Configuring Clients

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Any form of reproduction of the contents or parts of this manual is allowed only with the express written permission from SEP AG. When compiling and designing user documentation SEP AG uses great diligence and attempts to deliver accurate and correct information. However, SEP AG cannot issue a guarantee for the contents of this manual.

Docs latest icon.png Welcome to the latest SEP sesam documentation version 4.4.3/4.4.3 Beefalo V2. For previous documentation version(s), check documentation archive.


Overview

SEP sesam Client is a system that has a SEP sesam Client package installed, is added to the SEP sesam environment as a client and is included for data protection in the backup plans. Clients may be workstations, PCs, virtual machines or file servers with gigabytes of data.

The abbreviation SBC (sesam backup client) is used in a more technical sense for programs, which are executing backup, migration and restore tasks. SBC collects and consolidates the backup data on the client system, and delivers it to Sesam Transfer Protocol Server (STPD – a service that requests the backup data from the SMS Server and manages the data flow between the SEP sesam Server and a client). The SBC module can also be controlled directly without other SEP modules by using SEP sesam CLI.

As of v. 4.4.3 Beefalo V2, the sm_update_client command has been extended. Now you can check in the SEP sesam GUI if an update for your clients is available. You can update all clients within the location at once or update only the selected client. You can also exclude a particular client from being updated or install SEP sesam component(s) on new Windows clients. For details, see Updating client(s).

You configure a new client in the Main selection -> Components -> Topology -> New client.

As of version 4.4.3 Grolar, SEP sesam allows you to configure permissons (ACLs) for a location (group of clients) or a specific client. For details, see section Permissions and access.

Procedure

  1. In the Main selection -> Components -> Topology, select the desired location (LOCAL is always created by default), and then click New client. Enter the name of the client – this has to be the network host name of the computer. The name has to be resolvable either by DNS or hosts file. If there is a name server (DNS) in the network, SEP sesam automatically selects the TCP/IP address. Otherwise you have to enter it manually in the etc/hosts file.
  2. Select the Virtual machine check box (v. ≥ 5.0.0 Jaglion) if you are adding a VM. For VMs with installed SEP sesam backup Client, also select the check box with SEP client installed. Then, from the Virtualization server name (host) and Virtual machine name drop-down lists, select the relevant host and name.
  3. From the Platform drop-down list, select the relevant platform: LINUX, WINDOWS, UNIX, NDMP, VMS, or NETWARE.
  4. From the Operating system drop-down list, select the relevant client's operating system.
  5. From the Access mode drop-down list, select the communication method and access type between the client and the SEP sesam Server. The following access modes are available: CTRL (default access mode up until version 4.4.3.48 Tigon V2), SMSSH (SEP sesam SSH based control communication; default access mode as of version 4.4.3.60 Grolar), PROXY (available vendor-specific protocols are: vSphere (vCenter Server), Citrix Xen Server, NetApp and Novell SMS for NetWare 5.1/6.0/6.5), VIRTUAL (from 4.4.3 Beefalo for a VM without installed SEP sesam backup Client), SSH (secure shell), and RSH (remote shell). For details, see Access Modes.
  6. Information sign.png Note
    As of 4.4.3 Beefalo V2, the Access mode option is only available in the Advanced or Expert UI mode. So if you run the GUI in Basic UI mode, you first have to change the mode to Advanced or Expert, as described in Selecting UI mode.
  7. If the client should be managed as a VM server, select the relevant VM server type from the drop-down list, e.g., vCenter, Hyper-v Cluster, etc. This enables, for example, browsing the virtual environment when creating backup tasks.
  8. Optionally, specify the following fields.
    • The Notes field provides an option to comment your configuration.
    • The Interfaces field is meant only for specifying additional interfaces for SEP sesam Server or Remote Device Server (RDS). If there is an additional network for backups available, the resolvable and changed DNS-name of a second network card of the SEP sesam Server can be entered into a new line. If several network cards are available, they need to be known to the DNS otherwise the connection to the SEP sesam Server will fail. The network protocols for data transfer can be set by using the common prefixes ftp:// (default), http:// or https://. For each protocol one interface has to be added in the interfaces box separated by single spaces. One interface for the HTTP protocol http://<hostname>:11000 and one interface for the HTTPS protocol https://<hostname>:11088.
    • Client is a virtual machine should only be selected if you are adding a virtual machine. In this case you also have to specify VM host and VM name.
    • Do not update this client (≥ 4.4.3 Beefalo V2) should only be checked if you want to exclude a particular client from being updated.
    • Execution off (previously Locked for backups) is used only in special cases, when you want to exclude a client from backup for technical or other reasons. Checking this option will deactivate your client from all scheduled backups until this option is set.

    Configuring client Beefalo V2.jpg

  9. If your client is behind a firewall, you have to configure the communication ports. By default, SEP sesam uses random ports which are specified by the operating system. However, if you want to back up a client which is behind a firewall, you must manually define the ports. Switch to the Options tab. The available options depend on the client type.
    • In the Access Options field, enter the port over which the client is reachable by using the command -p <port_no> (e.g., -p 17301). The default listen port for the CTRL daemon on the clients is 11301, and for SMSSH 11322.
    • Use STPD Options to set up the communication port for transferring data from backup client to the SEP sesam Server. Note that each backup running simultaneously on a client requires two ports; e.g., three simultaneous backups on the backup client use ports 11002-11007. When the HTTP protocol is used for data transfer (SEP sesam Server interface is http://<SEP sesam server>:11000), the TCP port 11000 is used.
    • Listen Port is the initial STPD port for device servers (SEP sesam Server, RDS). It is 11001 by default. If you need to alter the default port, insert a new port number.
    • Use WOL (Wake-on-LAN) function requires the command sm_wol to exist as a binary or script in the directory <SESAM_BIN>/bin/sesam of the SEP sesam Server. If the option Use WOL is enabled, this command is called before a backup is executed and the client is started. For details, see Wake-on-LAN.
    • Configuring client- win cli-options.jpg
  10. As of v. 4.4.3 Beefalo, you have to enter the credentials as an administrator to access the respective systems. Use DOMAIN\USER format for domain accounts or HOST\USER for local accounts.
  11. Configuring client- win cli-access.jpg
  12. Once all the options are set, click Create or OK. Clicking Create will leave the dialog window open, allowing you to quickly configure several clients one after another. Then a new dialog box appears asking whether you want to create a new backup task for this client. Click Yes to create a backup task or No if you intend to configure your backup later. For details, see Standard Backup Procedure.

Your new client is displayed in the Topology content pane.

Permissions and access

In the client properties, additional tabs are available for specifying permissions and access. Double-clicking the client opens its properties and allows you to specify these additional settings.

Under the Permissions tab, you can specify the required permissions for your client. For details, see Using Access Control Lists.

Client permissions Beefalo.jpg

If you are configuring clients that should be backed up by special task types, you have to specify some additional settings. A fifth tab is available for the following task types: Micro Focus Open Enterprise Server (formerly Novell OES), VMware, Citrix XEN, MySQL, PostgreSQL, NetApp, RHV. For example, for Micro Focus OES or NetWare server backup, you have to specify the login data for the eDirectory and select the appropriate data mover. For Micro Focus, this is a SEP sesam Micro Focus (formerly Novell) Client which is installed on Linux computer with Micro Focus Storage Management Services (SMS). For more information on specific task type, see the respective wiki articles under Extensions.

Client VMware Beefalo.jpg

SEP Tip.png Tip
You can generate a report for each client by selecting and right-clicking the client, and then selecting the Client Report. You can also use the right-click menu to check client access and its update status.

See also

Using Access Control ListsHow to check DNS configurationWhat problems may occur when adding a new client?Topology: Client PropertiesClientsStandard Backup Procedure