Important: Read this first

TechNote 285590 Revision F

Upgrading to Veritas NetBackup 6.0 ™

Important upgrade notice—Symantec recommends

upgrading to NetBackup 6.5
When you are ready to upgrade your NetBackup 5.x environment, Symantec strongly recommends that you upgrade
to NetBackup 6.5.
Although NetBackup 6.0 and its associated maintenance packs greatly improve performance, NetBackup 6.5 goes
further to improve efficiency and reduce performance issues.
Symantec also strongly recommends that you upgrade the master server and all media servers at the same time. If
you have a large number of media servers, it may not be possible to upgrade all of them at the same time. Please
refer to Upgrading to Veritas NetBackup 6.5 (TechNote 290141) for more information about Phased Upgrade
Planning.
If time does not allow you to initially upgrade all 5.x media servers, for performance reasons, Symantec strongly
recommends that you upgrade the master server to NetBackup 6.5.2. Master servers with NetBackup 6.5.2 and later
run more effectively with 5.x media servers than NetBackup 6.0 master servers.
For complete upgrade details, see Upgrading to Veritas NetBackup 6.5 (TechNote 290141).

Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 22

Importance of Upgrading from NetBackup 5.x
Many improvements have been made to the Veritas NetBackup product that make it much more robust to meet the
needs of our customers, including several core architecture changes. Because of these changes and the number of
new features now offered in NetBackup, Symantec encourages you to upgrade any systems running a pre-6.0
version to the latest version of NetBackup 6.0.
Included in these changes is a new NetBackup catalog format. This new catalog format requires a significant data
VERITAS
conversion to occur during the upgrade. As a result, it is important that your existing NetBackup catalog be clean
and free of corruption or errors prior to the upgrade and data conversion. We have made available a set of tools
designed to help you validate the consistency of your existing catalog before an upgrade is started. This document
explains the entire upgrade process and how to utilize these tools to check the consistency of your catalog. It is
critical that you follow the process outlined in this document to help ensure a successful upgrade to NetBackup 6.0.

Purpose of this document

This document is the primary source for you to review and understand all of the information and tools you will need
to make your upgrade from NetBackup 5.x to 6.0 successful. It represents current best practices for conducting an
upgrade to NetBackup 6.0 and supersedes the previously published NetBackup Installation Guides. This document
will be updated periodically to help keep you informed of any important issues that should be addressed when you
upgrade to NetBackup 6.0.
To make sure you understand all of the requirements and to ensure system continuity so that you have a clean
environment before you begin the upgrade process, follow the instructions in this document to help avoid the
following situations:
■ Unavailable media issues
■ Unavailable media servers
■ Potential network problems that could result in long delays in the upgrade process
■ Potential data loss scenarios
To help you understand the necessary steps to achieve a successful upgrade, this document provides the following
information:
■ “Chapter 1: Getting Started” describes where you can locate minimum memory and upgrade requirements.
■ “Chapter 2: Preparing your NetBackup environment” instructs you on how to prepare your back up environment
before upgrading.
■ “Chapter 3: Upgrading to 6.0” contains a high-level procedure that steps you through the upgrade process by
directing you to the appropriate upgrade information in existing NetBackup documents.
■ A list of supporting documentation that includes other important information you need to complete an upgrade.
■ A checklist to help you track the progress of your upgrade.
This document also contains links to NetBackup documents that are referenced in this procedure to help you
complete a successful upgrade. You may click on any link within this document and the appropriate book will
replace this document in the current Adobe Acrobat browser. If you want to return to this document after reviewing
the other book, you can do so by pressing the Alt key and the left arrow key at the same time.

Page 2 of 22 Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved.

NetBackup environment size considerations
Data indicate that NetBackup domains that run NetBackup 6.x master servers with NetBackup 5.x media servers and
exceed the following limits will have operational problems:
■ Greater than 200 total device connections or
■ Greater than 10 NetBackup 5.x media servers or
■ Greater than four (4) NetBackup 5.x media servers that are Shared Storage Option (SSO) scan hosts
Therefore, if your domain exceeds any one of these limits, it is imperative that you eliminate potential operational
problems by upgrading all NetBackup 5.x media servers when you upgrade the master server.
However, if you cannot, you can mitigate operational problems by using a phased approach to upgrade groups of
media servers. Please refer to “Phased upgrade” in Upgrading to Veritas NetBackup 6.5 (TechNote 290141).

Upgrading from NetBackup 4.5 to 6.5

You cannot upgrade your master or media servers directly from NetBackup 4.5 to 6.0. You must first upgrade to a
recommended NetBackup 5.x release. See “Chapter 3: Upgrading to 6.0” on page 11.

Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Page 3 of 22

Chapter 1: Getting Started
Before you begin upgrading your system, Symantec recommends that you review and understand information
relating to the following areas: VERITAS
■ “Minimum requirements for NetBackup 6.0”
■ Memory and disk requirements
■ Supported platforms
■ “Verifying system capacities”
■ Calculating the size of your NetBackup catalog
■ Calculating the size of your Enterprise Media Manager (EMM) Server
■ “NetBackup compatibility requirements”
■ Back-level media servers and clients
■ Operating System (OS) and NetBackup patch requirements
■ Product dependency information (Release Notes)
■ Additional upgrade requirements

Minimum requirements for NetBackup 6.0

It is important that you understand the memory and disk requirements for NetBackup 6.0. Because you are
upgrading from an existing NetBackup 5.x environment, Symantec recommends that you configure your systems to
meet the minimum requirements of NetBackup 6.0 prior to starting the upgrade. For product-specific memory, disk,
and binary size requirements refer to the following documents:
■ For minimum memory and disk storage requirements, refer to the NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guides and the
Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Release Impact Bulletin.
■ For NetBackup 5.x to 6.0 MPx upgrade requirements, refer again to the NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guides and
the Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Release Impact Bulletin for any additional information.
■ For information about binary size requirements, refer to the Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Release Notes for UNIX,
Linux, and Windows.
■ Verify that all of the systems in your environment are running a supported operating system version level for
NetBackup 6.0. For information on supported platforms, refer to the Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Operating System
Compatibility List.

Page 4 of 22 Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved.

Verifying system capacities
When evaluating your current backup environment for an upgrade to NetBackup 6.0, there are a few considerations
that you will need to address, such as:
■ Calculate the size of your NetBackup catalog
■ Calculate the size of the Enterprise Media Manager (EMM) server
For a detailed description of these considerations and more, refer to the Designing your backup system section in
Chapter 1, of the Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Backup Planning and Performance Tuning Guide for UNIX, Windows,
and Linux.

■ Verify that the volumes on your disk staging storage unit (DSSU) have more than 1% of available disk space.
Upgrades to 6.0 require that certain files get duplicated. If a DSSU volume has less than 1% of available disk
space, errors can occur.

NetBackup compatibility requirements

There are a few additional compatibility rules that you must remember before you begin. The following list
discusses these rules.
■ Master and media servers that you are upgrading to NetBackup 6.0 must be running a supported operating
system version. Refer to the online compatibility matrix (TechNote 278064).
■ For master and media servers that you intend to upgrade to NetBackup 6.0 that are not on the NetBackup 6.0
compatibility matrix, it is necessary to decommission your server and reestablish it on a supported platform. To
migrate an existing master server to a new 6.0 supported platform, refer to the NetBackup 5.x Troubleshooting
Guide for UNIX and Windows. If the media server operating system is not supported, refer to “Decommissioning
a Media Server” in the NetBackup 5.x Media Manager System Administrator's Guide for UNIX or the NetBackup
5.x Media Manager System Administrator's Guide for Windows.
■ Generate a list of your current devices, tape drives, and device hosts, so that you can validate the information
and remove any decommissioned media servers.
■ For UNIX systems, run the following command:
/usr/openv/volmgr/bin/vmglob -listall
■ For Windows systems, run the following command:
<install_path>\Volmgr\bin\vmglob -listall
For detailed information on how to remove a decommissioned media server, refer to “Decommissioning a Media
Server” in the NetBackup 5.x Media Manager System Administrator's Guide for UNIX or the NetBackup 5.x
Media Manager System Administrator's Guide for Windows.
■ Upgrading media servers to 6.0 is an optional step, although it is strongly recommended. NetBackup 5.x media
servers are supported in a NetBackup 6.0 environment, however, clients that are upgraded to NetBackup 6.0
cannot be backed up to a NetBackup 5.x media server.
■ After you have upgraded all of the master servers, and any media servers that you want upgraded to 6.0, then
you are ready to upgrade the NetBackup clients. You can upgrade clients directly from NetBackup 4.5 to 6.0.
■ Additional upgrade requirements:
■ Operating System patch requirements

Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Page 5 of 22

 After ensuring operating system compatibility, NetBackup requires some operating systems to be patched.
Refer to the NetBackup 6.0 Release Notes for UNIX, Linux, and Windows for product specific patch
dependency information.
■ Product dependency information (Release Notes)
Verify that your operating system is up-to-date with all of the latest patches and upgrades, before you
install NetBackup. Refer to the NetBackup 6.0 Release Notes for UNIX, Linux, and Windows for product
specific dependency information.
VERITAS
■ NetBackup patch requirements
Symantec strongly recommends that you first install the latest available maintenance pack for your 5.x
environment before upgrading to the latest NetBackup 6.0 release. In addition, it is also recommended that
you install the latest maintenance pack for 6.0 after the upgrade has occurred. Visit the
http://entsupport.symantec.com support web site to obtain the latest NetBackup maintenance packs.
■ Systems that use NetBackup Vault
If you have NetBackup Vault installed, you must change the robotic volume group names to work with
NetBackup 6.0.
NetBackup versions prior to 6.0 use the following robotic volume group name format:
twocharacters_threecharacters_robotcontrolmode
NetBackup 6.0 uses the following robotic volume group name format:
threecharacters_fivecharacters_robotcontrolmode
For complete details, refer to TechNote 280696.
For additional compatibility information, refer to the NetBackup 6.0 Release Notes for UNIX, Windows, and Linux.

Page 6 of 22 Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved.

Chapter 2: Preparing your
NetBackup environment
This section contains critical information to help you prepare your NetBackup environment before you begin the
upgrade process. Symantec strongly recommends that you review and follow the information outlined in these
sections to help ensure a successful upgrade.

Note: Depending on the size of your environment, these steps can take an extended amount of time. Symantec
recommends that you schedule these steps well in advance of your upgrade date.

■ “Verifying servers.”
■ “Verifying network infrastructure.”
■ Hostname/DNS resolution and Routing/Connectivity
■ Network Address Translation (NAT)
■ “Verifying the integrity of NetBackup 5.x catalogs.”
■ “Verifying NetBackup 5.x on UNIX clusters.”

Verifying servers
■ Ensure that the servers list defined on the master server does not contain any media servers that are not valid.
The NetBackup 6.0 installation requires that the nbpushdata command be run after servers are upgraded. This
command gathers media and device configuration information from each server. If any invalid server names are
listed, it can cause errors during the upgrade.
■ For UNIX systems, verify each SERVER and MEDIA_SERVER entry in the
/usr/openv/netbackup/bp.conf file lists a host name that is valid and accessible.
■ For Windows systems, launch the NetBackup Administration Console and go to Host Properties > Master
Servers. Open the Properties for the master server and go to the Servers section and verify each host name
listed is valid and accessible.
■ To understand how NetBackup 6.x uses SERVER and MEDIA_SERVER entries, see the following TechNote:
http://entsupport.symantec.com/docs/293038
■ Ensure that there are no non-active media servers assigned to any storage units. Review the output of the
bpstulist command to make sure all media servers assigned to the storage unit are valid and accessible. Any
storage units that are no longer valid must be removed.
■ For UNIX systems, run the following command:
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/bpstulist -U
■ For Windows systems, run the following command:
<install_path>\netbackup\bin\admincmd\bpstulist -U

Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Page 7 of 22

■ Ensure that the device information listed in the vmglob output lists entries that are from valid media servers.
Run this command on the master server and compare the output to each media server. Any device information
that is no longer valid must be removed.
■ For UNIX systems, run the following command:
/usr/openv/volmgr/bin/vmglob -listall
■ For Windows systems, run the following command:
<install_path>\Volmgr\bin\vmglob -listall VERITAS
■ Ensure that any MM_SERVER_NAME or REQUIRED_INTERFACE entries in the vm.conf file do not specify a
cluster name. You must also ensure that any REQUIRED_INTERFACE entries in the bp.conf file (or the registry
on Windows) do not specify a cluster name. Refer to TechNote 283712 for complete details.
The nbpushdata command uses these entries to determine a unique name for a host, so specifying a cluster
name will cause nbpushdata to fail. Refer to the appropriate chapter in the Veritas NetBackup 6.0 High
Availability Guide for the type of cluster that NetBackup has been installed on.
■ For UNIX systems check the following files:
/usr/openv/volmgr/vm.conf
/usr/openv/netbackup/bp.conf
■ For Windows systems check the following files:
<install_path>\Volmgr\vm.conf
Launch the NetBackup Administration console and go to Host Properties > Media Servers. Open the Properties
for the media server and go to the Servers section and verify each host name listed is valid and accessible.
■ If you are writing unified logs to a different directory other than the default, you must run the vxlogcfg
command to point the logs to the new directory after the upgrade. To check the location before upgrading, edit
the nblog.conf file in the NetBackup root directory.
Refer to TechNote 281360 for complete details.
■ When you upgrade NetBackup, the VSP cache settings for the master server are overwritten. If you are using the
VSP cache, be sure to check those settings before you start the upgrade and then reset them after the upgrade is
finished. Refer to TechNote 294899 for complete details.

Verifying network infrastructure

■ Ensure that there are no CLIENT_PORT_WINDOW and SERVER _PORT_WINDOW entries defined in the
bp.conf file or in the registry that would restrict the number of available non-reserved ports to NetBackup.
NetBackup 6.0 uses non-reserved ports by default.
■ If you have multiple NICs on a NetBackup host, it is important to understand how network interfaces are
selected on the NetBackup 6.x platform. Refer to TechNote 293038.
■ Hostname/DNS resolution and Routing/Connectivity
■ Ensure that there are no connectivity issues between the master servers and media servers. Run AppareNet
or an equivalent network diagnostic tool between the master server and each media sever to verify
connectivity.

Note: If AppareNet is used, it is recommended that this step be done with help from Symantec Enterprise
Technical Services. The AppareNet software can be downloaded from the following URL:
http://www.apparentnetworks.com/sas/300/

Page 8 of 22 Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved.

 ■ To prevent any Domain Name Service (DNS) issues during the upgrade process, it is recommended to place
a host file on the master server and on every media server that contains the fully qualified domain name,
short name, and IP address of every media server and the master server.
■ Network Address Translation (NAT)
■ Determine if any media servers are separated from the master server by a firewall. If so, ensure that these
media servers are not running NAT. NAT causes problems with the PBX connections between NetBackup
servers and can cause connectivity issues during or after the upgrade.
■ An additional port has been added for PBX communication over the TCP port 1556. Any firewall rules
should be updated to allow traffic through this port.
■ NetBackup does not support Port Address Translation (PAT) or Dynamic Address Translation.
■ Check to see if Veritas Security Services (VxSS) is installed. This software may need to be upgraded as well.
■ Check to see if the Shared Storage Option (SSO) will be used for drive sharing between NetBackup 6.0 and
NetBackup 5.x media servers. It is important to note that in NetBackup 6.0, the EMM server is responsible for
granting a SSO resource. In NetBackup 5.x, the media server itself is responsible for SSO tape drive selection.
This can lead to slower drive selection performance in larger environments. Refer to “Phased upgrade” in
Upgrading to Veritas NetBackup 6.5 (TechNote 290141) and TechNote 282271.
■ During the upgrade, all valid NetBackup Master and Media servers must be online.
■ For clustered systems, ensure that your cluster is configured correctly before you upgrade to 6.0. For complete
details, refer to TechNote 285699: Checklist and general information for upgrading a clustered environment
from NetBackup 5.x to NetBackup 6.x.
■ The CLIENT_NAME entry in each host’s bp.conf file or registry should match its respective host name.
NetBackup uses a string compare to resolve host names prior to using DNS to resolve host name.
For media servers, the client name must match the SERVER= or the MEDIA_SERVER= entry on the media
server. Otherwise, some services on the media server will not start.

Verifying the integrity of NetBackup 5.x catalogs

Ensure that there are no image, media, or volume database inconsistencies. To do so, install and run the NetBackup
Catalog Check (NBCC) utility. The NetBackup Catalog Check (NBCC) utility gathers and inspects NetBackup catalog
database information. It helps to verify the integrity of the NetBackup 5.x Media and Image Catalogs.

To install and run NBCC

1 Obtain the latest NetBackup Catalog Checker (NBCC) Utility from Symantec at the following URL:
http://entsupport.symantec.com/docs/302902
2 Follow the instructions in the README file to install NBCC on the master server.
3 Ensure that no NetBackup activity is occurring.
4 Run the NBCC utility as follows:
nbcc -full
5 The following prompt appears:
If NBCC DOES NOT detect any catalog inconsistencies, would you like NBCC to create a support
package? [Y/y,N/n]
6 Answer yes by pressing y.

Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Page 9 of 22

7 The following series of prompts may appear; guidance is included:
2.0 Gathering required NetBackup configuration information

Is the master server or any media server

in a fail-over cluster? [Y/y,N/n]
Answer as appropriate for your environment.
Would you like NBCC to update the
C:\Program Files\Veritas\NetBackup\bin\support\config\nbcc-server-alias
file with additional hostnames and/or IP addresses that are detected
VERITAS
during processing? [Y/y,N/n]
Answer yes.
Would you like to verify each addition prior to the update?
[Y/y,N/n]
Verifying each media server may be time consuming in a large environment with many media servers. If
you answer no, you can verify the entries in the “Summary of NBCC server processing” section of the
nbcc-info.txt file that NBCC produces.
If NBCC is unable to determine the NetBackup version for
ANY detected media server, is there a SINGLE version of NetBackup
that you would like associated to these media servers? [Y/y,N/n]
If all of your media servers are not at the same major release level (such as 5.x), answer no. If all of your
media servers are at the same major release level, answer yes and then enter the release level at the next
prompt.
Please enter the NetBackup primary version number [3,4,5,6]
Enter the release level of your media servers.
8 When the NBCC utility completes running, run the following command and verify that no errors occur:
bpexpdate -deassignempty
If errors occur, a server may be unreachable or zero-byte files may exist. For assistance with correcting the
errors, contact Symantec Enterprise Technical Services.

Warning: Repair any inconsistencies discovered with NBCC before continuing with your upgrade. Failure to
complete this step may result in a failed upgrade.

Repairing inconsistencies must be done with help from Symantec Enterprise Technical Services. This can be a
time-consuming process; however, it is strongly recommended that you perform this prior to attempting an
upgrade.

The time needed to analyze the NetBackup Catalog Check output and fix any inconsistencies cannot be predicted.
Therefore, Symantec recommends that you wait until you are finished working with Symantec Support before
scheduling the upgrade.

Verifying NetBackup 5.x on UNIX clusters

Before you upgrade 5.x UNIX clusters, check your current configuration for either of the following:
■ Any server that uses a fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
■ Any server name that is specified differently in the bp.conf and <cluster_name>_NBU_RSP files
If either one of these conditions exist, it is imperative that you follow the instructions documented in the following
TechAlert before you start your upgrade:
TechAlert 293034

Page 10 of 22 Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved.

Chapter 3: Upgrading to 6.0
The following describes a summary of the sequence of recommended steps to ensure a successful upgrade to
NetBackup 6.0:
a Symantec strongly recommends that you install the latest maintenance pack (MP) associated with the
currently installed NetBackup version.
■ For 5.0 systems, Symantec requires that you install 5.0MP4 or later.
■ For 5.1 systems, Symantec recommends that you install 5.1MP5 or later.
b Upgrade all master servers and selected media servers from the latest NetBackup 5.x version to NetBackup
6.0GA.
c Install the latest NetBackup 6.0 maintenance pack.

Note: You must install the latest 6.0MP patch binaries before proceeding to Step (e), running the nbpushdata
command on all upgraded servers.

d Run the nbpushdata [-add | -modify_5x_hosts] -preview [-timeout n] command to simulate

host connectivity to media servers. This command is available starting with 6.0 MP5.
Review the log output generated by the command to identify any problematic servers. Resolve any
problems before proceeding to Step (e).
e Run the nbpushdata command after you have upgraded all master servers and selected media servers to
6.0 MPx.

Best practices
The following sequence highlights the order in which you should install NetBackup software when upgrading from
one version of NetBackup to another.

Caution: The following is not the sequence you should use to run the nbpushdata command. Refer again to bullets a
- e above or the NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guides.

a Master server
b Media servers
c NetBackup Remote Administration consoles
(If supporting older releases, refer to the NetBackup 6.0 System Administrator’s Guides for information on
how to implement multiple versions.)
d NetBackup clients - After you have successfully upgraded your master servers and media servers to the
latest NetBackup 6.0 MP release, you can then upgrade your clients to NetBackup 6.0.
e Any NetBackup add-on products. The following should be considered for each add-on product:

Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Page 11 of 22

 ■ When upgrading the Veritas Storage Migrator (VSM) product, you must upgrade from NetBackup 4.5
to 5.0 first, then upgrade to 5.1, and finally, to the latest 6.0MP release. You cannot skip a version when
upgrading VSM.
■ When upgrading NetBackup Vault, you can upgrade to the same version levels as is suggested for
NetBackup.
■ When upgrading NetBackup Advanced Reporter, refer to TechNote 281578, “How to preserve
NetBackup Advanced Reporter (NBAR) data before upgrading to NetBackup 6.0” for a better
VERITAS
understanding of what you should do before you finish your upgrade to NetBackup 6.0 MPx.
f Install the latest available patches for all applicable add-on products, agents, and options.

Upgrading servers from NetBackup 5.x to NetBackup 6.0

After you have successfully prepared your NetBackup environment as outlined earlier in “Chapter 2: Preparing your
NetBackup environment” on page 7, you are ready to upgrade. The following steps guide you through this process.
1 Perform a full backup of all NetBackup master servers and media servers (NetBackup databases, patches, scripts,
and other NetBackup data). Additionally, perform the following:
■ Make a copy of the current Barcode rules.
■ Make a copy of the Media ID Generation output.
2 Prevent new jobs from starting by deactivating the NetBackup request daemon. Refer to TechNote 265806.
■ On UNIX systems, run the following command:
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/bprdreq -terminate
■ On Windows systems, run the following command:
<install_path>\NetBackup\bin\admincmd\bprdreq -terminate
3 Wait for any current jobs to complete. If you cannot wait, you may cancel all jobs on your master server. A
backup that is running during an upgrade is not desirable and could result in a failed upgrade.
■ On UNIX systems, run the following command:
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/bpdbjobs -cancel_all
■ On Windows systems, run the following command:
<install_path>\NetBackup\bin\admincmd\bpdbjobs -cancel_all
4 Clear all incomplete and suspended jobs as follows:
■ Incomplete jobs—cancel all of these jobs.
■ Suspended jobs—resume these jobs and allow them to complete, or cancel them.

Note: NetBackup does not retain job information from previous versions when upgraded with multiple releases
at the same time. NetBackup does not support resuming or restarting of any job that originated from an earlier
version. After an upgrade, incomplete or suspended jobs from the previous version may not appear in the
activity monitor window.

5 Stop all third party scripts and any other custom scripts.
6 Perform a catalog backup and verify that every media server in the configuration is listed in the catalog backup
files list.

Page 12 of 22 Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved.

 Note: Symantec recommends that you perform these backups onto removable media and then physically
remove the media to a secure location.

7 For clustered systems, do the following:

■ MSCS clusters: Before you upgrade, you must shut down all NetBackup services. Be sure to keep the IP
Address, Network Name, and the disk resource online.
■ VCS clusters: Before you upgrade, you must take all NetBackup services offline. Be sure to keep the Lanman,
IP, NIC, and disk resources online. Freeze the NetBackup Group so that migrations do not occur while the
inactive nodes are upgraded. You can freeze the NetBackup Group by using the Cluster Manager interface
or the command line.
8 Install the NetBackup 6.0 software.

Caution: To install the 6.0 software, you will be directed to follow specific steps in a specific section of the
NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guides. It is important that you perform only those steps in the referenced sections.

■ On UNIX systems:
Perform steps 4 - 14 as described in the section “Upgrading NetBackup Server Software” in “Chapter 3” of
the NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guide for UNIX and Linux.
■ On clustered UNIX systems where the EMM server will be remote from the master server:

Note: This is a rare configuration. The master server and the EMM server typically reside on the same host.
Follow the instructions of the three bulleted items that follow, only if the EMM server will be remote from
the master server.

Perform steps 4 - 10 as described in the section “Upgrading NetBackup Server Software” in “Chapter 3” of
the NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guide for UNIX and Linux.
■ During step 11 when prompted for the license key on the active node, open another window on the host
and create a directory named “var” in the top-level directory of the NetBackup shared disk. For
example, if the NetBackup shared disk mount point is /opt/VRTSnbu, the required command would
be as follows:
mkdir /opt/VRTSnbu/var
■ On the active node, move the contents of directory /usr/openv/var/global to the newly created
directory on the shared disk. For example:
mv /usr/openv/var/global /opt/VRTSnbu/var
■ Continue with the remainder of step 11, followed by steps 12 - 14.
■ On Windows systems:
Start at step 3 in the appropriate NetBackup server installation or upgrade procedure as described in the
section “Installing or Upgrading NetBackup” in “Chapter 2” of the NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guide for
Windows.

Caution: Do not run nbpushdata to populate the EMM database at this time.

Caution: For clusters, do not run the clusterconfig command during an upgrade.

9 For clustered systems, do the following:

Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Page 13 of 22

 ■ MSCS clusters: The NetBackup resources come back online automatically.
■ VCS clusters: Unfreeze the active node.

Caution: Do not start any backups at this time. Your NetBackup environment is not ready to perform backup
operations until after you have completed all the steps and procedures in this document.

10 Verify that NetBackup policies are still deactivated. You can do this using the Administrator’s Console.
VERITAS
11 Install the latest NetBackup 6.0 maintenance pack. You can download this maintenance pack from the following
support web site: http://entsupport.symantec.com.

Note: You must install the latest 6.0MP patch binaries before proceeding.

12 This step applies only to Windows systems with media server names that begin with an underscore (e.g.
_mediaserverA). You must complete this step before you run the nbpushdata command.
a Open a command prompt and navigate to <install_path>\veritas\Netbackup\bin\admincmd and
issue the following command:
nbemmcmd -changesetting -machinename emmservername -validate_host_name no
The emmservername is the name of the master or media server where the EMM resides.
b Stop and then restart all of the NetBackup services or daemons on the master server.
c Open a command prompt and navigate to <install_path>\veritas\Netbackup\bin\admincmd and
issue the following command:
nbemmcmd -listsettings -machinename emmservername
The emmservername is the name of the master or media server where the EMM resides.
d In the output that appears, ensure that the validate_host_name value is no.
For example:
E:\Program Files\VERITAS\NetBackup\bin\admincmd>nbemmcmd -listsettings
-machiname emmservername
NBEMMCMD, Version:6.0MPx(2006mmdd)
The following configuration settings were found:
ALLOW_MULTIPLE_RETENTIONS_PER_MEDIA="yes"
DISABLE_DISK_STU_JOB_THROTTLING="no"
DISABLE_STANDALONE_DRIVE_EXTENSIONS="no"
MEDIA_REQUEST_DELAY="0"
MUST_USE_LOCAL_DRIVE="no"
NON_ROBOTIC_MEDIA_ID_PREFIX="A"
MAX_REALLOC_TRIES="1000"
DISALLOW_NONNDMP_ON_NDMP_DRIVE="no"
DO_NOT_EJECT_STANDALONE="yes"
DONT_USE_SLAVE="no"
DRIVE_ERROR_THRESHOLD="2"
MEDIA_ERROR_THRESHOLD="2"
TIME_WINDOW="12"
RETURN_UNASSIGNED_MEDIA_TO_SCRATCH_POOL="yes"
VAULT_CLEAR_MEDIA_DESC="no"

Page 14 of 22 Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved.

 VALIDATE_HOST_NAME="no"
Command completed successfully.
13 Verify that all NetBackup services are running. Refer to page 11 in the Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Troubleshooting
Guide for UNIX and Windows.
14 Suspend NetBackup resource allocations. You must perform this step before you run nbpushdata.
■ On UNIX systems, enter:
/usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/nbrbutil -suspend
■ On Windows systems, enter:
<install_path>\netbackup\bin\admincmd\nbrbutil -suspend
15 For 5.x SSO media servers that you are not upgrading to 6.0, you must stop ltid on these media servers before
you run nbpsuhdata.
■ On UNIX systems, enter:
<install path>/volmgr/bin/stopltid
■ On Windows systems, enter:
<install path>\program files\VERITAS\volmgr\bin\stopltid
16 Delete all files in the <install_path>/NetBackup/remote_versions directory on the NetBackup master
server and all NetBackup media servers.

Note: If you want to simulate the pushdata commands described in Step 16, add the flag -preview to the
nbpushdata command. This command is available starting with 6.0 MP5. Simulating the command tests the
network connectivity to affected media servers and logs output to the pushdata log.

17 Run the nbpushdata command.

This command moves data from your current database files (a subset of the NetBackup catalog) into a newly
created EMM database. The sequence of when and on what systems you run the nbpushdata command is
extremely important. For more information on running nbpushdata and creating the EMM database after you
upgrade servers, refer to “Populating the NetBackup EMM Database” in the NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guides.
The following list provides the order in which you must run the nbpushdata command in your environment.
a 5.x Global Device Database Host - Run nbpushdata -add on the 5.x server that was configured as the
Global Device Database Host. This is usually a master server, but a media server as the Global Device
Database Host is also a supported configuration.
b Master servers - There is no particular order in which you must run nbpushdata -add on your master
servers after you have run it on the server that was configured as the Global Device Database Host.
c Volume Database Hosts - You must next run nbpushdata -add on the server designated as a Volume
Database Host. If the Volume Database Host was also the Global Device Database Host or a master server,
this step does not apply.
d Media Servers - Any remaining media servers that have not been upgraded to NetBackup 6.0 Media servers
can be upgraded at a later time.
If you are leaving any media servers at NetBackup 5.x, you must log in to the master server(s) that
administers to those back-level media servers and run nbpushdata -modify_5x_hosts.
■ For UNIX systems, see “To configure 5.x media servers for compatibility with 6.0 environments,” on
page 60 in the Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guide for UNIX and Linux for detailed instructions.

Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Page 15 of 22

 ■ For Windows systems, see “To configure 5.x media servers for compatibility with 6.0 environments,”
on page 100 in the NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guide for Windows for detailed instructions.
For a list of the 5.x database files that are moved to the EMM database, refer to page 11 in the Veritas NetBackup
6.0 Installation Guide for UNIX and Linux or page 9 in the NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guide for Windows.

Note: If you are concerned that your current installation of NetBackup may be corrupt, contact Symantec
Technical Support for assistance.
VERITAS
18 Upgrade the clients in your environment. Refer to, “Upgrading Clients After Servers Are Upgraded” in Chapter 3
of the NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guides.

Note: Clients that are upgraded to 6.0 cannot be backed up using 5.x media servers.

19 Stop and then restart NetBackup services.

Although the system devices now reside in the EMM database, the devices are not recognized until NetBackup
services are stopped and restarted.
20 Symantec recommends that you perform another catalog backup at this time.

Note: With NetBackup 6.0, cold catalog backups will shut down the EMM database as any normal cold database
application allowing no connections until the backup process completes. It is recommended that you use the
HOT catalog backup option.

21 You may now upgrade any NetBackup agents and options.

After your upgrade is complete, you can install any other NetBackup agents and options (such as NetBackup for
Oracle) by following the instructions in the NetBackup guide that comes with that particular product. This
documentation is also available online at http://entsupport.symantec.com.
22 Install the latest available patches for all applicable add-on products, agents, and options.
23 Reactivate all policies.

After upgrading
■ If you have application clusters running in your NetBackup environment, the performance could be affected. To
address any performance issues related to application clusters, refer to TechNote 285451.

How to roll back to 5.x

If you experience problems with your upgrade to NetBackup 6.0, contact Symantec Technical Support to try and
resolve these problems. If it is determined that you should roll back, the following documentation describes how to
get your system back to a NetBackup 5.x environment.
■ For UNIX systems:
Refer to TechNote 282326
■ For Windows systems:
Refer to TechNote 282327
If you must roll back (or downgrade) NetBackup to a previous level, the jobs database becomes truncated which
results in a loss of all jobs.

Page 16 of 22 Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved.

Appendix A: Supporting
documentation
The following list identifies the NetBackup documents that you may need to reference before and during your
upgrade.

NetBackup Product Documentation

■ Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guide for UNIX and Linux
■ Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Installation Guide for Windows
■ Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Release Notes for UNIX, Linux, and Windows
■ Veritas NetBackup 6.0 System Administrator’s Guide for UNIX and Linux, Volume I
■ Veritas NetBackup 6.0 System Administrator’s Guide for UNIX and Linux, Volume II
■ Veritas NetBackup 6.0 System Administrator’s Guide for Windows, Volume I
■ Veritas NetBackup 6.0 System Administrator’s Guide for Windows, Volume II
■ Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Troubleshooting Guide for UNIX and Windows

Other NetBackup Documentation

■ Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Release Impact Bulletin
■ Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Backup Planning and Performance Tuning Guide for UNIX, Windows, and Linux
■ Veritas NetBackup Enterprise Server and NetBackup Server 6.0 Hardware Compatibility List
■ Veritas NetBackup Enterprise Server 6.0 / NetBackup Server 6.0 Database Agent Compatibility
■ Veritas NetBackup Enterprise Server 6.0 / NetBackup Server 6.0 Cluster Compatibility
■ Veritas NetBackup Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) Compatibility List
■ TechNote 278064 Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Operating System Compatibility List
■ TechNote 283712 The nbpushdata command can fail if the REQUIRED_INTERFACE entry exists in the vm.conf
file on a clustered NetBackup server
■ TechNote 282271 Attempting to share Shared Storage Option drives among both Veritas NetBackup 5.x and 6.0
servers generates errors in the EMM database and can down the drives
■ TechNote 285594 Caveats for upgrading to NetBackup 6.0 in a Microsoft clustered environment
■ TechNote 281578 How to preserve NetBackup Advanced Reporter (NBAR) data before upgrading to NetBackup
6.0
■ TechNote 265806 How to prevent backups and restores from starting while running the “bpdbm -consistency”
command or the NetBackup Consistency Checker

Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Page 17 of 22

■ TechNote 285451 How to configure NetBackup 5.x Non-Failover Media servers with virtual storage unit in EMM
after upgrading them to NetBackup 6.0
■ TechNote 282326 What are the steps needed to back out of a failed Veritas NetBackup 6.0 installation on UNIX
systems
■ TechNote 282327 What are the steps needed to back out of a failed Veritas NetBackup 6.0 installation on a
Windows system
VERITAS
■ TechNote 285699 Checklist and general information for upgrading a clustered environment from NetBackup 5.x
to NetBackup 6.0
■ TechNote 280696 Default format of robotic volume group names has changed in Veritas NetBackup 6.0. What
impact does this have on Vault?
■ TechNote 286443 After successfully running nbpushdata, the NetBackup processes nbsl, nbsvcmon, and nbnos
do not remain running on the media server and no backups execute
■ TechNote 288197 Getting Windows application faults when running bppllist after upgrading to NetBackup 6.0
MP4
■ TechAlert 293034 Potential data loss issue in cluster_upgrade that affects installations in field using FQDNs and
clusters

Page 18 of 22 Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved.

Appendix B: Document change
log
The following list describes the changes that were implemented for each revision of this document.
■ Revision B
■ Added Appendix B: Document change log
■ Fixed broken document links
■ Revision C
■ “Verifying system capacities”—added requirement for DSSU volume space
■ “NetBackup compatibility requirements”—added requirement and reference to TechNote 280696 for
renaming NetBackup Vault robotic volume group names
■ “Verifying network infrastructure”—added reference to cluster checklist TechNote 285699
■ Added step to upgrade process to stop all third party custom schedules/scripts before upgrading servers
■ Added step to upgrade process that describes how to allow for Windows media server names that start with
special characters
■ “Upgrading servers from NetBackup 5.x to NetBackup 6.0”—changed Step 6 to “freeze the NetBackup
group” instead of taking it off line
■ “After upgrading”—added reference to TechNote 288197 about listing all policies with the bppllist
command
■ “After upgrading”—added reference to TechNote 286443 about downgrading a media server back to
NetBackup 5.x
■ Revision D
■ Added TechNote numbers and links for new topics introduced in Revision C
■ “Verifying network infrastructure”—added bulleted item that describes not support for PAT or Dynamic
Address Translation
■ “Verifying network infrastructure”—removed bulleted item that described having more than 110 IP
addresses to a single interface which can interfere with PBX
■ “Verifying network infrastructure”—added bulleted item that diatribes client name matching the SERVER=
or the MEDIA_SERVER= entry to ensure services start on the media server
■ “Verifying the integrity of the 5.x NetBackup Media and Image Catalogs”—added paragraph that describes
running bpexpdate -deassignempty after completing the NBCC
■ “Upgrading to 6.0”—added step to upgrade sequence introduction to run nbpushdata -preview before
running nbpushdata. Also indicated that the command is available starting with 6.0 MP5.
■ “Best practices”—added Step (f) to patch all applicable add-on products, agents, and options with latest
available patches
■ “Upgrading servers from NetBackup 5.x to NetBackup 6.0”—changed Step 6 to identify specific resources
that must remain online during cluster upgrades

Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Page 19 of 22

 ■ “Upgrading servers from NetBackup 5.x to NetBackup 6.0”—added step that describes stopping ltid on
legacy 5.x SSO media servers before running nbpsuhdata
■ “Upgrading servers from NetBackup 5.x to NetBackup 6.0”—added note on how to run nbpushdata
-preview before running nbpushdata. Also indicated that the command is available starting with 6.0
MP5.
■ “Upgrading servers from NetBackup 5.x to NetBackup 6.0”—added step to patch all applicable add-on
products, agents, and options with latest available patches VERITAS
■ “After upgrading”—changed bulleted item about HOT catalog backup to a note and moved it to Step 19 and
removed reference to “24x7 environments”
■ “After upgrading”—removed bulleted item about bppllist command not listing all policies after
upgrading to 6.0 MP4
■ “After upgrading”—removed bulleted item about downgrading any media server from 6.0 MP4
■ “How to roll back to 5.x”—revised paragraph to instruct customer to contact technical support before
considering a roll back to 5.x
■ Added Appendix C: Upgrade checklist
■ Revision E
■ “Upgrading servers from NetBackup 5.x to NetBackup 6.0”—corrected commands shown for running the
nbpushdata -preview command.
■ “Upgrading servers from NetBackup 5.x to NetBackup 6.0”—removed step that instructed running the
bpclusterutil -c command when upgrading VCS clusters to 6.0 MP5.
■ “Upgrading servers from NetBackup 5.x to NetBackup 6.0”—added steps for clustered UNIX systems with
remote EMM server.
■ Revision F
■ Front page—added “Important upgrade notice—Symantec recommends upgrading to NetBackup 6.5”.
■ Supplementary information (page 3)—added sections “NetBackup environment size considerations” and
“Upgrading from NetBackup 4.5 to 6.5”.
■ Chapter 2—replaced entire chapter with content from NetBackup 6.5 upgrade document (Technote
290141).
■ “Upgrading servers from NetBackup 5.x to NetBackup 6.0”—added new Step 4 and associated note
regarding clearing suspended and incomplete jobs.
■ “How to roll back to 5.x”—added statement regarding truncated jobs database and loss of all jobs.

Page 20 of 22 Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved.

Appendix C: Upgrade checklist
❏ Copy off the bp.conf and vm.conf files from all the NetBackup servers for comparison. Verify that all the
servers listed are active media servers.
■ If multiple NICs are being used by the NetBackup servers, make sure only those assigned to storage units
are defined as SERVER= entries in the bp.conf file.
❏ Check for use of REQUIRE_INTERFACE in the vm.conf file.
❏ Review the outputs from /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/admincmd/bpstulist -U to verify all of the
servers assigned to storage units are active and on line.
❏ Review the output from /usr/openv/volmgr/bin/vmglob -listall to verify all of the servers listed are
active and on line.
❏ Check the bp.conf file for the following entries that could cause problems with the upgrade:
■ CLIENT_PORT_WINDOW and SERVER_PORT_WINDOW not using the defaults
❏ Verify that all hostnames and IP addresses can be resolved by NetBackup using the bpclntcmd commands. Run
bpclntcmd -self, bpclntcmd -hn, and bpclntcmd -ip on each NetBackup server against the master
server from the media servers and against each media server from the master server.
❏ Verify VxSS is not being used and that there are no firewalls between the NetBackup servers.
❏ Check to see if any NetBackup server is in a cluster.
❏ Check that the CLIENT_NAME entry in each host's bp.conf file or registry matches its respective host name.
❏ Verify that all of the OS's are patched and fall within the compatibility guide:
Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Operating System Compatibility List (http://library.veritas.com/docs/278064)
Veritas NetBackup 6.0 Release Notes for UNIX and Windows (http://library.veritas.com/docs/279259)
❏ Make sure there are no NBDB.db files still in /usr/openv/db on the master server from the last attempt at
upgrading.
❏ Verify if the library is ACLS and Windows media servers have the latest version of libattach 1.4 installed.
❏ Make sure you can disable anti-virus scanning on the Windows server during the upgrade.
❏ Make sure that Windows NetBackup servers do not have a Temp file with no extensions already in c:/
❏ Make sure the Windows media servers do not have a “_” before the hostname.
❏ Make sure any current jobs or third party schedulers are disabled during the upgrade.
❏ If possible, run the SAS against each of the media servers from the master to ensure the network links are clean:
http://www.apparentnetworks.com/sas/310/
❏ Copy off the output from tpconfig -d from each media server and the master server to a text file.
❏ Copy off the output from bppllist -allpolicies -U on the master server to a text file.
❏ Verify all clients and servers are at 5.x (any MP) or higher.
❏ Verify that there is root or administrator access to all Master Servers, Media Servers, clients running Database
options (necessary for the duration of the upgrade).

Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Page 21 of 22

❏ If using DSSUs, verify that the volumes on your disk staging storage unit (DSSU) have more than 1% of available
disk space. Upgrades to 6.0 require that certain files get duplicated. If a DSSU volume has less than 1% of
available disk space, errors can occur.
❏ If you have NetBackup Vault installed, you must change the robotic volume group names to work with
NetBackup 6.0.
■ NetBackup versions prior to 6.0 use the following robotic volume group name format:
twocharacters_threecharacters_robotcontrolmode VERITAS
■ NetBackup 6.0 uses the following robotic volume group name format:
threecharacters_fivecharacters_robotcontrolmode
❏ Run vmoprcmd -h against each media server from the master server to verify they can connect to vmd.
❏ Run bpexpidate -deassignempty to ensure there are no “0” byte length header files in the database.
❏ Just before running nbpushdata -modify_5x_hosts for legacy SSO media servers, stop ltid on any legacy
5.x media servers:
<install path>/volmgr/bin/stopltid
(Skip this if you are upgrading your media servers at the same time, which would be best practice.)
❏ The preferred catalog backup method for NetBackup 6.0 servers is to use hot catalog backups. Delete the old
paths to the media servers in the offline/cold catalog backup configuration.
❏ Prior to upgrading to NetBackup 6.0 MP4 (before you run nbpushdata), delete all files in the
<install_path>/NetBackup/remote_versions directory on the NetBackup master and all NetBackup
media servers.

Page 22 of 22 Copyright © 2008 Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved.