M 05 Res 01

Copyright 2010 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved.
Module 5: Avamar Node Addition

Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:
List the requirements to add a storage node to an Avamar

system
Describe the Avamar Node Addition process

Perform Avamar data node addition
2010 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.
Avamar Node Addition 5 - 1
The objectives for this module are shown here. Please take a moment to read them.
Avamar Node Addition, Module 5
-1
Node Addition What is it?
In an Avamar multi-node RAIN system, you can add a

data node to increase capacity
When adding a new node to the Avamar system, it is

advisable to balance the system to distribute existing
backup data among the data nodes
DISCLAIMER: The node addition procedures in this module are

provisional and should not be used at a customer site.
-2
Node Addition Before you Begin
Ensure that:
Operating System is installed on new node (non-data store only)
Benchmark and stress tests are successfully run on the node (nondata store only)
Networking information is configured for new node
Passwords on new node reflect the passwords for the existing
production Avamar system
-3
Node Addition - Steps
Update the hosts file on all nodes to add new nodes IP Address
Ensure that you have a validated checkpoint
Update the probe.xml file on the utility node and append the IP
address of the new node
Synchronize the clocks on all hosts

Suspend Avamar client activities
Suspend Avamar replication cron job
Start the new node
Ensure new node comes online
Perform balancing
Resume client activities
Resume Avamar replication cron job
-4
Update Hosts File On All Nodes
Update the hosts file on all nodes to add new nodes IP

Address
Add an entry for the new node
-5
Ensure You Have a Validated Checkpoint
It is very important to have a validated checkpoint you

can roll back to if required
Checkpoints shown in Avamar Administrator - Server

window
Validated checkpoint
-6
Update the probe.xml file
Append a new node to the the probe.xml file using the

nodedb command:
nodedb add node --addr=192.168.100.6 --type=storage
-7
Synchronize Clocks Across All Nodes
Avamar requires that clocks on all nodes are synchronized

The Avamar utility to perform time synchronization is asktime
Asktime must be run:
as user dpn with ssh keys loaded
on the utility node
Running asktime on
the utility node as user dpn
Desired output
-8
Suspend Avamar Client activities
Before adding a new node, you must suspend all client activities on the
Avamar system
Utility to perform this task: avmaint
Syntax: avmaint suspend
avmaint suspend halts existing client activities and denies any new
client requests
Run this command from the utility node

Must be run by user admin with ssh keys loaded
-9
Suspend Avamar Replication Cron Job
Before adding a new node, you must suspend the Avamar replication
cron job.
Script to perform this task: suspend_crons
suspend_crons suspends activity of the Avamar replication cron job:

repl_cron
Run this command from the utility node.

Must be run by user admin with ssh keys loaded
- 10
Start the new node
Start the new node, using the start.nodes command

start.nodes
Used to start a node
The --nodes=<physical node number of node to be added>
must be specified
If the --clean option is specified, all existing data on the node is deleted
- 11
Ensure that the new node is online
Check node status, using the status.dpn command

status.dpn
script used to return status of Avamar nodes
Interval can be specified (optional)
For example, status.dpn 5, the node status is refreshed every 5 seconds
- 12
Avamar Server Dynamic Load Balancing
Dynamic load balancing is a feature that allows the server

to dynamically move stripes in order to adjust storage
utilization among nodes
Command:
avmaint config balancemin=NUM

If NUM=0, no balancing is performed
If NUM=1, only index stripes are balanced
For NUM Values between 2 and 99
The balance process instructs the Avamar system to re-distribute
data from the most full nodes to the least full nodes within NUM
percentage
Dynamic load balancing is a feature that allows the server to dynamically move stripes in order to
adjust storage utilization among nodes.
This behavior is controlled by the avmaint config balancemin=NUM command.
When this value is zero, no balancing is performed.
When this value is one, only index stripes are balanced.
For values between 2 and 99, this is a threshold percentage that will trigger load balancing for any
node that exceeds that amount of available space (if a nodes available space minus the average of all
other nodes is greater than or equal to this balance min value, it is deemed to be in need of balancing).
RAIN is required in order for this feature to work.
Load balancing does not occur when the server is in a read-only state.
Stripes are not relocated if backups are in progress. However, once a stripe has been relocated, its data
is migrated using the same mechanism as for decommission, which means that backups proceed, but
performance is impacted.
- 13
Performing Balancing
After the Node is online, as user admin on the utility

node, run the command:
avmaint config balancemin=NUM --avamaronly
- 14
Monitoring Balancing Operation
Monitor the status of the new node by typing:

status.dpn <Number of seconds to refresh>
- 15
Turning Off Balancing
To turn off balancing, as user admin on the utility

node, run the command:
avmaint config balancemin=0 --avamaronly
- 16
Resume Avamar Client Activities and Replication Cron Job
Resume Avamar client activities:

Utility to perform this task: avmaint
Syntax: avmaint resume
Resume Avamar replication cron job, type:

Script to perform this task: resume_crons
- 17
Exploration
Lab 5-1: Node Addition
Lab 5-1: Node Addition

In this lab, you add a new node to your multi-node Avamar server.
- 18
Module Summary
Key points covered in this module:
Avamar Node Addition

Avamar system load balancing
These are the key points covered in Module 5. Please take a moment to review them.
- 19
Course Summary
Key points covered in this course:
EMC Avamar functionality

Major components of EMC Avamar
Installation and configuration of Avamar software (both
RAIN and NON-RAIN configurations)
Installation of Avamar software by performing on-demand

and scheduled backups and recoveries
Node failure simulation and node replacement

Node addition and Avamar system load balancing
These are the key points covered in this course. Please take a moment to review them.
This concludes the training.
- 20
Closing Slide
- 21

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Copyright 2010 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved.

Module 5: Avamar Node Addition

List the requirements to add a storage node to an Avamar

Describe the Avamar Node Addition process

2010 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.

Avamar Node Addition 5 - 1

Avamar Node Addition, Module 5

Copyright 2010 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved.

Node Addition What is it?

In an Avamar multi-node RAIN system, you can add a

When adding a new node to the Avamar system, it is

DISCLAIMER: The node addition procedures in this module are

Avamar Node Addition 5 - 2

Avamar Node Addition, Module 5

Copyright 2010 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved.

Node Addition Before you Begin

2010 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.

Avamar Node Addition 5 - 3

Avamar Node Addition, Module 5

Copyright 2010 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved.

Node Addition - Steps

Synchronize the clocks on all hosts

Avamar Node Addition 5 - 4

Avamar Node Addition, Module 5

Copyright 2010 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved.

Update Hosts File On All Nodes

Update the hosts file on all nodes to add new nodes IP

Add an entry for the new node

2010 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.

Avamar Node Addition 5 - 5

Avamar Node Addition, Module 5

Copyright 2010 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved.

Ensure You Have a Validated Checkpoint

It is very important to have a validated checkpoint you

Checkpoints shown in Avamar Administrator - Server

Avamar Node Addition 5 - 6

Avamar Node Addition, Module 5

Copyright 2010 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved.

Update the probe.xml file

Append a new node to the the probe.xml file using the

nodedb add node --addr=192.168.100.6 --type=storage

2010 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.

Avamar Node Addition 5 - 7

Avamar Node Addition, Module 5

Copyright 2010 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved.

Synchronize Clocks Across All Nodes

Avamar requires that clocks on all nodes are synchronized

2010 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.

Avamar Node Addition 5 - 8

Avamar Node Addition, Module 5

Copyright 2010 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved.

Suspend Avamar Client activities

Run this command from the utility node

2010 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.

Avamar Node Addition 5 - 9

Avamar Node Addition, Module 5

Copyright 2010 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved.

Suspend Avamar Replication Cron Job

suspend_crons suspends activity of the Avamar replication cron job:

Run this command from the utility node.

2010 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved.

Avamar Node Addition 5 - 10

Avamar Node Addition, Module 5