Netreo Backups

Note Regarding SaaS Deployments

This article applies only to on-premises deployments of a BMC Helix Network Management virtual appliance (including primary, replica, service engines, etc.). It does not apply to the primary instance of BMC Helix Network Management in a SaaS deployment, but it does apply to any service engines used in that deployment.

System Backups

BMC Helix Network Management can create encrypted backups of its system settings and device configuration data on the local disk. (Device configuration data is how each managed device is configured for monitoring within BMC Helix Network Management, including all configured monitoring checks and other metadata associated with a given monitored device.) These backups can be used to restore a BMC Helix Network Management deployment to the state it was in when the backup was created.

Users can create system backups manually, or BMC Helix Network Management can be configured to create them on a regular schedule.

The following items are not included in a BMC Helix Network Management system backup:

The individual database files storing performance data histories for managed devices (this type of data is backed up automatically when BMC Helix Network Management is deployed in a high availability (HA) configuration)
Log data of any kind (including the logs themselves and any historical performance data derived from monitoring them)
Traffic flow conversation data (including the conversations themselves and any historical performance data derived from monitoring them)

All other BMC Helix Network Management data is preserved in the system backup (including any custom configuration, such as dashboards and network settings, made by the customer).

Upon restoration of a saved system backup, the data listed above will no longer be available for that deployment.
Customers cannot restore a deployment using a system backup; only a BMC Helix support engineer can. You must contact BMC Helix support for assistance with restoring a saved backup.

To open the System Backups page, select Administration > System > Backups from the main menu. Only users with the SuperAdmin access level can make and schedule system backups.

Local Backups

BMC Helix Network Management doesn't create any system backups by default, so you will have to manually add a new schedule for BMC Helix Network Management to start making local backups. To add a backup schedule, click the Add/Edit Schedules button in the System Backup Scheduling panel. (Despite this button's name, you cannot edit existing schedules; you can only add new ones.) To delete a schedule, simply click its delete button in the list.

You can also make an immediate backup by clicking the Start Backup Immediately button located at the top of the page.

Default system backups are stored on the local disk. Only the two most recent backups are retained. Any older backups are deleted. To retain more than two backups, you must use the SMB method below.

If desired, local system backups can be downloaded directly from the System Backups page by clicking on the backup file name in the Backup File Listing panel. These backups can also be deleted if they are no longer useful by clicking their delete button. Deleting a local backup from the list does not delete it in an SMB file share location (if one is configured).

SMB Backups

BMC Helix Network Management can be configured to upload copies of the local backups to an SMB file-sharing location for redundancy. (This procedure is optional, and not required to schedule local backups.)

Click the Settings button in the Upload Settings panel to configure an SMB location for BMC Helix Network Management to upload to. Only one SMB file share location can be specified.

The Upload Settings configuration includes four fields - three are required, and one is optional.

UPLOAD LOCATION - Required. The network path name to the file share location. For example, \\ecsserver261\technical_svcs_dept\serviceslist\OC\backups
UPLOAD DOMAIN - Optional (if local authentication is used on the SMB server). The Active Directory domain on which the authenticated user resides.
UPLOAD USERNAME - Required. User name for authentication with the SMB file server.
UPLOAD PASSWORD - Required. Password for authentication with the SMB file server.

BMC Helix Network Management uses ports 135 through 139 TCP for communicating with the SMB share. So, be sure those ports are available.

Virtual Machine (VM) Backups

The recommended way to back up historical performance data for managed devices is to deploy BMC Helix Network Management in a high-availability (HA) configuration. But if that is not an option, external VM backups might work for you. Creating a backup of the BMC Helix Network Management VM would include all of the items not included in a BMC Helix Network Management system backup (performance history, log data, and traffic flow data). Note, however, that HA backups are always up to date, whereas VM backups include only the data stored up to the time of backup.

BMC Helix Network Management does not provide support for external VM backups, and the customer is solely responsible for creating and maintaining them.

There are several common methods of creating VM backups, including:

Offline backups
Snapshots
Live backups

These methods are discussed below along with the best practices relating to them.

Offline Backups

If BMC Helix Network Management’s HA capability for redundancy is not being utilized, offline backups are the preferred way to back up a BMC Helix Network Management primary VM.

This type of backup requires the VM to be shut down (possibly for several hours in large environments).

If the VM is a BMC Helix Network Management service engine or a BMC Helix Network Management primary appliance being monitored by a BMC Helix Network Management Overview, be sure to create a maintenance window long enough to complete the backup and restart the VM.

Consult your hypervisor documentation for instructions on cloning a VM after it has been shut down.

Snapshots

Snapshots are generally not recommended, as keeping snapshots of a BMC Helix Network Management VM over time will degrade system performance.

If desired, it is acceptable to create a snapshot just prior to an update in BMC Helix Network Management. Once satisfied with the update, remove the snapshot. Snapshot validation should not be longer than a day. Results may vary if your monitored environment is especially large.

It is recommended that BMC Helix Network Management HA deployments should strictly avoid using snapshots, as it will likely cause issues with database clustering.

Live Backups

Live backups are not supported and should be avoided.

The intense I/O operations within BMC Helix Network Management make live backups very problematic. In most cases, they result in the VM becoming unresponsive and missing polling/monitoring events.

It is recommended that BMC Helix Network Management HA deployments should strictly avoid using live backups, as it will likely cause issues with database clustering.