This chapter shows you how to install and create an EBR service and begin administering EBR, first by backing up a VINES server, then by adding a client to the Default backup group.
EBR provides pre-configured settings for workstation and server backups. This document assumes those settings can work sufficiently well for your installation. Later chapters describe how to change these default settings if necessary.
In this document, the term "EBR client" can refer to either a VINES server running the EBR agent or a VINES workstation running EBR or Scheduled Backup programs. An EBR service may have many clients, and these clients can be any combination of workstations and VINES servers. EBR clients, whether on workstations or servers, have similar configuration and management requirements from the EBR administrator's perspective. Nearly all administrative tasks can be handled through the EBR Administrator program
Once you have installed the EBR agent and service executables as described in the EBR Release Notice, you will need to:
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Reboot the server to start the portmapper process that EBR clients and servers use to connect with each other. ![]()
Create and configure the EBR service using Banyan's MSERVICE or StreetTalk Explorer management tools. ![]()
Start the service.
On a VINES server, EBR has two main components: the EBR agent and the EBR service. Every VINES server that you want to back up with EBR must have an EBR agent. An EBR agent is a VINES service running on a VINES server. An EBR agent is often referred to as a client of an EBR service. An EBR client is any computer system sending backup data to an EBR service.
An EBR service is a VINES service that manages the backup and recovery needs of one or more EBR clients. These clients can be VINES servers running EBR agent services, VINES workstations running EBR or the EBR Scheduled Backup programs, or Legato NetWorker clients on platforms that support TCP/IP communications.
Only those servers that have tape devices can host an EBR service. An EBR service can have up to 200 clients, although the server resources required to support larger numbers of clients typically result in ratios of 20 to 30 clients per EBR service.
The EBR agent includes:
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A portmapper process, started at server boot time, that EBR agents and services use to find each other on a network. ![]()
A service manager that allows the VINES server service to start, monitor, and stop the EBR agent. ![]()
A remote execution service that responds to backup requests from an EBR service. These requests include backup criteria, such as which disk volumes to back up and what data should be backed up (that is, all data, data that has changed since a certain time, and so on), as well as the identity of the EBR service making the request. ![]()
Save programs that scan the server' s disks and, applying the backup criteria supplied by the EBR service, generate backup data that they send over the network to the EBR service that made the request. ![]()
A recover program that lets you browse the contents of an EBR service' s on-line directory of data backed up from this server and select items (files, directories, services, and so on) for recovery. The recover program then sends this recover list to the EBR service, which locates the selected items on backup volumes (tapes), then streams the data back over the network to the server that made the recover request. The recover program on this server then reconstructs this data stream into files and directories and writes them onto the server' s disk.
The EBR service includes:
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A Network Save and Recover Daemon (NSRD) that sends save requests to the agents on its client list and responds to recover requests from those agents. ![]()
An index daemon that manages the on-line file and media indexes from which the agents' recover programs select data for recovery. ![]()
A media manager that writes data to and retrieves data from backup volumes (tapes). ![]()
Media utilities that can be used to recover indexes and data directly from tapes in the event of a crash or other disaster.
Every VINES server hosting an EBR service must also host an EBR agent, because the agent includes the programs that do the actual saving and recovering of server data. The EBR agent also includes the service manager, which, after starting the agent, starts up the EBR service if it is installed and enabled. A newly created EBR service assumes that its first client will be "itself" (the agent running on the server that hosts the service), because the EBR service's media and file indexes are important and must be backed up regularly.
Starting the agent also starts the service if there is one present. Stopping the agent also stops the service if there is one present. The agent and service cannot be operated independently of one another on servers where both are installed.
EBR Service Optional Parameters
When you create an EBR service or agent, you may specify several optional parameters. For example, Banyan's mservice utility lets you specify these parameters, one per line, on an Optional Parameters screen that is part of the service configuration menu. Optional parameters recognized by EBR include:
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Location of the EBR service data directory ![]()
Trusted server names
If you want the EBR service's data directory to reside on a disk other than /disk1, specify that disk as an optional parameter. This parameter must begin with a "/" character, and must be a valid disk name. If the server is hosting only an EBR agent, the data directory never needs to contain more than a few logfiles. It should probably remain on /disk1, which is the default. If the server is hosting an EBR service, reserve a minimum of 10 megabytes of free space for the index. If you have adequate free space on /disk1, you do not need to change the default. If you want to maintain a very large on-line file index, you may need a hundred megabytes or more of disk space to hold it, in which case it might be better to place it on a disk that is not as heavily used as /disk1. Chapter 5 has more information about on-line indexes, their size, and how to manage their growth.
Any additional optional parameters are assumed to be names of trusted servers from which the agent accepts backup requests. If none are specified, the agent responds to backup requests from any EBR service. If any names are specified, the agent rejects backup requests from all EBR services other than the ones specified.
Getting an EBR service to back up the server on which it is running is the first step toward backing up your network. Creating and starting an EBR service automatically creates and starts an EBR agent on the same server and adds that agent to the EBR service's client list as a member of the default group. So backing up this server only requires you to label and mount a tape volume, then start a backup of the default group.
Before beginning this procedure, make certain you have:
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Installed and created an EBR service on a VINES server that has an 8mm tape device. (8mm is the default tape device for EBR. If your server has a 4mm or a QIC device, you must first use EBR Administrator's device configuration dialog box to tell EBR what type of device the server supports. See Chapter 4 for more information.) ![]()
Installed the EBR Administrator, EBR, and EBR Scheduled Backup programs on a VINES workstation running Windows.
EBR server and workstation software installation is covered in the VINES EBR Release Notice.
This example and many others in this document assume that the EBR service is running on a server named redwood (that is, Redwood@Servers). To configure the EBR service on redwood to back up all of redwood's data, follow these steps:
1. Insert a writable tape in the server's tape drive.
2. Choose Label and Mount from the Media menu. The Label and Mount dialog box appears:
3. Accept the volume label provided, and the Default media pool. Click the OK button or press [Enter] to begin labeling the tape. The Devices status window shows that the tape is mounted.
4. Choose Groups from the Client menu.
A group is a collection of (one or more) EBR clients scheduled for backup starting at a specific time.
5. In the Groups dialog box, highlight the Default group and click the Edit button. The Edit Group dialog box appears:
6. Change the Autostart field from Disabled to Enabled. Leave the Start time at 3:33 and Client retries at 0. Click the OK button or press the [Enter] key.
7. Choose Group Control from the Client menu, or click the Group Control button on the speedbar. The Group Control dialog box appears:
8. Highlight the Default group, and click the Start button to start backing up the group immediately, rather than at 3:33 a.m.
You may open the Messages status display window to follow the progress of the backup. If EBR requires you to mount another tape, a message appears in the Pending window.
The procedure for adding more clients to an EBR service's client list is identical for server agents and workstation clients.
Use the Create Client dialog box for adding a new client to the EBR server. To add a new client, follow these steps:
1. Select Setup from the Client menu. The Clients dialog box appears, displaying the names of all clients already known to the EBR service on redwood. Note that redwood is on the client list.
2. Inside the Clients dialog box, click the Create button. The Create Client dialog box appears:
3. Enter the name of the client into the Name field. If the client is a VINES server running an EBR agent, the name is the server' s hostname. For example, if the server' s StreetTalk name is Redwood@Servers, enter redwood in the Name field. (You may use upper and lowercase letters or a combination of both.)
If the client is a VINES workstation running EBR or Scheduled Backup, you must pick a name for it. The name can be any combination of letters and numbers up to 16 characters long. Once you have selected the name, you must ask the workstation' s primary user to log in on that workstation, run the EBR program, and type this name in at the Client Name dialog box.
In the Schedule field, use the default schedule. Later, you may decide to use one of five provided schedules, or create a custom schedule. Accept the default Browse policy and Retention policy for now. If the client is a VINES server, you may also use the default Directives. However, if it is a Windows workstation, you must select DOS Standard Directives from the directives list.
In the Group field, make sure the Default group box is checked.
4. Click the OK button or press the [Enter] key to save your work.
Now, as part of the Default nightly scheduled backup, the EBR service will back up the clients you have created.
Tip: After the backup has completed, check to see that it was successful by bringing up the Group Control dialog box again, and clicking the Details button.