Changes to NetWorker and Avamar integration

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Changes to NetWorker and Avamar integration

Beginning with NetWorker version 9.0, Avamar integration support is deprecated for new clients. However, older integrations continue to be supported, with the following considerations.

Considerations for installing the Avamar Client in NetWorker 9.0 and later

You can continue to install the Avamar client with NetWorker 9.0 and later. Installation of the Avamar client is not required until you want to recover data from backups performed to Avamar deduplication nodes. You can use either of the following methods to install the Avamar client:

  • Install the Avamar client as part of the update to NetWorker 9.0 and later by using the WIX installer or UNIX package deployment.
    Note: As of NetWorker 9.0.1, the Avamar client is no longer selected by default during the NetWorker install or upgrade. You must manually select the Avamar client in the Wizard options (WIX installer), or manually install the RPM package appropriate to your platform.
  • After upgrading to NetWorker 9.0 and later, install the Avamar client package. The package names are:
    • AvamarClient-windows-x86_64-7.2.100-401.msi on Windows
    • AvamarClient-linux-sles11-x86_64-7.2.100-401.rpm on SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) version 11,
    • AvamarClient-linux- rhel4-x86_64-7.2.100-401.rpm on Red Heat Enterprise Linux,
    • AvamarClient-debian4.0-x86_64-7.2.100-401.deb on Debian.
    Note: The NetWorker client no longer supports RedHat 4.0. You can still install Avamar 7.0 on RedHat 4.0, but if you install the NetWorker 9.0 and later client package on an Avamar server that is on RedHat 4.0, the installation fails. In this case, leave the current NetWorker client version as is. You can still upgrade the NetWorker server and NetWorker deduplication client to NetWorker 9.0 and later and continue performing backup and recovery using the Avamar server with a pre-NetWorker 9.0 client package installed.

When you install the Avamar client using either of these methods, make note of the following considerations:

  • If you install the Avamar client during an upgrade to NetWorker 9.0 and later, you must activate the Avamar client with the Avamar server/deduplication node to ensure that the Avamar server can communicate with the Avamar client.
  • After you upgrade the NetWorker server to version 9.0 and later, Avamar clients previous to NetWorker 9.0 can continue to perform deduplication backup and recovery.
  • If the NetWorker server and the NetWorker client are the same hosts, and you upgrade to NetWorker 9.0 and later, then install the Avamar client to perform deduplication backups and recoveries.
  • After you upgrade the NetWorker server to version 9.0 and later, you cannot configure a new Avamar deduplication node. As a result, you cannot configure any new NetWorker clients with deduplication enabled.
  • Install the NetWorker client rpm on the Avamar server node. Do not install the Avamar client package on the Avamar node.
  • This solution does not support IPv6.
  • Avamar version 7.2 uses an encrypted port 29000 as the default port, as a result, the NetWorker and Avamar deduplication backup fails. Set the port to an unencrypted port 27000, for the NetWorker and Avamar deduplication to backup correctly. To make this port change, perform the following steps:
    • On the Avamar server, create a file that is named gsan-port under the directory /usr/local/avamar/lib/admin/security/ with the content as follows: 
      # cat /usr/local/avamar/lib/admin/security/gsan-port
GSAN_PLAIN_TEXT="27000,"
    • Type the following command to restart the Avamar firewall: 
      # service avfirewall stop
# service avfirewall start
    • Type the following command to restart NetWorker: 
      # /etc/init.d/networker stop
# /etc/init.d/networker start

Existing users of this feature

Existing customers using this feature can continue to refer to the NetWorker and Avamar Integration Guide version 8.2 Service Pack 1.

The NetWorker software installation packages includes the Avamar client software. The Avamar client software only provides support to NetWorker hosts that used an Avamar system as a data protection target with a previous release of NetWorker. You can only install the Avamar client software when you upgrade a NetWorker 8.2.x and earlier host. The NetWorker Updating from a Previous Release Guide provides more information.