dell DR Series Systems Command
Line Interface Guide at dell.com/support/manuals.
Displaying Replication Statistics Using the CLI
In addition to using the DR Series system GUI to display replication statistics, you can also display
statistics for a specific replication container by using the DR Series system CLI stats --replication --name
<container name> command to view the following replication container statistics categories:
• Container Name (name of the replication container)
• Replication Source Container (name that identifies the data source)
• Replication Source System (IP address or host name of the data source)
• Peer Status (current status of replication peer; for example, paused)
• Replication State (current state of replication relationship; for example, insync)
• Schedule Status (current status in days, hours, minutes, seconds)
• Replication Average Throughput (in Kebibytes per second, KiB/s)
• Replication Maximum Throughput (in KiB/s)
• Network Average Throughput (average throughput rate in KiB/s)
• Network Maximum Throughput (maximum throughput rate in KiB/s)
• Network Bytes Sent (total network bytes sent in Mebibytes/MiB)
• Dedupe Network Savings (total deduplication network savings in percentage)
• Compression Network Savings (total compression network savings in percentage)
• Last INSYNC Time (date of last sync operation in yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss format)
• Estimated time to sync (time until next sync operation in days, hours, minutes, and seconds)
Data replication history is also displayed on a file-by-file basis, with a replication timestamp, and other file
related information.
For more information about DR Series system CLI commands, see the Dell DR Series System Command
Line Reference Guide.
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7
Using Global View
This topic describes how to monitor and navigate to multiple DR systems in your enterprise using the
Global View feature, which provides a real-time view of multiple DR systems in your enterprise.
About Global Views
The Global View is a dashboard that provides a holistic picture of all DR Systems added to it, making it
easy to monitor and manage remote systems. For example, suppose you are an administrator in a
headquarters office with a DR unit. You have three branch offices, each with two DR units that replicate
to the headquarters office. You can use Global View to monitor all of the branch office units (as well as
your headquarters unit) on a single page. A drop-down list and links provide easy navigation to any DR
system in the view.
Following are tips and constraints for using Global View:
• For streamlined navigation, your location in the GUI is saved when you navigate between DR systems
in the dashboard. For example, suppose you are on the Software Upgrade page in one DR system.
When you navigate to another DR system from the Global View page, the Software Upgrade page of
the new DR system appears.
• The Global View dashboard on a DR Series system is local to that system; the Global View information
is maintained in a physical file on the system. If the machine goes down or is otherwise unavailable,
the Global View is unavailable. In addition, if a factory refresh is performed on the machine, the Global
View information will be lost and you must re-add the machines to the Global View dashboard.
• You can define an identical Global View on another DR system in your domain to serve as a backup if
the DR system that contains the original Global View is down or otherwise unavailable. For example,
suppose you have three DR Series systems: A, B, and C. All of these are on the same Active Directory
Services (ADS) domain and have identical login credentials. You log in to DR Series system A, and on
its Global View page, you add DR Series systems B and C (resulting in A, B, and C being in the view).
Then you log in to DR Series system B and add A and C to its Global View page (also resulting in A, B,
and C being in the view).
• You cannot import or export a Global View dashboard configuration. To create a Global View, you
must manually define it by adding machines to the Global View dashboard. For details, see Adding a
DR Series System to Global View .
NOTE: If you are using Internet Explorer 10, it is recommended that you disable the pop-up blocker
to allow DR units to open in new browser windows when you navigate to them within Global View.
Prerequisites
The Global View feature is available on all DR Series systems that have version 3.0.0.1 (or newer) software
installed. The system to which you are currently logged in is automatically included by default in the
Global View page; however, any other systems must be explicitly added. For details, see Adding a DR
Series System to Global View.
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Following are the prerequisites that must be met in order to successfully add and view your DR Series
systems in the Global View page.
• All DR Series systems must have the same version of 3.x software installed. Systems running older
software versions cannot be added to the Global View page.
• All DR Series systems must be in the same Active Directory Services (ADS) domain, in the same login
group, and have identical login credentials. This includes the system to which you are currently
logged in. For details, see the procedures that follow.
• When you use Global View, you must log in to the DR Series system using your domain credentials;
for example, you must log in as DOMAIN\Administrator instead of Administrator.
Configuring Active Directory Settings
You need to configure the Active Directory setting to direct your DR Series system to join or leave a
domain that contains a Microsoft Active Directory Service (ADS). To join an ADS domain, complete steps 1
through 4 in the following procedure (to leave an ADS domain, skip to step 5). When you join the DR
Series system to an ADS domain, this disables the Network Time Protocol (NTP) service and instead uses
the domain-based time service.
To configure the DR Series system for a domain using ADS, complete the following:
1. Select System Configuration → Active Directory.
The Active Directory page is displayed.
NOTE: If you have not yet configured ADS settings, an informational message is displayed in the
Settings pane in the Active Directory page.
2. Click Join on the options bar.
The Active Directory Configuration dialog is displayed.
3. Type the following values in the Active Directory Configuration dialog:
• In Domain Name (FQDN), type a fully qualified domain name for the ADS; for example,
AD12.acme.com. (This is a required field.)
NOTE: Supported domain names are limited to 64 characters in length and can only consist
of a combination of A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and three special characters: a dash (-), a period (.), and
an underscore (_).
• In Username, type a valid user name that meets the user name guidelines for the ADS. (This is a
required field.)
NOTE: Supported user names are limited to 64 characters in length and can only consist of
a combination of A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and three special characters: a dash (-), a period (.), and an
underscore (_).
• In Password, type a valid password that meets the password guidelines for the ADS. (This is a
required field.)
• In Org Unit, type a valid organizational name that meets the organization name guidelines for the
ADS. (This is an optional field.)
4. Click Join Domain to configure your system with these ADS settings (or click Cancel to display the
Active Directory page).
The Successfully Configured dialog is displayed when successful.
NOTE: If you configure CIFS container share paths, these will be displayed in a CIFS Container
Share Path pane in the Active Directory page.
5. To leave an ADS domain, click Leave in the Active Directory page.
The Active Directory Configuration dialog is displayed.
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6. Leaving the configured ADS domain requires that you enter the following:
a. In Username, enter a valid user name for the ADS domain.
b. In Password, enter a valid password for the ADS domain.
7. Click Leave Domain to direct your DR Series system to leave the ADS domain (or click Cancel to
display the Active Directory page).
The Successfully Configured dialog is displayed when successful.
Adding a Login Group in an ADS Domain
After you configure your DR systems within the same ADS domain, you must ensure that a login group
exists and add it to the domain.
Adding a login group is only possible when the DR Series system is already joined to a domain. Also, you
must be logged in as a domain user that is part of an enabled login group.
To add a login group in an ADS domain, complete the following:
1. Select System Configuration → Active Directory.
The Active Directory page is displayed. Under Settings, “Active Directory is configured” should be
displayed; if not, you must configure your ADS domain before proceeding.
2. Click Add Login Group on the options bar.
The Active Directory Configuration dialog is displayed.
3. In Login Group, type the name of the login group including the domain name; for example, Domain
\Domain Admins. If your login group name contains spaces, you must not enclose it in quotation
marks. (This differs from the equivalent CLI command.)
4. Click Add Login Group to add the login group (or click Cancel to display the Active Directory page).
If the addition is successful, a confirmation message displays.
Changes made to the login group take effect on the next log in attempt (no active checking is done on
the group, which matches how Windows ADS works).
About the Global View Page
The Global View page displays a dashboard of operating statistics for all of the DR Series systems that
you have added to the view. From this page, you can monitor the status of your enterprise as well as
easily navigate to any DR Series system in your enterprise.
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Figure 9. Global View Page (DR4100 System)
Global View Summary
NOTE: If an alert is displayed with a message that "Member units will fail to connect because non-
Active Directory credentials were used", see Prerequisites.
The following table describes the statistics available in the Global View Summary:
NOTE: The statistical values refresh every 15 seconds.
Table 5. Global View Summary
Item Description
Appliances
Configured Displays the number of appliances that were added to the
Global View (including the system that contains the
Global View dashboard)..
Connected Displays the number of appliances that are currently
connected in Global View.
Disconnected Displays the number of appliances that were added to the
Global View, but are unable to be reached. To
troubleshoot, see Reconnecting DR Series Systems.
Notifications
Alerts Displays the total number of alerts in all appliances in the
Global View.
Events Displays the total number of events in all appliances in the
Global View.
Capacity
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Item Description
Total Displays the total physical capacity in all appliances in the
Global View.
Used Displays the total physical capacity bytes that are used
across all appliances in the Global View.
Free Displays the total physical capacity bytes that are free
across all appliances in the Global View.
Containers
Containers Displays the total number of containers in all appliances in
the Global View.
Replications Displays the total number of containers replicated in all
appliances in the Global View.
Total Files Displays the total number of files in all containers in all
appliances in the Global View.
Active Bytes Displays the total bytes before optimization in all
appliances in the Global View.
Active Clients Displays the total clients configured in all appliances in
the Global View, organized by container connection type.
Appliance List
This section lists all appliances in the Global View with a high-level snapshot of their status. By default,
appliances are listed in alphabetic order by Appliance Name. You can sort the list by a particular column
by clicking the column header, which toggles between ascending and descending sort order. This sort
order is retained even if you leave the page and return later.
NOTE: The information in the appliance list refreshes every 15 seconds.
The following table describes the information displayed in the appliance list:
Item Description
Appliance Name Lists the Active Directory fully-qualified domain name
(FQDN), and contains links to each respective DR Series
system. Hover your mouse over the appliance name to
display the following information:
• Model
• Service Tag
• Software Version
• Expansion Shelves
• iDRAC IP
• Management IP
• Administrator Contact Information
Status Displays the system operational state by using an icon.
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Item Description
• A green icon indicates that the system is
operational. Hovering your mouse over a greenStatus
icon displays the message Operational.
• A red icon indicates that the system is not
connected. Hovering your mouse over a red Status
icon displays the message Connect Failed. This can
occur if the DR Series system is removed from the
Active Directory Services (ADS) domain, if it is down, or
being rebooted.
NOTE: If the system administrator re-adds the DR
Series system back into the ADS domain, the
logged out DR Series system will not
automatically be logged back in. In this case, the
Reconnect Units link will be enabled, and you
must manually log in to the DR Series system.
Capacity Displays the used and free physical storage capacity in
percentages and volume in Gibibytes and Tebibytes (GiBs
and TiBs). The capacity appears as a progress bar with a
percentage shown.
When the capacity is less than 90%, the capacity bar is
green. After the capacity used reaches 90%, the capacity
bar is shown in red.
Hover your mouse over the Capacity percentage bar to
display the following information:
• Used Capacity (GiB)
• Free Capacity (GiB)
• Total Capacity (GiB)
Savings Displays the total savings as a percentage (combining
both deduplication and compression) over a time period
(in minutes). Hover your mouse over the Savings column
value to display the following individual measures:
•Compression Savings: The percentage of
compression savings that was achieved on the data
that could not be deduplicated.
•Dedupe Savings: The percentage of data that was
deduplicated.
Alerts Displays the alert count as a link to the DR Series system’s
Alert page.
Replication Displays the replication state by using an icon.
• A green icon indicates that replication is
operational. Hovering your mouse over a green
Replication icon displays the number of Total
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Item Description
Containers, Configured Replications, and Failed
Replications.
• A red icon indicates that replication has failed.
Hovering your mouse over a red Replication icon
displays the message Replication Failed.
Ingest Rate Displays the rate of data being written to the DR Series
system across your network. Hover your mouse over the
Ingest Rate to display the Read Throughput in Megabytes
per second.
Navigating in Global View
You can use the Global View navigation features to easily view DR Series systems in your enterprise
without having to log out and log on using new browser sessions. To navigate to different DR Series
systems in your Global View dashboard, do one of the following:
• In the left navigation pane above Global View, use the drop-down list to select the DR Series system
that you want to view.
• In the appliance list on the Global View page, click the link of the DR Series system in the Appliance
Name column.
The selected DR Series system is displayed in a new browser window. If you are using Internet Explorer
10, make sure the pop-up blocker is disabled in order to have the selected DR Series system open in a
new browser window.
NOTE: When you initially navigate to a DR Series system, you will need to accept a browser
certificate exception. After you accept it, the exception does not appear again unless you clear your
browser cache.
Adding a DR Series System to Global View
You can add up to 64 machines to your Global View dashboard. This number includes the system on
which you are logged in.
Before you add a system to the Global View dashboard, you must have logged in to the system using
your domain credentials and have added a login group in the domain. For details, see Prerequisites.
To add a DR Series system to Global View, complete the following:
1. In the left navigation pane, click Global View.
2. On the Global View page, click Add to Global View.
The Add to Global View dialog box is displayed.
3. In DR Unit FQDN or IP address, enter the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address of the
DR Series system that you want to add. Keep in mind that the system must be in the same ADS
domain, in the same login group, and have identical credentials to the system on which you are
working.
4. In Domain Name (FQDN), the fully-qualified domain name should be already completed. If not, enter
it.
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5. In Username, enter the domain username for the DR Series system that you want to add. For
example, DOMAIN\administrator. This should be identical to the credentials used in all other systems
in the Global View.
6. In Password, enter the domain password for the DR Series system that you want to add. This should
be identical to the credentials used in all other systems in the Global View.
7. Click Add and Connect.
If successful, the Add to Global View dialog box displays “Successfully added DR unit: [name]” and
remains open.
8. If you want to add additional systems, repeat the steps. If not, click Close.
Removing a DR Series System from Global View
You can remove any DR Series system from your Global View dashboard except the system that contains
the Global View dashboard. All other systems are available to be removed from your Global View page.
Keep in mind that when you remove a DR Series system from a Global View dashboard on one system, it
does not remove it from any other Global View dashboards you may have added it to on other systems.
To remove a DR Series system from Global View, complete the following:
1. In the left navigation pane, click Global View.
2. On the Global View page, in the appliance list, click the Delete checkbox next to the system you
want to delete. Note that there is no checkbox next to the system that contains the Global View; it is
not available to be removed.
3. At the top of the page, click Delete.
A confirmation prompt is displayed.
4. Click OK to confirm the deletion.
The system is deleted from the Global View dashboard.
Reconnecting DR Series Systems
If a system administrator removes a member DR Series system from the ADS domain or if authentication
to a member DR Series system fails (such as when the system is down), then the Global View dashboard
displays a red icon in the Status column next to the appliance. If one or more red icons are displayed, the
Reconnect Units link is enabled on the Global View page. To reconnect a DR Series system to the Global
View, complete the following:
1. On the Global View page, click Reconnect Units.
The Reconnect DR Units dialog box appears.
2. In Domain Name (FQDN), enter the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) in which the DR Series
system resides. Keep in mind that the system must be in the same login group and have identical
credentials to the system on which you are working.
3. In Username, enter the domain username for the DR Series system. For example, DOMAIN
\administrator. This should be identical to the credentials used in all other systems in the Global
View.
4. In Password, enter the domain password for the DR Series system. This should be identical to the
credentials used in all other systems in the Global View.
5. Click Reconnect.
The DR Series system attempts to reconnect only those DR Series systems that are currently
disconnected.
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The Reconnect DR Units Report is displayed, indicating whether the reconnection was successful or
unsuccessful. If the reconnect action is successful, the Status of the connected DR Series system displays
a green icon. However, if there are unresolved underlying issues such as issues with the network
connection, issues with a WAN connection, or issues with the DR Series system that prevent a good
connection, then the Reconnect DR Units Report indicates failure.
Using the Reconnect Report
The Reconnect DR Units Report provides information about your most recent attempt to reconnect DR
Series systems. The link to access the Reconnect DR Units Report is only enabled after you attempt to
reconnect DR Series systems. To view the Reconnect DR Units Report, complete the following:
1. On the Global View page, click Reconnect Report.
The Reconnect DR Units Report is displayed. If all DR Series systems were successfully reconnected
the last time you clicked Reconnect Units, then the report indicates that all DR Series systems were
successfully connected. However, if the reconnect failed, then the Reconnect DR Units Report
displays the FQDNs of the disconnected DR Series systems with a message indicating the issue. For
example, the message No route to host indicates that the system was unable to ping the DR Series
system from the current location because either the system is down, or the router is unable to route
traffic to the system.
2. After you review the Reconnect DR Units Report, click Close to return to the Global View page.
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8
Using the DR Series System Support
Options
You can use the Support page and its Diagnostics, Software Upgrade, and License options to maintain
the state of your DR Series system. To access these options, use the DR Series system navigation panel
(for example, click Support→ Diagnostics to display the Diagnostics page) or use the Diagnostics,
Software Upgrade, or License links on the Support page.
Support Information Pane
The Support page displays the Support Information pane, which provides the following information
about the DR Series system:
•Product Name—DR Series system product name
•Software Version—DR Series system software version installed
•Service Tag—DR Series system appliance bar code label
•Last Diagnostic Run—timestamp of latest diagnostics log file (for example, Tue Nov 6 12:39:44 2012)
•BIOS Version—current version of installed BIOS
•MAC Address—current address in standard two-digit hexadecimal grouping format
•iDRAC IP Address—current IP address of iDRAC (if applicable)
•Ethernet Ports—displays information about bonded ports only (if the 10-GbE NICs are installed, it only
displays information about the two supported 10–GbE ports):
– Eth0 MAC address and port speed
– Eth1 MAC address and port speed
– Eth2 MAC address and port speed in
– Eth3 MAC address and port speed in
NOTE: This example shows four Ethernet ports bonded (such as if a DR4000 system with 1–GbE
ports as a single interface). For more information on possible port configurations, see the system
chassis descriptions in Local Console Connection.
NOTE: The Support Information pane contains important information that may be needed if you
contact Dell Support for any technical assistance.
NOTE: For additional system information, click Dashboard in the navigation panel to display its
System Information pane, which lists Product Name, System Name, Software Version, Current
Date/Time, Current Time Zone, Cleaner Status, Total Savings (in percentage), Total Number of
Files in All Containers, Number of Containers, Number of Containers Replicated, and Active Bytes.
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Diagnostics Page and Options
The options on the Diagnostics page allow you to generate new diagnostics log files that capture the
current state of your system (Generate), download diagnostics log files to the local system (Download),
or delete existing diagnostics log files (Delete).
NOTE: For more information about diagnostics log files, log file directories, and the Diagnostics
service, see About The Diagnostics Service.
A DR Series diagnostics log file is a bundle that contains a variety of file types that record the latest system
settings, and saves them in a compressed .lzip file format. The Diagnostics page identifies each
diagnostics log file by the following attributes:
• File name—in this format, <hostname>_<date>_<time>.lzip, as in this example: acme-
sys-19_2012-10-12_13-51-40.lzip
NOTE: Diagnostic log file names are limited to 128 characters.
• Size—in Megabytes (for example, 58.6 MB).
• Time—timestamp when log file was created (for example, Fri Oct 12 13:51:40 2012).
• Reason for generation—describes reason log file was generated (for example, [admin-generated]:
generated by Administrator).
NOTE: Diagnostic reason descriptions are limited to 512 characters, and the descriptions can
only be added using the DR Series system CLI.
• Status—indicates status of log file (for example, Completed).
There are two methods to display the Diagnostics page:
• Using the Support page (to access the Diagnostics page via the Diagnostics link).
• Using Support → Diagnostics (to access the Diagnostics page from the navigation panel).
If you have multiple pages of diagnostics log files, you can navigate to another page by using the controls
are the foot of the Diagnostics summary table:
• Click prev or next to move back or forward one page.
• Double-click the listed page number (adjacent to Goto page).
• Enter a page number in Goto page, and click Go.
• Use the scroll bar at the right side of Diagnostics summary table to view all of the diagnostics log files
available to display.
NOTE: You can also set how many entries you want to display per page in the Diagnostics summary
table. In the View per page drop-down list, click 25 or 50 to select the desired number of entries to
display.
Generating a Diagnostics Log File
A DR Series diagnostics log file is a bundle that contains a variety of file types that record the latest system
settings, and saves them in a compressed .lzip file format. The Diagnostics page identifies each
diagnostics log file by the following attribute types:
• File name
• Size
• Time
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• Reason for generation
• Status
NOTE: When you generate a diagnostics log file bundle, it contains all of the DR Series system
information that may be needed when contacting Dell Support for technical assistance.
The diagnostics log file bundle collects the same type of hardware, storage, and operating system
information collected by the Dell System E-Support Tool (DSET) from the Dell DR Series system
hardware.
The diagnostics log file bundle is identical to one created using the DR Series system CLI diagnostics --
collect --dset command. System diagnostics information can assist Dell Support when troubleshooting
or evaluating your DR Series system.
To generate a diagnostics log file bundle for your system, complete the following:
1. Select Support → Diagnostics in the navigation panel.
The Diagnostics page is displayed, and this page lists all current diagnostics log files.
2. Click Generate.
A New log file is scheduled dialog is displayed.
3. To verify that a new diagnostics log file is being generated, check the status of the diagnostics log file
by selecting Support → Diagnostics.
The Diagnostics page is displayed, and a status showing In-progress indicates that a new diagnostics
log file is being generated.
Once completed, the new diagnostics log file resides at the top of the File Name column in the table. To
verify, check its timestamp (using its date and time), to ensure this is the latest diagnostics file created.
NOTE: When you generate a diagnostics log file bundle, it contains all of the DR Series system
information that may be needed when contacting Dell Support for technical assistance. This also
includes all the previous auto-generated diagnostics log files, which are then deleted from the DR
Series system.
The diagnostics log file bundle collects the same type of hardware, storage, and operating system
information collected by the Dell System E-Support Tool (DSET) from the Dell DR Series system appliance
hardware:
• To collect a DSET log file, use the DR Series system CLI command, diagnostics --collect --dset.
• To collect the comprehensive DR Series system diagnostics log file bundle (which also includes DSET
information), use the DR Series system CLI command, diagnostics --collect.
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Downloading Diagnostics Log Files
To display the Diagnostics page and open or download an existing diagnostics log file, complete the
following:
1. Click Support→ Diagnostics in the navigation panel.
The Diagnostics page is displayed, which lists all current diagnostics log files allowed by the system.
2. Click Select to identify the diagnostics log file you want to download, and click Download (or single-
click the diagnostics log file name link).
The File Download dialog is displayed.
NOTE: When a new diagnostics log file is in the process of being generated (and its Status
displays as In-progress), the diagnostic log file name link is not active, and if you attempt to
select this file the Download option is disabled.
3. Download the file to the desired location, depending upon the following:
a. If accessing the DR Series system GUI from a Linux-based system: click Save File and navigate to
a different folder location, define a new file name (or retain the existing file name), and click Save
to save the diagnostics log file to a specified folder location.
b. If accessing the DR Series system GUI from a Windows-based system: click Save (or Save As), and
navigate to the Downloads folder and retrieve the diagnostics log file.
Deleting a Diagnostics Log File
To delete an existing diagnostics log file from the Diagnostics summary table on the Diagnostics page,
complete the following:
1. Select Support → Diagnostics.
The Diagnostics page is displayed.
2. Click Select to select the diagnostics file you want to delete, and click Delete.
The Delete Confirmation dialog is displayed.
3. Click OK to delete the selected diagnostics log file (or click Cancel to display the Diagnostics page).
The Log file was removed successfully dialog is displayed when successful.
DR Series System Software Upgrade
When you initiate a DR Series system software upgrade, the navigation panel displays only the Support
page and the Software Upgrade options.
The administrator that initiated the software upgrade (considered the initiator administrator) will see a
System Information pane that displays an alert that reads IMPORTANT: Please do not navigate
out of this screen until the upgrade is finished, and displays the upgrade status as
Upgrade in Progress... Please wait.... The Current Version and Upgrade History versions of
the DR Series system software are listed in the Software Info pane.
All other administrators that may be logged into DR Series system (with the exception of the initiator
administrator who started the software upgrade), will only see a dialog that displays Status: The
system is being upgraded. Wait for it to become operational.
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There are only three possible outcomes during a DR Series system software upgrade operation:
• The upgrade operation completed successfully—no reboot is required.
• The upgrade operation completed successfully—but a reboot is required (click Reboot in the
Software Upgrade page).
• The upgrade operation failed.
Software Upgrade Page and Options
Use the Software Upgrade page to verify the current installed version of the DR Series system software in
the Software Information pane, or to apply updates to the system. There are two methods you can use
to display the Software Upgrade page:
• Using the Support page, click Software Upgrade.
• Using the navigation panel, select Support → Software Upgrade.
Both methods display the Software Upgrade page where you can verify the current installed version,
check the upgrade history of previously installed software versions, verify the iDRAC IP address (if one is
in use), start the upgrade process, or reboot the DR Series system using the options on this page.
NOTE: During the DR Series system software upgrade, the upgrade status "starting" remains
displayed during almost the entire duration of the software upgrade process. It is not until the DR
Series system upgrade status changes to "almost done" that the system upgrade process has fully
completed.
Verifying the Current Software Version
To verify the currently installed version of the DR Series system software, complete the following:
NOTE: You can verify the version of the installed DR Series system software in the Dashboard page
(in the System Information pane), the Support page (in the Support Information pane), and the
Software Upgrade page (in the Software Information pane).
The following procedure documents the process from the Software Upgrade page.
1. In the navigation panel, select Support and click Software Upgrade (or select Support→ Software
Upgrade).
The Software Upgrade page is displayed.
2. Verify the currently installed DR Series system software version listed as Current Version in the
Software Information pane (all previously installed versions are listed under Upgrade History,
showing the version number and timestamp when installed).
Upgrading the DR Series System Software
To upgrade the DR Series system software, complete the following:
NOTE: The DR Series system only supports the copying of upgrade images and diagnostics files to
and from the system using WinSCP. The DR Series system does not support the copying or deleting
of any other file types using WinSCP. To use WinSCP to copy DR Series software upgrade and
diagnostics log files, ensure that the File Protocol mode is set to SCP (Secure Copy) mode.
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NOTE: You can use other SCP tools with the DR Series system, but you cannot use these other SCP
tools to copy other types of files to or from the DR Series system.
1. Using the browser, go to support.dell.com, navigate to your DR Series product page, and enter your
service tag.
2. Click Get Drivers, then View All Drivers.
The Drivers & Downloads page displays a listing of downloadable firmware, utilities, applications, and
drivers for the DR Series system.
3. Locate the IDM section of the Drivers & Downloads page, which includes the Dell-Utility (DR Series
Upgrade File) in the format, DR-UM-x.x.x.x-xxxxx.tar.gz, and showing its release date and version.
4. Click Download File, click For Single File Download via Browser, and click Download Now.
The File Download dialog is displayed.
5. Click Save to download the latest system software upgrade file to the DR Series system that is
running the browser session started by the DR Series administrator.
6. Using the DR Series system GUI, select Support, and click the Software Upgrade link (or select
Support → Software Upgrade).
The Software Upgrade page is displayed.
7. Type the path of the software upgrade file in the Select the upgrade file from local disk (or click
Browse..., and navigate to the location where you downloaded the system software upgrade file).
8. Select the software upgrade file, and click Open.
9. Click Start Upgrade.
When you initiate a DR Series system software upgrade, the navigation panel displays only the
Support page and the Software Upgrade option.
The administrator that initiated the software upgrade (known as the initiator administrator) sees a
System Information pane that displays an alert and upgrade status, and the Current Version and
Upgrade History versions of the DR Series system software listed in the Software Info pane.
All other administrators that may be logged into DR Series system (excluding the initiator
administrator), only.
There are only three possible outcomes during a DR Series system software upgrade operation:
• Upgrade has completed successfully—no reboot is required.
• Upgrade has completed successfully—but a reboot is required (click Reboot in the Software
Upgrade page).
• Upgrade has failed.
NOTE: If the DR Series system software upgrade operation fails, you can reboot the system and
attempt another software upgrade operation using the DR Series system GUI. If this is
unsuccessful, you can use the DR Series system CLI system --show command to view the
current System State status. DR Series system software upgrades can also be performed using
the DR Series system CLI. For details, see the Dell DR Series System Command Line Reference
Guide at dell.com/support/manuals/. If both the DR Series system GUI and CLI attempts are
unsuccessful, contact Dell Support for assistance.
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Restore Manager (RM)
The Dell Restore Manager (RM) utility can be used to restore the DR Series system software. RM can be
used when a non-recoverable hardware or software failure prevents the DR Series system from
functioning correctly.
RM can also be used to reset the system back to its initial factory settings when moving it from a test
environment to a production environment. RM supports the following two modes:
•Recover Appliance—in Recover Appliance mode, RM reinstalls the operating system and attempts to
recover the prior system configuration and the data residing in the containers.
NOTE: To use the Recover Appliance mode, you must use an RM build that is compatible with
the DR Series system software version that was running before the OS reset was attempted.
•Factory Reset—in a Factory Reset mode, RM reinstalls the operating system and resets the system
configuration back to the original factory state. It is important to note that when doing a factory reset,
all of the containers and the data in the containers gets deleted.
CAUTION: Using the Factory Reset mode deletes all of the DR Series system data. The Factory
Reset mode must only be used when the container data is no longer needed.
Downloading the Restore Manager
The Dell Restore Manager (RM) utility runs from a USB boot key that contains the RM image, which must
first be downloaded from the Dell Support site.
1. Using a supported web browser, navigate to support.dell.com.
2. Enter your DR Series system Service Tag to be directed to the DR Series system download page (or
choose a product category, click Get Drivers and then View All Drivers).
3. In the Category drop-down list on the Drivers & Downloads page, select IDM.
4. If required, expand the IDM category to list the available IDM download files.
5. Locate, select, and download the Restore Manager (RM) for DR4000 Series file (listed in the
following RM filename format, "DR-RM-x.x.x.xxxxx.img").
Creating the Restore Manager USB Key
To create a Restore Manager (RM) USB key, you must first download the RM image (.img) file from the
Dell Support site, and then transfer this on to a USB key. The USB key must be a minimum of 4 GB
(Gigabytes) in size or larger. Windows USB image tools can be used to transfer the RM image when they
meet the following conditions:
• Support using the .img file format
• Support using a direct block-to-block device copy to ensure that the USB key is bootable
To transfer the RM image to the USB key on a Linux or Unix system, perform the following:
1. Copy the downloaded RM image file to a Linux or Unix system.
2. Insert the USB key into an available USB port on the Linux or Unix system.
Make note of the device name that is reported by the operating system (for example, /dev/sdc4).
3. Do not locally mount the USB device to a file system at this time.
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4. Copy the RM image to the USB key using the dd command:
dd if=<path to .img file> of=<usb device> bs=4096k
For example:
dd if=/root/DR-RM-1.05.03.313-2.1.0851.2.img of=/dev/sdc4 bs=4096
Running the Restore Manager (RM)
To run the Dell Restore Manager (RM) utility, boot the DR Series system using the RM USB key created in
Creating the RM USB key).
1. Insert the RM USB key into an available USB port on the system.
You can also use the virtual media option of iDRAC to remotely load the RM USB key. For more
information, see Configuring and Using Virtual Media in the Integrated Dell Remote Access
Controller 6 (iDRAC6) User Guide at support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/smdrac3/.
2. Boot the DR Series system using the RM USB key.
3. During the time when the Power-On Self-Test (POST) screen displays, press F11 to load the Boot
Manager.
4. Within the Boot Manager, navigate to the system hard drive (C:), select the USB key as the boot
device, and press <Enter>.
5. After a few minutes, Restore Manager loads and displays its main screen.
6. Select the desired Restore mode (either Recover Appliance or Factory Reset).
7. Enter the confirmation string, and press <Enter> to proceed.
CAUTION: The Factory Reset mode deletes all DR Series data. The Factory Reset mode should
only be used when the container data is no longer needed.
NOTE: After Restore Manager completes, only the administrator account will remain enabled.
To re-enable the root or service accounts, see the DR Series system CLI user --enable --user
command in the Dell DR Series System Command Line Reference Guide.
NOTE: If you had previously joined the DR Series system to any Active Directory Services (ADS)
domain before running Restore Manager, after it completes you will need to manually rejoin
the desired ADS domain. For information about joining an ADS domain, see Configuring Active
Directory Settings.
Resetting the Boot LUN Setting in PERC H700 BIOS After Running RM
In the event that both of the 2.5-inch 300 GB 10K RPM 6 GB/s SAS internal drives (OS) in RAID1 are
replaced, you must run the Dell Restore Manager (RM) utility to recover the DR Series system OS drives.
Following the RM recovery process, the boot logical unit number (LUN) has to be reset to VD0 RAID1. The
DR Series system unsuccessfully attempts to boot from RAID6 instead of RAID1.
To resolve this issue, reset the Dell PERC H700 BIOS to revise the proper boot order setting to configure
the proper boot LUN to be RAID1. To reset the proper LUN boot order, complete the following steps:
1. Start Restore Manager.
2. Select Option 1 → Recover My Appliance.
The OS Virtual Disk is created: Warning Code 2002 dialog is displayed.
3. Click Proceed.
The Operating System installation was successful dialog is displayed.
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4. Click Reboot, and during reboot, press Ctrl+R to enter the PERC BIOS.
The PERC BIOS Configuration Utility page is displayed.
5. Select Controller 0: PERC H700 in the list.
6. Press Ctrl+N twice to select the Ctrl Mgmt (Controller Management) tab.
7. Select Ctrl Mgmt, click Select bootable VD, and select VD 0 as the VD0 RAID1.
8. Click Apply, and reboot the DR Series system.
The RM Recover My Appliance mode process will then complete.
Hardware Removal or Replacement
To properly remove or replace any DR Series system hardware, you must observe and use the best
practice shut down and start up procedures. For a comprehensive set of removal and replacement
procedures with step-by-step instructions, see the Dell DR Series System Owner’s Manual.
For more information about the best practices, see DR Series System: Proper Shut Down and Start Up and
Shutting Down the DR Series System.
DR Series System: Proper Shut Down and Start Up
Before you attempt to remove or replace any hardware component in the DR Series system, ensure that
you observe the following best practices for properly shutting down and starting up the system:
1. Power off the DR Series system by selecting Shutdown in the System Configuration page.
For more information, see Shutting Down the DR Series System. Another method you can use to shut
down the system is the DR Series system CLI command, system --shutdown.
2. Allow the DR Series system to fully complete its power-down process.
When the power-down process has completed, the Power Supply status indicator is unlit.
3. Disconnect the DR Series system power cables from the electrical power outlet.
4. Wait an additional period of time (up to 10 minutes), and/or verify that all of the green and amber
NVRAM LEDs on the rear panel of the system chassis are unlit.
NOTE: If you do not allow the NVRAM super capacitor sufficient time to discharge, the NVRAM
status will report DATA LOSS when the DR Series system is subsequently powered up.
5. Unlatch the latch release lock and slide the DR Series system cover back and away to gain entry to
the appliance internal components.
To gain entry to the interior of the DR Series system, remove the cover. For more information, see
the procedures in the Dell DR Series System Owner’s Manual.
6. Remove and replace the system hardware components as needed.
7. Replace the cover, reconnect the system power cables to the electrical power outlet.
8. Power on the DR Series system by pressing the power-on indicator/power button.
DR Series System NVRAM
NVRAM is a field replaceable unit (FRU) in the DR Series system. The super capacitor that powers the
NVRAM double-data rate (DDR) memory must be able to move its contents to the solid-state drive (SSD)
during a power loss.
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This data transfer requires maintaining the power to run the system for 3 minutes of operation (normally,
it only takes approximately one minute). If a problem occurs during the data backup to the SSD, the
subsequent system reboot detects this. NVRAM can experience backup failure when the following
occurs:
• The NVRAM failed to backup the data during the power shutdown
• The super capacitor did not maintain sufficient power to backup the DDR contents into the SSD.
• The NVRAM/SSD encountered an end-of-line (EOL) or another error.
If any of these conditions occur, the NVRAM requires either a failure recovery or a replacement.
NOTE: Dell recommends the following supported method for flushing DR Series system data from
the NVRAM to the RAID6 before replacing the NVRAM by using either of the following DR Series
system CLI commands: system --shutdown or system --reboot.
NOTE: If you need to remove or replace the NVRAM in the DR Series system, see Shutting Down the
DR Series System and NVRAM Field Replacement.
NVRAM Backup Failure Recovery
After you have physically replaced the NVRAM card in a PCIe x4 (or x8) slot in the DR Series system
chassis, you can recover from an NVRAM backup failure by completing the following tasks:
CAUTION: You must wait a minimum of 20 minutes after powering on the DR Series system
before using the DR Series system CLI maintenance --hardware --reinit_nvram command. This
20–minute post power-on waiting period allows the NVRAM card, the super capacitor
calibration, and all solid state drive (SSD) processes to fully complete, which are necessary for the
proper operation of the DR Series system.
During Maintenance mode, the DR Series system determines, detects, and repairs the data loss. During
the system reboot process, it ensures that no valuable data remains on the NVRAM.
1. Enter the following DR Series system CLI command: maintenance --hardware --reinit_nvram.
This formats the SSD and clears all of the backup and restore logs, by reinitializing the NVRAM.
2. Verify that the DR Series system enters its Maintenance mode.
For more information about replacing the NVRAM, see NVRAM Field Replacement and DR Series
System: Proper Shut Down and Start Up.
NVRAM Field Replacement
Whenever the DR Series system NVRAM is replaced in the field, you must observe this best practice
procedure:
CAUTION: You must wait a minimum of 20 minutes after powering on the DR Series system
before using the DR Series system CLI command: maintenance --hardware --reinit_nvram. This
post power-on waiting period allows the NVRAM card, the super capacitor calibration, and the
SSD processes to fully complete, which are necessary for the proper operation of the DR Series
system.
NOTE: For more information, see DR Series System: Proper Shut Down and Start Up.
1. Verify that the DR Series system software detects the NVRAM as being new to the system.
2. Enter the following DR Series system CLI command: maintenance --hardware --reinit_nvram.
This command initializes the NVRAM, creates new partitions, and updates information used internally
by the DR Series system software.
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3. Verify that the DR Series system enters its Maintenance mode.
If properly initialized, the DR Series system will automatically enter Maintenance mode. The
filesystem checker examines every blockmap and datastore to determine how much data was lost
due to the failed NVRAM.
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9
Configuring and Using Rapid NFS and
Rapid CIFS
Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS enable write operation acceleration on clients that use NFS and CIFS file
system protocols. Similar to OST and RDS, these accelerators allow for better coordination and
integration between DR Series system backup, restore, and optimized duplication operations with Data
Management Applications (DMAs) such as CommVault, EMC Networker, and Tivoli Storage Manager. For
the current list of supported DMAs, see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide.
Rapid NFS is a new client file system type that ensures that only unique data is written to the DR Series
system. It uses user space components and file system in user space (FUSE) to accomplish this. Metadata
operations such as file creates and permission changes go through the standard NFS protocol, whereas
write operations go through Rapid NFS.
Rapid CIFS is a Windows-certified filter driver that also ensures that only unique data is written to the DR
Series system. All chunking and hash computations are done at the client level.
Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS are only available on the DR6000 platform and require you to install a plug-in
on the client. For details, see the following sections.
NOTE: The supported DMAs listed in the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide are the DMAs
that have been tested and qualified with Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS. You can use Rapid NFS and
Rapid CIFS with other DMAs (such as Symantec products), but Dell has not tested and qualified
Rapid NFS or Rapid CIFS on those products.
Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS Benefits
When Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS are used with the DR Series system, they offer the following benefits:
• Reduce network utilization and DMA backup time
– Chunk data and perform hash computation on the client; transfer chunked hash files on the back-
end
– Reduce the amount of data that must be written across the wire
• Improve performance
• Support DMAs such as CommVault, EMC Networker, and Tivoli Storage Manager. For the current list
of supported DMAs, see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide.
• Compatible with existing NFS and CIFS clients — just need to install a plug-in (driver) on the client
– Can use Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS to accelerate I/O operations on any client — including a client
that uses home-grown backup scripts
– Can service multiple and concurrent media server backups
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Best Practices: Rapid NFS
This topic introduces some recommended best practices for using Rapid NFS operations with the DR
Series system.
Containers
must be of type
NFS/CIFS
RDA containers cannot use Rapid NFS. If you have existing NFS/CIFS containers,
you do not need to create new containers to use Rapid NFS; you can install the
plug-in (driver) to existing clients.
The Rapid NFS
plug-in (driver)
must be
installed on
client systems
After the plug-in is installed, write operations will go through Rapid NFS while
metadata operations such as file creates and permission changes will go through
the standard NFS protocol. Rapid NFS can be disabled by uninstalling the plug-in.
Markers must
be set on the
client, not in
the DR Series
GUI
If you are using a DMA that supports a marker, should explicitly set it. Your
containers should have the marker type of None until you set the marker using the
Mount command on the client (after installing the Rapid NFS plug-in). For existing
containers, re-set the marker using the procedure that follows.
For example, if you wanted to set the CommVault marker (cv):
mount -t rdnfs 10.222.322.190:/containers/backup /mnt/backup -o
marker=cv
Mount command usage:
rdnfs [nfs mount point] [roach mount point] -o marker=[marker]
where:
nfs mount point = Already mounted nfs mountpoint
roach mount point = A new mount point
marker = appassure, arcserve, auto, cv, dump, hdm, hpdp, nw, or
tsm
Your DR Series
system must
meet the
minimum
configuration
Rapid NFS is only available with a DR6000 system and a client with a minimum of 4
CPU cores running at a minimum of 4 GHz cumulative processing power and 2 GB
memory. Kernels must be 2.6.14 or later. For a list of supported operating systems,
see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide.
If you update your operating system, you must update your Rapid NFS plug-in as
well. Updates are available on the Support site as well as within the GUI on the
Clients page.
Rapid NFS is
stateful
If the DR Series system goes down, the connection will terminate. DMAs will restart
from the last checkpoint.
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Rapid NFS and
passthrough
mode
If Rapid NFS mode fails for any reason, the DR Series system falls back to regular
NFS mode automatically. For details, see Monitoring Performance.
Rapid NFS
performance
considerations
When using Rapid NFS on your client, Dell recommends that you do not run other
protocols to the DR in parallel, as this will adversely affect your overall
performance.
Rapid NFS
acceleration
constraints
Rapid NFS does not support:
• Direct I/O memory
• Mapped files
• File path size greater than 4096 characters
• File write locks across clients
Rapid NFS starts accelerating only after 8 MB is sequentially written to files (tunable
in 4 MB multiples). You can configure the file MIME types to go through
acceleration in rdnfs.cfg; for details, see Viewing the Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS
Logs.
NOTE: If the client and server do not have the same times, the times seen will
not match typical NFS behavior due to the nature of file system in user space
(FUSE).
Best Practices: Rapid CIFS
This topic introduces some recommended best practices for using Rapid CIFS operations with the DR
Series system.
Containers
must be of type
NFS/CIFS
RDA containers cannot use Rapid CIFS. If you have existing NFS/CIFS containers,
you do not need to create new containers to use Rapid CIFS; you can install the
plug-in (driver) to existing clients.
The Rapid CIFS
plug-in (driver)
must be
installed on
client systems
After the plug-in is installed, write operations will go through Rapid CIFS while
metadata operations such as file creates and permission changes will go through
the standard CIFS protocol. Rapid CIFS can be disabled by uninstalling the plug-in.
Your DR Series
system must
meet the
minimum
configuration
Rapid CIFS is only available with a DR6000 system and a client with a minimum of
4 CPU cores running at a minimum of 4 GHz cumulative processing power and 2
GB memory. For a list of supported operating systems, see the Dell DR Series
System Interoperability Guide.
If you update your operating system, you must update your Rapid CIFS plug-in as
well. Updates are available on the Support site as well as within the GUI on the
Clients page.
Rapid CIFS is
stateful
If the DR Series system goes down, the connection will terminate. DMAs will restart
from the last checkpoint.
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Rapid CIFS and
passthrough
mode
If Rapid CIFS mode fails for any reason, the DR Series system falls back to regular
CIFS mode automatically. For details, see Monitoring Performance.
Rapid CIFS
acceleration
constraints
Rapid CIFS does not support:
• NAS functionality
– Optlocks (but supported if a single client is writing)
– Byte-range locks
• Optimization of very small files (less than 10 MB). File size can be adjusted using
configuration settings.
• FILE_NO_IMMEDIATE_BUFFERING and FILEWRITE_THROUGH operations (sent
via CIFS only).
• File path size greater than 4096 characters
Rapid CIFS starts accelerating only after 10 MB is sequentially written to files
(tunable in 5MB multiples). You can configure the file MIME types to go through
acceleration in rdcifs.cfg.
Setting Client-Side Optimization
Client-side optimization is a process that can contribute to saving time performing backup operations
and reducing the data transfer overhead on the network.
You can turn On or turn Off client-side optimization (also known as client-side deduplication) using the
DR Series system CLI commands, rda --update_client --name --mode. For more information about DR
Series system CLI commands, see the Dell DR Series System Command Line Reference Guide, available at
support.dell.com/manuals.
Installing the Rapid NFS Plug-In
The Dell Rapid NFS plug-in must be installed on to the media server type you choose (for supported
operating systems and DMAs, see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide). The plug-in software
enables integration between DR Series system data storage operations and the supported data
management applications (DMAs). Before you install, make sure you adhere to the Best Practices covered
in another topic in this chapter.
The plug-in must be installed on the designated Linux-based media server in the following
directory, /usr/openv/lib/. The plug-in is installed using a self-extracting installer that installs the Rapid
NFS plug-in and all of its related components. The installer supports the following modes, with the
default being Help (-h):
• Help (-h)
• Install (-install)
• Upgrade (-upgrade)
• Uninstall (-uninstall)
• Force (-force)
$> ./DellRapidNFS-xxxxx-xxxxx-x86_64.bin -help
Dell plug-in installer/uninstaller
usage: DellRapidNFS-xxxxx-xxxxx-x86_64.bin [ -h ] [ -install ] [ -uninstall ]
-h : Displays help
-install : Installs the plug-in
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-upgrade : Upgrades the plug-in
-uninstall : Uninstalls the plug-in
-force : Forces the installation of the plug-in
You can download the Plug-In Installer in two ways:
• Using the DR Series system GUI:
– Click Storage → Clients.
– Click the Clients page, and click Download Plug-In.
– Select the appropriate DellRapidNFS plug-in in the Download Plug-Ins page, and click Download.
For supported operating systems, see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide.
• Using the Dell website:
– Navigate to support.dell.com/ and locate the Drivers and Downloads location.
– Locate the Dell Rapid NFS plug-in and download it to your system.
After it is downloaded, follow the steps that follow to run the Plug-In Installer to install the plug-in on
your designated Linux-based media server.
NOTE: The plug-in needs to be installed on client systems to support client-side deduplication.
1. Download DellRapidNFS-xxxxx-xxxxx-x86_64.bin.gz from the Dell website or the GUI, as
detailed previously.
2. Unzip the package.
unzip DellRapidNFS-xxxxx-xxxxx-x86_64.bin.gz
3. Assign execute bit to change the permission of the binary package:
chmod +x DellRapidNFS-xxxxx-xxxxx-x86_64.bin
4. Install the Rapid NFS package. Before installing, remove the stale NFS entry.
DellRapidNFS-xxxxx-xxxxx-x86_64.bin -install
5. Load the file system in user space (FUSE) module, if not already loaded:
modprobe fuse
6. Create a directory on the client. For example:
mkdir /mnt/backup
7. Mount Rapid NFS as a file system type using the mount command. For example:
mount -t rdnfs 10.222.322.190:/containers/backup /mnt/backup
If you are using a DMA that supports a marker, set the marker by using -o in the mount command.
For example, if you wanted to set the CommVault marker (cv):
mount -t rdnfs 10.222.322.190:/containers/backup /mnt/backup -o marker=cv
NOTE: If you want to do a mount on AIX, you must set the nfs_use_reserved_ports and
portcheck parameters first. The parameters cannot be set to 0. For example:
root@aixhost1 / # nfso -po portcheck=1 root@aixhost1 / # nfso -po
nfs_use_reserved_ports=1
To ensure that the plug-in is running successfully, check the log file at: tail -f /var/log/oca/
rdnfs.log.
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Installing the Rapid CIFS Plug-In
The Dell Rapid CIFS plug-in must be installed on to the media server type you choose (for supported
operating systems and DMAs, see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide). The plug-in software
enables integration between DR Series system data storage operations and the supported data
management applications (DMAs). Before you install, make sure you adhere to the Best Practices covered
in another topic in this chapter.
You can download the Plug-In Installer in two ways:
• Using the DR Series system GUI:
– Click Storage → Clients .
– Click the Clients page, and click Download Plug-In.
– Select the Dell Rapid CIFS plug-in in the Download Plug-Ins page, and click Download.
• Using the Dell website:
– Navigate to support.dell.com/ and locate the Drivers and Downloads location.
– Locate the Dell Rapid CIFS plug-in and download it to your system.
Once downloaded, follow the steps that follow to run the Plug-In Installer to install the plug-in on your
designated media server.
NOTE: The plug-in needs to be installed on client systems to support client-side deduplication.
1. On the media server, map a network share to your CIFS-enabled container.
2. Download the Plug-In Installer from the Dell website or the GUI, as detailed previously.
3. Open a command prompt with the “Run as Administrator” option selected. To do this using the
Windows Start menu, click Start → All Programs → Accessories. Right-click Command Prompt and
select Run as Administrator.
This gives all the required privileges to install/copy the driver files to the Windows drivers folder.
4. Run DellRapidCIFS-xxxxx.msi.
5. Follow the installation prompts. All files are installed to Program Files\Dell\Rapid CIFS.
To ensure that the plug-in is running successfully, check the Windows Event log file.
Determining If Your System Is Using Rapid NFS or Rapid
CIFS
Use this procedure to identify whether Rapid NFS or Rapid CIFS is installed and enabled on your DR Series
system.
Keep in mind that Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS are only available on the DR6000 system.
To determine if your system is using the Rapid NFS or Rapid CIFS accelerator:
1. In the GUI, go to the Dashboard, and then click Container Statistics.
2. In the Container Name drop-down list, select a NFS or CIFS container that is associated with your
client.
3. In the Connection Configuration pane of the statistics page, locate the NFS Write Accelerator or
CIFS Write Accelerator field, depending on the protocol selected.
4. Next to the Write Accelerator field is a value. Active indicates that the accelerator plug-in is installed
and enabled. Inactive indicates that the plug-in is not installed or not working correctly.
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Viewing the Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS Logs
This topic contains information about locating and reviewing Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS event logs in
order to troubleshoot.
Viewing Rapid NFS Logs
The Rapid NFS log is located at /var/log/rdnfs.log. Statistics, throughput, and the plug-in version can be
seen on the client by running the ru utility on the client, as follows:
ru mpt=[rdnfs mount point] | --pid=[process ID of rdnfs] --show=[name|version|
parameters|stats|performance]
The configuration file is located /etc/oca.0/rdnfs.cfg.
Viewing Rapid CIFS Logs
If you want a high-level view of events and errors for the Rapid CIFS accelerator, open the Windows
Event Log.
If you want to view more detailed event messages from Rapid CIFS, you can access a secondary log using
the following Rapid CIFS utility command. The utility is located in Program Files\Dell\Rapid CIFS.
rdcifsctl.exe -collect
Monitoring Performance
This procedure describes how to monitor performance by viewing Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS usage
graphs.
Before you view usage graphs, make sure that the appropriate accelerator is active by viewing the
Connection Configuration pane on the Container Statistics page.
To monitor Rapid NFS and Rapid CIFS performance:
1. Click Dashboard, and then click Usage.
2. Select a time range (if needed) and click Apply.
3. Click the Protocols tab.
Under NFS Usage and CIFS Usage, there is an XWrite checkbox. This checkbox represents the
accelerator activity.
4. In the desired usage graph pane, select the XWrite checkbox to view the accelerator performance
over time.
If you have Rapid NFS enabled, you can use the command line to view statistics, throughput, and the
plug-in version by running the ru utility on the client, as follows:
ru mpt=[rdnfs mount point] | --pid=[process ID of rdnfs] --show=[name|version|
parameters|stats|performance]
If you have Rapid CIFS enabled, you can use the command line to view aggregate statistics (even while a
backup job is running) using the following command:
\Program Files\Dell\Rapid CIFS\rdcifsctl.exe stats -s
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Uninstalling the Rapid NFS Plug-In
Use the following procedure to remove the Dell Rapid NFS plug-in from a Linux-based media server.
After you uninstall the plug-in, Rapid NFS will be disabled and “inactive” will be shown next to NFS Write
Accelerator on the NFS Connection Configuration pane on the Container Statistics page.
NOTE: Dell recommends that you retain the Dell Rapid NFS plug-in installer on the media server in
case you need to use it to reinstall the plug-in. It is usually located in /opt/dell/DR-series/RDNFS/
scripts.
To uninstall the Rapid NFS plug-in on Linux:
1. Stop the Data Management Application (DMA) backup service before using the -uninstall option.
The Rapid NFS plug-in installer returns an error if the DMA service is running when attempting to
uninstall the plug-in.
2. Run the Rapid NFS plug-in installer (usually located in /opt/dell/DR-series/RDNFS/scripts) with the -
uninstall option, which uninstalls the plug-in, using the following command:
$> ./DellRapidNFS-xxxxx-x86_64.bin -uninstall
NOTE: You must stop the DMA service before uninstalling the Rapid NFS plug-in (you are also
required to use the Dell Rapid NFS plug-in installer to uninstall the plug-in).
3. Check that the plug-in is uninstalled by viewing the usage graph in the GUI; it should not indicate any
XWrite activity.
Uninstalling the Rapid CIFS Plug-In
Use the following standard Microsoft Windows uninstall process to remove the Dell Rapid CIFS plug-in
from a Windows-based media server. After you uninstall the plug-in, Rapid CIFS will be disabled and
“inactive” will be shown next to CIFS Write Accelerator on the CIFS Connection Configuration pane on
the Container Statisticspage.
Alternatively, if you want to disable (but not uninstall) the plug-in, you can run the following Rapid CIFS
utility command. The utility is located in Program Files\Dell\Rapid CIFS.
rdcifsctl.exe driver -d
NOTE: Dell recommends that you retain the Dell Rapid CIFS plug-in installer on the media server in
case you need to use it to reinstall the plug-in.
To uninstall the Rapid CIFS plug-in on Windows:
1. Click Start, and click Control Panel.
The Control Panel page is displayed.
2. Under Programs and Features, click Uninstall a program.
The Uninstall or change a program page is displayed.
3. Locate the Dell Rapid CIFS plug-in in the listed of installed programs, right click and select Uninstall.
The Programs and Features confirmation dialog is displayed.
4. Click Yes to uninstall the Dell Rapid CIFS plug-in.
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10
Configuring and Using Rapid Data
Storage
RDS Overview
Rapid Data Storage (RDS) provides the logical disk interface that can be used with network storage
devices. The Dell DR Series system requires the Dell Rapid OFS (ROFS) plug-in to integrate its data
storage operations with the Dell NetVault Backup (NVBU). The ROFS plug-in is installed by default on the
NVBU server and the Dell DR Series system when the latest software updates are installed.
NOTE: Apart from the latest NVBU and DR Series software updates, no other software is required to
activate RDS on your NVBU and DR Series Systems in a Windows or Linux environment.
Using the ROFS plug-in, the DMAs can take full advantage of key DR Series system features like
replication and data deduplication.
When RDS is used with the DR Series system, it offers the following benefits:
• RDS protocol provides faster and improved data transfers:
– Focus is on backups with minimal overhead
– Accommodates larger data transfer sizes
– Provides throughput that is better than CIFS or NFS
• RDS and DMA integration:
– ROFS API enables the DMA-to-media server software communication
– DR Series system storage capabilities can be used without extensive changes to DMAs
– Backup and replication operations are simplified by using built-in DMA policies
• DR Series system and RDS ports and write operations:
– Control channel uses TCP port 10011
– Data channel uses TCP port 11000
– Optimized write operations enable client-side deduplication
• Replication operations between DR Series systems:
– No configuration is required on the source or target DR Series system
– Replication is file-based, not container-based
– Replication is triggered by DMA optimized duplication operation
– DR Series system transfers the data file (not the media server)
– Once duplication completes, DR Series system notifies DMA to update its catalog (acknowledging
the second backup). This makes the DMA aware of the replication location. Restores from either
the source or replication target can be used directly from the DMA.
– Supports different retention policies between source and replica
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– Replication is set up in the DMA itself, not the DR Series system
RDS Guidelines
For best results, observe the following guidelines for optimal performance with your supported RDS
operations with the DR Series system:
• Back up, restore, and optimized duplication operations performed using the Dell ROFS plug-in
NOTE: The Dell ROFS plug-in is installed on client systems to support client-side deduplication.
• Backup:
– Passthrough writes: Passthrough writes are when data is sent from a media server to the DR Series
system without applying any optimization to the data. By contrast, dedupe writes are when data is
sent from a media server to the DR Series system after optimization is applied to the data.
– Dedupe writes
• Restore
• Replication
Best Practices: RDS and the DR Series System
This topic introduces some recommended best practices for using Rapid Data Storage (RDS) operations
with the DR Series system.
RDS and non-
RDS containers
can exist on
the same DR
Series system
The DR Series system supports having both RDS and non-RDS containers on the
same appliance. However, this can cause incorrect capacity reporting as both
container types share the same underlying storage.
RDS replication
and non-RDS
replication on
the same DR
Series system
Non-RDS replication must be configured, and it is replicated on a per-container
basis. However, this type of replication will not replicate RDS containers. RDS
replication is file-based and is triggered by the DMA.
Do not change
the container
connection
type from NFS/
CIFS to RDS
A non-RDS container must be deleted before this container can then be created as
an RDS container using the same name.
Setting Client-Side Optimization
Client-side optimization is a process that can contribute to saving time performing backup operations
and reducing the data transfer overhead on the network.
You can turn On or turn Off client-side optimization (also known as client-side deduplication) using the
DR Series system CLI commands, rda --update_client --name --mode. For more information about DR
Series system CLI commands, see the Dell DR Series System Command Line Reference Guide, available at
support.dell.com/manuals.
154
Adding RDS Devices in NVBU
To add RDS devices in the NVBU:
1. Log on to your NVBU media server and launch NVBU console.
2. Click Device Management.
The NVBU Device Management window is displayed.
3. Select Add → Add Dell RDA Device.
The Add Dell RDA Device window is displayed.
4. In Host, enter the IP address or the system host name of the DR System.
5. In Username, enter backup_user.
NOTE: The Username, backup_user is case-sensitive. You can configure RDS containers only
while logged on the DR Series system with username backup_user.
6. In Password, enter the password used to access the DR Series system.
7. In LSU, enter the name of the RDS container.
NOTE: The RDS container name in LSU is case-sensitive. Ensure that you enter the RDS
container name exactly as it is on the DR Series system.
8. To save the entered details and add the device to the NVBU server:
• Select File → Save
• Click the Save icon.
Removing RDS Devices From NVBU
NOTE: Removing an RDS device from NVBU does not delete the data stored in the RDS container
on the DR Series system.
To remove existing RDS devices from NVBU:
1. Log on to your NVBU server and launch NVBU console.
2. Click Device Management.
The NVBU Device Management window is displayed.
3. Select the RDA device that you want to remove, right-click, and select Remove.
NOTE: Ensure that you remove the RDA device from NVBU before you delete the container
from the DR Series system. You must force remove the RDS device from NVBU, if you delete an
RDS container from the DR Series system before removing it from the NVBU server.
4. Repeat step 3 to remove additional RDS devices.
The selected RDS device is removed from NVBU. The RDS container can now be removed from the DR
Series system.
Backing Up Data on the RDS Container Using NVBU
You must back up data on the RDS container (available on the DR Series systems) using NVBU. Before
you can back up data using the RDS protocol, you must create an RDS container on the DR Series system
and add that container as an RDA device on NVBU. For more information see, Adding RDS Devices in
NVBU.
155
To back up data on the RDS container:
1. In the NVBU Console, click Backup.
The NVBU Backup window is displayed.
2. From the Server Location list, select the relevant NVBU server.
3. In Job Title, enter a relevant job title.
4. In the Selections tab, select the appropriate built in Netvault Backup plugin.
For example, to backup the filesystem, select the filesystem plugin.
5. Navigate to the drive or folder that you want to back up and select that drive or folder.
6. Select the Backup Options tab, under Backup Method select the relevant backup options.
You can select one of the following:
•Standard
•Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)
7. In Backup Type, select the relevant backup type.
You can select one of the following:
•Full
•Incremental
•Differential
8. Under Backup Options, select the relevant options.
You can select:
•Ignore Active Bit
•Check for Files Being Modified During Backup
•Backup through Mount Points
•Enable Restartable Backup
9. Under Backup Options, if necessary, enter the Path to Backup Log.
10. Select the Schedule tab, under Schedule Options select one of the following:
•Immediate — This option starts the backup operation as soon as you save the current backup job.
•Once — This option allows you to run the backup only once at a scheduled time and date.
•Repeating — This option allows you to run the backup at a scheduled time and date on a daily,
weekly, or monthly basis.
•Triggered — This option allows you to run the backup whenever the system encounters a pre-
specified Trigger name.
11. Under Job Options select the relevant options.
12. Select The Target tab, under Device Options select, Specify Device.
The RDS devices added to NVBU are displayed.
13. Select the relevant RDS device from the list of displayed devices.
You can select more than one device.
14. Select the Advanced Options tab, and select the relevant options.
15. To run the backup job, click the Submit icon.
The backup job may take a few minutes to complete depending on the amount of data that is backed up.
You can view the progress of the backup job on NVBU, using the Job Management section of NVBU.
NOTE: For more information on Dell NetVault Backup, see the Dell NetVault Backup Administrator’s
Guide.
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Replicating Data to a RDS Container Using NVBU
Using NVBU with the DR Series system, you can run optimized replication jobs. You can replicate data in
backup RDS containers on one DR Series system to a target RDS container that is on a different DR Series
system. Both the source and target RDS containers must be added to the NVBU server as RDA devices.
You can complete optimized replication (or optimized duplication) of backups that you complete using
NVBU.
NOTE: You cannot replicate RDS containers using the DR Series system native replication feature.
NOTE: The source or backup container and the target container must use the RDS protocol.
To replicate the data available on the backup RDS container to a target RDS container:
1. In the NVBU Console, click Backup.
The NVBU Backup window is displayed.
2. From the Server Location list, select the relevant NVBU server.
3. In Job Title, enter a relevant job title.
4. In the Selections tab, select Data Copyand then Backups or Backup Sets and navigate to the backup
job that you want to replicate.
5. Select the Backup Options tab, under Data Copy Options select the relevant options.
NOTE: Under Copy Type, by default, options are set for Copy and Optimized replication for the
DR Series systems.
6. Select the Schedule tab, under Schedule Options select one of the following:
•Immediate — This option starts the backup operation as soon as you save the current backup job.
•Once — This option allows you to run the backup only once at a scheduled time and date.
•Repeating — This option allows you to run the backup at a scheduled time and date on a daily,
weekly, or monthly basis.
•Triggered — This option allows you to run the backup whenever the system encounters a
prespecified Trigger name.
7. Under Job Options select the relevant options.
8. Select the Source tab, under Device Options select, Specify Device.
The RDS devices added to NVBU are displayed.
9. Select the relevant source RDS device from the list of displayed devices.
You can select more than one device.
10. Select the Target tab, under Device Options select, Specify Device.
The RDS devices added to NVBU are displayed.
11. Select the relevant target RDS device from the list of displayed devices.
You can select more than one device.
12. Under Media Options and General Options, select the relevant option.
13. Select the Advanced Options tab and select the relevant options.
14. To run the optimized replication job, click the Submit icon.
NOTE: For more information on Dell NetVault Backup, see the Dell NetVault Backup Administrator’s
Guide.
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Restoring Data From a DR Series System Using NVBU
Use NVBU to restore data from a RDS container on a DR Series system.
To restore data from a DR Series system using NVBU:
1. In the NVBU Console, click Restore.
The NVBU Restore window is displayed.
2. From the Server Location list, select the relevant NVBU server.
3. In Job Title, enter a relevant job title.
4. In the Selections tab, navigate to the backup job that you want to restore.
By default, the data is restored into the folder that you have backed up.
5. To change the restore location, double click the backup saveset, navigate to the folder that you
backed up, right click the folder and select Rename.
The Restore Rename window is displayed.
6. To rename the restore folder, select Rename to and enter the new name for the restore folder.
7. To relocate the restore data, select Relocate to and enter the new location for the restore folder.
8. From the Selection Method list, select Plugin, Backup Set, or Job.
By default Plugin is selected.
You can filter the backups using the Filter Options.
9. Select the Restore Options tab and select the relevant File System Plugin Restore Options.
10. Select the Source tab, under Device Options select, Specify Device.
The RDS devices added to NVBU are displayed.
11. Select the relevant source RDS device from the list of displayed devices.
You can select more than one device.
12. Select the Target Client tab.
A list of available clients is displayed.
13. From the list of available client, select the relevant target client.
14. Select the Schedule tab, under Schedule Options select one of the following:
•Immediate — This option starts the backup operation as soon as you save the current backup job.
•Once — This option allows you to run the backup only once at a scheduled time and date.
•Repeating — This option allows you to run the backup at a scheduled time and date on a daily,
weekly, or monthly basis.
•Triggered — This option allows you to run the backup whenever the system encounters a
prespecified Trigger name.
15. Under Job Options select the relevant options.
16. Select the Advanced Options tab and select the relevant options.
17. To run the restore job, click the Submit icon.
NOTE: For more information on Dell NetVault Backup, see the Dell NetVault Backup Administrator’s
Guide.
Supported DR Series System CLI Commands for RDS
The following are the supported DR Series system CLI commands for RDS operations:
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administrator@DocTeam-SW-01 > rda
Usage:
rda --show [--config]
[--file_history] [--name <name>]
[--active_files] [--name <name>]
[--clients]
[--limits]
rda --setpassword
rda --delete_client --name <RDA Client Hostname>
rda --update_client --name <RDA Client Hostname>
--mode <auto|passthrough|dedupe>
rda --limit --speed <<num><kbps|mbps|gbps> | default>
--target <ip address | hostname>
rda --help
rda <command> <command-arguments>
<command> can be one of:
--show Displays command specific information.
--setpassword Updates the Rapid Data Access (RDA) user
password.
--delete_client Deletes the Rapid Data Access (RDA) client.
--update_client Updates attributes of a Rapid Data Access
(RDA) client.
--limit Limits bandwidth consumed by Rapid Data
Access(RDA) when replicating over a WAN link.
For command-specific help, please type rda --help <command>
eg:
rda --help show
NOTE: The --files in the rda --show --file_history command represents replicated files that were
processed via the DMA optimized duplication operation. This command displays only up to the last
10 such files. The --name in the rda --show --name command represents the RDA container name.
For more information about RDA-related DR Series system CLI commands, see the Dell DR Series
System Command Line Reference Guide.
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11
Configuring and Using OST
This topic introduces key OpenStorage Technology (OST) tasks and provides links to other OST-related
topics that contain procedures that describe how to perform these tasks:
• Configuring the DR Series system for use with OST and the supported DMAs; for more information,
see Configuring the DR Series System Using the Backup Exec GUI, and Configuring DR Series System
Information Using NetBackup
• Configuring the Logical Storage Unit (LSU) using the DR Series system GUI; for more information, see
Configuring an LSU
• Installing the Dell OST plug-in in to a supported media server (Linux or Windows); for more
information, see Installing the OST Plug-In for Linux or Installing the OST Plug-In for Windows
• Using supported Symantec DMAs (NetBackup and Backup Exec) to perform backup and restore
operations; for more information, see
–Backing Up Data from a DR Series System Using NetBackup
–Restoring Data from a DR Series System Using NetBackup
–Duplicating Backup Images Between DR Series Systems Using NetBackup
–Creating Backups on the DR Series System Using Backup Exec
–Restoring Data from a DR Series System Using Backup Exec
–Optimizing Duplication Between DR Series Systems Using Backup Exec
NOTE: This capability to use OST, also known as DR Rapid Data Access within Dell, adds tighter
integration with backup software applications, such as the following Symantec OpenStorage-
enabled backup applications: NetBackup and Backup Exec.
Understanding OST
OpenStorage Technology (OST) provides the logical disk interface that can be used with network storage
devices, and the DR Series system appliance requires plug-in software to integrate its data storage
operations with the following supported data management applications (DMA):
• NetBackup
• Backup Exec
The DR Series system integrates with these supported DMAs using the Dell OpenStorage plug-in, through
which both NetBackup and Backup Exec can control when backup images are created, duplicated, and
deleted. Via the plug-in, the DMAs can take full advantage of key DR Series system features like
replication and data deduplication.
The DR Series system accesses the OpenStorage API code through a Dell OST plug-in, which can be
installed on the supported media server platform type that you choose (Windows or Linux). When OST is
used with the DR Series system, it offers the following benefits:
• OST protocol provides faster and improved data transfers:
– Focus is on backups with minimal overhead
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– Accommodates larger data transfer sizes
– Provides throughput that is significantly better than CIFS or NFS
• OST and DMA integration:
– OpenStorage API enables the DMA-to-media server software communication
– DR Series system storage capabilities can be used without extensive changes to DMAs
– Backup and replication operations are simplified by using built-in DMA policies
• DR Series system and OST ports and write operations:
– Control channel uses TCP port 10011
– Data channel uses TCP port 11000
– Optimized write operations enable client-side deduplication
• Replication operations between DR Series systems:
– No configuration is required on the source or target DR Series system
– Replication is file-based, not container-based
– Replication is triggered by DMA optimized duplication operation
– DR Series system transfers the data file (not the media server)
– Once duplication completes, DR Series system notifies DMA to update its catalog (acknowledging
the second backup)
– Supports different retention policies between source and replica
– Replication is set up in the DMA itself, not the DR Series system
OpenStorage Technology (OST) API
The OpenStorage Technology (OST) API is an application programming interface that allows disk-based
devices like the DR Series system to natively integrate with the two supported Symantec Data
Management Applications (DMA), NetBackup and Backup Exec. For example, because the DR Series
system supports both data deduplication and replication, the OST API allows these supported DMAs to
use the DR Series system appliance features and duplicate the optimized data from one storage appliance
to another.
The OST API enables the writing of data to disk and is illustrated in the following example where
NetBackup (the DMA) interacts with the DR Series system (the data backup and deduplication device)
using the OST API:
• NetBackup needs to store a file to disk. To do this it notifies the DR Series system via the OST API
which file it needs to backup and what to name this file.
• DR Series system accepts this file, backs it up, and stores it in its filesystem.
• NetBackup can perform one of three subsequent operations with this specific stored file:
– Expire it
– Restore from it
– Copy or duplicate it
• If NetBackup, using the OST API, directs the DR Series system to expire a stored file, it deletes it from
its filesystem.
• Similarly, if NetBackup, using the OST API, wants to restore from a stored file, it directs the DR Series
system which file to restore, which then delivers the stored file to NetBackup for the restore.
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NOTE: OST contains a feature called optimized duplication. For example, in optimized duplication,
the DMA (NetBackup) directs device A to perform an optimized duplication with device B. Device A
and B communicate and determine which data segments of the file need to be replicated from A to
B for device B to ensure that device B contains a full and complete duplicate data file. Once
successful, the DMA now knows about both copies of this data file, and can use this file on device B
as it would any other data file that resides there.
OST Guidelines
For best results, observe the following guidelines for optimal performance with your supported
OpenStorage Technology (OST) operations with the DR Series system:
• Backup, restore, and optimized duplication operations need to be performed via the Dell OST plug-in
NOTE: The Dell OST plug-in needs to be installed on client systems to support client-side
deduplication.
• Backup:
– Passthrough writes: Passthrough writes are when data is sent from a media server to the DR Series
system without applying any optimization to the data.
– Optimized writes: Optimized writes are when data is sent from a media server to the DR Series
system after optimization is applied to the data.
• Restore
• Replication
OST Terminology
This topic introduces and briefly defines some basic OpenStorage Technology (OST) terminology used
throughout the DR Series system documentation.
Term Description
BE Symantec DMA, Backup Exec (BE).
DMA/DPA Data Management Application (also known as Data Protection
Application), which are terms for the role played by the
Symantec NetBackup or Backup Exec applications.
LSU Logical Storage Unit, which from the DR Series system
perspective, represents any container created for data storage.
LSU is a common storage term while container is a common
term in DR Series systems that represents a location for storing
data.
media server This is the host running the DMA media server (NetBackup and
Backup Exec), and is where the OST plug-in is installed. The
OST plug-in can also be installed on a NetBackup client.
NBU Symantec DMA, NetBackup (NBU).
OST The OpenStorage Technology from Symantec, which allows
storage devices to deliver backup and recovery solutions with
NetBackup. OST uses the OpenStorage API and a plug-in
installed on either a Linux or a Windows-based media server
platform.
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Supported OST Software and Components
For the list of supported DMAs and OST plug-ins, see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide, at
support.dell.com/manuals.
The Dell DR Series system licensing is all-inclusive, so that no additional Dell licensing is required to use
OST or the optimized duplication capability. The Dell OST plug-in that gets installed on a supported Linux
or Windows media server platform is a free download from Dell. However, Symantec NetBackup requires
that you purchase a Symantec OpenStorage Disk Option license. Similarly, Symantec Backup Exec
requires that you purchase the Deduplication Option to enable the OST feature.
OST Required Configurations
This topic introduces three possible required configurations to enable OpenStorage Technology (OST)
operations: DR Series system and a DMA-based media server or client (for example, OST operations that
support a NetBackup-media server, a Backup Exec-media server, or a Backup Exec-client).
Best Practices: OST and the DR Series System
This topic introduces some recommended best practices for using OpenStorage Technology (OST)
operations with the DR Series system.
• OST and non-OST containers can exist on the same DR Series system. The DR Series system supports
having both OST and non-OST containers on the same appliance. However, this can cause incorrect
capacity reporting as both container types share the same underlying storage.
• OST replication and non-OST replication on the same DR Series system. Non-OST replication needs
to be configured, and it is replicated on a per-container basis. However, this type of replication will
not replicate OST containers. OST replication is file-based and is triggered by the DMA.
• Do not change the container connection type from NFS/CIFS to OST. A non-OST container must be
deleted before this container can then be created as an OST container using the same name.
Setting Client-Side Optimization
Client-side optimization is a process that can contribute to saving time performing backup operations
and reducing the data transfer overhead on the network.
You can turn On or turn Off client-side optimization (also known as client-side deduplication) using the
DR Series system CLI commands, ost --update_client --name --mode. For more information about DR
Series system CLI commands, see the Dell DR Series System Command Line Reference Guide, which is
available at support.dell.com/manuals.
Configuring an LSU
You can configure a logical storage unit (LSU) as an OpenStorage Technology (OST) connection type
container for data storage by using the DR Series system GUI. To configure an LSU as an OST connection
type container, log in to the DR Series system and complete the following:
1. Navigate to the Containers page (in the Dashboard navigation panel).
2. Click Create to create a new container.
The Create New Container dialog is displayed.
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3. In Container Name, enter a name for the container.
4. In Marker Type, select the None marker type.
For OST operations, only the NetBackup and Backup Exec media servers are supported.
5. In Connection Type, set the container type to Rapid Data Access (RDA).
The RDA pane is displayed.
6. In the RDA pane, set the RDA Type to Symantec OpenStorage (OST).
7. In Capacity, select either the Unlimited or Size options to set the capacity for the OST connection
type container.
If you select Size, make sure to define the desired size in Gibibytes (GiB).
8. Click Create a New Container (or click Cancel to display the Containers page).
NOTE: For general information about creating DR Series system containers, see Creating
Containers, and for creating an OST connection type container, see Creating an OST or RDS
Connection Type Container.
NOTE: The capacity option in this command example sets the quota on the LSU. This is the
maximum number of bytes (ignoring optimization) that can be written to an LSU and it is listed in
the gigabytes (GB). If the capacity option is not specified (or if 0 is specified for the capacity), then
the LSU will not have a quota. If this is the case, then this means that the amount of data that can be
written to the LSU is limited only by the amount of free space on the disk.
Installing the Dell OST Plug-In
Before you can start the installation process for the Dell OST plug-in, you need to understand its role.
The Dell OST plug-in must be installed on to the media server type you choose (this DR Series system
release supports Linux and Windows). The Dell OST plug-in software enables integration between DR
Series system data storage operations and the supported data management applications (DMAs).
Understanding the Dell OST Plug-In (Linux)
The Dell OST plug-in must be installed on the designated Linux-based media server running the support
Linux server operating system software in the following directory, /usr/openv/lib/ost-plug-ins. The Dell
OST plug-in is installed using a self-extracting installer that installs the OST plug-in and all its related
components. The installer supports the following modes, with the default being Help (-h):
NOTE: If no option is selected, the Help mode is displayed by default.
• Help (-h)
• Install (-install)
• Upgrade (-upgrade)
• Uninstall (-uninstall)
• Force (-force)
$> ./DellOSTPlugin-xxxxx-x86_64.bin -help
Dell plug-in installer/uninstaller
usage: DellOSTPlugin-xxxxx-x86_64.bin [ -h ] [ -install ] [ -uninstall ]
-h : Displays help
-install : Installs the plug-in
-upgrade : Upgrades the plug-in
-uninstall : Uninstalls the plug-in
-force : Forces the installation of the plug-in
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You can download the Dell OST Plug-In Installer in two ways:
• Using the DR Series system GUI:
– Click Storage → Clients
– Click the RDA tab in the Clients page, and click Download Plug-In
– Select the appropriate plug-in in the Download Plug-Ins page, and click Download
• Using the Dell website:
– Navigate to support.dell.com/ and locate the Drivers and Downloads location
– Locate the Dell OST plug-in for Linux and download this to your system.
Once downloaded, run the Dell OST Plug-In Installer to install the plug-in on your designated Linux-
based media server. For specifics, see Installing the OST Plug-In for NetBackup on Linux.
NOTE: The Dell OST plug-in needs to be installed on client systems to support client-side
deduplication.
Understanding the Dell OST Plug-In (Windows)
This Dell OST plug-in must be installed in the following directory on the designated Windows-based
media server running the supported Microsoft Windows server operating system software:
$INSTALL_PATH\VERITAS\Netbackup\bin\ost-plug-ins for NetBackup installations, and
$INSTALL_PATH\Symantec\Backup Exec\bin\ for Backup Exec installations. Once downloaded, you can
use SETUP to install the Dell OST plug-in. For specifics, see Installing the OST Plug-In for Backup Exec on
Windows or Installing the OST Plug-In for NetBackup on Windows.
NOTE: The Dell OST plug-in needs to be installed on client systems to support client-side
deduplication.
Installing the OST Plug-In for Backup Exec on Windows
This topic describes how to install the Dell OpenStorage Transport (OST) plug-in within a Microsoft
Windows environment for performing DR Series system operations via the plug-in.
Make sure that you meet all of the following prerequisites before installing the OST plug-in:
NOTE: The Dell OST plug-in must be installed on client systems to support client-side
deduplication.
1. The Backup Exec installation must be running on one of the supported Windows media server
platforms.
2. The Windows OST installer must be present. If not, download the Windows installer (DellOSTPlugin-
xxxxx.msi), which is available at support.dell.com/drivers, to a network directory location you can
access.
For information on the supported versions of Backup Exec and operating systems, see the Dell DR Series
System Interoperability Guide, available at support.dell.com/manuals.
To install the Dell OST plug-in, complete the following:
1. Launch the Backup Exec Administrator console, select Tools, and Backup Exec Services....
The Backup Exec Services Manager page is displayed.
2. Select the server on which you want to install the Dell OST plug-in, and select Stop all services.
The Restarting Backup Exec Services page is displayed, which lists the current status of services for
the selected server.
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3. Click OK.
4. Launch the Dell Storage Plug-In for Symantec OST Setup Wizard (and accept all default values).
5. In the Welcome page, click Next to continue.
The End-User License Agreement page is displayed.
6. Click I accept the terms in the License Agreement, and click Next.
7. In the Destination Folder page, accept the default destination location, and click Next.
8. In the Ready to Install Dell Storage Plug-In for Symantec OST page, click Install.
When the plug-in has been installed, the Completed the Dell Storage Plug-In for Symantec OST
Setup Wizard page is displayed.
9. Click Finish to exit the wizard.
Installing the OST Plug-In for NetBackup on Windows
This topic describes how to install the Dell OST plug-in on a media server running the supported
Microsoft Windows server operating system software (and using the NetBackup DMA).
Ensure that you have downloaded the Dell OST plug-in installer into the correct directory on the
designated media server. The OST plug-in installer is saved as DellOSTPlugin64–xxxxx.msi (for 64–bit
operating systems), or DellOSTPlugin-xxxxx.msi (for 32-bit operating systems). Ensure that the correct
plug-in is downloaded to support your 64-bit or 32-bit systems.
NOTE: The Dell OST plug-in must be installed on client systems to support client-side
deduplication.
1. Stop the NetBackup services if they are running, by using the following command:
Verify if a previous version is already installed. If it is, uninstall it. If SETUP performs this check, there is
no need to do it manually.
$INSTALL_PATH\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin\bpdown.exe
2. Run SETUP to install the OST plug-in.
3. Check that the plug-in is installed by using the following NetBackup command on the Windows
media server:
$INSTALL_PATH\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin\admincmd\bpstsinfo.exe -pi
This NetBackup command lists the Dell OST plug-in details along with other plug-in details, as
shown in the following example:
• Plug-In Name: libstspiDellMT.dll
• Prefix: DELL
• Label: OST Plug-in that interfaces with the DR Series system
• Build Version: 9
• Build Version Minor: 1
• Operating Version: 9
• Vendor Version: Dell OST plug-in 10.1
4. Start the NetBackup services by using the following command:
$INSTALL_PATH\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin\bpup.exe
NOTE: To more information about uninstalling the Dell OST plug-in, see Uninstalling the Dell
OST Plug-In for Windows.
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Uninstalling the Dell OST Plug-In for Windows
Use the following uninstall process if you need to uninstall the Dell OST plug-in from a Windows-based
media server.
Use the standard Microsoft Windows uninstall process to uninstall the Dell OST plug-in from a Windows-
based media server.
NOTE: Dell recommends that you retain the Dell OST plug-in installer on the media server in case
you need to use it to reinstall the Dell OST plug-in.
The following procedure is an example of the process for a Windows-based media server with an
installed Dell OST plug-in.
1. Click Start, and click Control Panel.
The Control Panel page is displayed.
2. Under Programs and Features, click Uninstall a program.
The Uninstall or change a program page is displayed.
3. Locate the Dell OST plug-in in the listed of installed programs, right click and select Uninstall.
The Programs and Features confirmation dialog is displayed.
4. Click Yes to uninstall the Dell OST plug-in.
Installing the OST Plug-In for NetBackup on Linux
This topic describes how to install the Dell OST plug-in on a media server running the supported Red Hat
Enterprise Linux or SUSE Linux server operating system software (using the NetBackup DMA).
Ensure that you have downloaded the Dell OST plug-in installer into the correct directory on the
designated media server. The OST plug-in installer is saved as DellOSTPlugin-xxxxx-x86_64.bin.gz, where
xxxxx represents its build number.
NOTE: The Dell OST plug-in needs to be installed on client systems to support client-side
deduplication.
1. Unzip the OST plug-in installer file using the following command:
$> /bin/gunzip DellOSTPlugin-xxxxx-x86_64.bin.gz
2. Configure the executable bit on the OST plug-in installer using the following command:
$> /bin/chmod a+x DellOSTPlugin-xxxxx-x86_64.bin
3. Stop the NetBackup nbrmms service before using the -install option.
The OST plug-in installer returns an error if the NetBackup nbrmms service is running when
attempting to install the OST plug-in.
4. Run the OST plug-in installer using the -install option, and install the plug-in using the following
command:
$> ./DellOSTPlugin-xxxxx-x86_64.bin -install
NOTE: You must stop the NetBackup nbrmms process before installing the Dell OST plug-in.
You are also required to use the Dell OST plug-in installer to uninstall the plug-in. The location
for installing the Dell OST plug-in is not user-configurable.
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5. Once the OST plug-in installer has stopped running, and the system prompt returns, verify that the
plug-in has loaded properly by checking the output using the following NetBackup command on the
Linux media server:
$> /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/bpstsinfo -plugininfo
This NetBackup command lists the Dell OST plug-in details as shown:
• Plug-In Name: libstspiDellMT.so
• Prefix: DELL
• Label: Dell OpenStorage (OST) Plug-in
• Build Version: 10
• Build Version Minor: 1
• Operating Version: 10
• Vendor Version: (EAR-2.0.0) Build: 41640
6. Retain the OST plug-in installer on the media server so you can use it if needed to uninstall the plug-
in.
For information about uninstalling the Dell OST plug-in, see Uninstalling the Dell OST Plug-In for
Linux.
Uninstalling the Dell OST Plug-In for Linux
Use the following uninstall process if you need to uninstall the Dell OST plug-in on a Linux-based media
server:
1. Stop the NetBackup nbrmms service before using the -uninstall option.
The OST plug-in installer returns an error if the NetBackup nbrmms service is running when
attempting to uninstall the OST plug-in.
2. Run the OST plug-in installer with the -uninstall option, which uninstalls the plug-in, using the
following command:
$> ./DellOSTPlugin-xxxxx-x86_64.bin -uninstall
NOTE: You must stop the NetBackup nbrmms service before uninstalling the OST plug-in (you
are also required to use the Dell OST plug-in installer to uninstall the plug-in).
3. Check that the plug-in is uninstalled by using the following NetBackup command on the Linux media
server:
$> /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/bpstsinfo -plugininfo
NOTE: If the -pluginfo command returns any Dell OST plug-in details, this means that the plug-
in has not been uninstalled.
4. Retain the OST plug-in installer on the media server in case you need to use it to reinstall the plug-in.
Configuring DR Series System Information Using
NetBackup
The topic introduces the concept of configuring the DR Series system information using the NetBackup
media server command line interface (CLI) commands and graphical user interface (GUI) menus, tabs,
and options. The NetBackup CLI commands and GUI menus, tabs, and options allow you to configure
both the Linux or Windows media servers. In the DR Series System Administrator Guide documentation,
you will find specific topics that address operations for using the NetBackup CLI, such as adding the DR
Series system name to NetBackup on each Linux and Windows media server you intend to use with the
DR Series system, using the NetBackup GUI to configure it to work with the DR Series system via OST,
using the NetBackup GUI to configure disk pools from logical storage units (LSUs) on the DR Series
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system, and using the NetBackup GUI to create storage units using the disk pools on the DR Series
system.
Related Links
Configuring NetBackup for the DR Series System
Configuring the DR Series System Using the Backup Exec GUI
Using NetBackup CLI to Add DR Series System Name (Windows)
Using NetBackup CLI to Add the DR Series System Name (Linux)
Using NetBackup CLI to Add DR Series System Name (Linux)
This topic describes how to use the NetBackup CLI to add the DR Series system name to each Linux-
based media server you plan to use with the DR Series system.
1. Add the DR Series system name to NetBackup by using the following command:
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/nbdevconfig -creatests
-storage_server servername -stype DELL -media_server mediaservername
2. Log in to and authenticate with DR Series system by using the following command (for details, see
Configuring an LSU).
/usr/openv/volmgr/bin/tpconfig -add -storage_server servername -stype DELL -
sts_user_id backup_user -password password
NOTE: On the DR Series system, only one user account exists, and the user ID for that account
is backup_user. You can only change the password for this account; you cannot create a new
account nor can the existing account be deleted.
Using NetBackup CLI to Add DR Series System Name (Windows)
This topic describes how to use the NetBackup CLI to add the DR Series system name to each Windows-
based media server you plan to use with the DR Series system.
1. Add the DR Series system name to NetBackup by using the following command:
$INSTALL_PATH\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin\admincmd\nbdevconfig
-creatests -storage_server servername -stype DELL -media_server
mediaservername
2. Log in to and add the valid credentials for authentication by the DR Series system by using the
following command (for details, see Configuring an LSU).
$INSTALL_PATH\VERITAS\Volmgr\bin\tpconfig -add -storage_server servername -
stype DELL -sts_user_id backup_user -password password
Configuring NetBackup for the DR Series System
Use the NetBackup graphical user interface (GUI) to configure it to work with the DR Series system via
OST. This process is essentially the same type of operation for either the Linux or Windows platforms.
Log in to NetBackup, and complete the following:
1. In the main window of the NetBackup Administrator console, click Configure Disk Storage Servers
to launch the Storage Server Configuration Wizard.
The Storage Server Configuration Wizard page is displayed, which is where you can add a storage
server.
2. Select OpenStorage to choose the type of disk storage that you want to configure in this window,
and click Next.
The Add Storage Server page is displayed.
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3. Enter the following values to configure a storage server:
• In Storage server type, enter DELL.
• In Storage server name, enter the name of the DR Series system.
• In the Select media server drop-down list, select the desired media server (the server on which
you are configuring OST).
• Enter values for the credential needed to authenticate with the DR Series system:
–User name
–Password
–Confirm password
The credentials should be the same as the credentials that are required for the DR Series system. For
more information, see Configuring an LSU.
4. Click Next.
The Storage Server Configuration Summary page is displayed, which lists the values you configured.
5. Click Next.
The storage server you configured and the corresponding credentials are displayed in the Storage
Server Creation Status page.
6. Click Next and click Finish to close the Storage Server Configuration Wizard.
The Storage server servername successfully created page is displayed. NetBackup is now configured
for use with the DR Series system.
Configuring NetBackup for Optimized Synthetic Backups
This procedure describes how to configure NetBackup so that it supports Symantec optimized synthetic
backups. Optimized synthetic backups use an OST API to share data between images and synthesize the
backup directly on the DR Series system without data being read to and written from the backup server.
This saves time, expense, and space.
The DR Series system supports optimized synthetic backups with NetBackup 7.1 and 7.5. The NetBackup
storage server inherits the Optimized Image attribute during storage server configuration (nbdevconfig -
creatests).
To configure NetBackup to use optimized synthetic backups:
1. Use the following command to add the OptimizedImage flag to each NetBackup storage server that
needs to support optimized synthetic backups:
nbdevconfig -changests -stype PureDisk -storage_server ss_name -setattribute
OptimizedImage
For ss_name, make sure to type the name of the storage server as you configured it in NetBackup.
2. Use the following command to add the OptimizedImage flag to each NetBackup disk pool that
needs to support optimized synthetic backups:
nbdevconfig -changedp -stype PureDisk -dp dp_name -setattribute
OptimizedImage
For dp_name, make sure to type the name of the disk pool as you configured it in NetBackup. Make
sure to add the OptimizedImage flag to the storage server first, and then to the disk pool.
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Creating Disk Pools From LSUs
Use the NetBackup graphical user interface (GUI) to configure disk pools from logical storage units (LSUs)
on the DR Series system.
Log in to NetBackup, and complete the following:
1. In the main window of the NetBackup Administrator console, click Configure Disk Pools to launch
the Disk Pool Configuration Wizard.
The Disk Pool Configuration Wizard page is displayed, which is where you define media servers for
use in a disk pool.
2. In the Welcome to the Disk Pool Configuration Wizard page, click Next.
The Disk Pool page is displayed.
3. In Type, select OpenStorage (DELL), and click Next.
The Select Storage Server page is displayed, and contains a list of available storage servers.
4. In the Storage server list, select a server, and click Next.
The Disk Pool Properties page is displayed.
5. Select the LSUs (volumes) to include from the list, and click Next.
The Disk Pool Properties page is displayed.
6. Enter a Disk pool name, and click Next.
The Summary page for the Disk Pool Configuration Wizard is displayed.
7. Verify the disk pool configuration in the Summary page, and click Next to configure the disk pool
you created.
The Performing required task page is displayed, with the status being: Configuration completed
successfully. You have several options available at this point:
• Clear the Create a storage unit for the disk pool.
• Click Finish and close the Disk Pool Configuration Wizard.
• Click Next to create the storage unit with this disk pool.
NOTE: If you create the storage unit using the Disk Pool Configuration Wizard, you can skip
the step where you create storage units using a disk pool.
8. Click Next to continue with creating a storage unit using this wizard.
9. Enter a Storage unit name, and click Next.
The Successfully Completed Disk Pool Configuration page is displayed.
10. Click Finish.
To display the disk pool you created, click Devices → Disk Pools in the left navigation pane in the
NetBackup Administrator console.
Creating Storage Units Using the Disk Pool
Use the NetBackup GUI to create storage units using the disk pools on the DR Series system.
Log in to NetBackup, and complete the following tasks:
1. In the main window of the NetBackup Administrator console, click Storage in the left navigation
pane, and select Storage Units.
2. In the NetBackup Administrator console main window, right-click and select New Storage Unit
from the drop-down list.
3. In the New Storage Unit page, enter a name in Storage unit name, and select the OST disk pool that
you created in the Disk pool drop-down list.
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4. Click OK to create the new storage unit.
Backing Up Data From a DR Series System (NetBackup)
This topic describes how to use NetBackup to back up data from a DR Series system.
Before backing up data, you first need to configure a policy that creates a backup on the OpenStorage
Technology (OST) logical storage unit (LSU). This type of policy is similar to what is done for network-
attached storage (NAS) shares, except that when defining policy attributes, you need to select the LSU
that contains the OST disk pool.
To back up data from a DR Series system using a policy, complete the following:
1. Log into the NetBackup Administrator console.
2. Click NetBackup Management in the left navigation pane, and select Policies.
3. In the All Policies main window, right-click OST, and select Change Policy from the drop-down list.
The Change Policy page is displayed.
4. In the Change Policy page, click the Attributes tab, and select the settings for the policy you want to
create.
5. Click OK to create the policy, which displays under OST in the main window.
6. Right-click the policy, and select Manual Backup from the drop-down list.
The Manual Backup page is displayed.
7. In the Manual Backup page, enter the name of the media server in Server, and click OK.
To monitor the status of any backup operation, click Activity Monitor in the left navigation pane of the
NetBackup Administrator console, and select the backup job you are interested in to view details about
the operation.
Restoring Data From a DR Series System Using NetBackup
This topic describes how to use NetBackup to restore data from a DR Series system. The process for
restoring data from OpenStorage Technology (OST) logical storage units (LSUs) is similar to how restores
are performed from any backup device.
To restore data from a DR Series system, complete the following:
1. Log into the NetBackup Administrator console.
2. Click Backup, Archive, and Restore in the left navigation pane.
3. In the Restore main window, click the Restore Files tab.
4. Select the data that you want to restore, and click OK.
To monitor the status of any restore operation, click Activity Monitor in the left navigation pane of the
NetBackup Administrator console, and select the restore job you are interested in to view details about
the operation.
Duplicating Backup Images Between DR Series Systems Using NetBackup
Using NetBackup with the DR Series system, you can duplicate backup images from a disk pool on one
DR Series system to a target disk pool (or a storage unit derived from it) that could be on the same DR
Series system or on a different DR Series system.
To duplicate backup images between DR Series systems using NetBackup, complete the following:
1. Log into NetBackup Administrator console.
2. Click NetBackup Management in the left navigation pane, and select Catalog.
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3. In the Catalog main window, select Duplicate from the Action drop-down list, and click Search
Now.
The Search Results pane is displayed, which lists images from which you can choose to duplicate.
4. Right-click to select the image in the Search Results pane that you would like to duplicate, and
select Duplicate in the drop-down list.
The Setup Duplication Variables page is displayed.
5. In the Setup Duplication Variables page, select the LSU that is the target DR Series system in the
Storage unit drop-down list, and click OK.
6. To monitor the status of any duplicate image operation, perform the following:
a. Click Activity Monitor in the left navigation pane of the NetBackup Administrator console.
b. Select the data duplication job in which you are interested.
c. View the operation details.
Using Backup Exec With a DR Series System (Windows)
This topic introduces the Dell OpenStorage Technology (OST) plug-in and describes its installation
prerequisites for Backup Exec within a Microsoft Windows environment. Once installed, Backup Exec can
perform DR Series system operations via the OST plug-in.
OST Plug-In and Supported Versions
For details on the supported Backup Exec versions and media server operating systems, see the Dell DR
Series System Interoperability Guide, available at support.dell.com/manuals.
Installation Prerequisites for the OST Plug-In for Backup Exec
This topic introduces the installation prerequisites for installing the OST plug-in for Backup Exec on
Windows media servers. Ensure that you meet the following prerequisites prior to installing the Dell OST
plug-in:
1. The Backup Exec installation must be running on one of the supported Windows platforms.
2. Dell recommends that the DR Series system appliance have an OST container created and
configured. For details, see Configuring an LSU.
3. The Windows OST installer must be present. If not, download the Windows installer (DellOSTPlugin-
xxxxx.msi or DellOSTPlugin64-xxxxx.msi), which is available at support.dell.com/support/drivers, to
a network directory location you can access.
4. The Dell OST plug-in needs to installed in the following directory on the designated Windows-based
media server running the supported Microsoft Windows operating system software ($INSTALL_PATH
\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin\ost-plugins) for NetBackup installations.
Configuring the DR Series System Using the Backup Exec GUI
Backup Exec only supports the use of its own graphical user interface (GUI) for configuring the DR Series
system. There is no supported Backup Exec command-line interface (CLI) for using Backup Exec 2010
version.
To configure the DR Series system using the Backup Exec GUI, complete the following:
1. Launch the Backup Exec Administrator console, select Tools, and Backup Exec Services....
2. Select the server that you want to configure in the Backup Exec Services Manager page, and select
Start all services.
3. Verify that all services have been started, and click OK.
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4. In the Connect to Media Server page, log into the media server, and enter a User name, a Password,
and click OK.
5. In the Backup Exec Administrator page, click Network, and click Logon Accounts.
The Logon Account Management page is displayed.
6. Click New to create a new logon account.
The Add Logon Credentials page is displayed.
7. In the Account Credentials pane, enter the User name and Password account credentials for the DR
Series system, and click OK (for example, the default user name is backup_user).
8. In the Backup Exec Administrator page, click the Devices tab, and right-click on the local system
name that is listed as the root node.
A drop-down list of device-related options is displayed.
9. Select Add OpenStorage in the drop-down list.
The Add OpenStorage Device page is displayed.
10. Configure the Add OpenStorage Device page with the following information, and click OK:
•Server—enter the host name or IP address of the DR Series system.
•Logon account—select the account from the drop-down list, which has credentials for accessing
the DR Series system.
•Server type—select the type of plug-in from the drop-down list (DELL OST plug-in).
•Logical storage unit—enter the LSU (DR Series system container) name to use.
11. Click Yes in response to the prompt about making the new device the default destination for new
jobs.
12. Close the Add OpenStorage Device page.
The Restart Services confirmation dialog is displayed (this dialog recommends against restarting the
services if any jobs are currently running).
13. Click Restart Now to restart the Backup Exec services.
Creating Backups on the DR Series System Using Backup Exec
This topic describes how to use Backup Exec to create backups on the DR Series system.
To create backups on the DR Series system using Backup Exec, complete the following:
NOTE: This procedure documents this process using Backup Exec 2010. The procedure for Backup
Exec 2012 is different. For specific details and procedures, see the product-specific documentation
from Symantec for the specific DMA product and version you are using.
1. Launch the Backup Exec Administrator console, and select the Job Setup tab.
2. Click Backup Tasks in the left navigation panel, and select New job.
The Backup Job Properties page is displayed.
3. In the left navigation pane of the Backup Job Properties page, select Source, and select Selections.
The Selections page is displayed.
4. Select the system or node name in the center pane of the Selections page, and click the check
boxes that correspond to the files you want backed up.
5. In the left navigation pane of the Backup Job Properties page, select Destination, and select Device
and Media.
The Device and Media page is displayed.
6. In the Device pane in the Device and Media page, select the DELL OST device in the drop-down list,
and click Run Now to start the backup job.
7. Click the Job Monitor tab to view the progress of the backup job you created.
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Optimizing Duplication Between DR Series Systems Using Backup Exec
The Backup Exec DMA can work with the DR Series system to replicate backups between two DR Series
systems that are part of a defined source and target replication pair. This process uses the deduplication
and replication features of the DR Series system via the OpenStorage Technology (OST).
Using OST, backed up data is catalogued which makes its available from the designated media server so
that a seamless restore can be performed from either the target or source DR Series system. This is
considered an integrated replication, where the OST appliance does the replication. It is considered to be
“optimized” because the data flows from the local appliance directly to the remote appliance in a
deduplicated format, and it does not travel through the media server.
When the data is in a deduplicated format (in an optimized form), only new or unique data is copied
between the two DR Series systems. Because the duplication job is initiated by Backup Exec, there are
two entries in its catalog: one entry is for the source file, while the other entry is for the target file. The
backup administrator can restore backup data from either appliance in case of data loss or disaster.
To optimize duplication between DR Series systems, create an additional OST device that points to the
target DR Series system, and complete the following:
1. Launch the Backup Exec Administrator console, select the Devices tab, and right-click the target DR
Series system.
2. Select Add OpenStorage in the drop-down list.
The Add OpenStorage Device page is displayed
3. Configure the Add OpenStorage Device page with the following information:
•Server—enter the host name or IP address of the DR Series system.
•Logon account—select the account from the drop-down list (or click ... and browse to the
account location), which has credentials for accessing the DR Series system.
•Server type—select the type of server from the drop-down list (DELL).
•Logical storage unit—enter the name of the logical storage unit (LSU), also known as a DR Series
system container, to use.
4. Click Yes in response to the prompt if you want to make the new device the default destination for
new jobs.
5. Close the Add OpenStorage Device page.
6. Click the Job Setup tab.
7. In the left navigation pane, select Backup Tasks, and click New job to duplicate backup sets.
The New Job to Duplicate Backup Sets page is displayed.
8. Select Duplicate existing backup sets, and click OK.
9. Click the View by Resource tab in the Selections page, and select the dataset you want copied.
10. In the left navigation pane, select Destination, and select Device and Media.
11. In Device, select the destination device from the drop-down list (that was created in this procedure),
and click Run Now to start the replication operation between the two DR Series systems.
12. Click the Job Monitor tab to view the progress of the replication operation you created.
Restoring Data from a DR Series System Using Backup Exec
This topic describes how to use Backup Exec to restore data from a DR Series system.
To restore data from a DR Series system using Backup Exec, complete the following:
1. Launch the Backup Exec Administrator console, and select the Job Setup tab.
2. In the left navigation pane, select Restore Tasks, and click New job.
The Restore Job Properties page is displayed.
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3. Click the View by Resource tab in the Selections pane, and select the dataset to be restored.
4. Click Run Now to start the restore job.
5. Click the Job Monitor tab to view the progress of the restore job operation you created.
Understanding the OST CLI Commands
The OpenStorage Transport (OST) --mode component supported in the DR Series system command line
interface (CLI) command supports three values, which represent optimized writes done via:
• deduplication (--mode dedupe) The client will process hashing on data, so deduplication processing
occurs on the server side (client-side deduplication).
• passthrough (--mode passthrough) The client will pass all data to DR for deduplication processing
(appliance-side deduplication).
• auto (--mode auto)
DR will set the deduplication to Dedupe or Passthrough, based on the client’s number of cores and
whether it is 32– or 64–bit.
These OST commands are used in the following format: ost --update_client --name --mode.
NOTE: If an OST client has four or more CPU cores, it is considered to be dedupe-capable.
However, the OST client operating mode depends upon how it is configured in the DR Series
system (Dedupe is the default OST client mode). If the administrator did not configure an OST client
to operate in a specific mode and it is dedupe-capable, it will run in the Dedupe mode. If an OST
client is not dedupe-capable (meaning the OST client has less than four CPU cores), and the
administrator sets it to run in the Dedupe mode, it will only run in the Passthrough mode. If an OST
client is set to run in Auto mode, the OST client will run in the mode setting determined by the
media server. The following table shows the relationship between the configured OST client mode
types and the supported client mode based on client architecture type and corresponding number
of CPU cores.
Table 6. Supported OST Client Modes and Settings
OST Client Mode
Settings
32–Bit OST Client
(4 or more CPU
cores)
64–Bit Client (4 or
more CPU cores)
32–Bit OST Client
(Less than 4 CPU
cores)
64–Bit OST Client
(Less than 4 CPU
cores)
Auto Passthrough Dedupe Passthrough Passthrough
Dedupe Not Supported Supported Not Supported Not Supported
Passthrough Supported Supported Supported Supported
Supported DR Series System CLI Commands for OST
The following are the supported DR Series system CLI commands for OST operations:
administrator@acme100 > ost
Usage:
ost --show [--config]
[--file_history] [--name <name>]
[--clients]
[--limits]
ost --setpassword
ost --delete_client --name <OST Client Hostname>
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ost --update_client --name <OST Client Hostname>
--mode <auto|passthrough|dedupe>
ost --limit --speed <<num><kbps|mbps|gbps> | default>
--target <ip address | hostname>
ost --help
ost <command> <command-arguments>
<command> can be one of:
--show Displays command specific information.
--setpassword Updates the OST user password.
--delete_client Deletes the OST client.
--update_client Updates attributes of the OST client.
--limit Limits bandwidth consumed by ost.
For command-specific help, please type ost --help <command>
For example:
ost --help show
NOTE: The --files in the ost --show --file_history command represents replicated files that were
processed via the DMA optimized duplication operation. This command displays only up to the last
10 such files. The --name in the ost --show --name command represents the OST container name.
NOTE: For more information about OST-related DR Series system CLI commands, see the Dell DR
Series System Command Line Reference Guide.
Understanding OST Plug-In Diagnostic Logs
There are currently two supported types of OST plug-ins for which you can collect diagnostic logs:
NetBackup and Backup Exec.
NOTE: The directory location, C:\ProgramData, is considered to be a hidden directory on Windows-
based systems. However, you can copy and paste C:\ProgramData\Dell\DR\log\ into your Internet
Explorer Address bar or you can enter this into the Windows command prompt window (Start→ All
Programs→ Accessories→ Command Prompt).
For more information about OST, OST plug-ins and logs, see Understanding OST, Installing a Dell OST
Plug-In, Rotating OST Plug-In Logs for Linux, and Rotating OST Plug-In Logs for Windows.
Rotating OST Plug-In Logs for Windows
By default, the Windows log rotation size is set at 10 megabytes (MB). Once a log file has been reached
this size, the OpenStorage Transport (OST) plug-in automatically renames the existing log file,
libstspiDell.log to libstspiDell.log.old, and creates a new log.
Modifying Log Rotation Size
To modify the log rotation size, you can edit the following registry key value:
HKLM\Software\Dell\OST\LogRotationSize
Immediately after modifying this value, the new rotation size value takes effect (meaning that you do not
have to restart the backup process).
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Collecting Diagnostics Using a Linux Utility
You can use a Linux utility called Dell_diags to collect diagnostics from Linux-only clients. This Linux
utility is installed by the OST plug-in installer in the /opt/Dell directory. The tool collects the following
types of information:
• var/log/libstspiDell.log.*
• usr/openv/netbackup/logs
• usr/openv/logs/nbemm/
• usr/openv/logs/nbrmms/
The Dell_diags diagnostics file is written to the following location: /var/log/diags_client location.
The following example shows the process for collecting the OST diagnostic logs (the root user account
shown represents one that resides on the media server, and is not to be confused with a root user
account on the DR Series system):
root@oca3400-74 ~]# ./Dell_diags –collect
Collecting diagnostics...Done
Diagnostics location: /var/log/diags_client//oca3400-74_2012-02-27_23-02-13.tgz
The default log level is set to Error in the OST plug-in, is user-configurable, and can be modified via the
DR Series system CLI or GUI.
Rotating OST Plug-In Logs for Linux
If you set the OST plug-in log level to Debug, this can cause the plug-in log to quickly grow in size. The
best practice for preventing any issues with log sizes is to rotate the OST plug-in logs using the logrotate
utility that is commonly available on Linux-based systems.
To configure log rotation, complete the following:
1. Create a file in /etc/logrotate.d/, name it “ost”, and add the following entries:
/var/log/libstspiDell.log {
rotate 10
size 10M
copytruncate
}
2. Create a file in /etc/cron.hourly/, name it “ost_logrotate.cron”, and add the following entries:
#!/bin/bash
/usr/sbin/logrotate /etc/logrotate.d/ost
The logrotate utility runs every hour, and rotates the logs whenever the log file size exceeds 10
megabytes (MB). This procedure is automated and is available as part of the OST plug-in installation.
Guidelines for Gathering Media Server Information
In addition to the DR Series system diagnostics log file bundles and core files that you can collect for
history and troubleshooting purposes, if you have run any OpenStorage Technology (OST) operations,
Dell recommends that you also gather some important media server-related files. This topic introduces
some of these key media server files that reside on Linux and Windows platforms .
NetBackup on Linux Media Servers
For NetBackup running on a Linux media server, Dell recommends gathering the following files:
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• OST plug-in configuration files and log files from the media server
– Location: /var/log/libstspiDell.log.*
• NetBackup backup job logs and command logs from the media server:
– Location: NetBackup log files reside in /usr/openv/netbackup/logs/. For each process in
NetBackup, there is a subdirectory in the logs directory. Dell is interested in the following process-
related logs: bptm, bpdm, bprd, bpcd, bpbrm.
– Be aware that these five directories may not exist by default, so only collect these logs if they exist
on your media server. If they were created, the locations where these log files reside are as
follows: /usr/openv/netbackup/logs/bptm, /usr/openv/netbackup/logs/bpdm, /usr/openv/
netbackup/logs/bpcd, /usr/openv/netbackup/logs/bprd, and /usr/openv/netbackup/logs/bpbrm.
– Dell recommends that you collect logs from the following directories: /usr/openv/logs/nbemm
and /usr/openv/logs/nbrmms/.
• Check for any core files that were generated on the NetBackup media server or on the DR Series
system that can include:
– Core files on a Linux NetBackup media server reside in the /usr/openv/netbackup/bin directory.
Most of the NetBackup binaries that link with the OST plug-in are in this directory.
– The location of the core files on the client is not a fixed location. Verify if the core files reside in
following directories: /, /root/, or the directory mentioned in the /proc/sys/kernel/core_pattern.
For example, if the following is a core_pattern from a DR Series system (/var/cores/core.%e.%p.%t),
then all the core files would reside in /var/cores.
Dell recommends that if core_pattern on the client is set by NAT to a specific directory, then the
diagnostics script has to look into that directory for any related cores.
NetBackup on Windows Media Servers
For NetBackup running on a Windows media server, Dell recommends gathering the following files:
• OST plug-in configuration files and log files from the media server:
– Location: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Dell\OST\log\libstspiDell.log*
• NetBackup job logs and command logs from the media server, with log files from following
directories:
– C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\logs\bptm (if it exists)
– C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\logs\bpdm (if it exists)
– C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\logs\bpbrm (if it exists)
– C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\logs\bprd (if it exists)
– C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\logs\bpcd (if it exists)
– C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\logs\nbemm
– C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\logs\nbrmms
• Any core files generated on the NetBackup media server or on the DR Series system.
• If a server failure is involved (which could be an inapparent or silent failure), the Windows media server
event log for the application could be collected by using Administrative Tools → Event Viewer. Next,
check the Windows Logs → Application. Typically, the last entry marked with Error is the one for
which you are searching.
– Copy and paste this text in the window, as shown in the following example:
Faulting application bptm.exe, version 7.0.2010.104, time stamp
0x4b42a78e, faulting module libstspiDellMT.dll, version 1.0.1.0, time
stamp 0x4f0b5ee5, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset
0x000000000002655d, process id 0x12cc, application start time
0x01cccf1845397a42.
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– If the system is unresponsive, force the crash of bptm.exe and complete the following:
1. Click to open Task Manager.
2. Locate the process.
3. Right-click, and select Create Dump File.
4. Retrieve the dump file from the location specified in the dialog that displays after the dump
file is created.
Backup Exec on Windows Media Servers
For Backup Exec running on a Windows media server, Dell recommends gathering the following files:
• OST plug-in configuration files and log files from the media server:
– Location: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Dell\OST\log\libstspiDell.log*
• Backup Exec job logs and command logs from the media server.
• Any core files generated on the Backup Exec media server or on the DR Series system.
• If a crash is involved, collect any mini-dump file(s) that reside in %ProgramFiles%\Symantec\Backup
Exec\BEDBG.
• If the system is unresponsive, force the crash of pvlsvr.exe and bengine.exe, and complete the
following:
a. Open Task Manager.
b. Locate the process.
c. Right-click, and select Create Dump File.
d. Retrieve the dump file from the location specified in the dialog that displays after the dump file is
created.
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12
Troubleshooting and Maintenance
This topic provides an overview of the basic troubleshooting and maintenance information that is
available to help you better understand the current state of your DR Series system. The following list of
information sources can aid you in understanding the current state of and maintaining your system:
• System alert and system event messages, for more information, see DR Series System Alert and Event
Messages, which provides a tables that list the system alerts and system events.
• Diagnostics service, for more information, see About the Diagnostics Service.
• Maintenance mode, for more information, see About the DR Series Maintenance Mode.
• Scheduling system operations, for more information, see Scheduling DR Series System Operations.
• Scheduling Replication operations, for more information, see Creating a Replication Schedule.
• Scheduling Cleaner operations, for more information, see Creating a Cleaner Schedule.
Troubleshooting Error Conditions
To troubleshoot error conditions that disrupt your normal DR Series system operations, complete the
following:
1. Generate a DR Series system diagnostics log file bundle if one has not already been automatically
created.
For more information, see Generating a Diagnostics Log File.
2. Check the system alert and system event messages to determine the current status of your DR Series
system.
For more information, see DR Series System Alert and Event Messages, Monitoring System Alerts, and
Monitoring System Events.
3. Verify if the DR Series system has recovered or whether it has entered into Maintenance mode.
For more information, see About the DR Series System Maintenance Mode.
4. If you cannot resolve the issue using the information in this DR Series system documentation, then
read Before Contacting Dell Support, and seek assistance from Dell Support.
DR Series System Alert and Event Messages
The DR Series system provides a variety of system alert and system event message types that describe the
current state of the system. You can review these messages, and see if there are any actions you can
perform to resolve any reported issue.
Dell recommends that you refer to the material in this and other related topics:
• Before any attempt is made to troubleshoot your DR Series system.
• Before contacting Dell Support for technical assistance.
You may be able to resolve any basic issues using the information presented in the DR Series system
documentation.
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Some alert and event messages are purely informational, and provide general system status. Other alert
and event messages display specific status or component information or suggest a specific task you can
perform to resolve an issue or to verify that a condition exists.
There are still other alert and event messages that direct you to contact Dell Support for assistance,
where Dell Support intervention may be required.
• Table 1 lists the DR Series System Alert Messages by system alert type: general system, system chassis,
NVRAM, and PERC-specific alert messages that could be displayed during the course of backup and
deduplication-related operations.
• Table 2 lists the DR Series System Event Messages by system event type (type 1 through 7): event
messages that could be displayed during the course of backup, replication, deduplication, diagnostics,
cleaner, DataCheck, maintenance, and OpenStorage Technology (OST) operations.
Table 7. DR Series System Alert Messages
Alert Message Description/Meaning or Action
General System Alerts
Filesystem scan requested. System is switching to Maintenance mode.
Filesystem has read-only access.
NVRAM not detected. Ensure that the NVRAM card is seated properly.
NVRAM capacitor is disconnected. Contact Dell Support for possible support
assistance or intervention.
NVRAM capacitor has degraded. Contact Dell Support for possible support
assistance or intervention.
NVRAM solid-state drives (SSD) are disconnected. Contact Dell Support for possible support
assistance or intervention.
NVRAM has failed to backup or restore data during
the last boot.
Contact Dell Support for possible support
assistance or intervention.
NVRAM hardware failure. Contact Dell Support for possible support
assistance or intervention.
Data volume is not present. Check that all drives
are installed and powered up.
Contact Dell Support for possible support
assistance or intervention.
File server failed to start after multiple attempts. Contact Dell Support for possible support
assistance or intervention.
File server failed multiple times. Entering
Maintenance mode.
Contact Dell Support for possible support
assistance or intervention.
Insufficient disk space exists. The filesystem is now read-only.
Unable to detect filesystem type on the Data
volume.
Contact Dell Support for possible support
assistance or intervention.
Unable to detect filesystem type on the
Namespace volume.
Contact Dell Support for possible support
assistance or intervention.
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Alert Message Description/Meaning or Action
Filesystem scan discovered inconsistencies. Please check the filesystem report, and perform the
suggested action. Contact Dell Support for possible
assistance or intervention.
Replication peer network disconnected. Check access to remote site.
NVRAM does not match the data volume. If this is a newly replaced NVRAM, use the
maintenance --hardware --reinit_nvram command
to reinitialize the NVRAM.
For more information, see the Dell DR Series
System Command Line Reference Guide.
Storage usage is approaching the system capacity. Clean up the filesystem. If issue persists, contact
Dell Support for possible assistance or intervention.
Replication resync cannot proceed. Namespace limit has reached its maximum.
Out of space on replication target. Clean up the filesystem. If issue persists, contact
Dell Support for possible assistance or intervention.
The filesystem has reached the maximum
allowable limit for files and directories. Creating
new files and directories will be denied.
Clean up the filesystem. If issue persists, contact
Dell Support for possible assistance or intervention.
System Chassis Alerts
Power Supply <number> detected a failure. • Reconnect the power cable to the designated
power supply unit if it is disconnected.
• Ensure that there is input AC power at the
power cable.
• Use a different power cord.
If this does not resolve the issue, replace the
designated power supply.
Power Supply <number> is missing or has been
removed.
• The power supply might not be making a proper
connection.
• Try reseating the power supply in the power
supply slot.
• Reconnect the power cable to the designated
power supply unit if it is disconnected.
• Ensure that there is input AC at the power cable.
• Use a different power cord.
If this does not resolve the issue, replace the
designated power supply.
Power Supply <number> is unplugged. • Reconnect the power cable to the designated
power supply unit if it is disconnected.
• Ensure that there is input AC power at the
power cable.
• Use a different power cord.
Fan <number> failed. • Verify that the designated cooling fan is present
and is installed correctly.
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Alert Message Description/Meaning or Action
• Verify that the designated cooling fan spins up
and runs.
If this does not resolve the issue, replace the
designated cooling fan.
Fan <number> is missing. Attach or replace the designated missing cooling
fan.
Abnormal network errors detected on Network
Interface Controller <number>.
The Network Interface Controller errors could be
caused by network congestion or by packet errors.
• Check your network. If that does not resolve the
problem, then replace the NIC.
• If the NIC is embedded, the DR Series system
appliance requires service.
Network Interface Controller is missing. • Remove and reinsert the NIC.
• If this does not resolve the problem, replace the
NIC.
Network Interface Controller <name> is
disconnected.
Connect it to a network and/or check your network
switches or routers for any network connectivity
issues.
Network Interface Controller <name> is disabled. Enable the port on the designated NIC.
Network Interface Controller <name> driver is bad. Upgrade the DR Series system appliance (in the
Software Upgrade page, and click Start Upgrade).
CPU <name> failed. Replace the designated failed processor.
CPU <name> is missing. Reinsert or replace the designated missing
processor.
DIMM <name> failed. Replace the designated failed DIMM (Dual In-line
Memory Module) device.
DIMM <name> is missing. • Reinsert or replace the designated DIMM device.
• The memory capacity of the storage appliance
is below the minimum required for correct
operation.
• The storage appliance requires service.
Temperature probe <name> failed. The storage appliance requires service.
Voltage probe <name> failed. The storage appliance requires service.
Temperature probes have recorded temperatures
in the failed range.
• Check the Events page in the DR Series system
for specific temperature events and the location
of the temperature probes.
• Check the data center air conditioning,
ventilation, and internal system cooling fans for
any problems.
• Ensure there is proper air flow through the
storage appliance, and as needed, clean the
cooling vents.
186
Alert Message Description/Meaning or Action
Voltage probes have recorded readings in the
failed range.
• Check the Events page in the DR Series system
for specific voltage events and the location of
the voltage probes.
• Check the power supplies. If there are no issues
with the power supplies, have a service
technician check the DR Series system
appliance to see if it requires any servicing.
Storage Controller <number> failed. Replace the RAID controller in the DR Series
system.
Storage Controller <number> is missing. Reinsert or replace the RAID controller in the DR
Series system.
Storage Controller <number> has an illegal
configuration.
The expected number of virtual drives is <number>,
and the actual number of virtual drives found was
<number>.
Run the Dell Restore Manager (RM) utility to repair
the drive configuration mismatch.
The expected number of enclosures is <number>,
and the actual number of enclosures found was
<number>.
• Check the SAS cable connections between the
storage controller and all its enclosures.
• Check the power cable connections to the
enclosure power supplies.
Physical disk <number> failed. Replace the physical disk that failed.
Physical disk <number> is missing, removed, or it
cannot be detected.
Reinsert or replace the physical disk.
Physical disk <number> predictive failure reported. Replace the physical disk.
NOTE: Even though the disk may not have
failed yet, the recommended best practice is to
replace the disk.
Physical disk <number> is an unsupported type. This disk type is unsupported and cannot be used in
this configuration.
Replace the unsupported physical disk with a Dell-
supported SAS physical disk.
Physical disk <number> has been manually set to
offline with a configuration command.
Remove the physical disk and reinsert it (the drive is
non-operational in this state).
Physical disk <number> is foreign. This can occur when a storage controller has been
replaced or all drives have been migrated from
another system. In such cases, the foreign
configuration should be imported.
If this is seen on a single physical disk, the foreign
configuration should be cleared.
187
Alert Message Description/Meaning or Action
NOTE: This condition can also be seen when a
drive is removed and reinserted while a rebuild
is still in progress.
Virtual Disk <number> failed. Replace any failed or missing physical disk(s) and
run the Dell Restore Manager (RM) utility.
Virtual Disk <number> has an invalid layout. Run the Dell Restore Manager (RM) utility to repair
this installation.
<device> failed. • Verify that the device is present, and then check
that the cables are properly connected. For
more information, see the Dell DR Series System
Owner’s Manual to verify the system cabling is
correct.
• Check the connection to the controller battery
and the status of battery health.
• If none of these steps resolve the problem,
replace the storage controller battery.
<device> is missing. • Verify that the device is present, and then check
that the cables are properly connected. For
more information, see the Dell DR Series System
Owner’s Manual to verify the system cabling is
correct.
• Check the connection to the controller battery
and the status of battery health.
NOTE: A battery with a weak or depleted
charge can cause this warning.
Storage <device> has failed. Check cable connections between the storage
controller and the enclosure or backplane.
Storage <device> is missing. Perform the following:
• Check SAS and power cable connections
between the storage controller and the
enclosure or backplane.
• Check the external enclosure management
modules (EMM) and PERC status LEDs.
NVRAM Alerts
NVRAM PCI Controller failed. Replace the NVRAM PCI Controller.
NVRAM PCI Controller is missing. Reinsert or replace the NVRAM PCI Controller.
Super Capacitor on the NVRAM PCI Controller
failed.
Replace the NVRAM PCI Controller.
Super Capacitor on the NVRAM PCI Controller is
missing.
Replace the NVRAM PCI Controller.
Failed to check software compatibility. Upgrade the DR Series system appliance (in the
Software Upgrade page, click Start Upgrade).
188
Alert Message Description/Meaning or Action
The system software package is incompatible with
the current software stack.
Upgrade the DR Series system appliance (in the
Software Upgrade page, click Start Upgrade).
PERC Alerts
The storage appliance failed to gather the system
diagnostics.
• Resolve all issues in the DR Series system
diagnostics log bundle.
• Re-attempt to collect the diagnostics log
bundle.
• Contact Dell Support for assistance.
Storage Appliance Critical Error: BIOS System ID is
incorrect for correct operation of this storage
appliance.
• The DR Series system appliance requires service.
• Contact Dell Support for assistance.
Table 8. DR Series System Event Messages
System Event Message Description/Meaning or Action
System Event = Type 1
System memory usage has returned to an
optimal level.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
A high level of system process usage has been
detected, if it persists, please collect system
diagnostics.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System process usage has returned to an
optimal level.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
A high-temperature reading has been detected
on the NVRAM PCI controller. System will
operate only in a read-only mode. Please check
system airflow.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
A high-temperature reading has been detected
on the NVRAM PCI controller. System will not
become operational until the temperature
reduces to an ambient value of 55 degrees
Celsius (131 degrees Fahrenheit).
Informational message. No user intervention is
required. If issue persists, contact Dell Support for
assistance or intervention.
The next NVRAM capacitor health check is
scheduled for <variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Windows Active Directory client is unable to
contact the Active Directory domain server.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Active Directory domain server connectivity is
restored.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
The system IP address has changed from
<variable> to <variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
189
System Event Message Description/Meaning or Action
Filesystem scan has been requested. Switching
to Maintenance mode. Filesystem has read-only
access.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
NVRAM not detected. Ensure card is seated
properly.
Verify that the NVRAM card is seated properly in the
DR Series system appliance. Contact Dell Support for
assistance or intervention.
NVRAM capacitor is disconnected. Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
NVRAM capacitor has degraded. Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
NVRAM SSD is disconnected. Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
NVRAM has failed to backup or restore data
during the last boot.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
NVRAM hardware failure. Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Data volume is not present. Check that all drives
are inserted and powered up.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Filesystem server failed to start after multiple
attempts.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Filesystem server crashed multiple times.
System is now entering Maintenance mode.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Insufficient disk space. Filesystem switched to
read-only mode.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required. If issue persists, contact Dell Support for
assistance or intervention.
Unable to detect filesystem type on the Data
Volume.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Unable to detect filesystem type on the
Namespace Volume.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Filesystem scan discovered inconsistencies. Please check report and take the recommended
action. Contact Dell Support for assistance or
intervention.
NVRAM does not match data volume. If this is a newly replaced NVRAM device, use the CLI
maintenance --hardware --reinit_nvram command.
For more information, see the Dell DR Series System
Command Line Reference Guide.
Storage usage is approaching the DR Series
system capacity.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required. If issue persists, contact Dell Support for
assistance or intervention.
Replication resync cannot proceed because the
Namespace depth has reached its maximum.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required. If issue persists, contact Dell Support for
assistance or intervention.
Filesystem has reached the maximum allowable
file(s) and directories limit. New file and
Please clean up the filesystem. If issue persists,
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
190
System Event Message Description/Meaning or Action
directory creation will be denied until sufficient
space exists.
Filesystem is reaching the maximum allowable
file(s) and directories limit. New file and
directory creation will be denied after the limit
has been reached.
Please clean up the filesystem. If issue persists,
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Replication has encountered an unexpected
error.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
DataCheck has detected a potential corruption. Run data consistency checks at the first available
opportunity. If this issue persists, contact Dell Support
for assistance or intervention.
Temperature warning detected on NVRAM PCI
controller.
Please check the data center air conditioning, rack
ventilation, and internal cooling fans for any issues.
Ensure that there is proper air flow through the
system appliance, and clean the system cooling vents
as needed. If issue persists, contact Dell Support for
assistance or intervention.
Filesystem Name Space partition has reached its
maximum allowable limit.
Please delete any old, unused file(s) or disable
replication(s). If issue persists, contact Dell Support for
assistance or intervention.
Filesystem Name Space partition is reaching its
maximum allowable limit.
New replication resynch(s) will be stopped. If issue
persists, contact Dell Support for assistance or
intervention.
One or more software packages are
incompatible.
Please upgrade the system appliance to rectify the
issue. Upgrade the DR Series system appliance (in the
Software Upgrade page, click Start Upgrade).
System Event = Type 2
Container <name> created successfully. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Container <name> marked for deletion. For more information, see Deleting Containers. Use
the DR Series system CLI maintenance --filesystem --
reclaim_space command to recover this storage
space.
Successfully renamed container <name> as
<name>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Successfully added connection entry for
container <name>: type <variable> clients
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Successfully updated connection entry for
container <name>: type <variable> clients
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
191
System Event Message Description/Meaning or Action
Successfully deleted connection entry for
container <name>: type <variable> clients
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Replication entry updated successfully for
container <name>: role <variable> peer
<variable> peer container <variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Replication configuration updated successfully
for container <name>: role <variable> peer
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Replication configuration deleted successfully
for container <name>: peer <variable> peer
container <name>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Replication <variable> defaults successfully
updated: role <variable> peer <variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Successfully updated replication bandwidth
limit for <variable> to <variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Successfully removed replication bandwidth
limit for <variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Successfully set <variable> replication
bandwidth limit.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Successfully initiated replication resync on
container <name>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Failure initiating replication resync on container
<name>.
For more information, see Managing Replication
Operations.
Snapshot <variable> → <variable> created
successfully.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Snapshot <variable> → <variable> successfully
updated.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Snapshot <variable> → <variable> successfully
deleted.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Online data verification <variable> successfully. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Successfully <variable> system marker for
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Successfully updated <variable> schedule. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System Event = Type 3
System is entering Maintenance mode. Informational message. No user intervention is
required. Contact Dell Support for assistance or
intervention.
192
System Event Message Description/Meaning or Action
System is entering Support mode. Informational message. No user intervention is
required. Contact Dell Support for assistance or
intervention.
Failure—OFS client initialization failure. Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Failure—mtab initialization failure for container
if <variable>.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Failure—cannot initialize node mtab. Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Failure retrieving configuration for container ID
<variable>.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Failure deleting container ID <variable>. Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Failure stopping container ID <variable>. Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Failure adding connection <variable> for
container ID <variable>.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Failure deleting connection <variable> for
container ID <variable>.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Replication started as per schedule, will be
active until <variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Replication stopped as per schedule, will restart
at <variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Container replay failed for container <variable>. Informational message. No user intervention is
required. Contact Dell Support for assistance or
intervention.
Failure—Name Space subsystem initialization
failed.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required. Contact Dell Support for assistance or
intervention.
Inconsistencies were found in the Name Space. Please schedule a filesystem consistency check using
the DR Series system CLI maintenance --filesystem --
start_scan command.
System entering Maintenance mode—Name
Space log replay failed.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
System entering Maintenance Mode—Name
Space transaction failure.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Failure—failed to commit Name Space
transaction.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Filesystem has reached the maximum
supported number of Name Space entries.
Please clean up the filesystem to allow new file and
directory create operations. If this condition persists,
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Filesystem has recovered from a lack of
available Name Space entries.
Filesystem create operations will now be allowed.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
193
System Event Message Description/Meaning or Action
Internal attributes of some files were found to
be corrupt. The DR Series system will not allow
the setting or removing of Attributes or ACLs on
files that have corrupt attributes.
To find all files with corrupt attributes and to clear the
state, please perform a maintenance scan using the
DR Series system CLI maintenance --filesystem --
start_scan command. Contact Dell Support for
assistance or intervention.
Replication resync started for container
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Replication internal resync started for container
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Replication resync completed for container
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Replication internal resync completed for
container <variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Failure creating replication snapshot for
container <variable>.
If condition persists, reduce number of inodes, or
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Failure deleting replication snapshot for
container <variable>.
If condition persists, reduce number of inodes, or
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Replication client connected for container
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Replication client disconnected for container
<variable>.
Verify that the ports for replication (9904, 9911, 9915,
and 9916) and OST (10011 and 11000) operations have
been enabled. If issue persists, contact Dell Support
for assistance or intervention.
Replication server connected for container
<variable>.
Verify that the ports for replication (9904, 9911, 9915,
and 9916) and OST (10011 and 11000) operations have
been enabled. If issue persists, contact Dell Support
for assistance or intervention.
Replication server disconnected for container
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Replication Name Service volume operations
log (oplog) full for container <variable>.
Verify that the ports for replication (9904, 9911, 9915,
and 9916) and OST (10011 and 11000) operations have
been enabled. If issue persists, contact Dell Support
for assistance or intervention.
DR Series entering Maintenance mode due to
corrupt Name Service volume operations log
(oplog) for container <variable>.
The DR Series system should self-correct itself. If
condition persists, reduce number of inodes, or
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Replication data operations log (oplog) full for
container <variable>.
The DR Series system should self-correct itself. If
condition persists, reduce number of inodes, or
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
DR Series entering Maintenance mode due to
corrupt replication data operations log (oplog)
for container <variable>.
The DR Series system should self-correct itself. If
condition persists, reduce number of inodes, or
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
194
System Event Message Description/Meaning or Action
System entering Maintenance mode due to
corrupt blockmap for container <variable> scid
<variable>.
The DR Series system should self-correct itself. If
condition persists, reduce number of inodes, or
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
System entering Maintenance Mode due to
corrupt datastore <variable> scid <variable>.
The DR Series system should self-correct itself. If
condition persists, reduce number of inodes, or
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Replication transmit log (txlog) full for container
<variable>.
The DR Series system should self-correct itself. If
condition persists, reduce number of inodes, or
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
DR Series entering Maintenance mode due to
corrupt replication txlog for container
<variable>.
Collect a diagnostics log file, and open a Support
record with Dell Support for assistance.
System entering Maintenance mode due to
replication txlog commit error <variable> for
container <variable>.
Collect a diagnostics log file, and open a Support
record with Dell Support for assistance.
DR Series entering Maintenance mode due to
corrupt chunk data for container <variable>.
Collect a diagnostics log file, and open a Support
record with Dell Support for assistance.
File replication unable to make progress on
container <variable>.
Collect a diagnostics log file, and open a Support
record with Dell Support for assistance.
Replication syncmgr exited for container
<variable> error <variable>.
Collect a diagnostics log file bundle, and open a
Support record with Dell Support for assistance.
Replication syncmgr event for container
<variable> error <variable>.
Collect a diagnostics log file bundle, and open a
Support record with Dell Support for assistance.
Replication Name Service exited for container
<variable> error <variable>.
Collect a diagnostics log file bundle, and open a
Support record with Dell Support for assistance.
Replication data replicator exited for container
<variable> error <variable>.
Collect a diagnostics log file bundle, and open a
Support record with Dell Support for assistance.
Replication protocol version mismatch for
container <variable> error <variable>.
Collect a diagnostics log file bundle, and open a
Support record with Dell Support for assistance.
Replication delete cleanup failed for container
<variable> error <variable>.
Collect a diagnostics log file bundle, and open a
Support record with Dell Support for assistance.
Replication target system <variable> is running
low on space. Replication cannot proceed
further on container <variable>.
Informational message. Contact Dell Support for
assistance or intervention.
Replication misconfiguration detected for
container <variable>. Replication relationship
might have been deleted forcibly on target
system <variable>.
Informational message. Contact Dell Support for
assistance or intervention.
Replication failed for container <variable> error
<variable>.
Collect a diagnostics log file bundle, and open a
Support record with Dell Support for assistance.
195
System Event Message Description/Meaning or Action
Replication server failed to commit blockmap
for container <variable>. System is entering
Maintenance mode.
The DR Series system should self-correct itself. If
condition persists, reduce number of inodes, or
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Replication container <variable> is paused due
to files pending in the Cleaner process.
Run the Cleaner on the replica container. If condition
persists, contact Dell Support for intervention or
assistance.
System is running a lower version of RPC. This
will stall replication on all target containers.
Please upgrade RPC to correct version. If condition
persists, contact Dell Support for intervention or
assistance.
NFS client successfully mounted <variable>. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Maximum NFS connection limit <variable>
reached, active NFS connections <variable>.
You have reached the threshold limit. Reduce the
number of connections.
NFS server started successfully. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
CIFS client successfully connected to container
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Maximum CIFS connection limit <variable>
reached.
You have reached the threshold limit. Reduce the
number of connections.
CIFS server failed to start <variable>. Reboot the DR Series system. If issue persists, contact
Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
CIFS client connected <variable> times to
container <variable>.
Reboot the DR Series system. If issue persists, contact
Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
CIFS server started successfully. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Online data verification (DataCheck) started. Informational message. If issue persists, contact Dell
Support for assistance or intervention.
Online data verification (DataCheck) suspended. Informational message. If issue persists, contact Dell
Support for assistance or intervention.
Online data verification (DataCheck) stopped. Informational message. If issue persists, contact Dell
Support for assistance or intervention.
Online data verification (DataCheck) resumed. Informational message. If issue persists, contact Dell
Support for assistance or intervention.
Online data verification (DataCheck) detected
<variable> corruption.
Informational message. If issue persists, contact Dell
Support for assistance or intervention.
Online data verification (DataCheck) detected
<variable> corruptions.
Informational message. If issue persists, contact Dell
Support for assistance or intervention.
Online data verification (DataCheck) failed to
start.
Informational message. If issue persists, contact Dell
Support for assistance or intervention.
System Event = Type 4
196
System Event Message Description/Meaning or Action
Unable to load deduplication dictionary
<variable>.
Use the DR Series system CLI maintenance --
configuration --reinit_dictionary command. If this
issue persists, contact Dell Support for assistance or
intervention.
Unable to locate deduplication dictionary
<variable>.
Use the DR Series system CLI maintenance --
configuration --reinit_dictionary command. If issue
persists, contact Dell Support for assistance or
intervention.
Cleaner process run <variable> started. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Cleaner process run <variable> completed in
<variable> milliseconds (ms).
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Cleaner process encountered input/output (I/O)
errors.
Maintenance-based issue with the DR Series system.
Check status using Maintenance mode or DR Series
system CLI commands. Contact Dell Support as
needed.
Failure to sync NVRAM <variable>. NVRAM hardware issue with the DR Series system.
Check status using Maintenance mode or DR Series
system CLI commands.
Failure in reading from NVRAM <variable>. NVRAM hardware issue with the DR Series system.
Check status using Maintenance mode or DR Series
system CLI commands.
Failure in writing to NVRAM <variable>. NVRAM hardware issue with the DR Series system.
Check status using Maintenance mode or DR Series
system CLI commands.
Failure to write sync NVRAM <variable>. NVRAM hardware issue with the DR Series system.
Check status using Maintenance mode or DR Series
system CLI commands.
Datastore <variable> length mismatch
<variable>.
Maintenance-based issue with the DR Series system.
Check status using Maintenance mode or DR Series
system CLI commands. Contact Dell Support as
needed.
Data volume capacity threshold reached. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Out of space. Rollback of updates on object
<variable> failed. Restarting file server.
Maintenance-based issue with the DR Series system.
Check status using Maintenance mode or DR Series
system CLI commands. Contact Dell Support as
needed.
Failure reading from data volume. Maintenance-based issue with the DR Series system.
Check status using Maintenance mode or DR Series
system CLI commands. Contact Dell Support as
needed.
197
System Event Message Description/Meaning or Action
Failure writing to data volume. Maintenance-based issue with the DR Series system.
Check status using Maintenance mode or DR Series
system CLI commands. Contact Dell Support as
needed.
Checksum verification on metadata failed. Contact Dell Support for assistance or repair the
filesystem. For repairs, see About The DR Series
Maintenance Mode.
Optimization engine log replay failed. Contact Dell Support for assistance or repair the
filesystem. For repairs, see About The DR Series
Maintenance Mode.
Decompression of datastore failed <variable>. Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Failed to clean active datastore <variable>. Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Negative reference on datastore <variable>.
Record type: <variable>. Count: <variable>.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or repair the
filesystem. For repairs, see About the DR Series
Maintenance Mode.
Datastore <variable> contains negative stream
reference count. Record type: <variable>.
Count: <variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Datastore <variable> total reference count
reached threshold. Record type: <variable>.
Count: <variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Entering Maintenance mode due to failure in
processing logs.
Contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
Failed to acquire optimizer pipeline. Error:
<variable>.
Contact Dell Support for intervention or assistance.
Failed to create optimizer event. Type:
<variable>, Error: <variable>.
Contact Dell Support for intervention or assistance.
Task execution in fiber <variable> timed out
after <variable> milliseconds (ms). Restarting file
server.
Filesystem restarted. Collect diagnostics log file
bundle, and upload diagnostics log file bundle to Dell
Support.
Memory allocation failure. Collect diagnostics log file bundle.
Background compression started. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Background compression completed. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Optimization initialized on container <variable>. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Optimization terminated on container
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
198
System Event Message Description/Meaning or Action
Cleaner process started as per schedule, will be
active until <variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Cleaner process stopped as per schedule, will
restart at <variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Cleaner aborted at <variable>. The DR Series system should enter Maintenance
mode, and Cleaner process will restart.
Moving data from NVRAM to disk failed. System
is entering its Maintenance mode.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Last event/invalid event. Informational message. Contact Dell Support for
assistance or intervention.
Filesystem Cleaner process started as per
schedule (will be active until <variable>).
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Filesystem Cleaner process stopped as per
schedule (will restart at <variable>).
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System Event = Type 5
System shutdown initiated by administrator. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System reboot initiated by administrator. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Start system upgrade to version <variable>. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System name changed to <variable>. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System date changed to <variable>. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System time zone changed to <variable>. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Password changed for user: administrator. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
NTP server <variable> added. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
NTP server <variable> deleted. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
NTP service enabled. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
NTP service disabled. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
User data destroyed using CLI command. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
199
System Event Message Description/Meaning or Action
User <variable> enabled. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
User <variable> disabled. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Networking interfaces restarted. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
DHCP enabled: IP address assigned by DHCP. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Static IP address <variable> assigned. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Network interface bonding mode set to
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Network MTU size set to <variable>. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System name set to <variable>. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Email relay host set to <variable> for email
alerts.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Recipients for email alerts set to <variable>. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Recipient <variable> added to receive email
alerts.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Recipient <variable> is no longer receiving email
alerts.
Check whether email recipient still exists, or if mailbox
is full.
Administrator information set to <variable> for
email alerts.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Test email sent. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Joined the Windows Active Directory domain
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Left the Windows Active Directory domain
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System diagnostics package <variable> deleted. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
All diagnostic packages deleted. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System diagnostic package <variable> is copied
off the system.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
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System Event Message Description/Meaning or Action
System statistics reset by administrator. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System diagnostic package <variable> is
collected.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System diagnostics space usage exceeded
threshold. Auto cleaning oldest package:
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
CIFS server cannot access file service. Contact Dell Support for intervention or assistance.
Collect diagnostics log file bundle, and upload to Dell
Support.
Host <variable> added to SNMP alert recipient
list.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Host <variable> deleted from SNMP alert
recipient list.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Host <variable> enabled for SNMP alerts. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Host <variable> disabled for SNMP alerts. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
User <variable> logged into the system. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
CIFS user <variable> added. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
CIFS user <variable> deleted. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Password changed for CIFS user <variable>. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System upgrade completed <variable>. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Cleared foreign configuration on disk
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
User <variable> logged into the system. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Disk <variable> configured as hot spare. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Cleared foreign configuration on disk
<variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Telnet service enabled. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Telnet service disabled. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
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System Event Message Description/Meaning or Action
DNS settings updated with primary <variable>,
secondary <variable>, and suffix <variable>.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System initialized successfully. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Security privilege(s) changed for <variable>. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
Miscellaneous Invalid/Last Event. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System Event = Type 6
File system check restarted. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
File system check completed successfully. No
inconsistencies were found.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
File system check found some inconsistencies. The DR Series system Maintenance mode repair
process should resolve this. If the problem persists,
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
File system repair started. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
File system repair completed. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
File system check stop requested. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
One (or more) file(s) were deleted as part of the
repair process.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required. To verify, please use the DR Series system
CLI maintenance --filesystem --repair_history
verbose command.
One or more file(s) were deleted as part of the
repair process for container <variable>.
Replication will be stopped for this container.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
One or more file(s) were deleted as part of the
repair process for container <variable>. Resync
has been initiated for this container.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System Event = Type 7
OST server started successfully. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
OST server failed to start. Restart the OST server. If issue persists, contact Dell
Support for assistance or intervention.
OST server stopped successfully. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
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System Event Message Description/Meaning or Action
OST client authentication failed. Retry the OST client authentication. If issue persists,
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
OST Logical Storage Unit (LSU) quota exceeded
<variable>.
Informational message. Reduce the number of LSUs. If
issue persists, contact Dell Support for assistance or
intervention.
OST backup failed <variable>. Retry the OST backup operation. If issue persists,
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
OST Opdup failed <variable>. The OST optimized duplication process failed. If issue
persists, contact Dell Support for assistance or
intervention.
OST Restore failed <variable>. The OST restore process failed. If issue persists,
contact Dell Support for assistance or intervention.
OST connections exceeded the maximum limit;
count: <variable>, maximum limit: <variable>.
Informational message. Reduce the number of OST
connections. If issue persists, contact Dell Support for
assistance or intervention.
Connection from the OST client <variable>
aborted.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
OST client protocol version is not supported. Informational message. No user intervention is
required. Check for the supported OST client versions
in the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide.
System is entering the Maintenance mode: OST
LSU information file is corrupted.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required. If issue persists, contact Dell Support for
assistance or intervention.
System is entering the Maintenance mode: OST
LSU image information is corrupted.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required. If issue persists, contact Dell Support for
assistance or intervention
OST client connection was reset. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
System is entering the Maintenance mode: OST
meta directory is corrupted.
Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
OST server initialization failed. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
OST server initialization was successful. Informational message. No user intervention is
required.
About the Diagnostics Service
The Diagnostics service in the DR Series system lets you display, collect, and manage your system’s
diagnostic log file bundles. Each diagnostic log file bundle provides:
• A current snapshot of system operations
• System-related information that assists in understanding system operations
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• A record of system operations in case Dell Support needs to provide technical assistance
To access this functionality, use the following DR Series system navigation panel GUI option:
•Support → Diagnostics
The Diagnostics service works by collecting all the system-related information that could help when
diagnosing a problem or error condition in the system.
For more information about diagnostics log file bundles, see Diagnostics Page and Options.
Diagnostics runs as a service during system startup, and this process listens for incoming requests. There
are two modes in which the diagnostics collection process is started:
•Admin-Generated mode: when a DR Series system CLI or DR Series system GUI request is made by
the administrator (and the default reason that is listed is admin-generated).
•Auto-Generated mode: when a process or service failure is reported, the DR Series system starts
collecting system-related information. After it completes the auto-generated collection, it generates a
system event.
When the diagnostics log directory exceeds the maximum storage capacity, any log older than one hour
is automatically deleted. The DR Series system GUI lets you download and save diagnostics log files to
other systems on your network. The DR Series system also maintains a separate archive logs directory
that collects other system-related information, and these archive logs are also automatically deleted
when they exceed a maximum capacity.
For more information, see Diagnostics Page and Options, Generating a Diagnostics Log File,
Downloading Diagnostics Log Files. and Deleting a Diagnostics Log File.
NOTE: When you generate a diagnostics log file bundle, it contains all of the DR Series system
information that you need when contacting Dell Support for technical assistance. When a
diagnostics log file bundle is generated, this process also collects all the previous auto-generated
diagnostics and deletes them from the system.
The diagnostics log file bundle collects the same type of hardware, storage, and operating system
information that is collected when using the Dell System E-Support Tool (DSET) and the DR Series system
CLI commands (diagnostics --collect --dset). For more information about DR Series system command
line interface commands, see the Dell DR Series Command Line Reference Guide.
The DSET-based information that gets collected for the system helps Dell Support to troubleshoot or
evaluate the status of your DR Series system.
Understanding Diagnostics Collection
The Diagnostics service collection tool process observes the following guidelines:
• DR Series system triggers an automatic diagnostic log collection of the DR Series system status for
any system process or service failures.
• All automatic diagnostic collection requests are queued and executed sequentially.
• The DR Series system GUI provides options to display existing diagnostics logs, generate new
diagnostics logs, download and save copies of existing diagnostics logs, or delete existing diagnostics
logs. For more information, see Diagnostics Page and Options and About the Diagnostics Service.
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• The DR Series system CLI also provides the means for managing, generating, or downloading the
diagnostics log files. For more information, see the Dell DR Series System Command Line Reference
Guide.
About the DR Series System Maintenance Mode
In general, the DR Series system enters the Maintenance mode whenever the file system has
encountered an issue that prevents it from operating normally.
NOTE: You can use the Reason code information available in the Maintenance mode to call Dell
Support. All maintenance must be conducted using the DR Series systems Command Line Interface.
When in its Maintenance mode, the filesystem is in a read-only state, and the system runs the following
maintenance-based operations:
NOTE: Whenever the DR Series systems enters or exits from the Maintenance mode state, all
communication via protocols is lost.
• Runs an internal filesystem check.
• Generates a filesystem status report (if the filesystem check finds no issues, the DR Series system
switches back to Operational mode without user intervention).
If the filesystem check finds issues, you can choose to make repairs (using Confirm Repair Filesystem) or
ignore the detected issue (using Skip Repair Filesystem), at which point the system switches back to
Operational mode.
The Maintenance mode process displays a number of stages, indicated on the Maintenance Mode
progress bar, which include:
• Preparing for Filesystem Check
• Scan in Progress
• Completed Generating Report
NOTE: If the Filesystem Check detects any repairable files, it generates a Repair Report that
identifies these reported files. The Maintenance Mode progress bar halts at the Completed
Generating Repair stage, and remains in Maintenance mode until you click Confirm Repair
Filesystem. The DR Series system does not advance to the Switching to Operation Mode stage
until the filesystem repair is completed.
• Switching to Operational Mode
• Operational Mode (Normal State)
The Maintenance Mode page provides the following information:
• Maintenance Mode Progress bar:
– Displays the five stages of Maintenance mode
– Updates the progress bar as each stage completes
NOTE: If an alert displays above the Maintenance Mode progress bar, this indicates that the
filesystem check has completed, and it has generated a report on the repairable files (which
are displayed in the Repair Report pane under the Maintenance Mode progress bar). To repair
all of the reported files listed in the Repair Report, you must click Confirm Repair Filesystem.
• Repair Report:
– Displays a list of repairable filesystem files that were detected in the Filesystem Check.
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– Identifies the repairable files by Container ID, File/Inode/Directory location, and a brief reason for
failure.
– Provides a search capability that allows you to click prev or next to display the previous or next
page in the Repair Report, or lets you display a specific page number of the Repair Report by
entering this number in the Goto page and click go.
• System Information pane:
–System Name
–Software Version
–Current Date/Time
–iDRAC IP Address
• Support Information
–Service Tag
–Last Diagnostic Run
–BIOS Version
NOTE: When in Maintenance mode, the DR Series system navigation panel displays the following
options that are links to display the correspond page in the DR Series system GUI:
•Alerts
•Events
•Health
•Usage
•Diagnostics
•Software Upgrade
After the DR Series system enters Maintenance mode, there can only be two possible outcome states:
•Operational mode (Normal State): where the filesystem check was successful, and no system files
need to be repaired (Filesystem Check: successful).
•Maintenance mode has halted: where the filesystem check detected one or more repairable files
(Filesystem Check: unsuccessful).
Filesystem Check — Successful: when the Maintenance mode successfully completes all of its stages,
the DR Series system displays its status as having entered Operational mode (Normal State). Only after
the Maintenance mode has successfully completed its internal check can it return to an Operational
mode.
To return to the Operational mode, click Go to Dashboard on the Maintenance Mode page options bar.
Go to Dashboard is only active when all of the internal system checks have completed and the progress
bar indicates that all stages have been completed.
NOTE: You may encounter issues when using data management agents (DMAs) such as NetBackup
with expired backup images when the DR Series system is in its Maintenance mode.
NOTE: When in Maintenance mode, image expiration fails because the DR Series system is in a
read-only state. If this occurs, the DMA assumes that the backup images have expired. However, the
DR Series system administrator may be unaware that the backup data images still reside on the DR
Series system.
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Filesystem Check — Unsuccessful: when the Maintenance mode halts at the Completed Generating
Report stage, this indicates that the filesystem check detected some repairable files, and listed them in
the Repair Report pane on the Maintenance Mode page.
To return to the Operational mode, click Confirm Repair Filesystem on the Maintenance Mode page
options bar to repair the files listed in the Repair Report. Confirm Repair Filesystem is the only active
option you can select when the progress bar indicates that some filesystem files are in need of repair.
Scheduling DR Series System Operations
The most important thing to remember when scheduling critical DR Series system operations is that you
want to ensure that you perform each of these operations at a time when it will not overlap or interfere
with the running of any of the other key system operations.
By better scheduling when you run system operations, you can optimize your system resources and
make it possible to achieve the best possible DR Series system performance. To do this, plan and
schedule time periods in which to perform the following critical system operations:
• Data ingests (which are dependent upon the DMAs)
• Replication process
• Cleaner process (space reclamation)
The main goal in planning and scheduling operations is running the Cleaner and Replication operations at
times when they do not overlap or interfere with other important system operations. You want to make
sure that by properly scheduling and planning, your system can perform each of these key operations
independent of the other.
The best practice is to run these two operations during non-standard business hours, so that they do not
conflict with any of your other backup or ingest operations. In short, efficient scheduling maximizes the
best use of your system resources.
Dell recommends scheduling resource-intensive operations during specific time periods when no other
system operations are being performed. This approach is called windowing, which requires scheduling a
specific block of time (or “window”), each with a set starting and stopping point so that you can perform
data ingests, replication, or space reclamation operations without interfering with the running of any
other operation.
Creating a Cleaner Schedule
Performing scheduled disk space reclamation operations are recommended as a method for recovering
disk space from system containers in which files were deleted as a result of deduplication. The best
method is to schedule a time when you can run the Cleaner on your DR Series system with no other
planned processes running. Alternately, another method lets the Cleaner process on the DR Series
system run whenever it determines that there are no active data ingests.
NOTE: Even if no Cleaner schedule is set, but the system detects that there is disk space that can be
reclaimed, the Cleaner process runs. However, the Cleaner will not start until the following
conditions are met: it detects that there are no active data ingests, that two minutes of system idle
time have elapsed since the last data file ingest was completed, and that the Replication process is
not running (the Cleaner process runs as a lower system priority operation than the Replication
process).
NOTE: Running the Cleaner while ingesting data, reduces system performance. Ensure that you
schedule the Cleaner to run when backup or replication is not in progress.
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NOTE: The Cleaner Schedule page displays the current DR Series system time zone and current
timestamp (using this format: US/Pacific, Fri Nov 2 15:15:10 2012).
To schedule Cleaner operations on your system, complete the following:
1. Select Schedules → Cleaner Schedule.
The Cleaner Schedule page is displayed.
2. Click Schedule to create a new schedule (or click Edit Schedule to modify an existing schedule).
The Set Cleaner Schedule page is displayed.
3. Select (or modify) the Start Time and Stop Time setpoint values using the Hour and Minutes pull-
down lists to create a Cleaner schedule.
NOTE: You must set a corresponding Stop Time for every Start Time set in each Cleaner
schedule you create. The DR Series system will not support any Cleaner schedule that does not
contain a Start Time/Stop Time pair of setpoints (daily or weekly).
4. Click Set Schedule for the system to accept your Cleaner schedule (or click Cancel to display the
Cleaner Schedule page).
NOTE: To reset all of the values in the current Cleaner schedule, click Reset in the Set Cleaner
Schedule dialog. To selectively modify values in the current schedule, make your changes to
the corresponding hours and minutes pull-down lists to represent the Start Time and Stop
Time you wish to set, and click Set Schedule.
The current Cleaner Status is represented in the Dashboard page in the System Information pane as one
of the three following states:
•Pending—displayed when there is any scheduled window set and the current time is outside the
scheduled window for the Cleaner operation.
•Running—displayed when the Cleaner operation is running during a scheduled window.
•Idle—displayed only if there is no Cleaner operation running during a scheduled window.
Dell recommends that you do not schedule the running of any Cleaner operations during the same time
period when replication or ingest operations will be running. Failure to follow this practice will affect the
time required to complete the system operations and/or impact your DR Series system performance.
Displaying Cleaner Statistics
To display additional Cleaner statistics, you can use the DR Series system CLI stats --cleaner command to
show the following categories of Cleaner statistics:
• Last Run Files Processed (number of files processed by Cleaner)
• Last Run Bytes Processed (number of bytes processed by Cleaner)
• Last Run Bytes Reclaimed (number of bytes reclaimed by the Cleaner)
• Last Run Start Time (indicates date and time last Cleaner process started)
• Last Run End Time (indicates date and time last Cleaner process ended)
• Last Run Time To Completion(s) (indicates the number of times that Cleaner process has successfully
completed)
• Current Run Start Time (indicates date and time current Cleaner process started)
• Current Run Files Processed (number of files processed by current Cleaner process)
• Current Run Bytes Processed (number of bytes processed by current Cleaner process)
• Current Run Bytes Reclaimed (number of bytes reclaimed by the current Cleaner processed)
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• Current Run Phase 1 Start Time (indicates date and time for start of current Cleaner process phase 1)
• Current Run Phase 1 Records Processed (lists the number of data records processed in current
Cleaner process phase 1)
• Current Run Phase 1 End Time (indicates date and time for end of current Cleaner process phase 1)
• Current Run Phase 2 Start Time (indicates date and time for start of current Cleaner process phase 2)
• Current Run Phase 2 Records Processed (lists the number of data records processed in current
Cleaner process phase 2)
• Current Run Phase 2 End Time (indicates date and time for end of current Cleaner process phase 2)
• Current Run Phase 3 Start Time (indicates date and time for start of current Cleaner process phase 3)
• Current Run Phase 3 Records Processed (lists the number of data records processed in current
Cleaner process phase 3)
• Current Run Phase 3 End Time (indicates date and time for end of current Cleaner process phase 3)
• Current Run Phase 4 Start Time (indicates date and time for start of current Cleaner process phase 4)
• Current Run Phase 4 Records Processed (lists the number of data records processed in current
Cleaner process phase 4)
• Current Run Phase 4 End Time (indicates date and time for end of current Cleaner process phase 4)
For more information about DR Series system CLI commands, see the Dell DR Series System Command
Line Reference Guide.
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Supported Ports in a DR Series System
The following table lists the application and service ports found on a normally operating DR Series
system. There may be other ports that are not listed here, that an administrator may need to open and
enable to support specific operations across the network. Be aware that the ports listed in the following
table may not reflect your specific network environment, or any planned deployment. While some of
these DR Series system ports may not need to be accessible through the firewall, this information is made
available when deploying the DR Series system in your own network because it indicates supported ports
that may need to be exposed.
Table 9. Supported DR Series System Ports
Port Type Number Port Usage or Description
DR Series System Application Ports
TCP 20 File Transfer Protocol (FTP)—for transferring files.
TCP 23 Telnet—remote terminal access protocol for unencrypted text
communications.
TCP 80 Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)—unencrypted protocol
communications.
TCP 443 HTTPS—combination of the HTTP with Secure Socket Layer (SSL)/
Transport Layer Security (TLS).
TCP 1311 Hardware Health Monitor
TCP 9901 Watcher
TCP 9904 Configuration Server (needed for replication operations)
TCP 9911 Filesystem Server (needed for replication operations)
TCP 9915 MetaData Replication (needed for replication operations)
TCP 9916 Data Filesystem Server (needed for replication operations)
TCP 9918 Diagnostics Collector
TCP 9920 Data path used for OST replications
TCP 10011 Control channel (needed for OST operations)
TCP 11000 Data channel (needed for OST operations)
DR Series System Service Ports
TCP 22 Secure Shell (SSH)—used for secure logins, file transfers like SCP
(Secure Copy) and SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol)
TCP 25 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)—used for routing and
sending email
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Port Type Number Port Usage or Description
TCP 139 SMB daemon—used for SMB protocol-related processes
TCP 199 SNMP daemon—used by Simple Network Management Protocol
(SNMP) requests
TCP 801 NFS status daemon
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14
Getting Help
For more information about what you can attempt to resolve yourself or to get technical assistance from
Dell for the DR Series system, see Troubleshooting and Maintenance, Troubleshooting Error
Conditions,Before Contacting Dell Support, and Contacting Dell.
Before Contacting Dell Support
If you encounter an error condition or operational issue, Dell recommends that you first attempt to see if
you can resolve it using the supporting Dell DR Series system documentation before you make an
attempt to contact Dell Support for technical assistance.
To help isolate or diagnose any basic issues that you may encounter with the Dell DR Series system, Dell
recommends that you perform the following tasks:
• Refer to the Dell DR Series System Administrator Guide to verify if it contains information that can
explain or resolve your issue. See Chapter 9, “Troubleshooting and Maintenance”.
• Refer to the Dell DR Series System Command Line Reference Guide to verify if it contains information
that can explain or resolve your issue.
• Read the latest set of Dell DR Series System Release Notes to verify if they contain any information
that can explain or resolve your issue.
• Locate your Dell support account number and password, locate the Service Tag for your DR Series
system, understand your type of support account, and be ready to provide specific details about the
system operations you were performing.
• Record the content of any status or error dialog messages that you received, and the sequence in
which they were displayed.
• Generate a current version diagnostics file (or if this is not possible, locate your latest existing
diagnostics file).
– Using the DR Series system GUI, click Diagnostics → Generate to generate a diagnostics file.
– Using the DR Series system CLI, at the system prompt, enter the command diagnostics --collect
to generate a diagnostics file. For more information, see the Dell DR Series System Command Line
Reference Guide.
NOTE: For best results in addressing replication issues, you should generate diagnostics files on
both DR Series source and target systems as close in time as possible.
NOTE: Each generated diagnostics file bundle contains information to assist Dell Support with the
most current data about:
• System alerts and events
• System configuration status
• System log files
• System statistics for storage and replication containers
• System hardware component status
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Contacting Dell
The topic explains the process for customers who need to contact Dell Support for technical assistance.
For customers in the United States, please call 800-WWW-DELL (800-999-3355).
NOTE: If you do not have an active Internet connection, you can still find the proper contact
information that you need on your purchase invoice, packing slip, bill, or Dell product catalog.
Dell provides several online and telephone-based support and service options. Availability varies by
country and product, and some services may not be available in your area.
To contact Dell for sales support, technical support, or customer service issues:
1. Visit support.dell.com.
2. Click to select your country/region at the bottom of the support.dell.com page. For the full listing of
countries and regions, click All.
The Choose a Country/Region page is displayed.
3. Click the country/region from the Americas, Europe, Middle East, & Africa, or Asia Pacific choices.
4. Select the appropriate service or support link based on your need.
5. Select the method of contacting Dell that is most convenient for you.
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