Dell NetWorker 19.9 Administration Guide

Scheduling backups

Perform scheduled backups to automatically backup client data on an ongoing basis. Data protection policies enable you to define the client resources, schedule, and other settings for the backup. The client resources and backup storage resources must also be configured.

1. Configure the backup storage resources:
   1. Configure the storage node that will own the backup storage devices.
   2. Configure the backup storage device.
   3. Create a label template for labeling volumes, or use one of the preconfigured label templates.
   4. Create media pools for sorting and storing backup data.
   Backup Target provides more information on configuring backup storage resources.
2. Configure one or more client resources for each client computer by using either the Client Backup Configuration Wizard or the Client Properties dialog box.

   When you configure a client resource, you specify backup settings for the client, including:

   • The save sets for the client, which define the data to back up on the client.
   • Whether to automatically restart failed backups from a known good point, which is called checkpoint restart.
   • Whether to bypass the storage node and send backup data directly to AFTD or DD Boost storage devices, which is called Client Direct.
   • Directives that control how the NetWorker server processes files and directories during the backup.
   • Probe resources for probe-based backups, where the NetWorker server probes the client for a user-defined script before the backup starts.
   • Whether to back up each save set for the client by using multiple parallel save streams.
   • Backup command customizations.

   Client resources provides more information on configuring client resources.

3. Configure a data protection policy for scheduled backups:
   1. Create a group to define the client resources to back up.

      The type of group that you create depends on the type of backup that you are performing:

      • Create a client group or dynamic client group for a traditional backup or a server backup.
      • Create a VMware group to back up virtual machines or VMDKs.
      • Create a NAS device group to perform snapshot backups on NAS devices.
   2. Create a policy.
      Policies provide a container for the workflows, actions, and groups that support and define the backup.
   3. Within the policy, create a workflow.
      Workflows define the start time for a series of actions, the order of actions in a sequence, and the group of client resources to back up.
   4. Create a backup action.

      When you create a backup action, you define the following settings:

      • The type of backup to perform each day.
      • The destination storage node and media pool.
      • The retention setting for the backup, which specifies how long to retain the backup data.
   5. (Optional) Create other actions for the workflow.

      Actions that you may want to include in a backup workflow include:

      • Check connectivity to verify connectivity between the NetWorker server and the client computer.
      • Probe to probe a NetWorker client for a user-defined script before the backup starts.
      • Clone to automatically clone the save sets that result from the backup.
   Data Protection Policies provides more information on configuring groups, policies, workflows, and actions.