SCA Book

From SEPsesam
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Draft.png WORK IN PROGRESS
This article is in the initial stage and may be updated, replaced or deleted at any time. It is inappropriate to use this document as reference material as it is a work in progress and should be treated as such.

Part I: Introduction

Imprint

4 4 3:Imprint

SEP sesam Release Versions

Release Version Release date Release notes Specific extension versions End of support
5.1.0 Apollon V2 5.1.0.14 SP1 March 27, 2024 Apollon V2 Release Notes
5.1.0.14 March 6, 2024
5.1.0 Apollon 5.1.0.7 July 25, 2023 Apollon Release Notes
5.1.0.6 June 20, 2023
5.1.0.5 May 24, 2023
5.0.0 Jaglion V2 5.0.0.15 SP1 March 6, 2023 Release Notes 5.0.0 Jaglion V2 & Service Packs
5.0.0.15 February 8, 2023
5.0.0.12 SP1 November 4, 2022
5.0.0.11 August 22, 2022
5.0.0.9 SP3 August 4, 2022
5.0.0.9 SP2 July 21, 2022
5.0.0.9 SP1 June 30, 2022
5.0.0 Jaglion 5.0.0.4 SP1 March 28, 2022 Release Notes 5.0.0 Jaglion April 2024
5.0.0.4 February 28, 2022
5.0.0.3 December 29, 2021
4.4.3 Beefalo V2 4.4.3.86 July 5, 2021 4.4.3.86 Beefalo V2 Release August 2023
4.4.3.84 SP2 December 16, 2020 Beefalo V2 Service Pack Releases (SP1 and SP2)
4.4.3.84 SP1 October 14, 2020 Beefalo V2 Service Pack Releases (SP1 and SP2)
4.4.3.79-.84 May 11, 2020 - August 3, 2020 Release Notes 4.4.3 Beefalo V2
4.4.3 Beefalo 4.4.3.70-.72 July 25, 2019 Release Notes 4.4.3 Beefalo August 2022
4.4.3 Grolar 4.4.3.60-.64 July 23, 2018 - October 29, 2018 Release Notes 4.4.3 Grolar October 2021
4.4.3 Tigon V2 4.4.3.48 December 5, 2017 Release Notes 4.4.3 Tigon V2 December 2020
4.4.3 Tigon V1 4.4.3.42 August 10, 2017 Release Notes 4.4.3 Tigon September 2020
4.4.3 4.4.3.22-.29 September 21, 2016 - April 4, 2017 Release Notes 4.4.3 January 2020
4.4.2 4.4.2.66-.88 August 6, 2015 - April 27, 2016 Release Notes 4.4.2 January 2020
4.4.1 4.4.1.14-.48 July 16, 2014 - March 11, 2015 Release Notes 4.4.1 January 2020
4.2.2 4.2.2.1-.40 June 25, 2013 - August 4, 2014 Release Notes 4.2.2 September 2016
4.2.1 4.2.1.5-.41 July 16, 2012 - January 18, 2013 Release Notes 4.2.1 December 2014
4.0.5 4.0.5.26, 4.0.5.28 February 24, 2012 Release Notes 4.0.5 July 2013
4.0.3 4.0.3.30 July 13, 2011 / September 29, 2011 Release Notes 4.0.3 July 2013
4.0.2 4.0.2.13, 4.0.2.30 June 2011 Release Notes 4.0.2 July 2013
4.0.1 4.0.1.19 November 2010 / May 2011 Release Notes 4.0.1 July 2013
3.6 3.6.4.x October 2009 / August 2010 Release Notes 3.6 June 2012
3.4 3.4.1.x August 2008 / October 2009 Release Notes 3.4 December 2010
3.0 3.0.1.xx 2006/2007 Release Notes 3.0 December 2009



Part II: Architecture Overview

SEP sesam Requirements

SEP sesam Requirements/en

Directory layout

Directory Layout/en

Part III: SEP sesam Installation and Configuration

Licensing

Licensing/en==About Installation and Update== 4 4 3 Beefalo:About Installation and Update/en==SEP sesam Quick Install Guide==


The complete SEP sesam environment consists of different modules, which can be combined according to your needs to implement optimized backup. Modules interact with one another through SEP APIs which are also used for interaction with another software.

The essential modules of each SEP sesam environment are: SEP sesam Server, SEP sesam GUI, SEP sesam Remote Device Server (RDS), and SEP sesam Client(s). Each module is installed separately. The SEP sesam environment is managed centrally by the SEP sesam GUI.

SEP sesam also provides additional modules and functionality that enable consistent backup of databases (Oracle, MS SQL, IBM DB2, Informix SAP R/3, etc.), applications (such as SAP), groupware systems, and virtualization environments. Some of these extensions are already part of a Client package, and some require a separate license in order to function. For details on licenses, see Licensing. Check the SEP sesam OS and Database Support Matrix to learn what is supported on each of the platforms. For a list of all supported extensions and their configuration, see Extensions.

Once you have determined how you want to set up your SEP sesam environment, you can install the required components. Note that the installation procedure depends on the platform on which you are installing a SEP sesam package and that Java is required on all systems that serve as SEP sesam Server, SEP sesam GUI client or SEP sesam Remote Device Server (RDS) when Si3 deduplication is used. For details, see Installing and Managing Java.

After you have installed and configured your SEP sesam components according to your environment, SEP sesam provides free updates from previous versions of SEP sesam to new versions and new features within the maintenance period. During this period, you can download patches and bug fixes as well as the latest SEP sesam versions, if you have a valid license. For details, see Updating SEP sesam.


Microsoft Windows installation

Prerequisites

  • Before starting the SEP sesam installation, make sure that you are logged in as a local administrator or domain administrator.
  • For remote access via remote desktop connection (RDC), the RDC administrator needs the same access rights as the local administrator.
  • To install any of the SEP sesam components (SEP sesam Server, RDS, Client or GUI), you will require an installation file which can be downloaded from the https://www.sep.de/downloadportal/windows/. Make sure to download the correct file for your processor type.
Information sign.png Note
SEP sesam RDS does not have a dedicated installation package. To install RDS, use the SEP sesam Server package.
  • If you are planning to install a server (including the GUI) or the GUI, Java Runtime Environment (JRE) must be installed on the system, see Installing and Managing Java and check Java versions.
  • SEP sesam GUI requires a screen resolution of at least 1920x1080 (full HD).
  • The .Net Framework 4 is required for server installation and can be deselected for all other SEP sesam components during installation.
  • x86 operating systems with more than 3.25 GB RAM must either reduce the amount of RAM to below to 3.25 GB or migrate to an x64 operating system. This is necessary because SEP sesam requires 64 KB blocks for LTO (Linear Tape Open) whereas an x86 system can only write 32 KB blocks to tape drive because the PAE (Physical Address Extension) is automatically activated. Also, the loader cannot be accessed properly by SEP sesam.
  • SEP sesam uses name resolution for server to client communication. Before installing, you should test the DNS name resolution by simply pinging (using both, long and short name) from the server to the client and back. For details on DNS resolution check, see How to check DNS configuration.
  • Ensure that any used SCSI devices are recognized by the operating system to which you are installing SEP sesam. SEP sesam checks the SCSI bus attached storage devices during the installation and adds its data to the database. SEP sesam can only see devices recognized by the operating system.
  • Disabling the firewall is recommended to avoid problems during the SEP sesam installation. Once SEP sesam is installed, you can enable the firewall with exceptions made for the SEP sesam services.
  • For details on the SEP sesam default ports, see Which are the SEP sesam default TCPIP ports?

Installation

SEP sesam provides four installation packages: SEP sesam Client, SEP sesam GUI, SEP sesam RDS and SEP sesam Server (includes the Client and the GUI components). In the installation example below, we will use the SEP sesam Server installation package.

  1. Locate the download folder where you saved the SEP sesam installation package and double-click the sesam-srv-<Version_ID>-windows.x<SysType>.exe file to start the installation. Note that on Windows 7, you must explicitly execute the .exe file as administrator even if you are logged in as an administrator. Select your installation language and click Next.
  2. Agree to the license agreement and click Next again.
  3. Choose whether you want the SEP sesam services to run under the Standard system account or a Custom user account. It is recommended to give the SEP sesam Server services a Domain user account belonging to the Domain admins and the Local administrators groups. After choosing a user account, click Next.
    InstallStartAs en.png
  4. Select an installation directory for the program files (including the folders <SESAM_ROOT>\bin and <SESAM_ROOT>\skel) and the application data (including the folder <SESAM_ROOT>\var. This folder requires significant storage space if installing a server). Click Next.
    InstallChangeInstallationFolder en.png
  5. In the next window, select which of the four SEP sesam components you want to install (SEP sesam Server, SEP sesam Remote Device, SEP sesam GUI or SEP sesam Client). There is an additional option of installing a GUI with the SEP sesam Remote Device and a client with the SEP sesam GUI.
    InstallSesamFeatures en.png
  6. After selecting a component, click Next.
    Information sign.png Note
    SEP sesam Server package already includes all other components. If you are installing a Remote Device Server (RDS), you can also include a GUI. If you are installing a GUI, you can also include the Client.
  7. Depending on which components you are installing, proceed accordingly:
    • If you are installing the SEP sesam Server, click Install and then Finish to complete the installation.
    • If you are installing the SEP sesam RDS, the SEP sesam GUI or the SEP sesam Client, type the name of the SEP sesam Server (in the example below, the name of the server is Informatix).
    Information sign.png Note
    You must enter the hostname and not the IP address of the SEP sesam Server. The server name may not contain underscores.

    InstallServerName en.png

  8. Click Next. The firewall information dialog is only intended for informative purposes. Take note of the information and click OK. Click Install to install the selected SEP sesam component and then click Finish to complete the installation.

If you have problems or questions regarding installation, also check FAQ: Installation and configuration.

Updates

SEP sesam provides free updates from previous to new versions and features of SEP sesam within the maintenance period. You can decide to either automatically or manually check for and install updates. See Updating SEP sesam. Installing an update on Windows is easy; simply download the executable file for your version of SEP sesam and install it. Make sure that you select the Update and Repair option, as shown below.

Update SEP sesam.png

Linux

SEP sesam provides RPM packages for the most common Linux distributions (for example, SuSE and RedHat) and DEB files for Debian Linux distributions. The latter run on most Debian-based distributions, such as Ubuntu. For details on SUSE- and RedHat-based distributions, see RPM Repository. For more information on Debian packages, see Debian Repository.

SEP Tip.png Tip
SEP sesam provides free updates from previous to new versions and features of SEP sesam within the maintenance period. You can decide to either automatically or manually check for and install updates. To install and update on Linux, you must make the service pack executable after downloading it. For details, see Applying Service Packs on Linux.

Prerequisites

  • Before starting the SEP sesam installation, make sure that you are logged in as the root user.
  • SEP sesam uses network resolution for server to client communication. Before installing, you should test the DNS name resolution by simply pinging (using both, long and short name) from the server to the client and back. For details on the DNS resolution check, see How to check DNS configuration.
  • SEP sesam GUI requires a screen resolution of at least 1920x1080 (full HD).
  • Ensure that any used SCSI devices are recognized by the operating system to which you are installing SEP sesam. SEP sesam checks the SCSI bus attached storage devices during the installation and adds its data to the database. SEP sesam can only see devices recognized by the operating system.
  • Disabling firewall is recommended to avoid problems during the SEP sesam installation. Once SEP sesam is installed, you can enable the firewall with exceptions made for the SEP sesam services.

SEP sesam Server installation

SLES-based distributions

SLES includes the standard tool zypper which is common for package management. With this tool packages can be installed (and uninstalled) in the command line. Before you install any of the SEP sesam components (e.g., Server, Client or GUI), make sure that you have configured the RPM repository for SLES-based distributions properly. For details, see RPM Repository.

The SEP sesam Server package includes all dependencies that are needed for the standard SEP sesam Server installation. For details on the supported SLES versions, see SEP sesam OS and Database Support Matrix.

On SLES12, it is recommended to install required Java packages before installing the SEP sesam Server to avoid possible installation errors. Use the following command sequence:

zypper install java-11-openjdk

To install or update the SEP sesam Server, use the following command:

# zypper install sesam_srv<version.OS.system_type>
SEP Tip.png Tip
To perform a simple update without adjusting the dependencies of the installed SEP sesam version, e.g., on SLES11, you can use the command rpm -Uvh (only recommended for advanced administrators!). Alternatively, update the server by using the above zypper command.
RHEL/CentOS-based distributions

All RHEL- and CentOS-based distributions include the standard tool yum which is common for package management. With this tool, packages can be installed (and uninstalled) in the command line. Before you install any of the SEP sesam components (e.g., Server, Client or GUI), make sure that you have configured the RPM repository for RHEL-based distributions properly. For details, see RPM Repository.

The SEP sesam Server package includes all dependencies that are needed for standard SEP sesam Server installation. For details on the supported RHEL/CentOS-based versions, see SEP sesam OS and Database Support Matrix.

To install the SEP sesam Server, use the following command:

# yum install sesam_srv<version.OS.system_type>
Information sign.png Note
On RHEL, the SEP sesam installation changes the permissions of /var/run/postgresql to grant SEP sesam users PostgreSQL access privileges.
Debian-based distributions

The Debian-based distribution (Debian/Ubuntu/UCS) includes the standard tool apt-get which is common for package management. With this tool packages can be installed (and uninstalled) in the command line. Before you install any of the SEP sesam components (e.g., Server, Client or GUI), make sure that you have configured the Debian repository properly. For details, see Debian Repository.

The SEP sesam Server package includes all dependencies that are needed for the standard SEP sesam Server installation. For details on the supported Debian-based versions, see SEP sesam OS and Database Support Matrix.

To install the SEP sesam Server, use the following command:

root@hostname#: apt-get install sesam-srv

Use the following command to install *.deb files:

dpkg -i sesam-srv<version.system_type>.deb
Information sign.png Note
Installing SEP sesam on Debian and Ubuntu requires additional steps. For details, see Debian Repository.

SEP sesam Client installation

Note: Because the SEP sesam GUI already contains the client components, the SEP sesam Client package cannot be installed in addition to the GUI.
To install the SEP sesam Client, select the download folder where you have saved the SEP sesam Client installation package.

  • For SLES based distributions, use the following command:
  • # zypper install sesam_cli<version.OS.system_type>
  • For RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux), use the following command:
  • # yum install sesam_cli<version.OS.system_type>
  • For Debian-based distributions, use the following command:
  • root@hostname#: apt-get install sesam-cli Use the following command to install *.deb files: dpkg -i sesam-cli<version.system_type>.deb
    Information sign.png Note
    Installing SEP sesam on Debian and Ubuntu requires additional steps. For details, see Debian Repository.

Run the following command on the client to grant access rights to the SEP sesam Server and to allow it to contact and backup the client:

/opt/sesam/bin/sesam/sm_setup set_client <SEP sesam Server Name>

If you have problems or questions regarding installation, also check FAQ: Installation and configuration.

SEP sesam GUI installation

The SEP sesam GUI package is intended for the administration of the SEP sesam Server from another computer.
Note: Since the GUI component is already included in the SEP sesam Server package, it cannot be installed additionally on the SEP sesam Server.

To install the SEP sesam GUI, select the download folder where you have saved the SEP sesam GUI installation package.

  • For SLES based distributions, use the following command:
  • # zypper install sesam_gui<version.OS.system_type>
  • For RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux), use the following command:
  • # yum install sesam_gui<version.OS.system_type>
  • For Debian-based distributions, use the following command:
  • root@hostname#: apt-get install sesam-gui Use the following command to install *.deb files: dpkg -i sesam-gui<version.system_type>.deb
    Information sign.png Note
    Installing SEP sesam on Debian and Ubuntu requires additional steps. For details, see Debian Repository.

On KDE and Gnome, the installation generates a link on the root user desktop to start the GUI. This link must target the correct SEP sesam Server. Open the link properties and add the following parameter to the command line:

-S <SEP sesam Server Name>

If you have problems or questions regarding installation, also check FAQ: Installation and configuration.

Afterwards, to start the SEP sesam GUI, use the following command:

/opt/sesam/bin/gui/sesam_gui -S <hostname_backup_server>

AIX

For reference which AIX versions are supported and which components are available for AIX, check SEP sesam OS and Database Support Matrix.

Prerequisites

  • Before starting the SEP sesam installation, make sure that you are logged in as the root user.
  • Installing the SEP sesam component for AIX (depending on availability, either the SEP sesam Client or the Remote Tape Server can be installed) requires special RPM packages to be installed using the standard RPM package manager (part of the AIX default installation). You can download the SEP sesam RPM packages from https://www.sep.de/downloadportal/aix/7/ and the required prerequisites from: http://www.oss4aix.org/download/ (openssl and readline) and copy them to the AIX system to /tmp/rpm-packages/. Then install the package via RPM:
  • cd /tmp/rpm-packages/ rpm -i *
  • Information sign.png Note
    For AIX version 7.02, the following folder must be created for sm_ssh to work:
    mkdir  -p /opt/freeware/lib/gcc/powerpc-ibm-aix7.1.0.0/4.8.3/
    
  • The SEP sesam GUI requires Java Runtime Environment to be installed on the system. For details on the required Java version, see Java Compatibility Matrix.

SEP sesam Remote Tape Server or Client installation

  1. Download the relevant SEP sesam package from the https://www.sep.de/downloadportal/aix/7/ and copy it to the /tmp directory on your AIX system. The following example shows the installation of the sesam_rts package. The procedure for installing the SEP sesam Client is slightly different; the name of the package is substituted with sesam_cli.
  2. Unzip the archive by using the following commands:
     gunzip sesam-rts-<version>-aix_powerpc.tgz
     tar -xvf sesam-rts-<version>-aix_powerpc.tar

    A new directory sesam_rts_<version> is created:

     # tar -xvf sesam-rts-4.4.2.58-aix_powerpc.tar 
     x sesam_rts_4.4.2.58
     x sesam_rts_4.4.2.58/aix_rts.4.4.2.58.tgz, 22440192 bytes, 43829 media blocks.
     x sesam_rts_4.4.2.58/sm_setup, 2168068 bytes, 4235 media blocks.
  3. Go to the unzipped directory
    cd sesam_rts_<version>
  4. Execute the setup executable sm_setup as the root user:
     # cd sesam_rts_<version>
     # ./sm_setup
  5. Follow the wizard and select the relevant components that you wish to install, tapeserver or client, respectively:
     # ./sm_setup
     Found 1 valid archive(s): 'aix_rts.4.4.2.58.tgz,'.
     What do you want to install? (tapeserver,client)
     tapeserver
  6. Set the installation directory; the recommended place to install sesam is /opt/sesam. Make sure that there is at least 10 GB of free disk space available. Optionally, choose another installation directory that has enough free space:
     In which directory do you want to install (If not existing it will be created): 
     '''/opt/sesam/'''
     In which directory do you want to install (Read-Write): 
     '''/opt/sesam/'''
  7. Specify the SEP sesam Server hostname in your environment; you must provide the DNS hostname of your backup server. The DNS Server must be correctly resolved on the AIX system. For details, see How to check DNS configuration.
     To which SEP sesam Server should be connected?
     '''backupserver.hostname'''

Once you specify all the required information, the SEP sesam software installation and configuration start. If you have problems starting the SEP sesam services, check the Troubleshooting Guide.

Mac OS X

Prerequisites

  • Before starting the SEP sesam installation, make sure that you are logged in as a local administrator or domain administrator.
  • If you are planning to install a GUI, Java Runtime Environment must be installed on the system. For details on the required Java version, see Java Compatibility Matrix.

Steps

SEP sesam does not provide a dedicated MAC OS package. You should download the latest SEP sesam Linux GUI package from https://www.sep.de/downloadportal/linux/repositories/debian/pool/main/s/sesam-gui/, copy it to your MAC system, extract it with the command:

 ar x <sesam-gui_4.4.3-xx.lenny_i386.deb> && tar xfz data.tar.gz

and copy the extracted directory to your program files directory; then use the <SESAM_BIN>/gui directory:

/opt/sesam/bin/gui/sesam_gui -S <hostname_backup_server>

Or, in case your backup server is a Linux system, you can connect via the command line (X must be enabled) and start the GUI:

/opt/sesam/bin/gui/sesam_gui -S <hostname_backup_server>  

The SEP sesam for Mac OS X supports standard file backups with ACL's. Disaster recovery is not supported!

If you have problems or questions regarding installation, also check FAQ: Installation and configuration.

Univention UCS

For the list of supported Univention UCS versions and available SEP sesam components for UCS, check SEP sesam OS and Database Support Matrix.

Prerequisites

  • Before installing, you should test the DNS name resolution by simply pinging (using both, long and short name) from the server to the client and back. For details on the DNS resolution check, see How to check DNS configuration.
  • Disabling the firewall is recommended to avoid problems during the SEP sesam installation. Once SEP sesam is installed, you can enable the firewall with exceptions made for the SEP sesam services.

Installing SEP sesam on UCS

You can install SEP sesam on UCS by using any of the following options:

Option 1: Installing via the Univention App Center (only the SEP sesam Server and Client)
  1. Open the Univention Management Console in your browser.
  2. Go to Software -> App Center.
  3. Search for SEP sesam.
  4. Install either SEP sesam Server or SEP sesam Client.
Option 2: Installing via the SEP Debian Repository
  1. Open a terminal session as the root user.
  2. Enable Univention unmaintained repositories with the following command (this enables the UCS system to install the dependencies for SEP sesam):
    ucr set repository/online/unmaintained=yes
  3. Add the SEP Debian Repository as described in Debian Repository:
    • UCS 4.2 is based on Debian 8 Jessie.
    • UCS 4.3 is based on Debian 9 Stretch.
  4. Update the repositories by using:
    apt update
  5. Install SEP sesam package via apt: For example, to install the SEP sesam Server package, use
    apt install sesam-srv

    Other options are listed here: Debian Repository.

Option 3: Installing manually
  1. Open a terminal session as the root user.
  2. Enable Univention unmaintained repositories with the following command (this enables the UCS system to install the dependencies for SEP sesam):
    ucr set repository/online/unmaintained=yes
  3. Download the desired installation package from the SEP Download Center.
    • UCS 4.2 is based on Debian 8 Jessie.
    • UCS 4.3 is based on Debian 9 Stretch.
  4. Update the repositories by using:
    apt update
  5. Install SEP sesam package via apt:
    apt install /path/to/downloadedpackage

Configuring UCS firewall

By default, the Univention firewall is included in all UCS installations with all incoming ports blocked. You have to enable access to certain ports to allow SEP sesam to work.

Information sign.png Note
Installing a SEP sesam App Center package will automatically open the required ports for SEP sesam except for the Si3 Replication and REST API.
Disable UCS firewall

You may consider deactivating the UCS firewall completely by setting the Univention Configuration Registry variable security/packetfilter/disabled to true:

ucr set security/packetfilter/disabled=yes
service univention-firewall restart
Use SEP sesam with enabled UCS firewall

Check the list of required ports for SEP sesam: List of Ports Used by SEP sesam.

To open a port or a range of ports, use the following commands:

ucr set security/packetfilter/tcp/portnumber_or_portrange/all=ACCEPT
service univention-firewall restart

Client firewall settings

If you want to back up a client behind a firewall using STPD, you have to specify an open port range in the client's STPD Options as follows:
Open SEP sesam client Properties and switch to the Options tab. If you have installed a client from the App Center, the port range is 11002-11007.

For more information on client configuration, see Configuring Clients.

Remote Installation of Windows Clients

4 4 3 Beefalo:Remote Installation of Windows Clients/en==Applying Service Packs on Linux== Applying Service Packs on Linux/en==Checking Access State== 4 4 3 Beefalo:Checking Access State/en

Updating SEP sesam

4 4 3 Beefalo:Updating SEP sesam/en

How to check DNS configuration

How to check DNS configuration/en

Uninstalling SEP sesam

4 4 3:Uninstalling SEP sesam/en

Part IV: SEP sesam Processes and Commands

SEP sesam Processes

4 4 3:SEP sesam Processes/en

How to start and stop SEP sesam

Useful SEP sesam Commands/en

Part V: Using Storage Devices

Configuring Loaders and Drives

4 4 3:Configuring a Loader/en==Configuring a Data Store== Configuring a Data Store/en==Configuring Si3 Deduplication Store==

SEP sesam v. 5.0.0 Jaglion has introduced a new generation Si3 deduplication store: Si3 NG. The Si3-related information differs slightly depending on which datastore is used: Si3 or Si3 NG. The procedures presented in this article apply only to the older type of SEP Si3 deduplication store, which is deprecated. To learn more about the new generation of Si3 NG, see Configuring Si3 NG Deduplication Store.

It is strongly recommended to use the newer type SEP Si3 NG deduplication store. It offers significantly higher performance for backup, restore and migration, as well as backup to S3 and backup to Azure, the new immutable storage feature SiS, resulting in improved performance, scaling, and resource savings. For details, see the Si3 and Si3 NG comparison section below.
To learn how to upgrade from Si3 to Si3 NG by configuring a new Si3 NG on the same host and creating a replication job to replicate from Si3 to Si3 NG, see Configuring Si3 NG Deduplication Store.

Deprecated Si3 data store

Information sign.pngThe old generation Si3 deduplication store is deprecated. This means that the old generation Si3 is no longer being enhanced, but is still supported until further notice. SEP strongly recommends using the new Si3 NG data store instead, especially if the data is to be stored to S3 Cloud.

  • If you are using an old generation Si3 deduplication store with S3, you will not be able to restore from S3 via the GUI.
  • You can configure a new Si3 NG and an old Si3 in parallel on the same host and replicate from the old Si3 to the Si3 NG store. For details, see Configuring Si3 NG Deduplication Store.

Overview

SEP sesam provides a target-based (Si3T) and source-based deduplication (Si3S). For details on deduplication concept and recommendations, see Deduplication.

Both, Si3T and Si3S require a configured Si3 deduplication store. Only one Si3 deduplication store can be configured on a server. A valid licence is required for each Si3 deduplication store. Note that you can also configure an Si3 deduplication store by using a command line. For details, see Configuring and Administering Si3 Deduplication Store by using CLI.

You can download SEP Tachometer to analyse the structure of your data and calculate potential savings with SEP sesam Si3 deduplication. Check SEP Tachometer.

Prerequisites

For the minimum Si3 hardware requirements that apply to SEP sesam Si3 deduplication server, see Hardware requirements. Keep in mind that these requirements represent the demand for deduplication only. In addition, the amount of memory for the operating system and other services should be taken into account.

In addition, the following prerequisites must be met to configure an Si3 deduplication store.

Additional RAM / CPU requirements

Si3 Deduplication Hardware Requirements/en

Steps

The SEP sesam data store is a disk based storage that enables savesets (backed-up data) to be backed up directly to the configured storage locations. SEP Si3 target deduplication is easy to configure and ready to use by selecting the Si3 deduplication store type.

  1. In the Main selection -> Components, click Data Stores to display the data store contents frame.
  2. From the Data Stores menu, select New Data Store. A New Data Store dialog appears.
  3. Under the Data store properties in the Name field, enter a meaningful name for the Si3 data store.
  4. From the Store type drop-down list, select SEP Si3 Deduplication Store.
    SEP Tip.png Tip
    As of SEP sesam v. 5.0.0 Jaglion, two Si3 data store types are available. SEP sesam recommends using the new generation Si3 NG when creating a new data store. To learn how to upgrade from Si3 to Si3 NG by configuring a new Si3 NG on the same host and creating a replication job to replicate from Si3 to Si3 NG, see Configuring Si3 NG Deduplication Store.
  5. New Si3 data store Beefalo V2.jpg

  6. Make sure that the option Create drive is checked under the Drive parameter properties. The predefined value for the drive is automatically inserted in the Drive number field.
  7. It is recommended that the option Create second drive is also enabled. Without it, SEP sesam can only allocate a drive for either reading or writing, running one job on the same drive at a time. By using the additional dedicated drive for restore, you can perform a backup on the first drive and restore your data from the second drive simultaneously. You can also add a third drive for migration.
  8. Then select Create new drive group and enter the name for your Si3 deduplication store dedicated group.
  9. The predefined number of channels is already displayed in the Max. channels drop-down list. The number of available channels depends on your SEP sesam Server package. For details on licensing, see Licensing.
  10. From the Device server drop-down list, select the device server for your data store.
  11. In the Path field, enter the location of your data store or use the Browse button to select the relevant folder. Check the relevant folder and click OK.
    When using the Browse button to select the folder, the New Data Store information window appears with predefined recommended values for your Si3 deduplication store size. Click OK to confirm the selected location and recommended size values. You can modify your data store size later under the Size properties (see step 10).
  12. GUI new data store information Beefalo V2.jpg
  13. Under the Size properties, specify or modify the following:
    • Capacity: Specify the size (in GiB) of the partition for backups.
    • High watermark: Specify the value (in GiB) for the high watermark (HWM). The HWM defines the upper value for the used storage space. When this value is reached, the status of a datastore changes from OK to Warning, but backups continue to be performed. Make sure that you provide enough storage space for your backed up data.
    • Si3 repair area: Specify the value (in GiB) for the Si3 repair area. The Si3 repair area (subdirectory trash) defines space for Si3 files (DDLs) that were identified by a garbage collection job and are no longer used. These files are still kept in the repair area to enable possible repair of Si3 in case of structural problems (which may be caused by a file system error or an operating system crash)). The files in the repair area are automatically removed after the specified period of time (SEP sesam default: 4 days) or when or when the disk usage threshold is reached. Note that the Si3 repair function is disabled when the value is set to 0.
    • Information sign.png Note
      The Si3 repair area for managing disk space dedicated to Si3 files (DDLs) is only available in the Expert UI mode. So if you run the GUI in Basic or Advanced UI mode, you first have to change the mode to Expert, as described in Selecting UI mode.

    The Disk space usage properties are used by SEP sesam to report the following:

    • Used: Total used space (in GiB) on the partition.
    • Total: Maximum available space (in GiB) on the partition as reported by the operating system.
    • Free: Available disk space (in GiB) for SEP sesam.

You can view the properties of your Si3 deduplication by double-clicking the corresponding Si3 deduplication store.

  • You can modify existing and set additional drive options by double-clicking the first drive. In the Drive Properties window, you can browse the path for the data store, set the access mode for data store drives, etc. To configure Si3 data encryption, you have to create a deduplication security password file. For details, see Encrypting Si3 Deduplication Store.
    Use the tab OS Access and specify the credentials to access the respective systems. Use DOMAIN\USER format for domain accounts or HOST\USER for local accounts.
  • Si3 drive properties Beefalo V2.jpg

Monitoring deduplication status

You can view the status of your Si3 deduplication in the GUI by clicking the Si3 State tab. You can check the last deduplication message, the status of active tasks, the encryption status, the number of stored objects, the data size before/after deduplication, the dedup ratio, the saved storage space, etc. Si3 state tab Beefalo V2.jpg

SEP Tip.png Tip
You can also check the status in SEP sesam Web UI. You can use the Dependencies tab to see the diagram of all dependencies of the datastore and drives, RDS, media pools, etc., and use other tabs to check the details of the data store operation.
Information sign.png Note
If fsck (file system consistency check) detects an irregularity in the Si3 file system, the affected pages and chunks are recorded in recovery.log. The Si3 deduplication store in the GUI and Web UIis highlighted in red and Si3 purge is no longer executed. The purge is stopped to prevent the files in the Si3 repair area from being deleted, as they may be needed to repair Si3 in case of problems. Once the errors are fixed and the recovery.log is empty, the Si3 data store is no longer marked in red and the Si3 purge works again.

Si3 deduplication store red Beefalo.jpg

==Configuring a Media Pool==Configuring a Media Pool/en

Part VI: Authentication

About Authentication and Authorization

Overview

SEP sesam introduces new authorization concept to grant and restrict access to SEP sesam Server, specific clients and locations. Note that authentication is the first step of authorization. This means that first the identity of a user who is accessing a SEP sesam Server is authenticated by verifying a user credentials (username and password).

After successful authentication starts the authorization, when SEP sesam validates if an authenticated user has appropriate permissions for accessing a specific resource or operation within SEP sesam Server.

Authorization is implemented through the following elements:

  • Permissions based on user type
    Users can connect to SEP sesam Server only if they are granted appropriate permissions. Their user rights depend on the user type. SEP sesam user types are admin, operator and restore.
    • Admin is the only user role with full control over the SEP sesam.
    • The Operator monitors the SEP sesam Server backup status.
    • The Restore user is only allowed to start restores.

    Note that the displayed GUI components depend on the user type. For details on GUI elements, see SEP sesam GUI.

  • Access Control Lists (ACLs)
    ACL specifies which users or groups are granted access to specific objects. As of SEP sesam version 4.4.3 Grolar, you can configure ACLs for locations and clients, if you have the admin rights. For details on ACLs configuration, see Using Access Control Lists.

After the initial installation of SEP sesam, no users are configured except the administrator. Depending on version, SEP sesam provides different authentication methods that are mutually exclusive: database-based authentication (for v. ≥ 4.4.3 Tigon) which is simply called authentication, and policy-based authentication (for all SEP sesam versions). By default, policy-based authentication is active. Note that only one authentication method can be active at any time.

Information sign.png Note
In SEP sesam v. ≥ 4.4.3 Tigon, you can bypass authentication for local server for all users by setting the parameter localFullAccess in the <SESAM_ROOT>/var/ini/sm.ini file to true as described in the section below.

Database-based authentication

SEP sesam provides database-based authentication that allows administrators to configure users and grant them appropriate permissions to perform SEP sesam operations by setting individual passwords and assigning users to the relevant user group.

As of 4.4.3 Grolar, SEP sesam can be configured to use LDAP/AD authentication in combination with database-based authentication. This way SEP sesam can authenticate users against an external LDAP/AD directory. If LDAP/AD authentication is enabled in SEP sesam and the users are mapped correctly, they can log in to SEP sesam according to their entry in the LDAP/AD directory and the user mapping information. For details, see Configuring LDAP/AD Authentication.

The assigned user group (based on user type) determines the actions that the group members can perform. The database-based authentication can be enabled from GUI by activating authentication under the Configuration ‐> Permission Management. This is the only way to set the password for the Administrator.

If the DB-based authentication is activated via GUI, the authEnabled parameter is set to true in the <SESAM_ROOT>/var/ini/sm.ini file on the SEP sesam Server. For details on database-based permissions, see Configuring Database-Based Authentication.

Policy-based authentication

Policy-based authentication represents a traditional approach to managing user's permissions with SEP sesam v. ≥ 4.4.3. SEP sesam GUI is based on Java and uses sm_java.policy file to grant the required permissions. The policy file is by default located at <SESAM_ROOT>/var/ini/sm_java.policy, where <SESAM_ROOT> is the pathname of the SEP sesam home directory.

With policy-based authentication permissions are assigned to user/host combination in the sm_java.policy file. You can also grant users the required permissions by using GUI: Main Selection -> Configuration ‐> User Permissions. For details on policy-based permissions, see Configuring Policy-Based Authentication.

Configuring localFullAccess in sm.ini

localFullAccess defines whether a user that is logged to the SEP sesam Server directly may use SEP sesam CLI and GUI without any authentication. If set to true, authentication is not required. If set to false, the authentication is mandatory for all users. SEP sesam will prompt for the username and password to log in.

If database-based authentication is enabled, localFullAccess flag is set to false automatically. A certificate is passed from the SEP sesam command line to the SEP sesam Server, where it is verified. The certificate file is stored in <SESAM_ROOT>/var/ini/ssl.

Information sign.png Note
  • On Unix, only the system root user can access this directory and use the command line without authentication.
  • On Windows, use Windows User Account Control (UAC) to limit the access to certificate file.

How to change the localFullAccess flag

  1. Locate the <SESAM_ROOT>/var/ini/sm.ini file on the SEP sesam Server (where <SESAM_ROOT> is the pathname of the SEP sesam home directory). Open the sm.ini file using a text editor and set the flag for the localFullAccess parameter to true.
  2. Once you have changed the settings, save your changes and restart the SEP sesam Server for the changes to take effect. The sm.ini file is preserved when you upgrade your SEP sesam Server.
Information sign.png Note
For SEP sesam versions ≤ 4.4.3: It is strongly recommended to leave the localFullAccess flag set to true.

==Configuring LDAP/AD Authentication==

4 4 3 Beefalo:Configuring LDAP/AD Authentication V2/en

Configuring Database-Based Authentication

4 4 3 Grolar:Configuring Database-Based Authentication/en

Part VII: SEP sesam Backup

About Backup

About Backup/en==Configuring SESAM_BACKUP== SEP sesam Server Disaster Recovery/en

Creating Exclude List

Creating Exclude List/en==Enforcing Full Backup== Enforcing Full Backup/en==Backup on the Remote Device Server== How to create a Remote Device Server (RDS)/en

Part VIII: Scheduling

Creating a Custom Calendar

4 4 3 Beefalo:Creating a Custom Calendar/en

Special Schedules

Special Schedules/en

Part IX: SEP sesam Operation in the Network

Backup over an alternate network

Your license must first be modified to match the new server name and/or IP address. Send the original license, the new server name, and the IP address to info@sep.de.

When you receive the new license information, you can change the SEP sesam Server name using sm_setup.

  1. Set the SEP sesam profile and enter the following command:
  2. sm_setup change_servername <mynewserver>
  3. After executing the command, check the interfaces of the renamed SEP sesam Server: Main selection -> Components -> Clients -> double-click the server (Client) to open its properties. In the Interfaces field, manually remove the old interfaces and enter the new interfaces for http and https.
  4. RDS interfaces.jpg

Configuring SSL Secured Communication for SEP sesam Backup Network

Configuring SSL Secured Communication for SEP sesam Backup Network/en==List of Ports Used by SEP sesam== 4 4 3 Tigon:List of Ports Used by SEP sesam/en

Configuring clients in the firewall environment

Configuring Clients/en

Part X: SEP sesam Events

Newday Event

4 4 3 Beefalo:Newday Event/en

Creating a Backup Event

Creating a Backup Event/en

Creating a Media Event

Creating a Media Event/en==Creating a Migration Event== Creating a Migration Event/en

Creating a Command Event

Creating a Command Event/en==Scheduling Restore== 4 4 3 Beefalo:Scheduling Restore/en==Follow-up Events== Follow-up Events/en

Part XI: SEP sesam Log Files

Interpreting Error Messages/en==Analyzing SEP sesam Log Files== 4 4 3:Analyzing SEP sesam Log Files/en==Tips for Backup Troubleshooting== 4 4 3:Tips for Backup Troubleshooting/en

Part XII: SEP sesam Interfaces

Using Pre and Post Scripts

Using Pre and Post Scripts/en==How to Configure Mail Notification== How to Configure Mail Notification/en

Part XIII: Managing Media

Managing EOL

Overview

When configuring SEP sesam environment, you set up media pools and define the retention time. Media pool retention time is specified in days and defines how long the backed up data on media remains protected after the data is written to the medium. The retention time period starts with the date a saveset is written to the medium (at the end time of the first backup) and thus defines the expiration date of the saveset (saveset EOL). When the protection expires, SEP sesam can re-use the media for backups again. This is the basic principle and the simplest scenario.

However, to ensure restorability of the complete backup chain and to protect from data loss, SEP sesam provides dependency-based retention strategy performed by automated EOL adjustment.

What is dependency-based retention

For example, INCR backups require all previous savesets (FULL, DIFF and INCR) to be available for a successful restore. If the retention time is viewed only from the perspective of an individual backup, it can ensure restorability of data for this particular backup only. But to enable the complete restoration of data that was backed up in the backup chain, all dependent backup savesets must be tracked and their retention time must be managed according to their dependencies.

For example, INCR backup that was taken as the third INCR after the FULL, requires the FULL, the first, the second, and the third INCR to provide complete restore capability. If some saveset in the backup chain is missing, you will not be able to recover your data to a specific point in time. For this reason, SEP sesam maintains control over dependencies among the individual backup savesets and provides dependency-based automated retention.

SEP sesam also allows you to manually adjust EOL. You can adjust:

saveset EOL
You can change the expiration date of any individual saveset that is stored in the data store, see saveset EOL.
backup EOL
You can change the expiration date for all backup-related savesets. Unlike saveset EOL, which is applied individually to each selected saveset, changing the backup EOL always affects all dependent backup versions that are part of the same backup, see backup EOL.
tape media EOL
Some special rules apply to tape media since the expiration date of the tape corresponds to the maximum retention time (the longest EOL) identified on the tape, see tape media EOL.

Retention behavior and different EOL parameters

Typically, you specify a media pool retention time (in days) when creating a media pool. This retention time serves as a basis to determine EOL for backed up data. The retention time period starts with the creation date a saveset is written to the medium and defines the expiration date (EOL) after which the saveset may be deleted. For example, a media pool retention time is 30 days and the data is backed up to the medium on the 1st of January, therefore the saveset EOL is 31st of January. Note that in previous versions (v. ≤ Beefalo) this retention time parameter was called media pool EOL. As the use of this term was misleading, it was removed in Beefalo V2 and replaced with retention time.

Information sign.png Note
EOL refers only to backups and related migrated and replicated savesets. SEP sesam logs, readability check logs, calendar sheet entries and restore tasks have separate retention parameters. For details, see retention periods.

The EOL property can be managed for three object types:

Saveset EOL

This is the expiration date for each saveset. If a saveset is a part of a backup chain, its EOL follows the rules of dependency-based retention; EOL of a previous saveset in the chain must be the same or longer to enable the complete restoration of data.

For example, you specify a media pool retention parameter to 30 days and run a FULL backup. This FULL saveset will initially be kept for 30 days, for example, to the 31st of January. If any following INCR or DIFF saveset in the chain has longer EOL, for example, its expiration date is the 3rd of February, the EOL of all preceding savesets, including the FULL, will be adjusted to the longer expiration date. For details on dependency-based automated retention, see automated EOL adjustment. For details on manually adjusting EOL, see manual EOL adjustment.

Backup EOL

This is the expiration date for all data that belongs to the same backup. Backup EOL is determined based on the longest EOL of all savesets that belong to the same backup, including migrated and replicated savesets. For example, adjusting backup EOL of a particular saveset from the 3rd of February to the to 3rd of March results in changed EOL for all related backup data, i.e., original backup, migrated backup, replicated backup, as well as for all backups in a backup chain, if a saveset with adjusted backup EOL is a part of it. For details on dependency-based automated retention, see automated EOL adjustment. For details on manually adjusting EOL, see manual EOL adjustment.

Information sign.png Note
How SEP sesam manages failed backups depends on its version. In v. ≥ 4.4.3 Beefalo V2, SEP sesam keeps the failed backup according to media pool retention time together with the last successful backup or migration saveset. This is the default backup retention behavior and can be changed by modifying EOL-related keys, as shown in section Customizing retention policy. These keys may not be supported in earlier versions, where failed backups were automatically deleted after 3 days.

Tape media EOL

When a saveset is stored on tape, each stored saveset has its own saveset EOL, but this does not represent the actual expiration date of the tape. Its expiration date corresponds to the maximum retention time (the longest EOL) identified on tape. Only when all savesets on tape have expired and the tape is not locked (write-protected) is the entire tape eligible for re-use. For details on how manually extending EOL affects EOL of the tape media, see Manually extending EOL.

What happens when EOL is reached

Once a saveset's end of life is reached, its protection expires. The storage space of an expired saveset is not used immediately; SEP sesam uses the GET_OLDEST policy to preserve the data on the media for the longest possible time. The expired saveset can be re-used if the following conditions are met:

  • As a rule, there must be no other savesets that depend on this saveset. For details, see how SEP sesam handles EOL-related backup chain dependencies. You can override this condition by explicitly allowing the expiration date (EOL) of the whole backup chain to expire, thus deleting the backup data on all related savesets.
  • If a saveset is stored on tape, the EOL of all stored savesets must have expired.
  • SEP sesam Server automatically assigns the medium with the oldest EOL for re-use. The oldest medium is a medium with the oldest locked until (is backup day+ retention time) date in the media pool.
Information sign.png Note
If the saveset resides on tape media, the tape will not be re-used until all savesets on it have expired. Tape media EOL always corresponds to the maximum retention time (the longest EOL) identified on the tape. More precisely, a tape media EOL is the maximum EOL of all savesets stored on the tape. Only when the retention time of all savesets on tape has expired and the tape is no longer locked (write-protected) can the tape be re-used. Note that the tape media EOL may also depend on savesets that are not stored on this tape. This is when the tape contains savesets that refer to FULL/DIFF/INCR savesets stored on other media or even data stores.

Automated EOL adjustment

In some cases, SEP sesam automatically adjusts EOL to retain the consistency of backed up data and ensures successful restore. Every time EOL is modified, the corresponding information is shown in the main log.

Managing EOL-related backup chain dependencies

When a new INCR or DIFF backup is run or an INCR or DIFF backup is migrated, SEP sesam automatically adjusts EOL of all related savesets in order to retain the backup data and keep the backup chain readily available for restore. In some special cases, SEP sesam also automatically increases the EOL of the whole FDI backup chain, thus preventing the backup chains from being orphaned. See below sections for details.

Increased EOL of a DIFF or INCR saveset

If the EOL parameter of a DIFF or INCR saveset is increased, SEP sesam will increase EOL of all dependent backups (FULL and other DIFF and INCR). This way SEP sesam ensures that EOL for the FULL backup and other related DIFF and INCR is not shorter than the potentially modified DIFF or INCR saveset's EOL.

Decreased EOL of a DIFF or INCR saveset

If EOL of a DIFF or INCR saveset is decreased, SEP sesam will decrease EOL of all dependent backups (FULL and other DIFF and INCR). If you use the Expire function to delete the unneeded saveset(s) or backup set(s), SEP sesam will issue a warning message, prompting you to confirm your decision to expire the entire backup chain.

SEP Warning.png Warning
Expiring the DIFF or INCR saveset(s) results in purging and overwriting the complete backup chain!
Too short EOL of DIFF/INC savesets

If DIFF/INCR backup detects that a saveset belonging to a FDI chain has too short EOL, then any consecutive DIFF/INCR backup that is running on a pool with longer retention time will increase the EOL of the saveset from the respective pool.

Information sign.png Note
If EOL of a saveset belonging to a FDI chain has already expired, it will not be extended. In this case, the DIFF/INCR backup will be executed as a FULL backup.
Example
The backup chain has the following retention specified: FULL on pool MONTH (retention time:32), DIFF on pool WEEK (retention time:15) and INCR on pool DAY (retention time:7). EOL of such FDI chain is sufficient, therefore EOL is not modified.

Allow extending retention time of another media pool for migrated savesets

Typically, a chain of backup savesets is migrated to one target media pool. You may want to migrate savesets of one backup chain (FULL/DIFF/INCR) to different media pools. There are two ways to change the retention time of migration savesets.

  • You can enable extended retention time for migration by using a specific GLBV: 'gv_adjust_eol_migration_increases_eol_on_other_pool'.
  • You can enable migration to increase EOL of the referenced savesets on other media pools (not only on the target media pool) by adding (or modifying) the following key in global settings in GUI:
    1. In the menu bar, click Configuration -> Defaults -> Settings.
    2. Click [+] to add the following key to global settings (or modify the key value, if it already exists): eol_adjust_migration_on_other_pool|1|sesam
      where value=1 means that the key is active and sesam is the user name. For more details about EOL-related keys, see section Customizing retention policy.
    3. EOL adjust migration Beefalo.jpg


Last successful backup or migration is automatically retained

SEP sesam automatically retains the last successful backup or migration saveset when the next backup/migration fails. By extending the EOL of the previous successful backup/migration, SEP sesam ensures that at least one successful backup is retained. This behavior is enabled by default and can be changed by setting the values of the respective keys, eol_adjust_failed_backup and eol_adjust_failed_migration, to 0, as shown in section Customizing retention policy.

COPY backup fails

If a COPY backup fails, the EOL of the last successful or with warnings COPY backup is increased to the currently calculated EOL (creation date of the failed backup + media pool retention time).

Example
COPY backup in pool MONTH (retention time: 32) fails. SEP sesam checks for previous successful COPY backup in the same pool and increases its EOL, unless the backup EOL is not sufficient, e.g., a migrated saveset exists in the pool YEAR (retention time: 375).
FULL backup fails

If a FULL backup fails, the EOL of the last successful or with warnings FULL/DIFF/INCR backup is increased to the currently calculated EOL (creation date of the failed backup + media pool retention time).

Example
FULL backup in the pool MONTH (retention time: 32) fails. SEP sesam checks for previous successful or with warnings FDI backup chain in the same pool and increases the EOL of the entire chain (FULL/DIFF/INCR backups), unless the backup EOL is not sufficient, e.g., a migrated FULL saveset already exists in the pool YEAR (retention time: 375).

Manual EOL adjustment

It is not recommended to manually adjust EOL. This will override the EOL that was defined by the retention time (in days) in the media pool configuration and was started on the date when a saveset is being written to the media. The following options should be used for special cases and exceptions, for example, to allow premature deletion of an individual saveset or to increase the retention time of a particular backup chain that is to be stored longer than specified by the current EOL.

  • You can modify saveset EOL for each individual saveset that is stored in a data store or on tape media. The saveset EOL parameter is available under several views in GUI, e.g., whenever a task with the savesets is displayed (Job State -> Backups -> double-click a backup task -> Properties -> Saveset EOL, right-click to extend or expire), and under all media-related views, e.g., in the Media, Media Pools and Data Stores properties -> Saveset tab -> Saveset EOL. You can extend or shorten the saveset's retention time by setting the exact expiration date (saveset EOL) in the GUI calendar or directly expire (as of ≥ 4.4.3 Beefalo V2) the saveset by clicking the Expire -> Saveset EOL button. If the adjusted saveset is part of a backup chain, the whole chain might be affected.
  • Additionally, there is also the backup EOL parameter. This is the expiration date for all data belonging to the same backup, including migrated and replicated savesets. You can check and modify the backup EOL parameter by setting the exact expiration date for it by using the calendar function or directly expire (as of ≥ 4.4.3 Beefalo V2) the backup by clicking the Expire -> Backup EOL button. Expiring a backup affects all data belonging to the same backup (entire backup chain), including migrated and replicated savesets.

For details, see the section how SEP sesam handles EOL-related backup chain dependencies.
Backup EOL can be found in the Savesets properties that are available under several views in GUI, e.g., whenever a task with the savesets is displayed (Job State -> Backups -> double-click a backup task -> Properties -> Backup EOL) and under all media-related views, e.g., in the Media, Media Pools and Data Stores properties -> Saveset tab -> Backup EOL.

SEP Tip.png Tip
As of ≥ 4.4.3 Beefalo V2, you can simply right-click the selected saveset for which you want to modify EOL, for example, in all Media-related views, and then select to either extend EOL or to expire the saveset (individual EOL) or backup (EOL of the entire backup set). But be careful with the expire function as the expired backups are irrevocably lost!

Right-click EOL.jpg

Manually reducing EOL

Note that reducing EOL may result in potential data loss due to the inability to restore from a backup.

  • If you are reducing backup EOL, it is adjusted only for the savesets with EOL longer than the newly given EOL, while the savesets with shorter EOL are not affected (their EOL remains unchanged). As of ≥ 4.4.3 Beefalo V2, you cannot set the expiration date to a time in the past (the minimum allowed date is the current date). However, you can expire backup sets that you no longer need by using the right-click Expire function in any of the views showing the Savesets tab/properties -> Backup EOL -> Expire. Expiring backup EOL terminates the selected backup and all related savesets based on the same backup, including migrated and replicated savesets. This means that all dependent saveset versions that are part of the expired backup are deleted during the next purge.
  • If you are reducing saveset EOL, the new expiration date is set immediately for the selected individual saveset. As of ≥ 4.4.3 Beefalo V2, you cannot set the expiration date to a time in the past (the minimum allowed date is the current date). However, you can expire any individual saveset(s) you no longer need by using the right-click Expire function in any of the views showing the Savesets tab/properties -> Saveset EOL -> Expire. In contrast to the backup EOL approach, expiring saveset EOL only terminates the selected saveset(s) (that is/are deleted with the next purge) unless the saveset(s) is/are part of a backup chain; in the latter case, the entire backup chain is affected as described in Managing EOL-related backup chain dependencies.

Manually extending EOL

Extending EOL can be used for special cases, such as increasing the retention time of a particular backup data that has also been migrated and is stored on different media pools. How SEP sesam manages extending EOL depends on its version.

  • If you are extending the backup EOL (expiration date), the EOL is adjusted only for the saveset that already has the longest EOL, while EOL of other backups is not affected. This behavior has changed compared to the previous versions, where extended backup EOL resulted in extended EOL for all savesets based on the same backup, i.e., original backup, migrated backup, replicated backup, as well as for all backups in a backup chain, if a saveset with adjusted backup EOL was part of it. For details, see Manually extending EOL in versions 4.4.3-4.4.3 Grolar.
  • If you are extending the saveset EOL (expiration date) and one of the savesets is part of an FDI backup chain, then the EOL of the previous savesets in the chain will also be increased.
Information sign.png Note
  • Extending backup EOL of savesets stored on tape media may extend EOL of the tape media! For savesets stored on tape media, a specific retention time that would only apply to one of the stored savesets cannot be set. Each saveset that is stored on tape has its own EOL, but this does not represent the actual expiration date of the tape. Tape media EOL is the maximum EOL of all savesets stored on the same tape. Note that the tape media EOL may also depend on savesets that are not stored on this tape. This is when the tape contains savesets that refer to FULL/DIFF/INCR savesets stored on other media or even data stores.
  • To reduce or increase the tape media EOL (shown as Locked until in the tape properties), you can adjust the media EOL (identified by tape label). Manually adjusted EOL applies to all savesets on tape.
  • If the tape media EOL date has been reached, but the tape should not be re-used, you can also lock the tape (by using write protection). This option overrides media EOL.

Customizing retention policy

The default backup retention behavior can be changed by inserting or modifying EOL-related keys in the global settings in GUI: SEP sesam menu bar, click Configuration -> Defaults -> Settings. These keys may not be supported in earlier SEP sesam versions, for details check Managing EOL in versions 4.4.3-4.4.3 Grolar.

To change the retention policy, you can add or modify the following options.

EOL-related key Value Description Available from version Note
eol_adjust_migration_on_other_pool 1 (allow)
0 (disable)
Allow extending retention time of another media pool for migrated savesets 4.4.3 Beefalo
eol_adjust_failed_backup 1 (enable)
0 (disable)
Automatic retention of the last successful backup saveset 4.4.3.47 Tigon V2
eol_adjust_failed_migration 1 (enable)
0 (disable)
Automatic retention of the last successful migration saveset 4.4.3.47 Tigon V2
eol_for_failed_backups 0 (use media pool retention time)
> 0 (specify the retention time in days, e.g., 3)
Adjust the retention time (in days) for failed backups 4.4.3 Beefalo V2

By default, the backup retention policy (retention time of media pool) is applied equally to successful and failed backups. A failed backup is retained for the number of days specified by the retention time of media pool. If you want to free up space on the storage repository and shorten the number of days for retaining failed backups, specify the desired length of the retention for failed backups in days. For example, 3 means that SEP sesam will automatically delete all failed backups after 3 days. 0 (default) means that all failed backups are retained according to the media pool retention time.

eol_for_failed_not_file_system_backups 0 (use media pool retention time)
> 0 (specify the retention time in days, e.g., 3)
Adjust the retention time (in days) for all non-filesystem (non-Path) type backups, e.g., SAP Hana, Exchange Server, VMware vSphere etc. 4.4.3 Beefalo V2 The only difference with the previous parameter (eol_for_failed_backups, see above) is that you can specify the desired length of the retention specifically for all non-filesystem (non-Path) type backups. For example, 3 means that SEP sesam will automatically delete all failed non-filesystem backups after 3 days. 0 (default) means that all failed non-filesystem backups are retained according to the eol_for_failed_backups parameter if set to > 0, or according to media pool retention time if none of the eol_for_failed... parameters is set (value 0).

The screenshot shows the Defaults -> Settings table with the EOL-related paramaters.

EOL keys-settings.jpg

Checking backup chain dependencies

You can use the saveset tree view in GUI to determine dependencies and EOL of an FDI backup chain. You should use this overview before you manually change the EOL parameter to avoid breaking the backup chain.

SEP Tip.png Tip
Checking the saveset tree summary will provide instant information about the location and status of the available savesets for restore. By checking the summary, e.g., availability 5, you can search for savesets that are not readily available, and then migrate them to enable mount and selective restore.

The saveset tree displays details about a saveset together with potential dependent savesets that belong to the same backup chain. The saveset details are read-only. By providing an overview of the backup chain, you gain insight into the recoverability of backups.

You can open the saveset tree view by double-clicking the selected backup in the backup list:

  1. From Main Selection -> Job State -> Backups or from Main Selection -> Monitoring -> Last Backup State, double-click the selected backup.
  2. In the backup task properties window, open the tab Savesets.

Bck chain dependencies-Beefalo.jpg

The saveset tree displays all savesets that belong to the same backup chain with the following details:

saveset
SEP sesam unique identification assigned to a saveset.
starttime
The time when the backup was started.
level
The backup level used for the saveset: F (FULL), D (DIFF), I (INCR) or C (COPY).

More detailed information displayed for each saveset:

pool
The media pool to which the saveset belongs.
EOL
The time when the saveset's protection expires. For details, see section EOL-related backup chain dependencies.
avail
The priority number, based on the location of the savesets. It is useful for identifying savesets that are readily available for restore. For example, a saveset in the media pool DAY (data store) is migrated to another pool DeDup and then migrated to tape. The tape will have the lowest avail/priority because it is not readily available for restore. Check also the Availability in the Status at the end of the tree view, which is calculated from the avail of all displayed savesets. See below Availability for details.
reason
Explains the above avail – availability of individual savesets for restore. The following information shows the relation between the location and avail/prio. Priority is assigned numerically, where 1 is the lowest priority and 6 (or 7 if called with a specific pool) is the highest.
TAPE_SINGLE = 0
TAPE_NOT_IN_LOADER = 1
DISK_OFFLINE = 2
TAPE_ONLINE = 3
DISK_HARD = 4
DISK_STORE_CLONE = 5 
DISK_STORE = 6 
REQUESTED_POOL = 7 (shown if called with a specific pool, e.g., all savesets on the pool DAY and the saveset_tree was called with the target pool DAY)
drivegroup
Displays the name of the drive group related to the saveset's media pool.
drives
The number of the drive that was used for backup.
labels
Displays an internal identification of a saveset (a media pool name and a 5-digit number), a potential barcode, prio (numerical representation of availability, see above item), and comment.
status
Displays the summary of the savesets availability – status, availability message and a numeric representation. For example, as soon as 1 saveset is migrated to another pool and deleted from the original pool, availability is lowered.

Save set tree status.jpg

Checking and Labeling Tape Media

Checking and Labeling Tape Media/en==Configuring Removable Media== 4 4 3:Configuring Removable Media/en==LTO Encryption== LTO Encryption/en

Part XIV: Monitoring & Reporting

Monitoring, logging, reporting and notifications

Other languages:
  • English





Part XV: Web Interface

Restore Assistant

There are two ways to restore your data in SEP sesam: by using GUI restore or through the web interface Restore Assistant. Even though most of the options are the same in both restore interfaces, the web Restore Assistant interface is designed to be more intuitive, offers additional advanced options, and makes it easy to restore your data.

You can use the web Restore Assistant to restore data from regular Path backups, NDMP and NSS file system Path backups, emails from Kopano backups, and virtual machines (Hyper-V, KVM/QEMU, OpenNebula, VMware vSphere, Citrix Hypervisor (XenServer), and Red Hat Virtualization (RHV)) to which you have been granted access.

Authentication required

Only authenticated users that have been granted the appropriate permissions are able to access the Restore Assistant and restore their data. These permissions are defined according to the user type. For details, see Configuring Database-Based Authentication.

Restoring encrypted backups

You can also perform an online restore of data from encrypted backups that are protected with a password. When restoring encrypted data with a password stored in the SEP sesam database, the password is automatically used for decryption during restore. However, if a password is not stored by SEP sesam, you will be prompted to enter it online. In the latter case, if you do not know the password, you won't be able to restore an encrypted backup and it will remain locked.

Basic and advanced web restore

With 4.4.3. Beefalo V2, the restore assistant provides basic and advanced features for online restore. Switching between the basic and advanced mode is available via Settings menu (-> UI mode), see Setting UI mode.

Restore features

Restore Assistant provides the following features:

  • As of 4.4.3. Beefalo V2, along with restoring data from regular Path backups, NDMP and NSS file system Path backups, emails from Kopano backups, and virtual machines you can now also restore KVM/QEMU VMs.
  • The newly introduced VMware Sandbox restore feature allows you to use a copy of the production environment for troubleshooting, testing and to verify the integrity of the VMs. For details, see VMware Sandbox Restore.
  • You can restore your data to the original or alternative location.
  • The flexibility to switch between basic and advanced restore mode allows more experienced users to fine-tune their restore.

Accessing Restore Assistant

You can access the Restore Assistant from the SEP sesam GUI (Activities -> Restore Assistant), from SEP sesam Web UI (left menu -> Restore Assistant) or by entering the following in the browser address bar:

http://[sesamserver]:11401/sep/ui/restore/

Information sign.png Note
If you cannot access the online Restore Assistant, check if you have been granted the appropriate permissions for online restore. For details, see About Authentication and Authorization.

Setting UI mode

As of ≥ 4.4.3 Beefalo V2, you can set your preferred UI mode by clicking the Settings icon located in the upper right corner and selecting Basic or Advanced UI mode. The basic restore mode is enabled by default.

The Settings menu also allows you to change the display language (German or English).

Restore assistant icons.jpg

SEP Tip.png Tip
The Monitoring, Dashboard, Help and Account icons (located in the upper right corner) enable you to quickly check the status of all restore jobs (Monitoring -> Restores), access SEP sesam Dashboard and online help, and log in/log out from the Restore Assistant.

Online restore in basic UI mode

The basic restore options cover the most frequent restore cases and are the recommended method of performing a restore. The basic restore procedure involves selecting the savesets which you want to restore, the restore target, etc., and provides the step by step restore wizard depending on the type of data you want to restore.

Two different procedures can be used for restore according to the data type:

Restoring files, directories and emails

  1. Open the Restore Assistant in the browser.
  2. From the Start window, select the restore type: Restore files and directories or Groupware Applications -> Restore Kopano Mail. Click Next.
  3. Restore assistant restore type Beefalo.jpg
  4. In the Source window, select your client. You can filter the clients by name, location or operating system. Click Next.
  5. Restore assistant source.jpg
  6. In the Backup window, under the Task selection select your backup task. A backup task defines the source data which was backed up from the client.
  7. Restore assistant select task Beefalo.jpg
  8. Then under the Backup selection select the exact backup version you want to restore. You can use the calendar function found in the upper right corner to filter a date range for the displayed backups. Click Next.
  9. SEP Tip.png Tip
    You can search for a file or a directory by entering your search term in the Search for files or directories in all backups.

    Restore assistant select bck Beefalo.jpg

  10. In the Files window, select the files, directories or emails you want to restore. Click Next.
  11. Restore assistant select file Beefalo.jpg
  12. The options in the Target window differ slightly depending on whether you want to restore from path or mail backups.
  13. Restore from path backups
    1. Check the target client for restore.
    2. Restore assistant select target Beefalo.jpg
    3. The option Restore to original target path is enabled by default. Skip this option to restore the files to the original location. Deselect it if you want to restore your data to a new restore target and specify the new target path; you can enter or browse the path where you want to restore your data.
    4. Restore assistant target directory Beefalo.jpg
    5. Under the Execution options you can set additional restore options:
    6. Do not restore existing items: Files will be restored only if they are not already present on the target system.
      Create new version: Restore files under a new name.
      Overwrite existing items: If the data exists on the target server, it will be replaced by the restored version.
    7. Decide how you want your data to be restored (maintain the original tree structure or flat):
    8. Keep original tree structure: When restoring to original location, the option Keep original tree structure is selected by default. The directory structure of the restored files is the same as the original directory structure of the backed up data.
      Restore all items flat in selected target directory: The backup is simply restored to a file without recreating the directory structure.
      Click Next.
      Restore assistant execution options Beefalo.jpg
    9. In the Finish window, review your restore task (restore type, client, backup level, restore options) and click Start restore.
    10. Restore assistant finish Beefalo.jpg

    Kopano mail restore

    1. Check the target client for restore.
    2. Restore assistant select target Kopano Beefalo.jpg
    3. Under the Target mail folder and user, enter a new mail user (the option Change user to ) and/or folder (Change folder to option) if you want to restore mail(s) to a different user mailbox or folder. Skip this step to restore the mails to the original location (default).
    4. Restore assistant new target Kopano Beefalo.jpg
    5. Under the Execution options you can set additional restore options:
    6. Do not restore existing folders and mails: Folders and mails will be restored only if they are not already present on the target system.
      Overwrite existing folders and mails: If the data exists on the target server, it will be replaced by the restored version.
      Click Next.
      Restore assistant execution options Kopano.jpg
  14. In the Finish window, review your restore task (restore type, client, backup level, restore options) and click Start restore.

For additional restore options in the advanced UI mode, see Restoring files, directories and emails in advanced UI mode.

Restoring virtual machines

When you choose to restore a virtual machine (VM), you can select from a list of VM types what you want to restore. The basic restore procedure is almost the same for all VM types, except that some additional options are available for some VM types. The procedure differs slightly for the VMware instant recovery and VMware sandbox restore. For details, see VMware Sandbox Restore and VMware Instant Recovery.

  1. Open the Restore Assistant in the browser.
  2. In the Start window, select your target restore type: VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix Hypervisor, KVM/QEMU, Proxmox VE, Red Hat Virtualization (RHV), or OpenNebula. Click Next.
  3. Restore assistant VM restore type Beefalo.jpg
  4. In the Source window, under Selection of the server select your target server.
  5. Restore assistant select server.jpg
  6. Then, under Selection of the virtual machine select the VM you want to restore.
  7. Click Next.
    Restore assistant select VM.jpg
  8. In the Backup window, under the Task selection select your source task. A backup task defines the source data which was backed up from the client.
  9. Restore assistant select VM task.jpg
  10. Then under the Backup selection select the exact backup version you want to restore. You can use the calendar function found in the upper right corner to filter a date range for the displayed backups. Click Next.
  11. Restore assistant select VM backup.jpg
  12. In the Backup window, under the Virtual machine from backup review, check or uncheck the target saveset you want to restore.
  13. Click Next.
    Restore assistant select VM saveset.jpg
  14. In the Target window, under the Target selection select your target environment for restore. You can use the drop-down list to select or filter VMs by name.
  15. Restore assistant select VM target.jpg
  16. Set additional restore options under the Execution options:
  17. Do not restore an existing virtual machine: VM will be restored only if it is not already present on the target system.
    Restore an existing virtual machine with a new name: VM will be restored under a new name. In case of Proxmox and OpenNebula restore the target VM name will be automatically created.
    Overwrite an existing virtual machine: If the VM exists on the target server, it will be replaced by the restored version. You can also select to shut down the running VM automatically.
    Click Next.
    Restore assistant VM execution options.jpg
  18. In the Options window, select the data mover and then under the Recovery options select if you want to start VM after restore or not.
  19. Restore assistant recovery options Beefalo V2.jpg
    Information sign.png Note
    As of v. 4.4.3 Beefalo V2, in case of VMware restore you can also select the desired transport mode from the list of available transport modes (HOTADD, SAN, NBD, or NBDSSL); click the displayed transport mode and rearrange the modes according to your preferences.
  20. Click the option Target options of the virtual machine to set additional target options, e.g., target server, data store, network interface(s), folder, and Resource pool/vApp.
  21. Click Next.
    Restore assistant target VM options.jpg
  22. In the last step, review your restore task and click Start restore.

There are some additional restore options available in the advanced UI mode, see Restoring VMs in advanced UI mode.

Online restore in advanced UI mode

For more experienced users, some additional restore options are available in the advanced UI mode (v. ≥ Beefalo V2). For example, in the Start window you can restore backups and VMs to the file system or write your backups and VMs into dump files. If you are restoring VMs, you can select among more specific VM restore types.

Restore assistant advanced start.jpg

As with the basic options, the advanced options also differ depending on the type of restore:

Restoring files, directories and emails in advanced UI mode

The following additional restore options are available when restoring files, directories or emails in the advanced UI mode:

  • In the Start window, you can restore backups to the file system or write backups into dump files. Although the restore procedure in such cases is similar, some options may not be available (e.g., the Source windows).
  • If you want to write your backups into dump files, you have to specify a restore target path in the Target window (by browsing or entering the path). Optionally, you can modify a name of the dump file. If the dump file name is not specified, it will be generated automatically. Restore assistant dump file.jpg
  • In the Backup window, you can select whether you want to perform a Generation, Selective or Complete restore.
  • Restore assistant select bck Beefalo V2.jpg
  • In the Options window (step 5 in the advanced mode of the restore dialog) you can set the following options:
  • Under the Optional data source selection, you can set your preferred media pool, drive, used media|barcode, and interface from the drop-down lists. Advanced options optional data.jpg
    Under the Advanced restore options, you can further fine-tune your restore:
    • Use the Include/Exclude Filter tab to specify which files or directories you want to include or exclude from restoring, e.g., enter *.docx to the relevant filter to include or exclude all MS Word *.docx files from restore.
    • Advanced options filter.jpg
    • Use the EOL, Generation, Pre/Post tab if you want to specify the EOL parameter for restore (how long (in days) the restore task will be kept), enable/disable a generation restore, and specify whether any pre- or post script should be applied for the restore task, see Pre/Post options.
    • Advanced options EOL.jpg
    • Use the Log, Special Options tab to change the log level for your particular restore, see Setting Log Level. You can specify additional commands for restore, which can be helpful for special options of the sbc command. For details on commands, see SBC CLI.
    • Advanced options log.jpg

Restoring virtual machines in advanced UI mode

If you turn on the advanced UI mode, you can set additional restore options. It is recommended that the advanced mode is only used by expert users as the basic options are sufficient to address most restore use cases. The following additional options are provided by using the Advanced UI mode.

  • In the Start window, you can restore virtual machines to a file system, or write virtual machines into dump files:
    • If you want to restore VMs to a file system, the restore procedure is the same as the restore procedure for files, directories and emails, as described in the above section Restoring files, directories and emails. You only have to select a server and VM as a source instead of a client.
    • If you want to write VMs into dump files, the procedure differs from the usual VM restore only in that you have to specify a restore target path in the Target window and optionally modify a name of the dump file (see the related section above).
  • In the Options window, you can modify the Recovery options: By clicking the Edit button (located in the upper right corner), you can activate/deactivate different recovery actions: conf, remove, start, etc., and perform VM-related checks: VM power state, VM guest tools state and VM network IP address.
  • VMs recovery options.jpg
    To add your custom action or your custom check, select the template from the Actions or Checks drop-down lists or enter your action/check commands manually. To activate your custom action/check, click Save. You can simply remove any action/check by clicking the recycle bin icon. VMs recovery options modify.jpg
  • Under the Optional data source selection, you can select your preferred media pool, drive, used media|barcode, and interface from the drop-down lists.
  • Advanced options optional data.jpg
  • An additional set of options is available under the Options for restore: You can specify the EOL parameter for restore (how long (in days) the restore task will be kept), enable/disable a generation restore, and decide whether any pre- or post script should be applied for the restore task, see Pre/Post options.
    In case of a VMware restore, you can also set the transport hierarchy (if you have not modified the transport mode before under the Virtualization restore options); for details, see Selecting the best VMware transport mode for your environment.
  • VMs restore options Beefalo.jpg

You can view the status of your restore jobs by using SEP sesam Web UI (Monitoring -> Restores) or SEP sesam GUI (Main Selection -> Job State -> Restores). For details, see Monitoring and Reporting.


Part XVI: SEP sesam Command Line Interface

SEP sesam CLI

Overview

The SEP sesam command line interface (CLI) is a utility that provides an alternate way of executing SEP sesam commands in UNIX and Windows environments. SEP sesam command line interface provides two CLI components: administration utility SEP sesam CLI and client utility SBC CLI. The latter is used to back up and restore data locally on the host.

SEP sesam CLI administration utility provides all of the functions available via SEP sesam graphical management interface and also additional CLI commands that are not available in the GUI. Note that different commands can be available depending on your SEP sesam license.

SEP sesam CLI commands can be used to install and configure a SEP sesam environment automatically without a GUI. They enable administrators to access SEP sesam database and manage the whole SEP sesam environment, for example, to install, configure and manage SEP sesam Servers and Clients centrally without a GUI. Every CLI command (except a native SQL statement) checks and follows the internal structure and dependencies of the SEP sesam database.

Features

  • Automatic configuration of SEP sesam environments after installation (e.g., on implementation)
  • Change the SEP sesam configuration without using the SEP sesam GUI
  • Script-based mass installation and configuration (e.g., provider environment)
  • Operate tests for installation and configuration in SEP sesam environments
  • Get SEP sesam status, log and version information
  • Determine SEP sesam object information for further use in other programs

Running CLI commands

You must have SEP sesam administrator privileges to run SEP sesam CLI commands and use the command prompt as an administrator. All commands are run from the <SESAM_ROOT>/bin/sesam/ directory. If you want to execute SEP sesam commands globally (and not from the actual run directory), set the SEP sesam profile as described in What happens when I set a profile?.

Understanding the command structure

The SEP sesam general syntax for a CLI command is:

sm_cmd <command> [–option] [<object>] [[–<parameter>] <value>]

where the following information is provided for each command

  • sm_cmd: A command line tool that invokes the command line interface.
  • Usage: The actual syntax of the command, including the arguments.
  • Description: A brief summary of what the command does.
  • Arguments: The definition of options used in the command.
  • Example: Example of the command usage of the specified command and its options.

Command conventions

The parameters for a command are order-dependent and might include required and optional values or keyword choices, depending on how the information is bracketed. Required parameters are marked with an asterisk (*). An example is provided below.

| vertical bar
Separates the choices between two or more options or arguments.
[ ] square brackets
Indicate optional values.
< > angle brackets
Indicate that the enclosed element is mandatory.
Example:
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|backup|remove|restart> taskevent [OPTIONS...]

One of the actions bracketed with < > symbols, in this case <get|list|add|modify|backup|remove|restart>, is required, while the [OPTIONS...] are enclosed with [ ] symbols, therefore the information requested is optional. The following options are available for our sample taskevent command.

OPTIONS:
    -@ [param]     follow up (command to be run after the event completes)
    -G [ID]        task group
    -S [ID]        name of the interface
    -Z [number]    stop task if it runs longer than (e.g. 8:00 means that the task is automatically stopped after 8 hours)
    -d [ID]        drive number
    -j [ID]        backup task
    -l [param]     backup level (C = Copy, F = Full, D = Differential, I = Incremental)
    -m [ID]        media pool
    -s [0|1]       source-side deduplication

Let's say that we want to run a backup event for a backup task named win-cli_c_drive and use the target media pool (to which the data will be backed up) MP_disk_week. The command would look like this:

sm_cmd backup taskevent -j win-cli_c_drive -m MP_disk_week

Getting help

To list all available options, use the main help sm_cmd help. To show help for specific object, use sm_cmd help <object>, for example, sm_cmd help client.

Common action commands

The action command is used to perform an action or retrieve information/status about the resource. Most SEP sesam CLI resources have the following action commands:

get
The get command retrieves information about the resource or the operation that is currently defined.
list
The list command returns a list of objects for the specified resource. If the optional <object_name_or_id> is also specified, then the results are filtered by that value.
add
The add command creates a new object or event. If the optional <object_name_or_id> is also specified, then the objects are created according to the specified value.
modify
The modify command changes an existing resource based on the specified object options.
remove
The remove command deletes the specified object.

Before you begin

SEP sesam CLI is a very powerful command-line tool. You should be aware of its implications on your entire environment before you start using it.

Recommendations for using the SEP sesam CLI

  • SEP sesam's optional command line commands change the SEP sesam database directly. Therefore all command line entries should be checked and verified!
  • SEP sesam executes the commands immediately the <Enter>/<Return> key is pressed, which means that entries cannot be corrected, as is the case with the SEP Sesam GUI. It is extremely important that you are familiar with CLI and use it cautiously in order not to cause a system failure of the backup environment. Note that an erroneous entry can lead to complete data loss or other damage to the database. Such mistakes can void the warranty of your SEP sesam licensing agreement.
Information sign.png Note
Before you start scripting with the SEP sesam CLI, you should familiarize yourself with the SEP sesam environment. Read the SEP sesam documentation carefully and work on the SEP sesam installation and configuration to understand how the SEP sesam objects work together.

SEP sesam CLI usage

Command Description
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove|send> account Create and administer email accounts.
sm_cmd <get|list|remove|check> acl List or delete access control list (ACL).
sm_cmd list allevent List all SEP sesam events.
sm_cmd list allresult List all results within the specified time period.
sm_cmd backup Start the backup task or the backups of the task group.
sm_cmd clear cache Clear the entire server cach.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove> calendar Create and administer calendars.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove> calendarevent Create and administer calendar events.
sm_cmd <download|show> calendarsheet Display or download calendar information.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove|dir> client Create and administer clients.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|start|remove> command Create and administer commands.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove> commandevent Create and administer command events.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|enable|disable|link|unlink|remove> credential Configure and administer credentials.
sm_cmd <download|show> current Display or download the current drive information.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove> datastore Create and administer data stores.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove> default Configure and administer default keys.
sm_cmd dir <argument> List all specified clients, elements, VMs, etc.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove|start|mount|dismount|unload> drive Create and administer drives.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove> drivegroup Create and administer drive groups.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove> group Create and administer user groups.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|remove> interface Create and administer interfaces.
sm_cmd start inventory Start archive adjustment.
sm_cmd <show|update|report> license Check the SEP sesam license information and update the license.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove|load|unload|import|export> loader Create and administer loaders.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove> loaderdevice Create and administer loader devices.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove> location Create and administer locations.
sm_cmd <download|show|list> log Monitor and download log files from the server.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove> media Create and administer storage media.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove> mediapool Create and administer media pools.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|start|init|remove> mediapoolevent Create and administer media events.
sm_cmd migrate Start a migration immediately.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove|start> migration Create and administer migration events.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove> migrationtask Create and administer migration tasks.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|start|remove> newdayevent Create and administer NEWDAY events.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify> notification Create and modify notifications.
sm_cmd <get|list> opersystem List a specific OS or all operating systems.
sm_cmd render Renders the specified template.
sm_cmd <list|restart> Check and restart backups/migrations.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|restore|start|remove> restoreevent Create and administer restore events.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|start|remove> restoretask Create and administer restore tasks.
sm_cmd <get|list> result Monitor the results according to set filters (e.g., clients, tasks).
sm_cmd <dir> saveset Browse a saveset.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|rename|remove|start> schedule Configure and administer schedules.
sm_cmd <download|show> services Monitor and download different files or logs.
sm_cmd list session List all active sessions.
sm_cmd start <task|restore|migration|command> Start an event.
sm_cmd start report Create a customized report.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|start|remove> task Create and administer tasks.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|backup|remove|restart> taskevent Create and administer task events.
sm_cmd add taskgen Generate tasks according to the specified task type.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|start|remove> taskgroup Create and administer task groups.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove> taskgrouprelation Create and administer task group relations.
sm_cmd <download|list> update Monitor and download JAR (.jar) updates.
sm_cmd <get|list|add|modify|remove|reset> user Create and administer users.
sm_cmd show version Display SEP sesam Server and Client package version.
sm_cmd <resetcbt|check|generate|list> vsphere Reset CBT, monitor vSphere environment and generate vSphere task group.

SEP sesam CLI - Jaglion

Some changes were made in the CLI for the Jaglion version.

Obsolete
The object taskgrouprelation has been removed. Use sm_cmd modify taskgroup {task_group} -j {task}[,{task}] instead. Example: sm_cmd modify taskgroup taskgroup1 -j task1,task2
New objects
Migrationresults, Replication, Replicationresult, Replicationtask, Restoreresult, SQL.


SBC CLI

SBC CLI/en

Part XVII: Appendix

SEP sesam Matrices

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Cross-Platform Recovery File System Layer

Cross-Platform Recovery File System Layer/en ==Using SEP sesam REST API==Using SEP sesam REST API/en