Dell DR series Administrator's Manual
Dell DR Series System
Administrator Guide
Notes, Cautions, and Warnings
NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the
problem.
WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.
Copyright © 2014 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property
laws.
Dell
™
and the Dell logo are trademarks of Dell Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names
mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.
2014 - 03
Rev. A06
Contents
1 Introduction to the DR Series System....................................................................................11
About the DR Series System GUI Documentation.................................................................................................. 11
What's New In This Release.................................................................................................................................. 11
Upgrade Notes................................................................................................................................................. 11
Other Information You May Need...........................................................................................................................12
Source Code Availability.........................................................................................................................................12
2 Understanding the DR Series System....................................................................................13
About the DR Series System...................................................................................................................................14
Drive and Available Physical Capacities................................................................................................................ 14
Internal Drive Capacity.....................................................................................................................................14
External Drive Capacity ................................................................................................................................... 15
Data Storage Terminology and Concepts...............................................................................................................15
Data Deduplication and Compression..............................................................................................................18
Streams vs. Connections..................................................................................................................................19
Replication........................................................................................................................................................19
Reverse Replication......................................................................................................................................... 20
Reverse Replication: Alternate Method...........................................................................................................21
Supported File System Protocols............................................................................................................................21
NFS...................................................................................................................................................................22
CIFS.................................................................................................................................................................. 22
CIFS ACL Support............................................................................................................................................. 22
Access Control List Support in Containers...................................................................................................... 23
Unix Permissions Guidelines............................................................................................................................24
Windows Permissions Guidelines....................................................................................................................24
Rapid Data Storage (RDS): DR Series System........................................................................................................25
Rapid OFS (ROFS) API...................................................................................................................................... 25
OpenStorage Technology (OST): DR Series System...............................................................................................25
OpenStorage Technology (OST) API................................................................................................................26
Software Components and Operational Guidelines.........................................................................................27
DR Series System and Data Operations................................................................................................................. 28
DR Series Expansion Shelf...............................................................................................................................28
Understanding About Adding a DR Series Expansion Shelf............................................................................ 29
Supported Software and Hardware........................................................................................................................29
Terminal Emulation Applications......................................................................................................................30
DR Series — Expansion Shelf Cabling................................................................................................................... 30
Adding a DR Series System Expansion Shelf......................................................................................................... 32
3 Setting Up the DR Series System........................................................................................... 35
Interacting With the DR Series System.................................................................................................................. 35
Networking Preparations for the DR Series System........................................................................................35
Connections for Initializing a DR Series System.....................................................................................................36
Initializing the DR Series System............................................................................................................................37
Default IP Address and Subnet Mask Address................................................................................................37
Local Console Connection................................................................................................................................38
iDRAC Connection............................................................................................................................................40
Logging in and Initializing the DR Series System.............................................................................................41
Accessing iDRAC6/iDRAC7 Using RACADM.......................................................................................................... 42
Logging in Using a Web Interface.......................................................................................................................... 42
Registering a DR Series System.......................................................................................................................45
Enabling Active Scripting in Windows IE Browsers........................................................................................ 46
Disabling the Compatibility View Settings........................................................................................................46
Dashboard Page and Options.................................................................................................................................46
Understanding the Dashboard Options............................................................................................................47
Displaying System Alerts................................................................................................................................. 47
Events...............................................................................................................................................................47
Health............................................................................................................................................................... 48
Usage............................................................................................................................................................... 51
Viewing the Latest Range.................................................................................................................................51
Viewing a Specific Time Range........................................................................................................................51
System Usage...................................................................................................................................................52
Container Statistics..........................................................................................................................................52
Replication Statistics Page.............................................................................................................................. 55
Storage Page and Options......................................................................................................................................56
Understanding the Storage Options.................................................................................................................57
Containers........................................................................................................................................................ 57
Replication Page.............................................................................................................................................. 58
Clients...............................................................................................................................................................59
About the Schedules Page and Options.................................................................................................................60
Setting a Replication Schedule........................................................................................................................61
Setting a Cleaner Schedule..............................................................................................................................61
About the System Configuration Page and Options............................................................................................... 62
System Configuration Page and Options..........................................................................................................62
Understanding the System Configuration Page Options..................................................................................64
Support Page and Options......................................................................................................................................65
Understanding the Support Page Options........................................................................................................66
4 Configuring the DR Series System Settings..........................................................................69
Configuring Networking Settings............................................................................................................................69
Networking Page and Ethernet Port Values.................................................................................................... 72
Managing the DR Series System Password...........................................................................................................73
Modifying the System Password......................................................................................................................73
Resetting the Default System Password..........................................................................................................73
Shutting Down the DR Series System.....................................................................................................................74
Rebooting the DR Series System............................................................................................................................74
Configuring Active Directory Settings.................................................................................................................... 75
Configuring Local Workgroup Users Settings........................................................................................................ 75
Configuring Email Alert Settings.............................................................................................................................76
Adding a Recipient Email Address................................................................................................................... 76
Editing or Deleting a Recipient Email Address.................................................................................................77
Sending a Test Message..................................................................................................................................77
Configuring Administrator Contact Information..................................................................................................... 77
Adding Administrator Contact Information...................................................................................................... 78
Editing Administrator Contact Information.......................................................................................................79
Managing Passwords.............................................................................................................................................79
Modifying the System Password......................................................................................................................79
Modifying Password Reset Options.................................................................................................................79
Configuring an Email Relay Host.............................................................................................................................80
Adding an Email Relay Host............................................................................................................................. 80
Editing an Email Relay Host..............................................................................................................................80
Configuring System Date and Time Settings.......................................................................................................... 81
Editing System Date and Time Settings........................................................................................................... 82
Creating Containers................................................................................................................................................ 82
Configuring Share-Level Security...........................................................................................................................83
5 Managing DR Series Storage Operations.............................................................................85
Managing Container Operations............................................................................................................................ 85
Creating Storage Containers............................................................................................................................85
Editing Container Settings................................................................................................................................89
Deleting Containers..........................................................................................................................................89
Moving Data Into a Container.......................................................................................................................... 90
Displaying Container Statistics........................................................................................................................ 90
Managing Replication Operations..........................................................................................................................92
Creating Replication Relationships.................................................................................................................. 93
Editing Replication Relationships.....................................................................................................................94
Deleting Replication Relationships.................................................................................................................. 95
Starting and Stopping Replication................................................................................................................... 95
Setting the Replication Bandwidth...................................................................................................................95
Displaying Replication Statistics......................................................................................................................96
Creating a Replication Schedule......................................................................................................................96
6 Monitoring the DR Series System.......................................................................................... 99
Monitoring Operations Using the Dashboard Page................................................................................................99
System Status Bar............................................................................................................................................99
DR Series System and the Capacity-Storage Savings-Throughput Panes....................................................100
System Information Pane...............................................................................................................................100
Monitoring System Alerts..................................................................................................................................... 101
Using the Dashboard Alerts Page..................................................................................................................101
Viewing the System Alerts............................................................................................................................. 102
Monitoring System Events....................................................................................................................................102
Using the Dashboard to Display System Events............................................................................................ 102
Using the Dashboard Events Option...............................................................................................................103
Using the Event Filter......................................................................................................................................103
Monitoring System Health.................................................................................................................................... 104
Using the Dashboard Page to Monitor System Health.................................................................................. 105
Using the Dashboard Health Options.............................................................................................................106
Monitoring System Usage.................................................................................................................................... 107
Displaying Current System Usage..................................................................................................................107
Setting a Latest Range Value......................................................................................................................... 108
Setting a Time Range Value .......................................................................................................................... 108
Monitoring Container Statistics............................................................................................................................108
Displaying the Container Statistics Page.......................................................................................................109
Monitoring Replication Statistics......................................................................................................................... 110
Displaying the Replication Statistics Page.................................................................................................... 111
Displaying Replication Statistics Using the CLI............................................................................................. 112
7 Using Global View................................................................................................................... 113
About Global Views...............................................................................................................................................113
Prerequisites.........................................................................................................................................................113
Configuring Active Directory Settings............................................................................................................114
Adding a Login Group in an ADS Domain.......................................................................................................114
About the Global View Page.................................................................................................................................115
Global View Summary.................................................................................................................................... 115
Appliance List.................................................................................................................................................116
Navigating in Global View.....................................................................................................................................118
Adding a DR Series System to Global View..........................................................................................................118
Removing a DR Series System from Global View.................................................................................................119
Reconnecting DR Series Systems........................................................................................................................ 119
Using the Reconnect Report.......................................................................................................................... 120
8 Using the DR Series System Support Options....................................................................121
Support Information Pane.....................................................................................................................................121
Diagnostics Page and Options..............................................................................................................................121
Generating a Diagnostics Log File .................................................................................................................122
Downloading Diagnostics Log Files............................................................................................................... 123
Deleting a Diagnostics Log File......................................................................................................................124
DR Series System Software Upgrade...................................................................................................................124
Software Upgrade Page and Options...................................................................................................................124
Verifying the Current Software Version ........................................................................................................ 125
Upgrading the DR Series System Software................................................................................................... 125
Restore Manager (RM)......................................................................................................................................... 126
Downloading the Restore Manager...............................................................................................................126
Creating the Restore Manager USB Key........................................................................................................127
Running the Restore Manager (RM).............................................................................................................. 127
Resetting the Boot LUN Setting in PERC H700 BIOS After Running RM........................................................ 128
Hardware Removal or Replacement.....................................................................................................................128
DR Series System: Proper Shut Down and Start Up...................................................................................... 128
DR Series System NVRAM.............................................................................................................................129
9 Configuring and Using Rapid Data Storage........................................................................ 131
RDS Overview....................................................................................................................................................... 131
RDS Guidelines..................................................................................................................................................... 132
Best Practices: RDS and the DR Series System...................................................................................................132
Setting Client-Side Optimization........................................................................................................................... 132
Adding RDS Devices in NVBU.............................................................................................................................. 133
Removing RDS Devices From NVBU.....................................................................................................................133
Backing Up Data on the RDS Container Using NVBU.......................................................................................... 133
Replicating Data to a RDS Container Using NVBU...............................................................................................135
Restoring Data From a DR Series System Using NVBU........................................................................................135
Supported DR Series System CLI Commands for RDS......................................................................................... 136
10 Configuring and Using OST..................................................................................................139
Understanding OST...............................................................................................................................................139
OpenStorage Technology (OST) API.................................................................................................................... 140
OST Guidelines..................................................................................................................................................... 141
OST Terminology...................................................................................................................................................141
Supported OST Software and Components..........................................................................................................141
OST Required Configurations............................................................................................................................... 142
Best Practices: OST and the DR Series System................................................................................................... 142
Setting Client-Side Optimization........................................................................................................................... 142
Configuring an LSU............................................................................................................................................... 142
Installing the Dell OST Plug-In..............................................................................................................................143
Understanding the Dell OST Plug-In (Linux)...................................................................................................143
Understanding the Dell OST Plug-In (Windows)............................................................................................144
Installing the OST Plug-In for Backup Exec on Windows..............................................................................144
Installing the OST Plug-In for NetBackup on Windows.................................................................................144
Uninstalling the Dell OST Plug-In for Windows............................................................................................. 145
Installing the OST Plug-In for NetBackup on Linux........................................................................................146
Uninstalling the Dell OST Plug-In for Linux.................................................................................................... 147
Configuring DR Series System Information Using NetBackup.............................................................................147
Using NetBackup CLI to Add DR Series System Name (Linux)......................................................................148
Using NetBackup CLI to Add DR Series System Name (Windows)............................................................... 148
Configuring NetBackup for the DR Series System.........................................................................................148
Configuring NetBackup for Optimized Synthetic Backups............................................................................ 149
Creating Disk Pools From LSUs......................................................................................................................150
Creating Storage Units Using the Disk Pool...................................................................................................150
Backing Up Data From a DR Series System (NetBackup)....................................................................................151
Restoring Data From a DR Series System Using NetBackup.........................................................................151
Duplicating Backup Images Between DR Series Systems Using NetBackup...............................................151
Using Backup Exec With a DR Series System (Windows)................................................................................... 152
OST Plug-In and Supported Versions.............................................................................................................152
Installation Prerequisites for the OST Plug-In for Backup Exec....................................................................152
Configuring the DR Series System Using the Backup Exec GUI....................................................................152
Creating Backups on the DR Series System Using Backup Exec..................................................................153
Optimizing Duplication Between DR Series Systems Using Backup Exec.................................................... 154
Restoring Data from a DR Series System Using Backup Exec...................................................................... 154
Understanding the OST CLI Commands................................................................................................................155
Supported DR Series System CLI Commands for OST................................................................................... 155
Understanding OST Plug-In Diagnostic Logs....................................................................................................... 156
Rotating OST Plug-In Logs for Windows........................................................................................................156
Collecting Diagnostics Using a Linux Utility......................................................................................................... 156
Rotating OST Plug-In Logs for Linux...............................................................................................................157
Guidelines for Gathering Media Server Information............................................................................................ 157
NetBackup on Linux Media Servers.............................................................................................................. 157
NetBackup on Windows Media Servers........................................................................................................158
Backup Exec on Windows Media Servers.....................................................................................................158
11 Troubleshooting and Maintenance....................................................................................161
Troubleshooting Error Conditions.........................................................................................................................161
DR Series System Alert and Event Messages......................................................................................................161
About the Diagnostics Service............................................................................................................................. 179
Understanding Diagnostics Collection...........................................................................................................179
About the DR Series System Maintenance Mode................................................................................................180
Scheduling DR Series System Operations............................................................................................................182
Creating a Cleaner Schedule................................................................................................................................182
Displaying Cleaner Statistics......................................................................................................................... 183
12 Supported Ports in a DR Series System............................................................................ 185
13 Getting Help............................................................................................................................187
Before Contacting Dell Support............................................................................................................................187
Contacting Dell..................................................................................................................................................... 188
10
1
Introduction to the DR Series System
The DR Series system documentation contains topics that explain how to use the Dell DR Series system to perform data
storage operations and manage storage and replication containers. The DR Series system topics introduce and describe
the DR Series system graphical user interface (GUI) that you can use to manage your backup and replication operations.
A comprehensive set of GUI-based procedures allow you to access management features and capabilities using a
supported web browser.
The DR Series system graphical user interface (GUI) provides one method for managing the DR Series system, with the
other being the command-line interface (CLI). In some instances, the DR Series system GUI may provide additional
features and options that are not available in the DR Series system CLI and vice versa. For example, Global View is only
available in the GUI and the ability to add and remove clients in only available in the CLI. For more information about the
DR Series system CLI commands, see the
Dell DR Series System Command Line Reference Guide
.
About the DR Series System GUI Documentation
The DR Series system documentation describes how to use the graphical user interface (GUI) and its menus, tabs, and
options to perform a wide variety of data storage operations, and to manage the related storage and replication
containers.
The documentation is written for an administrator end-user and introduces and provides procedures for using the DR
Series system GUI elements to easily manage your backup and deduplication operations. A comprehensive set of GUIbased procedures allow you to access all of the key management features and capabilities using a supported web
browser.
NOTE: For information about the supported web browsers you can use with the DR Series system, see the
Dell DR
Series System Interoperability Guide
available at support.dell.com/manuals.
What's New In This Release
For a list of the features, enhancements, and changes in the latest release, see "What Is New In This Release" in the
Dell
DR Series System Release Notes
at dell.com/support/manuals.
Upgrade Notes
• If you are upgrading from software version 2.1 to 3.x and you have the OST plug-in installed, you MUST uninstall the
OST plug-in and then install the 3.x version of the OST plug-in. This is because the name of the OST plug-in changed
in 3.0.0.1.
• If you are upgrading from software version 2.1 to 3.x and you use NetVault Backup (NVBU), do not upgrade your RDS
standalone package. NVBU 9.x is compatible with the 2.1 RDS plug-in, but not the 3.0.0.1 RDS plug-in. For details on
RDS compatibility, see the NetVault Backup (NVBU) Compatibility Grid in the
Dell DR Series System Interoperability
Guide
.
• If you are upgrading to software version 3.0 and you use NetBackup, you must set the optimized synthetic attribute
flag on the disk pool if you want to implement optimized synthetic backups. This applies to containers created in 2.1
only. For details, see Configuring NetBackup for Optimized Synthetic Backups.
11
Other Information You May Need
WARNING: See the safety and regulatory information that shipped with your system. Warranty information may be
included within this document or as a separate document.
• The
Dell DR Series System Owner's Manual
provides information about solution features, describes how to
troubleshoot the system, and how to install or replace DR Series system components. This document is available at
support.dell.com/manuals.
• The
Dell DR Series System Command Line Reference Guide
provides information about managing DR Series system
data backup and replication operations using the DR Series system command line interface (CLI). This document is
available at support.dell.com/manuals.
• The
Dell DR Series System Getting Started Guide
provides an overview of setting up your DR Series system, and
includes technical specifications. This document is available at support.dell.com/manuals.
• The
Setting Up Your Dell DR Series System
provides information about network, initial setup, and user account
settings needed to initialize the Dell DR Series system. This document is available at support.dell.com/manuals
• The
Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide
provides information on the supported hardware and software that
can be used with the DR Series system. This document is available at support.dell.com/manuals.
• Any media that ships with your system that provides documentation and tools for configuring and managing your
system, including those pertaining to the operating system, system management software, system updates, and
system components that you purchased with your system.
NOTE: Always check for documentation updates on support.dell.com/manuals and read the documentation
updates first because they often supersede information in other documents, and contain the latest updated
versions of the documents.
NOTE: Always check for release notes on support.dell.com/manuals and read the release notes first because they
contain the most recently documented information about known issues with a specific product release.
Source Code Availability
A portion of the DR Series system software may contain or consist of open source software, which you can use under
the terms and conditions of the specific license under which the open source software is distributed.
Under certain open source software licenses, you are also entitled to obtain the corresponding source files. For more
information about this or to find the corresponding source files for respective programs, see the Dell
opensource.dell.com website.
12
2
Understanding the DR Series System
The DR Series system is a high-performance, disk-based backup and recovery appliance that is simple to deploy and
manage, and offers unsurpassed Total Cost of Ownership benefits. Features such as innovative firmware and an allinclusive licensing model ensure optimal functionality and the assurance of no hidden costs for desired future features.
NOTE: Unless otherwise noted, later references to "the system" or "DR Series system" are used interchangeably to
represent the Dell DR Series system.
The DR Series system has a simple installation process with full, intuitive remote setup and management capabilities. It
is available in many drive capacities and is ideal for SMB, enterprise, and remote office environments. For details about
specific drive capacities and types available in the DR Series system, see Drive and Available Physical Capacities.
NOTE: The DR Series system also supports using external data storage expansion shelves (also known as
expansion enclosures). An added expansion shelf enclosure must be equal to or greater than each DR Series
system internal drive slot capacity (0–11). For more information about expansion enclosures, see “Expansion Unit
Limits” in the
Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide
and Installing an Expansion Shelf License, DR Series
System - Expansion Shelf Cabling, and Expansion Shelf Licenses in this guide.
Using Dell deduplication and compression algorithm technology, this system can achieve data reduction levels ranging
from 10:1 to 15:1. This reduction in data results in less incremental storage needs and a smaller backup footprint. By
removing redundant data, the system provides deduplication and compression that delivers:
• Fast, reliable backup and restore functionality
• Reduces media usage and power and cooling requirements
• Improves overall data protection and retention costs
The benefits of data deduplication can be extended across the enterprise—through the deduplicated replication
function—to provide a complete backup solution for multi-site environments.
The shorter Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and more attainable Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) can also be assured
as critical backup data remains on disk and online longer. Capital and administrative costs are diminished at the same
time as internal service level agreements (SLAs) are more easily met.
The DR Series system includes the following:
• Advanced data protection and disaster recovery
• Simple management interface (using the system GUI)
• Wide variety of data backup installations and environments
The Dell DR Series system contains data backup and management software preinstalled on a Dell hardware appliance,
which provides you with a robust disk-based data backup capability installed on a deduplication-enabled appliance.
The system supports two interface types, and the system software manages the storage containers using the following
interfaces:
• A command line interface (CLI)
• A graphical user interface (GUI)
13
About the DR Series System
The Dell DR Series system is a solution designed to reduce your backup data footprint using a number of comprehensive
backup and deduplication operations that optimize storage savings. Collectively, the DR Series system comes in the
following types:
• DR4000 system: This is preinstalled DR4000 system software on a Dell PowerEdge R510 appliance platform.
• DR4100 system: This is preinstalled DR4000 system software on a Dell PowerEdge R720xd appliance platform.
The DR Series system consists of the following components:
• Software — The system software supports record linkage and context-based lossless data compression methods.
• Hardware — Following are the appliance types that support the DR Series:
– DR4000 system: Includes twelve 3.5 inch SAS or Nearline SAS chassis drives that are hot-swappable, two power
supplies for power redundancy, and two cabled 2.5-inch SAS drives for the operating system. The operating
system is installed on two 2.5–inch internal drives that are in a RAID 1 configuration in the DR4000 system.
– DR4100 system: Includes twelve 3.5 inch SAS or Nearline SAS chassis drives that are hot-swappable, two power
supplies for power redundancy, and includes two 2.5-inch drives that are hot-pluggable in the rear.
NOTE: For slot locations for the twelve 3.5–inch drives in the DR Series system types, see DR Series System
and Data Operations.
• Expansion shelf—The system appliance supports the addition of external Dell PowerVault MD1200 data storage
expansion shelf enclosures. Adding an expansion shelf provides additional data storage for the DR Series system
and also requires a license. Each added expansion shelf enclosure must be equal to or greater than each DR Series
system internal drive slot capacity (0–11). For more information, see “Expansion Unit Limits” in the
Dell DR Series
System Interoperability Guide
and see Expansion Shelf Licenses in this guide. For more general information about
the supported storage enclosures, see “DR Series Expansion Shelf” in DR Series System and Data Operations.
Drive and Available Physical Capacities
Table 1 defines the internal system drive capacity and available physical capacity (in decimal and binary values) in the
DR Series system. The DR Series system comes in the following types:
• DR4000 system—which consists of preinstalled system software on a modified Dell R510 appliance platform.
• DR4100 system—which consists of preinstalled system software on a modified Dell R720xd appliance platform.
Internal Drive Capacity
The capacity values listed in Table 1 represent the internal drive and available physical capacities that have been
adjusted for the associated overhead in the DR Series system releases. Logical capacity assumes 15:1 savings ratio;
actual could be different.
NOTE: In Table 1, the abbreviations TB and GB represents Terabytes and Gigabytes in decimal values, and the
abbreviation TiB represents Tebibytes in binary values. Tebibytes are a standards-based binary multiple of the
byte, a unit of digital information storage.
14
Table 1. Internal Drive Capacity and Available Physical Capacity
DR Series Single
Drive Capacity
9 Drive Capacity (12
DRV RAID6 with Hot
Spare) (Decimal)
9 Drive Capacity (12 DRV
RAID6 with Hot Spare)
(Binary)
Total Logical
Capacity @ 15:1
Savings Ratios
(Decimal)
Total Logical
Capacity @ 15:1
Savings Ratios
(Binary)
3 TB (DR4100 only) 27 TB 24.56 TiB 405 TB 368.4 TiB
2 TB 18 TB 16.37 TiB 270 TB 245.55 TiB
1 TB 9 TB 8.18 TiB 135 TB 122.7 TiB
600 GB (DR4X00
only)
5.4 TB 4.91 TiB 81 TB 73.65 TiB
300 GB (DR4X00
only)
2.7 TB 2.46 TiB 41 TB 36.9 TiB
For more general information about the external data storage capacity supported by the expansion shelf enclosures, see
the “DR Series Expansion Shelf” section in DR Series System and Data Operations.
External Drive Capacity
The capacity values listed in Table 2 represent the additional storage capacity in the external drives that are available
when you add the supported expansion shelf enclosures to a DR Series system. Additional data storage can be added
using the expansion shelf enclosures in the following capacities. For more information on the expansion shelf
enclosures, see “Expansion Unit Limits” in the
Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide
and Adding a DR Series
System Expansion Shelf, Installing an Expansion Shelf License, and DR Series System - Expansion Shelf Cabling in this
guide.
Table 2. External Drive Capacity and Available Physical Capacity
DR Series System
Drive Capacity
Available Physical
Capacity (Decimal)
Available Physical
Capacity (Binary)
Total Logical
Capacity @ 15:1
Savings Ratios
(Decimal)
Total Logical
Capacity @ 15:1
Savings Ratios
(Binary)
1 TB 8.89 TB 7.9 TiB 135 TB 118.5 TiB
2 TB 17.9 TB 15.9 TiB 270 TB 238.5 TiB
3 TB (DR4100 only) 26.79 TB 23.8 TiB 405 TB 357 TiB
Data Storage Terminology and Concepts
This topic presents several key data storage terms and concepts that help you to better understand the role that the DR
Series system plays in meeting your data storage needs.
Data Deduplication and Compression: The DR Series system design draws upon a wide variety of data-reduction
technologies that include the use of advanced deduplication algorithms, in addition to the use of generic and custom
compression solutions that are effective across a large number of differing file types. The system uses a concept of
content-awareness where it analyzes data to better learn and understand the structure of your files and data types.
Once this is learned, it uses this method to improve your data reduction ratios while reducing resource consumption on
the host. The system uses block deduplication to address the increasing data growth, and this is well suited to providing
the best results for routine and repeated data backups of structured data. Block-level deduplication works efficiently
where there are multiple duplicate versions of the same file. This is because it looks at the actual sequence of the data–
the 0s and 1s–that comprise the data.
15
Whenever a document is repeatedly backed up, the 0s and 1s stay the same because the file is simply being duplicated.
The similarities between two files can be easily identified using block deduplication because the sequence of their 0s
and 1s remain exactly the same. In contrast to this, there are differences in online data. Online data has few exact
duplicates. Instead, online data files include files that may contain a lot of similarities between each file. For example, a
majority of files that contribute to increased data storage requirements come pre-compressed by their native
applications, such as:
• Images and video (such as the JPEG, MPEG, TIFF, GIF, PNG formats)
• Compound documents (such as .zip files, email, HTML, web pages, and PDFs)
• Microsoft Office application documents (including PowerPoint, MS Word, Excel, and SharePoint)
NOTE: The DR Series system experiences a reduced savings rate when the data it ingests is already
compression-enabled by the native data source. It is highly recommended that you disable data compression
used by the data source. For optimal savings, the native data sources need to send data to the DR Series
system in a raw state for ingestion.
Block deduplication is not as effective on existing compressed files due to the nature of file compression because its 0s
and 1s change from the original format. Data deduplication is a specialized form of data compression that eliminates a
lot of redundant data. The compression technique improves storage utilization, and it can be used in network data
transfers to reduce the number of bytes that must be sent across a link. Using deduplication, unique chunks of data, or
byte patterns, can be identified and stored during analysis. As the analysis continues, other chunks are compared to the
stored copy and when a match occurs, the redundant chunk is replaced with a small reference that points to its stored
chunk. This reduces the amount of data that must be stored or transferred, which contributes to network savings.
Network savings are achieved by the process of replicating data that has already undergone deduplication.
By contrast, standard file compression tools identify short repeated substrings inside individual files, with the intent of
storage-based data deduplication being to inspect large volumes of data and identify large amounts of data such as
entire files or large sections of files that are identical. Once this has been done, this process allows for the system to
store only one copy of the specific data. This copy will be additionally compressed using single-file compression
techniques. For example, there may be cases where an email system may contain 100 or more emails where the same 1
Megabyte (MB) file is sent as an attachment and the following shows how this is handled:
• Without data deduplication, each time that email system is backed up, all 100 instances of the same attachment are
saved, which requires 100 MB of storage space.
• With data deduplication, only one instance of the attachment is actually stored (all subsequent instances are
referenced back to the one saved copy), with the deduplication ratio being approximately 100 to 1). The unique
chunks of data that represent the attachment are deduplicated at the block chunking level.
NOTE: The DR Series system does not support deduplication of any encrypted data, so there will be no
deduplication savings derived from ingesting encrypted data. The DR Series system cannot deduplicate data
that has already been encrypted because it considers that data to be unique, and as a result, cannot
deduplicate it.
In cases where self encrypting drives (SEDs) are used, when data is read by the backup application, it is decrypted by
the SED or the encryption layer. This works in the same way as if you were opening an MS-Word document that was
saved on a SED. This means that any data stored on a SED can be read and deduplicated. If you enable encryption in the
backup software, you will lose deduplication savings because each time the data is encrypted, the DR Series system
considers it to be unique.
Replication: Replication is the process by which the same key data is saved from multiple storage devices, with the goal
of maintaining consistency between redundant resources in data storage environments. Data replication improves the
level of fault-tolerance, which improves the reliability of maintaining saved data, and permits accessibility to the same
stored data. The DR Series system uses an active form of replication that lets you configure a primary-backup scheme.
During replication, the system processes data storage requests from a specified source to a specified destination (also
known as a target) that acts as a replica of the original source data.
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NOTE: The DR Series system software includes version checking that limits replication only between other DR
Series systems that run the same system software release version. If versions are incompatible, the administrator
will be notified by an event.
NOTE: It is important to distinguish the difference between data that has been processed by backup and data that
has been processed by replication, since backup saves a copy of data that remains unchanged for a long period
of time.
Targets with replica data are read-only, and are updated with new or unique data during scheduled or manual
replications. The DR Series system acts as a form of storage replication where the backed up and deduplicated data is
replicated in real-time or via a scheduled window. In a replication relationship between two DR Series systems, this
means that a relationship exists between a pair of systems, one acting as the source and the other as a target in the
replication pair (for example, with acme-west and acme-east). When this type of replication relationship exists between
distinct containers on two distinct DR Series systems, it can be considered bidirectional in the sense that:
• West1 container on the acme-west source system can replicate data to a separate East1 container on the acme-
east target system.
• The East2 container on the target acme-east system can also replicate data back to the West2 container on the
source acme-west system.
This form of replication involves separate containers on two distinct DR Series systems. Target containers in replication
must always act as read-only, while source containers can act as read-write. Unlike NFS and CIFS containers, OST and
RDS container replication is handled by the two supported Data Management Applications (DMAs) on media servers.
For more information on OST, see Understanding OST. For more information on RDS, see Configuring and Using Rapid
Data Storage.
NOTE: OST and RDS containers are categorized as Rapid Data Access (RDA) containers in DR Series systems.
Replication for these protocols is done via the backup software rather than using the DR Series system to
configure the replication relationship.
The DR Series system supports the 64:1 replication of data (32:1 if on the DR4X00), whereby up to 64 source DR Series
systems can write data to different individual containers on a single, target DR Series system. This supports the use
case where branch or regional offices can each write their own data to a separate, distinct container on a main
corporate DR Series system.
NOTE: Be aware that the storage capacity of the target DR Series system is directly affected by the number of
source systems writing to its containers, and by the amount being written by each of the source systems.
If the source and target systems in a replication pair reside in different Active Directory (AD) domains, then the data that
resides on the target DR Series system may not be accessible. When AD is used for authentication for DR Series
systems, the AD information is saved with the file. This can serve to restrict user access to the data based on the type of
AD permissions that are in place.
NOTE: This same authentication information is replicated to the target DR Series system when you have
replication configured. To prevent domain access issues, ensure that both the target and source systems reside in
the same Active Directory domain.
Reverse Replication: The concept of reverse replication is not supported on DR Series systems. This is because replica
containers are always in a R-O (read-only) mode on the DR Series system, thus making write operations a nonsupported operation. Under very specific conditions, it might be possible for replica containers to support a type of write
operation whose sole function is to restore data from an archival target. For example, data could be replicated back to
the remote site where a data management application (DMA), also known as backup software, is connected to allow
this data to be restored directly.
This specific case applies only to configurations where data is backed up from a remote location to a local container,
and then replicated over a WAN to a replica container that is backed up to tape backup. The data needs to be restored
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from the tape backup to the original location; first, restore the data back to a DR Series system replica container, and
then restore it back to the original source location of the data on the other side of the WAN link.
NOTE: If you choose to use this alternate workaround method, you must set up a new data storage unit in the DMA
and import the images before a restore to the original location can occur.
To support this effort to leverage deduplication across the WAN to allow this scenario, complete the following:
1. Make sure that the replication operation has completed (between source and target).
2. Delete current replication relationship, and re-create replication relationship (reversing the source and target
roles).
3. Restore data to the original source container (now the target).
4. Make sure that the replication operation has completed.
5. Delete replication relationship and re-create replication relationship (restoring original source and target
destinations).
Under this scenario, a fraction of the data to be recovered is sent across the WAN link. This could speed up a remote
restore significantly. However, there are some downsides to this type of scenario:
• If step 1 is not followed correctly, any changes not fully replicated are lost.
• During steps 2 and 3, any data that is written to the original DR Series system source container may be lost.
• During step 4, if the data is not fully replicated back before the switch is made, it may be lost.
Alternatively, you still could support this effort by completing the following:
1. Create a new container on the target DR Series system.
2. Set up replication from this container back to the source DR Series system container.
3. Set up a new disk storage unit in the DMA and make sure that the DMA is aware of any new images.
4. Import the old images back into the DMA from the target DR Series system (the original source location).
5. Use a new disk storage unit in the DMA, and then restore the data back to the original client.
Data Deduplication and Compression
The DR Series system design uses various data-reduction technologies, including advanced deduplication algorithms, in
addition to the generic and custom compression solutions that prove effective across many differing file types. Data
deduplication and compression is addressed in the following areas:
• DR Series System — The DR Series system backup and recovery appliances provide both efficient and high-
performance disk-based data protection to leverage the advanced deduplication and compression capabilities in the
DR Series system software. The DR Series systems provide a key component that performs backup, recovery, and
data protection operations.
• Deduplication — This technology eliminates redundant copies of data and in the process it decreases disk capacity
requirements and reduces the bandwidth needed for data transfer. Deduplication can be a major asset for
companies that are dealing with increasing data volumes and require a means for optimizing their data protection.
• Compression — This technology reduces the size of data that is stored, protected, and transmitted. Compression
helps companies improve their backup and recovery times while helping reduce infrastructure and network
resource constraints.
In general, DR Series systems are disk-based data protection appliances that offer advanced deduplication and
compression capabilities to reduce the time and cost associated with backing up and restoring data. Based on
deduplication and compression technology, the DR Series systems eliminate the need to maintain multiple copies of the
same data. This lets customers keep more data online longer and reduce the need for tape backup dependency.
Using its deduplication and compression technology, DR Series systems can help achieve an expected data reduction
ratio of 15:1. Achieving this reduction in data means that you need fewer incremental storage operations to run and it
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provides you with a smaller backup footprint. By removing redundant data, DR Series systems deliver fast reliable
backup and restore functionality, reduce media usage and power and cooling requirements, and improve your overall
data protection and retention costs.
You can extend the benefits of data deduplication across the enterprise as well–using the DR Series system
deduplication replication function–to provide a complete backup solution for multi-site environments. With 64:1
deduplicated replication (32:1 for DR4X00), up to 64 nodes can be replicated simultaneously to separate, individual
containers on one node. The DR Series systems use compression with replication to shrink the data that is needed to be
moved across the wire to a container.
Replication can be scheduled based on your settings to occur during non-peak periods. The replication schedule you
create can be set and prioritized to ingest data over replication data to ensure the most optimal back up windows based
on your needs. The DR Series systems are Symantec OpenStorage Technology (OST) certified to provide tight
integration with NetBackup and Backup Exec DMA products to allow them to control when backup images are created,
compressed, duplicated, and deleted, so that customers using these products can leverage the DR Series system
appliance as a disk.
The DR Series systems also provide seamless integration with a number of data management applications (DMAs),
including Dell NetVault Backup, CommVault replicated disk libraries, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM), and others.
Ideal for SMB, enterprise, and remote offices, the DR Series system provides data deduplication and compression
support for multiple data capacity points. For a complete list of supported DMAs and data capacity points, see the
Dell
DR Series System Interoperability Guide
.
NOTE: The DR Series system does not support deduplication of any encrypted data. So, there will be no
deduplication savings derived from ingesting encrypted data. The DR Series system cannot deduplicate data that
has already been encrypted because it considers that data to be unique, and as a result, it cannot deduplicate it.
Streams vs. Connections
This topic describes the differences between data streams and application connections.
Streams can be likened to the number of files written at the same time to a DR Series system. The DR Series system
tracks the number of files being written and assembles the data into 4MB chunks before processing that section of the
data. If the stream count is exceeded, the data is processed out of order and overall deduplication savings can be
affected. For details on maximum stream count, see the
Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide
.
Connections are created by applications; within a single connection, there can be multiple streams depending on the
application and how many backup jobs are running in parallel over that single connection. Replication can use up to 16
streams over a single port using one connection.
For example, suppose you are running backups using Backup Exec and using DR4100 and the CIFS protocol. If you have:
• One Backup Exec server connected to the DR4100 over CIFS and one backup running, you have one connection and
one stream.
• One Backup Exec server connected to the DR4100 over CIFS with 10 concurrent backups running, you have one
connection and ten streams. This means that Backup Exec is writing ten different files to the DR4100.
Replication
Replication is the process by which the same key data is saved from multiple storage locations, with the goal being to
maintain its consistency between redundant resources in data storage environments. Data replication improves the
level of fault-tolerance, which improves the reliability of maintaining saved data, and permits accessibility to the same
stored data. The DR Series system uses an active form of replication that lets you configure a primary-backup scheme.
During replication, the system processes data storage requests from a specified source to a specified destination (also
known as a target) that acts as a replica of the original source data.
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NOTE: The DR Series system software includes version checking that limits replication only between other DR
Series systems that run the same system software release version. If versions are incompatible, the administrator
will be notified by an event.
NOTE: It is important to distinguish the difference between data that has been processed by backup, and data that
has been processed by replication. This is because backup saves a copy of data that generally remains
unchanged for a long period of time.
Targets with replication data are read-only, and are updated with new or unique data during scheduled or manual
replications. The DR Series system can be considered to act as a form of a storage replication process in which the
backup and deduplication data is replicated in real-time or via a scheduled window in a network environment. In a
replication relationship between two DR Series systems, this means that a relationship exists between a pair of systems.
One system acts as the source and the other as a target in this replication pair (for example, acme-west and acme-east).
When this type of relationship exists between distinct containers on two distinct DR Series systems, it can be
considered bidirectional in the sense that:
• The West1 container on the acme-west source system can replicate data to a separate East1 container on the
acme-east target system.
• The East2 container on the target acme-east system can also replicate data back to the West2 container on the
source acme-west system.
This form of replication involves separate containers on two distinct DR Series systems. Target containers in replication
must always act as read-only, while sources containers can act as read-write. Unlike NFS and CIFS containers, OST and
RDS container replication is handled by the two supported Data Management Applications (DMAs) on media servers.
For more information on OST, see Understanding OST. For more information on RDS, see Configuring and Using Rapid
Data Storage.
NOTE: OST and RDS containers are categorized as Rapid Data Access (RDA) containers in DR Series systems.
The DR Series system supports the 64:1 replication of data (32:1 if on DR4X00), whereby up to 64 source DR Series
systems can write data to different individual containers on a single, target DR Series system. This supports the use
case where branch or regional offices can each write their own data to a separate, distinct container on a main
corporate DR Series system.
NOTE: Be aware that the storage capacity of the target DR Series system is directly affected by the number of
source systems writing to its containers, and by the amount being written by each of the source systems.
However, if the source and target systems in a replication pair are in different Active Directory (AD) domains, then the
data that resides on the target system may not be accessible. When AD is used to perform authentication for DR Series
systems, the AD information is saved with the file. This can act to restrict user access to the data based on the type of
AD permissions that are in place.
NOTE: This same authentication information is replicated to the target DR Series system when you have
replication configured. To prevent domain access issues, ensure that both the target and source systems reside in
the same Active Directory domain.
Reverse Replication
The concept of reverse replication is not a supported operation on DR Series systems. This is because replica
containers are always in a R-O (read-only) mode on the DR Series system, thus making write operations a nonsupported operation.
Under very specific conditions, it might be possible for replica containers to support a type of write operation whose
sole function is to restore data from an archival target. For example, data could be replicated back to the remote site
where a data management application (DMA), or backup software, is connected to allow this data to be restored
directly.
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This specific type of case applies only to configurations where data is backed up from a remote location to a local
container, and then replicated over a WAN to a replica container that is backed up to tape. The data needs to be
restored from the tape backup to the original location; first back to a DR Series system replica container, and then back
to the original source location of the data on the other side of the WAN link.
NOTE: If you choose to use this alternate workaround method, you must set up a new data storage unit in the
DMA, and import the images before a restore to the original location can occur.
To leverage this type of deduplication across the WAN, complete the following:
1. Make sure that the replication operation has completed (between source and target).
2. Delete the current replication relationship, and re-create a replication relationship (reversing the source and target
roles).
3. Restore data to the original source container (now the target).
4. Make sure that the replication operation has completed.
5. Delete the replication relationship and re-create a replication relationship (restoring original source and target
destinations).
Under this scenario, a fraction of the data to be recovered is sent across the WAN link. This could speed up a remote
restore significantly. However, there are some downsides to this type of scenario:
• If step 1 is not followed correctly, any changes not fully replicated are lost.
• During steps 2 and 3, any data that is written to the original DR Series system source container may be lost.
• During step 4, if the data is not fully replicated back before the switch is made, it may be lost.
Alternatively, you could still support this type of effort by completing the following:
1. Create a new container on the target DR Series system.
2. Set up replication from this container back to the source DR Series system container.
3. Set up a new disk storage unit in the DMA and make sure that the DMA is aware of any new images.
4. Import the old images back into the DMA from the target DR Series system (the original source location).
5. Use a new disk storage unit in the DMA, and then restore the data back to the original client.
Reverse Replication: Alternate Method
To support an alternate method of reverse replication, complete the following:
1. Create a new container on the target DR Series system.
2. Set up replication from this container back to the source DR Series system container.
3. Set up a new disk storage unit in the DMA and make sure that the DMA is aware of any new images.
4. Import the old images back into the DMA from the target DR Series system (the original source location).
5. Use a new disk storage unit in the DMA, and then restore the data back to the original client.
Supported File System Protocols
The DR Series system supports the following file system protocols:
• Network File System (NFS)
• Rapid NFS (RDNFS)
• Common Internet File System (CIFS)
• Rapid CIFS (RDCIFS)
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• Rapid Data Access (RDA)
– OpenStorage Technology (OST)
– Rapid Data Storage (RDS)
NOTE: The DR Series system supports the following container connection types: NFS, CIFS, and RDA. OST and
RDS provide a logical disk interface that can be used with network storage devices to store data and support data
storage operations.
For more information on NFS and CIFS, see NFS and CIFS. For more information on RDS, see Configuring and Using
Rapid Data Storage.
For more information on OST, see Understanding OST, Creating an OST or RDS Connection Type Container, and Creating
an NFS or CIFS Connection Type Container.
NFS
The Network File System (NFS) is a file system protocol that is designated to be a file server standard, and its protocol
uses the Remote Procedure Call (RPC) method of communication between computers. Clients can access files via the
network similar to the way that local storage is accessed.
NFS is a client-server application in which a client can view, store, and update files on a remote system just like they are
working on a local system. System or Network Administrators can mount all or a portion of a file system, and the file
system (or portion) that is mounted can be accessed using the privileges assigned to each file.
NOTE: If you want to do a mount on AIX, you must set the nfs_use_reserved_ports and portcheck parameters first.
The parameters cannot be set to 0. For example: root@aixhost1 / # nfso -po portcheck=1
root@aixhost1 / # nfso -po nfs_use_reserved_ports=1
CIFS
The Common Internet File System (CIFS) remote file access protocol is one supported by the DR Series system, and is
also known as a Server Message Block (SMB). SMB occurs more commonly than the Network File System (NFS)
protocol on systems that run the Microsoft Windows operating system. CIFS allows programs to request files or services
on remote computers.
CIFS also uses the client-server programming model, whereby the client requests access to a file or passes a message
to a program running on the server. Servers review all requested actions and return a response. CIFS is a public (or
open) variation of the SMB that was originally developed and used by Microsoft.
NOTE: The DR Series system currently supports version 1.0 of the Server Message Block (SMB).
NOTE: For details on CIFS feature restrictions, see the
Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide
, at
support.dell.com/manuals.
CIFS ACL Support
The DR Series system software supports the use of access control lists (ACLs) for CIFS and share-level permissions. By
definition, an ACL is simply a list of permissions that can be associated with any network resource.
Each ACL can contain access control entries (ACEs) that define or describe the permissions for an individual user or a
group of users. An ACL can consist of zero (meaning that all users have access) or a number of ACEs that define specific
permissions on a per-user or per-group basis.
NOTE: If an ACE list is empty (meaning that it contains zero entries), this means that all access requests will be
granted.
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An ACL describes the entities that are allowed to access a specific resource. ACLs are a built-in access control
mechanism in the Windows operating systems.
NOTE: The DR Series system supports setting up share-level permissions for a CIFS share using a Microsoft
Windows administrative tool. Share-level permissions let you control access to shares. For more information, see
Configuring Share-Level Security.
NOTE: Any user that is part of BUILTIN\Administrators can edit ACLs on CIFS shares. The local DR Series system
administrator is included in the BUILTIN\Administrators group. To add additional domain groups to the BUILTIN
\Administrators group, you can use the Computer Manager tool on a Windows client to connect to the DR Series
system as Domain administrator and add any groups you want. This capability allows users other than the Domain
administrator to modify an ACL as needed.
Access Control List Support in Containers
All new containers apply a default Access Control List (ACL) at the root of the container. This default ACL is the same as
that which would be created by a Microsoft Windows 2003 Server. Therefore, these new containers with the default ACL
support the following permission types:
NOTE: Any user that is part of BUILTIN\Administrators can edit ACLs on CIFS shares. The local DR Series system
administrator is included in the BUILTIN\Administrators group. To add additional domain groups to the BUILTIN
\Administrators group, you can use the Computer Manager tool on a Windows client to connect to the DR Series
system as Domain administrator and add any groups you want. This capability allows users other than the Domain
administrator to modify an ACL as needed.
• BUILTIN\Administrators:
Allows Full access, object inherit, and container inherit.
Applies to This folder, subfolders, and files.
• CREATOR OWNER:
Allows Full access, inherit only, object inherit, and container inherit.
Applies to Subfolders and files only.
• EVERYONE:
Allows Traverse folders, execute files, list folders, read data, read attributes, and read extended
attributes.
Applies to This folder only.
• NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM:
Allows Full access, object inherit, and container inherit.
Applies to This folder, subfolders, and files.
• BUILTIN\Users:
Allows Create folders and append data, inherit-only, and container inherit.
Applies to This folder, subfolders, and files.
• BUILTIN\Users:
Allows Read and execute, and container inherit.
Applies to This folder, subfolders, and files.
• BUILTIN\Users:
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Allows Create files and write data, object inherit, and container inherit.
Applies to Subfolders only.
NOTE: If these permissions are unsuitable for your needs, you can modify the default ACL to suit your own
requirement using the Windows ACL Editor (for example, using Properties → Security from Windows Explorer).
NOTE: The system does not understand the Owner Rights permission and sets the owner of new files/folders
created by the Domain Administrators as DOM\Administrator rather than as BUILTIN\Administrators.
Unix Permissions Guidelines
For a user to create, delete, or rename a file or a directory requires Write access to the parent directory that contains
these files. Only the owner of a file (or the root user) can change permissions.
Permissions are based on the user IDs (UIDs) for the file Owner and group IDs (GIDs) for the primary group. Files have
owner IDs and group owner IDs. To enable Unix access, the DR Series system supports three levels of users:
• Owner (of the file)
• Group (group in which the owner belongs)
• Other (other users with an account on the system)
Each of these three user types support the following access permissions:
• Read (read access that allows user to read files)
• Write (write access that allows user to create or write to a file)
• Execute (access that allows user to execute files or traverse directories in the filesystem)
NOTE: A root user has all levels of permission access, and a user can be a member of a single group or of multiple
groups (up to 32 groups are allowed in Unix).
Windows Permissions Guidelines
To enable Windows access, the DR Series system supports access control lists (ACLs) that contain zero or more access
control entries (ACEs), and an empty ACE list grants all access requests. The Windows New Technology File System
(NTFS) uses ACLs as part of the security descriptor (SD) process, which requires permissions to access such filesystem
objects as files and directories. ACLs support two levels of users:
• Owners
• Groups
Both Owners and Groups have Security IDs (SIDs) that define and identify an object owner or the group owning an
object. ACEs in an ACL consist of a SID, a specific permission that either allows or denies access and also defines
which of the following inheritance settings apply:
• IO—inherit-only: not used for access checking.
• OI—object inherit: new files get this ACE added.
• CI—container inherit: new directories get this ACE added.
Windows NTFS ACLs include the following read, write, append, execute, and delete permissions that allow users to:
• Synchronize access
• Read data or list the directory
• Write data or add a file
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• Append data or add a folder
• Read Extended Attributes (EAs)
• Write EAs
• Execute file or traverse folders
• Delete child or delete folders
• Delete a file
The Owner user type has two default permissions:
• Write discretionary ACL
• Read control
Rapid Data Storage (RDS): DR Series System
Rapid Data Storage (RDS) is developed by Dell and provides a logical disk interface for use with network storage
devices. RDS allows for better coordination and integration between DR Series system backup, restore, and optimized
duplication operations with Dell NetVault Backup (NVBU).
The DR Series system and NVBU integration is done using the Rapid OFS (ROFS) plugin developed by Dell. The ROFS
plugin allows NVBU control over backup image creation, deletion, and duplication. RDS allows deduplication and
compression operations to happen on the client-side so that network traffic can be reduced.
The RDS protocol allows the supported backup applications to communicate directly with the DR Series system and
determine whether a specific chunk of data already exists on the system. If the data already exists, only the pointers
need to be updated on the DR Series system, and the duplicate chunk of data does not need to be transferred to the
system. This process provides two benefits: it improves the overall backup speed, and also reduces the network load.
Rapid OFS (ROFS) API
NOTE: Rapid OFS (ROFS) is an internal API used by RDS. The term ROFS is not used in the web user interface or
CLI.
The Rapid OFS (ROFS) API is an application programming interface that allows disk-based devices like the DR Series
system to natively integrate with the Dell NetVault Backup. For example, because the DR Series system supports both
data deduplication and replication, the ROFS API allows these supported DMAs to use the DR Series system appliance
features and duplicate the optimized data from one storage appliance to another.
Unlike replication configured directly on the DR Series system for CIFS and NFS, the ROFS API allows the Data
Management Application (DMA) to be aware of the replication copy. The ROFS API allows the DMA to restore directly
from any DR Series system that can communicate with the DMA.
The ROFS API enables the writing of data to disk and allows NVBU (the DMA) to interact with the DR Series system (the
data backup and deduplication device) using the ROFS API.
OpenStorage Technology (OST): DR Series System
OpenStorage Technology (OST) is developed by Symantec and provides a logical disk interface for use with network
storage devices. The DR Series system appliance can use OST via plug-in software to integrate its data storage
operations with a number of data management applications (DMAs). Within Dell, OST is part of DR Rapid Data Access.
OST allows for better coordination and tighter integration between DR Series system backup, restore, and optimized
duplication operations and the following supported DMA types:
• Symantec NetBackup
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• Symantec Backup Exec
Integration is done via a Dell OST plug-in developed for the DR Series system, through which NetBackup and Backup
Exec can control when the backup images are created, duplicated, and deleted. The major benefit of OST is that it
allows the deduplication operations to happen on the client side so that network traffic can be reduced.
OST via the Dell OST plug-in allows NetBackup and Backup Exec to take full advantage of such DR Series system
features as data deduplication, replication, and energy efficiency. DR Series systems can access the OpenStorage API
code through the plug-in, which can be installed on the media server platform choice you make (Windows or Linux). The
OST protocol allows the supported backup applications to communicate directly with the DR Series system and
determine whether a specific chunk of data already exists on the system. This process means that if the data already
exists, only the pointers need to be updated on the DR Series system, and the duplicate chunk of data does not need to
be transferred to the system. This process provides two benefits: it improves the overall backup speed, and also reduces
the network load.
When OST is used with the DR Series system, it offers the following benefits:
• OST protocol provides faster and improved data transfers:
– Focused on backups with minimal overhead
– Accommodates larger data transfer sizes
– Provides throughput that is significantly better than CIFS or NFS
• OST and DMA integration:
– OpenStorage API enables the DMA-to-media server software communications
– DR Series system storage capabilities can be used without extensive changes to DMAs
– Backup and replication operations are simplified by using built-in DMA policies
• DR Series System and OST:
– Control channel uses TCP port 10011
– Data channel uses TCP port 11000
– Optimized write operations enable client-side deduplication
• Replication operations between DR Series systems:
– No configuration required on source or target DR Series systems
– Replication is file-based, not container-based
– Triggered by DMA optimized duplication operation
– DR Series system transfers the data file (not the media server)
– After duplication, DR Series system notifies DMA to update its catalog (acknowledging the second backup)
– Supports different retention policies between source and replica
OpenStorage Technology (OST) API
The OpenStorage Technology (OST) API is an application programming interface that allows disk-based devices like the
DR Series system to natively integrate with the two supported Symantec Data Management Applications (DMA),
NetBackup and Backup Exec. For example, because the DR Series system supports both data deduplication and
replication, the OST API allows these supported DMAs to use the DR Series system appliance features and duplicate the
optimized data from one storage appliance to another.
The OST API enables the writing of data to disk and is illustrated in the following example where NetBackup (the DMA)
interacts with the DR Series system (the data backup and deduplication device) using the OST API:
• NetBackup needs to store a file to disk. To do this it notifies the DR Series system via the OST API which file it needs
to backup and what to name this file.
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• DR Series system accepts this file, backs it up, and stores it in its filesystem.
• NetBackup can perform one of three subsequent operations with this specific stored file:
– Expire it
– Restore from it
– Copy or duplicate it
• If NetBackup, using the OST API, directs the DR Series system to expire a stored file, it deletes it from its filesystem.
• Similarly, if NetBackup, using the OST API, wants to restore from a stored file, it directs the DR Series system which
file to restore, which then delivers the stored file to NetBackup for the restore.
NOTE: OST contains a feature called optimized duplication. For example, in optimized duplication, the DMA
(NetBackup) directs device A to perform an optimized duplication with device B. Device A and B communicate
and determine which data segments of the file need to be replicated from A to B for device B to ensure that device
B contains a full and complete duplicate data file. Once successful, the DMA now knows about both copies of this
data file, and can use this file on device B as it would any other data file that resides there.
Software Components and Operational Guidelines
To better coordinate and integrate OpenStorage Technology (OST) with the DR Series system data storage operations,
the following guidelines list the required components and supported operations. For details on the supported operating
systems and DMA versions, see the
Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide
.
The Dell DR Series system licensing is all-inclusive, so that no additional Dell licensing is required to use OST or the
optimized duplication capability. The Dell OST plug-in that gets installed on a supported Linux or Windows media server
platform is a free download from Dell. However, Symantec NetBackup requires that you purchase a Symantec
OpenStorage Disk Option license. Similarly, Symantec Backup Exec requires that you purchase the Deduplication Option
to enable the OST feature.
• OST Media Server Component:
– An OST server component resides on the DR Series system
– For Linux media server installations, use the Linux OST plug-in and the Red Hat Package Manager (RPM)
installer
– For Windows media server installations, use the Windows OST plug-in and the Microsoft (MSI) installer
• Windows-based OST plug-in
• Linux-based 64-bit OST plug-in
• Supported Symantec OpenStorage (OST) protocol:
– Symantec, version 9
– Symantec, version 10
• Supported Symantec DMAs
– NetBackup
– Backup Exec
• Supported OST operations
– Backup (Passthrough writes and Optimized writes)
– Restore
– Replication
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DR Series System and Data Operations
Data is stored and resides on the Dell DR Series system, a two-rack unit (RU) appliance, which comes preinstalled with
the system software.
The DR Series system consists of a total of 14 drives. Two of these drives are 2.5-inch drives that are configured as a
Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) 1 on the RAID Controller and this is considered to be volume 1. In the
DR4000 system, these drives are internal, while in the DR4100 system, these drives are accessible from the rear. The
data that is being backed up is stored on the 12 virtual disks that reside on the DR Series system appliance. The DR
Series system also supports additional storage in the form of external expansion shelf enclosures (see the
DR Series
Expansion Shelf
section in this topic). The hot-swappable data drives that are attached to the RAID controller are
configured as:
• 11 drives that operate as RAID 6, which act as virtual-disks for data storage (drives 1–11).
• The remaining drive (drive 0) acts as the dedicated hot-spare drive for RAID 6 for the system.
The DR Series system supports RAID 6, which allows the appliance to continue read and write requests to the RAID
array virtual disks even in the event of up to two concurrent disk failures, providing protection to your mission-critical
data. In this way, the system design supports double-data drive failure survivability.
If the system detects that one of the 11 virtual drives has failed, then the dedicated hot spare (drive slot 0) becomes an
active member of the RAID group. Data is then automatically copied to the hot spare as it acts as the replacement for
the failed drive. The dedicated hot spare remains inactive until it is called upon to replace a failed drive. This scenario is
usually encountered when a faulty data drive is replaced. The hot spare can act as replacement for both internal
mirrored drives and the RAID 6 drive arrays.
Figure 1. DR Series System Drive Slot Locations
Drive 0 (top) Drive 3 (top) Drive 6 (top) Drive 9 (top)
Drive 1 (middle) Drive 4 (middle) Drive 7 (middle) Drive 10 (middle)
Drive 2 (bottom) Drive 5 (bottom) Drive 8 (bottom) Drive 11 (bottom)
DR Series Expansion Shelf
Each DR Series system appliance supports the installation and connection of Dell PowerVault MD1200 data storage
expansion shelf enclosures. Each expansion shelf contains 12 physical disks in an enclosure, which provides additional
data storage capacity for the basic DR Series system. The supported data storage expansion shelves can be added in a
variety of capacities based on your DR Series system version; for details, see the
Dell DR Series System Interoperability
Guide
.
The physical disks in each expansion shelf are required to be Dell-certified Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) drives, and the
physical drives in the expansion shelf uses slots 1–11 configured as RAID 6, with slot 0 being a global hot spare (GHS).
When being configured, the first expansion shelf is identified as Enclosure 1 (in the case where two enclosures are
added, these would be Enclosure 1 and Enclosure 2). Adding an expansion shelf to support the DR Series system
requires a license. For more information, see Expansion Shelf Licenses.
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NOTE: The 300 Gigabyte (GB) drive capacity (2.7 TB) version of the DR Series system does not support the addition
of expansion shelf enclosures.
NOTE: If you are running a DR Series system with an installed release of system software prior to 2.1, and you
intend to upgrade to release 3.x system software and add an external expansion shelf (or shelves), Dell
recommends that you observe the following best practice sequence of operations to avoid any issues:
• Upgrade the DR Series system with the release 3.x system software
• Power off the DR Series system
• Connect the external expansion shelf (or shelves) with cabling to the DR Series system
• Power on the external expansion shelf (or shelves)
• Power on the DR Series system
NOTE: If you install an expansion shelf enclosure to support a DR Series system, each shelf must use physical
disks that have a capacity equal to or greater than each DR Series system internal drive slot capacity (0–11) that
they are supporting.
Figure 2. DR Series System Expansion Shelf (MD1200) Drive Slot Locations
Drive 0 (top) Drive 3 (top) Drive 6 (top) Drive 9 (top)
Drive 1 (middle) Drive 4 (middle) Drive 7 (middle) Drive 10 (middle)
Drive 2 (bottom) Drive 5 (bottom) Drive 8 (bottom) Drive 11 (bottom)
Understanding About Adding a DR Series Expansion Shelf
The process for adding an expansion shelf requires the following:
• Physically adding or installing the expansion shelf (for more information, see Adding a DR Series System Expansion
Shelf)
• Cabling the expansion shelf to the DR Series system (for more information, see DR Series System - Expansion Shelf
Cabling)
• Installing the license for an expansion shelf (for more information, see Installing an Expansion Shelf License)
Supported Software and Hardware
For a complete list of the latest supported software and hardware for the DR Series system, Dell recommends that you
see the
Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide
at support.dell.com/manuals. For example, the
Dell DR Series
System Interoperability Guide
lists the following supported hardware and software categories:
• Hardware
– BIOS
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– RAID controllers
– Hard drives (internal)
– Hard drives (external)
– Expansion unit limits
– USB flash drives
– Network interface controllers
– iDRAC Enterprise
– Marvell WAM controller
• Software
– Operating System
– Supported backup software
– Network file protocols and backup client operating systems
– Supported web browsers
– Supported system limits
– Supported OST software and components
– Supported RDS software and components
– Supported RDNFS and RDCIFS software and components
Terminal Emulation Applications
To access the DR Series system command line interface (CLI), the following terminal emulation applications can be
used:
• FoxTerm
• Win32 console
• PuTTY
• Tera Term Pro
NOTE: The listed terminal emulation applications are not the only ones that work with the DR Series system. This
list is only intended to provide examples of terminal emulation applications that can be used.
DR Series — Expansion Shelf Cabling
Each DR Series system appliance is capable of supporting additional storage capacity by connecting Dell PowerVault
MD1200 data storage expansion shelf enclosures. Each expansion shelf enclosure contains 12 physical disks that
provide additional data storage capacity for a basic DR Series system. For the expansion unit limits and supported
capacities, see the
Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide
.
Figure 1 and Figure 2 display the recommended method for cabling between the DR Series system’s PERC controller
card to the appropriate connectors on the rear of the Dell PowerVault MD1200 expansion shelf enclosure.
Make sure that the Dell PowerVault MD1200 front panel selector switch is set to its Unified mode (with the switch set to
its “up” position, indicated by a single Volume icon). Figure 1 shows the SAS In ports on the Enclosure Management
Module (EMM) on the rear of the Dell MD1200. Figure 2 shows the recommended redundant path cabling configuration,
which includes cable connections from both PERC H800 connectors on the DR4000 system (or the PERC H810 on a
DR4100 system) to the two SAS In ports on the EMM rear chassis of the Dell PowerVault MD1200.
If you plan on installing multiple expansion shelf enclosures, then the two SAS In ports on the rear chassis of the EMM
on the additional enclosure are daisy-chained to the two SAS Out ports on the EMM rear chassis on the first enclosure.
This is considered a redundant mode connection via the SAS In/Out connectors on the enclosures with the DR Series
system appliance.
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