This chapter describes the NetWorker Backup and Recover windows and the backup and recover functions that are unique to each of the windows.
 | Note: For information on using the functions that are common to both windows, such as viewing and marking files, see Chapter 3, “Browsing Filesystems.” For a quick tour of the NetWorker backup and recover programs, see “Quick Tour” in Chapter 2. |
If you are already familiar with the NetWorker backup and recover programs, use these shortcut procedures.
Follow these steps to back up your directories or files:
If necessary, click the NW Backup icon to open the NetWorker Backup window.
Select the check boxes, or highlight the directory or file you want to back up, and click the Mark speedbar button.
Click the Start speedbar button.
Click the Ok button in the Backup Options dialog box.
Check the backup completion message to make sure the backup is complete.
Click the Cancel button in the Backup Status window to close the window.
Follow these steps to recover your directories or files
Select the NW Recover icon to open the NetWorker Recover window.
If necessary, choose a server by clicking the Change Server speedbar button. If applicable, choose a client by choosing “Client” from the Change menu.
Using the mouse, highlight the icons for files or directories you wish to recover, and click the Mark speedbar button for these.
Choose “Volumes” from the View pulldown menu to see if the backup volumes are available for your recovery.
Click the Start speedbar button to begin the recovery.
Click the Ok button in the Conflict Resolution dialog box.
When you see the recover completion time message in the Recover Status window, click the Cancel button to close the window.
This section assumes that you have already marked your files for backup. If you need to know how to view directories, mark files, search for files, or view file details, see Chapter 3, “Browsing Filesystems.”
This section explains
changing the NetWorker server, if necessary
starting the backup
choosing the backup options
monitoring the backup status
NetWorker backs up your data according to a schedule determined by your system administrator. Usually, a single NetWorker server backs up all the systems on a network. You may need to change servers if your NetWorker server is down or you are experiencing network difficulties.
If you have more than one NetWorker server available on the network, you might have a choice of servers for your backups. However, in order to switch to a different NetWorker server, your system must be listed as a client of that server. Check with your system administrator before you switch to a server other than the one that normally backs up your system.
To change the NetWorker server, follow these steps:
Click the Change Server speedbar button, or select Server from the Change pulldown menu. Figure 4-1 shows these options.
The Change Server dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 4-2.
If you know the hostname of the server, enter it in the Server field and click Ok.
Alternatively, click the Update Server List button to update the list of NetWorker servers on the network.
Highlight the hostname of a server in the list and click Ok to choose the new server. You can also double-click a hostname to select it.
Click Ok to choose the new server.
Note: If you choose a NetWorker server that does not have your system listed as a client, the message shown in Figure 4-3 appears.
To start a backup, follow these steps:
Mark the files that need to be backed up.
Choose the NetWorker server (if necessary).
Click the Start speedbar button, or choose “Start Backup” from the File pulldown menu. These options are shown in Figure 4-4.
NetWorker displays the Backup Options dialog box, which is explained in the next section.
In the Backup Options dialog box, you can compress files and exclude patterns before the backup starts. Compressing data reduces network traffic and can conserve space on the backup media, Excluding patterns is convenient if you have data you do not want to back up at all.
To choose whether or not to compress the files you back up, answer the question “ Do you want to compress this backup?” in the Backup Options dialog box, as shown in Figure 4-5. Notice that “Yes” is already highlighted as the default selection.
To continue the backup with file compression, you do not have to make a selection, since Yes is the default selection.
To continue the backup without file compression, select “No.”
Note: If you back up to a device that compresses data, select “No.”
If you do not need to exclude patterns from your backup, click Ok to continue the backup with your file compression choice.
Before starting a backup, you can exclude patterns in the Backup Options dialog box. This feature is useful, for example, if you are backing up an entire directory and do not need to back up certain files or subdirectories in that directory. Excluding data from the backup also reduces network traffic and saves space on backup media.
To exclude patterns, specify alphanumeric patterns that occur in the names of the files that you want to exclude from the backup. Use IRIX shell pattern characters to specify any number of patterns you wish to exclude.
Notice that “No” is highlighted as the default answer to the question “ Do you want to exclude any patterns from this backup?” If you do not wish to exclude any patterns of filenames from the backup, select Ok to continue the backup with only your file compression choice.
To exclude patterns from the backup, follow these steps:
Select “Yes” to answer the question “ Do you want to exclude any patterns from this backup?” This choice activates the lower half of the Backup Options dialog box.
Enter the first pattern to be excluded in the Pattern field.
Click Add to add the pattern to the pattern list, as shown in Figure 4-6.
Enter any number of patterns and add them to the pattern list.
To change a pattern, select it in the pattern list. The selected pattern appears in the Pattern field. Enter the new pattern and click Change. The new pattern replaces the old pattern in the pattern list.
To delete a pattern, select it in the pattern list and click Delete.
Click Ok to continue the backup with the excluded patterns.
After you complete your selections in the Backup Options dialog box, the Backup Status window appears, as shown in Figure 4-7. Use the Backup Status window to monitor the progress of the backup.
The Backup Status window provides the backup start time and the backup completion time. The names of the files and directories scroll across the Backup Status window as the backup proceeds. The save message at the bottom of the window gives you information about the backup including the full pathname of the directory and the number of kilobytes and files being saved.
| Note: If after several minutes you do not see any progress messages (after the “Backup Start” message) in the Backup Status window, the NetWorker server probably needs attention from the system administrator. |
You can cancel the backup by pressing the Cancel button.
The following message appears in the Backup Status window when the backup is complete:
Backup completion time: Wed Jun 23 11:20:03 1993 |
This section assumes that you have already marked your files for recovery in the Recover window. If you need to know how to view directories, mark files, search for files, or view file details, see Chapter 3, “Browsing Filesystems.”
NetWorker displays entries in the NetWorker Recover window for the files it saved during a backup. Select the files you wish to recover from this list of entries. NetWorker's recover functions allow you to browse the index for previous backups, select various versions of the file to recover, view your marked files, relocate files upon recovery, and recover files from another authorized system.
This section explains
choosing the Recover server
choosing the Recover client
selecting file versions
changing the browse time
listing marked files
listing the backup volumes for a recover
relocating files
starting the recovery
monitoring the recover status
Normally you recover files from the NetWorker backup server chosen for you by your system administrator. If you have backed up files to a different server, you must also recover those files from that server. If you changed servers in the Backup window, select the same server in the NetWorker Recover window.
| Note: The Change Server dialog box lists all the NetWorker servers on the network. You can recover files only from a server that lists your system as a client. |
To choose a recover server, follow these steps:
Click the NW Recover icon to open the NetWorker Recover window if it is not already open.
Click the Change Server speedbar button, or select “Server” from the Change pulldown menu. Figure 4-8 shows the Change Server dialog box.
Click the Update Server List button or double-click on the server name to update the list of NetWorker servers on the network. Choose the server that has the files you need to recover.
The Server field changes to reflect the current selection. The directory and file displays are refreshed to show the index for the current server.
Click the Ok button after you have selected a server.
If you need to recover files from a client other than the system you are currently using (for example, because the client's disk was damaged and files are being restored onto a different system), use the “Change Client” command in the Change pulldown menu. The “Change Client” command opens a dialog box that lists all of the NetWorker clients.
| Note: Check with your system administrator if you wish to recover files other than your own. You might not be authorized to recover files for other client systems. |
To choose a recover client, follow these steps:
Choose “Client” from the Change pulldown menu in the Recover window.
The Change Client dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 4-9.
To update the list of NetWorker clients, click the Update Client List button.
Choose a client from which you are authorized to recover files. The Client field changes to reflect the current selection.
When you recover this client's files, they are restored onto the system you are currently using.
The Versions window lists all the versions of a file or directory that have been backed up by the backup server. It also lists the locations of the versions. The information in the Versions window is retrieved from the index that is created by NetWorker when you perform a backup. Use the Versions window to view the backup history of a file and to mark a version for recovery.
| Note: NetWorker displays versions of the directories and files in the Versions window. However, in the Versions window, you can mark only files for recovery, not directories. |
For each version, the Versions window lists
To view the backup history of a file or directory, follow these steps:
Open the Recover window and highlight a file or directory in the file display.
Select “Versions” from the View pulldown menu, as shown in Figure 4-10.
NetWorker retrieves several versions of the highlighted file or directory from the index and lists them by backup time, beginning with the most recent. If necessayr, use the scrollbar to view the backup history.
Click More to retrieve ten more versions from the index. The More button turns gray when all versions have been retrieved.
| Note: Remember, you cannot mark directories for recovery in the Versions window. To mark a past version of a directory and its contents for recovery, use the “Change browse time” command. |
To select a version of a file for recovery, follow these steps:
Select the checkbox of the version that you want to recover.
Click Ok to place the checkmarked versions in the file display.
 | Tip: When you mark a past version of a file in the Versions window, this version appears in the NetWorker Recover window file display with the same name as the recent version. You then have more than one version of a file in the file display. If you are confused as to which version to mark, use “File Details” to display their backup times. |
The Browse Time field displays the date you initiated the browse, unless you change it to a date in the past. NetWorker displays the currently selected browse time in the Browse Time field in the Recover window, as shown in Figure 4-12.
The NetWorker Recover window displays the index entries for previously backed-up files. Changing the browse time displays the index entries for files backed up at that time.
| Note: If NetWorker has no entries for files backed up for the time selected in the Browse Time field, NetWorker displays files that were backed up closest to that time, but not immediately after. For example, if you change the browse time to 10 a.m. on May 15, and the backup took place at 11 a.m. on May 15, NetWorker will not display the entries for the files backed up at 11:00 a.m. |
Changing the browse time lets you view your files as of some time in the past. This feature is useful if you do not remember the name or location of the files you want to recover, but you remember that they existed at a particular time in the past. The Change browse time command also helps you find files that have been deleted and thus do not appear in the Versions window. You can recover deleted files by changing the browse time to locate past versions of the files in the index.
| Tip: Use the “Change browse time” command to browse and mark past versions of directories. If you mark a directory, all its nested files and subdirectories are also marked. |
To change the browse time to recover a past version of a file, follow these steps:
Open the NetWorker Recover window and select “ Browse time” from the Change menu, as shown in Figure 4-13.
The Change Browse Time dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 4-14.
Use the Previous, Today, and Next buttons to control the month shown in the calendar.
When the month you want is displayed, click the desired day in the calendar.
You can also change the browse time by entering a date and time in the Browse Time field and pressing <Enter> or clicking Ok. The following formats are valid for browse time:
Click Ok when you are finished choosing a browse time.
The Browse Time field in the NetWorker Recover window changes to reflect the new browse time. Both the file display and the directory display show the files that were backed up at that time.
You can now mark past versions of files for recovery.
| Note: Any files or directories that you have marked for recovery prior to changing the browse time remain marked. |
You can list the files you have marked for recovery by selecting “Show Marked” in the Mark menu. Use “Show Marked” to check the files you have marked for recovery before performing the recover operation. The Files Marked for Recovery window lists the pathnames and backup time of files that you have marked for recovery.
To show the files that you have marked for recovery, follow these steps:
Select “Show Marked” from the Mark menu of the NetWorker Recover window, as shown in Figure 4-15.
The Files Marked for Recovery window appears, as shown in Figure 4-16, listing the pathnames and backup time of all marked files.
Click Cancel to close the window.
After you mark your files for a recovery, you can use the Volumes command in the View pulldown menu to find out if the backup volumes that NetWorker needs are available; that is, if the volume is mounted or in a jukebox. If you start a recover operation, and NetWorker cannot access the backup volume that has your file, it will send a message to the system administrator to load the volume. This process can take some time, and you may not want to begin the recover operation unless you can get your data back right away.
To determine if the file you want to recover is immediately available for a recovery, follow these steps:
Mark the files or directories you wish to recover in the NetWorker Recover window.
Select the “Volumes” command from the View menu, as shown in Figure 4-17.
NetWorker displays a notice window, as shown in Figure 4-18.
If the backup volume is available, that is, the volume is mounted or in a jukebox, the message all online appears in the notice window. The window displays the name(s) of the backup volume(s) and, if applicable, the location of the volumes. In the example in Figure 4-18, the volume is named LOC5G234 and is located in a jukebox belonging to the engineering department.
Before you start a recovery, use the optional “Relocate” command to place your files in a directory other than the one in which they were located when they were backed up. “Relocate” creates the directory, if it does not already exist. You can also relocate files to an existing directory by entering the complete pathname.
To relocate recovered files into a new or existing directory, follow these steps:
Open the NetWorker Recover window and select “Relocate” from the Options menu, as shown in Figure 4-19.
The Relocate dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 4-20.
In the “Relocate to” field, enter the name of the directory where the recovered files will be stored. Be sure to include the complete pathname of the directory.
Click Ok to relocate the files into the new directory.
When you start a recover, NetWorker displays the Conflict Resolution dialog box. Use this box to rename recovered files or overwrite existing files when a naming conflict occurs. A naming conflict occurs when a file you are recovering already exists or has the same name as a file in the current directory. NetWorker does not overwrite existing files unless you request it to do so.
The Conflict Resolution dialog box, shown in Figure 4-21, asks two questions about resolving naming conflicts.
To use the Conflict Resolution dialog box, follow these steps:
Answer the question, “Do you want to be prompted when conflict occurs?”
If you select “No,” you must make a choice for the next question in the box, “When conflict occurs, NetWorker should?”
Answering this question allows you to resolve conflicts for the entire recover session without being prompted about each individual file.
If you select “Yes,” the default selection, NetWorker prompts you for instructions in the Filename Conflict dialog box every time it encounters a conflict between a recovered file and an existing file. This choice allows you to resolve conflicts on a file-by-file basis. For each recovered file that has the same name as an existing file, choose whether to rename the recovered file, discard the recovered file, or overwrite the existing file. Figure 4-22 shows the Filename conflict dialog box.
In either case, select one of the following choices to solve naming conflicts:
Rename the recover file: NetWorker renames the recover file with a .R extension. If the .R file already exists, NetWorker adds another .R.
Discard the recover file: NetWorker discards the recover file. The existing file remains current.
Overwrite the existing file: NetWorker replaces the existing file with the recovered file. The existing file is lost and the recovered file becomes current.
After completing the Conflict Resolution dialog box, click Ok to continue the recovery.
After the Conflict Resolution dialog box closes, the Recover Status window, shown in Figure 4-23, reappears as the recovery continues.
The Recover Status window lists the following information about your recover session:
the number of files to be recovered and where they will be relocated; for example:
Recovering 1 file into its original location Total estimated disk space needed for recover is 45 KB.
If you specified a directory in the relocate dialog box, it is listed.
the estimated disk space required for the recovery; for example:
Total estimated disk space needed for recover is 45 KB.
the name of the required backup volume and its location; for example:
Volumes needed (all on-line): man.001 at /dev/nrst8
the amount of time needed to recover the file and the name of the file or directory being recovered; for example:
VRequesting 1 file, this may take a while . . . ./TechPubs
NetWorker lists the new filenames if you chose to rename the recovered files.
To cancel the recovery, click Cancel.
When the recovery is complete, the following message appears:
Recover completion time:... |
Click Cancel to close the Recover Status window.