Monitoring Backup Exec Version 9.1
Contents About this Guide 3 Advantages of Monitoring Backup Exec with N-central 3 How N-central gets Backup Exec Data 3 Discovering Backup Exec Jobs 4 Configuring the Backup Exec Service 5 Configuring Backup Exec Monitoring Schedule 6
About this Guide Configuring N-central to monitor Backup Exec jobs is a quick and straight-forward process. This guide outlines the architecture of Backup Exec, and provides you with the steps to set up monitoring for a Backup Exec installation. This guide is current as of October 18, 2012. Advantages of Monitoring Backup Exec with N-central Monitoring Backup Exec is typically a source of frustration for many service providers, as it means dedicating a technician's time to logging into the Backup Exec console every single day to check the status of each job; an inefficient, repetitive, and expensive workflow. N-central s Backup Exec service eliminates this frustration and makes better use of your technician s time by automating how Backup Exec is monitored. When a Backup Exec job fails, a technician is notified and automatically provided with trending data that allows him to resolve the issue quickly. N-central s Backup Exec service can monitor up to 50 jobs on a device; for each job, the Backup Exec service monitors a number of critical metrics, including the status of the backup job, elapsed time, number of files and directories that have been backed up, number of files that have been skipped or corrupted, number of files that are in use, the total data backed up and the file transfer rate. How N-central gets Backup Exec Data This section outlines describes how N-central accesses a Backup Exec database. The system can be broken down into three sections the Backup Exec database, the Windows probe or agent, and the N- central server. - 3 -
SQL Database Backup Exec commits all information about its backup jobs to a SQL database. By default, Backup Exec will install itself on an SQL Express database, although Backup Exec can also be installed on a SQL Server database. Windows Probe or Windows Agent Either a Windows Probe or a Windows Agent can be used for the Backup Exec service. The monitoring agent or probe will connect to the SQL database using the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) protocol and read the job information. N-central Server The N-central server receives updates at a predefined scan interval from the monitoring agent or probe. The N-central Server then updates the Backup Exec service with the new information and sends notifications as configured. Discovering Backup Exec Jobs Before adding the Backup Exec service to a device, you need to do a discovery. This will configure the Backup Exec database to allow N-central's Windows agent and Windows probe to gather data about the Backup Exec jobs from it. 1. Sign in to the N-central UI. 2. Click All Devices view. 3. Click the Name of the device that is running Backup Exec. 4. On the Properties tab, select Monitor Backups in the Monitoring Options section. - 4 -
5. Select Backup Exec. 6. Click Advanced Configuration to display all of the Backup Exec properties. 7. In the Backup Exec section, specify the Database Name. The User Name and Password fields are pre-configured by default. 8. Click Save. 9. Click Discover to tell the agent or probe to discover the backup jobs on the device. Congratulations you ve now configured N-central to discover the jobs being run by Backup Exec! Configuring the Backup Exec Service After discovery is completed, you can add the Backup Exec service to the device and begin monitoring the backup jobs. 1. Sign in to the N-central UI. 2. Click All Devices view. 3. Click the Name of the device that is running Backup Exec. 4. Select the Status tab. - 5 -
5. Click Add. 6. Type 1 in the Instances field for the Backup Exec service. 7. Click OK. 8. Click the Backup Exec service. 9. Select the check box beside each job you would like to monitor. 10. Click Add. Congratulations you have now configured N-central to monitor the Backup Exec jobs on the device! Configuring Backup Exec Monitoring Schedule The Backup Exec service is configured to monitor backups that occur once a day. However, if your backups are only once every few days, or once a week, it s important to re-configure the Backup Exec service to scan only once a new backup has been run failing to do so will result in the Backup Exec service reporting a Failed state, as the Job Timeout value (which defaults to 24 hours) will be exceeded. To re-configure the monitoring schedule of the Backup Exec service, click the Service Details tab, and select the appropriate schedule from the Scanning section. Best Practice Have the Backup Exec service scan approximately 1 hour after the backup usually finishes. This will ensure that the Backup Exec service won t scan while the backup is still running, even if the backup runs a little longer than usual. - 6 -
Disclaimer This document may include planned release dates for service packs and version upgrades. These dates are based on our current development plans and on our best estimates of the research and development time required to build, test, and implement each of the documented features. This document does not represent any firm commitments by N-able Technologies Inc. to features and/or dates. N-able Technologies will at its best effort, try to meet the specified schedule and will update this document should there be any significant changes. N-able Technologies reserves the right to change the release schedule and the content of any of the planned updates or enhancements without notice. Publication or dissemination of this document alone is not intended to create and does not constitute a business relationship between N-able Technologies and the recipient. Feedback N-able Technologies is a market driven organization that places importance on customer, partner and alliance feedback. All feedback is welcome at the following email address: feedback@n-able.com. About N-able Technologies N-able Technologies is the global leader in remote monitoring and management software for managed service providers and IT departments. N-able s award-winning N-central platform and complementary toolsets, backed by best-in-class business and technical services, are proven to reduce IT support costs, improve network performance and increase productivity through the proactive monitoring, management and optimization of IP-enabled devices and IT infrastructure. N-able is 100% channel-friendly and maintains operations in North America, the U.K., the Netherlands and Australia. Copyright 2012 N-able Technologies All rights reserved. This document contains information intended for the exclusive use of N-able Technologies' personnel, partners, and potential partners. The information herein is restricted in use and is strictly confidential and subject to change without notice. No part of this document may be altered, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of N-able Technologies. Copyright protection includes, but is not limited to, program code, program documentation, and material generated from the software product displayed on the screen, such as graphics, icons, screen displays, screen layouts, and buttons. N-able Technologies, N-central, and Report Manager are trademarks or registered trademarks of N-able Technologies International Inc., licensed for use by N-able Technologies, Inc. All other names and trademarks are the property of their respective holders.