File Shares
How to add a file share as a source in the ZMC. This page covers NFS, iSCSI, Lustre, CIFS, and NDPM.
NFS/iSCSI/Lustre File System
Once the storage is mounted on the server, you add the path of the mounted directory in the sources tab. It's the most versatile form of file-level backup.
This is the easiest form of backup, as the files or folders to be backed-up are attached to the Zmanda server itself. Thus, if you have any licensed version of Zmanda, you can configure NFS Backups by running through the steps below:
Visit the sources page on ZMC and click on add sources. In the pop-out, please select Filesystem and then select NFS/iSCSI/Lustre from the Type dropdown.
Once you fill in the details on the screen, click on save, with that, your NFS/ iSCSI/ Lustre file systems are ready to be backed up.
CIFS Share
You can mount the share to a Zmanda Backup Server, to take backups via NFS, or install Samba packages on the backup server to interface with Samba server and Samba shares.
CIFS Shares can be mounted onto the Zmanda server for direct backups or done via the network using the Samba protocol.
Once the CIFS share is mounted to the Zmanda server, you can back up your CIFS Share as a regular Network Attached File Storage system, and more details on how to configure NFS are added in the NFS section of this page. This process, however, cannot be used for performing incremental backups, as amgtar backup of CIFS shares does not retain inode numbers across mounts. Note: It is essential to install samba-client before mounting a CIFS share on the Zmanda server.
To back up via the network, Samba protocol is used where Samba, Samba common, and Samba Client packages are installed on the backup server. Incremental backups are supported in this process, as archive bits are used to identify changes.
The steps to back up your CIFS share via the Samba protocol.
Install samba and samba-client on the system running ZMC and make sure smb service is active. Zmanda assumes that the smbclient executable binary file is located in /usr/bin on the Zmanda server. If smbclient is not in /usr/bin, create a symbolic link to the file in that directory.
Given the dependences are taken care of, you can open the Sources tab in ZMC and click on “Add Source”. In the pop-out window, select File systems, and then select Network/CIFS share, and you should see a screen like the below.
3. For quick configuration, we have listed the most important values below. For a complete guide, please visit the sources page.
Host Name
Specifies the host name of Zmanda Server. For better backup performance, Zmanda recommends using the Zmanda server itself as localhost. If you want to do the backup from the remote client attached to the CIFS Share, then you need to create a file at /etc/amanda/backup_set_name/cifs_network_shares on the remote client, which can be an identical clone of this file on the Zmanda server /etc/amanda/backup_set_name/cifs_network_shares.client_name.
Share Name The CIFS share is represented in Universal Naming Convention format with the format being \\CIFSserver\share\sub-directory . The CIFSserver can be specified as a host name or IP address. This is the share that will be backed up by Zmanda.
4. Once the configurations are filled in, please click on save and Zmanda will do a test to connect to the CIFS Share and validate the configurations. With this, you have now successfully completed mapping your CIFS Share to Zmanda.
NDMP
Zmanda acts as a backup controller, allowing data to flow directly to the storage destination. It allows for reduced network congestion in large-scale backup implementations.
Zmanda supports remote, direct, and 3-way NDMP configurations running on the NDMPv4 protocol.
In Remote NDMP configurations, NDMP appliances such as Netapp Filers, Sun Unified Storage, EMC Celera, and BlueArc storage are backed up. Backup data in remote NDMP configuration runs through Zmanda servers, as a temp storage space is needed before data is loaded to tape changers or disks attached to the Amanda server. In Direct or 3-way NDMP configurations, Zmanda acts as a backup control program, and thus data directly moves from the source to the destination, reducing LAN congestion and optimizing the resources on the Zmanda server.
Performing backup runs on your NDMP devices
Open the Sources tab in ZMC and click on “Add Source.” In the popout window, select File systems, and then select NDMP in the type.
2. The following figure shows an example backup configuration of /vol/zmanda_fs1 from Netapp Filer with IP address 192.168.29.151.
3. Once the configurations are done, please click on save. The NDMP device will be validated in the background, and with this, you have officially connected your NDMP appliance to Zmanda.
If your NDMP device is not being discovered, then below are the most common issues we have noticed.
If there is a firewall on the Zmanda server, a firewall rule should be added to trust each NDMP device being backed up.
NDMP services must be enabled on the appliance. For example, the following figure shows how to check if NDMP services are enabled on BlueArc Storage.
Last updated
