Interview Questions and Answers for Netbackup Administrator (Netbackup 9.

x)

✅ Starting with: Lesson 01: Introducing NetBackup

This lesson includes:

 Data protection overview

 NetBackup architecture & components

 Installation methods

 NetBackup Appliances

 Administration interfaces

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 01: Introducing NetBackup

1. What is the difference between NetBackup Enterprise Server and NetBackup Server
licensing models?
Answer:
NetBackup Server is for smaller environments where one system performs both Primary
and Media Server roles. NetBackup Enterprise Server is for larger enterprises, allowing
separation of roles across multiple hosts. Enterprise licensing supports scalability,
performance segregation, and better administrative delegation.

2. Explain the function and structure of the NetBackup Domain.

Answer:
A NetBackup Domain includes one Primary Server, its associated Media Servers, and
clients. Each domain operates independently and is managed by a central database
(NBDB). For large organizations, multiple domains can be monitored centrally via
OpsCenter.

3. What is the significance of NBDB in NetBackup?

Answer:
NBDB (NetBackup Database) stores configuration and status information about backups,
restores, storage, policies, jobs, and catalog entries. It is central to all operations within
the NetBackup environment.

4. Describe how NetBackup supports heterogeneity in the IT environment.

Answer:
NetBackup supports multiple operating systems (Windows, UNIX, Linux), virtual
environments (VMware, Hyper-V), databases (Oracle, SQL, SAP), cloud platforms (AWS,
Azure, GCP), and storage systems (NDMP, snapshots, replication).

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5. Compare NetBackup Appliance 5250, 5350, and Flex Appliance.

Answer:

o 5250: Mid-size workloads, up to 442 TB.

o 5350: Enterprise-grade, scalable to 1.92 PB, high performance.

o Flex Appliance: Container-based microservice architecture, supports multi-role

(Primary/Media), scalable, high availability, and secure.

6. What are the advantages of NetBackup Web UI introduced in 8.2+?

Answer:
Offers modern role-based access control, workload-specific dashboards, centralized
configuration, and support for VM/Cloud workload protection, all via browser-based
access.

7. Explain how REST APIs enhance NetBackup's extensibility.

Answer:
NetBackup REST APIs allow programmatic access to administrative functions like job
scheduling, policy management, storage config, and certificate handling. Useful for
automation, DevOps, and integration with third-party tools.

8. How does NetBackup Flex Scale differ from Flex Appliance?

Answer:
Flex Scale is a hyperconverged scale-out architecture designed for flexible capacity
expansion. It features automatic containerized deployment, dynamic workload
management, and supports massive data recovery.

9. What does the tpconfig utility do in NetBackup?

Answer:
tpconfig is a character-based device configuration tool used on UNIX systems for adding,
updating, or deleting drive/robot configurations and credentials without using a GUI.

10. Why is the term "Master Server" replaced with "Primary Server" in NetBackup 9.1?
Answer:
Veritas rebranded it to "Primary Server" to align with inclusive language initiatives across
the tech industry, minimizing terms with historical or offensive connotations.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 01: Introducing NetBackup

1. Scenario: Your organization is growing rapidly and needs to scale its backup
infrastructure. You currently use NetBackup Server on a single machine.
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Q: What steps should you take to scale efficiently using NetBackup Enterprise features?
A: Upgrade to NetBackup Enterprise Server licensing, deploy additional Media Servers to
offload storage tasks, and configure Storage Lifecycle Policies (SLPs) for data movement.
Monitor and manage through OpsCenter for multi-domain visibility.

2. Scenario: A junior admin accidentally removed a client from the NetBackup

configuration.
Q: How would you identify the impact and recover the backup scope?
A: Use OpsCenter reports or image catalog to identify the removed client's previous
backups. Re-add the client to the correct policy. Ensure correct schedule and selection
list are reconfigured.

3. Scenario: Your data center requires isolated backups for each business unit.
Q: How can you design this using NetBackup domains?
A: Create separate NetBackup domains per business unit, each with its own Primary and
Media Servers. Use OpsCenter to monitor all domains centrally and enforce role-based
access control.

4. Scenario: An audit reveals no recent backups for a critical VM.

Q: How can you leverage the Web UI to identify and address this issue?
A: Use the Web UI to check asset protection status, verify if the VM is subscribed to a
protection plan, examine backup jobs, and update the plan or schedule as needed.

5. Scenario: You’re asked to automate backup job creation for newly onboarded clients.
Q: Which interface/method would you use?
A: Use the NetBackup REST API to script the policy creation and client addition
automatically. This ensures consistency and reduces manual errors.

6. Scenario: You are migrating workloads to the cloud.

Q: How does NetBackup support this transition?
A: NetBackup supports cloud-native backups, integrates with CloudPoint for snapshot-
based protection, and enables replication and deduplication across cloud and on-
premise locations.

7. Scenario: A remote office has slow WAN links.

Q: Which NetBackup Appliance would you recommend and why?
A: NetBackup 5250 or virtual appliance with WAN optimization and deduplication
capabilities. These minimize bandwidth usage and provide fast replication.

8. Scenario: A security policy mandates zero-day threat protection and OS hardening for
backup devices.
Q: How does a NetBackup appliance meet this?
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A: It includes Symantec Data Center Security for host-based intrusion prevention and
runs a Veritas-hardened Linux OS, meeting high security standards.

9. Scenario: Multiple admins need limited access to specific NetBackup features.

Q: How would you configure this?
A: Use NetBackup Web UI to define RBAC roles and assign permissions based on team
responsibilities (e.g., security admin, workload admin).

10. Scenario: You need to configure storage across multiple locations with centralized
control.
Q: What NetBackup features would assist in this?
A: Use NetBackup domains with dedicated Media Servers at each location. Control via a
single OpsCenter server, and configure Flex Appliance if needing multi-domain services
on a single device.

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✅ Lesson 02: Working with the NetBackup Web UI

Key Topics:

 NetBackup Web User Interface (Web UI) structure and functions

 Role-based Access Control (RBAC)

 Protecting workload assets using protection plans

 Alerts, Notifications, User Sessions

 Single Sign-On (SSO) integration

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 02

1. What are the major components and capabilities of the NetBackup Web UI?
Answer:
The Web UI offers browser-based access to the Primary Server. It provides a dashboard
for job status, role-based access control, protection plan configuration, credential
management, session controls, alerts, and workload-specific backup/recovery. It
supports multiple workloads like VMware, SQL, RHV, Nutanix, and Kubernetes.

2. How does RBAC improve security in NetBackup Web UI?

Answer:
RBAC lets administrators assign roles that grant specific access to features or workloads.
This limits access based on roles such as backup operator, security admin, or workload
admin, reducing risk of unauthorized operations.

3. What is the difference between classic policy and protection plan models in the Web
UI?
Answer:
Classic policies are legacy configuration models with limited Web UI support. Protection
plans allow dynamic assignment of assets, simplified configuration, retention, and
storage targets — all managed via Web UI.

4. What are the supported authentication methods for logging into the Web UI?
Answer:
Web UI supports username/password, certificate/smart card, and Single Sign-On (SSO).
The latter two require prior configuration of IDP and SAML settings.

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5. How is credential management handled in Web UI?

Answer:
Admins can manage named and client credentials for systems like SQL, NDMP, KMS,
cloud, and Kubernetes. Credentials are assigned to roles for controlled access.

6. Explain how SSO integration is achieved in the Web UI.

Answer:
SSO uses SAML. Admins configure IDP and SP metadata, Java Keystore, and enroll the
Primary Server as a Service Provider. RBAC roles must be assigned to SAML users/groups.

7. What is the function of “Subscribe” in the protection plan context?

Answer:
"Subscribe" means assigning assets to a protection plan. This allows the plan’s backup
schedule, retention, and storage policy to apply to the selected assets.

8. What kind of alerts and notifications can be configured via Web UI?
Answer:
Admins can view alerts and configure email-based notifications. Alerts can be triggered
based on job failures, policy issues, or system conditions.

9. How are user sessions controlled and secured in the Web UI?
Answer:
Admins can configure idle timeouts, max concurrent sessions, login attempts, and
account lockout. This ensures better control and security of user access.

10. Which storage options can be configured in Web UI for protection plans?
Answer:
Web UI supports configuring OpenStorage, AdvancedDisk, MSDP, and cloud storage. It
also allows disk pool and storage unit configuration tied to plans.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 02

1. Scenario: A newly hired backup admin should only manage VM workloads.

Q: How would you enforce this in Web UI?
A: Create a custom RBAC role limited to VM workload management. Assign the new
admin to this role, ensuring no access to storage or security configurations.

2. Scenario: You need to automate workload protection without creating policies manually
each time.
Q: What Web UI feature helps and how?

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A: Use protection plans and intelligent groups to automatically associate assets based
on rules. This removes the need to manually assign policies.

3. Scenario: A backup operator attempts to use the Web UI but is denied access.
Q: What could be the cause?
A: The user might not have an RBAC role assigned that grants Web UI access. Only users
with appropriate roles (or default admin roles) can log in.

4. Scenario: Your company uses Okta for identity management and requires SSO for
NetBackup.
Q: What are the configuration steps?
A: Download IDP metadata, configure SAML keystore, set up SP metadata, enroll Primary
Server with Okta, assign RBAC roles to SAML groups/users.

5. Scenario: The organization wants to monitor credential usage for audit purposes.
Q: How can the Web UI help?
A: Use the Credential Management node to track usage, tags, and role-based
permissions for credentials. Only authorized roles can access/use them.

6. Scenario: An administrator wants to limit session duration for security.

Q: What option do they configure?
A: Use GUI_IDLE_TIMEOUT in nbsetconfig or the Web UI to define how long sessions
remain active when idle.

7. Scenario: Your security team requires a custom banner message upon login.
Q: How do you implement this in the Web UI?
A: Configure the sign-in banner settings in Web UI or use the nbmlb command to
migrate banner settings from Java Admin Console.

8. Scenario: Multiple users report being locked out of Web UI.

Q: How do you identify and fix the issue?
A: Check GUI_MAX_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS and GUI_ACCOUNT_LOCKOUT_DURATION in
session settings. Adjust as needed and unlock accounts if required.

9. Scenario: A new workload (e.g., Kubernetes) is added.

Q: How do you protect it using the Web UI?
A: Add workload credentials, configure the protection plan with the proper storage
(cloud, MSDP), and subscribe the Kubernetes assets.

10. Scenario: You notice backup data growth across clients.

Q: What tool in Web UI helps you investigate this?

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A: Use Usage Reporting in the dashboard to track protected data size across servers and
workloads.

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✅ Lesson 03: Performing NetBackup Certificate Administration

Key Topics:

 Understanding security certificate types

 Host ID-based certificates vs hostname-based certificates

 CRL (Certificate Revocation Lists)

 External Certificate Authority (ECA)

 Certificate deployment and renewal

 Disaster Recovery and certificate backup

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 03

1. What is the difference between Hostname-based and Host ID-based certificates in

NetBackup?
Answer:
Hostname-based certificates were used prior to NetBackup 8.0 and are tied to system
FQDN. Host ID-based certificates, introduced in 8.1, are associated with a UUID, offering
better uniqueness and are used in modern NetBackup deployments for secure
communication.

2. What is the purpose of the NetBackup CA and how is it initialized?

Answer:
NetBackup Certificate Authority (CA) is the internal entity responsible for issuing host ID-
based certificates to clients and media servers. It is automatically initialized during
Primary Server setup with a default 2048-bit root certificate.

3. How does NetBackup map Host IDs to hostnames and why is it important?
Answer:
Mapping ensures each certificate is accurately tied to a unique host identity. Automatic
mapping simplifies deployments, while manual mapping is preferred in secure
environments to avoid spoofing.

4. What is the role of the nbcertcmd utility in certificate administration?

Answer:
nbcertcmd handles most certificate-related tasks such as requesting, revoking,

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renewing, and listing certificates, generating authorization tokens, and retrieving CA

fingerprints.

5. What are CRLs and how does NetBackup handle them?

Answer:
Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs) are used to invalidate certificates before expiration.
NetBackup validates the CRL from its CA and blocks connections to hosts with revoked
certificates. CRL freshness is validated every 7 days by default.

6. How is the security level of NetBackup configured and what are the implications?
Answer:
Admins can configure high or medium security levels. High security enforces strict
validation of certificates, fingerprint checking, and token authorization. It reduces the
chance of unauthorized host connections.

7. What are the steps to manually deploy a certificate with a token?

Answer:

1. Generate token via nbcertcmd -createToken

2. Get CA certificate

3. Request certificate using token

4. Validate using nbcertcmd -listCertDetails

8. How are ECA (External Certificate Authority) certificates integrated with NetBackup?
Answer:
By updating the [Link] file (UNIX) or registry (Windows) with external CA parameters,
admins can replace NetBackup CA with external-signed certificates. Enrollment may be
manual or automated depending on config.

9. What precautions are needed during Disaster Recovery regarding certificates?

Answer:
ECA certificates, private keys, and CRL data should be part of the DR Package. If CRL or
ECA certificates are missing during DR backup, NetBackup logs warnings in the progress
log and DR email.

10. How do you check the fingerprint of the CA certificate in the Web UI?
Answer:
Navigate to Security > Certificates > Certificate Authority in the Web UI. Click to view or
copy the fingerprint. This helps verify certificate authenticity across hosts.

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🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 03

1. Scenario: A media server cannot communicate with the Primary Server after a recent
certificate renewal.
Q: What steps would you take to troubleshoot?
A: Use nbcertcmd -listCertDetails to check expiration and issuer. Validate CA fingerprint.
Ensure the host is mapped correctly. Use CRL check commands and confirm no
expired/blocked certs.

2. Scenario: Your organization uses a public CA for certificates.

Q: How would you integrate it with NetBackup?
A: Configure ECA settings in [Link] or registry, import signed certificate, ensure
enrollment steps are followed, and validate fingerprints from CA details using CLI or Web
UI.

3. Scenario: A client needs a certificate but lacks direct connectivity to the Primary Server.
Q: How can you provision the certificate?
A: Export the CSR to a proxy server with Primary Server connectivity, generate certificate
there, and transfer the certificate back to the client for import.

4. Scenario: After DR restore, several hosts fail due to certificate issues.

Q: What may have gone wrong?
A: CRL or ECA certificates might not have been included in the DR Package. Check DR
logs for warnings and manually restore the certificate or re-enroll affected hosts.

5. Scenario: A backup admin accidentally revoked the wrong host’s certificate.

Q: How would you recover from this?
A: Reissue the certificate by generating a new token, requesting a new certificate using
nbcertcmd, and revalidating with the CA. Update host mappings if needed.

6. Scenario: You’re securing a multi-domain setup.

Q: How are CRLs managed across domains?
A: Each Primary Server maintains its own CRL. You must ensure timely CRL updates per
server. Failure to update results in blocked peer connections.

7. Scenario: Your security policy mandates manual mapping of hostnames to Host IDs.
Q: How do you enforce this in NetBackup?
A: Disable “Automatically map NetBackup host ID to host names” in Web UI under
Global Security Settings > Secure Communication tab.

8. Scenario: A new Linux media server fails to enroll due to fingerprint mismatch.
Q: How can you verify the correct CA fingerprint?

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A: Use Web UI or nbcertcmd –displayCACertDetail on Primary Server, compare with the

fingerprint prompt during enrollment, and only accept if SHA1 hash matches.

9. Scenario: Your client deployment script needs to verify whether the certificate is already
installed.
Q: Which command would you use?
A: nbcertcmd -listCertDetails to verify status, expiration date, and certificate authority
on the client side.

10. Scenario: You’re upgrading NetBackup and want to disable communication with older
insecure clients.
Q: How is this enforced?
A: Disable “Enable communication with 8.0 and earlier hosts” from the Global Security
Settings in Web UI to enforce secure connections only.

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✅ Lesson 04: Configuring Basic and Advanced Disk Storage

Key Topics:

 Storage device, storage unit, and storage unit group concepts

 Configuring BasicDisk and AdvancedDisk

 Managing disk pools

 Storage unit groups and load balancing

 Spanning backups and disk pool monitoring

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 04

1. What are the key differences between BasicDisk and AdvancedDisk storage in
NetBackup?
Answer:
BasicDisk is a directory-based, local or network-attached storage type requiring no
additional licenses, managed via the Java GUI or CLI. AdvancedDisk uses disk pools
(collections of volumes), supports media server load balancing, spans volumes natively,
and requires the Data Protection Optimization Option license.

2. How does a disk pool function in the context of AdvancedDisk?

Answer:
A disk pool is a logical aggregation of disk volumes, treated as a single unit for storage
allocation. NetBackup writes data across these volumes automatically, allowing for
volume-level management and failover support.

3. What role does a storage server play in disk-based backup?

Answer:
A storage server manages the read/write operations to disks in the disk pool. In
AdvancedDisk, it often resides on the same media server; in OST scenarios, it may be an
external appliance. It abstracts physical storage into logical targets for policies.

4. What are the limitations of BasicDisk storage?

Answer:

o Cannot be included in storage unit groups using Media Server Load Balancing

o No support for deduplication

o Cannot span across media servers

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o Only configurable via Java GUI or CLI, not Web UI

5. Explain Media Server Load Balancing (MSLB) and which storage types support it.
Answer:
MSLB dynamically selects the least busy media server for storage operations. Supported
by AdvancedDisk, OST, and deduplication types. Not supported by BasicDisk.

6. What is the function of a Storage Unit Group and how is it configured?

Answer:
A Storage Unit Group allows backup jobs to target a group of storage units instead of a
single one, with selection criteria like prioritized, failover, round-robin, or MSLB.
Configuration is done via the NetBackup GUI under the “Storage Units” section.

7. Can BasicDisk support disk spanning? Under what conditions?

Answer:
Yes, but only when the BasicDisk units are part of a storage unit group and use the same
media server. Disk spanning must be enabled in the media server’s host properties.

8. What storage types support backup image spanning across volumes by default?
Answer:
AdvancedDisk and OpenStorage support automatic image spanning across volumes in
the disk pool. No manual configuration is needed unlike BasicDisk.

9. What are the licensing requirements for AdvancedDisk?

Answer:
Requires the NetBackup Data Protection Optimization Option license. This enables
features like disk pool creation, volume management, and load balancing.

10. How can you monitor disk space and usage for BasicDisk?
Answer:
In the Admin Console, click “View Properties” on the BasicDisk unit to view file system
metrics like available space. Manual monitoring is essential as BasicDisk lacks dynamic
pool management.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 04

1. Scenario: A new backup policy is sending data to a BasicDisk unit and fails when space
runs out.
Q: How do you resolve this?
A: Check if BasicDisk spanning is enabled in the media server’s Host Properties. Add a

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second BasicDisk unit in the same group and ensure the policy targets the group, not
just one unit.

2. Scenario: You need to balance backup jobs across multiple media servers automatically.
Q: What storage type and configuration would you use?
A: Use AdvancedDisk with a Storage Unit Group configured for Media Server Load
Balancing. This will distribute backups based on server load.

3. Scenario: A backup job targeting a storage unit group keeps failing over to the last unit in
the list.
Q: What might be misconfigured?
A: Likely the group selection setting is “Prioritized.” Review unit availability, change
selection to “Round Robin” or “MSLB” for better distribution.

4. Scenario: A customer requires a backup solution without any additional licensing cost.
Q: Which disk type do you recommend and why?
A: BasicDisk — it's license-free and suitable for small-scale or non-deduplicated storage
needs. However, lacks advanced features like deduplication or balancing.

5. Scenario: Your team wants to use the Web UI to configure disk storage.
Q: Can they do this with BasicDisk or AdvancedDisk?
A: No, BasicDisk and AdvancedDisk configurations are done using the Java GUI or CLI.
Web UI does not support disk storage configuration for these types.

6. Scenario: You’re seeing a performance bottleneck in backup jobs using AdvancedDisk.

Q: What areas would you investigate?
A: Check disk pool volume utilization, available space, media server load, and whether
MSLB is enabled. Also, monitor network throughput and client-side resource usage.

7. Scenario: During a backup job, one of the volumes in a disk pool becomes full.
Q: What happens next?
A: In AdvancedDisk, NetBackup automatically uses another volume in the disk pool
without job failure. No intervention required unless the entire pool is full.

8. Scenario: An admin accidentally deleted a disk volume from an AdvancedDisk pool.

Q: What’s the impact and recovery path?
A: Jobs may fail if the pool is overutilized. Recover by re-adding a valid volume, or
restoring from backup if data loss occurred. Run nbdevconfig to verify disk pool health.

9. Scenario: You want to simulate job redirection in case a storage unit becomes
unavailable.
Q: How would you test this using a Storage Unit Group?

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A: Set up a group with two AdvancedDisk units using “Failover” selection, disable the
primary unit, and run a test backup. Observe redirection to the second unit.

10. Scenario: A junior admin tries to add a BasicDisk unit to a Storage Unit Group with MSLB
enabled and gets an error.
Q: Why is this happening?
A: BasicDisk is not supported in MSLB groups. The admin should either use
AdvancedDisk or remove MSLB from the group.

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✅ Lesson 05: Configuring NetBackup Policies and Schedules

Key Topics:

 Understanding backup policy components

 Creating and configuring policy attributes

 Schedule types (calendar and frequency)

 Adding clients and backup selections

 Include/Exclude lists

 Policy management and editing

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 05

1. What are the essential components of a NetBackup policy?

Answer:
A NetBackup policy consists of:

o Attributes (e.g. policy type, storage, backup level)

o Schedules (when to run, type of backup, retention)

o Clients (hosts to be protected)

o Backup Selections (file paths or application objects)

o Application-specific tabs (e.g., Oracle, VMware) for special workloads.

2. What are the differences between Frequency-based and Calendar-based schedules?

Answer:

o Frequency-based: Triggers backups after a fixed time interval since the last
successful backup.

o Calendar-based: Uses exact dates/times. Offers more precise control for business
hours or compliance needs.

3. How do backup policy attributes influence data protection?

Answer:
Attributes control the policy type (e.g., Standard, Oracle), storage unit selection,
multiplexing, backup level, and other behaviors like checkpoint restart and client retries.

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4. What is the impact of application-specific policy types on configuration?

Answer:
Application-specific policies (e.g., Oracle, VMware, SQL) customize available fields. For
example, Oracle policies remove the Clients tab and use "Instances and Databases"
instead.

5. Explain how Exclude and Include lists are processed in NetBackup.

Answer:
These lists are maintained at the client level. Exclude rules override includes. They are
stored in exclude_list and include_list files on UNIX/Linux or Windows registry entries.

6. What is the retention level and how is it configured in a policy schedule?

Answer:
Retention defines how long the backup image is kept. It's set per schedule and affects
catalog cleanup and storage reuse. Levels can vary by schedule even in the same policy.

7. How does NetBackup handle client name case sensitivity?

Answer:
By default, "client_1" and "Client_1" are treated as different. Setting
CASE_INSENSITIVE_HOSTNAME_VALIDATION = YES in [Link] ensures consistent
validation and avoids errors during policy save.

8. Can a policy be used to back up data without explicitly including the client?
Answer:
No. Unlike protection plans, NetBackup policies only protect explicitly listed clients.

9. How are policy changes managed across multiple policies?

Answer:
Through the NetBackup Administration Console, admins can copy and edit policies. For
automation, CLI (bppl* commands) or scripting via nbdeployutil may be used.

10. What policy types require the Enterprise Client license?

Answer:
BigData, VMware, and Hyper-V policies all require the Enterprise Client license.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 05

1. Scenario: You are asked to schedule backups every 4 hours for a transactional DB.
Q: Which schedule type would you choose and how would you configure it?
A: Use a frequency-based schedule. Set the interval to 4 hours (14,400 seconds). Choose

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“Full” or “Incremental” as appropriate. Ensure the policy type supports application-level

integration if needed.

2. Scenario: You want to retain full backups for 1 year and incrementals for 30 days.
Q: How do you achieve this?
A: Create two separate schedules in the policy. Assign the full schedule a 1-year
retention level and the incremental schedule 30 days. Apply different backup types and
frequency as needed.

3. Scenario: A backup fails saying “No files specified in selection list.”

Q: What is likely the issue?
A: The backup selection list is empty or incorrectly defined. Open the policy > Backup
Selections tab and add valid file paths or directives depending on policy type.

4. Scenario: A VMware policy is being created but the “Clients” tab is missing.
Q: Why?
A: Application-specific policies like VMware replace the Clients tab with workload-
specific tabs (e.g., “VMware” tab). This is expected behavior.

5. Scenario: A user reports some directories are not being backed up.
Q: How would you troubleshoot using Exclude/Include lists?
A: Check the client’s exclude_list and include_list. Exclude entries may be preventing the
specified path from being backed up. Adjust as needed and rerun the backup.

6. Scenario: You created a policy with "Client1" and later added "client1", but backups are
erratic.
Q: What might be wrong?
A: NetBackup treats these as distinct unless
CASE_INSENSITIVE_HOSTNAME_VALIDATION is set. Consolidate naming and enable that
setting to avoid duplicates.

7. Scenario: You want to back up a group of clients with different OS types but same
schedule.
Q: How should you design the policy?
A: Use one policy with a universal policy type (e.g., Standard) and list all clients. Ensure
the backup selection list is compatible across platforms.

8. Scenario: A client cannot see a new policy created by the admin.

Q: What needs to be checked?
A: Ensure the client is added under the Clients tab of the policy. Also verify connectivity,
SERVER list entries, and client installation status.

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9. Scenario: A user asks for a backup policy to only run on weekends.

Q: What type of schedule is best?
A: Use a calendar-based schedule and select Saturday and Sunday. This provides specific
date control rather than elapsed time.

10. Scenario: A policy stores data on a BasicDisk and needs to override storage for one
schedule.
Q: How is this configured?
A: In the schedule’s dialog, use “Override policy storage selection” and choose a
different storage unit. Ensure access permissions and space are available.

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✅ Lesson 06: Protecting File Systems

Key Topics:

 Performing manual and user-directed backups

 Using and customizing the Activity Monitor

 Handling backup job issues and status codes

 Understanding restore methods and permissions

 Using Backup, Archive, and Restore (BAR) interface and Web UI for restore

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 06

1. What tools can be used to manually initiate a backup in NetBackup?

Answer:
You can initiate manual backups using:

o NetBackup Java Admin Console

o bpbackup CLI utility

o Backup, Archive, and Restore (BAR) interface

o Web UI for applicable workloads.

2. What are the benefits of using the Activity Monitor for job administration?
Answer:
The Activity Monitor allows administrators to view job statuses, suspend/resume jobs,
restart failed jobs, and prioritize queued jobs. Filters and column customization enable
efficient monitoring.

3. What is a user-directed backup and how is it different from admin-initiated backups?

Answer:
User-directed backups are initiated by end users via the BAR interface. Unlike admin
backups, they offer limited scope (user data only) and follow policy-based permissions
set by the admin.

4. Which interface is used on the client for restores and what are its capabilities?
Answer:
The Backup, Archive, and Restore (BAR) interface. It allows users to view, search, and
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restore backed-up files/folders and supports True Image Restore (TIR) and schedule
browsing.

5. How does True Image Restore (TIR) differ from normal restore?
Answer:
TIR restores only files present at the time of the backup (excluding deleted files). Normal
restore restores any file captured, even if deleted afterward. TIR also uses a directory
image map file.

6. What job status codes indicate partial or failed backups, and how are they
interpreted?
Answer:
Common codes:

o 0 = Success

o 1 = Partial Success (some files skipped)

o 13/14 = File I/O errors

o 50 = Client process aborted

The logs provide deeper diagnostics for remediation.

7. How can you filter specific job types or clients in the Activity Monitor?
Answer:
Use the Customize Columns and Filter Settings in the Activity Monitor. Filters can be
saved for repeated use, and color-coded statuses provide visual feedback.

8. What permissions must be configured for a user to perform restores?

Answer:
The admin must assign user restore permissions through NetBackup’s global/host
properties, or define authorized restore targets using BAR’s security settings.

9. How does the Web UI simplify the restore process for workloads?
Answer:
The Web UI provides guided restore workflows with asset selection, point-in-time
restore, and preview. It supports VM, cloud, and database restore interfaces.

10. Can the restore destination be changed during a file-level restore?

Answer:
Yes. Both the BAR and Web UI interfaces allow restores to original or alternate
destinations, including renaming files, choosing overwrite behavior, or redirecting paths.

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🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 06

1. Scenario: A user needs to restore a deleted folder but can’t find it in the BAR interface.
Q: What might be the issue?
A: They may be using True Image Restore mode, which excludes deleted files. Switch to
normal restore mode to view all backed-up content.

2. Scenario: A backup job frequently ends with status code 1.

Q: How would you troubleshoot it?
A: Review job details in Activity Monitor, check for skipped files (e.g., in-use or
excluded), and investigate client logs for access errors or path issues.

3. Scenario: A user wants to restore files but doesn’t have access to the BAR console.
Q: How do you provide restore access?
A: Install the NetBackup client GUI on their machine, ensure proper restore permissions
are configured, and verify they are listed in the NetBackup host access control list.

4. Scenario: A critical system’s backup fails during off-hours with status code 13.
Q: What would you do?
A: Code 13 = I/O error. Review job logs, verify disk availability and permissions, test read
access to files, and ensure antivirus or locks aren’t interfering.

5. Scenario: You want to allow users to back up their own data but not entire systems.
Q: How can this be implemented?
A: Use user-directed backup via the BAR interface, and create policies that limit the
scope of included files. Enable policy restrictions to enforce boundaries.

6. Scenario: Multiple jobs are queuing and not running on time.

Q: How do you prioritize them in NetBackup?
A: In Activity Monitor, right-click the job and select “Increase Priority.” You can also
adjust priority settings in policy schedules for long-term changes.

7. Scenario: A user wants to restore a file to a different system.

Q: Is this possible?
A: Yes, through redirected restore. From BAR or Web UI, select alternate destination,
map the client, and verify restore permissions are configured correctly.

8. Scenario: Your team is monitoring many backup jobs, and visibility is overwhelming.
Q: How do you make it easier?
A: Create filters in Activity Monitor (e.g., by job type or client name), customize columns,
and sort by job ID, schedule, or status.

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9. Scenario: A backup job was manually launched but no data was backed up.
Q: What might have gone wrong?
A: Possible issues include empty backup selection list, incorrect policy, exclusions, or
path access failures. Review job logs and selection list config.

10. Scenario: You restored a file, but the end user reports it's corrupted.
Q: How can you confirm file integrity post-restore?
A: Enable checksum verification during backup, reattempt restore, and test file manually.
Consider restoring from an earlier point-in-time version.

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✅ Lesson 07: Configuring Media Server Deduplication (MSDP)

Key Topics:

 Introduction to deduplication and MSDP

 Fixed vs Variable-Length Deduplication

 Server-side vs Client-side deduplication

 Configuring media server and client deduplication

 Multi-domain MSDP and optimized duplication

 Fingerprinting, caching, encryption options

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 07

1. What are the three phases of deduplication in NetBackup MSDP?

Answer:

o Fingerprinting: Generates a unique hash for each data segment.

o Redundancy Identification: Looks up existing fingerprints.

o Redundancy Elimination: Stores only unique segments; others are replaced with
pointers.

2. What is the difference between fixed-length and variable-length deduplication?

Answer:

o Fixed-length (default): Faster but less efficient with shifting data.

o Variable-length: Detects more redundancy with shifting content. Enabled via

[Link]. Useful for databases or modified files.

3. How does client-side deduplication differ from server-side?

Answer:

o Client-side: Fingerprinting happens on the client; reduces network load.

o Server-side: Media server does deduplication.

o Client-side is ideal for remote backups with limited bandwidth.

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4. What are the hardware/software prerequisites for enabling a 250 TB MSDP pool?
Answer:
You must:

o Configure multiple volumes

o Enable support in configuration

o Update log file paths

o Adjust deduplication settings like fingerprint cache and agent behavior.

5. Explain the role of the [Link] file in MSDP.

Answer:
This file controls fingerprint cache behavior. Parameters include:

o CacheLoadThreadNum: Threads to load cache

o MaxCacheSize: RAM usage percentage for cache.

6. How does NetBackup support multi-domain deduplication from 8.3 onwards?

Answer:
Media servers in one domain can write to MSDP in another. It enables better
deduplication across domains without duplicating storage or hardware.

7. What components are required to configure MSDP on a new media server?

Answer:

o Install NetBackup Media Server

o Configure it as a deduplication server

o Create deduplication disk pool and storage unit

o Verify MSDP prerequisites.

8. How is optimized duplication used in an MSDP environment?

Answer:
MSDP enables storage-level image duplication with minimal I/O. Only metadata is
transferred if blocks already exist at the target, improving efficiency.

9. How do you configure encryption and compression for MSDP?

Answer:
Set values in configuration matrix or [Link] file. You can customize separately for
backups, duplication, and replication using flags like ENCRYPTION and COMPRESSION.

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10. What is the role of load balancing servers in MSDP?

Answer:
Helper media servers perform fingerprinting and send deduplicated data to storage. Best
added after storage server CPU limits are reached.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 07

1. Scenario: You want to reduce network traffic during backup for branch offices.
Q: What deduplication mode should you use and why?
A: Use client-side deduplication to perform fingerprinting at the source. This reduces
the data sent over WAN, ideal for remote sites.

2. Scenario: You are provisioning a 250 TB deduplication pool.

Q: What steps are necessary to ensure compatibility?
A: Create multiple disk volumes, enable 250 TB support in config, adjust MSDP settings
like fingerprint cache, and configure the deduplication storage server and disk pool.

3. Scenario: Fingerprint cache loading is slow during server startup.

Q: What can you configure to optimize this?
A: Edit [Link] to adjust CacheLoadThreadNum and MaxCacheSize. This
improves load speed and memory efficiency.

4. Scenario: Backups from Domain A need to be stored in MSDP located in Domain B.

Q: Is this supported and how?
A: Yes, supported from NetBackup 8.3. Configure MSDP multi-domain setup so media
servers from Domain A can access storage in Domain B.

5. Scenario: Your deduplication ratio is low despite frequent similar backups.

Q: What might help improve this?
A: Enable variable-length deduplication in [Link], especially useful if file data is
changing positions or being inserted mid-stream.

6. Scenario: An organization needs to use encrypted deduplication backups.

Q: How is encryption configured in MSDP?
A: Use the deduplication settings matrix or edit [Link] with flags like ENCRYPTION = 1.
Apply settings per backup and duplication process.

7. Scenario: You plan to deduplicate large amounts of data but want to ensure scalability.
Q: How should you design the MSDP deployment?
A: Consider storage needs and use multiple deduplication nodes. Use optimized

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duplication for efficiency. Also, monitor deduplication throughput and cache

performance.

8. Scenario: A client restore operation takes too long and uses full data transfer.
Q: What setting might be misconfigured?
A: Client-direct restore might not be enabled. Verify client attributes and deduplication
config to allow direct access to MSDP during restore.

9. Scenario: You want to configure deduplication for a high-availability deployment.

Q: What’s your approach?
A: Use multiple MSDP nodes with shared storage, configure replication between them,
and use load balancing media servers as needed for failover support.

10. Scenario: You need to run backups from clients but want to avoid deduplication
overhead.
Q: What should be configured?
A: On client attributes, set deduplication location to “Always use media server.” This
disables client-side deduplication and pushes processing to media server.

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✅ Lesson 08: Configuring Cloud Storage

Key Topics:

 Cloud usage models with NetBackup

 Configuring cloud storage servers and disk pools

 Backup and restore to cloud

 Using the Cloud Storage Wizard

 Managing cloud backup images and verifying restores

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 08

1. What are the four primary NetBackup cloud deployment models?

Answer:

o NetBackup Cloud Storage: On-premises deployment backing up to cloud.

o NetBackup in Cloud: NetBackup runs in the cloud and protects cloud-native

workloads.

o NetBackup for DR: Replicates backups to cloud-hosted NetBackup instance for

DR.

o MSDP Cloud Tier: Writes deduplicated data directly to cloud without dedicated
CloudCatalyst server.

2. What is the role of the NetBackup media server in cloud backups?

Answer:
It acts as the data mover, transferring backup data from clients to the cloud storage via
APIs. Multiple media servers can be assigned for load balancing across cloud storage
servers.

3. What are the key steps in configuring NetBackup cloud storage?

Answer:

o Perform prerequisites (log directories, certificates)

o Add cloud storage server via Web UI or CLI

o Configure access keys and bucket/container

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o Create disk pool and storage unit

o Apply storage to backup policy.

4. How does NetBackup handle encryption for cloud backups?

Answer:
You configure encryption during storage server setup in the Cloud Storage Wizard. Uses
KMS (Key Management Service) or cloud-native encryption depending on the vendor.

5. What are the supported performance-related settings when backing up to the cloud?
Answer:

o At least 10 Gb network in cloud

o ≤ 0.1 ms latency

o Static IP

o 3000+ IOPS per cloud volume recommended.

6. What are the volume and bucket restrictions for NetBackup cloud storage?
Answer:
Each storage server must use a separate bucket/container. Buckets cannot be shared
between storage servers to avoid image corruption.

7. How can you view and verify backup images stored in the cloud?
Answer:

o Use Reports > Images on Disk in the Admin Console

o Use Catalog > Verify to compare catalog to cloud content

o Cross-check in cloud vendor’s console (e.g., AWS S3 browser).

8. What is NetBackup CloudStore Service Container and when is it used?

Answer:
It supports legacy cloud storage integration on media servers from versions 7.7.x to
8.1.2. It handles metadata processing and API calls to cloud targets.

9. What cloud features are not supported with NetBackup?

Answer:

o Optimized duplication

o NDMP direct-to-tape

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o Disk volume spanning

These features require workarounds or alternate configurations.

10. How does NetBackup support cost monitoring for cloud usage?
Answer:
Through OpsCenter Cloud Metering Reports, including:

o Cloud usage rate

o Chargeback cost view

o Expiring data forecasts

o Average transfer rate per provider.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 08

1. Scenario: You want to configure NetBackup to use Azure Blob Storage as a backup
target.
Q: How do you proceed?
A: Use the Web UI’s Storage Configuration to launch the Cloud Storage Wizard, select
Azure from providers, enter access/secret keys, create a disk pool and assign to a backup
policy.

2. Scenario: Cloud backup jobs show poor performance.

Q: What should you review?
A: Check for:

o Network bandwidth and latency (10 Gb, ≤ 0.1 ms)

o IOPS of cloud volumes

o Deduplication/encryption settings

o Media server load balancing.

3. Scenario: You need to verify if cloud-stored backup images are restorable.

Q: What method do you use?
A: Run Catalog > Verify in Admin Console to validate catalog metadata vs. actual cloud-
stored files. You can also check visibility in cloud vendor’s bucket UI.

4. Scenario: Backups fail with cloud bucket permission errors.

Q: What are possible causes?
A: Likely causes:

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o Incorrect access/secret keys

o IAM policy misconfiguration in cloud

o Region or endpoint mismatch during setup.

5. Scenario: You need to add more cloud data movers to handle load.
Q: What is your approach?
A: Add more NetBackup media servers, register them to the cloud disk pool using the
Cloud Storage configuration, and assign them to storage units for job distribution.

6. Scenario: A user complains that cloud restores are slow.

Q: How do you optimize performance?
A: Enable client-side deduplication, use NetBackup Accelerator, verify network
throughput, and use local restores when possible.

7. Scenario: You want to enable synthetic full backups for cloud targets.
Q: What is a prerequisite?
A: The cloud bucket must support versioning, and synthetic full backup must be enabled
during storage unit setup.

8. Scenario: You want to separate cloud backups between departments.

Q: How can you achieve this?
A: Create different cloud buckets per department, configure individual storage servers
and policies targeting each one.

9. Scenario: You need to encrypt data before it is sent to the cloud.

Q: Where do you configure this?
A: During cloud storage server setup in the wizard, select Enable Encryption. Optionally
integrate with NetBackup KMS.

10. Scenario: After cloud storage server configuration, backups still fail.
Q: What steps do you take to troubleshoot?
A:

o Verify access credentials

o Test network connectivity

o Check if the media server is cloud-enabled

o Re-run the cloud storage wizard and validate the configuration screen for all
inputs.

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✅ Lesson 09: Optimizing Filesystem Backups

Key Topics:

 File system backup challenges

 Change logs: NTFS and VxFS

 NetBackup Accelerator and FlashBackup

 Multi-streaming and synthetic backups

 Handling busy/open files on Windows/UNIX

 Integration with Microsoft Data Deduplication

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 09

1. How do NTFS change logs optimize incremental backups in NetBackup?

Answer:
NTFS change journal (USN journal) tracks file changes, eliminating the need to scan the
entire file system. It dramatically improves incremental backup speeds, especially in
dense file systems.

2. What is the purpose of enabling synthetic full backups in NetBackup?

Answer:
Synthetic full backups combine a previous full backup and subsequent incrementals to
create a new full backup without reading client data. This saves bandwidth and system
load.

3. What is NetBackup Accelerator and how does it function?

Answer:
Accelerator tracks changes at the file system level and merges them with previous
backups to create fast full backups. It uses a track log and cache file to avoid re-reading
unchanged data.

4. How does FlashBackup differ from Accelerator?

Answer:
FlashBackup creates a raw partition snapshot, allowing faster backup of millions of small
files. It stores block-level data while still enabling file-level restores. Ideal for high-
density file systems.

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5. What are the prerequisites for using Accelerator?

Answer:

o Track log creation on client

o Storage unit support (e.g., MSDP or OST)

o Change log (e.g., NTFS journal) enabled

o Compatible policy type (e.g., MS-Windows).

6. What is the benefit of using multiple data streams in filesystem backup?

Answer:
It allows parallel backups of different file system paths or volumes, improving
throughput and reducing backup window. Defined in policy backup selections or by
enabling multi-streaming options.

7. What is the behavior of NetBackup when backing up Microsoft Data Deduplication file
systems?
Answer:
NetBackup can do optimized or unoptimized backups. With the correct setting, it backs
up deduplicated segments efficiently. Without it, files are rehydrated, increasing backup
size and time.

8. Can NetBackup Accelerator be used for incremental or user-directed backups?

Answer:
No. Only full backups are optimized with Accelerator. Incrementals and user backups are
performed normally without acceleration benefits.

9. How does NetBackup handle open or locked files on Windows systems?

Answer:
NetBackup uses Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to create a snapshot of open files,
allowing consistent backup without requiring applications to shut down.

10. How does NetBackup determine when to fall back from change-log-based incremental
backups?
Answer:
If too many changes are logged (exceeding 512 MB default log size), NetBackup reverts
to full file system scan. Logs are circular and may overwrite if backups are delayed.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 09

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1. Scenario: You want to enable NetBackup Accelerator but find it ineffective.

Q: What might be missing?
A: Likely causes: missing track log, unsupported storage (e.g., BasicDisk), disabled
change log (NTFS journal), or incorrect policy type (e.g., not MS-Windows).

2. Scenario: Backups are taking too long due to millions of small files.
Q: What technology can improve this?
A: Use FlashBackup to perform block-level backup while retaining file-level restore
capability. It minimizes overhead caused by excessive file enumeration.

3. Scenario: A backup window is too short to complete full backups.

Q: Which two features can help?
A: Implement Accelerator and synthetic full backups to reduce client I/O and full backup
time.

4. Scenario: A synthetic full backup fails due to missing incrementals.

Q: What should you verify?
A: Check that the full and incremental images exist in the catalog, retention is sufficient,
and no images have expired. Verify backup history with bpimagelist.

5. Scenario: A client has deduplicated file system enabled but backups are large.
Q: How can this be optimized?
A: Enable optimized backup setting for Data Deduplication file system in policy. Without
this, files are rehydrated during backup.

6. Scenario: After enabling multi-streaming, backups still use one stream.

Q: What might be wrong?
A: Backup selections may not be split correctly (e.g., not multiple mount points). Ensure
policy allows multi-streaming and storage unit supports it.

7. Scenario: You encounter VSS errors on a Windows file server during backup.
Q: What are best practices?
A: Ensure VSS snapshot storage is on a separate volume, do not restrict max size, and
use proper VSS provider settings. Review bpbkar logs for detailed errors.

8. Scenario: A file was backed up using TIR, but does not appear in restore.
Q: Why?
A: True Image Restore does not include files deleted before backup. Switch to Normal
Restore mode to retrieve deleted files.

9. Scenario: Backup scan takes hours even though few files changed.
Q: How can this be improved?

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A: Enable NTFS Change Journal using fsutil usn createjournal. This reduces scan time by
reading only modified file entries.

10. Scenario: You’re testing Accelerator with MSDP but performance gains are minimal.
Q: What could cause this?
A: Possible causes include:

o First full backup (not accelerated)

o Backup selections too small

o Change log not enabled

o Cache corruption or fragmented volume.

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✅ Lesson 10: Protecting VMware Environments

Key Topics:

 NetBackup components for VMware backup

 Transport modes (SAN, NBD, NBDSSL)

 Continuous Data Protection (CDP) for VMware

 Backup host configuration

 Integration with vCenter and vStorage APIs

 Monitoring VMware and CDP jobs

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 10

1. What are the primary NetBackup components required for VMware backup?
Answer:

o NetBackup Primary/Master Server

o Media Server with VMware access

o Backup host with vStorage API access

o NetBackup Plugin for vSphere Web Client

o vCenter/ESXi integration for VM discovery

2. Explain the supported transport methods used by NetBackup for VMware backups.
Answer:

o SAN (best performance, requires FC access to datastores)

o HotAdd (backup host is a VM, attaches disks)

o NBD/NBDSSL (uses TCP/IP; SSL is slower but secure)

These are auto-detected or set manually in policy.

3. What is Continuous Data Protection (CDP) in NetBackup for VMware?

Answer:
CDP allows near real-time backups using gateway appliances. It continuously monitors

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VMs for changes and initiates backups on change detection. Uses Accelerator with MSDP
or OST.

4. What are best practices for configuring VMware backups in NetBackup?

Answer:

o Use consistent VM naming

o Install media server and backup host on different systems

o Upgrade to the latest supported vSphere version

o Assign sufficient memory to the backup host

o Enable changed block tracking (CBT)

5. How does NetBackup track changes for incremental backups in VMware?

Answer:
It uses VMware Changed Block Tracking (CBT), which allows NetBackup to identify
changed blocks since the last backup, enabling fast differential and incremental backups.

6. What is the role of the NetBackup Plugin for vSphere Web Client?
Answer:
It allows administrators to monitor NetBackup jobs and perform restore operations
directly from the vSphere interface, simplifying backup administration for VMware
environments.

7. What are the prerequisites for enabling CDP in a VMware environment?

Answer:

o vSphere version compatibility

o Accelerator-enabled storage (MSDP/OST)

o CDP Gateway configuration

o Updated protection plan with CDP policy type.

8. How does NetBackup handle file-level restores from VMware backups?

Answer:
If "Enable file recovery from VM backup" is selected in policy, NetBackup allows
browsing and restoring individual files from full VM image backups using file recovery
mappings.

9. Can multiple VMs using the same datastore be backed up in a single policy?
Answer:

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Yes, but for better deduplication, it’s recommended to split VMs across policies by
datastore to avoid contention and ensure optimal deduplication streams.

10. What is the difference between policy-based and protection plan-based VMware
backups?
Answer:

o Policy-based: Traditional, per-policy definition in Admin Console

o Protection plan-based: Web UI workflows with CDP support and automatic

scheduling
Protection plans are mandatory for CDP.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 10

1. Scenario: Backups for several VMs are failing with transport error.
Q: How would you troubleshoot this?
A: Identify transport mode used (SAN/HotAdd/NBD). For SAN, ensure FC access; for
HotAdd, verify VM permissions and configuration; for NBD, check network/firewall
settings.

2. Scenario: You need near-continuous backups for a critical VM.

Q: What NetBackup feature do you configure?
A: Use CDP (Continuous Data Protection). Set up CDP gateway, assign protection plan,
and ensure Accelerator-compatible storage is used (MSDP or OST).

3. Scenario: You want to enable file-level restore from VM backups.

Q: What policy option must be configured?
A: In the policy’s VMware tab, enable “Enable file recovery from VM backup.” Without
it, only full VM restores are available.

4. Scenario: You observe slow backup performance over NBD.

Q: How do you improve it?
A: Switch to SAN or HotAdd if supported, disable NBDSSL if not needed, or segment VMs
across different hosts for better throughput.

5. Scenario: Your backup admin needs to monitor VMware jobs within vCenter.
Q: What do you deploy?
A: Install the NetBackup Plug-in for vSphere Web Client, which integrates NetBackup
job visibility and management into the vSphere UI.

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6. Scenario: Some VMs are skipped in the backup job.

Q: What might be the issue?
A: Check VM inclusion criteria in the policy/protection plan, CBT status, and whether VM
snapshots failed due to resource constraints or vCenter issues.

7. Scenario: You want to run simultaneous VMware backups but are limited by memory.
Q: What best practices apply?
A: Allocate sufficient memory to backup host, distribute VMs across multiple backup
hosts, or increase simultaneous job limits based on system capability.

8. Scenario: CDP jobs are not triggering for VMs.

Q: What should you verify?
A: Ensure VM is included in the CDP protection plan, the gateway is correctly configured,
and storage is Accelerator-compatible.

9. Scenario: You are testing restores to alternate VMware environments.

Q: What must you consider?
A: Ensure compatibility with vCenter/ESXi versions, network configuration, and that file
recovery option was enabled during the backup.

10. Scenario: VMware backups are completing, but no logs show in vCenter.
Q: What’s likely missing?
A: Ensure “Post events to vCenter” is enabled in VMware tab's Advanced Attributes.
Without it, NetBackup events aren’t sent to vSphere logs.

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✅ Lesson 11: Recovering VMware Environments

Key Topics:

 Traditional and file-level VM restores

 Instant Access and Instant Rollback

 VMware Agentless Restore

 Restore prerequisites and staging

 Recovery host configuration

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 11

1. What are the three major restore types supported by NetBackup for VMware
environments?
Answer:

o Full VM Recovery (traditional or from Web UI)

o Virtual Disk Restore

o File/Folder Level Restore, using agent or agentless options depending on config.

2. What is VMware Agentless Restore and when is it used?

Answer:
VMware Agentless Restore allows file recovery without installing NetBackup client on
the VM. Useful in environments like Windows with UAC restrictions. Files are first staged
to a recovery host, then transferred to the VM.

3. How does Instant Access differ from Instant Rollback in VMware recovery?
Answer:

o Instant Access powers on a VM from backup storage for quick access.

o Instant Rollback replaces the existing VM data with the backup content instantly.
Both use snapshot mounts and minimize downtime.

4. Which policy option enables file-level restore from VM backups?

Answer:
"Enable file recovery from VM backup" must be selected in the VMware policy. Without
it, only full VM or disk-level restore is available.

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5. What are the supported restore targets in a VMware recovery wizard?

Answer:

o Original VM

o Alternate VM

o New (temporary) VM
Admins can also configure disk provisioning and power-on behavior.

6. What network transport methods are available for restore?

Answer:

o LAN: Plain or encrypted

o SAN: Fibre Channel or iSCSI

Choice affects performance and must match the transport mode used in backup.

7. What are the staging requirements for agentless restore?

Answer:
A recovery host must be configured with enough disk space. Default path is:
install_path\VERITAS\NetBackup\var\tmp\staging
Custom path via registry key AGENTLESS_RHOST_STAGING_PATH.

8. Can CDP-protected VMs be recovered through the vSphere plugin?

Answer:
No. CDP-based recoveries must be performed via the NetBackup Web UI. Plugin does
not support CDP recovery or browsing.

9. What are the key prerequisites for using Instant Access?

Answer:

o Accelerator-enabled backup

o MSDP/OST-based storage

o VM backup must exist

o Instant Access feature must be licensed and enabled.

10. What determines if file-level restore is possible from a single-pass backup?

Answer:
Availability of metadata from backup and having the NetBackup Client installed on
recovery host. For agentless recovery, sufficient staging must be ensured.

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🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 11

1. Scenario: You need to quickly power on a critical VM from backup.

Q: Which recovery method do you use?
A: Instant Access. VM is mounted directly from backup storage, eliminating the need to
copy data back before use.

2. Scenario: A file needs to be recovered from a backup but the VM has no NetBackup
client.
Q: How do you proceed?
A: Use VMware Agentless Restore. File is staged via recovery host then pushed into the
VM. Ensure staging space is available and feature is enabled.

3. Scenario: A restore job shows insufficient staging error.

Q: What likely went wrong?
A: Recovery host lacks disk space at staging path. Check and expand the
AGENTLESS_RHOST_STAGING_PATH location or move staging path via registry edit.

4. Scenario: You want to rollback a VM to a backup point immediately.

Q: What feature should you use?
A: Instant Rollback. Replaces current VM image with backup version instantly without
full restore operation.

5. Scenario: A user wants to recover files from a CDP-based VM backup.

Q: What is the proper method?
A: Use NetBackup Web UI to initiate restore. CDP restores are not available through
Admin Console or vSphere plugin.

6. Scenario: A full VM restore was started, but the wrong target VM was used.
Q: Can you redirect during recovery?
A: Yes, use the Virtual Machine Recovery Wizard and choose an Alternate VM or create
a temporary one.

7. Scenario: Restore completes, but VM does not power on.

Q: What should you check?
A: Ensure “Power on after restore” was selected. Also verify VM hardware compatibility
and provisioning settings.

8. Scenario: Admin wants to avoid rehydrating deduplicated files for restore.

Q: What’s your recommendation?
A: Use Accelerator with MSDP, ensuring dedup metadata is retained and Instant Access
is used to avoid full copy operations.

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9. Scenario: You need to automate recovery checks post-restore.

Q: What built-in feature helps?
A: The Web UI Recovery Review page performs pre-recovery checks and lists
configurations to validate before restore begins.

10. Scenario: You are restoring a VM using Web UI, but “Restore” option is greyed out.
Q: Why?
A: Either the backup image lacks metadata or file recovery wasn’t enabled in the policy.
Reconfigure with file recovery option or reverify image catalog.

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✅ Lesson 12: Duplicating and Replicating Backups

Key Topics:

 Duplication strategies: inline, after-backup, vaulting

 Optimized duplication and replication

 Storage Lifecycle Policies (SLP): creation, configuration, automation

 Auto Image Replication (AIR)

 Monitoring and reporting on duplication jobs

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 12

1. What is the difference between duplication and replication in NetBackup?

Answer:

o Duplication: Copies backup images within the same NetBackup domain.

o Replication: Transfers images across different NetBackup domains using Auto

Image Replication (AIR).

2. What is an inline copy and how is it implemented in NetBackup?

Answer:
An inline copy creates multiple backup images simultaneously during the initial backup.
Configured in the policy's schedule, it allows up to four copies. Useful for sending a copy
offsite immediately.

3. How does optimized duplication benefit the backup infrastructure?

Answer:
It uses OST (OpenStorage Technology) to transfer data directly between appliances,
bypassing the media server. Reduces network load and speeds up duplication between
compatible devices.

4. What limitations apply to using Storage Lifecycle Policies (SLPs)?

Answer:
SLPs do not support BasicDisk storage units. All other storage types (MSDP, tape, OST)
are supported. SLPs also require coordination between lifecycle stages and retention
settings.

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5. What are the benefits of using SLP over manual duplication?

Answer:

o Automation of complex workflows

o Support for inline + delayed duplication

o Integration with AIR, data classification

o Avoids human error and reduces operational overhead.

6. Explain how Auto Image Replication (AIR) works.

Answer:

o Backup image is created on source

o Metadata is exported and fast-imported at the target domain

o Optional secondary duplications can follow

o Replication is between OST-compatible domains.

7. Which NetBackup tools are used to monitor SLP operations?

Answer:

o nbstl and nbstlutil CLI commands

o NetBackup Web UI

o OpsCenter SLP reports

o Admin Console → Lifecycle Policies.

8. What is the role of NetBackup Vault in duplication?

Answer:
Automates duplication and offsite tape ejection. Ideal for long-term tape retention
workflows, but does not support advanced features like AIR or third-party snapshots.

9. How does duplication help with regulatory compliance?

Answer:
Multiple copies stored in different locations (onsite/offsite/cloud) ensure data
survivability, fulfilling retention and DR mandates. Inline or staged duplication meets
various SLA tiers.

10. Can SLP perform cross-domain image replication and duplication?

Answer:

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Yes, SLPs support Auto Image Replication (cross-domain) and optimized duplication
between storage appliances within or across domains.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 12

1. Scenario: You want to create two backup copies immediately to disk and tape.
Q: What should you configure?
A: Configure inline copies in the policy schedule to write to both destinations during the
backup job.

2. Scenario: A compliance rule requires offsite image copies.

Q: How can you meet this requirement?
A: Use SLPs with replication or Vault features to send copies offsite automatically post-
backup.

3. Scenario: Backup windows are tight and duplication tasks are slowing backups.
Q: What is a solution?
A: Use post-backup duplication strategy. Back up during the window and schedule
duplication separately to reduce client impact.

4. Scenario: You want to send backup data from one domain to another efficiently.
Q: What should you use?
A: Implement Auto Image Replication (AIR) between compatible OST appliances.
Enables fast metadata import at the remote domain.

5. Scenario: You are creating SLPs and want to monitor them.

Q: Which tools will help?
A: Use nbstlutil, Admin Console → Lifecycle Policies, OpsCenter SLP reports, or Web UI
for lifecycle tracking.

6. Scenario: Duplicated images are missing in the target domain.

Q: What’s a likely cause?
A: Fast-import of metadata may have failed in AIR. Check replication status, metadata
import logs, and SLP schedule consistency.

7. Scenario: A tape library has been replaced and duplication fails.

Q: What should you check?
A: Ensure SLP still references valid tape storage units. Update the SLP configuration to
reflect hardware changes.

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8. Scenario: A remote office needs access to replicated backup images.

Q: What method allows this?
A: Use AIR to replicate backups to a target domain's master server. Enables local restores
without WAN dependency.

9. Scenario: You need to duplicate data from MSDP to CloudCatalyst.

Q: Is this possible with SLP?
A: Yes, if the target is OST-compatible. Use optimized duplication steps in SLP to achieve
efficient transfer.

10. Scenario: A consultant suggests scripting bpduplicate for all copies.

Q: When is this not optimal?
A: If you're managing many jobs, manual scripting adds complexity. Use SLPs for
automation and policy control instead.

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✅ Lesson 13: Protecting the NetBackup Catalog

Key Topics:

 Understanding the NetBackup Catalog structure

 Managing image metadata: verify, expire, import

 Catalog backup policies and configuration

 Disaster recovery (DR) files and recovery process

 Catalog maintenance: compression, archiving

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 13

1. What is the NetBackup Catalog and what are its primary components?
Answer:
It is an internal database on the primary/master server that contains:

o Image metadata

o Configuration files

o Policy and schedule info

o Job logs and authorization data

o Encryption/KMS settings

o NBDB (relational database) and flat files.

2. How is the NetBackup Catalog protected through backup?

Answer:
Through a special Catalog Backup Policy that:

o Runs online (hot)

o Uses a dedicated CatalogBackup volume pool

o Creates a Disaster Recovery (DR) file

o Can be configured using a wizard.

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3. What is included and excluded in a catalog backup?

Answer:
Included: NBDB, configuration, logs, DR data, binaries.
Excluded: Actual backup data stored on clients or media.

4. What is the DR file and what critical data does it contain?

Answer:
The DR file is generated during catalog backup and includes:

o Backup date/media ID

o Critical policies

o Recovery steps

o CA certificates and KMS info (if configured).

5. Describe the catalog recovery job structure.

Answer:
A catalog backup job spawns:

o Parent job

o Child job for NBDB

o Child job for image/configuration data.

6. What are the key methods to perform catalog recovery?

Answer:

o Full recovery: recommended method

o Partial recovery: recover configuration files or NBDB individually

o Tools: Catalog Recovery Wizard or bprecover -wizard.

7. What catalog maintenance options are available in NetBackup?

Answer:

o Catalog archiving (dot-f files)

o Image compression

o Catalog file relocation

o Batch size tuning for metadata ingestion.

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8. How is catalog compression configured and what are its benefits?

Answer:
Enabled via Compress Catalog Interval in Global Settings. Benefits:

o Saves disk space (up to 80%)

o Reduces media usage

o Trade-off: slightly longer restore times.

9. What should be considered for catalog storage planning?

Answer:

o Use a dedicated file system

o Place NBDB and logs on separate volumes

o Adjust metadata batch size

o Follow best practice guidelines.

10. Can incremental backups be used for catalog protection?

Answer:
Yes. Catalog backups support incremental schedules, significantly reducing time and
resource usage for large environments.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 13

1. Scenario: You lost the primary server due to hardware failure.

Q: What files are needed for full catalog recovery?
A: DR file, catalog backup image, and a server with matching NetBackup
version/patches. Use bprecover -wizard to initiate recovery.

2. Scenario: Catalog backups are failing due to policy misconfiguration.

Q: How do you troubleshoot this?
A: Ensure:

o CatalogBackup volume pool is assigned

o DR file path is configured

o Passphrase is set for DR

o Storage units are available.

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3. Scenario: Admin wants to send catalog DR info via email.

Q: How can this be configured?
A: During Catalog Backup Wizard configuration, enter an email recipient to automatically
receive the DR file as an attachment.

4. Scenario: Restore operation from image catalog is slow.

Q: What might be causing this?
A: Possibly due to compressed image catalog. Uncompress using bpimage -decompress -
client client_name or adjust interval settings.

5. Scenario: Catalog has grown significantly in size.

Q: What maintenance actions can you take?
A: Enable compression, archive older images, and split catalog files across separate file
systems.

6. Scenario: You accidentally deleted the DR file email.

Q: How do you proceed with recovery?
A: Check the backup media logs or re-run catalog backup to regenerate a DR file. Use
Veritas technote 000064623 for guidance.

7. Scenario: Catalog backup completes but DR file isn’t created.

Q: What could be wrong?
A: Possible causes:

o Passphrase not set

o Email configuration missing

o Permissions issue in DR output directory.

8. Scenario: Admin wants to separate NBDB from other catalog files.

Q: What configuration change is needed?
A: Move the NBDB directory to a different volume using documented procedure. Update
paths in the NetBackup configuration.

9. Scenario: You need to verify integrity of catalog images.

Q: Which command or method is used?
A: Use Verify image task or bpverify to read backup volumes and validate against catalog
entries.

10. Scenario: Your company mandates that catalogs be backed up to WORM storage.
Q: How can this be handled?

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A: Create a catalog backup policy writing to a WORM-enabled storage unit and ensure
compliance with retention settings and encryption.

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✅ Lesson 14: Configuring Immutable and Indelible Storage

Key Topics:

 Ransomware protection overview

 WORM storage: Enterprise vs Compliance modes

 NetBackup integration with WORM storage

 Immutable storage with MSDP and OST

 Backup anomaly detection

 Role-based access control (RBAC)

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 14

1. What are the differences between Enterprise mode and Compliance mode for WORM
storage in NetBackup?
Answer:

o Enterprise Mode: Admins can create and delete WORM instances (if no
immutable data exists).

o Compliance Mode: WORM instances can only be deleted if all immutable data is
expired. Changing back to normal mode requires deletion of all WORM data.

2. How does NetBackup integrate WORM (Write-Once-Read-Many) functionality for

ransomware protection?
Answer:
NetBackup allows backups and copies to be stored on WORM-enabled storage, ensuring
data is immutable and indelible until the WORM Unlock Time. It works with MSDP and
third-party storage via OST plug-ins.

3. What is the WORM Unlock Time and how is it determined?

Answer:
It is the indelible end time of a backup image and equals the expiration date set during
backup. It can only be extended, never shortened. Configurable via policy retention or
bpexpdate -extend_worm_locks command.

4. How does RBAC enhance security for immutable storage in NetBackup?

Answer:
Only users with the Administrator role can configure or manage WORM storage. RBAC
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settings are catalog-protected and recoverable through catalog restore, preventing

unauthorized changes.

5. What are the key indicators of WORM support in the NetBackup Admin Console and
Web UI?
Answer:

o Admin Console: Disk Pool properties show “Use WORM” checkbox

o Web UI: WORM capability appears in storage configuration as read-only view for
ransomware operations.

6. What anomaly detection features does NetBackup offer for ransomware defense?
Answer:
It identifies unusual patterns in backup jobs (e.g., spike in file changes) and flags them in
the Web UI under “Anomalies.” Metrics include job ID, anomaly count, score, and client
name.

7. Can NetBackup use WORM storage in Storage Lifecycle Policies (SLP)?

Answer:
Yes, WORM storage can be used in both primary and secondary operations in SLP,
including support for Auto Image Replication (AIR) across domains.

8. What are the supported storage types for NetBackup immutable storage?
Answer:

o MSDP and MSDP-C

o AdvancedDisk

o OST-based appliances (including Flex Appliance, Data Domain)

NetBackup identifies WORM capability via plug-ins.

9. How is WORM media handled differently from standard media in NetBackup?

Answer:

o Cannot modify or delete data until expiration

o No error recovery; uses checkpoint/restart

o Uses QIC/WORM format; supports job resumption after failure.

10. How does anomaly scoring work in backup metadata analysis?

Answer:

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NetBackup assigns a severity score to anomalies. A higher score reflects more severe
deviations in backup behavior, such as file count surges or encryption pattern shifts.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 14

1. Scenario: You want to prevent backups from being deleted even by administrators.
Q: What storage setting do you enable?
A: Configure storage as WORM capable and use Compliance mode. This ensures
immutability until the WORM Unlock Time.

2. Scenario: Backups appear unmodifiable but can still be deleted.

Q: What might be the issue?
A: WORM storage may be configured in Enterprise mode, which allows deletion under
certain conditions. Switch to Compliance mode for stricter control.

3. Scenario: A backup image must be retained longer due to new audit requirements.
Q: How do you handle this?
A: Use bpexpdate -extend_worm_locks to extend the expiration (WORM unlock) date.
This complies with policy but does not allow shortening.

4. Scenario: An attacker gains access to NetBackup but cannot alter storage settings.
Q: What security feature prevents this?
A: Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) ensures only users with Admin role can change
WORM configuration. Also protected by catalog backup.

5. Scenario: You want to verify if your disk pool supports WORM.

Q: Where do you check?
A: In Admin Console → Disk Pool Properties → look for “Use WORM” option. Also visible
in Web UI (read-only) if WORM is enabled.

6. Scenario: You need to implement WORM backup for Flex Appliance.

Q: What NetBackup version is required?
A: NetBackup 9.1+ with Flex OS 2.0.1+ supports WORM with MSDP or AdvancedDisk on
Flex Appliance.

7. Scenario: NetBackup UI shows several jobs with high anomaly scores.

Q: What should you investigate?
A: Check the Anomalies tab for job ID, policy, score, and summary. Investigate causes like
data encryption, file count changes, or malicious behavior.

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8. Scenario: A partner requests immutable copy of data in their domain.

Q: How can you deliver this using NetBackup?
A: Use SLP with AIR to replicate backup image to target domain’s WORM-enabled
storage unit.

9. Scenario: You attempt to reduce expiration time of a WORM-protected backup but it

fails.
Q: Why?
A: WORM unlock time (expiration) can only be extended, not shortened, to maintain
data indelibility.

10. Scenario: Admin accidentally configures a WORM storage pool and needs to delete it.
Q: What must be verified first?
A: Ensure no immutable data exists. In Compliance mode, all WORM images must be
expired before deletion is allowed.

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✅ Lesson 15: Generating NetBackup Reports

Key Topics:

 Generating reports in the NetBackup Admin Console

 Understanding OpsCenter and its reporting capabilities

 OpsCenter Analytics (licensed version)

 APTARE IT Analytics and Report Library

 Scheduling, customizing, and exporting reports

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 15

1. What types of reports can be generated directly from the NetBackup Administration
Console?
Answer:
Reports include:

o Status of Backups

o Problems

o Media Logs

o Disk Storage Unit Status

o Tape Contents, Summary, and Written

o Images on Disk
Accessible via: NetBackup Management > Reports.

2. What is the difference between OpsCenter and OpsCenter Analytics?

Answer:

o OpsCenter (free): Basic reporting for jobs, policies, servers.

o OpsCenter Analytics (licensed): Includes customizable reports, SLA tracking,

trend analysis, chargeback, and compliance reports.

3. What is the role of the NetBackup Service Layer (NBSL) in OpsCenter data collection?
Answer:
NBSL on the primary server acts as the single data access point. OpsCenter queries NBSL
for updates, events, and changes. Media servers are not added to OpsCenter directly.

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4. How can a NetBackup report be scheduled or automated?

Answer:
Use OpsCenter’s Schedules tab to:

o Set frequency

o Define report filters

o Automate email distribution

o Integrate into dashboards via My Dashboard tab.

5. What actions can be performed on reports generated from OpsCenter?

Answer:

o Save

o Export (CSV, PDF)

o Email

o Schedule
These actions are available in both standard and Analytics versions.

6. What is APTARE IT Analytics and how is it different from OpsCenter?

Answer:
APTARE is a vendor-agnostic analytics platform with over 200+ customizable report
templates. Offers:

o Data protection visibility

o Cost analysis

o Compliance and trend reporting.

7. Where can backup-related reports be found in APTARE IT Analytics?

Answer:
Under the Backup Manager, which provides real-time status, audit trails, and
performance data across enterprise environments.

8. How does APTARE assist in performance optimization and auditing?

Answer:
Provides:

o Job success/failure rate analytics

o Root cause analysis

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o Chargeback metering

o Trend and forecasting for storage utilization.

9. What is the Report Library in APTARE and how can it be used?

Answer:
A shared repository of 300+ customer-contributed templates. Accessible via
[Link], customizable, and importable into your APTARE portal.

10. Can reports be filtered or customized based on product or field?

Answer:
Yes. Users can filter by:

o Product

o Date

o Backup target

o SLAs
Templates can be customized using drag-and-drop or SQL Designer.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 15

1. Scenario: You need to report backup success/failure rates to management.

Q: Which tools should you use?
A: Use OpsCenter Analytics or APTARE Backup Manager to create SLA and job success
trend reports.

2. Scenario: An auditor requests a list of all failed backups in the last 30 days.
Q: How do you generate this?
A: In NetBackup Admin Console, run the “Status of Backups” or “Problems” report for
the desired date range.

3. Scenario: You need to visualize disk pool usage across media servers.
Q: What report helps?
A: Use “Disk Pool Status” and “Disk Storage Unit Status” reports in NetBackup Reports
or generate custom APTARE dashboards.

4. Scenario: You want to automate a daily report to be emailed to a compliance team.

Q: What features support this?
A: Use OpsCenter’s Schedule and Email options for any report, or create recurring
export jobs in APTARE.
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5. Scenario: Reports show inconsistent job performance across clients.

Q: How do you analyze the root cause?
A: Use APTARE performance metrics and anomaly detection reports to analyze trends,
job durations, and failed retries.

6. Scenario: A business unit asks for a monthly chargeback report for storage usage.
Q: Which reporting tool supports this?
A: APTARE IT Analytics offers chargeback metering under Backup Manager with
customizable templates for each department.

7. Scenario: You receive reports with incorrect data sources.

Q: What should you verify?
A: Check if the correct Primary server is selected in NetBackup Reports or whether
OpsCenter is collecting data from the right NBSL source.

8. Scenario: You want to monitor all jobs and alert on failures in real-time.
Q: Which tool provides this?
A: Use OpsCenter Alerts and Dashboards to view and get notified of job failures or
configure alerts in APTARE.

9. Scenario: Your reports lack tape utilization data.

Q: Which reports include this info?
A: Use:

o Tape Contents

o Tape Summary

o Tape Written
Found in Admin Console → Reports.

10. Scenario: A consultant recommends SQL-based custom reporting.

Q: Which tool supports this directly?
A: APTARE IT Analytics via SQL Template Designer allows full query-based custom
reports.

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✅ Lesson 16: Upgrading and Updating NetBackup

Key Topics:

 Overview of NetBackup upgrade methods

 Introduction to VxUpdate for automated upgrades

 Deployment policy creation and package repository

 CLI tools: nbrepo, nbinstallcmd

 Error code handling and diagnostics

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 16

1. What is the recommended upgrade sequence in a NetBackup environment?

Answer:

o Step 1: Upgrade OpsCenter Server

o Step 2: Upgrade Primary/Master Server

o Step 3: Upgrade Media Servers

o Step 4: Upgrade Clients.

2. Which NetBackup versions are supported for upgrade using VxUpdate?

Answer:
VxUpdate supports upgrades for:

o Clients: NetBackup 7.7 and later

o Media Servers: NetBackup 8.2 and later

o Clients prior to 7.7 (e.g., 7.6) are not supported.

3. What is VxUpdate and what does it manage?

Answer:
VxUpdate is an automated tool in NetBackup to:

o Deploy upgrades to clients and media servers

o Manage the package repository

o Use deployment policies to push signed upgrade packages.

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4. Which CLI commands are used in VxUpdate to manage upgrade workflows?

Answer:

o nbrepo: Manages the NetBackup package repository

o nbinstallcmd: Initiates deployment from the command line

o Others include nbvxupdatecmd for status and job tracking.

5. What is the significance of .sja files in VxUpdate?

Answer:
.sja files are signed upgrade archives. Examples:

o vxupdate_nbclient_9.1_windows_x64.sja

o These files are used to upgrade clients or media servers based on platform.

6. Can VxUpdate perform upgrades in air-gapped environments?

Answer:
Yes, by manually importing the .sja files to the VxUpdate repository and pushing them
from the Primary Server using deployment policies.

7. What information does the Deployment Job Status provide?

Answer:
Shows:

o Job success/failure

o Detailed error codes (e.g., 7223 = stop-on-error)

o ECA validation results during staging/install.

8. What does the ECA health check validate during upgrades?

Answer:
It ensures Endpoint Certificate Authority (ECA) configuration is valid. Results are logged
in:

o NetBackup Web UI Activity Monitor

o Job Details → Detailed Status tab.

9. What are the key components of a VxUpdate deployment policy?

Answer:

o Target host(s)

o OS type and version

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o Deployment method (push/stage)

o Reference to package in repository.

10. Can you initiate upgrades from clients using VxUpdate?

Answer:
Yes. Clients can pull updates if policies and access permissions are configured. Typically
initiated by client daemon or admin CLI tools.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 16

1. Scenario: You have NetBackup 8.1.2 clients and want to use VxUpdate.
Q: Can you proceed?
A: Yes. VxUpdate supports client upgrades from 8.1.2 onward. Ensure .sja packages for
9.1 are available in the repository.

2. Scenario: A VxUpdate job fails with error 7223.

Q: What does this mean and how do you fix it?
A: It means “Stop On Error” was triggered. Check logs for missing packages or
incompatible OS info. Adjust policy or retry manually.

3. Scenario: You need to upgrade all Linux clients without accessing each system.
Q: What is the best method?
A: Use VxUpdate deployment policy from Primary Server with predefined targets and
automation scripts.

4. Scenario: After upgrade, a client fails to connect due to expired certificate.

Q: How to avoid this during upgrade?
A: Perform ECA health check before upgrade. Ensure certificates are valid and
vxupdate_nbclient package is signed correctly.

5. Scenario: New client packages aren't listed in the repository UI.

Q: What step did you likely miss?
A: You may not have run nbrepo to import the .sja file. Confirm the repository path and
rerun the import command.

6. Scenario: You want to roll out upgrades only after 9 PM to reduce load.
Q: How do you enforce this?
A: Set deployment windows in the VxUpdate deployment policy or schedule upgrade
jobs using script and task scheduler (cron, Task Scheduler).

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7. Scenario: OpsCenter has not been updated, but Primary Server was upgraded.
Q: What’s the issue?
A: OpsCenter must be upgraded before the Primary Server to maintain compatibility.
Roll back or upgrade OpsCenter immediately.

8. Scenario: You plan to upgrade over 100 clients across sites.

Q: How do you simplify this process?
A: Use staged upgrades via staging media servers and deployment policies. Avoid real-
time push from Primary for all clients simultaneously.

9. Scenario: You need to update Java GUI tools across clients.

Q: Is this included in the upgrade?
A: Yes. Java Remote Administration Console updates are included in client packages if
installed. For UNIX, GUI and JRE packages are optional.

10. Scenario: Post-upgrade, backups fail on multiple clients with plugin errors.
Q: What should you verify?
A: Ensure all language packs and add-on plugins were upgraded along with the client.
Deployment policies should include full suite packages.

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✅ Lesson 17: Collecting Logs and Diagnostic Information

Key Topics:

 Basic troubleshooting workflow

 Identifying NetBackup services, processes, and daemons

 Legacy vs Unified logging

 Diagnostic tools: nbsu, nbcplogs, Logging Assistant

 Smart Diagnosis (nbsmartdiag)

 Support escalation best practices

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 17

1. What is the difference between legacy logs and unified logs in NetBackup?
Answer:

o Legacy Logs: Older logs, manually enabled, named with bp*, like bprd, bptm.
Configurable via VERBOSE level.

o Unified Logs (VxUL): Automatically active, more detailed, used for modern
processes like nbpem, configurable with vxlogcfg.

2. Which command shows running NetBackup daemons/services?

Answer:
bpps – Lists all NetBackup processes active on master/media servers and clients.

3. What are the primary uses of nbsu and nbcplogs?

Answer:

o nbsu: Collects system and NetBackup config info into a CAB or [Link] archive.

o nbcplogs: Gathers logs, compresses them, and can be customized by time

window, log type, and output format.

4. What does the Logging Assistant tool do?

Answer:
GUI-based utility to:

o Enable both unified and legacy logs

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o Suggest log locations based on job failure

o Collect data including OS files, debug logs, and nbsu output

o Does not upload logs anymore (manual only).

5. What logging levels does Logging Assistant apply by default?

Answer:

o Unified logs: DiagnosticLevel = 6, DebugLevel = 6

o Legacy logs: VERBOSE = 5.

6. What is vxlogview and how is it used?

Answer:
CLI tool for viewing unified logs.
Example: vxlogview -d all -X "jobid=1234" filters logs by Job ID.

7. How can you disable legacy logging safely?

Answer:

o Delete log directories under NetBackup/logs, except user_ops and AltPath.

o Use vxlogcfg to reset unified logs verbosity to defaults.

8. What is the nbsmartdiag utility used for?

Answer:

o Identifies system performance issues (CPU, RAM, I/O)

o Runs as a daemon/service

o Supports Windows, Linux, AIX, VMware.

9. Where are log upload methods documented?

Answer:
Article: 100038665 - Methods to provide data for Technical Support.

10. What resources help understand NetBackup error codes and log files?
Answer:

o NetBackup Troubleshooting Guide

o NetBackup Logging Reference Guide

o NetBackup Status Codes Guide

o Website: [Link]

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🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 17

1. Scenario: A backup job fails with Status Code 156.

Q: How do you troubleshoot?
A: Use Activity Monitor → Detailed Status, run bpps, enable logging for bpfis and
nbproxy, and use nbcplogs to collect all logs for the job.

2. Scenario: You are asked to send logs for a failing media server.
Q: Which utilities help and how?
A: Use nbsu to capture system state and nbcplogs to bundle all relevant logs. Upload
manually to Veritas support.

3. Scenario: Logs are consuming too much disk space.

Q: What action should be taken?
A: - Disable legacy logging

o Use vxlogmgr to purge unified logs

o Avoid deleting AltPath or user_ops folders.

4. Scenario: You need logs from a UNIX client but can’t SSH into it.
Q: What can be used?
A: Use the Logging Assistant with remote enablement if permissions allow. Or generate
logs from central server using nbcplogs with remote path options.

5. Scenario: You are unsure which processes failed during a backup.

Q: How do you find out?
A: Run bpps, cross-check with Job Details in Activity Monitor, then trace relevant unified
logs via vxlogview filtered by Job ID.

6. Scenario: A system has high CPU during backups.

Q: How do you identify the root cause?
A: Use nbsmartdiag to detect performance bottlenecks and review logs collected by
nbcplogs for spikes in job retries or volume contention.

7. Scenario: Logs from some critical processes are missing.

Q: What went wrong in collection?
A: Logging Assistant may not have enabled certain logs (e.g., NBACE or admin). Manually
specify them under "additional components" field.

8. Scenario: You are trying to debug nbemm issues.

Q: Which logs should you enable?
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A: Enable unified logs for nbemm, and subcomponents like dsm, mds, using vxlogcfg or
Logging Assistant with manual components entry.

9. Scenario: Support asks for logs from the past 5 minutes only.
Q: What is the correct syntax?
A: nbcplogs -d 5m /path/to/output to gather logs from the last 5 minutes.

10. Scenario: You enabled logging but now want to reset everything.
Q: How do you reset logging levels?
A: Use:

11. vxlogcfg -a -p 51216 -o Default -s DiagnosticLevel=6

12. vxlogcfg -a -p 51216 -o Default -s DebugLevel=1

These commands reset verbosity for unified logs.

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✅ Lesson 18: Protecting Hyper-V Environments

Key Topics:

 NetBackup support for Hyper-V architecture and backup types

 Configuring Hyper-V backups using VSS and WMI

 Intelligent policy for dynamic VM selection

 Creating and scheduling Hyper-V policies

 Performing restores for standalone and SCVMM environments

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Appendix A

1. How does NetBackup support Hyper-V backups and what snapshot methods are used?
Answer:
NetBackup for Hyper-V uses:

o VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service) for full and file-level incremental backups

o WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) for block-level and Accelerator

backups
Both methods create consistent snapshots for Windows VMs.

2. What are the benefits of using WMI over VSS in Hyper-V environments?
Answer:

o Supports parallel backups

o Avoids serialization limitations of VSS

o Doesn’t require VMs to enter Saved State

o Preferred for Hyper-V 2016 and later environments.

3. What are the required components on a Hyper-V host to perform backups with
NetBackup?
Answer:

o NetBackup Client

o Optionally, NetBackup Media Server

o Hyper-V Integration Services

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o Legacy Network Service configured with domain credentials for cluster discovery.

4. What is a Hyper-V Intelligent Policy and how does it work?

Answer:
It enables dynamic VM selection using Query Builder. VMs matching rules (e.g., name
patterns, OS type) are selected automatically at backup time, reducing manual
configuration and keeping policies current.

5. How is the consistency level configured for Hyper-V backups?

Answer:
Options include:

o Application Consistent (default)

o Application then Crash Consistent

o Crash Consistent
Configured in the Hyper-V tab in the backup policy.

6. What Hyper-V file types and metadata does NetBackup protect?

Answer:
Includes .vhd, .vhdx, .xml, .bin, .vsv, .vmcx, and .vmrs files. Also backs up GUIDs and
differencing disks for clustered VM support.

7. What restore options are available for Hyper-V in NetBackup?

Answer:

o Restore full VMs to original or alternate hosts

o Restore individual files

o Restore via SCVMM using NetBackup plug-in

o File-level restore limited to same OS family (Windows-to-Windows only).

8. What limitations exist when restoring individual files from Hyper-V backups?
Answer:

o Cannot restore files >2 GB to shared locations

o No cross-platform (Windows ↔ Linux) restore

o NTFS features (e.g., encryption) lost if restored to FAT

o Alternate data streams not preserved on FAT targets.

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9. What is required for restoring Hyper-V VMs in an SCVMM environment?

Answer:

o NetBackup Add-in for SCVMM

o SCVMM server configured as a NetBackup client

o VMs must be discoverable in SCVMM context.

10. What tools are available to monitor and validate Hyper-V backup and restore jobs?
Answer:

o NetBackup Activity Monitor

o SCVMM Jobs tab

o History and Running views in SCVMM GUI for restore status.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 18

1. Scenario: VMs added recently are not being backed up.

Q: How can you ensure automatic discovery?
A: Use Hyper-V Intelligent Policy with Query Builder rules that match new VMs.
NetBackup will dynamically include them at backup time.

2. Scenario: Cluster VMs are missing in backup selections.

Q: What configuration may be missing?
A: The NetBackup Legacy Network Service is likely not running under a domain account,
preventing VM discovery across nodes.

3. Scenario: A Hyper-V backup completes but restore of a 3 GB file fails.

Q: Why might this happen?
A: Restoring large files (>2 GB) to a shared folder on the VM is unsupported. Restore
must target a NetBackup client with full agent.

4. Scenario: Hyper-V jobs show repeated failures during snapshot creation.

Q: What should you check?
A: Check:

o VSS writer stability

o VM states (paused/saved disallow app-consistent snapshots)

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o Disk space for shadow copies

Consider switching to WMI method.

5. Scenario: You’re tasked to reduce snapshot load on CSV volumes.

Q: Which backup method helps?
A: Use WMI method instead of VSS, as it avoids volume-wide snapshots and is scalable
for large clusters.

6. Scenario: You must restore a Hyper-V VM to a different server.

Q: What requirements must be met?
A: Ensure:

o VM config compatibility

o Disk paths accessible

o Enough space on target server

o Credentials allow access to restore target.

7. Scenario: A restore via SCVMM fails to register VM.

Q: What might be missing?
A: Ensure:

o SCVMM plug-in is installed

o VM matches restore configuration

o NetBackup client is on SCVMM host and licensed.

8. Scenario: Some VMs are skipped during backups.

Q: What setting could affect this?
A: Consistency Level may be set to Application Consistent only. If quiescing fails, the VM
will be skipped. Consider using fallback mode.

9. Scenario: You need to audit backed-up VMs last week.

Q: Which tools help?
A: Use Activity Monitor logs or OpsCenter reports filtered for Hyper-V policies and client
names.

10. Scenario: A user reports file restore issues from an encrypted folder.
Q: What could be the root cause?
A: The NetBackup Client Service must be running as Administrator. Otherwise, restoring
encrypted files will fail.

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✅ Lesson 19: Protecting NAS Data

Key Topics:

 NDMP backup types: Local, Remote, Three-way

 NetBackup configuration for NDMP and NAS devices

 Using NetBackup Accelerator for NDMP

 Protecting NetApp Clustered Data ONTAP (cDOT)

 Dynamic NAS (DNAS) protection and checkpoint restart

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Lesson 19

1. What are the supported NDMP backup types in NetBackup?

Answer:

o Local NDMP: Backup data from an NDMP host to its attached tape.

o Remote NDMP: Backup via a NetBackup media server to tape/disk.

o Three-way NDMP: Backup from one NDMP host to another host’s tape device.
Metadata always goes to the NetBackup catalog.

2. What is required to configure NDMP backups in NetBackup?

Answer:

o NDMP license

o Device configuration (NDMP-attached drives)

o Host access configuration

o Use tpautoconf and vmoprcmd to verify device visibility.

3. What are the benefits of using NetBackup Accelerator for NDMP?

Answer:

o Faster incremental backups

o Bypasses file scanning by tracking changed data

o Compatible with NetApp filers for optimized performance.

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4. How does NetBackup protect NetApp cDOT NDMP filers?

Answer:
Using:

o NDMP CAB API

o SVM (Storage Virtual Machine) awareness

o Replication Director to manage snapshots and replication.

5. What are the requirements for three-way NDMP backups?

Answer:

o Source and target NDMP hosts

o NDMP tape device on the destination

o Matching NDMP versions (v3 or v4 recommended)

o Proper policy configuration with NDMP-type storage unit.

6. What is Dynamic NAS (DNAS) and how does it improve NAS backups?
Answer:

o Uses snapshots and dynamic streaming

o Backs up via Veritas client/media server

o Supports Checkpoint Restart and SLP integration

o Restores to any platform, not vendor-locked.

7. How does Checkpoint Restart work in DNAS?

Answer:

o Creates periodic backup markers

o If job fails, backup resumes from last checkpoint

o Saves time and avoids full restart.

8. What policy type is used for DNAS?

Answer:

o NAS-Data-Protection

o Supports snapshot orchestration, streaming, and SLP

o One vendor/protocol per policy allowed.

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9. What are the limitations of three-way NDMP backups?

Answer:

o Uses LAN (slow for large data sets)

o Multiplexing not supported

o Requires careful configuration to avoid IPv6 issues.

10. How does NetBackup integrate with CloudPoint in DNAS setups?

Answer:
CloudPoint enables:

o Snapshot management

o Plug-in integration for NAS platforms

o Backup host discovery and snapshot control.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Appendix B

1. Scenario: A new NetApp cluster fails to appear in NDMP policies.

Q: What might be missing?
A: Ensure the filer has a valid NDMP license and verify NDMP version compatibility (v4
preferred). Also check LIF and SVM configuration.

2. Scenario: NDMP backups are running slowly.

Q: How can this be improved?
A: Enable NetBackup Accelerator or migrate to DNAS with dynamic multi-streaming for
better throughput.

3. Scenario: You need to perform backups from one NDMP host to another’s tape.
Q: What method do you configure?
A: Set up a three-way NDMP backup with source NDMP host, target NDMP storage unit,
and NDMP-type policy.

4. Scenario: You must resume a failed NAS backup without starting over.
Q: Which feature allows this?
A: Checkpoint Restart in DNAS, configured in backup policy for periodic marker creation.

5. Scenario: A customer wants NAS backups with vendor-neutral restore capability.

Q: What solution do you recommend?
A: Dynamic NAS (DNAS) – allows restore to cloud, physical, or alternate vendor systems.

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6. Scenario: Your NDMP backup to an IPv6 NAS fails with “too many datablocks.”
Q: What’s the fix?
A: Add NDMP_IPV6_DISABLE to /db/config/[Link] to force IPv4-only communication.

7. Scenario: You want to duplicate NDMP backups to tape using OST.

Q: What feature supports this?
A: NDMP DirectCopy with supported OST VTL. Allows duplication without crossing
media server network.

8. Scenario: A DNAS backup fails due to lack of tape drive resources.

Q: What’s the recommendation?
A: Ensure the number of tape drives ≥ number of streams per volume, especially when
SLP with tape is used.

9. Scenario: You want to protect only NetApp filers with deduplication.

Q: Which solution provides best efficiency?
A: Use NetBackup Accelerator for NDMP with NetApp-specific plug-ins.

10. Scenario: You plan to restore data from NDMP backup to a new data center.
Q: What backup type should you use?
A: DNAS is preferred—enables restore to any platform, not tied to the original NAS
vendor.

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✅ Lesson 20: Configuring and Managing Tape Storage

Key Topics:

 Media Manager storage units

 Tape device configuration and verification

 Managing tape drives and robotic libraries

 Media lifecycle, state management, and troubleshooting

 Using multiplexing and multiple data streams

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Appendix C

1. What is a Media Manager storage unit in NetBackup?

Answer:
It refers to tape-based storage managed by the Media Manager component. Tape drives
can be standalone or robotic. NetBackup tracks:

o Device paths

o Media types

o Drive/robot association

o Compatibility and serialization details.

2. What tools can be used to verify tape storage and detect devices?
Answer:

o tpautoconf

o scan

o robtest

o OS tools (e.g., ioscan, lsdev, Device Manager)

These verify visibility at OS and NetBackup layers.

3. How does NetBackup identify the physical location of a robotic drive?

Answer:

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Through device serialization—matching the drive’s SCSI ID to its physical robot drive
number using tools like tpconfig, robtest, and the Device Configuration Wizard.

4. What is multiplexing and how does it optimize tape drive performance?

Answer:
Multiplexing allows concurrent backups from multiple clients to a single tape,
increasing drive usage efficiency but may increase restore complexity. Configured in:

o Policy attributes

o Storage unit settings.

5. What command is used to manage frozen and suspended media?

Answer:
bpmedia – used to freeze/unfreeze or suspend/unsuspend volumes. Admin Console or
OpsCenter can also manage media state.

6. What is the difference between frozen and suspended media in NetBackup?

Answer:

o Frozen: NetBackup will not write to it; used when I/O or hardware errors occur.

o Suspended: Can still restore from it but no new data can be written. Often used
for offsite or vault media.

7. How are volume pools and volume groups used?

Answer:

o Volume Pools: Logical grouping for managing retention/backup types.

o Volume Groups: Link media to physical devices/robots; managed through

vmquery and GUI.

8. Which utilities are used to manage robot inventory?

Answer:

o vmcheckxxx – verify contents

o vmupdate – update configuration

o vmrule – barcode/media ID rules

o Admin Console > Actions > Inventory Robot.

9. What is Shared Storage Option (SSO)?

Answer:

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Allows multiple media servers to access the same physical tape drives. NetBackup
coordinates access and availability using drive-sharing rules and SSO licenses.

10. How does NetBackup select media during backup?

Answer:
Based on:

o Volume pool priority

o Media status (active, suspended, full)

o Drive compatibility

o SLP rules and retention settings.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 20

1. Scenario: Backup jobs are failing with drive mismatch errors.

Q: What should be verified?
A: Run robtest to validate robot vs OS drive mapping. If serialization is unsupported, use
trial loading to identify physical location and reconfigure drive IDs.

2. Scenario: A robotic drive is not responding during inventory.

Q: What steps should be taken?
A: Verify via:

o tpconfig -d

o scan output

o Check cables, SCSI IDs, driver issues

Restart ltid or Device Manager service if required.

3. Scenario: You want to eject all expired media from a library.

Q: How do you do this?
A: Use Robot Inventory > Actions > Eject or vmchange -res to force ejection. Ensure
Vault or OpsCenter media rotation is defined.

4. Scenario: A backup is writing very slowly to tape.

Q: How can you improve performance?
A: Enable multiplexing, increase data buffer size, or parallelize using multiple data
streams across drives.

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5. Scenario: Multiple tapes show frozen status during backup.

Q: What’s the root cause and fix?
A: Indicates hardware I/O errors. Fix:

o Clean drive

o Check compatibility

o Unfreeze media with bpmedia -unfreeze after troubleshooting.

6. Scenario: NetBackup reports "media ID not in database."

Q: How to resolve?
A: Run Robot Inventory > Update Volume Configuration or use vmupdate to re-sync
media DB with physical tapes.

7. Scenario: You are adding a new robot with 4 drives.

Q: What’s the best configuration approach?
A: Use the Device Configuration Wizard, which:

o Performs discovery

o Applies serialization

o Creates robot, drive, and storage unit entries automatically.

8. Scenario: A drive used by multiple media servers shows intermittent conflicts.

Q: What is likely missing?
A: SSO misconfiguration. Ensure all media servers have visibility and access. Configure
shared drives properly in device wizard.

9. Scenario: You want to separate vault media for offsite but keep them readable.
Q: What media state should be used?
A: Suspend the media. This prevents writing while still allowing restores. Use Admin
Console or bpmedia.

10. Scenario: Tape backups are failing after SAN changes.

Q: What should be verified?
A: Confirm:

o Device visibility at OS layer (ioscan, cat /proc/scsi/scsi)

o Zoning and WWN visibility

o Run tpautoconf -t to revalidate drive paths.

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✅ Lesson 21: Performing Instant Recovery

Key Topics:

 VMware Instant Recovery (IRV) vs Traditional Recovery

 IRV architecture and workflow

 Recovery via Web Client and CLI (nbrestorevm)

 Instant Recovery options and cleanup

 Performance considerations and caveats

🔷 Advanced Interview Questions – Appendix D

1. What is VMware Instant Recovery (IRV) in NetBackup?

Answer:
IRV allows a VM to be started directly from backup storage (NFS export) without
transferring data to production storage first. This reduces RTO significantly by providing
fast access to VM services from backup images.

2. How is IRV different from traditional recovery?

Answer:

o Traditional: VM image is restored to datastore → long data transfer time

o IRV: VM runs from backup image on Media Server's NFS → minimal delay

o IRV can then migrate to production via Storage vMotion.

3. What are the CLI options available with nbrestorevm for Instant Recovery?
Answer:

o –ir_activate: Starts recovery

o –ir_done: Completes recovery

o –ir_deactivate: Cleans up VM and NFS datastore

o –vmpo: Powers on VM

o –vmsn: Removes network interface to avoid IP conflicts.

4. What are the infrastructure requirements for IRV?

Answer:

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o vCenter 5.5+, ESXi 6.0+, NFS services on Media Server

o IRV only works with BasicDisk/AdvancedDisk/PureDisk/OST

o Does not support RDM, Persistent mode disks, or templates.

5. What is the IRV cleanup process?

Answer:

o Involves stopping the VM, removing it from inventory, and unmounting NFS if not
in use. Can be done via –ir_done, –ir_deactivate, or the Web Client wizard.

6. What are the key components involved during IRV startup?

Answer:

o NBFSD exports NFS

o bpVMutil activates the VM

o ESXi uses backup image as a read-only VMDK and writes to a temp datastore.

7. Which scenarios make IRV unsuitable?

Answer:

o Long-term production

o Disaster recovery of hundreds of VMs simultaneously (I/O bottlenecks)

o Unsupported configurations (e.g., no NFS, RDM disks).

8. What are the differences between Instant Recovery and Instant Access?
Answer:

o Instant Recovery: CLI/Web Client, supports independent disks

o Instant Access: Web UI only, no independent disk support

o Both launch VMs from backup image, but have different use cases and
performance expectations.

9. What is the role of the vSphere Web Client plug-in in IRV?

Answer:
Enables:

o Graphical IRV wizard

o Job monitoring

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o VM search and restore specification

Requires NetBackup Web Services and registration via an authorization token.

10. How is the rename file used during IRV restore?

Answer:
Allows you to:

o Redirect VM to new host/resource pool/network

o Change VM name

o Used with –R option in nbrestorevm.

🔶 Scenario-Based Interview Questions – Lesson 21

1. Scenario: You need to recover a VM immediately but don’t want to wait for full restore.
Q: What is your best option?
A: Use Instant Recovery (IRV) to boot VM from backup storage, then migrate to
production using Storage vMotion.

2. Scenario: You get a network error when activating IRV on an ESXi 6.5 server.
Q: What might be misconfigured?
A: - Check that NFS v3 over TCP is enabled on ESXi

o Confirm Media Server NFS service is running

o Verify DNS or /etc/hosts resolution for IPv4.

3. Scenario: A restored VM shows duplicate IP conflict.

Q: What CLI option should be used to avoid this?
A: Use –vmsn in nbrestorevm to remove network adapter during restore.

4. Scenario: The VM cannot be powered on after IRV.

Q: What could be missing?
A: You may not have specified the –vmpo flag in the command or pre-checked resource
mapping in the Web Client wizard.

5. Scenario: You want to test patching on a VM clone.

Q: How can IRV help?
A: Use IRV to recover the VM quickly in an isolated network, test the patch, then delete
the clone after testing.

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6. Scenario: After using –ir_deactivate, you try –ir_reactivate and it fails.

Q: Why?
A: Deactivation deletes the IR session and ID. Reactivation needs the original session.
Use –force to suppress prompts but cannot restore a deleted session.

7. Scenario: During a disaster recovery drill, you want to test 10 VM recoveries.

Q: What limitation should you consider?
A: Veritas recommends only 3–4 VMs per Media Server at a time to avoid performance
bottlenecks.

8. Scenario: IRV is not offered as an option in the vSphere plug-in.

Q: What setup step might be missing?
A: - Web Services may not be running on Primary Server

o vCenter plugin not properly registered with authorization token.

9. Scenario: A user asks if they can use IRV permanently.

Q: What do you advise?
A: IRV is not meant for long-term production. Migrate via vMotion. Prolonged use
impacts Media Server I/O.

10. Scenario: A user forgets to run IR cleanup after recovery.

Q: What’s the consequence?
A: The VM stays powered on, NFS remains mounted, and Media Server storage is
consumed. Use –ir_done or Cleanup Wizard to finalize.

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🔹 NetBackup 10: Key Features & Enhancements

1. What major security enhancements were introduced in NetBackup 10?

Answer:
NetBackup 10 emphasized cyber-resilience by introducing:

 Immutable storage support for Microsoft Azure Blob Storage with deduplication,
enhancing protection against ransomware attacks.

 Malware detection capabilities within backup data, allowing for proactive identification
of threats.

2. How did NetBackup 10 improve cloud integration and SaaS protection?

Answer:
Enhancements included:

 Expanded multi-cloud data protection policies to platforms like AWS, Azure, and
Seagate Lyve Cloud.

 Integrated SaaS application protection, offering air-gapped, immutable backups for SaaS
data on-premises.

3. What advancements were made in workload and platform support?

Answer:
NetBackup 10 introduced:

 Automated detection and protection for Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) workloads,

including Apache Cassandra and major Kubernetes distributions.

 Support for Microsoft Azure Managed SQL and Azure SQL, broadening its cloud
database protection capabilities.

4. Were there any notable user interface or usability improvements?

Answer:
Yes, NetBackup 10 featured:

 Activity monitor enhancements in the web UI, providing more intuitive job tracking.

 Integration of NetBackup SaaS Protection (NSP) within the web UI for streamlined
management.

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🔹 NetBackup 11: Key Features & Enhancements

1. What are the standout security features in NetBackup 11?

Answer:
NetBackup 11 introduced:

 Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) support, preparing for future cryptographic

standards.

 Multi-person authorization for critical operations, enhancing administrative security

controls.

 Hardware Security Module (HSM) integration, providing secure key management.

2. How did NetBackup 11 enhance cloud and object storage capabilities?

Answer:
Enhancements included:

 Instant access support for MSDP object store, enabling faster data recovery.

 Universal share scale-out features, allowing for efficient data distribution across storage
nodes.

 Improved backup performance for cloud object stores, optimizing data transfer speeds.

3. What new workload protections were added?

Answer:
NetBackup 11 expanded support to:

 Greenplum databases, catering to big data analytics environments.

 Nutanix AHV workloads, including malware scanning capabilities.

 Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) databases like Yugabyte, Amazon DocumentDB, and Azure

Cosmos DB.

4. Were there any significant changes to the user interface?

Answer:
Yes, the web UI saw:

 Introduction of light and dark modes for user preference.

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 A new Reporting node, consolidating logs and reports for easier monitoring.

 Enhanced device configuration wizards, simplifying the setup of drives and robots.

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