VSP Volume Exclude List

The VSP Volume Exclude List contains volumes that are never to be snapped by VSP during backups or never to have VSP cache files placed on the volumes. Volumes in the VSP Volume Exclude List are excluded from VSP activity and are backed up without snapshot protection. Volumes should be listed in this list as drive letters separated by commas and spaces. For example: C, D, E

This property appears for Windows clients only.

Ramifications of the Precedence of the Volume List over the Exclude List

The volumes in the Cache File Volume List have precedence over the volumes listed in the VSP Volume Exclude List. The Cache File Volume List overrides the VSP Volume Exclude List if both lists contain the same volume.

For example, if a user specifies C:\ in the Cache File Volume List as well as the VSP Volume Exclude List, this means that the user wants the C:\ volume to be the preferred location for VSP cache files, yet would not like VSP to snap or place cache files on the volume.

Because the Cache File Volume List takes precedence over the VSP Volume Exclude List, NetBackup places cache files in C:\ even though it is listed in the VSP Volume Exclude List. NetBackup will not create snapshots for C:\ until C:\ is removed from the VSP Volume Exclude List.

Using the Cache File Volume List and VSP Volume Exclude List for Multiple Simultaneous Backup Jobs or Multiple Groups of Multi-streamed Jobs

NetBackup allows a scheduled backup to be broken into several backup streams that can run simultaneously to increase performance.

If a backup policy is configured to allow multiple data streams, a scheduled backup of a client can be divided into multiple data streams, with each file list directive in the policy forming a separate backup job (stream) that can run concurrently with other streams to help complete the scheduled backup. All backup jobs (streams) in a policy are grouped into an entity called a stream group. All backups that are part of a stream group have their VSP volume snapshots shared between backup jobs in the stream group.

Additionally, multiple backup jobs could also run concurrently on a single client even if a backup policy is configured not to allow multiple data streams.

For both these types of backups, it is necessary to use the Cache File Volume List and VSP Volume Exclude List to make sure that VSP snapshot creation is successful. When running these kinds of backups, it is highly recommended that a volume be listed in both the Cache File Volume List and the VSP Volume Exclude List. This volume would effectively be used as the volume for all VSP cache files. However, it will not have VSP snapshots created for it and all backups backing up the volume will not have VSP snapshots enabled for it.

Example 1: Running Multiple Simultaneous Backups with VSP

Assume two backup jobs are run simultaneously; both jobs backing up the C and D volumes on a client that contains only volumes C and D:

1. Place either the C or D volume in the Cache File Volume List and the VSP Volume Exclude List. For this example, the D volume has been placed in the Cache File Volume List and the VSP Volume Exclude List.
2. Both backup jobs are run simultaneously, both backing up the C and D drives.
3. Snapshots of the C drive are created successfully for both backup jobs while their cache files were placed in the D drive. Since the D drive was listed in both the Cache File Volume List and the VSP Volume Exclude List, VSP cache files for the C drive for both backup jobs were placed in the D drive. Both backup jobs also backed up the D drive without VSP.

If the D drive was not listed in the Cache File Volume List and the VSP Volume Exclude List, VSP would not have been enabled for the C and D drives for both backup jobs.

Example 2: Running Multiple Groups of Multi-Streamed Backups Simultaneously with VSP

Assume two multi-streamed policies contain the following file lists:

Policy 1:

C:\ Dir1
D:\ Dir2

Policy 2:

C:\ Dir3
D:\ Dir4

When both policies are run simultaneously, two groups of multi-streamed backup jobs will be run (with each group running a backup job for each file list item). Both groups of multi-streamed jobs will be backing up the C and D volumes on a client that contains only volumes C and D:

1. Place either the C or D volume in the Cache File Volume List and the VSP Volume Exclude List. For this example, the D volume has been placed in the Cache File Volume List and the VSP Volume Exclude List.
2. Both policies are run simultaneously, which results in two groups of multi-streamed jobs running at the same time and backing up the C and D drive contents.
3. Snapshots of the C drive are created successfully for both groups of multi-streamed jobs while their cache files were placed in the D drive. Since the D drive was listed in both the Cache File Volume List and the VSP Volume Exclude List, VSP cache files for the C drive for both groups of multi-streamed jobs were placed in the D drive. Both groups of multi-streamed jobs also backed up the D drive without VSP.

If the D drive was not listed in the Cache File Volume List and the VSP Volume Exclude List, VSP would not have been enabled for the C and D drives for both groups of multi-streamed jobs.