Updating the firmware (DDOS) on a DataDomain

EMC has done a great job with DDOS 5.2, as such I’ve had to do a couple of upgrades recently.  The upgrade manual is quite a tome, so this is my notes, distilled.  I’ve added a couple of extra steps just to make sure there are no error conditions that can hamper the upgrade or the operation of the DataDomain.

Pre-Upgrade checks

Review the output of the below commands for any errors and warnings.

1. Reboot the DataDomain (I do it just because)
2. ssh into the DataDomain and issue the commands listed below
3. enclosure show powersupply 1
4. alert show current
5. reg show config.net (confirm the following settings)
1. noauto.enabled
2. noauto.speed
3. noauto.full_duplex
6. ifgroup
7. disk show state
8. disk show reliability-data
9. enclosure show all
10. enclosure show topology
11. system show hardware
12. system show ports
13. filesys status
14. log view debug/platform/kern.info

Upgrade Steps

Well after all that the steps to actually upgrade the DDOS is a bit of a let-down.

1. Copy your DDOS .rpm to /ddr/var/releases
1. You can do this via a NFS mount or you can upload via the GUI
2. ssh into the DataDomain and issue the commands listed below
3. system upgrade 5.2.2.4-370754.rpm
4. Monitor progress with “system upgrade status” or “log watch debug/platform/infra.log”

Post-Upgrade Steps

I guess strictly speaking these steps are not necessary, as with the pre-upgrade steps.  I do it just to ensure I have a nice neat base to work from

1. ssh into the DataDomain and issue the commands listed below
2. ost disable
3. ost enable
4. nfs disable
5. nfs enable

And that is all there is to it, mostly.

Configuring Backup Exec 2012 to backup to a DataDomain 670 using the OST plugin

DataDomain Configuration

First things first, let’s verify that we have the DD Boost is correctly configured on the DataDomain

1. Log into your DataDomain Appliance and navigate to System Settings – Licenses and verify the correct licenses, it should look like this:
   
   
2. Navigate to Data Management – DD Boost – Settings and verify that DD Boost is enabled, like so:
   
3. Now click on the + sign to add your BackupExec host.  Enter the hostname and click OK
   
4. Next we need to create a DD Boost Storage Unit.  Navigate to Data Management – DD Boost – Storage Units and click Create.  Enter a descriptive name and configure any quotas, if desired.  Click OK
   
5. Now we need to enable an interface for DD Boost.  Navigate to Data Management – DD Boost – IP Network.  Highlight and edit an interface group and tick the “Enabled” check box in the resultant dialogue box and click OK.
   

That takes care of the configuration on the DataDomain side of things.  Let’s move over to Backup Exec

Backup Exec 2012 Configuration

1. Download and install the latest version of the EMC DataDomain Boost for Symantec OpenStorage (Version 2.5.0.3-314845) at the time of writing.  This file is available from the DataDomain support site (Powerlink Login required)
2. Open up the Backup Exec console, select the Storage tab and click Configure Storage
3. The type of storage is OpenStorage
   
4. Enter a name and description for the DataDomain
   
5. Select the DataDomain provider (the DataDomain only shows up once you completed the OST plugin installation as per Step 1)
   
6. Enter the connection details for the your DataDomain device
   
7. Enter the Storage Location configured on the DataDomain (BackupExec in our case)
   
8. Select the amount of concurrent operations allowed to the DataDomain
   
9. Click Finish on the Summary screen and confirm that you would like to restart the Backup Exec services
   

With that completed you’ll be able to select the DataDomain as a deduplication target (as opposed to B2D device).